Mac Martin & The Dixie Travelers

[Pat Gillespie]

I bought a tape of this band (Just Like Old Times, Rural Rhythm RC-232) I
found one! Can anyone tell me anything about this band?
Thanks

[William B Finlay, III]

Mac Martin and the Dixie travelers are based in Pittsburgh Pa and have
been performing since 1954. The current band consists of Mac Martin
mandolin/guitar, Bob Martin guitar, Norm Azinger Bass, Mike Carson
Fiddle, and Keith Little banjo.

[Chris McGlone]

"Pat Gillespie" <pgill...@sprint.ca>:

>I bought a tape of this band (Just Like Old Times, Rural Rhythm RC-232) I
>found one! Can anyone tell me anything about this band?

That's a good 'n. The banjo player was Billy Bryant, a local legend who
died a few years back. Mike Carson, who played fiddle on that, is still
playing with Mac. Was Bob Artis playing mandolin on this? My LP is at
home, so I can't check.

Mac and the boys are still going strong here in
Pittsburgh. Selections from several of his old recordings, including
that one, have been re-released on "24 Bluegrass Favorites"
(Rural Rhythm 267). You might also be interested in a CD of duets
of Mac & Buzz Matheson, "Echoes of the Past", (White Oak 104).

Chris

[Pat Gillespie]

Thanks for the information. Those are the band members. The album cover is
reproduced to fit the cassette and the member's names are difficult to read.
The bass player is Frank B? The whole 20 songs take up only about 37
minutes, they play at high speed!

"Chris McGlone" <jc...@torte.maps.cs.cmu.edu> wrote in message
news:9hf875$48p$1...@casaba.srv.cs.cmu.edu...

[William B Finlay, III]

Frank Basista was the bass player. Billy Bryant on banjo.

[Todd A. Gracyk]

"Pat Gillespie" <pgill...@sprint.ca> wrote in message
news:eUv_6.8795$F42.1...@newscontent-01.sprint.ca...

> I bought a tape of this band (Just Like Old Times, Rural Rhythm RC-232) I
> found one! Can anyone tell me anything about this band?

Well, the All Music Guide's website certainly doesn't have much on Mac
Martin and the Dixie Travelers.

Martin was born William Colleran in 1925, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where
I believe he still resides.

Martin formed the Dixie Travelers in the late 1950s and in 1963 the band
recorded a single and an album for the Gateway label. Martin and his band
subsequently recorded for Rural Rhythm, County, Revonah, and Old Homestead.
Prominent members of the Dixie Travelers are Earl Banner, Mike Carson, Billy
Bryant, Bob Artis, Bud Smith, Norm Azinger, and Buzz Matheson. Rural Rhythm
has issued a wonderful anthology CD featuring recordings made in the 1960s
and 1970s.

Martin and Matheson recorded a great CD in the brother duet style for the
White Oak label a few years back. I believe that the White Oak label will
soon be issuing another anthology of recordings by Martin and the Dixie
Travelers (one that will complement the Rural Rhythm CD).

The Rural Rhythm CD is commonly available and is usually priced as a budget.

The White Oak CD is a little tougher to find. Here is a link to the CD at
County Sales:

http://www.countysales.com/catalog/product548.html

Todd A. Gracyk
Petaluma, CA
ta...@home.com

[Todd A. Gracyk]

"Pat Gillespie" <pgill...@sprint.ca> wrote in message
news:eUv_6.8795$F42.1...@newscontent-01.sprint.ca...

> I bought a tape of this band (Just Like Old Times, Rural Rhythm RC-232) I

> found one! Can anyone tell me anything about this band?

One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier posting is that the supergroup
Longview has covered 2 great Mac Martin songs, "Does It Have To End This
Way" and "Southern Moon."

[Dave Richardson]

When I was living in Hawaii (70's), I saw them on "Mr. Roger's
Neighborhood". They performed an interesting instrumental entitled "Dixie
Bound", which I recorded onto cassette to learn. Our band sometimes gets
requests to play this tune even today.

Dave Richardson

"Pat Gillespie" <pgill...@sprint.ca> wrote in message
news:eUv_6.8795$F42.1...@newscontent-01.sprint.ca...

[Ken Connors]

Mac has a duet cassette with Don Stover, live at the Elizabeth Moose. I
wanted to pick it up before heading south, but never got around to it. I
heard that's a good'un too.

Hey Chris! Will there be any bluegrass happening up there the first weekend
of August? Ceece and Tom and I will be in from the 2nd through the 6th. Is
there still an open stage happening weekly? Hope to run into you.

-Ken in Jax

[bgs...@gmail.com]

Excellent album.
The Dixie Travelers were formed in August of 1954 by Mac Martin with fiddler Mike Carson.
Banjo Billy Bryant joined them the following Spring.
They played weekly from 1957 to the late 1970s for the Walsh Brother's Circus Bar and then Walsh's Tavern in the East Liberty section of Pittsburgh, PA.
Their first album was recorded by Gateway in Pittsburgh around 1962.
They recorded a second album for Gateway a year or two later that was never released, although several cuts were released on 45s.
They then recorded 4 albums on Rural Rhythm that were very good reviews.