Larry
Bulaich Wilder and the Stumptown Stars
are here to entertain! Engaging and
fun show to fit your community concert,
school, festival, party, fund-raiser,
cultural symposium, fair, corporate
event, club, pub or wedding. Available
as duo, trio, quartet or more, this
dynamic group plays the finest music
in its genre. Hot bluegrass, cowboy,
folk, roots featuring fancy and harmony
yodeling! The Stumptown Stars of Portland,
OR have won awards with their solid,
tasty and lightning acoustic instrumentals
on guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle and
bass.
Portland,
Oregon's own Stumptown Stars can enrich
your cultural event with workshops: instrument
building; vocal harmony; instrument playing;
yodeling; Americana Music History and
Appreciation. Join the fun, sing along,
and don’t hesitate to make requests
from our playlist of hundreds of songs.
The sparkle of the
bluegrass banjo, the cry of the fiddle,
the pulsating rhythm of the mandolin,
guitar and bass drive tunes from sources
as Flatt & Scruggs, Bill Monroe,
and the Stanley Brothers - along with
our original material.
Audiences feel the
intimacy and accessibility of our bluegrass
shows; we draw the folks in with an
Americana show done in bluegrass style
that enraptures the whole family. Gospel
solos, duos and quartets can round out
the performance as needed.
We even do kids’
tunes in bluegrass style for fun singing
along.
Featured tunes include:
Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms,
Muleskinner Blues, Foggy Mountain Breakdown,
In the Pines, Rabbit in the Log, Orange
Blossom Special, Frosty Morning, Alberta
Bound, Man of Constant Sorrow, and Rocky
Top.
All shows can be readily
customized to meet your venue/clientele
needs. We always aim to entertain and
please the people.
Tunes from many Americana
sources enliven and diversify, engaging
listeners of all ages. Audience requests
and singing along encouraged as appropriate
to the venue.
Our goal is to work
closely with you to create a truly memorable
experience for your clientele.
I saw my first bluegrass
band, Golden State Boys, about 1961.
They had Tony Rice’s dad Herb
on mandolin. I was captivated by Don
Parmley’s five string banjo. While
I had heard Pete Seeger and Dave Guard
pick the banjo, Don’s playing
was something new to me. Shortly thereafter,
I came across some Flatt & Scruggs
records, inspiring me to take up the
banjo and begin to absorb the licks
and intensity of bluegrass music. Little
did I realize that ten years later I
would be playing Earl Scruggs’
famous banjo with Earl watching me backstage
at Knott’s Berry Farm!
There were some fine
bands to see around LA in the 1960s:
Kentucky Colonels, Joplin Forte, Aunt
Dinah’s Quilting Party and the
Dillards. While I was playing folk and
traditional country music, bluegrass
began calling out to me.
I played guitar in
my first bluegrass band, Pain in the
Grass, which featured a young Stuart
Duncan on fiddle and mandolin. Our group
morphed into Gold Rush, which also included
banjo legend John Hickman and a young
Alison Brown on dobro and banjo. After
moving to Oregon, I played banjo in
the eclectic bluegrass band Foxfire.
Our popularity grew and we toured all
over the west, twice nationally, ultimately
finishing out our fourteen year run
with a European tour in 1998.
When I first saw Earl
Scruggs play the banjo on television
I was immediately drawn to his fiery,
original, innate style. I began to listen
to his studio and live recordings repeatedly.
It’s Earl that sticks with me
no matter what crazy stuff I play.
I first met Bill Monroe
and his Blue Grass Boys in the mid-60s
at the Ash Grove on Melrose. Peter Rowan,
Lamar Grier, and Richard Greene were
in his band. I was stunned at the intensity
of the music and thrilled to get to
meet the “Father of Bluegrass.”
Shortly after the death
of Carter Stanley, I saw Ralph Stanley
and Clinch Mountain Boys. The fiddle
player Curly Ray Cline was a wonderful
entertainer and Larry Sparks’
guitar work was fantastic. Ralph and
Larry created vocal harmonies that left
me spellbound. To me, the Stanleys have
always been the essence of mountain
soul.
The father of modern
bluegrass, John Duffey, driving force
in the Country Gentlemen and Seldom
Scene, has made a big impact on me with
is riveting stage presence, soulful
singing, eclectic repertoire, engaging
fun-style, and song arranging wizardry.
Stumptown Stars make
up a 5-piece bluegrass band influenced
by other great traditions: early country
music, cowboy, urban folk, Irish, and
spirituals.
