Raising CaneOriginal Bluegrass
Aimee Hoyt - guitar * Don Grieser - mandolin * Rich Sanchez - bass * Gregg Daigle - guitar, banjo Contact:
What is now Raising Cane began when Gregg Daigle and Don Grieser met at the RockyGrass bluegrass festival in Colorado in 2001. Their musical friendship developed over a year, and when they both found themselves bandless, they decided to start playing as a duo. About the time they were thinking about adding a bass player, Rich Sanchez gave Gregg a call looking for a group to play with. He was a great addition and the first version of Raising Cane as a bluegrass trio was born. When the group decided to record, they thought about adding a fourth member so they could get a full bluegrass band sound live. Aimee Hoyt joined the group in May of 2004 and the group completed their self-titled CD in the fall of 2004. It is scheduled to be released in January 2005. Gregg grew up in the southwestern part of Massachusetts, where all the hillbillies live. He plays guitar and banjo and writes some great songs and tunes. Don grew up in Indiana, where the corn grows tall. He brought two of the biggest ears with him to New Mexico (but that’s another story), plays mandolin, and contributes his songs to the group. Aimee spells her name that way because that’s how they pronounce it in Georgia, Carolina where she grew up. She adds an authentic twang to the group, writes some fine story songs, and plays guitar. Rich, well, he never did grow up. But if he had, it would have been in New Mexico. He’s the official cane raiser of the group, lays down some great bass lines, and can sing all the parts.
Profile by Tom Stuart, from Pow'r Pickin', December, 2005You know, sometimes it’s better to just keep quiet and let others speak. After all, if you tell everyone everything you know, you won’t know anymore than anyone else. Here’s what others have said about Raising Cane, a New Mexico band that will be performing this July at High Mountain Hay Fever in Westcliffe, Colorado. They call New Mexico home now. But they come from the flat cornfields of the Midwest and the misty Appalachians. They’ve walked the back roads of red clay Georgia and the ridges of the Blue Ridge hill country. They’re as much at home in dusty badlands as beside whispering mountain creeks. Most of all, they love making music. Music from the heart of the Land of Enchantment. They’re “Raising Cane” and they’re one of the hottest bluegrass bands in the Southwest. Hailing these days from across New Mexico, Raising Cane has only been pickin’ together for about a year, but “they play as if they’ve been jamming hard for a decade,” says the Taos News. Raising Cane is the hard driving guitar and banjo of Gregg Daigle, the melodic mandolin of Don Grieser, the stirring vocals of Aimee Hoyt and the articulate bass of Rick Sanchez. The band burst onto the bluegrass scene with a highly-lauded CD, a round of festival appearances throughout the Southwest and a raucous standing ovation as the opening act for Grammy Award winners Peter Rowan and Tony Rice. In only six months, Raising Cane has shared the stage with national acts such as the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, King Wilkie, IIIrd Tyme Out and Blue Highway. They are one of only four bands to be invited to showcase at the Huck Finn Jubilee in Victorville, CA and compete in the prestigious National Bluegrass Playoffs. It’s little wonder that Raising Cane is fast becoming a familiar name in the western bluegrass community. Mike Compton of the acclaimed Nashville Bluegrass Band characterizes Raising Cane’s first CD, released in January 2005, as “... a collection of songs and instrumentals that speak of the cost of living one’s life one’s own way rather than playing it safe.” Compton continues, “They speak of home and of leaving home, lives and innocence lost along the way, the joyous struggle to build a new life from the dust, of reckoning with one’s past and finding joy in the memories ...” The CD has been selected as a finalist for three New Mexico Music Industry Association’s annual MIC Awards, including “Best Folk/Americana.” “A good part of the band’s magic is its diverse backgrounds,” says one follower. “What ties them all together is their sheer love of bluegrass and a huge dose of raw, energetic talent.” It’s been said that bluegrass was created from a blend of hillbilly, gospel, country/western, blues and “old timey” music popular in the rural South in the ‘30’s and ‘40’s. But with Raising Cane on the scene, bluegrass has taken on a new dimension. While preserving the great traditions of the genre’s folk roots, Raising Cane applies a rich, pleasing patina of America’s great Southwest with music that spins stories, tugs at the emotions, and brings a broad smile to all those who hear it. Raising Cane. Bringing enchantment to a grand old tradition. Raising Cane is just one of a stellar line up for this year’s High Mountain Hay Fever. Make plans to attend and make reservations early. Lodging in the area fills up quickly.
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