posted by John on 05.09.08 @ 9:33 am Tag: mandolin
Yesterday, Gibson officially announced the debut of their latest limited edition, vintage-styled instrument - the Victorian F-5 mandolin. Only 15 of these unique instruments will be made, which combine features and appointments from both the F-4 and F-5 models that revolutionized the mandolin world in the 1920s.
Each will be constructed of figured maple for the one piece back, sides and neck, with a red spruce top, all assembled with hide glue. The top will have bound F-holes finished with a black face and a dark red sunburst back, reminiscent of the mandolins made by Gibson in the nineteen-teens.
The fingerboard will be ebony with an F-5 scale and an F-4 extension. A double flowerpot inlay adorns the headstock which will also feature Waverly arrow-point tuners. The pickguard and clamp are styled like those on the vintage F-4s and the mandolin is protected with an aged varnish finish.
The Gibson Victorian F-Style Mandolin carries a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $17,777 with hardshell case, and orders must be placed through an authorized Gibson retailer.
More photos and additional details can be found on the Gibson Original Acoustic web site.
Thanks to John Drummond of Banjo.com and Jeff Sullivan with First Quality Musical Supply for their assistance in getting the details on this new mandolin from Gibson.
Kenny Smith is a name known well to bluegrass fans interested in instrumental prowess. Mr. Smith has won numerous awards, including a brace of IBMA trophies for Guitar Player of the Year in 1998 and 1999. Smith currently fronts his own band with wife Amanda, The Kenny & Amanda Smith Band. One of the ingredients of a good band is good pickers, and Kenny hasn’t failed to find them.
Aaron Williams began playing at a early age, and at 9 years old he decided mandolin was going to be his instrument of choice. He began playing with Kenny and Amanda in June of 2007 at the age of 15. Aaron has developed into quite a talented young mandolin player and recently release his first solo recording project. The CD, Inside, was co-produced by the Smiths along with Aaron.
The recording features Williams on mandolin, Kenny Smith on guitar, band mate Zac McLamb on bass, and former Smith band member Joey Cox on banjo. Twelve tracks are included, all instrumental in nature.
Two of the tracks are original numbers written by the young mando player from Blacksburg, VA. Both tunes can claim attractive melodies and a sense of tastefulness not always found in players this young. I especially enjoy Seven Mile Ford.
Several traditional tunes are included such as Buffalo Gals, Done Gone and Jesse James. Two Monroe tunes found their way onto the disc, White Horse Breakdown and The Lee Weddin’ Tune.
Only one Kenny Smith composition was included, but it is one of my favorites, Me and My Farmall. This tune was first released on Kenny’s solo CD, Studebaker and captured my ear then for its wonderful melodic richness. Aaron treats the tune with finesse, playing this beautiful melody with style, grace and tone.
As a first outing for a young musician, this CD proves a musical maturity beyond his years. With youthful players like Aaron writing their material and playing the standards, bluegrass is surely safe in the hands of the next generation.
The Larry Stephenson Band will be Kyle Cantrell’s guest for this week’s edition of Studio Special on XM Satellite Radio’s Bluegrass Junction. Larry will both discuss and perform music from his new Gospel CD, Thankful, released this March on Pinecastle Records - and which came in at #13 on the most recent Billboard Bluegrass Chart.
Larry’s show will run several times over the next week, starting with the debut airing at 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning (5/9).
No matter where you find yourself in the world, a bluegrass jam is sure to lift your spirits. We often take for granted the availability of jam sessions here in the US, while our overseas contemporaries are somewhat harder pressed to find a picking. Imagine the difficulty if you’re a soldier stationed in Iraq.
This morning a story came to my attention of a regular bluegrass jam at Camp Victory in Baghdad. A group of US soldiers calling themselves alternately The Baghdad Bad Boys, or The Stained-Glass Bluegrass, meet regularly in the camp chapel for bluegrass night.
The soldiers love this gathering because it relaxes the tensions of the work place, which for them might be a tad more tension than any of us are used to day in and day out! And in the words of Lt. Col. Greg Rawlings from Fort Bragg,
It keeps me from choking people during the week.
