Biography

When the first strains of Cadillac Sky's "Born Lonesome" come pulsing out of the speakers, it's immediately apparent that there's a different kind of bluegrass band on the scene—one wrapped in tradition, but not bound by it. That song, which opens their Skaggs Family Records debut, Blind Man Walking, has a high, lonesome sound that would do the great Ralph Stanley proud. And when they follow that up with "You Again," a song where they display the ferocious intensity of the great rock and roll bands, it's obvious Cadillac Sky is a band poised for greatness.
Their propulsive brand of bluegrass is the perfect marriage of tradition and innovation. This original approach comes from a deep-seated respect for tradition wrapped around an unbridled musical curiosity. There's no dichotomy in the band's sound, just a synthesis of the band's eclectic influences.
The Cadillac Sky sound is the fruition of bandleader Bryan Simpson's groundbreaking vision to create a bluegrass band built for the 21st Century. The band first came together in 2002 in Texas when Simpson (mandolin, vocals) teamed up with young banjo whiz Matt Menefee. The timing was perfect because Simpson was beginning to have success as a mainstream country songwriter but was burdened by a deep well of more personal material that he felt deserved a forum but had no vehicle for. Menefee's colorful and rhythmic banjo playing combined with a similar musical vision, was the launching pad that Simpson had hoped for but not expected to find. They soon added a veteran influence in Mike Jump who had found success playing with regional favorites Southern Union and the Andy Owens Project. And shortly after, on the word of Menefee, added the virtuoistic, Ross Holmes (fiddle, vocals), and, more recently, the talents of Houston native, Andy "Panda" Moritz (bass, vocals).
When the band began rehearsing, they quickly realized the diverse, but complimentary musical backgrounds they could pull from. They blended the traditional sounds of Bill Monroe and the colorful stylings of The Beatles with free form jazz to develop their signature sound.
"Everybody in this band comes from such different backgrounds musically, that we all bring our own element to the group," explains Holmes about the band's original sound. "You can hear a lot of the classical and jazz influences that I have and Bryan's more old-timey bluegrass style. Mike grew up with the '70s rock and a lot of his harmony singing and rhythm playing reflect that. And Matt, he's simply one of the best banjo players on the planet and everything he does is just amazing."
Simpson believes building the band's sound on the traditions of bluegrass has given Cadillac Sky a solid foundation—one strong enough to support their unique musical perspective. "We definitely have progressive leanings, but we are trying to find our own voice and not be flimsy retreads of New Grass Revival or Nickel Creek; even though we LOVE that stuff. What I like about acoustic music is that there is such an honest energy to it. We try to keep that and combine in it with the innovation of rock music. Then we take some of the country music sensibilities in the lyric and melody and put all that together. Probably not consciously, but it seems to sort of work out that way."
Being rooted in the traditions of bluegrass, along with prodigious picking and singing skills has allowed the band to win fans on both sides of the traditional/progressive bluegrass fence.
"We try to get the Mount Rushmore of bluegrass in there when we perform live," says Simpson. "The Godfathers: Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, maybe Jimmy Martin. We'll do a couple of original songs then maybe a great old John Hartford song or some Green Day cover. We just try our best to entertain, more than anything. We try not to play music that's over anyone's head. We don't want to indulge ourselves. . . we're not interested in entertaining ourselves and doing long-winded solos forever. You can find a good middle ground with all of that. You can get enough for the people that enjoy the jam band scene and enough for people that enjoy the three-minute pop song."
Simpson has always had that rare ability to create songs with substance and heart that have hooks a mile wide. It's a skill that's made him one of Music City's hottest young songwriters. As the band began making a name for itself in Texas, Simpson's songwriting career was kicking into high gear. He had a cut by former DreamWorks artist Joanna Janet that became a single. Three months later Epic/Sony artist Brad Martin took "Before I Knew Better," into the Top 15 of the country charts. It went on to become one of 50 most played songs in 2002. George Strait, Terri Clark, and the Lonesome River Band have all recorded Simpson's songs. He's also had cuts by Kenny Rogers, Jason Aldean, Mark Wills, Neal McCoy, and a host of newer, lesser known acts. He can now add international hit songwriter to his resume as George Canyon and Brad Johner have recently taken two of his songs to No. 3 and No. 8 respectively on the Canadian country charts.
In many ways, Simpson is Cadillac Sky's secret weapon. Not many bands, bluegrass or otherwise, have a songwriter of his talent penning songs for them. It gave the band a distinct advantage when it came time to write songs for Blind Man Walking. The disc is a showcase for Simpson's songwriting and also serves as a coming-out part for the band's other secret weapon—banjo player Matt Menefee. His bandmates consider him to be one of the best banjo players on the planet and they're not alone in that estimation. Menefee became a Winfield national banjo champion at age 17.
While they'd be reluctant to sing their own praises, Mike Jump, Ross Holmes and Andy Moritz are also world-class musicians. Ricky Skaggs recently claimed Mike Jump's soaring dead-on harmony vocals, "could sing tenor to a train whistle" while Ross Holmes' vibrant fiddle work has landed him on stages as diverse as Carnegie Hall, and the Grand Ole Opry, and catapulted him into the spotlight as a sideman with hit country artist, Josh Turner, and as a soloist with several symphonies across Europe. The most recent addition, Andy Moritz, is a highly accomplished upright bass player whose skills are favorable to the iconic Edgar Meyer and whose arco abilities are nearly unmatched in the world of acoustic music. One of the most compelling things about Cadillac Sky's debut is how these five individuals come together to create something bigger than their individual accomplishments. The depth and breadth of emotion they've created on Blind Man Walking's thirteen songs is breathtaking. The band moves from the chain-gang gospel soul of "Sinners Welcome" to the hyper frenetic instrumental "Neighborhood Bully," with grace and dexterity. "Homesick Angel" is a lovely, heart-breaking Irish-flavored folk ballad. They also handle the honky-tonk, bluegrass stomp of "Wish I Could Say I Was Drinking" with ease.
It only takes a quick listen to the band's debut to hear a band on the verge of greatness. But there's something else that sets the band apart, something that may not be immediately apparent. There is an understated spirituality that infuses everything the band does. It's one of the things that drew Ricky Skaggs to Cadillac Sky's music and ultimately resulted in signing them to Skaggs Family Records.
"When Ricky called me in January, the first thing he talked about was the spiritual side of our music," says Simpson. "The record doesn't hit you over the head with the spiritual stuff. But we're all believers and so there's an undertone when we write our songs that just comes out."
Cadillac Sky are believers—not only in their faith, but in the power of great music. They know music makes a difference. That's why they worked so hard to craft the heart-and-soul-stirring songs that make up Blind Man Walking. It's an amazing debut that heralds the arrival of a brand new star in the bluegrass sky. Believe.