Arwen Mountain "Five Of A Kind" (Chelsea House Records, 1977) (LP)
A string/swing band from Vermont who mixed zippy covers of standards and public domain tunes and western swing with progressive bluegrass and country-folk material from the likes Herb Pedersen, Dallas Frazier and Asleep At The Wheel. Mostly in the bluegrass came, but with some interesting country touches.

Greg Austin "Dixie Dancer" (Kentex Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by J. D. Miller & Cecil Jones)
A pretty good indie album with a rootsy-meets-slightly-commercial sound... I'm not sure, but I think this was Austin's first album, and his band was pretty good for a bunch of locals. Other than the credits for songwriting and musicians, there's not a lot of info on here -- I'm just guessing what year this came out -- and while this was recorded in the Lemco studios in Lexington, Kentucky, I'm not sure if that's where the band was located at the time. Anyway, it's a pretty solid record. Austin co-wrote all but two of the songs, along with Ron Daly, a guy who wasn't in the band, but did sing backup on some of the tracks. The exceptions were a version of the R&B/western swing oldie, "Mama Don't Allow" and a cover of Shel Silverstein's "Masochistic Baby," which is one of the novelty-song standouts, along with "I Beat The Bottle" and "If Women Were Whiskey." This stands up well in comparison to Austin's later records, with vocals that are assertive but not very emotive -- he doesn't reach too high or try too hard, and the results are fairly straightforward and effective. Definitely worth checking out if you're on the indie-billy trail. Just wish I knew more about when this one came out!

The Greg Austin Band "Midnight Driver" (Chnito Productions, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Nick Heyl)
An ambitious album from this shaggy local bar band out of Vermont. I couldn't find much info about these guys, other than what's on the records themselves, and the fact that they made at least three albums. Apparently Austin had been playing since the mid-1970s, though this might have been his first album. Anyway, it's an appealing set, even though it's poorly recorded, with a mix that leaves most of the instruments muted, except for the lead guitar. The vocals are okay -- not a great voice, but plainspoken and sincere -- and the songs are pretty good. It's mostly original material, written by Austin or various band members, twangy songs about drinking, bars, and "painted ladies," as well as a cover of David Allan Coe's "I Love Robbing Banks," which gives them an outlaw vibe. This isn't the greatest music ever, but it has sincere DIY authenticity...

The Greg Austin Band "The Greg Austin Band" (Xeres Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by J. P. Pennington)
Big difference here: the band went down to Nashville to record this, and a Music City sound is immediately noticeable, with slicker, processed guitars instead of their earlier scrappy sound. Some of the songs are still outlaw themed -- like "Cheap Thrills," which opens the album -- but others were clearly meant to be more commercial, like the Eagles-y "Leaving In Her Eyes" and "Didn't Mean To Love You." Obviously, it didn't work, since these guys remain so obscure, but it's still interesting to see how quickly a band could remake themselves, reaching for the big brass ring. Their bar-band roots still show, though, in several rock-oldies covers -- "Bird Dog," "Sea Cruise," as well as a more-interesting cover of "Tonight The Bartender Is On The Wrong Side Of The Bar," an old Asleep At The Wheel song. Again, not spectacular, but for real. Let's hear it for the little guys!

The Greg Austin Band "If The Dream Could Stay" (Xeres Records, 1984) (LP)

The Greg Austin Band "Three Time Losers" (Xeres Records, 19--) (LP)

Roy Berkeley & Tim Woodbridge "Folk And Country Songs Of The FDR Years" (Longview Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Don Wade)
This one's definitely more of a folk album (though it does use the word "country" on the cover!) but Roy Berkeley's bio is just too good to pass up, particularly the way this album fits into his overall story. Roy Berkeley (1935-2009) was born during the height of the Great Depression and, as mentioned in the liner notes, grew up in a world where President Franklin Delano Roosevelt loomed large and the New Deal provided anxious Americans a path to stability and prosperity... An East Coaster, Berkeley was a charter member of the Greenwich Village folk revival in the late 1950s, and formed the Old Reliable String Band with Tom Paley in the early 'Sixties. According to his online profile is (perhaps apocryphally) said to have been the first folksinger to perform in a coffeehouse. Not an orthodox leftie, Berkeley's early songs occasionally lampooned the socialist leanings of the "old left," although on this album his affection for FDR seems sincere. However, in later years Berkeley went full Reagan Democrat and literally became a gun-toting, card-carrying Republican, working in local law enforcement up in Vermont. He moved from FDR's NRA (the National Recovery Administration) to the assault rifle NRA, giving firearms training rather than guitar lessons. God bless America!

Black River Express "Sweet Dreams" (Mountainside Recording Studio, 1979) (LP)
Great set list from this super-obscuro New England band -- stuff from Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Mel Tillis and others, even a version of the Oak Ridge Boys' "Y'All Come Back Saloon," for a more contemporary touch. Also a bunch of 'Seventies gal songs: Linda Ronstadt's "When Will I Be Loved," "Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down" and "C'est Le Vie" (both presumably copped off of Emmylou Harris), and "Sweet Dreams," of course. The band seems to have been from Northfield, Vermont, though other than that, they are a bit of a mystery... Anyone got any info?

Coco & The Lonesome Road Band "Coco & The Lonesome Road Band" (Green Mountain Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by David Levine)
Carolyn "Coco" Kallis started out in musical theater and Boston's fabled folk scene before moving to Vermont where she established herself as a country-roots bandleader. In 1975 the Green Mountain Records sponsored a regional talent contest which Coco & The Lonesome Road Band won with her original tune, "New England Song," which was subsequently released as a single, and later included on this album. Popular in New England, the Lonesome Road Band stayed together for over twenty years before Kallis moved on to other projects, including the duo Coco & Lafe, who recorded several albums. As far as I know, this was the Lonesome Road Band's only full album... The lineup included Tim Glasgow (pedal steel), David Levine (electric guitar), Gary Lobspeich (bass and dobro) and Paul Miller on drums.

