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REVIEWS
BLUEGRASS
UNLIMITED MAGAZINE
MAPLE CREEK WITH EMORY LESTER
- ONE GOOD REASON
[June 2005 Issue]
No Label, MCR 393
Maple Creek is a four person bluegrass band from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada consisting of Dawn (guitar and vocals)
and Brad Oviatt (fiddle and vocals), Darcy Whiteside (banjo, guitar, and vocals), and Jim Storey (bass). For their
second recording project, they are joined by Emory Lester (mandolin and guitar) who also serves as co-producer.
The 13 selections feature a healthy assortment of original material, including the title song, "Promises To
Burn," "Can't Tie Down A Ramblin' Man," and the Darcy Whiteside instrumental, "Bridge Out."
Other performances include the J.D. Miller/Jimmy C. Newman country classic "Cry, Cry Darling," Flatt
& Scruggs' "He Took Your Place," and Marty Robbins' "Don't Worry About Me." Dawn handles
most of the lead vocals, and their three-part harmonies especially stand out on their interpretation of "It
Hurts To Know."
Maple Creek has created an exciting package of bluegrass and is certainly "One Good Reason" for any serious
bluegrass enthusiast to become familiar with the multitude of their talents. LM
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BLUEGRASS UNLIMITED MAGAZINE
January 2001 Issue
Maple Creek
MCR339
From north of the border comes
a genial Canadian 4 piece Bluegrass band fronted by ex-Tennessean Brad Oviatt (fiddle guitar and vocals). This
self-titled undertaking is apparently the band's first recording effort and, by most accounts, one that is thoroughly
successful. Twelve selections include effective versions of familiar pieces like "Is the Blue Moon Still Shining",
"Blue Night" Merle Haggard's "Somewhere Between" and the Buck Owens standard "Where Do
the Good Times Go?" Also included is a trio of Brad Oviatt compositions "One Kiss One Heartache"
and an acapella gospel piece "Remember My Children to Pray" and the poignant "Who Will Tend the
Loved Ones." There are also a couple of precisely executed instrumentals "Doc Harris the Fisherman"
and Bill Monroe's "Lonesome Moonlight Waltz." To sum it up, Maple Creek has created an enjoyable selection
of mainstream Bluegrass that transverses international boundaries. LM
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BLUEGRASS NORTH
CD Review: One Good Reason
Artist: Maple Creek
Label: Maple Creek
Rating: 4 out of 5 Monroes
Edmonton's Maple Creek teamed with mando
monster Emory Lester to produce their second CD, and the combination seems to have worked to everyone's benefit.
I've heard Maple Creek at several festivals in recent years and this CD captures their sound and their energy,
with Emory Lester's stellar playing kicking things up a notch. Maple Creek is Brad Oviatt (fiddle, vocals); Dawn
Oviatt (guitar, vocals); Jim Storey (bass) and Darcy Whiteside (banjo, lead guitar). Most of the band has been
together since the mid-90s, meeting through Edmonton's Northern Bluegrass Circle Music Society, and the familiarity
comes through in the tight sound.
Lester co-produced with Maple Creek and contributes
mandolin and guitar breaks or fills on several of the tunes. Out of 13 songs, five are written by Brad and two
are from Darcy. Brad's "Promises to Burn" especially caught my ear despite its non-traditional theme
("...pretty boys and hungry men are all just the same). The three part singing on "It Hurts to Know,"
from the repertoire of the Osborne Brothers and Red Allen, is outstanding and duets by Dawn and Brad ("Poor
Man's Gold") and Dawn and Darcy ("Can't Tie Down a Rambling Man") are equally good (lead male voices
are not identified; I assume the writer is singing each one).
Dawn sings lead on the majority of the vocal tunes. It can be a challenge to find a song and a key that let the
lady lead and the gentleman or men harmonize or vice versa, each in a range that they can handle comfortably. Maple
Creek succeeds at this, especially on the two- and three-part songs. One Good Reason is another good reason to
search out Maple Creek.
Garry Stevenson, March-April 2005
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UPTOWN BLUEGRASS
CD Review: One Good Reason
Artist: Maple Creek
Label: Maple Creek
One Good Reason is the second CD release for Maple Creek, an Edmonton, Alberta bluegrass band. Picking on a few
jewels, "Cry Cry Darlin'", "He Took Your Place", "Don't Worry About Me" and a few
self-penned tunes, the band is in fine form. Well balanced "one-voice' harmonies and solid picking by band
members, Dawn Oviatt - guitar & vocals, Brad Oviatt - fiddle & vocals, Darcy Whiteside, banjo, guitar &
vocal, Jim Storey on bass, this CD showcases the talents very well. Some mighty fine pickin' on the mandolin &
guitar by the esteemed Emory Lester rounds out the sound of the band.…personal favourite, "It Hurts To Know"…great
harmonies. There are a lot of good reasons to add One Good Reason to your CD collection holding to the tradition
the way it ought to be. To order: E-mail: maplecreek@shaw.ca
George McKnight, June 2004
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CANADIAN
COWBOY COUNTRY, MUSIC REVIEWS
CD Review: One Good Reason
Maple Creek with Emory Lester, MCR393
Three years between releases is an ample
amount of time for a group to tighten up, gain confidence and chisel out a more complete identity.
