This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.

Both Cliff Wagner and the Old #7 and the Clark Brothers did us proud on Friday night’s Next Great American Band. Twelve bands performed two tunes each for the judges and the live studio audience, and for the millions watching at home. Each band played one original tune and one Bob Dylan tune. The judges commented on every band, though at this point the decision is entirely up to the TV audience calling in their votes.

This week before each band’s performance a short video bio of the group was shown. (You can watch clips of these on the NGAB site.) The Old #7’s clip showed the guys picking (Lucas Cheadle ‚Äì Bass, Devitt Feeley – Mandolin, Craig Ferguson ‚Äì Guitar/Dobro, Stephen Aram Mugalian ‚Äì Drums) and Cliff taking a long swig of moonshine from a mason jar, which was probably what prompted judge John Rzeznik (of the Goo Goo Dolls) to comment, "I want to party with you guys."

Cliff’s Dylan selection was Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright, a song that lends itself well to a bluegrass arrangement. His original tune was called Old Fire, "a tender love song," he said, "about tender love and diesel fuel" that had a catchy hook. Judge Sheila E. (who has played with Prince and Ringo Starr, among others) said of the song, "I could listen to that all day long."

The Clark Brothers rocked Maggie’s Farm, their Dylan song, managing to sound like far more than just three people, with Ashley playing fiddle and singing simultaneously (always impressive). However judge Ian Dickson, who consistently finds something negative to say, commented they shouldn’t have messed with the simple melody. After an instant instrument trade (making it obvious that the show was pre-recorded) they rendered their original Billy the Kid, a gritty story song that they performed magnificently.

Now it’s up to the viewers to call in their votes. Phone lines were open for two hours following the show. We’ll find out when we tune in next week which two bands get the axe. In the meantime the bands, who are sequestered in a hotel somewhere, will be working up an Elton John or Bernie Taupin song.

I can’t wait to hear Elton John bluegrass style!

Fans of Red Allen’s music will be delighted to learn that there is to be a book published about him shortly. Author, Dennis Satterlee’s book, Teardrops In My Eyes – The Music Of Harley “Red” Allen, is scheduled to be made available in November, published by The Plucked String Foundation Inc. Press.

The book is expected to have about 220 pages and comprises a biographical study of Red Allen’s musical career and a detailed discography; with recording dates, musicians, vocal parts, studios, producers where available, album numbers, single numbers and EP numbers.

It is anticipated that the 8 x 10 format paperback will have between 20 and 30 black and white photographs that are, for the most part, from private sources and never before seen.

Satterlee, who has played bluegrass and brother-duet style music in various parts of the States, is originally from western New York State and worked for the federal government for almost 30 years. His work has taken him to Louisiana, Vermont, New Jersey and now, retired, he lives in South Carolina, and plays bluegrass in a Georgia band. Here he provides some background information that led him to write his book ……

“I started listening to bluegrass music in the early 1960s. Mostly Flatt and Scruggs and the Dillards because that’s all I could find in the record stores. My first Red album was the Folkways album with Frank Wakefield. It just struck me as something that fit between the smooth crooning of Lester Flatt and the more urgent styling of Bill Monroe. Red (and Frank) seemed to be a perfect combination for bluegrass. When I retired (1997) I started looking for Red’s albums and singles that I didn’t have in my collection. Someone told me about the Red Head’s recording (see my article in Bluegrass Unlimited, April, 2006). I called both Red Spurlock and Frank Wakefield to learn more about that recording session and they told wonderful stories. It occurred to me at that point that maybe I could put together a discography (which I was doing for myself anyway) and add some stories from the musicians who played on the sessions and do a book. Over 50 musicians, family members and friends have added stories and remembrances to this work.”

The book, of which there will a first print run of 500 copies, is expected to retail at $25. Plans to determine through what outlets it will be sold have yet to be finalized. Watch this space!

Satterlee, who is a member of the International Bluegrass Music Museum and Hall Of Honor in Owensboro, Kentucky, is donating his royalties from this book to the museum.

Richard Thompson has a put together a fine report on the renaming ceremonies in Bristol honoring WCYB. Gary Reid of Copper Creek Records and Penny Parsons of the Penny Parsons Company also contributed to this story.

