Original, Old-time Blugrass music from an exciting band recorded live in front of an enthusiastic audience.

18 MP3 Songs
COUNTRY: Bluegrass, COUNTRY: Country Folk



Details:
Mandolinist Bill Powers is focusing his four string banjo, Shelley Grayâs precision bass playing, Cory Obertâs fiery fiddling and Rob Millerâs solid guitar pickinâ in a Herculean effort to explain Sweet Sunny Southâs distinctive and hard-hitting sound. He then sighs, draws a deep breath and momentously utters, âActually, a lot of it comes from lack of knowing what we are doing.â

The rest of the band bursts into raucous laughter, happy that Bill has finally gotten to the heart of the matter. âWe just got lucky,â Shelley flashes one of her trademark smiles.

âWe were striving for that hard core traditional bluegrass sound, but we never quite got there,â Bill elaborates, still grinning.

A growing legion of fans are elated the band never quite âgot there.â Sweet Sunny Southâs sound is tempered by equal parts bluegrass and old-time with healthy doses of imagination, humor and zaniness thrown in for good measure. Itâs also a sound thatâs deeply rooted in the past. âIn our little town, the history and the present are constantly meeting,â Bill insightfully observes. âWeâd like to think weâre presenting something new thatâs tied to the past.â

The bandâs debut disc, Bell Creek Dance Club, a tribute to an old dance club that sat just outside the bandâs small Western Slope hometown of Paonia, Colorado, does just that. Producer Adam Burke skillfully intertwined snippets of interviews from folks who had frequented that infamous haunt in between a plethora of arresting originals from Bill and Rob along with a handful of old-time tunes. The result is a work of art that succeeds not only musically, but stands on its own as an important historical document. âThat album has really bridged a gap in the community,â Shelly proudly states, somewhat surprised by the universal acclaim that has been heaped on the project. âItâs brought people together who ordinarily never would have had any contact with one another.â

That sense of community has been vital to the groupâs vibrancy and continued existence. âThis band never would have gotten off the ground without community support,â Shelley says gratefully. âWe have a lot of businesses and groups that sponsor us and we, [in turn], do benefits for them.â

Pull your rig on in and park it/At Paoniaâs Homestead Market/For the finest natural meat that you can get
Just come on in and meet us/Thereâs no other meat can beat us/And youâll be back again you can bet

. . . the band sings approvingly of The Homestead Market, a group of local ranchers who banded to together to open Paoniaâs beloved meat market. âItâs the best [meat] you can get and it comes from right here,â Bill marvels, the mere mention of the store causing hyperactive salivary glands in all within earshot. âThat jingle has become one of our most requested numbers. âIt really gets peopleâs attention.â

In fact, the bandâs prowess with jingle creation has earned them several other eager clients along with a win in the New Belgium Breweryâs Fat Tire Beer âWhatâs Your Follyâ contest. As their reward for penning the winning jingle, Sunny Southâs likeness will be emblazoned on millions of beer coasters nationwide.

Besides their entrepreneurial flair, the group is well known for its exciting and exhilarating stage show. With tunes like Billâs original, âCochetopa Ropadopaâ (Billâs surreal look at a car chase between James Brown and Muhammad Ali over Cochetopa Pass complete with lines like âwrestle with an alligator/tussle with a whaleâ) in their repertoire, no one in the audience walks away unhappy. âI just love the idea of juxtaposing old time music with the likes of James Brown and Muhammad Ali, two of the most unlikely figures you would expect in any sort of old time or bluegrass song,â Bill remarks.

The other reason everyone smiles at every Sweet Sunny South gig is . . . Shelley, the ânewestâ member of the band. âShe really completed what we had going on,â Bill waxes rhapsodically. âWhenever weâre lost and donât know what weâre doing, sheâs just thumping away on the bass, rocking out, grooving and smiling from ear to ear. I swear half the people come and see us just to see her do that.â

âThey even tell us that to our faces,â Cory shakes his head in mock incredulity.

âYou canât watch her play and not feel good,â Bill opines.

Besides being the bandâs âbusiness guru,â fastest string changer, Rob has helped the band, as Bill succinctly puts it, âthink outside of the box and operate outside the box.â That visionary thinking has helped propel the band to the forefront of a new breed of genre-obliterating groups such as The Wilders, Old Crow Medicine Show and The Biscuit Burners. Itâs a work ethic that has led to two additional mesmerizing projects on the bandâs own Two Dolla Recca label, Wild ân Swinginâ (in 2005) and the just released Live at the Radio Room. Itâs an approach that has led the IBMA to extend an invitation to Sweet Sunny South to showcase its wares at the annual Trade Show in the fall of 2006. âIt really comes down to the fact my version of reality just isnât as solid as everyone elseâs,â Rob humorously interjects. âI believe you can just paint the whole picture over if you donât like it.â

Written By, Dave Higgs
For Bluegrass Now, Bands to Watch
August 2006