The Steep Canyon Rangers
Review by Joe Ross, Roseburg, Oregon - email rossjoe@hotmail.com

All in their 20s, The Steep Canyon Rangers are one of a new generation of young bands with solid traditional chops who will, with the support of a major record label like Rebel, carry the bluegrass torch. The fact that their name was inspired from Deep Canyon Stout doesn't mean that they don't have respect for the music and its tradition. The band members (Woody Platt, Mike Guggino, Graham Sharp, Charles R. Humphrey III) met in 1996 and began playing together about 1999 while students at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.


These boys can pick and sing with a lot of hustle and kick. Humphrey's spirited “Living in the Pane” opens the set. His “Bluegrass Blues” sings about travelling down the road, wearing out their shoes, making music every night, and dealing with those blue, bluegrass blues. Sharp's instrumental, “454,” is a tastefully-rendered minor romp that gives everyone a chance to shine. Nine of the songs were written by Sharp, and he shows an affinity for both common and less common bluegrass music themes in his lyrics. As a storyteller, Sharp also succeeds with “Kicked Out of Town” that tells of a man's run-in with the law as the result of helping an abused woman. Sharp even sings lead in fine bass fashion on his novelty truckin' tune, “Feelin' Just a Little Like Dale,” that incorporates some percussion (by Rob Ladd) in the mix. The song is a tribute to late North Carolina NASCAR legend Dale “the intimidator” Earnhardt, and it was inspired by the guys' camaraderie and fun on the road. Unlike many young groups, The Steep Canyon Rangers know that it's wise to alter their well-arranged songs' tempos and keys throughout the set. “Going On” offers some nice respite with its inspirational gospel message. They also were very astute to pull in fiddlers Josh Goforth and John Garris to fill out their sound.

All of the Rangers hail from North Carolina. Graham Sharp grew up playing jazz saxophone, and studied comparative literature in college. Charles Humphrey III played some bass in his high school orchestra, gave it up for a few years, then got back into it in college. Also a songwriter, Charles has done an IBMA songwriting showcase. Woody Platt and mandolinist Mike Guggino both grew up in Brevard, N.C. Platt is the band's lead vocalist, and he delivers each lyric with an intensity and emotion that is immediately appealing. Guggino does some very impressive straight-forward traditional picking, and he offers a fantastic original fiddle tune called “Southwind” on this project. The band has been playing music full-time since about 2001. The band attributes much of its success to their ability to “cross-market” and play festivals, concerts, theaters, as well as rock venues, college clubs and eclectic and world music festivals.

The band's first album was produced by Curtis Burch. Like the first, another album was put out on a small, independent label. While more progressive material initially got them interested in bluegrass, they admit that they're now going back to study the classic traditional works of seminal bluegrass artists and bands. One track on this album (the band's third) is a cover of Jimmy Martin's “I'll Drink No More Wine.” Just another indication of their deep respect for the sideboards and standards of how bluegrass with a traditional foundation should sound. A little luck and a few key connections have now found them signed with Rebel Records. The band is now thinking about doing a live album. The Steep Canyon Rangers were nominated for IBMA's Emerging Artist of the Year award, and I expect that they'll win it very soon at the rate they're going. In age, these guys may only be knee high to bantam grasshoppers, but their music indicates that they are smart and talented bluegrass operators. (Joe Ross)