Taking their cue from such harmonizers as Fleetwood Mac, The Mamas and The Papas, and CSNY, The Near Myths are eclectic New Millennium vagabond mongrels, infusing traditional folk-rock and pop with a thoroughly contemporary sensibility.

13 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Americana, FOLK: Folk-Rock

Details:
Katy Adams - acoustic 12-string guitar, vocals
Jim Clark - acoustic guitar, banjo, pennywhistle, harmonica, vocals
Ben Greene - acoustic 6 & 12-string guitar, harmonica, vocals
Bernadette Greene - keyboards, vocals
Andy Oglesby - acoustic & electric guitar, vocals
Terry âTeepâ Phillips - acoustic 6 & 12-string guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar, mandolin, bass, harmonica, drums, hairy drum, rattlesnake rattle, vocals

Matthew Adams - drums (Words to Burn)

Phil Valera - co-producer, engineer, keyboards, tambourine, vibraslap, cowbell


The Story of The Near Myths


In 1976, Jim and Ben, both fresh from undergraduate experiences in Tennessee, wound up in Greensboro, NC, in the MFA Writing Program at UNC-Greensboro. The aspiring poets quickly became friends, and eventually roommates. Ben had left behind many good friends in the Knoxville/Jefferson City axis, and Jim also had many good friends in the Knoxville area. The two made numerous trips together during breaks to East Tennessee (oh, the stories they could tell!), and eventually their two sets of friends intermingled. One of Benâs East Tennessee friends was Teep, who also quickly became one of Jimâs friends, and one of Jimâs East Tennessee friends was Larry, who also quickly became one of Benâs friends (and Teepâs too). Larry, though not a Near Myth, will play a significant role later.

Meanwhile, in Greensboro, Ben and Jim met Jane, who quickly became their good friend. Jane lived across the hall from Andy, and Katy was her best friend. The three of them would sometimes play music together. Andy, Jane, Katy, and Jim eventually played together in a band called Rough Mix. Ben would jam with them sometimes, and they worked up a killer version of one of Benâs early original tunes, âTheme from Cheap (Cheap Suitinâ).â

By 1980, Rough Mix had come to an end, and Ben and Jim left Greensboro. Ben returned to his home state of SC, and Jim eventually headed out to Denver in a desperate attempt to remain a college student. In 1984, while Jim was in Denver, Larry and Ben blew through the Mile High City to hang with Jim, in the early stages of their Great North American Last Fling Tour in Larryâs VW microbus. They got as far as the west coast of Vancouver Island where Ben met Bernadette, whom he eventually married. After that, everybody got kind of busy for a number of years, though all of them remained at least marginally in touch with some of them.

In 2004 a planetary alignment occurred, overseen by an angel named Jane, which compelled Ben, Bernadette, Teep, Katy, and Andy to pilgrimage to Wilson, NC, where Jim was now living, to record an album of original songs with the nearly mythical Phil Valera as producer. Old friendships were renewed, and those that hadnât yet met did, and it was all good. They named their album WILSON, and vowed to keep at it until they were too old to rock and roll.

The story continues . . . In the spring of 2005, Andy was diagnosed with cancer. Sadly, he passed away on July 3, 2006, but not before recording guitar and vocal tracks for three new songs which will be included on The Near Myths' second album, WORDS TO BURN, named after a phrase from one of Andy's new songs. To us, he'll always be a Near Myth.

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