Grand Ole Opry member, CMA, ACM, and Grammy winner Jimmy Olander is without doubt one of the most-admired gamers in nation music. As co-founder of Diamond Rio, his dedication has all the time been to the band reasonably than making a reputation for himself in Nashville studios, although he’s additionally in-demand as a producer and collaborator who penned hit songs for Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, and a protracted record of others.

“It’s good to be acknowledged for what you do,” he says. “My identify pales compared to our model, Diamond Rio, however I’m not caught up in who is aware of me. I like doing the work and I actually like taking part in, writing, and recording. So long as I’m able to do this, I’m pleased. I’d be doing this as a interest if I wasn’t getting paid (laughs).”

Born in Minneapolis, younger Jimmy’s life in music started on his father’s tenor banjo, which his dad used to review beneath Invoice Pier, who performed banjo in a studio orchestra. The Olander household briefly moved to Palos Verde, California, then suburban Detroit simply earlier than Jimmy began sixth grade. There, his father, a supplies scientist, was a part of a group that invented the catalytic converter for Common Motors. Later, he labored on the Strategic Protection Initiative (a.ok.a. “Star Wars”) anti-missile system through the Reagan administration.

“Dad was a really attention-grabbing man,” Olander mentioned. “Sooner or later he got here out of his lab with a piezo pickup that he’d made and connected inside my banjo. On the time, no person had used a piezo on devices. And someday years later, he instructed me, ‘Yeah, this man, Linn, known as me with questions…’ I used to be like, ‘Roger Linn? The LinnDrum man?’ and he mentioned, ‘Yeah, I believe that’s it.’”

Olander just lately sat with VG to debate his highway to stardom, which started in earnest when Diamond Rio’s first-ever single, 1991’s “Meet in The Center,” made them the primary nation music group to achieve #1 with its debut. They’ve since charted a complete of 20 Prime 10 singles together with 15 that reached the Prime 5 and 6 extra that hit #1 on the best way to promoting greater than 6.8 million albums and accumulating greater than a billion streams.

Identified for enjoying (and singing) each notice on each album, Diamond Rio has received six Vocal Group of the 12 months Awards (4 Nation Music Affiliation and two Academy of Nation Music), acquired 14 Grammy nominations, and in 2011 received Finest Southern, Nation or Bluegrass Gospel Album, for The Purpose.

The group’s instrumental tracks, “Massive,” “Appalachian Dream,” and “Poultry Promenade,” have been written by Olander, and all acquired Grammy nominations for Finest Nation Instrumental Efficiency. In 2001, he acquired the ACM’s award for Guitar Participant of the 12 months.

Earlier this yr, Diamond Rio returned to the studio with two new members and his newest instrumental, “The Kick.”

Your first instrument was your dad’s banjo. Did you decide it up out of inherent curiosity, or since you needed to please him?
Nicely, I did wish to please my dad (chuckles). He was a loud, gregarious man, and my brother was a star athlete and a star scholar, however I used to be an artist; I did a bunch of cartooning and illustrating, so “my stuff” was introspective and particular person. Studying to play an instrument means sitting by your self. However, whereas attempting to please Dad, I legitimately fell in love with taking part in banjo and was taking part in eight to 10 hours a day; I bear in mind dropping a needle on vinyl to study Jack Hicks’ loopy melodic lick from Invoice Monroe’s reside recording of “Roll On, Buddy, Roll On.” I couldn’t get it, so I dropped the needle, dropped the needle, dropped the needle…

Was studying bluegrass tunes your major motivation?
Yeah, I used to be heavy into bluegrass. I’d began taking part in once I was 11, then studied formally earlier than I began giving classes at a music retailer simply earlier than I turned 13, educating intermediate and superior college students as a result of I’d surpassed my instructor. She was an honest participant, however I used to be working actually exhausting, and if you’re a child, you decide up stuff so quick. After I speak to different gamers, they’ve the identical kind of background. Anyone who performs at a extremely excessive stage normally began very younger and their life had little or no steadiness. I discovered steadiness later, so I’m not taking part in eight hours on daily basis anymore. I play guitar each day, however for a way lengthy is dependent upon what’s in entrance of me.

