Biography

If you like music from the 50s, 60s and 70s and you love bluegrass, then you will want to get your hands on the VW Boys new CD, Retroactive. The first time I listened to it, I got goose bumps...and that always tells me, Here s a winner; pay attention to this one. And pay attention I did. In fact, once you click on play, Retroactive will not turn you loose. It captures your attention immediately all the way from the beginning to the end...leaving you begging for more!

My personal favorites are All I Have to Do is Dream, making me reminisce of slow dancing with my beau way back in the day and rousing renditions of Fire on the Mountain and Wagon Wheel both triggering memories of rocking the nights away. And if you like to laugh (and who doesn't?) there are humorous songs as well, with Ugly Girl Blues and The Rooster Song still making me chuckle after countless plays.

Tim White, Dave Vaught, and Fat Albert Blackburn are impressive bluegrass musicians to begin with, but they hit it out of the ballpark with Retroactive by combining wonderful bluegrass pickin with these timeless retro tunes. All of us baby boomers out there will feel compelled to own this CD, not just because of the recollection of our glory days, but because these songs actually sound better played in bluegrass style and the younger bluegrass fans out there will be introduced to fine golden oldies.
Gail Cooler, Mountain Roads Recordings

The VW Boys are joined on this project by:

Lou Reid on mandolin and fiddle; courtesy of Rural Rhythm Records
Phil Leadbetter on resonator guitar, and;
LeRoy “Mack” McNees on resophonic guitar.

Thanks to these great musicians for making this such a great and fun project

The VW BOYS are composed of:

Tim White from Blountville, TN who many of you know as the host of the popular Public Television Series, Song Of The Mountains, originating in Marion, VA and the syndicated radio show, The Tim White Bluegrass Show. Tim has been a bluegrass musician for over thirty-years and is a fine banjo player and an excellent song-writer.

Dave Vaught is from Bristol, TN and has been a professional entertainer for seventeen years. Dave has made five television appearances including HBO and Show Time. While Dave is well known for his skills as a magician, he is also a fine guitar player with five albums to his credit. Dave's musical career includes stints with Ronnie Millsap, Gary Morris, Sylvia, Jerry Reed, and Charlie Pride. Dave contributes much to the group with his skills as lead guitar player, harmony singer, comedian, and magician.
The newest member of the group is, Fat Albert Blackburn from Marion, Virginia. Albert was a founding member of the popular band, Fescue which has been in existence since 1970. He is a natural fit for the VW Boys, he loves a good joke and is a fabulous musician, singer and entertainer.

The VW Boys blend several different aspects of entertainment in their show. As banjo picker and singer Tim White says, We entertain folks for an hour or so and help them forget their problems for a little while. A good portion of the VW Boys show is audience participation and the VW Boys have a way of going beyond the edge of the stage to really get an audience involved in the show. The VW Boys came together when musician Tim White and magician Dave Vaught worked together on a few shows. Dave would do a magic show and Tim's band would follow Dave's show with a Bluegrass concert and this worked very well. Both immediately came up with the idea to combine the two shows and the VW Boys was formed.
The VW Boys show fits any situation from conventions, fairs, festivals, clubs and private parties. The show is good clean humor and music; the VW Boys pride themselves on keeping a very professional show in front of every audience. As Dave Vaught says, The VW Boys have over 75 years of combined experience in showmanship between the three of us. Music, Magic and Comedy, a great combination.
Karl Cooler of Mountain Roads Recordings said that, The music business is rapidly changing and we are always searching for ways to broaden the appeal of bluegrass and old-time music. The VW Boys represent one significant way we can achieve this goal and we're extremely proud to have them join our family of artists. Many times people come to their shows expecting to be entertained by the magic and comedy and leave with a new appreciation for bluegrass music. These guys are great entertainers along with being great pickers and singers. I'd say we have the best of four worlds with the VW Boys...pickers, singers, magicians and comedians. Don't think that they don't put out great bluegrass music just because they joke around. Their new CD with us is expected to be released in the early spring of 2011.

VW Boys have performed at:

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival - Washington DC
Dollywood - Pigeon Forge, TN
The Barter Theater, Abingdon, VA
Kennedy Center - Washington DC
Groundhog Festival - Punxatawney, PA
75th Anniversary Celebration of the Bristol Sessions 2002 - Tri-Cities, TN
Dairy Festival - Elsie, MI
Doc Watson Days - Sugar Grove, NC
Lonesome River Band Festival - Spirit of the Sewanee, FL
Bass Mountain Park - Burlington, NC
Mayberry Days - Mount Airy, NC
Boyd's Bears new facility grand opening - Gettysburg, PA
Paramount Center for the Arts - Bristol TN-VA
Capital Theatre - Greeneville, TN
International Bluegrass Music Association - IBMA - Louisville, KY
Thomasville Cultural Arts Center - Thomasville, GA
Carter Family Fold - Hiltons, VA
Smithsonian to the Mountain Tour - 2004
Broom Festival - Arcola, IL
Mayberry Comes to Cocoa - Cocoa Beach, FL
PBS "Song of the Mountains" show from the Lincoln Theatre in Marion, VA
Ford Theatre at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee Tom T. Hall Concert Series August 2005