John Cowan has always been something of a maverick in, and on the fringes of the bluegrass music world.

His first introduction to bluegrass fans came when he joined New Grass Revival in 1974, where he held forth as bass player and lead vocalist until the group disbanded in 1990. Championed by legions of remaining fans, NGR pushed their share of boundaries, and John’s rock and blues-inflected vocals shaped much of their distinctive sound.

Since then, he has worked with Sam Bush, The Doobie Brothers and others while continuing to release solo projects, eventually forming his own group, The John Cowan Band, whose recording career began in 2002. Cowan’s band and his current sound owe much to the “newgrass style” he helped pioneer, and his road show reflects that vibe as well.

His latest release, Comfort & Joy, was released October 13 on Koch Records, and it may come as a surprise to a lot of his fans. It’s a Christmas CD that pairs John’s soaring vocals with some familiar and beloved favorites, arranged for acoustic stringed instruments.

John shared some thoughts with us about the CD, starting with what led him to this theme.

“It was an idea that had been floating around since I sang Please Come Home for Christmas by Charles Brown for a Christmas record produced by Chuck Rhodes last year for Koch records. I had been very familiar with Charles’ original version, though most people nowadays may associate that song with The Eagles. I really enjoyed it, and it sort of set me to thinking about a Christmas CD.”

I wondered if it struck him as odd to be recording Christmas music “out of season.”

“Perhaps, but music is everything to me, it’s mostly what I think about 24/7. Other than it being early July, it was just part of the creative process for all of us.”

Speaking of “all of us,” I asked who recorded with John for Comfort & Joy.

“Our band, primarily: Jeff Autry on acoustic guitar and vocals, John Frazier on mandolin and vocals, Shad Cobb on fiddle and vocals, and our wonderful drummer Bryon Larrance. We had quite a few guests: Charlie Chadwick on upright bass, John Mock on gut-string guitar and pennywhistle, Jim Hoke on autoharp, Kenny Malone on percussion, Tom Britt on acoustic finger-picked guitar/slide. (more…)

We’ve been in touch recently with Fred Robbins, a photographer and bluegrass enthusiast who has posted a brilliant set of photos from the 1972 Country Gentlemen Festival at Indian Ranch online. This was the first such festival hosted by the Gents, held in Webster, MA.

Fred tells us that he just stumbled across the slides after decades sitting in a box, and says that he is delighted to be able to share them with the bluegrass community.

If you enjoyed the Bluegrass Country Soul DVD released in 2006, you are sure to appreciate Fred’s photos, which were taken a year after the festival documented in that DVD. New bluegrass fans will get a kick out of seeing some of today’s premier artists when they were younger, and folks who were following bluegrass in the 1970s will have some powerful memories rekindled.

There are shots of The Country Gentlemen, The Kentucky Gentlemen, Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, James Monroe, Bluegrass 45, The McLain Family, Mac Wiseman, IInd Generation and the original Newgrass Revival.

Here are a few images Fred agreed to let us post, but you really need to see them all, put together in a very nice slide show online.

               

Fred also has a great many audio and video recordings from bluegrass events posted where they can be seen and heard online.

Another major benefit concert is scheduled for March 20 in Louisville, KY. The show is intended to mark 2009 as the 40th anniversary of newgrass music, and the crucial role that Louisville played in its birth and development.

In fact there is much more than just a concert in store for the Ruby celebrations. A documentary DVD, audio CD/LP and a coffee table book are all scheduled for a fall ‘09 release centered around The Bluegrass Hotel, an informal bluegrass rooming house for L’ville grassers in the 1970s.

The Hotel is a large Victorian-era home in the Cherokee Park neighborhood, not far from downtown Louisville. The house is and was then owned by Harry Bickel, who offered rooms at attractive rates to bluegrass musicians in the area.

One of those who stayed there in the ’70s was Bill Millet, former banjo picker with The Bluegrass Alliance who works now as a music producer. In addition to touring widely, this group served as an internship for young, progressive bluegrass pickers at that time. Other members during that period include Sam Bush, Tony Rice, Dan Crary, Vince Gill, Curtis Burch and Courtney Johnson.

In fact, Newgrass Revival got its start when the four original members (Bush, Johnson, Burch and Ebo Walker) left Bluegrass Alliance to launch the Revival after a simmering feud developed between the four of them and band leader Lonnie Peerce.

Millet grew up in Texas, but found himself living in Louisville when he took the Alliance gig.

“I was the first resident of The Bluegrass Hotel in 1975, and Vince Gill was it’s 4th in the same year when he took my invitation to join The Bluegrass Alliance, replacing the outgoing Glenn Lawson (going to J.D. Crowe).

Harry Bickel bought a huge house and initially needed boarders to offset expenses. They were mostly comprised of members of The Bluegrass Alliance and other related pickers that Harry knew and trusted. Harry Sparks had an instrument repair shop set up in the basement which attracted Sam Bush, J.D. Crowe and others, because Sparky was their luthier/repairman of choice.”

Bill recalls paying $45 each month, plus a share of utilities for his room. Other notable pickers who stayed during the 70s include Tony Rice, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson, Tony Williamson, and Jack Lawrence. (more…)