Well Strung band: Bluegrass with a 20 year legacy
Jeff Scheller has been a member of the bluegrass band Well Strung for almost 20 years. Throughout time there have been endless local shows, four CDs and changes in the lineup, but the spirit of the band has stayed the same: a group of people who love the genre.
“Well Strung is one huge songwriting family. This is an open-minded songwriting collective,” he said. “We can play a big show with all original songs.”
Well Strung initially was made up of Scheller, who plays upright bass, and Matt French and Kevin Ondriezek. Their first major gig was in 2003 at the January Ice Jam, the famous bluegrass music festival at the former Butler Days Inn.
“When we made the band Well Strung, we got concern from the Ice Jam because of the double entendre,” Scheller said. “So for that show we changed our name to Tastes Like Pickin’ for a year.”
The band eventually switched back to Well Strung because they liked it better, he said.
“We’ve had no problem with it. We played three different convents with the name Well Strung,” Scheller added.
The band has had many players come and go throughout the years, with Scheller being the only continuing member. To him, it hasn’t seemed like much change. In fact, he still will play performances with Classic Well Strung, which is comprised of two members that were in the band for many years.
“There’s never been more than two leaving at a time. It’s always felt continuous to me,” he said. “I kept going because I love playing bluegrass and keep finding people with similar attractions to music and songwriting.”
Well Strung includes Scheller, who is from Mars, married couple Corey and Valerie Wood of Slippery Rock, and Stephanie Green of Lyndora. For bigger shows, they’ll recruit Scott Pearson to play guitar so Corey Wood can play banjo, Scheller said.
Corey said he met his wife at the January Ice Jam, and she said that their first date was going to see Well Strung at North Country Brewing in Slippery Rock.
“Corey brought his mandolin and jumped up on stage with them,” Valerie said. “I thought ‘he looks like a keeper!’ I’m proud of our little story.”
“I’m just kinda used to doing oddball stuff like that,” Corey said.
Valerie said she has been filling in on mandolin for a few years, just recently joining full time. To her, the best part of being in the band is the community.
“Everybody is really laid back. We might not rehearse for a while, and we all kinda pick up where we left off. We knew them all because of the bluegrass community,” she said.
Scheller said this band, as well as others he is part of, are his form of socializing.
“This is kind of how I spend time with my friends,” he said. “I love getting to know someone on stage without talking. That joy of finding connection onstage, that’s just so magical. When everyone does their job, it’s magic.”
Last weekend, Well Strung played its first WinterFest at Moraine State Park, and Scheller said their performance there broke a record.
“It broke our record of coldest temperature playing outside. Previously it was 45 degrees; now it’s 18!” Scheller said. “We made it just fine. There were times when 150 people were watching. It’s beautiful to see people dancing, singing along and smiling.”
The band plays about 30 shows a year, frequenting festivals, breweries, and private parties or weddings. It has four CDs of original songs recorded between 2005 and 2016, Scheller said.
“I used to be so scared of recording,” he said. “I understand why people like it now: You get to build and create something that’s lasting.”
Coming up on Feb. 25, Well Strung will play at the Cranberry Elks Lodge, and in April they will perform at the Roots Rally in Warrendale.
The Roots Rally benefits Make-A-Wish Foundation as well as Highmark Caring Place, two organizations that provided help to the Scheller family when daughter Riley passed away at age 11.
“I do it to support roots music and those organizations,” Scheller said. “We got blues, bluegrass, folk, old-time music and hippie jams.”
Scheller, who’s a retired biology teacher, said he has been loyal to the bluegrass genre because of its happy nature.
“There’s a simplicity and a purity of bluegrass; it’s true wood and steel,” he said. “It’s just string music, the way it works together. It’s like our church; its full of fellowship. Even if a song is sad lyrically, it’s happy.”
