I play guitar, banjo and melodeon with Rattle On the Stovepipe, an Anglo-Appalachian Old Time string band, with Pete Cooper (fiddle) and Dan Stewart (banjo, guitar, fiddle).
I also play in the Long Runners, bluesy, Old Time Americana, band, with Eddie Armer (harmonica, brass, and mandolin), and Dan Stewart.
Rattle have 8 albums on Wildgoose Records. The 2 most recent being Through the Woods (2021) and Someone to Love You (2021).
The Long Runners album On the Run (Wildgoose, 2024)
"Dave Arthur has spent a lifetime breaking down the perceived borders and prejudices so prevalent in the folk music world, and his now long-term fascination with Appalachian music and song has continued this trend. This compilation of songs from the Rattle On the Stovepipe back catalogue illustrates the point excellently. It also showcases a vastly experienced singer’s first-rate song delivery, diction and musicality. Dave has a great way of taking elements from different versions of a song in order to present the story in as complete and captivating a way as possible, and this (combined with an encyclopedic knowledge of many aspects of song and music) ensures all these songs hit the spot." – John Waltham, Living Tradition Magazine
"This is the fourth Rattle album I've had the pleasure to review, and there's a consistency of style and panache in which they tackle this style of traditional music from the southern states of America. Considering there are only three of them they make a very full sound.
The songs are wide ranging in subject matter, each with a story element appropriate to the style of the music. The four instrumental tracks are all played superbly with a typical lilting style that marks this outfit well above many of the rest in expertise and shows how well they 'gel' together.
An album to enjoy over many playings." - Derek Gifford
"Another enjoyable album from Rattle On the Stovepipe with the sometimes-mournful songs balanced by lively tunes. You could listen to this all day." – Dai Jeffries, folking.com
"Rattle are not just three master musicians. In my humble opinion, their combined talents are the equal of anything that our cousins on the far side of the Atlantic might muster. What’s more they treat their material with the kind of integrity and honesty which it undoubtedly deserves. It’s magic." - Fred McCormick