Articles

BANJO MAN FRANK CASSEL AMERICAN ACOUSTIC No Label FC1003 Local Washington, D.C., area picker Frank Cassel has gathered together an ensemble of musicians, including the late Mike Auldridge, for this showcase of original tunes featuring the banjo. Helping out on the project is Dede Wyland (who also helped produce), Tad Marks (fiddle), Tara Linhardt (mandolin),…

BRIAN VOLLMER OLD TIME MUSIC PARTY Patuxent Music CD-239 Brian Vollmer’s party includes him singing and playing fiddle, banjo, and guitar. Rosie Newton and Nate Leath also play fiddle with Brian and each other. Ben Townsend plays banjo and fiddle. Mark Schimick is on guitar and mandolin. Joseph DeJarnette plays bass. Sarah Jamison, Liz Pickard,…

MARK JOHNSON & EMORY LESTER 1863 Bangtown Records Bang CD6 This is a very satisfying release. The theme is music from 150 years ago, a sort of “hit” list from those days. There, of course, was a great bit of turmoil in our land at that time, but the music is imbued with a grace…

DIANA JONES MUSEUM OF APPALACHIA RECORDINGS Goldmine Recordings GMR001 Jones is a singer-songwriter who gathered some of the best sidemen in Nashville at a cabin in East Tennessee and did a live recording of this quiet collection of songs that churns up emotions like an eddy in a mountain stream. She plays guitar and is…

SHOEFLY SIX-FIFTY No Label No Number ShoeFly  has put together a fine mix of tunes and songs that smoothly span the gamut from old-time to bluegrass to classic early country. The CD title reflects the WSM radio station responsible for inspiring so many musicians and exposing  them to the wide variety of traditional music reflected…

THE AMERICAN MANDOLIN METHOD, VOLUME 2—BY BRIAN WICKLUND AND BEN WINSHIP—Mel Bay MB20146BCD. (Mel Bay, #4 Industrial Dr., Pacific, MO 63069, www.melbay.com.) Regarding the amount of technique presented in this intermediate-level volume of instruction, it needs to be said that there isn’t that much of it. Twenty-two pages comprise the entirety of the teaching and,…