The Wild Coyotes

(Acoustic String Band Music Old and New)

Southeast Idaho is sparse, high desert country west of the rocky mountains of the great divide where coyotes roam. It is a place where musicians of any particular idiom are few and far between. Traditional bluegrass, old-time, cowboy, and western swing music can be found, but there is no dominant indigenous musical tradition. The environment fosters an open, diverse community of musicians playing traditional music. Music parties here often include all of these styles mixed and mingled. The Wild Coyotes bring all of this variety together to make The Coyote sound – stringband music old and new.

The Wild Coyotes are four good friends living in southeast Idaho that come together to play music, melding their diverse musical backgrounds and interests. The Coyotes create tight harmonies and driving instrumentals as they play old-time fiddle and banjo tunes and songs from old and new sources. The Coyotes will bring you a program spanning a wide variety of traditional American-roots styles. Old time, bluegrass, classic and contemporary folk, and cowboy genres are set to classic old-time string band instrumentation with exciting vocal harmonies.

In addition to concerts and entertainment for festivals, banquets, weddings, or other special functions, the Wild Coyotes join with top regional dance caller Dave Cottle of Salt Lake City to provide exciting contra, square, and circle dances. Dave has a magical way of encouraging even the most reluctant so that even groups with no prior dance experience can have a memorable evening. Dancing to the music of the Wild Coyotes with Dave calling is fun, good exercise, and a great time!

The Wild Coyotes have recorded two CDs: Across the Great Divide and Tunehead’s Fancy. Joe Dobbs, host of the West Virginia Public Radio Show “Music from the Mountains,” has featured Across the Great Divide on his program. Joe says, “I really like this CD. We’ve got a lot of response for it. People told me they think it’s the best old-time CD they’ve heard.”

The Wild Coyotes began in 2002, when fiddler/mandolinist/singer Vince Crofts decided it was time to start playing with nearby friends singer/guitarist Sallie Sublette and banjoist Rick McCracken. The Wild Coyotes are Vince Crofts (fiddle, mandolin, and vocals), Rick McCracken (fretless and fretted banjo, vocals), Sallie Sublette (guitar, vocals) and Carrie Bean (bass, vocals).

Sallie Sublette (guitar, vocals) grew up in West Virginia where every vacation was a long and winding trip back to the North Carolina farm, the family homestead since before the civil war. Her grandmother Sallie got her music degree in 1910, and Sallie felt like the “illegitimate” folkie in this family of southern Bapist church musicians. Her mother said, “Please don’t take your little sister to those places you sing,” meaning coffeehouses or the big concerts by her rock and roll revival group, “The Blue Moons.” Sallie’s lyrical vocal leads and solid harmony singing has spanned a wide range of genre; from Carter Family autoharp in old-time bands, to concert choirs, country rock bar bands, and now, most happily, the Wild Coyotes. When she’s not doing counseling in her private practice she loves to cross-country ski and hike the sage and cedar hills around her home with her big yellow dog Maggie.

Carrie Bean (bass, vocals) is a talented singer, songwriter, and bass player. Oldest of eight in Rexburg, Idaho, she helped her family clean up after the Teton Flood devastated their home. She has played guitar and electric bass in several groups doing original music. She plays acoustic bass with the New South Fork bluegrass band and several of her original songs are featured on their CDs. She is also currently recording with her “girls” group “Chickweed” with Emily Frank and Weiser fiddle champ Jacie Sites. For her day job Carrie keeps her patients teeth squeaky clean in an office where the dentist takes the whole group to Mexico every year. In her spare time she snowboards the back country in winter, runs marathons, climbs the Tetons in summer, and she writes more songs. Like her voice, Carrie is lively and sweet and a delightful anchor for The Coyotes.

Vince Crofts (fiddle, mandolin, vocals) is a native of Idaho whose family business really was potatoes. Vince is a reformed bluegrasser who now takes five fiddles in different old-time tunings to every performance, including the fiddle his grandfather played. He is a popular “utility” musician who also plays mandolin and guitar and he taught Carrie to play the upright bass. Father of five musical children, the Coyotes particularly enjoy it when he demonstrates harmony lines using the falsetto voice he used to teach parts to his daughters in the family band. Vince has a long history of performing with great regional bands. He has played in Europe with his Jackson Wyoming based western swing Shelly and Kelly Band, and dude ranches and trail rides with his western duo partner Mindi. In his spare time you will find Vince playing ice hockey or avidly kayaking; he has run the Grand Canyon several times. Vince teaches music in his home. He is one of the best “horse traders” around and has helped many people find an instrument they love to play.

Rick McCracken (old-time banjo, vocals) with his fluid clawhammer style is one of the outstanding old-time players in the intermountain west. He immerses himself in archival recordings researching tune sources and bringing them to new life in the old-time stringbands he has played with through the years, and his first CD, Yellow Cat, was recorded with the Montana based Schnell Brothers. He has taught banjo at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend Washington and the Bluff Country Gathering in Lanesboro Minnesota. Rick and Sallie were featured at the Bluegrass and Traditional Music Festival in Harrietville, Australia. Rick, a staunch tunehead, has blossomed into a great old-tme singer with The Coyotes. Rick is the techno-coyote and recorded both of the Coyotes CDs, as well as projects for other acoustic groups. He has a long history of climbing and ski touring, and he and Sallie love to camp and hike with their dog Maggie.