John Curtis Goad, Author at Bluegrass Today

Carrie Hassler – The Distance

Carrie Hassler has been working hard since her last release (2008’s CHHR2), and her efforts shine on her most recent project for Rural Rhythm Records, the solo album The Distance. The album debuted at number 10 on Billboard’s Bluegrass chart, and its first single, Luxury Liner, hit the Bluegrass Today charts at #15.

Featuring eight tracks by songwriters including Carl Jackson, Steve Gulley, Tim Stafford, and Ashley McBryde (just to mention a few), Hassler has chosen her songs with care. She has not just picked songs she likes – in the liner notes, she states that they all make her “feel something when she hears them.” She even goes on to say “If I had to choose one last song to ever sing… this would be it” in regards to the album’s title track. Hassler is also supported by a standout group of musicians including Ron Stewart (banjo and fiddle), Alan Bibey (mandolin), and Justin Moses (dobro and fiddle).

Songs range in scope from heartfelt melodies to pieces like the album’s opening track, Luxury Liner, a fast-paced, banjo-driven take on a Gram Parsons tune which fans of Emmylou Harris may recognize from her recording of the song. Adding an interesting aspect to the album is hit songwriter Bobby Boyd’s Catch My Breath, which sounds more like an old-school country hit, with electric and steel guitar accompaniment. Other notable numbers include Eugene and Diane, a duet with Steve Gulley with a simple arrangement conveying a sweet love story.

While Hassler is well-known in the bluegrass world, including two 2011 IBMA nominations for her work on the All Star Jam – Live at Graves Mountain album, The Distance could help her easily slip onto the country charts, as well. Hassler’s sweet melodies and smooth vocals are reminiscent of Patsy Cline and other classic female country artists, and her voice lets the listener know that she feels every note of both the love songs and the lonesome songs.

For more information on Hassler and her new album, visit her website at www.carriehassler.com.

Life Goes On from MACC

For the past 25 years, Darrel and Phyllis Adkins of Adkins Productions have hosted the Bluegrass Classic music festival in Columbus, Ohio. After their daughter, Mandy, passed away from an inoperable brain tumor in 2000, they joined with numerous bluegrass musicians to turn their annual festival into Musicians Against Childhood Cancer (MACC), with proceeds going to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Since that time, they have been able to raise over $590,000. MACC has also participated in the recording of two albums consisting of live recordings from the festival. The most recent album, Life Goes On, was released by Rural Rhythm Records in March 2012 and is a collection of some of the best talent bluegrass music has to offer.

This two-disc set features 39 songs performed by a “who’s who” of 139 fantastic bluegrass singers and musicians. Artists featured on the album include the Johnson Mountain Boys, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Michael Cleveland, J.D. Crowe and the New South, the Lonesome River Band, the Lost and Found, Junior Sisk, Josh Williams, Rhonda Vincent, Tony Rice, Sierra Hull and Highway 111, Blue Highway, Randy Kohrs, and Bradley Walker. As can be expected from an assembly of musicians this gifted, the picking and singing on this album are top-notch.

While many of the songs are simply live cuts of hits from bluegrass music’s best (such as Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out’s Little John I Am and Newfound Road’s Please Come to Boston), other numbers are all-star versions of traditional tunes. For instance, Paul Williams, Doyle Lawson, and J.D. Crowe join together on Paul’s Ministry, Josh Williams and Don Rigsby offer awesome harmonies on a duet version of Where the Soul Never Dies, and James King’s lead vocals guide Dudley Connell, Russell Moore, Adam Steffey, Marshall Wilborn, and Ron Stewart in their take on the Ralph Stanley classic Memories of Mother.

The album’s title track is also the final song and the only one not recorded live. Life Goes On, written by Dale Pyatt and Steve Thomas, is a tender reminder to those who have lost loved ones that “life goes on” in memories. Larry Cordle, Jerry Salley, Carl Jackson, Rickey Wasson, Randy Kohrs, and Ronnie Bowman share lead vocal duties and are joined by a host of other musicians on harmony vocals and instrumentation.

Just like the annual festival, proceeds from this album will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Every year, St. Jude’s helps treat over 7,800 patients – all at no cost to the families. Their research has helped raise childhood cancer survival rates from 20% in the 1960s (when St. Jude’s opened) to 80% currently. By purchasing this album, not only do you get a collection of the best in bluegrass music, but you are also able to contribute to this worthy cause.