The Corn Dodgers "Nobody's Business If I Do..." (Rooster Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by The Corn Dodgers, Sid Blum, Eric Taylor & William Wright)
More of an old-timey kinda sound by this trio from Vermont -- Ahmet Baycu on banjo, George Ainley on fiddle and William Wright playing guitar. (Note: decades later, Ainley and Baycu were profiled in a 2008 film, Music For The Sky, a documentary about New England old-timey music.)

F&W String Band "The Canterbury Country Orchestra Meets The F&W String Band" (F&W Records, 1970-?) (LP)
This far-flung ensemble was a cross-pollination of several New England folk and dance groups, including the Canterbury Country Orchestra and the Fireside String Band, with interlocking memberships and a common devotion to odd, eclectic, and antiquated music. F&W took its name from the Farm and Wilderness camps, a summer camp program with roots in the Quaker movement. The group started out playing in the camp setting, and made its public debut at the 1969 Vermont Fiddler's Convention. The music really draws more on English and Celtic folk traditions than on actual country music... But what the heck. It's kooky and very 'Seventies, and this album pops up all the time. Worth checking out!

F&W String Band "2" (F&W Records, 19--?) (LP)

Joy Goodnow "The Joy Of Country" (Major Record Company, 1974-?) (LP)
New England's Joy Goodnow was a longtime fixture on Boston's 1970s country scene, singing with the John Penny Band and others, before recording a handful of singles and two LPs over the course of the decade. Her career is a little hard to map out very clearly, though she seems to been on the scene in Massachusetts and Vermont at least through the mid-1980s, and sang lead for a series of groups, including her own band, The Good Guys. She later married and moved to Oklahoma, then to Texas, where she performed at some local events.

Joy Goodnow "Joy Goodnow" (TNT Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Dishaw)

Green Mountain Fever "Green Mountain Fever" (Lunker Records, 1981) (LP)

Home Comfort "Old Strings, Old Songs" (Paja's Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by James H. Starbuck)
This album was recorded in Westport, New York, though I think the band was from Vermont... At any rate, this is super-duper hippied-out, folkie stuff with old-fashioned tunes played by Michael Blouin (bass, guitar), Vincent Thomas Consoli (guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo), Michael Kennedy (lead guitar, banjo), Pancho (banjo, bass, guitar) and Christopher Trigg (drums).

Pine Island "No Curb Service Anymore" (Green Mountain Records, 1976) (LP)
An old-timey/acoustic swing/bluegrass band from Burlington, Vermont, Pine Island was a frequent participant in regional concert shows such as the annual Green Mountain Opry revue, and had been together for several years before releasing this album. Banjo picker Gordon Stone was one of the band's spotlight performers...

Various Artists "FIRST ANNUAL GREEN MOUNTAIN COUNTRY MUSIC CONTEST" (Green Mountain Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Brugnoni & Robert Longfellow)
A regional New England talent competition hosted on April 18, 1975 by folks up in Barre, Vermont... The lineup included the Arm & Hammer String Band, fiddler Victor Albert, Gary Barr, Karen Billings, The Blue Spruce Rangers, The Eden Mountain Boys, Ken Eiker, Leaf Gage, Doris Hoague, and others. A few of the artists would record elsewhere, including first place winner Coco Kallis and her group (Coco & The Lonesome Road Band), whose "New England Song" was released as a single the following year, as well as Bruce Batchelder, who took third place.

Various Artists "8th ANNUAL BANJO CONTEST: CRAFTSBURY COMMON, VERMONT" (Green Mountain Records, 1975) (LP)
A lovely album recorded at a regional New England banjo competition on September 27, 1975, with a nice variety of pickers and styles. Many's the spring morning I've puttered around in my pea patch listening to this one... About half the players were Vermont locals, with the rest coming from neighboring New Hampshire and Massachusetts, a few from New York, and one lone representative from Boothbay Harbor, Maine. There were two separate competitions, one for bluegrass, one for old-timey music, and the album is well-programmed and very listenable, moving from style to style while sprinkling the winners in with the runners-up. A lot of interesting and distinctive picking, too -- a few musicians whose names I recognize from fairly obscure indie albums, but no heavyweights or ringers from professional bluegrass bands. (BTW, one contestant, named Tom Adams, whose version of "Chilly Winds" closes the album out, is not the same Tom Adams who was in the Johnson Mountain Boys... instead this was a local fella from West Halifax... go figure!) Anyway, this is a really nice record, worth a spin if you can track it down.

Various Artists "THE SOUND OF VERMONT" (Earth Audio Techniques, Inc., 1975) (LP)
This is an odd little album, a regional-pride booster record -- sponsored by the Chittenden Trust Company -- that is mostly country and bluegrass (and a little jazz) on one side, with some classical music on Side Two. For the purposes of this website, we'll skip the stuff by the Vermont Symphony Orchestra and concentrate on the twangtunes. The bands featured here all made records of their own -- the bluegrass combo Pine Island, brothers John and Peter Isaacson, Banjo Dan & The Midnite Plowboys and Dan Gillmor's band, Road Apple, although I'm not sure if the tracks on here are unique to this disc, or borrowed from each band's own records. A fifth group, Coco & The Lonesome Road Band, featuring singer Coco Kallis, recorded a single in 1976 but as far as I know they didn't record the song on here, "Faded Prints," anywhere else. A tantalizing set... I wish it had been all country, but sometimes you gotta take what you can get.

Hick Music Index