Our friend Ted Lehmann has put together a terrific profile of our other friend Dennis Jones, and posted it on his blog, Ted Lehmann’s Bluegrass, Books, and Brainstorms.

Ted visited the WNCW radio studio in Spindale, NC where Dennis serves as both an on air host and the station’s technical director in early April, and came away with an in-depth portrait. Dennis is also one of the hosts of Goin’ Across The Mountain, which offers 8 hours of bluegrass and traditional music every Saturday from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.

Lehmann spent time with Jones at the station, and also had a chance to interview some of his WNCW co-workers, and came away with a very detailed picture of the man who has had such an impact on regional radio in northwestern North Carolina.

As a broadcaster, Dennis Jones recognizes that there are three elements absolutely essential to airing fine music: content, preparation, and intelligence. Without any of these three elements, fine broadcasting is not possible. A station or a program won’t develop and hold an audience. The format of a station like WNCW allows its on-air personnel to recognize and develop musical ideas, showing how they are related and interconnected. A look at the programming schedule of WNCW shows how this can and has been accomplished. Woody Platt, of The Steep Canyon Rangers, points out that they met Dennis early in their career, well before they had developed their skill or style. He doesn’t know what Dennis saw, but he welcomed the band with open arms. Woody says, “His personality and knowledge of the music have made him such a wonderful radio host. He knows everyone in bluegrass personally, and that makes for a nice show, deeper and more personal.” The intelligence and depth of knowledge Dennis Jones brings to the studio, whether it be on air or on the sound board demonstrates the qualities he emphasized. Add this to his warmth as a human being, his energy, and his enthusiasm and the package represents bluegrass music in the best possible fashion.

Read the full profile on Ted’s site.

WNCW offers live audio streaming online, so bluegrass lovers worldwide can enjoy Goin’ Across The Mountain, or Dennis’ Sunday morning Gospel program, The Gospel Truth, anytime they are online.

Dennis Jones with WNCW in Spindale, NC sent along an advance copy of Goin’ Across The Mountain Live – Volume 3, which will be offered as a premium for station supporters in 2009.

The 15 tracks were all recorded and broadcast live during episodes of Goin’ Across The Mountain, which airs on WNCW every Saturday from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.

The station’s Studio B is a first class recording facility and the audio quality of these live cuts is superb. The show attracts the very best performers in bluegrass and old time music, and the acts featured on this CD reflect the quality and diversity of music Goin’ Across The Mountain presents.

1. Balsam Range – Julie’s Train
2. Seth Taylor and Danielle Bishop – Washington County
3. The Infamous Stringdusters – You Can’t Handle The Truth
4. Laura Boosinger and Josh Goforth – Single Girl
5. Mountain Heart – You’d Better Run
6. Danny Paisley & The Southern Gras – The Room Over Mine
7. The Farewell Drifters – Somewhere Down The Road
8. Grasstowne – Here Comes That Feelin’ Again
9. Wayne and Kristin Benson – Spindale
10. Last Road Bluegrass Band – One Foot In The Mill
11. Cody Shuler and Pine Mountain Railroad – My Eyes Shall Be On Canaan’s Land
12. Steep Canyon Rangers – Call The Captain
13. Songs From The Road Band – Taxman
14. The Snyder Family Band – Daniel Prayed
15. Walkin’ Home – Salt Creek

To get a copy of this CD, contact WNCW and make a donation to support their top notch broadcasting – which is also streamed live online. In the pre-drive period (until March 28) a donation of $50 will get you this album as a premium; after that it will be $60.

We can each decide for ourselves whether a station that broadcasts 8 hours of bluegrass and traditional music on Saturdays (with more on Sundays) is worthy of our financial support. I’ll just say that Goin’ Across The Mountain Live – Volume 3 is a fine inducement.

To get a copy now, contact the station by phone (Diane Dezio – 828-287-8000).

Dailey & Vincent will make a stop this afternoon (12/5) in Spindale, NC to do a live set on the air for WNCW.

They’ll be on with Dennis Jones from Studio B at 2:00 p.m. for about 45 minutes of live bluegrass and interviews. This is a fun and entertaining group, and if you’ve never caught them live, do yourself a favor and tune in later today.

Dennis will also have Dan Tyminski in for a chat on tomorrow’s (12/6) edition of Goin’ Across The Mountain, which airs from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. every Saturday.

The WNCW signal can be heard at 88.7 FM in a wide radius from Charlotte, NC, and bluegrass lovers worldwide can catch listen live from WNCW’s website.a.m. 

UPDATE 11:35 a.m.  We just heard from Dennis that the band had to cancel their schedule show this afternoon. Jamie is recovering from a sinus ailment and needs to preserve his voice for shows this weekend. Hopefully a rescheduled date at WNCW can be announced soon.

More big bluegrass doin’s on online radio this Saturday (10/25).

At 1:00 p.m. (EDT) former Foggy Mountain Boys Jody Rainwater and Curly Seckler will join Steep Canyon Rangers for a live set on WSVS AM 800 in Crewe, VA. They will be performing together that evening in nearby Kenbridge, and will offer a taste of the show over the air (steamed live at www.wsvsam.com).

WSVS was the radio home for Flatt & Scruggs in 1954 and ‘55, where they did a live noontime show each weekday and also taped their Martha White shows for WSM in Nashville. Rainwater, who had left the band several years earlier, was a show host on WSVS while Lester and Earl were based in Crewe.

Curly and Jody look forward to spinning yarns about the old days on Saturday’s show, and getting a chance to perform together again backed by a fine young band who learned to play listening to the recordings they had made.

Then at 8:00 p.m. on WNCW in Spindale, NC, Merlefest will announce their artist lineup for 2009. [See update below]

John Adair from Merlefest and Christie Hutchens from Wilkes Community College will be on WNCW’s Martin Anderson to run down all the acts who will be on tap for the festival April 23-26, 2009.

Listen live online at wncw.org.

The lineup will be posted on the Melefest site after the show has concluded on Saturday at 9:00 p.m.

Update 10/26:  Ooops….. The Merlefest radio show is on Tuesday, October 28 at 8:00 p.m.