Here they go again. Back from The World China Tour, following their meteoric rise to worldwide prominence on the world's largest internet music subscriber system-with more than one million song plays and a dozen Worldwide Number One Hits on internet charts from their first two albums-The Front Porch Country Bandis back and at it again. Here's their creative explosion of 15 hot new recordings featuring their own brand of Original American Country. Their newest album takes fans on a musical odyssey stretching across North America, "...like the thunder of a runaway freight train barrelin' down Main Street at midnight...combined with the freshness of a front porch swing swayin' gently in the cool country breeze after a soft summer rain."

Every track commands close attention. "It's been a labor of love," says the band, "about places we've been, or still want to get to." All performed with their trademark energy and emotion, showcasing their soaring 6-part harmonies and the dazzling play of one of America's greatest guitar bands. You've hitched a ride from the northern Canadian border to the southern Mississippi delta, from the sun-drenched western Pacific to the eastern blue Atlantic, with brief stops in Alaska, Hawaii, Europe & Asia. "This band is different, and they're proud of it," say industry writers.

"The group is hot...a Pennsylvania country band that travels the world from their home north of the Mason-Dixon line. They hear, write, and perform country music differently. They call it 'North Country." This band has successfully flown below Nashville's radar to take their stories all around the globe as America's ambassadors of Original American Country. As musicians, these players are so versatile they can write and perform in any classic style. From Country Rock to Acoustic Folk. From Carribean Island to Mountain Bluegrass. From Doo-Wop to Rock & Roll. You name it, they create and play it. There's a word for their brand of music-Timeless. Have songs. Will travel. Here they go again.

True North. No Boundaries. Dreams & Destinations.

With the release of their latest new album adventure, "Here We Go Again," The Front Porch Country Band makes their most powerful case yet for their own special brand of music-rapidly becoming known as North Country.

Yet rather than merely settling for the release of a collection of great new songs, or even a great new album (this surprising "Trail Mix" of fifteen originals is both), this band sets a new standard, creating and releasing what used to be termed in the music industry a breakthrough "statement" album, an all-too-rare commodity these days.

Right out of the box, Here We Go Again is instantly engaging. The album kicks off with a jolt, then winds along the back roads of traditional country, folk, and riverboat tunes, veers suddenly onto the fast lanes of blazing country rock and rock and roll, and then just as suddenly brings us back around, gently depositing us safely home once again. Along the way, we're treated to more than this band's music. We're introduced to their personalities as musicians and entertainers. They take their music seriously. But from the drumbeat of the very first cut to the final notes at the album's end, they never take themselves too seriously.

Just give a listen to their delightful "hidden track" #15 "They Don't Let Me Sing," featuring the vocals of guitarist Rick Buck whose voice, presumably, we've never heard before and never will again! (The song is "used without permission-by a very close 4:2 vote of the band.") This album stretches the all-too-neatly established boundaries of an entire genre of music. Indeed, it broadens and redefines the very concept of Country Music itself. Fresh. Essential. Different. True North.

There's said to be a well-worn music industry adage. Question: What are the last three words you hear in Nashville? Answer: "Rock and Roll." If true, the loss is Nashville's and Country Music's. Fortunately, this band is neither limited nor intimidated by such out-moded, shop-worn labels. We music fans are the richer for it.

Like many of the rest of us, these six American musicians were present at the revolution. And they haven't forgotten. They remain inspired by the rock and roll revolution, along with everything else that came with it, from folk and folk-rock to country rock and, yes, pure rock & roll.

Of course, this talented team of singer-songwriters seem delightfully oblivious to all the stereotypes. After all, at heart, these are true musicians. Pure. And simple. This album may be their finest yet (from among their many fine previous releases so far).

Although this new album is loaded with 15 full-length tracks, all written and meticulously recorded and mastered in the back woods of Pennsylvania's rolling green valleys, the journey seems to end all too soon.

Fortunately for the rest of us, it's easy enough to simply hit the "repeat" button, then sit back, and enjoy!

Here we go again.

Views & Interviews With The Front Porch Country Band

OAC - We're visiting here tonight with all six members of The Front Porch Country Band. They've created quite a stir with their recent new album releases. With me here in the living room are (shown clockwise from left) Joseph Paul Hauserman (who performs lead vocals, keyboards and drums), Johnny Jolin (lead vocals and guitar), Richard Rupert (lead guitars and drums), Kim Reichley (lead vocals and bass), Rick Buck (lead guitars and drums), and Alison Rupert (lead vocals, guitars, and keys). Now, that's a lot of drummers, lead guitarists, and lead vocalists. Who the heck is the real leader of this band, anyway?

All - (laughter together...all in unison) Don't ask that question...!

OAC - All right, I guess I'll ask a safer question. What brought you all together to form The Front Porch Country Band?

