Album Notes

In the early 1990s, the Gillis Brothers, Larry and John, fronted a band which created quite a stir in the bluegrass music community. Their music was not really bluegrass, nor was it “old time.”
The best way I could describe it would be to call it “Southern Appalachian Mountain Music,” along the lines of what Carter and Ralph Stanley did. As a matter of fact, I heard more than a few people comment that the Gillis Brothers were “more Stanley Brothers than the Stanley Brothers.” I’m not sure about that, but I can attest to the fact that their band could get an audience excited to a level which I have rarely witnessed with other acoustic string bands - bluegrass, old time or mountain music.

The makeup of the band had so many strong elements, all rolled into one structure: Larry’s unique banjo style and strong cross-picking on the guitar (John Shuffler style), John’s great rhythm and lead guitar playing, both John’s and Larry’s lead singing and their powerful brother duet harmony, Owen Saunders’ lonesome and understated fiddling, and Andy Dye’s solid bass
playing holding everything together.

This compilation consists of 19 of the 42 cuts appearing on the three Gillis Brothers albums released by Hay Holler in 1992-1993. All three albums are still in print, in CD format only, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future

Kerry Hay
Hay Holler Records
June 2004.