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The Kathy Kallick Band
All photos by Mike Melynk
Kathy, Greg Booth, Dan Booth, Annie Staninec, Tom Bekeny
Annie Staninec (fiddle) has been playing gigs for half of her 22 years,
beginning with the award-winning Donner Mountain and Lost Coast and the old
time band, All Wrecked Up. She’s guested with Darol Anger’s Republic of
Strings, played with David Grisman’s Gypsy Caravan, won the 2008 and 2009
Fiddle Player of the Year awards from the Northern California Bluegrass
Society, as well as the 2006 Outstanding Young Musician award at Djangofest
Northwest. Annie also records and tours with Town Mountain (from Asheville,
NC), and plays with Bay Area bands ranging from the bluegrassto gypsy jazz
to ragtime boogie bebop. Her collaboration with the KKB showcases her fiery
soloing (think Scotty Stoneman meets Benny Martin), and gives her the chance
to express lyrical, sensitive backup and charming singing.
Tom Bekeny (mandolin), who has been playing and singing with Kathy since
1996, is among the most adventurous mandolinists in the music, creating
thrilling solos as well as solid backup by using influences ranging from his
thorough grounding in blues to his mastery of Jesse McReynolds’ “split
string” technique. Tom is a veteran of Laurie Lewis & Grant Street and Done
Gone, and has been the fiddler in High Country, the west coast’s premier
traditional bluegrass band, for nearly 20 years. Tom also plays in a jazz
trio and recently released a mandolin instruction DVD.
Dan Booth (acoustic bass) has been playing and singing bluegrass for half of
his 28 years. Born and raised in Alaska, where he performed with Ginger
Boatwright, Bearfoot Bluegrass, and several regional groups, Dan’s now a Bay
Area resident and part of 49 Special and Homespun Rowdy as well as the KKB.
He’s also a frequent guest with local and touring bands, recently with Ralph
Stanley as well as the Laurie Lewis-Kathy Kallick Band. Dan’s soulful lead
and harmony singing, as well as rock-solid bass playing, provide a perfect
compliment to Kathy’s music.
Dan’s Dad, Greg Booth (dobro, banjo), still lives in Anchorage, where, for
many years, he’s played pedal steel guitar in country groups—as well as
banjo (which he first learned from Bill Emerson) and, more recently, dobro
in legendary Alaskan bluegrass bands like Fault Line and Rank Strangers.
Winner of the RockyGrass dobro competition in 2006 (after playing that
instrument for only one year), regular participant in WinterGrass’ Resomania
Workshop, and star of YouTube, “Greg’s innovative, expressive dobro playing
is even more remarkable” says guitarist Joe Karson, “when you consider that
he employs no ‘licks.’”
Chad Manning (fiddle)
We’ve been fortunate to do some shows with Chad, who’s also
a member of The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience and a busy teacher.