Today I was in the Pines of South Jersey testing concrete that’s being used in the re-construction of the spillway, for the dam at the upper lake at Camp Inawendiwin Tabernacle, NJ. So I thought it only fitting that the soundtrack to the site should have a little twang to it. The band I chose for the ride to the site is a new band with an “old name and music type – Old Buck from Walkertown, NC and they play some mean old timey music. On their Facebook page they describe their music as “kickin’ stringband fiddle music and songs. kick ass, cookin’, and flat out“.
As I listened to their début album, aptly called Old Buck, the two instruments (and there are several instrumental tracks on the album, which always increases the level of my like meter on a bluegrass/.string band album) that stood out and in several songs seemed to be all I heard, were the terrific fiddle and the fine banjo picking!! When we stopped for lunch, I read about the band,and saw that the fine fiddling was provided by band member Emily Schaad who won the Clifftop Appalachian Festival fiddle contest in 2012. From the description of the video at YouTube of her performance at the contest:
Ninety seven fiddle performers from all over the world gathered together for one afternoon in Clifftop, West Virginia. This was the last one standing of all the winner on the stage that beautiful day. Emily Schaad on fiddle and Debra Clifford of the “Lonesome Sisters” on guitar.
You can watch the video here Debra Clifford (of the Lonesome Sisters) who is accompanying Emily on guitar in the video is also a member of Old Buck. But back to the banjo, which in Old Buck is provided by Riley Baugus. In the band Riley plays Clawhammer Banjo,and also provides vocals. Here is some more about Riley from Wikipedia:
He has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Ireland, Scotland, and England. He has played with several old-time string bands, including The Farmer’s Daughters, The Konnarock Critters, The Red Hots, Backstep, and the Old Hollow Stringband. He tours regularly with Dirk Powell and Tim O’Brien, and frequently performs and tours with the dancer Ira Bernstein, with the duo show Appalachian Roots. He often performs as a guest musician with the Dirk Powell Band and the North Carolina folk band Polecat Creek. He sang on the soundtrack to the 2003 film Cold Mountain. He has recorded with Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Willie Nelson, Dirk Powell, and Martha Scanlan. He has taught banjo at the Augusta Heritage Center’s Old Time Week in Elkins, West Virginia. (My emphasis) Read More
That’s some fine company he’s keeping!! . Sabra Guzmán (formerly of Old Sledge) rounds out the band playing string bass. Every one of them sings and plays “kickarss old time bluegrass music, flat out.” Here’s the whole band…. 
So if you like that old timey music check out Old Buck!! Here’s a snippet of their music and their engineer talking about the recording of the band!
