was one of the most eclectic bands in the history of American string music. Although rooted in the modern sounds of contemporary bluegrass,
incorporated everything from folk, jazz and classical music to Latin-American rhythms and pop tunes.
A supergroup of top-rated acoustic musicians,
Psychograss was conceived by fiddler
Darol Anger and mandolin player
Mike Marshall. Former members of the innovative
David Grisman Quintet,
Anger and
Marshall had since collaborated as a duo and as members of the chamber music/folk band
Montreux, along with pianist
Barbara Higbie and bassist
Michael Manring.
Anger had gone on to form the
Turtle Island String Band, while
Marshall had formed the
Modern Mandolin Quartet. Recruiting string bassist
Todd Phillips, a founding member of the Grisman Quintet, Tony Rice's Bluegrass Album Band and
Montreux, and current Grisman Quintet percussionist
Joe Craven,
Anger and
Marshall recorded
Psychograss' self-titled debut album in 1993. In addition to original instrumentals by
Anger and
Marshall, the album included a folk-pop rendition of
Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" featuring the lead vocals of
Tim O'Brien, and a newgrass instrumental by
Tony Trischka, "Flanders Rock," with
Trischka playing five-string banjo.
Anger and
Marshall reunited to record a second
Psychograss album,
Like Minds, in 1996 with
Trischka and flatpicking guitar virtuoso
David Grier added to the group. With each band member contributing an original tune, the album was all originals except for a bluegrass-inspired interpretation of
Jimi Hendrix's "Third Stone From the Sun."
–
Craig Harris, Rovi