CHERRYHOLMES

    Seven years ago, Jere Cherryholmes was a 25-year veteran carpenter pounding nails for the Los Angeles Unified School District.  Today, he and his family band, Cherryholmes, are among the most recognized and sought-after bluegrass ensembles in the business.

    Jere, his wife, Sandy Lee, and their offspring, Cia, BJ, Skip and Molly Kate (ages 14 to 22), are regulars at the Grand Ole Opry, were named Entertainers of the Year at the 2005 International Bluegrass Music Awards and have forged friendships with artists like Marty Stuart and the late Jimmy Martin.

    "When you've got Alison Krauss' personal cell-phone number and you can call her any time and she knows exactly who you are," Jere Cherryholmes said in a phone interview last week from Georgia, "that's a good thing."

    Cherryholmes, 56, says the band's near miraculous rise to fame was swift but born from tragedy.  After the death of their oldest daughter, Shelly, in 1999, he and his wife needed a break from their day-to-day routine.

    "We needed to get away from people associated with the family, people who always wanted to talk about how bad they felt," he said.

    Cherryholmes decided a local bluegrass festival would be a good distraction. The experience proved to be a turning point for all of them.

    "We saw Jim & Jesse and the Virginia Boys and enjoyed their program so much," said Cherryholmes, who had little exposure to bluegrass music before the festival. "The music was lighthearted and fun. All I really wanted to do after that was get some instruments and have us play together as a family. We didn't really have a design for a band. Just to do something together."

    Each child was assigned an instrument — Cia the banjo, BJ and Molly Kate the fiddle and Skip the mandolin — and lessons were incorporated into their homeschooling. Regular practice led to pickin' parties in parking lots of bluegrass festivals, which led to onstage performances around the Southwest.  Local jobs segued to gigs at places like Lincoln Center in New York and a 2006 Grammy nomination for the group's self-titled album on the prestigious Skaggs Family label.

    "We get to go to a lot of places as a family that we wouldn't have gone to if we didn't do this," Cherryholmes said. "We played up in Nova Scotia and went lobster fishing, and played with the Cajuns in Lafayette, Louisiana. We've been on two Caribbean cruises and are going to Japan next year. It is kind of an adventure.

    "The best part from a parent's perspective is being able to raise our children. If I were gone all the time the way a lot of musicians are, I wouldn't be able to watch my kids grow up and they wouldn't have that parental influence that is so important in raising good people."