As band leader for
the Stumptown Stars, these musical influences
have forged the way for this group of
talented musicians. I’m proud
to note that my son, Nolan Bronson,
plays guitar and sings in the band,
deepening the meaning of the music for
me. We had the pleasure to tour in Europe
in summer 2007, and were thrilled to
headline Europe’s oldest bluegrass
festival – The Banjo Jamboree
in Czech Republic. WHAT A THRILL!!!
We are delighted to
have Gretchen Amann (bass, vocals),
Garrett Maass (mandolin), and Andy Emert
(fiddle, vocals) in our band.
Songs
- Partial mixed listing of bluegrass,
cowboy, folk, gospel and yodeling music.
Some
Americana Favorites:
I’ve Been Everywhere
(featuring OR & WA places)
This Land Is Your Land
Country Roads
Goodnight Irene
Gentle On My Mind
Chime Bells (yodeling tour-de-force)
I’m My Own Granpaw
Jambalaya
Waiting for a Train (blue
yodel)
Wabash Cannonball
The Auctioneer
Pistol Packin’ Mama
Cattle Call (cowboy yodel)
Ramblin’ Man
Roll On, Columbia
Freight Train
Tennessee Waltz
Thunder Road
Red River Valley
El Paso
Ghost Riders in the Sky
Oh Susanna
Don’t Fence Me In
Down in the Valley
She’ll Be Comin’
Round the Mountain
Old MacDonald’s Farm
Y’all Come!
Rocky Top
“Oh Brother,
Where Art Thou?”
Man of Constant Sorrow
You Are My Sunshine
Goin’ Down to the
River to Pray
Keep On the Sunny Side
Lonesome Valley
Carter Family
Keep On the Sunny Side
No Hiding Place
Wildwood Flower
Old Gospel Ship
Thinking Tonight of My Blue
Eyes
Cryin’ Holy
You Got to Walk That Lonesome
Valley
Jimmy Brown the Newsboy
Will the Circle Be Unbroken
Kingston Trio
MTA
Tom Dooley
Sloop John B
Worried Man
Scotch & Soda
Hard Ain’t It Hard
Where Have All the Flowers
Gone?
Hank Williams
Jambalaya
I Saw the Light
Hey Good Lookin’
Your Cheatin’ Heart
So Lonesome I Could Cry
Sons of the Pioneers
Way Out There (harmony yodel)
Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds
Cool Water
Hold That Critter Down (yodel)
Timber Trail
Happy Rovin’ Cowboy
(yodel)
Stanley Brothers
Say You’ll Be Mine
How Mountain Gals Can Love
Long Journey Home
Midnight Train
Paul & Silas
Grateful Dead
Friend of the Devil
Lonesome Road Blues
Rider
More Folk Tunes
Fair and Tender Ladies
Last Thing on My Mind
Paradise
Banks of the Ohio
Midnight Special
Careless Love
Puff the Magic Dragon
Don’t Think Twice
Ride Me Down Easy
Gold Watch & Chain
Gotta Travel On
Amelia Earhart
Jamaica Farewell
Hey Li-lee
Appalachian Tunes
Rabbit in the Log
New River Train
Mountain Dew
Fox on the Run
Rocky Top
Sweet Kentucky Girl
Bluebirds Are Singin’
for Me
Blue Ridge Mountain Blues
Jimmy Brown the Newsboy
Old Home Place
More Cowboy Tunes
When the Bloom is on the
Sage
Homeward Trail
Oregon Trails
Don’t Fence Me In
Texas Plains
A Cowboy Song
Red River Valley
Cattle Call
Streets of Laredo
Home on the Range
Pinto Pal
Gene Autry
Back in the Saddle Again
Silver Haired Daddy
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
Flatt & Scruggs
Foggy Mountain Breakdown
Ballad of Jed Clampett
Roll in My Sweet Baby’s
Arms
Salty Dog Blues
Rueben’s Train
Little Girl in Tennessee
Cabin in Caroline
Blue Ridge Cabin Home
Preachin’ Prayin’
Singin’
Flint Hill Special
Dim Lights, Thick Smoke
Rough and Rocky
Hot Corn, Cold Corn
Wonder Where You Are Tonight
No Mother or Dad
Home Sweet Home
Your Love is Like a Flower
Johnny Cash
Folsom Prison Blues
Hey Porter
I Got Stripes
I Still Miss Someone
Big River
Daddy Sang Bass
Flesh and Blood
Forty Shades of Green
Bill Monroe
Blue Moon of Kentucky
Raw Hide
In the Pines
Muleskinner Blues
On and On
Rose of Old Kentucky
Uncle Pen
Little Cabin Home on the
Hill
Will You Be Lovin’
Another Man?
