Lincoln Highway Bluegrass Band
Terry Augspurger on Bass
Instrument: Bass and Vocalist
I taught myself to play guitar as a high school sophomore in 1966; then played several years in a local rock & roll band doing stuff by The Byrds, Doors, Cream, etc. It was fun, but music didn't look like a promising career so I gave it up for medical school.
In the summer of ‘98 I heard that Jonathan, Bergman & Luttrell were jamming together...playing
bluegrass music, whatever that was. That
sounded like fun, but they didn’t need another
guitar player. I bought a bass and showed up at
practice one Sunday afternoon. It was the right
instrument at the right time. Singing with Luttrell
was a natural since we were already singing together
in church choir and a quartet. Although the musical
style was new to me, it was fairly easy to learn and
a joy to play. My first bluegrass CD was Ricky
Skaggs BLUEGRASS RULES, and it's still the
best I've heard. After nine
years of playing together it's still the most fun I
have.
After a long and exhaustive debate we decided on the name ‘Lincoln Highway’ for the band. Built in 1913, this was the first paved road from coast to coast. Passing through our hometown, its historical significance seemed to link the whole country with our music.
Favorite Songs: Anything by Lennon & McCartney, John
Hiatt, Bob Dylan. Old-time Bluegrass songwriters of
note - Bill Monroe and the Stanley Brothers, Ralph &
Carter.
Favorite Bands: 1960’s - Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Doors & The Byrds. Now - Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Del McCoury Band, Lonesome River Band, Nashville Bluegrass Band
Favorite quote: “I appreciate the best, but I’ll settle for the rest, so I’m looking for the next best thing.” - Warren Zevon
Day Job: Physician- Child/Adolescent Psychiatrist
Family: wife Cynthia (musician and photographer),
daughter Amy (homemaker living with husband Dan in
LaCrosse, WS), and son DJ, still living at home
trying to figure out what he wants to be when he
grows up.
Music experience in my younger years was Schaum piano books taught by a stern, elderly woman. Then in eighth grade I sang in a trio called the Krickets. We sang Beatle songs at the Band Benefit Carnival. The high school kids liked us so much they threw pennies to show their appreciation.
If my memory serves me right this is the thrilling story of how Lincoln Highway started and how I joined. My sister in Oklahoma thought I should play mandolin. Since I can't make decisions on my own I agreed. My wife,Janet, got me one for Christmas in 1997. Mike Bergman taught me some mando licks cause it's tuned like his fiddle. Mike then asked Jonathan to join us for some sessions because Jonathan seemed lonely and in need of male bonding. Augie felt left out, so we said if he could learn to play bass then, and only then, he could come over and play, too. I'm not sure how Ken joined. I think his wife, Maureen, couldn't stand the sound of a solo banjo anymore and told him to find someone to play with or his instrument would be recycled. He seemed pretty desperate to join at the time.
The name Lincoln Highway Bluegrass Band was not immediately decided upon. It just sounded better than Guys who go to Mike's house to play.
Favorite songs: Anything by the Beatles.
Mike Luttrell on Mandolin
Favorite bands: Beatles, Del McCoury Band, Nickel Creek, Byron Berline.
Favorite quote: "You are never truly free until you go to the end of your thought." Or, "Any day above ground is a good one."
Day job: Licensed Psychologist. I'm a much better Psychologist than a Mando player.
Family: Wife of 30 years is Janet, who is learning the dulcimer of all things. Craig and Courtney are talented young adults. They are finishing their degrees at Iowa State University and moving on.
Mike Bergman on Fiddle and Guitar
While the name didn't overwhelmingly garner support, it did keep
surfacing. Due to pressure from the community that came in the form of
this question: "What do you guys call yourselves?" we felt obligated to
come up with a name. By default, "Lincoln Highway" stuck.
We still have people adding to the name. Examples include: "Lincoln
Highway Bluegrass Band, Lincoln Highway Band, and Lincoln Highway
Bluegrass Boys."
Favorite Groups and Songs: I'm a big fan of Kenny Baker, Bobby Hicks,
Blaine Sprouse and Jason Carter as fiddlers. I enjoy most of the
bluegrass groups. Del McCoury surfaces as the band I most admire
technically, musically, and from a performance perspective.
Jonathan Hull and I think Del and the band are the "Rolling Stones" of
bluegrass. At a concert during the fall of 2001 in Tama, Iowa, Jonathan
relayed this to Del, and Del said, "Gee, thanks!"
Favorite Quotes: "The devil lives in the fiddle." Bluegrass is many
times harder to play than rock and roll. As far as I am concerned, the
fiddle is the most taxing, hard-to-play instrument, and I think that's
why the quote lives on. It is very difficult to master, and it sounds
different every day.
Jason Carter, fiddler for the Del McCoury band, told me, "It takes four
years to become a bad fiddler." I'll quote him on that, and I don't
think he'll mind. However, he might be off a year or two - on the short
side!
My friend, Clarence Grove, who is 92 years of age as of this writing,
owns almost 100 fiddles. My favorite quote comes from him: "I never saw
a fiddle I didn't love!"
