Where to start?
This one is very special for me and I want to tell you why. Seven years ago when I started this website I gathered the names of hundreds of South Carolina artists and bands to create showcases for and the Stoney Creek String Band was on that list. I had heard of them and I had heard how talented they were but it wasn’t until working with Butch Hendricks on his body of work that I was reminded of them.
Butch, being so passionate about all the musicians and bands from South Carolina proceeded to pour out to me a long list of names, in his opinion each deserving to receive their own showcase page and then BOOM! there they were again, the Stoney Creek String Band.
With my new mission in sight I began researching Stoney Creek and it did not take me long to realize all roads led to Gaille Cook. Gaille runs the “Friends of Stoney Creek String Band and Gritz” Facebook page and a nicer group of people you will not meet anywhere.
When I first approached Gaille she was a bit hesitant to accompany me into a near fifty year dive into the past, especially knowing I would look to her for the history, the facts, the faces and names, and every tiny dustball in-between. But in the end she agreed to partner with me on getting this showcase put together and my respect and love for her knows no bounds, I could not have done this without her.
Ladies and gentlemen, The Stoney Creek String Band…
In the early 1970s, a bluegrass band called Gritz formed at Furman University. They played at various local festivals and once a week at the Knights Inn on 291 in Greenville, SC where they developed a large following. Their banjo player, Kenny Camp, joined the group when Danny Griggs, who few remember had played banjo at first, left school early and returned to his home in Holly Hill. Kenny was a not a Furman student; he was a true country musician from Easley. Kenny had lived the real country music life, including spending a year in the Pickens County jail where he perfected his banjo playing. In the spring of 1976, as the other members were graduating and moving on, he left Gritz to form The Stoney Creek String Band.
The original members of The Stoney Creek String Band were Kenny Camp on banjo, John Oeland on mandolin and guitar, Bill Onesty on guitar, and Gaille Cook on bass. Gaille and Bill had been playing at Furman as the duo Hard Shell Harmony and Bill had frequently filled in for Gritz in the past. John was a well-known Greenville musician who had worked at Pecknel Music for years before the band took his time over. Greg Wulz and Bill Heacox worked as sound engineers for the band. The first Stoney Creek job was at The Roost (near Cherrydale).
About a year later, Danny Griggs returned from Holly Hill and took Bill’s place in Stoney Creek. Bill was graduating Furman with a degree in chemistry and had a full-time job offer directly out of school. For the next few years, Stoney Creek played five to eight times a week at every venue in Greenville and at private events around the upstate, eventually becoming the house band at Dino’s on Augusta Road. The group was widely known for their vocal harmonizing, for playing well known tunes on bluegrass instruments, and for their warm and friendly interaction with their audiences.
In 1977 Stoney Creek took hard earned money they had and applied it to a recording project. Enlisting engineer Bill Medlin and producer Mitch Humphries, they set about constructing a unique project, whereby the first six recorded songs would be captured live by Bill Medlin during the band’s weekly performances at Dino’s and the remaining five would be recorded at the legendary Mark V Studios in Greenville, SC. The tracks selected for the project titled “The Stoney Creek String Band Half Alive at Dino’s” were traditional country and bluegrass compositions. A particular favorite among audiences was the original tune “Her Song”, written and composed by John Oeland. Several local musician friends were guests on the album. It was well received upon release and still stands today as a healthy, well-rounded offering of bluegrass and country traditional songs, performed with incredible intensity and musicianship, served with a twist of familiarity and fun. The band also began producing tshirts at this time. Jim Campbell, a well-known local artist and art teacher for Greenville County Schools and today a performing musician, designed the album cover, the album poster, the band sign and the tshirts. Gaille’s father, Charlie Cook, who attended every performance, oversaw sales and distribution of the albums and shirts.
From 1978 to 1980 The Stoney Creek String Band continued to perform throughout the state and beyond as their fan base grew around them. Along the way there were various personnel changes but the core group for most of this time was Scott Huffman on banjo, Danny Griggs on guitar, and Gaille Cook on bass guitar. Rick Lowe, (also originally from Gritz), played mandolin and twin fiddle tunes with John Hofmann who has been an award winning fiddle player for many years. The music from this later version of the group had more of a traditional bluegrass sound.
Toward the end of 1980 the group went their separate ways. Gaille Cook moved to California, Danny Griggs returned to his home in Holly Hill, and Scott Huffman and Rick Lowe moved to North Carolina. John Hofmann became the fiddle player for Nashville stars Mickey Gilley and Johnny Lee. This was during the famous Gilley’s Bar and bull riding days. John performed at the Grammy awards with them the year they won, although he was not on their original albums.
In 1982 Gail Cook returned from California and reformed the band. Al Osteen, who had played with all the bluegrass greats, including Charlie Moore and Jim and Jessie, and who was the original owner of the Fifth String Music Store in Greenville, SC, played banjo, Scott Huffman returned on guitar this time, and Jeff Foxall played mandolin. This group became the beach house band at Rosalinda’s Restaurants located at Murrell’s Inlet and North Myrtle Beach. The music style moved to a more Texas Swing feel. This version of Stoney Creek was known for the high-level musicianship of Al, Jeff and Scott. In 1985 Gaille moved to Austin, TX to get her master’s in music theory at the University of Texas. Jeff, Scott and Al continued playing as a trio.
Stoney Creek reformed twice in the 1990s. The first time, Gaille Cook, Kenny Camp and Al Osteen were joined by Ken Cox, a favorite local musician who sang in Lester Flatt style. Al played banjo and Kenny played dobro. This group became popular at DeShield’s on Wade Hampton Boulevard. After Kenny’s death in 1995, Al Osteen’s wife, Becky joined on bass, and Steve Gambrell played dobro.
Finally, having not played together for over 30 years, original members Gaille Cook, Bill Onesty and Bill Heacox (who had gone from sound man to multi-instrumentalist) reunited at a gathering for John Oeland, who died in 2012. They formed a trio, B Sides, and still enjoy playing together, frequently joined by other friends and musicians when out playing live. There is also a quartet with Ceci Barnett called The Breakaways, and a larger group with friends from high school and Furman University called Edisto with Sid Jay, George Avakian, and Jim Stewart. The performing, jamming and friendship continue today, despite two years of covid restrictions and members living from Virginia to various parts of the Carolinas.
Members (surviving):
Danny Griggs Greenville and Holly Hill, SC
Bill Heacox performs frequently in the Spartanburg area.
Rick Lowe’s son Andy (Al) Lowe is a national award-winning banjo player in North Carolina.
Johnny Hofman plays frequently in NC and continues to win fiddle player awards.
Gaille Cook, Billy Onesty and Bill Heacox continue to play together as often as possible.
Members (past):
Kenny Camp passed around 1995
John Oeland passed in 2012
Al Osteen passed in 2010
Steve Gambrell passed in 2015
Ken Cox passed in the late 1990s
