Picks & Pans

Palmer Divide

Radio Singles

Rating ****

This nine-song compilation is not Palmer Divide's first recording, but, were it not for IBMA slipping this CD into my 2008 World of Bluegrass goody bag, I'm embarrassed to say I'd still be unfamiliar with the Colorado quartet.

Embarrassed, because Jody Adams, Dick Carlson, Greg Reed and Mickey Stinnett are well-known to Bluegrass Unlimited and Bluegrass Now readers as well as bluegrass festival fans and XM radio's Bluegrass Junction listeners.

It's about time I became aware of this group's talent, particularly Adams' ability as a lyricist. Jody wrote all of the songs on this CD except for The Legend of Baby Doe, which Mickey wrote.

Somebody Keeps Playin' My Fiddle will tug at listeners' heart strings, but my favorite cuts are Dress Rehearsal (reminding us of the brevity of life) and The Silence Says It All (an axiom familiar to anyone who has ever been dumped).
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Bluegrass in a Digital Age
By Emily Van Cleve
For the Journal Santa Fe Newspaper 

Thank goodness for MP3 files. Without them, the Colorado bluegrass band Palmer Divide would have a hard time preparing for their gigs. The group's four members: fiddler Jody Adams, bass player Dick Carlson, guitar/mandolin player Greg Reed and guitar/banjo player Mickey Stinnett - live in different parts of the state, so they send one another music files when they're working on new material. 
One of the bands featured at the 34th Annual Santa Fe Traditional & Bluegrass Music Festival this weekend, Palmer Divide became a unit in 2004. Carlson, Reed and Stinnett have known each other since the early 1990s and played together in a band called Black Rose from 1998 to 2003. 
"We were familiar with Jody's style of playing because we'd heard him at different bluegrass festivals," Reed said. "He does a lot of original tunes, and we've always liked them. The three of us were playing other people's music and traditional tunes for years and wanted to focus on original material. That was a major reason for the four of us getting together."
Reed says Palmer Divide was initially apprehensive about presenting itself as a band that primarily plays original songs. "Audiences like to hear what's familiar," he added. "But we've been lucky. We've been well-received from the start."
Adams is the band's melody-maker and lyricist. Everybody does arrangements. Reed and Stinnett compose instrumental numbers. When a new tune or arrangement is in the works, MP3 files travel through cyberspace. 
"We usually get together to practice once a week or every other week," said Reed. "The summer is our busiest season for performing. We play a lot of local stuff and festivals like the one in Santa Fe."
Palmer Divide is also getting ample satellite radio time on XM 14-Bluegrass Junction. Reed says the group has the No. 10 song on the station, which has 18 million subscribers. 
"Our songs are about life experiences," he explained. "Some of them are funny, and some are serious tunes. The topic of love, lack of it or lost love, always gets thrown in."
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Thursday, August 21, 2008
Hootenanny!
By David Steinberg
Journal Staff Writer 

Sure, the Main Stage is the central spot to hear the bands at the Santa Fe Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival. There's the Contest Stage and the Showcase Stage. But by no means are they the only places. Not at this festival. 
"There's a lot of jamming that goes on off the stages. People are randomly getting together and playing music," said Steve Morgan, the president of Southwest Pickers, which is sponsoring this weekend's festival.
The Colorado-based bluegrass band Palmer Divide is also playing at the festival.
Lately, guitarist/vocalist Greg Reed said, its single "Red Dirt on My Shoes" has been getting a lot of airplay on XM Radio's Channel 14 Bluegrass Junction. "We've been in the top 30 for five months, but this last month it jumped to No. 10 and it's been playing once or twice a day," Reed said.
The song is off of its "Bow River Sessions" CD and was re-released as an album generically retitled "Radio Singles." That album has been distributed by a company that services radio stations on behalf of many bands, he said.
Besides the Main Stage, the five hours of workshops on Saturday and the anytime jams, there are certainly other opportunities for audience members to participate, Morgan said. 
Sunday morning will feature three sets of gospel music, with headliner Honi Deaton & Dream, Palmer Divide and the Triple L Band of Portales. All three bands will have played on Saturday. 
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National Bluegrass Playoffs -
Final Four Top Flight Bands Selected

