James Reams & The Barnstormers

Originally from southeastern Kentucky, James Reams has been in NYC since the early 1980s, playing traditional bluegrass music with an old-time edge. James Reams & The Barnstormers offers exciting, soulful performances with powerful three-part harmonies. Stephanie Ledgin writes in her book, Homegrown Music: Discovering Bluegrass (Praeger Publishers, 2004): "James Reams & The Barnstormers rely on early country material and originals written in authentic style. The results are a virtual history of the music and its roots, played in a clean, heartfelt manner that is somewhere between Monroe's and the Stanleys'." Bill Monroe biographer Richard D. Smith wrote in Bluegrass Unlimited: "There are few vocalists as natural as Reams. He doesn't have to try to sound down- home, he's there at each turn in the song." Country Standard Time wrote: "This isn't citified, ersatz bluegrass, it's the real stuff. The music features elements reminiscent of the sophisticated stylings of fellow Kentuckian Bill Monroe mixed with the old time, deep-hollow sound of the Stanley Brothers. This is hard-core bluegrass from down home." Bluegrass Unlimited calls the band's music "delightfully unadorned 1950s- style bluegrass that draws heavily on, yet doesn't mimic, the best-loved bands of that era." Sing Out magazine calls it "uncompromising, hard-core bluegrass." No Depression writes, "The Barnstormers deliver an edge that's missing from a lot of bluegrass being made today." The band's most recent CD is sold with a free DVD included in the packaging. The first of the two films on the DVD is Rollin' On, which takes the viewer on a ride on the Redbird Express (the band's red van, named after a retired NYC subway line) -- from NYC to a bluegrass festival in a small town, to a live radio show, to a square dance in Brooklyn, to a church on Sunday morning. This 80- minute feature will put to rest the oft-repeated misconception that old-school bluegrass music can't possibly be made in New York City. The second DVD feature included in the package, Pioneers of Bluegrass Music, is a 20-minute preview of a feature-length documentary of the same name, still in production, in which members of the first generation of bluegrass talk frankly about the early days of the music and life on the road, in interviews conducted at the opening of the International Bluegrass Music Museum, backstage at festivals and on the buses of these pioneers. James Reams has played both old-time and bluegrass music since he was a child. There were traditional singers on both sides of his family. James also has a critically acclaimed old-time CD, The Mysterious Redbirds 1992-1998, which he recorded with New Lost City Ramblers founding member Tom Paley and old-time fiddler Bill Christophersen. James' earlier solo albums, Kentucky Songbird and The Blackest Crow, also received excellent reviews. And he's joined by legendary banjo player Walter Hensley for two recordings: One is the self-titled James Reams, Walter Hensley and the Barons of Bluegrass, released in 2003. This was the first recording by Hensley, known as the "Banjo Baron of Baltimore," in nearly 30 years, and his driving, inventive banjo playing is joined by James' hard-charging rhythm guitar and soulful vocals. That album was nominated by the IBMA as a 2003 Recorded Event of the Year. Wild Card, the newest James/Walter collaboration, was released in April 2006 to critical acclaim. Reviews of these albums can be found at www.jamesreams.com. THE BARNSTORMERS: Mark Farrell has played bluegrass and old-time music for many years, recording with Major Contay & The Canebrake Rattlers, a well- respected old-time string band. He joined the Barnstormers in 1998 and is a triple-threat, contributing great mountain-style fiddling, mandolin and harmony vocals. Doug Nicolaisen has been playing banjo with bluegrass bands in the NY tri-state area for the past 17 years. His music incorporates many of the best elements of all the major banjo players yet his style reflects an individuality of its own and adds to the hard-driving energy of the band. Nick Sullivan has been playing bass since he was a tot. In the northern woods of Wisconsin he started playing 1950s rock and roll when he was 12 and has covered lots of musical terrain since that time, from ragtime jazz and West African traditional music to early country music and bluegrass. He adds rock- solid bass and great singing to the Barnstormers' sound. For more information about the band, visit http://www.jamesreams.com Visit the band on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/James-Reams-The-Barnstormers/ 10443063666 (You don't have to be a Facebook member to listen to the songs) Watch them on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/ReamsAndBarnstormers and http://www.youtube.com/NyBluegrass