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.

Murphey was in town to perform with a number of Rural Rhythm artists at IBMA, and to showcase two new singles from his next RR CD, Buckaroo Blue Grass 2, due in February 2010. The first is a remake of Wildfire, his 1975 radio hit, sung as a duet with Carrie Hassler, and the other a new MMM song, Running Gun, which tells a classic western story done up bluegrass style.

Michael and Carrie are especially stoked about getting to perform the new version of Wildfire during halftime at the SMU-Navy game in Dallas on October 17. Look for it to be released for digital download around the 17th.

Bluegrass folks seemed to warmly embrace Murphey at IBMA, and he returned the favor posing for photos and signing autographs for fans. He did a cameo during Audie Blaylok & Redline’s main stage showcase set where he was met with enthusiastic applause.

Buckaroo Blue Grass 2 will  feature a who’s who cast of bluegrass pickers, including Sam Bush, Charlie Cushman, Troy Engle, Pat Flynn, Andy Hall, Rob Ickes, Andy Leftwich among them.

Here are sneak peek samples of the two new singles.

Wildfire – Listen Now    

Running Gun – Listen Now    

They report that the trip has gone well, performing before 15,000 (with 2 encores) at the Country Rendez-Vous Festival in Crappone-Sur-Arzon, but it hasn’t been all fun and games.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The 17 year old from Charlottesville, VA has won first place trophies at a number of regional competitions, as well as the Virginia state banjo championship. Zach has also performed as a member of Gold Heart, and with other groups in central VA.

You can find Carrie’s tour schedule on the band’s web site, and on her MySpace page, for a chance to catch Carrie live with her hot new banjo boy.

Rural Rhythm Records

This song is the first commercial single release on the new Rural Rhythm Christian imprint label dedicated to creating fine Christian music from America’s heartland.

Carrie has been performing Amazing Grace a cappella at their live concerts for some time now, earning huge audience response, with fans continually requesting a recorded version of the song.

Amazing Grace will be available on iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Napster, Zune and other digital outlets and is also featured on the upcoming new Gospel Collection summer release, Mountain Soul directed to both the Christian and Mainstream markets.

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.

At 1:00 p.m. (EDT), Carrie Hassler will be interviewed on WorldWideBluegrass.com. Carrie will join WWB host Gracie Muldoon to talk about her latest CD, CHHR2, and what she and her band, Hard Rain, are up to heading into the IBMA convention at the end of this month.

Catch the live WWB stream online at worldwidebluegrass.com.

Then at 5:00 p.m. (EDT), The Dixie Be-Liners will be performing live on WNCW FM. They will be on the Studio B program, and highlight material from their latest CD, Ripe.

WNCW broadcasts on several FM frequencies in NW North Carolina, and streams their signal online at wncw.org.

Tonight’s Friday Opry also has some bluegrass on tap. Both Cherryholmes and Rhonda Vincent are scheduled – Cherryholmes between 9:00-9:30, and Rhonda in the final segment between 10:30-11:00. All times eastern.

Rhonda is set to appear during the same segment as country crooner Gene Watson, fueling speculation that they may perform their duet version of Together Again, from Watson’s current CD, Matters Of The Heart.

The Grand Ole Opry is carried over the air at WSM 650 AM, broadcasting from Nashville, on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville), or via live streaming at wsmonline.com.

CHHR2, as it is succinctly titled, has been in music stores since July 29.

Consisting of 12 songs and an unlisted brief instrumental piece Where’s Carrie? at the end, CHHR2 includes eight original tunes either written or co-written by band member Josh Miller. These are If These Walls Could Talk, Faith & Hope, Fickle Heart, Second Chances (co-written with producer Jim VanCleve), I Don’t Want to Wake Up (which as co-written with Josh Swift), Devil’s Den (co-written with Jim VanCleve and Craig Market), One Way Track To Nowhere (co-written with band-mate Keith McKinnon) and 1800 Miles (co-written with Jennifer Haire). That is considerably more in-house material than on the band’s 2006 debut release for Rural Rhythm Records.

