Near Myths Words To Burn CD

Katy Adams - acoustic 12-string guitar, vocalsJim Clark - acoustic guitar, banjo, pennywhistle, harmonica, vocalsBen Greene - acoustic 6 & 12-string guitar, harmonica, vocalsBernadette Greene - keyboards, vocalsAndy Oglesby - acoustic & electric guitar, vocalsTerry “Teep” Phillips - acoustic 6 & 12-string guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar, mandolin, bass, harmonica, drums, hairy drum, rattlesnake rattle, vocalsMatthew Adams - drums (Words to Burn)Phil Valera - co-producer, engineer, keyboards, tambourine, vibraslap, cowbellThe Story of The Near MythsIn 1976, Jim and Ben, both fresh from undergraduate experiences in Tennessee, wound up in Greensboro, NC, in the MFA Writing Program at UNC-Greensboro. The aspiring poets quickly became friends, and eventually roommates. Ben had left behind many good friends in the Knoxville/Jefferson City axis, and Jim also had many good friends in the Knoxville area. The two made numerous trips together during breaks to East Tennessee (oh, the stories they could tell!), and eventually their two sets of friends intermingled. One of Ben’s East Tennessee friends was Teep, who also quickly became one of Jim’s friends, and one of Jim’s East Tennessee friends was Larry, who also quickly became one of Ben’s friends (and Teep’s too). Larry, though not a Near Myth, will play a significant role later.Meanwhile, in Greensboro, Ben and Jim met Jane, who quickly became their good friend. Jane lived across the hall from Andy, and Katy was her best friend. The three of them would sometimes play music together. Andy, Jane, Katy, and Jim eventually played together in a band called Rough Mix. Ben would jam with them sometimes, and they worked up a killer version of one of Ben’s early original tunes, “Theme from Cheap (Cheap Suitin’).”By 1980, Rough Mix had come to an end, and Ben and Jim left Greensboro. Ben returned to his home state of SC, and Jim eventually headed out to Denver in a desperate attempt to remain a college student. In 1984, while Jim was in Denver, Larry and Ben blew through the Mile High City to hang with Jim, in the early stages of their Great North American Last Fling Tour in Larry’s VW microbus. They got as far as the west coast of Vancouver Island where Ben met Bernadette, whom he eventually married. After that, everybody got kind of busy for a number of years, though all of them remained at least marginally in touch with some of them.In 2004 a planetary alignment occurred, overseen by an angel named Jane, which compelled Ben, Bernadette, Teep, Katy, and Andy to pilgrimage to Wilson, NC, where Jim was now living, to record an album of original songs with the nearly mythical Phil Valera as producer. Old friendships were renewed, and those that hadn’t yet met did, and it was all good. They named their album WILSON, and vowed to keep at it until they were too old to rock and roll.The story continues . . . In the spring of 2005, Andy was diagnosed with cancer. Sadly, he passed away on July 3, 2006, but not before recording guitar and vocal tracks for three new songs which will be included on The Near Myths' second album, WORDS TO BURN, named after a phrase from one of Andy's new songs. To us, he'll always be a Near Myth.