Is it all the time for work, or are there instances you simply wish to really feel it in your palms?
It’s normally for work. I’m a author, so making issues up is what I do. If I’m producing, writing, and being chief bottle washer, it’s a variety of work; coordinating schedules and the widget stuff isn’t my favourite, but it surely permits me to create and play. I nonetheless get excited.

How does the inventive half work? Do you want an instrument in hand, or can a melody pop into your head when you stroll by means of the grocery retailer?
I don’t normally discover a melody popping into my head. I’m a bit extra methodical, a bit extra mental once I’m creating. If I’m simply having enjoyable, I could throw an amp up and play together with recordings. I used to be taking part in together with a Darin and Brooke Aldridge bluegrass document the opposite day as a result of bluegrassers play quick, which helps me keep in form.

After highschool, you moved to Nashville to enroll at Belmont College and have been nonetheless taking part in banjo till your steel-player buddy Terry Wendt mentioned, “You would get gigs in the event you performed guitar?”
I used to be simply turning 18 that first yr at Belmont, after six years of educating a full load of scholars and gigging on weekends. At school, I used to be not actually taking part in music, and I didn’t study a lot after two and a half years. I’d sit in with different gamers, and Terry and I might get collectively to choose – he was an actual hotshot, and yeah, he talked me into grabbing the guitar. I owned a Telecaster, however had a tough time with it as a result of the stuff I’d been taking part in banjo alongside to had Leon Rhodes on guitar with Ernest Tubb, or Eldon Shamblin – Western swing with a jazz element.

Your first touring gig was with Mel McDaniels. How did it occur?
My buddy, Andy Reiss, was leaving Mel’s highway band and received me in line to audition. I took an amp to Mel’s home and performed a couple of of his document components verbatim; as a result of I used to be a banjo participant, my transcription chops have been actually good and I may rapidly study something a guitar participant was doing on nation radio, so I had no hassle regurgitating what was on Mel’s document. After all, he thought I used to be the best participant ever as a result of I used to be doing it identical to the document, however that’s all I may do (laughs). You couldn’t stick me in a blues jam! However, I additionally practiced and realized the right way to truly play the guitar.

After the Mel gig, you jumped aboard the Tennessee River Boys – a “present band” on the Opryland theme park. How did that go down?
I went to the Musicians Union they usually have been having a cattle-call audition. I’d already performed in a band at Opryland with metal participant Mel Deal, after which with Mel, so Tennessee River Boys felt beneath me. I auditioned and received the gig, however I bear in mind pondering, “That is going within the fallacious course…” However what I didn’t notice was they have been unbelievable musicians, writing unique materials, and had aspirations of getting a document deal. It wasn’t simply a present band. So I dedicated, and instantly they have been encouraging me to do motifs for stuff we have been working up, and likewise to jot down stuff. That was once I fell in love with writing and composing, and it will definitely morphed right into a document deal as Diamond Rio – all from a cattle name on the Union.

It took a couple of years for that deal to materialize. Did it appear to be a very long time?
Nicely, I used to be doing what I needed to do – taking part in guitar with a band, creating. It was very idealistic, however we have been progressing and I appreciated the blokes. Now… earlier than we signed, I did need to take my first day job, slicing grass in a two-man crew with our lead singer. The boss used to chortle, “I’ve received you down on Music Row, and you bought to chop the Welk Constructing right this moment, after which Lee and Melanie Greenwood’s place,” which was humorous as a result of Lee had known as me when he wanted a brand new guitar participant. He provided a weekly wage that appeared like one million {dollars} as a result of I used to be making nearly nothing. However we had simply reduce some songs with [producer] Keith Stegall, and I instructed him, “Lee, it will be fallacious of me to take the gig with you as a result of if one thing occurs for my band, I’d give up yours to go do this.” Two weeks later, there I used to be, slicing his grass (laughs). It was humbling, however we ultimately lucked out on a take care of Arista’s label that was being opened in Nashville.