Victorville, CA -  Palmer Divide, from Colorado and Burnett Family Bluegrass from Arizona join Sawmill Road and The Brombies from California as the final four bands selected to perform during the National Bluegrass Playoffs in Victorville, California, Saturday, June 14th at 12 noon.The nine year old Playoffs is held each year at the Huck Finn Jubilee, and is designed to assist deserving bands further their involvement in the Bluegrass music industry.
After a six month review, which began at the International Bluegrass Music Association's (IBMA) Convention in Nashville last September, four top flight bands are offered an invitation to showcase during the Playoffs. Dick Pierle with Old Blue Sound assists in the selection process. "It takes several dozen festivals, and music submissions before we extend an invitation", states Pierle. "We are very careful to create a level playing field, and we are very proud of this year's selection".
The National Bluegrass Playoffs Band of the Year, is then chosen to attend the IBMA Convention, Awards Show and Fan Fest in Nashville, Tennessee. An expense allowance for travel, lodging and registration up to $4,000 is provided.
This year's Playoff bands will perform before thousands of bluegrass fans and share the stage with some of the music's top a cts, including Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, The Dan Tyminski Band, Blue Highway and Dry Branch Fire Squad.
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Business Week Magazine
Bluegrass Notes [Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.]

Some singles worth requesting from your favorite bluegrass DJ:
Palmer Divide's "Oklahoma Daydreams" from their album "The Bow River Sessions" on Purple Pig Records. Bluegrass can sound pretty. Just listen to this example.

Copyright (c) 2008, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
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Band all about connection with audience
By: Nicole Chillino, Staff Writer - The Tribune

Original bluegrass music that resonates with the audience is what Palmer Divide is all about.

The band members' musical experiences, at least 20 years' worth each, have taught them that to create music that will make a difference and reach people, it has to be relevant to the audience, said Jody Adams, Palmer Divide's mandolin, fiddle and guitar player. Palmer Divide will bring its original music, including shades of bluegrass-like folk and acoustic jazz, to the Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17.
About five years ago, Adams said, the band was formed by himself and upright bass player Dick Carlson, guitar and mandolin player Greg Reed and resonator guitar and banjo player Mickey Stinnett. When it came time to name the band, a friend of the group suggested Palmer Divide, Adams said, because everyone in the western U.S. would be familiar with the land form.
The history, experience and education of each song's composer plays into what the song becomes, Adams said. Most of the songs are either about situations members of the band have experienced or situations the band members saw in other peoples' lives and hope they never experience, he said. Bluegrass festival promoters often tell the band it is the only group performing all original bluegrass music, Adams said. One promoter told them they combine familiar tones with new stories. The original songs have caught the attention of bluegrass playing radio stations across the country, he said. In Colorado, Fort Collins-based station KRFC - krfcf.org - is a frequent player and promoter of Palmer Divide, Adams said.

At this point in their careers, the group's members try not to take themselves too seriously and aim to connect with people, he said. Connecting with people is the bluegrass version of "hitting a home run," he said. Music has to be fun, and when people come to a Palmer Divide concert, they will hear music they can tap their feet to and music that says something to them. To connect with the local audience for the concert at Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts, the band wanted to make tickets affordable so that all those who can will attend, he said.
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PALMER DIVIDE - The Bow River Sessions
By: Joe Ross

Conceived as a way to accurately portray Palmer Divide's live contemporary bluegrass sound, soul, spontaneity and synergy, "The Bow River Sessions" were recorded during three days over one weekend in a makeshift cabin recording studio near the Medicine Bow River in Elk Mountain, Wyoming. To capture an organic and earthy feeling, Palmer Divide recorded the lead vocals and all the instruments live without overdubbing. Then, the harmony vocals were added later so that they could get vocal separation for the mixing process.

