After reporting yesterday about Dale Perry joining up to play bass with Grasstowne, I contacted Pine Mountain Railroad to see who had stepped into the banjo spot that Dale had vacated.

We heard right back from bass player Bill McBee, with information about the band’s new lineup and the hot young super picker they have brought on board.

“Good to hear about Dale finding a new spot with the boys of Grasstowne. He departed PMRR a couple of months ago to take care of personal business.  All of us certainly admire his talent and knowledge of bluegrass and gospel music; we wish him nothing but the best.

Seth Taylor, of Bryson City, NC, has joined us on banjo and also doubles on some guitar leads. Seth is one of the brightest rising stars in bluegrass. In 2008, Seth won the Merlefest Adult Guitar Championship. This year, Seth won the Merlefest Adult Banjo Championship as well. On top of that, Seth is very accomplished on both mandolin and dobro; he also appeared at IBMA last year as a distinguished member of Kids on Bluegrass along with Sierra Hull and a host of terrifically talented young pickers.

Seth is an extremely intelligent young man, an advanced-placement home schooled student. Seth is more mature than his years might suggest and travels – and performs – like a true pro picker. He has been lighting up audiences already at Bean Blossom, Turkey Tracks, and other festival/concert appearances around the country as our newest member. Several instrumentals we perform, such as Big Mon and Rebecca, showcase him switching between guitar and banjo during the numbers – all performed flawlessly and at a high rate of speed.”

You can look over the PMRR tour schedule online to see when you might have a chance to catch Seth with the band at a show in your neck of the woods.

The Gospel Music Association on Friday (2/20) announced the nominations for their forthcoming awards show.
Among the finalists for the 40th Annual Dove Awards are the following nominees in the two bluegrass categories.

Bluegrass Recorded Song (song; album; artist; writer; label)

• Help Is On The Way; Help Is On The Way; Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver; Michael E. Reed; Horizon Records
• I See A Crimson Stream; Sounds Like Sunday; Janet Paschal; Garfield T. Haywood; Vine Records
• The Old White Flag; You Gotta Love It!; Triumphant Quartet; Dianne Wilkinson; Daywind Records
• They’re Holding Up The Ladder; We Are Family; Jeff & Sheri Easter, Lewis Family, Easter Brothers; Russell Easter, James Easter, Edd Easter; Daywind Records
• What Will I Wear?; I Just Wanted You To Know; Kim Hopper; Deborah Bailey; Canaan Records

Bluegrass Album (album; artist; producer; label)

• Bluegrass Worship; Various; Steve Ivey; Star Song Music
• Help Is On The Way; Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver; Doyle Lawson; Horizon Records
• Hymns From Chigger Hill; Chigger Hill Boys & Terri; Mike Richards, Terri Argot Gore, Ricky Gore, Mark Dunham, Bobby Strangenberg, Ethan Blair, Justin Kropf; Daywind Records
• I Don’t Regret A Mile; Larry Sparks; Larry Sparks; Sparks Music
• Pickin’, Praisin’, & Singin’: Hymns From The Mountain; Cody Shuler & Pine Mountain Railroad; Bill McBee, Dale Thomas, Jerry Cole, Cody Shuler, Matt Flake; Rural Rhythm
• We Are Family; Jeff & Sheri Easter, Lewis Family, Easter Brothers; Jeff Easter, Sheri Easter; Daywind Records
• What A Journey; Paul Williams & The Victory Trio; Paul Williams; Rebel Records

Bluegrass artists, musicians, producers and labels are also represented among the nominees in a variety of other categories, most notably in the following …..

Special Event Album (album; artist; producer; label)

• Billy: The Early Years Official Motion Picture Soundtrack; Brooks & Dunn, Mac Powell, Sara Evans, Alan Jackson, China Edelman, Patty Griffin, Brandon Heath, Gregory Page, Michael W. Smith, Melinda Doolittle, Roy Orbison, Brad Paisley, Josh Turner, Sierra Hull, John Cowan, Harry Stinson, Ronnie Bowman, Ronnie McCoury, John Wesley Ryles; Anastasia Brown; Arista Nashville, Essential Records
• Country Bluegrass Homecoming Volume One; Gaither Vocal Band, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, The Grascals, Buddy Greene, The Isaacs, Gordon Mote, Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, The Booth Brothers, George Jones, Wesley Pritchard, Reggie & Ladye Love Smith, Brittany Allen, Jeff & Sheri Easter, Charlotte Ritchie, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Jimmy Fortune, Dailey & Vincent, Jason Crabb, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, Cherryholmes, Lisa Daggs-Charette, Vince Gill, Sonya Isaacs, Becky Isaacs Bowman; Bill Gaither; Gaither Music Group
• How Great Thou Art: Gospel Favorites from the Grand Ole Opry; The Charlie Daniels Band, Mac Powell, Alan Jackson, Patty Loveless, Ronnie Milsap, Ricky Skaggs & The Whites, Sara Evans, Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins, Loretta Lynn, Vince Gill, Dierks Bentley, Carrie Underwood; Steve Gibson; Sony BMG Nashville

