We heard yesterday from Scott Napier, one of the busiest guys in bluegrass music. He’s currently playing mandolin with both Marty Raybon & Full Circle and Lost and Found.

He tells us that the next CD from Lost and Found is nearly finished, with only final mixing and mastering remaining.

Scott is a long-time student and great admirer of the mandolin legacy of Dempsey Young, the band’s original and only mandolinist until his passing in December of 2006. Dempsey had a unique and memorable style, and his playing was as definitive of the Lost and Found sound as Allen Mills’ distinctive voice.

Scott described the experience of finishing the new project as bittersweet.

“Recording with the Lost and Found was a huge honor for me. I was extremely happy, but also a little sad. Dempsey’s on exactly half of the tracks and I’m on the other half, so it was like having him in the studio with us. His Hutto mandolin would fill up the room during playbacks.

I also play a Hutto mandolin, and I used the same RE-20 microphone that he has recorded with since the mid 80’s, the same engineer and studio (Otis Lynn Dillon, River Track Studios), and a very supportive band to work with (Allen Mills, Ronald Smith, and Scottie Sparks).

Dempsey used to tell me ‘Play it your own way. That’s the only way people will remember you.’ “

This new CD will be on Rebel, with a late summer/early fall release anticipated at this point.

Scott also shared a story about the late Art Stamper (the renowned old time fiddler), a memory prompted by seeing one of Art’s favorite fiddles being offered on eBay.

“Art was a musical treasure who loved to play. He played that fiddle at our wedding in ‘04 not long before he passed away. He wasn’t too keen on playing The Wedding March, so I told him to play what he wanted.

He played Sweet Hearts Forever as my wife Melinda walked down the aisle. I kept asking him the name of the tune because I didn’t want to forget it.

So the first stop on our honeymoon was at an antique shop to get a souvenir for our log house, and as we walked in, Sweet Hearts Forever was playing through the store.

Gotta be a good sign… and I did learn that melody.”

And now they are four..

The Lost and Found have officially brought mandolinist Scott Napier on board as a full time member. Scott had been filling in with the band as his schedule allowed since the tragic and untimely death of original mandolinist Dempsey Young in December of 2006.

Napier had toured recently with Marty Rabon, and before that with Dale Ann Bradley. He is an extremely gifted young musician, and may be among the few able to occupy the void left behind when Dempsey passed away.

The band had been working on a new CD, but recording was halted when they lost Dempsey. With a full complement, they’ll soon be back in the studio working to finish the new project with the current band: Allen Mills (bass and vocals), Scotty Sparks (guitar and vocals), Ronald Smith (banjo and vocals), Scott Napier (mandolin).

Speaking of Lost and Found… I had a rare chance about two weeks ago to see the band perform with original banjo picker Gene Parker. I was at a festival with Acoustic Endeavors, sharing the bill with Lost and Found and several other groups. Shortly after the L&F bus pulled in, a buzz went through the campground that Gene was on the bus.

It turned out that their fill-in mandolinist for the day had canceled at the last minute, so regular banjo picker Ronald Smith took that spot and Gene played banjo. It was quite a treat to hear him on all the old songs he had recorded with the band “in the day.

He hasn’t lost a thing - his playing was brilliant.