When these young folks play, they play BLUEGRASS! Kentucky Sassafras is a band full of young people ages 13-18. But their music is more mature than their eldest member, Chloe Blayne at age 18. In 2001, Chloe attended a teachers' workshop with her mother, Kim, at the IBMA convention in Louisville. Chloe came home with a new banjo and started pickin' 3-finger style. The past six years have added to Chloe's skills. Chloe still plays 3-finger but has added melodic and clawhammer.or frailin" styles to her performances.
But, the instrument that draws the audience's attention to Chloe is her voice. The lead singer for Kentucky Sassafras can belt out an old classic like Mule Skinner Blues or pull your heartstrings with Wayfarin' Stranger. July of 2006, the band shared a stage with the greatly respected Jean Ritchie at Kentucky Music Weekend. In reference to Chloe, Ms. Ritchie commented, "She has a lovely clear tone, and such a sweetness in her presentation". You may listen for her voice on a local radio show, see her at a festival, or listen to a sound bite from their CD. Click on "Faded Love" to the left.
Chloe and her younger sister Amelia John learned bluegrass as toddlers, following their mother to local churches. Kim played guitar and sang with Curnie Lee Wilson in a group called "Meetin' House Music". Any of you hanging around the festivals during the late 70's or early 80's will remember young Curnie Lee playing gospel bluegrass with his dad, Curnie and uncle, Russell, of the Wilson Brothers. Curnie Lee Wilson later played with the Cumberland Highlanders and now picks lead guitar with Joe Isaacs.
At 13, Amelia John is the youngest member of Kentucky Sassafras. When the band formed, her mother, Kim played bass for them. Amelia was just 10 and needed a step stool to reach the neck. But she started thumpin" and growin' and the bass is now her instrument. Amelia loves taking a fancy break on Foggy Mountain Special or a blues number. And the audience loves it when she does. Kim has had the girls singing harmony since they learned to talk. On stage, Amelia sings harmony with her sister Chloe or any of the other members when they sing lead.
A third member also trained his ear listening to the Wilson Brothers. Tyler Mullins, age 16, picks Scruggs style banjo. His neighbor, Curnie Wilson, played music in the church Tyler grew up in. Bluegrass gospel sung Stanley Brothers style was part of their regular worship service. Tyler jokes of playing a toy rattle, shaped like a guitar, along with the church music. Tyler still loves to visit with, jam with, and pick up pointers from Curnie. Tyler also picks up great songs from Curnie. Listen to Tyler sing lead on Lonesome Old Home by clicking on it at the left. It's a great song. Curnie wrote the music for it.
Classic, old, traditional bluegrass is Tyler's favorite and his skill on the 5-string shows his love of hard drivin' 3-finger pickin'. While at the 2007 IBMA convention in Nashville, Tyler sat in a jam session with Geoff Stelling of Stelling Banjos. Geoff later looked Tyler up and offered to sponsor him for a week of advanced instruction in Colorado with Pete Wernick. Pete was an original member of the group Hot Rize and is known throughout the Bluegrass community as Dr. Banjo.
Turner Hutchens loves to pick! Turner has been "adopted" by several older musicians who have helped him mature his music. Although each of them have several decades of age on Turner, Jim Crisp and Wendall Cornett spend countless hours jammin' with Turner and teaching him new songs to play and sing. Stop by Wendell's music store in Bardstown and join them sometime.
Turner is 13 now and his skills have grown with his age. Turner started with the band pickin' the mandolin. But he now plays guitar when his mandolin is not needed for a song. Turner often sings harmony and does a great job singing lead on some songs. Turner learns from Jeff Guernsey. Jeff toured as the fiddle player with Vince Gill, but now prefers a more settled life teaching young fiddle, mandolin, and banjo players. Occasionally, Jeff crowds the whole band into his lesson room and helps them polish their sound. Jeff has the ability to relate to the young pickers, often having a good time cutting up with them. The entire band has a great respect for Jeff. His standards are high, but he makes the playing fun.
Maggie Lander, 16, started playing fiddle at age 11. At first she took lessons at Observatory Music, in Shelbyville. During that period Maggie took lessons from John Harrod (who taught her some old-time fiddle tunes), and Jeff Guernsey. Maggie also picked up some Celtic fiddle tunes by ear from CDs. As she began to broaden her listening, Nickel Creek, Alison Krauss, Bela` Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Natalie MacMaster, Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo Ma, and Mark O'Connor became major musical influences.
In 2005, she began taking lessons from Daniel Carwile, of Lexington, a Grand Master fiddle champion, who has become her mentor. Daniel taught her to read music and helped with technique and performance skills. He also introduced her to other styles including classical, contest, and jazz. In 2006, Maggie received a scholarship to attend the Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp, near Nashville. Last summer Maggie hit the fiddle contest circuit, competing in the Kentucky and Tennessee state championships, and the Grand Master Fiddle Championship, in Nashville. She performed with Daniel and Amy Carwile, and some of their other students, at the J.D. Crowe Bluegrass Festival in Wilmore. In January, 2008, Maggie and Douglas Waterbury-Tieman, of Lexington, who also takes lessons from Carwile, played a 25-minute set together on Red Barn Radio. Maggie is left-handed and is thankful to luthier Gary Cornett, of Louisville, for finding and setting up the fiddle she now plays.
Maggie is also a songwriter. Listen to "Farm Down the Lane" or "Boone's Flint" at the left. They are Maggie's creations.
Kentucky Sassafras can play Bluegrass. They also love to entertain the audience. Often they will reach over and play another band member's instrument, steal a hat from a fellow band member, or just keep the audience's attention cuttin' up on stage and never missin' a beat. Check their schedule at www.kysassafras.com and come on out for good music, good singing, and a good time!
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