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Allen Fisher - Banjo and Vocals
Allen Fisher has been playing the banjo since the 1960s.
His playing style is a combination of melodic and Scruggs style.
He has played in numerous blugrass bands over the years, including
Red Hutto and the Sand Mountain Boys, Tiller's Ferry, Bill Haney
and the Zaszoff Boys, and Midnight Flyer. Allen does
the lead singing and harmony singing for High Lonesome. He is also
a fine harmonica player and will occasionally show off his
harmonica skills on a few tunes. It has been rumored that
Allen missed out on being the banjo player on the movie
"Deliverence" (which made Dueling Banjos famous) because he
joined the army just before James Dickey (the author of the
book "Deliverence") came looking for him. Allen lives in Columbia, SC.
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Chris Boutwell - Mandolin and Vocals
Chris has been on the bluegrass scene since the late
1960s. He grew up in the Southern California area and
was a member of several well-known bluegrass bands there,
including High Country. While in California, he also
had the opportunity to regularly open shows for Jerry
Garcia and the Grateful Dead. Chris moved to South Carolina in
the 1980s. Prior to joining High Lonesome, Chris played
with Claude "Junior" Lucas and the Lucas Brothers. Chris
is the lead vocalist for High Lonesome. He lives in
North, SC.
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Stefan Custodi - Guitar and Vocals
From bluegrass music lovers to the diehard jazz connoisseur, 25 year old Stefan Custodi
has riveted and enthralled audiences with his talent. He started playing acoustic guitar
at an early age, and was always engrossed with the ancient tones of bluegrass and acoustic
music. Stefan is a native of Aiken, SC. His formative years were filled with analyzing the
guitar, but later when he enrolled at the University of South Carolina as a jazz studies major,
he moved to the upright and electric bass. After his stint at USC, he packed up his bluegrass
roots and moved to Washington, DC, where he played and recorded with a number of local and national
acts including Richard Green, Frank Wakefield, Fred Wesley, Big Hillbilly Bluegrass, The
Patuxtent Partners, and Meta. Stafan was a "first call" studio musician in the DC metro area.
He has also played on albums with the likes of Arlo Guthrie, Bill Keith, Mike Auldrige, Mark
Shatz, Gordon Titcomb, Nate Leath, and Frank Solivan II.
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Ashley Carder - Fiddle
Ashley was raised on country and bluegrass music.
His mother played the guitar and sang country
music in the 1960s and 1970s on
regional radio shows. His dad played the guitar
and fiddle. His Great Grandfather Carder played the fiddle, banjo, and
guitar,
and his grandfather's brothers in West Virginia played old
time music and had a barn dance on their farm for years.
Around 1981, he was given his
great grandpap's fiddle, and he has been fiddling ever since.
During the 1980s, Ashley spent time with and learned many
tunes from the older
fiddlers such as Homer "Pappy" Sherrill of the Hired Hands,
Vernon Riddle of Spartanburg, SC, who was a contest fiddler in
Texas, and Bo Norris of Ward, SC. He has
also spent time with the legendary bluegrass fiddler Bobby Hicks, picking
up some of his bluegrass fiddling licks. Ashley has played in numerous
bluegrass bands over the years, including The Brushy Fork Boys, Carolina
Crossroads, Darlene and the Amicks, and Bill Wells and the Blue Ridge Mountain Grass.
Ashley still plays Grandpap Carder's fiddle and lives on his farm in Leesville, SC.
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Mike Vaughn - Bass Fiddle and Vocals
Playing bass and singing tenor and occasional lead for High Lonesome
is Mike Vaughn of Great Falls SC. After being exposed as a child by
his Dad to bluegrass, "Southern" gospel and "old" country music Mike,
at the ripe old age of forty decided to start playing and singing what
he truly loves; bluegrass. After first learning the bluegrass harmonica
Mike then learned to play the 1949 Kay bass his Daddy left him. Mike comes
to High Lonesome after a musical journey that began with his introduction
to the South Carolina bluegrass scene by renowned resophonic guitarist
M.J. Holden in his band, Maplewood, and then a couple of years with the
popular band Ridge Hill.
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