We reported just two months ago that Tom was launching a new endeavor, Diamond Joe, with banjoist Chris Warner but that group has now disbanded. Tom says that the recordings the band has already made will be incorcorated into an upcoming Chris Warner release on Patuxent Records, and they will continue to track with Chris for this project.

You can find the tour schedule for The Sweet Dixie Band on their MySpace page.

Tom’s coyness aside, Chris has verified that they have indeed begun rehearsals and expect to launch Diamond Joe in the very near future. He tells us that they will be recording later this month and plan to send out a two-song promo CD to festival and event producers soon. A full-length CD release is anticipated for 2009.

Banjo players may quickly notice that Chris and Tom in the same band suggests something of a bonus in the banjo department, but no…. this will not be a double banjo act.

As we noted last summer, Tom Adams has decided to give up on the banjo as a result of his battle with focal dystonia, a nervous system disorder that has troubled him this past six years. He had initially attempted to continue performing on banjo in a modified two finger style, but was not able to play up to his own standards, and made the difficult decision to lay the banjo down.

But he didn’t give up on bluegrass music, and has since been working seriously on the guitar. The disease had affected his right hand, making for unpredictable results when playing banjo in a roll style, but Chris says that Tom has no trouble using a flatpick in a closed hand.

“Tom has been working hard on guitar, and has become a fine player. He and I actually played in a band together many years ago, with me on banjo and him on guitar, so this isn’t really a first.”

Rounding out the band are fellow Pennsylvanians Mark Seitz on mandolin and Steve Streett on bass.

Diamond Joe is booking now, and can be reached through Tom Adams’ web site until the band’s new site is complete.

During that second stint with Martin, Chris recorded two albums for Webco, All Original and Chris Warner & Friends, released as LPs and now out of print. He has recently compiled them both as a CD, Back Again, with 24 tracks featuring Warner as both banjoist and vocalist.

The tracks from All Original have Chris singing all lead vocals, with Del McCoury on tenor, and those from Chris Warner & Friends, have singing duties shared among Warner, Dudley Connell and Audie Blaylock.

But don’t think that banjo tunes get short shrift here. Chris knocks out 11 instrumentals mixed with 13 vocal tracks.

Newly minted bluegrass fans may not be aware of Warner’s top flight picking – and even long time listeners may not know him as a vocalist. Kudos to Chris for making this material available again, and to Pinecastle Records for their assistance in making it happen.

Audio samples for each track and online ordering are enabled on the Tom Adams web site, where Tom addresses the rumor that he and Chris are starting a band.

“With no official band name, no dates booked, and a disagreement over whether or not to wear matching shoes, I’d have to say yes, I believe there is a rumor that Chris and I are starting a band.”

I guess that settles that.

The official announcement just landed in my inbox, including a quote from Doyle and a little back ground info about the new players.

I don’t like changes when they occur, but when they do, you just get on with life,” Lawson says. I’m really happy that I was able to find replacements this quickly. The good thing is that both of these players are really strong, quick studies. I’m excited.

Chris Warner, Quicksilver’s new banjo player and baritone singer originally hails from Dover, PA and has worked with the legendary Red Allen, and more recently with Audie Blaylock & Redline. Doyle’s history with Warner goes back to 1967, when the latter began a two year stint with the legendary Jimmy Martin. "He has the pop that I like," mentions Lawson.

Alan Johnson, who has most recently been finishing out the season with Blue Ridge, is the new fiddler for the band. Trained in bluegrass and a one-time member of Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, Alan has also played with several mainstream country artists, including Lorrie Morgan and Terri Clark.

Not long ago we covered the announcement that Jamie Dailey will be leaving the band at the end of 2007, but his replacement has not been named at this time.

Doyle’s new CD, More Behind The Picture Than the Wall, will be released later this month on Rounder Records. The release date is March 27th and Doyle will debut the new band line up that night on the Grand Ole Opry.

More details about start dates, etc., should be forthcoming later today.

Stay tuned…

Joining Audie in Redline is another Jimmy Martin alumnus, Chris Warner, on banjo along with Bobby Davis on bass, Stephen Mougin on mandolin, and young fiddle prodigy Patrick McAvinue. Could the band name be a reference to the hard shell cases used by the Gibson company in the 1930s, which feature a thin, red “pinstripe” along the outer edge of the case, and are generally described as “red line” cases? Or perhaps more a reference to pushing the limits, a la “redlining” the tachometer on a hot rod – as a look at the graphcs on their web site suggests? In either event, congratulations to Audie and the boys for coming up with a fine new bluegrass band name.

When we asked Audie for his reaction to this new partnership with Lonesome Day, he had this to say:

“We are very excited about our upcoming album on Lonesome Day Records. Randall Deaton and his team have done an amazing job of becoming a major label in the bluegrass industry in such a short amount of time. This is evidenced by their newest releases from Randy Kohrs, Lou Reid, Blue Moon Rising and more. We are proud to be associated with them.”

This first as-yet untitled Audie Blaylock & Redline CD on Lonesome Day Records is already being recorded, and a release date is being projected in early 2006.