The Clyde, North Carolina-based quintet Balsam Range has just announced the release of their debut CD, Marching Home.

The band comprises Marc Pruett (banjo), Caleb Smith (guitar), Darren Nicholson (mandolin), Tim Surrett (upright bass and resonator guitar) and Buddy Melton (fiddle) who all hail from Haywood County and live within 10 minutes of each other.

The quintet got together recently after various combinations had assisted in the production of solo albums. All the members of Balsam Range are from and live currently in Haywood County located in Western North Carolina. Although each were from the same town they had not played together as a group until this year. The start of the formation came with Buddy Melton’s solo recording project which featured Marc Pruett on banjo, Tim Surrett on bass, Tony Rice on guitar and Adam Steffey on mandolin. Shortly after that session, Darren Nicholson recorded his solo project which also included Marc Pruett, Tim Surrett and an array of various bluegrass greats. Soon they were getting together at each others houses to play great music for the fun of it. It basically snowballed from there.

Surrett, for whom music has been a big part of his life since school days, had recently moved back home after being gone from the area for many years traveling and playing with groups such as the Kingsmen. Nicholson had recently come off the road after playing for three years with Rounder recording artist Alecia Nugent, while Smith, who has been playing music since the age of 7, had found himself home after years of traveling with a bluegrass gospel group he helped form called Harvest. Pruett, who has long been associated with Ricky Skaggs, as well as playing with James Monroe among others, and Melton, a relative new-comer having got serious about bluegrass music while at Western Carolina University, had once played together in a bluegrass gospel group called Rock Springs Reunion and had recently started playing events together again. Some might say the timing of this union was more than just coincidental.

The CD is the result of a three way collaboration involving the group, Crossroads Records and Evergreen Publishing in Nashville. It was originally intended as a Bill Monroe tribute album, but in the end Balsam Range decided to include songs from other sources, because they felt that would be a better presentation for the band

They kept six songs associated with Monroe and added the balance of 13 from what band members brought to the sessions.

Marc Pruett spoke of the original material that they used for the CD to Carol Mallett Rifkin during an interview published in Ashville’s Citizen-Times ……………….

“Two of the songs were written by Milan Miller, of Waynesville. He and Buddy Melton are close friends. When Buddy worked in Nashville with the Jubal Foster band, he met songwriter Connie Harrington and she brought Blue Mountain to him. We all loved it. The producer wanted a really fast song, one that would blister the paint off the back wall. One that I had in my back pocket was The Train’s Ready. The Marching Home instrumental, well, my family has been interested in Civil War history for a long time. I was sitting around thinking about Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox and all those boys. One day they were in the army of Northern Virginia and the next day they were marching home. That was the inspiration.”

At the same time Buddy Melton said …….. (more…)

Noted tunesmith Jerry Salley will the guest in this evening’s Songwriter Chat at The Bluegrass Guide. Jerry will be online to discuss his career and the craft at 8:00 p.m. (EST) on Tuesday, February 20.

He has been writing in Nashville since 1982, with more than 300 songs recorded, many by country hit makers like Reba McEntire and John Anderson, with 10 songs that have reached the Top 20 on the gospel music charts.

Jerry has released a bluegrass project this year, New Songs, Old Friends, with contributions from such stellar artists as Vince Gill, Doyle Lawson, Bryan Sutton, Adam Steffey, Jamie Johnson, Rob Ickes, Del McCoury, Rhonda Vincent, Carl Jackson, Stuart Duncan, Larry Cordle, Alecia Nugent, Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White.

To participate in tonight’s Songwriter Chat, simply visit the Bluegrass Guide Chat Room at 8:00 p.m. As always, the chat will be hosted and moderated by Rick Lang.

This post is a contribution from Richard Thompson, a founding member of the British Bluegrass Music Association, and a semi-regular correspondent and contributor for The Bluegrass Blog. He is also a longstanding contributor to British Bluegrass News, a quarterly print publication where he also briefly served as editor.

The Arden, North Carolina, based Mountain Home Music Company that recently announced the signing of songwriter and performer Jerry Salley also announced just before Christmas that Salley will have his debut recording for the label released on January 16, 2007.

The new project, New Songs, Old Friends, comprises a selection of self-penned songs and features Salley with a group of some of his own favourite pickers and singers, including Vince Gill, Doyle Lawson, Bryan Sutton, Adam Steffey, Jamie Johnson, Rob Ickes, Del McCoury, Sonya Isaacs, David Talbot, Rhonda Vincent, Carl Jackson, Stuart Duncan, Larry Cordle, Alecia Nugent, Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White.

Considered one of Music Row’s most successful writers, Salley is known in the Bluegrass, Gospel and Mainstream Country markets as a masterful tunesmith. He says of this new release:

“I wanted to do a bluegrass project that included some of the wonderful artists who have recorded my songs in the past - folks I respect and am honoured to call ‘friends’. Each artist brought their own unique sound and talent to the project, truly making it a very special ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ recording. I’ve known most of them for a long time and I value the quality of our relationships, both professionally and personally.”

Ty Gilpin, of the promotions department at Mountain Home Music, adds:

“This is Jerry’s first major release. Although the top performers in the business have recorded his tunes, this project allows him to shine both as a singer and performer as well as a powerful writer.”

Mountain Home Music Company is a division of Crossroads Entertainment and Marketing.

Editor’s note: Track listing details and audio samples can be found on Jerry’s web site.

The next CD from Lonesome River Band, The Road With No End, is scheduled for a July release on Mountain Home Records. Sammy Shelor mentioned yesterday that he has a few more banjo tracks to finish, and then they will be ready to start mixing. This will be the first release from the newly reconfigured LRB, with Shannon Slaughter on guitar, Barry Berrier on bass, and Jeff Parker still on mandolin. Guesting on the new CD will be Ron Stewart on fiddle, and Matt Leadbetter on dobro.

Sam said that he was really excited about the material on the new project, with new songs from Billy Smith, Jerry Salley, Shawn Camp, the Easter Brothers and band members Slaughter and Berrier among others. He also mentioned that pre-release sales will be available from the band’s web site, including digital downloads. Keep an eye on their site for more details over the next few weeks.

The LRB site is also reporting that Matt Leadbetter will be out with the band on dobro during the month of June. Matt is the 22 year old son of Wildfire dobroist Phil Leadbetter.