Al Dunkleman and Natural Blend release “Welcome to Cleveland County” CD Located at the beginning of North Carolina’s Foothills region, Cleveland County has witnessed a great amount of history ranging from the Revolutionary War and its turning point Battle of Kings Mountain through industrial development centered around mills to today’s increasing complex and technological world. Along the way, much of that history, as has that of the south at large, has been chronicled in music and narrative. Two icons of country and bluegrass music, Don Gibson and Earl Scruggs, both members of the country Music Hall of Fame, are hometown heroes, each with a music oriented venue bearing their name in the county’s largest city—Shelby. Dunkleman’s newest CD, his third, traces much of the cultural and historical landscape of Cleveland County in its 16 tracks that includes eleven original works as well as covers of songs by Scruggs and Gibson. The musical journey will take you through Revolutionary times, introduce you to several of the county’s favorite locales and provide a glimpse into some of the tragedies that stay with communities long after they occur. The songs are delivered in a tight and engaging format, with lyrics that are heart-felt. Dunkleman describes the group’s musical style as “full-bodied organic Americana infused with hints of folk, bluegrass and old-school country.” As he discusses the project, Dunkleman notes that he “never set out to create a CD that would focus solely on Cleveland County -- it just sort of evolved over time.” The result is one that pleased him and he is proud of the collaboration with his band, Natural Blend, which features three North Carolina natives, including his wife Karen Dunkleman on upright bass; Randy Saxon on banjo, mandolin and electric guitar; and David Rhyne on percussion. Also featured on the project is guest artist Darin Aldridge. Dunkleman, who grew up in western New York in a family with 10 kids, was always appreciative of music but was really smitten with “old-time” music in his teens and later, during a visit to the Boone area of NC, decided he would move there. At age 21, he pursued a series of odd jobs and continues both his formal and musical education. For the past 14 years, he has taught sociology at Cleveland Community College in Shelby while enjoying playing music with his friends. His two previous CDs were “Take the Road Less Traveled,” in 2007 and “When We Were Young,” in 2011. “Welcome to Cleveland County” is available for purchase in uptown Shelby at the Cleveland County Arts Council, Shelby Café, Shelby Music and Dragonfly Winery. Digital downloads are available at iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon and other outlets. Visit aldunkleman.com. His current project was made possible by generous support from Cleveland Community College and the Cleveland Community College Foundation. Additional support was provided by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the State Department of Cultural Resources, the Blumenthal Endowment and the Cleveland County Arts Council. Band Biographies: Karen Dunkleman spent her early childhood in Catawba and Mecklenburg Counties, NC; her family moved to Ashe County when she was a teen. Karen met Al at Mast General Store in Valle Crucis and after a brief courtship were wed alongside the New River in Todd. Dunkleman, who for years accompanied her husband on guitar, began playing upright bass in 2007. As Health Educator and Social Worker for the Cleveland County Health Department, Dunkleman provides prenatal education to maternity patients. Cleveland County native Randy Saxon has banjo in his blood. Inspired by his grandfather, who played banjo at barn dances during the 1930’s, Saxon began playing at age 13. In less than two years,15, he was playing at area competitions and festivals. Saxon’s experiences include playing on stage with Doc Watson, opening for Grammy nominees and winners Ricky Skaggs, New Grass Revival, Rodney Crowell and Shooter Jennings. He has toured with Austin, TX, based band “The Gourds” and for a few months accompanied a tour with the Avett Brothers. Owner of S&S Instrument Company, Saxon is also a skilled luthier and stringed instrument repairman in Shelby. David Rhyne grew up in Fayetteville, Shelby and Gastonia, moving when his father moved his shoe business. Besides being a seasoned multi-instrumentalist, Rhyne is also an acclaimed sound engineer who owns and operates Traffic Sound Productions in Dallas, NC. Rhyne acquired most of his studio experience in Los Angeles and Nashville and has produced and written with Grammy winning artists Chynna Phillips of Wilson Phillips, Bernie Leadon of the Eagles, and Crystal Bernard from the NBC sitcom Wings. Rhyne and artist/co-writer Vaughan Penn have had over 200 song placements on major network television shows -- Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS Miami, Criminal Minds, Bones. They also wrote and produced the opening theme for MTV’s “The Hills.” Rhyne currently plays bass and keyboards with “The Boomers.” Singer-songwriter Al Dunkleman grew up in rural Western New York – one of ten children. “I didn’t come from a musical family, but my parents were music lovers and nurtured my interest in music” explains Dunkleman. In high school, he played saxophone and sang in the chorus. During his senior trip to Washington, DC, Dunkleman purchased a two-dollar album -- “Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians.” “I was smitten by the raw beauty of the fiddle, banjo, dulcimer, guitar and harmonica tunes. That album changed my life and from then on, the North Carolina Mountains kept calling me” he says. The day after