VTW is Gabriel Valla on guitar, mandolin
and vocals, Jason Thomas on fiddle, mandolin and harmony vocals, Elisabeth
Williamson on rhythm guitar, banjo and vocals, Lon Williamson on upright
bass and vocals and whenever available, the amazing Greg Turner on mandolin.
Gabe, Lon and Lis are also songwriters and their tunes are a vital part
of the VTW sound.
Gabriel Valla is a multi-talented
performer with many laudable credits to his career. He won the Merle Watson
Festival Flatpicking Championship when he was but a lad of 16 and has only honed
his already formidable skills since then, writing many great original
tunes featured most recently on the recordings of Scott Anderson and Larry
Rice as well as on the VTW release. He has also recently released a beautiful
recording with Sam Pacetti, available through Waterbug Records (http://cdbaby.com/cd/spgv). He has
a great voice which brings warmth to the stage whether singing a lead
or adding a harmony.
Originally from North Bay, Ontario, Jason Thomas
is a Canadian Open Mandolin
Champion, as well as a two-time Florida State Champion on both fiddle
and
mandolin. Now making his home in Orlando, Florida, Jason has been a professional
musician most of his life, having performed all over the world and on
national television. He loves to do studio work and has appeared on numerous
recordings. He is currently performing and touring with Claire Lynch but also appears with Kane's River, a great bluegrass band
from Montana.
Lon and Elisabeth Williamson provide
the strong rhythmic groundwork behind VTW. Lis plays rhythm guitar and
frails the banjo in the band as well as sings lead and harmony vocals.
Her guitar style adds a percussive quality to some of the tunes and is
complimentary to the other instruments. Lon’s smooth style on the
upright bass provides the grounding force, which drives the VTW sound.
His honest voice tells it like it is on the much loved original tunes he contributes
to the stage performances of VTW as well as their recordings.
Greg Turner on mandolin is a veteran
performer with an exacting and beautiful style on his instrument. He adds
a lot of excitement to the VTW stage performance with his expertly executed
runs and creative leads. Some of Greg's mandolin influences are Sam Bush,
David Grisman, Adam Steffey and Larry Rice to name a few. Greg's musical
tastes run the gamut from Bluegrass to Swing, Folk, Acoustic, Jazz and
Dawg music. Greg's appearances with VTW are a special event and not to
be missed!