Summer 2010

the
Pickin Post
Official Publication of the Louisville Bluegrass Music Association
FALL 2010
Issue
#34
pickin’ in and around
louisville
Photos-Mike Bucayu
WWW.BLUEGRASS-ANONYMOUS.ORG
The
Pickin’ Post
Bluegrass Trivia: Devil’s Box
Published quarterly. Christine Walsh, editor & graphics gal.
The Official Publication of
By E. Rufus Rogers
There was a time, back in the ol’ days in parts of
rural Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kentucky, when the
fiddle was considered the Devil’s Box because it
was considered, by the virtuous folks, sinful to play
as it was associated with drinking and rowdy revelry.
There have been old worn fiddles discovered within
the walls and remains of long forgotten log cabins;
placed there by those newly saved fiddlers who
couldn’t bear to destroy their precious heirlooms,
but nevertheless gave them up. Think about this
the next time you hear a spirited fiddle rendition of
Devil’s Dream or Hell Among the Yearlings.
The Pickin’ Post is a free publication distributed locally and is supported by our
advertisers. It is available in selective stores, wherever free publications are generally seen. We do not endorse the views expressed in the articles and advertisements,
nor are we responsible for the products and services advertised. Written permission
from BA’s publisher is required to reproduce any material. We welcome your ideas
and feed-back.
Bluegrass Anonymous
P.O. Box 21281 • Louisville, KY 40221-0281
The Louisville Bluegrass Music Association
Mission Statement
Bluegrass Anonymous, the Louisville Bluegrass Music
Association, is dedicated to promoting and supporting
bluegrass music, preserving it’s tradition, and nurturing
it’s growth by providing opportunities for pickin’, singin’
and listenin’.
Executive Officers
Dan Robinson, President
Charlie Logsdon, Vice-President
Carly Cotton, Treasurer
Sonya Cotton, Secretary
Board of Directors
Les McIntyre, Bluegrass Unlimited
Christine Walsh, Newsletter Editor
Board Members-at-Large
Berk Bryant, WFPK Sunday Night Bluegrass
Michelle Bucayu, Web Administrator
Mike Bucayu, Founder B.A.
Mike Cleveland, Multi-Award Winning Musician
Gabrielle Gray, International Bluegrass Music Museum
Glen Hensley, Newsletter Advertising Chair
Jeff Kopp, Pilot and Banjo Picker
Paul Priest, Musician
Bobby Smith, Newsletter Committee & Musician
Edward T. Depp, Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP
Kato Wilbur, Treasury/IT Consultant & Musician
Bobby Smith, PIckin’ Post Committee
To submit an ad contact Glen at [email protected] or call (502) 921-0762
Bluegrass Anonymous Membership Application
Name
Type of Membership
Spouse
Individual
$15/year
Children (under 18 years old)
Family
$20/year
Name of Band (If applicable)
Co./Band
$20/year
Amount Enclosed
$
e-mail address
Make Check Payable to:
Address
Bluegrass
Anonymous
City
State
P.O. Box 21281
Louisville, KY 40221-0281
Zip
3
True Blue News...
by Michelle Bucayu
Congratulations to the 2010 Official Kentucky Championship Old Time
Fiddlers Contest competitors and winners. The competition was held
at Rough River, Kentucky, over the weekend of July 17th. Listed are
folks that are members of BA and made the 2010 “Honor Roll” at
Rough River:
1st Place, Jig Dancing Division 1: Melanie Belfiore
2nd Place, Jig Dancing Division 1: Maci Belfiore
3rd Place, Mandolin: Turner Hutchens
2nd Place, Beginners Open: Kyle Ramey
A committee of BA members has formed to produce a benefit on the
Saturday after Thanksgiving, in Louisville. The benefit will include
Bluegrass band performances, jamming, and children’s events and
will benefit The Salvation Army Toys for Toys and The Center for
Women and Children. The group is working with The Holiday Inn on
Hurstbourne Lane at I-64 to host the event. If you or your band is
interested in donating time by performing a 30-45 minute set or if you
would like to volunteer to help in this event, please, contact Sonya
Cotton at 502-523-8901 or [email protected]. The event will
be open to the public, with cost to attend being a new toy or monetary
donation.
Regrettably, a BA jam will no longer be held at Siggy’s Pizza in
Louisville. BA would like to thank Debbi Stich and the employees
at Siggy’s for welcoming Bluegrass to their establishment and for the
fine food. Dan Robinson, BA President, who organized the Siggy’s
jam, would also like to thank the pickers that showed up weekly and
enjoyed the Bluegrass fellowship. Stay tuned to the BGAnon Yahoo
group notices and the B.A. website calendar for upcoming and current
Kentuckiana jam venues.
