Special Ed and the Shortbus is a sight to behold. Jug band, Bluegrass, Old-Timey, String Band, Vaudevillian, call it what you will, it’s just American music (except when it’s Eastern European). The primary objective is to play the music that they would like to hear, using two banjos, two guitars, a mandolin, a fiddle, a trap set, a doghouse bass, many kazoos, and a whole host of other toys.

”The name,“ explains Aaron Lewis, ”came from a friend of ours who told Ed, our lead guitarist, that ‘if you guys ever have a band, you have to call it Special Ed and the Shortbus.’ At the time, we felt like the name was perfect for us as far as our being special, different and exceptional. “Special Music for Special People” is still one of our mottos. We recognize, unfortunately, the name is offensive to many people but we really do not intend to single out anyone in particular or make fun of anyone. Most people can take the joke and we sincerely apologize to those who can't. Our music is not about making fun of people with special needs. It’s about making fun of everyone, especially ourselves...“

Playing music together since the Spring of 2002, the group is based in Richmond, VA. They have traveled far and wide through VA, MD, NC, and WV; up through NY and New England.

”It started out with straight bluegrass,“ says Aaron Lewis. ”We thought that would be easy...but bluegrass doesn’t take many risks.“ They started experimenting with jug band styles and more contemporary music like the blues and jazz and the sound morphed into their own ”version“of bluegrass. ”We’re actually pretty far from what traditionalists call bluegrass,“ Lewis concludes.

A reviewer from England reported on seeing them at the Bristol Roots & Rhythm Fest where some of the biggest names on the circuit are found. " it was the lesser-known five-piece from Richmond, Virginia, who stole the limelight. For sheer entertainment on the physical performance front as much as the blistering playing, these guys are bonkers and brilliant. Spectacularly-bearded Aaron Lewis, for instance, has some pedigree, having carried off big prizes at numerous top competitions and won first place as bluegrass fiddle champion at last year’s Galax Fiddler’s Convention. Great musicianship aside, it’s near impossible to explain what makes them so fantabulous as the show is so stuffed full of mutli-faceted delicacies." —Loudooun Temple, Maverick Magazine

Seeing them play is like watching a high-speed train about to jump the tracks, he says. ”It’s acoustic mayhem. It’s virtuostic hilarity. It’s frenzied combobulations. We deliver as much, if not more, energy as any hard rock band. We really have a punk attitude in those terms...All bets are off on the stage. It's good music and a lot of fun and it’s unlike anything you’ve ever heard before.“

In 2004 they released two albums simultaneously. Special Ed and the Shortbus Bluegrass Band, is a more straight ahead endeavor, while Downhill From Here, contains more blue material. They are in the process of recording a third, which is tentatively set for release in the summer of 2007.

Special Ed and the Shortbus base both their sense of humor and their musical tendencies primarily on self-indulgence. Their frenzied exuberance is not intended to set them apart, it's just instinct. The same is true of the music. They play it that way because that's what they like. Experience Special Ed and the Shortbus for yourself and your life will be changed forever.