On the time – the late ’80s – there was a neo-traditional nation scene taking place with Dwight Yoakam, Steve Earle, and some others. Was {that a} good factor as you helped form Diamond Rio’s sound?
I used to be consuming up all that stuff – Pete Anderson with Dwight and Richard Bennett with Steve, the stuff that appeared like Telecasters. I got here from listening to the Buckaroos, studying Leon Rhodes riffs, and Bob Wills’ stuff.

My identification at that time was nonetheless as a hotshot banjo participant attempting to study guitar and give you one thing distinctive. I used to be listening to Steve Gibson, Fred Newell, Reggie Younger, Brent Rowan, and happening to the Stagecoach to observe Brent Mason. I didn’t actually know Brent, however there I used to be, with a Walkman tape recorder. He noticed me and mentioned, “Hey, are you a guitar participant? Would you want me to place that in entrance of my amplifier?” He made it really easy for this nervous younger participant to get entry to what he was doing. What a prince!

Mainstream nation within the late ’80s and ’90s was overusing sure guitar tones that weren’t “conventional.” Did you ever drift that approach?
When Diamond Rio was attempting to get a document deal, we auditioned reside for Tim Debois, the pinnacle of Arista Nashville, whereas doing a gap set for George Jones. On the time, I used to be utilizing a ProCo Rat distortion for the solo in our cowl of England Dan and John Ford Coley’s “Nights Are Ceaselessly With out You,” and after the present, our producer, Monty Powell, instructed me, “Yeah, by no means do this once more.” (laughs) I took that to coronary heart, so aside from possibly two cuts I didn’t use excessive acquire on recordings, despite the fact that high-gain solos have been changing into distinguished on nation radio on the time.

So yeah, I’ve performed a Telecaster with a single pickup and no distortion – simply clear sounds – for 30-plus years, largely with a pickup designed for me by Joe Glaser and Seymour Duncan that cut up the magnets so the bass strings received Alnico V, which sound spanky with much less bass, and the treble strings are over Alnico II, which give a a lot smoother, compressed high-end. I did that to offer myself a voice that might be differentiated from different gamers. Quick-forward 30-some years and my newest guitar has two superb pickups made by Ron Ellis. Possibly it’s time so as to add a neck pickup (laughs).

Are there benefits to your having performed banjo so nicely earlier than grabbing a Tele?
In a approach, it was a drawback; taking part in bluegrass banjo meant I got here to electrical with a heavy fret hand, which made the transition tough as a result of I might all the time play sharp. String benders helped my left-hand method develop to a stage that the majority electrical gamers take as a right, and make my bends more-precise.

How did you find yourself taking part in a guitar with two string benders?
Nicely, my buddy, Danny Schafer, was a Clarence White freak who performed all of the stuff Clarence did with Freddie Weller. He blew my thoughts with that bender stuff and confirmed me the primary Parsons/White I’d ever seen. Then within the early ’80s, my buddy, Mel Deal, who performed metal within the unique Tennessee River Boys, instructed me, “I’ve received a buddy who simply moved to Nashville, Joe Glaser, and he’s making guitars with string benders.” He introduced Joe to my home, and Joe instructed me about his concept for the double bender. My guitar and two others have been the primary he made in Nashville. He wasn’t seeking to construct a guitar for me, and I wasn’t on the lookout for a double bender, but it surely introduced itself, and I believed it will be the good factor ever (laughs).

Past constructing your most important guitars, Joe helped resolve an inherent intonation drawback on others.
Apart from submitting and re-cutting fretboards, Joe’s guys assist me with the transition from the wound fourth to the unwound third string on the electrics, which has all the time required me to tune the third a little bit flat so it wouldn’t be sharp on the second fret. I sat within the store with Nick Drushel whereas, little by little, he utilized the slightest compensation to the third string. In a way, you’re shifting the intonation of the third string’s frets flat, which might actually mess up the general tuning if its overdone.

I’ve carried out the identical compensation to nuts on acoustic guitars as a result of I play loads in Drop D, the place I typically seen the G notice on the fifth fret was sharp. The tough half is to ensure the fifth-fret G is in tune whereas not screwing up the F – D# if you’re drop-tuned – on the first fret. It will get a little bit dicey, but it surely’s nicely definitely worth the effort as a result of then you’ll be able to consider taking part in your instrument whereas not preventing its flaws on the identical time.

