The Mashville Brigade may not be that familiar a name to most festival going bluegrass fans, but the individual members of the band should be. The Brigade is comprised of: Aaron McDaris (The Grascals) on banjo and harmony vocals; Darrell Webb (Rhonda Vincent & The Rage) on guitar and lead vocals; Ashby Frank (Special Consensus) lead vocals and mandolin; Jim VanCleve (Mountain Heart) on fiddle; and Randy Barnes (NewFound Road) on bass.

The Brigade is today’s modern version of the Sidemen. Started a year or so ago as a fun midweek gig at The Station Inn in Nashville, The Mashville Brigade releases it’s first CD on April 22, 2008. The CD is produced by the band’s own Jim VanCleve, and contains 16 tracks, all of them standard bluegrass hits. Bearing the title Bluegrass Smash Hits, Volume 1, this disc is the first in a new series of releases planned by Rural Rhythm Records.

Ashby Frank commented on the genesis of the group.

I’ve gotten to pick with these guys at various festivals and in the halls and rooms of events like IBMA, SPBMGA, and the Galax Fiddlers Convention for years. Since we both grew up in North Carolina, I’ve known Jim for the longest, actually before I even really got into Bluegrass. The first time I ever played on a Bluegrass Festival stage was with Jim in Denton, NC. I think we put together a band with my sister and opened up the festival on a Tuesday or Wednesday night.

Randy, Darrell, Jim, Aaron and myself have performed with each other as a part of quite a few different collaborations, through fill-in work or special events like the MACC Festival in Columbus, OH. Once all of us had moved to Nashville, we talked about getting something together to play around town and maybe a festival or two. It took us a few years to get together, but it’s finally worked out, and it’s a whole lot of fun.

The band started basically as a new version of the Sidemen, the infamous group that used to perform every Tuesday night at the Station Inn. The Mashville Brigade started filling that same time slot and as Jim VanCleve tells it, one thing just led to another.

The Mashville Brigade has really grown into something much larger than we ever could have anticipated from when we first began playing at the Station Inn a little over a year ago. It all basically started as an outlet for us to have some fun while playing the music we all grew up on. But since the bluegrass culture around Nashville is really a pretty tight-knit bunch of friends, we suddenly had a good sized audience each Tuesday night, full of friends and family, in a room that is known for bringing out the best in people. This comfortable atmosphere really allowed the music to grow and take on it’s own unique personality. It was really starting to blow up, and the crowds just kept getting better each week. So, after some time, we started thinking, “this band really needs to record something”! Now, after listening back to the masters of the Mashville Brigade’s first album, I can honestly say that we are all very happy with what we were able to do!

The CD was recorded in a rather unique manner for the age we live in. The guys met at the Station Inn, their primary creative outlet, during the daylight hours and tracked the entire thing in under 8 hours with no overdubs. (more…)

Tonight is a big night for Darrell Webb, the newest member of Rhonda Vincent & The Rage. Starting at 6:00 p.m., he’ll be recording a live album at the converted Bellamy’s Hardware building in Surgoinsville, TN. And the boss will be on hand to lend her support.

Rhonda and the band will join Darrell on stage for the live recording, as will fiddle legend Bobby Hicks and award-winning vocalist Marty Raybon. Songs set to be cut include bluegrass favorites like Little Maggie and Molly And Tennbrooks, plus You Can’t Have One Without The Other, which Darrell nows sings as a part of Rhonda’s show.

If you’ll be in East Tennessee, there is no admission charge to attend the taping, but seating is limited. Contact info can be found online.

Ashby Frank is a talented musician who, despite his youth, has already been a part of several notable ensembles. At 24 years old, Ashby - who is the current mandolinist with Special Consensus - has toured with Marty Raybon, Alecia Nugent and Ronnie Bowman.

He lives in Nashville, which necessitates a lot of travel since Special C is based in Chicago, but Ashby feels that Music City offers him a great many opportunities for session work and musical interaction that he can’t find elsewhere.

One of those offshoots is Mashville Brigade, a loose-knit group of sidemen who get together on Tuesday nights at Nashville’s fabled Station Inn. Members include Frank on mandolin, Darrel Webb on guitar, Jim Van Cleve on fiddle, Greg Martin on bass and Aaron McDarris on banjo. They typically perform bluegrass classics, but have developed a strong following based as much on their quirky, irreverent sense of humor as for their prodigious musical abilities.