The opening song, Second Chances, and Fickle Heart are both similar inasmuch as they are about broken hearts. If These Walls Could Talk is both powerful and emotive; the ‘grassy’ 1800 Miles reminds us that life’s journey with a soul mate doesn’t always end where one would want; and the driven One Way Track To Nowhere warns about the results of selfishness. All traditional stories told in a contemporary manner.

Additional material comes in the form of I Can Go Back Any Time, written by singer/songwriter Jennifer Strickland, and that has already been released as a single; what could be a career song for Ms Hassler, Country Strong, by Mark Nesler, Tony Martin and Jennifer Hanson; and She’s A Stranger In His Mind, brilliantly written by Mark “Brink” Brinkman, a song about Altzheimers disease that I am sure I have heard before.

Finally, the band covers Bob Seger’s tale of the emotional and social ups and downs of a rock musician’s life on the road, Turn the Page, just as Waylon Jennings, Metallica and Kid Rock have done before. Apparently, this has been a long-time fan favourite at Hard Rain’s personal appearances.

Ms Hassler has a powerful voice; in the bluegrass field more Rhonda Vincent than Alison Krauss. In fact, a lot like Ms Vincent and one that may see Carrie Hassler win vocal awards in the not too distant future.

The band consists of Carrie Hassler-Lead Vocals; Travis Anderson – Bass; Josh Miller – Banjo, Guitar, vocals; Jamie Harper- Fiddle, vocals; Keith McKinnon – Guitar, baritone vocals; Kevin McKinnon – Mandolin, low tenor vocals. They are helped by Jim VanCleve, Steve Gulley, Josh Shilling and Andy Hall.

The end product is a collection of energetic, contemporary bluegrass performances that places Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain in the reckoning for acknowledgment by their peers for their swift rise to prominence.

Bluegrass for the 21st century, in other words.

Our giveaway includes two prize packages that will be given away later this week. Each prize package includes two t-shirts. We just received the new t-shirts designs and they were so cool looking I thought I’d share them with you. The shirt comes in two colors, blue and brown.

If you haven’t entered the giveaway, you can do so here.

Mark Roberts of WearBluegrass.com pointed out that one of the prize packages included tickets to a festival this Saturday, while the promotion won’t end until next Wednesday.

We checked with Wichita about borrowing his Time Machine for the winner to use, but it’s scheduled for some maintenance time in the shop. Apparently Smarty drools a lot…

Accordingly, we updated the promotional prize package with tickets to a festival that ends after the promotion ends.

The two festivals included in the prize packages are now:

• Cumberland County Fair – Crossville, TN – Aug 22, 2008, at 8:00 PM
• Pickin’ in the Panhandle – Hedgesville, WV – Sep 6, 2008, All Day

The original post has been updated to reflect this change. Check there for details about other prizes included in the giveaway, and instructions for entering to win.

They will surely be performing songs from their sophomore effort, CHH2, released this week on Rural Rhythm.

String Trek and Coyote Run will also perform on Friday’s show.

After the show on Friday, Carrie and the boys will be heading back to her hometown of Crossville, TN for a big in-store event at Wal-Mart at 6:00 p.m. where they will perform live and sign autographs.

Who says you can’t go home again?

Yesterday saw the release of the sophomore recording from Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain. The CD is simply titled CHHR2.

Produced by Jim VanCleve of Mountain Heart, this new CD is an impressive outing for this young band. We have a review of the CD coming soon, but for now we wanted to let you know of it, and tell you about an exciting promotion we’re running in conjunction with its release.

I’ve embedded a player to the right that will let you preview the entire CD.

To commemorate this release, of the band’s second CD, we’re giving away two prize packages, each containing the following items.

Prize Packages Include:

• 2 Tickets to a festival where Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain will perform.

