ALBUM LINER NOTES
BACKSTORY – Disc One – The Songs

Disc One features a dozen previously unreleased studio recordings created by these multi-talented musicians years before their emergence as The Front Porch Country Band. Written and recorded in the decades of the 1980’s and 1990’s, several of these songs received recognition from prestigious national competitions including The Music City Song Festival and The Billboard Song Contest in Nashville.

Rescued in 2021 from the ravages of dust and near-decay in long-forgotten archives, these twelve recordings showcase the musicianship of these players as they rapidly recorded new original songs together, “on the fly.”

INCLUDED among the twelve songs on Disc One are seven selections created solely by these musicians working together as a self-contained studio unit (track #’s 1-5, 9 & 10).*

They also often served as backing session players for emerging new acts & soundtracks under development. Five such tracks have also been included here on Disc One.

“East Street Stranger” was a new act in development during the 1980’s, designed to feature the distinctive voice of North Carolina front man and lead singer Billy George Hairston (tracks 6, 7 & 11). Each of these original songs was prepared for the soundtrack of an upcoming new film, “Empty Room.” As Hollywood scripts and productions often do, however, this project failed to materialize. Yet, the instrumental performances from these players remains an early hallmark of their musicianship and versatility.

Similarly, two other tracks also represent the prowess of these players while backing other artists. “Many Times” (#10) was a studio recording for the potential new girl-band “Taylor-McSween-Hormell” with all backing instrumentation provided by these players. Disc One closes with final song (#12) “Never Said Good-Bye,” memorializing the loss and untimely death of Roger, a close personal friend, with sensitive vocals provided by Carolyn McSween.

As a solo artist, McSween would later become the opening act at the inaugural concert of The Front Porch Country Band. Ultimately, she would headline as “McSween” for her 2007 world tour of China, supported by players from this band, who would also provide instrumental backing on her popular first album, “All Out.”

BACKSTORY: Disc Two – The Jingles
The Music Behind Dozens Of Great American Brands.

Decades before their “discovery,” the players who would eventually travel worldwide as The Front Porch Country Band originally came together in the recording studio – as "first-call” session players & vocalists to record award-winning broadcast campaigns for elite regional and national brands. Their skill as performers was quickly recognized, as was their shared joy in playing together. Typically, the jingle recordings were completed quickly. With extra studio time already reserved, they would tear into original new songs, “Mostly, just for the fun of it!” laughs guitarist and drummer Rick Buck.

THE PLAYERS recorded dozens of popular musical broadcast identities, with many earning prestigious advertising awards – including regional and national Addy, Telly, Communicator, and Videographer awards.

They’ve recorded the music for numerous brands well-known to radio listeners and television viewers. Product categories range from baked goods (Holsum Butter-Krust and Milano Italian breads), games (Tibbits International & Bubble Gum Baseball) & technologies (BVT & Conestoga Telephone) – to high-end furniture makers (Pennsylvania House) and multi-million dollar luxury homebuilders (AvisAmerica). Also, banking & financial services (First Citizens, The First, & York Federal), along with popular retailers (Cole’s Hardware).

Ultimately, as their friendships and mutual respect grew, informal discussions began for the players to join forces as a live act.

Then, on 23 July 2001, while taking a recording break on the porch of their studio, a 30-ton meteor thundered into a nearby wheat field – seen and heard by millions across the eastern USA. The players immediately returned to the studio to write, record, and release their first hit single, “Hot Rock Came To The Country.”

With sudden demand for shows, rehearsals were scheduled for Sunday, September 16th. And then the disaster. September 11. The rehearsal turned into a 36-hour recording marathon which produced “America Standing Tall: The American Trilogy.” The rest is history. There soon followed a world premier concert and the release of their first full album. Their original songs rapidly rose to the top of worldwide charts on the world’s leading online music system – and stayed there.

NEXT CAME their worldwide live concert tour. With fans and listeners now in over 150 countries, the band headlined on the world’s greatest stages. One-hour television broadcasts followed. They shared the stage with leading country stars. Released ten albums of their own “Original American Country.” And they’re still going strong. Yet it all began all those decades ago, in “The Early Years” – recording commercial jingles along with their original new songs, “...on the fly, mostly just for the fun of it!”

Discs One & Two
PRODUCTION NOTES

1. DISC ONE SONGS were rescued from old and deteriorating 2-inch multi-track analog tape masters stored over many years in attics and basements. Imperfections are an unfortunate result. While these digital reproductions are engineered to preserve, as closely as possible, the sound of the original recordings, the high resolution reveals limitations in the original master tapes, including noise and other distortions due to tape degradation and age.

2. DISC TWO –TRACK #1 features Front Porch Country Band members Rick Buck, Kim Reichley, Joseph Paul Hauserman, Alison Rupert and Richard Rupert in conversation with producer William John Christian.

3. TINK ABRAHAM was a valued studio friend in the early years and joined with these players on half a dozen entries on Disc Two. Before joining the staff and faculty at Full Sail University in Orlando, Tink contributed lead vocals and keyboards on five cuts (#’s 1, 7, 13, 15 and 25), and keyboards on one (#2).

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