Compost Mountain Boys

From "Yonderville," comes a great band for the whole family. The Compost Mountain Boys are known to play all over Humboldt County, and are always a treat. Having played for quite some time, they now find themselves as the elder-statesman of the burgeoning Humboldt County bluegrass scene.

Founding member Sean Bohannon describes "Yonderville" as a majestic place where they practice and meet, a place not too far from Arcata. He and fellow bandmate Bruce Johnson talked about the band's history and it's current line-up. Sean helped form the band in 1992 and spoke with fond memories of past members, festivals, and local shows over the past year. In July 1999, Jason Romero joined the band to play banjo, replacing Scott Morris who left in July, and had been in the band since the early 1990's. Bruce and Sean agree that any member who has to leave the band is never completely out, "just on sabbatical."

As for the other members, Mike "Spumoni" Manetas (fiddle, vocals) is an HSU Professor, teaching Engineering classes and is a co-owner of the Wildwood Music store located in Arcata. Jim Hatchimonsi (fiddle, vocals), Tim Wilson (guitar, vocals) and Jason Romero (banjo) round out the group. All attended HSU, some of them more successful than others, according to Bruce and Sean.

They are a band that appreciates all kinds of music, but as Sean said, "We're not a dance band, you should be drinking tons of beer when you see us."

There are three educators in the band, with Jim working as an elementary music teacher, and Bruce as a high school woodshop teacher, and Mike at HSU. The band will be performing this year at the North County Fair, The Oyster Festival, the Fourth of July celebration, and every Saturday morning at The Farmer's Market on the Arcata Plaza. They also make bookings throughout the year for private parties, weddings and other events in the Humboldt area. At the end of our conversation I asked them for any words of advice for ambitious musicians, Sean said, "Follow your heart", and Bruce responded that "Practicing, playing, and networking" are essential to a successful career in the music industry. Free advice from men with experience, and a professional attitude, which has brought the band recognition for the last ten years.