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01 Me Except for You - Josh Erwin (Sans Abri/Packway Handle Band)

126 views · Published 6 November 2016 · 4:28 · Indexed 29 October 2026

Channel: Red Barn Radio · 2016 · Entertainment

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Josh Erwin: Guitars, vocals, cajon. born and raised in the suburbs of Northwest Atlanta, Georgia and has extensive Georgia roots. He was first introduced to the guitar-- and probably first introduced to music, acoustic no less-- by his father, Mick Erwin, who played in a variety of bands, including a touring folk/bluegrass band in the 70’s. Throughout high school and college Josh played in different rock and acoustic bands before deciding to focus on bluegrass flatpicking as his main guitar playing style. His interest in flatpicking, songwriting, along with exploring and playing bluegrass with friends Tom Baker and Michael Paynter, and the creation of The Packway Handle Band all happened in 2001. The immersion and the learn-as-you-go approach within the band contributed to the band's interpretation of bluegrass music and what can be done in and out of its boundaries. This method also molded Josh’s unique guitar playing style and influenced his songwriting. Adding electric the guitar has aided in discovering and writing new genre-bending sounds and songs for the Rattletrap portion of Packway’s live sets. Through the evolution of writing and playing original music, more diverse music percolated to the surface and a new platform was needed to serve these songs. That is how Sans Abri came about. It was co-founded with Michael Paynter in late 2011. The first time the duo of Josh & Michael worked together exclusively was when they were invited to perform as guests for a tribute show for John Prine in the Atlanta area. They got together and worked out an arrangement for a couple songs and the process of working together as just two people was another totally unique and creative way to approach arranging and playing music. In turn, Josh and Michael brought a collection of each other's songs to one another and created a new joint effort, Sans Abri. The songs they play seem to breath and expand with minimalistic instrumentation. Josh plays a Crafters of Tennessee Rosewood Dreadnaught guitar, a Larrivee D05 Dreadnaught, and a 1996 American Standard Fender Telecaster. He currently breaks medium gage GHS Bright Bronze strings.

• Troy Harris: Upright Bass. Troy has grown up around music his entire life, from the family reunions to his parent's picking parties. Learning to play bass at age 11 in the orchestra, Troy was thrown into the bluegrass world by his father who told him "watch my fingers; this is a G, C, and D chord." Over time he learned his love of jazz, funk, and soul which helped propel his electric and upright bass playing to new heights. As a fan of all music, Troy seeks to use many different elements to create a new sound. Troy plays a 1940's Kay Upright Bass.

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