(Ashland, VA) — A coffee shop with all of its tasteful blendings situated near a railroad track was a perfect setting for bluegrass veterans Jimmy Gaudreau and Moondi Klein as they took the stage in Virginia Friday night February 29 performing songs from their new CD “2:10 Train” being released later this month by Rebel Records.
A crowd of approximately 80 people nearly filled Ashland Coffee & Tea north of Richmond and were treated to a two hour show by the former members of the band Chesapeake who offered their brew of bluegrass was choreographed by the passing of north and southbound Amtrak and C-S-X trains full throttle to the likes of the new album’s title track.
Gaudreau who joined the Country Gentlemen in 1969 has since performed with numerous bands and artists including John Starling and Carolina Star, Emmylou Harris, J.D. Crowe and the New South and the Tony Rice Unit. Klein is the former lead singer for Cheseapeake.
Before the show, the two were interviewed by Bluegrass FM (WWED 89.5 in Fredericksburg & WWEM 91.7 in Lynchburg). They said that their new act is a result of a several day recording session and an impromptu tour in the United Kingdom last year prompted by an overseas business trip that Klein’s wife had scheduled. Gaudreau said he contacted Mark Freeman of Rebel Records to see if they were interested in releasing the project. Freeman liked it and shared it with his father, Dave, the owner of the record label, and they agreed to make the project the first release of 2008.
The new CD, to be released March 25, was recorded in the D.C. area and features vocals by the duo accompanied by their two instruments: guitar and mandolin. Gaudreau said they considered adding other instrumentalists but felt that the sound that they wanted to acheive and present was captured by what the duo could produce themselves.
The result on stage and on disc is a delightful “grassified folk” blend that engages the audience with stories and sounds which far exceeds the sum of its individual parts. Bluegrass will be enhanced by this duo’s effort and it will be given another hue to display in its already colorful palette.
A video clip of the one of the duo’s songs performed at the show can be found online at www.BluegrassFm.org. The stations have also added the song “Dreamer or Believer” to its current rotation playlist.
