Southern Exposure was started in1987, but played together only a short time before losing a member to a new job in another
city, leaving Barry Faulk and Mike Risdal to content themselves with occasional jamming. Around 1998 Barry and Mike decided to
revive the group, experimenting with a mixture of bluegrass, folk, blues, a little jazz and some contemporary melodies.
They wanted a fuller sound and were very pleased when acoustic bass player, Audrey Massey, agreed to be part of the group.
She is a talented bass player and vocalist with many years of experience and background in bluegrass music. She most recently played
with the group "Common Time" and brings wonderful lead and harmony vocals to the group, as well as a solid bass foundation.
There was still a missing piece, however, and the search was still on to find another picker to fill the gap. Scott Simmons
played for several years with the band "Quick's Run" as well as sitting in with Southern Exposure on a few radio shows and other gigs
in the past. He seemed to be a natural choice and SE was quite pleased when Scott said he was interested and available. Scott is not only
a talented singer, guitarist, and mandolin player, he also has the deep-rooted love for the music that all of the members of Southern
Exposure share.
Barry Faulk is the group's true "Southerner" with his roots in Alabama. Barry is an outstanding guitarist and very recently
picked up a mandolin and is playing like he has owned it for years. Barry's baritone lead and harmony vocals are a great plus to the
group.
With several bluegrass musicians in the family Mike Risdal has been exposed to the music since childhood. In the mid 80s he
played with the band "Prairie Dog Town Council." Mike plays guitar and banjo for the group and shares in singing the leads and taking
up the tenor part on the harmonies.
Southern Exposure is only about a year old in their current configuration and still evolving as they look forward to developing a
seasoned bluegrass sound.
ABOUT THE BANDS
Rivertown String Band
The Rivertown String Band has been together for about 18 years. Though coming from divergent musical backgrounds, they have
found common ground in their love of American folk and roots music. Southern old-time string band music, bluegrass, British Isles
fiddle tunes, and Civil War era songs are all likely to be heard at an RSB performance.
Alabama born Jenni Wallace-Grate came under the spell of old-time and bluegrass music in the early '70's and caught AMIS
(acquired musical instrument syndrome). Guitar came first, but mountain dulcimer, banjo and fiddle soon followed. During the early
'80's Jenni played with Larry Peterson, Joe McNamara, and Kriss Haile in 'The Old Time Wood And String Company" for a couple of
years. It was around this time that she took up the hammered dulcimer. She currrently plays as a duo with Kathy as Wallace & Wood
and also teaches music lessons on various folk instruments.
Bass player Jim Wood grew up in Lafayette, Colorado and is a professor of organic chemistry. His early influences include college
roommates who played bluegrass in the living room (Jim made the popcorn), and concerts by Judy Collins and others at the Exodus in
Denver during the folk revival years.
Autoharp, guitar and clawhammer banjo player Kathy Wood comes from Southern California and is a Special Education
teacher. Jim and Kathy have been mainstays of the Omaha Folk Song Society for thirty years and members of GPB&OTMA since its
inception. Kathy has the distinction of having been refused entry to a SPGBMA event for trying to carry in an autoharp "...because an
autoharp is not a bluegrass instrument" (even though she's been known to do a very convincing rendition of "Dooley" on said
instrument).
In 1999 the Rivertown String Band released a CD/tape with 18 of their favorite songs and tunes, entitled "Gone Home." This
recording also includes the instrumental and vocal contributions of Paul Arnold, who played with the group for 13 years.
Golden Harvest combines the talents of five seasoned veterans of the bluegrass scene, Hal Cottrell, Barney Moss, Max Cooley, Matt
Allen, and Charlotte Moss Coleman. Together since June 1999, this band quickly gained acclaim for its soulful, hard-driving sound, and
has built an enthusiastic audience through appearances on festival stages throughout the Midwest. Their material is a combination of
traditional, contemporary, and original Bluegrass music, as well as gospel and older country songs arranged to fit the group's style. In
addition to live performances, the band has completed two recordings and is hard at work on a third, which is scheduled to be released
this spring.
Hal Cottrell is the catalyst of this group. From West Virginia, he grew up going to festivals with his Dad, to see the likes of
Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Jimmy Martin, etc. Hal is a multi-instrumentalist and writes some of the songs for the
group. He is best known for his hard driving mandolin style, soulful singing, and his sense of humor, which keeps the audience
involved in the show.
Max Cooley grew up in Missouri and moved to Nebraska in 1962. Highly regarded as both an instrumentalist and a singer,
Max has been nominated for Dobro player of the year by SPBGMA Midwest. Max is a great fan of Jimmy Martin, and has been said to
sound a lot like Jimmy himself. A recently retired over the road trucker, he now devotes a lot of time to playing music and working
around the house (which according to Max is a full time job.)
Barney Moss is an exciting banjo player, and he credits his banjo style, described as smooth as well as hard driving, to listening
to the early Flatt and Scruggs recordings. His versatility comes from many years of playing in various bands on the SPBGMA circuit, as
well as a solid background in school instrumental and vocal music. Barney has received many awards including the Iowa State Banjo
Champion 1976, National Country Music Instrumentalist Champion 1976, Nebraska State Banjo Champion 1975. His baritone vocals
are an integral part of the GH sound.
