Mashville Brigade “Bluegrass Smash Hits Vol. 1″ (Rural Rhythm)

The Mashville Brigade has bridged a huge, seemingly uncrossable gap with its first recording, Bluegrass Smash Hits, Volume 1, on the Rural Rhythm Records label. It was released late last month.

I sense in today’s bluegrass marketing arena, many CDs are marketed either to the traditional crowd or to the newgrass sector of fans who are somewhat turned off by the Monroe die-hards out there. And never the twain shall meet?

But the twain do meet in an uproarious and enthusiastic manner with every one of the generous 16 tracks compiled by The Mashville Brigade on this debut CD. The band’s delivery is almost a celebration of the greatness these songs truly hold in the history of bluegrass.

The title, Bluegrass Smash Hits, is not misleading. The extensive liner notes, authored by Desneige Bourret, mention that the roots of some of the songs go back a century or more. Quite frankly, since I lean a bit to the newgrass side of things these days after listening to bluegrass almost all my life, I’ll admit: I hadn’t heard some of these songs in many a year.

Before delving into the tracks, let’s first have a look at the band and its performance reputation, described as “Nashville’s new full-throttle acoustic all-star jam.”

Members of the group are Ashby Frank on mandolin, Randy Barnes on bass, Aaron McDaris on banjo, Jim Van Cleve on fiddle and Darrell Webb handling guitar and most of the lead vocals.

Sure, many of those names are probably familiar — they all perform with national touring acts, including the Grascals, Special Consensus and Mountain Heart. Performing as the Mashville Brigade is a side project that’s rooted in Nashville’s bluegrass Mecca, the Station Inn, where the group gathers to perform weekly when they aren’t on the road with their main bands.

Each of these pickers has gained a reputation as being part of bluegrass’s new wave — and a monstrous wave it is with talent spilling into the aisles. Don’t kid yourself, these super pickers let it all hang out on Bluegrass Smash Hits.

I listened to three cuts before getting into the liner notes and was a bit astounded at the way the project was recorded. The band convened on familiar turf — The Station Inn’s stage — , gathered around microphones and played to the only other person around, the recording engineer. Every song was recorded live and the project was wrapped up with no overdubs or any other studio tricks. It’s a raw production of some extremely polished talent.

It’s difficult to pick a favorite or two off the CD. Every song brought back a memory or two.”Bury Me Beneath the Willow,” for example, was a song I remember my mom singing 50 years ago. “Take This Hammer” carried me back to the 1960s, when I caught the Osborne Brothers live several times and that particular tune was a staple of their show. Then,there’s “Little Maggie,” “Banks of the Ohio,” “Going Across the Sea” and just a bunch of other good songs from bluegrass’s past. They’re all performed with a new energy that gives these old songs a fresh feel.

Ashby Frank of Special Consensus turns in a strong mix of traditional and not-so-traditional licks on mandolin, a feat mirrored by McDaris, who’s “day job”is picking banjo with The Grascals. Van Cleve, who can go way over the top performing with Mountain Heart, gets a more traditional bluegrass feel with his fiddle chops on this collection. Webb, one of the founders of Wildfire and now with Rhonda Vincent’s Rage, gives a great traditional feel with his vocals on the many classics on this CD. Webb also manages to sneak in a few stellar guitar licks and he’s rock-solid on the rhythm guitar portion of his contribution.

This one’s going to have a tough time leaving my CD player. I’m really intrigued by that “Volume 1″on the CD’s cover. Volume 2″ simply can’t arrive soon enough.

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Mac Wiseman, who has plowed deep ruts over several decades on the bluegrass circuit, has been named a National Heritage Fellowship Award recipient by the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) in Washington, D.C.

The prestigious award, initiated by NEA in 1982, honors American folk artists for “their contributions to our national cultural mosaic,” according to NEA’s Web site.

Since its inception, more than 300 artists have received the Heritage Award.

