August 30/08 Shenandoah/ Kenton National, with guest Marty Raybon

August 31, 2008 - Sunday

August 30/08 Shenandoah at Kenton national, Kenton, Ohio Jimmy Yeary and the whole Shenandoah gang, met at the kroger parking lot at 1 am to head for Kenton, Ohio to play Kenton National. Jim Seales gal, Donna was aboard as well as Billy Ryan and drummer, Keeley lane and guitarist, Rod Riley.  We were a loaded bus as we sucked up those white lines on the highway, marking those miles off to Kenton. Everyone except Rod, Jim Seales and Donna stayed up till very early in the morning talking..telling road stories..listening to Billy Ryan's material and whatever. This was to be Shenandoah's third year in a row to play Kenton National..which is a huge deal... a giant flea market in the woods..where thousands of folks flock to every year to sell and trade guns, knives, dogs...you name it. It's an all out party that goes on all day and night! It is a week long event and on the weekend they have a concert. This year they had bluegrass entertainment on Friday night, which included, Dr. Ralph Stanley & his Clinch Mountain Boys, Marty Raybon, Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road. Saturday night included, Billy Ryan, Marty Raybon, Shenandoah and Darryl Worley.  We got to the venue.. a huge field with a giant stage and P.A. rig, complete with two large video screens on either side and scrambled off the bus to grab some grub underneath a big tent behind the stage. They were cooking burgers, dogs and bratwurst and had other good stuff like potato salad, pasta salad, baked beans, fruit..on and on...good eatin'.  After eating lunch, we rambled to the stage and Marty Raybon, Shenandoah's original singer, walked up on the stage and hung out with us for a while. It was quite a nostalgic experience for all of of us ..Marty picked up an acoustic guitar and he and all the gang...Jim Seales on acoustic, Jimmy Yeary on acoustic..and the rest of us... sang old Shenandoah songs for at least 45 minutes..It was great.. Marty had not been on stage with Shenandoah since 1997..since his last show at The WildHorse Saloon in Nashville. Wow..both Shenandoah lead singers...past and present singing on the same stage.. Marty told a couple of old stories from back when.. one being the famous cheeze dip story.. when I put some cheeze dip in the microwave and then stepped in the bus restroom.. our road manager had lengthened the time it was heating.. when I exited the restroom.. I took the bowl out of the microwave and stuck a chip in the dip and promptly stuck that sucker in my mouth. Big mistake... it burned the roof off in my mouth and I made a sound that Marty said.. sounded like a train whistle..lol I know we were all thinking about Ralph Ezell and knowing he would have loved this reunion. We had known for a while that the promoters of the show had asked Marty to stay over from Friday night and sit in with Shenandoah for several songs on Sat. We knew it would be a special treat for the fans as well as for Marty and ourselves but it was historic and classic.. our time together.. on that stage before soundcheck and we thank Byron Cumbie for getting great video footage of that emotional moment in time.  Marty Raybon and his bluegrass band did a short set, and after that, Mike Folsom and myself only had about a half hour before we were to go on with Billy Ryan, along with super guitar picker, Rod Riley and kickin' drummer Keeley Lane.. so, I grabbed a quick bite for supper..a steak, and a salad..wanted to get something to eat..in case there was nothing after the show. As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, Billy frequently opens for Shenandoah and occasionally sits in with us and sings a song or two.  ..  Billy Ryan hit the stage at around 5:30 and with Bart, Shenandoah's FOH man at the helm... we rocked em' pretty good for 35-40 minutes. The audience loved Billy and we all had fun backing him up. I thought we all played well.  Shenandoah went on around 7:30 and did a 75 min show and Jimmy moved the crowd to silence as he did, "You Never Know"..the song that he, Mike McGuire and Billy Ryan wrote after Ralph's passing. Jimmy always puts his heart and soul in the delivery of that song and it gets everyone..everytime. Towards the end of our set, Jimmy Yeary left the stage and Marty Raybon came out. He sang, "Ghost in This House", "Two Dozen Roses" and "Church On Cumberland Road" and treated the audience to that old magic that came from being reunited with the rest of Shenandoah.. I thought to myself.."it's all coming back to me now"..with maybe a tear in my eye..as that high lonesome moan of that familiar voice rang through my headphone mix. It had been 11 years since I had heard that voice as I played those classic songs.  I didn't get to say goodbye to Marty after the show but I know he was as pumped as the rest of us were..he did good and it was fun for all. We wish him the best in his music and travels ..as we continue down our own path. Shenandoah has always managed , by the grace of God, to find those special people..who fit like a glove and take Shenandoah to new places..like the talented Jimmy Yeary and Mike Folsom and we look forward to our future travels with them. Darryl Worly put on a wonderful show and was so gracious to us..what a nice guy..he comes from our neck of the woods..Savannah, Tn and graduated from the University of North Alabama ..where I did also. He got on our bus and played us his cut of the song,"You Never Know"..it was great and looks promising to become a single off of his new CD. Everyone keep your fingers crossed.. that it's a big ol' hit! I know Ralph must be smiling down...being the inspiration behind the song_ Tradition for the past three years..is..after the show... riding in the back of golf carts with deputies driving us through the woods...where the thousands of folks are camping and selling and trading their wares..everything you can think of..lawn mowers, tail pipes, guns, knives, you name it....folks sittin' around bonfires..dogs laying around..garbage cans stacked high with beer..people milling about all night long..drinkin'...playing guitars..telling stories..it has to be seen to be believed..we even saw a girl dressed sort of like a nun..yes a nun.. and we heard she had some "bad habits".. After the ride through the woods..we arrived back at the bus and said our goodbyes to Darryl and a tired but satisfied bunch headed back to Nashville. On the way back we watched video footage of the days activities...the impromptu sing along with Marty sounded great..Billy's show was captured as well as the Shenandoah show...we climbed into the bunks somewhere around 2 am I think... and drifted off. The "Hillbilly Hotel" arrived back in Nashville around 7:30 am Sunday morning and once again , Mickey Riley had gotten us home ..safe and sound. I want to thank Mike Allen and his brother Marty for their professionalism and attitude. Always a pleasure to work with them. Thanks to Becky and Lurline and all the hard working folks at Kenton for having us. Thanks to all for giving me a wonderful time this weekend. Yep...Another country music adventure had been had by all... Down the Road...Stan Munsey

