Artist: Twisted Pine
Hometown: Boston, MA
Song: "Willie's Lady"
Album: The Woolly Mammonth Sessions
Release Date: April 29
In Their Words: "'Willie's Lady' is a gem of a tune that we discovered while searching for material to perform in Scotland at Celtic Connections last year. Child ballads tend to have a lot of variations, so we plucked what we liked from a couple different versions, added our own bluegrass twist, and the end result was this!" — Rachel Sumner
Photo credit: Zoe Mitchell
With a little help from the Horse Bluegrass lyric-generating Twitter bot…
We looked down the line
Dear Nellie since I came here
Please don’t ever shine
When we were happy
The bright lights and bright and gay
Last night I know now
If I could I hear
No falsehood and no more wine
And the red shoes on
But still I find that
I'm taking you to jail if
you find me gone cold
Riding on a young
man, you better run, I know
you ain't living right
I shot my woman
with a false-hearted woman,
that I couldn't sleep
But I'll be a man
on that West Virginia line
My love was so blind
There she will wear the
robe and crown, and high on the
river at midnight
Now lie ‘neath the friends
that leads up to my home, and
I thought it was grand
The above is a work of satire. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental … although entirely likely.
Artist: Ashleigh Caudill
Hometown: Fort Collins, CO
Song: "Pork Pie Hat"
Album: Looney Bird
Release Date: April 1
In Their Words: "This one is about taking the long way, letting go of the stress and, sometimes, ambition … then turning up back where you started tired, broke, and wondering why things didn't stay the same while you were away." — Ashleigh Caudill
Photo credit: Scott Simontacchi
Artist: William Wild
Hometown: Knoxville, TN
Latest Album: Steady Now
Rejected Band Names: Newport Plain Talk. It’s the name of a paper in a neighboring city where my parents are from. The paper told me I couldn’t use the name, but now that I think about it … I should have used it.
What was the first record you ever bought with your own money?
Blink 182, Enema of the State
How many unread emails or texts currently fill your inbox?
A cumulative four messages — I’m on top of things these days!
If your life were a movie, which songs would be on the soundtrack?
"Dreams" — Fleetwood Mac
"Pink Moon" — Nick Drake
"Nevermind" – Nirvana
"City Lights" — Thomas Dybdhal
"Care of Cell 44" — The Zombies
"Pardon Me" – Incubus
"Dogs" – Damien Rice
"Be Here Now" — Ray Lamontagne
Heartbreaker – Ryan Adams (entire record)
This is silly … I could go all day.
What brand of jeans do you wear?
Raw … as can be.
What's your goto karaoke tune?
"Livin’ on a Prayer" or "Enter Sandman"
If you were a liquor, what would you be?
I really like to drink whiskey.
Poehler or Schumer?
Schumer, although sometimes I feel awkward.
Chocolate or vanilla?
Vanilla
Blues or bluegrass?
For some reason I want to say blues … but bluegrass!
In celebration of the label's 45th anniversary this year, Rounder Records is releasing a number of their most celebrated bluegrass albums digitally for the first time. The bulk release is part of an effort to digitize the label's extensive catalog, which encompasses a number of genres, including February's New Orleans-themed release of R&B, blues, jazz, and Cajun albums. It's an especially exciting move for the more tech-savvy bluegrass enthusiasts, as the majority of these albums are currently not available for streaming online.
"The bluegrass part of the Rounder catalog is large and deep, encompassing major figures in second generation bluegrass, up through today's stars," Rounder co-founder Marian Leighton Levy says. "These titles are additionally significant for containing many now-classic albums, from 'Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard' to Del McCoury and Sons to the Doc Watson Family, to banjo greats Tony Trischka and Béla Fleck, and dobro standouts Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes. Add to that groups no longer recording, but who had huge influence on today's music — Connie and Babe, Lynn Morris, the Johnson Mountain Boys, and the Bluegrass Album Band — and you wind up with a broad range of classic early titles from the Rounder bluegrass catalog.”
"Every once in a while, we are provided an opportunity to step back and marvel at the many musicians we have been honored to work with over the years," Rounder co-founder Bill Nowlin adds. "We're naturally pleased to have embarked upon a program of bringing more and more albums from our vast catalog into digital availability. We hope the project will bring fresh appreciation to some of these albums, and that many people will be able to hear them for the first time.”
Leighton and Nowlin founded Rounder Records with Ken Irwin in 1970. Since then, the label has become one of the most essential independent labels around, winning 51 Grammys in only 45 years. Check out the full list of newly available titles (now on Amazon and iTunes), and look for a fresh batch of bluegrass albums in August.
