David Grindstaff Archives - Bluegrass Today

The Chronicles of Depression – Alex Hibbitts

Having performed with such acts as Randy Kohrs and the Expedition Show, Alex Hibbitts is no stranger to the bluegrass music scene. Although he has spent most of his bluegrass career as a sideman, and currently can most often be found working within his Depression Lies studio in east Tennessee, this small town musician has a lot to offer. You might not expect someone with an accounting degree to be a major practitioner of the mash, but Hibbitts fits the bill with his latest release, The Chronicles of Depression.

This record has been a labor of love for Hibbitts, and he had a hand in almost every aspect of the album, from writing, playing, and singing to recording, producing, and mixing. There’s a lot of good original material here, both from Hibbitts (he wrote or co-wrote three of the album’s eleven tracks) as well as from popular up-and-coming songwriters like Daniel Salyer and Josh Miller. There are also a couple classic bluegrass covers, including a fiery version of Monroe’s Hornpipe with lightning-fast instrumental work from Clay Hess (guitar), Brandon Green (banjo), Josh Swift (dobro), Jim Van Cleve (fiddle), and Hibbitts (mandolin and bass).

The overall sound of the album is contemporary bluegrass, with a dose of tradition and just a bit of acoustic country. Things start out on a strong note with David Carroll’s Blues Are Running Over Me Again, a nice, hard-hitting lonesome number about a down-on-his-luck man featuring Dustin Pyrtle on lead vocals. Miller’s Too Far Gone to Save is another stout track, with the desperate singer reflecting on some of the many mistakes he’s made in life.

Hibbitt’s original If I’m Alone also finds a man realizing the impact of some of the choices he’s made in the past. This song heads closer to country territory, with somewhat of a ’90s sound and even a touch of drums. Is This The End was also written by Hibbitts, and it’s one of the album’s standout tracks with its melancholy feel and story of a couple’s back-and-forth struggles. You Should See My Heart has a light sound, but follows in the tradition of many a bluegrass and country song, with its narrator fine on the outside, but still brokenhearted inside. Brandon Green’s progressive-leaning banjo playing on each of these numbers is a highlight.

While We’re Apart is a fine, traditional-leaning song with strong lead vocals from David Grindstaff. It’s a sweet plea from a man who’s ready to show someone just how much he loves her. The Stanley Brothers’ Memory of Your Smile retains some of its original feel, but is given a bit of a modern traditional update. It heads into mash territory, particularly thanks to Miller’s banjo playing and Hibbitt’s strong mandolin chop.

The instrumentation here is all well-done, with a who’s who of musicians from east Tennessee and southwest Virginia featured alongside Hibbitts. Hibbitts takes time to showcase his mandolin skills (his main instrument) throughout, but also contributes guitar, bass, mandola and both lead and harmony vocals on various songs. The Chronicles of Depression has a great contemporary sound, and fans of both smooth, lonesome numbers and heavy-hitting mash should enjoy the album.

For more information on Alex Hibbitts, visit him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mandolinist. Orders can be placed by contacting him there until it is available on iTunes in the next few days.

The Troubadours kill at Merlefest

We’ve spoken highly in the past about The Troubadours, a talented young band from East Tennessee. They made the trek this weekend to Merlefest, and came away covered in glory.

Yesterday we posted the winners of the banjo and guitar competitions, and Eric Hardin – who plays banjo for The Troubadours – took first in guitar.

Today we learned that bass player/vocalist David Grindstaff and guitarist Ben Poteat took first in the bluegrass category of Merlefest’s Chris Austin Songwriting contest for their song, The Working Man.

Way to go guys!

David tells us that the song will be on the band’s debut album, expected this summer on Mountain Fever Records. He and Eric each have solo projects which are available from the band web site.

We hope to get more details on the other Chris Austin contest winners this evening. Also, Georgia Lowrance has an update from yesterday at Wilkesboro, but has been experiencing some Internet issues today. We’ll get that up as soon as she can get it to us.

Eric Hardin – One Good Reason

We’ve posted in the past about David Grindstaff and his terrific debut CD, Here & Now, as well as The Troubadours, the group with whom he performs. Mountain Fever Records will have a project from the band in 2011, and will also bring Here & Now into the Mountain Fever catalog as a re-release.

Eric Hardin, banjo picker with The Troubadours, has a new CD of his own, One Good Reason, released this Fall. It serves as a fine showcase for this talented young picker, who has racked up wins in both banjo and guitar competitions across the US. Along with such notable pickers as Adam Steffey, Rob Ickes, Jim VanCleve and several others, Eric performs arrangements he played to win or place at Winfield, Merlefest, the Wayne Hnederson Festival and the South Carolina Banjo and Guitar Championships.

Steffey shared some words of praise on the CD cover…

“Eric’s sensibilities to both the melody of the song and to the other musicians with whom he might be playing is one of the things that I appreciate the most. His solos are never boring, but seem inspired and fresh without sacrificing taste or going too far over the top. This is an intangible that you can’t really teach, but most of the great players seem to possess. He plays what fits the song and makes it all seem effortless. When playing the guitar, he gets beautiful tone and clarity that always adds to the song. And when he’s on the banjo, he provides the drive that makes you play in that rhythmic ‘pocket’ that all pickers strive to get in.”

Just as Adam suggests, Hardin is both a capable technician and a skillful stylist. He offers up fine versions of banjo clasics like Groundspeed, The Old Spinning Wheel, Follow The Leader and Welcome To New York along with guitar favorite Big Sciota and Bill Monroe’s Big Mon.

