ARTICLE: Bluegrass Is In Their Blood

The old adage, “the family that plays together, stays together” never rang more true than when describing a local brood of talented musicians with a family tree rooted deep in the bluegrass of Kentucky, Tennesee and West Virginia. As a young boy in the 1940s, Jamie Sloan would lie on the floor of his family’s home and listen to the static-and-hiss filled broadcasts of the Grand Old Opry from his small radio. With every performance, legends such as Hank Williams Sr., and Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs would melodically stoke Jamie’s passion for the music. Years later he would share that passion with his daughters Hilary and Leslie, and son Joel. Today Joel, who Leslie says was “the smart one who knew he couldn’t make a career out of music,” is a successful accountant in North Carolina and rarely performs. Spring and Oak Ridge North residents Jamie, Leslie Lindley and Hilary, on the other hand, have been diagnosed with an incurable case of the banjo bug and the fiddle flu. A one-time minister, now owner of James Sloan Insurance in Cypress, Jamie looks back on a career spanning several decades and several groups as sweet memories. “In the early ‘70s we had a band called The Last Bluegrass Band (a play on the film titleThe Last Picture Show). We picked with some really fine musicians like Bill Monroe, Danny Jones and Ralph Stanley,” he said. Jamie’s wife, Glenna, sang harmony and played bass with band back then, but today is an indispensable roadie often seen wrangling the grandkids at family performances. Like their father did many years earlier, the Sloan girls developed their love of Country and Bluegrass music while lying on the floor late at night and listening to the homespun sounds of banjos, mandolins and acoustic guitars rising up from a basement jam session. “I can remember being six or seven years old and falling asleep listening to mom and dad down in the basement playing bluegrass with friends until 2 o’clock in the morning,” Leslie said. “Bluegrass is a part of our heart and soul.” It was the years of being on stage as The Sloan Family Band that helped to shape Leslie and Hilary into the regionally well known performers that they have become. Both women studied the Suzuki method of violin from an early age, learning the classics, yet yearning to fiddle. “When the kids were in high school we started doing the family band thing,” Jamie said. “We were playing little podunk rodeos, the monthly Country show at Yoakum’s near San Antonio and the Rosenberg Opry.” The concert venues today can hardly be tagged podunk as the sisters’ popularity has grown. Miss Leslie and Her Juke Jointers has taken a retro route to revive the style of Country music made popular in the fifties and sixties. “We do some original tunes, but most of our repertoire comes from obscure covers that never charted, or in some cases may never have been released,” she said. Dressed the part in an outfit complete with pearls and heels reminiscent of June Cleaver or Harriet Nelson, Miss Leslie croons the tunes and fiddles the melody from the stage at Cosmos Café, Borski’s and Traders Village, to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Hilary Sloan and Aunt Irma’s Fillin’ Station has taken a more traditional Country road on their way to fulfillment. Nominated as Houston’s Best Bluegrass band for two consecutive years by the Houston Press, Hilary enjoys “fiddling around” at the legendary Gruene Hall and the Broken Spoke, as well as at local music halls such as the Firehouse and the Continental Club. Texas Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame member Michael Fuller says that “Hilary is probably the most talented bluegrass fiddle player in Texas.” But, contrary of the accolades from the press and her peers, Hilary increasingly sees herself as a songwriter, penning many of the group’s tunes. Her dad and sister openly agree that Hilary is the prolific songwriter in the family, often drawing inspiration from times of despair in her life. In recent years Jamie has phased out own his group, Vintage Sounds, to back up his daughters on guitar at concerts across the State. “Dad tells us that he’s getting older and that we don’t need him on stage, “ Leslie said. “But, I have to explain to him that we like being on stage with him. I like sharing that connection with him, sharing the musical experience. That will always be a very special thing for the three of us.” copyright 2005 Michael Baxter www.baxwrtr.com