Jonny Clutch is in the mold of those “proverbial diamonds in the rough” who have been discovered plying their talents in remote corners of our large and diverse nation and brought into the limelight for the rest of us to hear and appreciate thanks to the foresight of folklorists like Alan Lomax, the Seeger family, John Hammond and others.   He was an up and coming folk and bluegrass “can’t miss kid” who fell off the map in the mid 70s and was only recently “re-discovered” slicing roast beef in a corner deli by Virginia State Folklorist Jon Lohman.  I won’t reveal just how Lohman identified this former star – you’ll have to read his liner notes for the full story.  I will say that Clutch’s recent release “It Takes One to Know One,” with his able stable of sidemen known as the Jambusters, available on CD Baby.com and produced by Lohman, is truly a gem and shines brightly through and through.

But as unlikely as Jonny Clutch’s re-discovery in rural Virginia, is the story of Jon Lohman himself.   Lohman, from suburban Irvington, New York has a PhD in Folklore from the University of Pennsylvania and as the official state folklorist, he works to document, present, and preserve Virginia's rich cultural folk heritage through a variety of mediums.  It turns out that “It Takes One to Know One” is not just the album title but also a clue to what lies inside… on closer inspection it becomes clear that folklorist and producer Lohman IS in fact, Jonny Clutch.  Yes, the joke’s on us and I find myself smiling every time Jonny and the Jambusters comes around on my Ipod.   This CD is full of surprises and works on several levels.

First and foremost, folklorist Lohman has assembled real-life gems to back up his