Recording started last week at Gulley’s Curve Studio in Cumberland Gap, TN where they cut 10 bluegrass tracks. Ron Stewart was on banjo and fiddle, Adam Steffey on mandolin, Justin Moses on fiddle and resonator guitar, with Stafford on guitar and Gulley on bass.

All of the songs will be previously unreleased with the exception of Hurt Me All Over Again, which was included on April Verch’s current release, Steal The Blue.

Gulley offered a glimpse into what they are trying to capture…

“It’s a true singer/songwriter collaboration between two really close friends and writing buddies and I think that will show on the finished project. This is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time. Tim and I have written so many tunes together… I’m not sure how many but I’d say between 50 – 60 songs.

We’ve been lucky enough to have a bunch of them recorded by other artists and we’re really proud of that, but it feels good to let folks hear some different tunes and fresh music. It’s like letting go of some of your children.

I’m really excited about the way things turned out on the full band bluegrass stuff we just cut. The remaining 4 tunes will be more ‘middle of the road’ or Americana acoustic music. A couple will feature piano and some light percussion. One will just be my vocal and Tim’s guitar and one song will be Tim and I and our guitars. So, as you can see, the project will run the full spectrum of the kind of songs Tim and I write.

I really think it will show a little bit of all of our musical tastes and influences while still having a majority of the project be straight ahead bluegrass. That’s our first love anyway.”

Stafford and Gulley are jointly producing and hope to be finished with the recording soon, though the finished CD isn’t likely to be released until early in 2010.

Most bluegrass fans know Tim from his many years with Blue Highway, and Steve from Mountain Heart and now Grasstowne. I’ve enjoyed their work with these groups for years of course, but I have always been especially fond of their two solo projects, Stafford’s Endless Line and Gulley’s Sounds Like Home.

If this new album compares favorably with either of those – as I’m sure it will – it will be a sure fire winner.

The album is tentatively titled The Other Side Of Towne, and no release date has yet been announced.

Their debut project, The Road Headin’ Home, was recorded only a few weeks after the band was formed in December of 2006, and Al says that they cherished having the chance to mull carefully over the songs they might choose for this one.

“We did have a lot more time put in on finding the right combination of songs this time, and had to cut a lot of great tunes out to get down to the 14 that are on the project.”

Bibey ran down some of the material for us…

“We’re lucky to have co-songwriter of the year Steve Gulley in the band and have three tunes from him. Lifting Up The Cross is a great Gospel tune he wrote with Ken Mellons and we have included two other tunes he wrote with his writing partner Tim Stafford. Everyone know what great writer these guys are.

We were also fortunate to have 4 tunes from Wayne Winkle (my former Blueridge bandmate) and Craig Market, a couple they co-wrote and a couple on their on. The title track is one of Wayne’s.  We have one a cappella Gospel number on the CD written by Michael Bentley that’s brand new, but really sounds old and my dear friend Terry Baucom is singing bass on that one. I also co-wrote one song called Pay Your Dues with Ronnie Bowman and Shawn Lane, and wrote another couple tunes including a new instrumental called Tobaccoville Road that I hope the folks will like.”

Grasstowne consists of Bibey on mandolin and vocals, Gulley on guitar and vocals, Phil Leadbetter on resonator guitar, Jason Davis on banjo and Travis Greer on bass. Stuart Duncan also adds fiddle to the new CD.

Vicki was a founding member of The New Coon Creek Girls and worked for years with Dale Ann Bradley. She has recently been a featured performer at Renfro Valley, where the concert will be held next week to help defray her substantial medical expenses.

The show will run from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m., with performances from Steve Gulley, Wildfire, Randy Graham, Cumberland Gap Connection, and a special Bluegrass All-Star Band including J. D. Crowe, Larry Stephenson, David Parmley, Curt Chapman, Michael Cleveland and more.

Ticket information can be obtained by calling 800-765-7464, or on the Renfro Valley web site.