Edmonton bluegrass band Maple Creek has done exactly that, having played dozens of dates at major summer festivals
across the nation while keeping busy in the winter months playing select concerts, writing new material, and keeping
up the commitment to rehearsal in the winter months.
Heading in the studio with new banjo player Darcy Whiteside in tow, Dawn and Brad Oviatt and bassist Jim Storey
asked highly-regarded American mandolinist Emory Lester to produce this set. A great move as Lester's guidance
is evident in arrangements that are slightly more adventurous than heard on the group's debut disc, and one would
have to believe he pulled the best possible performances out of everyone involved, both vocally and on the instrumental
front.
Material is the other key here and a combination of originals from Brad Oviatt and Whiteside stand favorably against
well-worn tunes from such bluegrass greats as Red Allen, Bill Monroe, and the Osborne Brothers as well as Alberta's
own Ian Tyson. There's a controlled fire and spirit in Oviatt's fiddle solos and his wife's vocals project an emotional
attachment to all the lyrics she sings.
Highlights on this 13-song collection include Cry, Cry Darling, Promises To Burn which is painted in heartache,
Brad Oviatt's romp through Tommy Jackson's Acorn Hill Breakdown and Don't Worry About Me.
Peter North, Aug-Sep 2004
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COUNTRY
MUSIC NEWS, MARCH 2001
Edmonton-based quartet Maple
Creek, featuring the talents of Brad and Dawn Oviatt, Jim Storey, and Brian Melick (since replaced by Jim Walker),
stick to traditional style bluegrass and some hardcore country on this debut outing. They deliver strong renditions
of the Osborne Brothers’ Once More, and Bill Monroe-penned standards Is The Blue Moon Still Shining and Lonesome
Moonlight Waltz; and cover country tunes like Merle Haggard’s Somewhere Between and Buck Owens’ Where Do(es) the
Good Times Go.
Several original compositions
by Brad Oviatt also blend well, most notably Who Will Tend The Loved Ones When We’re Gone?, a wistful story song
that will be appreciated by bluegrass and gospel music ears.
the album was produced and recorded
at Edmonton’s Beta Sounds by Maple Creek with Only Craig Korth adding instrumental support to the band’s in-house
music. Fans and music industry folk will be familiar with the act, following their performance on the Gospel Show
staged at the Winspear Centre, during Country Music Week festivities last year in Edmonton.
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CANADIAN
FOLK MUSIC BULLETIN, APRIL 2001
Maple Creek is a new band within Canada's bluegrass
world, having been formed in 1998, but none of the band members are new to the music. The band heard on this debut
recording are Brad Oviatt, fiddle, guitar, lead & harmony vocals; Dawn Oviatt, guitar, lead & harmony vocals;
Jim Storey, bass & harmony vocals; Brian Melick, banjo & harmony vocals; and borrowed from Jerusalem Ridge
to assist in making this recording, Craig Korth provides banjo, Dobro and guitar.
Brad Oviatt moved from Tennessee to Edmonton, Alberta, in 1997. He didn't know it then, but the singer/guitarist
who was soon to become Mrs Oviatt had moved from Prince Edward Island to Edmonton in 1994. Dawn had formed a band
named Blue Skies which soon morphed into Maple Creek after she and Brad began to make music together.
Jim Storey was already playing acoustic bass for whoever needed a bass man, and has been known to play rhythm guitar
on occasion. Brian Melick had moved from Ontario to Calgary and answered the call when Maple Creek needed a banjo
player.
Some of Brad Oviatt's credits include being a two-time West Virginia State Bluegrass Fiddle Champion, Pennsylvania
State Old-Time Fiddle Champion and Great Lakes Fiddle Champion. He has been a member of the bands Patent
Pending and Beaver Creek and recorded with Foggy Bottom and David Grier. Dawn's musical background
in P.E.I. started when she joined a church folk group and later formed a vocal trio. Jim Storey's first instrument
was a Hawaiian steel guitar. That led to a turn with the blues, then he turned to bluegrass and played guitar,
banjo, mandolin and fiddle. Brian Melick took up banjo in college and considers Sammy Shelor and Earl Scruggs to
be among his influences.
The music on this debut CD from the band is all bluegrass as opposed to newgrass or old-time music. I doubt if
Buck Owens knew he was writing a bluegrass song when he wrote "Where Does the Good Times Go" which leads
off the recording. Thankfully, the title has been changed to "Where Do . . . " to clean up the grammar.