When different gamers let you know about the way you influenced them, is there a standard factor?
Probably not. What pushes my buttons is, “I can all the time inform it’s you.” I’ve gone to nice effort to create one thing distinctive, which comes from not solely that I strategy the guitar as a banjo participant, however as a progressive banjo participant following Bobby Thompson in Space Code 615 and the “Hee-Haw” workers band. My method makes use of a variety of open strings, which makes it simpler to play and creates a more-lagato sound, like a piano maintain pedal. You may hear that within the intro to “Meet Within the Center,” which is a reasonably bare guitar with open strings and the double bender.

You continue to play fairly a little bit of banjo in Diamond Rio reside exhibits…
I do, and as a matter of reality, an ideal banjo problem for me is about to reach once more – the band’s Christmas present! I instructed my companions a number of years in the past, whereas writing considered one of our Christmas exhibits, that I used to be going to work up The Nutcracker on the five-string as a characteristic. That quickly morphed right into a sequence of duets with Rio bandmates performing “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies,” “Dance of the Reed Pipes,” “Overture,” “The March,” and “The Russian Dance.” Evidently, Tchaikovsky was not written for the five-string banjo (laughs).

How did your amp tone evolve?
My tone was fairly tough early on. Banjo gamers love their maple devices, so in fact I had Joe make me a Tele copy with a four-piece maple physique, maple neck, and ebony fretboard. On the time, I used to be hanging round a bunch of metal gamers, so I used to be utilizing a Peavey Session 400 with a 15″ speaker. It was sizzlingly brilliant and harsh – not a cocktail for nice sound (laughs).

However I used to be all the time looking for tone, and as quickly as I received a blackface Professional, I used to be like, “Oh, that’s what a Tele is meant to sound like.” Then, Joe constructed my first actually good-sounding guitar – the Taxicaster, which has an alder physique and a maple neck with rosewood. It was across the time the “Nashville system” was coming collectively, so it’s received a Invoice Lawrence Hotrail humbucker within the center, a Seymour Duncan Alnico II within the bridge, and I can’t bear in mind what the neck pickup was, however with the Professional it sounded actually cool. By that point, I used to be additionally extra conscious of how my palms may have an effect on my tone.

How did you find yourself with the Matchless combo early on?
We’d signed with Arista and I used to be writing for Warner/Chappell Music, who paid me a stipend of about 300 bucks every week, however I instructed them I needed it in a single examine on the finish of the yr, and that was “mad cash” to do my tax-deduction shopping for.

In 1989 or ’90, I used to be going to go to my of us in Michigan, and I finished at a music store proper off the interstate – considered one of these old-school piano shops with a small assortment of guitar stuff within the again. And there was a Matchless amp. I’d by no means heard of it; no reverb, nothing, however I plugged in my Taxicaster and it sounded nice. It felt forgiving, and I may instantly get the sound I would like – loud, gentle, no matter. It pushed all my buttons. I used to be like, “I’ve received to have it.” It was 1,800 bucks or one thing, and I believed, “How can this amp no person’s ever heard of price a lot?” But it surely left with me, and ultimately, I ended up with 4 of them from that period as a result of I play in stereo, they usually’re actually nice.

On condition that Diamond Rio shaped with a concentrate on songwriting, lyrics, and harmonies, how did it find yourself recording a handful of instrumentals by means of the years?
Rising up, I listened to some vocal stuff, however all my ardour was in instrumental music. Within the golden period of nation, artists would have their bands document instrumental music that was typically featured on the artist’s recordings in addition to their very own TV exhibits – the Texas Troubadours, the Strangers, the Buckaroos, and many others. I needed to hold on that custom, and located myself able to do it. On the time, it did appear to be we have been slipping one previous the goalie.

Why isn’t there extra session work in your resume´?
After I did classes, I’d hear stuff like, “Are you able to do a Brent Mason factor on right here? Are you able to be Brent Rowan? We’d like you to sound a little bit like Reggie.” I’d inform them, “You recognize who does Brent approach higher than me? A man named Brent, and he lives proper right here. I simply gave you my finest.”

