Mandolin Maker Audey Ratliff Releases First Solo Album
“Piece Of Cake” a Treasury of Bluegrass, Country, Folk Songs
Nashville, TN - Audey Ratliff, the man who has enriched
bluegrass music the world over with his finely crafted mandolins,
has released his first solo album, Piece Of Cake, on Dream Walk
Records. Ratliff owns and operates Ratliff Mandolins in Church
Hill, Tennessee.
Produced by James Alan Shelton, lead guitarist for Ralph
Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys and a recording artist in his own
right, Piece Of Cake is 14-song treasury of classic country, folk and
bluegrass tunes—plus one particularly catchy movie theme.
The lineup includes “Oh Lonesome Me,” “Early Morning Rain,”
“Sleepy Eyed John,” “John Dig A Hole,” “Carolyn’s Concerto,”
“Twinkle Little Star,” “Raised By The Railroad Line,” “Cactus Polka,”
“Pretty Little Miss,” “Heartland,” “Foggy Mountain Special,” “Goodbye
And So Long To You,” “Piece Of Cake” and, from the movie of the
same name, “Never On Sunday.”
Ratliff’s talented touches are all over Piece Of Cake as he
variously provides vocals, mandolin, guitar, bass and percussion
for the songs he and his producer have chosen. Backing him are
Shelton on lead guitar, bass, vocals and banjo and Savannah
Vaughn on fiddle and vocals. Guitarist John Maylater guests on one
track.
Ratliff has crafted mandolins for some of the most-awarded
musicians in bluegrass and country music, among them Adam
Steffey (the former Union Station picker whom Ratliff taught to play)
Jimmy Gaudreau, Norman Wright, Shawn Lane, Tammy Rogers,
Billy Panda, Stephen Cagle, Emory Lester, Jennifer McClain and
Dino DiGiacomo.
As a studio musician, Ratliff has recorded with Shelton, the
Larkins, the Ball Sisters and Tennessee Skyline, among others.
He is a former member of the band Whetstone Run and currently
performs with Tennessee Skyline, Savannah Vaughn & Fall Creek
and the Laurel Duo with John Malayter. His one thousandth Ratliff
Mandolin will be completed sometime in late 2008.
Piece Of Cake is available online at The Music Shed, CD Baby
or directly from www.ratliffmandolins.com.
READ OUR REVIEW!! THIS IS A GREAT CD
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Vince Gill Embarks On Major U.S. Tour
The Grammy Winner Will Present:
“A Special Acoustic Evening With Vince Gill”
NASHVILLE, TN – July 23, 2008—Country Music Hall of Famer
Vince Gill will segue from bandleader to troubadour on his 2008
tour that starts August 18 at the Lorain County Fair in Wellington,
Ohio, and concludes November 24 in Alexandria, VA.
The tour is being billed as A Special Acoustic Evening With Vince
Gill.
Accompanied only by pianist Pete Wasner and percussionist Billy
Thomas, Gill will present an array of his most notable songs along
with some new material, and will entertain the audience with
numerous stories that reflect his notorious sense of humor and his
genuine warmth.
“In 2006 and 2007, I toured with a 17-piece band so I could
reproduce the sounds of These Days, the new album I’d made,” Gill
explains. “And it was a lot of fun. This year, I’m not out promoting a
new album so I wanted to do something really different. Recently I
saw James Taylor on his tour. It was a kind of one-man band
show, with just him, a piano player and all those great songs. I
really enjoyed watching it and I knew I would enjoy performing in
that setting as well. So I’m going to tour basically the same way—
pared down and informal.”
Propelled by a remarkable 43-song, multi-format boxed set of Gill’s
own co-compositions, the “These Days Tour” was such a
smashing success that it was extended from its original closing
date in December of 2006 into June of 2007. These Days, which
has been certified platinum, this year won Gill a Grammy—his
19th—for Best Country Album.
Here are the tour dates, cities and venues:
Aug. 18 / Wellington, OH / Lorain County Fair
Aug. 20 / Westbury, NY / Capital One Bank Theatre at
Westbury
Aug. 21 / Morristown, NJ / Community Theatre at
the Performing Arts
Aug. 22 / Chautauqua, NY / Chautauqua Institution
Aug. 23 / Highmount, NY / Belleayre Mountain Ski
Center
Aug. 24 / Torrington, CT / Warner Theatre
Aug. 27 / Williamsport, PA / Community Arts Center
Aug. 28 / Lancaster, PA / American Music Theatre
Aug. 29 / Hyannis, MA / Cape Cod Melody Tent
Aug. 30 / Cohasset, MA / South Shore Music Circus
Aug. 31 / Hampton Beach, NH / Hampton Beach
Casino Ballroom
Sept. 17 / Wausau, WI / Grand Theatre On Arts Block
Sept. 18 / Joliet, IL / Rialto Square Theatre
Sept. 19 / Arnold, MO / Rickman Auditorium
Sept. 20 / Mason City, IA / North Iowa Community
College Auditorium
Sept. 21 / Kansas City, MO / Midland Theatre
Sept. 23 / Ashland, KY / Paramount Arts Center
Sept. 24 / Bloomington, IN / Indiana University
Auditorium
Sept. 25 / Wabash, IN / Honeywell Center
Sept. 26 / Cincinnati, OH / Aronoff Center for the Arts
Sept 27 / Muncie, IN / Emens Auditorium
Oct. 21 / Mesa, AZ / Mesa Arts Center – Ikeda Theater
Oct. 22 / Palm Desert, CA / McCallum Theatre For The
Performing Arts
Oct. 23 / Bakersfield, CA / Majestic Fox Theater
Oct. 24 / Turlock, CA / Turlock Community Theatre
Oct. 25 / Los Angeles, CA / Walt Disney Concert Hall
Oct. 26 / Visalia, CA / Visalia Fox Theatre
Oct. 28 / Escondido, CA / California Center for the Arts
Oct. 29 / Santa Rosa, CA / Wells Fargo Center for the
Arts
Oct. 30 / Monterey, CA / Golden State Theatre
Nov. 1 / Greeley, CO / Union Colony Civic Center
Nov. 2 / Denver, CO / Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre
Nov. 15 / Clearwater, FL / Ruth Eckerd Hall
Nov. 16 / Melbourne, FL / King Center for the
Performing Arts
Nov. 18 / West Palm Beach, FL / Raymond Kravis
Center for the Performing Arts
Nov. 19 / Jacksonville, FL / Florida Theatre
Nov. 20 / Spartanburg, SC / Spartanburg Memorial
Auditorium
Nov. 21 / Salem, VA / Salem Civic Center
Nov. 22 / Virginia Beach, VA / Sandler Center for the
Performing Arts
Nov. 23 / Alexandria, VA / The Birchmere
Nov. 24 / Alexandria, VA / The Birchmere
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