AUG 23/08 - REIDSVILLE, NC - Shenandoah at the Nissan Dealership Promotion

AUG 23/08 - REIDSVILLE, NC - Shenandoah at the Nissan Dealership

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Shenandoah, along with former member, Curtis wright and up and coming new artist/songwriter, Billy Ryan.. left the Kroger parking lot at around 12:30 am Friday, August 22. Most of us stayed up till the early wee hours just hanging out. We arrived in Reidsville, NC at the Nissan dealership around 11:30 am and headed inside where they had set up a"green room ", with drinks and a deli tray. I've seen very few actual "green" rooms in my day...most are NOT green..why is that ? I think we outta always have a can of green paint with us...Hmmm. 

The stage and PA was already set up and ready to go and we started soundcheck around 1: 30 but it proved to be another exasperating experience for all..seems like there were patching problems and we had to endure a two hour troubleshoot. There are two things about this life on the road I don't particularly enjoy..I wish we could skip the soundcheck and I wish we were self-cleaning creatures...so we didn't have to rush to get cleaned up for a show...just push your belly button and you're clean and ready to go...lol
Yep..I know it.. I am insane! The one thing I did enjoy about the hellish soundcheck was playing "Under the Kudzu"... a song we hadn't played in years but decided to bring back to the show..possibly as a candidate for an encore. Jimmy Yeary, along with Mike Folsom's high harmony brought new life to it. 

After soundcheck we ate a bite and at 3:30, Jimmy Yeary, Mike Folsom and myself went to the hotel. We had three hours to rest up before we had to be back at the bus...a rarity. It was nice to have a bed to fall into for a little while. While I rested ..Jimmy Yeary ran. When I feel the urge to exercise..I lay down till the urge goes away_I gotta stop that and get back to my near perfect physique.

We arrived back at the venue around seven and the opening act, Ghost Riders were already into their set. They were a southern rock group whose members were from other well known bands from that genre. They were missing their keyboardist, as he got stuck in Florida..due to the crazy storm that had hit them a couple of days earlier. Even without the keys, I thought they were good. They rocked hard and loud. ..

When their set was done and they were off the stage..a man walked up to me and asked me to do him a favor. I was told that Shenandoah's show time had been changed..so he asked me to get onstage and announce to the crowd that we would be on 45 min later than planned..and to tell the audience to move their chairs closer to the stage.
I did just that..with everyone on the Shenandoah bus looking out the window at me...wondering what the heck I was doing. Not only did the audience ignore my request to move closer to the stage but the guy who had given me those instructions... was not the one in charge. lol What can I say... :) I still can't believe the audience didn't do what I told them..the audacity! lol Ok then...sit far away from the stage_I got on the bus and saw that our good friend Lyn had made the trip to see us and brought with him, the very good, mouth-watering Parker's barbeque..his wife, Harriet couldn't make the trip this time. We missed seeing her but enjoyed hanging out with Lyn. 