One of those special talents is vocal impressions, and a recent YouTube video demonstrates that Ashby and Darrell have the goods to give such stalwarts of the genre as Tim Stafford and Steve Gulley a run for their money. The video is a bit shaky but the audio is fine, and their take on John Conlee and Willie Nelson is hilarious.

Ashby tells us that this side project has been a blast for all concerned, allowing the members to have some fun outside of their primary gigs. Webb now tours with Rhonda Vincent, Van Cleve is a part of Mountain Heart and McDarris plays with The Grascals, so a Tuesday night playing bluegrass favorites is a welcome weekly diversion.

We’ve been doing the Mashville Brigade thing for over a year, and we’re all really happy that it’s turned into one of the biggest nights of the week at the Station Inn. Every Tuesday is kind of like a party/family reunion.

So many people have requested some kind of recorded music from us, and fortunately the great folks over at Rural Rhythm found a way for us to do that. (more…)

Rhonda Vincent has announced that the newest member of her band will be Darrell Webb, performing on guitar and vocals. Darrell had previously been a member of Wildfire, J.D. Crowe & The New South and Lonesome River Band, playing mandolin.

Rhonda is taking most of the remainder of 2007 off the road, but Darrell will be in tow when they kick off the new year early in ‘08.

On her official bulletin board, Rhonda had this to say about her newest Rager:

“Though Darrell is accomplished on every bluegrass instrument, his new position as the official guitarist for Rhonda Vincent & The Rage marks the first in his career on guitar.

Darrell brings his incredible vocal style and veteran musicianship to The Rage.

The group has already established an original sound with Darrell, as they have recently added a new original song, featuring Darrell on a stand out bass vocal. A very unique trait for a trademark tenor singer; and a true testament to the astounding vocal range of Darrell Webb.”

For many years now the legend of the Sidemen has lived on even though the group no longer performs at Nashville’s Station Inn.

In recent months, a new group of sidemen have come together to fill the void. They call themselves the Mashville Brigade. The group performs most Tuesday nights at The Station Inn and consists of pickers who all play in different bands on the road.

The line up may not be exactly the same every night if one or more of the guys has a gig somewhere, but the group more or less consists of Aaron McDaris (banjo), Ashby Frank (mandolin), Darrel Webb (guitar), Greg Martin or Randall Barnes (bass), and Jim VanCleve (fiddle).

The group makes an effort to play a strait up hard driving bluegrass setlist each Tuesday night, entertaining the crowd of hardcore fans who turn out for the shows.

Tonight, the line up will be a little different, as the band welcomes a few friends to the stage to “Mash” one with them.

At tonight’s show, band will be:

Josh Williams - guitar and vocals (formerly of Rhonda Vincent)
Darrel Webb - Mandolin and vocals (Currently with Rhonda Vincent)
Tim Dishman - Bass (Special Consensus)
Scott Vestal - Banjo (Sam Bush Band)
Jim VanCleve - Fiddle (Mountain Heart)
Daren Shumaker - sound engineer (Ronnie Bowman & Mountain Heart)

We’re expecting a fun crowd and a lot of energy, as we just recently fronted a show for Dierks Bently (where he graciously gave the Mashville Brigade a glowing review from the stage) at a Charity event in Nashville. You just never know who’s gonna drop in and mash one or two with the band, too, so it’s usually pretty interesting!

The Station Inn has dubbed the Mashville Brigade shows as $5 Tuesdays. The cover charge, pizzas, and pitchers of beer are each $5. If you’re in town, be sure to stop by and watch the guys Mash one!

Despite a nagging sore throat, Rhonda Vincent is heading out for her shows this weekend. She has quite a bit of time in the bus, with shows in Missouri, Nebraska and Texas over the next 3 days.

Darrell Webb will be in tow for the weekend, filling the guitar slot recently vacated by Josh Williams.

Rhonda has some very gracious words of congratulation on her message board for 2007 Female Vocalist of the Year, Dale Ann Bradley.

“Though I would have loved to have brought home #8, I am very happy for Dale Ann Bradley.  Congratulations to you.  You are awesome!”

