And now they are four..

The Lost and Found have officially brought mandolinist Scott Napier on board as a full time member. Scott had been filling in with the band as his schedule allowed since the tragic and untimely death of original mandolinist Dempsey Young in December of 2006.

Napier had toured recently with Marty Rabon, and before that with Dale Ann Bradley. He is an extremely gifted young musician, and may be among the few able to occupy the void left behind when Dempsey passed away.

The band had been working on a new CD, but recording was halted when they lost Dempsey. With a full complement, they’ll soon be back in the studio working to finish the new project with the current band: Allen Mills (bass and vocals), Scotty Sparks (guitar and vocals), Ronald Smith (banjo and vocals), Scott Napier (mandolin).

Speaking of Lost and Found… I had a rare chance about two weeks ago to see the band perform with original banjo picker Gene Parker. I was at a festival with Acoustic Endeavors, sharing the bill with Lost and Found and several other groups. Shortly after the L&F bus pulled in, a buzz went through the campground that Gene was on the bus.

It turned out that their fill-in mandolinist for the day had canceled at the last minute, so regular banjo picker Ronald Smith took that spot and Gene played banjo. It was quite a treat to hear him on all the old songs he had recorded with the band “in the day.

He hasn’t lost a thing – his playing was brilliant.