The Farm and Fun Time radio program, which was instrumental in bluegrass beginnings, now has recognition in downtown Bristol, on the Tennessee/Virginia state line. The thoroughfare previously known as Winston Alley has now been renamed as Farm and Fun Time Alley. WCYB’s radio show Farm & Fun Time was an important radio show in the history of early bluegrass music. The station featured many of the finest bluegrass and old-time artists of the period. The show had a loyal audience base in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia. It was a highly influential part of the lives of many people from the region, some going on to become major bluegrass artists themselves.

Ralph and Carter Stanley, the Stanley Brothers, worked on the program from just after Christmas 1946. At that time, the program was approximately an hour long, from 12:05 to 1:00 and transmitted at 1,000 watts, increasing to 5,000 watts in September 1947. The program was then extended to fill a two-hour slot. In February 1957 the Stanley Brothers recorded The Flood of ‘57 and a year later did No School Bus In Heaven, both for Mercury, utilizing the station’s studio. Also, shortly after leaving Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, the fledgling Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys group found a niche on the program for about a nine month period through to March 1949.

The program was broadcast live from a studio in the General Shelby Hotel. It also helped to establish the careers of other legendary bluegrass performers, including the Osborne Brothers, Jim and Jesse McReynolds, Mac Wiseman, Carl Story, The Sauceman Brothers, and Curly King & Tennessee Hilltoppers, as well as the brother duet act the Blue Sky Boys.

Larry Gorley, Rhythm and Roots Music Committee official and DJ on WOPI’s Bluegrass Jamboree, shares this brief recollection of what Farm And Fun Time meant to him and his family ‚Ķ‚Ķ..

“I remember listening to this radio show as a boy and my most vivid memory is visiting my grandparent’s home in the country during summer vacation from school. They would stop whatever work was being done and gather around the kitchen table for lunch. And after the blessing was said, they would turn the kitchen radio on to WCYB and ‘Farm & Fun Time’. Listening to the program gave them great pleasure as well as the latest farm news and it was only in my later years that I found that so many others made it a point to be tuned into the show that could be heard in several states.”

(more…)

Richard Thompson, our enterprising British corespondent, has found a mandolin gem he recommends to eight stringers worldwide.

Lou Martin, born 1944, mandolin disciple of both Bill Monroe and Ralph Rinzler, has published his third book devoted to the teaching and understanding of mandolin playing using standard notation. Lou Martin’s Tunebook, Opus 3 features 77 traditional tunes for mandolin.Martin, already noted for his participation on the first Country Cooking album and for his own LP Recent Work (Rounder 0214) – released in 1986, currently available on cassette only – has been a mandolin teacher in the Syracuse and Albany areas of New York State since 1980, as well as having taught with cassettes throughout America, Britain, and mainland Europe. His work is very widely endorsed by bluegrass musicians; Bill Monroe, Frank Wakefield, Ralph Rinzler, Mike Seeger, Jesse McReynolds, David Grisman, Andy Statman, Alison Krauss, Eddie Stubbs, Lynn Morris, Richard Greene, Byron Berline, Bill Keith, and Tony Rice are not easy to get as endorsers, and there are many more!

Lou Martin’s Tunebook is intended for diligent students of bluegrass music, including those who already know how to read music but need further practice and development in the skill, as well as a deeper knowledge of the tradition. It is compiled and arranged, with an introduction, commentaries on many of the tunes, and detailed indications as to authentic bluegrass and classical technique.

The tunes featured include Ace of Spades, Jack of Diamonds, Limerock, Tom and Jerry, Yellow Barber, Long Fork Of Buckthorn, Horse And Buggy and Shaking Off The Acorns.

Here’s what Martin’s mentors have had to say about him‚Ķ‚Ķ

“If you’re learning it from Lou Martin, you’re learning it right.” – Bill Monroe

“Lou Martin is an exceptional musician, who has a very exceptional relationship with Bill Monroe. His abilities as composer, performer, bandleader, teacher, and musicologist are at the highest level.” – Ralph Rinzler

A review of this book can be on the Mandolin Caf?© website, while details of Martin’s other books and forthcoming projects can be found at his website.