Bluegrass Saturday Night - Nashville Style

It was an evening of contrasts and perhaps too easy comparisons. Two singer/songwriters, one a rising and talented woman coming back into the performing world and the other a storied singer and writer of hits who's a legend in both bluegrass and country music. Two husband-wife teams with highly listenable voices supported by strong bands. And, finally, two performances worth treasuring in contrasting venues that shared good sound, a welcoming environment, and fine entertainment.

Donna Ulisse & The Poor Mountain Boys

at

Douglas Corner Cafe

 

The Douglas Corner Cafe´ is a drab looking building in an easily missed Nashville neighborhood. Inside, the room presents a well-lit dark stage and quite good sound. Drinks are served and a light menu, but the emphasis here is on the music. Since we heard Donna Ulisse at an IBMA official showcase last year, her reputation has grown through frequent air play on country and bluegrass stations and her band has grown into a tight and entertaining ensemble. Ulisse's mellow, warm, full voice is a perfect instrument for singing the country tinged bluegrass songs she writes.

Rick Stanley & Donna Ulisse

Greg Davis 

Jon Martin

Scott Neubert

Bobby King

While she's been successful in Nashville since the 1980's as a contract songwriter and singer on demos as well as doing backup work, she has only recently embarked on a solo career. With her husband Rick Stanley (Dr. Ralph's cousin) she has formed The Poor Mountain Boys and begun recording again after a hiatus of nearly twenty years. Songs like “Walk This Mountain Down,” “I Lied,” and “Calling Heaven Down” have received well-deserved air play and show her versatility and talent as a song writer. The band, with Rick singing lead, contributed good ensemble singing in “Hallelujah, I'm Ready” as well as showing top notch instrumentals. With Scot Neubert on Dobro and guitar, Greg Davis on banjo, Jon Martin on guitar, and Bobby King on bass, the band provides Ulisse with very good support. Her voice complements the band and the mix is very effective. Keith Sewell, who produces Ulisse's recordings, sand three very effective solos, including one with his wife Wendy. Donna Ulisse deserves continued attention as a bluegrass singer/songwriter. She and her band are expanding their repertoire and their range, and will be performing at festivals in the coming year. Take a look for this group when they're near you.

Wendy and Keith Sewell

 Donna

 

Ronnie Bowman & the Committee

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The Station Inn

 

  We hopped back in the truck, programmed the GPS and headed over to The Station Inn, hurrying because we were, typically, worried that we wouldn't be able to get a good seat. Also typically, after struggling to find a nearby parking spot, we walked into the room to pretty much our choice of seats. People attending events at The Station Inn who want to listen carefully to the music, would be well-advised to find seating as far away from the bar as possible, as there's always a party buzz emanating from there. For us, however, mobility trumps quiet. The Station Inn is a “Must Visit” venue for bluegrass fans coming to Nashville. It's not a place you would stumble across while wandering through Nashville. But a good map, or better still, a GPS will take you to its door. Open seven days a week, you might find almost any bluegrass band performing. On some nights there are two different shows, one at seven the next at nine thirty with cover charges ranging from $0 to $20. The Mashville Brigade is an all-star pick-up band that plays traditional bluegrass on Tuesday nights. The Time Jumpers play country and western swing on Monday nights. The pizza is edible and there's plenty of beer. What more could anyone ask? For the past six years Ronnie Bowman & the Committee have done a “welcome to Nashville for IBMA” show.

Ronnie Bowman

Garnet Imes Bowman

Ronnie Bowman's career has been studded by huge success. He performed with Lost & Found before joining The Lonesome River Band where he was featured on the IBMA award winning “Carrying the Tradition” album. He's been recognized as IBMA male vocalist of the year three times. Two of his songs were taken to number one by Brooks & Dunn and Kenny Chesney and one of his songs can be found on Lee Ann Womack's “I Hope You Dance” multi-platinum album. By any account, Bowman is one of Nashville's stars. At The Station Inn he came across as warm, friendly, funny, authentic, and delightful. He sang a range of traditional bluegrass covers and lots of his own songs. His band was strong at every instrument. Garnet Imes Bowman, Ronnie's wife of nine years, and Chris Harris, a fine young mandolinist and singer (who also writes songs) provide the backup, and each offered proof of their solo skills. Rob McCoury is one of the most accomplished traditional bluegrass banjo players on the scene, well known for his work in his father's band, was a standout playing on his own mic and frequently featured by Bowman. Harris, only twenty-three years old, is a HOSS on mandolin. Jimmy Stewart on Dobro added depth and strength to the band along with a first rate solo on “Freeborn Man.” Greg Martin was strong on bass.

Ronnie and Garnet

Ronnie

Chris Harris

Rob McCoury

Jimmy Stewart

Greg Martin

Garnet

It would be impossible to mention all the highlights in this evening filled with them. “The Man I'm Trying Be,” “One Life,” and the frightening “Here I Am,” written with Sean Lane were standouts for us, but there were so many they just can't be listed. An evening of music with Ronnie Bowman is a rare treat, since he doesn't tour much or perform that often, probably due to his extremely busy writing career, but obviously enjoys it when he does. For us, the last few years have been filled with musical and personal highlights associated with bluegrass music. This performance joins the highlight list easily.

