The new band Cross Mountain is starting to spread its pure bluegrass sound across the hill country. They are from left to right: Lee Line, David Wilson, Sally Cowan, Jon Whitley, and David Goodnight. Photo by Phil Houseal
Details:
To contact Cross Mountain, call David Wilson at 257-6043.
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Cross Mountain: Bluegrass Landmark
by Phil Houseal
12/19/2007
Sitting backstage at a recent holiday concert I heard a sound seldom heard in these parts... the plaintive beauty of true bluegrass music.
It was a set of Christmas songs performed by Cross Mountain, a new local quintet just formed this summer. As we talked after the show, I noted that Fredericksburg does not seem to be a hotbed of bluegrass music.
"Not yet," David Wilson corrected me. "We are kind of hoping we might be the ones to get something started."
Judging by the crowd reaction, they already have. Wilson plays mandolin, and is joined by David Goodnight on banjo, Lee Line on guitar, Jon Whitley on upright bass, and Sally Cowan on vocals.
The group is honing its licks at local clubs, churches and special events. All members have regular jobs, but are ready to play more often.
Wilson and Goodnight describe the band's style as bluegrass, bluegrass gospel, and some rock and roll, played bluegrass style.
"The thing is most people have never heard this type of music, besides maybe Foggy Mountain Breakdown," Wilson said. "People just don't know about it."
Right now Cross Mountain puts everything back into the band, from buying sound equipment to using every spare moment to work on their harmonies. According to Wilson, it's all about the vocals.
"We've talked about how you can play a lackluster lead and nobody in a typical audience will notice, but to have a good vocal blend - that's what people hear."
That's why they put three and four-part harmony into almost every song.
"Our philosophy is if you don't have vocals you don't have anything," Goodnight said. "I could mess up every banjo break and the average person wouldn't notice, because it's just banjo noise. But they'd know if you missed a note singing."
Cross Mountain does not miss many notes - on banjo or vocals.
Sally Cowan does much of the lead singing. Cowan, from Comfort, enjoyed some success as a gospel recording artist, breaking the top 50 on the international God's Christian Country chart. Last summer she sang a concert in the Fredericksburg First Baptist Church. Hearing that pure, unaffected high lonesome sound just built for bluegrass, Wilson asked if she wanted to be part of the group.
"We were looking for an opportunity, and God put us together," Cowan said. One caveat was that she had to learn an instrument, so Cowan has been working to master the guitar. "The guys are perfectionists on their instruments, but we couldn't do it if they weren't as picky as they are. But they also are a lot of fun. We have a good time."
How did they arrive at the name?
"We were rambling through names and Lee Line came up with that," said Wilson, who also performs as Cedar Break with band member Jon Whitley. "He was thinking of geographic landmarks and he spit off Cross Mountain, and we said ... that's it!"
Soon, when bluegrass fans hear the name Cross Mountain, they'll say the same thing.
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