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.

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 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.

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.

It has been a great job and sense of financial security for sometime, but I have decided to move on and focus my energy on my own music. I’ll be leaving the Navy Band at the end of my enlistment, April 14th 2009. This has been a difficult decision, but I know I have made the right choice for me.

Focusing on his own music means fronting his own band, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen. The name is taken from an instrumental on Frank’s first solo project, I Am A Rambler. The band has already been performing on a limited basis, working around Frank’s Navy schedule. Most recently, they just returned from a short tour in Alaska, Frank’s original home state, and enjoyed an enthusiastic response from the crowds there.

The band is basically the core group of musicians who were on Frank’s last recording project, Selfish Tears. Band members include: Mike Munford on banjo, John Miller on guitar, Stefan Custodi on bass, and Frank on mandolin and fiddle. Frank is excited about the group of musicians he’s put together.

They are a bunch of extremely talented musicians and close friends. A winning combo if you ask me!

The band will be performing at a number of late night showcases at IBMA this year and are currently booking dates for 2009.

Frank tells me he has been composing some new material for a recording project and hopes to get the band in the studio sometime this fall or winter.

Visit Frank’s website for schedule/booking info, and to hear mp3 samples from his two solo records.

Silver Dollar City has hosted a bluegrass festival since 1975. Back then it was called the Mountain Folks Music Festival. Over the years the festival has changed names and dates more than once. Four years ago it became Silver Dollar City’s Bluegrass & BBQ Festival. The festival is a long running one, starting on May 10 and continuing through June 1, 2008. During these 23 days, the park will be running a total of nine stages throughout each day, with over 60 bluegrass bands performing. Each performance is scheduled at 30 minutes and during the course of the festival there will be in excess of 1000 sets.

I had the chance to speak with D.A. Callaway, the festival coordinator, and he shared some interesting details about the event. With that many stages running for this length of time, the technical staff will be working hard. Callaway tells me they have 25 full time technical staff to run sound and lighting during the festival. The park hours are 9:30 AM to 7 PM each day. The shows begin in the morning and continue throughout the day.

Silver Dollar City is a large theme park that attracts a lot of tourists, but Callaway assures me that of the 10,000 attendees the park will average each day of the festival, 40-50% of them are there for the music. These are fans that might not be at the park if it wasn’t for the festival. Those are great numbers to contemplate on both sides of that equation. 4-5K people per day in attendance specifically to hear bluegrass music is a great turn out. But 5-6K people each day who aren’t there for the music, will surely hear it as they enjoy the other offerings of the park. Perhaps a few new bluegrass fans will be born next month in Branson!

With 60+ bands performing I was curious how artists are selected for inclusion in the festival.

About half of the artists performing are nationally touring acts. The other half are either regional bands, or bands local to the Branson area. Some of these bands right here in Branson are very good and deserve to be heard.

I’ve been to a lot of festivals over the years, and I’ve worn out a lot of lawn chairs. I have to say this festival is a real smorgasbord of bluegrass. We try to keep a healthy variety of both geographic and stylistic representation in the bands we choose. We’ve got bluegrass stars like Rhonda Vincent, The Grascals, Cherryholmes, and Bradley Walker, to name few. We’ve got newer bands in a very traditional vein, like Dailey & Vincent. We’ve got newcomers that a lot of fans haven’t heard before, but we like them and think they are worth hearing. And we’ve got the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band coming in on May 30. I know a lot of people will think “They’re not bluegrass!” but they introduced a whole generation, my generation, to bluegrass music by introducing us to Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson and others.

And we have several bands that have played here at Silver Dollar City for years and are returning again this year. The Chapmans are joining us again, and Rarely Herd will be here. Your uncle Rod’s band, The Blue & Gray Pickers, continue to entertain audiences, proving you don’t have to tour nationally to be good entertainers.

And it’s a real honor to have the US Navy Band, Country Current, perform at the festival this year.

We’ve got something for every type of bluegrass music fan. We feel like our pass holders are family and we want to present the best bands we can for them to enjoy.

The festival website has a complete list of scheduled performers.

In addition to the regular performances, Callaway was excited about two competitions they are holding again this year.

2008 will mark the 2nd Annual National Single Mic Championship on May 17-18. This is a fun competition open to both amateur and professional bands. Designed to represent the performance style of early bluegrass legends, the bands will perform over a single mic and be judged both on musical ability and entertainment value. Registration has already close and they have a full complement of 12 bands registered for the event.

