Don Hogan,  The Classics  &   Drive South Bluegrass

   Welcome to Drive South Bluegrass.  We are from Burke, McDowell, and Catawba Co. areas of North Carolina.

    I'm Don Hogan and along with Tony Williamson and Joseph Hasty, we are the founding members of the group.

    Due to health reasons, Tony will be replaced by David Bellar on 5 string and we are lucky to get him. (Read his bio below.)  

Barte Laney has moved to part-time with Drive South as he has other  commitments and plans to do some traveling. 

  David Wiseman will be helping out whenever his schedule permits rounding everything out with his killer mandolin moves. 

   

Joseph Hasty , (Morganton, NC.) has had extensive performing experience in many styles of music in a career which has carried him to stages in America, Australia and Europe - where he lived for seven years. He studied jazz chord theory and completed course work at 
The School of Contemporary Music in Zurich, Switzerland in 1991. 
A school teacher at Freedom High School, Joseph plays Double bass and Guitar in several different ensembles and has performed locally with groups such as "Musica Nostra", "Bob Sinclair and Victrola Club" and his own jazz band "Centerpiece

  
Don Hogan, (Union Mills, NC.) The most exciting thing I’ve been able to do musically, was to tour Germany the summer of 2013.  Western Piedmont Sister Cities sponsored our 3 week tour and I was selected to play guitar for a 4 pc. Bluegrass Band. We needed a name that represented this area, so I came up with “Carolina Wind”.  
    Before that I was a semi regular solo performer for 5 years at The Grove Park Inn. I performed in the Blue Ridge Dinning rm. I also played the Great Hall from time to time with my Band “Drive South”. 
 I have been in several other bands; “Frets” was a 3 pc guitar band with Toby Watkins on Bass, who has recorded with Michael Reno Harrell, Roger Hicks on lead and finger style guitar, who recorded with The Shuffler Family .   We were regular performers at Rascals in Beech Mtn. NC.  Coldest place I ever played. 
I was also in a western swing group called “The Delta Billies”.  We played all over the Asheville/Waynesville area of NC. We played every resort or festival you can think of and The Asheville Civic Center twice. 
I sing and play lead and rhythm on electric or acoustic guitar.

David Bellar, (Hickory, NC.) was bitten hard by the down home sound of bluegrass in the early 70's, he somehow knew that this was going to be a big part of his life. Stirred by the traditional grass of Lester and Earl, Sonny and Bob, Mr. Monroe and Doc Watson as well as the more progressive sounds of Bill Keith, David Grisman, and the Newgrass Revival, David would pick and grin his way to a good time, with his buddies, for nearly 5 decades. Drive South also takes full advantage of David's skill in picking out new and exciting songs and different arrangements of traditional tunes as well 

Barte Laney , (Goose Creek, NC) is without a doubt one of the most talented players I've ever jammed with. The newest member of the group , he has never had the slightest trouble jumping in on any song whether it's bluegrass, country, blues, etc. He fills his spot up nicely. When not working  his day job, Barte can be found giving lessons on Guitar, Mandolin, Fiddle, or just about anything with strings on it. His last band was the popular Linville Ridge band. His son Colby also was a member, and is a graduate of the Bluegrass Program at East Tennessee State University. He now performs with Volume Five.