So it turned out I didn’t truly wish to do classes. I needed to create stuff for myself with management over how it will sound. That was powerful to swallow, as a result of I believed I needed to be a session participant, and had nice alternatives with superb gamers, but it surely simply was not my calling.

Was there particular inspiration or motivation behind the primary new Diamond Rio track in 13 years being a hot-picking instrumental?
It didn’t make sense at this stage in our profession to concentrate on the normal launch technique – singles to nation radio, hoping we’d nonetheless get consideration. You get to a degree the place the brand new children take over… which isn’t to say that we wouldn’t like to have one other hit, however our technique was targeted on touring our 25-plus years of hits and releasing new music for followers on our label, Rio Sizzling Information, like I Made It.

“The Kick” was about engaging in objectives and introducing new members. I requested our new drummer, Micah Schweinsberg, “What would you love to do?” and he instructed me, “I wish to be part of creating one thing that Mike Clute information.” And I talked to our different new member, Carson McKee, and he or she mentioned, “I wish to all the time be rising. I wish to write.” I instructed them, “Okay, let’s write an instrumental to introduce you guys.” For a very long time, I used to be pondering, “Carson is a kickass fiddle participant, so this has received to be a fiddle factor.” We additionally wanted to do one thing contemporary. Throughout the Covid lockdown, I realized some new harmonic ideas by finding out movie scoring; I’ve all the time appreciated to mash-up genres, and I needed to mix the fiddle-tune construction with scoring harmonization. The trick with having a high-concept musical plan is to keep away from something formulaic or that feels like math. I used to be super-pleased with the way it turned out, and we snuck a couple of cool issues in there.

Is there a full album within the works, or are you sticking with singles, possibly an EP?
I’m not loopy concerning the singles factor; I wish to take heed to the artistry of a complete challenge. I don’t get that with a single, and a variety of instances they’re over-mastered, sonically, to sound like radio. However I’ll contradict myself once I say we are releasing solely singles in the meanwhile.

In your first VG interview in 2001, you talked about having a couple of songs carried out for a solo instrumental album. Up to now, it hasn’t been a factor.
It’s attention-grabbing you carry that up, as a result of I resurrected that to be the subsequent factor for Diamond Rio – a spoken phrase/instrumental challenge known as Mabel and the Preacher.

That instrumental challenge began to sound like so many guitar albums I didn’t look after, the place there’s a cool riff and it’s doubled earlier than the band is available in and performs a riff 4 instances, then everyone solos earlier than they spin round and quote the riff on the finish. Then they’ll do one other tune in half-time and a change of key. We’ve all heard these information. So, I took a cue from Peter and the Wolf, which I first heard as a child in elementary faculty, with characters performed by a French horn and different devices.

I’d written a brief story a few fictional city in North Carolina that had hassle holding onto preachers, and I believed, “What if I write a track for a set of characters?” I figured it might be attention-grabbing, and positive sufficient, what I got here up with have been precise songs, not prolonged riffs.

Anyway, as we have been ending “The Kick,” I discovered these previous sound recordsdata, and instructed the band, “I believe it’s going to be higher if we do all this collectively.” And everyone’s into it. However, earlier than one other instrumental, we’ll do a vocal piece – a duet with Carson and our longtime lead singer Marty Roe.

Working lengthy hours and touring are bodily demanding duties, however a giant a part of your life entails bodily conditioning.
Yeah. I do a full gymnasium exercise on daily basis. Throughout Covid, I labored up a routine the place I can knock out 500 pushups in 48 minutes and it doesn’t really feel Herculean. And I’m operating extremely marathons now; the 50K is my present distance and I’m ramping up for one more.

When he’s not creating music, Jimmy Olander combines philanthropy together with his love of health. Co-founder of Crew Rio, for 10 years he ran the St. Jude Nation Music Marathon, elevating greater than $500,000 for Massive Brothers Massive Sisters of Center Tennessee and different charities. The Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award honored him for his work individually and as a part of Diamond Rio.

This text initially appeared in VG’s November 2023 subject. All copyrights are by the creator and Classic Guitar journal. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.