A fund has been established for Vicki’s many friends and fans who would like to make a contribution.

Vicki Simmons Medical Fund
c/o Renfro Valley Entertainment Center
P.O. Box 19
Renfro Valley, KY 40473

Strong Enough marks the debut from Beth Stevens & Edge, though her voice will be a familiar one to a great many bluegrass fans. Beth sang for many years with her sister April and her parents as The Stevens Family, before the girls ventured out as The Stevens Sisters.

Her new CD showcases Beth’s strong voice, both as a lead vocalist and in duet with Steve Gulley and Dale Ann Bradley, and her dad Doug Stevens. The material is a nice mix of modern bluegrass and Gospel music, brilliantly performed by Edge and a crack studio band featuring Scott Vestal on banjo, Matt Leadbetter on resonator guitar, Jesse Cobb on mandolin, and Steve Thomas on fiddle. Beth also plays banjo, as she does in their live shows.

She shared a few thoughts with us about the new project…

“Strong Enough is a true representation of the music that I love. It allowed me the freedom to sing and arrange the songs the way I wanted the fans to hear them. The best thing about the album is simply it’s given me and my band EDGE the opportunity to showcase what we can do along with the help and support of some of the people that I have wanted to work with for years like Scott Vestal, who made recording this project one on the best musical experiences for me. I hope the fans enjoy the CD.”

New this fall from The Churchmen is I’ll Be Long Gone, the third on Pinecastle for this North Carolina Gospel bluegrass outfit. It contains primarily original material, written by David Guthrie, who sings the high leads and plays guitar with the group. A few old favorites, like Take Me In The Lifeboat and Rocked On The Deep are included as well.

The band is made up of founding members Gerald Harbour on mandolin, Keith Clark on bass, and Freddy Rakes on banjo, with Tim Smith on fiddle and Guthrie on guitar. Dale Perry plays the banjo on the new recording.

Blessed with three notable singers and songwriters, Blue Highway is rarely in need of material, and this new project is made up entirely of songs written within the band – their second CD with this distinction.

One of them, Tim Stafford, who I would put forward as perhaps the most thoughtful and insightful songwriter in and around bluegrass, shared a few words about the title track from the new CD.

“Through The Window Of A Train is one that I wrote with Steve Gulley. It was a title I had laying around and we thought it would make a strong song idea. The concept was a fellow‚Äîprompted by the anonymity of modern interstate travel‚Äîremembering his youth and what it was like to travel on that train with his Dad, the wonder of watching the world go by…

It may be an old theme in bluegrass, but it turned out to be upbeat and poignant at the same time, which is usually a good combination. I was certain we had ripped off some other melody at first!

Melody and feel-wise, I had the Country Gentlemen of the 1970s in mind – one of the most influential bands for me.”

You can read some of Tim’s other comments about the new CD in an interview we ran earlier this year.

One truly remarkable thing about Blue Highway is the fact that, entering their 14th year as a professional touring act, they still perform and record with the same membership with which they began. Though banjo player Jason Burleson briefly stepped aside in 1999 only to return shortly thereafter, there has been no turnover in personnel.

In addition to Stafford on guitar and Burleson on banjo, the band is made up of Rob Ickes on resonator guitar, Shawn Lane on mandolin/fiddle and Wayne Taylor on bass.

Tim also mentioned that 2008 is shaping up to be a very busy year for the band, with new dates still being added to their schedule.

The video features interviews with Steve Gulley, Alan Bibey, and Phil Leadbetter, interspersed with performances from a festival in Virginia as well as IBMA in Nashville. The result is a three minute video that should be of interest to fans of the band or the respective pickers. If you’re not a fan, check it out, you might just become one!

The video was produced by photographer and videographer Dean Hoffmeyer.

Clyde tells us that he took the station for their first road trip recently, and recorded interviews with Vic Graves of New Road and Steve Gulley of Grasstowne. The full hour of conversation and songs will be aired on BluegrassRadio.org this weekend, on Saturday (9/1) at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday (9/2) at 1:00 p.m. (EDT).

