There is more to tell about events on Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon, plus we have a video interview with Sam Bush, a video report from the big Rural Rhythm showcase on Wednesday, and our Red Carpet interviews from last night.

For starters, here’s a photo gallery from the Exhibit Hall on Thursday afternoon. With Fan Fest beginning this morning (10/2), the hall is likely to be more active today, but through the week, there was an obvious shortage of both exhibitors and visitors. We spoke to a number of vendors, and will share some of their comments and concerns in our follow-up coverage next week.

Colby is seeking any information that may lead to the recovery of the instrument. Here’s his description of the guitar.

It was a black CA Bluegrass Standard, white inlay around the sound hole, Waverly tuners, Fishman aura pickup, and a small chip on the head near the letters CA. It was inside a black dreadnaught TKL type case made by CA with CA on the case. There is no serial number that we can find yet, but the makers have been informed.

If anyone sees this instrument or has information concerning it, please contact Colby immediately.

Here’s a clip of Colby playing the guitar with Next Best Thing.

While many still think of “flatpicking” the guitar as taking solos on fiddle tunes, the flatpickers on this recording are here to show you that the guitar also has something to say on traditional bluegrass vocal tunes.

The majority of the tracks were recorded in Nashville, and the band remains the same on each song with the exception of the guitar player/lead singer, and the occasional harmony vocalist.

The back up band includes Shad Cobb on fiddle, Charlie Chadwick on bass, Chris Joslin on Dobro and banjo, and Dave Harvey on mandolin. Tim May and Brad Davis provide harmony vocals on most tunes, although others also sing harmony on select tunes.

The line up of guitar players is impressive, as is the song list of traditional tunes.

1. My Home’s Across The Blue Ridge Mountains – Steven Mougin
2. East Virginia Blues – John Chapman
3. Six White Horses – Jeff White
4. When The Golden Leaves Begin To Fall – Jim Hurst
5. Long Journey Home – Josh Williams
6. I’ll Stay Around – Tim Stafford
7. Banks Of The Ohio – Brad Davis
8. Why Don’t You Tell Me So – Richard Bennett
9. In The Pines – Chris Jones
10. Teardrops In My Eyes - Jim Nunally
11. Gone Home – Tim May
12. Air Mail Special On The Fly – Kenny Smith

The consistency of the band from track to track lends a unity to the disc, which, when paired with the diversity of vocal and guitar styles represented, results in a very pleasant and interesting 40 minutes of music.

Choosing a favorite track would be nearly impossible. Each player brings a unique approach that distinguishes each track from the others. There is something to be appreciated and enjoyed from each recording.

Fans of both flatpicking guitar and traditional bluegrass should equally enjoy this CD. If you happen to be a fan of both, Flatpicking Bluegrass is custom made for you!

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.

If you’re not there, but you’d like to know what’s going on. Or, if you are there, but you’d like to know what’s going on backstage, here’s your chance.

Our pal Wichita Rutherford is there all week and hanging out back stage with Doc and the other stars. He’s going to give us all a window into what’s happening, by Twittering his experiences. He tells me he plans to let us know who’s backstage and what they’re doing, what they’re eating, and who they’re talking to. Apparently there will be no privacy this year at Merlefest! Wichita will also be catching a few parking lot jams and letting us know what’s happening there.

Wichita tells me there may even be a friendly slap fight match or two. He’s challenged Tim Stafford, Terry Eldrige and Jerry Douglas among others. Of course, if Chris Thile shows up…

If Chris Thile shows there will be an all out slap fight brawl; a loser leaves MerleFest cage match, if you will.

I’m sure Wichita will let us know all the details if it happens. Be careful buddy!

In addition to just Tweeting the events as they happen, Wichita will also be posting photos on his Twitter page.

If you want to follow Wichita’s Tweets, then just go to Twitter.com, you’ll need an account, and search for WichitaR or Wichita Rutherford, and enjoy!

We had commented a number of times about this album as it was progressing from concept to reality, and have been anticipating its release since last summer. The sound is fuller to my ear than their last, and the song choices show a depth and variety well-suited to the band’s style.

Jim Van Cleve served as co-producer along with the band, and says that they took more time tracking, and tried some new approaches to the material this time out.

Here are a couple of quick samples from the CD, along with some thoughts from bandleader, guitarist and lead vocalist Tim Shelton.

