Great Plains (band)

Great Plains
Great Plains, 1991.
Background information
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Country
Years active	1987–1996
Labels	Columbia, Magnatone
Associated acts	Poco
Past members	Jack Sundrud Russ Pahl Denny Dadmun-Bixby Michael Young Lex Browning

Great Plains was a progressive country pop band that formed in 1987. The band comprised Jack Sundrud (currently, as of 2015, of Poco), Russ Pahl, Denny Dadmun-Bixby, Michael Young, and Lex Browning. In their career, they recorded two studio albums and had four singles enter the Billboard country charts. Their highest charting single, "Faster Gun", peaked at No. 41.

The band began with Jack Sundrud, Russ Pahl, and Michael Young, who were all working in Michael Johnson's ("Bluer Than Blue") backup band. Sundrud was a seasoned professional, having toured with various acts such as Poco, Nicolette Larson, and Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts. Brent Maher was producing Johnson and was looking for a new band to produce. Maher liked the sound of Michael Johnson's backup band. Sundrud was playing bass at the time, so Maher asked Austin Cunningham to join the band in the studio to do some experimentation. The band recorded a few tracks, mostly Cunningham's songs with himself on lead vocals. The band lineup / instrumentation at that time was Austin Cunningham on acoustic guitar and lead vocals; Jack Sundrud on bass and vocals; Russ Pahl on lead guitar, steel guitar and vocals, and Michael Young on drums. After recording a few sessions, Cunningham decided that he wanted to pursue a solo career and left the band. Sundrud then played some of his own songs for producer Maher and his daughter, Dianna, who ran Maher's publishing company, Moraine Music. They liked the songs and signed Sundrud to their publishing company as a songwriter. Maher and the band then recorded more tracks of Jack's material, with Sundrud on lead vocals.

The band showcased for RCA, and they passed. It was around this time that the band decided to hire a regular bassist and move Sundrud to acoustic guitar and lead vocals, so in 1989, the band added Denny Dadmun-Bixby to join the band on bass and vocals. Sundrud first met Bixby when the latter was recording with Wild Choir, Gail Davies band (Sundrud's first road gig was with Davies in 1982.) The recording of the first record was slow and piece-meal since the band all had other gigs and needed income — Pahl was working with Don Williams, Bixby with Wild Choir and Gail Davies, and Young was doing sessions and had a growing custom-car business building cars. The band recorded when they could until 1989, but in early 1990, Sundrud was asked to join country rock band Poco after Richie Furay had left the Legacy tour (the Legacy tour and album initially featured all 5 original Poco members.) This was Sundrud's second stint with Poco, having been a member of the band from 1985–87; Sundrud's first professional band, the Minnesota-based Podipto, a regional band signed to GRT Records, had opened for Poco in 1971. Sundrud's Poco gig put off the finishing of the Great Plains project for a year.