Life Goes On can be purchased from Amazon.com. For more information on the album, the festival, or MACC, please visit www.bluegrassclassic.com.

Road to Noyo – Isaac Cantor

Isaac Cantor did not grow up playing bluegrass music like many prominent musicians within the genre, but once he picked up the banjo at age 17, he was hooked. Soon he became consumed with learning everything there was to know about his chosen instrument, and even took off to travel the world after high school in order to learn more about his new favorite style of music. He eventually settled near the Bay Area of California, and it is from there that he has released his first album, Road to Noyo, on Happy Hill Records.

Road to Noyo is filled with almost all original material, an astonishing feat for a relatively new artist. Its melodic instrumentals feature multiple other talented musicians from the West Coast as well, including David Thom, Tyler Balthrop, Chad Manning, and Leif Karlstrom. They combine to create a folk-tinged record on the edges of bluegrass which is both interesting and pleasing to the ears.

While Cantor plays straightforward bluegrass style music, his playing also shows a great amount of influence from his travels throughout the United States and abroad. The nine song, thity-seven minute album not only features standard tunes like Cherokee Shuffle and a Clinch Mountain Backstep/Train 45 medley, but also includes classical and jazz influences. These influences are showcased through tunes like Baker Street Breakdown, which sounds like it could easily translated into an orchestral form. Joy features a crooked melody, which seems more and more Celtic flavored as the song continues, especially when the band begins a jig-like breakdown.

Weaving together what seems to be straightforward Scruggs-style picking with melodic phrases, Road to Noyo is no cookie cutter album. From the traditionally based pieces to its title track, the musicianship on this album is quite distinctive and clearly displays Cantor’s creative mindset and outside the box style. Even Pete Wernick, Dr. Banjo himself, is a fan of Cantor, having said that Road to Noyo “shows a fertile imagination at work.”

To those of us back east, San Francisco may seem like a town which would lack a traditional music scene. But one can certainly be sure that as long as Cantor is around, there will be bluegrass music in the Bay Area. Not only is he a composer, he is available for session work and lessons ranging from Scruggs-style to chromatic, with even some jazz stylings thrown in.

For more information on Cantor or his new album, visit him online at www.isaaccantor.com.

Volunteer State to ETSU

While East Tennessee State University remains the only college to offer a four year degree in Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies, another college in Tennessee has recently added a two-year associate’s degree program in bluegrass music. Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin now offers an Associate of Science in Bluegrass Music within their Visual and Performing Arts Program.

The degree is based on the academic program of study offered by ETSU, and classes are intended to directly transfer between the two schools. Many of the courses which have up until now only been offered at ETSU are now part of the Vol State program curriculum, such as two different levels of Bluegrass Seminar, in which students learn the ins and outs of being a professional musician. Vol State’s program requirements include classes in the areas of songwriting, American folk music, individual instruction on fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, and voice, and performance ensembles. The faculty members are well-qualified, with instructors having previously performed with artists ranging from Loretta Lynn to Bill Monroe. In fact, program organizer Melissa Du Puy has experience playing with both Monroe and Doc Watson.

The program recently helped host the Sumner County Bluegrass Jamboree as part of its efforts to spread the word about the new degree. On April 13-14, hundreds of bluegrass musicians and fans gathered on the Vol State campus to jam, listen, and even compete in various instrument and dancing competitions. Several great bluegrass groups were featured, including Charlie Cushman and Johnny Warren, the Likely Culprits (consisting of Garnet Bowman, Melonie Cannon, and Deanie Richardson), and Bluegrass Ablaze, Vol State’s bluegrass ensemble. The program also hosts regularly scheduled bluegrass jam sessions for students and community members.

For students currently residing in Middle Tennessee, Vol State’s new bluegrass music program should provide an excellent pathway towards obtaining an eventual bachelor’s degree in bluegrass music. With options to take classes in related programs at Vol State, such as recording industry management, students can certainly gain a well-rounded education which will prepare them for both further learning and a career as a professional bluegrass musician.

For more information on Vol State’s Associate of Science in Bluegrass Music, visit their website, or contact program organizer Melissa Du Puy at 615-452-8600, ext. 2936, or by email.