Try To Be -  Listen now:   

Jim VanCleve sent me this song when we started gathering material and arranging songs for the record, it was written by Sonya Isaacs. I love a good intense, bluesy sounding bluegrass song and this one turned into that.  It’s going over very well at the shows, and it opens the CD as the first track.

Same Old Place -  Listen now:   

Tim Stafford wrote this song and I love it.  It’s got such a sad feeling to it, which I love, and it’s definitely the biggest sounding song that NewFound Road has ever cut.  We posted this on the band’s MySpace page and within a week the song had over 1000 plays and continues to average that, so evidently, folks are loving the song as well.

Audio samples for all 12 tracks can be found on the band’s web site, where you can also place a pre-order for the CD, shipped to arrive next week when it is officially released.

Stafford has worked closely with the folks at CA Guitars to create a dreadnaught body instrument, made from their durable, carbon fiber composite material, which could offer the sort of tone, response and playability that bluegrass pickers demand from their guitars. Tim was also concerned that his signature model have on board electronics that would convey a warm, natural acoustic sound to the sound system.

Specifications for the Tim Stafford model include:

• light blue shell flame rosette
• four leaf clover headstock inlay
• enlarged 4.5" diameter soundhole
• upper bout sound port
• Gotoh 510 open back gears
• CA Performance Tuned bracing
• a specially voiced Fishman Aura pick-up system
• high gloss Carbon Burst paint finish

It will carry a $2968 price tag.

As you might expect, Tim is very pleased with the guitar…

"I believe the signature model is the best new CA I’ve played. It plays like a dream, and the sound port gives it more punch and volume out front, as well as adding something like ’self-monitoring’ to the instrument–you can hear the guitar more clearly as you play it, from your vantage point behind the instrument. This is a bonus for singers; it sounds like a superior new guitar, straight out of the box. I was talking with someone after I had gotten the first prototype of the signature model which I played at Merlefest last year; they gave me a 4-leaf clover as luck for the new model. I put the clover against the black carbon top and it was just brilliant; that’s when I began to think this would be a nice cosmetic touch for the model. Mostly though, I hope it brings luck to whoever buys one!"

There is no information up yet on the CA web site, but look for it to appear soon after the official launch event at Artisan Guitars in Franklin, TN on May 3. Tim will be on hand to demo the guitar and talk with customers and the press.

           

Instead of presenting bands that perform together normally, artists as varied as Ronnie Bowman, Mike Bub, Missy Raines, Terry Baucom, Rob McCoury, Alan Bibey, Mike Compton, Phil Leadbetter, Rob Ickes, Kenny Smith, Tim Stafford, Jason Carter, Steve Gulley, Kim Fox, Dale Ann Bradley, Amanda Smith and Josh Williams were assembled into different groups throughout each show.

Tour organizer Larry Gorley shared a number of photos from shows in Bristol, VA and Kurtztown, PA. They offer a nice flavor of the way these many pickers and singers were staged in various groupings for these concerts, as well as the giant throng on stage for the finales.

Gorley says that the tour has gone well…

“It has been one of the most fun things that I’ve ever been involved in. The crowds have been extremely appreciative of what we’ve done and all the musicians have enjoyed their response and the chance to play with their own. Some great stories have been shared and hopefully new ones will be told after these dates.

We have one more date to do in Stillwater, OK and the tour has been going well. We’ve had 21 musicans on it so far and will likely finish with 25 musicians by tour’s end. Interest has been shown for maybe more of these shows, and hopefully that will happen.

We want to thank all the venues for having us and to all that have come out to see the show, it is much appreciated.”

Perhaps we’ll see an even bigger all-star tour in ‘10.

            

What do Money in the Bank, Union Man, Snapshots and Souvenirs and Always Never Enough have in common? All of these songs, recorded by Lonesome River Band, Blue Highway, Mountain Heart and the Kenny and Amanda Smith Band were written or co-written by Tim Stafford, one of the creative forces in Blue Highway, one of the most popular of the modern-day bluegrass bands. Stafford’s songs have also been recorded by Larry Sparks, Dan Tyminski, Ronnie Bowman, Claire Lynch and Alecia Nugent.

A native of Kingsport, Tennessee, where he currently resides, Tim Stafford began playing guitar seriously at the age of 18. As a teenager, he played with various groups in the Tri-Cities area of East Tennessee, including Mountain Memories and the Boys in the Band.

