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4rd Annual Riverbend Bluegrass Music Camp October 12, 13 & 14, 2007 Below is a list of our instructors for the 3rd annual music camp with a short bio of each. Click on their name or photo and you will be directed to their websites for more information. . |
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Frances Mooney, Upright BassFrances Mooney is a 39 year veteran of Bluegrass music. She is an accomplished bass player and a fine lead and harmony vocalist. In the 1970's, she sang and played Bass with The Bluegrass Generation in the Louisville. Both Ricky Scaggs and Vince Gill helped on a couple of early Generation albums. In 1975 Frances became a Kentucky Colonel. In 1978, Frances formed Cherokee Rose, an all female band. In October 1998 Frances formed Fontanna Sunset. In 2006, she appeared on The Daughters of Bluegrass "Back To The Well" which won the International Bluegrass Music Association's recorded event of the year . Fontanna Sunset. has just released their newest project, "High Lonesome Love". Musical abilities aside, Frances is a high spirited person with a a lot of energy and a wonderful sense of humor that makes her a joy to be around. We feel sure that she will make the Upright Bass class a lot of fun to attend.
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Randy Kohrs’ mastery of different stringed instruments includes acoustic and electric dobro, acoustic and electric guitar, lap steel, straight steel, pedal steel, Hawaiian slide guitar, bottleneck blues guitar, mandolin, banjo, upright bass and tenor acoustic guitar.But, such a list can’t describe the effortless ease and artistry of his play. He has performed professionally and steadily since the age of thirteen.
Randy has appeared extensively on studio recordings for Pinecastle Records, Sugar Hill and Rounder. He has appeared on a number of television specials including Hank the III, PBS special with Ricky Skaggs and Austin City Limits with Patty Loveless. He toured the U.S.with the bluegrass group Continental Divide in 1998.
He has recently released his newest project, Old Photographs.
Randy first played at Riverbend in April 2005 and has been a part of our music camp since October 2005 and we can't imagine having it without him.
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Jimmy Ross, Beginning & Intermediate Resonator Guitar
Jimmy Ross has shared the stage with
Frances Mooney
for the better part of 30 years . Jimmy along with
In 1975 Jimmy also was awarded the title Kentucky Colonel .Around 1976 he found his way back to Georgia where a few years later again, he joined with Frances and Steve in the Indian Summer Band. The highlight of his music career with Indian Summer was a trip to perform bluegrass music in Shanghi, China.
After a few years off, Jimmy has made his way back to pursue his music career joining up with Fontanna Sunset.
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Ashley Brown, a resident of Nashville, TN, began playing violin/fiddle at age six while living in Littleton, CO. Her attention in the instrument was elevated following her move to the Texas coast in the late 1980's and the introduction to the world of Texas contest fiddling. She has won several contests, including the Texas Jr. State Championships in 1995, the Middle Tennessee State Championships in 2001, the Indiana State Championships in 2005, and placed in countless others, such as the prestigious Winfield contest, in which she won 2 nd in 1996. Ashley is an alumnus of the commercial music/bluegrass program of South Plains College in Levelland, TX under Alan Munde and Joe Carr. She hastaught private lessons and performed with several bands in Asheville, NC and Nashville, TN, and has done occasional session work throughout her musical career. Aside from providing fiddle and vocals on both the forthcoming Randy Kohrs solo album and the Randy Kohrs & the Lites CD, Ashley has also co-written a few of the new songs on Kohrs' solo CD.
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Ronnie Wilbanks , BanjoRonnie "Termite" Wilbanks joined his first bluegrass band in the mid 70's, playing banjo with the Carolina Mountain Boys in Salem, SC. After a short stint with them, he moved to Denver, NC where he helped form The Plank Road Ramblers, playing festivals around the Statesville and Charlotte NC areas until 1979 when he moved to Georgia. After a three-year break he realized that his life wasn't complete without Bluegrass music. So, in 1982, he joined Rocky Ridge Bluegrass from Jasper, GA and played with them until 1986. Throughout the 1980's and 90's He played with other groups such as Plain & Kuntry Express Rocky Top Bluegrass I became a regular in their camp at the festivals, jamming till the wee hours of the morning and I also got to play on stage with them on a couple of occasions. Ronnie joined Fontanna Sunset in 2004 and has played with them ever since. .
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Scott Haas, of Granite Falls, NC, took up the banjo seven years ago. He fell in love with the instrument after first listening to banjo legend J.D. Crowe on the Bluegrass Album Band Vol. 1, a common start for many 5-string players. In addition to Crowe, he lists Earl Scruggs and Tony Rice as his primary influences. He joined his first band, the Maple Ridge Band, soon after he began playing and has been going strong ever since. In 2000, he became a member of Carolina Crossfire, a popular band that toured quite a bit locally and won several competitions. In November of 2005, Scott to joined Randy Kohrs and the Lites after Randy heard him record on Edgar Laudermilk's solo CD. Scott's banjo can be heard on Randy Kohrs's solo project and the new Randy Kohrs & the Lites CD. Scott penned the tune “Mash 30,” a burning instrumental, on the “Lites” CD and debut's his fine baritone singing on the project, as well. With a solid foundation of rhythm and drive, he's on his way to making a strong mark in the ever-expanding world of bluegrass banjo
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Aaron Ramsey grew up in Morganton, North Carolina, where there has always been a solid foundation of bluegrass music right at his doorstep. He began playing mandolin professionally when he was only13 years old, even securing a mandolin endorsement along the way. In 2002, Aaron won the prestigious MerleFest mandolin contest. He was featured playing mandolin on Randy Kohrs' highly acclaimed “I'm Torn” record, and has many other CD credits to his name. After a few years of playing off and on with Randy Kohrs & the Lites and became an official member of the band in 2006. In addition to his own self-titled solo project released earlier this year, Aaron can be heard playing bass, mandolin, and lending baritone vocals to Randy Kohrs' up-and-coming solo project, as well as the Randy Kohrs & the Lites band CD Old Photographs.
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Andrew Crawford, Advanced Guitar Andrew Crawford of Williamston, South Carolina, began playing guitar at age 15. At age 17, he began playing with a local bluegrass band and entering a few competitions, winning several. Since then, he has developed the ability to play many styles of music and also began honing his gift for songwriting. He is currently a senior business major at Anderson University , where he is also studying classical and jazz guitar, interning at a local music store, and teaching private guitar lessons to over 25 students a week. Andrew joined Randy Kohrs & the Lites in April of 2006, and, almost immediately, the buzz started about this hot new picker. He has just released his first solo project, entitled Crawgrass,” and can be heard playing rhythm and lead guitar on Randy Kohrs' newest solo CD. Andrew is an incredible guitarist and we're proud to have him as part of our music camp.
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Beginning Guitar and Instrument Setup Mark Gresham of Pooler, GA has been playing guitar since a very early age when he received his first guitar from his Uncle Charley. This gift helped to create a lifelong love and respect for music. During his time in the US Army, he performed at clubs and other venues in England and Germany. It was years later, after he had returned home, that Mark was first exposed to Bluegrass music, and he was hooked.
He has always been interested in instrument construction, and in the 1980's he realized a lifelong dream when he began building guitars with a friend, Charlie Saxon, Mark has since become known as one of the most talented luthiers in the business, building instruments for many of Bluegrass' top pickers, including Don Rigsby, John Rigsby of Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, Allen Bybee , Valerie Smith and Shawn Lane of Blue Highway Mark plays many styles of guitar and does a great job teaching this class. He and his wife, Cheri are longtime friends of ours, and we can't imagine how we would ever be able to do a camp without their help and support. |
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