Mike Auldridge

Along with his skill and his broad definition of this is of bluegrass music, Mike Auldridge became known over his multi-decade career being a master from the Dobro, or resonator guitar. Elevated in Kensington, Maryland, he started playing electric guitar at 12, adding banjo when he was 16 and buying Dobro at 17. In 1954, he produced his initial radio appearance on an area show, playing within a band along with his sibling, Dave. He graduated through the College or university of Maryland in 1967 and became a industrial artist, while carrying on to try out at local night clubs. In 1969, he became a member of the New Tone of Green. That group shortly gained a solid pursuing and helped high light Auldridge’s exclusive expressive style in the Dobro. He became a member of the Seldom Picture in 1971, and continued to be with this group through multiple staff changes until the middle-’90s, then later on rejoined them on the part-time basis in 2002. The group became pioneers from the newgrass sound that integrated components of jazz, folk, and rock and roll into traditional bluegrass harmonies. Their eclectic materials spanned initial compositions in addition to cover tunes that ranged from J.J. Cale’s “After Midnight” to Eric Clapton’s “LAY OUT Sally.” Such versatility provided an excellent jumping off stage for Auldridge’s single work, that was aided initially by several users of the Rarely Scene. Auldridge’s 1st two single albums for Takoma, Dobro and Blues & Bluegrass, both include a melding of unconventional cover tunes, like Roberta Flack’s “Getting rid of Me Softly”; deep emotive playing; as well as the occasionally welcome, occasionally out-of-place efforts of high-profile visitor celebrities like Ricky Skaggs and Linda Ronstadt. As he continuing to record with the ’70s for brands like Flying Seafood, he also held busy doing program work with Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Jonathan Edwards, and Jimmy Arnold. His function in the past due ’80s and early ’90s for Sugars Hill, specifically Eight String Golf swing, required his multi-genre experimentations a stage further. Within the middle-’90s, Auldridge moved his energies from your Seldom Picture to Chesapeake, a far more serious band having a smaller and much more steady lineup. That music group produced many recordings for Sugars Hill and in addition helped spawn a set of trio recordings created by Auldridge, Jimmy Gaudreau, and Richard Bennett, 2000’s This Aged City and 2001’s Blue Lonesome Blowing wind. Following a decade-long struggle with prostate malignancy, Mike Auldridge passed away in late Dec of 2012, 1 day timid of his 74th birthday.