The Fayetteville Observer ran the story, and has even posted a YouTube clip of the soldiers jamming on Will The Circle Be Unbroken. Be sure to stop by the YouTube site and leave a comment encouraging these brave soldiers and letting them know we appreciate them.
Jimmy Ross tells us that the Scheerhorn guitar showcase CD he tipped us to last year is nearly ready to go.
It will include 16 tracks which feature top resonator guitarists performing on instruments built by Tim Scheerhorn. A June release is anticipated on Randy Kohrs’ Left Of Center label.
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant were featured on the BBC One TV programme Later …. With Jools Holland on Tuesday night, May 6.
The duo, currently on tour in Europe performed two songs, Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On) and One Woman Man.
Holland conducted a brief interview with the couple also during the half hour show. Also on Tuesday’s programme was Emmylou Harris, accompanied by Buddy Miller, singing Gold.
Krauss and Plant, who were supported by the likes of T Bone Burnett, Dennis Crouch, Stuart Duncan, Jay Bellerose and Buddy Miller, will be guests of Jools Holland again on BBC Two Friday, May 9, 11.35 p.m. (GMT), during which they will sing Killing The Blues.
The Later show posted a preview clip on their web site from tomorrow night’s show.
posted by Brance on 05.07.08 @ 11:32 am Tag: ASCAP
ASCAP, more fully known as The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, recently launched A Bill of Rights for Songwriters and Composers. The document contains 10 “core principles” that ASCAP hopes will serve to remind their members, the public, and government legislators of the rights granted to authors of creative works under the US Constitution.
The introduction to the document makes the case that without these rights, the outcome would be a diminishing of the economic viability of music creation, resulting in less music being created for fans to enjoy. ASCAP President and Chairman, Marilyn Bergman, commented on this idea.
Given the many issues surrounding the music industry today, it can be all too easy to overlook the source of it all - individual songwriters, lyricists and composers. That is why ASCAP has launched this Bill of Rights for Songwriters and Composers. Our goal is to remind lawmakers, the general public and music creators themselves of the rights that are inherent in their art. We simply cannot allow the original source of all music to be lost in the shuffle.
They are asking that those who support this position electronically ’sign’ the bill. After collecting as many signatures as possible, ASCAP will present the document to key legislators in Washington, and other leaders both inside and outside the music industry.
The first and possibly most important of the rights is this.
1. We have the right to be compensated for the use of our creative works, and share in the revenues that they generate.
It must be with some satisfaction that ASCAP reports on this court decision determining license fees to be paid to ASCAP by AOL, RealNetworks and Yahoo! for their use of musical works. The report indicates the payments could be as high as $100 million for the full period covered by this decision (July 2002 - December 2009).
It seems some lawmakers already agree with right #1.
Our friend Craig Havighurst has posted a YouTube video bio of Sierra Hull. Craig produced the video for Rounder Records to coincide with the release, yesterday, of Sierra’s new CD, Secrets.
We got to produce this video bio of Sierra that shows her trying to balance the life of a normal 16-year-old high school junior with her new career as an in-demand touring and recording artist. She’s a super person too, and we wish her the best of luck.
The video features interview footage with both Sierra and producer, Ron Block, as well as behind the scenes footage and performance footage. It’s a nice feature that all bluegrass fans should enjoy.
He tells us that the next CD from Lost and Found is nearly finished, with only final mixing and mastering remaining.
Scott is a long-time student and great admirer of the mandolin legacy of Dempsey Young, the band’s original and only mandolinist until his passing in December of 2006. Dempsey had a unique and memorable style, and his playing was as definitive of the Lost and Found sound as Allen Mills’ distinctive voice.
Scott described the experience of finishing the new project as bittersweet.
“Recording with the Lost and Found was a huge honor for me. I was extremely happy, but also a little sad. Dempsey’s on exactly half of the tracks and I’m on the other half, so it was like having him in the studio with us. His Hutto mandolin would fill up the room during playbacks.
I also play a Hutto mandolin, and I used the same RE-20 microphone that he has recorded with since the mid 80’s, the same engineer and studio (Otis Lynn Dillon, River Track Studios), and a very supportive band to work with (Allen Mills, Ronald Smith, and Scottie Sparks).