The other competition is the Youth In Bluegrass Band Competition, held May 24-25. The competition is open to amateur entertainers 21 years of age or younger. Registration was limited to 15 bands and scheduled to end tonight at midnight, but D.A. tells me they reached the 15 band limit several weeks ago.

While you’re at the park for the festival, be sure to take in some of the other attractions, including the House of BBQ, as well as all the rides and crafts that are always present in the park.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-831-4FUN, or online at SilverDollarCity.com.

Wayne is in Nashville this week at the IBMA leadership class, and says his plans are to get more involved with bluegrass music. And getting more involved he is.

He has a new CD out titled Dear Mom. He just recorded an interview with Kyle Cantrell for XM Radio, which I’m told may air next Tuesday. And he’s found a new musical home.

I am playing with Bill Emerson and the Sweet Dixie Band. We’ve played a few gigs and will be hitting the festival circuit this year. Our schedule can be viewed at Myspace.com/waynetaylor.

The guys in Country Current are going to miss Wayne’s presence for sure. I spoke to Frank Solivan II, who plays mandolin and fiddle in the band, and he shared his thoughts on Wayne’s departure from the band.

Wayne Taylor has been and is an inspiration as a musician, boss, and especially as a friend. Personally he has been there for me and my wife Leah from our start with the Navy Band. From helping us move two times and helping me install drywall in my new house to personal dilemmas. I’ve been able to count on his professionalism, honesty, and good natured attitude for almost 5 years without as much as a hiccup.

His retirement ceremony last Friday not only honored his service to our country, but his commitment to family, friends and coworkers. The masses that gathered was proof of this. Many people came to honor him… from childhood friends and his Father’s best friend to local musician, friends and family. The room was charged with emotion and the golf ball in Wayne’s throat was apparent. It was evident that everyone loves Wayne. He received a number of awards, letters of appreciation, and mementos from prominent figures in our military and the President. A number of people got up and honored his accomplishments. The legacy and shoes to fill that he’ll leave behind is immeasurable. I’m sure his fine character will carry him far in the civilian world and his musicianship and vocal ability will impart emotion just as it always has. He’ll be missed and thought of fondly.

~Frank

We wish Wayne all the best in his future endeavors, and we encourage you to take the opportunity to see him this summer at a festival near you.

The current edition of Studio Special, XM’s live-in-the studio bluegrass show, airs tonight (11/5) at 8:00 p.m. Cherryholmes is the featured guest, offering both live performance and some chit chat with Kyle during the program. It re-airs on Wednesday (11/7) at midnight (technically 11/8), and again on Thursday afternoon (11/8) at 3:00 p.m.

Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. finds Kyle with Frank Ray of Cedar Hill for a track-by-track run through of their latest release, Poverty Row. That show will re-air on Sunday (11/11) at noon, on 11/14 at 9:00 a.m. and on 11/16 at 3:00 a.m.

On Wednesday (11/7), bluegrass legend Curley Seckler will join Kyle in the studio for a live interview.

Then on Friday (11/9), Studio Special is rebroadcasting a live studio appearance from the US Navy bluegrass band Country Current in honor of Veterans Day. That show will also air on Saturday (11/10) at 6:00 p.m., on 11/12 at 8:00 p.m., 11/13 at midnight and on 11/15 at 3:00 p.m. All times for all shows are EST.

Kyle also passed along Bluegrass Junction’s Top 40 chart for November ‘07, based on October listener requests and how often individual albums were featured.

The top 5 albums for October were:

#1	Cherryholmes II	Cherryholmes
#2	Scenechronized	Seldom Scene
#3	More Behind The Picture Than The Wall	Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
#4	Lovin’ Pretty Women	Steep Canyon Rangers
#5	Good News	Charlie Sizemore

You can see the full Top 40 chart on the Bluegrass Junction web site. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and you’ll see a link to download the chart as a PDF file.

Taylor’s retirement will leave an opening in the band for a lead vocalist/acoustic guitar player, and auditions are currently being held. The position does double duty, playing and singing in both the bluegrass and country versions of the band. In addition to lead vocals and acoustic guitar, the position is also that of emcee for the band.

Master Chief Musician Wayne Taylor is retiring and will be out soon. We are actively looking for people to audition for Lead Vocals and Acoustic Guitar… Must have strong, well founded bluegrass and country background. Must send in a cd with current songs, a resume’, and should be comfortable as emcee.

