Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 14 Oct 08 - 03:17 PM

without a doubt The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britian

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: fretless
Date: 14 Oct 08 - 02:49 PM

Add also the Fly By Night String Band, a NYC-based group that recorded one LP back in the late 70s or early 80s.

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: MissouriMud
Date: 14 Oct 08 - 02:03 PM

Add the Konnarock Critters, Euphoria String Band, Boiled Buzzards, Volo Bogtrotters, Il-Mo Boys, and the Crooked Jades just to name a few more great string bands who have been around at least long enough to have more than 1 cd out. It is true that many string bands seem have a short shelf life, multiple personalities or other related tendencies to morph into other groups with slightly different personnel and a different name.   I assume the economics of the business and the nature of the music contribute to that.   Some great combos just go by their names - Jones, Miller & Nelson; Tom, Brad & Alice; ...

Take a look at the winners of the trad band contests at Galax, Clifftop and other festivals and you will see certain names consistently popping up in one form or another.

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: MickyMan
Date: 13 Oct 08 - 03:31 PM

Some great names in the bunch. Keep-em comin'

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: Fidjit
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 06:13 AM

4 Wheel Drive

here they are

Enjoy

Chas

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: Fidjit
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 06:09 AM

4 wheel Drive.

Based in Begium

They're great.

I'll see if I can find a site for you to hear them.

Chas

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: Mark Ross
Date: 15 Sep 08 - 10:28 AM

The Sweets Mill String Band with Kenny Hall were the absolute best!

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: Kampervan
Date: 15 Sep 08 - 10:00 AM

How can this thread get to 18 postings without mentioning

THE 'Incredible String Band' ????

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: GUEST,Arnie
Date: 15 Sep 08 - 08:36 AM

Ray - was that you at Clifftop? If so, I didn't realize, or I would have spent some time talking with you. Can you forward your email address to mine at [e-mail]

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: GUEST,BanjoRay
Date: 15 Sep 08 - 08:30 AM

Mandolin was out of tune and the banjo solo was inaudible (winge, winge)
And they were all younger than me...
Ray

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: topical tom
Date: 15 Sep 08 - 08:14 AM

I just came upon this band;never heard it before but they can REALLY pick! The 357 String Band

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: nickp
Date: 15 Sep 08 - 07:18 AM

The one and only Highwoods String Band (I had the great fortune to be at their reunion early this year), Fuzzy Mountain, Orpheus Supertones, Uncle Earl, Foghorn, Freight Hoppers (now reformed), Chocolate Drops and that's just a few. Nick

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: topical tom
Date: 15 Sep 08 - 07:12 AM

I personally enjoy The Carolina Chocolate Drops and The Freight Hoppers

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: GUEST,BanjoRay
Date: 15 Sep 08 - 05:56 AM

Hi Arnie - I'm looking forward to driving you and Uncle Henry's Favorites around when you come to the UK in february...
Cheers
Ray

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 15 Sep 08 - 02:38 AM

The Stanley Brothers followed by The Clinch Mountain Boys.

eric

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: GUEST,Arnie Naiman
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 09:49 PM

Current: New Lost City Ramblers, Orpheus Supertones, Double Decker Stringband, Gandydancer, Uncle Henry's Favorites (I sometimes play banjo with them ), Hoover Uprights
Look at our myspace site for more great current old time music bands and musicians http://www.myspace.com/raggedbutright

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: Arkie
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 09:16 PM

Highwoods Stringband from a few years back.
Freighthoppers. They disbanded way too soon.
Stillhouse Reelers
Working now:
Old Crow Medicine Show
Carolina Chocolate Drops
Uncle Earl

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: olddude
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 05:42 PM

for me it is my buddie Barry and his nephews. He maybe stuck in that wheelchair but his music hits the heart

2ndgeneration

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: fretless
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 05:37 PM

Looks like we've expanded the definition here, or that we never set it. But if we take "string bands' to refer to groups that play acoustic music in the Appalachian tradition (loosely defined, because while I agree that the Spark Gap Wonder Boys could be on the list, I think a purist could also argue that they edged into bluegrass), and if we modify the stream to refer to less well known and less frequently acknowledged string bands (thus, passing the obvious reference to the New Lost City Ramblers), then I'd put in a vote for the Correctone String Band, which brought the tenor banjo into the group and added a distinctly Calypso lilt to their music. And then there were the Chicken Chokers...

