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A Brief History
The Greater Atlanta Bluegrass Band was the predecessor to the Atlanta Bluegrass AllStars. The GABB, with
Buck Peacock, Geoff Hohwald and Bob Knysz, began in 1983
as an informal get-together in order to play a little bluegrass music and just have a general good time.
In the early 1970’s Buck had left North Carolina and
the pioneer newgrass group “The New Deal String Band” to form the very progressive bluegrass-rock group
Rosebud along with a couple of other ex- NDSB'ers. That band moved to Atlanta to begin a ten year stint
in Underground Atlanta as the house band at Muhlenbrink’s Saloon. When Rosebud disbanded, Buck was soon
involved with a group put together by mandolin legends Jethro Burns and Red Rector. That group played the
final two weeks of the Knoxville World’s Fair and then remained together for another year before recording
an album entitled “Old Friends”. Geoff had played in local bands
in Ohio and Atlanta and was in the middle of transforming a career in music retailing into the legendary
musical instruction giant he was later to become. Bob was just settling in from a move from Chicago where
he had also played with some prominent local bluegrass bands. These three came together with Jack Spence,
a friend and business associate of Geoff’s to form the original “Greater Atlanta Bluegrass Band”. They
played a few gigs and that was all it took. Along the way they have enjoyed a reputation as one of
Atlanta’s most entertaining bluegrass bands. Bass players came and went (including at one time
Emory Gordy, Jr, ex-Elvis Band, ex-Emmy Lou band, ex-All Pro LA & Nashville studio musician, etc), but
these three were always the constant.
The band came and went a couple of times over the years, their latest
incarnation being just after the turn of the new century. Alas, they are now on the wane again, which is where
the Atlanta Bluegrass AllStars came in. Any time Buck would get together with Geoff and various other musicians,
it wasn't exactly the GABB, but they were always high quality musicians. Hence the "AllStars". Since then, Buck
has formed a regular association with Sonny Houston on Fiddle and Tom Hicks on mandolin, two more "Atlanta AllStars".
These three have formed a solid vocal and rhythmic trio, to which they always add two other pickers in the form of
some of the finest banjo players and bass players in the area, to round out the "Atlanta Bluegrass AllStars".
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