Monday, August 31, 2009

Jim Steptoe - RIP


Word has been received on the sudden passing of Jim Steptoe, long time banjo player with Patent Pending. He was found in his home Sunday, 8/30. No other info is available.


From the band website:





- banjo and harmony vocals.
During his junior year in college in Philadelphia, Jim backed into bluegrass music by way of the folk music revival. He started attending weekly jam sessions, playing a lot of Irish music on the autoharp and banjo.
While taking a year off between undergraduate school and law school, Jim returned home to Martinsburg, West Virginia and directed his efforts toward learning to play the bluegrass banjo. It was during this time he met Andy Boarman, a musician and luthier who has helped four generations of banjo players to get the best sound possible out of their instruments. He accomplished this by setting up their instruments and teaching them licks. The list of pickers influenced by Andy includes Don Reno, Little Roy Lewis, and Raymond Fairchild. Jim considers Andy as his initial and most lasting inspiration in music.
While attending law school in Morgantown, West Virginia, Jim met and began playing music with guitarist Rusty Williams; the two played for several years with Mountain Grass. Jim and Rusty recorded one album with this group before leaving the band and moving to Martinsburg. Through the assimilation of a number of competing influences over the years including J. D. Crowe, Bob Black, Don Reno, and Ralph Stanley, Jim has arrived a style that is uniquely his own.


Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out News‏


Cover Models!

Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out are recent cover models on the September/October issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles. The magazine features a wonderful interview with founding member and lead singer, Russell Moore.

IBMA's World Of Bluegrass Conference
Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out would like to express their gratitude to everyone who voted them as final nominees in the following IBMA Awards categories:Entertainer of the YearVocal Group of the YearMale Vocalist of the Year (Russell Moore)The band will attend the prestigious awards ceremony held at the historic Ryman Auditorium on Thursday, October 1st. In addition to being nominees, they have also been asked to perform during the ceremony. Fans will have a great opportunity to see the band perform again during IBMA's FanFest on Friday, October 2nd at 4:15pm.For more information on IBMA's World Of Bluegrass Conference including Awards and FanFest ticket information, please visit the IBMA website at http://www.ibma.org/.


Chart-Toppers!
Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out's latest self-titled release from Rural Rhythm Records has jumped from #11 to #3 on the Top 15 Bluegrass Albums chart for the month of September. And the first single from the CD, "Hard Rock Mountain Prison" has jumped from #23 to #10 on the National Bluegrass Survey! If you don't have your copy of the new CD yet, you can pick it up from the band at any live show or you may order it directly from them here. You may also order the CD through Rural Rhythm Records.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Anniversary With Video, 8/30


Jimmy Martin records Stormy Waters, 8/30/1952


The real reasons Pittsburgh is the most livable city



TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, August 30, 2009


A strong, if underrated local music scene. OK, we're not going to play the comparison game here, because there are some nearby cities that have spawned legendary music scenes (Akron, Columbus, Dayton), and Pittsburgh rarely kicks out a big name to the next level -- Christina Aguilera excepted.
But there's something here for just about every taste, from jazz (Sean Jones), to hip-hop (Wiz Khalifa), to rock (Don Caballero, Centipede E'est), to bluegrass (Mac Martin), to... Read more...

Bluegrass king Jimmy Martin leaves kids fighting over will

By Kate Howard • THE TENNESSEAN • August 30, 2009

The King of Bluegrass used his will to scold his children for ignoring him during his last years. He also asked them not to quarrel over the money he was leaving them.
triggerAd(1,PaginationPage,11);
Four years later, Jimmy Martin's children are still arguing over the terms of that will. A judge heard arguments last week on who should be allowed to administer Martin's $2 million estate to his heirs. The judge will issue a decision this fall.
Martin, well known for his "high lonesome sound,'' was a controversial figure with a reputation as a hothead. But his impact on bluegrass music was undeniably legendary, and now the divvying up of his estate is on an epic timeline. Read more...

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Charlie Sizemore to Auction Guitar for Charity


Celebrated bluegrass artist, CHARLIE SIZEMORE to Auction Autographed Guitar Signed by KENNY CHESNEY, RALPH STANLEY and more!


