Special Guests - John Cowan, Rob Ickes, Moondi Kline and Megan McCormick Driftin’ Apart (Frank Solivan - Fiddlemon Music/BMI) This song was inspired by friends having some trying times. The subject matter is quite sad, but there is an underlying feeling of hope throughout. It was written in Juneau, AK the week of Thanksgiving, 2009. Frank Solivan - vocals and mandolin; Mike Munford - banjo; Lincoln Meyers - guitar; Stefan Custodi - bass; Rob Ickes - dobro July You’re a Woman (John C. Stewart - Unichappell Music, Inc.) My friend Ginger Boatwright showed me how to play this one. I now introduce this song with her in mind, “we spread it out on the floor and bluegrassed all over it.” We added a more contemporary feel, and all in all, this is a fun song to play and listen to. Frank Solivan - lead vocal, mandolin, and fiddle; Mike Munford - banjo; Lincoln Meyers - guitar and low tenor vocal; Stefan Custodi - bass and baritone vocal Hello Friend (Charles Tyson Smith - Fiddlemon Music/BMI). The writer, aka Ty Smith is a cousin of mine and was one of the first people to show me how to play some chords on the guitar. Hello Friend speaks volumes on how we should take advantage of the time we have with people we care about. Who knows, we may not have them around tomorrow. Frank Solivan - lead vocal and mandolin; Mike Munford - banjo; Lincoln Meyers - guitar; Stefan Custodi - bass Together We’ll Fly (Frank Solivan - Fiddlemon Music/BMI) was written shortly after my stint with the Navy Band. It speaks of new beginnings with the one you love and brings hope to an unknown future.  Frank Solivan - lead vocal, mandolin, and fiddle; Mike Munford - banjo; Lincoln Meyers - guitar and low tenor vocal; Stefan Custodi - bass and baritone vocal Line Drive (Michael Munford -Georgia Frog Music Publishing/BMI) Mike got the song name from a day at Camden Yards watching a baseball game... the tune came later. I was enthralled with Line Drive when he first showed it to me. The band collaborated and deliberated many times over the arrangement, but what you hear now is a culmination of the two years we’ve played it together. Frank Solivan - mandolin; Mike Munford - banjo; Lincoln Meyers - guitar; Stefan Custodi - bass Tarred and Feathered (Frank Solivan - Fiddlemon Music/BMI) came about a couple of years ago when I was on the road with the Navy Band. The demise of a bluegrass road musician was at the forefront when writing these lyrics. John Cowan graced us with his soaring tenor on this one! Frank Solivan - lead vocal and mandolin; Mike Munford - banjo; Lincoln Meyers - guitar; Stefan Custodi - bass; John Cowan - tenor vocal Left Out In The Cold (Frank Solivan - Fiddlemon Music/BMI)  I found myself wondering about the homeless community recently. Wondering where the person holding the cardboard sign is from. Why are they homeless? What brought them to this place in their life? Why don’t they have a job? Those questions guided the story lines in this song. It can be about one person or many persons. It is kind of ambiguous in that regard. Hopefully this song will bring about more awareness and lead folks to be less critical of people they know nothing about. Frank Solivan - lead vocal, mandolin and guitar; Mike Munford - banjo; Stefan Custodi - bass and baritone vocal; Megan McCormick - tenor vocals Runaway Ramp (Ginger Boatwright - Hoffman House Music OBO GFA Music) I love how this song compares love to a big rig heading out of control down a steep grade. My friend Ginger wrote this with a “cha-cha” feel, but  once again... “we spread it out on the floor and bluegrassed all over it”. Thanks for letting us interpret this one differently Ginger! Frank Solivan - lead vocal and mandolin; Mike Munford - banjo; Lincoln Meyers - guitar and low tenor vocal; Stefan Custodi - bass and baritone vocal; Rob Ickes - dobro Same Old Love (Charles Tyson Smith & Frank Solivan - Fiddlemon Music/BMI) This song was collaborated by three cousins. Ty Smith, Megan McCormick, and myself. What a musical family! Frank Solivan - lead vocal, mandolin and guitar; Mike