Dempsey used to tell me ‘Play it your own way. That’s the only way people will remember you.’ “
This new CD will be on Rebel, with a late summer/early fall release anticipated at this point.
Scott also shared a story about the late Art Stamper (the renowned old time fiddler), a memory prompted by seeing one of Art’s favorite fiddles being offered on eBay.
“Art was a musical treasure who loved to play. He played that fiddle at our wedding in ‘04 not long before he passed away. He wasn’t too keen on playing The Wedding March, so I told him to play what he wanted.
He played Sweet Hearts Forever as my wife Melinda walked down the aisle. I kept asking him the name of the tune because I didn’t want to forget it.
So the first stop on our honeymoon was at an antique shop to get a souvenir for our log house, and as we walked in, Sweet Hearts Forever was playing through the store.
Gotta be a good sign… and I did learn that melody.”
posted by John on 05.07.08 @ 10:01 am Tag: John Santa
John Santa is a songwriter, audio technician and sound designer in Chapel Hill, NC. He is also a newly-minted bluegrass picker, playing mandolin with the EightTwentythree band, a passion he developed after many years playing rock and blues music.
His discovery of bluegrass and his fascination with both the music and the people who play it has led him to his latest venture, a book of non-fiction based on his bluegrass experiences. Entitled Bluegrass Is My Second Language - A Year In The Life Of An Accidental Bluegrass Musician, Santa uses his mid-life conversion to the ways of bluegrass to demonstrate how suddenly your life can move in unexpected directions, and how being open to such changes can bring great happiness and wonderful new friends.
Coming in at more than 500 pages, complete with a glossary of musical terms and sheet music for some of the songs he discusses, the tale is one of Santa’s personal journey into what was at first an alien culture for him, though one that had existed alongside him in North Carolina all along.
Bluegrass Is My Second Language should be an interesting read for any bluegrass fan, and perhaps a helpful explanation for family or friends who neither share your addiction, nor even understand its attraction. It is written in a breezy, narrative style coming from the pickers’ perspective, but which also conveys the author’s deep respect for the traditions of the music he has embraced, and the people who have kept it alive for so many years.
Last week was a good’n for bluegrass and old time music on the CMT Pure 12-Pack Countdown video competition. Uncle Earl’s Steak O’ Lean was the #1 viewer-voted video, and Mountain Heart’s Road With No End was #2.
These two beat out Dolly Parton and Toby Keith for the top spots, so we know that it was bluegrass fans that put them in. They are both in the running again in this week’s voting, along with Rhonda Vincent’s I Gotta Start Somewhere, which debuts in the competition this week.
You can see all the videos on the Pure 12-Pack Countdown web site, where you can also cast a vote for your favorites. Voting ends on Wednesday night, with weekly winners announced on Friday evening during the Pure 12-Pack Countdown show on CMTP.
Today (5/6) marks the official release of Secrets, Sierra Hull’s debut on Rounder. This sixteen year old wunderkind has been wowing audiences for at least the past six years, sitting in with leading artists like Alison Krauss, Sam Bush, Ricky Skaggs and Mountain Heart, and with her own road band Highway 111.
I first saw her in person at IBMA in 2003. Sierra seemed barely big enough to hold a mandolin - in fact it nearly dwarfed her - but the then twelve year old was confidently jamming with Ronald Inscore and mando-legend Herschel Sizemore as though it was a common occurrence. She more than held her own and left everyone in the room stunned into silence, wondering how she could be that proficient at her age, and where the music would take her.
In fact, it is plainly impossible to avoid comparisons between Secrets and the early CDs from young artists like Alison Krauss and Chris Thile, both of whom started recording as teens and have gone on to establish themselves as major players in acoustic music. They both saw their debut releases on major independent labels, but neither Thile’s Leading Off nor Krauss’ Too Late To Cry saw the degree of media promotion or pent-up anticipation that Hull’s debut has garnered.
We had the chance to discuss Secrets, and Sierra-as-artist, with co-producer Ron Block, banjo and guitarist with Alison Krauss & Union Station, and one of the more thoughtful, insightful artists in our music. Our first question was about the above mentioned subject: the inevitable comparisons to Alison, and what is was like producing someone so relatively “green” in the studio.