Shenandoah did hit the stage about 15 min later than originally 
planned..at 8:15 that evening and did a 75 min set. After the show we mingled with some of the crowd and talked to the opening act for a little while..exchanging phone numbers.etc 

The "hillbilly hotel" pulled out of there around 10:30 and we headed down that ol' road towards Music City...watching several episodes of "The Office"..and the video of the night's show ..which Byron Cumbie had shot. 

We got home at 7:30 am and one by one..we piled off the bus and into our cars.

Another country music adventure had been had by all.

Down the Road...Stan Munsey

Aug 15/08 Shenandoah at the Watermelon Festival in Russellville, Al

AUG 15/08 RUSSELLVILLE, AL Shenandoah at the Watermelon Festival

Leave time for Shenandoah was set for 9 am Friday morning, August 15. Jim Seales would be picked up in Alabama on the way to Russellville. Mike Mcguire would meet us later that afternoon in Russellville at soundcheck. Meeting the bus in Nashville was myself, Jimmy Yeary, Mike Folsom , Bart Barlettano, his daughter,Chelsie, Billy Ryan and his girlfriend, Amanda. Byron Cumbie, our merch man would not be on this run. We all had to get up that morning around 6 am to get to the bus in time..."musician's hours"...right! lol  I wanna thank my wife Donna for meeting me at the bus with an egg mcmuffin. :) Way beyond the call of duty. We arrived in Russellville around noon at the Russelville Suites and parked the bus. We had an hour and a half to kill at the motel, so we all walked down to the Dairy Queen and got a bite to eat. Burgers and fries for everyone. After stuffing ourselves, we departed for down town Russellville to load in and do soundcheck. It was another hot, humid day and we found the stage to be uncovered...which proved not be a good thing, as the clouds were starting to build up..filling us with the dreaded thought of rain. We had already lost several pieces of gear a few weeks back due to water damage. I found my top keyboard to be in non-functioning order and took it to the bus, using only my main board to drive my other synth modules...frustrating to say the least. After soundcheck, we were taken to the nearby Baptist church and fed salad, pasta and various types of pizza and bread sticks. Several members of the opening band joined us at the church for the late afternoon feast. After eating, Chelsie, Jimmy Yeary and myself got a ride to the motel to get cleaned up. We had two clean up rooms and found that each had a hot tub. That is always a nice surprise. When I got to the room, I took a quick catnap while Jimmy hit the workout room and then the hot tub. I should have taken advantage of the relaxing jets but passed this time...putting priority on the nap. We arrived back at the bus at around 7:45 pm and found the bus to be filled with friends and various band family members. My family showed up to see Shenandoah, as they only lived about 45 minutes away. With the help of my good buddy, Wayne Counts, of Counts Bros music and The Midnighters..we moved their chairs to a location where they could see me and the band...about four rows back center stage. It is always great to have my family show up..it is a rare treat because Shenandoah doesn't usually play close enough to allow that to happen very often.  At 8 o'clock, the opening act started their set, which included Shenandoah guitarist, Jim Seales and other various musicians from the Muscle Shoals, Al area. Among those were Donnie Carpenter, a talented fiddle player we had all known for years...who later set in with Shenandoah on Next to You, Next to Me. They treated the huge crowd of thousands to lots of great cover tunes..that they truly made their own. This was the first time that Jim Seales had ever opened up for himself! History was indeed made. After Jim Seales and the opening band finished, Shenandoah hit the stage at 9 pm and it had already started raining. By the end of the first song, Janie Baker's Love Slave, the gear was getting pretty wet and so were we. I had a hard time keeping my fingers on the keys and was constantly wiping them off with my shirt. The crowd showed no signs of leaving and we plowed through our show with the rain coming down. It never quit completely but did lesson to a degree where it was somewhat tolerable. I got off the stage in the middle of the show and stood with Ralph Ezell's brother and wife as Jimmy Yeary did the song, "You Never Know". We hugged each other with tears in our eyes..this was the song that was inspired by Ralph, the original bass player who passed away last November. It was a very moving moment for all. We did about 75 minutes and after the show, the rain soaked audience cleared out fairly quick..no long autograph lines that night. I walked my Mom and Dad, Aunt Betty Anne, Uncle Richard and Aunt Martha to their vehicle.. which was parked quite far away and bid them goodbye and thanked them for coming to the show. It was so great to see them..I was sorry they had to endure the rain. I made my way back down the street to the bus and ran into several old friends I hadn't seen in years, including Mary Carter Young.. a talented singer who was like family to me. I bet it had been at least fifteen years since I had seen her.  With the bus loaded, we pulled out of Russellville around midnight and with post show hunger kicking in...pulled into Arnold's truck stop and got food to go. Jimmy Yeary got a ride back to Nashville with his girlfriend and of course Mike Mcguire and Jim Seales stayed in Alabama. The few of us left on the bus arrived back in Nashville at 3 am. Shenandoah would like to thank our families and all our friends for the great show of support and for sitting through our rain soaked show. You mean a lot to us. I would also like to personally thank the wonderful, up and coming duo, "The Redheads" for making the trip down. I feel I should mention that the music world lost two greats recently...Jerry Wexler and Isaac Hayes..they will be missed.  Yep, another country music adventure was had by all. Down the road...Stan Munsey_