CHARLIE SIZEMORE will auction an acoustic, dreadnaught Blueridge B-40 guitar with a Golden Gate hardshell case on EBAY from September 15 thru September 25, 2009. The guitar is autographed by country and bluegrass music superstars and legends, including KENNY CHESNEY and RALPH STANLEY. Authentication of the autographs will be provided to the successful bidder. All proceeds go to fund scholarships at Big Sandy Community and Technical College in Prestonsburg, KY. Charlie Sizemore will announce the winning bidder on September 26, 2009 at the annual benefit concert for the college held at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg, KY.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Dare To Be Different Showcase


Dare To Be Different Showcase
Sun., Sept. 27, 2009
Noon - 9 pm
Tickets $10bellbuckle@cafes.net
All proceeds to benefit IBMA's "Foundation for Bluegrass Music" and the "Bluegrass in the Schools" program

Hosted by:

Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike featuring Becky Buller

Guest Performers Include:
Frances Mooney & Fontanna Sunset
29 Strings (from the Slovak Republic!)
The Soul Pickers
Jerry Butler, John Wade & the Blu-Jays
Don't miss this great event.... If you are coming to IBMA 2009, here is a way to spend your first day in Nashville. While there don't forget to stop by the word famous BELL BUCKLE CAFE in beautiful Bell Buckle, TN
16 Railroad Square, Bell Buckle, TN 37020

Today's Birthday - 8/28


Todays Birthday -Jeanette Williams, 1965 -


Thursday, August 27, 2009

Today's Birthdays, And Videos - 8/27




Today I am starting a new semi regular feature: Birthdays and/or anniversaries with an accompanying video.




Carter Stanley - August 27 1925 - 1966






J D Crowe - August 27 1937






I would appreciate any feedback, leave a message under comments, no need to identify yourself unless you want to.

Traditional Ties, 08/30/09, Playlist



Contact info for new adds:






Wheeler - http://www.thewheelerband.com/ - http://www.mountainroadsrecordings.com/

Air Time
Artist Name
Song Title
Album Name



10:02 PM
Lou Reid
Amanda Lynn
My Own Set of Rules / RR
10:07 PM
Sam Bush
Diamond Joe
Circles Around Me / SH
10:11 PM
Sawmill Road
I Found Another Darlin'
Fire on the Kettle
10:14 PM
Ricky Skaggs
I Had But 50 Cents
Solo / Skaggs
10:17 PM
Dailey & Vincent
Head Hung Down
Brothers... / Rounder
10:20 PM
Claire Lynch
Barbed Wire Boys
Whatcha Gonna Do / Rounder
10:23 PM
Grasstowne
Big Big Heartaches
The Other side of Towne / Pinecastle
10:26 PM
Sam Bush
The Old North Woods
Circles Around Me / SH
10:30 PM
Lou Reid
It's So Hard to Stumble
My Own Set of Rules/ RR
10:33 PM
Wheeler
What a Day That will Be
Wheeler / Mountain Roads
10:37 PM
Wheeler
All He Wants to Do
Wheeler / Mountain Roads
10:41 PM
Wheeler
Turn Back Around
Wheeler / Mountain Roads
10:44 PM
Lou Reid
John in the Jordan
My Own Set of Rules / RR
10:47 PM
Wheeler
From the Third Day On
Wheeler / Mountain Roads
10:51 PM
The Gibson Brothers
Ring the Bell
Ring the Bell / Compass
10:55 PM
Paul Williams
There's a Miracle Everywhere You Go
What a Journey / Rebel
11:02 PM
Lou Reid
In Despair
My Own Set of Rules / RR
11:07 PM
Lou Reid
Left Handed Dreamer
My Own Set of Rules / RR
11:11 PM
Lou Reid
She's More to Be Pitied
My Own Set of Rules / RR
11:15 PM
Lou Reid
A Tall Cornstalk
My Own Set of Rules / RR
11:21 PM
Sam Bush
Roll on Buddy
Circles Around Me / SH
11:25 PM
Johnny Williams
Last Day of Galax
Last Day .../Mountain Roads
11:30 PM
Balsam Range
Caney Fork River
Last Train … / Mountain Home
11:32 PM
Wayne Taylor
Dirt Roads
... and Appaloosa / Raincoe
11:34 PM
Special Consensus
Gone to Carolina
Signs / Pinecastle
11:40 PM
Sam Bush
Apple Blossom
Circles Around Me / SH
11:42 PM
Sam Bush
Whisper My Name
Circles Around Me / SH
11:44 PM
Melonie Cannon
I Call It Gone
And the Wheels Turn / RR
11:47 PM
Rickey Wasson
Roll On Buddy
From the Heart and Soul / RR
11:50 PM
Audie Blaylock
Send Me Your Address From Heaven
...and Red Line / RR
11:55 PM
Frank Wakefield
Rockville Blues
Ownself Blues / Patuxant