Rick - We've all know each other for years. (Alison: "Decades!" Richard: "That's ten years for those taking notes!") And we've worked together in studios on individual projects, but we'd never put it all together and performed together as an act. When the opportunity came up, we jumped right at it.

OAC - Since you've come off the road after The World China Tour, you've written, recorded and released all three of these new albums. Where do you find the inspiration to create such moving music in such a short period of time?

Rick - As musicians, as writers, we're all writers in this band, we've worked together to come up with various musical statements that express how we're feeling. These albums deal with a lot of different emotions. We wanted to express those.

Alison - We're musicians, and music is our natural means of expressing what we're feeling.

Johnny - Like on The China Trilogy. We'd just returned from China and we met such beautiful people there. We wanted to say something with our music. It was an inspiring experience.

Joseph - Exactly. And also with The Christmas Album. There's a spiritual element for me. I played drums and sang on two songs in "The Christmas Trilogy," and I was really moved. I felt it when we were all singing together in the chorus, "Come Let Us Sing!"

OAC -You have such varied backgrounds as musicians. What's it like recording together as The Front Porch Country Band?

Richard - It's fun to play in a band with people who've got experience in a lot of different styles of music. You know, we all bring a different thing to the table. It can really make the music deep and it's really cool to play with these guys. For me, it was a kick playing guitar on One World. One Dream. I found that to be inspiring in terms of its power. The guitar was very easy to play because of the emotion of that song, and the subject pushed the guitar right where it went. I didn't have to think about it, it was emotionally played and it felt like it was right for the part.

Kimbo - "The Christmas Trilogy" is definitely inspirational in that aspect. There is a sadness of part of the trilogy and the other part is celebration that should make you stand up and want to go out and sing with your neighbors on Christmas morning.

Alison - We were really operating on raw emotion on this. And when Joseph and I started to sing, I think we both just sort of let it out, and then the melody came just because of the emotion that was inside of us. We started singing, and it was just so powerful and so strong, that it was "take number one"-and that was it.

Joseph - The wide variety of material that we've all grown up listening to, we've all been able to draw on that to put this original music together.

Johnny - Music is personal. We want to reach out to people and touch them in some way...maybe make a personal connection through our songs. When our fans feel something, when they're affected by our music, that's a home run for us.

Rick - I'd like people to be able to sit back and maybe cry.

Joseph - We need to cry. We need to laugh.

Alison - I think of it as a musical greeting card. We're sending a card out that maybe expresses something musically that maybe people couldn't put into words and it's a way of sharing emotion.

OAC - When you were growing up, who inspired you musically?

Kimbo - I think everybody's a product of everything they've ever listened to. When I was growing up and staying at my grandmother's house, I remember staying up late at night listening to Jackie Wilson on the radio. Doo-wop. And then the Beatles. And then Merle Haggard. And so you're a product of everything that you ever liked - I think everybody is a product of that, and it sort of develops your own style from everything that you've ever listened to. And we bring that to our music.

Rick - One thing everyone in this band has learned over the years is you can't pigeonhole any certain type of music. Music is music. As Kimbo said, we bring a lot to the table with each other. We're all products of what we've heard over the years. I'm born and raised in a little town in Pennsylvania, raised on Hank Williams Sr., which was not real popular at age 15 in my school. So whether it's Jimi Hendrix or Hank Williams, everyone in this band has gone through that. It makes for a great sound.

These legendary recording artists and live entertainers own the first Grammy ever given for Best Country & Western Song. They shot to worldwide fame in 1958 with the release of their multimillion crossover hit Tom Dooley. It was only the first of a long-running string of singles which included Greenback Dollar, The Reverend Mr. Black, Worried Man, Where Have All The Flowers Gone, and many more. They began America's folk revival and defined an era.

Their dominance in album sales is historic. Releasing albums for Capitol Records at the rate of three or four full albums a year - an unheard of pace today - the trio topped album charts for years, demonstrating the huge revenue potential of album sales and changing the recording industry.

Nick Reynolds, Bob Shane, and Dave Guard were three friends who began singing together in college for beer and pretzels. Their formula for success was often imitated but never equaled: 1. Powerful songs, 2. Brilliantly performed acoustic guitar instrumentals, 3. Rich blends of vocal harmonies, and 4. A dynamic onstage presence showcasing engaging personalities and musical prowess. Kingston Trio concerts have always been summed up in a single word: Fun.

With only one personnel change (John Stewart replaced Dave Guard in 1961), The Kingston trio powered the folk revolution from 1958 until they disbanded in 1967. When founding member Bob Shane missed the fun, he reformed with new players. The Kingston Trio continues entertaining audiences to this day. We caught up with Bob on his break from touring to speak with him from his home in Phoenix.

