Who would have thought that a song written about a tiny Adirondack town with a history of mining and baseball would be one of the five finalists for the International Bluegrass Music Association's Song of the Year? What a thrill! We had wondered when the song came out if it was too closely tied to our area to have any kind of appeal outside the region, but we have found that the song has gone over well wherever we have played. I don't know if any of the current Lyon Mountain Miners baseball team know about the nomination, but I am told that after a recent playoff victory some of them drove through town blaring "Iron & Diamonds" in their cars.
I have a good brother. We pick on each other a lot on stage and I often wonder if people new to the band wonder if we get along. The fact we've been doing this together for so long should answer that question. Here's a quick story about Leigh. I recently made an ill-advised non-stop eleven hundred mile trip by myself in order to get to a gig where the rest of the band was waiting. I had told Leigh that I'd arrive the night before the show. He not only checked on me several times throughout the day, but was waiting by himself in the midnight darkness looking down the road when I pulled in the drive.
Eric