Jason Leek Archives - Bluegrass Today

New lineup with Marty Raybon

Marty Raybon shared some info about the latest lineup of his touring bluegrass band. In addition to bringing on temps to play banjo while Chis Wade is undergoing cancer treatment, Marty has hired Jason Leek on bass and Tim Laughlin on mandolin and fiddle. Both will also contribute vocals in the group.

Making the point that Wade’s job is being held for him, Raybon indicated that a pair of former members would be playing banjo for him in the interim.

“We are looking forward to Chris being able to return to the road with us, but until his unfortunate situation gets took care of, the banjo position will be covered by past members Daniel Grindstaff and Luke Monday.”

Brother Tim Raybon remains with the band, playing second guitar and fiddle, and singing harmony with Marty, just as he did when they toured together with their family bluegrass band in the 1980s.

New bass player Leek expressed high praise for his new boss.

“I have always thought very highly of Marty as a person and have always been a huge fan of his singing. I can’t think of anyone in any genre that sings with more soul and feel than Marty Raybon. I had filled in with him in the past, and really admired his passion that comes out in every song that he sings. You don’t hear Marty sing, you feel him!

I’ve always had a blast with him, so I am very excited to come on board with such a great singer and great band!

I also want to mention, aside from being such a great musician/singer, Marty has one of the biggest hearts in the business!! Now that I’ve been with him for a little while, I have seen first hand how much he cares for his fans and his band, and I have a lot of respect for him as a musician, singer, band leader, and as a person!

I assure you, you can expect some really great things from Marty in the future. He has a great line-up of musicians and singers and I’m honored to be a part of it!”

You can keep up with Marty’s tour schedule online.

Over the weekend, we picked up some further details about Chris Wade’s condition and treatment. People who had spoken with Chris since we did last week told us that Chris will have to wear a full leg cast to immobilize his knee while he is undergoing up to a year of chemotherapy for the cancer. Following the chemo, a knee replacement will be performed.

They also mentioned that Chris greatly appreciates the kind words being shared on his Facebook page.

The debut of HeartTown

We just heard from Jason Leek, bass player with the Beachley & Scott Band, with an announcement about a major change in their group.

“The Beachley and Scott Band could not have had a more successful debut year! We’ve been very blessed with a busy touring schedule, our music and material is being well received at our shows, and we’re constantly receiving wonderful comments and support from our fans. However, some major changes are set to take place within the band/business.

Barry Scott will be leaving the band and will pursue a solo career in Gospel music. We fully respect this decision and wish Barry the best with this new venture. We have a very talented and well known musician/singer that will be joining the band and his name will be publicly released very soon.

Also, with the business knowledge and experience of each band member, we feel it would be more beneficial to become a full partnership band and to change the name to reflect such. After tossing several ideas back and forth, we’ve decided on the name HeartTown.

We realize that changing a band name can be very difficult, from a media perspective, but we feel the benefit from this change will give us long-term success.

Each member of this band is very success-driven and our goal is to simply provide the highest quality music and entertainment possible to our fans and become a mainstay in this business. We were all very excited to release this information to the public and begin this new journey.

We are currently in the studio working on our debut CD, which will be released later this summer.

Our new website is currently under construction, but will be up and running very soon. You can also check out our Facebook page for further information and updates.

On behalf of HeartTown, we would like to thank you for your continued support and we hope to see each one of you very soon!!”

Leek will remain with the band on bass, as will Shayne Bartley on banjo/mandolin, and Tim Laughlin on mandolin/fiddle, and Darren Beachley on guitar. Jason promises to get us more details soon about HeartTown, who will work the existing Beachley & Scott dates, and their newest member.

Beachley & Scott Band announces members

We heard again yesterday from Darren Beachley with more news about his new band venture with Barry Scott. Darren wanted to share details about the musicians who will be touring with he and Barry, and a few words about his decision to disband the Legends of the Potomac.

It looks like the guys will be trading instruments around a good bit on the show, with Darren primarily on guitar and Barry on bass. Joining them will be a trio of veteran performers. I can’t improve on the introductions that Beachley provided for the pickers he’s assembled.

Jason Leek – chop guitar, bass and vocals. Formerly of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Jason can be heard on Doyle’s latest release Light On My Feet, Ready To Fly. Jason really understands vocals, and understands the way Barry and I approach our vocals. The fact that he was with Doyle at one point helped tremendously with understanding blend and tones!

Tim Laughlin – mandolin, fiddle and vocals. Tim is a very talented picker who has played with many of the greats in bluegrass today. His most recent stop was with Dale Ann Bradley. We are very thrilled to have acquired his talents.

Shyane Bartley – banjo, mandolin and vocals. Shayne has been in demand for last 25 years in the business working with Lost and Found, Charlie Sizemore and most recently the Bartley Brothers. I hadn’t known much of his banjo work but he fits us really well. His bass vocals in the quartets are working in real well.

Darren also tells us that rehearsals are going swimmingly, with the band working up some songs that he has been holding back for the right time, and many new ones that Barry has written.

“It’s really feeling good and sounding great. The combination of personal is working VERY WELL. Our first shows are Jan 7th at Ashland Coffee & Tea in Ashland VA, and Jan 8th at Berryville VA’s Bluegrass Series.