JOHN TROUT, WYEP FM, PITTSBURGH, PA. tties91@hotmail.com


'TRADITIONAL TIES'- NEW RELEASE BLUEGRASS WITH FEATURES. 91.3 WYEP, http://www.wyep.org/ 10:00 PM Eastern Time (U.S.) Sundays. Streaming Audio


1608 JEFFERSON ST, LATROBE PA, 15650 -2940


Link to Traditional Ties web pages: http://wyep.org/traditionalties

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Calliope School of Folk Music


Learn at your own pace in a relaxed, non-competitive setting. We offer quality instruction at a fraction of the cost of private lessons and our classes are made to fit your busy schedule.


Fall Session: Sept. 21-Nov. 10 Winter Session: Jan. 25-March 16 Spring Session: April 5-May 25

To register: Contact the Calliope office(412) 361-1915 / calliope@calliopehouse.org or follow the links below to register online.







Click on instruments and course categories for times, locations and descriptions.
Accordion
Harmonica
Bagpipe
Mandolin
Banjo (Bluegrass and Clawhammer)
Percussion (Bodhran and World Percussion)
Dulcimer
Voice
Fiddle
Songwriting
Flute/Wind
Ensembles (Blues Improv, American Song, Old-Time)
Guitar (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced)**
Dance

___________________________________________________
Want up-to-date announcements about the Calliope School delivered to your desktop?

E-mail calliope@calliopehouse.org
Calliope Students: We are always interested in your feedback! Print and mail our class evaluation form


About the School
The Calliope School of Folk Music, Dance and Crafts began in 1990 and has given thousands of students the opportunity to explore some of the rich folk heritage available to them in western Pennsylvania. These programs cover the broadest possible range of topics in folk music, dancing and crafts at affordable rates.Over 25 classes are offered each Fall and Spring term. All courses are taught by the best folk artists in western Pennsylvania, and many of them are performers as well.
The Calliope School is one of few schools in the region to offer courses in folk instruments, singing, dancing, and crafts for all ages. You get quality instruction at a fraction of the cost of private lessons. Many students have remarked about how much they appreciate the chance to socialize and make new acquaintances through our classes.

Friends of Laurel Hill State Park




I have thanked in a general way all who helped make the Laurel Hill Bluegrass Festival a success, but I want to single the core group of volunteers for special recognition, The Friends of Laurel Hill.

They were the driving force behind the event, spending countless hours of personal time with preparations and work during the festival. One example of many, is the gentleman who was carrying his portable oxygen generator, while assisting with parking in the disability parking area.

The Friends of Laurel Hill, can be an inspiration to all. Like all festival promoters they had very little time to enjoy the music.

Check out their web site, to see more of their activities.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Legendary Guitars: Maybelle Carter’s 1928 Gibson L-5




