Now it can be said that one begets the others and there is a lot of truth to that.  My music geekness led to my love of music history, which feeds my love of Bluegrass, which, of course, fuels my music geek status.And that brings us, roundabout, to James Reams and the Barnstormers.  The music geek was excited that some CDs showed up in my mailbox.  The Bluegrass part was pleased to see a Bluegrass CD in the pile, even though I had never heard of James Reams or his Barnstormers.  The music history lover in me became near giddy after going over Troubled Times a couple of times.James Reams was born in London, Kentucky, a town of around 6000 in the Eastern part of the Commonwealth.  Reams, a middle school literacy teacher for special education students, has lived in New York City for nearly 25 years.  “When I play in Kentucky, they announce me as being from New York.  When I play in New York, they announce me as being from Kentucky, so I guess neither wants to claim me, but they are both home,” he says.   He formed the Barnstormers in 1994 and has been spreading the Bluegrass word across the Eastern part of the Country.Troubled Times, the Barnstormers second release, is an extremely comprehensive package.  Accompanying the CD is a full-length documentary DVD on the group, as well as extensive liner notes.The documentary, titled Rollin’ On, is a 78 minutes documentary which follows the group on a variety of show dates, from playing in New York City to a radio show to a church to a Square Dance.  Through the documentary we meet the Barnstormers: James Reams on guitar and lead vocals, Mark Farrell on fiddle, mandolin and baritone vocals, Carl Hayano on bass and tenor vocals and Mickey Maguire on banjo.  The groups love and respect for the music they play is evident as we see them playing these shows as well as when we see them relaxing with family.  We see the process they went through to record, which was essentially in a living room with very little dampening of the room which lends to the authentic sound of the music considering many of the oldest Bluegrass recordings were done in small rooms which were not as acoustically treated as today’s studios. The DVD also offers two additional features.  One is additional footage of the group recording and the second is a 20-minute preview of another James Reams project, a documentary entitled Pioneers of Bluegrass.  Judging by the preview, this documentary will be a Bluegrass fans dream.  It, like the Rollin’ On documentary is a low budget one or two camera affair.  You won’t mistake it for a Sundance entry.  But its subject matter transcends the technical aspects featuring artists from the “first generation” of Bluegrass.  Included on the preview were anecdotes told by Bobby Osborne, Curly Seckler and the late “King of Bluegrass” Jimmy Martin.The CD portion of the package is also evidence Reams’ love of authentic old time Bluegrass music and the song selection shows the Barnstormers knowledge of old time Bluegrass music.  While it is common for Bluegrass bands to strengthen and broaden their repertoire using songs by the artists that come before them, many fall back on the classics that might even be known to the casual fan.  Reams takes a different approach, reaching deep into the Bluegrass songbook to pull out near forgotten tunes or perhaps songs that have never been heard.Songs such as the 1972 Goins Brothers gem “Head of the Holler” or 1940’s Roy Hogsed tune “Ain’ta Bump in the Road.”  The Barnstormers also mine the traditional songbook and that of well-known Bluegrass artists such as Arthur Smith.  In choosing songs, they tend to go for the under recorded songs in an effort to keep them alive.  In the early days of Bluegrass music groups performed many songs that never made it on to record.  Young Bluegrass enthusiasts would attend concerts and festivals and situate portable tape recorders near the stage to both preserve the songs they were hearing and to broaden their own repertoire.  This allowed songs to be passed down through the generations of artists.  It seems to be in this vein of thinking that Reams and company choose their songs.  They are also unafraid to record something more modern a is evidenced by the inclusion of the Robbie Fulks song “Cold Statesville Ground.”There are also five original songs included on the disc, two are banjo-fueled instrumentals written by Maguire, the other three are Reams originals.  The orginals here fit in perfectly with the old time numbers on the album.  As a songwriter, Reams and co-writer Tina Aridas, write songs that deal with real problems with a social conscious.  “Troubled Times” talks about the growing threat to family operated farms with lyrical insight that would make Willie, John and Neil proud.  “Eye of The Storm” could be lifted from any Hurricane Katrina story while “Hills of My County” warns against the prevalent practice of strip mining for coal and it’s consequences.It is evident that James Reams and the Barnstormers not only love Bluegrass music, but they have a healthy respect for those that have come before them.  The Barnstormers can lay it down with the best of them, yet never seem to compete for the spotlight, holding their place and propelling the music forward.  Reams has a great voice for the old time songs and is right in line with his musical heroes such as Red Foley and Carter Stanley.  It is groups like James Reams and the Barnstormers who will not only tow the line of authentic Bluegrass, but will provide (through comprehensive CD packages, film documentaries, their annual Bluegrass festival or their Jamborees held in the heart of Brooklyn) the next generation of Bluegrass musicians a watermark for authenticity.