Sorry - I haven't time to chase news...
...but if you send it I'll post it, if it is of general interest!

2002 Grammy Awards

3rd March: Art and Stephanie Stevenson are proud to announce the release of their new CD, "The Winding Stream," a collection of ballads and duets. The Stevensons mix old time duet singing and gospel with traditional bluegrass and old time country on their latest recording. Art and Stephanie play guitar and bass, and are accompanied by High Water members Dale Reichert, banjo and Dobro, and Bruce King, mandolin. Len Springer plays fiddle and Geoff Shannon plays lead guitar on Your Lone Journey

News from Doobie Shae

Radio Update
Mountain Heart's "Gospel Train" is currently #20 on Bluegrass Unlimited's National Bluegrass Survey for June, 2002.

Dale Ann Bradley's "Passin' Thru" is currently #23 on Bluegrass Unlimited's National Bluegrass Survey for June, 2002.

Sales Update
Doobie Shea will be participating in a special retail marketing campaign in conjunction with the Down From the Mountain tour. Dan Tyminski's "Carry Me Across the Mountain" (DS-2002) will be placed in approximately 1500 floor bins specially designed the promote the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and "Down From the Mountain" albums, as well as projects from other artists on the tour. The floor bins will be placed in many top music store chains including Wherehouse, Borders, Musicland, Turtles, and sixteen of the Independent Coalition stores. The program will begin in late June (to coincide with the tour) and will run through August. In some stores the timing will be staggered between the first and second legs of the tour. Mercury Records is also making posters for the program, which will be used on the sides of the bins.

Dan Tyminski Wins ACM Award
Dan Tyminski and the Soggy Bottom Boys picked up yet one more award for "Man of Constant Sorrow" at this year's Academy of Country Music Awards show held in Los Angeles on May 22nd at the Universal Amphitheatre. "Man of Constant Sorrow" won the ACM Award for Vocal Event of the Year.

Dan Tyminski Radio Tour
Dan completed another Satellite Radio Tour on Tuesday, April 2nd. He also taped segments for American Country Countdown, AP Radio, Country Radio Newswire, Songbook, Western Beat and Country Hitmakers.

Dan Tyminski Press News
The Associated Press will be running a story on Dan Tyminski written by Roanoke correspondent Chris Kahn. The story will begin running this weekend, and touches on Dan's history with the Lonesome River Band, Doobie Shea Records, his passion for the game of football, and being the "Man of Constant Sorrow".

AKUS Video Awards
Alison Krauss and Union Station are nominated for three awards on CMT's new Flameworthy Awards: Video of the Year (for "The Lucky One"); Duo or Group for "The Lucky One" and Hottest Video for "Let Me Touch You for Awhile". The awards will air on June 12th on CMT.

Down From the Mountain
Dan will be part of the Down From the Mountain tour (which will be touring nationally) starting on June 25th and running through August 21st. For more information on the tour please visit www.downfromthemountain.com.

Ernie Thacker
We are extremely excited to announce that Ernie Thacker will be singing the National Anthem at the 2002 Busch Series Stacker 2 / GNC Live well 250 at the Daytona International Speedway on July 5th. The race will be covered by FOX, with live coverage beginning at 7:00 PM, EST. Congratulations to Ernie Thacker!

Lonesome River Band
The Lonesome River Band continues to put the finishing touches on their new project which will be entitled "Window of Time" (DS-4006). The LRB will be making a number of appearances in the Nashville area, which may be of interest to their many fans. Look for the band performing at Fan Fair in Nashville on June 13th - followed by a Station Inn appearance that evening.

CMT's Most Wanted Live confirmed for the LRB
We are happy to announce that the Lonesome River Band will be appearing on CMT’s “Most Wanted Live” on July 5th 2002. “Most Wanted Live” is filmed in front of a live audience at the Gibson Bluegrass Showcase at Opry Mills, Nashville. For more information about attending the taping as part of the sit-down audience, please contact the CMT audience line at:
615-831-0338. The band will also be performing that evening on the Grand Ole Opry.

The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS.) also recently confirmed that Alison Krauss is now the all-time top female country artist for Grammy Awards, having won a total of 13. She is two behind all-time female leader Aretha Franklin, who has won 15. Article with photos of AKUS singing Man Of Constant Sorrow

Rickie Simpkins has had a long-standing career in bluegrass music, playing with bands including The Virginia Squires, The Tony Rice Unit, Continental Divide and the Lonesome River Band. Currently Rickie tours with the award winning Gospel group, The Isaacs.

Mountain High, Feelin’ Low from Don’t Fret It is currently being featured on Prime Cuts of Bluegrass and has been receiving lots of positive feedback and airplay from radio dj's across the country. The cut features Ronnie Bowman, Dan Tyminski, and Rickie Simpkins on vocals and was written by Tom T. and Dixie Hall.

