The mandolin division at Gibson Original Acoustic Instruments is a place of legends. Names like Lloyd Loar and Charlie Derrington are ever present in the minds of mandolinists. Danny Roberts, of the Grascals, has also served a stint with Gibson in recent years.

The latest addition to the staff at Gibson OAI is mandolinist, producer, and luther, David Harvey.

David Harvey, master musician and producer has joined the Gibson Original Acoustic Instruments Division (GOAI) as master luthier.

In David’s new role he will oversee the mandolin production and be an active participation in all quality control matters. David will also conduct clinics and dealer events throughout the country and will play an integral role in the presence of Gibson Original Acoustic Instruments in the Bluegrass community worldwide.

David has an extensive background in instrument construction and repair and has served many bluegrass stars as the ‘go-to’ guy for needed repairs and set up.

You can read the full press release here.

Brance told us in early February that mandolinist Davide Harvey would be leaving his position with The Claire Lynch Band.

Claire has just posted an open letter which David wrote to fans and friends of the band, to share the reasons why he had reluctantly come to the conclusion that he had to make this move. These include the demands of his position at Gibson, and a desire to be at home to spend time with his young daughter.

“Folks, this isn’t farewell….our music community is small and it is a comfort to me to know that my family and I will see you at music events from time to time. I have many projects in the works….I have started production on Moody Bluegrass, Volume II, and will hopefully release a solo project in the near future. I also plan to continue live performances as I can.”

Read David’s letter in full on Clair’s site.

Claire Lynch is currently auditioning mandolin players to fill the role being vacated by longtime band member David Harvey. Harvey has been a member of the band for the last thee and half years and has contributed significantly to the band’s sound in that time. He has recently announced that he will be leaving the group this spring and the search is on for his replacement.

The band is now auditioning mandolin players… additional skills on fiddle preferred. Vocals (low tenor to Claire’s lead) a must.

Those interested in the position must be willing to tour extensively, as evidenced by the band’s tour schedule, and must also be capable of performing in both traditional bluegrass style and outside the “bluegrass box.”

Inquiries concerning the gig should be directed to: clairelynchband@gmail.com

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Our guest on this episode of The GrassCast is Claire Lynch. In the interview John and Claire discuss her history in bluegrass music, talk about her band members, and discuss her newest CD, New Day. The discussion leads to previewing three of the tracks off the CD, one of which was written by Claire. The conversation turns to songwriting and what makes a good song in her opinion.

Those of you who enjoy Claire’s music should find this interview intersting. If you’ve never heard Claire before, this is a good chance to preview her music and see what you think.

Direct Download: ep50_claire_lynch.mp3 (It’s a big one - 18MB)

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Additional links:

clairelynch.com
missyraines.com
jimhurst.com

New Day is the title of the upcoming CD from Claire Lynch - her fifth for Rounder Records - and her new band, the appropriately named Claire Lynch Band. The band includes Jim Hurst on guitar, David Harvey on mandolin, and Missy Raines on bass. Guest appearances on the CD were made by Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Charlie Cushman (banjo), Alison Brown (banjo), and Rob Ickes (dobro). It was recorded at the new Rec Room Studio by celebrated engineer (and studio owner) Ben Surratt, who also has the distinction of being married to the aforementioned Ms. Raines.

New Day is expected to be released on March 28, and advance orders can be placed on Claire’s web site. Radio and press promos are being sent out now, and copies for sale are anticipated shortly. Claire has a CD release celebration scheduled for April 15 at the Station Inn in Nashville, and you can get details about this, and all her other shows, on her web site.

No audio yet online, but you can see the track listing on the Rounder site. We’ll be sure to update when we find some audio samples.

The popular and acclaimed NashCamp has announced their Music Camps for 2006, with three, week-long events during the summer, and a weekend banjo retreat in the fall.

First up is two weeks of bluegrass instruction, aptly named Bluegrass Weeks. Each of the two, one-week sessions feature well-known bluegrass performers as instructors, with a mix of small group instruction and band labs as the focus. Elective workshops are also offered in less technical, but equally crucial elements of learning and performing in the bluegrass genre.

The faculty for Bluegrass Weeks includes Ron Stewart, Missy Raines, Roland White, Fletcher Bright, David Harvey, Jim Hurst, Tim Scheerhorn and Greg Cahill.

Next comes Songwriting Week (July 30-August 4), with such heralded instructors as Carl Jackson, Tim Stafford and Claire Lynch among a faculty of ten successful country and bluegrass songwriters. Students will rotate through the various instructors for instruction and critique on the various aspects of the craft. Guest speakers will include reps from music publishing companies and songwriter rights organizations.

Lastly, they offer the Fall Banjo Retreat (October 20-22), an intensive 3 day weekend event with instructors Sonny Osborne, Ron Block, Alan Munde and Bill Evans.

All NashCamp workshops are open to players at any skill level. More details (costs, complete faculty lists, registration info, lodging and directions) can be found on the NashCamp site.

As an adjunct to our previous post…

The Grascals being invited to open for Brooks & Dunn in NYC means that Danny Roberts is unable to serve on the mandolin faculty for this week’s Roanoke Bluegrass Weekend as had previously been arranged. RBW host Herschel Sizemore is delighted to pass along word that David Harvey has agreed to serve in his place.

David is currently the mandolinist with Claire Lynch, and won some notoriety of late as the producer of the Moody Bluegrass CD.