NEW RELEASES
JAMES BRYAN & CARL JONES
CRICKET’S LULLABY
Dittyville 004 (compact disc)
FIVE ON FIVE: FROM KENTUCKY TO MAINE
BY JIMMY COX AS TOLD TO DEV DEVEREUX
jcoxbanjos, No Number (book)
MATT FLINNER TRIO
WINTER HARVEST
Compass Records 745692 (compact disc)
JANIE FRICKE
COUNTRY SIDE OF BLUEGRASS
New Music Deals NMD-CD-1001 (compact disc)
GREAT ALASKA BLUEGRASS BAND
SEMI-BLUEGRASS
No Label, No Number (compact disc)
JASON JERNIGAN
SON OF A WORKING MAN
Howling Harmony HHH-003 (compact disc)
MIDNIGHT DRIVE
Rooster Tone, No Number (compact disc)
NY CITY SLICKERS
LAYIN’ IT DOWN
No Label, No Number (compact disc)
SHADOW RIDGE
HILLBILLY BIG SHOTS
No Label, No Number (compact disc)
JUSSI SYREN AND THE GROUNDBREAKERS
SHAVE AND HAIRCUT
Goofin’ Records GRCD6168 (compact disc)
TOO BLUE
TROUBLE WITH THE GREY
TooBlueMusic 111211 (compact disc)
VARIOUS ARTISTS
ANCHORED IN LOVE: MUSIC OF HOME CRAFT DAYS, 2001-2005
No Label, No Number (compact disc)
VARIOUS ARTISTS
40TH ANNIVERSARY HOME CRAFT DAYS FESTIVAL: LEGEND & LEGACY
No Label, No Number (compact disc)
TONY WILLIAMSON
LLOYD LOAR MANDOLINS
No Label, MCP0065 (compact disc)
ADDITIONAL RELEASES
THE BAREFOOT MOVEMENT
FOOTWORK
Lonesome Records, CD039.
This young trio from the North Carolina/Tennessee area has produced a nice collection of mostly original material. The trio is mandolinist Quentin Acres, guitarist Tommy Norris, and fiddler Noah Wall. They are joined on the project by bassist Ryan Baisden and cellist Dave Eggar. The group shares in lead and harmony vocals and each contribute to the compositions, with the bulk of them coming from Ms. Wall. The two instrumentals are Acres’ “Southfork By Midnight” and Norris’ “Calico Jack.” The remainder of the tunes are written by Walls, with the exception of “Wasting Time” from Andrew Martin and “The Whole World Round” from Joe Stuart and Mitch Jayne. Walls is a good songwriter; her songs are crafted well and fit into the trio’s arrangements. Let us hope we hear more from these new faces in the music. (www.lonesomerecords.org)
THE CARPER FAMILY
BACK WHEN
No Label, No Number.
The Carper Family band is a trio of ladies from the Austin, Tex., area. They are Melissa Carper on upright bass and vocals, Beth Chrisman on fiddle and vocals, and Jenn Miori on guitar and vocals. The ladies are assisted on this project by Brennen Leigh on mandolin and lead guitar, Cindy Cashdollar on steel guitar, and Pogreba Baritone Weissenborn. The project is a mixture of original and other material presented in the style of Texas swing music. Carper penned the title cut “Back When” and contributes other selections such as “My Baby Don’t Like Me,” “Texas, Texas, Texas,” “Would You Like To Get Some Goats?,” and the social media theme of “Who R U Texting 2Nite?” Chrisman offers “Don’t Treat Me Too Nice,” “Another Town,” and “Cold, Dark, And Lonely.” The trio harmonies are excellent and the fiddle and steel helps ‘swing’ things along quite nicely. (www.carperfamilyband.com)
DIXIE HIWAY BLUEGRASS BAND
NORTH ALABAMA
No Label, No Number.
While the title of this project is North Alabama, the band is actually located near the eastern Florida coastal town of Melbourne. Apparently, there’s a family connection to Alabama. Mandolinist Glenn Dooley contributes the opening and finishing cuts on the project, while the rest of the selections are covers of familiar tunes such as “Bluegrass Breakdown,” “Faded Love,” “Love Please Come Home,” “Shady Grove,” “Sweet Blue Eyed Darlin,” and “Blues Stay Away From Me.” The band is Dooley (mandolin), Don Williams (guitar), Bonnie Gaarder (guitar), Les Barna (banjo), and Mike Minski (bass). Some selections seemed to set the tempo too fast and the overall presentation is marred by weak vocals. (Don Williams, P.O. Box 61317, Palm Bay, FL 32906.)
ELWOOD SHEETS
ELWOOD, VOLUME 1: MAKING MUSIC WITH MY FRIENDS
No Label, No Number.
Elwood is Elwood Sheets and hails from southern West Virginia. Elwood has been playing music since he was young and has played with many bands over the years. He is most recently the banjo player with the Midnight Ramblers String Band. On this project, Elwood is assisted in the studio not only by his bandmates, but also by Ron Stewart on fiddle and Wyatt Rice on guitar. The selections are mostly covers of familiar tunes with one original from Don and Carroll Nelson, “Blue Grass After Dark.” Instrumentals include “Home Sweet Home,” “Ground Speed,” “Follow The Leader,” “Sally Goodin,” and of course “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” “Lonesome Road Blues” features the vocals of Jerry Surface and Aaron Meadows. This cut and the opening “Home Sweet Home” were both recorded at Nashville’s Studio B, of which Elwood is proud. (Elwood Sheets, P.O. Box 3, Lashmeet, WV 24733, email: elwoodsheets@yahoo.com)
IVAN ROSENBERG & THE FOGGY HOGTOWN BOYS
THE HOGTOWN SESSIONS
Vole-O-Tone Records 002.
