Bluegrass Music Profiles

Since 2005, BMP has dedicated their November/December issue to the ladies, with both feature articles and regular columns focusing on the contributions of female bluegrass artists and personalities.

The cover article by Deborah Wilbrink follows the familiar BMP interview format. An example…

BMP: What are your two favorite bluegrass songs?

DALE ANN BRADLEY: John Deere Tractor remains one of my very favorite songs. Larry Sparks had a hit with it, and The Judds recorded it. I love One Way Track, it’s been a mainstay for Boone Creek, one of the songs that progressed bluegrass. Ricky [Skaggs] has recorded it too in recent times, both of those are standards for a generation.

Also found in the new issue:

• Rhonda Vincent – Christmas Memories
• Claire Lynch and Alecia Nugent – Bluegrass Favorites
• Frances Mooney – Shop Talk
• Carrie Hassler – Bluegrass Poster
• Jennifer Strickland – Songwriter Profile
• Bertie Sullivan – Promoter Profile
• Erica Brady – DJ Profile

Subscription and single-issue details can be found online.

Russell is also the subject of a feature interview, where he discusses the group’s latest eponymous CD, his co-writing, how he spends his free time, and the new band name – which puts his name out front after billing themselves as a band for 18 years, a move suggested by the fact that Moore is the sole founding member remaining.

“I had been strongly advised by several people that this was something I needed to do. Either do it like that or change the name totally. I contemplated about that for a long time because I didn’t want anybody to feel like I was saying I was better than they are. It takes every one of us in this group to do what we do, and I’m the first one that’ll tell you that I can’t get up on stage and do it by myself. I sat down with all the guys in the group and we talked about  it, and I explained my position and asked their opinions. I didn’t tell them I was going to do something. I asked them what their opinions were, and we talked about it. Everybody was fine with it. They know where my heart is. They’re like brothers to me and I’m proud of every one of them. We all still feel the same way about each other. That hasn’t changed. The music hasn’t changed. We still go about it the same way. But now I have all the bills. They all come to me.”

Also included in this Fall issue include profiles on Jerry Butler and John Wade’s group The Blu-J’s and promoter Sheldon Frost, ShopTalk with mandolin legend Frank Wakefield, Dan Tyminski’s Bluegrass Favorites, a Songwriter Profile of Ray Edwards, and The Bluegrass Side of Michael Martin Murphey. This issue also includes a fold out, full color poster of Dailey & Vincent.

Find more details on BMP online.

This latest edition of the glossy bi-monthly magazine has as its main feature a six-page, wide-ranging profile of that prolific bluegrass song writing duo Tom T. and Dixie Hall.

Other bluegrass personalities interviewed by the magazine include current blue-eyed boys Dailey & Vincent; Ernie Thacker, who discusses life after his near-fatal traffic accident; fiddle ace Michael Cleveland; and Ronnie Prevette, who talks about life playing mandolin in Jimmy Martin’s Sunny Mountain Boys.

Audie Blaylock and Mike Andes, of Nothin’ Fancy, talk about their favorites and there are profiles on DJ David Blackney and songwriter Charley Stefl.

Regular features include the BMP Top 30 Hot Singles and Top 10 Albums charts, news and CD reviews.

Details regarding subscription and single issue purchase rates can be found at the magazine’s website.

The interview covers a lot of ground in the life of this young bluegrass singer and songwriter. Brandon talks about his reasons for leaving the band, why he returned, and what he was up to in the interim.

"…everything happens for a reason and when I came back I had grown a lot as a writer, as a singer, as a producer – everything. When we went in the studio (for the recording of No Turning Back) this was the first time that I can say that I jumped in there and was as big a part of it and as involved as you could possibly be."

The new issue also has an interview with Williams & Clark Expedition’s Kimberly and Blake Williams, a DJ Profile with Bill Hensley, a look at the bluegrass side of Charlie Daniels, an interview with Canadian bluegrass legend Eddy Poirier, and a remembrance of Butch Baldassari.

Regular features include Shop Talk with Alan Munde, Bluegrass Favorites with Rickey Wasson and Darren Beachley, a Promoter Profile on C.R. Wilson, and a Songwriter Profile on Stan Keach.

More information on BMP can be found online.

Referring to his catalog of music, Ricky said:

"There’s a lot of great music in the past that I’m very proud of but I just feel like I haven’t even hit my stride yet. I’m 54 and I’m looking for more."

