Check out Years in Your Ears the new Leftover Salmon documentary – available now!
The history of Boulder's newgrass and jamgrass scene gets profiled nicely in "Years In Your Ears ... A Leftover Salmon Story," a new documentary from Nederland filmmaker Eric Abramson. Through the recollections of former Salmon crew members and band members — and musicians such as Sam Bush, John Cowan and members of Hot Rize, String Cheese Incident and Yonder Mountain String Band — the film makes a case for Salmon's place as the bridge between traditional bluegrass and today's jammy strain.
“Lord you know I’ve been so many places/At least I know I have a longer view”, sings Leftover Salmon lead singer and mandolin player Drew Emmitt over a rollicking mandolin lick on the title track of his third solo effort, Long Road. “I’ve been on the road since the 80’s – can you believe that? That’s 25 years, a quarter of a century…Long Road is all about where I’ve been, what I’ve seen, where I’ve ended up and I invited all of my friends I met along the way to help me tell the story.”
Revered as one of the most energetic and innovative mandolin players on the jamband/newgrass scene today, Emmitt’s “inestimable talents” (An Honest Tune) don’t end with just the instruments that can be picked. Holding the wheel steady on acoustic and electric slide mandolin, acoustic and electric guitar and mandola, Long Road also showcases Emmitt’s superlative storytelling and versatile vocal abilities. With seven originals, including co-writes with John Cowan (“Long Road”) and Jim Lauderdale (“I’m Alive”), Emmitt saavily chose a few best-of-life-on-the-road songs, such as Supertramps’ “Take the Long Way Home”, Marshall-Tucker Band’s “Take the Highway”, and Van Morrison’s “Gypsy in my Soul”. Co-produced by Emitt and Compass Records co-founder Garry West, “my heaven band”, is how Emmitt describes the special guest musicians on Long Road: Billy Nershi of The String Cheese Incident (dobro), Chris Pandolfi of The Infamous Stringdusters (banjo), Andy Hall of The Infamous Stringdusters (dobro), Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Tim O’Brien (harmony vocals), Alison Brown (banjo), Darrell Scott (vocals), Eric Thorin (bass), Jeff Sipe of The Aquarium Rescue Unit (drums), John Cowan (vocals), Reese Wynans (Hammond B3), Steven Sandifer (percussion) and Tyler Grant (guitar). Hallelujah.
Following a decade of success with Leftover Salmon, Emmitt released his first solo effort, Freedom Ride, in 2002 drawing on the talent of peers John Cowan, Peter Rowan, Sam Bush, Ronnie McCoury, Vassar Clements, Stuart Duncan and Randy Scruggs. Critics and fans loved the collaboration and Emmitt relished the chance to record with some of the giants with whom he’d shared festival stages. “It's amazing,” he said, “it's like walking in a dream….Standing on stage next to Sam (Bush) is pretty indescribable.” In 2005 he followed up with Across The Bridge, an equally impressive effort showcasing Emmitt’s bluegrass chops and songwriting talents as a straight-ahead bluegrass man. After touring as the Emmitt-Nershi band with Billy Nershi of The String Cheese Incident for the past year and making several reunion appearances with Leftover Salmon, Long Road finds Emmitt rejuvenated and once again taking the contemporary, live gig, fresh everytime approach to bluegrass music.
Drew Emmitt will be on tour throughout the summer and fall of 2008, including
appearances with Leftover Salmon at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and the 10,000 Lakes Festival and with the Emmitt-Nershi band at the High Sierra Music Festival, the Rothbury Festival and Jam Cruise 7. Drew Emmitt and The Waybacks will tour the US October 2008.
Tyler Grant is a young guitarist with high aspirations. A versatile musician, Tyler is an active and experienced performer and teacher of musical styles including classical, bluegrass, rock and roll, country, jazz, reggae, traditional Bulgarian, Macedonian, and American folk.
Tyler became interested in guitar during his freshman year of high school. He quickly became proficient in classic rock and blues styles, and would spend a decade playing and singing professionally around his hometown of San Diego, CA. He started teaching guitar lessons at the age of nineteen.
