More Seldom Scene

This is a follow-up to my recent post The Seldom Scene — An Appreciation applauding the bluegrass group The Seldom Scene.

Here's the group doing "The Small Exception of Me," one of their greats:



The song was made popular by Dean Martin (yes, that Dean Martin, of Rat Pack fame) who liked to dip into countrified pop and was (believe it or not) one of Elvis' early role models. So here we have the "newgrass" Seldom Scene doing what all newgrass groups did: "stealing" from other genres. Bluegrass purists hated it.

Purists also hated the presence of Mike Auldridge in the group — or, rather, his dobro, since what a bluegrass band ought to have was a fiddle, not the next closest thing to an electric guitar. Notice that during this song, Auldridge (in the middle of the front threesome on vocals) alternates between holding his instrument like a regular guitar and turning it face up to flat-pick it.

Enjoy, in particular, the banjo introduction by original Scene member Ben Eldridge.

Here, the lead vocal is the tenor vocal of John Duffey, on mandolin. Tenor leads were perhaps the norm, or at least not uncommon, in early bluegrass music.

The other harmony vocalist, besides Auldridge, is guitarist Phil Rosenthal, who took over the role from founding member John Starling in 1977, just six years after the band's birth in 1971 and its early flush of success. Here's a video of Starling rejoining the band for a rendition of "Out Among the Stars":



This appears to be a guest re-appearance during the Rosenthal era, as Rosenthal is also on stage. Here, Starling takes the vocal lead — not Duffey's high tenor.

You can also see a bit of Tom Gray, on bass, there in the background. Gray was the Seldom Scene's bassist from the band's inception until 1986.

Here's the group doing the gospel tune "Travelin' On and On," with Gray getting a rare opportunity at the microphone, doing bass-harmony fills:



Here's the group, vintage 1979, doing what had become nearly a signature tune for them, "I Know You Rider":



Dig the workout Duffey gives his mandolin! That's guitarist Rosenthal taking the lead vocal. Eldridge shines as usual on banjo and helps with the vocals. Mike Auldridge's dobro work is inspired, as is Gray on bass.

This last one looks to be another clip from the guest re-appearance by original guitarist/lead vocalist John Starling at the Berkshire Mountain Bluegrass Festival, possibly in 1985, during the Rosenthal era. The song is "The Fields Have Turned Brown," a bluegrass standard:

The Seldom Scene — An Appreciation

It's about time I got around to expressing my appreciation for the Seldom Scene, the once-upstart, now-classic newgrass-bluegrass group whose current lineup is at right. We see, in the upper left corner, five-string banjoist Ben Eldridge, the only remaining original member from the band's 1971 birth date. Proceeding clockwise, we then have

• longtime Scene member Lou Reid, now mandolinist and co-tenor vocalist (but in an earlier stint the band's guitarist and co-lead vocalist)
  
• guitarist and co-lead vocalist Dudley Connell (his last name puts the stress on the second syllable)
• dobroist and co-lead/co-tenor vocalist Fred Travers (in the white shirt)
  
• bassist and baritone vocalist Ronnie Simpkins (in the blue sweater)
  

Here's a clip of an earlier (1991) incarnation of the band playing one of their signature tunes, "I Know You Rider":



From left to right along the front row are Eldridge, original mandolinist/tenor vocalist John Duffey, and Reid on guitar, not mandolin. In the back are bassist T. Michael Coleman and original dobroist/baritone vocalist Mike Auldridge. (Notice that he throws a bit of the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" into his solo.)

Here, from the same concert, is "Paradise":



The versatile Reid, who now plays mandolin, is also a guitarist and can, in addition to singing the tenor parts, sing lead vocals. In 1986, he replaced Phil Rosenthal on guitar, the guy who had replaced original Scene guitarist/lead vocalist John Starling in 1977. Reid left the band in 1993; Starling rejoined briefly. Then Starling quickly left again in 1994 and was replaced for a while by lead singer Moondi Klein.

By 1996, Klein was gone, and originals Duffey and Eldridge were being flanked by the Travers-Simpkins-Connell combo that's still around today. After founding member John Duffey's untimely death from a heart attack in that same year, the band regrouped in following years, with Reid rejoining in Duffey's place on mandolin and tenor vocals.

Here's most of the original band (Phil Rosenthal has already replaced John Starling) doing "After Midnight":



The bassist, who left the band in 1986 along with Rosenthal, is original member Tom Gray.

The founding Scene members were not your usual country musicians. Eldridge was a mathematician, Starling a physician, Auldridge a graphic artist, and Gray a cartographer with National Geographic. Duffey was the closest to being a professional musician, but he had recently dropped out of the Country Gentlemen, disillusioned with the music business, to be a full time luthier (that's a maker/repairer of stringed instruments).

The founders started jamming weekly in Eldredge's basement, liked the sound they came up with, and soon were augmenting their day jobs with a regular gig at the Red Fox Inn in yours truly's hometown, Bethesda, Maryland. At that early date, though, I had no idea they even existed.

They didn't tour. Duffey wanted no part of life on the road, and the others were loath to give up the professions they had trained in. But they were quite active on the local Maryland-Washington D.C.-Northern Virginia live-entertainment scene, as their sightings were anything but seldom. I remember their recordings being featured on bluegrass programs on American University's WAMU-FM in Washington. There were a lot of them; they recorded seven albums in their first five years of existence, including two live albums (among the first live bluegrass albums ever).

Here's Eldridge in the present day taking us through a "short oral history of the Seldom Scene":



Here, with Rosenthal on guitar, is the early band doing "The Old Home Town":



The same lineup did "Wait a Minute" on the Tommy Hunter Show: