2/26/08
Howdy, folks! Here’s the latest news from the Tennessee Jed Band headquarters: Meet the newest members of the Tennessee Jed Band! Charlie Chamberlain, our new mandolinist extraordinaire and occasional guitarist, has a resume that speaks for itself. This Elixir Strings endorsee lends his unique style to our rhythmic backbone and helps flesh out the Tennessee Jed Band sound. Here is his bio from the Elixir site: “Charlie Chamberlain began playing the guitar at age eight and was soon accepted in to the Fine Arts Center where he studied Jazz throughout high school. Before leaving, to further his musical studies at the University of North Texas, he was awarded with the Outstanding Senior Guitarist award in 1999. It was in Texas that he fell in love with the acoustic guitar, after trading in his electric for a vintage archtop. Next up was a move to Asheville, North Carolina to start the progressive bluegrass band, Steel String Theory. He recorded Curve in the Road with SST in 2004 and produced The North Buncombe Years for the band in 2006. Now living in Greenville, South Carolina [actually, Chapel Hill, NC now,] Charlie splits his time between teaching guitar and mandolin and performing nationwide, has written and produced music for television and film, is planning for a solo record, and is collaborating with the Free Form Film Festival for a US tour in 2007.” We are grateful to have this breathtaking multi-instrumentalist in the family. Also, expect to finally witness the birth of a truly unique breed of acoustic music as you jam to the beat of our newest member, drummer and percussionist, Dave Markham! We are extremely proud to present this amazingly well-rounded musician and doctor of rhythm, as he completes the Tennessee Jed Band formula. A master of subtlety when playing our more “sensitive” material, Dave can rock out with the best of them on the aggressive tunes. So be ready for a much more dancer-friendly show from here on out. He also occasionally plays with Raleigh native and Nashville recording artist, Bryan Davis. We are gearing up to hit the road, as we gas up our bus, “Gus,” for his inaugural voyage. Tennessee Jed presents the MOVE THAT MOUNTAIN TOUR! Our first stop before heading west is The Pour House in Raleigh on Wednesday March 5th, where we will be sharing the bill with local rock/alt.country group, Kennebec. We are playing first, so make sure to show up early, and don’t forget your mugs, ‘cause it’s Mug Night! Next night we’re playing Hickory, then - nobody’s gonna have to move that mountain, ‘cause we’re going right over top of it to Knoxville, TN, then back into the heart of Appalachia as we play an intimate theater gig in Highlands, NC. Other stops will include Rutherfordton and Black Mountain, NC. Plans are also in place to carry that mountain to South Carolina and Virginia, as well, in the upcoming months. Check the website often for schedule updates. Congratulations to The 3D Project at Cary Ballet Conservatory for their moving performance of Jed’s pseudo-classical newgrass piece, “Opie’s Opus,” during the 2008 Festival of North Carolina Dance last Sunday evening in Winston-Salem at North Carolina School of the Arts’ Stevens Center. Jed personally attended the performance, and it was well received amongst other pieces by composers such as Vivaldi, Schumann, Brahms. Special thanks to Darra Gasper for envisioning such a graceful visual parallel to the piece, and to the dancers for making it come alive on stage. They will be performing the piece again in May. Stay tuned for more details. We also want to congratulate our friend and extended family member, Andy Thorn, for his recent invitation to join the Emmitt/Nershi Band on banjo, featuring Drew Emmitt of Leftover Salmon and Bill Nershi of String Cheese Incident. Look for him at every major festival stop in the country over the next year! Andy played on Tennessee Jed’s Acoustica release, and has been a frequent special guest at our shows. We look forward to hearing him jam with some of the best musicians out there. That’s it for now. Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter… 1/15/08 Howdy, y'all! It’s been a busy month for Tennessee Jed, and it promises to get even busier… First things first - Jed will be playing a short solo set featuring special guests tomorrow night (1/16) at The Pour House in Raleigh in between Big Fat Gap Electric Band and Mark Schimick’s (Larry Keel and Natural Bridge) Ghost Driver String Band! It’s Mug Night, people, so come out for some fine pickin’ and drinkin’, and support our friends in the extended Tennessee Jed family. Now for something completely different - Jed’s classigrass instrumental composition, “Opie’s Opus,” hits the big stage as members of Cary Ballet Conservatory perform a modern jazz/ballet number choreographed to the tune by Jazz Program Director, Darra Gasper. Video from their dress rehearsal is forthcoming, as is more information concerning performances and festival appearances, so stay tuned and check the website and MySpace often. When you get the chance, surf over to Home Grown Music Network’s website and read the new review of Acoustica written by Bryan Rodger’s. We think this man has excellent taste in music… www.homegrownmusic.net/cdreviews.shtml#1199467968 Jed will be making an in-studio appearance on Carrboro’s own WCOM FM 103.5 with Susan Herndon next Tuesday, January 22nd at 5pm (That’s drive-time, folks, so be sure to tune her in every Tuesday on your way home from work.) Expect to hear live performances from the studio, as well as cuts from Acoustica mixed with lively conversation and cheesy anecdotes about the “music biz.” The show