A long-established Atlanta-based string band playing old-time music right in the groove, and singing the songs which formed the roots of country and bluegrass.

16 MP3 Songs
COUNTRY: Bluegrass, COUNTRY: Traditional Country



Details:
Based in the Atlanta, Georgia area, the Peavine Creek String Band has been in existence in some form since 1976, and the current configuration has been together since 1996. We play old-time music for contra dancing and square dancing. We also perform in concert at festivals (Bear on the Square, the Roswell Heritage Festival, among others) coffee houses, private parties and wedding receptions, singing a varied collection of old country songs. We play regularly for the Chattahoochee Country Dancers and have played for dances in many venues in the Southeast.

We began singing when our good friend Lewis Wills was in the band. We lovingly dedicate this CD to Lewis, now of Asheville, North Carolina. Lewis shaped the band, and taught us so much about old-time music and traditions.

Doug Olsen plays the 1966 Martin D-35 guitar that he got while still in high school, as well as a custom 2003 Altman guitar made in Georgia. Doug played trumpet in elementary, middle, and high school. He has played guitar (folk music, blues) since high school, and learned mandolin and string bass in middle age. He studied music theory in junior college, where he met Cindy. He played mandolin and sang for several years with Courthouse Creek, a bluegrass band in the Atlanta area.

John Anderson began playing the clarinet in 5th grade and played for two years in the University of Minnesota marching band. John began playing harmonica and later guitar during the 1960's folk music revival. He has played 5-string banjo since 1972 and 4-string plectrum banjo since 1987. John was a founding member of the Peavine Creek String Band, which was named after the stream flowing through his backyard. In addition, John plays bass clarinet in the Callanwolde Concert Band and clarinet, plectrum banjo and harmonica with the Dots, a polka band. He enjoys playing chord melody style on tenor ukulele and customizing harmonicas.

Ann Whitley played violin all through public school in North Carolina, and began playing fiddle in 1985. She has studied old-time fiddle and singing at the Augusta Heritage Workshops and at The Swannanoa Gathering. She has played with The Peavine Creek String Band since 1989, and was with the Atlanta Swamp Opera, a Cajun band, from their beginnings in 1988 until her retirement from the band in the fall of 2001 to focus on old-time and country music. She also plays with Atlantaâs Smoke & Mirrors, Wing and a Prayer, and sings with The Divas. Ann plays a fiddle made by Bob Kogut of Lenoir, North Carolina.

Cindy Olsen played trumpet in elementary, middle, and high school. She then majored in Music Education (trumpet) at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. Cindy has played guitar since high school, and uses it frequently when leading songs in elementary school classrooms and when singing in Peavine's concert sets. She learned bass in middle age.

Albert Smith was an original member of the Peavine Creek String Band, along with John Anderson, Lynda Anderson, and Whit Connah. The name was first used as a contest name at the Galax Old-Time Fiddlerâs Convention back in 1976. Albert played bass and sang in the duo, Whit and Albert, which evolved into the band, Hurt Dog, and then into Hair of the Dog. He also plays fiddle and sings with The Peachtree Rattlers. Albert plays an old Sears-Roebuck fiddle his daddy bought in 1938 for $6.00. Albert's musical heroes include Ray Charles, Little Richard, Big Joe Turner, Lewis Wills, Bruce Molsky, and Greg Hooven.