JUL 26 - HALE, MI - Shenandoah at the Iosco County Fair

We headed out of Nashville for our long trip to Hale, Michigan around 10 o'clock with just the band onboard..no extras. It was a good 14 hour drive.

We arrived the next day to find great temperatures and low humidity. We like that.

We sound checked that afternoon and I stayed on the bus till he show. Shenandoah did a 75 min show to an almost sold out crowd and had a blast.

After the show, in the autograph line.. a young lady talked to Mike Folsom and myself about how much Jimmy Yeary's delivery of the song, "You Never Know" touched her and gave her new hope. The song was penned by Jimmy Yeary, Mike McGuire and Billy Ryan. She was telling us how life had really taken a turn for the worse for her..losing jobs, deaths in the family, thoughts of suicide, depression..etc I was really moved knowing we played a part in changing her life that night. You never know who God is gonna put in that autograph line. It reminded me that we are ministering to folks up there on that stage and have been given a gift by God. I am thankful to serve him in that way.

The bus was loaded and we headed back to Nashville, Tn

Another country music adventure had been had..once again by many.

Down the Road...Stan Munsey

AUG 7-9 /08 DEERBROOK, WI Shenandoah at Fuddfest and Big Country Days in Chapin, IL

AUG 7-9 /08 DEERBROOK, WI Shenandoah at Fuddfest and Big Country Days in Chapin, IL

Shenandoah left from a new location... a diffierent Kroger...since whoever owns the Kroger parking lot in Franklin decided to stop letting musicians leave their cars overnight. No more buying snacks for the bus from that store! They lose...

We headed out for Deerbrook,WI and Chapin, IL around 11'o'clock , Wed, August 6th.
Billy Ryan was aboard this time and had good news about a new record deal in the works. We are keeping our fingers crossed for him.

We arrived in Deerbrook on Thursday to find the weather was perfect..the storm they had the night before had cooled things down quite a bit..blue skies and very little humidity. We were thankful. Fuddfest looked like it was gonna be fun. Fuddfest started out as a birthday party nine years ago...now it has grown into a permanent stage facility and big venue with name acts every year.

Soundcheck was around three o'clock and proved to be a tough one with technical problems from the drum station. I always hate it when things don't run smooth but with much diligence, problems were solved. Bart always saves the day.

After soundcheck, food was brought to the bus and we enjoyed baby potatoes, ribs, chicken and other goodies. We then made it over to a VIP tent and did a meet and greet around 5 pm. We met the "MotherFudder" and other staff and I accidently signed a fellow's shirt..he turned his back to me and I assumed he wanted my signature on the back of his shirt..Ooops...lol but it was all good_

Several of us wandered over to Chris Cagle's bus area and chatted with various members of his band before our show. Mike Folsom had played with their drummer years before and they were catching up on old times. I had met their keyboardist, Jeff at an artist relations pre-namm show event earlier in the summer. It was good to see him again. They were gracious enough to pull out a lawnchair for me to sit in , while we chatted in front of Chris's bus. Nice guys.

Shenandoah took the stage at 6 pm and we gave our best for 75 minutes to a large, enthusiastic crowd. Jimmy Yeary at one point, told them to stand and yell out "we're having a good time and happy to be here"..or something close to that effect. Then he told them to sit down. :) I love it when an audience takes directions well. :) At the end of our show, Jimmy was presented on stage with a very cool, neon sign that said, "Shenandoah...Cumberland Road". We were honored. When our set was over, we signed autographs and took pics out front before Chris Cagle and his band went on.

A couple that had gotten married on stage with Shenandoah 13 years ago, spoke to us after the show and gave us the picture that was taken from that night. In the picture was Shenandoah, complete with Marty Raybon, Ralph Ezell, Donnie Allen and the bride and groom. We all looked so much younger in the pic. We wished them many more years together and were glad to have been a part of that moment years ago.

