Brandon Green

Brandon Green has been called a “a tried-and-true bluegrass musician.” He is a multi-instrumentalist on bass, dobro, fiddle, guitar, and mandolin as well as a singer.

“I have loved music ever since I was a young boy,” explained Green. “I started playing around with a banjo at the age of ten. My grandpa, Sid Hatfield, was the first to introduce me to the banjo. He, along with his siblings, grew up playing and still play to this day. What started out as a hobby soon became a lifelong journey and pursuit. I worked hard in high school learning all I could from not only my grandpa but from various other local musicians such as Will Parsons from Cross Lanes, West Virginia. I started out playing by ear and reading tablature but later also learned to read standard musical notation. I play both claw hammer and three-finger style on the banjo. I flat pick and finger pick on guitar.”

Parsons introduced Green to studio owner Mike Ketchum and studio engineer Scott Linton of Luray, Virginia in 2007. This launched Green’s interest in recording. With modest equipment, Green began to record local traditional artists in his basement. Over the years he has continued, as he says, “watching and asking questions. I learned that recording engineering was not only a science but an artform as well.” With recording traditional styles of music, his goal is to capture the natural sound of the acoustic instruments. With recording traditional styles of music, his goal is to capture the natural sound of the acoustic instruments. “Just as a good quality camera is to a photographer, so is a recording studio to a musician.”

Green’s lifelong learning includes updating the equipment and software in his studio and learning more about studio engineering and techniques. This will improve his ability to produce his and others’ music. He hopes to apprentice with a studio engineer such as Mark Hale at Harvest Studios in Huntington, West Virginia, or Ben Bateson in Johnson City, Tennessee. “People will always be making music and I want to be able to aid in their preservation and help them make a product that will be enjoyed for years to come. I've had the great privilege to record in some of the finest recording studios in the US as a musician, and I want to be able to bring that experience to my hometown and help local musicians with the same experience. I would like to provide a feasible opportunity to local musicians who may not have the funds to go to a larger corporate studio. It allows us to capture the music and its tradition in the styles and techniques used. It's a way to make the traditional artform timeless. It allows us to share our music and traditions in a tangible medium when live performances may not be an option. This is how we archive our musical traditions and pass them to generations to come.”