Wild Card is the new album by James Reams, Walter Hensley & The Barons Of Bluegrass. The band includes longtime bluegrass sidemen Jon Glik, Mark Farrell and Carl Hayano, and includes some traditional material, a few originals, and couple of tunes drawn from unexpected places. It was recorded in one weekend with all members of the band present so as to preserve the raw excitement of playing together.

Wild Card is available from County Sales (540-745-2001 or sales@countysales.com) and at CDBaby (includes audio samples). You can also order from Mountain Redbird Music (info@jamesreams.com or 718-965-8490).

Billboard Books has just released This Business Of Songwriting, by Jason Blume, billed as an “exhaustive guide to navigating the murky waters of copyright law, publishing contracts and other realities of the business world that don”t always come naturally to creative minds.”

Blume has authored a number of previous volumes on the artistic side of songwriting, both in print and on audio CD, and has had tremendous success as a songwriter as well, with cuts on albums that have sold more than 50 million copies in total.

Both the business and legal sides of the songwriter’s trade are covered in the new book, with Blume calling on C. Stephen Weaver, Esq., who has provided legal counsel to writers, publishers, managers and artists for the past 25 years, to act as the book’s legal consultant.

From the book’s press release we get this description:

This Business of Songwriting is the first book to demystify the process of doing business as a songwriter. It provides a detailed, comprehensive examination of business-related topics and issues that all songwriters need to understand, and it presents accessible explanations and samples of the contracts, licenses, and legal agreements that songwriters are likely to encounter throughout their careers.

You can order This Business Of Songwriting, or any of Jason Blume’s other books/CDs, via his web site.

CMT.com has a nice feature up this morning about the recently concluded Ralph Stanley Memorial Festival, the 36th annual running of the event, also known as the Hills Of Home Festival. The story largely covers the Clinch Mountain Boys reunion that took place at the festival, with former members of both Ralph’s band and a number of former Stanley Brothers band members as well joining him on the stage.

CMT.com also has audio samples from the new Stanley CD, A Distant Land to Roam: Songs of the Carter Family, up on their site.

We”ve posted about CDBaby and all things they can do for an independent artist in the area of digital distribution. Well now they can also help with physical distribution. CDBaby has just inked a partnership with the one-stop Super D. Super D supplies a wide range of leading music retailers, including Tower Records, Borders, Best Buy, Hot Topic, and Transworld. It also covers a large number of independent retailer. With this new deal CDBaby can now complement your online CD sales with physical distribution to about 2400 stores.

The deal doesn”t guarantee placement with specific stores, but it does open the possibility.

The deal is a much-needed boost for neighborhood CD stores, making it easier for them to order independent titles, which in turn makes it easier for independent artists to tell their fans to visit their local record store to buy their CD.

Basically, if you opt in to the deal then the stores have the option of ordering your CD at a special “wholesale” rate that is different from the normal rate you have set in CDBaby. The company is saying that most stores will only order a CD if they have a lot of requests for it, or a customer special orders it. But I think if an artist was aggressive about promoting themselves to local radio and then contacted the stores, you might see some sales. The stores do have to buy the disc with no returns, so they will be cautious.

If we hear from any bluegrass artists taking advantage of this set up, we”ll give you an update on how it”s working for them.

When the audience at Randy Wood’s Concert Hall awaited the start of the Vassar Clements and Tony Rice concert back in December of 2004, they had every expectation of seeing a fabulous performance. Some may have known that the show was being recorded, and some others that it would be shot for a concert DVD release. Not many may have considered that, while all of those things were true, it would also come to pass that those would be among the very last live recordings that Vassar would make prior to his passing in August of ‘05.

Also performing with Tony and Vassar that night were Scott Vestal on banjo, Tony Williamson on mandolin, and Warren Amberson on bass and lead vocals. Vassar’s cousin Carol Clements also was featured as a vocalist on the program.

While the DVD release may be some months yet, the audio CD is now available. Entitled, Vassar Clements, Tony Rice and the Low Country All-Star Band, this new live disc was released by a company Randy Wood formed for this purpose, which he calls Flatt Mountain Records.

