Bluegrass Patriots release gospel CD

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

This year marks two events for the Bluegrass Patriots--the release of a long-awaited all-gospel CD and the group's 25th birthday.

The CD, remastered from earlier recordings, finally delivers what bluegrass lovers have requested for years--favorite gospel tunes all in one place. From "Lord Lift Me Up" to "Eat at the Welcome Table," the CD is reminiscent of those Sunday morning gospel shows held at bluegrass events. Titled "Kneel at the Cross: Songs of Faith and Inspiration," it is available from Patriot Management, 1807 Essex Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80526, or www.bluegrasspatriots.com.

Guitarist Glenn Zankey is responsible for getting the group together those many years ago. Having found their way to Fort Collins from various parts of the country, the band members got to know each other in the late '70s through local jam sessions, many of them held at the Town Pump in Old Town.

"Bluegrass wasn't the force it is today in the region," recalled banjo player Ken Seaman.

By 1980, all but one of the existing group was playing together as the Bluegrass Patriots. They recorded their first album in 1983 with Paragon Sound, got some air play and took off from there. Since 1980, the band has toured throughout the United States and in Canada. They've done three tours of England, Scotland and Ireland and performed at festivals in Sweden and Denmark.

"From the very beginning our voices blended really well together," said bass player Danny Rogers, the only Fort Collins native. The claim is supported with an a cappella piece "Enter the Gates" on the gospel CD.

Original member "Ranger" Rick Bradstreet died of congestive heart failure in 2002. Because the gospel CD is remastered, his dobro-playing talent is part of the Patriots' latest release. With a 30-year career in bluegrass music, Dan Mitchell joined the group in 2003 to play fiddle and guitar.

What makes bluegrass bluegrass? Mandolin player Willie McDonald penned this description on the Patriots' web site: "Bluegrass music, in the broadest sense, is best described by the instrumentation. If a band plays 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown' with drums and electric guitars, it's not bluegrass. If a band consisting of guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, dobro plays 'Purple Haze' then it's bluegrass."

The Patriots have a reputation for staying true to bluegrass, and they continue to cross the country every summer, this year playing from Pennsylvania to California.

When not touring, they have other, flexible jobs to keep them busy. Zankey is a contractor, McDonald is a painter, Mitchell is a carpenter and Rogers runs a carpet-cleaning business with his son. He also does a 30-day stint as Santa Claus at the Flatiron Crossing Mall in Broomfield every holiday season.

Seaman, a retired teacher from the mountain schools at Livermore and Red Feather Lakes, is a longtime promoter of bluegrass events. He organized a summer bluegrass festival in Missouri in 1970, and then transferred his festival-organizing talent to Colorado. In 1986 he founded the Mid-Winter Bluegrass Festival held in February, first at the Holidome in Fort Collins, which it outgrew. It's now held at the Northglenn Ramada Plaza, and the upcoming dates are Feb. 17 to 19.

This year, Seaman started the Greeley Bluegrass Roundup at Island Grove Regional Park. The upcoming dates are May 12 to 14.

Before all of that, however, the Bluegrass Patriots have to celebrate their milestone birthday. The party is set for the evening of Oct. 21 at Avogadro's Number in Fort Collins. Everyone's invited.