Ashmont Station on fast track to success

Band, singer earn country awards at Tennessee event

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The band Ashmont Station Band were winners at the North American Country Music Association’s International Competition held in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in Mar= ch.

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By JAY N. MILLER

For The Patriot Led= ger<= /p>

Posted Apr 25, 20= 08 @ 10:00 AM

A local band named after a Dorchester T stop and fronted by a former= opera singer goes to Tennessee for a country music competition and wins two awards.   If there’s a more unlikely scenario, we haven’t heard it.
   But that’s what happened when Ashmo= nt Station, featuring Rockland singer Virginia Johnson, took part in the the a= nnual North American Country Music Association’s International talent competition last month. More than 600 entrants performed in the weekl= ong competition at Pigeon Forge, = Tenn. Ashmont Station won Most Promising Band and Joh= nson, paired with guitarist Hank Martin, won first place as New Country Duo of the Year.
   ``You could have knocked the two of us over with a feather,'' Johnson said, laughing. ``We had to compete in the cate= gories, and myself in the Entertainer category, back-to-back-to-back, so it was kin= d of hectic. But we were totally stunned to win the first-place honor as New Cou= ntry Duo of the Year. I was thinking, ‘We won? In Tennessee? A country band from Massachusetts?’ It’s kind of like winning a chili contest in T= exas – you might make some pretty good chili for these parts, but then you take it down to Texas and they have some real good chili. It was an incredible thrill.''
In the band competition, Ashmont Station = played JoDee Messina’s ``Heads Carolina,'' and `= `Lovin’ All Night,'' a = Patty Loveless hit. For the duo segment, Johnson<= /span> sang ``Whiskey Lullaby,'' by Brad Paisley and Allison Krauss and then James Taylor’s ``Mockinbird.''
   The other members of Ashmont Stati= on are Johnson’s husband Dean Johnson, bass; Dorchester’s David Walsh, guitar; Brockton’s Tom Aites, lead guitar; Easton’s Lloyd Baron, d= rums; and Dorchester’s Christine Maguire, fiddle.
Johnson may be a budding country star now, but when the band formed back in 2003 she was just your friendly librarian at Tuft= s Library in Weymouth.
    ``I grew up listening to a lot of folk music,'' Johnson said. ``John Denver was a particular favorite. But I went to school f= or opera, in Boston. Eventually I realized I was not going to be able to make a living at that, = so when I graduated with a degree in library science, I decided to put my degr= ee to work. I also decided I’d rather sing the kind of stuff I’d b= een listening to, country and pop.'' ''
Rehearsals are most often held in the Johnson’s living room, w= ith their son Trevor, 13, their biggest fan. The band concentrates on covers ri= ght now, and is developing a few originals.   Johnson looks at Martina McBride as a stylistic favo= rite and role model. She is ``definitely the artist I feel the most kinship with style-wise,'' said Johnson.
``She also has a lot of message songs, and is not afraid to get out there a= nd be controversial, which I admire. She has a song about domestic abuse, anot= her about child abuse, and now ``God’s Will,'' which we do, is about havi= ng a special needs kid. That especially hits home for me, because Trevor is autistic. Having a full-time job as well as an autistic child, does make scheduling the hardest part of this whole band thing, but we just rehearse = at our home and make it work.''
   Though Ashmont Station’s ris= e has coincided with the   closing of many = local country and western clubs, the band has kept a busy schedule. Fans can check for their schedule at www.ashmontstationband.com. But there is one special local date that is certain: Ashmont Station will perform July 27 on the lawn at the Th= omas Crane Library in Quincy. For a librarian-turned-country-and-western-star like Johnson, that gig will= be the best of both worlds.