Conceptually, the resultant music is a success without anything trendy or gimmicky. The Colorado-based band's musicality fully compensates for any minor shortcomings that result from recording live. The songs are all originals, with the majority of them from the pen of Jody Adams whose lead vocals are warm with a texture as rich and smooth as suede on songs like "Oklahoma Daydreams," "Dress Rehearsal," and "Red Dirt on my Shoes." A successful singer/songwriter who has appeared at the Grand Ole Opry, White House, and on The Nashville Network, Jody Adams' mandolin is also a pervasive thread throughout their musical fabric. His occasional understated fiddle is a flavoring that the album could've used more of, especially on the slower numbers, for a more thorough bluegrass and all-encompassing sound. Born and raised in Oklahoma, Adams is a SPBGMA mandolin player of the year award winner.

It's interesting that none of the other three Palmer Divide members are Colorado natives either, but they do have one common experience having played in Black Rose, a trio that later went on to win the Rockygrass band contest. Originally from east Tennessee, Greg Reed (guitar, mandolin) also has experience with White Lightning and The Cletus Brothers. Written with his son, Greg's instrumental "White Oak Flats" was inspired by the old family homesteads and cemeteries in the Great Smoky Mountains. A Virginia native who migrated to Colorado in 1997, Mickey Stinnett (banjo, Dobro) also has performed with Flatland Grass, Benny Galloway, Cletus Brothers, and Lost Creek. Two of Stinnett's instrumentals (24 West, Legend of Baby Doe) appear on this project. Bass-player Dick Carlson comes originally from Nebraska and he toured from 1976-82 with the western swing band, Sour Mash, before relocating to Colorado. Palmer Divide seems to be Black Rose's evolution from a trio to a quartet (with the addition of Jody Adams).

"The Bow River Sessions" is more than just a tepid collaboration, but one can't help but wonder how the addition of a fifth member to the band might take them to even greater heights. I'd like to hear more of their fine originals. I'd like to hear Palmer Divide's next album produced in a more controlled studio environment. And I'd like to see them invite an award-winning guest fiddler like Ronnie Stewart or Tim Crouch to provide some tracks for further embellishment. Meanwhile, as their second album (their debut was called "Goin' Home"), "The Bow River Sessions" is a fine documentation of this group's captivating creativity, relaxed sophistication and great potential for Colorado bluegrass stardom. If you like healthy, whole-grain bluegrass music without a lot of preservatives and additives, check out this album from Palmer Divide.

- Joe Ross
(Joe Ross is a well-known music journalist who writes articles and CD reviews for national publications such as Bluegrass Unlimited (circulation 35,000), Bluegrass Now, Acoustic Musician, Sing Out!, SPBGMA Bluegrass Music News, Old-Time Music Herald, and many others.)
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Bluegrass band retains organic recording sound
By J. ADRIAN STANLEY - THE GAZETTE

What this band's all about: Palmer Divide united many fine local musicians who wanted to make original bluegrass music.
Jody Adams (mandolin, fiddle, guitar) has performed at the Grand Ole Opry and the White House and also has a successful career as a singer/songwriter.
Dick Carlson (upright bass) is a former member of Western swing band, Sour Mash, and the local trio, Black Rose. Greg Reed (guitar, mandolin) was a member of the Denver band White Lightning and also played with The Cletus Brothers and Black Rose. Mickey Stinnett (resonator guitar, banjo) played in the Cletus Brothers, Lost Creek, and Black Rose.

Inspiration for the album: Palmer Divide decided to ditch the studio and recorded this album in a barn in Elk Mountain, Utah, over a three-day weekend. The band played as though they were in a live setting and left the little flaws. "Albums are so computer produced anymore that we just felt that it was time we tried to find some spontaneity and emotion," Adams said.

Best CD-making moment: The first time the band listened to the recording and knew the unconventional recording was successful.

Review: If you've ever heard a mandolin picked with expert speed, you know that it's easy to mistake bluegrass music for one amazing solo after another.
But bluegrass music is about synergy. It's about the big picture. Palmer Divide gets that. Although there's still plenty of breathtaking solos on this disc, the beauty of these songs lies in the layers of sound.
Instrumentals such as "Legend of Baby Doe" create sonic kaleidoscopes as melodies weave to produce a complex sound.
When lyrics are present, the words tend to be mature and grounded - concentrating on the yearning of a heart or the comfort of a good home.

This album is a true gem.