Gracie Muldoon, station manager and program director at Original Country Radio Network, is looking for folks who might want to serve as a volunteer DJ for a few hours each day, or even once or twice a week. OCRN is determined to provide only live streaming programming, eschewing pre-recorded cybercasts for “real time” bluegrass shows, and hopes to find a large stable of rotating hosts all over the world who can fit a live bluegrass cybercast into their busy schedules.

According to Muldoon:

The requirements???to be considered for a show host???are:

1. Good computer with sound card and mic
2. High???speed internet access
3. Large collection of Bluegrass music
4. Dedication to???your show

”
Experience is not a???prerequisite because we will train.

Though currently offering bluegrass programming only a few hours daily, their goal is to expand that with the help of a network of volunteer hosts. Contact Gracie Muldoon if you are interested, or for more information, by email.

Singer, picker and songwriter Chris Burton has released his debut CD, The Way I See It. The material is a mix of Chris’ original songs with some less familiar covers. He plays banjo, mandolin, guitar and bass on most tracks, and sings the bulk of the songs, with guest vocalists including Amanda Smith and original Lonesome River Band vocalist Jerry McMillan. Ricky Simpkins and Ron Stewart also guest on fiddle.

Chris is a former first place finisher on banjo at the prestigious Old Fiddlers Convention in Galax, VA and his band (Exit 109) won the Galax band competition in early August of this year. His original songs have started garnering some attention from major bluegrass artists and Chris hopes to see a few recorded by others in the near future.

Pioneering bluegrass banjo player Eddie Adcock has been selected for induction at the 31st Annual Bill Monroe Hall of Fame & Uncle Pen Days Festival, held September 21-24, 2005 at the Bill Monroe Memorial Park in Bean Blossom, IN. Serious students of the five string banjo - and the history of bluegrass banjo - regard Eddie’s contributions to the instrument as huge, and involving a major departure in style and technique from the playing of Earl Scruggs and Don Reno, whose innovations had largely dominated the study of the banjo prior to Eddie’s arrival in the 1960s.

Adcock started his musical career in the early 1950s, working with Smokey Graves & His Blue Star Boys. His regular radio appearances with the Graves show brought him to the attention of a number of other bluegrass artists, and Eddie soon found himself working with such well known performers as Bill Harrell and Mac Wiseman. After a very brief stint as a member of Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys in 1957-58, Eddie was contacted by John Duffey and Charlie Waller about their idea to form a new group, one now celebrated as The Country Gentlemen.

He remained as a member of the Gentlemen until the late ’60s when he left to pursue his own musical direction, a move that sparked such acts as Second Generation (II Generation), Talk Of The Town and Eddie & Martha Adcock where both his ground breaking banjo (and guitar) playing and his clever stage humor were brought to the attention of successive generations of bluegrass fans.

It may be hard for ears new to bluegrass music in this century to recognize the impact of Eddie’s unique banjo style when he first came to prominence in the 1960s. What may sound almost mainstream now was quite startlingly fresh at the time, and his ability to integrate aspects of Merle Travis-style guitar into his banjo was as distinctive a part of the original Country Gentlemen sound as Charlie Waller or John Duffey’s voices.

Congratulations to Eddie for this honor… you’ve earned it.

Alison Krauss & Union Station will appear on the acclaimed PBS live performance program, Austin City Limits, on October 15. Local PBS affiliates may air the show at differing times so be sure to check listings where you live to catch this performance.

Canadian roots rocker Kathleen Edwards will also be featured on this edition of Austin City Limits.

Our online poll mirrors the official IBMA Awards Nominations, and while completely unofficial and just for fun, it has been fascinating to watch the level of interest in the poll, as well as follow the voting trends for the two weeks it has been open for voting. The poll will remain open until October 27 but only one vote per user is permitted.

We now have 59% of our registered users having cast a vote, up slightly from 53% last Friday, and we’ve seen a number of new trends in evidence since then.

Doyle Lawson and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver have shot up in the rankings, spurred by some comments and voting from folks who participate in the online forum on Doyle’s web site. They show a commanding lead in the Vocal Group, Entertainer Of The Year and Gospel Recorded Performance categories, though Doyle’s fans seem to be splitting the vote between his two nominations in the Song Of The Year category.

We also see Rhonda Vincent & The Rage surging ahead in the past week, with the band moving up in Entertainer Of The Year, and both Rhonda in Female Vocalist and Hunter Berry in Fiddle Player starting to pull away from the pack.

Cherryholmes is still holding on to their lead in the Emerging Artist category, despite a move upward by The Grascals.

Most of the other categories have tightened up considerably, to be expected as the number of votes is increasing. One exception would be Recorded Event, where Tribute to Jimmy Martin: “The King of Bluegrass” is still outpacing the competition. That is also the only remaining category with a nominee that has not received a single vote as yet.

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NOTE: Our Friday poll updates are open to comments, so please share your thoughts and analysis with us.