The May-June (2010) issue of Bluegrass Music Profiles featured
Louisvillian Bob Mitchell, Courier Journal writer, in BMP column “DJ
Profile”. Bob reports “The experience with Radio Bluegrass International has been an exciting and rewarding endeavor from the first
moment. The opportunity to share the music I love - a unique musical
form born in Kentucky - is, not only a highlight of my life, but also an
honor.”
Lauren White, Storefront Congregation bass player and singer
wrote, “Click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpxptPUyE7I to
see the latest commercial advertising the great state of Kentucky. Although Storefront Congregation has only a passing shot in the video,
we had fun at the taping and are proud to be representing Kentucky.”
For more information about the Storefront’s schedule or a link to the
commercial, visit www.StorefrontBand.com.
Happy Birthday to Berk Bryant, The Country Gentleman, who
celebrated his 80th birthday on Sunday, June 6th, at a celebration
held at the Vernon Club, in Louisville. With several hundred folks in
attendance, Berk did a live broadcast of his show from the club, with
performances by Blue River with Jeff Guernsey, Bluegrass 101 and
Cherryholmes. There was jammin’ on the patio and everyone had a
grand time, especially Berk. He said that if he knew that this celebration would be so much fun he would have turned 80 long ago. Here’s
to many more, Berk!
Dan Boone has produced a documentary, “The Berk Bryant Story”,
which aired on his “Pickin’ Ranch” cable TV program. The “Pickin’
Ranch” airs on Wednesdays at 7:30PM on Insight channel 98. The
full version of “The Berk Bryant Story” includes a music video of Berk
on the Belle of Louisville, with John Hartford music. The film includes
local musicians The Phelps Family Band and Bec Gentry. Insight
channel 98 is available on regular cable in Jefferson County, KY. and
part of the Fort Knox area. More information on this show and others
can be found at http://thepickinranchshow.com. The documentary
can also be seen in multiple YouTube videos.
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Congratulations to Amanda Wilder of Louisville who won three allweekend passes to ROMP, The River of Music Party, in Owensboro, KY
in June. The tickets were donated by Bluegrass Anonymous.
The City of Owensboro (KY.) has offered the International Bluegrass
Music Museum the opportunity to occupy a 60,000 square foot building
on the best location in Owensboro...on the river, beside a new convention
and events center, next door to a new major hotel, and rent free! Attention, Bluegrass music lovers who are ARCHITECTS... please get in touch
with Gabrielle Gray at [email protected] to discuss design
work related to this new space.
The Hillbenders, a Missouri-based Bluegrass band, won the 4th Annual
National Single Microphone Competition, held at Silver Dollar City in
Branson, Missouri, in May. Their newly released debut CD, “Down to
My Last Dollar”, is a great collaboration by band members Mark Cassidy
(banjo), Gary Rea (bass), Jim Rea (guitar), Nolan Lawrence (mandolin)
and Chad “Gravy Boat” Graves (Dobro). For more information about the
band and to purchase a CD, go to www.Hillbenders.com.
The Coleman Brothers and the Lone Star Boys newest CD, “Second
Time Around”, includes ten traditional bluegrass songs and is just what
the doctor ordered for any fans craving a taste of the Monroe or Stanley
Brothers. The Coleman Brothers, Craig and Corey, punch out the harmony only siblings can create.
Stringtown is back on the market. They have endured a rough couple of
years with some losses in the family and have faced challenging times,
but they are now happy to report they are playing together again. In
addition, the group participated in the Legends of the Bluegrass
ceremony at ROMP. Check them out at http://www.stringtownky.com/.
The influential country music singer Hank Williams, who died in 1953,
has been awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize citation. The citation
praises Williams for “his craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed
universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in
transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in
American life.”
The Grassroots to Bluegrass Collection is a 10-volume video series
of live stories and music from the biggest names in Bluegrass history.
Just imagine sitting on the front porch with Bluegrass legends like The
Osborne Brothers, John Hartford, Brother Oswald, Mike Seeger, J.D.
Crowe, Kenny Baker, Jeanette Carter, Bill Clifton, Eddie Stubbs, Jimmy
Shumate, James Monroe, Charlie Louvin, Mac Wiseman and so many
more as they play their music for all their friends! If you order the series,
you’ll also receive the unique Bluegrass Photo Album, with complete history and interesting facts about all the Bluegrass legends on the series.
