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Jon & Sharon
Clay Hess Band at Pumpkin Park Music Hall
Photo credit: Valerie Gabehart
From an article in Bluegrass Today by James Gabehart.
With some of his family in attendance, Clay took the stage with his new bandmates. Mixing some of his own compositions (I didn’t realize he had written so many songs), songs from his recent release, and beloved standards, they displayed instrumental strength and the necessary vocal variety (three members of the group took turns at lead vocals) to present an entertaining show.
Playing enough to be interesting without ever abandoning the melody, Josh Hymer played a solid banjo. Making his father proud, Clay was joined on stage by his son, Brennan, on rhythm guitar and harmony vocals. Recommended to Clay by Adam Steffey as “killer”, Clay joked that mandolin player Ryan Moyers hadn’t killed anyone yet (how do we get some of our slang?). Moyers may not have committed murder yet, but he did a fine job on both mandolin and vocals.
Introduced as the first person Clay called when he decided to put a group together, Irl Hees demonstrated why Clay called, with his bass playing, lead and tenor vocals, and stage personality. His solo (I mean solo as in he was the only person on stage) rendition of Working On A Building featured the slap-bass technique which was more common in early bluegrass history, and is always a crowd pleaser.
Of course, the show featured plenty of Clay’s amazing guitar playing. I remember jamming with him 20+ years ago when he was a teenager and being proclaimed “the next Tony Rice,” and although virtually no one that plays bluegrass guitar solos hasn’t been influenced by Tony Rice, Clay doesn’t resort to Rice’s standard licks to construct a solo, but has his own ideas to express. The bigger surprise to those that haven’t seen him often is his vocal ability, which will no doubt continue to grow as he takes on the role of primary lead vocalist.
While they certainly are all experienced musicians, it seemed that as the show went on, the group reached a comfort level which showed not only in their instrumentals and vocals, but in their stage patter. They displayed a sense of humor, most of which seemed spontaneous, and the audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy the evening.
http://bluegrasstoday.com/39134/clay-hess-band-steps-out/
Richard Smith and Jon Perform “Cannonball Rag”
March 2012
My Favorite Guitars in Naples, Florida
Congratulations, Finn!
FINN OLAFSSON APPOINTED AMBASSADOR OF TOURISM.
At an event held by the tourist organization VisitNordsjaelland on Feb. 21, 2012, composer and guitarist Finn Olafsson had the honour of being appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Monarchic North Sealand in Denmark.
The appointment states that “The title as Goodwill Ambassador is a mark of honour which is awarded persons who have got unique qualifications and who are motivated to make a difference for Monarchic North Sealand – the Danish and foreign visitors’ preferred haven of life quality and joy of living.”
Finn Olafsson’s music is inspired by the nature, culture, and history of North Sealand and his latest album “Music From North Sealand” reflects the inspiration that comes from living in this area.
