We posted earlier this week with a banjo sighting on Fox Television’s smash hit, American Idol. Now comes word from Phil Leadbetter, reso-man with Grasstowne, about the appearance of one of his signature Dobro guitars on the show.

The Leadbetter model Dobro was in the hands of Austin Clark, of The Clark Brothers, who won The Next Great American Band competition earlier this year. He was accompanying Kellie Pickler for her Idol performance on 3/19.

Uncle Phil was delighted with his virtual appearance on American Idol. 

We interrupt our Christmas programming for this final NGAB report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.

The family with undeniable bluegrass roots took home the top place on Fox’s Next Great American Band. Their prize: a record deal with 19 Recordings, the label of the company that produced the show.

The finale of a light-hearted Christmas-themed show was the announcement of the top band. The last two standing were the Clarks and Sixwire. All three boys fell on the floor after their name was called. Ashley commented, “We just came from the house…playing from the living room to the stage and we’re freaking out right now.” Austin thanked their Mom and Dad, though you really couldn’t hear it over the roar of the crowd. Dicko said, “Week after week you brought the magic.” Sheila said, “I prayed for this moment,” and John quipped “ I knew it all along.” He continued in a more serious vein, “Your passion for what you do is so real. That kind of sincerity can’t be faked.”

We also got to see Cliff Wagner back, in all his glory, singing…wait for it…Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.

I’m so happy and excited for the Clarks. It just goes to show, you never can tell where someone is going to end up in life. When you’re playing Harry Grant’s Windgap festival with a family with eleven kids who sing gospel, pay attention, because they might be the next big reality show winners. Even though the music they play now is not bluegrass per se, they come from bluegrass, and anything that helps to raise the profile of bluegrass is good in my book.

And there was a brief shot of a sign someone held up in the audience that read, “We need more mandolin baby!”

Amen!

Tonight (12/21) is the final show in Fox’s Next Great American Band competition, and as we have been chronicling this past few weeks, The Clark Brothers are in the running for the big prize. While not strictly a bluegrass act, they have performed throughout on mandolin, fiddle, acoustic guitar and resophonic guitar, and the three brothers have a long history in bluegrass and old time music.

If the panel of judges is an accurate barometer of the voting public, they have an excellent chance to take it all, and receive a major label recording contract. A previous attempt for the guys as a more mainstreamed country act was a disaster, but they have refined their show and their sound, and could hit as a hunky reprise of the Dixie Chicks phenomenon if produced and promoted effectively.

And they would have loads more bluegrass parking lot cred…

Bands that were eliminated in previous episodes will be back for the final show, including bluegrass band Cliff Wagner and the Old #7. Our official NGAB correspondent, Casey Henry, passed along this tidbit:

Cliff Wagner’s wife Robin says, “He’s all dressed up like Bing and gets lots of camera time!” Might there be a little “White Christmas” action going on? I guess we’ll have to tune in and see!

The show airs at 9:00 p.m. (EST) on Fox, and the winner will be chosen by a phone vote, a la American Idol. The ratings for Next Great American Band have been disappointing, especially for a show in the Idol mold, but we hope that Clark Brothers fans - and anyone who would like to see a solid, acoustic/bluegrass band win the prize - will jam the phone lines tonight.

If you find yourself at home, or near a TV this evening, perhaps you could find a moment to cast a vote for these fine young musicians?

This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.

The Clark Brothers will definitely be either first, second, or third place on Next Great American Band. On Friday night’s episode the three remaining groups—The Clarks, Sixwire, and Denver and the Mile High Orchestra (interestingly, all from Nashville)—each did three songs. It was the final competition show.

Next week they’ll announce the winner, who will receive a recording contract. Surely the runners-up will get something, in addition to the amazing publicity the show has afforded them.

The Clarks performed Change the World, by Eric Clapton, which was the judges choice. John Rzeznik called it, “a unique interpretation” that “added depth to the original lyrics.” Dicko said “you breathe so much fire I thought you were going to set the sprinklers off.” Their next song was Amazed, by Lonestar, which was the show’s choice. The stripped down version had Ashley sitting on a stool just singing, no instrument. It showed they have a firm grip on mainstream country and caused John to comment, “I think every woman in America wants you right now. I feel like a giddy little girl.” Ashley looked a bit bashful at that, but if they win this contest he’s going to need to get used to it.

