Mountain Roads Recordings Signs Jim Lloyd & The Skyliners
Jim Lloyd & The Skyliners represent the newest member of the Mountain Roads Recordings’ family. Karl Cooler announced the signing of this talented group to a recording contract today in Bristol, Tennessee. Continuing the offering of the very best in bluegrass and old time music, this group brings still yet another style of Appalachian Highlands music to the Mountain Roads Recordings lineup.
Jim Lloyd’s musical roots extend back to at least four generations of fiddlers, guitar players, dancers, and singers from the Appalachian mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. Rooted in a strong oral tradition, he shares his heritage through stories of his own experiences as a boy growing up in southwest Virginia and through family lore that has been handed down, stories of coal mining, hunting, farming, trading, and family life. He also has a store of the traditional Jack Tales, Grandfather Tales, ghost stories, and Civil War stories of his region.
Jim is an excellent instrumentalist whose work has been documented by the Smithsonian Institution as representative of Southwest Virginia mountain storytelling and music. While accomplished on many instruments, he is known especially for his skills on guitar and banjo. His guitar playing has won prizes at the Galax and Union Grove Fiddler’s conventions for many years, and he is widely respected as one of the best old-time rhythm guitarists in the country. Jim excels in clawhammer and two-finger picking styles on the banjo. He has seen many of his banjo and guitar students, whose age range from 6 to 70, take awards at Galax, Elk Creek, and other regional competitions.
Jim is the proprietor of Lloyd’s Barber Shop, a Rural Retreat institution, and the shop is often lively with the sounds of friends and visitors who have dropped by to pick instruments and swap stories. Whether telling stories or picking the banjo, as a soloist or with a band, Jim is an entertainer who represents the best of Virginia’s Southern Appalachian Highlands.
Mark Rose has developed his style of bass playing with many area old time bands. First inspired by Janice Birchfield of the Roan Mountain Hilltoppers he took up the wash-tub bass. He honed his skills on the upright bass by playing with the Konnarock Critters and Nick and Chester McMillan and has been influenced by such great bass players as Al Firth, Tim Yates, Bill Sluys, Bob Bloomingdale, and of course Jason Sypher.
Born and raised in Lexington, KY, Mark has lived in Mouth of Wilson for 32 years. He works at home in an old log cabin with his wife Lenora, who he met at the Galax fiddler's convention in 1977.
Growing up just outside of Rural Retreat, Virginia, Trevor McKenzie began studying traditional Appalachian Music at Lloyd’s Barbershop in 1998. Beginning with guitar at the age of nine he eventually became interested in picking up several other instruments associated with southern mountain music including clawhammer banjo and the musical saw. In recent years he has become noted for his singing abilities claiming prizes for folk singing at the Galax Old Fiddler’s Convention and various other regional music festivals.
McKenzie has played with several regional string bands including the Round Peak Ramblers, a hard-driving square dance ensemble from Mt. Airy, North Carolina. He has also acted as chair of the Appalachian Heritage Council, a subsidiary of Appalachian State University’s Popular Programming Society in charge of promoting traditional mountain culture through dances, concerts, and films. As a member of the Skyliners, McKenzie adds his vocal talents as well as his skills on guitar, banjo, and mandolin into the musical mix.
Jim Lloyd & The Skyliners are in the studio at this time and their first release on the Mountain Roads Recordings label is scheduled for January 1st, 2010.
For Information:Karl S. CoolerMountain Roads Recordings3192 Hwy 421Bristol, TN 37620(423) 217-3668admin@mountainroadsrecordings.comwww.mountainroadsrecordings.com
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