They will surely talk about Steve’s new solo project, Sounds Like Home, recently released on Lonesome Day Records. In addition to Steve’s take on a number of bluegrass classics and some new compositions of his own, the CD also includes his stellar version of George Jones’, The Grand Tour, which was such a hit onstage when Steve was working with Mountain Heart.

Steve will surely also talk about his new band, Grasstowne, who also have a new CD scheduled for a June release on Pinecastle.

Gracie’s interview is cybercast live, and the audio stream can be accessed at no charge in either a Windows Media or Real Audio format. The stream is not archived, so be sure to tune in on Friday at 1:30.

WorldWideBluegrass.com streams bluegrass music 24/7/365.

The show will run on XM’s Bluegrass Junction (Channel 14) on Sunday (4/1) at 11:00 a.m., on Wednesday (4/4) at 3:00 p.m., and again on Saturday (4/7) at 11:00 a.m.

Sounds Like Home includes a number of new Gulley compositions, and his first recording of the George Jones classic, The Grand Tour, which was such a hit on Mountain Heart shows when Steve was a member of that group.

Steve will surely have copies of his new CD with him at Grasstowne shows later this month.

You can read Brance’s interview with Steve about the new CD here.

Sounds Like Home is to be released on the Lonesome Day Records label. It had previously been schedule for release in February, 2007 but that release has been slightly pushed back?

The CD is set to be released on April 17th. It was held up a little to intentionally give more time to promote it to radio and retail properly but it will be available nationally then.

The press release from the label indicated that this record was to be traditional bluegrass in orientation, but I asked Steve what the mix was of traditional songs, originals, gospel and secular would be.

A little of all the above. However, it is a very traditional recording by choice. I hand – picked every song and hoped to reflect a little insight into my musical upbringing and heritage. I recorded some songs that were performed and recorded by my dad’s band, The Pinnacle Mountain Boys, in the late ’50’s and early ’60’s. I also recorded 4 songs from the old “red book” hymnal and some original songs that I wrote or co-wrote are also included. I also recorded “The Grand Tour”, the old George Jones tune and “My Elusive Dreams” which I did as a duet with my wife, Debbie. Just a lot of songs that are close to my heart.

With this much care taken in song selection I wasn’t sure Steve would have any favorites, but I had to ask.

I love them all but two songs that were extra special were, “Nearer My God To Thee” which I did with my dad, Don, and my good friend and a real hero, Doyle Lawson. Also, the duet with my wife, Debbie. She’s a great traditional country singer and performs on the shows at Renfro Valley, Ky along with my dad. Both these songs gave me a chance to let people hear Dad and Debbie nationally. I’m so proud of them both.

The list of musicians on this record reads like a who’s-who of bluegrass, but Steve tells me there is a core ensemble that brings a cohesiveness to the overall sound of the record. That group consists of:

• Tim Stafford: guitar
• Jason Moore: bass
• Adam Steffey: mandolin
• Ron Stewart: banjo
• Randy Kohrs: dobro
• Tim Crouch: fiddle

For the most part, the band was essentially the same on all but about 3 or 4 songs. I cut a couple of songs with most of my former bandmates in Mountain Heart. On the others, we added special guests like J.D. Crowe, Russell Moore, Dale Ann Bradley, Jeff Parker, Shawn Lane, Vic Graves and others.

Steve said the CD took roughly 4 months to complete due to a busy touring schedule with Mountain Heart. He started work on the CD several months before deciding to leave the band, but was very grateful of having his former band mates on the recording. While the guys from Grasstowne aren’t featured on the recording, he says they will definitely be performing songs from the CD at Grasstowne shows and have already worked some of the tunes up as a band.

I wondered how making a solo project like this compared to recording a band project. Steve just finished Sounds Like Home and is currently finishing the new Grasstowne CD so he’s in a great position to comment.

