The debut, self-titled CD from Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa is now available.

Taylor is familiar to bluegrass lovers from his 24 years with Country Current, the US Navy Bluegrass Band, headquartered in Washington, DC. Many of those years of service were pulled alongside banjo legend Bill Emerson, who led the band while he was in the Navy.

This new release features 14 new songs of Wayne’s, performed with his band of crack, DC-area musicians. Emory Lester is on mandolin, Kip Martin on bass, Mark Delaney on banjo and Dave Giegerich on resonator guitar. Taylor plays guitar and handles lead vocals.

Now retired from the Navy himself, Taylor is taking the group out on the road in support of the new CD. They have already scheduled trips to the US west coast and to Scotland in 2009.

You can hear audio from each track on Wayne’s web site.

We’ve posted a number of times about US Navy Band, Country Current, which regularly includes professional bluegrass musicians. The band has maintained a bluegrass unit since 1973 when Bill Emerson joined on banjo.

Bill led the band until his retirement in 1993, at which point that leadership fell to Wayne Taylor who held the spot until he retired in March of this year. Wayne performed through 2008 as a member of Bill’s group, Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie, and has now launched his own band.

Wayne Taylor and Appaloosa includes Emory Lester on mandolin, Dave Giegerich on resonator guitar, Mark Delaney on banjo, Kip Martin on bass, with Wayne on guitar and lead vocals.

They are in the middle of a recording project, which is expected to be completed in January 2009. Three tracks, Bury Me In Dixie, 40 Years and Oh Merrie, can be heard on the band’s web site. Their sound is reminiscent of prominent Washington, DC area bands like The Country Gentlemen and Seldom Scene – though with Wayne’s distinctive voice out front.

You can find their tour schedule – which includes a September trip to Scotland – online.

The US Navy Band Country Current, is holding immediate auditions to fill the Mandolin/Guitar vacancy left by the imminent departure of Frank Solivan.

The gig involves playing mandolin with the bluegrass unit and electric guitar with the country band. Frank tells me that playing fiddle and contributing harmony vocals would be a big plus as well.

The job comes with a starting salary of around $53,000 per year with full health benefits and retirement (after 20 years service).

There is about a 50/50 mix of jobs between bluegrass and country shows. The bluegrass unit travels all over the country performing festivals and some high level protocol jobs in Washington. The country unit performs a 3 week fall tour each year traveling to a different part of the country each tour.

I talked with Frank about the gig and he spoke very highly of the job.

The Navy Band is a good gig with financial stability, health coverage, and perfect for the family man or woman, because there is no moving around. Its a permanent duty station. Many people make it a career and its an honorable job. Where else would you get to play music (bluegrass) and serve your country. We have a unique position to be able to play American music for dignitaries and officials from other countries. On top of playing for The Joint Chiefs of Staff, Congress, or on the US Capital Steps, or at the White House we also play other venues like bluegrass festivals, public concerts and large performance halls.

It is an interesting balance of structure and creativity, and it works for many people. But my time with them has run its course and it is my turn to pass the torch to the next musician for Country Current.

You may remember that it was around this time last year that Wayne Taylor announced his retirement and the band began the search for a new guitarist. I’ve also learned that electric bass player Joe Wheatley is retiring as well, and a replacement has already been found for that position. Chief Musician Patrick J. White shared his thoughts on those recent changes.

We have replaced Wayne Taylor with a fantastic singer/songwriter/acoustic guitar player named Kenny Ray Horton. He has elevated the band’s sound for sure and is a great addition to the unit. Also, Joe Wheatley is retiring from the Navy after 20 yrs active duty. We have filled his position with an incredible bass player Jeremy Middleton. These are very exciting changes for the band and the sound just keeps getting better.

To audition for the current vacancy, you mustby between the ages of 18 and 34, as well as meeting the Navy’s appearance and weight standards. The Navy will supply instruments and equipment for the selected musician.

Audition information is available online.

Band names are always fun. We’ve talked about them before and told you stories of where they come from. We recently brought you news of Frank Solivan’s new band, Dirty Kitchen. We thought it would be fun to explore why Frank named his band this way.

First, it is the title of a track from his first CD, I Am A Rambler. But why even name a song Dirty Kitchen, let alone carry that name over for the band?

Frank has a love for the kitchen that nearly rivals his love of bluegrass. In fact, he’s quite the chef. Many bands are starting to include blogs on their site to journal their road trips and keep fans connected. Frank is blogging about food on his site! The blog is called The Chopping Blog.

I thought it would be a good idea to give folks a clearer understanding of why the band is called dirty kitchen. I’ll eventually have sheet music of mine to check out on there and new recipes a couple of times a week.

No sheet music yet, but there are four or five excellent looking dishes that Frank has prepared and is graciously providing his recipes for. He tells me he’s working on writing out the mandolin part for the tune Dirty Kitchen and will feature it soon on the blog.

It may be a week or two before he finds time for it though. He’s currently on the road with the Navy Band, finishing up his last tour with the group. Tonight they play in Lakeland, FL. There are only 10 more dates after tonight, and then if you want to hear Frank, you’ll hear him with Dirty Kitchen.

You’ll find The Chopping Blog on Frank’s site by clicking the appropriately named link.