Callin’ Me Back Home – Lou Reid & Carolina

From performing alongside the likes of Doyle Lawson, Ricky Skaggs and Vern Gosdin, Lou Reid has shared the stage with some of the best in bluegrass and country music. Today, in addition to being a member of the Seldom Scene, Lou fronts his own band, Lou Reid and Carolina. Their latest album, Callin’ Me Back Home, hit shelves in April and promises to be a great addition to the band’s catalog.

The ten-song album features superior musicianship from the four members of the band: Lou on guitar and mandolin, Shannon Slaughter on guitar, Trevor Watson on banjo, and Lou’s wife Christy Reid on acoustic bass. In addition, several special guest musicians add to the album’s sound, including Neil Worf (drums), Mike Auldridge (pedal steel), Ron Stewart (fiddle), Rob Ickes (dobro), and Tony Rice (lead and rhythm guitar). Several of these instruments help to create a more modern, country sound, especially on the album’s closing tune, Big Old Red Guitar, which features drums, pedal steel, and Rice on lead guitar.

This tune is also one which many musicians and fans of bluegrass music can easily identify with, as it tells the story of a young boy saving up for his first guitar. The album also features many other common themes of bluegrass music, from the singer longing for home in Oh, Kentucky to the modern-day twist on the classic murder ballad, Emmaline.

Though many of the themes are traditional, the sound is fully contemporary, featuring smooth lead vocals from Lou, Shannon, and Christy and spot-on instrumentation. One more traditional-sounding tune is Blew Monday, a fun, banjo-driven addition to the album in which a man doesn’t regret skipping out on work to spend a little more time with the women who gets him “fired.”

Other standout tracks on the album include Another Lonely Day, penned by Monroeville member Daniel Salyer, and the album’s first single, Carolina Moonshine Man, (co-written by Lou, Ray Edwards, and Terry Foust) which debuted at number 2 on the Bluegrass Today charts. Overall, the album is a great example of modern bluegrass music, and should both please current fans of Lou Reid and Carolina as well as bring the band many new followers.

For more information on Lou Reid and Carolina, to see where they’ll be performing next, or to purchase Callin’ Me Back Home, visit the band’s website at www.loureidandcarolina.com. The album can also be downloaded from iTunes, Amazon, Best Buy, and WalMart.

Better Man – Merl Johnson

Thanks to Tom Mindte and his Rockville, Maryland company Patuxent Music, which boasts releases from artists like Travers Chandler & Avery County, Jessie Baker, and Ethan Hughes, the bluegrass world has been receiving some pretty cool music as of late. Now, Patuxent Music is back at it again with a new release from Merl Johnson.

A multi-instrumentalist from Woodbridge, VA who has had the opportunity to perform with bluegrass greats like Charlie Waller, Junior Sisk, Bill Harrell, and Dave Evans just to mention a few, Johnson’s new project Better Man greatly features his vocal and playing abilities. His 14-track, 47-minute project, named after its title track (which also happens to have been a 1989 hit single for Clint Black), sits firmly within the realm of traditional music.

On Better Man, Johnson is joined by a cast of excellent musicians including Stefan Custodi (bass), Danny Knicely (guitar), Dick Smith (banjo), Jay Starling (dobro, vocals), Brennen Ernst (clawhammer banjo), Tad Marks (fiddle), Tom Mindte (vocals), and Jenny Leigh Obert (fiddle). He draws from several different sources to produce a list of mostly traditional sounding material for Better Man. From Carter Stanley’s driving Sweetest Love, the traditional piece All the Good Times Have Past and Gone, and That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine, which was made famous by Gene Autry, the record is full of all-too-often forgotten material. For instance, one of the album’s standout tracks is a tastefully played instrumental version of When Johnny Comes Marching Home. Johnson also sprinkles in some nice original instrumentals. The bouncy, traditional sounding tune Amandalyn seems strikingly familiar while his song You’ll Find Monroe Written There features a multitude of Monroe licks arranged in a fantastic fashion.

From Johnson’s distinct vocal to his stellar Monroe-type mandolin playing and expert fiddling, this album really shows listeners what this D.C. area musician has to offer. While having a high appeal to fans of traditional bluegrass, the album’s instrumental tunes are sure to have the ability to charm virtually all listeners.

Next time he’s coming through an area near you, make sure to take the time to listen to him pick and sing a while. You’ll surely be glad that you did. For more information on regarding Merl Johnson and his record Better Man, please contact Patuxent Music at: www.pxrec.com.

