>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Luke McKern got his start playing drums and guitar in a heavy metal band at age 11. (The Observer/CHRIS BAXTER).

Jeff Petersen

Staff Writer

Perhaps you saw him doing a musical decathlon at The Observer's Holiday Music Festival.

Luke McKern, 26, likes to do it all. He switches seamlessly from playing bass to Djembe (African drumming) — all the while generating enough energy to light up the stage.

"You want to convey that sense of fun you get in performing with other musicians," he says.

Playing guitar and singing, McKern and the band String Helix will give four performances when it returns to Wintergrass this weekend. The biggest bluegrass festival in the West drives the clouds out of Tacoma today through Sunday.

In Tacoma, String Helix will join the likes of the Bluebirds with Linda Ronstadt, Maria Muldaur and Laurie Lewis, and Tiller's Folly, the band featuring

La Grande native Nolan Murray. Misty River will also be there, as well as a couple of McKern's superheroes.

Yes, the musical equivalent of Spiderman and Superman.

Legendary guitarist Tony Rice will be there, as will mandolin superstar David Grisman, who will bring his quintet.

Grisman is known for stretching the boundaries of bluegrass.

String Helix is taking that tact as well. They blend musical styles, and recently added drummer Curt Perry (The Alibis, Jimmy Lloyd Rea, Al MacLeod) to their mix of original global folk.

String Helix was formed during September 2002 in La Grande when founders McKern and Jesse Jones, of Union, met in the halls of Eastern Oregon University. Auditioning on piano and bass for the jazz program, they hit it off from the start. Before long they had compiled a wealth of original guitar-mandolin duets, melting together classical, acoustic and ethnic music.

Completing the band is jazz and classical bassist Jack Niedermann of Eugene.

"Everybody in the group is a high-caliber musician," McKern says. "We have a lot of improvisation in our performances, which keeps it exciting."

The band also likes to add guest artists to the mix, such as pianist Matt Cooper.

Despite calling Northeast Oregon home, McKern and Jones are no strangers to big venues. They played with the band Blue Pass for the Garrison Keillor Show in Bend's Les Schwab Amphitheatre last year.

Some of the most popular String Helix tunes to date are "Polecat," "Hung the Moon" and "Beautiful Day."

If you want to sample their music, their "Hung the Moon" CD is available at Sunflower Books and the EOU Bookstore.

The tunes for their second CD are already written.

"We have to pay off the first CD before we can hit the studio again," says McKern, a senior music major from Hood River. "Jessie is a really good composer, and he scores the songs so we can play them with string quartets and ensembles."

Jones also conducts the Grande Ronde Youth Orchestra.

McKern got his start playing drums and guitar in a heavy metal band at age 11 with longtime friend Daniel Thompson.

"I've never really played alone, and that's helped me develop a sense of timing," McKern says.

McKern hopes to pursue a career in performance, but has teaching to fall back on. He conducts private lessons in guitar, bass and percussion.

"I try to make it fun for the students," he says.

In the future, McKern, who transferred to EOU from the University of Oregon, plans to stretch the boundaries of bluegrass. And work on that musical decathlon.

"I've really enjoyed, as a nonclassical musician, going to Eastern because in a smaller department you get a lot more opportunities to perform."