Skunk Fest, Good Ol Days and pumpkin carving!

Ok, so I'm a little behind on my weekly blog... so lets catch up!

First of all, congratulations to the winners of our October Trick or Treat drawing! Be sure to sign up on our mailing list to hear about our next fun contest!

Albino Skunk Festival was awesome! There aren't many festivals left where you're aloud to bring your dog! We played a set on Friday evening, camped out and listened to a lot of great bands. On Saturday afternoon we took off to go play at a place called Good Ol' Days in Cumming Georgia with Billy Gilmore. I guess you could call it a short little Narrow Gauge Trio trip. It was sad to have to leave the festival early, but we were consoled by big beers, bratwurst & sauerkraut, as we were playing for an Oktoberfest celebration, and what a celebration it was! Not only did we get to play music for some fine folks, our friends, the Virginia Daredevils played earlier in the day and we got to have lots of musical guests up!

We got back to Asheville in just enough time to unpack and clean house before my college buddy, Jessy Dorsett, arrived for a visit! I haven't seen her in a long time... Well, I saw her last time I was in Maine... which was a while ago. Anyway, she was on a great journey from Austin Texas back to New England, by way of Asheville, which was fortunate for me! Jessy's visit was perfectly timed because I had already planned a housewarming fall festivities party! In between getting ready for the party, we got a chance to get out and enjoy the beautiful fall weather and see all the changing leaves. We got a little more than we bargained for when we ran into a bear in the woods. Thankfully, we didn't actually run into him, but he certainly let us know that we closer than he would have liked, so naturally, we let the bear have his way and headed back up the trail. The funny thing about the whole bear thing is that this is the second one I've run into in the last couple of weeks. I've lived in Asheville for almost 2 years now and haven't seen a bear until recently, when I've run into two in a very short period of time. We were thankful that we made it home safe and sound, so to celebrate, we watched youtube videos of bear attacks to see what could have happened to us under the worst circumstances. I'm still a little shaken up when I hear noises in the dark in
the back yard, but hopefully I'll get over it eventually...

Until next time, watch out for bears and enjoy some pictures of pumpkins!

Ashleigh

10 great radio programs!

Hello!

Yesterday afternoon, we played in Roanoke, at a little place called Fork in the Alley. The lineup for this particular show was, Matt Purinton, Nic Coker, and myself. Anyway, during our first set break we realized that the date was 10/10/10! Now, that doesn't happen very often, and I was pretty thrilled to be playing a show on such a date! So, in celebration of 10/10/10 happening yesterday,
Here are 10 great radio programs where you can hear great bluegrass! Don't forget to call and request your favorite song off of Fruit of the Vine!

1. The Country Roads Bluegrass Show on Bluegrass Mix hosted by Roger Randolph. Bluegrass Mix has a lot a great shows, so you should probably check all of them out. This is a great online bluegrass radio program and there is always good music playing!
2. Rocky Mountain Breakdown on KRFC in Fort Collins hosted by Andrea Bradstreet. Listen locally at 88.9 or listen online! The show happens on Saturday from noon to 3pm.
3. The Ol' Hippie Bluegrass Hour on WQTE 95.3 in Adrian MI hosted by Jerry Eicher & Randy Shaffer. The show starts at 11pm on Saturday nights. I had the opportunity to meet these two at IBMA, and I can tell you that this show is going to have some great music and is also going to be a blast!
4. Bronzwound Bluegrass WERU in Orland, ME, hosted by Darwin Davidson. Tune in locally at 89.9 or listen online. Great bluegrass in Maine Every Thursday from 8pm - 10pm!
5. Strings and Things on Yellowstone Public Radio hosted by Doug Ezell on Saturday from 8 to 9pm. This program covers some pretty wide territory, so you'll have to check the website to find out where to turn your dial to if you're in Montana or Wyoming, but you can listen online!
6. This is Bluegrass on WMNF-FM in Tampa, Fl, hosted by Tom Henderson. The show airs on Mondays from 7 to 9pm. You don't want to miss this great program. If you live in the area tune into 88.5 if not, listen online!
7. Perscription Bluegrass Radio hosted by Brian McNeal. Do you have bluegrass fever? If you answered "yes" then you need to go to their website and see what they can do for you!
8. Blue Ridge Breakdown, WLFC Stereo 88 in Findlay, OH, hosted by Joe Steiner. Tune in on Mondays from 8 to 10pm!
9. Bluegrass Etc KCSN in L.A. CA, hosted by Frank Hoppe. The show airs on Sunday mornings from 6am to 10am. Here's a great program for all you early risers! You can also listen online while you lay in bed early Sunday morning if you don't feel like getting up!
10. Last but not least, Going Across the Mountain on WNCW in Spindale NC hosted by Dennis Jones and Brad Watson. This is the longest bluegrass show on the air that I know of, and its right close to where I live and one of my favorites! Tune in on Saturdays from 11am until 7pm and enjoy an entire day of bluegrass programing! In the Asheville area tune in at 88.9 or listen online!

