Biography

Close Kin, A Reunion of Bluegrass and Old-Time Music

Open Your Mind To A Whole New Musical Experience and Sound…

Whether you’re a fan of bluegrass or old-time music, 29 artists from both sides of the aisle have come together to create a truly unique recording that combines these two musical genres and their bold styles.

The Appalachian Highlands region of Northeast Tennessee, Northwestern North Carolina, Southwestern Virginia and Eastern Kentucky is home to the origins of both bluegrass and old-time string band music. This music has been enjoyed for generations in kitchens and back porches, school auditoriums and music festivals and venues. Many times bluegrass and old-time artists can be heard jamming off stage at festivals before or after shows or even late into the night after the crowds have gone home. Amazing sounds are created when these styles are blended together as their heritage intended and rarely heard by the fans. Close Kin brings these sounds to the fans.

Close Kin, produced by award winning songwriter/singer Johnny Williams, features superb arrangements and vocal and instrumental combinations of 16 songs performed by such great artists as:

Adam & Tina Steffey (The Boxcars & The Grayson Highlands String Band)
Johnny & Jeanette Williams (The Jeanette Williams Band)
Scott & Mark Freeman (Pathway)
Mickey Galyean, Greg Jones, Jay Adams, Brad Hiatt & Jordon Blevins (Rich In Tradition)
Bud, Zeb, Samantha & Laine Snyder (The Snyder Family Band)
Dale Morris & Jerry Correll (Wolfe Bros String Band)
Edwin Lacy (Skeeter and the Skidmarks)
Eddie Bond (The New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters)
Jim Lloyd & Trevor McKenzie (Jim Lloyd and the Skyliners)
Brian Grimm (The Konnarock Kritters)
Trish Fore (Fox Creek Ramblers)
Tiffany Hurt (Wheeler)
Tim White, Dave Vaught &“Fat Albert” Blackburn (The VW Boys)
Wesley Easter (Eastwood Studio)
Rebecca Jones (Travis Frye & Blue Mountain)

The official release date for Close Kin has been set for Tuesday November 15, 2011 but we expect to release this project electronically through AirPlay Direct and have advance copies available for radio and media in mid-September. Copies will be available for sale at this time from the Mountain Roads Recordings’ web store (mountainroadsrecordings.com) and from the project’s participating artists. A video for the project has been posted on the MRR home page.

Karl Cooler of Mountain Roads Recordings says, “This is a project that Johnny Williams and I have wanted to do for many years and we felt that we finally had the perfect combination of artists to make up the recording. It was especially important to us to pick songs that were both familiar and not overly recorded and team up the artists into combinations that are unlike anything out there today. We stressed that we wanted them to bring their unique styles to each and every song. These styles coupled with Johnny’s arrangements are captivating”. As with other Mountain Roads Recordings’ projects a video for the project is in final production stages and will also be available.

Johnny Williams, producer of the project adds, “ For many years I’ve wanted to do a project like this and Karl and Gail at Mountain Roads Recordings have made this possible. It’s great to combine the bluegrass and old-time music and I think we have some of the greatest pickers in the region on it. All music lovers, regardless of their favorite genre, will find something in the project to their liking and I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t get an awful lot of airplay”.

Song Listings:

1. Chilly Winds
Johnny Williams - Vocals
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Tina Steffey - Clawhammer Banjo
Mickey Galyean - Guitar
Scott Freeman - Bluegrass Fiddle
Eddie Bond - Old Time Fiddle
Wesley Easter - Bluegrass Banjo
Brad Hiatt - Bass

2. Little Bird of Heaven
Jeanette Williams - Vocals
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Tina Steffey - Clawhammer Banjo
Samantha Snyder - Bluegrass Fiddle
Zeb Snyder - Guitar
Scott Freeman - Harmony Vocals
Bud Snyder - Bass

3. Tennessee Grey Eagle
Zeb Snyder - Guitar
Scott Freeman - Mandolin
Edwin Lacy - ClawhammerBanjo
Brian Grimm - Old Time Fiddle
Mark Freeman Bluegrass Banjo
Bud Snyder - Bass