The 12 live tracks include a number of Vassar’s signature tunes, like Lonesome Fiddle Blues, Kissimee Kid and Billy In The Lowground plus Rice staples Salt Creek, Wayfaring Stranger and Toy Heart (with Carol singing lead). Scott Vestal’s impressive take on Earl Scrugg’s Groundspeed starts the CD, which also features the band’s version of some popular bluegrass classics like Dark Hollow, I Wonder Where You Are Tonight (both sung by Warren), and Bill Monroe’s Wheel Hoss, which closes the set.

This is one that fans of either Vassar Clements or Tony Rice will want to add to their collection, which will also surely be a welcome addition to any bluegrass lover’s library. The CD can be ordered online, but no audio samples are up at this point. We’ll keep an eye out and post back should they become available.

Randy hopes to service bluegrass radio as his time allows, but will surely send out CDs to radio hosts upon request.

The Harry Fox Agency (HFA) recently finalized an agreement with DMI, owner of background music service Private Label Radio (PLR). The deal, of course, has to do with mechanical licenses and features a revenue sharing structure. PLR supplies brand-specific, audio content to retail outlets, restaurants, hotels, etc for use as background music. The HFA represents 28,000 music publishers and is giving all of them the option to participate in the arrangement.

Let”s hope that bluegrass doesn”t get left out of the mix in this deal. If the bluegrass publishers will take part in this deal, you could be hearing some banjo the next time you visit your favorite restaurant.

2006 was a good year for the Italians and the Dutch during the European World of Bluegrass band competition last week. The winners show a decided strength in those nations’ bluegrass scene.

European Bluegrass Band of 2006

Audience Popularity Award 2006:

Congratulations to all of the winners! Many of the bands’ web site feature audio clips, and we encourage our readers to investigate their music and discover the skill and dedication of our European bluegrass cousins.

Today on Memorial Day it seems appropriate to link to this story in the Galesburg Register-Mail. The story is one of remembrance for Pfc. Caleb Lufkin who recently passed away from wounds sustained in Iraq earlier this month. When not soldiering Caleb worked at a local lumber company and enjoyed playing his banjo.

On Wednesdays and some Thursdays, Caleb brought his banjo to the lumber yard and “picked and grinned” with Tammy and a couple of his friends in the display room.

Regardless of your political leanings, on this day we should all come together to offer a pray of comfort for the family of a fellow bluegrass picker who fell in service to his country. If you are playing music today, pick one in Caleb’s honor.

We are saddened by the news that long time bluegrass singer, Pete Pike, passed away over the weekend. He had been battling cancer for several years and gave up the fight on Saturday, May 27.

Pete had recently returned to recording and performing, and had been hard at work on a CD project when a diagnosis of brain cancer was presented. After successful surgery, it had seemed that he had won the battle, but further complications took this fine musicians from us.

You can read a very detailed biography of Pete, which includes his many years performing with bluegrass legends like Buzz Busby, Roy Clark and Scotty Stoneman on Pete’s web site. The photos included with this bio are a treasure as well.

UPDATE 3/30: Here are links to a brief article on Pete’s passing in the Richmond, VA Times Dispatch, as well as his obituary.

The Ralph Stanley Museum & Traditional Mountain Music Center in Clintwood, VA was founded in 2004, dedicated to preserving and promoting the music of Southwestern VA, in particular the contributions of Dr. Ralph Stanley.

The various interactive museum exhibits include films, displays and artifacts that help tell the story of the traditional mountain music styles which informed the music of The Stanley Brothers, a sound which continues in the recordings of surviving brother Ralph. Housed in a restored and redesigned century-old home, the museum is open daily, with a modest admission charge, and is a featured destination on the state of Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, popularly known as The Crooked Road.

Like any niche interest facility, The Stanley Museum can use the help of bluegrass and old time music enthusiasts to help them grow and maintain their facility. They hope that folks visiting in SW VA will consider paying them a visit, and they have made it very easy to make donations online using the trusted PayPal payment system.

The museum staff is also making a special appeal for assistance from music lovers as they seek to expand their collection of Stanley-related memorabilia. They are looking for such items as old record albums, 45 and 78 rpm recordings, photos, songbooks/folios, newspaper and magazine articles, recordings of live concerts and radio shows, video tapes of television appearances and personal appearances, and any similar or related items for their archives.

