Satyr Hill Band Newsletter

August 2006
Hello Satyr Hill Fans,

Welcome to the first version of a newsletter/journal of the goings on of THE SATYR HILL BAND. It is my intent to keep you updated & keyed into all that has to do with TSHB on a regular (I hope ) basis.

To begin, I, however, must go backwards in order to do justice with where we are now & what I believe will be of interest to you in the near future.

As some of you may be aware, we have a new member in TSHB. The very talented banjo "WIZARD" George Osing (see Band page).

Since 1978 George has been performing with some pf the bluegrass world's finest groups such as The River Hill Band, Leon Morris, Dean Sapp & the great Mitch Harrell. So you can see that George has been pickin' with some mighty fine players.

Anyone who steps into TSHB is really taking on quite a handful. The reason is that we have a very heavy schedule and a very large catalog of material to learn, not to mention some of our "crazy" song arrangements will challenge the most talented players. We do some weird stuff in this group. That's why I believe we've been together so long as a group - ya' never know what's gonna' happen next!

George has been with us now for a few months and has already become a fan favorite with his great ability to pick with the best of them. I believe George's playing style will continue to bring new fans to the world of bluegrass music. We are very proud & honored to have George Osing in our band as well as having the support of his lovely wife Donna & his family.

Coming next in Picassio's Page: the TSHB says goodbye to Keith & the late, great Dan Curtis is remembered.

Cheers,
Rick (...er...ahem...I mean Picassio)
P. S. Check out our schedule and come out & see us, bring a friend or two or three - cause' Bill Monroe says so!

December 2006
From Keith Harrison:

Well Stinky (Ed. note: another moniker for Rick), you’ve asked me to write an article for the website, based on my experience with the SHB. As I put some thoughts to paper, it struck that there is a lot to the SHB music that most listeners don’t hear. To explain, I’ll have to go back a few years and give some background.

After moving back home to Virginia from Austin, TX in 1994, and playing banjo with the Grassy Knoll Boys, I was determined to find a band to play with in DC/Balt area. For several months I was going to as many jam sessions as I could; sometimes 7 nights a week. One night, at the Tuesday night jam in Burtonsville, MD, I met and started picking with Jude Restivo. He asked me if I knew “Snowball”, a fairly obscure Alan Munde tune. I said not really, but let’s give it a whirl. I faked it well enough for Jude to let me know they were looking for a banjo player and if I would start practicing with them.

My first gig was a Christmas time gig, at some fancy restaurant outside of Baltimore, MD. It was the birthday of a former Oriole baseball player. Danny Curtis was picking mandolin with us then (see you on the other side brother), Charlie was playing bass, Rick on Guitar, Jude on fiddle, and Sippy Taylor (Liz) belted out a few tunes. Oh yeah, I struggled my way through on banjo. Soon after, Tom Reeves joined the band playing bass, and Charlie moved to mandolin.

It was this way until I left the band last year as I could no longer sacrifice family and work for my passion of playing music; I wanted to spend more time with my wife, my 2 daughters, and my career was beckoning.

During those years, 2 things developed that most listeners probably don’t hear when listening to the Satyr Hill Band. Firstly, instead of just band mates or co-workers, a brethren and kinship developed between the 5 of us. A net result of that, and secondly, was an understanding of each other’s musical voice that facilitated a very tight, and unified sound that became synonymous of the Satyr Hill Band.

As far as most bands go, it is so incredibly rare for the same group of guys to stick together for so many years. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer situation or group of guys to be a part of; and I think we all feel that way. More over, the five of us are so different personality wise; it was just a treat to get together. As different as the cast of Seinfeld is, so are the members of SHB. This, in my opinion, proved to be the secret equation to our longevity. When there was tension, we each had a different perspective to bring the band back to earth.

Jude providing leadership and democracy (an un-daunting task at times); Charlie providing an unwavering ear, professionalism, attention to detail and taste, Tom providing an uncanny musical sense, was never wrong and would always pull one out of the hat that would keep us laughing for hours (ohhh dah kwest of duh d’waves); Rick’s big voice, likeability and good nature, along with his sense of dynamics, and me; hell, I just played banjo. The bottom line, everyone had something to offer and it made me a better player and more important, the band a better unit.

That unit, the tight, unified sound, was not only a result of our kinship, but was enhanced by everyone’s musical sensibility. Being the only member in the band that doesn’t sing (well), the vocal talent in the band was easily observed and witnessed. Here’s how songs would get introduced: someone would simply say, hey - let’s try this one. Having learned the song, it would get thrown out there and on the first pass, it was a decent, passable rendition of the song, regardless if it was a cover or an original.

So grasping the concept of song was almost always a gimme. All of our time spent practicing was spent on intros, endings, vocal harmonies, instrumental harmonic passages, and dynamics. The end result, after years of practicing in this environment, was the Satyr Hill Band sound.

That, perhaps, is what most listeners do not hear – the dynamic nuances; personally and musically.

I have so much respect for you guys and I miss our time together. We sure had some fun…..

On a final note, I know that George is a tremendous asset to SHB, a good friend, and a fantastic banjo player with some licks that I only wish I had. I am thrilled that he has been able to step in as easily as he has and that he is bringing some banjo to SHB that technically I struggled with. Keep it real George….

With that, my best to you guys. To the fans, thank you so much for not only supporting me during my years with SHB, but for the ongoing support of the SHB.

Regards,
Keith