 

 

 

Adam Steffey Release Party at the Station Inn

The Adam Steffey release party at the Station Inn early on Thursday evening provided those attending with a rare opportunity. Solo projects are usually put together in the studio and the bands participating in them never, or rarely, see the light of day. Adam's new project, “One More for the Road,” is important enough and good enough to draw a standing room crowd to the Station Inn and leave them screaming for more when it was over. Hosted by Sugar Hill Records and broadcast live over WSM radio in the period preceding the Thursday evening Grand Old Opry program, the event was a hit and launched this exciting project, which hit the streets on Tuesday. I'll be writing about the CD after IBMA. For now, suffice it to say that it's better than very good, filled with new tunes, played by a first rate band, filled with guest artists, and dominated by Adam Steffey's mandolin picking and imposing voice.

The Band

Adam Steffey

Ron Stewart

Barry Bales

Clay Hess

Justin Moses

Randy Kohrs

Tina Steffey

Adam

Not everyone appearing on the CD performed last night, but, with the exception of Justin Moses, everyone on the stage is also on the CD. The atmosphere was electric. It's hard to point specifically to any performer when the on-stage band doesn't have a hole in it. I'd never heard Ron Stewart so powerful on the banjo. Maybe it was just something I hadn't paid enough attention to. Clay Hess was powerful and accurate on guitar, fine singing lead on one song and strong on harmony vocals. Barry Bales on bass was beyond solid, always providing the powerful beat along with standing out while staying in the background – a tough task. Justin Moses on fiddle and harmony vocals was his usual reliable self. Randy Kohrs, on resonator, was his usual intense and always in motion self. His backup play provided at wealth of power to the wall of sound created by this band, and his solos were lightning fast, interesting, tasteful, and more. Tina Steffey ably played clawhammer banjo on one song, bringing skill as well as beauty to the affair.

Adam Steffey, seven time IBMA mandolin player of the year and nominated again this year, dominated the event, as he should have on his own project. He has a vibrant and winning stage personality which is always in evidence. His mandolin play stands as a model for others, traditional yet adding to the music. Because Adam is such a superb mandolin player, he may not get enough credit of his very good singing. He has a warm and resonant bass-baritone voice with a broad range and rich timbre. When he performs, his joy in the moment is obvious to anyone lucky enough to see him work.

The Scene

Ronnie Bowman and Garnet Imes Bowman

Donica Christensen and John Weissburger

Chris Harris

WSM Interview with Adam

Susan Smith Trianosky (Tina Steffey's Mom)

One of the joys of attending an event at The Station Inn is the scene itself. Located in an unassuming neighborhood just off the interstate highway and down the street from a strip club, The Station Inn is probably not a place a person would find if he weren't looking for it. Nevertheless, knowledgeable fans and lots of people in the music biz find their way there regularly. It was a pleasure to meet Lily Pawlak, here for IBMA from the Czech Republic, and to see lots of others we either know or recognized. It was particularly enjoyable to see young and up-and-coming mandolinist Chris Harris there, who tells me he's keeping busy and finding his way in his new venture as a song writer in Nashville. Sugar Hill folks Donica Christensen and Ryan Baker were busy and helpful. Ronnie Bowman and his delightful wife Garnet were very much in evidence. Josh Shilling, Stephen Mougin, Dave Blood, and many more were there. I shouldn't have started doing this, because I'm sure to have missed some people. A caterer who provided delicious small baloney, pork, and smoked sausage mini-sandwiches supplemented the usual pizza, popcorn, and beer menu of the Station Inn. People don't go there for fine dining, they go for the great music, and there's plenty of that. Check out their schedule and stop there next time you're in Nashville.

 Chris Stapleton, The Bowmans, and More

The Adam Steffey Band at the Station Inn

The release party was a great event for everyone who attended or listened live on WSM 650. “One More for the Road” is a first rate project and deserves close attention. More on that in a few weeks.

Grasstowne - "The Other Side of Towne" - CD Review

Two and a half years ago, three deeply experienced bluegrass musicians, reflecting on the sound they wanted to make and music they wanted to create, came together, put together a band, and called themselves Grasstowne. Alan Bibey, Steve Gulley, and Phil Leadbetter had each found success with top bands over a number of years. Each expressed, however, a certain dissatisfaction with the kind of music they had been making and wanted to commit himself to creating a unique, yet strongly tradition-based, sound. With their first CD, The Road Headin' Home, they set a strong standard for themselves. Now, after more than two years of touring, changes in the band only at bass, and a lot of thoughtful development, they have produced their eagerly awaited second album The Other Side of Towne. Combining their expected instrumental and vocal quality with an increased sense of who and what Grasstowne is, they've produced a well-rounded and highly listenable album that will provide hours of pleasure. With fourteen new songs, six of them written or co-written by Gulley or Bibey, the album has a distinctive Grasstowne sound and feel to it. Bibey and Gulley split the vocal responsibilities evenly, each singing lead on six songs and contributing fine vocal harmonies to each other's leads.

