Deep below the Mason-Dixon Line, where kudzu covers the trees and
the rebellious South will supposedly rise again, lies the Pine Hill
Cemetery in the city of Auburn, Alabama. It’s been said that the
cemetery is haunted by one Jethro Walker, a local resident who was
murdered in 1858 while sitting alone in his parlor, reading the Good
Book. But if dear old Jethro does indeed roam those hallowed grounds,
he might have run into a young Jamie Barrier, lead singer for
self-described “Alabama Ghost Country” band, Pine Hill Haints.
“I didn’t know how to play guitar and sing at the same time,” says
Barrier. “So I used to go out to the cemetery and practice doing that.
It was the only place I could go where no one could hear me or see me.”
Except Jethro, of course.
In addition to being an ideal late-night practice spot, the Pine
Hill Cemetery was the inspiration for the band’s name (“haint” is
Southern slang for ghost) and their haunting country sound. The band
performs on a bare-bones instrumental setup of washtub bass, mandolin,
washboard, a lone snare drum, guitar, and a little accordion here and
there. It’s all capped off by Barrier’s accented howl, a molasses thick
voice that exudes a Southern charm, but can let loose and howl like a
man buried alive. The foundation of the Haints’ songs lies in wandering
spirits (Jethro, again), shallow graves (2004’s Calvin Johnson recorded
Bury Your Hate in a Shallow Grave), and, of course, hobo-haunted
ghost trains.
“I’ve always been told there was a ghost train that went through
Auburn, Alabama, along a place called Wire Road—it’s an old train
bed,” explains Barrier. “There are all these accounts of hobos 50 or 60
years ago talking about one going through there.” The lyrics to the
song—titled “Ghost Train,” of course—tell a similar story,
“Here it comes, 11:59/Ghost train/I ain’t ever seen that train
again.”
While it might damage the air of secrecy that lingers about the band
itself, the Haints are about to become a whole lot less mysterious. The
band recently inked a deal with Olympia’s K Records, which is set to
release a brand-new full-length, titled Ghost Dance, on November
6. Until then, it’s more tour dates, as this gypsy caravan full of
haunted musicians rolls through town after town, sharing their ghost
stories along the way. Jethro would be proud.
Pine Hill Haints perform at Valentine’s on Sunday, August 12, and
at the Alberta Street Public House on Tuesday, August 14.