We recently sat down with friends Jim White and Joe Matteson, of Dahlonega, and talked about their musical partnership. While they’ve known each other and jammed together for quite some time, they’ve only performed together as The Buzzard Mountain Boys for a little more than a year.
Jim played violin in high school but put it aside. About ten years ago he met Atlanta banjo picker and instructor Geoff Howald, attended WRFG-FM’s Peachblossom Bluegrass Festival, and got bitten by the bluegrass bug. About this time, he and wife Lynn moved from the Atlanta area to a little paradise in a cove at the foot of Buzzard Mountain in the Turner’s Corner area of Lumpkin County. Jim began to play guitar and later picked up the fiddle again (the violin is a fiddle in bluegrass music.) He’s been taking lessons with Sonny Houston for close to three years now and contributes fiddle, guitar, and vocals to The Buzzard Mountain Boys.
Joe’s been playing for about 20 years, mostly mandolin and mostly bluegrass or old-time string band music. Joe has lived in the Yahoola Valley near Dahlonega and just a few miles down the road from Buzzard Mountain for about 25 years. Marriage, work, and family responsibilities caused him to let his playing go until his oldest son, Michael, got interested in bluegrass after seeing Dahlonega’s Mountain Music & Medicine Show at age 15. Michael quickly excelled on banjo, and Joe began to provide accompaniment on guitar. Joe soon picked up his mandolin again and it remains his first choice, although he plays a variety of instruments.
Joe and Jim began leading some of the Saturday Appalachian Jams on the Dahlonega Square, and soon realized they had an affinity for the same kind of music and their harmonies worked well together. Their first act was to help Doc Johnson with his Traveling Miracle Medicine Show at Bear on the Square in 2007. They initially called themselves Jim Bob and Joe Bob. (Turns out that both of their middle names are Robert—or Bob) Once they became serious about forming a duo, they decided on the name The Buzzard Mountain Boys.
Enjoying themselves and making sure the audience has a good time is why these fellas perform. Joe’s the comedic side and Jim’s the straight man. Jim says he never knows what Joe’s going to say and Joe says, “Neither do I.” Joe said, “I’ve never had anybody come up to me and say, ‘Hey, I remember that break you took on the mandolin and man, you tore that up!’ but I have had them say, ‘That joke you told about such and such…I loved that and I’ve told that thing to everybody I know!’”
Instead of being called “hillbillies,” JB and JB would rather be known as Appalachian-Americans. Their music is pure, solid brother-type harmony. They enjoy seeking out older, less well-known songs. When asked about their ideal gig, they answered without hesitation, “The Grand Ole Opry.” They laughed and allowed as how they’d love to perform at bluegrass festivals. They’re working on their own web site and a recording project.
Catch the Buzzard Mountain Boys almost any Saturday, April through October, on the Dahlonega square. And if you’d like to book them, go to
www.SEBABluegrass.org, and find them on the “Bands” page. Try to catch Jim Bob and Joe Bob soon before they get famous and start charging big bucks for tickets.
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