Playin’ It Safe? Not Mountain Heart

Change rides shotgun with Mountain Heart as noticeably as the instruments with which they entertain.
So when co-founder and lead singer Steve Gulley exited in late 2006 to help form Grasstowne, few were surprised. When Mountain Heart hired unknown Josh Shilling to replace Gulley, again no real surprise.
No wonder. As Mountain Heart will no doubt show on April 12 when they appear at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol Tennessee, they are far from being bluegrass’ play-it-safe guys.
Neither Shilling nor Grammy Award-winning fiddler Jim Van Cleve nor any of their Mountain Heart band mates would accept a safety net on stage or on record.
“We play a little bit on edge,” Shilling said by phone Friday while en route from Greensboro to Raleigh, N.C. “We’ll have a format for a song, and then take chances with it. Sometimes, it flops, and sometimes magic happens. But it’s fun.”
Mountain Heart’s shows are like listening to their albums on steroids. Pumped up, baby.
“We’re not afraid to step out on the edge,” Van Cleve said. “People expect that from us.”
Their show in Bristol bears the brand of special as they will share the stage with the legendary Tony Rice. Fans are excited. Mountain Heart is thrilled. Playing a show with a legend – priceless.
“I grew up on Tony Rice,” Van Cleve said. “The first show I ever played with Tony, I was 19 and playing with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. I was on stage with Doyle, J.D. Crowe and Tony, on stage with my heroes.”
And besides the fact that Rice is a legend, there’s another reason why Van Cleve eagerly awaits their show in Bristol.
“I’ve not played on stage with Tony since then,” he said. “I’m 29. It’s been 10 years.”
Meanwhile, Mountain Heart breaks new ground seemingly with each new day with new led singer Shilling. He pushes them, they push him and together they have widened the reach and appeal of one of bluegrass’ most unpredictable bands.
“We can go in and do straight ahead bluegrass, and we can do Stevie Wonder songs,” Shilling said. “We are trying to appeal to a wider range of listeners.”
Then Shilling fits perfectly.
Hailing from Roanoke, the golden-throated piano player – yes, piano – sure didn’t miss hearing bluegrass. But he didn’t live in bluegrass.
“I was a piano player and playing in horn bands,” Shilling said. “When Jim [Van Cleve] first heard me, I was playing in a hardcore funk band. I mean, George Clinton hardcore funk.”
And to think that some criticized Jimmy Martin for using drums.
Then again, fans have come to expect the unexpected from Mountain Heart. For example, they are known for coming up with an occasional cover song from well beyond the borders of bluegrass.
“We’ve covered some Lynyrd Skynyrd songs,” Van Cleve said. “We’ve done David Allan Coe’s ‘The Ride.’ We will pull out some Stevie Wonder or Ray Charles songs.”
Check their recently issued “Road Never Ends: The Live Album.” They pull out and pull off a sizzling take on the Allman Brothers’ “Whipping Post.”
Mountain Heart – not your grandpa’s bluegrass.
Listen close for them to play a scintillating instrumental called “#6 Barn Dance.” Again, listen close.
“We’ve been putting about 30 seconds of AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black’ in there and then go off into some hardcore Latin thing,” Shilling said.
Wow. Friends and neighbors, that’s Mountain Heart in a word – wow. Yet come show time in Bristol, they are the ones who will be going wow.
“It has all the makings of a classic performance,” Van Cleve said. “If I was a fan in the area, there’s no way I’d miss it.”

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

IF YOU GO
Who: Mountain Heart and Tony Rice
When: April 12, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Paramount Center for the Arts, 518 State St., Bristol Tennessee
Tickets: $20
Info: (423) 274-8920
Web: www.mountainheart.com