Former Durangoan David Smith sporting his cherished elk skin shirt.

Smitten by Smitty, Town Mountain and Canadian Brass

by Chris Aaland

There’s a little Durango flavor at the 2013 International Bluegrass Music Association awards ceremonies tonight (Thurs., Sept. 26) in Raleigh, N.C. Former KDUR DJ David Smith, who moved to Grand Forks, N.D., a few years ago, is a finalist for the IBMA’s Broadcaster of the Year.

Shortly after arriving in the North Country, Smith started the “Red River Ramble” bluegrass show – North Dakota’s first bluegrass show in nearly 20 years. You can stream it each Saturday at 3 p.m. mountain time at www.prairiepublic.org. His old show, the “Sweet Bye & Bye,” was a staple each Tuesday night on KDUR for nearly a decade. Smith has relied on social media to promote both shows, posting playlists, musings on albums, festivals and concerts, and photos of his extensive bluegrass memorabilia and autograph collection. He counts many musicians and promoters among his Facebook friends and followers.

For its first 17 years, Smith played integral roles with the Durango Bluegrass Meltdown, serving as a volunteer, performer and board member. His commitment to hard-driving, traditional bluegrass led to such acts as Town Mountain, the Steep Canyon Rangers, Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass and Open Road appearing at the Meltdown. He also kept a keen ear toward acts like the Infamous Stringdusters that were blazing new trails in contemporary acoustic music.

I’m fortunate to count Smith as one of my closest friends. Though we’re now separated by a thousand miles, he fought fiercely for me through family deaths, heart surgeries and other upheavals. Friends like Smitty are rare, and I miss discussing music, going to concerts and shooing him away from my beer cooler at 2 a.m. Though we only see each other once or twice a year at festivals now, he’s never more than a phone call away. Here’s hoping Smitty takes home the ultimate honor today!

Two events that Smith would surely have attended are this week’s Town Mountain gigs at the Henry Strater Theatre (8 p.m. Friday) and the Dolores River Brewery (8 p.m. Sunday). Town Mountain is also among the finalists in several IBMA “Momentum” categories for emerging artists. The band itself is up for the band award while singer/guitarist Robert Greer has been nominated as a vocalist and fiddler Bobby Britt as an instrumentalist.

Town Mountain burst onto the national scene in 2005 by winning the RockyGrass band competition, joining a list that included Steep Canyon Rangers, Hit & Run Bluegrass, Chatham County Line and Durango’s own Broke Mountain Bluegrass Band. They’ve since recorded four albums and collaborated with producer, bassist and former Del McCoury Band member Mike Bub. Greer and banjo player Jesse Langlais remain from the original lineup, which has grown to include ringers Phil Barker (mandolin), Britt (fiddle) and newcomer Jake Hopping (bass).

Relive disco’s golden age with Arrival from Sweden: The Music of ABBA at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Community Concert Hall. Bust out your bell bottoms and leisure suits to boogie to the likes of “Dancing Queen” and “Mama Mia.”

Canadian Brass, the quintet that has earned the distinction of “the world’s most famous brass group,” comes to the Community Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. These guys have staying power: In their 43-year career, they’ve recorded nearly 100 albums, sold 2 million records and contributed more than 600 new works to the brass quintet repertoire.

Italian producer/composer GAUDI makes a special stop at the ACT at 10 p.m. Friday. The ACT's a bit of an intimate room by his standards: GAUDI recently performed at the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Roman Coliseum to crowds of 350,000.

Congratulations are in order for Carver Brewing Co. executive chef Dave Cuntz, who won the Shamrock Let’s Get Grilling Chefs Competition earlier this month in Albuquerque with his Durango strip loin, beating out 150 other chefs’ recipes. This steak gets dry-rubbed with Southwestern spices, topped with a tomatillo-avocado salsa verde, calabacitas (corn, queso fresco, local yellow squash and zucchini), heirloom cherry tomatoes and cilantro. “It’s very exciting to be able to bring something like a chef’s competition victory home,” Cuntz said. “Carvers has always been held in high regard for our great beer, service and breakfast. It’s nice to garner some recognition for our dinner entrees.”

The Kirk James Blues Band (Sunday) and Pete Giuliani Band (Saturday) provide musical entertainment at Wines of the San Juan’s Harvest Festival this weekend in Blanco, N.M. Both bands play from 4-7 p.m. on their respective days, with James and company to follow the “Great Grape Stomp.”

The multimedia art of Durango Renaissance man Dan Groth will be displayed at Crash Music in the historic Aztec Theatre from 7-9 p.m. Friday. Groth, who also dabbles as a musician, KDUR DJ, trivia expert and’70s mustache grower, gravitates toward the glacial, geological expression of pen-and-ink, creating dreamlike creature-infested landscapes of mystery and subtle humor.

Larry Carver’s wilderness photography will be shown at the Rochester Hotel through Nov. 11, with the artist’s reception scheduled from 5-7 p.m. tonight.

Moe’s madness this week is highlighted by an FAC with Hello Dollface from 6-9 p.m. on the back patio, a raffle and dance party with DJ Ralphsta at 9 p.m. Friday and Salsa Night from 7-10:30 p.m. Saturday (note the new day).

Elsewhere: James also brings blues to the Sky Ute Casino Resort at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Jack Ellis performs solo from 5-9 p.m. Saturday at the Seven Rivers Steakhouse at the Sky Ute Casino; Hello Dollface presents an evening of Bob Marley Saturday night at the Hank; and Jack Tallmadge & Steve Williams countrify the Diamond Belle Saloon from 1-3 p.m. Sunday.

I tapped David Smith to provide this week’s Top Shelf list: his Top 10 bluegrass albums of all-time. Math was never his best subject, so he cranked it up to 11.

1. Seldom Scene – “Live at the Cellar Door”

2. Blue Highway – “Midnight Storm”

3. Stanley Brothers – “The Complete Columbia Recordings”

4. Hot Rize – Self-titled (with the biscuit on the cover)

5. Tony Rice – “Cold on the Shoulder”

6. Town Mountain – “Leave the Bottle”

7. Red Allen featuring Frank Wakefield – “The Folkways Years, 1964-1983”

8. Steep Canyon Rangers – “Deep in the Shade”

9. Infamous Stringdusters – “Silver Sky”

10. Lonesome River Band –“Window of Time”

11. Chatham County Line – “IV”

With a well-hidden stash and a full tank of gas? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.

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