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source: The Citizen Times - Asheville, NC
www.citizen-times.com
Steep
Canyon Rangers going nationwide
By Carol Mallett Rifkin
Jan. 13, 2005
The Steep Canyon Rangers have been missing on the local
music scene for a while, but there's a good reason - they've been out
on the road. With tours that have taken them all over the country this
year, they're breaking into the rare air of bluegrass, making it onto
the charts as a national act. This weekend is a chance to catch them
here at home, playing The Orange Peel with another great young
band called NewFound Road opening. A solid combination of "new
traditional" and kicking old favorites, the Steep Canyon Rangers
fan base is stretching far and wide with their travels.
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"It's been six years since we started the band, it's been on the rise the whole
time," said banjo player Graham Sharp. Talking on a cell phone headed from
Northampton, Mass., to a gig in New York City, the group of good friends passed
the phone around the vehicle, prodding Sharp to add thoughts and ideas in a teamwork
style that's much like their stage performance. They operate as a solid unit,
on the same page.
"Most young people play for someone else, apprentice type, but we're
all in this together," said Sharp. "Ourselves, King Wilkie and Open
Road are all three hitting the charts," he said, referring to what are
considered the top three young traditional bands making it at the national
level. Competition is fierce.
"We play traditional bluegrass with intensity and original songs with
well thought out lyrics. Not too cerebral, well rounded, some Gospel, a funny
song or two," said Sharp. "We draw on traditional sources and play
an old time song or two; it's a family show with some Bill Monroe, Flatt and
Scruggs. Our original music is grounded in traditional bluegrass but has country
influences. It's not really progressive just new with an old sound."
The group started while all the members were attending UNC-Chapel Hill and
took off regionally, a great combination of skill, good singing and song selection
merged with a lot of young energy. Fiddler and Fairview native Lizzie Hamilton
left the group last year to attend graduate school at Duke University.
Temporary fiddlers stepped in to fill the gap, including Madison County's
Josh Goforth, who can be heard on their latest release, but the sound has
jelled with a new permanent fiddler, Nicky Sanders. With the core of the group
still Woody Platt on guitar, Mike Guggino on mandolin, Sharp on banjo and
Charles Humphrey III on bass, their sound is polished and tight. "Having
a steady fiddle player has helped. People like the whole group, the thoughtful
dynamics," he said. "It's a product of playing together."
Signing with prestigious national bluegrass label Rebel Records was
a huge coup for the young group. Being on the same label as the venerable Ralph
Stanley and his Grammy nominated son Ralph Stanley II is no small shakes for
a young band. "Steep Canyon Rangers", their third CD but first on
Rebel, was released last June and by September had hit number 1 on the roots
Americana charts. It is currently on the Bluegrass Unlimited record chart at
both number 12 and number 28.
This show has a lot to offer, opening act NewFound Road is one of the best
young bluegrass Gospel groups out there. With a sound reminiscent of Russell
Moore and III Tyme Out, lead singer and mandolin player Rob Baker is a former
member of Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, bass player Tim Caudill has appeared
with the Isaacs. Guitarist and singer Tim Shelton and banjo player Carl Williams,
Jr. are similarly young veterans of the scene. Best known for their Southern
Gospel background, they are branching out into straight-ahead bluegrass with
amazing harmony vocals and a polished sound.
Carol Mallett-Rifkin writes about music. E-mail cpmallett@msn.com
© 2005 Asheville Citizen-Times • 14 O. Henry Ave., Asheville, NC 28801
Ph.(828)252-5611.
The Asheville Citizen-Times is a Gannett newspaper along with USA Today.
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