Slidetown Reunion – Curt Baker

Most people think of the typical bluegrass band as consisting of five instruments: banjo, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, and bass. However, many of the best bluegrass groups wouldn’t have been complete without the rich sound of the resophonic guitar. The world of this instrument might be a small one, but thanks to the work of guys like Curt Baker, it’s growing.

On his new project entitled Slidetown Reunion, Baker has created an album that showcases just how much a resophonic guitar (as well as other varieties of steel guitar) can add to a song.

Released on Catawba Records, Baker’s new project was recorded at Catawba Sound Studio in Virginia with assistance from Gizmo Recording Company as well as Dewey Peters. Throughout the 14-track collection of tunes, Baker is joined by over ten musicians including great southwest Virginia talents like Tony Collins and Lee Dunbar. The familiar slide tones of Mike Auldridge, with whom Baker has studied the past few years, are also featured on two songs: Panhandle Rag and Pickaway.

On Slidetown Reunion, Baker demonstrates both his knack for interpreting standards and his writing ability. Not only does he cover traditional numbers like The Johnson Boys and John Henry, plus Bill Monroe’s Road to Columbus, he also includes some new music of his own. Three pieces on the record are Baker compositions: I’ll Go Home, Olivia’s Reel, and a co-write with Greg Honeycutt entitled Front Porch Swing. From nice swing-like pieces to more straight ahead tunes like Sally Goodin’, Baker’s album includes a lot of strong material. The tracks with Auldridge are an especially nice touch, particularly the somewhat obscure ’70s number, Pickaway.

On many current releases, people tend to be straying away from CD booklets, or only including the names of the songs, and not much more. Furthermore, it’s not often that a bluegrass album comes with a disclaimer. However, Baker’s Slidetown Reunion includes information regarding the types of instruments used on individual tracks (even the specific year of several instruments), and even offers: “The brand name Dobro is commonly misused in reference to all resophonic guitars. No Dobro brand guitars were used in the making of this recording!” For those listeners who are unfamiliar with resophonic guitars, this is a nice addition which may help them begin to learn more about the instrument and its various forms.

Slidetown Reunion is available from CDBaby. For more information, Baker can be contacted at cbakermusic61@gmail.com.

All In – The Boxcars

From their highly anticipated, self-titled debut release which hit shelves in October 2010, to their recognized success at the 2011 IBMA Awards where they took multiple trophies, The Boxcars have been getting quite a lot of attention within the world of bluegrass music. Now, with the recent release of their sophomore project, simply titled All In, last year’s Emerging Artists of the Year are back at it again.

Band members Keith Garrett (guitar), Harold Nixon (upright bass), Adam Steffey (mandolin), John Bowman (fiddle and guitars), and Ron Stewart (banjo and fiddle) all contribute to the new record in their own way, and the performances are superb throughout the album. After the great success of their last project one can only wonder where their latest endeavor will take them.

Released by the Mountain Home Music Company, their new 12-song, 37-minute disc features quite an interesting mixture of material, ranging in scope from original compositions, to numbers like I’ve Lost You, penned by the late Earl Scruggs.

In fact, 7 of the 12 numbers are contributions by band members. Stewart is credited with two pieces, Steffey with an instrumental, and Garrett with four numbers including a new version of his song Jeffery’s Hell which Adam Steffey described as his favorite cut in a recent interview. Having first appeared on Blue Moon Rising’s record Raised on Pain a few years ago, Jeffery’s Hell doesn’t merely appear as recycled material. For All In it gets a new arrangement — and let’s face it, it doesn’t get much more bluegrass than a haunting song about a coon dog and his owner.

The traditional sound and delivery of a story about a lady hopelessly waiting for a deceased lover by Ron Stewart makes Old Hollow Tree another stand-out piece.

The band also offers an interesting version of the public domain piece Born and Raised in Covington, a tune which, according to Adam Steffey, was resurrected from an a cappella version taken from the musical catalog of Daisy, Kentucky native Roscoe Halcomb. While some tracks appear as modern bluegrass, others like Still Good at Crying Over You (an incredibly lonesome Garrett original) are more simply arranged and sound more like acoustic country.

All In is a record filled with contemporary music played in a traditional fashion, and the material should appeal to both new and old listeners alike.

