Leona Williams - "Nobody's Darling"

Here's a video I shot in Houston on May 17, 2009 of Leona Williams singing "Nobody's Darling But Mine." I think this was Leona's first visit to the annual country music show at Houston's Traders Village. Dicky Overbey's great steal guitar plays a prominent role in this one.

The Way Back Machine - No. 12

I stumbled onto this great footage of Mr. & Mrs. Carl Smith doing their brand of comedy and singing a rousing version of "Love, Oh Crazy Love." Both would enjoy long marriages with others, of course, but this is great fun and a real part of country music history that most of us, I think, tend to forget.

It's June Carter and Carl Smith:

Man of Constant Sorrow: My Life and Times

When it comes to country music history, Ralph Stanley has pretty much seen it all. Now, at age 82, he has partnered with author Eddie Dean to share some of that with the rest of us. The book they co-authored, Man of Constant Sorrow: My Life and Times, will, of course be especially appreciated by bluegrass fans, Stanley Brothers fans, and fans of the work Ralph has done since Carter’s death on December 1, 1966. Others, even those that are not fans of Stanley or of bluegrass music, will find the book to be a remarkable snapshot of a pivotal period in American music history, a time during which musicians like the Stanley Brothers earned their livings through live radio shows, relatively primitive recordings, and driving countless miles from one paying gig to the next.

Stanley was born in 1927 in the Clinch mountains of southwestern Virginia and he still lives very near the old home place where he grew up with his older brother Carter. Carter and Ralph were still teenagers when they began performing as the Stanley Brothers and, for the rest of their lives, the brothers would depend on music to provide their living, difficult as that would often prove to be (think about the impact of Elvis Presley). Carter would be gone much too soon, dead by age 42 primarily because of an inability to control his alcohol consumption, but Ralph would find new lead singers to keep the music of the Stanley Brothers alive to the present day.

First to replace Carter was18-year-old Larry Sparks, but Sparks would be followed over the years by others, including an even younger Keith Whitley who joined the Clinch Mountain Boys with his singing buddy Ricky Skaggs. As Stanley recounts, Whitley would move on to a successful stint with J.D. Crowe before himself dying of alcohol poisoning when just on the verge of a career-making mainstream breakthrough.

Man of Constant Sorrow includes stories about many of the men that have been members of the Clinch Mountain Boys for the past six decades. Stanley shares both the good and the bad about his life and he does the same for the men with whom he worked all those years, even to providing details (as he understands them) of the murder of Roy Lee Centers and the legal system that let off his killer with the lightest of sentences imaginable. Stanley speaks often of losing band members to death or illness and addresses how difficult it was for him to fire various Clinch Mountain Boys over the years.

The beauty of Man of Constant Sorrow is that it is told in Ralph Stanley’s voice, mountain dialect and spelling, included. The voice is so accurate (and, at times so rambling) that one has to believe that Dr. Ralph’s contribution to the book was largely made via a recording device into which he spoke his memories and that Eddie Dean’s job was to put everything in the proper order for a book presentation.

This stream-of-consciousness approach also contributes to an unpleasant surprise or two for those of us who know Ralph Stanley only through his onstage persona. Stanley, it seems, has a tendency to give praise to others with one hand while, with the other, explaining that he does it better than they ever did (be “it” music or some standard of behavior), and a willingness to tell degrading stories about the people he does not like or approve of, even if they are long dead. I was particularly struck by the paragraphs devoted to how delightful if was for the band to have a dim-witted picker on the road with them, someone at whom the rest of the band could always laugh to relieve the tension and fatigue of the road. This light streak of cruelty and lack of empathy in some of Stanley’s stories truly surprises me and exposes an inability to see himself through the eyes of others.