Long Form Music Video (title; artist; director; producer; production company; label)

• Country Bluegrass Homecoming Volume One; Bill & Gloria Gaither; Doug Stuckey; Bill Gaither; Gaither Television Productions; Gaither Music Group

The recipients will be announced at the televised show on April 23 in Nashville, Tennessee.

A complete list of nominees and more information about the GMA and the Dove Awards is available online.

Cody Shuler recently announced that effect October 18, 2008, Dale Perry has joined Pine Mountain Railroad. Dale will be playing the 5 and singing harmony vocals.

Dale’s bass singin as been a distinguishing marks of the bands he’s performed with in the past, including the Lonesome River Band, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, and David Parmely & Continental Divide.

Dale has periodically taken time off the road between bands to run his Lakeside Recording Studio, even recording the last Pine Mountain Railroad CD. I asked Cody Shuler to share with us the story of how Dale came to join the band.

I am glad to have Dale Perry be a part of this band. His vocal work along with his great banjo playing brings some great new sounds from this band. We have been working on some great quartets that feature some of his great bass singing. Dale recorded our latest cd “Pickin’ Praisin’ & Singin’ at his Lakeside Studio in Moneta, VA. He will also be recording a cd we are currently working on as well. Dale has played with some great groups through the years, The Bluegrass Cardinals, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, and David Parmley. I am very excited to have him join CS & PMR.

Be sure to keep an eye on PMR’s tour schedule and go hear them with Dale Perry in the band.

Pine Mountain Railroad, now owned and managed by Bryson City, North Carolina, born Cody Shuler, released an all-Gospel collection on July 15.

Recently voted 2007 winner of the Bluegrass Gospel Song Of The Year award by Singing News magazine and backed with several Top 10 albums and songs on the Bluegrass Unlimited and Billboard charts, Pine Mountain Railroad has released its eighth album, Pickin’, Praisin’ & Singin’ Hymns From The Mountain (Rural Rhythm RHY-328).

The specially-priced 16-track album contains a mixture of gospel classics from yesterday with a few new songs that the group hope will become standards of the future.

Among the standards are Where The Soul Of Man Never Dies, a familiar and beloved hymn given a very-different-from-the-traditional treatment; How Beautiful Heaven Must Be; The Old Rugged Cross, on which Jerry Cole sings lead; What Would You Give In Exchange, performed as a true-to-tradition tribute to the Monroe Brothers; and Rock Of Ages, with intricate harmonising.

Less well known are Run On which was originally recorded by the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet in the 1920s and, later, by Elvis Presley. The Pine Mountain Railroad version is done with 5-part harmony and an original ending; The Gospel Ship, a relatively-obscure song, but one that has been around a long time; So High, done a cappella style; and I Bowed On My Knees and Cried Holy, from the black gospel music repertoire of the 1930s.

Alongside are newer compositions My Eye’s Shall Be On Canaan’s Land, which Shuler wrote just for this album; Blood Bought My Freedom; and Let’s Meet By The River, originally by The Spencers and a No.1 hit recording for them in Southern Gospel music market.

The recordings were done at Dale Perry’s Lakeside Studios in Moneta, Virginia. Perry also mixed and mastered the project, having particular regard to the specific way that Shuler wanted the vocal mix.

Cody Shuler & Pine Mountain Railroad comprises Shuler (mandolin and vocals), Bill McBee (bass and vocals), Matt ‘Scooter’ Flake (fiddle and vocals), Jerry Cole (guitar & vocals) and Dale Thomas (banjo and vocals).

Railroad Pickin’, Praisin’ & Singin’ Hymns From The Mountain is available for a special introductory price on the Rural Rhythm web site.