Jimmy Ross tells us that the Scheerhorn guitar showcase CD he tipped us to last year is nearly ready to go.

It will include 16 tracks which feature top resonator guitarists performing on instruments built by Tim Scheerhorn. A June release is anticipated on Randy Kohrs’ Left Of Center label.

Jimmy also provided a full track listing:

• Wheel Hoss - Rob Ickes
• 2 in 24 - Sally Van Meter-Randy Kohrs
• Walkin’ to Rockford - Bruce Bouton
• Is This America - Mike Witcher
• Fishtail - Andy Hall
• Drivin’ The Nails - Lou Wamp
• River Of Tears - Shannon Hayes
• She’s Crazy About Me - Justin Moses
• Hot Toddy’s Snake Oil - Todd Livingston
• Autumn Sunset - Tim Scheerhorn
• Cattle In The Cane - Lee Hiers
• Carters Blues - Jack Ferguson
• Primo Dueto for Reso and Viola - Billy Cardine
• Dust My Broom - Randy Kohrs
• Turnaround - Jimmy Ross
• What A Friend - Tim Scheerhorn

We’ll have more info when the CD is released.

Here’s a YouTube clip of Toby Keith singing Please Come Home For Christmas on the Ellen show December 6.

Rob Ickes is prominently featured on dobro.

Wechter Guitars has posted two new videos on YouTube, both of which show reso-master Rob Ickes test driving a new 6535R Wechter/Scheerhorn resonator guitar - the Rob Ickes signature model. The video was shot in a hotel room at last month’s IBMA convention in Nashville, and has Rob playing a new guitar, while discussing it with Abe Wechter and Tim Scheerhorn, who jointly designed and build these instruments.

The Ickes model is based on Rob’s custom Scheerhorn with the bodies and necks made in China, and then assembled with Scheerhorn components at the Wechter shop in Michigan. While the heralded Scheerhorn guitars sell for several thousand dollars and require waiting periods of two to three years, the Wechter/Scheerhorn hybrids can be had for less than $1000 and shipped right away.

Here is the first of the two YouTube clips, the other found on the Wechter site.

We received two fine CDs recently, from artists whose music may not be familiar to a wide listening audience. Both projects have their roots in the rich, fertile “bluegrass crescent” that encircles eastern Kentucky and Tennessee along with western Virginia and North Carolina.

Tim Carter, along with his brother Danny, has been performing as The Carter Brothers since 2001. These Carters claim a distant relation to the legendary Carter Family, and bring their traditional music roots to their more eclectic, blues/rock/bluegrass show. Brother Tim now has his own solo releases, and he steps forward as the bluegrass part of the band’s equation. Ten songs, all but on written or co-written by Carter, feature Tim as a fine instrumentalist and a vocalist as well. Guests include Tim Stafford, both on guitar and as co-writer on several tracks, plus Rob Ickes on dobro, Casey Driessen on fiddle and Alison Brown on second banjo on a tune she and Tim wrote together.

Tim’s compositions for banjo tend towards the progressive realm, but his songs have a very traditional feel to them. The mix provides the artistic tension for Bang Bang, and makes for a very enjoyable listen.

Audio samples can be found on Tim’s MySpace page, and ordering is enabled on The Carter Brothers site and on CD Baby.

Tommy Webb’s new CD is entitled Eastern Kentucky, and he has called on some of the heavy hitters from that region of the country to assist him. Banjo legend JD Crowe supplies some words of praise on the back cover, and while his touring band of Chris Goble (banjo), Tadd Huff (bass) and Kenny O’Quinn (mandolin) supports him on a few cuts, the bulk of the recording features one of my very favorite bluegrass bands - Ron Stewart and Harold Nixon.

Ron supplies banjo, mandolin and fiddle on most of the tracks, and adds his guitar and resonator guitar to a few others. His New South bandmate Nixon provides bass on these same tracks, and the effect is quite powerful. I’ve suggested here in the past that Stewart is the most accomplished bluegrass musician of his generation, and those abilities are clearly on display here. He also produced and recorded this project, which has his sparkle all over it.

