Reviews
Capital B
When it comes to the nearly all-original material on this Milwaukee-based band’s second album, the term youthful exuberance comes to mind. The MilBillies’ (that’s with a CAPITAL “B,” mind you!) music is shot through with humor, rowdiness, wild times and angst. There’s an almost punkish, hard-partying edge to some of the ragged vocals, frenetic playing…
Remembered
Appalachian Reign was formed in 1975 by Washington, DC area musician Tom Knowles. Between 1976 and 1984 Knowles and the band played many of the DC area venues, clubs and festivals. This project is a retrospect of those years that Knowles had the band and the cuts are culled from cassette tapes of some of…
Stories Of Valor
Maryland’s Roger Cline has put together a nice collection of mostly original material on this new project of stories about bravery, courage, tenacity and about those who have it. He is joined here by a host of musicians including: Scott Freeman (mandolin), Debbie Durant & Tom Hensler (bass), Gary Hultman (resonator guitar), John Scott Walker…
The Life and Work of Lloyd Allayre Loar
Lloyd Loar stands, like Mario Maccaferri and Gibson’s Ted McCarty and Leo Fender, as one of the foundational stringed instrument designers in recent history. His acoustic engineering advancements in Gibson’s mandolin family instruments in the 1920s created (inadvertently) the ultimate bluegrass mandolin design—the legendary F-5 played by everyone from Bill Monroe to Wyatt Ellis. …
Together
Acoustic Disc Downloads Being a long-time lover of great guitar playing, I’ve often tried to seek out the best of the best. I thought I’d heard all there was until I discovered the world of the flatpicking virtuosos. Two of the legends, Tony and Wyatt Rice have come together in this incomparable work of Americana,…
Making The Connection
The band’s name is taken from the town of Roxboro, North Carolina where the band is based. Formed by mandolinist Ricky Stroud, the group includes Cliff Waddell (guitar), Bailey Moore (bass), David Nance (resonator guitar), and Ronald Smith (banjo). Both Stroud and Waddell are veterans of the Hagar’s Mountain boys, while Smith played a long…