Man of Constant Sorrow suffers, too, from the glaring gaps left in its chronology. Very little is said about Carter Stanley’s children and how they survived after Carter’s death despite the fact that one of them, Jeanie, is herself an excellent bluegrass singer. There is also the matter of Ralph own first marriage, to which I can find only one quick reference where Stanley discusses his mother’s reaction to his surprise marriage to Jimmie: “My first marriage didn’t really count in her book. And not in mine, neither. I had to go through the bad marriage to be ready for a woman like Jimmie, I reckon.” To those unaware of Stanley’s first marriage, this is the equivalent of a neck-twisting double-take, and I still wonder where in his long story this failed marriage fits. Lastly, there is little mention of Ralph’s own children, despite the fact that Ralph Stanley II was a Clinch Mountain Boy for about 20 years and that one grandson is a current member of the band.

Despite the gaps in the book, and, in my personal opinion , some of what Dr. Ralph reveals about his nature, Man of Constant Sorrow is a worthy addition to country music history and it deserves a wide audience. It is, after all, Ralph Stanley’s story - and he gets to decide what he wants to share and what he wants to reveal about himself in the process.

Rest in Peace, Carl Smith

He will live forever:

Man of Constant Sorrow, Part 2

I finished reading Man of Constant Sorrow this morning and I plan to digest it a bit before writing a formal review of the book. Ralph Stanley and Eddie Dean did a fine job in capturing Stanley's voice and story and I learned a lot about some of the key players in Stanley Brothers history. I am a bit disappointed in a couple of things I sense about Mr. Stanley's personality and that is why I want to think more about my review of the book. Despite my sensibilities about some of what was said in the book, I highly recommend Man of Constant Sorrow to fans of the Stanley Brothers, Ralph Stanley, bluegrass music and mountain music. This is good stuff.

Here are a few more interesting quotes from the book:

"Some of the younger crowd would rather us old-timers go under the wheels of our tour buses, and be done with it. They've got no respect for their elders, and they don't even pretend to. Back when I was their age, I didn't treat old folks that way."


"To me, being a professional comes down to a few plain and simple don'ts. They go something like this:

Don't be rude to the fans...

Don't go on stage dressed in your street clothes...

Don't ever get on stage with a beer in your hand, or a cigarette or toothpick in your mouth...

Don't walk around in public, at the venue or festival grounds, with a woman you're not serious about...

Don't drink in front of the public.

Don't be late to a show."


"Singing is the weak spot in the younger bluegrass bands. To me, the hot playing is a way to cover up bad singing. They can pick the notes, but they can't sing worth beans, not the way I like to hear singing."


"I don't play bluegrass. I never have, really. I think the only true bluegrass is Bill Monroe, and maybe a few others..."


"You might ask why I put up with Carter's drinking, and why I stood by as he went down the road to ruin. when he's your brother, you accept him for what he is, weaknesses and all. He had his burden to bear and I did, too. He was my brother and I loved him."

Man of Constant Sorrow

I've been reading the new Ralph Stanley / Eddie Dean book, Man of Constant Sorrow and I'm struck by the style in which the book is written. It is almost like listening to a long Ralph Stanley monologue, one during which Dr. Ralph digs deep into his memories and shares his innermost thoughts with us.

Here is a sampling of what Stanley says in the books first 101 pages:

"It was mostly Carter's dream at first, but I came to believe in it just as much as he did. Together we lived the dream for twenty years, until the cold winter night in 1966 when he passed on, I believe, from the heavy price he paid to keep it alive in hard times. Until the end he never did give up on the dream that finally done him in."

"Those old songs were here before me and they'll be here when I'm gone. What's read doesn't die."

"I was due for a present, and she (Ralph's mother) said I could get a banjo or a pig. You might think I'd go straightaway for the banjo, but it wasn't easy to choose...I liked the looks of pigs. I thought they was pretty."

"Well, we couldn't hardly think of what to call the band. Pretty soon, we got another sponsor, the Clinch Valley Insurance Company, and that gave us the idea for a name. After that, we called ourselves the Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys. It was a good name because it told it just like it was."

"Every singer needs to find the right songs to fit his voice, and for me, it was them sad and lonesome traditional mountain ballads."

Man of Constant Sorrow is proving to be a first rate country music biography. More to come, including a more formal review of the book.