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: GUEST,Jeff
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 03:53 PM

"David Grisman, Tony Rice, Vassar Clements helped re-invent...etc."

Gotta politely disagree. While certainly involved in THAT process I'd point to 'The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band', Jim Kweskin's Jugband and John Hartford. Especially the 'Aereo-Plain' LP featuring Hartford, Vassar Clements, Tut Taylor, Norman Blake and Randy Scruggs. Every song on it is a classic in execution and set the 'Gold Standard' for anything that came after it. Newgrass Revival, Ophelia Swing Band(Tim O'Brian in a secondary role to Dan Sadowsky), The David Grisman Quintet all owe their 'acceptance' to the opening up of the 'acoustic genre' to this LP.   The Dirt Band did alot for Vassar Clements' career visibility. The release of 'Hillbilly Jazz' did much for that too, but the LP 'Old And In The Way' gave 'straight bg' an acceptance among 'youth culture' that was previously unheard of. Including Jerry Garcia on that LP was a masterstroke by the record label in terms of sales because of the Deadhead nation, but if you listen to the banjo solos he was CLEARLY outclassed. And the Dirt Band's release of 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken' introduced suburbia to 'southern acoustic' music in a big way.

TR and DG were beneficiaries of that groundswell. Rarefied and gifted, to be sure, but NOT cultural innovators...that's John Hartfoed, Jeff Hanna, Jim Ibbotson, Jim Kweskin and Smothers Brothers' territory.

Not to mention Pentangle, The Incredible String Band, Silly Wizard, Bothy Band, Planxty, etc. on the other side o' the pond.

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: pdq
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 10:17 AM

David Grisman, Tony Rice and Vassar Clements helped re-invent string band music in the US. It was called New Acoustic at one time, but that name never really took with the regular listening public. Actually, the whole concept has more of a cult following than a general public acceptence. David Grisman has had his own record label Acoustic Disc since 1990 and every offering is worth owning. Inexpensive samplers are abundant so you can here people you don't yet know.

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: john f weldon
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 10:11 AM

Many string bands have short lives; not the players, the bands, They split up and reform in different combinations... ...with ever-sillier names.

If yr just looking for good CDs, this is great...

Old Time Concert with Doc Watson, Clint Howard & Fred Price.

Another long-defunct group, "The Spark Gap Wonder Boys"

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: john f weldon
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 10:06 AM

Assuming you will allow a concertina and a piano into a string band:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/grandpicnic

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: Rasener
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 09:48 AM

New Rope String Band

Subject: RE: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: john f weldon
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 09:32 AM

The Whippersnappers; leader George Wilson. They are eclectic, funny, skilled & infused with the spirit of Uncle Dave Macon.

http://www.oldsongs.org/georgewilson.html

http://cdbaby.com/cd/whippersnappers

George must be as old as Methusalah, but he bounces around while banging & sawing like a delighted kid. At a recent performance, they took requests, saying "any style is fine, there are only 12 tunes we don't know". And they only got stumped 4 times.

Subject: Review: Best String Bands - with or w/o vocals
From: MickyMan
Date: 14 Sep 08 - 09:08 AM

How about some great groups in the "string band" tradition, where the real test is awesome interaction among fiddles and guitars, or fiddles and vocals and fiddles ...etc. I'll start things with the classic Red Clay Ramblers. I was just listening to their combined CD of two great 70s albums, Twisted Laurel and The Merchant's Lunch.
Please give me more.