Bands in the Boudoir

In this Episode I catch up with the very lovely and talented Donna. 

Country music fans remember Donna Ulisse from her days when she was signed to Atlantic Records in the early 1990’s where she released a critically acclaimed album Trouble at The Door with three singles and two videos. She was also a guest on many national television shows including Hee Haw, Nashville Now, Crook and Chase and NBC’s Hot Country Nights.

These days Donna Ulisse is a key figure in the bluegrass, folk and acoustic music scene as a singer and songwriter. Her single “It Could Have Been The Mandolin” from the album Hard Cry Moon topped the Bluegrass Unlimited chart at #1 for two months in a row in 2016 and the album topped the Roots Music Report chart at #1. She also won the award for 2016 International Bluegrass Music Association’s Songwriter of the Year and went on to win the award for writing the Song of the Year in 2017.  She signed with the new record label Billy Blue Records in 2019 which is home to some of bluegrass music’s brightest stars.  Her twelfth career album Time for Love  will be released on November 1, 2019 and is her second album produced by bluegrass legend Doyle Lawson.

She was a featured guest on RFD-TV’s Simply Bluegrass show hosted by Ricky Skaggs which featured the biggest names in the genre. She also did a month long stint in 2016 as host of Bluegrass Ridge, a video television show on Heartland TV Network which has several of her videos in regular rotation.

Her past albums have charted prominently in the Bluegrass Unlimited charts, The Folk DJ National chart, The Americana Music Charts and Billboard Bluegrass chart, while her 2012 Christmas album All The Way To Bethlehem was called “a masterpiece” by Kyle Cantrell, host of Bluegrass Junction on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. Edward Morris, writer for CMT.com dubs her “one of the most commanding voices in bluegrass music.”

As a songwriter, she has had her songs recorded by bluegrass artists Claire Lynch, Darin and Brooke Aldridge, The Bankesters, Doyle Lawson, Larry Stephenson Band and Volume Five to name a few, as well as a song on the 2014 Grammy winning album Streets of Baltimore by the Del McCoury Band. In 2017 she was the winner of IBMA Song of the Year for the song “I Am A Drifter” recorded by Volume Five.  She authored the book The Songwriter in Me: Snapshots of My Creative Process and is the founder of Lil House Songwriting Workshops offering aspiring songwriters the opportunity to write with her and other pro writers in order to improve their skills. She also keeps a busy touring schedule playing festivals and concert venues with her band.

Click here for Donna's website

In this episode I'm talking to the lovely Wood, wire and words.   

They are a family band consisting of David Rozzell on Vocals, guitar and mandolin, his wife Clare on Vocals and Double Bass and Clare's father Pat Francis on dobro, mandolin and guitar.

Listen to how this lovely family band started, the songs and the stories behind them and enjoy a giggle with us too as we share various stories.

Clare and David are also on the committee of the fabulous Didmarton Bluegrass Festival

For their website follow: Wood, Wire and Words
Facebook: Wood, Wire and Words
Twitter : Wood, Wire and Words






 

Hello and welcome to this week's episode where I'm talking to Jim Bows.  Listen to the story behind The Flycatchers and their song and hear us have a giggle about his particular song 'Moonshine Whisky'.  Enjoy! 

Jim Bows & The Flycatchers live in Switzerland and play original acoustic music that evokes the feeling of living in the mountains and a rural lifestyle.

 Influenced by american folk and country music traditions and such guitarists as Doc Watson, Tony Rice and Albert Lee.

They regularly release new music and videos - usually at the end of each month

Their website is: https://jimbowsandtheflycatchers.com/

Their youtube channel is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM3Ht0F3s41QRffzVBWbD1Q

They're on spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0U0pUhmntI6hEFvdro8a6Q

Plus you can buy their music from iTunes and Amazon

Hello and welcome to Episode 2.  