“Sierra has had Alison to listen to, and she has paid attention to Alison’s musical sensibilities, so her ear is well developed for her age.
Early on I found Sierra to have a keen vision of her own - my job was to facilitate that. I did of course have my own ideas and input, and gave guidance throughout the process. In the end I couldn’t put ‘Produced by Ron Block’ because it was produced by both of us.”
Though Secrets is being promoted as her first release, Sierra did have one earlier CD, Angel Mountain, which came out in 2002. (more…)
Singer/songwriter Liz Meyer wrote in to let us know how the EWOB festival went this past weekend.
She tells us the weather was great in Voorthuizen and the music was even better. For three days this small Dutch town was teaming with bluegrass musicians from all over the world. 41 bands from 15 different countries, including three US bands, participated in the festivities.
These three days, May 1-3, were the culmination of a month of bluegrass celebrations that took place as part of the European World of Bluegrass. It also served as the kickoff for bluegrass month in Europe. During the month of May there are 195 European festivals and events where fans will be able to take in some good bluegrass on the old continent.
One of the most exciting parts of the EWOB festival is the European Bluegrass Band competition.
Winners are chosen each year by the musicians performing at the festival. The first place winner each year is invited to perform at the IBMA World of Bluegrass the following year. Here are this year’s winners.
European Bluegrass Band 2008: ACOUSTICURE (Hungary)
European Bluegrass Band 2008: 4-WHEEL DRIVE (The Netherlands)
The #1 European Bluegrass Band 2008, Acousticure, is the first bluegrass band from Hungary to appear at this colorful international gathering, performing at the past 2 European World of Bluegrass Festivals. An energetic 4-piece group of impressive multi-instrumentalists, Acousticure keeps the sound crew hopping with frequent instrument changes. Their young spokesman, mandolin-fiddler-guitarist Zsolt Pinter, has spent enough time in the USA to speak English like a native, and has a remarkable command of bluegrass-country vocals. Acousticure’s musical vision playfully fuses bluegrass influences from old-time to newgrass, often incorporating their native Hungarian folk music. (An example of the latter, Kis Kece Lanyom, can be heard on the European World of Bluegrass 2007 CD from Strictly Country Records.) The US bluegrass scene will get a chance to experience Acousticure onstage in Nashville at the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) World of Bluegrass convention in October 2009, where they will perform as the #1 European Bluegrass Band.
The professional band awards aren’t the only awards given during EWOB though. Each year the festival audience selects their favorite groups from among the showcase performances. Call it a Fan’s Choice Awards if you will. This year’s winners are:
Banjo players - and fans of Jimmy Martin - know Chris Warner for his driving style and hard hitting approach to the five string. Chris worked twice for Martin as a member of his Sunny Mountain Boys, from 1967-69, and again in the late 1980s.
During that second stint with Martin, Chris recorded two albums for Webco, All Original and Chris Warner & Friends, released as LPs and now out of print. He has recently compiled them both as a CD, Back Again, with 24 tracks featuring Warner as both banjoist and vocalist.
The tracks from All Original have Chris singing all lead vocals, with Del McCoury on tenor, and those from Chris Warner & Friends, have singing duties shared among Warner, Dudley Connell and Audie Blaylock.
But don’t think that banjo tunes get short shrift here. Chris knocks out 11 instrumentals mixed with 13 vocal tracks.
Newly minted bluegrass fans may not be aware of Warner’s top flight picking - and even long time listeners may not know him as a vocalist. Kudos to Chris for making this material available again, and to Pinecastle Records for their assistance in making it happen.
Audio samples for each track and online ordering are enabled on the Tom Adams web site, where Tom addresses the rumor that he and Chris are starting a band.
“With no official band name, no dates booked, and a disagreement over whether or not to wear matching shoes, I’d have to say yes, I believe there is a rumor that Chris and I are starting a band.”
Williams & Clark Expedition, the Franklin, Kentucky-based quartet, has announced the forthcoming release of their latest CD, Brand New Set Of Blues, due on May 15.
The band comprises a former member of Lester Flatt’s Nashville Grass and a Blue Grass Boy for 10 years, banjo-player Blake Williams, award-winning mandolin player Bobby Clark, Wayne Southwards (lead vocals and guitar) and Kimberly Williams (lead vocals and bass). All four had strong credentials working in the country music and bluegrass fields before joining forces in 2002.