The recipients of the 2005 Gibson/Roanoke Bluegrass Weekend Scholarships have been announced. This program awards tuition, room and board, and some travel expenses to exceptional young bluegrass musicians (13-24) allowing them to attend the Roanoke Bluegrass Weekend and study with some of the top professionals in the business.

Three scholarships were awarded this year, along with three alternates should one of the recipients be unable to attend. The scholarships are funded through the generosity of Gibson Original Acoustic Instruments, who donates an instrument to be offered in a raffle, with all proceeds going into the RBW Scholarship Fund.

Rhonda Vincent is scheduled to perform this weekend on the Grand Ole Opry, being featured on both the early and the later broadcasts. She is set to perform in the 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. slot as well as the 11:00 - 11:30 slot. Times are local for Nashville, TN. It appears that her segment will be featured on the Opry Live show on the Great American Country (GAC) cable television network.

As always, you can hear 650 WSM-AM audio stream live in real time on the Internet.

Phil Leadbetter (founding member of Wildfire and former member of The New South) reports that he will perform California Cotton Fields from his Slide Effects CD on the IBMA Awards Show at the Ryman Theater in Nashville on October 27.

Joining Phil on stage at the Awards Show will be the artists who accompanied him on the recording, including vocalist Marty Rabon, whose heartfelt rendition of the tune has been described as ranking with previous stellar versions by Merle Haggard, and John Starling with Seldom Scene.

The concept video, You Gotta Dig A Little Deeper from Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, is airing all next week on CMT’s Wide Open Country:

You can also watch the video online.

As a part of it’s 80th Anniversary celebration, the Grand Ole Opry will take a trip north later this fall for a rare show outside of Nashville. On Monday November 14, an official Opry concert will be held in New York City’s fabled Carnegie Hall and will include performances by Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder and Alison Krauss & Union Station, along with country artists Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins and several others. This event is scheduled one day ahead of the Country Music Association’s Awards Show in New York, and part of the Country Takes New York cultural series that week.

The last time there was an Opry show in Carnegie Hall was more than 40 years ago, a concert that featured 60’s Opry stars Bill Monroe, Patsy Cline, Grandpa Jones, the Jordanaires, Minnie Pearl, Jim Reeves, Marty Robbins and Faron Young.

There seems to be no mention of the show being televised, but it will be aired live on 650 WSM-AM, Stream 137 on Sirius Satellite Radio and www.opry.com.

Blue Highway will be performing at a benefit concert on September 23 for the Mid South Multiple Sclerosis Society in conjunction with the Chapter”s annual fundraiser, Bike to Jack and Back. The concert will be held in Grace Chapel in Franklin, TN (just south of Nashville). Jon Randall will also appear on the concert which will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Rob Ickes (Blue Highway dobro man) has especially requested the support of the bluegrass community for this event, which he describes as “a GREAT cause.” Should you find yourself in Nashville on 9/23, this might be a fine way to spend a late summer evening.

Jon Randall, joined by Rob Ickes and David Pomeroy, is scheduled to appear SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2 at 8am / 7c on A&E Television Network’s BREAKFAST WITH THE ARTS. The 2-hour program, featuring interviews with prominent performers, writers, directors, artists and musicians, celebrates the creative spirit in all areas of the arts.

The Country Music Hall Of Fame is now the resting place of Bill Monroe’s mandolin. Yesterday the Museum held a ceremony in it’s own Ford Theater on the 94th anniversary of Monroe’s birth. Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder were on hand and Skaggs played the Big Mon’s instrument publicly for the first time since Monroe’s final performance on the Grand Ole Opry nine years ago.

Articles abound about this subject but I’ll simply refer you to the Hall of Fame as that is the best article I’ve read thus far.

We recieved this email about Pete Goble’s latest CD When I’m Knee Deep In Bluegrass and thought we’d pass it along to our readers.

In April of 2005, FireHeart Records released a much anticipated CD by bluegrass songwriter and singer Pete Goble. Recorded in Nashville with some of the very best musicians in the business. “When I’m Knee Deep in Bluegrass” captures the words, feelings and melodies that are the heart of bluegrass music. The album features 14 previously unreleased original songs written and performed by Pete. Guest artists on the album include Don Rigsby on mandolin, Terry Eldredge on string bass, David Talbot on banjo and Glen Duncan on fiddle.

Widely renowned as one of the very best bluegrass songwriters, Pete has penned such bluegrass hits as Tennessee 1949, Colleen Malone and You’ll be a Lost Ball to name just a few. Pete and longtime co-writer Leroy Drumm have had their songs recorded by such notable artists as The Osborne Brothers, Hot Rize, The Country Gentlemen, Doyle Lawson and Jimmy Martin among others.

If you’d like to purchase “When I’m Knee Deep in Bluegrass” we’ll give you a great deal! Any fan who mentions this e-mail when purchasing Pete’s new CD between September 12th and September 18th from the FireHeart Records Website will get a $5.00 discount off the retail price of $15.00 per CD and we’ll throw in free shipping. We’re so excited about this new album that we want to make sure everyone gets to hear it!

