Hardline Drive Michigan Bluegrass Band Progressive Sound Original Bluegrass Accoustic Music Festivals Shows Gigs Events Dave Russell Toni Erskine Greg Fusion Mollie Royce Danielle Smith

In the Studio Working on New CD
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We are excited about the new CD we've started, and we are hoping to have it completed by the end of May, or very soon thereafter. The project will be no less than 12 cuts of original material, including an original instrumental called, "Run For Cover." Stay tuned for more news on the CD.

Hardline Drive's "Deep South Tour 2008."
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We have the great honor of playing a number of gigs in the greater Atlanta, Georgia area beginning on September 20th with the Grass in the Grove Bluegrass festival (Cumming, GA) Redlight Cafe (Atlanta, GA) on the 25th, and Matilda's (Alpharetta, GA) on the 26th. We have several more shows between the September 20 - 29 that we are confirming at the moment, so we'll keep you all posted as to where we'll be. We are very grateful for our southern region booking agent, Julie Aitchison of Dream Booking (Atlanta) for helping to make it all possible for us. She is a great agent, and a go-getter. Yeah Julie!!!!!!!! We will be proceeding on to Nashville for the IBMA Conference where we hope to gain some exposure for our upcoming CD.

Cystic Fibrosis Fund Raiser was a Success
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It was an honor for us to play at the Annual "Pickin on Cystic Fibrosis" in Fremont, MI on April 19, 2008. We had the honor of sharing the stage with some of michigan's finest bluegrass musicians including the Mike Adams Band, Detour, the Windy Mountain Boys, the Klieners, and Lonesome Journey. There was a great deal of friendship and hilarious camaraderie between the bands as well. When we began our second set of music, we heard some commotion off to the side of the stage, and there they stood, a bunch of musicians heckling us in a most bombastic way, yet with true friendship in mind. As Toni was introducing the band, Mike Adams, John Coffee, Danny Blankanship, and Jeff Tuttle (all members of the Mike Adams Band) began calling out for us to play Rocky Top and Cripple Creek, in addition to other silly things. One of them even said, "Let's see the banjo player's hot legs!" This was a whole lot of fun, and it occured to me just what a tight knit family we all are in the Michigan Bluegrass community. Turn about's fair play, however, and when it came time for the Mike Adams Band to play, I walked out on the statge with a tamborine and started playing along with them. Despite the fun we had, the benefit was a great success, and Jimmy Kittel did a wonderful job organizing it.

A new year and HLD's One Year Anniversery
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Another new year is upon us, and I still think time is flying by faster than ever, at least for me. Often you hear older people (this doesn't include yours truly, of course) say, "my how the time just flies by the older I get." I find that the busier I am, the faster time seems to pass because there is so much going on to side-track your conscious mind from the ticking of the clock. We have an action packed year coming up in 2008, and we are excited about a number of the opportunities, including a new CD we are planning to start recording soon with original material. We hope to have it available by this spring. We are also excited about the opportunity to play in the line up at the City of Auburn Hills annual Parade of Stars (September 6, 2008). We are honored to share the stage with the Cherryholmes, Pine Mountain Railroad, and Special consensus. If you have the day free, please join us for a fun-filled day of bluegrass. Thank you as well for the great support you've given us this past year, and as we just celebrated our first year together, we are cranked to have even more to celebrate on our two year anniversery. I am honored to work with the members of HLD, and the chemistry between us makes creating and playing the music a joy. I'll keep you posted on our whereabouts.

Dave Russell

Blustery, but fun day at Grandma's Pumpkin Patch
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We had the opportunity to play a three hour show at Grandma's Pumkin Patch in Midland, MI last Saturday (October 20, 2007), and despite the gusty winds, we had a great time. Fall is a fun time of the year, with all the seasonal changes in the landscape, the colors, smells, and festivities, but playing music in the midst of it makes it all the more fun. When we arrived, we noticed that the high winds were going to play havoc on our sound system insofar as the mic stands would be blown over, and the wind blowing against the mics would make for some interesting sound in itself. Fortunately, our good friend Jeff was able to hunt down some plastic tarps to put around the side opening of the tent, and that did a wonderful job of blocking the wind. The show went on from 1:00 pm until after 4:00 pm, and we all enjoyed ourselves, including the many people crowding into the tent, some to get their first taste of bluegrass music. We've been invited back next year to play another show. We are definitely looking forward to it.

IBMA Was a Awesome Adventure!
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We all had a blast at the IBMA conference this year, including a very cool and fun showcase with the Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association on October 3rd. It was a thrill to look out in the audience and see several professional bluegrass musicians watching our show. Being around many of our musical mentors was a educational and humbling experience, to-say-the-least. We had the rare treat of watching Ron Block (Alison Krauss' banjo player) and guitar great, Clay Hess jaming for a few hours (total) on our floor in the hotel. What an experience that was, and our guitar man, Greg Fuson, got the chance to jam with these guys. You should have seen the grin on his face, wish I'd had my camera. We can't wait till next year, and the prospect of better things to come for our band.

Whispering Winds Bluegrass Festival Cancelled
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We're sorry to report that the Whispering Winds Bluegrass Festival, August 3-4, 2007 in Nirvana, MI has been cancelled. We were scheduled to play there and if you had made plans to come out, please be advised that the festival has been cancelled. The promoters are very sorry about the inconvienence, and we'd just like to make sure no one drives out and is disappointed! Perhaps next year, all will be a go!

The Fourth of July At Crossroads Village
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If the rain kept you home in the morning, you missed out on a lovely day in the afternoon! It was misty and raining in the morning when the band arrived, but by early afternoon, it had burned off and the skies were blue and the weather just right for some bluegrass, frog jumping contests, a community parade and of course, all the great exhibits at the village!

We performed 4 sets of music, the last three being acoustic, out under the beautiful trees where everyone could get in close and enjoy the sound. We had some of our friends and family join us and that is always special. We'll be playing several more time this summer at the village, so plan to come out and spend the day. (We won't even mind if you slip off and ride the train or the old river boat, as long as you make sure to come by and say hello and catch a few tunes.

Our New Website is in the Works
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You may have noticed that our website is changing and moving around! It's our web mistress, Sherri Chekal, as she begins to weave and create the website as we speak! We're getting together pictures and biographies as well as information about the band and our schedule. Soon you'll be able to see more photos, hear more music and catch a few videos as well. We hope to have the whole site operational by the end of the month, perhaps even sooner! So please check back often and see the new additions and changes. We're very pleased to have her working on this site... she has created a lot of wonderful bluegrass websites including :

• Michigan Bluegrass.com
• BuckeyeBluegrass.com
• TheBluegrassMusician.com
• BluegrassMusicJams.com
• GlassCityOpry.com

And many more! Too many to list here. So, be sure to check back often as you can!

OUR FAVORITE LINKS

• MichiganBluegrass.com

• BuckeyeBluegrass.com

OUR MYSPACE PAGES

• Hardline Drive
• Danielle Smith
• Toni Erskine
• Greg Fuson
• Dave Russell

OUR INSTRUMENTS

• Huber Banjos
• Collings Mandolins
• Alvarez Guitars

THE PLACES WE PLAY

• Crossroads Village
• Bluegrass Junction
• Glass City Opry
• Cliff's Bell