Hot Buttered Rum

Hot Buttered Rum, a souped-up, left-coast string band, is the brainchild of five uniquely gifted musicians who weave their love of bluegrass, folk, jazz and soul into a riveting strain of Americana. String bass and five-alarm fiddle merge with guitar, banjo, mandolin and drums to frame the voices of its two contrasting writers, fueling a dance party with roots in Appalachia and its branches in California. It’s a sound that’s as tough to describe as it is easy to love. Nearly twenty years into its journey, HBR’s music, dreamed up in the backcountry of the High Sierra and the basements of San Francisco, has found its way into the hearts, minds and bodies of fans nationwide. The band continues to tour year-round in support of its many albums and social causes.

“Few things rejuvenate the soul like a warm fireside drink after an exhausting day in the snow. Hot Buttered Rum has that effect. Their original songs are instantly familiar and inviting.”

 ––San Francisco Chronicle

“As the band’s evolved, it has kept those [bluegrass] roots, but also incorporated the progressiveness of bands like Strength in Numbers and New Grass Revival, the looseness of a jam band like Phish, and the rock-and-roll edge of an acoustic band that opts to ad a drummer.”

 ––No Depression

“Stunning instrumental and vocal virtuosity.”

 ––Relix

“It’s that working man regimen that ensures their consistency from one offering to another. That’s the kind of quality that makes Hot Buttered Rum always seem to go down so smoothly.”

– Bluegrass Today

Bryan Horne
double bass & vocals

Bryan began his musical adventure at age 10 with the cello. He grew up listening to mostly rock ‘n’ roll groups like Men at Work, Rush, Yes, and Led Zeppelin. It was in the Tamalpais High School Orchestra that he first met Aaron Redner, future fiddler for Hot Buttered Rum.

In college, Bryan began playing electric bass in the jamband Oversoul. While playing in Oversoul, Bryan became more interested in acoustic music; he eventually transitioned from electric to acoustic bass and never turned back. His musical influences include Old and In the Way, Edgar Meyer, Phil Lesh, Stanley Clarke, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Coming back to the Bay Area after college, Bryan played in some musical groups with the members of Oversoul, eventually connecting with Nat Keefe and Erik Yates.

Erik Yates
banjos, guitars, woodwinds & vocals

Erik spent his Bay Area youth trying nearly every instrument and style he came across. Piano lessons, saxophone quartets, garage bands and folk songs had all weaseled their way into his life by the time he hit high school. College in Portland, OR, where he studied music and writing, brought new musical horizons, new conspirators (including classmate Nat Keefe) and a new project, Hot Buttered Rum, which would soon take over his life.

After enough time in the non-profit and teaching worlds to know that playing music was the world’s only sensible job, Erik hit the road with HBR to change the world “one bar at a time.” The group has become a platform for all his various trades, musical and otherwise. It pushes his banjo and guitar picking and his songwriting, which he now combines with his knack for wind instruments (flute and saxophones) to give HBR its unique musical palate. Erik has appeared with songwriters Peter Rowan, Tim and Nikki Bluhm, and banjoist Bill Evans (also his teacher). When not on the road with HBR, Erik can be found playing around Colorado and touring in support of his first solo album, Give it Time, out this year on Floating Records.

James Stafford
drums & percussion, mandolin

James enjoys bringing spirit and musical support to live  performance and recordings.  He performs on the drum set for Hot Buttered Rum, but he also plays bass guitar, guitar and vocals in a variety of musical settings.  He has lately taken an interest in the mandolin, too.  He has studied music extensively and graduated from California State University Sonoma’s jazz program. An early member of Groundation, he had the pleasure of performing with some wonderful artists including the late Mel Graves, George Marsh, Randy Vincent, Bobby Vega, Phil Lesh and Peter Rowan as well as warming up the stage for Diana Krall and Robben Ford. The lessons he’s learned over the years are exercised at every performance and he always strives to bring high quality musicianship to any project.  James believes that music offers a unique opportunity to convey emotion through sound; providing this experience can foster happiness, inspiration and a rewarding a sense of community.

Zebulon Bowles
fiddle & vocals

According to his mom, the first coherent sentence that came out of Humboldt County native Zebulon Bowles’ 2.5 year old mouth was, “I gunna bay buy-yin yike yitzhak do”. If you don’t speak early-toddler, this roughly translates to: “One day, I’m going to play fiddle in Hot Buttered Rum with a feel and zeal which will parallel that of the great Itzhak Perlman’s verve passion.”

Zebulon perfected pretend playing with a fork and chopstick after only 6 months of pre-meal performances. He quickly grew impatient for the real thing. After begging for a violin of his own, his dad said that he was going to need a teacher. Zebulon immediately handed Fred the phone and pretty much told him to make it happen.

Fast forward 33 years and, as one would expect, a lot has happened since then. On any given day, you might find him playing mandolin, octave mandolin, guitar, bass, trumpet, piano/keyboards, or a shaker. On long travel days you might bust him producing groovy EDM.

Of course, fiddle remains his one true love. On which he has developed a sweet slippery style all his own that has found the fancy of musicians and fans alike. He’s been invited to play with over 50 artists/acts. Zebulon has appeared on Jay Leno, Craig Ferguson, CMT Summerfest series, and numerous morning news spots. He’s toured with Big & Rich and Emmitt-Nershi Band, performed with America, Leftover Salmon, Keller & The Keels, Todd Snider, The Everyone Orchestra, Groundation, Randy Jackson, Kid Rock, Gretchen Wilson, Avenged Sevenfold (yeah Avenged Sevenfold)….to name a few.

Zebulon is thrilled to have recently relocated back to California after a 5 year stint in Colorado. More than anything he is Grateful and ready to rumble the rest of the best to come with Hot Buttered Rum!

Nat Keefe
guitar & vocals

Nat’s panoramic songwriting and baritone vocals play a defining role in Hot Buttered Rum’s sound. In the course of a decade of playing professionally, Nat has written hundreds of songs, including collaborations with Zach Gill & Dave Brogan (ALO), Brett Dennen, Tim Bluhm (Mother Hips), Fred Torphy (Big Light), and his bandmates. He’s produced nine albums of his own and others’ music. He’s produced almost a dozen Concert Carnival variety shows, bringing together artists to create new work. Most importantly, he’s performed over a thousand times, singing and playing guitar to the best fanbase in the world.

When not touring, rehearsing, and recording with HBR, Nat lives in the Hayes Valley district of San Francisco. Outside of music, Nat enjoys the same things he’s liked since he was a boy: flyfishing, backpacking, backcountry skiing, urban-adventure bikeriding, and SF Giants baseball.

Recently, Nat lead a group of American musicians to Ghana, West Africa and produced a ten-day program of workshops, jam sessions, and recording with Ghanaian music and dance masters. The resulting recording is Girl Thursday. It features Bonnie Paine (Elephant Revival), Kate Gaffney, Erik Yates & Lucas Carlton (HBR), Jeff Coleman (Big Light), Simon Kurth & Murph Murphy (Huckle), in collaboration with the Local Dimension Highlife Band and Ocherema Praa. This was Nat’s third trip to Ghana, and second recording project there.

• Website: https://www.hotbutteredrum.net/