Remington Ryde Spreading the Gospel and Touching Lives with Old Traditional Bluegrass

One band’s distinct sound and old-time flair can be attributed to the Bluegrass-rich area of Pennsylvania from which they hail and borrow their name. Remington Ryde brings old-fashioned bluegrass to Central Pennsylvania, throughout the state, and across the country each and every year. 

Remington Ryde features bandleader, guitarist and lead vocalist Ryan Frankhouser, Billy Lee Cox on banjo and bass vocals, Greg “Spanky” Moore on fiddle and baritone vocals, and Richard Egolf on bass and tenor vocals.

 

Left to Right: Greg "Spanky" Moore, Billy Lee Cox, Ryan Frankhouser, and Richard Egolf

As the founding member and leader of Remington Ryde, Ryan Frankhouser’s showmanship and chemistry with the audience turns fans into family. Add to that Cox’s humor, wit, and encouraging and uplifting approach to life; Moore and Egolf’s unending love to get out and jam with anyone and everyone, and their overall down home good time boys love of bluegrass and bluegrass fans everywhere; and you have a combination that makes Remington Ryde one of the most popular bands among bluegrass fans today.

Frankhouser grew up in McClure, Pennsylvania and started Remington Ryde as a family band at the age of 18. He wanted to see the band expand and through lots of hard work, they now perform an average of over 100 dates throughout the United States and Canada each year. The band’s major influences in music include bluegrass artists Ralph Stanley and Ricky Skaggs.

“I love the old traditional bluegrass sound,” Frankhouser said. “I would say we have created our own unique traditional sound, as we incorporate a lot of our original material and gospel in our shows. Expect to hear a fresh new traditional sound when hearing Remington Ryde.”

Remington Ryde’s most recent CD release was recorded live at the Bluegrass Ramble in Little York, New York. Their sixth studio album, “Live at the Bluegrass Ramble” features a one-hour live show from Bill Knowlton’s 41^st Bluegrass Ramble Picnic at Dyer Memorial Park in Little York and is packed full of laughs and great traditional bluegrass. This project allows fans to see what kind of people they are and how they interact with crowds, not only with the music but also with the jokes and skits that they incorporate into their shows. Among the band’s other studio albums is an all gospel project, “Let it Shine,” released in 2011.

Frankhouser started the Remington Ryde Bluegrass Festival at the age of 22. The band plans to play their original songs like “Grandpa Was My Guide,” “You’ll Miss Me,” “The Bible Grandma Gave Me,” and many more. They will also be including some all-time traditional favorites from bluegrass legends Bill Monroe and Jimmy Martin.

The band is rooted in Central Pennsylvania but has now expanded all over the United States and Canada, performing at most of the biggest bluegrass festivals and events in the country, with shows on both the East and West Coasts.

“It has been amazing and we give credit to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for giving us the opportunity and the talents to share our music with so many people,” Frankhouser said. “As far as dreams go, I have accomplished so many things that I never thought I would and really more than I could have ever dreamed. One day a dream of ours is to perform on the Grand Ole Opry stage. So we will have to see what happens. We have had so much support from our family and friends.”

Remington Ryde’s goal is to take their audiences out of the troubles of the world for an hour and have them smile, with skits and jokes that really make for a fun experience. “I feel that our audiences leave with smiles on their faces and leave loving the people that we are,” Frankhouser said. “We are down to earth and love our fans. Without the fans buying tickets to come and see us we wouldn’t be anything and it just wouldn’t be fun. We have a chance to touch lives all throughout the country and we just love our job!”

Frankhouser and the band love traveling and seeing the world, and last year had the chance to perform in 18 different states and even performed with Carnival Cruise Lines for the Traditional Bluegrass Music Cruise.

“The advantage of traveling is a chance to meet so many nice people and see so many places that I have never seen before,” he said. “The disadvantage is that it wears you out. A lot of the times we are so tired and the road is tough and hard, but when we get a chance to see the smiles on people’s faces it makes everything worthwhile.”

For Frankhouser, there isn’t any other feeling like performing bluegrass, not only for the music but for the people it draws. “Bluegrass music is so wholesome and pure and I wish more and more people would give bluegrass a chance,” he said. “My goal is to bless the people and touch them in some positive way and also to spread the Gospel all over the world.”