LaNelle's path to bass playing first passed through the world of traditional dance.Having seen the Green Grass Cloggers at Union Grove Fiddlers Convention in 1972 she was inspired to learn to clog. The 1972 Will the Circle Be Unbroken album further fueled her interest in traditional music and greatly influenced her decision to attend Appalachian State University in Boone, NC where she was exposed to more traditional music and dance. In the early 1980s,LaNelle toured extensively with both the Apple Chill Cloggers and Cane Creek Cloggers. She was a regular caller for the Tuesday night square dance at The Station in Carrboro, NC and called numerous square dances locally and throughout NC through 1989. In 1988, after friends stored a bass at her house,she began to hear the same percussive rhythm and drive in the bass as she had in clogging. She bought the bass from her friends and thus began her love of playing. Since that time LaNelle has performed on numerous stages in the U.S. and abroad, including: Merlefest, IBMA, Wheatlands Music Festival and the Ulster-American Folk Park in Omagh,UK, to name a few. Her solid playing and singing can be heard on numerous recordings in former bands including old-time band, Big Medicine and with N.C. bluegrass legend, Tommy Edwards. A retired geriatric social worker, LaNelle now spends her time playing music, gardening, bird watching and making mosaic murals and sculptures.
LaNelle Davis
David O'Brien
David began playing the mandolin in high school when classmates began jamming on the weekends inspired by the music of a Washington, DC area band called The Seldom Scene. His interest in acoustic music was piqued by the sounds of David Grisman, Tony Rice and the new jazzy tunes being played by these artists, as well as being influenced by the records of Norman Blake and Bill Keith. As a college student, David continued his pursuit of string music attending fiddler’s conventions, and concerts in and around North Carolina. He also did a stint with the Green Grass Cloggers, (home team), which allowed him to travel up the eastern seaboard attending festivals and being exposed to great music and live performances. Today he continues to visit festivals and jam sessions and to dabble in mandolin collecting.
Billy Willis
After piano, trumpet and classical music training in bands and choruses, Billy picked up his grandfather’s guitar at age 17. By the time he entered Engineering School at NC State in 1972, he was earning money to live at school playing in coffee houses and bars around Raleigh and could often be found in the Cameron Village Underground at the Pier or Cafe DejaVu. An introduction to banjo player Stan Brown quickly evolved into a bluegrass band called the Wahoo Revue who recorded and played bluegrass festivals along the east coast. In graduate school and after, Billy played with Patchwork, which included banjo player and radio host Tim Woodall, for nearly 20 years. He often served as a studio musician in the local studios and joined a R&B/Top 40 band called the Shades in the early 80s playing lead guitar.Now retired after over 40 years of running technology organizations, Billy spends time performing, writing songs and learning new instruments.