Hard Drivin’ Carolina String Band, Town Mountain, is touring with their fourth album, Leave the Bottle [Pinecastle 2012]. Based in Asheville, NC, Town Mountain is Robert Greer on vocals and guitar, Jesse Langlais on banjo and vocals, Phil Barker on mandolin and vocals, Bobby Britt on fiddle, and Jake Hopping on upright bass.Want to know what it is like to be on the road with Town Mountain? Arthur Hancock writes about his experience traveling with the band on The Bluegrass Situation. He says, “What I’ve come to learn by spending time with the band is that they share a deep reverence for the players and singers that are the foundation of bluegrass music. Although sometimes late at night driving back from a gig ‘Purple Rain’ might come on the iPod, most of the time you’d be more likely to hear The Gillis Brothers, early Stanleys, or a live recording of Town Mountain that they are poring over in pursuit of their craft.”The Bluegrass Situation also premiered the band’s official backstage video of their version of Bruce Springsteen's “I’m On Fire” in the same post. Read the article and see the video here → http://bit.ly/132c2bSThis video is the first installment of the new “Town Mountain Covers Series” hosted by The Bluegrass Situation. They’ll do two or three more cover songs of their choice and then let the audience chime in with suggestions on what cover song they would like to hear Town Mountain do. Stay tuned to The Bluegrass Situation for more details as the festival season unfolds!“I’m On Fire,” is a song that has been in Town Mountain’s repertoire for years and was recorded on their 2008 album Heroes & Heretics; the band has continued to play and develop their version at live shows. After a nice mention about their version of the “I’m On Fire” in Pop Matters [2012] and a shout out from Dale Earnhardt Jr to check out the song when he took over the National Guard’s twitter account in November of 2012, it has resurfaced into the public eye. A YouTube video with the track, which simply shows Heroes & Heretics’s album cover, has garnered 100,000+ views. We are happy to present an official backstage video of the band performing the song."They pick and sing with a passion you don't find much these days, it's refreshing and real good. Put the cd in the truck, hit the parkway or some other good riding road, roll the windows down, and play it loud. PS. Watch out for the lawdog," says John Roten of WPEK/WMXF.All of the members of Town Mountain are songwriters and bring original tunes to the band’s sound. One notable song, “Lawdog,” is a song from the road that opens a cappella and is sung and written by Barker in the manner of Jimmy Martin; it is relatable to anyone that inevitably gets pulled over while trying to make good time traveling. Juli Thanks writes, “Phil Barker’s ‘Lawdog’ sounds like an unearthed classic, and the group’s tight harmonies alone make this record a treat for any bluegrass fan.” She listed Leave the Bottle on the Top 20 Bluegrass Albums of 2012 by Engine 145 and said, “This is one up and coming band you’ll want to keep an eye on in 2013 and beyond.”WATCH Town Mountain perform “Lawdog” live on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country--> http://bit.ly/14f5p8UTown Mountain is chasin’ the horizon this summer and heading to a town near you from the east to the west, from the deep south to close to the Canadian border.For more information about Town Mountain and their current tour dates, please visit TownMountain.net and facebook.com/TownMountain.