Subsequently, he helped to found the band Dusty Miller, which was named SPBGMA International Bluegrass Band champions in 1990. Later that same year Stafford joined Alison Krauss and Union Station, along with Adam Steffey and Barry Bales. The band was named IBMA Entertainer of the Year in 1991.

Although he left Union Station in May 1992, in order to spend more time with his son Daniel, who was born in January of that year, Stafford won a Grammy award in January 1993 for his work on Every Time You Say Goodbye (Rounder, 1992).

In 1994, he organized his present band Blue Highway. They have released eight albums, the latest of which includes the award-winning title-song Through The Window Of A Train, written by Tim Stafford and Steve Gulley. Like this CD, all the other Blue Highway projects feature material written by Stafford.

In 2004 he released a highly acclaimed solo album Endless Line (FGM Records 114). This CD has nine songs penned by Stafford himself.

Recently, I spoke to Tim Stafford about his song writing skills ……

When did you start writing songs and what was the impulse?

I started writing when I was very young. I can’t really say what the impulse was. My sisters were piano players, and they always had written music laying around. I would look at Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel songbooks and try to figure out the songs and pretty soon I was coming up with stuff of my own. I wrote some not long after I picked up guitar–nothing I’d be willing for anyone to hear — and all the way up until I joined Blue Highway I was writing. But when that band started, I felt a conscious need to write more — Wayne Taylor had written some good things and he kind of inspired me to start taking it more seriously.

From whom have you learned most about the art of song writing?

I’ve studied it, bought books, listened to as many good songwriters as I could, but I still believe it’s a completely subjective thing. I’ve learned a lot from everyone I’ve written with. Kim Williams has a great ear for phrases. Bobby Starnes is always thinking. Steve Gulley and I have a good chemistry. Other writers I admire include Carter Stanley, Ira Louvin, Jimmy Webb, James Taylor, Harley Allen, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Darrell Scott, Tim O’Brien, Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard, Billy Joel, Hank Williams, Hazel Dickens, Burt Bacharach, Paul Williams… There are so many great writers.

How many songs have you written and how many of them have been recorded?

Probably around 200, and I’d say around 100 have been recorded.

Can you share some of the techniques that you use in your song writing?

I try to find a great idea anywhere I can — conversations, TV, newspapers, magazines, movies and I keep a ‘hook book’ to make sure that I don’t lose ideas. I’m always writing them down on business cards or saying them into a digital recorder. When I start writing or co-writing, I try to feel what a particular idea should sound like without thinking about it too much and then have the recorder running… Usually the first idea is best. But the key is making the melody match the lyric.

You have co-written songs with Dan Tyminski, Ronnie Bowman and Steve Gulley, among others; what different approach(es) have to be employed when writing with others?

Everybody’s different. When you co-write, you have to be aware of that and tailor your approach to whatever the situation is. I’m usually a melody guy, but you never know what direction something’s going to take, or who will have a melodic hook that works. You have to be receptive and malleable at the same time you’re strong and decisive. Does that make sense?

Is there any song that you have written behind which there is an interesting story?

Lots of them — that’s what makes them good ideas to begin with usually. A Week From Today, for example, came from a story my preacher told me — about a fellow who had been in prison for years and was scheduled to get out but didn’t want to go. Some time after Bobby Starnes and I wrote it, I saw Shawshank Redemption, and everybody assumes it came from that, but it didn’t. Two Soldiers came from a story on CNN about a soldier who wrote a letter that made it home, although he didn’t — he said, ‘If you see two soldiers at your door, you’ll know I’m in Heaven.’

Through the Window of a Train is the 2008 IBMA Song of the Year; what other songs have won you accolades from your peers/fans?

You mean awards? That’s the first song I’ve written or co-written that’s won an award, I guess. It’s always gratifying when anyone comes up to you and says a song you wrote made a difference in some way in their life or spoke to them. Some Day I guess has made the most impact in that way, even though I only wrote the melody for it. A lot of people tell me they identify with Midwestern Town, which is a truly fictional song. Ronnie Bowman did a great job on that one. Pacific Time, Union Man, How Long is This Train, Think About You Every Day, Two Soldiers, Wild Bill, Rider on an Endless Line… People are so nice to come up at shows and tell me they like songs. Its makes you feel like you’re doing something good.

Which of all the songs that you have written gives you most satisfaction and why?