Dave Hunter 08.25.2009



We might usually think of the true “legendary guitar” as being an electric played by a rock god, or perhaps a flat-top acoustic that helped to establish the folk-rock boom. But one archaic archtop—an instrument not wielded by a jazz star, even—has arguably seen more American musical history in the making than any other single guitar the world over. In 1927, country music originators The Carter Family made their first recordings (the now famous “Bristol Sessions” recorded in Bristol, TN) and started tasting success, and one year later their singer and guitarist Maybelle Carter used a little of those earnings to buy herself a brand new Gibson L-5 archtop acoustic guitar. Carter’s L-5 would be used throughout The Carter Family’s recorded catalogue of more than 300 songs, as well as her tenure as “Mother” Maybelle Carter with her daughters Anita, Helen, and June, and would serve to lay the foundations of country, bluegrass, and American folk music—earning Carter the title of “Queen Mother of Country Music” in the process. But in 1928 she was just a girl of 19 with a new guitar, and boy how she loved to play it.
Gibson’s L-5 debuted in 1922 as part of designer Lloyd Loar’s Master Series of instruments. It represented some of the most significant advancements ever brought to the archtop acoustic guitar, and, although it didn’t retain quite the seminal status that its sibling the F-5 mandolin enjoys to this day, it did lay the groundwork for the great Gibson archtops of the ’30s. Maybelle Carter’s 1928 L-5, made just four years after Loar left Gibson in 1924, was a fairly austere instrument by the standards of later archtops, with simple dot inlays on the fingerboard, unbound f-holes, and a basic three-ply binding around its carved solid-spruce top, but it did sport a very resonant, lively construction, and innovations such as an adjustable bridge and an adjustable truss rod (both firsts for the archtop guitar when Gibson brought them to the L-5 later in 1922).
Today we might think of these archtops as archetypal “jazz boxes”, but in the early to mid ’20s the guitar was still a minority player in the jazz world, with the tenor banjo making the bigger noise up on the bandstand. Some groundbreaking jazz artists, Eddie Lang for one, did take up the L-5, but it was just as likely to be seen in the hands of players on the burgeoning country scene of the day, in an era when the flat-top acoustic had yet to establish its primacy in that genre.
F-hole-laden arched top aside, Maybelle Carter established a playing style that echoes forth on countless flat-top dreadnoughts even today. Maybelle’s style, dubbed the “Carter scratch”, was a form of fingerstyle playing that involved thumbing the bass note while her fingers picked a sort of hybrid lead and rhythm on the higher strings. Although it sounds rather simple on first listen, Carter’s playing often packs a lot of nuance and driving rhythmic subtlety, and is a clear precursor to many other great country playing styles to come, from Merle Travis’s “Travis picking” to Chet Atkins’s own fingerstyle. Listen to any of The Carter Family’s legendary songs—“May the Circle Be Unbroken”, “Wildwood Flower”, or “Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow Tree”—and you hear how confidently Carter’s playing propels both the melody and the rhythmic motion of the song.
In 1934 the L-5’s body was “advanced” to 17" wide, and its look was enhanced by five-ply fingerboard and peghead binding and other elements. Later that same year, Gibson introduced the 18"-wide Super 400, a guitar that would become “king of the archtops”, although the L-5 endured until 1958 in its non-cutaway form, and until 1982 as the L-5C with cutaway. Maybelle Carter died in 1978, but her legacy has endured beyond her own life and beyond the run of the L-5: her music, and the playing style that drove it, continues to inspire listeners, and her bloodline reached far into the heart of popular country music via her daughter June Carter, and June’s husband Johnny Cash.
And as for that 1928 L-5 itself? Maybelle Carter’s original Gibson L-5 was purchased in August of 2004 from Gruhn Guitars of Nashville, Tenn. for $575,000, on behalf of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Photos Courtesy of Gruhn Guitars.

Allegheny Drifters at Somerset Co. Fair‏


From The Allegheny Drifters:

Hey all,

This is last-minute, but the Allegheny Drifters will be at the Somerset County Fair tomorrow evening, Aug 26, from 5 to 7pm. We'll be at? Jr. Livestock Bldg. #2.

Somerset County Fair is in Meyersdale, PA., just off Rt. 219.

Hope some of you Laurel Highlanders can stop in and say howdy!

Bob


Frontier Crafts at Laurel Hill























In addition to great bluegrass music, out stand food vendors, and various other vendors on the grounds, there were several Frontier Crafts demonstrated at The Laure Hill Bluegrass Festival.

Sunday's Bands at Laurel Hill




From the top: Allegheny Drifters,Mountain Therapy, and Coal Mountain Ramblers.


Traditional Ties, 08/30/09, Highlights








Contact info for new adds:










Three new releases and a double feature night this Sunday. Featured will be Lou Reid and Carolina and the Gospel group Wheeler. also highlighted with several cuts Sam Bush.

The complete playlist will be posted later in the week.

Note: Traditional Ties and all weekend programing will be preempted Labor Day weekend, for the broadcast of ALL of WYEP's 913 essential songs.