While there has been a lot of buzz in the bluegrass world about this new pairing, and the strong vocal harmony they are likely to produce, some fans have expressed disappointment about the sudden dissolution of Darren’s previous group, Legends of the Potomac. It is something of an audacious name, but fully justified by the inclusion of bona fide legends Mike Auldridge on resonator guitar and Tom Gray on bass, both original members of Seldom Scene. The group also featured Norman Wright of Bluegrass Cardinals fame, and banjo picker Mark Delaney.

When Auldridge announced his departure from the group in early November, Darren said it forced him to take a hard look at the group’s structure.

“I can understand some people being shocked about the break-up of the band. The name when it came about worked fine, but there is a point when you realize that once changes start happening people start questioning the word ‘Legends.’ People were wondering about about a band name change and personal changes. Some of the guys were still holding day jobs, rehearsals were becoming harder to have, we were in a pause mode, and I wasn’t very happy being in pause mode, I never have been. I missed the rehearsal’s of a band where you’re in there 6-8 hours a day creating music.

When you leave a band or any situation it’s never easy and there is always gonna be some talk. I have heard some comments like ‘How many bands is this for Darren in the last 5 years?’ Well I was with Doyle until Jan 2009 and then The Legends until now. That one made me laugh.

The other was how promoters would be negatively affected by the band break up. I had 3 dates cancel on me with The Legends and all three have booked the The Beachley & Scott Band band for 2012. People are excited about Barry and I singing together; everywhere to my knowledge that its been announced people are looking forward to it.

As far as looking at whats behind you my grandfather has always said, ‘If you look behind you, you plow a crooked row.’ I am not focused on that situation, I am looking at The Beachley & Scott Band and focusing all my energy on it.”

A new band web site is in the works, and should be up and running before the end of the month.

Leek/Scott partnership fizzles

Here’s some unfortunate news on what was hailed only weeks ago as a promising new partnership.

The agreement we announced on September 7 between Barry Scott and Jason Leek for the management of Barry Scott and Second Wind has fallen apart. Jason had left Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver – after having previously worked with Second Wind – and had returned to play bass with Barry, understanding that they would be partners in the band.

But as often is the case, the details were unable to be worked out to everyone’s satisfaction, and the two have parted ways again.

Jason offered a short statement about the change of plans:

“At the time of the earlier article, we were in the process of getting all the business matters worked out, but unfortunately we have decided not to pursue this venture at this time. I apologize if anyone feels misled, but at the time that was the direction we were going and my intentions were to simply inform. I want to thank all the people that have contacted me and wished me well in whatever venture I pursue.

I have a few different possibilities on the table right now and I’m excited to see what the next chapter in my life has in store!”

We’ll be sure to let you know where Jason lands, and who ends up on bass with Barry.

Jason Leek rejoins Barry Scott

With this morning’s news about Mike Rogers taking up with Doyle Lawson, the question arises… “but what about Jason Leek?” And who better to answer that question thatn Jason himself, who shares this update.

“Late in the year of 2005 Barry Scott, then with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, called me about starting his own band. Shortly after that, we came together and formed the band Barry Scott and Second Wind. Our debut album, In God’s Time, was nominated for a Grammy in 2010 and that’s something we are very proud of! Also for this album, I had the privilege of recording with Vince Gill, which was definitely a highlight in my life!

I really enjoyed my time with Barry, but in November of 2009 I left Second Wind to join Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. I felt like this was an important move to further my career. While with Doyle, I had the privilege of recording an all Gospel DVD and an all Gospel CD, Light On My Feet, Ready to Fly. I played a lot of really fun shows with Doyle, made a lot of great friends and established a relationship with a lot of people who I consider very successful and influential in the music industry.

In March of 2010, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver had the opportunity to record with Paul Simon. I sang on two songs for his upcoming album and just like Vince, this too was a highlight in my career.

I really enjoyed playing with Doyle; he is truly a legend and a great boss! I feel so honored to have been part of Quicksilver, but September the 5th of 2010 was my last show with them. I will be joining back up with Barry Scott and Second Wind. After several meetings, Barry and I have decided to become business partners. Over the past 5 years, I feel like I have gained a lot of knowledge about the music industry and I will be working very hard to help handle the business side of things.

We are currently filling the positions that were opened when the former members of Second Wind decided to step out and pursue their own band. I consider them good friends and we wish them the best! For the names of the new members of Second Wind and further information, please visit www.barryscottonline.com.

Barry and I are very excited about the future and new direction of Second Wind and we are looking forward to seeing all of you very soon!!”

More changes in Quicksilver

Doyle Lawson has made another set of changes to the Quicksilver lineup. Dale Perry will come on board to play banjo and sing bass, and Jason Leek will play bass and sing tenor. The new band will take the stage within the next two weeks.

Perry is a former member of Quicksilver, who did time in the band on both bass and banjo. He had been playing bass with Grasstowne, and before that was on banjo with David Parmley.

Leek has been playing bass with Barry Scott & Second Wind.

Departing banjo player Joey Cox said that Doyle had found no fault with his picking, but that he felt like he needed to make some changes to refine the sound of the band’s vocal trio and quartet.

For his part, Cox intends to return to college and is looking for a band with a more part time/weekend schedule while he is in school. He can be reached via Facebook.

So… it looks like Grasstowne and Barry Scott are looking for some new members too. It’s that time of year.