Actually, it’s immensely satisfying when anyone cuts one of your songs–I’m sure every songwriter can relate to the feeling you get when you hear someone else’s version of it for the first time. I can’t really take credit for Some Day, but it does give me a lot of satisfaction that people seem to have been genuinely comforted by it at a very difficult time in their lives. One of my favorites is one Steve Gulley and I have co-written, Just Another Setting Sun, and one Bobby Starnes and I co-wrote about our high school years called Back in the Day. Another recent favourite is The Last Greyhound that Alecia Nugent and April Verch recorded — Craig Market and I co-wrote that one. Darrell Scott and I recently wrote a very dark piece about clinical depression, called Bleeding for a Little Peace of Mind. I really like that one. Darrell is amazing.

Of the songs of yours that have been recorded most have been recorded by Blue Highway; apart from the demand for songs for your recording sessions, have you been commissioned by others to write a song for them?

Well, actually, I think I’ve had more songs cut by other people now. When Blue Highway first started, I felt a need to write material for the group, and they’ve recorded a lot of them. But I have been really fortunate that other folks ask me for material as well. I may not have exactly what they’re looking for, but it’s great of them to ask!

How do you combine the process of song writing with being part of a touring band?

We used to write a lot while we were out on the road, but we just don’t do that much anymore. As you get older, you tend to want time to yourself out on the road. I would like to co-write more with these boys though — I think Shawn [Lane] and Wayne [Taylor] are great writers.

What tips would you give to an aspiring young bluegrass writer?

I don’t know if it’s something you can learn how to do, but you can get better at it. Just write as much as you can with different people and by yourself. Be critical of your songs — how can you make them better? Always look for ideas, and always write them down or keep a list of them somewhere. Then get out there and play your songs for people, but make sure they’re copyright protected [www.copyright.gov]. Make good demos and give them to artists you think might cut them — we have that luxury in the bluegrass business. You can walk right up to an artist and hand them a CD. Get a tough skin though, because they may not have time to listen to everything and you need to get used to rejection. It’s all part of the process.

Tim tells us that the working title for the book is Still Inside: The Tony Rice Story. It will be the second release from Word of Mouth Press, a new progressive imprint based in Kingsport, TN. Stafford founded the company along with with Bobby Starnes and Johnny Burton to publish biographies of important roots musicians. Their first book was a children’s Christmas book on the Santa Train, a Thanksgiving tradition in East Tennessee of more than 60 years.

Still Inside covers Rice on two tracks, examining Tony’s personal life and his impact as a musician, with Tim tackling the guitar side and Caroline, Rice the individual.

Stafford says that it will run to over 400 pages with plenty to interest the most devoted Rice-head.

“We’re very excited about this book. It will features scads of great photos as well as Tony’s entire life in his own words along with testimony from over a hundred key eyewitnesses, all laid out in an innovative new design.”

More details about the book’s release should be forthcoming shortly, including information about book signings and other public events. We’ll be sure to pass them along as we get them.

This type of show has not been a common thing in the bluegrass world, but the folks at Pick One Jams are giving it a go during the month of January, 2009. They have five shows scheduled in the eastern and central US with a bevy of bluegrass stars in tow.

Artists appearing on these shows include Ronnie Bowman, Mike Bub, Missy Raines, Terry Baucom, Rob McCoury, Alan Bibey, Mike Compton, Phil Leadbetter, Rob Ickes, Kenny Smith, Tim Stafford, Jason Carter, Steve Gulley, Kim Fox, Dale Ann Bradley, Amanda Smith and Josh Williams.

Each concert will showcase these top artists in a jam-like setting with the performers rotating on and off the stage as the various pickers and singers are featured. The lineup may vary slightly from one show to the next, but each one is chock full of top bluegrass stars.

Shows on the schedule include:

• 1/08/09 – Raleigh, NC
• 1/09/09 – Bristol, VA
• 1/15/09 – Kutztown, PA
• 1/17/09 – Athens, GA
• 1/24/09 – Stillwater, OK

Ticket and lineup details for the several shows can be found on the Pick One web site.

During that same year “Fritz,” as Martin was known, opened a guitar workshop in the loft of 196 Hudson Street, on the Lower East Side, and thus established C F Martin & Company.

For six generations the Martin family, originally from Markneukirchen, Saxony, and now of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, have designed and built guitars, always being innovative and providing the guitars to meet he needs of the day.