Dailey & Vincent Salute the Statler Brothers

One of the highlights to ROMP 2008 in Owensboro, KY, was the appearance of Dailey & Vincent. It was probably the first time that a lot of the audience had seen Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent in their new configuration. We all knew of Jamie's great recordings with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, of course, and about the top tier bluegrass bands with which Darren has worked over the years - but this was new and exciting.

The buzz after the Owensboro show was powerful and, in the opinion of many, the boys stole the show that night. They already had positive momentum coming into that show, though, and what they have accomplished in their two years of existence is astounding. They are definitely leaving their mark on bluegrass music.

The band tried out a Statler Brothers song on the audience that night, a song they were to sing the next evening at the Country Music Hall of Fame's Statler Brothers induction ceremony - at the request of the Statler Brothers themselves. Jamie Dailey's admiration of the Statlers was very obvious that night and, since then, the guys have recorded Statlers music and have included members of the Statlers on their recordings (and at least one YouTube video).

So news that Dailey & Vincent have recorded a Statler Brothers tribute album, available exclusively at Cracker Barrel, is no big surprise. If love and admiration are able to contribute to the quality of a recording, Dailey & Vincent Sing the Statler Brothers is going to be one heck of an album.

Songs included on Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers are:

"Flowers on the Wall"

"The Class of '57"

"Hello Mary Lou"

"Too Much on My Heart"

"Susan When She Tried"

"I'll Go To My Grave Loving You"

"Elizabeth"

"Bed of Rose's"

"Do You Know You Are My Sunshine?"

"Brave Apostles Twelve"

"My Only Love"

"Thank You World"

Here's a taste of how good this album is going to be: the YouTube video I mentioned above in which the boys sing the Statler standard, "Elizabeth," along with Statler Brother Jimmy Fortune.

The Way Back Machine - No. 11

I've been listening to lots of old Stanley Brothers recordings during this first weekend of 2010. I got to thinking about Carter Stanley, after realizing that we have just passed another anniversary of the tragic death of Hank Williams, because Hank's death, at age 29, always reminds me of the long list of country performers who passed on before their time. Bluegrass fans can't help but wonder what The Stanley Brothers would have achieved if Carter had not suffered so many personal problems during his short lifetime.

But let's focus on what the guys did accomplish as one of the finest brother acts ever known to country music. Here's a great piece of old television footage from Pete Seeger's television program during which The Stanley Brothers sing "Worried Man Blues."

Top 50 Most Listened To - 2008-2009

Does anyone remember life before iPod? I'm a music lover and a statistics freak, so the iPod and iTunes software is perfect for me. I've been using my current iPod for a bit over two years and I decided to tabulate my "plays" to put together a completely unbiased list of my favorite performers. The following list is ranked entirely on how many songs I have played of each artist in the last 26 months, starting with the Del McCoury Band at 1,169 plays:

1. The Del McCoury Band
2. George Jones
3. Dailey & Vincent
4. Rickey Skaggs
5. The Grascals
6. Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
7. Karl Shiflett & Big Country
8. James King
9. Patty Loveless
10. Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper

11. Larry Sparks
12. Dan Tyminski
13. Merle Haggard
14. Lefty Frizzell
15. Rhonda Vincent
16. Jimmy Martin
17. Longview
18. Dry Branch Fire Squad
19. Dale Watson
20. Alan Jackson

21. Amber Digby
22. Johnny Cash
23. Miss Leslie & Her Juke-Jointers
24. Justin Trevino
25. Dwight Yoakam
26. Bill Monroe
27. Hank Williams
28. Willie Nelson
29. Ronnie McCoury
30. David Ball

31. Alison Krauss
32. Art Stevenson & High Water
33. Carl Smith
34. Larry Stephenson
35. George Strait
36. Hank Snow
37. Buck Owens
38. Connie Smith
39. Mark Chesnutt
40. Jean Shepard

41. Jim Lauderdale
42. J.D. Crowe
43. Ed Burleson
44. Loretta Lynn
45. Doc Watson
46. James Hand
47. Jimmy Dickens
48. Sunny Sweeney
49. Bob Dylan
50. Roger Miller

This is about as close to an unbiased list as I'll ever get because the stats were gathered over a 26-month period during which I didn't bother to keep track. That means that the list almost perfectly ranks the artists I've listened to during that period. All told there are 270 different singers or groups on the list - resulting from the over 20,000 song choices I have on my trusty little music machine.