OAC: It's said the roots of today's country music are found in American folk music, which The Kingston Trio reintroduced to the country in the late 1950s. Some say The Kingston Trio saved country music.

BS: They didn't have a folk singing category the first year of the Grammys, which was 1958. They wanted to give us a Grammy for Tom Dooley, after they had just called us folk singers. Now, we didn't call ourselves folk singers. We were just guys having a good time chasing chicks, you know (laughs). So they looked around and they realized that country music was at an all time low in sales in '57 and '58, and a lot of people couldn't get work. So they used us to help country music out. We won the first Grammy ever given for Best Country & Western Presentation that year.

OAC: So you see a connection between country music and folk music.

BS: The roots are all the same and they're all church music. My great-great-grandfather was a congregational missionary from Boston who sailed to Hawaii to do good and did well. I grew up in Hawaii learning Hawaiian music.

OAC: So you see a connection...?

BS: Well, Hawaiian music: verse, chorus, verse, chorus. Folk music: verse, chorus, verse chorus. Country music: verse, chorus, verse, chorus. Very simple. But the the origins of all of them basically came from church music in a way. It was the missionary families, one of which I was from, and they taught that (structure). Before that, Hawaiian music only had chants. Then they took the church music and made beautiful music out of it. And folk music is what was brought over, and that probably includes country music. And it was all originally based on church music.

OAC: The Kingston Trio is often mentioned as a candidate for some of the new Halls of Fame.

BS: I've had friends who have tried to get us recognized from the Kennedy honors, and who have said we should be in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and The Country Music Hall of Fame. But when you've been around 45 years, all the people who run those things today have absolutely no idea who we are (laughs). You know, in the music business you have an actual maximum period of time that usually lasts no more than ten years. And so, my idea after our run was, now we've got all that stuff out of the way, the records and all of that, now we have material we can call on for the rest of our life.

OAC: Did your original success with the trio come as a surprise?

BS: Well, i was expected to go back and take over my dad's business, which was a wholesale sporting goods and toy business. We covered the entire Pacific area. After Tom Dooley, I sent him $10,000 to be invested for me. My mother wired me back and said, "Don't ever do that again. Your Dad almost had a heart attack!" (laughs).

OAC: The trio always had such great material. You introduced America to a lot of great new songwriters.

BS: We started off getting songs out of grade school song books. Songs that had been around for a long time, but some of the oddball ones, you know. And then we realized there is a tremendous number of songs around that are public domain, so we were the first ones to get a hold of them. Nobody else was doing this yet. We went in and got all the really good songs. We discarded loads of songs that became hits for other artists later on. But you know, we just did the songs that we were interested in ourselves. And it worked out. Later, when we got a writer that we liked, like Gordon Lightfoot or Billy Ed Wheeler, who had a prolific background in songwriting, we automatically went back to them. We did three or four albums a year and toured 280 days a year. You know, nobody's ever heard of that since then.
And we also wrote. We had a recording session and they said it was too short. We need another song by tomorrow. So we went home and we said, "Okay, so let's make it a little story." We drew straws and said who gets the first verse, second verse, third verse. We wrote Worried Man in about an hour. We were young and full of interesting stuff like that. Today we perform only our original album songs. But we have over 400 to choose from which we recorded from '57 to '67. So we can perform our classics plus great songs folks have never heard before.

Just like today's hottest country recording artists, Martin guitars were born in the country. When C.F. Martin moved his operation to the rural outskirts of Nazareth, Pennsylvania in 1838, he was relieved to get out of the harsh environment of New York City and back to tranquil settings reminiscent of his birthplace in pastoral Germany. His wife was happy as well - her love of the beautiful rolling hills being a big reason for the move. Not only did The Martin Guitar Company begin in the country, it has played a major role in influencing country music.

Martin's legendary D-28 Dreadnought guitar helped shape the sound of country music by paving the way for the larger body style that is so popular today. Because of its large size and deep bass response, country performers picked them up in a big way. Since country music traditionally lacked a bass instrument, the D-28 was perfect for backing up vocals, fiddles, and banjos. Today the guitar is prevalent in all types of acoustic music, and accounts for about 80 percent of Martin's yearly production.

Not only did Martin help shape country music, country music helped to shape Martin guitars as well. In 1933, country star Gene Autry helped spawn another style of Dreadnought. It was based on his idol Jimmie Rodgers' guitar, but used the new larger body style popularized by Martin. The guitar had Autry's name written in pearl script on the fretboard. The guitar maker received another bug boost when The Kingston Trio featured Martins on their worldwide bestselling albums and international concert tours in the later 50's and early 60's.

Martin has produced some of the finest acoustic instruments in the world for over a century and a half. And like a well-crafted song, fine guitars result from careful attention to detail.

