The Hoover Uprights Award-winning Old-Time string band Info on the new CD by the Hoover Uprights

About our CD:

County Sales: "Today's younger generation of old-time musicians has made
the annual String Band Music Festival at Clifftop, West Virginia the top
event of the year, so when a group like the Hoover Uprights can say it has
won the grand prize there twice, it says a lot. And this really nice 21 track
album confirms it, with fine versions of a well-chosen program of standard
& obscure tunes. The 5-member group features the fiddling of Bill Schmidt,
and nice harmonica by Dave Rice. Some of the most effective pieces feature the
banjo work of Kate Brett. Everything is nicely played and recorded."

 

Background on the Hoover Uprights

The Hoover Uprights resulted from a casual afternoon of music organized
by John Schwab in January of 1993. Responding to his old friend Bill Schmidt's
complaint that he hadn't been playing much since leaving the Double Decker
Stringband (which he has since rejoined), John suggested a session with
Kate Brett and Kevin Enoch, two fairly recent arrivals to the Washington area.
The four got together at Kate and Kevin's house in Greenbelt, Maryland and hit it
off immediately, both musically and personally. The six inches of snow that fell
that afternoon was hardly noticed as they discovered their common bond in the music.

Several years later Kevin introduced harmonica player Dave Rice, a friend from Ohio,
to the band. After a few sessions with the Hoovers at the Appalachian String Band
Music Festival in Clifftop, West Virginia, Dave already felt like a member of the band.
He was invited to join and plays with them whenever possible.

The band's name, which came to Kevin one day while cleaning house, had no special
significance or meaning--mostly it was the only suggested name that nobody hated.
Subsequently, the Hoover Company found out about this and, rather than taking them to
court, printed a story about the band in an issue of the Hoover News.

A typical Hoover "practice" is more like a social event, with as much laughter,
conversation, and general fooling around as there is music-making. The Hoovers play
dances and concerts, and in 2001 and 2003 won first prize in the traditional band contest
at Clifftop.

Booking contact for the band is: Kevin Enoch (email) or phone: 301.595.0373