In this Episode I am talking to Mike Mitchell a singer/songwriter and fiddle player from Virginia.  He also owns and runs the Floyd Music School https://mikemitchellmusic.com/floyd-music-school/ 

I have recently played his latest single 'Calling me' on my show and I was interested to catch up with Mike and learn his bluegrass story and the story behind the song.  

With his effortless vocals, distinctive songwriting, and instrumental prowess, Mike continues to capture audiences and carve out his own place in bluegrass.

I hope you enjoy our chat :)

Here are some more details of how you can find out more about Mike and his music school , listen to his song and where you can follow him

NEW Single, “Calling Me”, streaming everywhere, Sept. 2020

Mike’s  latest album, “Small Town”, debuted at #2 on the Billboard bluegrass chart. 

Stop by his website to find out more www.mikemitchellmusic.com. 

You can also find him on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/mike.mitchell.5283

https://www.facebook.com/mikemitchellbandpage

and on Twitter

https://twitter.com/FloydSchool

Bands in the Boudoir now has a twitter account.  Please do stop by and follow to keep up to date with Episodes @BandsitBoudoir. 

In this podcast series I talk to all the artists I play on my Boudoir Bluegrass Radio - https://www.facebook.com/groups/251100751614236  show on www.ukcountryradio.com.  Enjoy :)

Here I'm talking to Andre Dal who is a Portuguese banjo player and songwriter with an album out in June but a single out now 'Beyond the Tagus river'.

Listen to his bluegrass story, the story of the album and how he's trying to put Portugal on the bluegrass map.

Here is some more information on him. 

Andre Dal is one of the main drivers of Bluegrass in Portugal. With his band, Stonebones & Bad Spaghetti, he seeks to bring Portugal's name to the Bluegrass community, performing at various festivals throughout Europe. His goal is to be able to spread this style in Portugal, so little publicized and known here.

After 8 years of work in the realization of a life project, 2021 is the debut year of André Dal.  Centered on traditional American music, Bluegrass, his album is a collection of traditional songs and his preferences, as well as originals that, over time, he composed and where his Portuguese influence is present.

With the participation of 16 musicians from 10 different countries, Beyond the Tagus River is, in fact, a bridge between continents, between the past and the future, which unites the friendship of all who love this style of music.

The performers on the album are: 

Gil Pereira (PT) - Upright Bass  
Bob Hamilton (USA) - Guitar 
Chris Luquette (USA) - Guitar  
Reuben Agnew (NIR) - Guitar  
Dave Bagdade (USA) - Mandolin  
Jeff Cardey (CAN) - Mandolin  
Jean-Michel Pache (CH) - Mandolin  
Katsuhiro Narita (JAP) - Mandolin  
Daniel Olsson (SWE) - Dobro  
Jeroen Schmohl (NED) - Dobro  
Olivier Uldry (CH) - Dobro  
Charlotte Saelemakers (BE) - Fiddle 
Joon Laukamp (GER) - Fiddle  
Joram Peeters (NED) - Fiddle  
Meade Richter (USA) - Fiddle

Also,  Banjo - Andre Dal,  Mixing and Mastering - Jason Borisoff Graphics - Hildebrando Soares

His band is called Stonebones & Bad spaghetti - what a great name eh?  Here's the explanation from Andre behind the name

 "Stonebones & Bad Spaghetti is a free translation of 2 places in Portugal. One is where I work and the other is where the guy that I started the band with was living at the time."

 Here's their facebook page :  https://www.facebook.com/stonebonesandbadspaghetti

Also here's a link to the Portuguese Bluegrass Festival page :  https://www.facebook.com/trafariabluegrass

Here's a link to his youtube channel: https://youtube.com/user/banjodal
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andre.dal
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andre.lentilhas/

He has a crowdfunding website which he's trying to raise money to pay the musicians that have generously given their time to his new album.   Here's the link if you wish to support him : https://ppl.pt/en/beyondthetagusriver