Jon Randall is no stranger to bluegrass. Having played with such bluegrass legends as Sam Bush and Earl Scruggs, he has well established credentials. He has been a fixture at Merlefest for a number of years entertaining crowds with his guitar handiwork, soaring vocals, and of course, his songwriting. For those of you who don’t know, Jon co-wrote the song Whiskey Lullaby (performed by Alison Krauss and Brad Paisley) with Bill Anderson. Jon is now releasing a new CD of his own which includes that hit as well as a slew of other great songs he has written.

Walking Among The Living is not really a bluegrass album, though it does feature Sam Bush, John Cowan, and Bela Fleck all together with Jon on one tune. Jon was heavily influenced by the NewGrass Revival when he was a youngster and learning to play, so he was determined to be a part of the magic by having some of the band members play on his CD.

I got into those guys in junior high school and was still their biggest fan when they broke up.

I wanted to include a bluegrass showcase on the album. Producer George Massenburg and I were just going to find a good Flatt & Scruggs song, or a Stanley Brothers tune. But there are so many to choose from. Where do I tip my hat in this area?

The jam session was recorded live and the track includes the banter and laughter that preceded the song. In addition Alison Krauss adds harmony vocals on the tune No Southern Comfort.

Jon had this to say about writing songs and growing up around bluegrass.

My earliest musical memories are of listening to Dad write bluegrass songs. When he started teaching me guitar, I started writing songs. I can’t tell you how many songs I wrote for my bands in junior high and high school. I wrote a song for every girlfriend I ever had. Seriously, from the moment I picked up the guitar, I was writing my own songs.

Yesterday, September 12th, Jon recorded a special performance for SIRIUS Satellite Radio’s “Sessions From Oceanway Studios” (air date TBD). Following the release of Walking Among the Living on September 20th, Randall will hit the road opening for Vince Gill. Check his tour schedule for a show near you.

The CD comes out on September 20th. Until then you can here some samples on Jon’s website

The Del McCoury Band’s web site now features the ultimate keepsake for the most dedicated Del heads out there - a limited edition, autographed Del McCoury bobblehead doll!

Only 500 of the bobbleheads have been made, and each is hand numbered and signed by Del himself. Something tells me that Del may not have these items on display at his merchandise table during his live shows, so ordering them online may be the best bet.

And, no… we’re not making this up.

Angie Sumpter had launched a new online banjo magazine designed to offer stories and encouragement for folks who are starting out on banjo later in life. The new banjo-zine is called Silver Strings and can be viewed or downloaded as a PDF file (Adobe Acrobat format), or as a DNL file (Windows only).

Silver Strings is planned as a monthly publication and will include articles with both experienced players and new banjo pickers who are getting started in middle age or beyond, plus practice tips and product reviews.

Just a brief note with a tip for regular readers of The Bluegrass Blog: Don’t forget that every post is archived in one or more of the various categories we have established. By selecting to view only the posts within a given category, you can quickly find the new posts of greatest interest to you.

For instance, if you host a bluegrass radio show, you might choose to visit The Bluegrass Blog as you prepare for your program, scanning the category with information on new CD releases, taking a look at the band news, and the bluegrass radio news before going on the air or recording your show for a later broadcast.

If you are someone learning to play bluegrass, you might want to keep a close eye on the instructional materials or online resources categories.

You can see the list of categories by clicking on the pull down menu just under the header image, or on the Categories link in the Navigation panel in the top left corner of each page. They are also listed in the left hand side bar part of the way down the page. All of these listings are active links that will take you to the posts in that category.

For more general information, you can view all of our categories and descriptions here.

Myrna Riquier, a broadcast producer on WHUS, 91.7 FM, in Storrs Connecticut, has asked me to share with you that the bluegrass radio program Bluegrass Cafe can be heard worldwide by web savvy bluegrass fans via the station’s internet webcast which is available on their website at whus.org.

Bluegrass Cafe is hosted by Amy Orlomoski & Friends (Jim Beaver & Marti Harmon). The show airs Sundays from 4-7 pm EST. Contact information is available on their website.

What More Should I Say, the most recent Pinecastle release for Michelle Nixon & Drive, debuted this week on the Billboard Magazine bluegrass chart at #46. This chart is compiled using Soundscan reports, a service of the Nielsen Company - the same folks who compile viewer data for television and radio broadcasting.

Soundscan compiles their data based on the actual sale of CDs at over 14,000 retailers in the US and Canada, using the bar code scan at the register (hence the name). Of particular interest to bluegrass artists and labels, Soundscan also allows bands who sell directly to consumers at their shows to report those sales to Nielsen via a portable hand held scanner. There is no cost to submit a title to Soundscan, but obtaining the reports requires a hefty subscription fee, which may be the reason why only a few bluegrass-oriented record companies are taking advantage of the service.