The job starts with a rank of Petty Officer 1st Class and an E6 pay grade. That works out to approximately $50K a year plus 100% medical and dental benefits for the person’s entire family.

There is an age restriction for the job. The Navy specifies that the person must be between the ages of 18 and 34. Navy standard for hight/weight ratio must also be met. Anyone not meeting these standards will not be auditioned. Here is a pdf file of the Navy weight standards for reference.

All auditions are by appointment only. To schedule an audition time, one should contact Master Chief Stuart McLean or Chief Musician Christopher J. Raifsnider at (202)433-2840, or by email at NavyBand.Auditions@navy.mil.

Here’s a list of the air times for the show.

Mondays – 8 PM ET
Tuesdays – Midnight ET
Thursdays – 3 PM ET
Saturdays – 11 AM ET
Sundays – 6 PM ET

This episode of The GrassCast features an interview with Frank Solivan II. Frank plays in the Navy band Country Current. He performs on mandolin and fiddle when the band is doing bluegrass and also plays electric guitar in the country version of the band. In the interview Frank and I discuss the Navy band, what their mission is, what is it was like to audition for the band, and the bluegrass component of what the band does.

In addition to playing in the Navy band, Frank also has two solo CDs out. The latest one, Selfish Tears, came out late this summer. Frank and I talk about the CD and specificially we discuss, and preview, three of the songs on the disc. We also brush on Franks other obsession, cooking. Check out the photos in the enhanced version of the podcast (see iTunes link below), I’m gonna have to eat dinner at his place one of these days!

Direct Download: ep48_frank_solivan_ii.mp3

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While the controversy had its beginning on sites and email lists dedicated to bluegrass music, the story has now moved into the larger blogosphere. Following coverage in The Tennessean over the weekend, it has now been picked up by sites that don’t normally dedicate much, if any, time to covering bluegrass. Predictibly these bloggers have all taken a stand on the issues involved.

The US Navy Bluegrass band asked not to play service anthems? What was IBMA thinking?

The Sheep’s Crib

…if all 300 international members are offended because the IBMA’s annual event has an American patriotic theme, TOO BAD!

Vanishing American

IBMA, keep PC and leftist politics out of bluegrass

Sea2Sea

Disgusting…. this “tolerance” crap is just the pits.

Sista Smiff

Seriously, there are like 2 people who thought it was wrong. I think they were Canadians.

The Dry Spot

And in a spasm of hypersensitivity, the president of the IBMA, David Crow, immediately resigned…this move comes across as petulant and pouty.

How dare they display American Patriotism at IBMA!

Festival Preview

the salute was clearly meant as a statement of support for our government’s policy of war in Iraq

Cybergrass

The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) calls itself an International organization and their awards show this year was an American patriotic presentation.

Just the facts ma’am.

String Theory Media

Nashville Is Talking (News 2)

Eliza’s Music News

John adds: The comments we have received here on The Bluegrass Blog to date have tended to be from US readers who object to IBMA requesting that the US Navy band not play their medley of service anthems on the Awards Show. My own personal contact with non-US IBMA members has suggested that the patriotic American theme was a non-issue. Other IBMA members, however, have indicated that they collected strong negative impressions from acquaintances who traveled to IBMA from outside the US.

We would be very interested in hearing from our readers on this question: was it appropriate for the IBMA, who present themselves as an international organization, to prominently feature such displays of American patriotism in their major, annual show?

All our readers are encouraged to contribute (either with comments, or by starting a new post on The B), but we are especially interested in hearing from our international readers, who currently make up about 20% of visitors on The Bluegrass Blog. In particular, we wonder whether non-US readers (and/or IBMA members) find such an Americanized program by IBMA to be offensive, and whether it would affect your support of the organization.

I suppose that any hopes that this story would stay out of the mainstream press are now irrelevant.

The story (by Peter Cooper) can be found on The Tennessean web site.

There have been strident and emotional reactions to the inclusion of a patriotic-themed presentation during the Awards Show, and it has led to some upheaval within IBMA’s leadership. We have contacted many of the folks directly involved to get their comment, but feel that we need to address it here now.

In a nutshell, what happened is this:

The producers of the show had included two numbers with what was described in an official press release about ten days prior as having a “patriotic theme.” This was to include a song by Rhonda Vincent, and a performance by the US Navy bluegrass band, Country Current. A number of non-US members of IBMA felt that this was adding an inappropriately political tone to the show, and that a salute to the US military was a slight to the notion that IBMA was an international organization. Several US members shared this assessment.

