Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 23, 1990 TAG: 9004210388
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The siblings provided the vocals, and much of the music, for the New Grass Revue, which was named the best bluegrass band at the festival each year from 1979 to 1984. Under another name, Virginia Grass, the group also won the top honor in 1985.
"There for a while we thought we were the best bluegrass band in the country," said Janet Leonard.
Even so, the Leonards and their bandmates drifted apart as changes in the bluegrass circuit caused the band's festival bookings to decline.
Now, after an almost five year hiatus, the Leonards have gotten back together with a new group, Friends of Bluegrass, which has already made some waves.
Considering their ages then and now - Curtis is 34, Janet is 30 and Jack is 25 - the list of accomplishments is impressive.
Jack Leonard, after all, was 13 years old when he joined the band in 1977. He couldn't carry his own instrument - the bass - onstage without help.
The band recorded two albums, "Rocky Top" (1977) and "Windy City" (1981), and shared stages with some of the biggest names in bluegrass: Bill Monroe, the Osborne Brothers, Grandpa Jones, the Seldom Scene and others.
"New Grass Revue was a top-flight regional band that, had they traveled more, would be more widely-known in bluegrass music," said Bill Vernon, an expert on bluegrass music and the former host of "In and Around Bluegrass" on Roanoke public radio station WVTF-FM.
Curtis Leonard said New Grass Revue sometimes played two or three bluegrass festivals a weekend, but today the group would be lucky to play that many a summer.
Vernon explained the market for bluegrass festivals has changed. In the past, semi-professional groups had few problems finding steady work, he said.
Now, however, festival promoters often pass on semi-professionals, spending their money instead on one or two big names and padding-out the rest of the bill with local groups.
"The bands between your so-called bluegrass garage bands and your superstars are the ones that sometimes have more trouble," Vernon said.
That "trouble" caused the Leonards, who grew up in Blue Ridge, and their New Grass Revue bandmates Steve Thomas, Jeff Midkiff and Robert Dowdy to go their separate ways.
Thomas went on to join the Osborne Brothers. Dowdy formed his own band, the Bluegrass Brothers, and Midkiff went to college.
After the group split, Janet Leonard worked odd jobs around Roanoke and Curtis Leonard worked at Webster Brick.
Jack Leonard stuckwith his music, joining Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals, which toured internationally, and later the Bluegrass Cardinals, a Grand Ole Opry group.
And when his brother and sister were ready to get back to making music, he came back to the family. The results thus far have been impressive. Friends of Bluegrass won first place for best bluegrass band last August at the Galax festival.
The band includes Curtis Leonard on guitar and vocals, Janet Leonard on vocals, Jack Leonard on bass and vocals, Mike Jones on banjo and Bobby Moore on fiddle.
The name is self-explanatory, Curtis Leonard said. The group members are all longtime friends and became friends through their common interests in bluegrass music.
Together, they hope to hit the summer festival circuit and book some nightclub work in Washington and other larger cities. An album is planned and the group recently signed to do a weekly radio show, Fridays from 4 to 5 p.m. on WPUV-AM (1580) in Pulaski.
The Leonards describe the new group's style as contemporary bluegrass with Curtis or Jack sharing most of the lead singing, Janet providing high tenor harmonies and Mike Jones backing them on bass vocals.
But it's the blend of harmonies by Curtis, Janet and Jack that sets the group apart, they say, because each can sing all three vocal parts and switch around as necessary.
This ability helps them turn bluegrass standards like "Blue Moon of Kentucky," "Pig in the Pen," "Old Slew Foot," "Beneath Still Water" and "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" into distinctive originals.
"We don't try to copy anyone else's style. We play everybody else's music, but we try to do it our own way," Curtis Leonard said.
Bluegrass, though, is only half the story. Independent from Friends of Bluegrass, the Leonards also are pursuing a career in country music.
"It's like fishing with two poles in the water. You've got a better chance of catching a fish," Jack Leonard said.
Plus, they've seen only a handful of people make a living playing bluegrass, whereas in country they feel their odds at success are more realistic.
They plan to record two original singles, "How Many Hearts?" written by Janet and "Tonight I'm Thinking of You" written by Jack, using traditional country arrangements.
Janet will sing lead while Curtis and Jack will stack their harmonies below, reversing the style they use for bluegrass because it sounds more country, they say.
Then they plan to peddle the songs, along with some demo tapes they've made with Friends of Bluegrass, in Nashville.
After all, Janet Leonard explained, "You've got brother groups, sister groups and mother and daughter groups, but you don't have a sister and two brothers group yet."
They know their chances of hitting the big time are slim, but that doesn't discourage them. Confidence has never been a problem for them.
"Great musicians are a dime a dozen, but good singers are hard to come by, and I don't think there's a group in Nashville that can out-sing us," said Curtis, the oldest Leonard. "That may sound cocky, but I like to call it confidence."
Meanwhile, Jack and Janet have been moonlighting around Roanoke with J.C. Radford's Whiskey Mountain Band.
And what happens to Friends of Bluegrass if the Leonards ever make it?
"Even though we want to eventually make it in country music and reside in Nashville, we don't want to forget the group we have now," Curtis Leonard said. "We're perfectly satisfied with this group and we plan to stick together."
by CNB