Several of us stood or sat on the side of the stage to watch Chris Cagle, who went on at 8 pm. He and his band put on a high energy show and worked the crowd very well. Our bus pulled out before his show was over but we got to see most of it. We headed on down the road about 20 miles..where we would park the bus for the night.

We slept on the bus that night in the motel parking lot.. as our rooms would not be ready till the next day. Before retiring for the evening, Mike Folsom, MIke McGuire, Bart, Byron and myself went to the motel lobby to get some munchies from the vending machine. Shelley, who was the front desk clerk for that evening.. saved us from the junk food monster and was kind enough to fix us all the waffles we could eat..complete with butter and syrup. We flipped coins to see who would get the first waffles up. McGuire ate the first waffle! Shelley went way beyond the call of duty and we appreciate her hospitality and conversation. In our opinion, Shelley needs a raise. They are lucky to have her. 

Friday was our day off and one by one we headed up to the motel room to clean up or get on the internet..or just fall into a bed bigger than the bunk. Before going to the room, several of us ate breakfast around 9 am at a place right down the road. The rest of the day would find us wandering back and forth between the bus and the room.

There was a field and woods behind the motel parking lot and I took advantage and put a chair out there in the middle and worked on several songs. Byron Cumbie, our merch guy and resident photgrapher... snuck up and shot some video of me in the field performing, "I Love Livin' in the Country", a song about how it feels living in the boonies. My guitar was out of tune and my hair was a mess..making me look a little like "Beetle Juice"..lol They are threatening to put it out on you tube. Oh boy..
.. 
Around 5 pm , we walked down the road and ate at the Country Kitchen.. a nice little family style restaurant. All of us got the buffet except Jimmy Yeary, who ordered pancakes instead. Once again Jimmy freaked, insisting that I had talked to him while having food in my mouth...now..would I do that? Mike McGuire finshed off his buffet with a rather large chocalate shake..it looked good but I was already stuffed.

That night, Bart had to fix a belt that had come loose on the bus before we could leave for Chapin, IL. With the belt fixed, we pulled out of that motel parking lot at midnight and were on our way to do our Sat. night show.

Chapin, IL_ Big Country Days_Sat. August 9

Saturday, we arrived in Chapin, IL to play the "Big Country Days" show. It was a pretty day and a wonderful little town but it was hot and the humidity was brutally high. Before setting up the gear, we were taken to a large wooden buliding where we were served bread, green beens, baked beans, potato salad, barbeque and buffalo. It was good and we ate our fill. On the walls were many pics of all the acts that had played there over the years...everyone from the Larkins to Garth Brooks. Some of the staff was telling me that Garth still talks about all the trains that came through Chapin, during his show. We were told to expect several trains bellowing through our show also. Oh well...what can you do...

The stage was concrete and only the back part was covered..which meant none of us were under it. I felt like I was baking and thought I could hear a faint sound...like bacon cooking...lol Sound check proved to be another frustrating experience...this time major keyboard problems arose and not being able to resolve them..I had to use completely different sounds. That's always fun but I was thankful I had a way around the source of the problem. The show must go on. The heat may have been a factor in the top keyboard failure. Bart was also having to deal with major PA system headaches..so all in all..another soundcheck that lasted way too long.

After the torturous soundcheck was over, our opening act, Borderline set up their gear and did a line check to get ready to go on around 5:30. We got to talk to them for a little while before their show..as they told us stories about some of the recent acts they had opened for...they had recently worked with Lonestar. They were big fans of Shenandoah and we appreciated their kind words.

Around 6 pm, Billy Ryan, MIke Folsom, Jimmy Yeary and Byron Cumbie caught a ride back to the motel to get cleaned up. McGuire, Jim Seales, Bart and myself stayed behind on the bus. I ended up shaving and washing my hair in the sink on the bus..too lazy to fight the "crowds" with limited time at the motel.

Shenandoah worked the crowd from 8 o'clock till 9:15 and came back to do one encore. After the show, we signed autographs for a very long line of folks who seemed to really appreciate us being there. Small towns really let you know how they feel.
When the last one in the autograph line was gone , we went back into the building where we had eaten earlier and signed more stuff..pics, posters, etc. We also got a picture with the opening act, Borderline. We had fun and thanked the good folks from Chapin, IL for their hospitality and for having us.

With the last pic signed and the bus all loaded, Mickey Riley pointed the Hillybilly Hotel in the direction of Nashville. We watched a creepy, psychological thriller called "The Village" till 3 am and hit the bunks....only to wake up in Nashville around 7:30 am.

Yes once again, another country music adventure had been had by all.

Down the Road...Stan Munsey