Worth the Wait? Bands Hope Fans Think So

The more things change, the more they remain the same does not hold true for either IIIrd Tyme Out or Mountain Heart.
Change came to each, and fans of each will certainly notice.
See both award-winning bluegrass bands at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol, Tenn., on March 15.
First of all, there’s reconfigured and renamed IIIrd Tyme Out. Now, it’s Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out.
“A lot of things have been going on with the band,” Moore said last week by phone from West Virginia. “I can honestly say that I don’t want go into the details, but I feel that people will think it’s been worth the wait.”
Those details center on the exit of Ray Deaton. Moore and Deaton helped form IIIrd Tyme Out in 1991. Deaton played bass, sang bass and also booked the band’s shows. His leaving left significant holes and subsequent shifts.
For example, for legal reasons, the band’s name now includes Moore’s.
“I was advised, strongly, that this needed to be a very broad stroke of the brush,” Moore said of the name change.
Over in Mountain Heart, change centered on personnel and sound. Co-founder Steve Gulley left to form Grasstowne. New-to-bluegrass Josh Shilling replaced him as the band’s lead singer.
Barry Abernathy helped found Mountain Heart in 1999, which sounded much different then.
“We’re kind of at a crossroads,” Abernathy said by phone last week from Argyle, Texas. “But it’s a good crossroads.
Mountain Heart still performs their staples, and they still play bluegrass. However, they on occasion mix in a cover of blues-rocker Stevie Ray Vaughan. Oh, and Shilling plays piano. In other words, that’s risky for bluegrass.
“It was a big risk [adding Shilling],” Abernathy said. “There was going to be some people who won’t give it a chance, but I guarantee you that if people give the band a chance, you won’t go away unhappy.”
More change is afoot. Namely, new albums from both bands should hit stores later this year. IIIrd Tyme Out’s first new studio album in five years is due in May.
“It has our fingerprint on it,” Moore said. “There are a couple of gospel songs, a fiery instrumental, some ballads.”
Also, their new album maintains their longtime love of cover songs.
“We did Marty Robbins’ ‘Knee Deep in the Blues,’ but with a little swing to it,” Moore said. “I like to think we tear it up.”
Three years have passed since Mountain Heart’s most recent album, but Abernathy hopes to change that later this year.
“We will be back in the studio,” Abernathy said, “within the next month.”
But first, Mountain Heart and IIIrd Tyme Out have a show to play in the birthplace of country music. They know what that means. A special city demands a special show. Here’s a hint.
“I love to sing with Russell Moore,” Abernathy said by way of a tease.
Hmm, could be that the show may conclude with both bands on stage jamming on bluegrass classics. Call it an informed hunch.
“We’ll let it hinge on what the crowd wants,” Abernathy said.
So come and holler for a shared finale. Request classics from Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky” to The Stanley Brothers’ “White Dove.” Again, just a hunch. Now, here’s a hint.
“I still have a tape of Russell singing a Stevie Ray Vaughan song,” Abernathy said. “Now that we’ve got Josh, we might just do that. Man, Bill Monroe to Stevie Ray Vaughan with Mountain Heart and IIIrd Tyme Out.”
Now that’s change to believe in.

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at .

RUSSELL MOORE AND IIIRD TYME OUT
Russell Moore – Lead singer and guitar
Steve Dilling – Banjo
Wayne Benson – Mandolin
Justen Haynes – Fiddle
Edgar Loudermilk – Bass

MOUNTAIN HEART
Josh Shilling – Lead singer, guitar, piano
Jim Van Cleve – Fiddle
Barry Abernathy – Banjo
Jason Moore – Bass
Clay Jones – Guitar
Aaron Ramsey - Mandolin

IF YOU GO
Who: Mountain Heart with Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out and guests White Path
When: March 15, 4 p.m.
Where: Paramount Center for the Arts, 518 State St., Bristol, Tenn.
Admission: $25
Info: (423) 274-8920
Web: http://www.iiirdtymeout.com
Web and Video: http://www.mountainheart.com
Also: http://www.whitepathband.com
Audio: http://www.iiirdtymeout/discography.html