Search - Northern Lights :: New Moon

Resonant and rousing with their new acoustic music

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 10/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Playing Time - 42:24 -- How time flies. Northern Lights, a Boston band, can trace its roots to late-1975 when a good-time bar band decided to get seriously into progressive bluegrass music. For awhile (1977-81), the band was called "String Fever" (Taylor Armerding, Bob Emery, Rex Waters, Steve Arkin). Over the years, they've stayed on course, always providing their own interpetive twists to their defining music. While Taylor Armerding (mandolin, vocals) is no longer with them, another long-time member, Bill Henry, is keeping the Northern Lights shining brightly with some engaging acoustic music centered around strong mandolin, guitar, banjo, bass and vocals. Besides Taylor Armerding, other band alumni now include such superior players as Bob Emery, Jake Armerding (Taylor's son), Alison Brown (a member in the early 1980s when she attended Harvard), Mike Kropp, Richard Hand, Oz Barron, Jeff Horton, and Chris Miles. Many are continuing to pursue music full-time in other situations.



In the band's early days of the 1970s and 1980s, they recorded for Revonah. In the 1990s, award-winning Northern Lights put out three great projects on the Flying Fish label. Their songs found their way into Bluegrass Unlimited's National Bluegrass Survey. After their signing with Red House Records in 1996, Northern Lights put out "Living in the City" with its eclectic mix of folk, rock, gospel and original music. 2000 found the band on the Prime CD (now called Fifty Fifty Music) label that released "Three August Nights Live" with Vassar Clements in 2000, and "Another Sleepless Night" in 2001. Bill Henry released a solo album, "Red Sky" in 2002.



"New Moon" is a remarkable project with many stellar moments that marks guitarist/vocalist Bill Henry's new association with some fresh talent, all very experienced in the new acoustic genre. The lineup also consisting of Ben Demerath (vocals, guitar, mandolin), Dave Dick (banjo, mandolin, harmony vocals), and John Daniel (bass, harmony vocals) may be one of Northern Lights' best configurations ever. Dave Dick (Salamander Crossing) started playing mandolin and banjo with Northern Lights in early-2000. John Daniel (Brooks Williams) has been with the group since mid-2002. In mid-2003, Taylor Armerding left to pursue other musical endeavors, and Ben Demerath (Sugarbeat) joined up.



With the new line-up, the band has less emphasis on original material, but they wisely choose and arrange covers that sit nicely within their large envelope. Songs come from the likes of George Gershwin, Nanci Griffith, Steve Winwood, John Gorka, Gillian Welch, traditional sources and others. Their vocal showcases are the gospel "Sit Down Servant," "Lonely Moon" and "Empty Pages." It seemed a little odd for these four guys to be singing "Orphan Girl," but their lean arrangement is solid. Ben Demerath's original "Twenty Six Daughters" is an impressive number that builds with euphonious zeal as the vocals interplay with lyrical riffs. While typically done by strong female vocalists, Shannon Roosevelt's "Baby I Love You" is given an interesting Northern Lights arrangement full of emotional electricity. Jimmy Rodgers' "Blue Yodel No. 4" is presented with gusto. "Dusty Miller/Ride the Wild Turkey" demonstrates an instrumental bridge as the band drives traditional and contemporary roads. Past album projects have incorporated guest fiddlers, and that instrument was missed to a slight degree on "New Moon." However, the bottomline is that these four gifted veterans are both resonant and rousing with their new acoustic music. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)"