Six Degrees Of Separation
Pinecastle Records—PRC1255
Steve Wilson formed the Wilson Banjo Co. as a promotional tool for his custom banjos, whose popularity among bluegrass musicians has grown quite a lot in the past few years. Located in the Westminster, South Carolina area, Wilson gathers together many local musicians and others to record his brand of the music. On this new project he is not only joined by his regulars, Maine native Sarah Logan on vocals and fiddle, and Michael “Porkchop” Branch on bass, but he also has invited a number of well-known artists that he has worked and played with over time.
This list of contributing musicians is too long to list here but includes Richard Bennett (guitar), Glen Crain (resonator guitar), mandolinists Alan Bibey, Milom Williams, Blake Young, and vocalists Colton Rudd, Clay Hess, Severn Theinert, Shawn Lane, Michael Cleveland, and Frank Poindexter. Others include Deanie Richardson and Gina Britt of Sister Sadie as well as their former bandmate Dale Ann Bradley.
Five of the songs were co-written by Steve Wilson along with Stephen Briggs, Melanie Wilson, Glen Crain, and Brittany Wilson. These selections include “The Ambassador,” instrumental “Issaqueena,” “Colors Of My Life,” “She Is A Gambler,” and “Wrong Turn That Led Me To You.” Other selections include “When The Crow Comes Down,” “Old Fashioned Ways,” as well as Hot Rize’s “Midnight On The Highway,” Donna Hughes’ “Autumn Leaves,” and two versions of “Long Hard Day,” one acoustic and one more electric.
Steve Wilson’s credentials also include a stint on banjo with Dale Ann Bradley, some touring and recording gigs, as an engineer for Bonfire Records, and in an early period with Gibson’s Custom Art store. This new project shows how much all this experience has paid off.
