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The Leadbetter model Dobro was in the hands of Austin Clark, of The Clark Brothers, who won The Next Great American Band competition earlier this year. He was accompanying Kellie Pickler for her Idol performance on 3/19.
Uncle Phil was delighted with his virtual appearance on American Idol.
We interrupt our Christmas programming for this final NGAB report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.
The finale of a light-hearted Christmas-themed show was the announcement of the top band. The last two standing were the Clarks and Sixwire. All three boys fell on the floor after their name was called. Ashley commented, "We just came from the house‚Ķplaying from the living room to the stage and we’re freaking out right now." Austin thanked their Mom and Dad, though you really couldn’t hear it over the roar of the crowd. Dicko said, "Week after week you brought the magic." Sheila said, "I prayed for this moment," and John quipped " I knew it all along." He continued in a more serious vein, "Your passion for what you do is so real. That kind of sincerity can’t be faked."
We also got to see Cliff Wagner back, in all his glory, singing…wait for it…Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.
I’m so happy and excited for the Clarks. It just goes to show, you never can tell where someone is going to end up in life. When you’re playing Harry Grant’s Windgap festival with a family with eleven kids who sing gospel, pay attention, because they might be the next big reality show winners. Even though the music they play now is not bluegrass per se, they come from bluegrass, and anything that helps to raise the profile of bluegrass is good in my book.
And there was a brief shot of a sign someone held up in the audience that read, “We need more mandolin baby!”
Amen!
If the panel of judges is an accurate barometer of the voting public, they have an excellent chance to take it all, and receive a major label recording contract. A previous attempt for the guys as a more mainstreamed country act was a disaster, but they have refined their show and their sound, and could hit as a hunky reprise of the Dixie Chicks phenomenon if produced and promoted effectively.
And they would have loads more bluegrass parking lot cred…
Bands that were eliminated in previous episodes will be back for the final show, including bluegrass band Cliff Wagner and the Old #7. Our official NGAB correspondent, Casey Henry, passed along this tidbit:
Cliff Wagner’s wife Robin says, “He’s all dressed up like Bing and gets lots of camera time!” Might there be a little “White Christmas” action going on? I guess we’ll have to tune in and see!
The show airs at 9:00 p.m. (EST) on Fox, and the winner will be chosen by a phone vote, a la American Idol. The ratings for Next Great American Band have been disappointing, especially for a show in the Idol mold, but we hope that Clark Brothers fans – and anyone who would like to see a solid, acoustic/bluegrass band win the prize – will jam the phone lines tonight.
If you find yourself at home, or near a TV this evening, perhaps you could find a moment to cast a vote for these fine young musicians?
This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.
Next week they’ll announce the winner, who will receive a recording contract. Surely the runners-up will get something, in addition to the amazing publicity the show has afforded them.
The Clarks performed Change the World, by Eric Clapton, which was the judges choice. John Rzeznik called it, "a unique interpretation" that "added depth to the original lyrics." Dicko said "you breathe so much fire I thought you were going to set the sprinklers off." Their next song was Amazed, by Lonestar, which was the show’s choice. The stripped down version had Ashley sitting on a stool just singing, no instrument. It showed they have a firm grip on mainstream country and caused John to comment, "I think every woman in America wants you right now. I feel like a giddy little girl." Ashley looked a bit bashful at that, but if they win this contest he’s going to need to get used to it.
Their final selection, which they got to choose, was the This Little Light of Mine/Faith, Faith, Faith medley that they played on the first show. Their frantic, fiery version brought down the house. Dicko, who has been commuting back and forth from Australia during the competition, said that "one thing makes it alright every week ‚Äì when you take the stage." John proclaimed, "I don’t think anyone deserves to win this contest more than you."
Let’s hope America agrees. The votes are cast and it’s all over by now, we just have to wait until Friday to find out who is the Next Great American Band.
This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.
This week the Clarks added two musicians‚Äîa drummer and a bass player (not other Clark brothers, though). This allowed them some more freedom to be the front people and stretch out but didn’t really change their overall sound. They played Queen’s These are The Days of our Lives and the original Homestead.
The judges all loved the cover and Dicko deemed Ashley "The best front person we’ve got in this competition." He was harder on the original, calling it a "crap song" with lyrics that are "country 101," and encouraging them to push themselves lyrically. He said one of their strong points is connecting with and conveying the emotions in a song and with lyrics like "Back to the farm/back to the farm/eatin’ fried chicken with the girls in the yard" there is not any emotional content there to build on.
I predict that it will be down to Sixwire and the Clarks in a couple weeks. Of course it all depends on the voting public, so tune in next Friday to Fox and get your thumbs ready to dial!
This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.
