Where Did That Name Come From?
When the band was formed in the fall of 1993, we didn't really have an idea of a name. As the four original members - Bill Healy (guitar, mandolin, dobro), Rich Raczkowski (autoharp), Bob Weaver (guitar), and Bob Kempter (bass) - started to receive offers to play, we realized we needed one. The name had to end with something, and we didn't want to be the --- Ramblers or --- Boys, so we ended up as the Mohawk Valley String Dusters. A long name, which after a couple years was shortened to only the last two words.
The immediate source of the name came from the name of a bar on Route 9 north of Albany; I passed it once thirty years ago and thought it might work for a band name (during my college years in the early 1970s I was part of the Bunn Hill String Dusters). The name goes back farther, though, to the late 1940s, when Homer Haynes and Jethro Burns (Homer and Jethro) were part of a hillbilly jazz band called the String Dusters on a radio station in Knoxville, TN. They also used the name for a few recordings in a band that included Chet Atkins on guitar, Jerry Byrd on steel guitar, Dale Potter on fiddle, and sometimes George Barnes on guitar. The was another group called Alberta Slim and the String Dusters active in the 1950s. There are no connections between these earlier bands and ours, nor are there any with Hal Peters and his String Dusters, a rockabilly band in Finland (Hal Peters and the String Dusters), or another band with the same name in West Virginia. We all enjoy playing music, though.
Early History
The String Dusters were formed in 1993. Early in the year, Bill met Rich Raczkowski, his wife's autoharp teacher, and the two found they enjoyed playing music together. Looking for additional musicians, Rich recruited Bob Weaver on guitar and Bob Kempter on bass from his former band, the Gifford Hollow Boys. We played our first gig at a gift shop called Rabbit's Run in Fort Hunter on Thanksgiving weekend, 1993. A couple other shows followed, one at the Rensselearville Institute and another at the Waterford Museum. The band was called the Mohawk Valley String Dusters. They made their first appearance at the ABL Roundup in 1994, but by that spring Bob Weaver had retired from his job and moved to Tennessee, and Bob Kempter began to cut back on his playing a bit. Unfortunately, we have only one poor quality recording and no photos from this period. Bill and Rich remained in the band, looking for more players.
Neil Yetwin had stopped by to practice with the band a couple times in 1994, after seeing one of our performances at the Waterford Museum. He finally joined the band in 1995, shortly after the other original members moved on. The band began playing several small clubs, including Albany's Mother Earth Cafe, The Back Door Cafe in Glens Falls, and Borders and Barnes & Noble Books in Colonie. Usually a trio, there were times when Bill and Neil ended up playing as a duo. It takes at least three to be a band, and that came with the addition of Kent DeBie on resonator guitar in 1996. A fine singer of western songs, the band added a new dimension when he joined. Rich left for the last time at the end of the year.
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Fiddlers are hard to find, but the band got lucky in 1997. Barry Weinstein stopped by Bill's book store, and after a bit of conversation was invited to one of our practices. Many people have been invited, but Barry came, and the band has never been the same since that day. Over the last few years, he has evolved from a fine violinist to an excellent fiddler, and it is a pleasure to feature his work in the band. He also plays with a contemporary country band, but seems play his best in our acoustic setting.
The end of the 90s brought a few changes to the band. Neil and Barry took short periods of time off, and a few others came and went. Andre Begnaud became our first full-time bass player (Neil had doubled on acoustic bass guitar) since Bob Kempter, and multi-instrumentalist and bluegrass personality Nick Barr began sitting in with the band now and then. Nick has his own band, Blue Moon, and is a member of Bates & Barr (with Bob Bates), but when he is not playing with his other groups he is our fill-in musician of choice, frequently appearing with the group on bass, mandolin, fiddle, and even guitar.
By 2001, Neil and Barry were back in the String Dusters, and the following spring Jack Toritto joined the band as our first experienced bass player, giving the group a solid foundation. Jack stayed with the group until late 2004.
We had the great good fortune to add Fred Woodward on bass in the fall of 2004. We had known Fred from the ABL and Blue Moon before he joined the group, and are quite excited to have him as a member of the String Dusters. His presence has exceeded our expectations.
