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(Body)
The World Welcomes BREAKIN' STRINGS
Cliff Randall -
Cliff if what the lonesome sound is all about. His
powerful vocals and deep commanding sound differ from
any other vocalist. Cliff cries out ballads, and
preaches the message of any song he performs, receiving
the attention of any audience.
Still in his teenage years, he is known as an
accomplished mandolin and guitar player, working in
several genre's of music. Cliff remained true to the
roots of all music, while still learning the other
genre's by playing with several different bands
throughout; such as Dirigo Highway country band and The
Gelina Family bluegrass band. Although still a teenager,
Cliff has over ten years in the music business and has
competed through the years winning several awards such
as best vocalist, entertainer and the NACMAI (North
America Country Music Assn.)Youth Ambassador award.
Cliff's talent is absolutely apparent when he performs
and he also has been called one of the most gifted song
writers around. Cliff's high lonesome sound and diverse
talent make him a foundation and necessity for Breakin'
Strings.
Andrew Bohrmann
-
Andrew grew-up listening to everything from The Beatles
and Frank Zappa to Mozart and Benny Goodman, but it was
watching his brother Bucky play guitar in his bluegrass
band that really made him want to play the guitar. “He
is the standard to which I hold myself.” Says Andrew.
While living in Iowa, Andrew was reintroduced to
Bluegrass by his friend, Mike Pelzer who loaned him the
CD Every Time You Say Good-Bye by Alison Krauss and
Union Station.
"Andrew's rock solid rhythm and lead guitar playing
rings true to the roots of Bluegrass Music,” says Steve
Bixby. http://www.tidewater.net/~blugrass/Steve.htm
By 2004 Andrew was becoming an accomplished Bluegrass
guitarist and flatpicker. A regular at festivals and
field picking jam sessions, Andrew’s reputation as a
high-energy Bluegrass guitarist began to take root. "We
have known Andrew for quite a while now and have enjoyed
playing music with him on every occasion. He plays his
guitar and sings with energy, enthusiasm and with a
distinct drive that makes it appealing to traditional
and contemporary bluegrass listeners alike." Kip and
Dale, The Hemingway Brothers. http://www.hemingwaybrothers.zoomshare.com/0.html
In the summer of 2007 Andrew met Cliff Randall (Gelina)
at a late night jam session at the Ossippee Valley
Bluegrass Festival. After playing a few songs, Cliff
invited Andrew to join his reformed band Breaking
Strings.
Edward Howe -
He was raised in a very musical environment as his
parents are rabid fans of down-home string band music,
often taking Edward and his younger brother, Thomas,
with them to music festivals around the state. Edward
took an interest in music at the early age of 4 and
started learning classical violin using the Suzuki
method. At the age of 7, he met fiddler, Pam Weeks of
Scrod Pudding, and studied with her through the age of
15. While still quite young, Edward, Thomas (who was,
himself a fantastic mandolin player), and their father,
John, began playing together as the Howe Family Band.
They performed extensively throughout New England
playing a number of Bluegrass Festivals. It was while
performing at Bluegrass festivals that Ed was encouraged
to compete in fiddle contests. He proved to be a deadly
competitor, taking medals in most.
In the late nineties, Ed met local Maine fiddler, Lissa
Shneckenberger, who was, at the time, playing with Wake
the Neighbors, a high-powered contra-dance band with a
good deal of local renown. Ed sat in with the band a few
times and before long had joined. It was while in "Wake
the Neighbors" that Ed began his study of Celtic music.
When Lissa left the band to study at the New England
Conservatory, Edward was left to hold up the fiddle
duties by himself, which he did with aplomb. "Wake the
Neighbors" continued to play regularly for local concert
series and contra-dances. Edward, an audio technophile
runs his own small sound company, and is now developing
his own signature line of violin pickups. He plays a
turn of the century French violin that previously
belonged to the late Rufus Thibodaux , legendary Cajun
fiddler from Louisiana. He lives in Bristol, Maine. Now
Ed is looking forward to the adventures of Breakin'
Strings
Hunter Webber -
Hunter has been playing banjo since the age of twelve,
his grandfather always had one in the closest and for as
long as he can remember he have always taken it out and
twanged around on it for a bit. of Course this drove
everybody nuts :p
one day his uncle tuned it up for him and showed him the
beginning to "Duelin' Banjos'' and also showed him a few
practices that he could work on. So since then he
practiced on and off, until September of 2004. He went
to Thomas Point Beach (his second bluegrass festival
ever) and he got to get an autograph from Earl Scruggs,
and his picture taken with him. Later on that night Earl
Scruggs played with his band, and he was able to get a
front row seat, right in the middle. Ever since then he
got hooked on banjo picking.
Larry Gillis is his all time #1 influence when it comes
to banjo playing, then would come Ralph Stanley. then
for bands it would be Gillis Brothers, Stanley Brothers,
and J.D. Crowe & New South. What got him into bluegrass
was not the music itself, but the atmosphere and
friendliness of all the people within the "bluegrassin'"
community, "after getting introduced to all of that I
got hooked."
Holly Marie and Mandy Garnette
- bios coming soon
Mandy Garnette - Bio coming soon
d)
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