Tyminski gathers no moss during break from Krauss

With Alison Krauss touring this summer with Robert Plant, the guys in her band, Union Station, had some time to kill, like enough to read biographies of all 43 presidents and maybe paint their houses and their neighbors' houses, too.

But guitarist-singer Dan Tyminski kept right on making music. He released a solo album, put a band together and hit the road. His group, the Dan Tyminski Band, will perform Friday at the RockyGrass festival in Lyons, Colo.

"It's a little different for me," Tyminski told The Associated Press recently. "I like what I do with Alison, so I don't have to sing song after song. The workload is bigger for sure. But I enjoy the stuff we're playing and the people I'm playing with."

Tyminski's second solo disc, "Wheels," came out in June. It's more traditional than the material he does with Krauss, and he says it's given him a chance to reconnect with the bluegrass festivals he played early in his career.

"That was my early training ground, mostly in the Northeast," said Tyminski, who was born and raised in Vermont. "It's easier for this band to do the festivals. With Union Station anymore, for the past few years just loading itself is extensive. We've grown to the point that it can no longer be contained on most bluegrass stages."

Fellow Union Station alum Barry Bales (bass) plays in Tyminski's band. The two other members of Union Station - Jerry Douglas (dobro) and Ron Block (banjo) - are also keeping busy. Douglas has a solo album out in August, while Block has been playing shows with bluegrass prodigy Sierra Hull.

Tyminski, who had a big hit several years ago with "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" from the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" movie soundtrack, says the break from Union Station is temporary.

"We've always stayed on the same path, which we're still on. We still have plans to get together and do our thing."

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On the Net:

http://www.dantyminski.com

http://www.bluegrass.com/rockygrass/