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OBITUARY 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Charles Sawtelle, a musician known as            ``The Bluegrass Mystery,'' died Saturday from complications related to a            bone marrow transplant as part of his battle with leukemia. He was 52.             Sawtelle was a founding member of the bluegrass group Hot Rize. He            played guitar, bass guitar and sang with Pete Wernick, Tim O'Brien and            Nick Forster.             The four also played together as a hardcore-country band, Red            Knuckles and the Trail Blazers, in which Sawtelle played a character            named Slade.             Founded in 1978, Hot Rize played together until 1990.             After the band split up, Sawtelle organized a Colorado bluegrass band,            Charles Sawtelle and The Whippets, and he recorded and toured with            fellow bluegrass musician Peter Rowan.             Sawtelle started his career playing steel guitar, joining the Drifting            Ramblers in early 1976.

 

 

BIOGRAPHY

Hot Rize The eclectic Colorado progressive bluegrass band Hot Rize also played traditional bluegrass, jazz,  and rock. They came together in 1976 and were named after the secret ingredient of Martha White  Self-Rising Flour, the product Flatt & Scruggs promoted early in their careers. The band members  were Tim O'Brien on lead and harmony vocals, mandolin and fiddle; Pete Wernick on banjo and  harmony vocals; and Charles Sawtelle on bass guitar, guitar, harmonies and lead vocals. Mike Scap  departed in 1976 and was replaced by bass player, guitarist and vocalist Nick Forster, who also  became the group's emcee. Hot Rize recorded its self-titled debut album, a blend of traditional and  new material, in 1979. Their second album, Radio Boogie, came out in 1981. A year later, their alter ego Red Knuckles and the Trail Blazers, a parody of hardcore '50s country music, recorded their own album, Hot Rize Presents Red Knuckles and the Trail Blazers. In 1984, Hot Rize released a concert album largely comprised of traditional hits, and in 1985 released Traditional Ties.   In 1991 another Red Knuckles album, Shades of the Past, followed. Their final album, Take It  Home, came out in 1992; O'Brien and Wernick subsequently went on to pursue solo careers. -- Sandra Brennan, All-Music Guide

 

 LINKS

Hot Rize concert photo  High on a Mountain Tab  Profile in Banjo.Com  Discography  CS All Music Guide credits