And, when you order the collection, you’ll receive another free bonus
series, Behind the Scenes. That’s a total of 10 DVDs or VHS tapes with
over 10 hours of Bluegrass music and memories! You’ll hear over 60
songs from 30 Bluegrass pioneers. There is no other Bluegrass collection like this anywhere else. If you love Bluegrass,
you’ll love the Grassroots to Bluegrass Collection!
Notes from our members about the First Annual BA Pig Roast:
Oh what a wonderful day! Great fun socializing
with fellow BA-ers, delicious food and fixins’,
jammers/singers/pickers/grinners, prizes galore
(we both came away with awesome giveaways)
and PERFECT weather accompanied it all. If
you couldn’t get here this year be sure you try to
make next year’s, bet it will be even BIGGER and better. Many thanks
to everybody that made this happen....Sonya, Charlie and Dan and to
anyone else that pitched in. We two really appreciated all the extra effort
and hard work that went together to put this on. Job well done, guys!
Let’s do it again!
Charlie&Jeannie Ford
Continued on page 9
New and Renewing Members
B.A. welcomes the following new members:
** Steve & Kaitlyn Arel: Elizabethtown, KY. (Members # 1049 & 1050!)
Albert Bauman: Springfield, KY.
Eddie “Slick” & Anna “Peanuts” Bush: Louisville, KY.
Susan Glazer: Prospect, KY.
Bruce O. & Dian Gordon: Finchville, KY.
** Tracy Knutson: Fort Knox, KY.
Donnie & Margaret McCoy: Vine Grove, KY.
Tony & Kina Mattingly: Fairdale, KY.
Kevin Meredith: Hodgenville, KY.
Marvin & Nyla Sue Moore: Henryville, IN.
Eddie Wells: Mt. Washington, KY.
And, thanks the following renewing members, for their continued support of the habit:
A Band or Somethin’: Bill Gail, Gloria Gail, Jessica Gail, Carly Gail, Joshua Willis,
Terry Willis and Karen Willis: Wilmington, DE.
* Almost Bluegrass Band: Bill Boyd, Stan Lindsey, Jim Clemons & Ed Pierce: Louisville, KY.
Paula Barbour: Lexington, KY.
* Amy Barker: Louisville, KY.
* Blue Moon: Paul Castetter, Sherry Castetter, Mike Summers and Allison Summers: Jeffersonville, IN.
Cackie Brutscher: Louisville, KY.
Dwight Chandler: Mt. Washington, KY.
Lois Crowder: Louisville, KY.
Alex & Deborah Dunn: Louisville, KY.
Gene Farmer: Lawrenceburg, KY.
Dustin Figg: Louisville, KY.
* Eric & Lisa Fischer: Shepherdsville, KY.
Mike Goering: Salem, IN.
Charlie & Crystal Hutchens: Boston, KY.
Brenda & Roger King: Louisville, KY.
* Wayne Mabe: Hudson, KY.
Renee & Tim Moreschi: Louisville, KY.
Ken Morgan: Louisville, KY.
Chet Purcell: Louisville, KY.
Mick Savkovich: Louisville, KY.
Dave Shattuck: Louisville, KY.
* Todd Shingleton: Louisville, KY.
Philip & Barbara Smith: Louisville, KY.
Willie R. Smith: Louisville, KY.
* Thompson Stanley: Springville, N.Y.
William Stovall: Louisville, KY.
* Bill & Judy Thixton: Mt. Washington, KY.
Stanley Thomas: Louisville, KY.
Howard Thompson: Louisville, KY.
Bob Wimberg: Louisville, KY.
Bill Wolfe: Louisville, KY.
* Mark Zigoris: Cincinnati, OH.
* Sent donation for Berk Bryant’s BG Show with their membership renewal. Thanks for the
support! (Sunday Night Bluegrass with Berk Bryant every Sunday, 8:00 – 11:00 pm ET, 91.9 FM,
WFPK.org)
** Membership encouraged by Terry Strange Music Studio, Elizabethtown, KY. Thanks for the support!
BLUEGRASS PICKER and SINGER IS A “STRAGGLER”
Written by Jeannie Ford and Sonya Cotton
Charlie Smith, a bluegrass picker and singer and a
member of the Kentuckiana Bluegrass Community,
was born on Hammons Fork in a “holler” in Knox
County near the Eastern Kentucky town of Barbourville. Sit down with him and you meet a personable,
friendly Christian man with an interesting history. It
would be enough to write about his musical events
and stories but Charlie’s mission in his senior years
has been to focus on the experiences which occurred in his teens as a member of the US Army’s
Company B, 29th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War. Thus the true story of “The Stragglers”,
as seen by a 17 year old soldier has come about.