JOHN TROUT, WYEP FM, PITTSBURGH, PA. tties91@hotmail.com

'TRADITIONAL TIES'- NEW RELEASE BLUEGRASS WITH FEATURES. 91.3 WYEP,

http://www.wyep.org/ 10:00 PM Eastern Time (U.S.) Sundays. Streaming Audio

1608 JEFFERSON ST, LATROBE PA, 15650 -2940

Link to Traditional Ties web pages: http://wyep.org/traditionalties

Rural Rhythm Signs Bill Emerson


Rural Rhythm Signs Bill Emerson and Sweet Dixie

New Single Release Coming this Fall


Rural Rhythm Records is proud to announce they have signed Bill Emerson and Sweet Dixie to the label. The new single, “I Don’t Care Anymore” will be included on the "2009 Rural Rhythm Records Sampler" released at the IBMA World of Bluegrass and also the next Rural Rhythm “Fresh Cuts & Key Tracks” radio CD. Bill Emerson and Sweet Dixie are currently in the studio recording their new album scheduled for release early 2010. Bill will be featured on the cover of the BANJO NEWSLETTER (September 2009 issue) that also includes an in-depth interview. “We feel very honored to have Bill Emerson join our Rural Rhythm Family of Artists. He has been a driving musical force for so many major bluegrass groups over the years and is an innovator and master banjo player”. We all look forward to a long a prosperous partnership with Bill Emerson and his group Sweet Dixie,” said Sam Passamano, Jr. – President Rural Rhythm Records.Bill Emerson has certainly established himself as a banjo virtuoso and a history maker including being a founding member of the famed bluegrass ensemble The Country Gentlemen. He was a featured artist with Jimmy Martin during the height of that bluegrass legend's career and introduced the classic "Fox on the Run" to bluegrass music. Bill was also a founder and shaper of Country Current the world renowned bluegrass ensemble of the United States Navy Band. “It’s refreshing to finally have another installment from one of the most important architects of bluegrass banjo,” said Terry Herd of Bluegrass Radio Network.

During Bill’s impressive career, he has received a multitude of awards and honors including, but certainly not limited to: Inducted into the Southern Legends Entertainment and Performing Arts Hall of Fame (2009); 2009 IBMA Nominee for Banjo Performer of the Year; 2008 Honorary Life Member of the IBMA Museum and included in IBMA's Pioneers of Bluegrass group; twice awarded "Banjo Player of the Year" by the Muleskinner News Bluegrass Magazine; Grammy Nominee – Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular (2007); and inducted into The Washington Area Music Awards (Wammies) Hall of Fame (2006).For more information on Bill Emerson and Sweet Dixie, please visit their website at: http://www.bluegrassville.com/billemerson

Monday, August 24, 2009

Close Quarters











Close quarter jamming in the camping cabin, Laurel Hill Bluegrass Festival

Saturday Bands At Laurel Hill
















Saturday's bands at Laurel Hill Bluegrass Festival, From top, Blue Shades, Mon Valley Ramblers (Tim Custer guesting on Banjo), Mac Martin and the Dixie Travelers, Tolins Bluegrass Review, Paradise Ranch, and Mike Mumau Park Manager, Event organizer and MC.
This years event was a big step up in quality entertainment compared to the inaugural festival last year. congratulations to all involved.





Saturday, August 22, 2009

Laurel Hill Posts

Today, Saturday was a great day of music here at Laurel Hill Bluegrass Festival, and I expect no less on Sunday from The Coal Mountain Ramblers, Allegheny Drifters, and Mountain Therapy. Music tomorrow from 11:00am to 5:00pm.

I am taking lots of pictures and will be posting them next week, when I get to an area with broadband. This connection is very slow and I can't upload photos. The pictures I posted from Friday required a 45 minute round trip to get to a broadband area to upload them.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Laurel Hill State Park Bluegrass Festival




Preparations are well underway here at Laurel Hill, the big tent is up the stage platform is down, but no chandelier yet, Still time though.

Show starts at 11:00am Saturday, complete details here.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Off to Laurel Hill


Darlene and I are headed to Laurel Hill State Park this morning in anticipation of this weekend's bluegrass festival. I will be posting pictures and information all weekend. I hope to see you there.

New Bluegrass Blog



I have added another permenent blog link to the sidebar, If you like bluegrass and/or traditional country, this will interest you.


