Ahh, the early days. Left to right- Lyle Miller; He was 72 in this picture, taken in 1987, the year Shady Grove won National Bluegrass Band title at Avoca Iowa festival-- I saw him there this year, (He's about 86 now) and he look's great. Lyle does the Monroe style better than anybody. Next is Jerry Jones. Jerry has been the bedrock of this band since the beginning, and nobody loves Bluegrass like Jerry does. I'm in the middle with the Dobro which got away.
Next is Hugh Johnson. Not just a fine musician but a teacher, and the best straight man I've ever worked with. On the end is Jake Geppert. Haven't seen Jake in many years, sure hope he comes back through town someday. I liked that youthful enthusiasm
This photo was taken in 1992. We had decided to try and cash in on the popularity of country music-- with varying reasons and mixed results- we were working our butts off though- which seemed important at the time. Left to right-- Smiling Joe, Dale Downs- What can you say about the brother. Hands down the finest natural musician 've ever met- I miss him terribly. Jonesy again. He didn't really mind the Country stuff but he always pushed us to stick with our roots. David Blakeslee- if it has strings on it David can play it- Fellow Yankee fan and golfing buddy- world class picker. Kevin Avey- Kevin joined Shady Grove in 1989. At home in any genre of music- from blues to bluegrass, swing to jazz- my teacher.
We're still at it. We don't get to play as much as we'd like- kids, jobs, distance- but I'll keep you posted where we're playing- and come see us!
Jerry Jones, David Blakeslee, Joe Watson, and Denny Ray.
