Lou Wamp, Resophonic Guitar, Fiddle, Mandolin

After knowing just a few things about Lou Wamp, there might be an irresistible tendency to begin tossing out labels: “Driven”, “Renaissance Man”, “Multi-talented”, “Perplexing”, or, perhaps if he himself were doing the labeling, just “Perplexed”. Easy enough to understand, given he’s at once a 25-year veteran of the music business, a registered architect with a successful practice (see www.louiswamp.com), impressively talented artist and painter, amateur archaeologist, and father and stepfather to six kids.

Besides being a sought after sideman and studio musician, he certainly has the skill to be a solo artist in his own right. Born in Ft. Benning, GA in 1956, Lou had plenty of music (Elvis to Travis; Bach to Beatles) around home while growing up. After piano lessons and playing guitar in his high school jazz band, a broken wrist encouraged him to take up resonator guitar. Gene Wooten became a close friend and mentor. Lou played on “Sidemen” nights at the Station Inn in Nashville and was in a band called Hiwassee Ridge that performed at the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville. Other bands he’s worked with include James Monroe and the Midnight Ramblers, The Dismembered Tennesseans, Cowjazz, Blue Moon Rising, and others. Continue reading

Slim Pickins is an acoustic bluegrass/old time/blues band that has begun to make a name for itself in the Chattanooga community. We have been playing at JJ’s Bohemia, Market St. and Tremont Taverns, at Rock City for Kim Jackson, and many other various venues in the Chattanooga area for 2 years and have also played bluegrass and old time festivals in Middle Tennessee. Our members consist of:

Brad Clark (guitar/vocals)

Justin Hupp (guitar/vocals)

Randy Steele (banjo/vocals)

Dave Ayers (bass guitar/vocals)

Deron Stevens (mandolin/vocals)

and reknowned fiddler John Boulware, repeat winner of the Uncle Dave Macon Days Fiddler’s Festival Contest (along with many others!).

We play original material along with many acoustic and contemporary songs and various bluegrass classics and feature John and twin Doc and Merle Watson style guitars on great fiddle tunes.

This group continues to captivate audiences all over the East Tennessee mountain communities and beyond. Jeremy (age 18) and Jonathan (age 14) Barker are known in this area as accomplished musicians, performing bluegrass standards as well as their own original material. Jeremy plays flattop guitar, while brother Jonathan plays (three-finger style) banjo, and they are both gifted vocalists. Parents Angie and Scott play upright bass and mandolin, respectively, and provide support on the vocals. Recently, The Barkers have added a new fiddle player, Westley Harris, to add a little bluegrass fiddle to their traditional family harmony. Westley (age 17) has been playing bluegrass for over six years, and also plays the banjo and mandolin.

The Barker Brothers have performed at festivals all around the southeast with performers such as J.D. Crowe and the New South, IIIrd Tyme Out, and Honi Deaton and Dream. They have opened for several major entertainers, including Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys on his “O Brother Where Art Thou” tour. Television and radio credits include performances on stations in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia, and a PBS documentary on bluegrass for the state of Florida which aired in 2005. These boys come from a musical heritage that spans five generations, and you can hear it in the bluegrass and gospel tunes especially.

Press >Play> to Listen!

[mp3]

BUCKTOWN KICKBACK formed in the fall of 2002 to showcase songs written by Adam Brooks Dudding. With extensive tours and two highly acclaimed self-produced albums, the band has blazed an impressive trail through the richly diverse Americana landscape with these Alt.Country/Bluegrass/Folk-Rock originals. Headlining concerts throughout the Midwest and Southeast as well as opening up for the likes of Alabama, Junior Brown, Railroad Earth, Todd Snider and Stacey Earle, Adam and his band (a revolving cast of amazingly talented musicians and artists) electrify listeners with their live performances and studio recordings.

Continue reading