Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
April 10, 2008 issue
The Steep Canyon Rangers Just Seem To Get Better With Age
Rising Bluegrass Stars Play Legends April 18
Story by David Brewer
Sometimes successful bands aren’t entirely candid about their roots, choosing to remember the rosier times following their early musical and commercial struggles rather than dredge up the past. But Steep Canyon Rangers mandolin player Mike Guggino is not afraid to tell it like it is. The Brevard native unflinchingly credits the band’s rabid audiences of drunken UNC students for encouraging the Steep Canyon Rangers when their bluegrass credentials weren’t exactly in order.
“We didn’t even know all the chords to ‘Foggy Mountain Breakdown,’” said Guggino. “It didn’t matter that we weren’t good at all. There’s been a lot of improvement over the years.”
A lot of improvement is a humble understatement.
The Steep Canyon Rangers have slowly but surely made the transition from greenhorn upstarts to some of the brightest rising stars in the bluegrass universe. Appearing regularly at the Grand Ole Opry, hitting top-notch festivals around the country and recently completing their first international tour, the band is nearing a decade of recording and performing experience. The now-seasoned veterans continue to hit their stride one show at a time.
On Friday, April 18, the Steep Canyon Rangers will return to Boone for a show at Legends. Sponsored by ASU’s Appalachian Heritage Council, the show will start at 9:00 p.m. Tickets are $8 in advance for students and $10 for all others.
In addition to Guggino, the Steep Canyon Rangers consist of Graham Sharp on banjo, lead and harmony vocals; Woody Platt on guitar and lead vocals; Charles R. Humphrey III on bass and harmony vocals and Nicky Sanders on fiddle and harmony vocals.
Formed in Chapel Hill in the late 1990s while Platt, Sharp and Humphrey were students at UNC, the band is now based out of music-rich Asheville, where the group has found many kindred spirits and supportive fans. While amassing a strong fan base in North Carolina, the Steep Canyon Rangers got a huge boost in summer 2001 when they took home top honors in the RockyGrass festival’s band competition.
According to Guggino, the band averages more than 100 shows a year, hitting venues of all kinds all over the country and playing to audiences young and old.
“One of the biggest things about our band is that we’re all friends,” said Guggino, adding that he and Platt grew up together in Brevard and have known each other since kindergarten. “We enjoy what we do and we want to keep it that way.”
In 2006, the International Bluegrass Music Association voted Steep Canyon Rangers the Emerging Artist of the Year. The past year also saw the title track ”One Dime at a Time” rise to #1 on Bluegrass Unlimited’s National Bluegrass Survey. On the heels of their recent success comes a third Rebel Records release Lovin’ Pretty Women. Produced by bluegrass heavyweight Ronnie Bowman and engineered by guitarist Wyatt Rice, the CD affirmed the band’s arrival at the highest circle of acoustic music.
“It’s been a slow progression of things over the last eight to ten years,” said Guggino.
In 2007, the Steep Canyon Rangers headlined the Friday night proceedings at MusicFest ‘N Sugar Grove, where the band displayed not only technical proficiency, but also great versatility. Churning out chugging toe-tappers alongside moving gospel numbers and break-neck instrumentals, the band’s ease with the largely local crowd proved without a doubt that years on the road have imbued the quintet with the sense of professionalism, class and showmanship of the bluegrass bands of old.
As Lovin’ Pretty Women still clings near the top of the bluegrass charts and the band prepares to share a booking agent with bluegrass queen Alison Krauss, the Steep Canyon Rangers will likely continue their ascent to the top of the bluegrass ranks on the strength of their determination and bond as friends.
For more info on the band, click to www.steepcanyon.com.
Want To Go?
Date: Friday, April 18
Time: 9:00 p.m.
Location: Legends
Cost: $8 for students in advance/$10 for all others