By John Lawless
(with his Stealth banjo)

This year's Roanoke Bluegrass Weekend was a blast. (2000 event) Everyone seemed to have a great time and learned a lot about the music. The Hotel Roanoke is such a cool place for an event like this and we hope they won't run us off after taking over the place like we did. I warn them each year that the bluegrass folks won't just attend their classes and then head up to their rooms. The jamming was going strong when I went to bed around 2:00-3:00 a.m. each night. Steve Dilling said that when he and Wayne Benson arrived on Sunday morning around 5 am, the first thing they saw was Chris Thile in the lobby!

I am especially excited to announce the release of the new CD from my band, Acoustic Endeavors. We perform and record original bluegrass and folk-oriented material written within the band and it is quite good, if I do say so myself. The new project is called Sneak Preview and you can get more information and hear audio samples at: www.acousticendeavors.com

ACUTAB VIDEO NEWS
We have a new video instruction release for Sammy Shelor but, at this point, it is only available in the NTSC format. UK and European banjo pickers who have an NTSC player or access to converting it to PAL format will find a terrific look at the playing of one of today's most exciting and influential banjo players. We discuss Sammy's approach to right and left hand technique, how he attempts to 'play the melody' on vocal numbers and how he creates his backup. Many examples are given plus a half dozen or so songs demonstrated in the familiar split screen format.

The subtleties of his tone are one of the fascinating parts of his playing. I marvel consistently at the depth of expression every time I hear him play. I would take it as a most particular compliment ever to have someone tell me that I sound Like Sammy Shelor. He is a fabulous model!

I do appreciate comments so please let me know what you like and don't like about the video so that we can incorporate feedback in future projects.
More details: www.acutab.com/shelor_video.html

AcuTab recently shot a video project with Steve Huber called Killer Tone. It covers banjo set up and maintenance plus right hand technique to achieve that elusive killer tone.

AcuTab also recently shot video presentations for both Alan Bibey and Terry Baucom. Again, they will only be available in NTSC at the outset but we hope to find a way to make PAL copies available soon. Also planned this year are videos for Scott Vestal and Kenny Smith.

And a few tid-bits of general interest:

Ronnie Bowman reports that he is nearly finished with his next solo release. I have heard a couple of unfinished tracks and they are exquisite... no great surprise! Dan Tyminski sings harmony and Ron Stewart plays both banjo and fiddle - he is a firecracker! Sammy Shelor has talked about a second solo project but no firm plans are in place. They will be very busy this year so I doubt that he could even consider starting something until the fall. And don't expect anything new from LRB since they had one out last year.

We are hoping that the AcuTab Sonny Osborne book - transcriptions from The Bluegrass Collection (CMH Records) will see the light of day sometime in 2001. Bill Evans said "I do believe that when it does come out, it will probably be a significant book for some time to come. These were some of the toughest transcriptions I've ever done and we tried to capture every nuance of Sonny's great style in the tabs. Sonny also spent many hours with me making sure that we had every detail correct. There is some flat out amazing stuff in this collection!"

Kenny Smith is going into the studio soon for his second solo project. One expects that his extremely talented wife, Amanda, will also be involved. Steve Huber is slated to play banjo. Steve sends his best wishes to his many new friends whom he met during his visit to the UK in September of 1999.

Scott Vestal recently completed the mixing for Bluegrass 2001, the latest in the acclaimed Pinecastle instrumental series. This set is all original, outside of their bluegrass tribute to Stanley Kubrick's film, 2001 - A Space Odyssey. Can't wait to hear that! Personnel include Scott on banjo, Ron Stewart on fiddle, Wayne Benson on mandolin, Jeff Autry on guitar and Mark Schatz on bass. I expect to see the CD release by late March/early April.

Blue Ridge is also hard at work on a new CD. Terry Baucom sounded psyched about it when we spoke a few weeks ago. It should be mostly original material though he indicated that they had a smokin' version of John Henry already cut.

Wayne Benson just mentioned that the mixing is nearly complete for IIIrd Tyme Out's Live At The MAC, Vol II. Wayne said that he felt that the sound quality and song selection was even better this time out.

5-string enthusiasts will be delighted to hear that the banjo staff for the 2001 Roanoke Bluegrass Weekend will be Craig Smith, Pete Wernick and Joe Mullins.

HUBER BANJOS
After almost two years of promises, these fine instruments are now rolling out! Steve was particularly concerned about getting every detail just right - some might say more than a bit pedantic - but the end result is worth it. Just as Sonny was with the Chief, Steve is determined to make the finest "pre-war style" banjo that can be made today using a combination of modern and traditional manufacturing techniques.

In some cases, newer methods have shown themselves to be superior; in others, the old ways still produce better results. Steve has found a way to manufacture many of the critical components himself, ensuring that quality control will meet his standards. Of course, both models will be fitted with a Vintage Flathead tone ring; more on that next time.
For more info and photos visit www.huberbanjos.com

John Lawless, AcuTab Publications - Artist-approved transcriptions from the playing of top bluegrass pickers. Stealth Banjo agent.  | E-mail | Web site |
P O Box 21061 Roanoke, VA 24018-0108 540-776-6822 (Tel) 540-776-6827 (fax)

20th February 2001