But Ron’s wizardry is not the main focus here, it’s Webb’s hardcore bluegrass singing and songwriting. A highlight is his grassified reworking of Clinton Gregory’s country hit, (If It Weren’t For Country Music) I’d Go Crazy, which reemerges as If It Weren’t For Bluegrass Music I’d Go Crazy. If you are familiar with the original, the clever retooling of the lyrics will be especially enjoyable.

Audio for Eastern Kentucky is also available on both MySpace and CD Baby.

After teaching at Sore Fingers Week in England earlier this month, Rob Ickes, Noam Pikelny and Casey Driessen did some touring in the UK as The Nashville Acoustic All Stars.

The folks at ukbluegrass.com posted yesterday with links to three video clips on YouTube from a performance of theirs in Scotland. They were shot with two cameras, and offer a nice look at these fine musicians up close in a loose, jam-like setting.

The songs from this show (at the Polish Club, Kirkcaldy, Fife) are Sally In The Garden, Aint’ Gonna Work Tomorrow and Foggy Mountain Rock.

There is one other clip from this tour on YouTube, shot at the Ex-Servicemans Club, Helsby in England. This one has the boys playing a rip-roarin’ version of Groundspeed - which also includes a couple of choice quips from the guys at the start.

The latest issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles is in the mail, and subscribers should see it in their mailbox soon - if they haven’t already received it. The cover feature is an interview with Russell Moore of IIIrd Tyme Out, in which he covers his long career in bluegrass, starting with his days as a member of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.

Other items include an interview with Steve Gulley and Phil Leadbetter about their new venture, Grasstown. Paul Williams discusses his favorites off-stage pursuits, and Rob Ickes talks about his resonator guitars. Interviews with Cadillac Sky’s Bryan Simpson and The Grascal’s Terry Smith are found in the March/April ‘07 issue as well.

Publisher Kevin Kerfoot was especially proud of this announcement:

This issue also includes the debut of BMP’s Top 20 Hot Picks singles chart and its Top 10 Bluegrass CDs chart. Both charts are based on songs receiving the most radio play from BMP reporting stations.

Find out more about BMP on their web site.

Rob Ickes has announced a four day resophonic guitar summit in Nashville this fall. Billed as ResoSummit, it will include workshops and performances, and a hands-on experience is promised for all students.

Instructors tapped to participate in addition to Rob are Mike Auldridge, Phil Leadbetter, Randy Kohrs, Michael Witcher, and Andy Hall, plus luthiers Tim Scheerhorn and Paul Beard.

Things kick off on Thursday (11/8) with a concert at The Station Inn by The Infamous Stringdusters. Classes then run from Friday (11/9) through Sunday (11/11). Here’s how Rob describes the weekend’s activities:

From Friday through Sunday, we’ll have a full menu of workshops, jams, “dobro speed dates,” faculty fave song deconstruction, and other creative approaches designed to ramp up your playing rapidly and enrich your creativity. We’ll be tapping some truly gifted teachers and players to make all this happen, and we’re going to make sure everyone has lots of fun in the process. We’ve found a great campus right off Music Row - The Scarritt-Bennett Center - for all our daytime activities. This beautiful Gothic campus will make you think you’re in college (except no exams!), and will put you in just the right mood for a high-energy learning experience. And a nearby recording studio will be available for a hands-on recording experience, for those who dare!

Each night during the ResoSummit, we’ll head back to The Station Inn for some great performances by bands featuring faculty members, including Three Ring Circle. And for the grand finale on late Sunday afternoon, we’ll have a closing performance at the Harambee Auditorium at Scarritt-Bennett.

By the end of the Summit on Sunday evening, you’ll be loaded up with enough inspiration and “homework” to keep you busy for the next year!

There is no web site for the event, but Rob encourages anyone with an interest in ResoSummit to contact him by email for registration forms. Full tuition is $350, which includes all workshops and evening concerts.

Our friends at UKBluegrass.com just let us know that they have posted to their blog an interview with John and Moira Wirtz who organize Europe’s largest bluegrass/old time music camp, Sore Fingers. The camp has been running each year since 1996 and is scheduled for April 9-14, 2007 this year.

The interview is quite readable and contains a lot of background historical information about the camp. They also talk about the goals they have for the camp this year and in the future. And in describing the camp’s atmosphere, they bring up one of my favorite things about this music, the accessibility of the players.

