BIO
Seagrass is a high-energy all string band out of Southern Maine that specializes in multi-generational Americana. For the last 14 years we have brought our own brand of entertainment to appreciative audiences all over Southern and Central Maine. Seagrass delivers upbeat takes on many well-known favorites, featuring unique arrangements and solid harmonies. Our carefully curated set lists may include selections from every decade from the 60’s through today. We like to think we have something for everyone, and you might hear an original, The Vogues, Doobies, Eagles, The Dead, Avicii, Chris Stapleton or the Dead South. And of course, with a name like Seagrass, you can be sure that we will always include a few foot-stomping, traditional bluegrass tunes.
In 2011 Seagrass landed its first gig at a restaurant in Yarmouth called “Seagrass”. We had a nervous but fun first performance. The restaurant since closed and we decided the name was perfect for us and adopted it as our own. The name Seagrass is a fitting tribute to that first gig and our location on the beautiful coast of Maine. From the beginning we have had an unending list of songs that we learned to build our repertoire. Surprisingly many of these songs remain in the set list to this day. With each song, we developed interesting twists in the arrangements that make the songs unique.
In the early years, we mainly played at Greater Portland venues, and occasionally could be found busking down on Commercial Street. Now we find ourselves performing all over the State of Maine. In addition to gigs, we continue our weekly practices to learn new songs and refine our existing repertoire. As the years have rolled along we have refined our sound, gotten better at playing our respective instruments and increased the number of gigs.
Prior to Covid, the band was playing over 50 gigs per year. The summer coming out of Covid we continued with a scaled down schedule of outdoor gigs. The pandemic did bring change to the band as Frank Delong decided it was time to hang up his mandolin and retired from the band. The band considered adding a new mandolin player but ultimately decided to continue as a 4-piece band. With the pandemic in the rearview mirror Seagrass has again ramped up the schedule.
Now approaching our 14th year as a band, the thing that remains constant and sets Seagrass apart is their motivation; they’re in it for fun. At a Seagrass gig you may find a crowd singing along, dancing and having an overall good time. Seagrass, hard to define, easy to love….
BILLY ARNOLD
Fiddle: Jonathan Cooper
Guitar: Martin D-28
Vocals
Billy started playing the electric guitar when he was 14. A year later he went to his first Grateful Dead show and that defined the musical style he pursued for the next several decades. Bill was largely self-taught but learned a great deal from his friend Eric Peterson. The two of them spent countless hours together playing Grateful Dead and Neil Young songs. After graduating from college, Billy began studying with the great jazz guitarist Paul Asbell in Burlington VT. After playing so long by ear, learning scale and harmonic theory provided a much deeper insight and understanding of music. From high school until his mid 30’s Billy was almost always playing in some sort of band. Some were serious, practiced and played out in bars while others were just loose groups that got together on Friday nights to drink beer and jam. After moving to Maine in his mid-30’s Bill became more focused on his career and his kids and spent less time with music. His Stratocaster’s feelings were definitely hurt but they were able to keep the relationship alive on a more casual basis.
About 10-years later he developed a deeper interest in acoustic music and began playing more actively again. Rather than going back to the guitar however, Billy decided to learn the fiddle. In his mid-40’s at this time, he understood that becoming even modestly proficient on the violin at this age would require great effort, and he began practicing several hours per day. After a few years of practicing on his own, he fell in with the Seagrass crowd. Hearing him play today, many people will agree that it’s unfortunate he didn’t start playing fiddle at an earlier age. On a somewhat sad note, Billy’s Strat filed for divorce 2-years after he began playing the fiddle.
