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Photo by Denny Schreffler
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Founder Tim Barrett (a.k.a. Arizona Slim of the Desert Drifters) plays the fiddle and pushes the band into new musical territory. Slim doubles as the sound engineer and technical director. Slim's early Tucson career was devoted to stand up bass in the Swingtones and The Salt River Ramblers, as well as blues legends, The Kamikaze Blues Band. Slim can be seen playing his blond Kay in Hollywood's Mario Van Peebles' "Posse" from 1991, and worked in the 1985 ATC production of the musical Robber Bridegroom. You can find Slim at The Guitar Garden Studios working on a variety of acoustic projects with folk musicians from our rich musical community.
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Guitarist and vocalist E.J. Ricotta was also a member of Blue Plate Special, winner of 2nd Place at the 1986 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band competition. Early Tucson sightings of this talented upstate New York native includes Pick Your Poison and The Ad Hoc Committee Boys, and you may have seen his recent Tucson Folk Festival appearance with the Ned Sutton Band. EJ has been an avid supporter of the Tucson folk scene and can be found at Tucson festivals generously giving his time and energy.
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 Photo by Denny Schreffler |
 Photo by Denny Schreffler
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On bass is Ralph Colwell, of the Colwell Brothers Band and Up with People fame. Ralph and his brothers Steve and Paul were natives of Detroit, but skipped around the country (and the world) quite a bit early on, relocating to both Massachusetts and eventually Los Angeles, where the singing and picking brothers finally began their professional career in the late '40s, basically the Stone Age in terms of modern bluegrass. The Colwell Brothers first created attention performing as guests on the Tex William Show, then returned to their old Midwest stomping grounds. The group performed featured spots on several large radio stations in both Louisville and Cincinnati before hosting their own regular television show on WFBM in the Indianapolis area. Hollywood beckoned again in 1951. While back in Los Angeles, the brothers put their pens to a contract with Columbia and began cutting material, which even included appearances by hotshot string-meister Joe Maphis, who played guitar as well as an admirable tenor banjo track on the song "Bluebonnet Lane."
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Doubling on dobro and vocal arranging is Sandy Staples, familiar to most Tucson acoustic music hounds. As a young Tucsonan, Sandy's ear was trained in the finer elements of vocal harmonization in The Tucson Boys Chorus. His ear for harmonies is rumored to be extraterrestrial, and his knowledge of bluegrass history matches his passion for folk music. Sandy has performed with Tucson's legends over the years, from Ned Sutton and the Rabbits to Leslie Keith of Stanley Brothers fame to the famous Blue Plate Special. Although originally a bass player in various groups, Sandy has been intensely studying the dobro for many years and is blazing his instrument in the bluegrass scene.
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 Photo by Denny Schreffler
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Photo by Tim Barrett
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Jain Barrett brings her swingin' vocal style and rich harmonies to the group. An original member of Tucson's Blue Plate Special back in the 80s, and more recently the founder of Jain's Gang, Jain has been out of the spotlight for a few years. Welcome Back Jain, Tucson missed your voice!
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