As a young boy, Charlie always knew he would be a
member of the Armed Services one day. As family
members returned to Knox County from service, he
would watch them proudly and always thought “that
will be me someday”. His true passion at that time
was the US Navy because he liked the posters “Join
the Navy and See the
World”.
But in the summer of 1949, Charlie decided
to join the Army instead. He passed the
recruitment test but when the recruiting officer asked his age, he confessed to being
only 16. Alas, the recruiter sent him home
and told him he would contact him after his
17th birthday in January 1950. That day
arrived in February 1950 when his Mother
signed the enlistment papers for the US
Army. Soon after basic training at Fort
Knox, Charlie and some of his new young
Army buddies found themselves in the
middle of a war in Korea.
Charlie emphasizes his book is not a book
about the Korean War per se, but rather
the true story of what happened at Chinju
during a battle that was fought with the
North Koreans on July 28, 1950. American
soldiers made up of a group of stragglers
Charlie Smith Spring 1951
from every outfit that was in combat in the
Anui, Hadong and Chinju areas had come together and made a fighting
unit that saved an infinite number of lives by holding the road for the 24th
Infantry Division and the other units that were trying to withdraw from
Chinju. Of the 150-175 men that made up the stragglers, he only knew
two, who were from his unit. As it turns out, there were only two survivors
of this July 28, 1950 battle, one of who is Charlie Smith. The other brave
soldier, a southern boy from North Carolina, was one of his basic training
“best buds” who was captured later in the day by and made a prisoner of
war. Sadly, Charlie learned later that he was killed by the North Koreans
on October 20, 1950.
Thus Charlie was the lone survivor of this massacre. Intelligence officers called upon Charlie
to provide details of what happened that day.
He was told the information he provided was
very valuable for the records. And was told
that he would receive the Bronze Star for his
actions on July 28, 1950. To this date, he has
never received that Bronze Star nor heard
any word about it. Of course, the information
he provided to intelligence should have been
documented but he has been unable to find
any record of it. He has searched the National
Archives, libraries, internet, talked to historians but has exhausted all means of where to
search.
Charlie’s crusade now is to try to locate anyone
who might know where these records might
be and how he could obtain them. Or any interested party, reporter, historian, military folks,
Korean vet, et al, and even any South Koreans
that might know if there are records of American soldiers who
died in fox holes, rice paddies or cane fields on that July day
in 1950. Please read read this book and if you have ideas
you may email Charlie at [email protected] Charlie
believes that after all these years, the Army and this Nation
would want to identify these brave soldiers who paid the
ultimate price - they gave their lives so others could live.
Charlie Smith is now a resident of Louisville, KY. You can
catch up with him at regional jams. He regularly attends the
Vine Grove, KY. jam (Monday nights in the summer) and the
Silver Heights Bingo Hall jam in Louisville (Tuesday nights).
He usually has a few of his books stashed away in his truck.
To order “The Stragglers” go to Amazon.com or
Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC
127 E Trade Center Terrace
Mustang, OK 73064
P.S. We’ve read Charlie’s book and think it would make a
great movie. Buy it, read it…. You won’t be sorry. Then you
can learn more about what happened that dreadful day in
South Korea – a piece of forgotten American history.
Charlie Smith 2010
Photo Charlie Ford
Performance Strain
Written by Dan Boone, PT
Musicians probably don’t look at playing a musical instrument the same as playing a sport but perhaps they should.
Pushing down on a string or moving a bow may not be as
physically demanding as swinging a baseball bat or a golf
club, but you’re still moving an object against resistance.
Proper conditioning, muscle tone, joint mobility, body alignment and relaxation are key in all movements that involve
control and finesse.
There are a lot of posts on the mandolincafe forums by
mandolin players with arm and hand problems that limit their
ability to play. These kind of complaints are common among
all musicians and can often be greatly reduced with some
basic information about posture, stretching, warm-up, instrument setup, and jamming etiquette.
Any professional athlete will tell you that they do some
form of warm-up before they begin a physically demanding
activity. Any professional musician will tell you the same
thing.