This group consists of Andrew Collins (mandolin, guitar), Chris Coole (guitar, banjo), Max Heineman (bass), Chris Quinn (banjo), Ivan Rosenberg (resonator guitar), and John Showman (fiddle). These guys are good musicians and their arrangements of this collection of covers shows they can pick. The members hail from Portland, Oreg., and Toronto, Canada. Selections include Buzz Busby’s “Lost,” Woody Guthrie’s “New York Town,” Bill Harrell’s “Reno Bound,” Harlan Howard’s “Busted,” and a couple of originals from Rosenberg—“Ishler’s Waltz” and “Honey Buckets” (a cute reference to festival porta-potties). All members contribute vocally, blending their harmonies well. (Hearth Music, 14879 6th Ave. NE, Shoreline, WA 98155, www.foggyhogtownboys.com.)
STEVENS FAMILY BLUEGRASS—WEST VIRGINIA HILLS—Tate Music Group TMG-15194. This is truly a family event with J.W. Stevens (banjo), Nancy Stevens (vocals), Laura Stevens (bass), Luke Stevens (guitar), Ben Stevens (mandolin), Sam Stevens (fiddle), and Tommy Stevens (vocals). As the title of the CD suggests, the family is from West Virginia and have produced a nice collections of covers and originals. New songs from the band include the title cut “West Virginia Hills,” the Gospel stylings of “The Journey,” “For You I Gave My Life,” “Just One Touch,” and the love song “She’s The One.” Others tunes include “Rose Of My Heart,” “Blue Ridge Mountain Girl,” “Catfish John,” and “When I Close My Eyes.” The sibling harmonies and influences are strong, lead by some powerful vocals as well. Instrumentally, the group is accomplished. With their feet in both secular and spiritual music, they have a good future. (Stevens Family, P.O. Box 551, Berkeley Springs, WV 25411, www.stevensfamilybluegrass.com.)
STOREFRONT CONGREGATION
KALEIDOSCOPE
No Label, No Number.
This delightful group from Louisville, Ky., has produced a really nice collection of material. Taking their name from a 1970s popular Louisville bluegrass club, the group is Kent Houchin (guitar), Nathan Livers (mandolin), Murrell Thixton (banjo), and Lauren White (bass). Joining on the project are Jeff Taylor (accordion), Glen Gibson (resonator guitar), and Tim Crouch (fiddle, cello, djembe, and shaker). The group is quite popular in the Louisville area and could be destined for broader appeal. Primarily a bluegrass band, the group is not afraid to stretch out into swing with a little bit of jazz, to include accordion and other non-bluegrass instruments as cello and djembe. Song selections include “Caledonia,” “You Were Only Fooling,” “Some Of Shelly’s Blues,” “Because You Cry,” and “Blue Diamonds.” Instrumentals include “Big Daddy Rabbit” and “Buggy Ride.” Instrumentally, the members are very good and their vocals and harmonies match their arrangements. (Storefront Congregation, P.O. Box 91781, Louisville, KY 40291, www.storefrontband.com.)
THREE TALL PINES
ALL THAT’S LEFT
No Label, No Number.
From the heart of New England comes Three Tall Pines, who are Dan Bourdeau (guitar), Joe Lurgio (mandolin), Conor Smith (fiddle), and Gian Pangaro (bass, resonator guitar). Helping out on the project are Avi Salloway (guitar, slide guitar), Celia Woods-Smith (vocals), Gabe Hirschfeld (banjo), Rachel Sorlein and Sten Isak (harmony). There is also a collection of backup singers known as the Weary Traveler Chorus. All the selections on this project are written by Bourdeau and/or Lurgio. These guys are pretty good with neat mandolin/fiddle duo stylings. Vocals and harmonies are good with a laid-back kind of delivery. Songs include “Tie One On,” “Tire Chains,” “Hard Rain,” “Blue Pontiac,” “Broken Panes,” and “Lay Me Down.” (www.threetallpines.com)
BOOK
HANDMADE MUSIC FACTORY: ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MAKING FOOT-STOMPIN’ GOOD INSTRUMENTS
BY MIKE ORR w/CONTRIBUTIONS FROM SHANE SPEAL
Fox Chapel Publishing 9781565235595.
Finally, an instruction book on how to make musical instruments out of nearly anything. Using everything from wash tubs, cigar boxes, ironing boards, soup cans, chick feeders, ammo cans, bedpans, soda bottles, etc., this book can give anyone the basics on how to build an inexpensive, home-made instrument. The instructions include gluing guides, fretboard setup, tuning tips, and there is a section on installing electric pickups and even how to build a small amplifier. Anyone who likes to pick and tinker with tools and ‘stuff’ will enjoy this book. (Fox Chapel Publishing, 1970 Broad St., East Petersburg, PA 17520, www.foxchapelpublishing.com.)