"What a Journey" - Paul Williams & The Victory Trio

Here's one for the Christmas season: Paul Williams & The Victory Trio doing their version of "What a Journey." This is from the special concert held in Owensboro, KY, on the evening of June 25, 2009 to benefit the International Bluegrass Music Museum which is located just down the block from this stage.

Monroe Mandolin Headstock Veneer Sells for $5,357 an Inch

I am a huge fan of The International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky. For the past four years, in fact, I have driven from Houston to Owensboro to attend the museum's June music festival, proceeds from which help support the museum in its quest to present the finest bluegrass music exhibits available. After my June 2010 trip to Owensboro, I will have driven 10,000 miles in the last five years to enjoy Owensboro's hospitality and I look forward to thousands more.

Sadly, Gabrielle Gray, the museum's executive director, was unable to secure the famous mandolin headstock veneer that an enraged Bill Monroe defaced all those years ago, so I won't be seeing it anytime soon. Gray has, though, already made an attempt to borrow the piece from its new owner for display during the centennial of Monroe's birth (September 2011).

The Victoria Advocate offers all the details - via an article from the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer. Read the article to find out why Mr. Bill decided to remove the name "Gibson" from his mandolin.

For Bill Monroe fans, this is the big one. I hope to see it some day.

Bluegrass & Haircuts

Lawrence Anthony, a man who cut hair in his Drexel, North Carolina, barbershop for what must seem forever to Drexel residents, died last week at the age of 86. Mr. Anthony's shop is famous for what it offers in addition to haircuts: bluegrass music coming live to his customers from a back room.

(Photo of Lawrence Anthony by Matt Born, Wilmington Magazine)


According to Morganton.com, Anthony's son, Carroll, is determined to keep the shop open and the music coming.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to the Barbershop Preservation Fund, First Citizens Bank, Valdese, NC or mailed to 2744 Monarch Dr., Charlotte, NC 28214.

Any money given to the fund will go to repair the barbershop, Carroll said. He said there has been a problem with water from the street running into the shop and it's ruined the floors.

"It's just an institution," Carroll said. "We've got to preserve the place."

The barbershop sort of evolved into what it is today. Not long after it opened, Carroll said, then-Police Chief Bill Lippard would come to the barbershop on his lunch breaks to pick guitar with Lawrence Anthony. Little by little, more musicians started showing up and a tradition was born.

Until he became ill this year, Lawrence Anthony cut hair, and jokes, alongside David Shirley for 44 years. In recent years, the two men reduced their work schedule to Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

The atmosphere of the barbershop always was warm and inviting. A wood stove sits in the corner and there is usually something to munch on. Anyone expecting just a haircut gets a whole lot more.

In the back room, fingers fly across guitars, fiddles and mandolins and the unsuspecting customer is treated to the sounds of traditional bluegrass.

Bluegrass music was obviously very important to Lawrence Anthony and there can be no better memorial to his life than for his shop to remain open for many years to come. Best of luck, Carroll. Here's hoping it all works out that way for you.

If Only It Were True

Imagine my surprise when I got home this afternoon and found that AAA's Texas Journey magazine has done a cover story on bluegrass music in the state of Texas. The subtitle shown on the cover, "This folk tradition lives on in the Lone Star State" would lead one to believe that bluegrass music is alive and well in Texas. Well, it may be alive - but I'm not sure that it is doing particularly well.

Texas is a huge state, as most of you know. Heck, by the time I drive to El Paso from Houston, I would have been 70% of the way to Owensboro, KY, where I could easily immerse myself in bluegrass music if I had decided to drive those 700 miles toward the east rather than toward the west. The article mentions only four big Texas bluegrass festivals scheduled for all of 2010: Bluegrass Heritage Festival in Arlington (March 5-6), Old Settler's Music Festival near Austin (April 15-18), Texas Bluegrass Celebration in Brownwood (June 4-6) and Salmon Lake Park Bluegrass Festival in Grapeland (September 2-5). It also gives a nice plug to Artz Rib House in Austin and the Sunday afternoon jams hosted there.