The winners will be able to watch Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain perform their favorites songs and have a special meet and greet with Carrie and the band. The concert dates available are:

• Cumberland County Fair – Crossville, TN – Aug 22, 2008, at 8:00 PM – Prize Winner One
• Pickin’ in the Panhandle – Hedgesville, WV – Sep 6, 2008, All Day – Prize Winner Two

Each winner will also recieve:

• 2 Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain Shirts (Shirts will be shipped to the winner in 3 weeks)
• 1 Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain Hat ( Hat will be shipped to the winner in 3 weeks )
• 1 Box of Moon Pies
• 2 CD’s signed by Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain (1 each of Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain – RHY-1028, and Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain – CHHR2 – RHY-1037)

UPDATE (08.07.2008 2:10PM EST): The promotion has ended.

The song is I Can Go Back Anytime, written by Jennifer Strickland, who had also contributed the song Going On The Next Train for Carrie’s first project. This new track is a driving, modern bluegrass number, which you can sample below.

Listen now:

Brance and I were very impressed by Hassler and her young band at IBMA last fall, and expect that their sophomore effort, CHHR2, will be every bit as strong as their 2006 debut. Round 2 was produced by Jim Van Cleve, who served in that capacity on the band’s earlier self-titled CD as well.

In addition to Carrie on lead vocals, the band is Keith McKinnon on guitar, Kevin McKinnon on mandolin, Travis Anderson on bass, Josh Miller on banjo, and Jamie Harper on fiddle.

UPDATE 2:35 p.m.: Jim Van Cleve shared a few comments about CHHR2:

“I am really fired up about this project on a number of levels. They came in with some very edgy material, and were completely committed to going all out with their vision on where their music is heading. They are an extremely talented, motivated, and energetic group of musicians, and their creativity is going to knock people out on this new project. It picks up right where the last one left off, and pushes harder and farther than even I expected when we started putting it all together.

It covers A LOT of musical ground…”

Recording starts today with Carrie and her talented band: Keith McKinnon on guitar and vocals, Travis Anderson on bass, Josh Miller on banjo and Kevin McKinnon on mandolin and vocals.

Jim sounded mighty upbeat about getting them back into the studio.

“There were a lot of high expectations already in place before we even started selecting material for this album, largely due to the success of the last record, and the big splash the band made on the scene last year. We’re all really pumped to get this thing going, though. We’ve got a bunch of really good material put together, with a good number of the songs coming from within the band.

As folks who’ve already heard or seen Carrie are aware, she’s got that ’star vocal quality’ that is so hard to find. She’s also got the luxury of carrying a band that can ‘mash it’ in the studio or on the stage, which is rare! They are a very dynamic bunch of musicians. Oh yeah, they are about the most hilarious bunch of personalities you will put in a room at one time, too. So, as you can imagine, it’s always a lot of fun to get together with the Hard Rain Gang!

The project will be released on Rural Rhythm Records, and right now, we’re all aiming at a March release date, which will make the project available just in time for festival season. Judging by the looks of the Hard Rain calendar, fans will certainly have a good opportunity to get their hands on it, too.”

The festival is more than just bluegrass music, it’s a celebration of traditions of the Carolinas. In addition to some great bluegrass music, there will be food, displays, a children’s area, craft show, merchandise vendors, open mic, jam sessions, camping and more.

The line up of bluegrass acts for the festival are:

• Steep Canyon Rangers
• Cadillac Sky
• Lou Reid and Carolina
• Kenny and Amanda Smith Band
• Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain

Besides all these great bluegrass groups, there will also be a special Allstar Bluegrass Super Jam featuring Terry Baucom and Special Guests-including Wes Golding, Josh Williams, Lou Reid, Wayne Winkle and more.

Tickets for the weekend, if purchased in advance, are $40.00. At the gate, the tickets will be $25.00 per day. Children 10 and under will be admitted FREE. Rough camping is available for $5.00 per day.