After graduating CalArts School of Music in 2000, Tyler spent a few more years playing and teaching in Southern California before moving to Nashville in 2003. He was an original member of Adrienne Young and Little Sadie. He played guitar and sang on Adrienne's album, Plow to the End of the Row, and spent over a year on the road, performing all over the US and Europe. In November 2004 he toured China with Abigail Washburn.
Tyler won first place in the Colorado State Flatpicking Championship at Rockygrass in 2003 and the Wayne Henderson Guitar Contest in 2005. In 2005 he was runner up in the National Flatpicking Championship in Winfield, Kansas. He placed first in the mandolin contest at Uncle Dave Macon Days in 2005. During the summer and fall of 2005 Tyler toured with Rounder Records recording artist April Verch as well as the Two Stringers, a bluegrass band. He can also be seen at festivals and around Nashville with TAVERN GRASS, a hardcore bluegrass band, and playing banjo with Bawn in the Mash. Tyler's first solo CD, "In the Light," was released in June 2006 on FGM records. He was subsequently featured on the cover of the July/August issue of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine.
Tyler has been playing guitar and singing harmony with the Drew Emmitt Band since 2005, and plays bass with the Emmitt/Nershi Band.
Steven Sandifer:
Steven is a professional drummer who divides his time between Nashville, TN and Charleston, SC. Born and raised in Charleston SC, he attended the Jazz program at the College of Charleton. Steven moved to Nashville in 2002 with his band The Biscuit Boys. Since the move, Steven has worked with The Biscuit Boys, Daybreak, Adrienne Young and Little Sadie, The Ranchhands, the Spoken Jazz Workshop, and is currently a member of the Drew Emmitt Band.
Eric Thorin:
A native Coloradoan, Eric got his start on piano and trombone at an early age from the prodding of his musical parents and later studied bass at the of Northern Colorado. He played in salsa bands such as Kizumba and Conjunto Colores, toured extensively with rock act The Thugs, made up a third of the Flamenco/Indian ensemble Curandero, and toured with the Tony Furtado Band for four years. He was a member of steel band Pan Jumbies and continues to appear in various Jazz settings throughout the year. Eric also teaches bass at the Yellowstone Jazz Festival.
He currently lives in Lyons, Colo., and continues to perform with a variety of musicians including Hamster Theater, Jefferson Hamer, Theano and Chuck Lamb, Matt Flinner, Drew Emmitt, K.C. Groves, Manuel Molina's Combo Caliente, Mark Sloniker and Art Lande. In 2004 Eric produced a collection of songs for Japanese elementary school children who are learning English.
Emmitt-Nershi Band And Assembly of Dust Announce co-headline tour
The Emmitt-Nershi Band and Assembly of Dust are excited to announce their tour together in support of the release of their upcoming albums. The tour will start in Boston, MA in September and wrap up in Seattle, WA in October with lots of stops along the way. This is a co-headline tour with The Emmitt-Nershi Band closing out the night on the West coast and Assembly of Dust closing things out on the East Coast.
The Emmitt-Nershi Band had a busy winter spending much of their time in the Rocky Mountains writing songs for the new album which was then recorded at Bill Nershi’s studio in Nederland CO. “New Country Blues” will be released on September 29th on SCI Fidelity Records. The Emmitt-Nershi Band consists of Drew Emmitt on mandolin and vocals (Leftover Salmon), Bill Nershi on acoustic guitar and vocals (String Cheese Incident), Andy Thorn on banjo (Larry Keel, Drew Emmitt Band), and Tyler Grant on bass (Drew Emmitt Band), special guests on the album include Jason Carter (Del McCoury Band) and Keith Moseley (String Cheese Incident).
Assembly of Dust will release their new studio album “Some Assembly Required” on July 21st. The album is littered with all-star guests including David Grisman, Mike Gordon, Keller Williams, Bela Fleck, Tony Rice, John Scofield, Al Schnier and MANY more!
