When Becky Buller chose the title for her upcoming CD Distance and Time, she had no idea how ironic it would be: “We’re all distancing and we just need some time.” She describes this CD, her third recorded on Stephen “Mojo” Mougin’s Dark Shadow Recording label, as a real mix.
“I’m inspired by every branch of the bluegrass family tree, so this album really showcases that mix,” she says. “We have some stuff that’s a little progressive and we have some stuff that’s pretty traditional.” On the traditional side, fans have already had a taste of “The Barber’s Fiddle,” the first single released March 27.
While this project is in keeping with previous projects recorded at Dark Shadow Recording, this new CD is almost entirely composed of songs Buller wrote or co-wrote, with the exception of two covers—one she says people will recognize and one they may not.
She says they’ve worked faster on this project than with previous albums, something made possible now that Mougin has his own studio in Goodlettsville.
“It’s a beautiful space,” says Buller. “He gets great sound, great tones there. It’s wonderful working with him. He can do anything.” Mougin not only produced the record, but he produced “The Barber’s Fiddle” music video. “And he did a killer job at that. He can do anything,” says Buller.
Fans of Buller’s 2018 CD release Crepe Paper Heart will want to know if she’ll have special guest stars, like the Fairfield Four who sang on that recording. While she and the Dark Shadow Recording label are waiting to spring some of the surprises, she was able to talk about “The Barber’s Fiddle,” with its video release that followed the song’s debut.
The initial track was recorded with the Becky Buller Band members playing all their regular instruments. Then Nate Lee, “Professor Dan” Boner, and Becky went back and played triple fiddles at the top and the end of the track. Among the guests are this song are eighteen fiddlers playing in a Zoom-worthy collage, including signature licks from Sam Bush, Jason Carter, Michael Cleveland, Stuart Duncan, Deanie Richardson, and Johnny Warren, along with Tyler Andal, Brian Christianson, Frank Carpenter of the Violin Shop in Nashville, Jason Barie from Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes from Mile Twelve, and Laura Orshaw from the Poor Ramblin’ Boys.
Kati Penn, Shawn Camp, Laurie Lewis, along with Carter and Bush, also sing with Becky, telling the story. The song, which Buller co-wrote with Lynda Dawson from Raleigh, NC, weaves together two stories.
“There’s a lot truth in the song, but it’s actually the confluence of three stories. The first somebody told me at Dollywood years ago about a fiddling barber in their hometown. He had tried to be a touring musician, and it didn’t work out, so he came home and hocked his fiddle to get a haircut so he’d be presentable when he showed up at his parents’ doorstep. That’s the skeleton we hung the song on,” she said. “We used Mr. Gene Boyd from the Star Barber Shop in Bristol, VA, as our barber,” Buller explained. She said the other influence was Billy Wommack, who had a barber shop in Woodbury, TN, for years. “He also tried to be a professional fiddler, playing for Wilma and Stoney Cooper, but didn’t care for life on the road. Those three guys were the inspiration for the song.”
In the video, produced by Moujin, they incorporated scenes filmed at Cutshaw’s Barber Shop in Manchester, TN.
Buller said that Ray Seckler, who plays the barber in the video, is the son of Curly Seckler from Flatt and Scruggs, now living near Buller. Adam Cutshaw, who owns the barbershop, is also in the video with Buzz his son, who plays the young boy. Pastor Jake Dorak appears as the older version of Buzz at the end of the video.
Becky Buller fans have been able to watch her growth as a performer and as the front woman for her own band, along with her strengths as a songwriter. The Becky Buller Band (B3), which includes Ned Luberecki on banjo, “Professor Dan” Boner on guitar, Nate Lee on mandolin, and Daniel “the Hulk” Hardin on bass, has a powerful group dynamic that livens up their stage performances.
“I have such a fantastic road band,” says Buller, “that it would be sacrilege not to use then as much as we did on [Distance and Time]. They’re on all but one track, a special duet.” She confirms that they all get along as well as they seem. “Oh yeah, I insist on that. We want to have a good time, make good music, and go home. Try to keep it simple,” she says.
Home for Buller is Manchester, Tennessee, her husband’s hometown, a long way from Minnesota, where she grew up in a musical family. Becky found her way to East Tennessee State University after reading liner notes by Jack Tottle on Lou Reid and Terry Baucom’s Carolina Moon record that came out in 1994.
“I was fascinated to hear there was a school that gave you credit for playing bluegrass, and I told my parents I was going to go there. I was sixteen.” They devised a two-year plan, which involved getting some college credits during her high school senior year. She says getting used to being an hour away from home, required by the college, was preparation for being twenty-four hours away. She felt the experience at ETSU helped her to learn about the Appalachian culture that gave birth to this music.
“Some of my favorite bluegrass stars are from down in the Carolinas or Tennessee or Kentucky. I grew up thinking this is how bluegrass has to sound. I felt I needed to learn the language and learn the people. That was I would be able to interpret bluegrass better.”
While Buller feels at home in her adopted state, she is quick to point out that bluegrass is not confined to a few Southern states. “Bluegrass is appreciated all over the world,” she pointed out. “We have a fantastic bluegrass community in Minnesota, the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association. I grew up going to those festivals. I also know that some of the best bluegrass music in the world is coming out of the Czech and Slovak Republics.”
She mentioned her friend Ralph who moved from Holland to the Czech Republic to teach English so he could play bluegrass music. “That’s the equivalent of me moving from Minnesota to Tennessee in order to be able to sing,” said Buller.
In addition to her role with her band, Becky Buller also finds herself playing several shows a year with the First Ladies of Bluegrass, along with Alison Brown, Missy Raines, Sierra Hull, and Molly Tuttles, each the first woman to win an IBMA award in her instrument category. (Buller, by the way, was the first—man or woman—to win in both the instrument category and vocalist of the year the same year.)
She says playing with these women is “an absolute thrill. I’ve grown up idolizing the music of Alison Brown and Missy Raines, and I’m so inspired by Sierra and Molly and everything they’re doing. I still have trouble wrapping my head around that I get to do some shows with them.
“We’re definitely a unicorn band. Everybody has her thing, her band, and Alison has Compass Records, so it’s rare that we get together to do anything, but it’s been fun.”
They recently backed up Steve Martin and Martin Short for four shows in Florida. Buller said it was “cool to see how they work and how passionate they are. They’re continually refining the show and making it better. They were always asking us, ‘Is that funny? What do you think?’ We even got to be a part of a new bit they worked up and incorporated into the last show of the fun. You realize why they are superstars,” added Buller.
Now that live music has ground to a halt due to the pandemic, Becky Buller is keeping busy. In addition to working on the new CD, she’s been teaching online lessons and posting some live streams from her Facebook page, “trying to cheer people up.” In addition to doing some songwriting, she says she’s enjoying being home with her family and trying to homeschool her daughter Romy, 7. Being off the road even gives her the opportunity to play in the church praise band, including the Easter service recorded at safe distances and broadcast on Easter Sunday.
The next single from Distance and Time is due out May 1, giving fans some new music to carry them over until the CD release in July.