Their final selection, which they got to choose, was the This Little Light of Mine/Faith, Faith, Faith medley that they played on the first show. Their frantic, fiery version brought down the house. Dicko, who has been commuting back and forth from Australia during the competition, said that “one thing makes it alright every week – when you take the stage.” John proclaimed, “I don’t think anyone deserves to win this contest more than you.”

Let’s hope America agrees. The votes are cast and it’s all over by now, we just have to wait until Friday to find out who is the Next Great American Band.

This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.

We’re getting down to the final stretch on Next Great American Band. I’m happy to report that the Clark Brothers made it into the top four. Their competition now is Sixwire a country band from Nashville, TN; Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, a big band also from Nashville; and Light of Doom, a group of 12 and 13-year-olds from California who play hard rock.

This week the Clarks added two musicians—a drummer and a bass player (not other Clark brothers, though). This allowed them some more freedom to be the front people and stretch out but didn’t really change their overall sound. They played Queen’s These are The Days of our Lives and the original Homestead.

The judges all loved the cover and Dicko deemed Ashley “The best front person we’ve got in this competition.” He was harder on the original, calling it a “crap song” with lyrics that are “country 101,” and encouraging them to push themselves lyrically. He said one of their strong points is connecting with and conveying the emotions in a song and with lyrics like “Back to the farm/back to the farm/eatin’ fried chicken with the girls in the yard” there is not any emotional content there to build on.

I predict that it will be down to Sixwire and the Clarks in a couple weeks. Of course it all depends on the voting public, so tune in next Friday to Fox and get your thumbs ready to dial!

This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.

The Clark Brothers delivered another truly outstanding performance on last night’s Next Great American Band. Their version of Rod Stewart’s You’re In My Heart was a stripped-down, acoustic beauty. They sat on stools with Ashley on guitar, Adam on mando, and Austin on dobro and harmony vocals. Their moving, sensitive performance judge brought Sheila E to tears. She literally couldn’t say anything after hearing them play. John Rzeznik said, “I’m really moved. You guys take a song and attach all the emotion to it.” A song like that will, “make guys hate you and make women love you.” And Dicko added, “You brought something magical. You always do.”

We got to see a little segment of the boys talking about their musical influences. What they said sounded so familiar to me, and probably to anyone else who grew up in a bluegrass family. Ashley said he didn’t hear the Beatles until he was sixteen and was surprised to find that they were really good, since his dad had always dismissed them for not having a banjo. Austin said the first time he saw Jerry Douglas play he bought every one of his CDs, even though he didn’t have a CD player at the time! There were a couple of clips of the Clark Family playing, with all the other brothers and their dad, when the boys were younger. They looked so familiar to me because that’s what they looked like back when we used to play at some of the same bluegrass festivals.

I think the Clarks have a good chance of moving on to next week. I just hope all the people who are voting agree! You can watch Cliff Wagner and the Old #7’s final performance online now, as well as all the other bands songs.

This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.

Bluegrass got the boot last night when Cliff Wagner and the Old #7 got voted off Next Great American Band. The Clark Brothers made it into the top six, though, delivering a standout performance of the Rolling Stones’ Gimmie Shelter.

Everyone seemed disappointed to see Cliff and the band go. The judges had some parting words, all on a positive note. John Rzeznik said that he really appreciated their sense of humor and the chemistry between the band members. Sheila E. deemed them “so real, so genuine,” and said “we love you very much.” Dicko praised them for “bringing some real variety” to the show and asked what their plans for the future are. Cliff eloquently said that they’ve gotten “new inspiration” from being on the show and have expanded musically from where they were before. They are now able to play more “outside the box.”

Cliff said, to the television audience, “Thanks to everyone who voted. We had a great time on the show,” and he wished, “good luck to all the other bands.” And even the final band to play, Dot Dot Dot, said as they took the stage, “We love you, Cliff Wagner!”

The NGAB site now features Cliff’s Green Room acoustic performance. Hopefully, even though he didn’t win the show, this national exposure will benefit Cliff’s career and help keep his playing schedule full for years to come. Maybe they’ll add their take on Brown Sugar that we didn’t get to hear to their shows…

The Clarks version of Gimmie Shelter was stunning. They started out sparse and low and built up the tension. By the end, according to Dicko, they’d “turned it into a blind panic.” Ashley’s singing continued to impress, Austin rocked on a black, flying-V electric dobro, and Adam even got a short mandolin solo. All three judges gave them a standing ovation and Sheila deemed them “the band to beat.”

