Smoke CD by Paul Kelly and Uncle Billl

Uncle Bill had been playing around Melbourne for about 4 yrs when a phone call from Paul came through. He really like our first album of all Australian songs put into a Bluegrass setting, so much so that we started working on Smoke. It took about a month to record in a small studio in Fitzroy. I had originally put a couple of Paul’s songs on Special Treatment our first of two CD’s.

Having Paul front the band it brought Bluegrass music to a much broader audience and with television coverage and a couple of nationwide tours, the CD sold very well for what was really a Bluegrass recording ie: a totally acoustic album. Onstage performances were always fun with only microphones being used resulting in the band mixing themselves by dancing in and out of mike range. A new experience for Paul and that he enjoyed.

This old school technique is now the norm for the many acoustic string bands in this country.

Uncle Bill via Paul Kelly and his songs were a first for Australian Bluegrass music and opened the way for others.