Appalachian Smoke

The members of Appalachian Smoke all hail from the area of Southern Appalachia and their music invokes both the traditional and contemporary feelings and styles of the region. The band is BJ Taylor (mandolin, octave mandolin, vocals), Mikel Laws (banjo, guitar, vocals), Jamie Mason (guitar, banjo, vocals), Kenneth Rymer (resophonic guitar, vocals), and Tim Williams (bass, vocals). All the members are songwriters and players and the majority of the selections on this project are originals from the band members. 

BJ Taylor’s contributions include “Growing Lonely,” “The Scenic Road,” “The Way The Crow Flies,” “Bone Valley,” and “Maggie On My Mind.” From Tim Williams there is “Good At Gone,” and “Nashville Blues,” and Mikel Laws offers “Don’t Wash Away Our Home,” and “There Goes My Heart Again.” The one cover is the Gospel song “Dig A Little Deeper In God’s Love” by Kenneth Morris. 

While maintaining the roots of their music, the band is able to infuse their own influences into the music, both vocally and instrumentally. The tunes are delivered with good lyrics and arrangements that reflect the band’s origins and the vocals are nicely shared and tight in both lead and with the harmonies. This is a very good new project from Appalachian Smoke.

www.appalachiansmokemusic.com