News/Thoughts

Monthly Archives: August 2018

Hard Drivin’ Carolina String Band

Calling Town Mountain a hard drivin’ Carolina string band is just the beginning of the story. While at first glance, one could assume they are a straight up bluegrass band, from about the first chord, you know you’re in for more than just another bluegrass concert. Not that this is a bad thing, but in this case, the fellas from ...

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The Nouveaux Honkies

When pressed for how one would classify the duet known as The Nouveaux Honkies, co-founder, Tim O’Donnell, called it, “mother lovin’, country folkin’, blues.” He and his partner in crime, Rebecca Dawkins met at a jam, recalls Tim. “Florida got slammed with four hurricanes in 2004. My business got leveled and I was hustling to pay bills. Rebecca had just ...

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Attitude Matters On The Road

As musicians, we have all spent time playing with other musicians as a band member or the lead. The adage that wrangling band members is like herding cats can definitely be true. Ultimately it comes down to attitude, and a good attitude always pays off. Following are a few examples of experiences I have had. I am hoping that if ...

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Family Bluegrass Favorites

What originally started out as simply a way for the Harris family to enjoy music together, has now become one of the top touring family bands on the bluegrass scene today. Originally known as the Harris Family Band, the now well known Trinity River Band has landed several top songs and several industry awards. Sarah Harris, the oldest of the ...

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The Music Of Spayed Koolie

Central Florida is home to the guys from Spayed Koolie, and Americana/country/southern rock band who borrows its name from famed 1940’s swing fiddler Spade Cooley. Fiddler Neal Phillips spent some time with us recently, talking about the heritage of his hip band who’s opened for Montgomery-Gentry, Kellie Pickler, 38 Special, and Charlie Daniels, just to name a few. “We like ...

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Back To Her Roots

The northern most reaches of Appalachia; the hills of southwestern Pennsylvania, were the music launching pad for Cindy “Cindy G” Giejda. She started playing folk and bluegrass as a teenager. Her father, a bluegrass fiddle player himself, encouraged her to play guitar. Cindy recalls her dad helping her decide on an instrument for the school band when she was in ...

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Banjo Bones

Sacramento California is home to singer/songwriter JL “Pepe” Espada, a.k.a. Banjo Bones. With a music career that spans nearly 40 years, including work in Central America, Japan and the Washington DC area, has a new record out, called Ghostly Musings From the Delta. He started playing music when he was 10, and in his first band by the time he ...

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“Hardest Working Band”

As music genre’s change, so do musicians if they hope to stay active and relevant. Rock is one of those genre’s, in recent years, that has struggled to find a groove with ever changing audiences. Bands like Wayland, priding themselves on timeless vocal melodies and crisp guitar licks, that are becoming far and few between. Formed in 2010, they were ...

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New York’s Vincent Poag

Born and raised in a blue-collar section of Massapequa, Long Island in the 1950’s, Vincent Poag’s influences run deep, and include the music of Gershwin, Porter and Rogers and Hammerstein, along with crooners like Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, and even 60’s icons Bob Dylan and the Beatles. Vincent got his first guitar about the age of eight. By the ...

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A Fiddlers Dream Holiday

Over the years, I have come in contact with folks who have traveled as tourists to Ireland; and I have known folks who have lived as expatriates or who have done an extended work assignment for several years in that emerald green land. Most folks who have ever trod that special place yearn for a chance to return to the ...

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