The material on Don’t Fret It ranges from traditional fiddle tunes like Black Mountain Rag to originals penned by Rickie, Jeff Barbra & Sarah Pirkle, and Tom T. & Dixie Hall. To quote Jon Weisberger in the liner notes, “this is a collection whose authenticity must be measured not by the way it corresponds to shallow stereotypes but by the way it expresses the creativity of one musician and his collaborators. By that standard, Don’t Fret It is an album whose beauty will endure. . .”

After 63 total weeks on the charts, the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack finally gets the big prize. After SoundScan sales this week of 159,000 copies following the Grammy awards show, O Brother finally hits No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The last time a bluegrass-oriented album held that spot was in 1973 when Dueling Banjos by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandel hit No. 1. That album was also spawned by a motion picture, Deliverance.

O Brother remains No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart a spot it has now held for 28 non-consecutive weeks. The album has also been certified quintuple platinum, meaning 5 million copies have been shipped. Alan Jackson's Drive CD remains at No. 2 on the country album chart. Drive is at No. 5 on the 200 chart.

British Bluegrass band seeks work! Experienced and professional British bluegrass band 'The Blackfoot Brothers' seek gigs in USA. Small to medium size venues and festivals. Any help at all much appreciated. Listen to them now on MP3.com; http://www.mp3.com/blackfootbrothers

Regular contributer John Lawless writes:
NEW VIDEO: Up The Neck Backup For Bluegrass Banjo featuring Bill Evans
$35.00 (US) 2 hour VHS

This is the first volume in our new series of purely instructional presentations. AcuTab has a number of artist videos available and we are happy to announce the debut of our Power Pickin' series to help pickers at any stage of their learning to become a better player.

In this new video, Bill Evans presents a visual method for learning the basic techniques used to play bluegrass banjo accompaniment in up the neck positions. The material is presented in a step-by-step approach appropriate for all levels of pickers, and a tab booklet is included.

Every technique and pattern is described in detail and shown in close ups and a split screen format. Each example is played slowly, a bit faster and then in a band setting so that you can hear how it fits in with other pickers.

This is a great intro to these important techniques for folks just venturing into banjo accompaniment - but it is full of useful licks and patterns for more experienced pickers as well.

Get more detials online (topics covered, screen shots, video clips) at: http://www.acutab.com/evans
John Lawless, AcuTab Publications john@acutab.com
http://www.acutab.com P.O. Box 21061 Roanoke, VA 24018-0108
540-776-6822 540-776-6827 (FAX)
Artist-approved transcriptions from the playing of top bluegrass pickers

Regular contributer John Lawless writes:
"When Steve Huber unveiled his new line of banjos at the IBMA World Of Bluegrass trade show in October 2001, he created quite a stir in the industry. Known in banjo circles for his highly regarded Huber pre war replica banjo tone ring, Steve had spent much of the past two years doing research and development with an eye towards the introduction of the Huber Banjo line.

"Just as he had done with the Huber tone ring, Steve's intention with the Huber banjos is to recreate as closely as possible the look, feel and sound of the classic flathead banjos which were manufactured in the 1930s and early 1940s. Much of the past two years was spent finding components that were up to this high standard - most of that time actually invested in designing and implementing the tooling and processes to make them himself.

"The first banjos were shipped in late 2001 and full production is now up and running in Steve's shop outside of Nashville. Four stock models are available and can be seen in the new Huber Banjos catalog.

"We are now delighted to announce that Lonesome River Band banjo ace Sammy Shelor has joined us in the marketing and distribution of this fine new banjo. Sammy will be performing with his new Huber on all the LRB shows so that pickers can get a chance to see and hear the banjos - both from the stage and "up close" after the shows.

"Folks who know good banjo sound know that Sammy is highly regarded for his tone and those who know Sammy know that he would never be involved in marketing an instrument that wasn't up to his professional standards. We like to refer to his initial reaction the day he picked the first Huber prototype: "This is the best sounding new banjo I have ever heard!"

"Information on the Huber Banjos can be obtained online at: http://www.huberbanjos.com
On the web site you can get info on the four Huber models, request a catalogue or check the Lonesome River Band schedule and find a chance to hear a Huber live. Sammy will also have Huber Banjos with him for sale, as supply and production allow.

Early on, a decision was reached not to offer the banjos through a traditional dealer network, choosing instead to deal directly with consumers. This was done so that we could offer these superior instruments at prices that would be competitive with what was already on the market.

"AcuTab was recently brought on board as the sole marketing and customer service agent and all orders are processed through them. We invite you to visit the Huber Banjos web site, get a copy of the new catalog and find out why we believe that these instruments are the very finest bluegrass banjos being made today. We won't say that the new Hubers sound as good as the great pre wars do today, but we firmly believe that they sound as good as those classic flatheads did when they were new!

"Let us prove it to you.
Write to Huber Banjos, c/o P.O. Box 21061 Roanoke, VA 24018-0108
Tel: 540-776-6822 540-776-6827 (FAX) Web site"

The Lonesome River Band has been busy at Doobie Shea Studios, working on their new DSR project due out this June. Please visit the new LRB website at www.lonesomeriverband.com for studio shots, bio, and news on the LRB.

