Michael Gregory
Bass
Cody Looper
Banjo
Kent Todd
Fiddle/Vocals
Tony Wray
Lead Guitar/Vocals
Dara Wray
Mandolin/Vocals
"I started playing guitar when I was 9. My Grandpa Richard Bilbrey let me play his old guitar and showed me what he knew. My first band was with Elvis Whittaker- my dad played bass and Grandpa Bill Looper played mandolin. Grandpa Bill started showing me how to play mandolin when I was 11, and by 12 I was playing banjo too.I mainly played traditional, with groups like Next Generation, Southern Roots, the Briarhoppers, The Durham Family, and New Harmony. Then I fell in love with Tony Wray's approach to the banjo. He is the main source to my style of playing now. I get different ideas from Tony, Dave Denman,and all my friends I've been blessed with. I listen to all these sounds in my head and try to make them into something and hope it works."
"This is my first actual band, and I'm so excited! I was raised on bluegrass, and have loved it my whole life. My Grandpa Lowell Denman was a well-known fiddler, and my father Dave Denman is an amazingly talented musician, and my hero. I've been blessed to grow up around the best musicians in the industry, and be related to extremely gifted pickers as well. When I was 17, my dad started showing me some chords on the guitar, and the rest is history. Between my husband Tony and my dad, I've got the world's best teachers!"
"I started playing mandolin when I was 16 after my cousin showed me a few chords. I wanted to start out on banjobut we only had a mandolin at the house. Soon after that I started playing with a group called B.G. Express. Within the next few years, I started playingsome guitar, banjo, and bass. I have played and hepled out with numerous bands, such as: Killin' Tyme, Next Generation, Cumberland Gap, Briar Hoppers, James Monroe, Blue Calling, All American Bluegrass Band, Loadstone, Lifeboat Quartet, and Bluetown. I have picked with many great musicians and met a lot of good people along the way. I want to thank God for blessing me with the talent to play, and my wife, parents, and family for their support thru the years.
"I started playing bluegrass in my teens at a weekly jam at the Norman Conservation Club. From there I went on to play with Mike Cleveland, Gary Brewer, Troubled Waters, and the Not Too Bad Bluegrass Band. With the Not Too Bad Bluegrass band, I had the honor of representing the State of Indiana and Bluegrass Music at the Library of Congress, and The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C as a part of the Homegrown Concert Series sponsored by the National Folk Arts Center. I am looking forward to great music and even better times with BLUE MAFIA. God Bless."
"I was 13 when I started learning the guitar and banjo by studying old jazz recordings. A few years later I moved to Missouri to work with the Ezelle Family for a year and then on to the Shepherd of The Hills in Branson for 2 years. In 1999 I moved to Nashville, TN, to work for the Gibson Instrument company as the banjo supervisor .
While in Nashville, I became a freelance musician working with a veritable who’s who in bluegrass music, along with many notable country performers and studio musicians, such as: Ricky Skaggs, Sam Bush, Del McCoury, Randy Kohrs, Tim O’Brien, Sarah Evans, John Cowan, The Grascals, Mark Newton, Dave Denman, Wayne Benson, Casey Driessen, Jeff White, Bela Fleck, Scott Vestal, Tina Adair, Cherryholmes, Alecia Nugent, Roland White, Jesse McReynolds, Marty Stuart, Ron Block, Los Lobos, Jim Lauderdale, Shad Cobb, Tim Crouch, and Jeff Autry,
For the last 7 years my steady music gig has been with Opry member Mike Snider, and I continue to make regular Opry appearances. Looking forward to making great music with family and friends."
FAMILY
THE
Proud Member of SEBA
Proud Member of SPBGMA
