A blue moon is a second full moon in the same calendar month, and it's been a few years since the last one happened on November 30, 2001. However, for a lively Tennessee-based group called Blue Moon Rising, the month of July, 2004 should be especially memorable for that's when a blue moon will rise again. By then, you'll have heard of these guys who actually received the inspiration for their band name from the famous Bill Monroe song, "Blue Moon of Kentucky." In their relatively short four years together, they have played a number of noteworthy festivals and venues. BMR is Chris West (guitar), Keith Garrett (mandolin), Justin Moses (banjo, fiddle) and Tim Tipton (bass). Guest dobro-player Rob Ickes also joins in. Keith and Chris share the lead vocal duties, with Justin typically singing tenor.

"Where Wood Meets Steel" has twelve originals, eight of which were written by band members.

Chris West composed the right hot and snappy opener, "Dead Man on the Run." I also enjoyed "My Turn," written in the brother duet style reminiscent of groups like the Delmore Brothers in the 1930s. Garrett and West are more low and forlorn than they are high and lonesome, but the song still works for them.  I was left pondering how the song would've turned out with high, soaring vocals, however. "I Don't Want to Hear it" has a nice hook and reminds me of Jim Lauderdale's songsmithing.

Tragedy songs are fairly common in bluegrassdom, and "When the Mountain Fell Down" tells the story a fictional miner named Billy Joe and his death at the Fraterville Mine disaster in Tennessee. The event occurred in 1902, and 214 miners died as a result of an explosion inside the mine. West's understanding of the thematic stylings of this genre may best be captured on the "Highway of Despair" where the "highway's paved with agony, and every exit leads you into misery." Keith Garrett's best songwriting is demonstrated in "Moonshine Hard Times," about a moral churchgoing man who would make and sell moonshine but not drink it.  Moses' fiery instrumental "Locust Hill" moves right along in high-stepping allegro fashion.

Keith, Chris and Tim are only in their early thirties. Keith Garrett has performed with The County Boys (that played Dollywood for six years), in a duo with Jay Clark, Browder Hollow, and Kentucky Wind. Chris West is a former member of Coal Creek, The Pitney Seibers Family, One Way Track, and Roscoe Morgan and Lonely Train.  The youngest band member at only 22 years old, Justin Moses can pick any bluegrass instrument and still plays in his family's band, The Moses Family. Tim Tipton has played with Kentucky Wind and Clear Creek. Since the release of this album, I understand that the band has added Lou Wamp on Scheerhorn resonator guitar and twin fiddle.

You hear many disparate influences in the music of Blue Moon Rising. Their traditional consciousness indicates a full understanding of Bill Monroe's and the Stanley Brothers' music. Yet, at the same time, it's apparent that this group of young technicians have heard more recent innovative bluegrass ground-breakers like Tony Rice, Knoxville Grass, Boone Creek, Del McCroury, IIIrd Tyme Out, Lonesome River Band, Lou Reid, New Grass Revival, and Ricky Skaggs. With continued growth, strong support, plenty of hard work, and a little luck thrown in, we might be one day adding Blue Moon Rising to this  list of seminal bluegrass influences. BMR has a wholly absorbing sound, one that will easily engross most listeners' attention. Always creative and entertaining, this up-and-coming band's signature sound is novel and immediately appealing. Only rarely, once in a blue moon, does a group of young musicians come along who clearly show so much potential as a cohesive bluegrass unit. (Joe Ross)

BLUE MOON RISING - Where Wood Meets Steel
Crosscut Records CR-1133
385 Cedar Lane Rd., Madisonville, TN. 37354

www.bluemoonrisingband.com OR www.crosscutrecords.com
 
Playing Time -36:40
Songs - 1. Dead Man On the Run (2:42), 2. Locust Hill (2:32), 3. Moonshine Hard Times (2:51), 4. Papa Made a Livin (3:02), 5. Behind the Scenes (4:15), 6. Take Me Back to Old Kentucky (3:35), 7. My Turn (2:07), 8. I Dont Want to Hear It (2:37), 9. Highway of Despair (3:35), 10. A Boy Like Me (2:34), 11.  When the Mountain Fell Down (4:00), 12. You Are Not Alone (3:07)