ETTORE SALATI

This month's Artist in Spotlight is Ettore Salati from Italy. Ettore is a sought after session guitarist by many prog musicians not just in Italy but all around the world. He started playing piano at a very young age (mostly classical music) but when he became a teenager and discovered the world of Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Genesis and 70's rock in general, he was immediately fascinated by guitar... more

KAT EPPLE (Emerald Web)

KAT EPPLE, flautist and composer, is our interview guest this month. She has won 8 Emmy awards, was nominated for a Grammy and she has released 18 albums internationally. Most of you know her as the other half of the legendary ambient/new age duo EMERALD WEB. She has a very large collection (over 200) of flutes that she gathered from all around the world during her travels. Kat composes original New Age/Jazz/World/orchestral music and has produced film scores and television soundtracks for National Geographic, Nova, CNN, Carl Sagan, Another World, The Travel Channel, Turner Broadcasting System, History Channel, HGN, The Guiding Light, PBS, and NASA among others, and was Music Director for the feature-length film, Captiva Island. She also owns a record company and works on both sides of the music industry as a musician and as a business woman... more

New Grass Revival / On The Boulevard

New Grass Revival are one of the pioneers of progressive bluegrass. Formed in 1971 by Sam Bush (mandolin/vocals), Curtis Burch (guitar), Ebo Walker (bass) and Courtney Johnson (banjo), they immediately got the attention from the industry both in a good and bad way. First of all, they were often told that their music was not bluegrass, and they knew it wasn’t “bluegrass” in its traditional sense, and it wasn’t what they were trying to achieve anyways. They were blending rock, soul and blues rhythms with the traditional bluegrass music. They were not wearing suites, but instead they had a more casual style along with long hair... more

MISSY RAINES AND THE NEW HIP

“… I once had a dream about the father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe, pop master Joe Jackson and jazz giant Ray Brown. They were like… friends. They got together and jammed and it was a whole new kind of music, it was very cool. And then I woke up, and I knew what I had to do…” says Missy Raines; but progressive bluegrass is nothing new to her. She launched her career with the experimental bluegrass band Cloud Valley, toured with Eddie and Martha Adcock, was a member of Claire Lynch’s Front Porch Band, and won IBMA's Best Bass Player of the Year award 7(!) times. Missy's influences are diverse: Tom Gray, Todd Phillips, Ron Carter, Christian McBride as bass players; Tony Rice, Sam Bush, and David Grisman as three major life changing influences.

Missy’s dream finally came true when she brought 4 very talented musicians together to form a new band: Missy Raines and The New Hip. But how did these musicians come together? Missy says: “They are fabulous talents and I feel very lucky to have found them. It took a while to assemble everyone and it wasn't easy. One tactic was to find the players whose playing I loved, but who were already knee deep in their own careers but to ask them about protégés, students, folks they'd heard recently who impressed them. That's exactly how I found Ethan Ballinger- through Matt Flinner. I love Matt's playing and I wanted someone with that sensibility. Ethan was one of Matt's students till he got so good they started gigging together. I've known Michael for years and when I first heard him play I knew he was special and I knew I wanted him in the band. He's been there since the start. I met Megan at a session in town and Lee through Ethan."

She adds: "Word of mouth is a pretty powerful tool. The bigger question is, "how do you keep them?" I think it comes down to creating a band that you would want to be in yourself. Musically, everyone contributes- ideas are solicited and most arrangements are group efforts. Everyone writes in this band, so we often feature individuals with their own tunes. At the end of the day, I have to ultimately be responsible for what goes out, but I'm constantly aware that I've got amazing musicians around me and I really try to tap into the creativity and synergy that is going on when we're all together. We're all building a trust among us and that takes time but is one of those things that make bands thrive."

There is indeed great chemistry between the band members and it most definitely reflects to the music they create. Their debut 5 song EP recently came out (May 20th 2008). The opening track is a great bluegrass/jazz piece called "Eye of the Liger", an Ethan Ballinger song. Ballinger, 21 years old, started his music career playing rock and blues electric guitar. He is however playing mandolin and mandola now and blending his jazz skills with bluegrass and acoustic music. Ethan, Megan and Michael each take their solo turns on "Eye of he Liger". Please pay close attention to Megan McCormick who was already featured at such a young age on Flatpicking Guitar Magazine's September-October 2006 issue. The founder of the magazine Dan Miller says she will be a role model for guitarists regardless of gender and generation. Lee Holland, the most recent addition to the band plays percussion on "Eye of the Liger" and "Basket of Singing Birds".

With her incredible bass playing aside, Missy's steamy vocals are also unique for the genre. She has the voice of a jazz singer mixed with country and pop influences. "Basket of Singing Birds", a song written by Ed Snodderly, really does suit her voice as the verses are on country-pop side and the chorus is on pop-jazz. She did not win the best bass player award for nothing 7 times in a row. When you hear her play you will immediately realize that she treats bass as a lead instrument more than just a rhythm section element. Like on "Stop, Drop & Wiggle", the second instrumental song written by the band. Guitarist Michael Witcher brings a more bluesy sound to this song whereas the guest John R. Burr takes a fusion-like turn on hammond organ. "Magnolia", written by Ed Snodderly sounds like Nickel Creek meets early John Cowan solo. Last track "Fingernail Moon" is more on the folk side with a little bit of Joni Mitchell feel.

This album is loaded with positive energy. It is in the lyrics, it is in the melodies, it is everywhere. Do not try to pinpoint this band's sound by picking it apart song by song, we actually discourage you to do so. Enjoy the music as a whole and it will get to you quickly when you don't try to categorize it. Tony Rice said "Playing with Missy is like walking on air", well, listening to Missy Raines and The New Hip feels the same way, truly uplifting...

Visit the band's website at: www.missyraines.com

Visit their myspace and listen to their songs at: www.myspace.com/missyrainesandthenewhip