We got to see a little segment of the boys talking about their musical influences. What they said sounded so familiar to me, and probably to anyone else who grew up in a bluegrass family. Ashley said he didn’t hear the Beatles until he was sixteen and was surprised to find that they were really good, since his dad had always dismissed them for not having a banjo. Austin said the first time he saw Jerry Douglas play he bought every one of his CDs, even though he didn’t have a CD player at the time! There were a couple of clips of the Clark Family playing, with all the other brothers and their dad, when the boys were younger. They looked so familiar to me because that’s what they looked like back when we used to play at some of the same bluegrass festivals.
I think the Clarks have a good chance of moving on to next week. I just hope all the people who are voting agree! You can watch Cliff Wagner and the Old #7’s final performance online now, as well as all the other bands songs.
This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.
Everyone seemed disappointed to see Cliff and the band go. The judges had some parting words, all on a positive note. John Rzeznik said that he really appreciated their sense of humor and the chemistry between the band members. Sheila E. deemed them "so real, so genuine," and said "we love you very much." Dicko praised them for "bringing some real variety" to the show and asked what their plans for the future are. Cliff eloquently said that they’ve gotten "new inspiration" from being on the show and have expanded musically from where they were before. They are now able to play more "outside the box."
Cliff said, to the television audience, "Thanks to everyone who voted. We had a great time on the show," and he wished, "good luck to all the other bands." And even the final band to play, Dot Dot Dot, said as they took the stage, "We love you, Cliff Wagner!"
The NGAB site now features Cliff’s Green Room acoustic performance. Hopefully, even though he didn’t win the show, this national exposure will benefit Cliff’s career and help keep his playing schedule full for years to come. Maybe they’ll add their take on Brown Sugar that we didn’t get to hear to their shows‚Ķ
The Clarks version of Gimmie Shelter was stunning. They started out sparse and low and built up the tension. By the end, according to Dicko, they’d "turned it into a blind panic." Ashley’s singing continued to impress, Austin rocked on a black, flying-V electric dobro, and Adam even got a short mandolin solo. All three judges gave them a standing ovation and Sheila deemed them "the band to beat."
Be sure to tune in next week bands tackle the Rod Stewart catalog. You can watch all the past weeks’ performances on the NGAB site.
This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.
Cliff chose the Lieber and Stoller song Poison Ivy to sing and adapted it very well. Cliff was back on the banjo, though there was no banjo break in the song. He looked quite dapper in a suit with an ascot. In the pre-song clip about the group we learned that Cliff does everything from booking to promotion to writing the songs for the band. If the band was a kingdom, one of the guys said, "Cliff would be the emperor."
The Clark Brothers chose Lieber and Stoller’s Saved, and delivered an absolutely amazing performance. Ashley sang the fire out of it with a truly passionate lead vocal; Austin wailed on the dobro, and Adam pounded out the rhythm on the guitar. The judges were practically beside themselves with praise. John Rzeznik said, "I’m questioning everything now‚Ķ" meaning, I believe, that before he thought a drummer necessary to a rockin’ performance. Shelia deemed it "Magnifico," and the dour Dicko said, "Even a wretch like me feels closer to salvation" after hearing that song.
Next week bands tackle a Rolling Stones cover. As I said last time, the competition is truly fierce now and it all depends on the stamina of Appalachian-America’s thumbs (dialing those phones) to determine if our bands make it through another round.
Unfortunately last week’s performances are not up on the show’s site, but you can still see songs from weeks 1, 2, and 3.
This report comes from Casey Henry, a banjo player and writer living in Nashville, TN. She performed the past few years with her brother, Chris, in The Two Stringers, now disbanded.
Cliff Wagner and the Old #7 chose You May Be Right from "the old Kentucky fox hunter Billy Joel" and gave it a laid-back country shuffle treatment, with Cliff trading the banjo for a guitar. Two judges loved in, but Dicko, reliably cantankerous, deemed it a "soporific, sleepy" arrangement.
The Clark Brothers played seventh (a little nail-biting going on by that time) and did a slow beautiful rendition of She’s Got A Way, with Ashley on fiddle, Adam on guitar, and Austin, as usual, on dobro. All three judges proclaimed their song the best of the night.
Now the stiff competition begins as all the bands left are quite good, have excellent musicianship and vocals, and are improving all the time. Next week bands tackle the songs of early rock & roll writing team Lieber and Stoller. Be sure to tune in Friday the 16th and phone in those votes!
You can watch previous weeks’ performances on the NGAB site.
Casey Henry has been keeping us up-to-date as this American Idol spin-off competition rolls along, as two of the eight remaining contestants are bluegrass or grassy acts. If you want to see The Clark Brothers and Cliff Wagner and the Old #7 move on to next week, be sure to tune in and vote!
Tonight’s show airs at 8:00 p.m. (EST), and the bands will each perform an original song, and a Billy Joel cover.
Go bluegrass!