The company designed the mighty Dreadnought guitar, introduced in 1916, and this large-bodied guitar became the instrument for the bluegrass guitarist, being well-suited to backing up vocals, fiddles and banjos. Jimmy Martin, followed Clyde Moody, Lester Flatt and Carter Stanley in playing a Martin Dreadnought. Del McCoury, Clarence White, Charlie Waller, Charles Sawtelle, Tony Rice and David Grier continued the line. [This is an adaptation of a history published in 'British Bluegrass News' in February 1993.]

However, I don’t want to simply regurgitate a ‘dry’ history about the Martin dynasty. It is after all an oft-told and well-known story.

There is a multi-part history on he C.F. Martin & Company website. Also there was an excellent article by Dave McCarty, himself a Martin guitar player, in the March 2008 edition of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine. Other publications have, or are, marking the occasion with their own stories.

So, I thought that I would ask a few guitarists for their thoughts about Martin guitars and talk about the instruments themselves. Firstly, I questioned Dan Tyminski ….

When did you acquire your first Martin and what model was it?

“Three months after I joined Alison I got a 1946 D28 Herringbone (my first guitar).”

Have you had others since?

“Yes, I have since acquired a 1942 and a 1934 (both Herringbones).”

Did you use the Martin for the recordings for Wheels?

“Yes, for Wheels and ALL other recordings I use my 1946.”

What properties does the Martin have that make it good to use for recording purposes?

“My ‘46 is one of those special once in a lifetime guitars that has superior tone in both the high and mid registers with a low end that’s not too boomy. It is dry and airy without a lot of overtones that make most other, seemingly great, guitars difficult to record.”

Blue Highway guitarist Tim Stafford shared his knowledge of Martin guitars …..

“I have two Martins currently, a 1934 D-18 and a 1946 D-28. I’ve owned several in the past. My first one was a 1966 D-28, and I think I bought it in 1988 or so, so I would have been 27.

I use the D-18 for most of my recordings, including Endless Line, although I also used a CA guitar on a few cuts on that record and the most recent Blue Highway project. Haven’t had the D-28 long enough to use!

I guess the name Martin speaks for itself. There is nothing like the tone of that old D-18. It’s sweet and strong, cutting yet deep… perfect for leads like most mahogany models, but full and powerful like the older rosewood guitars. I’ve used it on probably 2 dozen records over the last 6 or 7 years and it’s amazingly consistent. Engineers rave over it–rarely do they need to touch the EQ with that instrument in front of the mic.

I guess the most impressive guitars I’ve ever played have been Martins. I played Ricky Wasson’s 1935 Herringbone on Every Time You Say Goodbye and recently again on a project for Missy Werner. That guitar has the best bluegrass tone I’ve ever witnessed in person.”

James Alan Shelton, of the Clinch Mountain Boys, had this to say ……

“I actually own three Martin guitars – a 1946 D-28 Herringbone, a 1956 D-28 and a 2001 HD-28. In my opinion, you just can’t beat the old Martins for that sweet tone with the volume and punch needed to play bluegrass music. My 1946 D-28 is my favorite guitar that I own and I still take it on the road occasionally. It has everything I need in a great guitar; power, good tone, volume and reliability. Plus it has good intonation, which is a must, for a guitar must play in tune for it to be reliable for stage and studio work. I like a guitar that I can depend on, when I put the ‘46 in the mic I know what to expect. I like the D-28s because I need the power of a rosewood guitar as opposed to a mahogany guitar.

Of course all the great bluegrass guitarists down through the years have relied on Martins, so it’s kind of a tradition to own and play one.”

The founder of the Johnson Mountain Boys and guitarist with the Seldom Scene, Dudley Connell also responded to my questions …..

When did you get your first Martin guitar, what model was it and how old were you?

“I bought my first Martin guitar in 1974, when I was eighteen years old. It was a D-35 that I purchased from a Catholic priest. He felt that it was a little disrespectful to play such a fine instrument in front of his congregation while asking for contributions to the church. Unfortunately, that guitar was destroyed during a barroom brawl in Amherst, Massachusetts while on an early tour with the Johnson Mountain Boys. I still have the pieces.”

What Martin guitars do you have presently?

“That guitar was replaced shortly after by a 1974 Martin D-28, purchased from Chris Warner in Hanover, Pennsylvania. I used that instrument on the first three or four Johnson Mountain Boys records. It’s the guitar pictured in the book Honky Tonk by Henry Hornstein; a photograph that was featured in an exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. I still own that instrument.

