HIGH COUNTRY

• From the San Francisco Bay area.
• Formed in 1968.
• Only remaining original member: mandolinist Butch Waller, who founded the group.
• 1971, they were the first west coast band to be invited to Bill Monroe’s Bean Blossom festival.
• Butch Waller and the late Charlie Waller (of the Country Gentlemen) are not related but they share the same birthdate: January 19.
• 1982, Waller married Kathy Kallick (then of the Good Ole Persons).
• Waller first band was a group that included Herb Pederson, who at the time was a classmate of Waller’s at St. Augustine’s grammer school in Berkeley, California.
• 1999, Waller released a solo album of mandolin instrumentals called “Golden Gate Promenade.”
• Butch Waller also has performed and recorded with his brother Bob as “The Waller Brothers” (classic country duets).
• 2009, released “Perfect Companions” album.
• 2018, celebrated their 50th anniversary as a band with a concert in Berkeley.