Gary Ruley and Mule Train

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Gary Ruley and Mule Train
Gary Ruley, Will Lee, Brennan GilmoreMary Simpson, Ann Marie Calhoun
Gary Ruley, Will Lee, Brennan Gilmore
Mary Simpson, Ann Marie Calhoun
Background information
Origin Rockbridge County, Virginia
Genre(s) Folk, Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Jazz
Website Official Site
Members
Gary Ruley
Will Lee
Brennan Gilmore
Mary Simpson
Ann Marie Calhoun (née Simpson)

Gary Ruley and Ruley Brothers both redirect to here.

Gary Ruley and Mule Train is an acoustic bluegrass band based in Lexington, Virginia who also play New Grass and Jazz music.

Gary Ruley was born into a musical family in Lexington, Virginia, and first performed publicly at ten. He has performed with his father, Pat Ruley, his brother, Rooster Ruley, and his son, Jeremiah Ruley. The strong musical tradition of his hometown rooted the musical Ruley family in bluegrass and mountain music. His musical journey was launched by many performances at a young age singing and flatpicking in and around Lexington, which was at the time a “hotbed of nightly entertainment of live acoustic music. Many nights would feature four or five different bands performing at various venues.”[1]

He grew up performing with diverse musicians for functions at Washington and Lee University, Virginia Military Institute, The University of Virginia, and various weddings and socials.[2]

Contents

[edit] Performance

Gary Ruley plays mostly vintage Martin guitars. His flat picking has earned him honors and awards at numerous festivals, and made him much sought-after regionally.

Gary Ruley has opened for Ricky Scaggs and Kentucky Thunder. He has performed with the late Vassar Clements and Bobby Lester (fiddle player for Bill Monroe). He has played with such greats as Darol Anger, two-time Grammy Winner Curtis Burch (New Grass Revival), Mike Seeger, Tony Rice, Jack Lawrence (Doc Watson’s partner), Mac Wiseman (Bill Monroe and Flatt and Scruggs), Buddy Pendleton (Bill Monroe), John Starling (Seldom Scene), and Ricky Lee (Will Lee’s father, who played with Ralph Stanley).

Gary Ruley has performed on stages at:

He has also toured out West with the Keels in California and Utah and performed in Amsterdam. He has appeared on PBS radio.

[edit] Musical style

Known as one of the finest acoustic flat pickers, Gary Ruley was born in western Virginia and raised on bluegrass and old-time mountain music. Influences include Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, Don Reno and Red Smiley, as well as the Beatles.[3]

". . even if the programs from these two volumes of live recordings mix bluegrass standards with the likes of Ellington, Grisman, and the Beatles, they are all delivered with drive and precision, while the vocals project an informal geniality."[4]

—review of Live at the Troubadour, Volumes One & Two, Bluegrass Unlimited

[edit] Distinctions, honors, and awards

  • At the 2007 Maury River Fiddler's Convention (14th Annual):
    • Guitar: First Place-Will Lee (Lexington, VA)
    • Guitar: Third Place-Gary Ruley (Lexington, VA)
    • Fiddle-Bluegrass: Second Place-Danny Knicely (Taylorstown, VA)[5]
  • 2006 Maury River Fiddler's Convention (13th Annual):
    • Guitar: Third Place-Gary Ruley
    • Guitar: Second Place-Will Lee
    • Banjo-Bluegrass: Third Place-Rooster Ruley
    • Fiddle-Bluegrass: Fourth Place-Danny Knicely[6]
  • 2005 Maury River Fiddler's Convention (12th Annual):
    • Guitar: First Place-Will Lee
    • Fiddle-Bluegrass: First Place-Mary Simpson
    • Best All Around Blue Grass Performer-Mary Simpson.[7]
  • Will Lee’s father joined the legendary Stanley Brothers as lead guitarist after playing with Bluegrass Tar Heels, special protegées of Bill Monroe. On his mother's side, Grandpa Clark was a fine ragtime pianist whose two sons both play guitar, while William Penmon Lee, the grandfather he was named after, was a respected clawhammer banjo player in Alabama and Mississippi.[8]
  • Danny Knicely’s grandfather, A. O. Knicely, played old time guitar, mandolin, and fiddle as leader of the Knicely Family Band. His father played bass and banjo in A.O.K.’s band; he also led his own country and bluegrass band, Dominion Express. Danny's mother had two groups: Heartland, a country and gospel band,as well as a large dance troupe, the Massanutten Mountain Cloggers.[9]
  • Magraw Gap, a band comprising Will Lee, Larry Keel, and Danny Knicely, took first place at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 1995.[10]

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Recordings

  • Live at the Troubadour Vol. 1
    • Gary Ruley (guitar, vocals)
    • Larry Keel (guitar, vocals)
    • Will Lee (banjo, vocals)
    • Jenny Keel (bass, vocals)
    • Ann Marie Simpson-Calhoun (fiddle, vocals)
    • Mary Simpson (fiddle, vocals)
  • Live at the Troubadour Vol. 2
    • Gary Ruley (guitar, vocals)
    • Larry Keel (guitar, vocals)
    • Will Lee (banjo, vocals)
    • Jenny Keel (bass, vocals)
    • Ann Marie Simpson-Calhoun (fiddle, vocals)
    • Mary Simpson (fiddle, vocals)
  • Pickin' Tradition
    • Gary Ruley (guitar, lead vocals)
    • Rooster Ruley (banjo)
    • Daniel Knicely (mandolin, harmony vocals)
    • Larry Keel (guitar, harmony vocals)
    • Jenny Keel (upright bass, harmony vocals)
    • Steve Hoke (fiddle)
  • Gary Ruley & Muletrain
    • Gary Ruley (guitar, lead vocals)
    • Daniel Knicely (mandolin, harmony vocals)
    • Larry Keel (guitar, harmony vocals)
    • Jenny Keel (upright bass, harmony vocals)
    • Also Featuring: Will Lee, Ann Marie Simpson-Calhoun, Jeremiah Ruley, Brennan Gilmore, Mark Shimmick, and Mitchell Davis.
  • Shenandoah Bluegrass

[edit] Video

[edit] Reviews, interviews, articles

[edit] References

Portal:Guitar
  1. ^ Official Bio
  2. ^ Official Bio
  3. ^ Official Bio
  4. ^ Live at the Troubador, (sic) Volumes One & Two
  5. ^ Maury River Fiddler’s Convention Winners
  6. ^ Maury River Fiddler’s Convention Winners
  7. ^ Maury River Fiddler’s Convention Winners
  8. ^ Will Lee biography
  9. ^ Danny Knicely’s bio
  10. ^ Will Lee biography

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] External links

[edit] Further reading

  • Rosenberg, Neil V. (2005). Bluegrass: A HISTORY 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION (Music in American Life). Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-07245-6. 
  • Goldsmith, Thomas (2006). The Bluegrass Reader (Music in American Life). Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-07365-7. 
  • Cantwell, Robert (2003). Bluegrass breakdown: the making of the old southern sound. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-07117-4. 
  • Thompson, Eric; Sid Griffin (2005). Bluegrass guitar: know the players, play the music. San Francisco, CA: Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-87930-870-2. 
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