Railroad Earth Names New Bassist

Back in September, it was announced that Andrew Altman was leaving Railroad Earth following their annual Horn O’Plenty concerts in November. Altman’s departure was 12 years after he joined in 2010.

Now the band has unveiled their new member to be bassist Dave Speranza, whose previous work includes stints with Sarah Jarosz, Eddie Barbash, Stephane Wrembel, and more. He’s already taken the stage with the band, debuting at the Strings & Sol festival.

In a new interview with JamBands.com, Railroad Earth’s Tim Carbone spoke on Speranza’s arrival.

“He’s a fabulous player. I can tell you that,” Carbone said. “He’s a very different player than Andrew (Altman). Andrew was a lot flashier. I know Dave can flash with the best of them, but Dave’s way of playing is to lay it down; be a real solid part of the rhythm section. Andrew was more fluid—like a Phil Lesh type—not necessarily playing a song the same way every time. Dave is a big fan of James Jamerson and Paul McCartney, and those are two of my favorite bass players in the world. Dave and (drummer) Carey (Harmon) will lay out a beautiful black velvet foundation. And if you look at solos as jewels—when you put those jewels on a black velvet background everyone sees the jewels better than if you put them on a background that already has jewels on it.”

You can check the band with Speranza in this fan-shot video from Strings & Sol. The bassist gets the literal spotlight at the 2:05 mark.

Speranza will be with the band for their New Years’ Eve run at the Vic Theatre in Chicago. They’re slated to tour the West Coast in January and continue through February.