“As a group, these folk and traditional artists reflect the diverse heritage and cultural traditions that transcend their beginnings to become part of our national character. Americans all, they bring age-old customs, crafts and ways of living to the flux of American life…,” according to NEA.

National Heritage Fellowships begin with nominations from ordinary citizens who put forward local folk and traditional artists that they feel are deserving of national recognition and who embody artistic excellence, authenticity, and significance within their tradition.

Each year, a select group of these artists come to Washington to receive their award in a public ceremony and perform in a concert during late September.

Wiseman was born in Crimora, Va., in the Shenandoah Valley. Both of his parents sang old ballads around the house and would play recordings of early country musicians for entertainment. Wiseman began to sing in public at the age of 12, but he was stricken with polio in his youth and that curtailed his performances for a time.

With the help of the National Foundation of Polio, he attended music school in Dayton, Va. Soon he was singing on a local radio station in Harrisonburg, Va., and in 1946 he joined the band of Molly O’Day, who taught him songs, singing style, and a love of the classic country repertoire.

Wiseman became an original member of Lester Flatt’s and Earl Scruggs’ Foggy Mountain Boys, recording his first Mercury session with them in 1948, and in 1949 he joined Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys at the Grand Ole Opry.

In 1951, he began his solo career, gaining fame as having the “voice with a heart,” and recording such classics as “Tis Sweet to Be Remembered,” “Love Letters in the Sand,” “Jimmie Brown, the Newsboy,” and “Shackles and Chains.”

Wiseman went to Hollywood in 1957 to head the country music section of Dot Records. Along with other music industry leaders, in 1958 he co-founded the Country Music Association for which he was the first secretary and treasurer.

During the 1960s he often opened for Johnny Cash at folk festivals such as Newport and Mariposa, as well as opening for Cash at venues such as the Hollywood Bowl.

Still known for his soulful high tenor singing, last Mac Wiseman and songwriter John Prine released a well-received duet album entitled “Standard Songs for Average People.”

Wiseman recorded three still unreleased numbers with Johnny Cash in what turned out to be Cash’s final sessions.

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The Biscuit Burners perform on the WDVX Blueplate Special today (May 18) at 1:00 P.M. (Eastern). Photo by Peter Montanti.

Steep Canyon Rangers stayin’ on the charts

The Steep Canyon Rangers continue to hold near the top of the XM bluegrass charts. Lovin’ Pretty Women (Rebel) is holding on the #5 spot on XM’s Bluegrass Junction Top 40 Bluegrass Albums.

Infamous Stringdusters - on XM Radio with Kyle Cantrell

The Infamous Stringdusters, on the verge of releasing their newest, self-titled project on the Sugar Hill label June 10, will be on on XM Radio’s Bluegrass Junction with Kyle Cantrell for a Track-by-Track review of The Infamous Stringdusters.

Schedule:

• Wednesday, May 28 at 6PM ET
• Thursday, June 5 at Midnight ET
• Tuesday, June 10 at 3PM ET

Bluegrass Calendar of Festivals and Events

May 28 1:00 P.M. (Eastern) — The Biscuit Burners will perform on the WDVX Blueplate Special, a live 1 hour radio show broadcast from downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. WDVX streams live online

May 28 - June 1 — Bluegrass & BBQ festival at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. Artists scheduled to play include the Bluegrass Brothers, The Grascals, Cherryholmes, Chris Jones, Dailey and Vincent, The Dixie Bee-liners, Balsam Range, Michelle Nixon and Drive, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Ronnie Reno & Reno Tradition and Midnight Ramblers.

Got an item for the calendar? Looking for Festivals, Special events, Jam Sessions, etc… If it relates to the world of Bluegrass we want to know about it. Send us the who, what, when and where and other details you’ve got and we’ll do our best to let everyone know about it. Send your Bluegrass Calendar items to subscriber@bluegrassjournal.com.

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