Album Notes

The early Rasin Pickers consisted of a crew of locally grown musicians with a common interest in exploring the wide range of string band repertoire. Having few limits and armed with a van full of instruments..including some of the most feared - banjos (a variety), accordion, washboard, trumpet, harmonica, fiddle, this group was worthy of "advanced warning" whenever the gigs were posted in the town of Manchester.

Gary Reynolds (banjo, trumpet, uke) and Mike Gleason (fiddle, accordion, tuba) stood on each end of the bandstand with a evening of grins to delight the crowd. And Bill Farmer centered with either washboard or his unique percussion contraption called "The Kleinschmidtt",(named for the local store where the collective hardware was obtained (lawfully) along with Carol and Mark Palms who did their best to cultivate some sense of sanity among the masses, or the crowd (big or small).

Regular gigs at Leonardos Cafe in Ann Arbor became a mainstay of the band and helped produce this collection of favorites and originals. This being their first album, the band put together a mix of cuts both in studio and "live at Blissfest" & "the Ark" , to include some bluegrass, swing, ballads and novelty tunes.

Be warned... it's lethal but fun stuff.