high school graduation, Dunkleman purchased his first guitar. While pursuing photography/multi-media, at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, he became obsessed with the old-time music scene there and ended up playing upright bass in an old-time band. During a music gathering in northern West Virginia, Dunkleman met a musician from Watauga County and was invited to visit the Boone area. After spending three days up Laurel Creek Road in Sugar Grove making music and friends, Dunkleman returned to New York, told his parents he was moving to North Carolina, and at age 21, with fiddle, banjo, backpack and beat up suitcase, boarded a southbound Continental Trailways bus. Arriving in Watauga County with less than thirty-dollars, Dunkleman worked odd jobs to support himself in order to pursue his love of mountain music -- photography teacher for Appalachian State University’s Upward Bound summer programs, tomato picker, portable toilet service technician, school bus driver and teacher’s aide. After getting a back injury at age 28, Dunkleman became more involved teaching and singing at his church and ended up in full-time ministry in Bristol, Virginia. He later enrolled at Virginia Highlands Community College in Abingdon, VA. “I was scared to death, but excited to be given an academic second chance,” explains Dunkleman. He went on to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in sociology at UNC-Wilmington and a Master’s degree in sociology at East Carolina University. CD overview Original Songs, all written by Dunkleman Welcome to Cleveland County Highlights the contributions of county natives Earl Scruggs and Don Gibson, as well as other Cleveland County “gems.” Dunkleman wrote this song to help support and promote Destination Cleveland County. I’ve Been Everywhere (In Cleveland County) First written by Geoff Mack in 1959 featuring Australian towns, this is Dunkleman’s Cleveland County adaptation of the song popularized by Hank Snow (1962) and Johnny Cash (1996). The Liver Mush Song Brought to the Appalachian Mountain region by German settlers from Pennsylvania, liver mush is a Spam-like product made of pork liver, head meat, corn meal and spices and is one of Cleveland County’s unique delicacies. Two different companies produce liver mush in Cleveland County—Mack’s and Jenkins. Dunkleman uses humor to highlight the county’s love of liver mush. I’ll See You at the Shelby Café As an uptown community gathering place, the Shelby Café has served down home cooking since 1922. “At any given time, it’s amazing to me to see bank presidents, lawyers, police officers, mechanics and farmers all enjoying a meal together at the café,” explains Dunkleman. Heroes in Heaven On May 25, 1979, a great tragedy struck Shelby as an explosion and fire on West Warren Street took the lives of four firefighters, as well as a natural gas employee, while they were responding to the fire. It’s Fair Time Since 1924, the Cleveland County Fair has been home to what has become North Carolina’s largest agricultural fair. Residents of Cleveland County know the first week of October as “Fair time.” Welcome to Our Town (Boiling Springs, NC) As a resident of Boiling Springs, NC, Dunkleman was asked to craft a song commemorating the town’s Centennial celebration in 2011. Tim Crouch, a popular Nashville studio musician, added the “full band” to this track. Kings Mountain March The Battle of Kings Mountain on October 7, 1780 was a major turning point in the Revolutionary War. As the “Overmountain Men” marched from southwest Virginia and northeast Tennessee, had they a marching band and battle song; this is Dunkleman’s conception of what that tune might have sounded like. Bridges Barbecue Since 1946, Shelby has been home to two Bridges Barbecues -- Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge (Highway 74 East) and Alston Bridges Barbecue (East Grover Street). “I wanted to highlight both establishments -- and not take sides,” explains Dunkleman. The American Legion Baseball Song With its rich baseball heritage, Cleveland County became the permanent home of the American Legion Baseball World Series in 2010. While lobbying for the permanent home, ALWS enthusiast Eddie Holbrook asked Dunkleman to pen this song. Dr. Bobby Beloved county physician and musician Dr. Bobby Jones succumbed to brain cancer in 2012. Writing this song was Dunkleman’s way of grieving the loss of his friend and bandmate. Covers Foggy Mountain Breakdown Cleveland County native Earl Scruggs first recorded this classic bluegrass banjo tune in 1949. In 1967 it was featured in the movie “Bonnie and Clyde;” in 2002, Scruggs won a Grammy award for his 2001 performance of it on the “Late Show with David Letterman.” Rueben “I’ve got it! I’ve got it!” That’s what ten-year old Earl Scruggs exclaimed while he was playing this tune (also known as “Reuben’s Train”) and realized he was picking the banjo with three fingers, thereby creating what would become the world renowned “Scruggs Style” of banjo playing. I Can’t Stop Loving You Released in 1958, and with the help of Ray Charles (1962), this Don Gibson song is one of the all-time country music classics. In 2004, “Rolling Stone” ranked it at No. 164 of its “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.” Blue Blue Day This Don Gibson hit (1958) went to number one for two weeks on the Country & Western Best Seller charts and remained on the charts for a total of six months. The Shelby Disaster Written in 1929 by Dan Hornsby from Atlanta, GA, this song journals the uptown Shelby bank collapse of August 28, 1928 where 5 people died. Hornsby sold over 9,000 recordings of the song—quite impressive for the time.