will also air online at www.communityradio.coop , so make sure to check it out, even if you aren’t in range of the station. We hope everyone will be able to make it to The Pour House on Thursday, January 31st as we reprise our role as opening act for Chris Barron (singer of The Spin Doctors) featuring The Time Bandits! His voice is back in top form again after a full recovery from vocal cord paralysis, and we are honored to share the stage with this 90’s era funk/jam pioneer. For those of you in the Asheville area, we regret to inform you that our Hannah Flanagan’s gig slated for Saturday, March 8th has been cancelled due to the club no longer housing live music. We are looking to book the date with another club in the area, and will keep you updated as soon as details become available. That’s all for now. Be alert for the next episode in the exciting adventures of Tennessee Jed! 12/18/07 Hey, everyone! The Tennessee Jed band has been invited to open again for Chris Barron, singer of The Spin Doctors, at The Pour House on January 31st! We had a blast playing with them a few weeks ago at Downtown Event Center, and really look forward to doing it all over again. The evening promises to be a fun one, filled with plenty of surprises and some of your old Spin Doctors favorites (as well as a healthy dose of Tennessee Jed...) Come out early and help us make it a night to remember. And if that's too long to wait for your Tennessee Jed fix, Jed will be doing a short set, also at The Pour House, between the electrified version of Big Fat Gap and Mark Schimick's(mandolin player for Larry Keel and Natural Bridge) Ghost Driver String Band on Wed. January 16th. Looking forward to a jam with special guests... Mug Night! More shows are being added to the schedule almost on a daily basis so refer back to the official site and/or MySpace frequently for updates. This is a very exciting time for us in the Tennessee Jed camp, and we hope you will come be a part of it. Thanks, and happy holidays! 12/10/07 Hey, everybody! Here's what's up in the Tennessee Jed camp. For those of you who weren't there, we just opened for Chris Barron, singer of The Spin Doctors, at Downtown Event Center last Friday, December 7th. After our set we were treated to his new stuff as well as several old Spin Doctors favorites. We also had a great time hanging out with Chris and the band after the show. It looks like we will be opening for him again at the end of January when he plays The Pour House in Raleigh. Stay tuned for updates. We're proud to announce a new member of the Tennessee Jed family of pickers and rockers. Joe Troop made his profound musical presence felt for the first time with the Tennessee Jed Band last Friday on fiddle, banjo, and vocals. Another Big Fat Gap alumnus, Joe's multi-instrumental virtuosity will be a valuable asset to our live show and in the studio. We also featured rock-solid rhythm section Jason Patrick (bass) and Gary Grier (drums), in addition to myself and Eric Chesson on guitar. Plans are in place to begin recording the next exciting chapter of the Tennessee Jed saga. We probably won't officially release anything new until fall of next year, but we may leak singles, or possibly an EP as new material is finished. We will keep you posted. We have begun booking our Spring tour! Tennessee Jed will be hitting the road for the mountains and beyond in March, taking Gus, our new tour bus, on his inaugural voyage. (Thanks to Jamie and Linda of Kicking Grass for handing down their revamped airport shuttle bus.) Check the website and/or MySpace for our schedule, and honk if you see us heading down Interstate 40. That's all, for now. See you at the shows! 10/01/07 We would like to thank everyone that came to the official Acoustica release party at The Hideaway on September 22nd in Raleigh. We had an amazing time, and the owner of the club even bought a t-shirt! Big thanks as well to Miles and the boys in Big Fat Gap for helping us make the event such a success. It is truly a pleasure to play alongside such amazing pickers and singers. (Look for Jed to join them for a tune at the Shakori Hills Festival during their Saturday set October 13th on the Grove Stage @ 4pm.) We would also like to thank Jackie Bell for the stunning new t-shirt designs, of which there are two varieties on the new store page of the website, so check them out. Thanks are also due to Kathy Justice for her excellent article in which Tennessee Jed was featured in the September 19th issue of The Independent Weekly. Here is a link to the article. The official drop date for the CD is tomorrow! Ask for it at your local independent record store, or check out the store page of this website to purchase your copy from CD Baby today. It is also available for download on iTunes, so start downloading! Tennessee Jed is proud to announce our new status as an official member of the Home Grown Music Network, the grassroots distribution company that helped make artists such as Keller Williams and Yonder Mountain String Band nearly household names. It is quite an honor to be invited into the fold. Look for us to be featured in their upcoming winter catalogue. We are still finalizing plans to begin touring in the upcoming months, but if you were one of the fortunate ones to get a ticket to the Durham Beer Fest before it sold out and a VIP pass, come see us during the second session on October 6th. We’ll be getting down throughout the evening with some very expensive and tasty beer, so come help us celebrate the festivities. August 8, 2007 ~TENNESSEE JED announces the release of their debut album, "Acoustica" (Sam & Molly Music) out in stores Oct. 2, 2007~ Carried by the passionate vocals of John Fisher (Jed), and fueled by a slew of heavyweight musical guests, Tennessee Jed is proud to announce the release of their debut album, "Acoustica" (Sam & Molly Music 2007), which hits shelves Oct. 2, 2007. Consisting of a whopping fifteen tracks, the album effortlessly traverses a musical universe of genres such as rock, bluegrass, country, world music, funk, and even a tinge of reggae, fusing them all in one fully realized musical vision, "Acoustica." "Acoustica" was recorded at the Rubber Room in Chapel Hill, NC, over the last year, and was co-produced by John Fisher and Jerry Brown (Doc Watson, Steep Canyon Rangers, Carolina Chocolate Drops). Helping to shape Tennessee Jed's unique acoustic-based sound are a veritable who's who of established americana, rock, country, and bluegrass artists, such as Robert Sledge (Ben Folds Five) on bass and acoustic guitar, Andy Thorn (Big Fat Gap, Larry Keel's Natural Bridge) on banjo, Nicky Sanders (Steep Canyon Rangers) on fiddle, Walt Hensey (Barefoot Manner) on bass, Nick Campbell (Jam Pain Society) on drums, and John T. Boulding (The Shady Grove Band) on banjo and Dobro. The album also features two songs that were co-written by former bandmate, and up and coming country music star, Jason Michael Carroll of "Alyssa Lies" fame, whose recent album debuted at #1 on the Billboard country charts. From the soaring and anthemic tracks of 'What Some Say' and 'Gotta Be Wrong to Be Right,' to the endearing and soulful ballads, 'You Take Me Higher' and 'Wayward Pilgrim,' to the rollicking bluegrass rockers 'Pruning Shears' and 'Stuck,' Tennessee Jed takes us on an all encompassing journey through our American musical roots via "Acoustica." And the reviews are already coming in... "On Acoustica, Jed combines styles such as folk, bluegrass, country, and Southern Rock, and the 15 songs are littered with hot acoustic guitar picking, fiddle, banjo, organ, Dobro, and mandolin, as well as plenty of soulful vocals." "...a real sweet Charlie Daniels meets The Marshall Tucker Band..." - Peter Pardo, seaoftranquility.org See the full article here July 8, 2007 We're getting geared up for the upcoming CD release, folks. Because of the imminent release, we're pulling back on our smaller local shows. To our local fans, don't be alarmed! Plans are in place for touring to resume in the beginning of October following the release party at Hideaway BBQ. The official national release date for Acoustica is September 25th, but you can get your pre-release copy at the release party on the 22nd! A new store webpage is in the works so that you can purchase the CD as well as t-shirts, stickers, etc. New t-shirt designs will be available soon. We are planning to make a video for "The Ballad of Sam and Molly" in the very near future, so also keep your eyes open for the new video page. June 25, 2007 Announcing the "Official" CD Release party for Acoustica featuring Big Fat Gap at Hideaway BBQ Saturday, September 22nd! We've lined up a good one here folks. Big Fat Gap will open and perform as the backing band! We also have some other special surprises in the works, so don't miss it! May 10, 2007 We have exciting news just in this morning... Tennessee Jed and friends are proud to announce we will be playing this Sat. in the VIP tent at Koka Booth Ampitheatre @ Regency Park in Cary for the special Tony Rice and Alison Krauss & Union Station feat. Jerry Douglas show! This is a once in a lifetime chance to hear flatpicking master Tony Rice with the preeminent bluegrass band of our time, Union Station! I just saw them perform at Merlefest, folks, and believe me, Alison sings these songs like no other. Trust me, you don't want to miss this amazing event. And you also get Tennessee Jed immediately before and after!!!! What more could you ask for? May 7, 2007 Wow! I guess it's been awhile since the last news post. Things have been picking up with amazing speed in the Tennessee Jed camp, and the news has been happening faster than we can update the site! Firstly, we'd like to welcome Bobby Britt and Andy Thorn to the Tennessee Jed family of rotating musicians. As much as we would like to have exclusive dibs on both of these amazing players, they spend most of their time playing with the bluegrass band, Big Fat Gap, based out of Chapel Hill. Check them out! On the business end of things, we would like to announce our partnership with big entertainment agency! "Big" things are going to be happening in the next few months, so check back often for the latest updates. We just got back from a wonderful time in South Carolina this past weekend after playing the Sundown on the River Concert Series in Charleston with Laura Reed and Deep Pocket, and A Taste of Beaufort with Black Eyed Susan. It was a blast, and the weather was nearly perfect. The people were all very friendly and helpful, and the scenery was amazing. We actually played on a pier out over the Wando River in Charleston! Good thing water helps carry sound... Also in recent news, we had the good fortune of playing the VIP tent at Walnut Creek for both Widespread Panic shows in Raleigh! Widespread was awesome as usual, and the crowd was crowd was very receptive to our music. Thanks to Marianne Taylor for helping to make it happen. Lastly, but most importantly, we would like to announce that Acoustica is completed and available to the public exclusively at shows or personally from Jed. An official release to the masses, including a highly promoted release party is still in the works. We will let everyone know as soon as details become available. |
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