Bluegrass

Pure Poison and Family Gospel

Sarah

Sarah HarrisIt’s a familiar story. Mike and Lisa meet in church, fall in love, get married, have three kids, give their oldest daughter guitar lessons…

And by 2011 have started touring the continental US as a family bluegrass group.

Not so familiar then. Today on the Music Room we talked to Sarah Harris, a “ray of sunshine” from Callahan, FL and lead singer and mandolinist of the Trinity River Band.

The Trinity River Band is a bluegrass/gospel group that incorporates various genres into their music, including Irish American folk and 80s rock. For this versatility, they have earned worldwide radio broadcasts, and “Better than Blue,” from their eponymous 2014 album, peaked on the Bluegrass Today Weekly National Survey at #4.

Within that album appears Sarah’s song “Pure Poison,” which she wrote for her brother John, the group’s banjo player who also wields a variety of musical instruments.

We also spoke with Sarah about the influence of gospel on country, traveling on the road as a family, her appearance on Alex Rutledge’s TV show Bloodlines, and Brianna, the youngest member, who plays the fiddle and turns 13 tomorrow. All the best!

Be sure to stay posted; they tour the Northeast this summer, and their new album Heartstrings comes out this May.

The Interview

Sarah Harris
(Recorded live 02/24/15; host: Mandorichard), 29:59, 29.3 MB.

The Music

The following music is heard in this episode of The Music Room:

  • Artist / Song / Album (or note) / Date / Notes
  • Trinity River Band / Bearfoot Breakdown / Better than Blue / 2014
  • Trinity River Band / Pure Poison / Better than Blue / 2014
  • Trinity River Band / Near the Cross (excerpt) / Bluegrass on the Plains Festival / 2013 (Excerpt)
  • Trinity River Band / Better than Blue / Better than Blue/ 2014

Detour’s Missy Armstrong

Richard Gordon

Detour Bluegrass (L-R): Scott Zylstra (guitar, vocals); Peter Knupfer (fiddle); Jeremy Darrow (bass); Melissa Armstrong (vocals, guitar); Jeff Rose (mandolin, guitar, vocals); Lloyd Douglas (banjo, mandolin, guitar)

The Detour Bluegrass Band (L-R): Scott Zylstra (guitar, vocals); Peter Knupfer (fiddle); Jeremy Darrow (bass); Missy Armstrong (vocals, guitar); Jeff Rose (mandolin, guitar, vocals); Lloyd Douglas (banjo, mandolin, guitar)

Tonight we were pleased to host Missy Armstrong from the band Detour on The Music Room. Detour are a Michigan-based bluegrass band that has put out four CDs and been nominated for the IBMA Emerging Artist award. They play a nice mixture of original music and tastefully arranged older songs.

Since they put our their 3rd CD, A Better Place, Detour has been garnering attention across the US. The combinations of the band’s writing, Missy Armstrong’s singing, and the strength of their instrumental work made the CD a hit with bluegrass audiences and DJs back in 2012.

Their 2014 CD, Going Nowhere Fast, continues the Detour sound with some great songs and tunes. Indeed, Detour were a big hit at the 2014 Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival, and the songs from the new CD are also making their mark with audiences across the country.

Missy chatted about her bandmates, the band’s history, the distinctive Detour sound, the band’s day jobs, Etta James, and the work the band does to support charities that work with homeless veterans.

Missy was a lot of fun to chat with, but I think she showed the most pleasure talking about singing “Juliet,” a lover’s murder ballad where the heroine kills the men!

The Interview

Missy Armstrong
(Recorded live 11/4/14; host: Mandorichard), 23:38, 22.7 MB.
Note: Full version of all the tracks were played in the radio broadcast, but, due to copyright considerations, the tracks are excerpted in the podcast version.

The Music

The following music is heard in this episode of The Music Room:

  • Artist / Song / Album (or note) / Label (or source) / Date / Notes
  • Detour / Train, Train / Going Nowhere Fast / Mountain Fever / 2014 (Excerpt in podcast)
  • Detour / Homeless of the Brave / A Better Place / self / 2012 (Excerpt in podcast)
  • Detour / Juliet / Going Nowhere Fast / Mountain Fever / 2014 (Excerpt in podcast)
  • Detour / Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven / A Better Place / self / 2012 (Excerpt in podcast)

Jim Hurst: An Intrepid view of the Looking Glass

Richard Gordon

Jim Hurst: Looking Glass coverAt the 2014 Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival, as one band stepped off the stage, this guy stepped on with just his guitar. His set just captured the audience’s imagination. It was spell-binding to watch and listen to this man and his guitar take control of the entire audience.

That guy was Jim Hurst.

Jim has been known as a consummate guitarist and singer for a long time, whether on the road with Claire Lynch, or adding his amazing guitar licks to someone’s recording, or touring by himself. His two most recent CDs, Intrepid, and Looking Glass, feature some of the best of Jim’s solo work–with some fun collaboration with others added in for good measure.

Jim was kind enough to let us interview him on October 21. It was great talking with him about his guitar style, fitting in when he’s playing with others, and about the songs we played during the show. It was also fun learning where a country boy picked up the nickname “Guido”!

The Interview

Jim Hurst
(Recorded live 10/21/14; host: Mandorichard), 25:21, 24.3 MB.
Note: Full version of all the tracks were played in the radio broadcast, but, due to copyright considerations, two of the tracks are excerpted in the podcast version.

The Music

The following music is heard in this episode of The Music Room:

  • Artist / Song / Album (or note) / Label (or source) / Date / Notes
  • Jim Hurst with Mac Wiseman / The Preacher and the Bear / Looking Glass / NN Guido Music / 2014 (Excerpt in podcast)
  • Jim Hurst / Dew on the Mountain / Intrepid / NN Guido Music / 2012 (Excerpt in podcast)
  • Jim Hurst / (All of this,) Just one man / Looking Glass / NN Guido Music / 2014