Audio samples from all 12 tracks can be heard at CD Baby.

David Grindstaff, Troubadours sign with Mountain Fever

It is sadly often the case that stellar recordings by “unknown” artists can languish in obscurity while good, but not spectacular, releases from headline acts receive fawning attention from the music press. On some level, a complaint like this is a bit of a celebration of the obvious, but it can still rankle even if wholly expected.

Nor will I pretend that Bluegrass Today is completely immune from this tendency, though we did pick up on the debut, self-produced album by David Grindstaff, Here & Now. Grindstaff is a young singer and multi-instrumentalist currently studying in the bluegrass music program at ETSU, and his CD struck us as demonstrative of a budding star when it was released in March of this year.

David’s talent was not lost either on Mountain Fever Records, who have just signed both he and the band with whom he performs, The Troubadours, to the label. They are immediately re-issuing Here & Now to wide distribution (including radio promotion), and will release a first record from the band in the Spring of 2011.

Mark Hodges of Mountain Fever says that after hearing Grindstaff’s CD, it was simply the right thing to do…

“I felt it was such a great CD and David had a lot of potential as an artist. So we decided to re-release the CD on Mountain Fever Records and try to get the project the attention it truly deserves. Then, after hearing these guys pick and sing, we just really felt like the right thing to do was to put our efforts behind the whole band as well.”

The Troubadours are Grindstaff on bass and lead vocals, Eric Hardin on banjo, Colby Laney on mandolin and Ben Poteat on guitar. All but Hardin have been friends and pickin’ buds since high school, and with all four soon to complete their college studies, the idea of forming a band struck them as a fine idea. They will hit the studio soon to start working on a Mountain Fever project.

In the meantime, look for more news on Here & Now as it heads out to radio. A single, Another Lonely Day, should hit shortly. It comes from Daniel Salyer, a talented young songwriter currently working with Monroeville, who contributed a number of songs (and tenor vocals) to Here & Now.

Another Lonely Day: [http://traffic.libsyn.com/thegrasscast/another_lonely_day.mp3]

For David, all this is the happiest of happy endings.

“I’m really happy about the way all of this has turned out. There was a lot of work that went into recording my solo project and to have Mountain Fever Records get behind it and promote it means a lot to me. I think this project will act as a sneak-peek for the kind of music The Troubadours will be offering with our debut CD this Spring. I’m honored to be playing with musicians of this caliber.”

More audio samples from Here & Now can be found on Bluegrass Today and at CD Baby.

David Grindstaff – Here & Now

ETSU didn’t make much of a splash in the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament last week, but they have a real winner in David Grindstaff, a student in their Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music program. His debut CD, Here & Now, was released on March 1 and it shows Grindstaff to be a polished, expressive vocalist with tremendous potential in the bluegrass world.

David is set to graduate in December 2010 with a degree in Sport and Leisure Management, concentrating in Parks and Recreation, with a minor in bluegrass music. He has attended ETSU on a four year performance scholarship, during which time he has taken the stage with the ETSU Bluegrass Band across the region, performing at major events like Ralph Stanley’s 81st and 82nd Birthday Celebrations. He is currently focusing his musical energies with his band, The Troubadours.

Here & Now not only showcases Daniel’s prodigious talents, but also that of the wider ETSU bluegrass community. Instructors Tim Stafford, Will Parsons, Hunter Berry and Adam Steffey provide accompaniment, as do current students Haley Stiltner and Colby Laney. The album was produced by Dan Boner, Interim Director of the program, and includes the material new songs from Stafford, Parsons and former student Daniel Salyer.

All that being said, Grindstaff is the star of the show. His voice evokes that of a young Ronnie Bowman – agile and accurate, with a passionate, plaintive quality that is very appealing. Listen to him on the opening track, The Tinker Man, written by Will Parsons.

The Tinker Man [http://media.libsyn.com/media/thegrasscast/tinker_man.mp3]

Dan Boner says that he was pleased to have had a hand in this album…

“David had been talking about recording a solo project and asked if I would produce and engineer it for him. Since our brand new recording laboratory at ETSU had just been completed I thought it would be a great opportunity for David – and also a good excuse for me to ‘test drive’ all of our brand new equipment! When David began recruiting musicians like Tim Stafford, Adam Steffey, and Hunter Berry I knew were all going on a fun run together!

The musicians are spectacular on the album, and I just had to involve Dylan Seals with the mixing of the project. He did such a great job on my album, The Gospel Way, and on Rhonda Vincent’s, Destination Life. It’s always a pleasure to hear how he treats acoustic music in his mixes.

David is gifted with a unique voice that sounds exceptionally mature for his young age of 22. I think he has a bright future ahead of him and I can’t wait to see where he goes after ETSU.”

Here are a couple more audio clips, first I’ll Never Let Her Go, a lovely ballad from Bobby Starnes and Tim Stafford which demonstartes the maturity Boner mentioned.

I’ll Never Let Her Go [http://media.libsyn.com/media/thegrasscast/never_let_her_go.mp3]

And a grassy barn burner, Jack Up The Jail, from Daniel Salyer:

Jack Up The Jail [http://media.libsyn.com/media/thegrasscast/jack_up.mp3]

Here & Now is a very strong project overall, regardless of the age and experience of the artist. Whether or not you pick up a copy, remember the name David Grindstaff.

Audio samples from all 13 tracks can be heard at CD Baby.