This Week on the Front Porch (Third Hour)

Continuing on with our third hour we get started with local favorites Bawn in the Mash and move through some progressive bluegrass and into a bit of folk.

1. "Heady Daze" from the new Bawn in the Mash release Hurry Up and Wait.

2. "Little Piece of Paper" also from the new Bawn in the Mash release Hurry Up and Wait.

Bawn in the Mash has been busy of late touring in support of their new release Hurry Up and Wait. The album was produced by Grammy winning recording engineer Phil Harris. It features 16 tracks that are rooted in a traditional theme but you will find more flavor to the punch throughout the album. Check them out at www.bawninthemash.com where you find their music, a tour schedule and more.


3. A bit of New Grass Revival from their 1984 Live CD from Sugar Hill. "Reach" presents Sam Bush's vocals joined by new band mate John Cowan. This was the first recording from the guys that saw the additions of Cowan on bass and vocals as well as Bela Fleck on banjo and Pat Flynn on guitar. The energy level of the band reaches new heights with these additions.


4. Austin, TX stompers Bad Livers bring us the hopping cut "Shufflin' to Memphis" from their 1997 Sugar Hill release Hogs on the Highway. This was the bands debut album on Sugar Hill after three releases on the Quarterstick label and it saw a bit of a move away from the bands punk rock influences and toward more of a traditional approach. The band still was able to stomp across the CD with rousing cuts and the album ended up being one of their finest releases.

5. Tim May and Cody Kilby help me out by backing me up in the break with "Lonesome Fiddle Blues" from the same album that we heard Larry Keel and Wyatt Rice in the second hour. Flatpicking Favorites: Hot and Spicy is a great compilation album that was relased in 2004 and is still available on the FGM label. Others on the album include Bryan Sutton, Jim Hurst, David grier, Kenny Smith, Chris Eldridge, Andy Falco, Bull Harman, Scott Nygaard and Tim Stafford among many others.


6. "Cocaine Blues" from the latest Old Crow Medicine Show album Big Iron World (2006, Nettwerk) is a song that a buddy of mine has been hounding me to cue up on hour for months. Of course in the atmosphere of the day I have been a bit reluctant but I finally gave in. Its a great song by all accounts... just a scary topic to throw out to the masses I suppose. Luckily I caught no flack.

You can catch Old Crow on Austin City Limits the weekend of December 22 on your public television station. www.crowmedicine.com


7. Yonder Mountain String Band brings us "Old Plank Road" from their sixth release Mountain Tracks, Volume 3 [Live] (2004, Sci Fidelity). I thought it only fitting to follow a song about cocaine dependency with one about the bottle. www.yondermountain.com


8. Uncle Earl's "Wish I Had My Time Again" from the 2007 Rounder release Waterloo, Tennessee is next. Uncle Earl is a band that almost didn't make it to their fifth release. Keeping members together as a unit has been a struggle due to their differing geographical locations and numerous side projects. K.C. Groves continued to persevere and with a new lineup in 2005 and Dirk Powell producing She Waits For Night reestablished the band as a force. The 2005 release received such positive response that Rounder brought them aboard. The 2007 album Waterloo, Tennesee moved Uncle Earl farther up the ladder of the pecking order of the finest American roots bands out there today. They have become a festival favorite for both old and new with their ability to take traditional tunes and modernize them without coming of in a pretentious manner. www.uncleearl.net

Watch Uncle Earl perform at Lotusfest!




9. King Wilkie up next with "Crazy Daisy" from their latest release Low Country Suite (2006, Zoe). The guys reported on their website that they had finished the basic tracks for 5 new songs. Sounds to me like a new album is in the works and probably due out in the late spring. www.kingwilkie.com


10. and 11. Dirk Powell assists in the break with "Near and Far" and "A Tune For Paul" from his 1999 Rounder release Hand Me Down. www.dirkpowell.com

12. Gillian Welch with "Caleb Meyer" from her 1998 Acony Records release Hell Among The Yearlings. Welch grew up in the shadows of the Carol Burnett Show as her parents were both writers for the popular comedy television show. Did you know that Gillian Welch played drums on the Old Crow Medicine Show album Big Iron World? Yup... go figure. www.gillianwelch.com


13. Kate Rusby brings us "Mary Blaize" from her 2005 Compass Records release The Girl Who Couldn't Fly. Rusby has a new album out called Awkward Annie that I will definitely be adding into the rotation in the coming weeks. Rusby produced the album herself and she has written more of the songs on the album than she has in the past. Unfortunately Rusby has also split with her husband, bandmate and usual record producer John McKusker. her website reports that a new lineup for the band is in the works for December of this year and than a rare US tour is trying to be worked out for the spring of 2008. www.katerusby.com


14. From Claire Lynch's 2007 Rounder release Crowd Favorites we hear "Fallin' in Love". Lynch, who really got into bluegrass because of her husband's forming of a college bluegrass band called Hickory Wind, brings us a kind of greatest hits release with Crowd Favorites. www.clairelynch.com


15. Storyhill makes their Front Porch debut with "Fallen from their 2007 Red House Records self-titled release. Storyhill is Chris Cunningham and John Hermanson who met in the seventh grade in Bozeman,MT. Their lives seem to weave in and out as they both grew up, spent brief time together as a music act, went their separate ways and returned again to once again perform together. Hermanson ended up in college in Minnesota while Cunningham was in Spain. Hermanson continued to perform and move the wares the duo had recorded which caught on and caused Cunninghams return. Red House brought them on board for this recording and they are now touring in support of the new release. www.storyhill.com


16. Finishing off the week with "Angeline the Baker/John henry" from the 1999 Rounder self-titled release from Tony Furtado and Dirk Powell.

That's it for this week. Mark Welch is in next week and I'll return in two to share what I have found in the meantime. Thanks for lending an ear and I hope you found something you want to add to your musical library! Hey and don't forget to scroll down and check out my new video playlist at the bottom of the page!