Middle Spunk Creek Boys- I'm With The Band (Twenty-Five Years)- 21 cuts - 59 min

The Middle Spunk Creek Boys were formed in 1968 by Ron Colby, Craig Anderson and Alan Jesperson, soon fiddler Randy Darling joined the group. This began a 30 year evolution with members coming and going with a few exceptions. Jesperson on guitar and vocals is a founding member of the group and Jerry Flynn on bass came on board in 1974. Andy Kozak on dobro and Bruce Jaeger with mandolin and fiddle signed up in the early 80's and relative new comer Tom Nechville added his banjo in 1990. For this recording all ex-Boys were invited for the recording session and 11 of the 13 were able to make it to the studio. So with enough musicians to put on their own festival they recorded "I'm With The Band" a celebration of the legacy of the band. An effort was made to keep musicians together as they played for the band. Steve Block's vocal work and Peter Ostroushko's mandolin and fiddle are some of the highlights from the alumni. But it was the current configuration that showed the strongest performances, especially on "The Silver Ghost" and "California Cottonfields." So be sure to check out this well kept Minnesota secret.

Tim Farrell
Bluegrass in Review
July, 1998