Tickets will be available at ETIX.com (not yet listed) and a number of businesses across the region

Vendor spaces cost $20.00 per day until 3/31/08, after 3/31/08 they will be $25. Vendor space includes one comp admission.

For additional information, call 1-800-891-0350, or visit farmfestnc.com

One of the hardest things about trying to keep to a schedule at IBMA is the fact that any trip from point A to point B will take you past a half dozen people you are eager to see. Three or four chance meetings and brief conversations in the hallway, and you’re running behind.

And so we arrived at the Rural Rhythm suite after Carrie and her band, Hard Rain, had finished their performance. We apologized for being late and missing the show, only to see Carrie round up her boys, and sing a few just for us. We certainly appreciated that kindness, and were prepared to enjoy some good music.

I don’t think that either of us were expecting to see and hear such a powerful performance, and knew from the first few bars that these folks had something special. Carrie has a strong and expressive voice, and a comfortable manner before an audience. Her band, Hard Rain (twin brothers Keith and Kevin McKinnon on guitar and mandolin respectively, Josh Miller on banjo and Travis Anderson on bass), are dynamic and driving, with a keen sense of what should be played – and when.

Watching them go from socializing and eating to a thoroughly professional performance in a matter of moments really cemented my impressions. They did it live, with no amplification, and it was even more engaging than the versions on Carrie’s debut recoding, Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain.

The music was all from the CD, and I found both the material and the arrangements to be clever and original – not always a given with “new” songs. When we spoke after her performance, Carrie offered much of the credit to her producer, Mountain Heart fiddle man Jim VanCleve. She said that Jim helped her find the songs and put the arrangements together. Jim, who was standing nearby, deflected all the credit back to this talented young singer, saying that with a voice like hers, his job was an easy one.

One thing that caught my eye at their suite was a big stack of Moon Pies on the table. It turns out that they have struck a sponsorship agreement with the company, and give out free samples at all their shows. Carrie said that lines for the free chocolate and marshmallow snack cakes at their shows are often the longest in the park.

“I love Moon Pies, and I think it’s something fun that people remember. If people remember me as ‘the Moon Pie girl,’ well that’s alright by me.”

This is a very entertaining bunch, and I expect that they will find an appreciative audience among younger fans of acoustic music, who love the drive and power of bluegrass, but also prefer songs that have a newer edge. Big things should be ahead for Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain.

The videos (also available on YouTube) are for two tracks from her self-titled debut CD, and include Seven Miles From Wichita (currently #7 on the Bluegrass Unlimited Singles chart) and her latest single, Going On The Next Train.

The video bio has Carrie and the boys shopping for music in Nashville, and talking about their musical backgrounds – with comments from producer (and Mountain Heart fiddler) Jim VanCleve as well.

Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain, will be featured on XM Satellite Radio on November 17, 2006. They’ll be on Kyle Cantrell’s show, Studio Special with special guest Jim Van Cleve on on fiddle. The show will debut on the 17th at 8 AM EST and will be rebroadcast at the following times.

Saturday, November 18 – 11:00 am
Sunday, November 19 – 6:00 pm
Monday, November 20 – 8:00 pm
Tuesday, November 21 – 12:00 midnight
Thursday, November 23 – 3:00 pm

Additional Links:

www.carriehasslerandhardrain.com
myspace.com/carriehasslerandhardrain

We don’t have a lot more information about Carrie or her band, but she does have several audio samples up on her web site. These are full downloads, but not of the finished track that will appear on the CD when it is released.

Her band is made up of Josh Miller on banjo, Kevin McKinnon on mandolin, Keith McKinnon on guitar, Josh Swift on resophonic guitar and Travis Anderson on bass. They are all featured on the new CD, along with guest artists (and Rural Rhythm labelmates) Jim VanCleve and Clay Jones, as well as Adam Steffey and Darrin Vincent.