Original acoustic music from the center of the Bluegrass world high in the mountains of Central Oregon

13 MP3 Songs in this album (48:17) !
Related styles: COUNTRY: Bluegrass, FOLK: Traditional Folk



Details:
Each of these songs is original, written by one of the band. Each has itâs own story, based on some noteworthy event, person, or place. Some of the stories are obvious, such âWheeler County Waltz,â âHomeless and Lonely,â âRocks of Agesâ (about the town of Fossil where Jayâs family homesteaded 5 generations ago), or âBlond Haired Girl,â about the Alexanderâs beloved golden lab âMaggieâ who joined us on stage at the Wheeler County Bluegrass Festival in Fossil. Jay was inspired to write âMisty Riverâ as a tribute to the Misty River Band, but the story in this song as well as in âThis Old Fiddleâ tells of his familyâs immigration to Oregon beginning in 1844. Eric wrote âEthanol Bluesâ after he and Marlene visited their childhood territory in Missouri in 2007, when corn prices shot through the ceiling and every available piece of tillable ground was growing corn. âRoad Killâ is from the classic bluegrass genre about love gone bad. Loren got his first mandolin AFTER joining the band, and shortly thereafter composed a sweet little tune that he named âSallyâs Waltzâ. .He subsequently wrote âLarissaâ named after a village in Greece in recognition of the Mediterranean flavor of this tune. âWhoâs the One to Blameâ touches on some universal themes of Bluegrass and country music, but tells a true story, as so many songs do. And finally, the title track, âSmall Country Townsâ was written on the morning after the Wheeler County Bluegrass Festival, while Fossil was still slumbering after 3 wonderful days and nights of great music. We hope you enjoy listening to the music as much as we have enjoyed preparing it for you.
Acknowledgements:
Not long ago, four neighbors from Quincy Street in Bend, Oregon, discovered the fun of trying to make music together. But that alone could not bring us to where we are todayâa bunch of old farts forming a fledgling band that has responded to requests for a recording of some of our songs by releasing our first CD. Carol Harley from the great Misty River Band has been an inspiration to all of us. It was Carol who introduced us to bluegrass summer school where we learned instrumental and vocal techniques from Laurie Lewis and the wonderful faculty at Steve Ruffoâs âBluegrass at the Beach.â We also appreciate the constant support and encouragement weâve received from some of our heroes like Dale Adkins whom weâve seen playing in too many bands to list here; musician, sound engineer and promoter of bluegrass--Ken Cartright; and the crazy but wonderful guys of the Great Northern Planes. And especially, we thank our âband coachâ Kate Mackenzie, who has taught us way more than we can enumerate here.
We also thank our families and friends for encouragement and for listening to us.