TOM BUCKLAND
Banjos: Nechville - Phantom Galaxy with Warp Drive, Deering - Terry Baucom
Guitar: Taylor GS 7
Vocals
Of the many mixed blessings of the banjo, practitioners must learn to embrace being the butt of many jokes. (How many banjo players does it take to eat a possum?) Despite Tom’s mother Bettie having been a renowned banjo picker in the early 60’s and with his older brother Andy being a seasoned professional musician, Tom did not pick up a stringed instrument until he was in college. Teaching himself to play guitar guided by the songbooks of James Taylor, Jackson Browne and Neil Young, and mostly playing in his living room, Tom did not initially aspire to perform in front of others. Much later in life Tom decided to follow his mother’s finger picks and found himself at 317 Main Street Community Music Center taking banjo lessons from the esteemed Ron Cody. Joining the Tuesday night Bluegrass Jams run by Jason Phelps and attending various banjo camps, Tom found joy in the banjo. The 317 Jam experience brought Tom out of his shell and he began to perform in front of others. In 2012, on a recommendation by the 317 community, Tom was approached by Seagrass and invited to join the band. Since that time Tom’s contributions to the band have grown. In the welcoming arms of his Seagrass family, his confidence and versatility have blossomed. From a beginning of just playing the banjo, he has added guitar, lead singing and harmonies. In addition to Tom’s performance in the band, he also is the overworked and under-appreciated band manager and booking agent for Seagrass. So, how many Banjo Players does it take to eat a possum? The answer is 3…. One to eat the possum and 2 to watch for cars…:-)
SUSAN ELIAS
Bass: 1979 Engelhardt
Vocals
Luthier: Robert Lorimer, RDL Strings, Bangor, Maine
It’s All About the Bass, right? From the 1960s through the 1970s, Suzy’s parents brought the kids to live music events in states like North Carolina and Maine. There was plenty of recorded music and singing and dancing at home, anything from Benny Goodman to Willie Nelson to Del McCoury to Oingo Boingo. At age 10, Suzy took up clarinet in the Westbrook, Maine school music program, taught by jazz trombonist Don Doane. She played clarinet and baritone saxophone in high school bands and clarinet in college and community ensembles. After college, clarinet yielded to sports and science careers. But Suzy got back into performing music in the 2000s when she joined the award-winning Royal River Chorus of Sweet Adelines. Around 2003 her twin boys took up fiddle and cello and that was Suzy’s motivation to learn upright bass. She loves the timbre of the bass, both acoustic and electric, and adores bassists like Edgar Meyer, Victor Wooten, and Ray Brown, to name a few. At 317 Main Street Community Music Center in Yarmouth she took instruction from bassists Amanda Kowalski and Steve Roy, and ensemble instruction from Carter Logan in the Monday adult bluegrass class. She loves Seagrass’s Americana repertoire and hopes her next foray will be into the realm of swing.
STEVE GIFFORD
Guitar: Martin D-28, Yamaha FG239 - 12 String
Vocals
Percussion
When our frontman Steve was a child, he was dragooned into singing with a family combo consisting of his mother and older brother. The happy trio didn’t have a name, but could have been known as Louise and the Reluctant Troubadours. With Louise playing her beloved Cowboy Kay guitar, which now occupies a place of honor in Steve’s home, they performed to small but appreciative crowds at Grange Halls and assemblies throughout central Maine in the 60’s. Although Steve enjoyed modest musical success in high school, achieving first chair bass clarinet in the All-State band, it took another 40 years to accept that entertaining was in his blood. Having inherited his mother’s love for folk music he taught himself guitar to Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, Jonathan Edwards and Doc Watson. After years of performing for family and friends, singing at many weddings, and playing with both The Custom House Gang, and Just 4 Folks, he decided to expand his musical horizons and ended up at 317 Main under the stern tutelage of The Jerks of Grass’s Carter Logan. A year later Seagrass was born, which is a perfect fit for a man who has spent his life in or on the water. An accomplished adventurer, Steve has plied the various waters all over north and Central America, in every manner of watercraft. From his love of traditional music born of family gatherings featuring the Celtic rhythms of his Grandfather’s fiddle music, his bluegrass roots can be traced. With time, Seagrass has embraced musical genre’s as wide as the sea and Steve is always searching for new sounds to explore. You will recognize Steve from his ever-present headwear, drawn from his ever-expanding eclectic collection, and from his radiant smile and energy that lights up the stage. You can be certain that there is always one person in the room enjoying the performance.
FORMER BAND MEMBERS
FRANK DELONG
Mandolin & Vocals
Frank was a founding member of Seagrass. He decided to retire in 2020 after 9 years with the band.