Brand New Set Of Blues is the band’s fifth album; it features 13 songs, 10 of which are originals written by members of the band, plus a bonus comedy track.
Kimberly Williams provides some background information …….
“Our band is an equal partnership among the four of us so when it comes time to pick songs for the project, we work as a democracy. We each bring material that we think would be a good fit for the band and then we all have to agree on what we think is the best. Obviously we strive to put as much of our own material that is original to our band members as possible but that doesn’t mean that just because one of us wrote it, that it will get recorded. It has to be really good and we each hold ourselves and each other accountable to that.
We always pick a traditional bluegrass tune that is not being overdone and record it to keep close to our bluegrass roots. On this project we recorded the Stanleys’ Ridin’ That Midnight Train. We also make sure we have a couple of good gospel tunes on it as well. We have two on this project, Marching, written by Blake, and Travelin’ Heaven’s Road, a real barn-burner that he and I wrote together. Bobby Clark and Blake each contribute an instrumental to the project, too. [namely Jalapeño Quickstep and Highlands Ramble].
I was personally afforded a great opportunity with this project by having Claire Lynch come in and sing on a song I recorded written by Blake and Wayne called Heaven On Earth. That was a dream come true for me to be able to sing with one of my musical heroes! Our buddy Kevin Shultz of Midnight Flight pitched a song to us that he and a friend wrote and it just fit perfectly for this project. Wayne sings it and it is called Lifetime Of Love.(more…)
Our friend Dave Hollender gave us a nice report last month after Chris Thile and Punch Brothers offered a clinic at the Berklee College of Music in Boston on April 7. Dave shared some photos and a nice run down of the event.
This morning (5/5), Berklee has posted a brief account of the clinic on the news section of their web site. The story by Danielle Dreilinger (Berklee’s Office of Communications) is entitled Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes and can be read online.
Dreilinger includes a few additional photos from the clinic, plus a number of brief excerpts from the band’s interaction with the students.
Though the songs were sad, the band seemed relaxed, joking about playing so early in the morning. (The clinic started at 2:00 p.m.) Pikelny asked for the Cubs score; Thile snagged a bottle of water from an audience member.
The attitude spilled over. One fan called out, “How do you get your hair so pretty? Is that just bed head?”
As Thile started to explain, Pikelny interrupted: “You just assume that he’s asking you.”
“How do you get your hair so pretty?” Thile countered.
Pikelny folded his hands. “It’s a gift,” he said.
Was the same true of the band’s spectacularly nimble playing? Pikelny’s fingers barely seemed to move. Still, when an audience member asked about picking technique, the band members self-deprecatingly presented themselves as works in progress.
“I can’t get good tone and play fast, which is something I’m working on,” Eldridge said. “Pick angle is important and so is staying loose, but I can only do it at slow speeds for a bluegrass guy.”
Pikelny warned against letting one-upmanship damage technique. When musicians start trying to outdo each other, “you’re just going to be overplaying.”
Award winning dobro player and band leader, Randy Kohrs, has just added a couple new faces to the line up of his band, The Lites.
UPDATE: We just heard from Ashley Brown, Randy’s fiddle player, that the band name has been dropped and the group will henceforth be known only as The Randy Kohrs Band.
Joining the band on guitar is Clay Jones. Clay is a long standing member of the bluegrass flatpicking elite. He’s played and recorded with a number of well known groups and artists. Most recently Clay was a member of bluegrass powerhouse group, Mountain Heart. Clay is well known for his driving rhythm and forceful lead playing. The interaction between Jones’ flatpicking and Kohrs dobro should be exciting to hear.
The other new member of the band is Elio Giordano on bass. Elio is a local Nashville player, and brings more than just the low notes to the group. He plays many different styles rather than just the standard bluegrass bass line, and he sings lead as well.
Kohrs is trying the band out without a mandolin player at this time. The group sports a snare drum player, so rhythmically there is no hole. And with the addition of Jones on guitar, they certainly won’t be lacking for lead players.
posted by John on 05.05.08 @ 10:04 am Tag: Industry News
Two Colorado companies who are leaders in their respective fields will soon be working together to produce a new line of musical instrument cases.