Whether it’s running through a few scales or your favorite
Bluegrass riff a few times, taking the time to loosen up
your arms and hands will improve your playing and your
endurance. Posture is a key part of musical endurance as
well. It may look cool to play your mandolin with the strap
over one shoulder, but you’ll last longer and have fewer
problems if you put the strap over both shoulders and relax
your picking arm and shoulder. That also applies to playing banjo. And banjos are much heavier than a mandolin.
The proper strap length is reached when your wrists are
straight and relaxed.
Another important point is instrument setup. Even brand
new instruments may need to be setup by a professional
before they will play their best. Mandolins especially, with
the high string tension, need to have a perfect relationship between the nut, the neck alignment and the bridge.
Otherwise, that four finger G chord is tough to play all
night. Also, when jamming, do yourself a favor and don’t
try to be the loudest guy in the room. Technique and
volume don’t necessarily go together. Smaller groups are
usually better when you want to work on improving your
playing. Relaxation and breathing are also major factors in
playing well and playing longer. If you’re playing hard, you’ll
fatigue much faster and your technique will suffer.
What to do when you have a problem? See a Doctor to
make sure nothing serious is going on. Don’t shrug off pain
or tingling in your arms and hands. For this type of problem,
Doctors will usually send you to a Physical Therapist. Phyical Therapists are specialists in movement related disorders. They work with you on posture, strength, conditioning
and flexibility. A Home Exercise Program of stretching and
posture related exercises will have you playing better and
happier in no time.
Dan Boone is a licensed Physical Therapist (and musician)
in the Louisville, KY area.
Dave Howard demonstrates proper body alignment and wrist position with the
mandolin, fiddle and acoustic bass.
Down Memory Lane: Pickin’ and Singin’,
an article that appeared in Newsweek, June 29, 1970, written by Hubert Saal
Mountain soul
music is what people
call bluegrass. It
conjures up visions
of hazy mountains,
ramshackle log cabins, unyielding, dirtpoor farms, whisky
stills and valleys
wounded by abandoned coal mines.
Or it’s called simply,
“old-time pickin’ and
singin”. Sometimes,
because of its breakneck pace, it’s referred to as
“folk music in overdrive”.
There are some who just call it “Bill Monroe’s
music”. Monroe refers to it as his music. “My music
started in 1939, when I got my first band together, “
says the 59-year-old tenor and mandolin virtuoso. “I
wanted to represent my home state of Kentucky, so I
took the name ‘Blue Grass Boys’”.
Last week Monroe Held his fourth annual Bluegrass festival on his 90-acre park in Bean Blossom,
Ind. By Sunday the crowds at the five-day festival
were expected to reach 12,000. What was surprising was the cross-section of America represented,
some of whom came east from California, and south
from Canada to the hamlet lying 45miles south of
Indianapolis.
There was a good fellowship among leather-faced
men in Western garb, teenage groupies posturing
around the musicians, long-haired hippies with their
no-bra chicks and red-neck farmers with their wives
sprawled in lawn chairs and print dresses. “The
people bring me to Bean Blossom,” a 24-year-old
jazz pianist from Chicago named Bob Hoban told
Newsweek’s Bernice Buresh. “It’s so relaxing that
you can carry yourself home in a bucket when you
leave here”.
In the heat of sunny days, impromptu groups
played, attended workshops, sipped cokes, ate
watermelon and bought buttons that said: “Stop Air
Pollution – Play Bluegrass”. On Thursday a banjopicking contest was won by 23-year-old Roger
Bland, from Wheeeling, W. VA. He jumped for joy at
the $100 prize. “Bluegrass”, he says, “it flows like a
stream. The banjo is like the ripples”.
Intense: On Saturday,
amid beech, walnut and
hickory trees, the crowd
crammed themselves on
plank benches to hear
25 big-name bands such
as Jimmy Martin and the
Sunny Mountain Boys, the
great banjoist Earl Scruggs,
Ralph Stanley and the
Clinch Mountain Boys,
and the star of stars, Bill
Monroe and the Blue Grass
Boys. This was the band
that gave the music its name. Hardly was a chord
struck when the crowd erupted at the expectation of
“Mule Skinner Blues”, “Molly and Tenbrooks” or Monroe’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky”, the first song Elvis
Presley ever recorded.
This intense, passionate music came out of Appalachia in the ‘20s and ‘30s. It spawned, with the introduction of electronic instruments, the commercial
Nashville sound. But at the bottom of it was a pure
strain, rural but not ruralized, restricted to an acoustical string band with a guitar and bass for the driving rhythm, a five-string banjo, mandolin and fiddle
for melody, and sometimes the addition of a dobro
guitar, played Hawaiian style, to reinforce the twang
and the “the high, lonesome sound” of the fiddle.