In the meantime, grab this free compilation from Rounder, celebrating their 45th anniversary:
Upcoming Rounder Bluegrass Reissues:
Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard: Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard
Dan Crary: Lady's Fancy
Byron Berline: Dad's Favorites
Nashville Bluegrass Band (compilation)
Tony Trischka & Béla Fleck: Solo Banjo Works
The Lynn Morris Band: The Bramble & the Rose
The Del McCoury Band: Blue Side of Town
The Johnson Mountain Boys: Blue Diamond
The Cox Family: Everybody's Reaching Out for Someone
Connie & Babe and the Backwoods Boys: Down the Road to Home
Ronnie & Rob McCoury: Ronnie & Rob McCoury
The Doc Watson Family: Tradition
Bobby Osborne, the Rocky Top X-Press: Bluegrass Melodies
The Clinch Mountain Boys, Ralph Stanley: Can't You Hear the Mountains Calling
John Hartford: Good'le Days: Essential Recordings
The Louvin Brothers: Songs That Tell a Story
The Stanley Brothers: Earliest Recordings: The Complete Rich-R-Tone 78s (1947-1952)
James King: Bed by the Window
Rob Ickes: Slide City
Dry Branch Fire Squad: Memories That Bless and Burn
The Bluegrass Album Band: Lonesome Moonlight: Songs of Bill Monroe
Artist: Town Mountain
Hometown: Asheville, NC
Song: “Comin' Back to You”
Album: Southern Crescent
Release Date: April 1
Label: LoHi Records
In Their Words: "'Comin' Back to You' is a tune about traveling and being away from the one you love. So many of these types of tunes are slow and sad … I thought it appropriate to arrange mine more upbeat boogie woogie, because I love being on the road!” — Robert Greer
Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither
There's nothing quite like a great, vintage documentary. And one about bluegrass? Well, that's documentary gold, in our opinion. So we were pretty excited to find That's Bluegrass, a late '70s/early '80s documentary that explores the genre's front porch origins and features footage of Jimmy Martin, Ralph Stanley, Lester Flatt, and more.
Director John G. Thomas captures the landscape — physically, in beautiful shots of Appalachia, and spirtitually, by showing the deep roots of the genre's community — through 53 minutes of live performances, candid interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage. Highlights include a young Marty Stuart playing mandolin for Lester Flatt, some insider scoop on Earl Scruggs wanting to hire a guy named "Bill" (that's Monroe, for those of you playing along at home), and footage of Dr. Ralph Stanley, now 88, back in his younger years. Performances include "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" and "The Ballad of Jed Clampett," the latter of which you likely recognize from the classic television show The Beverly Hillbillies.
It's so good that Rhonda Vincent herself stumbled upon it, posting a link to Facebook and citing one of the film's best moments — Lester Flatt singing the theme song for Martha White baking products. The documentary also contains the last filmed interview with Flatt before his 1979 death from heart failure at the age of 64.
Check out the trailer and watch That's Bluegrass in its entirety over at Vimeo — a couple bucks if you want to rent it, a few more if you'd like to make it yours forever.
That's Bluegrass from Echelon Studios on Vimeo.
Artist: Laney Jones
Hometown: Mount Dora, FL
Song: "Who Could Love"
Album: Laney Jones
Release Date: March 11
In Their Words: "This song is a kind of personal revelation. I come from a traditional music background, playing mostly bluegrass and old-time songs when I was just starting out. As I wrote more and worked on my own sound, I found myself drifting away from those genres. At first, I felt really bad, because I didn't want to betray any of my fans who love that music, but at the same time, I knew I needed to evolve. I couldn't keep imitating those great roots artists and legends I had emulated. It would always just be an imitation.
Although its lyrics seem bleak, this song really affirms that you have to be yourself. I think you can still hear the roots influence, even though this new album sounds more modern and indie rock. I'm proud of my clawhammer banjo work on this song, and I just love bringing it into different contexts." — Laney Jones
Photo credit: Darin Back
Artist: Polecat
Hometown: Bellingham, WA
Song: "Four Leaf Clover"
Album: Into the Wind
Release Date: March 11
In Their Words: “'Four Leaf Clover' is about the challenges of being an artist, the search for recognition, and the thoughts of folks who had that recognition in the past, and how hard it is for them to try and reclaim it.” — Aaron Guest
Artist: Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen with Del McCoury
Hometown: Alexandria, VA
Song: "Pretty Woman"
Album: Family Friends & Heroes
Release Date: March 4
Label: Compass Records
In Their Words: "I’ve always loved Roy Orbison’s 'Pretty Woman.' Probably got my affinity for Roy from my mother. She always loved his songs and even sang a couple of them. So, I got the crazy idea to record 'Pretty Woman,' all the while wondering who could I get to sing the duet/tenor part throughout with me. The first person that came to mind was Del McCoury. Luckily, he was willing and able.
What a thrill to have such a bluegrass powerhouse singing with me! Del was extremely gracious and humble in the studio. Pretty much anywhere I have a chance to say hello to him, he’s a regal as they come — a gentleman indeed. Danny Booth laid down the law on the bass, Chris Luquette killed it on the guitar, and Mike Munford is as tasteful and exciting on the banjo as anyone could ever wish to be. This track kicks off the new record, and I feel like it’s a vibe that anyone can connect to. There’s even a taste of 'Day Tripper' that made it’s way into the arrangement and an extended jam that will thrill the bluegrassers, the jam-grassers, the new-grassers, and beyond. Maybe we should just call it 'All-grass,'" — Frank Solivan
Photo Credit: Chester Simpson