Day Job: Licensed Psychologist and CEO of Center Associates,
Marshalltown, Iowa
Family: Wife, Ellen, and two boys, Alex and Brandt
2002, to a degree, reminds me of the early 1970's when the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band released their three-album set, Will the Circle be Unbroken. It had bluegrass tunes played by key musicians such as Doc Watson. I liken the "Circle" to the CD recently released from the film "Brother Where Art Thou?" Once again, bluegrass and music from that era and before have been revived. The film's soundtrack earned a Grammy in February of 2002.
In 1974, I was going to college at the University of Iowa. Doc Watson and his son Earl opened for Bill Monroe at a concert at Hancher Auditorium. I was already impressed with Doc's performance and then Bill Monroe came on stage with his band and sang a vocal and said, "Take it Kenny Baker." Kenny came up to the microphone and cranked off a fine fiddle break.
I had a fiddle in my hand within days.
I purchased a fiddle from Iowa City luthier, Duane Kasper, who later allowed me to trade it in for a better, older, German fiddle that I still play. He let me pay for it over time, and I remain grateful to him for trusting me. He became a friend, in a way, and I spent time there in the evening listening to him play and watching him repair fiddles.
History of the Band: I'm the last one to submit my biographical information, and I have had a chance to review the accounts of the other members.
While the group's psychologist and psychiatrist can take a great history and compile bullet-proof reports, the accountant/businessman of the group can put his numbers in a column, and the internist can make sense out of his lab reports, all fall short in terms of the exact history of the group. It's an embarrassment. Here's the precise and exact story:
Michael Luttrell arrived at the clinic right after Christmas of 97. He said, "Look what Janet gave me for Christmas!" He pulled out a brand new A style mandolin. I was very impressed.
I told him that a mandolin was tuned like a violin or fiddle, and I played a simple tune for him on his new mando. He didn't know that I had played fiddle in the past. We ended up getting together for a few sessions. Lincoln Highway evolved from that point. Here's how that happened.
Jonathan Hull, who used to live across the street from me, played guitar. I invited him over to my home, and Michael Luttrell, Jonathan and I played a few songs that we knew. Some were bluegrass and some were not.
I knew a few Bill Monroe songs, and we added a few tunes off of the "Circle" album. Terry Augspurger later joined us on bass - a fine addition - and rounded out our sound. I later learned from my friend, John Collison, that Ken Lyons had recently acquired a banjo. We asked him to join us - there is nothing like that banjo sound!
So, I guess we owe Janet Luttrell for lighting the spark that got us going.
Naming the Band: We couldn't decide, we couldn't decide (and I should say it again) on the band's name. As I remember, a decision couldn't be reached because none of us would come up with a name, or if so, it was summarily shot down.
In the 60’s I grew up with folk and all the stages of rock. I was always envious of the guys in the garage bands popular in those days. The Beatles were “the band” for me. In college I heard a stray bluegrass band or two. Then Deliverance came out and I was captivated by the banjo.
On a wild hair I thought I should learn to play the banjo. Previously a guitar player, I figured the banjo would be easy, since there was one less string to worry about. This launched the start of a long and arduous path consuming huge amounts of time and energy. AND I’ve taken only a few tentative steps! The term “obsessive-compulsive” might fit here. The more I learn, the more there is to know (sounds like the 60’s again).
I don’t know why the guys let me sit in initially. I couldn’t play more than 2 chords and had no idea how to do any licks. Now I know 4 chords if you give me enough time to think. I heard that the other guys were getting together, jamming bluegrass tunes and having a great time. It seemed like they didn’t know of any other banjo pickers (a dying species). I was grateful that they asked me to come over.
Ken Lyons on Banjo
Favorite Bands: Nashville Bluegrass Band, The Bluegrass Album Band, Flatt and Scruggs, Del McCoury
Favorite Quote: “So George determined to postpone study of the banjo until he reached home. But he did not get much opportunity even there. Mrs. P. used to come up and she was very sorry - for herself, she liked to hear him - but the lady upstairs was in a very delicate state, and the doctor was afraid it might injure the child.” - Three Men In A Boat
Jonathan Hull on Guitar
I grew up at a time when being in a band was the "in" thing to do. At age seven I took my first guitar lesson. That lasted one year, because I couldnąt stand the boredom of learning how to read music. Since I was able to listen to a song and figure out how to play it, that’s what I did from age 8 on.
During the 70’s I was involved in your typical rock and roll band. Then got rid of my electrified equipment and went acoustic. It wasn’t until I met Mike Bergman that I started to play again. Mike was a neighbor at the time. I’d gone acoustic by them. He said "I play fiddle and guitar, why don’t ya come over sometime and we can play". I wondered, is this guy for real? Who plays a fiddle and for what kind of music? He finally talked me into coming over to listen to some dude named Bill Monroe. Well, the more I listened the better it sounded. We eventually added the mandolin. Soon we began to actually have some songs that sounded good. As they say - the rest is history.
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