Announcing the littlest Hammertowner – and what a great bluegrass name!
Chaston Carroll, mandolinist with Hammertowne, and his wife Shayla, are celebrating the birth of Ryman Monroe Carroll. She came into this world yesterday, weighing in at 7 lb, 8 oz, stretching out to 21.25” long.
Grandpa David Carroll, who plays guitar and sings with the band, says that mom and baby are doing well, and that dad is on top of the world.
Congratulations to all the Carrolls, and a big Bluegrass Today welcome to Ryman Monroe!
A new bluegrass band called The Railroaders has formed this spring, uniting four talented bluegrass veterans with combined experienced in excess of 100 years. Their members come from Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Maryland.
Shayne Bartley is on mandolin and vocals, Darren Beachley on bass and vocals, Greg Luck on guitar and vocals, and David Carroll on banjo. Between them, these four have worked with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, IIIrd Tyme Out, American Drive, Unlimited Tradition, The James King Band, The Darrell Webb Band and many other successful touring groups.
The Railroaders have signed with Buddy Lee Attractions in Nashville for representation. Sherry Graf with Buddy Lee says of their latest addition:
“I am honored to welcome The Railroadersto the BLA family. They are true artists in every sense of the word and I can’t wait to begin working with them and their team to take their music to new heights.”
Greg Luck is also working with Alan Bibey & Grasstowne, to whom he has given a first commitment, so The Railroaders will be working around their schedule.
This should be a hard charging, hard driving contemporary bluegrass act, with Beachley’s high tenor matching well with Luck’s lower pitched voice. Carroll may be lesser known on the banjo, but he plays with a fire that you won’t soon forget, and Bartley is a seasoned hand on the mandolin.
They are headed into the studio this week to produce a debut single, with a full album project to follow.
The Railroaders are currently accepting dates for 2016 and beyond. You can find more information on their web site, or on Facebook.
The Darrell Webb Band has announced a new acquisition. David Carroll is now the banjo picker with the band.
David is well-known as a crackerjack on the five in his native southwestern Virginia, where he played for several years with The Deer Creek Boys. That group dissolved when Jason Tomlin left to play bass with Junior Sisk, followed not long afterwards by his brother Justin taking up the guitar gig with Nothin Fancy.
David toured briefly with Gold Heart but had resisted a number of opportunities to go full time in music, unwilling to forgo a steady manufacturing job with a company near his home in Bedford, VA. When layoffs were announced earlier this year, the time seemed right to give music a chance, and David was delighted by the offer to work with Darrell.
Most every region of the country has a few pickers like this of world class skill who primarily plays for fun. Bluegrass fans across the globe will soon find another when they learn what a fine banjo man Webb has hired – something Darrell recognizes already.
“I’m very excited to have David Carroll joining the Darrell Webb Band! David is a great player and a true gentleman. I think he will bring a lot of excitement and new energy to the band.”
David is equally excited about this new opportunity.
“I am so happy and looking forward to being part of such an awesome band. Darrell and the guys are great, and it’s going to be a pleasure to work with them.”
Here’s a video of David with The Deer Creek Boys at Galax in 2006. Not only can you get a nice listen to Carroll’s banjo pickin’, it’s fun to see Jason and Justin from seven years ago.
Carroll joins Jeremy Arrowood on bass, Jared Hensley on guitar and Jake Joines on reso-guitar, along with Webb on mandolin and lead vocals in the band. They are in the studio now finishing up a new Darrell Webb Band project.
