Shadow Mountain Band profile picture

Shadow Mountain Band

About Me

Shadow Mountain Band
The Shadow Mountain Band specializes in mountain-style harmonies with lively acoustic backup. They feature traditional mountain music, hillbilly gospels (think- ‘oh Brother, Where art Thou’) and bluegrass, along with eclectic originals.
The band began several years ago as a hillbilly music jam session in the garden behind Pappy and Harriet’s Place, an historic roadhouse in Pioneertown, CA. Crowds began to gather around to hear the mountain-style harmonies and old-time tunes. The management of Pappy and Harriet’s began coming out to listen and soon asked the jammers to come in and play inside for the restaurant crowd. Within a few months, they were joined by Banning, CA fiddler Billy Rhea Bell, and Pioneertown resident Johnny Ray Martin on the mountain-style autoharp (an instrument you seldom hear outside of Appalachia), and premier fiddler Bobby Furgo from Yucca Valley. The group was rounded out when Steve and Darlene’s son, Damian Lester, known around the farm as 'Dooley', joined the band on acoustic bass, and brilliant, soft-spoken Gar Robertson added his talents on mandolin, dobro, and vocals. Shadow Mountain also often features guests, including smokin' mandolinist Mark Ross from 29 Palms, and other friends and musical family members comin' through town.
The band has just released their first recording, titled 'Risin' Up'. it features original music in the bluegrass and old-timey style. The record was released on April 21, and soon will be up on the New Moon website and www.shadowmountainband.com. This summer, the band will record and release a live project of traditional mountain music, recorded by long-time friend and world renowned engineer Mike Farrow. It will feature traditional and old time songs with a-capella harmonies on several tunes. The band is signed to New Moon Records in Joshua Tree (www.new-moon-records.com). The recordings will be jointly released by New Moon Records (www.new-moon-records.com) and Planesong (www.planesong.com) records. The 'Risin' Up' CD and mp3 can be purchased at CD Baby also: cdbaby.com/cd/shadowmountainband..
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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 01/01/2007
Band Website: http://www.shadowmountainband.com
Band Members: Steve Lester (guitar/vocals); Darlene Lester (vocals); Billy Rhea Bell, Bobby Furgo (fiddles); Damian Lester (acoustic bass/vocals). Gar Robertson (mando, dobro, guitar, vocals), Mark Ross (mando), and Johnny Ray Martin (autoharp/vocals).
Influences: Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe, The Dillards, Patty Griffin, Richard Thompson, Kingston Trio, Idyllwild Bluegrass Invitational, Kurt Vonnegut, Blind Blake, Captain Haddock (the band sounds like all of the above, but different)
Sounds Like:
Record Label: New Moon Records- Joshua Tree, CA
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Winter Solstice Newsletter

Winter Solstice Newsletter from the Lester Family! What a year 2008 has been! I don't know about you, but the Lester family is ecstatic about the choice of president this time around. Because of ...
Posted by on Tue, 23 Dec 2008 01:47:00 GMT

A Different Understanding

A Different Understanding..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />   (I woke up in the middle of the night dreaming I was Barack Obama debating John McCain. During...
Posted by on Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:36:00 GMT

the night sky

Well, okay.  We have some new neighbors.  They bought Rilla's old house where I used to hang out in the 70s.  These four houses in this corner of the neighborhood, of which I now own on...
Posted by on Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:28:00 GMT

HYPE

I'm sitting in a café hoping to hear some new artists, and some old friends, play.  I love it when new people of any level of expertise decide to try their skill at the open mic.  Outside a ...
Posted by on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:16:00 GMT

Lester Family Holiday newsletter

Dear Family and Friends,                                  ...
Posted by on Mon, 24 Dec 2007 00:01:00 GMT

dreams into reality

I am putting the following out to see if anyone else can relate to what I've been going through.  I have been feeling lately that I am approaching a time in my life when I will be called on to p...
Posted by on Tue, 06 Nov 2007 11:32:00 GMT

What goes around comes around

.. language=javascript>postamble();..> Hey, Hey, Hey- One of the very common things I hear from local musicians is that the local people don't support their work.  Of course, to make a living a...
Posted by on Thu, 25 Oct 2007 11:46:00 GMT