"How to build a guitar to give this tone is not a secret," Frank Henry Martin explained in 1903. "It takes care in selecting the materials, laying out the proportions, and patience in giving the necessary time to finish every part. A fine guitar cannot be built for the price of a poor one, but who regrets the extra cost for a good guitar?"

The Martin Guitar Company continues to adhere to the principles that have guided it through six generations and continues to produce the finest guitars in the world.

The Front Porch Country Band
Original American "Country Rocks!"
The World China Tour

1.3 billion people. 21,000 miles. The world's largest population. The Front Porch Country Band became America's ambassadors of country music to the nation of China as the exclusive guests of the US-China foundation. Sold-out concerts. The world's greatest stages. Standing room only. Headlining for weeks on their cross-country tour of China's greatest cities performing their own special brand of Original American Country music to standing ovations. Night after wild night. "American Country Rocks!"

Friendships forged. Bonds created. From the moment the Boeing 747 touched down in Beijing, all six members of the band were greeted with smiles, mobbed for autographs, treated like long lost friends at every turn. "This is not the China we grew up studying in school," says Johnny. "They love Americans. They love our American country music. We couldn't believe it when audiences broke into applause with the first notes of our original songs, like "Somebody Tonight," or "Solomon Wind."

Number one in the world. One million song plays worldwide. The headlining tour from the band that's rocking America and the world. With fourteen number one songs that stormed to the top of the international country charts of the world's largest internet music subscriber system-then stayed there for more than a year. The Numbe One Love Song in the world for 26 weeks. The Number One Folk Song in the world for 44 weeks. The world's Number One Rockabilly song or 22 weeks. And, of course, the Number One Country Song in the world. A combined 245 weeks ruling the international song charts at Number One.

He's the brother of a legend. But he's built his own special country career, and put his unique signature on country music.

Music was always in the air for country legend Tommy Cash. Even growing up in rural Dyess, Arkansas, where his parents Ray and Carrie Rivers Cash moved to take advantage of a new farm program started by Roosevelt. They never could have expected the talent that would arise out of the fields of cotton they farmed side by side with their children.

Slowly but surely young Tommy was absorbing musical influences - everything from the work songs of the fields and nearby railroad yards to the sweet sound of his mother's hymns and folk songs. Another boy's ears were perking up too - his older brother Johnny. In truth, music played a big part in the Cash family's daily life, but no one knew the fame it would bring.

"We grew up in northeast Arkansas...I'm the youngest of seven children. I remember Mama and Daddy working long hours to provide for us and give us a Christian home. Most of all, I remember a whole lot of love," Tommy says of his upbringing.

Restless, but never one to squander his musical talents, Tommy formed his first band when he was in high school. Music was not his only love, however. All along, he dreamed of being a basketball player. Today, Tommy's an avid golder, competing in various celebrity golf tournaments, a sport he took up as an adult.

After high school, Tommy enlisted in the U.S. Army where he passed time as a DJ for AFN radio's Stickbuddy Jamboree in Germany. The experience sharpened his love of music generally, especially country music.

Back in the USA, he forged ahead in the music business, working in radio, even playing with Hank Williams, Jr. In the meantime, he also worked at managing his brother's record company. Then in 1965 he was signed to Musicor and proceeded to release his first single, That's Where My Baby Used To Be. Tommy just missed the country Top 40 in 1968 with The Sounds Of Goodbye on United Artists.

Six White Horses (Epic), his 1969 tribute to the Kennedys and Martin Luther King, earned him his biggest success in the U.S. country charts. Just one year later he released a pair of Top 10 singles, One Song Away and Rise And Shine, written by brother Johnny's Sun Records contemporary, Carl Perkins. Tommy appeared in 1987 on Austin City Limits with brother Johnny. He's won a BMI award for his composition, You Don't Hear, a country hit for Kitty Wells. In 1991, he released The 25th Anniversary Album, which featured guest appearances from brother Johnny, Tom T. Hall, George Jones, and Connie Smith.

Despite his distinctly American country sound, Tommy is also an international star. He has been quite popular at U.K. country festivals, toured Australia, and has played in many foreign countries on almost every continent.

Tommy's wit, charm, and superb performances have led him to entertain at The Grand Ole Opry, Las Vegas, Branson Theaters, military bases, fairs, and corporate functions. He has also been sought after as a guest by several major networks and his videos have been played on Country Music Television and The Nashville Network.

His sparkling personality and excellent voice have also made Tommy a popular guest speaker, as well as a vocal talent for commercials.

Today, Tommy continues to entertain audiences with songs from his more than 20 albums. An ambassador of country music to the nation and to the world, Tommy is very outspoken on the music he loves.

"I'm not surprised that country music has been accepted by such a wide audience, and I believe the best is yet to come!" says Tommy. We salute a true American country original.