Janie Brown and the Chestnut Mountain Gang to host CD release party in August

"Grass up."

That's a term comfortably nested in Janie Brown's vernacular, much like a rocking chair on the porch of a remote cabin in the Smoky Mountains. It casually finds its way into conversation when she discusses her encounters with old gospel songs she thinks could be spruced up with a coat of blue.

"I collect old hymnals, so there's times I'll just sit and go through the old hymnals and one of those songs will hit me," Brown said. "And I'll say, 'That one we need to grass up. We need to do it.'"

The "we" is her band of six, which goes by Janie Brown and the Chestnut Mountain Gang.

The "grass up" usually is accomplished with a guitar, two banjos, a mandolin, stand-up bass and a combination of vocals, usually with Brown at the lead.

Janie Brown and the Chestnut Mountain Gang performs before the start of the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band's performance July 12 in Capaha Park.Laura Simon

Gospel classics such as "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" often get processed through the mind and guitar of Willard Huffman, emerging on the other side with the twangier sound of bluegrass.

"A lot of times, it goes through him," Brown said about the versatile Huffman. "He has the perfect ear."

Sometimes the emerging sound is driven by the bass-thumping of Willard's wife, Cindy Huffman; other times, it finds its life on the banjo playing of Jim Kerber and longtime friend John Newell. Other injections come from Brown's husband, Randal Lee, on the mandolin or the guitar picking of Willard Huffman.

All contribute to the singing in one form or another, whether it be the harmonizing of Brown and the Huffmans or taking the lead on a particular song.

They'll also take on traditional country songs, including Merle Haggard's "Today I Started Loving You Again," which will appear on the group's third CD, which officially will be released Aug. 12 at The Church at Morley, 112 Kirkwood St. in Morley, Missouri.

Members of Janie Brown and the Chestnut Mountain Gang are, from left, John Newell, Willard Huffman, Randal Lee, Jim Kerber, Janie Brown and Cindy Huffman.Submitted photo

In all, Janie Brown and the Chestnut Mountain Gang's repertoire of songs number in the hundreds, allowing the group to play four-hour shows -- "We never run out of material," Brown notes -- in a variety of venues, ranging from church services to more informal settings, such as picnics, homecomings and nursing homes.

"A lot of country, especially old country or old-sounding country, will lend itself to being grassed up with the acoustic instruments," Brown said, adding "the banjo or Willard's pickin' lends to the emotion."

The group has been around for 12 years with four constants -- Brown, her husband and the Huffmans.

In a lifetime rooted in the South, ranging from her birth in Mobile, Alabama, to subsequent early moves to Memphis, Tennessee; St. Louis; Sikeston, Missouri; and Arkansas, Brown developed an affinity for gospel, traditional country and bluegrass music. Whether it was in church or her family's weekly watching of "The Lawrence Welk Show" on a Saturday night, the passion grew, as well as an ear for music and harmony.

She moved to Cape Girardeau in 1987 and found an ideal mate in Lee, a bluegrass enthusiast whom she married in 1989. Together, they attended bluegrass festivals, and Lee became a part-time DJ, hosting a weekly radio show, "Midweek Bluegrass Breakdown," on Wednesday evenings on C106.

The immersion in the culture led to connections, and Brown began singing with bands, including one with the Huffmans.

She eventually started her own group, Janie Brown and the Chestnut Mountain Gang, deriving part of the name from a road in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee on which she and Lee owned a cabin they called "Tin Shed."

Willard Huffman was in the startup of the group, and Cindy, whom he taught to play the stand-up bass, joined shortly after.

The band had a different feel than others Brown had been around.

"None of it really was stick together and felt like home, like what we have now," Brown said. "We're all really good friends."

Kerber, from Morley, brought his banjo to the group four years ago, and two years later started bringing around an old buddy. Newell, from McClure, Illinois, always had been a good resource for Kerber in learning the instrument.

Brown admits she originally was against adding a second banjo, saying, "That's something that's just not done. You don't have two banjo pickers in the same group."

She now admits her instincts were wrong. The tandem, who pass the lead back and forth, are highlighted on several songs on their new 12-track CD, "Bitterweeds."

"Actually, their styles complement each other, and now we've found that one of our defining characteristics is the tunes where we have the two banjos," Brown said. "They just kind of play off each other. It's been very, very fun."

Willard Huffman, who lives in Whitewater, is the most versatile member of the group.

"Basically, anything with strings you can throw at him," Brown said, noting he's also a strong vocalist.

It's something she's not always been able to say about her mandolin-playing husband.

"Randal was, like, not even in the ballpark years ago when he tried to sing, but now we actually have him sing, and people will ask for him to sing. They start heckling me if I don't let him sing," Brown said with a laugh.

In addition to her lead vocals, Brown takes cares of the emceeing and playlists at events, which she also books.

She calls bluegrass heart-and-soul music. The lyrics often touch on family, home, cabins and mountains. Some are sad in tone, about family members who have passed but are still very much alive in the heart of the living.

"To me, if you listen, a well put-together bluegrass song done with decent musicians and voices, there's a lot of heartfelt music there," Brown said. "If that can't reach down and get you at your soul and make you feel something, there's something wrong."

The audiences are usually older and come in all sizes. Brown said she views the music as a ministry, and said the group will not turn down a church request unless there is a scheduling conflict.

"I think the biggest bond that we have is that we all love Jesus and we all want that opportunity," Brown said about the band. "We love that music. We love that gospel bluegrass more than we love anything else, I think. And not just be able to do something that is entertaining for us, but it actually touches people's hearts. We like the opportunity to be an encouragement to people, to cheer people up."

The newest CD is one of two recorded last year, with the second to be released later this year. The release party will begin at 1 p.m. Aug. 12 and is expected to last four or five hours. Refreshments will be provided, and she encourages attendees to bring a dessert.

The group will be performing at 4 p.m. July 29 at Fellowship Baptist Church, 430 Koch Ave. in Cape Girardeau.

jbreer@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3629

Pertinent address:

112 Kirkwood St., Morley, Mo.

430 Koch Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.