An electric bluegrass and country-rock band formerly known as Kinda Country. Their new name was taken from the combination of the two founding members JIM Allison and Bob SELLERS.
Jim and Bob met at a music store in 1973. At the time Bob was in a Top-40 group called Opelika (he had previously been with The Villa Novas and the duo Coburn & Sellers). The two musicians hit it off. They had both been members of various folk groups and shared similar musical tastes. Sellers soon quit Opelika and over the next couple of years he and Allison worked together in various country groups.
In 1976 they developed a concept for a new band to play country/rock and electric rock flavored with bluegrass while also utilizing the vocal harmony ability each had brought from their folk music experiences. The Jim Sellers Band was born. The original line-up featured Allison (vocals, acoustic & electric guitar, harmonica), Sellers (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, piano), Gary ‘Buck’ Backhaus (banjo, fiddle, guitar), Jack Harger aka ‘Candyman’ (bass, vocals), and Charles Levin (drums – formerly with Lynne Jacobson). Harger was eventually replaced with Bill Falkenstein (bass).
In 1978 their original song “Sixty Miles Southwest” was included on “The 98 Rock Album” and featured the quartet Allison, Sellers, Falkenstein, and Levin. Ben Kaplan (drums ex-Opelika, Ooh-La-La, Ozz, Catwhistle, Lotus Band) later replaced Levin. Also, in 1978 the group performed at the Goin’ Fishin’ Bluegrass Festival in Glen Rock PA where they shared the stage with bluegrass greats such as Doc & Merle Watkins, John Hartford, Vassar Clements, and David Bromberg.
The band developed a friendship with Vassar Clements who would occasionally sit in with them. Locally they could be seen performing at places such as No Fish Today on Eutaw Street, the Ott House in Emmitsburg, and Toni’s Dream in Reisterstown. They appeared at the Goucher Spring Fling on May 5, 1979, and at the 1979 Columbia City Fair. The group also developed a large following on the Eastern Shore especially in the Chestertown area.
An album and two singles by the band were released on the local Chesapeake label. The self-titled 1979 album (Chesapeake 1002) featured Allison, Sellers, Falkenstein, Kaplan, and Buzz Lewis (bass). The album did not get picked up by a major label, but some cuts received local airplay on both country and rock stations.
They began touring extensively in 1978-79 and developed a following in Colorado, and South Dakota. In 1979 Sellers left the band and was replaced with Doug Robinson (ex-Climbadonkey). Eventually the band relocated to Wyoming.
Allison and Kaplan teamed up for a brief stint as a duo. Jim continued performing as a member of the acoustic duo Allison & Blake, as a member of Great Train Robbery, and road stints with Ace Cannon, Johnny Lee, and Lorrie Morgan.
Kaplan continued to work in the ‘00s as a recording engineer. Robinson’s later bands included the blues band Delta Dogs.
1979(LP) Chesapeake 1002 Jim Sellers Band