If you have artifacts such as these which you might be willing to donate, they ask that you contact Curator Aaron Davis (276-926-8550 or by email) to arrange for delivery. If you have an item which you treat as a treasured keepsake, perhaps you would consider making the donation effective through your will, which the museum staff can surely assist you in facilitating.

Mountain Heart fiddler Jim Van Cleve will join XM Satellite Radio host Kyle Cantrell on XM’s Bluegrass Junction Tuesday (5/30) at 9:00 a.m. The interview is sure to focus on Jim’s new CD, No Apologies, as well as what he and his Mountain Heart bandmates are doing these days. Jim had the opportunity to perform on the ACM Awards show last week with Sara Evans, and he may also offer some remembrances of appearing on that nationally televised broadcast.

As we have mentioned many times when XM’s bluegrass programming is discussed on The Bluegrass Blog, subscribers can find Bluegrass Junction on channel 14, or listen online when away from your XM receiver. Non-subscribers can register online for a free, 3 day online trial of XM Radio.

Chris Stuart has announced that Chris and Austin Ward have joined his band, Backcountry. It is a fairly odd occurrence when a pair of brothers joins a professional band at the same time, even odder when they are both still in their teens. Austin will be playing bass, and Chris fiddle, along with Stuart on guitar, Janet Beazely on banjo, and Mason Tuttle on mandolin and lead guitar.

Both Chris and Austin were chosen to represent the best of young bluegrass musicians when ABC News did a feature for the CMA Music Festival which was televised in the fall of 2005.

Chris was also selected as a recipient of the first Roanoke Bluegrass Weekend Scholarship in 2005 when he was just 13 years old. He traveled to VA from his home in CA for the chance to study for the weekend with some of the top fiddlers in the country, and made quite an impression on both the faculty and the students alike.

You can find a video clip of Chris jamming along with the other scholarship recipients from 2005, Haley Stiltner and Aaron Williams, on Haley’s web site. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to find the video clip.

Best of luck to Chris Stuart & Backcountry with their youth movement!

Multi-instrumentalist Justin Moses has announced a June 13th release date for his first solo project, Dusty Roads. After leaving a group he help found in 2000, Blue Moon Rising, he spent a short time with Sierra Hull & Highway 111. He has recently rejoined Blue Moon Rising.

Keith Garrett, Steve Gulley, Bryon House, and Andy Leftwich are all guests on Justin’s self produced and arranged album.

From the press release:

In addition to playing mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar, Dobro and bass, Justin also composed seven tunes on the CD. He makes his lead vocal debut on two cuts, One More Hill and He”ll Be with You, both featuring Mountain Heart”s” Steve Gulley on exceptional tenor vocals. The emotional story told in Heart of Alabama is one of the two cuts featuring the phenomenal lead vocals of Keith Garrett of Blue Moon Rising. Garrett comments, “Justin is one of the best multi-instrumentalists I”ve ever known. He”s put together a great collection of tasteful tunes and it was a pleasure to be a part of this album.”

Audio clips are available on Justin’s website. He also has a myspace account.

Performing as special guests of the country group Montgomery Gentry, Mountain Heart is scheduled to appear tomorrow, May 28, at the City Of Virginia Beach Patriotic Festival. They will perform on the Beach Stage at 5th Street and Atlantic Avenue at 7PM.

The concert is free to military personnel. Civilian ticket prices are $20 and $25. Proceeds from the event are to benefit the USO Hampton Roads.

We have posted previously with our high praise for The Stringdusters, based both on our familiarity with these talented young musicians, and on their powerful performances at the IBMA World Of Bluegrass last October. At that time, we alluded to their debut recording, then in process but nearly completed, which was being produced by Blue Highway’s Tim Stafford.

Now comes news that the band has signed with Sugar Hill for the release of their CD, and have changed their name to The Infamous Stringdusters. It seems that the original name was already in use, so for legal reasons, the recording will be released under the new name.

You can hear several audio samples of their music on the band’s MySpace page, and check their tour schedule for a chance to catch them at a festival or show near you.

We expect big things from these boys.

Rebel Records is set to re-issue a classic bluegrass recording on June 27 when they release Together Again from Don Reno & Red Smiley. This is a re-mastered CD version of an LP that was originally released in late 1971, during a time when Don Reno was performing with Bill Harrell after Red had left the group. The LP was officially billed as being from Don Reno & Red Smiley, with Bill Harrell and the Tennessee Cut-Ups.