The instructors for this year’s camp are some of the best players bluegrass music has to offer including, Janet Beazley, Noam Pikelny, Casey Driessen, Rob Ickes, John Lowell, Chris Stuart, and others.

“The event is up there with any other camp,” says John, “but it’s uniquely British in the social aspect and the humour.” Most of the tutors get stuck in to the socialising without difficulty, mingling in the bar and taking part in the sessions. “I love seeing the kids jamming with the tutors,” says John.

What a great opportunity for these youngsters.

If you missed the last interview UKBluegrass.com posted you might want to check it out as well. It’s a good interview with current IBMA Board Chairman, Greg Cahill. You’ll find that interview here.

We posted earlier this week that Larry Keel was profiled in the current (February ‘07) issue of Guitar Player Magazine.

It turns out that dobro master Rob Ickes also gets a mention in this issue, listed among the 100 Forgotten Greats and Unsung Heroes in a feature article.

At least in our bluegrass and acoustic music world, it’s hard to see Rob falling into either of those categories, but it’s nice to see him being recognized by such an influential and widely-read publication.

We found a link on Pete Wernick’s web site that points to the audio from a recent edition of Etown, the weekly radio show hosted by former Hot Rize bass man Nick Forster. The show included one of the occasional reunion performances by Hot Rize, plus an appearance by Earl Scruggs.

Scruggs’ segment starts off with Rob Ickes leading the band through Foggy Mountain Rock, followed by a version of John Hardy. Nick Forster then interviews Earl about how he came to develop his groundbreaking banjo style, which Earl describes in his typically understated and unassuming manner. He also speaks about the early days performing on the road and on TV with Flatt & Scruggs, and how he came to be associated with The Beverly Hillbillies.

After the discussion, the band returns to play The Ballad Of Jed Clampett and Foggy Mountain Breakdown. The music is fine, of course, but for many Scruggs-o-philes, the interview may be the more enjoyable part of the show.

There is a direct link to the audio on Wernick’s site, or it can accessed directly via the Etown archives. Access to the archives is restricted to registered users on the Etown site, so if you feel that you are “getting over” by using Pete’s direct link, you can register and get the audio from this and other Etown programs.

Speaking of Wernick’s web site and Hot Rize…

Pete now has two bits of sample video up at Dr.Banjo.com taken from the recently released Hot Rize concert DVD, shot in 1987. One is the band performing Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning, and a song from their bus mates, Red Knuckles & The Trailblazers doing One Woman Man.

These are Quicktime files of one entire song each, and may take a few minutes to download or open in your browser.

From Ronnie Reno, via J.D. Rhynes, who posted on the California Bluegrass Association web site, comes word that Merle Haggard is working on a bluegrass project.

That CBA news posting elicited a response from Elida Ickes on the CBA message board that her son, Rob, was playing dobro on the Haggard bluegrass sessions.

Rob said initially they all sat in a circle and just jammed on a few tunes that Merle was interested in doing. (Other players are: Aubrie Haynie, Marty Stuart, Ben Isaacs, and Charlie Cushman) Hope I spelled everyone’s name correctly and remembered everyone that was there. Then Merle said he liked this and suggested that they record just sitting in a circle jamming!!! That is what they did so it will be mostly live taping!! Rob said the first song they did was “I Wonder Where You Are Tonight.”

Another song Rob really liked is a new one that Merle wrote called, “Pray.” Rob said the whole time he could not believe he was sitting in the circle “jamming” with Merle Haggard. Again, it was the highlight of Rob’s life. He goes into the studio again today to finish up. They did 8 songs yesterday and hope to do 4 or 5 more today.

You can read the news posting on CBA’s site, and the follow-up bulletin board discussion there as well. We will try to contact some of the players and find out more about this project, which I am certainly eager to hear.

Thanks to Megan Lynch who first alerted us to this story, and Rick Cornish and Craig Wilson with CBA for their help finding the original post in their archives.

We are pleased to publish another tribute to Uncle Josh Graves, this one from the 2006 IBMA Dobro Player of the Year, Rob Ickes.

I was able to go to the service on Tuesday, and it was a really nice tribute to Josh. Eddie Stubbs gave an amazing eulogy.