These concerns were conveyed to the IBMA Board, who met with non-US members just days before the show, and amongst themselves to address these concerns. A decision was reached by the Board that the Navy band would be asked to change the song which they had originally been asked to perform – a medley of US military service anthems – and instead perform one of Chief Wayne Taylor’s original songs.

Rhonda’s performance was to go on as planned, with a tribute offered to US service men and women. Several representatives of the various military branches were to join her on stage, standing silently stage left and right, to be spotlighted for recognition during the song.

At the show, Country Current performed the newly-inserted song as per their new agreement with IBMA, but then launched into the service themes as per their original agreement. There is dispute among the principals – chiefly Wayne Taylor and former IBMA President David Crow – over the conversation that followed this performance, and whether the Navy Band had been authorized to include the second song. Crow resigned immediately following the performance.

In a letter to the IBMA membership, he indicated that his resignation should be seen as his assumption of responsibility for having “lied” to the membership in saying that the military anthems medley would be removed, but a subsequent letter suggested that a desire to dedicate more time to his family and legal practice – both rapidly growing – also played a large part in his decision.

There has been no official statement from IBMA about this as yet, but we have asked Executive Director Dan Hays to speak with us about it when he feels it is appropriate.

We are also seeking comment from the show’s producers, Rhonda Vincent’s management and the Navy band. I can’t swear that we can get all the details, but we’ll try, and will report what we can find out.

UPDATE 11:20 a.m.: Jon Weisberger emailed to correct an error he found in this post, to wit that IBMA had made no official statement about this controvery. He passed along a statement that he had sent on Monday to the IBMA member discussion list on behalf of the Executive Committee, posted as coming from Greg Cahill, Stan Zdonik and himself.

“Since the staging of the IBMA’s annual Awards Show on Thursday night, members of the Board of Directors’ Executive Committee have conferred both in person and by telephone to discuss aspects of the show that contravened the Committee’s and the Board’s prior decisions. The Committee views the failure to implement these decisions with deep concern, and is undertaking a timely review of events to establish responsibility for the failure. The results, along with recommendations for appropriate actions, will be communicated as rapidly as possible to the Board for consideration.”

Photos by Tami Roth © 2006

Vince Gill with The Del McCoury Band	Del McCoury and Vince Gill	Rhonda Vincent	Joe Wheatley, Country Current
Frank Solivan II, Country Current	Tim O’Brien accepts as Male Vocalist	Marty Stuart improvises when the audio goes out	The Grascals with Steve Wariner
Jamie Johnson, Terry Smith and Terry Eldridge	Darrell Adkins accepts Album Of The Year Award	Marty Stuart	Bobby Osborne and Marty Stuart
Sonya Isaacs and Ronnie Bowman	Vince Gill announces the Entertainer of the Year	The Grascals accept as Entertainer for 2006	Lewis Family tribute

If you or your organization will be hosting events during the Business Conference, Trade Show or Fan Fest portions of the week (9/25-10/1), please be sure to send us the details as soon as possible.

The complete schedule will be available within the next two weeks, and we will highlight some tidbits here and there as we become aware of them. Here are a couple of note:

3 Fox Drive has been tapped to kickoff the Awards Show at The Grand Ole Opry House on September 28. As always (at least since 2001), the show begins with a rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, and 3 Fox Drive is sure to do a bang up job with that.

Chris Thile will showcase on Tuesday (9/26) in support of his (by then) new Sugar Hill release, How To Grow A Woman From The Ground. He will perform material from the CD with the same band as he used on the recording on the main showcase stage at 10:05 p.m., followed by a similar performance on the Roots & Branches stage at midnight.

That midnight show will also include The Infamous Stringdusters, and spontaneous jamming would seem to be a foregone conclusion.

UPDATE 4:30 p.m.: Thanks to Dan and Nancy at IBMA, who corrected my faulty memory about the Awards Show opening. In 2001, Sonny Osborne opened the show with a solo banjo rendition of America The Beautiful, and last year (2005) the Isaacs opened with the National Anthem.

Dan Hays also shared this tidbit about this year’s awards show:

We are planning a patriotic tribute this year involving Rhonda Vincent and the US Navy Band Country Current Bluegrass Unit.