Bluegrass is like chamber music in the intricate
demands it makes upon the precision of an ensemble. And it’s like jazz in the quick reflexes necessary
to respond to spontaneous ideas from hot licks on
banjo and fiddle. Bluegrass men are masterly musicians. Says Jimmy Martin, “If a country-music band
loses a musician, he can be replaced tomorrow. It
takes me a year to replace someone”.
Sparks: Bill Monroe is the “father of bluegrass”.
Into the music, Monroe has let flow blues, gospel,
ragtime, Dixie-land and the old mountain fiddle
tunes. “I knew what I was adding at each step”,
says Monroe. Most of the key bluegrass musicians
served their apprenticeships with Monroe. Jimmy
Martin did, and so did the Stanley Brothers, Don
Reno, Mac Wiseman and, above all, Lester Flatt
and Earl Scruggs. After Scruggs joined, making the
sparks fly with his revolutionary three-finger banjo
picking, bluegrass was never the same.
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Continued on page 9
Continued from page 4
Continued from page 8
Thanks to all those who attended the 1st BA Pickin’ Pig Roast
held on Saturday, May 22nd, at EP Tom Sawyer Park! It was
rousing success and at lunch time there were at least 100 folks in
attendance. The pickin’ started about 11am and after lunch 4 jams
were scattered under the trees. The kids enjoyed the playground
next to the pavilion, corn hole games were played all afternoon and
the weather couldn’t have been nicer. About 30 door prizes were
awarded to those in attendance. Thank you to all who donated
items for this project. The last pickers and grinners left the park at
dark, 9pm. Many thanks to Charlie Logsdon & Dan Robinson, who
arrived at the park at 7am to start baking the pig-o..... Here’s to the
2nd Annual event! Sonya
Cotton
The first Hullabalou
Festival held at Churchill
Downs (Louisville) was a
huge success. The 3-day
festival in July included many
genres of music performed
on 5 stages. Performances
featured big named bands
from Country to Rock, with
one stage near the paddock Relic Photo by Meredith Maple
area dedicated strictly to
bluegrass music! Over the
course of the weekend bands that played on the Bluegrass stage
included Ricky Skaggs, Relic, Brushfire, The Cumberlands, Whiskey Bent Valley Boys, The Traveling McCoury’s with Dan Tamynski, Blue Zen Grass with Phil Leadbetter, The Tillers, Kentucky Blue,
Hog Operation, Rhonda Vincent and Michael Johnathon. Thanks
to everyone who came out to support the music!
WE REMEMBER:
WoodSongs fans may recall when 11 year old Almira Fawn
appeared in 2009 as a featured artist on the show. As some are
aware, in July she tragically lost her mom, Umi Southworth, in
a senseless and tragic event at their home in Lexington, KY. On
Tuesday, August 3rd, a cast of incredible musicians gathered for
the Umi Southworth Memorial Education Fund Concert to benefit
Almira. Artists included J.D. Pennington, J.D. Crowe, Ben Sollee
and others. For more information, visit www.AlmiraFawnBenefit.
com.
These days even bluegrass finds it hard to resist
change. Jimmy Martin tolerates a drum during
recording sessions and Sonny Osborne has gone so
far as to electrify his banjo. Having to compete with
Nashville groups, it was better than going hungry.
Most of Monroe’s disciples play hard ‘grass. But
some of the groups such as the Country Gentlemen
play “progressive”, underplaying the country twang
in favor of an urban sophistication.
Monroe himself is unperturbed. “It wouldn’t do for
me to electrify”, he says.
“But there’s room in bluegrass for differences. You
know I intended this music
for country people but it’s
growed and gone all over.
The mountain people have
been with me 30 years.
But my hippie fans know
when the music is played
right. And the college kids
are my biggest audience.
People have learned that
bluegrass has a wonderful
feeling. If you play it right,
people know you got your
heart in it”.
There have been updates to the BA website, including new festival
photos and links. If you have any festival or gig pictures you would
like to have considered for addition to the website, please contact
me at [email protected]. And, if you have news, reviews
or information that you would like to submit for consideration for the
True Blue News column, please, send those my way, too. Thanks
for your support! Michelle Bucayu
Bill Monroe and James Hines
(Generously provided to B.A. by James Hines, Rosine, KY.)
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Bluegrass Anonymous
P.O. Box 21281 • Louisville, KY 40221-0281