Shannon Slaughter has had a very good year so far. His solo project, The Sideman Steps Out, has been a hit with bluegrass radio, and spent most of the early part of 2012 on our Bluegrass Today Weekly Airplay Chart.
He is also part of the powerful sound of Lou Reid & Carolina, playing guitar and singing harmony on their latest album, Calling Me Back Home.
Now we learn that Shannon is back in the studio this week with his own group, County Clare, which includes his wife, Heather, on bass. Heather’s voice was a prominent part of Shannon’s solo CD, and their duets generated a good bit of buzz in the biz.
Joining them, are Ronald Inscore on mandolin, Casey Murray on banjo, and John Boulware on fiddle.
They will be cutting rhythm tracks at Wes Easter’s studio in Cana, VA, and tracking vocals at Randy Kohrs’ Slack Key Studio in Nashville.
Shannon tells us that he wrote or co-wrote 9 of the 13 songs they will be recording.
“Heather and I wrote two together, and my long-time collaborator Dale Felts and I wrote three (including one with Heather). I wrote one each with Shawn Lane and Terry Foust, and three on my own.
Other writers on the project include Dennis Duff, Tommy Dutton, Rodney Crowell, and Tim Hardin.
Listeners can expect to hear a lot of Heather’s silky smooth vocals and some great harmonies.
We’re really looking forward to getting back in the studio and I’m so proud of the guys who work with us! I can’t wait for everyone to hear those guys!!”
Should be a good’n.