You’ll also find a DJ Profile with Pete Hart, a Q&A with Tim Hensley, coverage of the Vicki Simmons Benefit Concert in Renfro Valley, KY, a ShopTalk with Jerry Douglas, Junior Sisk’s Bluegrass Favorites, a Promoter Profile with the Florida Bluegrass Festival’s Dawn Taylor, a Songwriter Profile with High Windy’s Patrick McDougal, as well as the 2009 Annual Festival Guide.

Find full details online.

Pikeville, TN, Hassler’s hometown, will be presenting her with the Key to the City next month. Pikeville Mayor, Greg Johnson, will make the presentation and proclaim Carrie Hassler Day, on December 5, 2008. There will be a reception from 5-8 pm at the Perfect Light Gallery located at 421 Spring Street, Pikeville, TN.

I’ve never been given a key to a city, does it allow for unrestricted access to everything, or only public and municipal buildings?

In related news, Carrie is also the cover feature in the November/December 2008 issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles. This is the 3rd Annual Women in Bluegrass issue for the mag.

This new edition carries the legend “3rd Annual Women In Bluegrass Issue,” and it features articles about Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain, Sierra Hull, Jeanette Williams, and Next Best Thing (Tensel and Sally Sandker). In addition you’ll find in its pages a DJ Profile with Andrea Bradstreet, ShopTalk with Casey Henry, Songwriter Profile with Donna Ulisse, and a Promoter Profile with Chris Palmer of RiverCity Bluegrass Festival.

BMP is currently soliciting submissions from promoters regarding their 2009 festival dates for a free listing in the magazine’s annual festival guide, to be included in the January/February 2009 edition.

Women in Bluegrass is also the theme of this week’s Music from Foggy Hollow, airing on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country. The show is hosted by Australian Mike Kear and is offered 6 times weekly over the 24/7 streaming audio feed at bluegrasscountry.org.

Mike says that every song played on this week’s show will either be all-female, or feature a female performer. A number of selections from the newest Daughters Of Bluegrass CD, Bluegrass Bouquet, will be played, along with an interview with co-producer and songwriter Dixie Hall.

Look for Mike’s show Tuesday at 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Thursday at 10:00 p.m., and Friday at noon. All times eastern.

The September/October ‘08 issue finds Grascals Jamie Johnson and Danny Roberts interviewed about the band’s latest CD, Keep On Walkin’, their newest member (fiddler Jeremy Abshire), and their dream of someday becoming members of The Grand Ole Opry.

You’ll also find an interview with The Gibson Brothers, a Shop Talk column with Ron Block, a history of the Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Celebration, and a discussion with songwriter Chris Jones.

Full details on BMP can be found on their web site.

BMP debuted in the spring of 2003 as black & white on newsprint, with spot color, and remained as such until the Nov/Dec ‘07 issue where the cover went full color. They went to gloss stock for the March/April ‘08 cover, and now the entire magazine is color on gloss.

Congratulations to publishers Kevin and Lori Kerfoot for finding a niche for this new publication during a time of declining print circulation. It seems that their catalog of personality-based features on bluegrass artists and industry figures has found favor with bluegrass readers.

You can find subscription, single and back issue information on the BMP web site.

The article features an interview with guitarist and primary vocalist Woody Platt, who discusses the band’s humble beginnings, their first record deal (with Rebel Records), working with outside producers and how their material is chosen and arranged.

"There’s a formula that bluegrass music has that we tend to follow. We don’t necessarily copy it in our arrangements, but in our approach we feel like we add something youthful and fresh to bluegrass. We definitely, within the tradition, fit right in there."

Publisher Kevin Kerfoot shares a quick overview of what you’ll find inside:

In the current issue you’ll also find a DJ Profile with WSM’s Bill Cody, an interview with Balsam Range’s Darren Nicholson, Shop Talk with Wayne and Kristin Scott Benson, Larry Sparks and Jerry Butler’s Bluegrass Favorites, a Promoter Profile with Festival of the Bluegrass’s Jean Cornett, an interview with The Dixie Bee-Liners’ Buddy Woodward and Brandi Hart, and a Songwriter Profile of Jim Lauderdale.

You can read an excerpt from the Platt interview and learn more about Bluegrass Music Profiles on the magazine’s official web site.

