Andy Owens takes listeners on a Drive South
Famed bluegrass star leads workshops at MusicFest ‘n Sugar Grove

By Paulette Isaccs

Andy Owens’ career in bluegrass begins in Louisville, Kentucky, and spans over 30 years with performances in 34 countries. With this vast experience under his belt, the High Country is blessed to have such an accomplished musician right in their midst. According to the biography page on his website (1800bluegrass.com), Andy Owens “sings, writes songs, produces & engineers, builds & repairs instruments, and plays mandolin, banjo, guitar, fiddle, bass, Dobro and pedal steel.”

“Past credits include The Fredonia Rebellion, The Foves, Danger in the Air, Killbilly and The Andy Owens Project, in addition to his current appearances with Czech bluegrass superstars, Druha Trava. He also served on the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Board of Directors from 1991-2000 as an Artist & Composers rep, with the last years in the Vice-Chair and Chairperson seats, and served two terms on the International Bluegrass Music Museum Board of Trustees, including a stint as Vice-Chairperson” (taken from biography page from Owens’ website).

In addition to Drive South, Andy also has recorded the following albums: A Melody For You, One Eye Open, Real Music, and Kerosene Circuit.

This writer met Owens back in 2004 and had the privilege of working on a recording with Southern Accent in Owens’ home studio. The studio known as Lonesome Pine in Deep Gap, NC, was the arena in which his Drive South project was born and completed. Co-produced by Larry Seyer, Sam McGuire, and Andy’s son, Cameron Owens, the project was a labor of love along with executive producer Sandra Kessler. The mastering was completed at AppState Studios in Boone.

Title track, “Drive South,” proves that a song from almost any genre in music can be fit so well with bluegrass instruments. Owens adds so much enthusiasm and drive to the song that one could almost forget it wasn’t originally written for bluegrass.

“And When I Die” has an especially deep meaning for Owens. “I had to sing and do a lot of the production work right in the midst of the family tragedy of losing my son Stuart’s best friend Byron, it was tough song considering the circumstances and nature of this song” (taken from liner notes of Drive South).

The instrumental written by Lubos Malina, Brazos Bottoms, has a great feel and energy to it. The musicians really bring it to life with their charisma and interpretation.

Andy Owens’ original, “Ballad of Bessie Byrd,” was written with his grandmother Bessie Byrd in mind. One is left to decide whether or not the story is true, but according to Owens, “Who knows, but I wouldn’t put it past her!”

Warren Zevon’s “Frank and Jesse James” starts out with a haunting pennywhistle introduction. The story takes one through the lives of the James’ brothers.

“Sweet Melissa” takes the project down the avenue of Owens’ versatility, taking the Allman Brothers’ song and enriching the song further with his own style.

The classic hymn, “Amazing Grace,” is another song done at a difficult time in Andy Owens’ life: “When we were cutting this record, before we were really finished with the tracks, I got the sad news that my wife’s father Jim had passed away. We had to cut the session short for me to head to Texas, and I wanted to sing something for the service, so Larry suggested his arrangement of Amazing Grace. So we cut this so that I would have background music to sing with. I was not sure that I could sing it at the service, so I tried to sing it in the studio just in case, so I could just play the cd if I lost it. We did this within minutes of me hearing the news, and it was really hard to do, in fact you will hear that I am tore up here if you listen close. It was not meant for the cd, but I really wanted to put it on here for Jim” (taken from liner notes).

The ever-popular “Kentucky Waltz” was thoughtfully included on the project since Owens’ noted that this is a song that folks enjoy hearing live.

Steve Hartz’s “Danger in the Air” has a great story of a cyclone’s destruction on a family, their life, and their livelihood.

“Turn the Page” is a familiar cut to Bob Seeger fans and Andy Owens certainly does it justice in the bluegrass realm. Andy jokes in the liner notes that a six-minute song was needed since “what bluegrass record is complete without a six minute song?”

Musical credits for the project, Drive South, include: Larry Seyer (bass), Marin Ledvina (guitar), Lubos Malina (banjo, pennywhistles), Lubos Novotny (resonophonic guitar), Stanos Paluch (fiddle), Andy Owens (mandolin, mandola), and Connie Norris & Gary Trivette (background vocals).

Andy will be hosting a songwriters’ showcase at Music Fest ‘N Sugar Grove this Saturday, July 12th, from 3pm until 6pm featuring twelve songwriters. He will also be hosting a mandolin workshop this Saturday at the festival from 12pm until 12:45pm.

Andy Owens may be contacted via his website at www.1800bluegrass.com, or by calling 1-800-BLUEGRASS (1-800-258-3472).

Local musicians are invited to send in your materials for a review by Paulette Isaacs. They may be mailed to 286 Phillip Road, Elk Park, NC 28622. Sorry, materials cannot be returned. For more information, you may email dpisaacs@localnet.com.