Roland White is back in the studio, working on a new album with his band. This will be their first recording since 2003, and fans of his quirky mandolin playing and relaxed singing style will be glad to hear of it.
White has been active in bluegrass since the 1960s. He started out performing with his brothers Clarence and Eric as the Country Boys, later changing the name to The Kentucky Colonels. Along the way he also worked with both Lester Flatt and Bill Monroe. An attempt to reform the Kentucky Colonels in 1973 was crushed by the tragic death of brother Clarence, who was struck by a car while loading gear after a show on July 14 of that year. Roland had lengthy stints with Country Gazette and The Nashville Bluegras Band, and formed his own band in 2000.
The Roland White Band features Diane Bouska on guitar, Richard Bailey on banjo, Brian Christianson on fiddle, and Jon Weisberger on bass. They have been working this week with Ben Surratt at Rec Room Studio in Nashville.
Roland tells us that the music is “it’s straight-ahead good ol’ bluegrass,” including some numbers he has been known for over his career, several of his favorite classic bluegrass, and a couple of his instrumental compositions including one he wrote with Clarence, called Powder Creek. There’s a reprise of Saro Jane, which Roland cut with Country Gazette some years ago, a pair of Bill Monroe songs (On My Way Back To The Old Home, Cry Cry Darlin’), and Bailey is featured on a pair of tunes from the Earl Scruggs repertoire (Sally Ann, Pike County Breakdown).
Should be a good’n.
The as-yet untitled project should be available by June 2014.