I wouldn’t say it was easier or harder than doing a band record. It was just different. In a band situation, you have several people who get to voice opinions or share thoughts on the various stages of making a record. On a solo record, you have more individual freedom but you also have to make some decisions without the sounding board of a band. It can be a double – edged sword in some ways but I really enjoyed making this record. I’d never really had that much freedom before and the creative outlet it afforded me was refreshing.

Steve also expressed a great deal of appreciation to all the people who helped him bring this project to completion.

I’d just like to say thanks to Randall Deaton at Lonesome Day Records for the oppotunity and engineer Mike Latteral for going way above and beyond the call of duty to make this project sound the way I envisioned it could. And of course, to all the musicians who made me sound much better than I deserved. Thanks guys!

Sound clips are available on Steve’s website. Steve’s tour schedule can be found on the Grasstowne website.

The show has been scheduled again this year, and will be held next weekend (1/20/07) at The Paramount Center on historic State Street in Bristol.

The format of the current show is similar to the one we started in 2000, and reminiscent of the old “package tour” shows popular in the 1950s and 60s. An all star cast of prominent bluegrass pickers and singers will rotate on and off the stage in a variety of configurations, generally performing material outside of what you might normally hear them doing.

This year’s lineup includes Bobby Hicks, Ronnie Bowman, Mike Bub, David Talbot, Larry Cordle, Rob McCoury, Don Rigsby, Kim Fox, Darrell Webb, Steve Gulley, Jason Carter, Barry Bales, Paul Williams, Kenny & Amanda Smith and David Grier.

There will be two shows on January 20, at 3:00 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets and show details can be found at the Pickin’ at the Paramount site, or the Paramount Center site.

This week’s news is that the band has signed a 3 CD deal with Pinecastle Records, with work on the first expected to begin just after the new year. They hope to have it out by June of 2007.

Both Phil and Alan were interviewed about the new band this month on The GrassCast. You can hear these interviews online, in your web browser, by visiting The GrassCast page.

We originally reported the band name as being Grasstowne and then later corrected that to say a decision on the name had not yet been made. That update was incorrect. The name is, in fact, Grasstowne.

It seems the band members were in agreement on the name all along, but there was some miscommunication between the band and their publicist. Our update was based on a request from the publicist to remove the name from our report, as it was her understanding that it was incorrect.

We now have confirmation from the band that Grasstowne is indeed the name they have chosen. We encourage you to keep an eye, or an ear, on this group as we expect they’ll be making some great music in the near future.

Dobro master Phil Leadbetter announced earlier this week that he would be leaving Wildfire to pursue other ventures. At the time he promised an announcement on Dec 1st as to his future plans and we have that announcement as promised.

After nearly 6 years with Wildfire, a band he helped form after leaving J.D. Crowe, Phil is starting a new band. To use a baseball analogy we’ve previously engaged here on The Bluegrass Blog, one might say that the bluegrass trading/signing season has begun with the creation of this new band.

Guitarist/Vocalist Steve Gulley has announced that he will be joining Phil in the new band and thus departing from his gig with Mountain Heart. Steve earned a reputation for his soaring tenor voice while performing on the Renfro Valley Barn Dance in Renfro, KY. After that Steve attended the Doyle Lawson School of Bluegrass where he met future Mountain Heart band mates Barry Abernathy and Jim Van Cleve. In 1998 Gulley, Van Cleve, and Abernathy were joined by Adam Steffey and bass player Johnny Dowdle to form the group Mountain Heart. In addition to the impact that band has had on the bluegrass world, Gulley has also contributed his unique vocal abilities to numerous other recordings in the last 10 years.

