I crossed paths with Cherryholmes a few days ago, and found time for a nice chat with patriarch, Jere Cherryholmes. He filled me in on what the band has been up to this summer, and what they have planned for the coming months.
Jere told me that the new band CD is nearly finished, with only the approval of the last few mixes required before it goes off for replication. Most of the material will be original, though he said that the band had wanted to include at least a couple of older songs.
“BJ had one that he had been wanting to record for a couple years, but it had never seemed appropriate to me. Now that he is 19, I guess it’s OK.”
The song is Devil In Disguise, which was recorded by JD Crowe & The New South back in 1973, and I heard BJ’s version on Sunday’s show at Grave’s Mountain in Virginia. It’s a fine tribute to the original, and will be featured on Cherryholmes III when it is released on Skaggs Family Records on September 30.
“Once we named the last album Cherryholmes II (Black & White), it seemed like we might as well keep on naming the new CDs that way. It worked well for Chicago, who made it to #18, and I hope we get there as well.”
The band has had a very busy 2008 on the road, and Jere mentioned that they had especially enjoyed being part of a number of country legends shows with the likes of Hank Williams Jr, Alabama and The Oak Ridge Boys. A friendship with the Oaks has blossomed of late, in part due to Joe Bonsall constantly nagging Cia for banjo lessons.
An Australian tour with The Oak Ridge Boys is being planned for 2009, with hopes of a North American tour to follow.
They are heading overseas now for a week long tour in England, running July 27 through August 1.
Jere also enjoyed doing a show that included bearded rockers, ZZ Top. I wondered if his young progeny had any familiarity with the band before the show.
“All they knew was that they were the band that I was supposed to look like.”
The biggest news that Jere had to share regards the possibility that Cherryholmes might end up as reality TV stars. They recently had a television production company travel with the band for a weekend shooting a pilot that will be presented to a major cable network.
Now, that sounds like a hoot!
