Album Notes

We call ourselves Allegheny Echoes.

We hope that name evokes a little about ourselves, and the reasons we are hear. This is a presentation of a combination of music and spoken word performances that "echo" the heritage of cultural musicianship and oral history of the Allegheny area of the Appalachian region. All of us have a long and storied relationship with these traditional arts, and all of us are products of many generations of families who have lived, died, struggled and survived the Appalachian experience, and handed down their stories to us.

The music you will hear is pure, passed down from musicians who played just for the love of music-old fiddlers, banjo players, guitar players and balladeers who never imagined music as anything other than an expression of their own emotions, their individual intense involvement with their environment. The musicians on this recording have been collecting these tunes all of their lives. They did it by going to these old-timers personally. They have not learned their art from any electronic media, but from the true source; from the ones who learned from their ancestors in a cycle of knowing and learning that stretches back beyond memory.

The poems are spoken word snapshots that capture the essence of the culture and the traditions of art in the lives of those who have gone before us, and those that are here today. We hope to illustrate with words the fact that art is life, and that the expressions of music poetry and beauty in that existence are simply natural expressions of individuals involved in living the story of the Appalachian people.

We present these arts together; not as music performed as a background to the poems or as poems set to music as songs, but as true collaborative performances that weave the emotion of the instruments and the words into a single thought.

We all shared a special relationship with the Hammons family, legendary in their own right as one of the pioneer families of West Virginia. This love of music and tradition is passed straight and pure from them to us to you. They were not our mentors, or our instructors. They were our friends. And that is how we would like you to receive this presentation-as a gift between friends. Listen. We hope you will like what you hear.

Danny Arthur (guitar) is a resident of the Baboursville area of Cabell County, West Virginia. Known for his rock-solid backing and tasteful leads on guitar, his vocal talents have fueled the Bing Brothers' success since 1981. He has taught and performed at Appalshop, Augusta Heritage workshops, the Vandalia Gathering, the Wheatland Music Festival and in Ireland and Scotland.

Mike Bing (mandolin) resides near Minnehaha Springs in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. He credits the Hammons Family, Frank George and Red Rector as his strongest influences. A member of the Bing Brothers Band, he has performed at the Vandalia Gathering, the Chicago Folk Festival, Appalshop and the Wheatland Music Festival. His clean, driving style can be heard on "Just for the Sake of It" CD.

Tim Bing (banjo) lives in the Spencer area of Roane County, West Virginia, and has learned from such West Virginia greats as Sherman Hammons and Frank George. His driving yet intricate, drop thumb-style has led to many banjo contest blue ribbons. He is a member of the Bing Brothers Band and has performed across the Us, Canada, Ireland and Scotland. He can be heard on "Banjo Legacy" and "Just for the Sake of It".

Kirk Judd (poet) is a talented poet and performer from Huntington, West Virginia. The author of two collections of poetry, "Field of Vision" and "Tao-Billy," he is nationally known for his performance work combining poetry and traditional music. He has appeared with such groups as the Bing Brothers and the Morris Brothers among others. Former president of the West Virginia Writers Inc., he also has appeared at the Vandalia Gathering, the Stonewall Jackson Jubilee and the Cedar Lakes Festivals.

Sherrell Wigal (poetess) is a performance poet from Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia. The longtime director of the West Virginia Writers, Inc. annual conferences, she is experienced in all aspects of workshopping and performance. Poetry in the Park in Columbus, Ohio, The Blennerhassett Series and the Vandalia Gathering are among her many appearances. "Pokeberries and Chicken Feathers" is her latest publication.