Grascals mando man Danny Roberts has a new single this week from his upcoming project with Mountain Home Music.
It’s an instrumental he wrote called West Virginia Red, which also features Tony Wray on guitar and banjo, Jimmy Mattingly on fiddle, and Andrea Roberts on bass. Based on a descending line in the A part, and an ascending one in the B, the tune moves along quickly and offers a fine bed for some grassy improv.
Let’s have Danny explain how it all came to be.
“I’ve had this tune bouncing around in my head for several years, and decided that it would fit in well on this recording project. My friends Tony and Jimmy, along with my wife Andrea on bass, joined me on this track and it is really fun to play. I hope it’s really fun to listen to as well!
The song title has a two-fold story on how it was named. First, the mandolin that I’m playing on all of the songs (and on the road) is my 2020 Jonathan McClanahan Trinity model F-5 that has a beautiful West Virginia red spruce top.
The second reason for that song title is after my good friend, Amanda Smith (Kenny and Amanda Smith Band), who is originally from West Virginia. I’ve always joked with her that I was going to name a tune after her and her WV red streak, and I decided it was finally time to do it!
Ha! Well, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it, and I sure hope everyone enjoys West Virginia Red.”
Roberts has Tony kick it off before the mandolin gets a bite out of the tune, followed by the rest of the crew.
Have a listen…
West Virginia Red will be available on October 13 from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers can get the track now via AirPlay Direct.