Be sure to tune in next week bands tackle the Rod Stewart catalog. You can watch all the past weeks’ performances on the NGAB site.

This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.

Next Great American Band on Friday night held the first big surprise of the show. Franklin Bridge, the band that judge Sheila E. had predicted would win the contest, got voted off. The judges were shocked; I was shocked. But in my heart of hearts I was glad because it meant that both Cliff Wagner and the Old #7 and the Clark Brothers made it through to play another night.

Cliff chose the Lieber and Stoller song Poison Ivy to sing and adapted it very well. Cliff was back on the banjo, though there was no banjo break in the song. He looked quite dapper in a suit with an ascot. In the pre-song clip about the group we learned that Cliff does everything from booking to promotion to writing the songs for the band. If the band was a kingdom, one of the guys said, “Cliff would be the emperor.”

The Clark Brothers chose Lieber and Stoller’s Saved, and delivered an absolutely amazing performance. Ashley sang the fire out of it with a truly passionate lead vocal; Austin wailed on the dobro, and Adam pounded out the rhythm on the guitar. The judges were practically beside themselves with praise. John Rzeznik said, “I’m questioning everything now…” meaning, I believe, that before he thought a drummer necessary to a rockin’ performance. Shelia deemed it “Magnifico,” and the dour Dicko said, “Even a wretch like me feels closer to salvation” after hearing that song.

Next week bands tackle a Rolling Stones cover. As I said last time, the competition is truly fierce now and it all depends on the stamina of Appalachian-America’s thumbs (dialing those phones) to determine if our bands make it through another round.

Unfortunately last week’s performances are not up on the show’s site, but you can still see songs from weeks 1, 2, and 3.

This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.

They made it! Both Cliff Wagner and the Old #7 and The Clark Brothers got enough votes to keep them on Next Great American Band for another week. Friday’s show was only an hour long, so the eight remaining bands each played one song from the catalog of Billy Joel.

Cliff Wagner and the Old #7 chose You May Be Right from “the old Kentucky fox hunter Billy Joel” and gave it a laid-back country shuffle treatment, with Cliff trading the banjo for a guitar. Two judges loved in, but Dicko, reliably cantankerous, deemed it a “soporific, sleepy” arrangement.

The Clark Brothers played seventh (a little nail-biting going on by that time) and did a slow beautiful rendition of She’s Got A Way, with Ashley on fiddle, Adam on guitar, and Austin, as usual, on dobro. All three judges proclaimed their song the best of the night.

Now the stiff competition begins as all the bands left are quite good, have excellent musicianship and vocals, and are improving all the time. Next week bands tackle the songs of early rock & roll writing team Lieber and Stoller. Be sure to tune in Friday the 16th and phone in those votes!

You can watch previous weeks’ performances on the NGAB site.

If your Friday evening plans will find you in front of a television screen, perhaps you will want to tune in to tonight’s edition of The Next Great American Band on Fox.

Casey Henry has been keeping us up-to-date as this American Idol spin-off competition rolls along, as two of the eight remaining contestants are bluegrass or grassy acts. If you want to see The Clark Brothers and Cliff Wagner and the Old #7 move on to next week, be sure to tune in and vote!

Tonight’s show airs at 8:00 p.m. (EST), and the bands will each perform an original song, and a Billy Joel cover.

Go bluegrass!

This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.

I’m happy to report that both bluegrass representatives made it to round three of Next Great American Band. But the show couldn’t have unfolded more suspensefully. All twelve of last week’s bands were gathered together, then called up to play one at a time, so the two left at the end were the ones who didn’t make it. The bands each played one original and one cover by the songwriting team of Elton John/Bernie Taupin.

The Clark Brothers played fourth, long before the nail-biting suspense set in. Their original, Country Time, had a very catchy hook and a cute story about living in a little country town. Their John/Taupin song was Country Comfort, a slower ballad that gave them a chance to play prettily, not just all-out, nail-it-to-the-wall fast. The judges had nothing but positive comments for the boys.

Cliff Wagner and the Old #7 played seventh (appropriate…). They good naturedly dedicated their original to “Britney Spears and her first husband.” It was titled Little White Chapel on the Strip. Their cover was called Honky Cat and for it the guitar player switched to dobro, leaving them guitar-less. But they pulled off the unorthodox instrumentation with ease and the judges unanimously proclaimed them “The funnest band in the whole competition.”