Colorado Case Company of Ft. Collins is a familiar name to musicians in all genres, bluegrass included. Their instrument gig bags, soft case covers and flight cases are endorsed by Steep Canyon Rangers, Missy Raines, Cadillac Sky, Sammy Shelor, Don Rigsby, Bill Evans and a great many other acoustic acts. They have been longtime members of the IBMA and have a history of support for bluegrass music.
Case Logic of Boulder likewise makes products that many musicians own and use, as well as a wide range of storage and portable carriage solutions for consumers. They got their start making carrying cases for audio cassettes, and now manufacture similar products for CDs, DVDs, MP3 players, cameras and laptops, as well as backpacks and luggage.
In their newly announced partnership, Colorado Case will design, market and distribute a line of musical instrument cases under an exclusive license with Case Logic. The first will be available in the 4th quarter of 2008, for guitars, flutes and drums, and marked with the Case Logic brand. More products will be added in 2009 and beyond with a full representation of all cased instruments expected in the next few years.
They will be sold through music stores, using Colorado Cases’ extensive network of dealers, and manufactured in their Ft. Collins facility.
posted by Richard Thompson on 05.05.08 @ 8:31 am Tag: Blue Sky Boys
As reported at the time, William Anderson ‘Bill’ Bolick, the mandolin-playing, tenor-singing half of the duo known as the Blue Sky Boys, passed away on March 13, in Hickory, North Carolina. He was 90 years old.
Born October 29, 1917, and raised in East Hickory, North Carolina, Bill and his younger brother Earl – the fourth and fifth of six children by deeply religious parents – learned how to harmonize by singing hymns and gospel songs at home. Bill learned how to play guitar and banjo from his neighbor, teaching Earl in the process. Earl had originally been given a mandolin, but he preferred guitar, so the two brothers switched instruments and began performing as a duo.
Bill also performed with another local group, the Crazy Hickory Nuts, who happened to land a radio spot in Asheville, North Carolina, in 1935. Shortly afterward, the siblings formed the JFG Coffee-sponsored The Good Coffee Boys with Homer Sherrill, a fiddler who played with the Crazy Hickory Nuts. The new group also had a regular spot on WWNC Asheville radio. The group stayed in Asheville for a while, before moving to WGST Atlanta, where sponsored by Crazy Water Crystals, they played as the Blue Ridge Hillbillies. The trio, dressed in plaid shirts and straw hats, subsequently worked as The Brooks Shatterly Blue Sky Boys.
While in Atlanta, the Bolicks split away from Sherrill and recorded several sides for RCA Victor, which were released under the now-abbreviated name The Blue Sky Boys.
They recorded their first session for RCA’s Bluebird label on June 16, 1936, producing ten sides including I’m Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail, the popular Sunny Side Of Life, (not to be confused with the Carter Family’s Keep On The Sunny Side), Midnight On The Stormy Deep, Down By The Banks Of The Ohio and I’m Troubled, I’m Troubled. Bill was just 18 years old, Earl was 16. (more…)
The Weekend Edition of NPR News’ All Things Considered, airing this evening (Saturday, May 3rd), will feature an interview with Ray Davis, who has just marked his 60th year of radio broadcasting.
The program airs live from 5 to 6pm. (ET); local stations and broadcast times are available here: www.NPR.org/stations.
The audio from the show will be posted online after the show airs, on the All Things Considered web site.
Yesterday, Gibson officially announced the debut of their latest limited edition, vintage-styled instrument - the Victorian F-5 mandolin. Only 15 of these unique instruments will be made, which combine features and appointments from both the F-4 and F-5 models that revolutionized the mandolin world in the 1920s.
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Jimmy Ross tells us that the Scheerhorn guitar showcase CD he 
Last week was a good’n for bluegrass and old time music on the CMT 
Banjo players - and fans of Jimmy Martin - know Chris Warner for his driving style and hard hitting approach to the five string. Chris worked twice for Martin as a member of his Sunny Mountain Boys, from 1967-69, and again in the late 1980s.
Two Colorado companies who are leaders in their respective fields will soon be working together to produce a new line of musical instrument cases.