The guitar I currently play, and have played and toured with since purchasing it in 1983, is a 1943 D-28 herringbone. I’ve used that guitar on all my recordings since then. I think it has a booming, distinctive sound.”

You are often praised for your rhythm guitar playing, getting a drum-like effect to your sound. What is it about the Martin guitars that respond to your playing in this way?

“Martins are very responsive guitars, with a big and balanced tone, which is why they’re used so much in bluegrass. I like to think that my right hand pushes the rhythm along, anticipating the next beat with different runs and fills. I actually started playing drums when I was a teenager, and like to play with beats and rhythms on the guitar. I also try to compliment what is going on around me, and will approach my right hand technique with the Seldom Scene differently than I would on a Longview performance or recording. I just try and listen and play what fits.”

On a more general level, it has been reckoned that about 95% of all bluegrass guitarists either possess or have aspirations to own a Martin guitar.

Happy Birthday C F Martin & Company. We salute you.

Footnote: September 9, 1894 is also the date that C F Martin III was born.

The CD contains 14 tracks written by some of bluegrass music’s best songwriters, including Brandon Rickman (Lonesome River Band), Tim Stafford (Blue Highway), Tom T. & Dixie Hall, Shannon Slaughter, Marcie Horne, and Jeanette herself.

The title cut, written by Tom T. & Dixie Hall, is a duet with country icon George Jones. Other special guests include Michelle Nixon, Randy Kohrs, Tony Rice, Tim Stafford, Ben Isaacs, Aubrey Haynie, and more.

Mp3 song samples are available on Jeanette’s website. Be sure to check out Enough Of You, the first track on the CD. It was written by Jeanette and won the bluegrass division of the 2007 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at MerleFest. Here are Jeanette’s comments on this song from the liner notes.

This is the fourth song I’ve written. The first three were sweet songs about good memories. In 2005, I decided I wanted to write something with a little more ‚Äòattitude’, and this came to me very quickly. I was so honored when it was chosen as the bluegrass division winner of the 2007 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at MerleFest. It’s not a gospel song, but I give God the glory for this, and everything in my life. I know that without him, I can do nothing.

Be sure you give Brandon Rickman’s Bad Money a listen as well. What a cool tune! And having Tony Rice on guitar on a song like this is icing on the cake.

And check out the last track, a bluegrass version of Gloria Gaynor’s 1979 disco hit, I Will Survive.

I was driving home from a late night jam session with the radio turned up loud to keep me awake. When this song came on, I thought, "Hey, I could do that bluegrass!" We worked it up at our next band practice and have been closing shows with it ever since. I thought it only fitting that we close the album with it as well.

From what I’ve heard, this is going to be a great CD. Jeanette’s vocals are gutsy and emotive, the music is top notch, and the recording sounds great.

The release is set for next month (July 2008), but is available for pre-order ($13) directly from Jeanette. All pre-orders will be entered to win two weekend passes to the Song of the Mountains Festival here in Southwestern VA, at the end of this month.

Resonator guitarist Rob Ickes was profiled in those pages in February of 2007, and both he and Tim Stafford are interviewed in the June 2008 issue.

The focus of the article is on the pair’s musicianship, as you might imagine, particularly with reference to the band’s new CD, Through The Window Of A Train. Rob and Tim answer questions about the instruments they used in the studio, how the recording was structured and even how they came up with specific solos.

Were any songs particularly difficult to get recorded?

Ickes: This record fell into place really easily. There’s a tricky melody on The North Cove, and that’s one that I definitely worked on it some before we went into teh studio. Tim plays some great lead guitar breaks on that one.

Stafford: This was the easiest record we’ve made. V-Bottom Boat took as long to record as it takes to listen to it. That’s live with one mic – first take.

As of this morning (6/2) the content at GuitarPlayer.com had not yet been updated online, but you can see a PDF of the article on the Blue Highway site. [link will open as an Adobe Acrobat file]

Well, there is one organization who recognizes Tim’s stature in the acoustic guitar world. CA Guitars (Composite Acoustics) of Lafayette, LA is set to introduce a Tim Stafford signature guitar model at the Summer NAMM show in Nashville next month.

