This week we are talking with video producer and record label owner Sammy Passamano III. Sammy started out working with his family at Rural Rhythm Records. He is now involved with Bluegrass Music TV and owns 615 Hideaway Records, which is record label under the umbrella of his 615 Hideaway Entertainment Company.
This week we feature songwriter Mark “Brink” Brinkman. In our August 2022 issue we feature some of the behind-the-scenes folks in bluegrass music, including songwriters. Brink is one of the most prolific songwriters in bluegrass music. We talk about his background in music and songwriting and he lends some great advice to budding songwriters in bluegrass.
This week we feature banjo player Blake Williams. As most bluegrass fans know, Blake played banjo with Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys for about a decade and before that he also performed for a year or two with Lester Flatt and the Nashville Grass. He has some wonderful stories to tell us about being on the road with both Lester Flatt and then Bill Monroe.
This week we talk with Wes Corbett, the banjo player in the Sam Bush Band. Wes had a solo project titled “Cascade” released a year or two ago and he has since come out with an instructional book for banjo players that includes transcriptions from that album. We talk with Wes about the album and the new book and you’ll hear a couple of cuts from the album.
This week we feature mandolin player Scott Napier. In our July 2022 issue we a few of the many college-level programs that include instruction in bluegrass music. We talk with Scott a program that he is involved with called the Hazard Community College’s Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music. We also talk about Scott’s career in bluegrass and some other interesting projects that he is involved with these days.
This week we feature bluegrass banjo legend John McEuen, who along with his brother, William, and his bandmates in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was responsible for the landmark 1972 record album “Will The Circle Be Unbroken”. John has just published a new book that celebrates the 50-year anniversary of the “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” album release and in this podcast we talk with John about the recording of that historical project and the contents of his new book.
This week we feature legendary bluegrass singer, songwriter, guitar and mandolin player Peter Rowan. Peter has a new record on the Rebel label titled “Calling You From My Mountain.” We talk with Peter about this new recording and you will also get to hear some of the tracks from the album. I hope you enjoy the Peter Rowan podcast.
This week we are featuring fiddler Richard Greene. Richard grew up in Los Angeles and was part of the early bluegrass scene in Southern California. Most bluegrass fans are aware that he later went on to play with Bill Monroe, Seatrain, Muleskinner, Old and in the Way, The Grass is Greener and many more. He has had a very long and distinguished career in bluegrass and acoustic music.
This week we feature writer, author, performer and historian Neil Rosenberg. Our June issue focuses on early California bluegrass and one of the earliest bluegrass bands in northern California was a band Neil was in called the Redwood Canyon Ramblers. We talk with Neil today about the time he spent with that band and his history as a performer and writer in the world of bluegrass music.
This week we feature Dobro player LeRoy McNees, who is also known as LeRoy Mack. Our June issue focuses on early California bluegrass and and one of the earliest bluegrass bands in southern California was the Country Boys, who later changed their name to the Kentucky Colonels. LeRoy was the Dobro player in that band and then went on to have a career playing gospel music and recording several solo albums.
This week we feature Rodney Dillard. Our June issue focuses on early California bluegrass and the Dillards were right in the middle of what was happening in the Los Angeles music scene starting when they moved out there from Missouri in the early 1960s. Rodney talks about the early years of the Dillards in Los Angeles and the thriving music scene at the time.
This week we provide a phone interview that Dan Miller conducted with Tony Rice in September of 1998 in preparation for a cover story article in Flatpicking Guitar Magazine. The main interview is at the beginning, with a short follow-up interview tagged onto the end.
