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The prelude to the Sawtooth Mountain Boys began in Corvallis, Oregon in 1964 when college roommates Steve Waller and Mike Eisler hooked up with Bill and Jim York of Emmett, Idaho. The musically gifted young men benefited from a folk music revival in "full bloom" and officially launched the Sawtooth Mountain Boys in 1970. The International Bluegrass Music Association showcased them at the World of Bluegrass Trade Show in Louisville, Kentucky in 1998.
The SMB have recorded three albums to date and not only have contributed to the history of bluegrass music, but are actively involved in contributing their excellence to its future. Members of Sawtooth Mountain Boys include:
- Steve Waller, mandolin and vocals. Steve's bluegrass roots are genetically coded from his early childhood in eastern Tennessee and the Appalachian Mountain music loved, played and sung by his musical family. His strong baritone displays his own unique vocal style but his mandolin expertise comes from studying the first generation bluegrass founders. By trade, Steve is a carpentry contractor in Monmouth, Oregon. By avocation he is a bluegrass master.
- Mike Eisler, fiddle and vocals. Mike is a prolific songwriter and is responsible for many of the original and acclaimed songs the SMB are known for. He cut his teeth on the classical music his family loved when he first played the guitar, but growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he also had constant exposure to western swing radio. When he began playing banjo and fiddle in college, he taught himself by emulating recordings of bluegrass masters from the 1940's and 1950's. Mike is a pharmacist during his "day job" but the rest of the time he's pure bluegrass.
- Mike Stahlman, banjo, fingerpicked guitar and vocals. Mike has contributed his five-string classic bluegrass banjo virtuosity in the Portland, Oregon area for many years. He was sure to be a solid performer, though, growing up in St. Louis, Missouri with a family of Dixieland jazz enthusiasts/performers and a mother who played tenor banjo. Although he started on tenor banjo, the bluegrass community has benefited from his switch to five-string. He is a fine musical composer and recorded a solo CD project, "Bluebonnet," in 1997. His "regular job" is with the Portland Police Bureau but you'll have to check the SMB web site to find out what his odd hobby is.
- Rollie Champe, guitar, bass fiddle and vocals. Rollie hails from Carmel, California where, surprisingly, not every kid wants "to do surfin' music." Being one of the rebels, he sought out bluegrass aficionados when he landed in Corvallis in the late 1960's. Lucky for bluegrass fans that he found SMB! His vocal harmonies and rhythm-setting guitar picking are a solid part of the band. Not to be outdone by the rest of the band, he did find it necessary to take a sabbatical to South Carolina, but he's back, with new "roots." Rollie doesn't have a "day job." He and his wife own a horse riding academy in Sherwood, Oregon, and anyone who's ever lived on a working farm with animals knows the job is 24/7 . . . not just days!
- Chuck Davidshofer, bass, guitar and vocals. Chuck comes from the right place for bluegrass . . . the foothills of the Mississippi River in Iowa . . . but was lured away by the mind-numbing rock-and-roll of the 1960's. Still, the nut doesn't fall far from the tree, and after re-locating to Portland, Oregon, he awakened, albeit belatedly, to his real roots and began using his guitar talent playing with a traditional jazz band. When opportunity knocked, he applied to SMB. Coming on board meant switching to upright bass, but that's where Chuck found his niche. Those bluegrass roots run deep. He's co-owner of Wally's Music Shop in Oregon City, Oregon where he's never far from music as he repairs brass and woodwind instruments.
The Sawtooth Mountain Boys web page provides fans with more complete information about the band and its members, a current calendar of performances, sound clips from their wonderful recordings and a full page of great bluegrass links.
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