Tim has been using a CA guitar on the road with Blue Highway for a number of years, and in the studio as well. The guitars are made from a carbon fiber composite material and Tim has praised his for its constancy with regard to temperature and humidity extremes – common concerns for road musicians.

“I have the second prototype here, and it has a new bracing pattern, an enlarged soundhole and beautiful rosette design by Bobby Starnes. My name is inlaid at the 12th fret tastefully in the same blue shell that cosmetically offsets the black carbon fiber well. They aren’t finished with it–still some modifications to be done, including a soundport. The thing sounds wonderful–every new guitar I hear from CA gets better acoustically, and they were already great recording guitars. They also play like a dream right out of the factory.”

The soundport Tim mentioned is an opening in the upper bout of the guitar’s side, which he says makes the guitar project more forcefully forward – generating more volume. The Stafford model will also come with a custom Fishman Aura pickup system installed, which uses onboard software (tweaked for this guitar’s properties) in what Fishman describes as a new breakthrough in acoustic image modeling to accurately replicate the way different classic microphones would capture the tone and response.

CA was hesitant to comment much on the Tim Stafford model, saying that it is still a work in progress, but they are very excited about their association with Tim, and looking forward to debuting the guitar at Summer NAMM in June.

We’ll have more details as the actual launch draws near.

The Birthplace of Country Music Alliance (BCMA) is an organization dedicated to preserving and telling that story.

One new way of telling the story is a planned Cultural Heritage Center in downtown Bristol. In 2004 the BCMA came into possession of a 24,000 square foot historic structure at 520 Cumberland Street. Since that time, plans have been moving forward for restoration and renovation of the building.

The new facility will include temporary and permanent exhibits that trace the history, cultural influences, and development of country music through a sequence of audio-visual experiences which will allow visitors the opportunity to listen to the melodies and encounter the rich musical tradition first hand. The facility will also include space for educational initiatives through educational programming for all ages, live musical performances, lecture and film series, and other outreach activities.

Desiring to get area musicians more involved in the center, the BCMA has put together an Artistic Council comprised of artists and industry persons, for the purpose of supporting the center and its events, as well as serving in an advisory capacity.

Among the musicians involved are Tim Stafford and Ralph Stanley. I had a chance to visit briefly with Tim regarding the Artistic Council.

I’m honored to be part of the Artistic Council of the BCMA’s new Cultural Heritage Center. I’ve been involved with BCMA since its organizational meetings in the early 1990s and fully support its goal with the Cultural Heritage Center: bringing a destination/museum to the Tri-Cities so this region’s important place in the history of bluegrass and country music can be preserved and presented to the world.

I think Doyle is going to be involved too. It’s an Artistic Council made up of music folks with ties to the region and the Center, including Patty Loveless, Roni Stoneman, Bill Clifton, Ralph, Doyle, me, Larry Groce and Andy Ridenour of Mountain Stage, Dale Jett (grandson of A.P. Carter), Kevin Lamb of Peer International, Mick Buck of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Brad Paul of Rounder, Jeff Place of Smithsonian Folkways, Rick Rose of Barter Theater, Leah Ross of Bristol’s Rhyhm and Roots Reunion, Mike Seeger, and Jimmy Neil Smith of the International Storytelling Center.

We’ll attend meetings, events and announcements, all the things Advisory Councils do. Largely ceremonial, but there for support.

The president of the BCMA is Fred McClellan who gives credit to Dr. Stanley for his own involvement with the organization.

Tim and Ralph have been actively involved since our creation in 1994. Tim served as a member of the board of directors in the early formative years. Ralph attended the organizational meetings and encouraged our formation and efforts. He has since given performance to every milestone and major accomplishment we have had since. Personally, I credit him for my involvement in this music because of promotional work we have done together since 1982.

I asked Fred to share the genesis of the idea for the Cultural Center.

After we returned from Washington DC in July of 2003, where we were the lead organization in Appalachia: Heritage and Harmony as part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival participating with Scotland and Mali, we held a strategic planning session. The highest priority was set to be the creation of a physical presence in downtown Bristol that would serve as a destination point celebrating the history of our music and culture, while encouraging this living tradition to be passed on to future generations.

A project of this size is not inexpensive. The cost of renovation and exhibits is expected to total between $9-12 million. The University of Virginia recently conducted an economic impact study to gauge the center’s potential impact on jobs and economy in the area. According to the study’s findings, the center is expected to attract over 75,000 visitors annually and have an economic impact of over $43 million in its first five years. More importantly, the center will continue to preserve and educate about rich musical and cultural heritage of this region of Appalachia.