Jimbo Whaley has a combo CD/DVD project set for release this weekend, An Evening With Jimbo Whaley & Friends. It was recorded (filmed) live at the Smith Family Theater in Pigeon Forge, TN in March of this year, and the new release includes both an audio CD and a concert DVD of the show.

Whaley was a founding member of Pine Mountain Railroad, and performs now with Greenbrier. His songwriting and vocals were a distinctive part of the early PMR sound, and are the feature on the new live release as well.

An Evening With Jimbo Whaley & Friends will be officially released on May 19, where he and Greenbrier will be appearing at the Bloomin’ BBQ and Bluegrass Festival in Sevierville, TN.

In bluegrass circles, we are accustomed to the band member merry-go-round that occurs every few years. The Winter of ‘06/’07 has been an especially volatile one in this respect, and it seems that there are still a few shoes left hanging in the air.

The newest entry in the 2006 Bluegrass Band Sweepstakes is Flash Train, from Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, with former members of some of the top acts in the business. Their resumes include time with James King, Lonesome River Band, JD Crowe, Wildfire and The Warrior River Boys.

Flash Train consists of Joe Clark on mandolin, Andy Ruff on dobro, Darrell Webb on guitar, Nicholas Ball on banjo and Jerry Cole on bass.

Their web site is still under construction, but you can contact them from there. They also have a page on MySpace which includes four audio samples from the new band.

As a side note, we hear from Curt Chapman of Wildfire that they have brought in new members and will be continuing on with their own brand of contemporary bluegrass. We expect to be able to announce their new lineup in a few days.

We heard last week from mandolinist Ashby Frank with word of a new “second band” featuring members of several Nashville-based bluegrass acts.

They are calling themselves Mashville Brigade, and they debuted at The Station Inn on December 5. Ashby said that they have more dates there in January, and hope to move into a semi-regular Tuesday night slot there next year.

The group consists of Frank (with Alecia Nugent’s band) on mandolin, Darrel Webb (of Wildfire) on guitar, Jim VanCleve (of Mountain Heart) on fiddle, Greg Martin on bass, and Aaron McDaris (the newest member of The Grascals) on banjo.

The new band got a nice feature in The Nashville City Paper last week, in which Ashby shared an insight into the name of the group.

“In bluegrass circles we always talk about really getting into something and mashing it,” Frank said. “We’re going to be playing bluegrass styled music, but it will be very upbeat, a party type rather than more staid or traditional material. We’re not a jam band, but we will be playing an explosive, enjoyable brand of acoustic music.”

Ashby told us that they will perform material from the various members’ solo projects, and bluegrass jam classics.

As a member of IIIrd Tyme Out, Steve Dilling is accustomed to having the month of December free each year. The band has long blocked the last month of the year off their tour schedule, both to allow for time with their families around the holidays, and to get rested and re-energized before starting up again in the new year.

A few years ago, Steve came up with the idea to put a group together with members of other groups, to perform shows during December. The idea has since grown into a mini-tour, with this year’s edition featuring Clay Jones from Mountain Heart on guitar, John Wade from The James King Band on bass, Ron Stewart from JD Crowe & The New South on fiddle, Darrell Webb from Wildfire on mandolin, and Dilling on banjo.

Steve says that the holiday tour grew from a single show, with interest in the band expanding as the word goes out.

“The idea of this band is something that I started a few years ago. Back then, it was just for one night on a local basis here around the Raleigh area. In 2005, I had the idea of seeing if I could take this on the road, and quickly booked a few gigs. After the success of last years shows, I thought that I would try it again. Now I am actually getting promoters wanting us to do a few festivals. I don’t know if that will happen, because we are all so busy with our individual bands… but it is kind of nice to be in demand.

I hope to record this band at some point, because I feel strong about the music that we are playing, and it would be nice to have something to sell on the road when we do play. Most of the guys have individual solo recordings, so we have worked up some material form each of those, we also do a few Christmas songs, as well as some standards, but most of all, we have a great time. It is a time to enjoy playing, and get out of the normal band routine situation. I hope that everyone will come out and see the band.”

They will do four shows over the next week or so in Galax VA, Grayson KY, Bradshaw WV and Frederick MD. You can find details on these shows on Steve’s web site.

Wildfire’s Darrell Webb and his wife Amanda celebrated the birth of their first child, Norah Katherine Webb, earlier this week. Congratulations to the new family!