The Lonesome River Band lineup includes: Sammy Shelor - banjo/vocals, Brandon Rickman - guitar/vocals, Mike Hartgrove - fiddle, Irl Hees - bass/vocals, and Jeff Parker - mandolin/vocals. The LRB is honored to be doing a number of select dates with guitar legend Tony Rice

Laurie Lewis writes:
"Well, it looks like every month is Bluegrass Month right now! We were thrilled watching the Grammys (a rare occasion) this week. For those of you who weren't paying attention, Ralph Stanley won 'Best Country Male Vocal' for his rendition of 'Oh, Death' on the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack. This is really wonderful and amazing for a long-time Stanley fan like me. I feel like the world got turned right-side-up for a minute. I was able to visit with Ralph at the Berkeley Down From the Mountain concert last week, and we were marveling at the phenomenal success of that soundtrack, trying to get our minds around the thought of five million people in their cars and homes listening to him sing Oh, Death. There were lots of other winners we were especially happy to see this year- too many to list here, in fact. But I will say it was a special treat to see my former band-mate in the Phantoms of  The Opry, Pat Enright, receive a Grammy for Man of Constant Sorrow, along with Dan Tyminsky.

Doobie Shea Records artist Dan Tyminski won 6 of the 7 GRAMMY awards (that he was nominated for) in the 44th Annual GRAMMY Awards Show held in Los Angeles, California, and aired world-wide. Bluegrass music dominated in the country music category, with Alison Krauss and Union Station winning Best Bluegrass Album for New Favourite and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for The Lucky One. The same song also earned Robert Lee Castleman an award for Best Country Song. Man of Constant Sorrow, which featured Dan Tyminski, won the award for 'Best Collaboration with Vocals'.

Dan Tyminski, along with Alison Krauss and Union Station, Pat Enright and Mike Compton, appeared on the televised awards show in the O Brother, Where Art Thou? performance. After the show, as he travelled home from California, Dan expressed his excitement for the resurgence of traditional music, "It's wonderful to see this type of music mixed in with the mainstream and received so well. The honours that were received at the Grammys this year were a serious shot in the arm, for roots and bluegrass music especially."

Probably the biggest surprise of the night was O Brother's win for 'Album of the Year'. Asked about the record's phenomenal success, producer T Bone Burnett was quoted as saying, "People have tried to pigeonhole this stuff as bluegrass or traditional. But, really, this is music for people who like music. Not everybody does. Music annoys some people. They just don't care for it. But if you do like music, then chances are you'll like this record." O Brother also took home the award for 'Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or other Visual Media', and Down From The Mountain (the live album from OBWAT's Ryman concert won 'Best Traditional Folk Album'. Overall, the results in the country music awards category showed a surge in the popularity and return to roots music. In fact, with the exception of Best Country Album, every award in this field was won by a bluegrass artist.

2002 Grammy Awards
Album Of The Year: "O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Soundtrack" Various Artists (Lost Highway)

Best Bluegrass Album: "New Favorite" (Rounder) (Alison Krauss + Union Station)
Other nominees:
Patty Loveless: Mountain Soul
Dolly Parton: Little Sparrow
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder: History of the Future
Ralph Stanley & Friends: Clinch Mountain Sweethearts

Best Female Country Performance:
Dolly Parton: "Shine" From: Little Sparrow (Sugar Hill/Blue Eye)
Other nominees:
Sheryl Crow, Jamie O'Neal, Lucinda Williams, Trisha Yearwood

Best Male Country Vocal Performance:
Ralph Stanley: O Death From: OBWAT? (Lost Highway)
Other nominees:
Ryan Adams, Johnny Cash, Lyle Lovett, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson

Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal:
Alison Krauss + Union Station: "The Lucky One" From: New Favorite (Rounder)
Other nominees:
Asleep at the Wheel, Brooks & Dunn, Diamond Rio, Lonestar

Best Country Collaboration With Vocals:
Dan Tyminski, Harley Allen & Pat Enright (The Soggy Bottom Boys): Man Of Constant Sorrow From: OBWAT? (Lost Highway)
Other nominees:
Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch
Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?) George Jones & Garth Brooks
Bring on the Rain Jo Dee Messina & Tim McGraw
Inside Out Trisha Yearwood & Don Henley

Best Country Instrumental Performance:
Earl Scruggs with Glen Duncan, Randy Scruggs, Steve Martin, Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, Gary Scruggs, Albert Lee, Paul Shaffer, Jerry Douglas & Leon Russell: Foggy Mountain Breakdown. From: Earl Scruggs And Friends (MCA Nashville)

Best Traditional Folk Album:
Down From The Mountain (Lost Highway)

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media:
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Lost Highway); (Various Artists; T Bone Burnett, producer)