Grasstowne at Bluegrass on the Waccamaw, Conway, SC

Tobaccoville is just a few miles down the road from Alan Bibey's home town of Walnut Creek, NC. This instrumental allows Bibey to show his very highly regarded chops. He is an extremely subtle and complex mandolin player. As you watch him play, he almost makes it look too easy, throwing off licks and flourishes that many other mandolin players couldn't even conceive. Sometimes a small grin of satisfaction briefly crosses his face as he finishes a break, but then he's hard back at it. Other mandolin players may seem faster, but none combines his clarity of tone with taste and speed to create the marvelous sounds he produces. His picking is very much jazz informed, often distinguished by the spaces between the notes and the breathtaking syncopations. You have to wonder why his play has not received the nod from voters at IBMA after so many years of simply superb play. Solos by Jason Davis, Stuart Duncan, and Phil Leadbetter compliment the song, but “Tobaccoville Road” is vintage Alan Bibey. In each song he contributes the precise mandolin breaks required. His chop is always superlative. His high baritone voice has consistently improved in tone and confidence over time, showing itself to excellent advantage in this CD.

 Steve Gulley

Alan Bibey

 

Phil Leadbetter

Steve Gulley's voice is always distinctive. Riding down the road with XM/Syrius Bluegrass Junction playing in the background or sitting with my iPod on, his slightly dusky tenor leaps out and demands attention. In songs like “Laura Lie” and “Hard Workin' Man,” and “Sorrow Ain't Far Behind” (written with co-writer and IBMA award winning song writing partner Tim Stafford), Gulley demonstrates his versatility and the deep, soulful emotion with which he imbues each song he sings. On “Sorrow Ain't Far Behind,” a song with strong drive and an up-tempo, he captures the importance of enjoying the in-the-moment qualities of love, because we all know it isn't going to last. As we hear the door slam in the background behind Steve's voice in the Billy Sherrill/Norris Wilson lost love song “The Door,” we hear his heart break, too. Steve's concentration as he sings, often with rivulets of persperation rolling down his face, shows how much real emotion he puts into every song.

Jason Davis

  The a capella harmonies with Steve Gulley and Alan Bibey alternating lead on “Salvation of the Lord,” written by Michael Shawn Bartley, are breathtaking. Listening to the two singers weaving a vocal effect by melding their two voices together captures the sense of deep faith each is embued with as well as the effectiveness of their vocal combination. Terry Baucom's guest stint on bass vocal is welcome here. New bass player Dale Perry, added to the band since the recording was finished, will fulfill the need for a strong bass singer in future performances.

Steve Gulley & Alan Bibey at IBMA - 2008

Phil Leadbetter's work on resonator guitar is, as always beyond reproach. Not often spectacular, he nevertheless serves up tasty resonator solos and his rhythm work helps support the bass and mandolin with just right chops and fills. His solo on “Sorrow Ain't Far Behind” is wonderful. His work on “Heartbreak Express” (Buster Turner) sung by Alan is fast, tight, and just right. Leadbetter's style works most effectively because it draws attention to the song rather than the instrument alone, keeping the perspective of the listener in the correct place. In a short solo on Bibey's “The Day Hell Freezes Over” his lower register break puts a bottom under this very good “don't come runnin' back to me,” song. Phil is a master bandsman on an instrument that can too easily become intrusive. In his able hands, it always adds just what's needed to a song.

Alan Bibey

Jason Davis on the banjo continues his very fine work with Grasstowne in this CD. Jason joined Grasstowne when he was only nineteen years old, but even at that age he was an experienced and thoughtful contributer. Perhaps it's the mix or his increasing confidence in his mastery of the instrument, but he doesn't seem to need to allow his banjo to overwhelm in any of these songs. His impeccable rolls support every song with taste and great tone. In every way he embodies Earl Scruggs three banjo essentials – tone, taste, and timing. And perhaps that's what makes this entire effort a standout performance. Grasstowne never moves away from the groove it has found. Travis Greer, on bass and since moved on, provides a sturdy, realiable beat as well as some baritone vocals. Stuart Duncan, hardly a guest on this album since his fiddle is found on eleven of the fourteen tracks, is,nevertheless, listed as one. His work, as always, supports the music and communicates the essence of each song.

Steve Gulley

In sum, this sophomore entry by Grasstowne, The Other Side of Towne, serves as a much more than satisfactory successor to their first effort. It's filled with engaging new songs, lots of fine singing, and beyond excellent instrumentals. The band has found a comfortable groove and yet has been successful at extending its reach and range. It has grown into its ambitions and shows every sign of continuing to improve on an already admirable record of achievement, which, for some unknown reason, has continued to go un-noticed in terms of IBMA awards, except for Phil's current nominaton on resonator guitar. The CD is available directly from the band's web site, or all the other usual sources. As usual, I recommend purchasing or downloading the entire recording, as it shows significant planning and thought with no particular song standing alone as “the” single. This is a truly fine recording.

Phil Leadbetter