Meet Tractor Jerry and the Mud Bucket

One Part Heart, One Part Fun: Meet Tractor Jerry and the Mud Bucket

A passion for music inspired by a father’s love of bluegrass, a mother’s vinyl collection, and Kenny Rogers’s greatest hits—Tractor Jerry’s musical beginnings were playful and poetic, fitting of this local, alt-country artist. 

As a young boy in Chester County, Pa., Tractor Jerry found his country roots at home with his father, who had a penchant for all things bluegrass. After getting a secondhand banjo from a coworker, his father lost patience fumbling with the right hand finger rolls and lovingly placed the banjo in the hands of his then 7-year-old son. “When I would get in trouble as a kid, I was strategically grounded with full banjo practicing privileges,” Tractor Jerry told FLL. “Rather self-serving on my father’s part—but I was in trouble a lot, so I got plenty of reps in on the five string.” 

Not too far from his home was Sunset Park, a national landmark that—in its heyday—was home to performances from bluegrass and country legends like Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and Johnny Cash. Although he can’t remember specific performances from when he was a young boy, he remembers the palpable energy of the crowd, as well as a well-known cat who made it every year: Boxcar Willie. It was a space for everyday folk, just passing through, to enjoy and connect over storytelling through song. 

As a young teen, Tractor Jerry became enraptured with songwriting. He loved the sound of bluegrass, but wanted to explore and create more lyrical depths. As the youngest member of a band he played in at the time, one of his songs was chosen to be recorded. After that, there was no stopping his creative wheels from turning. 

For Tractor Jerry, the true success of a song lies in how every phrase rests meaningfully alongside its melodic counterpart through phrasing. These days, he spends his time piecing together passing lyrics and melodic tunes he records on his phone. “I have dozens of phrases in the Notes app on my phone, and snippets of vocal melodies recorded into the Voice Memos function,” Tractor Jerry said. “I suspect it would be either funny or shameful to play them for someone as is, but it is a functional way to stay productive and not lose track of a passing idea that might otherwise evaporate.”

And then came the Mud Bucket. 

After ten years spent focusing on his family and career, Tractor Jerry moved back to Lancaster and connected with his longtime friend and local percussionist, Tony Kirchner. Even during that time of family and career, Tractor Jerry never stopped writing. He went to his roots of songwriting and recorded in a home studio with the instruments of his childhood: banjo, mandolin, and guitar. But his sound was about to take a new turn. 

Through Kirchner’s introduction came a pivotal music connection: Steven Courtney. Courtney helped Tractor Jerry formulate his first, self-titled album—Tractor Jerry and the Mudbucket—at Courtney’s Folktowne Studio. With the help of other musicians, they were able to “jump in the bucket” and round out the sound of the first album—taking this alt-country band to a new level.

While Tractor Jerry works independently to develop and write the songs, he speaks warmly and graciously of his bandmates, who push him further creatively in the songwriting process and add panache to the live performance. “The players in our live line-up bring a number of intangibles.  First, they explain to me what the hell I’m playing. Not being classically trained, with only banjo tablature as a kid, the first comical exercise at rehearsal is the band debating what chords I’m playing,” Tractor Jerry shared. 

These band members include Tony Kirchner on percussion, Mike Bitts on upright bass, Elena Piotti on vocals, Matt Underhill on mandolin, and James Lipka on pedal steel and guitar. “Our friendship in the studio is unlike any other studio that I have worked in,” Tractor Jerry explained. “The players in this band are literally all pros, in that they support themselves playing and teaching music, and each have decades of success as a result of their craft.” 

Since the band’s creation in 2015, they have released three albums. The most recent came out at the end of 2019: Red Man. The album is about Tractor Jerry’s grandfather and, unlike his other songs, the title song of the album stems from his personal life. “The lyrics are truth, and it was interesting trying to paint a picture of who and how he was in a song. Many of my song ideas are fictitious, whereas this one was about my memories of him,” he shared. 

The band has adapted to life during COVID-19 by participating in virtual concerts through local organizations like the Long’s Park Music Series. They’ve also performed at some safe, socially-distanced concerts at Tellus360 in fall 2020. In December, Tractor Jerry and the Mud Bucket was nominated as the Best Alt-Country Band for Central Pennsylvania’s Music Awards.The winner will be announced in March 2021. 

While Tractor Jerry prefers to remain an enigma and maintain his musical persona when interacting with the public, he did share the origins of the band’s name. “My father was the original ‘Jerry’ (or ‘Jeddy’ to those closest to him). He was the driving force behind all things bluegrass. I lost him when I was in my 20s. When I started thinking on a name for this project, I liked Jerry being incorporated. And all band names with the word Tractor are cool: Tractor King, Tractor Head, etc. Lastly, the name needed two parts ‘redneck’ to one part ‘don’t take yourself too serious.’ And there you have it: Tractor Jerry and the Mud Bucket was born.” 

A little bit of heart. A little bit of fun. And a good story to boot. We’d expect nothing less from this rising local alt-country band. 

You can find Tractor Jerry and the Mud Bucket’s discography on iTunes and Spotify. 

By Allison Rohland