4. Always A Day Too Late
Tiffany Hurt - Lead Vocals
Jeanette Williams - Harmony Vocals
Scott Freeman - Harmony Vocals
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Tina Steffey - Clawhammer Banjo
Mickey Galyean - Guitar
Jordon Blevins - Bluegrass Fiddle
Brian Grimm - Old Time Fiddle
Jay Adams - Bluegrass Banjo
Bud Snyder - Bass

5. Rattlin’ Bones
Adam Steffey - Mandolin & Lead Vocals
Johnny Williams - Harmony Vocals
Tina Steffey - Clawhammer Banjo
Zeb Snyder - Guitar
Samantha Snyder - Bluegrass Fiddle
Brad Hiatt - Bass

6. Old Horse and Buggy
Jerry Correll - Old Time Fiddle
Samantha Snyder - Bluegrass Fiddle
Dale Morris - Clawhammer Banjo
Tim White - Bluegrass Banjo
Dave Vaught - Guitar
Greg Jones - Mandolin
Fat Albert Blackburn - Bass

7. With Tears In My Eyes
Samantha Snyder - Bluegrass Fiddle & Lead Vocals
Scott Freeman - Mandolin & Harmony Vocals
Laine Snyder - Harmony Vocals
Zeb Snyder - Guitar
Edwin Lacy - Clawhammer Banjo
Bud Snyder - Bass

8. Sugar Hill
Eddie Bond - Old Time Fiddle & Vocals
Scott Freeman - Bluegrass Fiddle
Adam Steffey - Mandolin
Tina Steffey - Clawhammer Banjo
Jay Adams - Bluegrass Banjo
Zeb Snyder - Guitar
Brad Hiatt - Bass

9. Wise County Jail
Trevor McKenzie - Guitar & Vocals
Scott Freeman - Bluegrass Fiddle
Jim Lloyd - Clawhammer Banjo
Brad Hiatt - Bass

10. Bound For To Leave
Jeanette Williams- Vocals
Zeb Snyder - Guitar
Samantha Snyder - Bluegrass Fiddle
Wesley Easter - Bluegrass Banjo
Edwin Lacy - Clawhammer Banjo
Bud Snyder - Bass

11. Soldiers Joy
Dale Morris - Clawhammer Banjo
Tim White - Bluegrass Banjo
Jerry Correll - Old Time Fiddle
Scott Freeman - Bluegrass Fiddle
Dave Vaught - Guitar
Greg Jones - Mandolin
Fat Albert Blackburn - Bass

12. Seven Cent Cotton, Forty Cent Meat
Mickey Galyean - Vocals
Johnny Williams - Guitar
Scott Freeman - Bluegrass Fiddle & Mandolin
Trish Fore - Clawhammer Banjo
Mark Freeman - Bluegrass Banjo
Brad Hiatt - Bass

13. Come All You Coal Miners
Jeanette Williams - Vocals
Zeb Snyder - Guitar
Scott Freeman - Mandolin
Samantha Snyder - Bluegrass Fiddle
Brian Grimm - Old Time Fiddle
Edwin Lacy - Clawhammer Banjo
Bud Snyder - Bass

14. Walk Along John To Kansas
Fat Albert Blackburn - Bass & Lead Vocals
Tim White - Bluegrass Banjo & Harmony Vocals
Dave Vaught - Guitar & Harmony Vocals
Jerry Correll - Old Time Fiddle
Dale Morris - Clawhammer Banjo

15. Say Darlin’ Say
Johnny Williams - Vocal Duet
Rebecca Jones - Vocal Duet
Tim White - Bluegrass Banjo
Dale Morris - Clawhammer Banjo
Greg Jones - Mandolin
Dave Vaught - Guitar
Jerry Correll - Old Time Fiddle
Fat Albert Blackburn - Bass

16. Holly Ding
Jerry Correll - Old Time Fiddle
Scott Freeman - Bluegrass Fiddle
Greg Jones -Mandolin
Mickey Galyean - Guitar
Jim Lloyd - Clawhammer Banjo
Brad Hiatt - Bass

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT

Karl S. Cooler
Mountain Roads Recordings
3192 Hwy 421, Bristol, TN 37620
(423) 878-4269 or (423) 217-3668 cell
admin@mountainroadsrecordings.com
karl@mountainroadsrecordings.com

Johnny Williams
Grass Tank Music
656 Loomfixer Lake Rd. Danville, VA 24541
(434) 489-8080 cell
grasstank@mindspring.com