Matt Allen is the youngest of the group. He was born and raised in Crescent, Iowa where he stills lives today. Matt started
playing guitar and mandolin in 1974, and by 1976 was ready to contribute to the formation of a family band. He has played the
SPBGMA festival circuit with several groups in Iowa and Nebraska, including Stoney Point. His tenor voice is comparable to many of
the greats in bluegrass, and his solid rhythm guitar is a key part of the band's driving sound.
Charlotte Coleman is the newest member of Golden Harvest Bluegrass, and though new to the band, she has been playing bluegrass music most of her life, beginning as a duet with her brother Barney when they were children. (The first time Charlotte and Barney played in public they won a new television at the KOOO radio talent show). Currently the bass player for GH, Charlotte plays many instruments very well, including mandolin and guitar, and has a wonderful vocal sound. Charlotte played on the SPBGMA circuit with Morningstar Express, also traveled the Holiday Inn circuit with a band called Freeborn.
The Roundhouse Band had its beginning about seven years ago when several folks who had met each other through the
GPB&OTMA got together to make music. Since then this band has been one of the mainstays of the club. Original members Don Knudsen, SteveAksamit, and Duane Miller are joined now by Joe McNamara and Galen Jeter. Together, they play old-time songs and fiddle tunes, and both classic and contemporary bluegrass, as well as period music for special events at museums and historical reenactments.
Don Knudsen has long been involved with music, especially through church. He was introduced to bluegrass and the GPB&OTMA
by fellow teacher Joe McNamara some time in the mid 1980's. Don's primary instrument is the mandolin, but he also plays guitar,
autoharp, clawhammer banjo, and several other members of the mandolin family. In the summer Don can frequently be found indulging
both his musical and historical interests at Buckskinner events and reenactments.
The fiddler for Roundhouse is Fremont resident Duane Miller. Duane's railroad interests were the inspiration for the name
"Roundhouse Band." When not fiddling or driving a train or running a railroad, Duane collects antique tractors and single cylinder
hit-and-miss gas engines (ask him about that), and is learning to play the mandolin and tenor banjo.
Banjo player Steve Aksamit's earliest exposure to music came at about age three when his parents would take him to the Sunday
night polka dance in Wilbur, Nebraska. At Kearney State College a good friend taught him three chords on the guitar (guess which
three?), then later he heard Grandpa Jones a few times and fell in love with the banjo. In 1986 Steve accepted a job offer as a corporate
pilot for Bethphage which brought him to Omaha and he has been involved with GPBOTMA ever since.
Relatively new to Roundhouse, Joe McNamara ably handles lead and tenor vocals and plays guitar for the group. He's been
involved with several club bands, most recently Papio Creek, where his mandolin, guitar and vocals were an integral part of the sound.
Joe makes his living teaching art at TJ High School in Council Bluffs, but will be retiring at the end of this year. Joe also owns Travel
World Network.
A solid rhythm anchor for the band is provided by the fine bass playing of another recent addition, Galen Jeter from Harlan,
Iowa. Many of you know Galen as the driving force behind the Nishna Valley Blue Grass Association jam at the Depot in Shenandoah,
as well as the spark plug for any jam he's part of.
Roundhouse has a recording, "First Run", which came out a couple of years ago, full of great songs and tunes.
In 1986 Joe Watson and Jerry Jones formed a group called Shady Grove. Along with Lyle Miller, Jake Geppert and Hugh Johnson, they
made up one of the best bluegrass bands in the area in those days. The following years saw some changes in personnel, as well as a shift
to country music, which kept them busy playing places like Yellow Rose, Mosquito Creek, Bushwackers, Longbranch, and the Play-mor
Ballroom during the Garth Brooks Craze. Fast forwarding to the present, we find Joe and Jerry still making music together, and along
with Dave Blakeslee and Denny Reigsecker, playing bluegrass music again.
Jerry Jones plays bass, and has been the bedrock of this band since the beginning. Even during the Country years he'd always
urge them to stick with their roots, having a great love for bluegrass music. He's played with a number of bands over the years, always
providing that rock solid foundation with his bass.
Joe Watson is one of those musicians who can blend tastefully into just about any musical situation. In addition to being a
fantastic bluegrass guitar player and singer, he has a long history with country, rock, honky-tonk and swing music. Now Joe has
become an accomplished song writer, and plays in a reggae band. Check out his recording "Fenceposts."
Denny Riegsecker is one of the most repected and admired banjo players in this area. He's known for his work with Cold
Spring, Stony Point, Shady Grove, and S&H Grass, as well as winning numerous contests at area festivals. Denny lives in Lincoln.
David Blakeslee picks the mandolin for Shady Grove, but his instrumental talents don't stop there. If it has strings on it Dave
can play it. He's an especially fine fiddler, handling bluegrass, country, old-time, and swing tunes in great style. He also contributes