In another major departure, Alan Bibey will be leaving BlueRidge, the band he has lead for many years, to join Phil and Steve in this new undertaking. Alan has been a founding member of a number of celebrated bluegrass bands including the New Quicksilver, IIIrd Tyme Out, and BlueRidge. Known as one of the most gifted mandolin players of his generation, Alan brings a wealth of musical knowledge and background to the new band. It is our understanding that BlueRidge will fulfill their currently contracted dates and no more.

These three players are coming together to form what is sure to be a major league band with a great sound. Word has not yet been released as to who will fill the bass and banjo roles in the new band, but we expect an announcement on that very soon. This is bound to be some great music and we’ll look forward to hearing what this band produces.

The three have decided on the name Grasstowne and are currently accepting bookings for the 2007 season.

UPDATE 9:56 AM: It seems the guys are still debating on a name so for now they ask that you visit them online at their Myspace page.

Keith Garrett, Steve Gulley, Bryon House, and Andy Leftwich are all guests on Justin’s self produced and arranged album.

From the press release:

In addition to playing mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar, Dobro and bass, Justin also composed seven tunes on the CD. He makes his lead vocal debut on two cuts, One More Hill and He”ll Be with You, both featuring Mountain Heart”s” Steve Gulley on exceptional tenor vocals. The emotional story told in Heart of Alabama is one of the two cuts featuring the phenomenal lead vocals of Keith Garrett of Blue Moon Rising. Garrett comments, “Justin is one of the best multi-instrumentalists I”ve ever known. He”s put together a great collection of tasteful tunes and it was a pleasure to be a part of this album.”

Audio clips are available on Justin’s website. He also has a myspace account.

The CD should be available today in stores and from online resellers. There were no audio samples on the Rural Rhythm web site, but we did find a few on Jim’s MySpace page.

Jim shared some thoughts with us recently about how differently he reacted during the process of recording and releasing this project as a solo artist, as opposed to a member of Mountain Heart, or as a sideman on another artist’s session.

“In cutting No Apologies there were several major differences that became obvious to me as we were recording. First, I noticed that I was being INTENSELY more picky than I normally am. In doing a lot of studio work, you begin to learn what you sound like, kind of what your ‘thing’ is, and along with that, you learn when your performance is good and/or just ‘good enough.’

I noticed at about day three of cutting this record, that ‘good enough’ wasn’t good enough anymore. I realized that I was being VERY exacting in getting what I wanted from everybody that was playing or working on the record…from myself, from the engineer, from the label, even from the art director! I probably drove everybody crazy. I about drove myself crazy! I just became extremely driven to make the best project I knew how, from every angle. And that was mostly due to my name being on the front of the album when I was done…I would be solely responsible for the finished product…no group to disappear into or hide behind as you can kind of do with a band situation like Mountain Heart. A lot of times with Mountain Heart, we have an outside producer, and a lot of the things that I had to be on top of with No Apologies, I don’t really have to deal with on a Mountain Heart recording. So basically, I was realizing that as a producer, I was really doing a lot of work just trying to get the BEST performance from everybody I was paying to work on this record! In a lot of ways, the music was the easiest part…mostly because that’s the part I enjoy the most.”

We also wondered what it might be like to step out front as a singer after having been associated as a member of such an acclaimed vocal group as an instrumentalist.

“I have been taking notes, criticism and instruction for several years now from some of the finest singers in our industry with Mountain Heart. So it was actually pretty cool to get to finally do that myself some too. I let them (Barry Abernathy and Steve Gulley) tell me what they thought of it after the fact, and they were all really supportive… it seemed like they were almost proud in a way, actually. It’s fun to do, and I’m glad I finally got that monkey off my back!”

Jim will celebrate the CD’s release with a special performance tonight at The Station Inn in Nashville. There will be food and drink, and CD signing, followed by a performance from Mountain Heart. The release party begins at 5:30, with music from No Apologies being performed around 6:30. Mountain Heart goes on at 9:00, and separate tickets are required for their show.

We are hoping to have some photos from the party and show which we can post on The Bluegrass Blog tomorrow.