In other news, its not too late to be entered into our October Trick or Treat Drawing. You could win a T-shirt, or a CD! We'll be drawing 3 names at the end of October. To participate send us an email (narrowgaugebluegrass@gmail.com) with your name, you address, and your t-shirt size. Don't miss out!

The Albino Skunk Festival is this weekend and I am very excited about it, so I'm gonna get off the computer and dig out all my camping stuff and set up my tent in the back yard to make sure I have everything ready!

See you there!

Ashleigh

Post IBMA... October is underway

We have returned from yet another IBMA, and we have survived! We usually survive IBMA, but for whatever reason, every time I come home alive and well it still seems like a victory to me. Not only did we survive, but we had a great time! Our two Monday showcases went swimmingly, and the rest of the week was filled with music, fun and friends... not to mention the yearly ritual of me falling in love with another bass in the exhibit hall. As usual, I didn't actually come home with said bass, but I'll be thinking of him fondly, for a few months, then he will fade from my memory until it is yet again fall and I find myself in Nashville at the convention center, in the exhibit hall, swooning over another bass.


I know I told you the lineup for the showcases in the last blog, but we had a last minute addition to our group, and that was the ever so talented banjoist, Jim Rollins! He arrived in Nashville in just enough time to change into his nice clothes in the parking lot and join the rest of the lot for a quick rehearsal before showcase time began. We had a great showcase crowd and as you can see from the picture above, everyone had fun! A special thanks to Acoustic Trail Productions for having us in their showcase room. It was the most warm and inviting showcase room in the whole place, if I do say so myself, not to mention the fact that they had the best line up all week long! I'd also like to thank all of the talented musicians who played the showcases: Rebecca, Matt, Jim & Zeb. You couldn't ask for a better band!



While we were there, running around to all the showcases, We got to see other awesome musicians play. One of my favorites, and hands down the best solo act at the convention, was Jim Hurst. In addition to being an amazing producer he just so happens to be one of the best musicians in the business. It was good to hear him do his thing and he does it so well! I can't wait until he comes through Asheville and I'm actually home so I can go out and enjoy some virtuosic guitar playing and incredible singing.



Other than our yearly Nashville pilgrimage, the days have been filled with music, housework, getting caught up on emails, making quite a few song demos, hanging out with the animals, and doing some studio work for another great Asheville musician, Lyndsay Pruett's album. Matt and I both went in yesterday and played on a sort of funky bossa that she wrote, then I played some bass on a few more today. Its gonna be a great little recording, so you should go see Lyndsay play whenever the opportunity arises!

October brings some more fun musical adventures that I'm really looking forward to. One of those is the Albino Skunk Festival which takes place in Greer, South Carolina on October 15th & 16th. Its coming soon and the lineup is great as always, so be sure to get your tickets, pack your camping gear and bring some warm clothes, although they do a great job of keeping the campfires burning to keep everyone warm and happy.

Well, I think that's all I have for you this week. Hopefully we'll see you out at one of our upcoming shows!

-Ashleigh