The Drovers Old Time Medicine Show - Prater's Creek Gazette

Today's Weather	The Prater's Creek Gazette " THE UPSTATE'S SHINING COMMUNITY " 3rd Issue Summer 2004
The Hillbilly Doppler reports: Partly rowdy with a 100% chance of Raisin Cain.

Drovers Deliver "Dreamland"

By Irving O. Tarbox

SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE

The Drovers Old Time Medicine Show Photo A bluegrass concept album? Well, not exactly. But The Drovers Old Time Medicine Show's new album "DREAMLAND" has a theme running through many songs, which, considering the title of the CD, is not surprisingly, Dreams. The Dreams that Grandpa of the band had growing up---wanting to be Johnny Unitas during the Fall and Brooks Robinson during baseball season. A third of the songs are subtitled "Grandpa's Dream # so and so" with a wink and a nod toward Shakespeare and Bob Dylan. The opening cut, "69 Plymouth Roadrunner (Grandpa's Dream # 1)" is such a song about riding in Grandpa's all time dream car with three of his heroes , Bill Monroe, Joe Strummer and Muddy Waters, in the back seat and Winona Ryder riding shotgun and rebel yelling out the window.

The band always comes up with a good instrumental for every CD and " DREAMLAND" has one called "Never Die Easy (Grandpa's Dream # 34)" which is a tribute to the late Chicago Bear Walter Payton, who's motto was to "never die easy" and who wore number 34 on his jersey. Other outstanding cuts are "The Late, Late, Late Song" sung by Dalvin, "I Don't Want To Be Your Lullaby", and "A Woman named Loneliness".

The band also does a few good cover songs such as "Country Ham and Redeye Gravy" by Uncle Dave Macon, and Cousin Ray leads the group through a spirited version of "Lady of Spain".

The album ends with "We're Still The Drovers (Grandpa's Dream # 15)" where the band celebrates it's 15th Anniversary and takes a good natured swipe at all the political correctness going on (Snuffy Smith not making moonshine anymore in his comic strip) and wonders what the Andy Griffith show would be like if they were to make the show today. The band also thumbs it collective noses at the people who think The Drovers Old Time Medicine Show is just a "hillbilly outfit".

The band thinks this is their best effort yet. It is also their first digital recording. "We kept overdubs down to a minimum as always, to keep that live spirit in the studio" says Grandpa. "We didn't want to over use this dang technology and get into what we referred to as 'Britney-land'"

This is the band's fifth full length release and their third on Fundamental Records. It is being distributed through Redeye Distribution.

In it's first annual music poll, the readers of MetroBeat voted The Drovers Old Time Medicine Show "Best Bluegrass Band in the Upstate" awarding the band an UPPY.

	left to right: Uncle Ray, Dalvin, Grandpa, Homer and Uncle Carl Performing at the MetroBeat Music Awards at The Handlebar In Greenville, SC
	Grandpa accepting The UPPY Award on behalf of The Drovers Old Time Medicine Show at the MetroBeat Music Awards
	Homer accepting The UPPY Award on behalf of The Drovers Old Time Medicine Show at the MetroBeat Music Awards