| Meet Audey Ratliff |
Audey Ratliff's first musical memory is of being carried backstage on his
father's shoulders to meet Uncle Josh Graves at a Flatt & Scruggs concert in
the early 1960's. Born in Portsmouth, Virginia on August 2, 1957 and raised as
a government brat, Ratliff spent his youth living in many varied locales from
Alaska to the Panama Canal Zone. His father Tom Ratliff, a talented dobro
player, worked for the Federal Aviation Administration. The family moved
around quite a bit during Audey's formative years before finally settling down
for good in the musically rich region of East Tennessee in 1970.
Ratliff first played guitar in local bands, then picked up acoustic bass before
finally settling on the mandolin as his instrument of choice. In the 1970's he
was a founding member of the Kingsport, Tennessee based bluegrass group
The Boys In The Band, which at various times also included such renown
musicians as Tim Stafford, Barry Bales and Adam Steffey. Ratliff holds the
distinction of being the first person to give mandolin lessons to Adam Steffey,
who has been named IBMA Mandolin Player Of The Year five times. For a year
in the late 1970's Ratliff was the bass player for Whetstone Run, a well known
band from Pennsylvania. During this time he recorded an album with that group
titled Time Sure Flies. Other session work includes recordings by The Larkins,
The Ball Sisters, Tennessee Skyline and guitarist James Alan Shelton's 2002
Song For Greta album on Rebel Records. Ratliff's latest recording is his first
ever solo release A Piece Of Cake on Dream Walk Records. The project was
produced by James Alan Shelton.
Being left handed, Ratliff always had to have a custom instrument built and that
experience led to his interest in lutherie. From his first homebuilt instruments in
1982, he has built Ratliff Mandolins into a world renown mandolin business
with sales not only in the United States but in Europe, Africa and South America
as well. His one man shop is located in Church Hill, Tennessee. Some of his
clients include Jimmy Gaudreau, Norman Wright, Adam Steffey, Shawn Lane,
Tammy Rogers of the Steeldrivers, Billy Panda, Stephen Cagle, Emory Lester,
Jennifer McClain, Dino DiGiacomo and Buddy Woodward of the Dixie
Bee-liners.
With a mandolin style that is traditional yet creative, Ratliff strives to play with
an ear to the melody and a desire to compliment the song as tastefully as
possible. In addition, his unique vocal phrasing gives him a singing style that is
all his own. His performing instruments are a Ratliff R-5 mandolin and a mid
seventies D-28 Martin guitar.
For the past thirty five years, Audey Ratliff has been professionally involved in
music as a performer, teacher, studio musician and luthier. He currently divides
his time between building mandolins and performing with three regional groups:
Tennessee Skyline, Savannah Vaughn & Fall Creek and The Laurel Duo with
John Malayter.
His one thousandth Ratliff Mandolin will be completed sometime in late 2008.