Mystery Hillbillies

In early 2007, the Mystery Hillbillies came together to play music drawn from a wide spectrum of
country music styles. Their songs are mined from history and tradition, past and present, familiar and obscure, with a few of Mark's originals mixed in. The
spectrum includes bluegrass and some of the very earliest country (Carter Family, Hank Williams, Louvin Brothers); 40's, 50's and 60's classic country
(Faron Young, Webb Pierce, Lefty Frizzell, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline); currently working artists who have carried traditional country music
through into the present (Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Lee Roy Parnell, Buddy Miller, Al Anderson) and some classic and current rockabilly (Wanda
Jackson, Brenda Lee, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Rosie Flores, Southern Culture on the Skids).

Mark, Cal and Chip were born and raised in North Carolina. Each of them have been playing professionally for over 25 years. Mark's dad managed WTNC radio in Thomassville. He spent a lot of time at the station and had acces to thousands of recordings, including those that fit the country format, and all the other stuff that came in, much of which he was able to bring home. He started playing guitar in high school and hasn't been bored since. He's a great player and showman with a good natured sense of humor. He also plays with Chip in the Fairlanes, and in various other combos.
Calvin's first exposures to live music came at the end of long station-wagon rides to the foot of Stone Mountain, NC. When his aunt and uncle's restaurant in Traphill closed on Saturday night, the locals
would gather and play, dance and drink until the wee hours. His Uncle Bill would play bass, and whoever else was there would fiddle or play guitar or banjo or sing, with Calvin's dad playing along on electric guitar. The music was whatever anyone knew - Hank Williams, fiddle tunes, then current country tunes (which would likely have been Jim
Reeves, George Jones or Marty Robbins), plus a little Bob Wills and Ernest Tubb. Since then he has mastered a broad spectrum of musical styles. He currently plays swing and jump blues with Russ Wilson and his Mighty, Mighty Men; 60's R&B with Tin Can Alley, electric blues and rock with Armond Lenchek and Blusology (featuring Will McFarlan); and some origional rock with The Rock and Roll Attoms, among others.
Chip was exposed to a wide range of music as a kid. His local, small town radio station played all kinds of music.That, along with a steady diet of syndicated country music TV shows and Soul Train gave young Memphis a solid foundation in roots utopia. He began playing drums in the school
orchestra, marching band and jazz ensemble, where he was first exposed to big band and swing. Only after seeing Al Gannaway's "Stars of the Grand Ole Opry" on public television one night in 1983 did he realize where the junction of rock met roll-- how closely it paralleled R&B and how thin the line really was between the two. A founding member of the rockabilly trio The Solecrackers, Chip's been holding down the drum chair with the Fairlanes since 1990, and is a frequent fill-in drummer for other bands.
Originally from Michigan, Michelle has been singing pretty much her whole life. She started playing folk/rock guitar in high school and found old time stringband music soon after. After volunteering with music organizations, presenting dances, festivals and concerts, she co-founded the Bayside Travellers in Traverse City, which is still presenting traditional music and dance in the community today.She moved to North Carolina in 1986 and started attending fiddlers' conventions and country dances around North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. There she played guitar, clawhammer banjo, and
developed her unique style of flatfoot clogging. Her dancing has earned her several ribbons and has been featured on 3 CD's. In 1999 she went to England to perform and teach workshops at the Footloose Festival in Matlock.
She began using her powerful voice to sing blues in the early 90's and formed the Revelators with Arnie Englund, Steve Grothman, and Jim Roberts.The original Mystery Hillbillies came together in the late 90's with Steve Howell (Backsilders) and FJ Ventri (Edsell 500) and reformed with the current line up in 2007.
These four players bring talent, skill and a good natured sense of humor to every performance. They are capable of entertaining many kinds of people through venues such as house concerts, street fairs, traditional music festivals, dances and dance camps, pig pickin's, clubs and more.The experience and enthusiasm that Michelle, Mark, Cal and Chip
bring to this music makes them sound at once strongly rooted in tradition and authentically themselves.
Michelle, Mark and Calvin can also play as a 3 piece for smaller venues. Michelle would be happy to teach a workshop in two steppin' in addition to playing.