Blog name and discription:
Bluegrass & Honky Tonks
Bluegrass is one of the purest forms of real country music still around, and this blog is meant as a celebration of Bluegrass and other Traditional Country music. We will highlight those who create the real thing today and the legends who showed them the way


From the author's profile:
Sam Sattler
Avid reader and fan of real country music who loves to talk about both...let's do it View my complete profile


Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Traditional Ties, 08/23/09, Playlist




Contact info for new adds:







Air Time
Artist Name
Song Title
Album Name



10:02 PM
Sawmill Road
Leave Me the Way I Am
Fire on the Kettle / Self
10:06 PM
Ricky Skaggs
Little Maggie
Solo / Skaggs
10:09 PM
Next Best Thing
Until Then
Next Best Thing / Self
10:12 PM
Adam Steffey
Warm Kentucky Sunshine
One More for the Road / Sugar Hill
10:17 PM
The Grass Cats
A Good Way to Get the Blues
A Good Way... / New Time
10:20 PM
Grasstowne
Big Big Heartaches
The Other Side of Towne / Pinecastle
10:22 PM
Darren Beachley
Daddy's Chair
Sad Songs … / MasterShield
10:26 PM
Kirk Brandenberger
Greenleaf Breakdown
Fiddler on the Hoof / Self
10:31 PM
Ricky Skaggs
Sinner You Better Get Ready
Solo / Skaggs
10:34 PM
Sawmill Road
The Far Side of the River
Fire on the Kettle / Self
10:37 PM
Newfound Road
Try to Be
Same Old Place / Rounder
10:39 PM
Doyle Lawson
When the Last of Our Days Shall Come
Lonely Street
10:44 PM
Ricky Skaggs
Green Pastures in the Sky
Solo / Skaggs
10:47 PM
Richard D Henry
How Long Has It Been
A Long Way from Home / Self
10:50 PM
Mickey Harris
I've Got a Home
Dog House Blues / MJH
10:54 PM
Aldridge-Justice
This Man
I'll Go With You / Pinecastle
11:02 PM
Sawmill Road
Lonesome Road to Travel
Fire on the Kettle / Self
11:07 PM
Sawmill Road
Down in Caroline
Fire on the Kettle / Self
11:11 PM
Sawmill Road
The Mary Ellen Carter
Fire on the Kettle / Self
11:15 PM
Sawmill Road
Dunluce Castle
Fire on the Kettle / Self
11:21 PM
Ricky Skaggs
I Had But 50 Cents
Solo / Skaggs
11:24 PM
Bryan Sutton
Wonder Valley Girls
Almost Live / Sugar Hill
11:26 PM
Tommy Webb
If It Weren't for Bluegrass Music
Heartland / RR
11:29 PM
Mountain Therapy
Simple Life
Looking Back / Self
11:33 PM
M M Murphey
Lost River
Buckaroo Blue Grass / RR
11:36 PM
Ricky Skaggs
Branded Wherever I Go
Solo / Skaggs
11:39 PM
Lonesome River Band
Them Blues
No Turning Back / RR
11:42 PM
Allegheny Drifters
A Place We Left Behind
Can't Wait / Self
11:46 PM
Dale Ann Bradley
Music City Queen
Don't Turn Your Back / Compass
11:49 PM
Crowe Brothers
Cindy Mae
Brothers 'n' Harmony / RR
11:52 PM
Claire Lynch
My Florida Sunshine
(Upcoming) / Rounder
11:57 PM
Joe Mullins
Charlotte Breakdown
Ramblers Call / Self










JOHN TROUT, WYEP FM, PITTSBURGH, PA. tties91@hotmail.com


'TRADITIONAL TIES'- NEW RELEASE BLUEGRASS WITH FEATURES. 91.3 WYEP, http://www.wyep.org/ 10:00 PM Eastern Time (U.S.) Sundays. Streaming Audio


1608 JEFFERSON ST, LATROBE PA, 15650 -2940


Link to Traditional Ties web pages: http://wyep.org/traditionalties

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

SAM BUSH HONORS FIRST LOVES ON "CIRCLES AROUND ME"



Grammy award-winning artist comes full circle to bluegrass and newgrass roots on new album due out October 20th



Nashville, TN - August 18th - Sam Bush doesn't seem old enough to be a musical legend. And he's not. But he is. In September, the Americana Music Association with its Lifetime Achievement for Instrumentalist award will honor Bush, who is alternately known as the King of Telluride and the King of Newgrass. "It's overwhelming and humbling," says Bush of the honor. "It goes along with the title cut of my new album, Circles Around Me, which basically says, how in the hell did we get this far? In my brain I'm still 17, but I look in the mirror and I'm 57."