Also in this new issue are articles on Tim O’Brien, Edgar Meyer, Cedar Hill, Vernon McIntyre and a special remembrance of Louise Scruggs.

The sneak peek of the next issue (July/August) promises an interview with Marty Stuart. Marty’s latest CD is a live bluegrass release, LIVE at the Ryman.

BMP’s online news page also features an exclusive open letter from Josh Graves, Jr. on his dad’s medical condition. To quote briefly from the letter:

“If all goes well he will get to come home soon. He is already talking abuot the dates that are booked and how he wants to do them. There is no quitting in this man – my Dad. I don’t see how he keeps on going but he does. I hate to complain with a hurt foot or stomach when he has been through as much as he has and hasn’t complained at all. He says the man upstairs is taking care of him.”

Read it all here.

This GrassCast is 19 minutes in length and the file download size is 18MB.

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All of these many pickers and singers were formed into groups which changed regularly over the course of the program, allowing for this unique opportunity to see this many artists on stage during a single show. Some performed songs from their latest releases, while others chose material they just liked to play or sing, but perhaps didn’t get the chance to feature in their regular stage sets. Two shows were held and the event was so well received that loose plans are already in discussion to repeat the show on an annual basis.

Though nothing firm is in place, the show’s organizers hope that it will be broadcast live by Sirius Satellite Radio in January 2007. More details on that as they emerge.

During the course of the afternoon, we were able to record some terrific interviews which will be released over the next few weeks on The GrassCast, our weekly audio podcast. We spoke with Ronnie Bowman about seeing his song It’s Getting Better All The Time climb to #1 on the country music charts, as recorded by Brooks & Dunn. We recorded a fascinating interview with Steve Gulley and Adam Steffey about their upcoming Skaggs Family Release for Mountain Heart, Wide Open, and spoke with David Talbot and Terry Eldridge of The Grascals about their new music video for Me and John and Paul. Bluegrass fiddle legend Bobby Hicks gave us a terrific overview of his storied career, performing with Bill Monroe in the 1950s, right through time with The Bluegrass Album Band and two iterations of Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder – both country and bluegrass.

Brance also spoke with Cindy Baucom about her syndicated radio show, Knee Deep In Bluegrass, with Larry Cordle about his success as a songwriter, and with Alecia Nugent about her upcoming Rounder release. He got some terrific photos on Sunday, which he will post soon as well.

The Bluegrass Blog received an advance copy of Wide Open, and found it to be a uniquely solid recording, with strong material, memorable performances and some fairly challenging and adventurous arrangements. There is no doubt that some traditionalists will fret over the band’s move to embrace music other than straight ahead bluegrass, but anyone who can be open to the music moving in a slightly different direction will find this to be real gem.

The boys don’t run from banjos and fiddles, and percussion is only used sparingly and on a few cuts, so grassers will feel at home with sound. It may be the arrangements that diverge most glaringly from what you would expect from a bluegrass band, and this may also be the project’s strength. Instrumental signatures are used as often as common bluegrass-style breaks, key changes occur at unexpected times, and duet and three part harmony pop up on both verses and choruses alike.

The cleverness and care with which the songs were written also bears note – no cabin songs to be found. I Remember You, Here I Am and Travelers Prayer deserve particular mention in this regard. It seems that banjo player Barry Abernathy is featured a bit more prominently as a lead vocalist, in addition to guitarist Steve Gulley. Mandolinist Adam Steffey gets his time as well, turning in very strong tracks on Here I Am, an interesting twist on the “good and evil” story, and Town That isn’t There, which is very much in the style of Mountain Man from the last their No Other Way CD.

Skaggs Family intends to promote the CD to Americana radio, but has no plans to push it as a country release. Nothing solid on the possibility of a video from Wide Open either, in large part based on the dwindling number of videos being played on CMT of late. There are no audio samples up yet on the band’s or the label’s web sites, but you can expect to find them as the street date of 2/14 draws near..