Thomas Porter
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Thomas has been playing music ever since he can remember. He was born and raised in Arizona and attended the New School for the Arts. With a heart for songwriting he approaches music with an eye to the future and an ear to the past, creating new and old sounding material with creative and inventive lyrics and melody. His song "Teddy Bear Revival" can be heard on Doyle Lawson's album Light On My Feet, Ready To Fly. Numerous other artists have recently picked up songs from his catalogue as well. He has played with the Copper River Band for the last 6 years. Thomas has also played as a guest artist on mandolin for the Phoenix Symphony. His recently released solo project, Thomas Porter, has been aired across the world on bluegrass and gospel programs. You will be hearing much more from/about Thomas in the near future. For more information about Thomas and his music please check out his website at thomasporter.com |
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Dick Brown
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Dick was born in Artesia, NM on Sept 24, 1947. His father was a professional musician in the 30s and 40s in TX. He started playing music in the 6th grade with the violin but hadn’t heard of bluegrass at that point. He played music all through school (percussion) and got interested in folk music in 1963 during his sophomore year. His first bluegrass experience was when I bought the “Foggy Mt. Banjo” LP by Flatt and Scruggs, and knew from that day what he wanted to do... play the banjo. He went to college for a year in Stillwater, OK and met Gary Price, who showed him the basic rolls and how to play a few Scruggs tunes. He served in the USAF for 22 yrs and played on Taiwan television while stationed in Thailand. He traveled some with the 13th Air Force band and did a Vegas-type show for the troops. It was during that time in Thailand that he really started to focus more on playing. He was then stationed in Denver and became close friends with Lynn Morris, Charles Sawtelle and Pete Wernick. He was fortunate enough to get to spend some one-on-one time with Alan Munde as well, who passed on a lot of invaluable information and philosophy. He moved to AZ in 1976 and played for 20 yrs with a local band called Traditional Bluegrass. He also won the Four Corners State Banjo Championship in Wickenburg, AZ two times. In 1995 he played briefly with Pacific Crest. Later that summer he joined Lost Highway. He toured and recorded with them until Aug 2006. in Apr 2007 he joined friends at a bluegrass campout in Copperopolis, CA. The nucleus of the band Sawmill Road (the name of the street the friends lived on) was formed that weekend. Upon disbanding in 2010, Dick joined Copper River Band full time. He has also been teaching banjo in Phoenix since 2004.
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Jim Govern
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Jim Govern was born in 1964 in South Bend, Indiana, and started playing guitar at age 13 because his older brother played guitar and he wanted to be just like him. Jim slid into playing mandolin in the mid 1970s because he liked the idea of carrying around a little mandolin instead of a guitar. His main mandolin musical influences haven't really changed much. They include all the greats -- Monroe, Wakefield, McReynolds, Statman, O'Brien, Clark, etc. Jim is one of Arizona's finest mandolin players and brings an incredible tone and authentic quality to the band. Jim currently plays a Nugget mandolin. |
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Bob Denoncourt
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Bob started his Bluegrass career in 1966 on bass with The Tidwell Bros & The Cedar Mtn Boys.He played with Don Stover's band (The White Oak Mtn Boys) for a couple of years beginning in 1972. During this period Bob also played in Joe Val's band (The New England Bluegrass Boys). After playing with The Northern Valley Boys, The Kennebec Valley Boys and Bluegrass Supply Company in Maine, Bob left for Tucson, AZ in December of 1981 and joined The Titan Valley Warheads shortly thereafter. After moving to Reno, NV in 1987, he started woking with the High Strung Band in late 1988. A few years later Feather River was formed with Erik Thomas. Bob left for Florida in 1997 where the Cypress Creek Band was formed which lasted 4 1/2 years. Back in AZ in 2003, Bob started looking for people to pick with and found John Thompson at the Wickenburg Bluegrass Festival. Late 2004 the Copper River Band was formed with John, Jim Govern, and Charlie Edsall. CRB has since transitioned into its current lineup. For more information about Bob and his music please check out his website at denonco.net/bluegrass/ Bob loves his Eminence bass. Click here for their website... |
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Doug Bartlett
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Doug has been a professional musician for over 30 years. He has toured all across the United States, Canada and Europe. Winner of two IBMA Awards and two time Grammy Nominee while playing with such greats as Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, The James King Band, The Lonesome River Band and Del McCoury. Doug has performed on many recordings with various artists playing fiddle, mandolin, guitar, bass, banjo and vocals. Besides being a multi-instrumentalist Doug is also a fine singer/songwriter who teaches and performs as a solo artist in Phoenix, Arizona. For more information about Doug and his music please check out his website at dougbartlettshow.com |
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