Josh Graves’ was probably the first dobro playing I ever heard. My older brother played banjo, so we were always listening to Foggy Mountain Banjo - even before I started playing. I loved everything Josh did on that record, especially the breaks on Home Sweet Home and Reuben. They were so soulful, and had such an incredible sound.

That really stood out at the service. They played some of his recordings before and after, and I was struck again by his sound. You hear one note and you know who it is. There is so much feeling that comes through in every note he plays.

Musically, one of the chief things I got from Josh was the feeling that everything he does fits. He can play one note, or a whole lot, and it always seemed appropriate, and adds to the whole thing. I guess that is the main lesson I took from listening to Josh for many, many years.

Plus, he had a great feeling for the blues. That has been a good influence on me.

We all know that he was a great musician, but I want to remind everyone of his wonderful sense of humor. He was always so… cool. Even with all his health problems, he always stayed cool. He would crack everyone up, but remained mellow and calm throughout.

I’m really glad that I was able to be there for the service.

The awards for artists who, on recorded and/or in-person performance during the specified time period, have shown an extraordinary mastery of their instruments. The awards go to the artists.

The Dobro Player Of The Year for 2006 is:

Review past recipients of this award.

We posted in late March about the newly-announced Rob Ickes signature model resophonic guitar manufactured and marketed as a joint venture by Scheerhorn and Wechter Guitars.

The new model is a replica of Rob’s unique custom Scheerhorn, with the bodies and necks made in China, and then assembled with Scheerhorn components at the Wechter shop in Michigan. Unlike the heralded Scheerhorns, however, these new Ickes guitars sell for only $1500, and can be had without the wait of up to several years typical of their big brothers.

Rob has been playing one at most Blue Highway shows since he received the prototype in March, and reports that it sounds great and handles beautifully.

More details are available on Rob’s web site, where you can also place an order for one of the guitars.

Tim Scheerhorn’s name is among the most reverentially uttered in the world of resonator guitars. The instruments he builds are used by many of the most highly regarded players in bluegrass and acoustic music, and the reputation and limited availability of these finely crafted guitars fuels their status as a “must have” acquisition for serious reso-pickers.

Of course, the high cost and long wait times for new Scheerhorns (as much as several years) makes such a purchase difficult for most folks, and may be a big part of the reason for the Scheerhorn-licensed guitars being built by Wechter Guitars of Paw Paw, MI. The guitars were designed by Scheerhorn, and manufactured in Asia, with final assembly and set up done in the Wechter shop before shipping.

The newest addition to the Wechter-Scheerhorn 6500 series is the Rob Ickes signature model, which will be available by early May. The Ickes Model will be made as a replica of Rob’s custom Scheerhorn, with a spruce top, and rosewood back and sides, ivoroid binding, herringbone trim and a (faux) tortoise shell pickguard. Rob’s name is inlaid in the fingerboard, and the top features screenless rings at Rob’s request.

Like the other instruments in the Wechter/Scheerhorn series, the bodies and necks are manufactured and finished (sprayed/buffed) in China, and then delivered by the container-load to the Wechter shop. Here, the bodies are routed for the cones and rings, which are installed by Wechter’s luthiers. The baffles and soundposts are also installed by Wechter, as is the nut, before the guitars are strung up and readied for delivery.

Wechter also installs parabolic reflectors beneath the rings, a curved plastic arch of Scheerhorn design, that is screwed to the braces and placed to direct air towards the sound holes.

Rob is understandably excited about the new guitar.

“I have the prototype here at my house and it looks and sounds incredible - and I’m not just saying that ’cause it has my name on it!

Tim Scheerhorn and Abe Wechter are really into quality, and that’s the reason I wanted to work with them. I’ll be bringing one of the Rob Ickes Models to most Blue Highway concerts. If anyone would like to try one out, just bring your picks and bar up to the record table and ‘have at it!’ “

Abe Wechter said that the prototype Rob has is from the factory where the production models are being made, and is identical to what they will be delivering later this spring. The Ickes Model will be shipped in an upgraded, deluxe case and carries a suggested retail price of $1499.95.

More details should be available soon on the Wechter web site.