Munford - banjo; Stefan Custodi - bass and; Megan McCormick - tenor vocal; Rob Ickes - dobro The Note That Said Goodbye (Chris and Karen Walls - Georgia Frog Music Publishing/BMI) was written by some dear friends in Catonsville, MD - Chris and Karen Walls. Chris sang it when he was playing in the band part time. I have always loved this song and love how the story progresses. It has since found a permanent place in Dirty Kitchen’s repertoire. Frank Solivan - lead vocal, mandolin, and fiddle; Mike Munford - banjo; Lincoln Meyers - guitar and baritone vocal; Stefan Custodi - bass; Moondi Kline - tenor vocal Ominous Anonymous (Frank Solivan - Fiddlemon Music/BMI)The title itself is a glimpse into my love of words and the common sounds we have in the American vernacular. My wife’s mother Mary Sturgis and I were discussing something and these words started to ring for both of us and a new song name was born.  Frank Solivan - fiddle and mandolin; Mike Munford - banjo; Lincoln Meyers - guitar; Stefan Custodi - bass Paul and Silas (Ralph and Carter Stanely - Fort Knox Music, Inc./Trio Music Company, Inc.) is usually an uptempo, full instrumentation traditional bluegrass song. The Stanley Brothers and Flatt and Scruggs both had great versions of this song, but my friend Wayne Taylor always did it acapella. I referenced all three versions to come up with the words we would use and the vocal arrangement came together as we sang it in the studio. Frank Solivan - lead vocal; Stefan Custodi - baritone vocal; Lincoln Meyers - low tenor vocal Produced by: Frank Solivan and Brent Truitt All songs arranged by: Frank Solivan with Dirty Kitchen and Brent Truitt. Frank Solivan would like to thank: Leah Sturgis and Martha and David Dantzic for their unparalleled love, support, hard work and belief in making dreams attainable. Lorene Solivan (Mom) and Frank Solivan Sr. (Dad) for being the biggest fans any artist could want. Big thanks to Michael Lewis for his friendship and a beautiful mandolin to make music with! www.michaellewisinstruments.com We’d also like to thank Brent Truitt for his long hours, Katy Daley, George and Sandy Custodi, Chris and Karen Walls, Ginger Boatwright, Ty Smith, Mary Sturgis, Ira Gitlan, Doug McKelway and finally Andy and Janice Hall for the use of a fine upright bass for a couple of songs. Thanks to John Cowan, Rob Ickes, Moondi Kline and Megan McCormick for lending their fine talents to this project. Recorded and mixed: By Brent Truitt at Monkey Finger Studio Nashville, TN. www.brenttruitt.com July You’re a Woman and The Note That Said Goodbye was tracked and engineered by Kevin Gutierrez at Assembly Line Studios. www.assemblylinestudios.com Graphic Art: Grace Van’t Hof Band Info: www.DirtyKitchenBand.com Booking/Management: Martha Stracener Dantzic Quicksilver Productions 213 11th St SE Washington, DC 20003 202.669.3818 Martha@QuicksilverProductions.net www.QuicksilverProductions.net With Frank Solivan on mandolin, fiddle, and guitar; Mike Munford on banjo; Lincoln Meyers on guitar; and Stefan Custodi on bass, Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen could easily be described as a group of super pickers.  But that would only be half the story because the vocals easily match the instrumental work. The result is a powerful collection of hard-driving, contemporary acoustic music and thoughtful songs of love and friendship played within the bluegrass sensibility.  Solivan more than proves himself as a songwriter, contributing six original songs to the project. And Munford’s dazzling instrumental, “Line Drive,” should finally put to rest the myth that a banjo can’t be melodic and driving at the same time. Solivan’s vocals show a wide range -- wailing on “Runaway Ramp,” wistful on “Hello Friend” -- and he delivers on every song.  “Interesting," "innovative," "talented," and "impressive” are a few of the words reviewers have used to describe Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen. All true, and it’s all in here.  Katy Daley  WAMU’s Bluegrass Country  Washington, D.C.