And Merle Haggard supplied "Somewhere Between" from the country world which also sounds like it should
always have been played as bluegrass. Brad Oviatt supplied 3 of the 12 cuts: "One Kiss, One Heartache"
is a medium tempo love song with great harmonies and twin fiddles; "Remember My Children To Pray" is
a capella gospel"; and the last of the trio is "Who Will Tend the Loved Ones". Bill Monroe supplied
"Is the Blue Moon Still Shining", and "The Lonesome Moonlight Waltz" which is another twin-fiddle
special. To me, one of the highlights of the album is the vocal and instrumental work done on the song "Once
More" written many years ago by Dusty Owens. The original vocal treatment, especially the harmony parts, was
designed to resemble the "swoopy" sound a country steel guitar would make when playing the song. Some
groups which have recorded the song over the past few years have come up with a different bluegrass arrangement
which, to my ears, sounds like an incredibly poor version once one has heard the original (e.g.: Osborne Brothers).
Not only does Maple Creek do a fantastic job of the song as it was intended to be done, the band also does the
same highly competent job when performing live. This year they'll be spreading their wings a bit as they appear
at several Ontario festivals in August.
The current personnel of the band is Dawn & Brad Oviatt, Jim Storey, and B.C.'s Jim Walker doing the banjo
honors. The recording is a first-effort to be proud of and should not be a disappointment to any bluegrass music
fan.
Laurie Mills - Calgary.
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BLUEGRASS
NOW, JUNE 2001
CD Review: Maple Creek
Artist: Maple Creek
Maple Creek offers us a Canadian interpretation of the high, lonesome
sound with this debut CD. The strengths of this recording are the champion fiddling of Brad Oviatt, a transplant
to Edmonton, Alberta from Tennessee, and the voice of his wife, Dawn, a guitarist and native of Prince Edward Island.
Although the two harmonize well, Brad does most of the lead vocals, but it is Dawn’s voice I prefer.
Brad’s
best work is on the instrumentals, Kenny Baker’s “Doc Harris The Fisherman,” and Bill Monroe’s “Lonesome Moonlight
Waltz.” Brad also shines as a songwriter. His “One Kiss, One Heartache” is a country heart breaker, “Remember My
Children To Pray” is an a cappella gospel song, and “Who Will Tend The Loved Ones?” is a graveyard ballad.
Other cuts are by Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and Kirk McGee and a couple of traditional songs including “Old Ship
Of Zion.” Other musicians on this recording are Jim Storey (bass), Brian Melick (banjo) and Craig Korth (Dobro).
All are veterans of several bands. This is straight-ahead, mainstream bluegrass, presented in a hale and hearty
style.
________________________________________________________________
"I admit that I'm a neophyte when it comes to
Canadian bluegrass, but after hearing Maple Creek I am convinced that they are the real deal. Dawn and Brad's vocals
are so impressive, so tight and so natural. I expect to see and hear much more from them in the future."
Doc Roberts, VP Ops, Old Settlers Music Festival,
Dripping Springs, Texas
"Only one thing rivals the pleasure of knowing and working
with these people and that is hearing them perform. There is vitality in their music that bubbles with intricacy,
like cool spring water through a stand of sugar maples. Maple Creek. A well chosen name for an outstanding group
of singer/musicians."
Mo Marshall, Woodbend Recording Studios
"a genial Canadian four-piece bluegrass band... precisely executed instrumentals...
an enjoyable selection of mainstream bluegrass."
Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine
"As Artistic Director / M.C. I do not believe in begging an audience for an encore if the band didn't do a
job deserving of an encore. It should make you happy to know that the 4 encores out of the 4 sets were drawn by
the band, not a hyperactive M.C. Thanks for coming to Nanton..."
Laurie Mills, Artistic Director, Shady Grove
Bluegrass Festival
"…a credit to the music industry in Canada."
Gary Giesbrecht, Director of the Alberta Society
of Fiddlers, Airdrie, Alberta
"The
highlight of the show (Burn's Lake Festival, B.C.) was Maple Creek with FANtastic sound."
Al Swanson, President - B.C. Bluegrass Association,
Burns Lake M.C.
"...one group that sounds like it has a fine future in front of it is Maple Creek. The quartet has a wonderful
vocal blend..."
Peter North, The Edmonton Journal
"This group knows how to do it right, that's for sure."
Arthur Berman, Host, Prairie Pickin; CJSR Radio
"...an exciting new band to emerge on the Edmonton scene...strong harmony and excellent instrumentation...not
to be missed!"
Windi Hanson, Northern Bluegrass Music Circle
Society Bluegrass Bulletin
"As Artistic Director / MC I do not believe in begging
an audience for an encore if the band didn't do a job deserving of an encore. It should make you happy to know
that the four encores out of the four sets were drawn by the band, not a hyperactive MC. Thanks for coming to Nanton."
Laurie Mills, Artistic Director, Shady Grove Bluegrass Festival
"(Maple Creek is) a great Alberta band. Brad is an amazing fiddle player who has revitalized the Edmonton
Bluegrass scene..."
Dave Ward, CKUA Radio
As I mentioned to you, my 18 year old daughter is not big on bluegrass, but all the way home she couldn't stop
talking about how cool she thought you guys were! Now, when you can hook an 18-year-old on bluegrass you've got
something ...
Alan Budd, Flying Horse Co.
"…the band is in fine form. Well balanced "one-voice' harmonies and solid picking."
George McKnight, Uptown Bluegrass
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