We posted last month about what is sure to be an exciting new instrumental outfit, composed of dobro wizard Rob Ickes, mandolin/fiddle prodigy Andy Leftwich, and Nashville session bass stalwart Dave Pomeroy. The band, who describe themselves as a “jamgrass acoustic power trio,” is called Three Ring Circle, and their debut, self-titled recording will be released in just a few weeks’ time on Earwave Records.

The new CD contains everything from adventurous improvisation romps written by the three soloists, to a lovely, lyrical retelling of Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely as a dobro feature. Audio samples from each of the ten tracks can be found on their web site.

Despite their commitments to busy touring responsibilities - Ickes with Blue Highway, Leftwich with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, and Pomeroy in the studio - Three Ring Circle will do some live appearances, as scheduling allows. Find more info about shows on their site as well.

The band is offering a pre-release special with orders being received before March 21 being eligible for free shipping to addresses in the US and Canada.

A number of bluegrass artists are up for awards from the Academy Of Country Music when they are presented on May 23. Rob Ickes (dobro) and Bryan Sutton (guitar) are nominated in the Top Specialty Instrument Player of the Year category, and both Glen Duncan and Aubrey Haynie are nominated for Top Fiddle Player of the Year.

The ACM Awards will be telecast on CBS at 8:00 p.m. (5/23), and while we hope to see a mention of these instrumentalist awards, they will not be presented during the televised portion of the program - what the ACM describes as Off-Camera Nominations.

Best of luck to all our bluegrass music representatives!

This post is a contribution from Rob Ickes, the celebrated dobroist with Blue Highway. Rob was a semi-regular member of the Earl Scruggs stage band when Earl would make one of his rare public performances this past few years.

Louise will be missed by many people in Bluegrass and Country Music. I always enjoyed hearing her stories about the “old days” with Flatt and Scruggs, and also the incredible experiences they had in the 70’s with the Earl Scruggs Review. She had an uncanny memory for dates and places and was a very sharp lady, to say the least.

I also really appreciated the respect with which she always treated the guys in the band. She was always checking to make sure things were taken care of for us on the road, and playing with the Earl Scruggs Family and Friends Band has been one of the most enjoyable and memorable experiences of my life.

I will really miss Louise.

Rob Ickes

Three Ring Circle is the name of a new CD - and a new trio - featuring dobro wizard Rob Ickes of Blue Highway, mandolin/fiddle wunderkind Andy Leftwich of Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, and Nashville studio stalwart Dave Pomeroy on bass. The CD will be released on Earwave Records in March 2006, and will feature original material written within the group, as well as their reworked arrangements of some classic tunes.

Rob tells us that he is very excited about getting to record and perform with Andy and Dave, and to “stretch out” a bit on some challenging and innovative original instrumental music. They spent a year and a half writing and recording for the new project, as time could be found amidst their busy schedules with their primary performance vehicles.

Look for them in some limited engagements coming up in anticipation of the CD release. They will be at The Station Inn in Nashville on February 23 and March 23, and in Chattanooga, TN on February 17 at the Barking Legs Theater. They expect to add more dates as the CD release draw near, so keep an eye on Rob’s or Dave’s sites for more info.

This new compilation CD is due for a September 6 release from Pinecastle Records. The 20 instrumental tracks were selected from the popular Bluegrass ‘96-’99 CD series produced by Scott Vestal, now out of print. These recordings featured contemporary interpretations of bluegrass instrumental classics and were recorded primarily in Scott’s studio with him on banjo, Wayne Benson on mandolin, Mark Schatz on bass and Jeff Autrey on guitar. Both Rickey Simpkins and Aubrey Haynie contribute on fiddle, as do Rob Ickes and Randy Kohrs on dobro.

Tunes on Ultimate Pickin’ include: Clinch Mountain Backstep, Foggy Mountain Special, Jerusalem Ridge, Leather Britches, Little Rock Getaway, Dear Old Dixie and 14 other classic bluegrass instrumentals. The original CD releases were the subject of two AcuTab transcription books, for Scott Vestal (banjo) and Wayne Benson (mandolin).

This is terrific music, passionately performed and likely to be remembered in future as a definitive statement of the state of the art in bluegrass music at the turn of the last century.