On My Way Back to the Old
Home
Kentucky Waltz
Blue Grass Breakdown
Merle Haggard
Lonesome Fugitive
Mama Tried
Silver Wings
Sing Me Back Home
Bob Wills
San Antonio Rose
Faded Love
Roly Poly
Silver Bell
Take Me Back to Tulsa
Gospel and Spiritual
Songs
Life’s Railway to
Heaven
Turn the Radio On
Daddy Sang Bass
Old Gospel Ship
Cryin’ Holy Unto the
Lord
Amazing Grace
I’ll Fly Away
Great Gettin’ Up Time
No Hiding Place
Wicked Path of Sin
Healing Waters
This Train is Bound for
Glory
Master’s Bouquet
What a Friend
Will the Circle Be Unbroken?
Jesus Cowboy (fancy yodel)
Saints Go Marching In
Gordon Lightfoot
Sundown
Alberta Bound
Did She Mention My Name?
Song for a Winter’s
Night
Don Quixote
Second Cup of Coffee
Canadian Railway Trilogy
More Country Tunes
Golden Rocket
Four Walls
Abilene
Blue Eyes Cryin’ in
the Rain
He’ll Have to Go
When My Blue Moon Turns
to Gold
Jealous Heart
Please Release Me
Born to Lose
Kansas City
Waiting for a Train
King of the Road
Have I Told You Lately That
I Love You?
Walkin’ the Floor
Over You
Waltz Across Texas
Instrumentals-Fiddle
Tunes
Orange Blossom Special
Old Joe Clark
Salt Creek
Soldier’s Joy
Angeline the Baker
Golden Slippers
Redwing
Black Mountain Rag
Arkansas Traveler
Boil the Cabbage Down
Banjo Tunes
Foggy Mountain Breakdown
Duelin’ Banjo
Train 45
Stumptown Twist
Banjo Rock-n-Roll
Home Sweet Home
Cripple Creek
Banjo in the Hollow
Turkey Knob
Irish Tunes
Walk In the Irish Rain
The Cuckoo
Mason’s Apron
Devil’s Dream
Danny Boy
Larry
Bulaich Wilder - Banjo, Guitar, Lead/Harmony
Vocals, Yodeler
5 string banjo and guitar,
arranger, lead and harmony vocals.
Duo with son Nolan. Larry Bulaich
Wilder grew up and began playing
music in Burbank, California.
Inspirations: Flatt & Scruggs,
Johnny Cash, Carter Family, Kingston
Trio, Bill Monroe, Woody Guthrie,
Hazel Dickens, Gene Autry, Sons
of the Pioneers, many gospel groups.
Opened for and shared stages
with Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt,
Oak Ridge Boys, Doc Watson, John
Hartford, Alison Krauss, Riders
in the Sky, Rose Maddox, Ralph
Stanley, Ricky Skaggs, Tiny Tim,
Bill Monroe, Trisha Yearwood,
Pete Seeger.
1975-78: worked with Stuart
Duncan in Pain In The Grass and
Gold Rush, the latter group including
Alison Brown [later of Alison
Krauss’s band]. Stuart’s
fiddle is heard in “Cold
Mountain” and “Oh
Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Knott’s Berry Farm’s
“Western Troubadour”
(1976-1981). Leader of Americana
musical revue for Knott’s
Japan Tour (1980). Larry’s
biggest thrill at Knott’s
was spending time with Earl Scruggs
and picking Earl’s famous
banjo backstage.
1981. Left hometown of Burbank,
California. Moved to Oregon. Featured
as soloist and in bands at fairs,
concerts, river trips, rodeos,
ranches, trail rides.
Foxfire band: 1985-98. Concert
tours U. S. (1993) and Europe
(1998). Larry remembers: “Jeff,
Bob, Leonard, Glenn and I broke
some new ground in bluegrass and
had a blast doing it. We are eternally
grateful to the wonderful people
who supported us all those years.”
1997. Cited in America’s
Music: Bluegrass by Barry Willis.
Larry is profiled as a moving
force in Southern California bluegrass,
with early bandmates Stuart Duncan,
Alison Brown, Geoff Stelling and
John Hickman.