Kudos to the folks at Rebel for their ongoing efforts to preserve and reissue so much valuable music, much of it unavailable for some time. Keep an eye on The Bluegrass Blog for more information about Rebel’s aggressive plans for reissues in the near future.

Episode #30 of The GrassCast features an interview with singer/songwriter Liz Meyer. This interview was recorded last fall at IBMA. The discussion topics include, Liz’s CD The Storm and the European World Of Bluegrass.

This GrassCast is 8 minutes in length and the file download size is 9 MB.

Below is an mp3 file for you to listen here or download. The GrassCast is also available in the iTunes music store as an enhanced podcast containing photos and hyperlinks relative to the subject matter being discussed in the interview.

Listen now:
Direct Download: ep30_liz_meyer.mp3
Subscribe with:
Free Download: The GrassCast iPodder software

To subscribe with your own podcatching software, copy and past this url into the appropriate entry box in your software: http://www.thegrasscast.com/rss

Lonesome River Band has announced that they are now represented by Roe Entertainment in Nashville. Jim Roe is the agent, and he can be reached at 615-770-2622, ext 10, or by email.

Sammy Shelor with LRB says that they have some dates still for ‘06, and are accepting dates now for ‘07 and beyond. He added how eager he is to get the new version of the band out in front of their many long time fans, especially when their new CD, The Road With No End, is released in July.

The Grand Ole Opry is chock full of bluegrass this Saturday night, with Rhonda Vincent, Ricky Skaggs, Cherryholmes, Jesse McReynolds, and The Whites all slated to perform during the radio broadcast. This Opry show is a part of their special Memorial Day salute to US servicemen and women, with particular emphasis on those serving overseas.

Rhonda will be heard during the 7:30-8:00 and 10:30-11:00 segments, Skaggs in the 8:00-8:30 and 11:30-12:00 slots, Cherryholmes between 9:00-9:30 and 12:00-1:00, McReynolds in the 11:00-11:00 portion, and the Whites between 9:30-10:00 and 11:30-12:00. All times are Eastern Daylight Time.

You can listen over the air (650 AM out of Nashville) or via online streaming, to hear the entire Opry broadcast between 7:30 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. Saturday evening.

The televised portion of the show, aired as the Grand Ole Opry Live show on GAC will feature Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder along with country singers Darryl Worley and Chely Wright. You can catch it on the Great American Country cable TV network at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Saturday (5/27), with encore presentations Saturday at midnight (Sunday 12:00 a.m.), Sunday (5/28) at noon and 7:00 p.m., and Tuesday (5/31) at 9:00 p.m and 1:00 (Wednesday morning).

As a part of the Opry Summer Salute to the military, both the Opry and Gaylord Opryland Resort have teamed up to create a special “Night at the Opry” package for military personnel including overnight accommodations and preferred Opry seating.

Packages are available on select dates throughout the summer. Military personnel can take advantage of this offer by mentioning code MILNT. Rates start at $77 per person based on double occupancy, plus tax and daily resort fee. (Extra person and extra night rate available. Some restrictions and blackout dates apply.)

We received this note from Dennis Jones, co-host of the popular Goin’ Across The Mountain program on WNCW-FM in Spindale, North Carolina.

WNCW would like to pass along our best wishes and thoughts for Goin’ Across The Mountain co-host Cort Riggs. Due to family and business obligations he will no longer be a regular part of WNCW????s Saturday afternoon. In his short tenure, Cort added much to our Saturdays and we are very sad to see him go. He has expressed his warmest regards to the many devotees of Traditional and Contemporary Bluegrass music and wants all the fans to know his deep gratitude for their support of Goin’ Across The Mountain.

WNCW is beginning the search for a permanent replacement. We are looking for that very special combination of historical Bluegrass music background, knowledge of today’s Contemporary groups and a strong on-air presence. If you are in the immediate WNCW/Spindale studios area and are interested, contact us at GATM Bluegrass DJ Search PO Box 804 Spindale NC 28160 with a short cover letter and a scoped air check CD.

For information by email, contact us at ele@wncw.org or dennis@wncw.org.