The Greatful Stones Family String Band is a Musical Act. By that, we mean a group of musicians bound by blood, marriage and heart
whose main musical goal is to entertain and delight an audience. We are not "traditional", but we are steeped in a tradition of sincere application of our talents to the music. Our repertoire runs the gamut from gospel to old timey, from bluegrass to traditional country, from western to Irish, from folk to pop. We even do Brahms' Hungarian Dances. If we like it, we play it; if we don't, we don't.
The band came into existence one evening at the Olde Timey Campfire at the 5th Annual Larry Fest, a bluegrass gathering sponsored by the Sebranek Brothers. Cousin Charlie from Nebraska was visiting his Cousin Phil and his wife Sandy in Wisconsin after not seeing much of each other for nearly 20 years. Finding a fiddle player at the campfire, the group took the open-mic stage by storm.
Returning home to Nebraska, Charlie related what had happened, to his life-long fiddler friend Brad . Within a month the four were engaged in a long-distance practice session involving mailed CD's and 1000-mile road trips. The band debuted at the 1st Annual Viroqua Gospel & Bluegrass Festival in July of 2003, where it was voted Best In Show. The 3-day practice session leading up to this event was the basis of the group’s first "live" album: "World Tour Premier".
In September of 2003, the group re-formed in Nebraska for the Auburn Folk Festival. There the seeds for a multi-track recording were sown. In mid-October Charlie and Brad laid their tracks to Sandy and Phil's in another 3-day session. Returning to Wisconsin, harmonies and bass were added, mixed and mastered resulting in the group’s second album: "From The Old Red Hymnal". The band also just released its third album in November 2003 entitled:
"The BEST of The Greatful Stones...So Far".
We play at festivals, parties, music stores. Always if asked to; and will insinuate ourselves onto any venue. We would play all the time, but are separated by 500 miles of Iowa.
Our fondest moment is arriving at our first festival gig exactly at the time assigned; only to be told we were 30 minutes late, and didn't we get the update to the line-up, but could we go on anyway. Only to get hooked 20 minutes into the act so a buxom teenage girl could sing karaoke kountry for 45 minutes. God bless her.
The Fugs, The Holy Modal Rounders, Andy Griffith, O Brother Where Art Thou, John Denver, Django Reinhart, Earl Scruggs, Mozart, Joni Mitchel, Hattie Stoneman.
All Home Studioed on Roland BR532 digital recorder and mastered with T-Racks 2.4.
BIOGRAPHIES
Sandra Sampson Hahn is a highly regarded female vocalist and guitarist who has been quietly wowing small and large groups since she was a teenager. The rest of the band is actually quite jealous of her pure talent. Sandy is a native of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and has been living in Viroqua, Wisconsin with her husband Phil for nearly 25 years.
Phillip L. Hahn married Sandra in 1980 after being wowed at one of those small private performances. He is mainly happy to be allowed to join in with the rest of the musicians. Phil works for the County to earn enough money to buy recording equipment, software and occasional guitar. He and Sandy live on 83 acres of Gods' Country in southwestern Wisconsin.
Charles D. (Banjeau Chucque) Hahn has been a legendary force in Nebraska folk and bluegrass music for nearly 30 years. He has many recordings to his credit and never met a banjo he didn't like. Charlie and his wife Diane share a life between Lincoln and Auburn, Nebraska, with their little dog Buster, a delight of all their friends.
Bradley (Hahn) Rutledge has mandolined and fiddled around the Nebraska bluegrass scene for nearly 20 years. He and Charlie have performed together hundreds of times in several states. Since becoming a member of The Greatful Stones, he has also become a member of the Hahn family of Cousins. Brad, his wife Sue and son Neil (an oboist featured on the "From The Old Red Hymnal Album") live comfortably in Lincoln, Nebraska.