Darrin Vincent shared his own reaction to he and Jamie Daley coming forward as a duo:

"If you think about it there’s not any duos out there at all in bluegrass. We’re taking a lot from The Louvin Brothers and Monroe Brothers ‚Äì old things from the forties and fifties. We’re taking that kind of sound to the new ages today. We’re bringing back the mandolin and guitar and just the two-part harmonies. Instead of straight tones we’re jumping parts where you do the fifths and thirds and all kinds of cool little things. We’re trying to bring that back. All of the duos ‚Äì The Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse and Flatt & Scruggs ‚Äì all those folks that have really plowed a lot of ground for bluegrass today they’re just fading away."

The same March/April issue issue of BMP has a DJ Profile with Fred Bartenstein, an interview with Mountain Heart’s Josh Shilling, Promoter Profile with Durango Meltdown’s David Smith, Shop Talk with Mark Johnson, Bluegrass Favorites with Larry Stephenson and Grasstowne’s Phil Leadbetter, an interview with The Dillards’ Mitch Jayne, a Songwriter Profile with Jake Landers and an interview with Ronnie Reno.

You can get more details on the BMP site.

Andy talks with BMP about how the group came into existence, how they signed with Sugar Hill and their newest member, Andy Falco. A point that he made forcefully had to do with growing the bluegrass audience.

"We want to develop our own audience the way that a band like Nickel Creek was able to develop their audience. There were people that liked bluegrass that came to their shows and there were those that didn’t know anything about bluegrass coming to their shows, but they were all Nickel Creek fans. We want people to be The Infamous Stringdusters fans with as many people in it as want to see us play."

A portion of the Hall interview can be read on the BMP web site.

The Jan/Feb issue also includes articles on DJ Charlie Hansen, John Reischman and the Jaybirds, Shop Talk with The Rocky Top X-Press and Charlie Sizemore Dobro player Matt DeSpain, Russell Moore’s Bluegrass Favorites, Remembering Tater Tate, Promoter John Hutchinson, songwriter Connie Leigh, as well as their 2008 annual Festival Guide.

Coming back to The Infamous Stringdusters…  They will will be performing live on the radio tomorrow (Friday, 1/11) on WNCW from Spindale, NC. They will be on at 3:00 p.m. (EST), and they have teased that they may preview a couple of songs they will include on their next CD.

If you aren’t in the Charlotte radio market, you can listen live via web streaming.

The cover story is on Roni Stoneman and includes discussion of her new book, Pressing On – The Roni Stoneman Story. The article also covers her many years as a cast member on Hee Haw, and what she has been doing of late.

Publisher Kevin Kerfoot describes this issue as chock full of bluegrass ladies.

“Other women featured include Rhonda Vincent, Donna Hughes, Amanda Smith, Laurie Lewis, Uncle Earl’s Rayna Gellert and Abigail Washburn, Ola Belle Reed, and MasterShield Records’ Verna Rodes. Other features include Shop Talk with Cia Cherryholmes, Carrie Hassler’s Bluegrass Favorites, a DJ Profile with Gracie Muldoon, a Promoter Profile with Shorty Jobe, and a Songwriter Profile with Louisa Branscomb.”

Kerfoot says that they intend to highlight Women In Bluegrass with their final issue each year.

Also profiled in the current issue are radio host Terry Herd (Into The Blue), Curly Seckler, Bobby Osborne and songwriter Mark Brinkman. Sammy Shelor shares his Bluegrass Favorites, and Brad Davis talks guitars. The new Recording King Artist Supreme banjo is written up, and coverage of the 50th anniversary Country Gentlemen concert is included.

Find out more about this bi-monthly print publication online.

BMP has as its focus, the people who play, write, and produce the music, along with those who build and maintain the instruments on which it is played. They focus on the personalities, and seek to help fans get to know the people who make the music happen.

This summer issue also contains an interview with Reid Burgess of King Wilkie, where he speaks candidly about the band’s decision to move away from the traditional bluegrass format that brought them to early success. They were so enamored of Bill Monroe, that they chose the name of one of Bill Monroe’s horses as the moniker for the band.

“King Wilkie initially tried to fit the mold of Bill Monroe’s brand of bluegrass. To me, Bill Monroe is bluegrass and unfortunately he’s not still here to do it better than everybody else. I guess we eventually realized – like many people do – that we’re not Bill Monroe and never will be.”