Once again it is up to the American public to decide who moves forward after Friday night’s show. The votes have been cast but we won’t find out ‘til next week. In the meantime the bands will be working on a Billy Joel cover. And you can now watch bands’ week 2 performances online on the NGAB site.

Watching the show has been great fun, but has raised some questions. Like, do they get to choose their cover songs or are they assigned? Did they really have to sit through each band’s performance before the next band was called up? Because that would have taken a ridiculously long time.

And why did Cliff not get a better pickup system for his banjo? The way his pickup sounds is the reason most players hate pickups on banjos. But it’s possible for a pickup to sound decent. Bela Fleck and Alison Brown do it all the time. I don’t know who could answer these questions except for the people involved in the show, but inquiring minds want to know.

And why is there no official mention of the band involvement in the NGAB show on either Cliff’s webpage or his MySpace site?

Oh, wait. Being the bluegrass player that he is he probably handles his website himself and he’s been kinda busy the last three weeks…

This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.

Both Cliff Wagner and the Old #7 and the Clark Brothers did us proud on Friday night’s Next Great American Band. Twelve bands performed two tunes each for the judges and the live studio audience, and for the millions watching at home. Each band played one original tune and one Bob Dylan tune. The judges commented on every band, though at this point the decision is entirely up to the TV audience calling in their votes.

This week before each band’s performance a short video bio of the group was shown. (You can watch clips of these on the NGAB site.) The Old #7’s clip showed the guys picking (Lucas Cheadle – Bass, Devitt Feeley - Mandolin, Craig Ferguson – Guitar/Dobro, Stephen Aram Mugalian – Drums) and Cliff taking a long swig of moonshine from a mason jar, which was probably what prompted judge John Rzeznik (of the Goo Goo Dolls) to comment, “I want to party with you guys.”

Cliff’s Dylan selection was Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright, a song that lends itself well to a bluegrass arrangement. His original tune was called Old Fire, “a tender love song,” he said, “about tender love and diesel fuel” that had a catchy hook. Judge Sheila E. (who has played with Prince and Ringo Starr, among others) said of the song, “I could listen to that all day long.”

The Clark Brothers rocked Maggie’s Farm, their Dylan song, managing to sound like far more than just three people, with Ashley playing fiddle and singing simultaneously (always impressive). However judge Ian Dickson, who consistently finds something negative to say, commented they shouldn’t have messed with the simple melody. After an instant instrument trade (making it obvious that the show was pre-recorded) they rendered their original Billy the Kid, a gritty story song that they performed magnificently.

Now it’s up to the viewers to call in their votes. Phone lines were open for two hours following the show. We’ll find out when we tune in next week which two bands get the axe. In the meantime the bands, who are sequestered in a hotel somewhere, will be working up an Elton John or Bernie Taupin song.

I can’t wait to hear Elton John bluegrass style!

This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.

The new FOX television American Idol spin-off The Next Great American Band airs Friday nights at 8 p.m./7 p.m. central. Last Friday on the two-hour debut judges whittled a wide field down to twelve finalists. The field was wide not only in numbers but in genre as well. Bands played everything from metal to classical, from blues to bluegrass.

Remarkably the two bluegrass bands who competed made it to the second round, airing this Friday, October 26th. The Clark Brothers and Cliff Wagner and Old #7 couldn’t be more different as far as bluegrass bands go.

The Clark Brothers are three of eleven siblings from Virginia. As The Clark Family, they appeared at bluegrass festivals in the 1990s and were staples at the Galax Old Fiddlers Convention before the eldest six made the jump to country as the Clark Family Experience.

On NGAB Adam (mandolin), Ashley (guitar), and Austin (dobro) are playing as a trio. The judges really liked their musicianship, displayed to good effect on a brisk gospel medley including This Little Light of Mine and Jesus on the Mainline.

Cliff Wagner and Old #7 hail from California. Their fearless leader Cliff was raised in Greenwood, Mississippi, attended Berklee College of Music, and lived some time in New York City.

They have a traditional sound and played an original song on the show. The judges responded to the “natural” sound of the music but one did ask “Can you play a cover that wasn’t written by a 70-year-old raccoon hunter?” (Yes those stereotypes are still alive and well!)

So Cliff and Co. gave them a little of Madonna’s Like A Virgin, which seemed to satisfy the judges, who sent them on to the next round. You can watch their submission video on You Tube.

Tune in on Friday night to see how our bluegrass brethren fare in round two. Cliff seemed confident that: “Appalachian America will vote for us.” Let’s make sure he’s not wrong!