As we approach the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, North Carolina based songwriters and performers Russell Johnson and Barney Rogers offer their new CD "When the Bands Played". This unique album contains all original songs inspired by the emotion and spirit of the Civil War. Dynamic vocals, distinctive melodies, creative arrangements and solid performances make this CD a must for the Bluegrassers, Civil War enthusiasts as well as the casual listener. Join Rogers and Johnson as they musically reflect on "America's Greatest Tragedy and Triumph". More about Rogers and Johnson Barney Rogers is a traditional banjo player and songwriter from North Carolina. He was raised in the little community of Westover on the west of Raleigh beside the State Fairgrounds. One of the earliest memories Barney has is of the late 50's during the week of the North Carolina State Fair. His aunt Pauline fixed hair in those days and Ms. English, the woman in charge of the fair's folk festival would come to get her hair done. She would bring Bascam Lamar Lunsford known as the "Minstrel of the Appalachians" with her and he would play the banjo and sing in the parlor. This experience combined with the popularity of the Flatt & Scruggs TV shows of the day ensured that the banjo would be part of Barney's life. His dad got him a banjo when he was 13 and he began teaching himself to play. After graduating high school and attending college for a couple of years, Barney started work for the Wooten Company in Raleigh in 1975. There he met some folks and joined his first band. Barney started attending many of the area Blue Grass festivals in those days and became acquainted with many of the performers like Benny Martin and Josh Graves. In 1980, Barney began his career with the City of Raleigh and has been there ever since. For the last 18 years, Barney has been teaching students the basics of playing the 5 string banjo. He started teaching at Hoffman's Stringed Instruments in Raleigh. It was at Hoffman's that Barney got to know Russ. Barney has played in many local Blue Grass bands over the years including the Fat Men & Robin Band, in which Russ played the guitar. Barney has performed numerous times at the Governor's Mansion and once gave a "banjo lesson" to the one and only Jim Graham, the North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture. Governor Hunt wrote that Barney's music "...perfectly captured the feelings of September afternoons in North Carolina." Barney has two CD projects to his credit, "Opening Act" and "Pig Pickin' Picks", both which have sold well. He has had the opportunity to record and perform with some of Blue Grass music's finest musicians including Rob Ickes, Wayne Benson, Jason Moore, Bobby Hicks and Roland White. Barney's parents came to Raleigh from Cherokee County in western North Carolina. As a child many trips were made to the mountains to visit his Grandmother Rogers and Grandmother Dockery. Both grandmothers told the old stories of their grandfathers' and their times in the Civil War. As Barney grew older he spent much of his spare time researching family history and the Civil War service records of his ancestors. He has discovered three great great grandfathers fought for the south and three for the north, and they all came from Cherokee County, North Carolina and the adjoining Fannin County, Georgia. Barney has visited most of the major battlefields of the Civil War, and enjoys reading and studying about the war's great personalities such as Nathan Bedford Forrest and John Buford. Barney has had the pleasure of meeting noted Civil War historian and author Shelby Foote and enjoys attending the Raleigh Civil War Roundtable. Barney is a Raleigh native and an almost life long resident of Wake County. He works for the City for Raleigh and is finishing up a 28 year career in the Public Utilities Department as the Utility Development Manager. Barney makes his home in Cary. His two teenage sons Reid and Neil play the guitar and bass. Russell Johnson It was the fall of 1973 and a 10 year old boy stood outside his home mesmerized by the sound of the banjo and guitar. His older brother and his brother's college roommate were sitting on the family's picnic table playing and singing bluegrass songs. "It may have been the first live music I was ever exposed to." said Russell Johnson of Four Oaks, N.C. That Christmas Russell had a guitar under the tree and after his brother taught him the basic chords, he began his musical journey. At about the same time Russell developed an interest in the American Civil War. Both of his older brothers were in grade school during the War's Centennial and completed booklets about the war as classroom projects. The pamphlets had stories about the Merrimac and the Moniter, Pickett's Charge and Lee's surrender at Appomattox and provided his first exposure to Grant, Lee, "Stonewall" and Sherman, names he would read about countless times in the future. Almost 9 years later as a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill he got his first mandolin and started playing in local jam sessions. His first "official" show was in August of 1989 and he knew immediately that playing and singing would play a part in his life. Since then Russell has worn a lot of different hats in his twenty years in the music business. Singer, songwriter, producer, mandolinist, recording and sound engineer, band leader, record label and studio owner are just a few. Early on he knew he would need to be involved in every aspect of making music besides just singing someone else's songs and so he immersed himself in every facet of the industry. Now his songs have reached the top of the charts with ten of his original compositions landing on the Bluegrass Unlimited National Bluegrass Survey. (Including the #1 hit 'Bluegrass Man' in April and May of 2003 and Pill or Potion which reached #2 in October of 2007) The Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America nominated him for Songwriter of the year in 2004 and as a producer he has 4 Top 10 CD's to his credit. As the emcee and front man of the 90's group, New Vintage and his current band, The Grass Cats he has performed throughout much of the United States and Canada. Bluegrass Unlimited magazine said that his voice "has got that 'lonesome' quality that makes even a just written tune sound a hundred years old." and placed him in 'the first ranks of contemporary bluegrass.' In 2002, after his father's death Russell moved back to his childhood home in Four Oaks. During renovations of the house he found a box of newspaper clippings in the attic written by a local historian. Many of the articles were about his ancestors and this kindled his interest in identifying if any were Civil War veterans. During this same time Russell was playing music with Barney in a side band and discovered that Barney had an interest in the War too. As it turned out, Barney and Russell's ancestors of the 25th and 24th North Carolina regiments were brigaded together for much of the war and fought in the battles of Malvern Hill, Sharpsburg, Fredricksburg and around Petersburg and Five Forks at the war's close. Russell and his wife Kandis live on the family farm where he grew up. He enjoys cooking, reading about the Civil War, playing music and looking after their six cats. The Songs THE TATHAM BOYS Six brothers hailing from the mountainous Cherokee County in the westernmost tip of North Carolina chose to go with their State and fight for the Confederacy. The youngest of "the Tatham Boys" was just sixteen years old. It was not uncommon for all the military-aged men in a family to join the army, leaving a terrible burden on the women and children left behind. It is estimated that eighty-percent of eligible Southern men served the Confederacy. Joining the 25th North Carolina Infantry Regiment and Thomas' Legion of Indians and Highlanders, the Tatham Boys saw action in some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. Two gave
