(Submitted photo) The Hackensaw Boys will perform with The Twilite Broadcasters April 14 at the Opera House. The band is comprised of members from West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

The Shepherdstown Chronicle conducted a Q&A with Hackensaw Boys’ band member and Hagerstown, Md., native Rob Bullington about the band’s upcoming show at the Shepherdstown Opera House.

The Hackensaw Boys will perform with The Twilite Broadcasters April 14 at the Opera House. The show starts at 8 p.m. For more information about the band, visit www.hackensawboys.com or www.facebook/hackensawboys.com.

Q: How would you describe the Hackensaw Boys’ sound and music?

A: Our sound is rooted in the rural American music of the early 20th century – elements from genres such as old-time string band music, folk ballads, classic country, blues and early rock n’ roll appear in our songs . However, because we compose the bulk of the material we perform – and because we all grew up listening to everything from the Beach Boys and Bob Dylan to Radiohead and the Replacements – our songs have a decidedly pop-meets-punk-meets-string band kind of flavor .

It is fun music and people like to dance and tap their feet at our shows. There’s lots of harmony singing, some tongue-in-cheek humor and plenty of heart. There are six members; instrumentation includes: fiddle, banjo, upright bass, percussion, mandolin, guitar and harmonica.

Q: What inspires the Hackensaw Boys’ music?

A: Rumors and the Truth, People and Places, Whimsical Dalliances and Earnest Pursuits

Q: Do you consider yourselves a “local” band?

A: Well, we do consider ourselves to be a regionally-based band. Members live in Richmond (Va.), Charlottesville (Va.), Asheville (N.C.), Knoxville (Tenn.) and Wheeling (W.Va.) so we’re definitely a mid-Atlantic/Southeast based band. However, we play all over the place – from Seattle to Amsterdam.

Q: How does it feel to be performing in Shepherdstown and returning to the area you’re from?

A: The Shepherdstown Opera House is a great room, and I look forward to performing there and seeing lots of family and friends. I love that the Hackensaws get to do so many different kinds of shows.

For instance, we just got back from a week playing clubs in the Netherlands and before we come to Shepherdstown we’ll be doing a live concert/radio show in Bristol, Va. (Folks can listen at www.wdvx.com at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 9). At the end of April we fly to Oregon to play shows in rock clubs in the Pacific North west.

Q: What can fans look forward to in the near future from the Hackensaw Boys in terms of touring, record releases, etc.?

A: We’ll be bringing two new CDs with us – The Old Sound of Music Vol. 1 and the Old Sound of Music Vol. 2. In fact, the Shepherdstown show will be only the second show that Vol. 2 has been available in the U.S.

While we were in Holland, we did a live, multi-track recording of our show at the Paradiso in Amsterdam. We hope to pull the best songs from that show and put out a live album soon.

As for touring, we’re all over the place this summer. You can catch us in places like Seattle, Minneapolis, Brooklyn, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Knoxville (just to name a few).

Q: What is the band hoping to accomplish in the future?

A: Survival.