Articles

IRENE KELLEY PENNSYLVANIA COAL Patio Records No Number Singer/songwriter Irene Kelley travels through her past on a musical journey with Pennsylvania Coal. The stage is set visually with a photo on the back of the CD of her coal-mining grandfather (to whom she pays tribute) and other miners at the mouth of the Crabtree, Pa.,…

ACOUSTIC STORIES: PICKING FOR THE PREZ (AND OTHER UNAMPLIFIED TALES)—BY BILL AMATNEEK—Vineyards Press, No Number. Second edition, enlarged & revised, $27. (Vineyards Press, P.O. Box 716, Sebastopol, CA 95473, www.vineyardspress.com.) Bassist Bill Amatneek has had an incredible career playing behind artists in a variety of genres, from blues to bluegrass, folk to country rock, and…

DRIVEN YOU’LL BE LONELY, I’LL BE GONE No Label No Number In contrast to their 2011 debut that focused on recasting old standards, Driven has made a complete about face, writing all 12 songs for their follow-up. Ten of those are from bassist Blake McLemore, while banjoist James Campbell contributed the ballad-tune “Matfield Green” and…

SOLO FLATPICKING GUITAR—TAUGHT BY ROLLY BROWN—Stefan Grossman Guitar Workshop GW1012. Ninety minutes, $29.95. (Stefan Grossman Workshop, P.O. Box 802, Sparta, NJ 07871, www.guitarvideos.com.) While readers here may be more interested in playing within the context of a band, this ninety-minute DVD on solo flatpicking guitar techniques is a valuable and well-taught introduction to the fundamentals…

ALL-TIME FAVORITE PARKING LOT PICKER’S GUITAR SOLOS—BY DIX BRUCE—Mel Bay 9780786685257. CD included, 95 pp., $24.99. (Mel Bay, #4 Industrial Dr., Pacific, MO 63069, www.melbay.com.) It might be easy to confuse this book/CD set with another of the author Dix Bruce’s books called The Parking Lot Picker’s Songbook, also on Mel Bay Publications. The operative…

TERRY BAUCOM NEVER THOUGHT OF LOOKING BACK Johnboy and Billy 2013    I have been putting off writing this review and driving around listening to Terry Baucom’s rock solid Never Thought Of Looking Back for weeks. Since the album is such a great listen, I didn’t have much incentive to stop listening and, thus, start writing….