Joe Walsh, whose rock-solid mandolin chop helped give the Gibson Brothers one of the top rhythm sections in bluegrass for the last four and a half years, is moving on.
Joe announced the move on his Facebook page, saying he plans to record soon with Darol Anger, Grant Gordy and Karl Doty. Darol and Grant both played with David Grisman and Karl honed his bass chops playing jazz and has a rock background, so the new project is likely to stray from the classic bluegrass brother duet sound that is the foundation of the Gibson Brother’s music.
He also said a CD he recorded with Darol, Courtney Hartman, Lukas Pool and Shannon Gilchrist is finished and will be released in the near future.
“I’ve been a lucky man to get to know, play, travel and work” with Leigh and Eric Gibson, Clayton Campbell and Mike Barber, “and am proud of the music and records we’ve made, and the awards and accolades we’ve won in these past four and a half years,” Joe wrote.
The change comes as the band is touring in support of They Called It Music, the recent Compass release that quickly moved to the top of the charts.
“It’s not something that we planned on happening, but we’ll be OK and Joe will be OK,” Eric Gibson said. “Joe’s a great player. I wish him nothing but the best, and I’m sincere about that.”
The band isn’t ready to announce Joe’s replacement yet, but Eric and Leigh have a few folks in mind, so there’s no need for auditions. Until then, they’ll use stand-ins on upcoming tour dates.