For more information regarding the Boxcars or to see where they’ll be appearing at a venue near you, please visit www.theboxcars.com, or contact Crossroads Music at www.crossroadsmusic.com.

Familiar Paths – The Rigney Family

For any college age musician, selling your ‘axe’ to buy a wedding ring would be a quite disheartening event. However, for at least one banjo picker, Mark Rigney, it was probably for the best. After laying down his beloved Gibson and marrying Melissa, it was seventeen years later before he picked it up again, when she presented him with a new instrument at Christmas. Armed with banjo in hand, Mark and Melissa are now currently working to create their own brand of bluegrass. Along with their sons Andrew (age 18) and Grant (age 15), Mark and Melissa (who plays bass) are now traveling the country performing songs from their third CD, Familiar Paths.

Closely aligned with contemporary acoustic sounds, the Rigneys have the potential to appeal to a wide audience with their impeccable musicianship and powerful song selection. Furthermore, their playing and singing abilities give their four piece band the potential to cover material that other groups might not choose to tackle. Some bluegrass music fans may recognize the Rigney family from their performance on Song of the Mountains, the popular televised traditional music show from the Lincoln Theatre in Marion, VA, and with other performances scheduled for places like Bluegrass Underground in the near future (which, like Song of the Mountains, is broadcast on PBS stations across the country), there is no doubt that many more will soon be getting a big dose of their music.

Familiar Paths is a 12-track, 39-minute collection of tunes that cover a wide array of material, from jazz influenced instrumental numbers like Hop, Skip and a Jump (which also happens to begin with an acoustic version of Aerosmith’s Walk this Way), to other more tender melodies with That’s How You Break a Heart. Other contemplative pieces like Coming Home and My Father in Me sit comfortably beside fast-paced, edgy-feeling numbers like Highway, which compares a roadway to a prison.

The musicianship on this record is remarkable. In fact, on the band’s webpage, fans can find tabs with listings of both Andrew and Grant’s many musical achievements which include taking contest ribbons at major events like Merlefest. These brothers also play several instruments between them (guitar, fiddle, mandolin, dobro) and have earned endorsements with companies like D’addario and Silverangel Mandolins.

For more information regarding the Rigney Family or their music, please visit their website at www.rigneyfamilybluegrass.com.

Down Another Lonesome Highway – Carl Caldwell

The world of bluegrass is full of hot pickers and singers, but very few appear as triple threats; singing, playing, and writing their own material. With the release of a brand new ten song, thirty-two minute album entitled Down Another Lonesome Highway, Carl Caldwell has proven just how capable he is at all three.

Growing up in southern West Virginia and having amassed quite a collection of contest ribbons from different states, Carl has proven himself as a rock solid musician. Throughout the project he plays mandolin, guitar, and bass while also showcasing his praiseworthy vocal abilities. Six of the ten tracks included on this project feature Carl singing all three parts (lead, tenor, baritone) while providing at least two harmony parts on every vocal number on the record.

The album’s opener and upbeat title track Down Another Lonesome Highway begins with a note-matching mandolin/guitar intro which seems to set the tone for the entire project: traditional bluegrass played in a modern style. This album isn’t all mash though, with soft melodies of songs like I Like Being Daddy and Lainie’s Song providing a nice balance throughout this set of music. Other noteworthy numbers include It’s a Dirty Job and the catchy melody of Moonshine in the Hills, a bouncy number depicting the tale of Garfield Bailey, a moonshiner who teaches the dangerous trade to his son.

Carl also had several talented musicians join him while recording this project at Craig’s Place Recording in Lebanon, TN. Assisting musicians include multi-instrumentalist Craig Fletcher, Don Hill on banjo, Josh Ulbrich with dobro, Tony King’s lead vocal on I Like Being Daddy, and Clarence Kelley’s James King-esque lead vocal on Grandaddy’s Farm.

Overall, Down Another Lonesome Highway is a worthwhile recording. The choice of material provides a good selection of songs that blends well together, creating a collection of tunes which can simply be placed on repeat. Moreover, the musicianship shown throughout is commendable. This album has the potential to appeal to a wide audience, including both fans of modern and traditional bluegrass alike. Listeners are sure to appreciate Carl’s talents in both singing and playing abilities.

For more information on Carl Caldwell’s music or to find out where he’ll be performing next, you may visit his website at www.carlcaldwell.com.