Join Poor Man's Whiskey this summer as we join forces with Wilderness Adventures for the 1st Annual Wild Whiskey Whitewater!

Throughout our 5 years of picking and grinning our way through countless dive bars, weddings, festivals and street corners, many people have asked us the same question...How and Why did a bunch of Suburban Sonoma county kids start playing bluegrass music?

For me, it all began in the college years while attending the University of California Santa Barbara. Eli Jason and I used to go to a small bar up in the mountains of Santa Barbara called the Cold Springs Tavern to watch a band called the Cache Valley Drifters do their thing. This was the first time that I ever heard bluegrass music.

I was blown away by how these guys could shred on their instruments with such technical virtuosity while maintaining a feel of simplicity. "Mountain Jazz" was the mantra I pulled from this experience, I was hooked.

Jason said that he would learn the Mandolin if I learned the banjo. So that's how I got stuck with the banjo!

When college ended our electric band Free Wheelin Franklin took a hiatus, Eli took off to become a hang glider pilot, Jason a family man up in Santa Rosa and I left for the Peace Corps in El Salvador.

We never expected that we would be re-united as a bluegrass band in Sonoma County...but somehow it all came together when we met Tony, Gary, Noah and Chris. We will continue to entertain ourselves and willing listeners with our blend of homegrown music for years to come...

See you out in the streets...