Circles Around Me, Bush's seventh solo album and sixth with Sugar Hill, will be released Oct. 20. The album is an aurally inspiring mix of bluegrass favorites and complementary new songs. "I don't know why, but it felt right at this moment in my life to go back and revisit some things that I've loved all my life, which is bluegrass and, unapologetically, newgrass," says Bush. "After all these years of experimenting --and there's experimentation on this record too --I've come full circle."

Produced by three-time Grammy winner Bush, the 14-song set includes appearances by Del McCoury, Edgar Meyer, Jerry Douglas and New Grass Revival co-founder Courtney Johnson (posthumously). The album also employs the phenomenal talent of Bush's band: Scott Vestal, Stephen Mougin, Byron House and Chris Brown.

The title cut, which Bush co-wrote with Jeff Black, "is about being thankful that you're still here, that you're still alive walking around," Bush explains. "Why are we the ones still here when we've had fallen comrades and loved ones?"

"The Ballad of Stringbean and Estelle," which Bush co-wrote with Guy Clark and Verlon Thompson, is the haunting real-life story of the 1973 murder of Grand Ole Opry star David "Stringbean" Akeman and his wife.

Courtney Johnson, who passed in 1996, was reunited with Bush on the album thanks to New Grass Revival producer Garth Fundis, who found a previously unreleased recording with Bush and Johnson's fiddle and banjo recording of "Apple Blossom" from 1976. The tape was restored and new parts were added. "It's pretty special and it means a lot to me," Bush says. "It reminds me how much I loved Courtney's playing."

Meanwhile, "Souvenir Bottles" and "Whisper My Name" are fine updates of songs Bush first recorded in his New Grass Revival days. "I guess I'm proud that I can still sing it in the key that we first cut it in," Bush says of "Whisper," which was on New Grass Revival's 1972 debut album.

McCoury, whom Bush has known since the mid-60s, guests on two Bill Monroe songs, "Roll On Buddy, Roll On" and "Midnight On The Stormy Deep." "Del always encouraged me to sing," Bush says. "So I wanted to do these songs with him. 'Roll On' is one of the few songs Del ever recorded with Bill."

Songs such as "Diamond Joe" and "You Left Me Alone" have roots in Bush's youth. The latter was on an album by the Country Gentlemen that Bush bought in the '60s. "It's a great 6/8 fast waltz tune and I am almost quoting John Duffey's mandolin playing note for note," he says. "It's a great tune and I never heard anyone else do it."

The Bush-penned "Old North Woods" is a "Bill Monroe-sounding waltz," according to Bush, that features Meyer, his wife, Cornelia Heard of the Blair String Quartet, and their 16 year old son, George, in his recording debut.

There's plenty more of course and Bush fans new and old will find plenty to love. "It's crazy to think about," Bush says of his influence on today's crop of mandolin players.
"I'm proud to be part of a natural progression in music. But I hope to still be playing 30 years from now."
(Sam Bush's "Circles Around Me" will be highlighted on Traditional Ties, August 30.
10:00pm Sundays - WYEP FM 91.3, Pittsburgh Pa. Streaming - http://wyep.org)

Traditional Ties, 08/23/09, Highlights




Contact info for new adds:






This Sunday the new release from Sawmill Road will be featured. This is the band Mark Miracle joined after leaving Mountain Therapy, and moving back to Arizona, he sing lead on three songs, and his influence on the group is evident. Several cuts from a Ricky Skaggs solo project in which he plays all the instruments, and sings all the parts, will be included.

The complete playlist will be posted later in the week.
JOHN TROUT, WYEP FM, PITTSBURGH, PA. tties91@hotmail.com
'TRADITIONAL TIES'- NEW RELEASE BLUEGRASS WITH FEATURES. 91.3 WYEP, http://www.wyep.org/ 10:00 PM Eastern Time (U.S.) Sundays. Streaming Audio

1608 JEFFERSON ST, LATROBE PA, 15650 -2940
Link to Traditional Ties web pages: http://wyep.org/traditionalties