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Articles & Reviews

The Moonshiners : Singing In The Lane
Sour Mash Records
Review: by Allen Price, Auburn, WA

The freshest sound in bluegrass music I’ve heard in some time comes not from Kentucky, Tennessee or even West Virginia. This sound comes from the other side of the Atlantic, where in Glasgow, Scotland, the Moonshiners are carrying on the tradition of bluegrass music with a zest and energy that puts them right beside their better known American contemporaries.

Guitar player Ian Mairs and bassist Jimmy Moon capably share the vocals, with Phil Sakerski showing great versatility on the banjo. Alasdiar Kennedy offers great work on vocals, mandolin and fiddle.

Hopefully, this will be the first of many albums from the Moonshiners. One just can’t keep from grinning when this album is in the CD player.

The Moonshiners: Still Shining

Sour Mash Records MSCD002

Anyone who thinks there ain’t no such thing as “authentic” bluegrass played in Europe unless the threads are being spun out by some great touring band from the US, is just plain loopy. ... Now, Scotland’s best, The Moonshiners are no spring chickens and maybe that’s a good thing. Here they show that there’s been much more than Monroe, Flatt or Scruggs absorbed down the years. The output is more jumpin’ hot eclectic and bluegrass-ish than pure-down-the-middle. The four-piece, this time around grooving as merrily as The Lovin Spoonful ever did in the company of ace moothie man Fraser Speirs on a couple of the tracks, celebrate a musical togetherness that has been simmering away nicely for just over ten years. Lead singer Ian Mairs would be the first to admit that his pipes are not as sweet and nicotine-free as some of his mainstream brothers and sisters. But one thing all good bluegrass possesses is lashings of honest endeavour which this man has by the ton. The delivery is earnest, the tone unfussy and the net effect is just about as heart-warming as could be. He also happens to write a decent tune or two and one of the best, I Never Want To See You Anymore, helps to add sparkle to the first half of the set. The gospel standard Gone Home, first brought to a wider audience by Flatt & Scruggs in the ‘50s, is given a very earthy treatment with little or no attempt at added embellishment - so pure in spirit, it feels as if it was maybe captured by a cunning engineer who pressed “record” when the four of them were innocently going through a pre-take run through. It’s that hold back this-is-how-it-is restraint, coupled with a sense of real human harmony and some very tidy instrumental bursts that make this a bit more special than many that come with higher expectations attached. There’s an obvious respect for original source but a refreshingly carefree attitude to the resurrection which leaves each of the covers easy to identify but presented in a different and interesting way. Hence, I’ll Break Out Again Tonight, as performed by Reno & Smiley, is somehow meatier in a weird Scottish kind of way that nonetheless makes it very appealing. Captured around a single mic, the high note vocal harmonies create just the right amount of delicate balance. Bob Wills’ Maiden’s Prayer is another sensitively handled as part of the homage but heartily thumped out in “this is our version” rather than carbon copy fashion. While On My Mind comes closest to resembling essence of Hank Williams, Robert Johnson’s Crossroads, shuffling along as well as it was ever played is the biggest eye-opener of the lot. It shows more than anything else that these fellas are maturing so well, they might soon deserve a place in the recorded music archives of the East Tennessee State University. There are none of the ‘take your breathe away’ surges that come with the package when Del McCoury’s wonderboys let rip, and not even the slightest suggestion that anyone might attempt a flurry of Kentucky Thunder show. Instead, Alasdair Kennedy (mandolin/fiddle), Phil Sakerski (banjo/dobro) and Jimmy Moon (double bass), illustrate what happens when people in the same musical groove have a mutual appreciation for the good stuff in life but know that restraint invariably knocks glam into a cocked hat. Sakerski is at his banjo-thrashing best on the self-penned instrumental, Jump Start - so darned good it could easily become a cover candidate for some of the bigger names on the scene. I’m ashamed to say that I’ve only seen these guys play once and that must have been ten years ago. Hands up. Back then I had those stupid prejudices referred to at the start. The band was supporting The Kentucky Ramblers. How could we take the home-based version seriously? As I said, that’s plain daft. I like this. LT

Extract from Butelive website

The Moonshiners are from Glasgow and have been together in varying line-ups since 1989. The present group, which has remained the same since 1994, consists of Ian Mairs on guitar and vocals, bass player Jimmy Moon, Alasdair Kennedy on mandolin, and Phil Sakerski on banjo. Ian is the brother of Alan & Rob Mairs who all played together as Old Hickory, one of Britain's leading bluegrass bands in the seventies and eighties. The Moonshiners have, over the years, built themselves a huge reputation and have travelled all over the world delivering their own brand of bluegrass music. Curiously, the band all sing round one, old style microphone and create a mix without the use of any sophisticated mixing decks. By moving nearer and further from the microphone they can create different sounds as a result of where they stand.

Arran Folk Festival 2000

Quote come curtsey of Brian Ferguson of 'The Living Tradition' magazine

"...some quite wonderful bluegrass music from a charismatic outfit who seemed to thrive on playing before such a big crowd. The Moonshiners' songs were an absolute treat, their musicianship was almost faultless and the charismatic outfit were very well-received."