Visit the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance online and see all that they are doing toward this goal.

You can join Eric and Tim at 8:00 p.m. (EST) on Tuesday evening by logging into the chat room on The Bluegrass Guide web site. Chat participants can pose their own questions to Tim, or simply read along.

To participate, visit the Songwriter Chat page and log in. No registration is required.

Transcripts from previous sessions with Larry Cordle, Brink Brinkman, Chris Stuart and others can be found on the site as well (scroll to the bottom of the page).

When that band fell apart, Jason was scooped up by Grasstowne, and is featured on their bedut CD, The Road Headin’ Home. If all that wasn’t enough for the now 19 year old Virginian, he has just released his first solo project, Steppin Out, on Pinecastle Records.

Jason’s banjo playing is solid and strong, firmly in the Scruggs-style tradition, but with a creative spark and voice all his own.

The CD is about half and half, vocal vs. instrumental. The choice of songs shows a degree of maturity you don’t expect in so young a musician, and the list of guest artists demonstrates the rarefied air in which he works.

Contributing vocals are former BlueRidge band mate Junior Sisk, IIIrd Tyme Out’s Russell Moore and Greg Luck, Jeff Parker of The Dailey Vincent Band and Grasstowne brethren Steve Gulley and Alan Bibey. The rhythm section is equally stout – Tim Stafford on guitar, Alan Bibey on mandolin, Zach McLamb on bass, Phil Leadbetter on dobro and Justen Haynes and Ron Stewart on fiddle.

I caught up with Jason long enough to get some of his thoughts on Steppin Out – both of the project in general, and the songs he included, several of which he composed.

“Getting to cut with all these guys was an awesome experience! It was pretty humbling at the same time. Ive looked up to Tim Stafford for about as long as I’ve been playing. He’s been a part of some of my all time favorite records and to get to have that guy playing rhythm behind me was unreal. He had tons of great arrangement ideas and what little bit I was around him, I really felt like I learned a lot. The whole thing was a really great experience and I’m very thankful that Tom Riggs gave me the opportunity.

I wrote the tune Burnt Fuzz a couple of years ago with a different B part. When I wrote another tune recently but didn’t like the first part, I kind of combined the two. I really have no idea where that name came from – I guess I was just trying to think of something random.

The idea for Open Road came when I was sitting around just rehearsing some stuff about a week before I went into cut this record. I kind of had the idea for the first few measures in my head, and within five minutes or so I had the whole thing. I didn’t even know if I was going to cut it, but when we got to the studio, I tried it with the guys and it felt really good. I never really sit down to write a tune – it just kind of happened I guess.

Heel Country was a tune of Alan Bibey’s. I told him I was looking for another instrumental and he let me cut this. It has a cool melody that sits really well on banjo, and I liked it the first time I heard it. Pinnacle Mountain was a tune I got from Steve Gulley. It was a tune that his dad’s band cut back in the 60s and I really liked it because it sounds like an old traditional tune but very few people have ever heard it.”

Jason also chose to cut a version of Pike County Breakdown, a difficult tune which Earl Scruggs recorded many years ago – one that a great many banjo pickers avoid for fear of drawing the comparison.

Pike County was a pretty gutsy thing I guess. Earl pretty much destroyed the earth with his cut. I just wanted to include a banjo tune that most folks would recognize, plus it’s just a really mean kind of banjo tune and I knew these guys would really burn it up.”

You can hear audio samples on Jason’s MySpace page and on the Grastowne site, where you can order the CD in time for holiday giving.

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.

Tim has spent time with Ricky Skaggs, as well as country artists Patty Loveless and Kenny Chesney, and has put together a bluegrass-tinged acoustic album with songs drawn from some of today’s top writers. In addition to the Crowell song, there are songs from Tim Stafford, Ronnie Bowman, Carl Jackson and Larry Cordle.

Joining Tim in the studio were super-pickers Rob Ickes, Aubrey Haynie, Wyatt Rice, Tim Stafford, Adam Steffey and David Talbot, with vocal assistance from Ronnie Bowman, Melonie Cannon, Vince Gill, Sonya Isaacs and Patty Loveless.

The Hensley CD is due on January 29, 2008. More details and a clip from Ridin’ Out The Storm can be found online.