Publisher Kevin Kerfoot shared a few other tidbits found in the new issue:

Other features include a Q&A with Doyle Lawson, Shop Talk with Tony Trischka, a DJ Profile on Main Street Bluegrass Show’s Ward McAfee, David Peterson’s Bluegrass Favorites, a Q&A with Bluegrass Boy #37 Frank Buchanan, an Instrument Profile on Gibson’s Ricky Skaggs Limited Edition Distressed Master Model Mandolin, a feature remembering Grand Ole Opry Fiddler Casey Jones – which includes an interview with his daughter Marilyn Boyd, a feature about the International Bluegrass Music Museum’s Video Oral History Project, a Promoter Profile on Carolyn and Johnny Vincent, and a Songwriting Profile on Larry Cordle. You’ll also find BMP’s Bluegrass Mailbag, Anything Bluegrass News, Top 20 Hot Singles and Top 10 Bluegrass CDs, Festivals, Grassifieds, Web Sightings, Bluegrass Store, and Fresh For The Pickin’ CD reviews.

Individual issues can be purchased for $3.00, and annual subscriptions run $15.00. Get more details on the BMP web site.

He also discusses dealing with the loss of his mother, who passed away earlier this year.

Publisher Kevin Kerfoot details some of the other items to be found in the new issue.

The May issue also includes the Top 20 Singles and Top 10 Bluegrass CDs charts, a DJ Profile on Cindy Baucom, a two-page Q&A with John McEuen, a conversation with Tut Taylor, Shop Talk with Mike Bub, Lorraine Jordan’s Bluegrass Favorites, an Instrument Profile on Saga’s Lonesome Pine Fiddlers 70th Anniversary Acoustic Guitar, an interview with The Circuit Riders’ Greg Corbett, a jam-packed Festivals section, a Promoter Profile on Nancy and Olen Bittinger’s Country Stage Music Park in Nova, Ohio, three pages of Fresh For The Pickin’ CD reviews, and a Songwriter Profile on Jerry Salley.

Subscription and and single issue purchase information can be found on the BMP web site.

Other items include an interview with Steve Gulley and Phil Leadbetter about their new venture, Grasstown. Paul Williams discusses his favorites off-stage pursuits, and Rob Ickes talks about his resonator guitars. Interviews with Cadillac Sky’s Bryan Simpson and The Grascal’s Terry Smith are found in the March/April ‘07 issue as well.

Publisher Kevin Kerfoot was especially proud of this announcement:

This issue also includes the debut of BMP’s Top 20 Hot Picks singles chart and its Top 10 Bluegrass CDs chart. Both charts are based on songs receiving the most radio play from BMP reporting stations.

Find out more about BMP on their web site.

The chart consists of three parts. Top 20 Hot Picks are the individual tracks getting the most airplay, Top 10 Bluegrass CDs lists the projects getting the most play, and Barn Burners are the 10 fastest rising tracks.

The chart will be viewable online as a PDF file, and the February chart is posted now on the BMP site.

A sample from the New South article can be read on the BMP web site.

This issue also has Chris Thile talking about his current stage vehicle, How To Grow A Band, and their 2007 transition into The Tensions Mountain Boys. Bryan Sutton takes the Shop Talk section to discuss his guitar collection, and Mac Wiseman shares his bluegrass favorites – including which of his songs is his all time favorite.

You’ll also find BMP’s 2007 Annual Festival Guide, with details on hundreds of bluegrass events throughout the US.

Single issue and annual subscription info can be found on the Bluegrass Music Profiles site.

In addition to the cover feature – an interview with Rhonda – there are interviews with Claire Lynch, Dale Ann Bradley, Alecia Nugent, Alison Brown, Missy Raines, Martha Adcock, Sandy Cherryholmes, Dixie Hall and Lorraine Jordan.

Here’s how the Kerfoots describe this issue:

Rhonda discusses her new Christmas album as well as how she looks at the controversy created by her All American Bluegrass Girl project and how she decided on which photo to finally use for the cover.

Claire opens up about the reason for her absence from touring and recording and why her new CD is titled New Day.

You’ll also learn Sandy Cherryholmes’ favorite food, why Martha Adcock is in the studio and where Missy Raines got her 1937 Kay bass.

The issue also has a photograph of Josh Graves at his last performance, the details of his funeral, and Jerry Douglas and Phil Leadbetter’s thoughts on the Dobro world losing its King.

You can read portions of the Rhonda Vincent interview, and find subscription details on the BMP web site.