2002-2006: member of Déjà
Blue and Columbia Cutups.
2007: STUMPTOWN STARS evolve
out of the old Columbia Cutups.
Larry says: “We guarantee
top bluegrass-Americana entertainment!
We deliver a tight show and loads
of fun! Nolan, Chris, Greg, Marshall
and I love our audiences and play
for keeps!
Nolan
Bronson - Guitar, Lead & Harmony Vocals
& Yodels
Born in Grants Pass, Oregon.
Moved to the Portland area in
1998.
Inspired to pick up the guitar
by Johnny Cash, Nolan has quickly
become one of Oregon’s most
loved bluegrass singers and emcees.
Plays flat-pick rhythm and lead
along with fingerstyle guitar
breaks.
Sings most of the band’s
tenor parts. Yodels in harmony
with his dad Larry.
Studies writing, acting and
music at the Arts Magnet Academy
in Beaverton, Oregon.
Nolan Bronson brings youth and
fresh ideas to the band. While
he likes to help drive the band
with his rhythm guitar, he also
offers soulful, evocative renditions
of ballads from traditional sources
along with Johnny Cash, Gordon
Lightfoot and the Eagles. Nolan’s
finger-style guitar shows innovation,
catchy licks and complexity that
boggle the ear.
He plays a Martin D-16 guitar
that has been modified by Todd
Mylet of Portland Fretworks.
With strong interests in history,
writing, reading economics and
vocal music, Nolan is concentrating
on becoming an accomplished actor,
having already worked under the
direction of David Ogden Stiers—Colonel
Winchester of M*A*S*H. Nolan is
a senior at the Arts Magnet Academy
in Beaverton.
Dazzling fiddler Andy Emert
is devoted to musical excellence
whether playing, instructing his
students, or judging contests
such as the national fiddle championships
in Wieser, Idaho. His fiddle playing
is superlative, engaging all with
his inspired stylings and command.
With the silky smooth tones of
his singing voice, Andy helps
create the unique and compelling
vocal blend. His quick wit is
also fun to experience—on
and off stage.
A member of the Guild of American
Luthiers, he repairs and cares
for instruments at Kerr Violins.
Andy resides in Portland with
his wife Sola and delightful twin
boys Alexander and Sam.
Bassist Gretchen Amann has always
loved sharing the joy of music
and song with others. She brings
solid bass work, authentic vocal
style and engaging personality
to the Stumptown Stars show. Well
known in Portland acoustic circles,
her warm, friendly voice is heard
on KBOO public radio bluegrass
and folk shows. Gretchen’s
widely acknowledged depth and
background in Americana music
make her an especially valuable
band member.
Having opened for Uncle Earl,
Mike Seeger, and the Nitty Gritty
Dirt Band, Gretchen has also entertained
for Alzheimer’s homes, family
picnics, and with street musicians
throughout the world. She thumps
an Englehart bass and plucks a
Stelling banjo.
Mandolinist Garrett Maass brings
drive and a unique creativity
to the Stumptown Stars. His inspired
stylings, lightning brilliance
and interactions on the strings
always keep our bluegrass tunes
fun and ever evolving with inspired
fluid breaks. A true Renaissance
man, Garrett brings intelligence,
depth, and originality to all
his engagements.
His favorite mandolin players
are David Grisman, Sam Bush, Chris
Thiele, Andy Statman, Peter Ostroushko,
Adam Steffey, and John Reischman.
Garrett plays a Lebeda Premium
F (2000) mandolin, a Santa Cruz
Vintage D Dreadnought guitar and
a 1950’s vintage Kay bass.
His interests beyond music are
cooking, and gardening, and yoga.
Fresh Tracks Studio www.freshtracksstudio.com
John's cutting edge technology, patient
guidance, and unerringly accurate ear
have helped us all in our recording
projects.
Larry
Bulaich Wilder and the Stumptown Stars
are here to entertain! Engaging and
fun show to fit your community concert,
school, festival, party, fund-raiser,
cultural symposium, fair, corporate
event, club, pub or wedding. Available
as duo, trio, quartet or more, this
dynamic group plays the finest music
in its genre. Hot bluegrass, cowboy,
folk, roots featuring fancy and harmony
yodeling! The Stumptown Stars of Portland,
OR have won awards with their solid,
tasty and lightning acoustic instrumentals
on guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle and
bass. 