That's it - four festivals for the whole state and, frankly, I've never been to Grapeland or Brownwood in my life and I was born and raised in this state. I'm embarrassed to admit that I only vaguely know what direction those two fine cities are from Houston. So, while I'm happy that the folks at AAA made an effort to push bluegrass to me and my fellow Texans, pardon me if I'm still a little underwhelmed by my choices for 2010.

(I do know there are other festivals that AAA failed to mention. One of those is in the Conroe area, in fact, and that's only about 30 miles from me, so all is not lost.)

The Best of 2009 in Real Country Music

This is simply a listing of my personal favorites from 2009. I won’t try to justify my rankings other than to say that, because I almost never listen to the radio these days, the list is limited to albums I’ve purchased and played during the year. I am certain that I have missed some 2009 releases that deserve to be on the list, especially if I expanded it to a Top 20 or even a Top 25. But the ones shown are known quantities - and I love every one of them. (Oh, and I should add that I bought a few duds this year also and that this list is not all inclusive of what I spent my money on.)

1. Lonely Street – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

2. Family Circle – The Del McCoury Band

3. Mountain Soul II – Patty Loveless

4. Bluegrass and Beyond – Bobby Osborne

5. Audie Blaylock and Redline – Audie Blaylock and Redline

6. Brothers from Different Mothers – Dailey & Vincent

7. Destination Life – Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

8. Black Top Road – Angela Easterling

9. Songs My Dad Loved – Ricky Skaggs

10. I Just Want to Thank You, Lord – Larry Sparks

11. Willie and the Wheel – Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel

12. Could We Get Any Closer – Jim Lauderdale

13. Echoes of the Mountains – Dry Branch Fire Squad

14. Hillbilly Goddess – Alecia Nugent

15. Shadow on the Ground – James Hand

I am hoping that 2010 brings new releases from people like Dan Tyminski, Josh Williams, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, James King, The Grascals, Karl Shiflett, Longview, Justin Trevino, Dwight Yoakam, Ronnie McCoury (solo), Larry Stephensen, Sunny Sweeney, The Cox Family, Glen Bonham, and Hazel Dickens – and a whole bunch of others. It has already been way too long between albums for some of these artists and others need to follow-up soon on very nice 2008 albums. We should be hearing new music from Amber Digby and Miss Lesley & Her Juke-Jointers in early 2010, so the year will get off to a promising start.

All in all, 2009 was, in my experience, a good year for bluegrass music. I’m hoping that 2010 will be an even better one, of course. If I could have one music-oriented wish come true, though, I think I would use it on making the bluegrass audience younger by at least three decades. It scares me to attend bluegrass shows and see the audience dominated by gray hair and bald heads. If bluegrass is to survive, it must be discovered by the kids coming up – and soon - because, if it does not happen by the time the baby boomers (like me) are all gone in a couple of decades, we are going to take commercial bluegrass music down with us.

But I refuse to close on such a gloomy thought. I prefer to celebrate the year just past and to look forward to what is ahead for real country music next year. Thank you to everyone working so hard out there to keep it real by producing country music that actually deserves that label. We know who you are and we love you for doing it.

Justin Trevino: Making It Look Way too Easy

It was one of those nasty days that often plague Houston this time of year, with light rain off and on all day, an irritating amount of fog, and a temperature somewhere in the forties. I felt lucky not to have a reason to get outside today - doubly lucky because it gave me a day to watch a few of the videos I've collected during 2009.

Looking back over the whole year, I have to say that the Justin Trevino show I saw last May turned out to be one of the year's highlights. I think this video will show why I feel that way. Here's Justin singing "Two Empty Glasses," backed by Randy Lindley and Dickey Overbey.

Enjoy.

The Way Back Machine - No. 10

I have to admit that I have always found Del Reeves to be one of the most irritating personalities I've ever come across in country music, but his old television show did do a fine job giving some airtime to worthy bluegrass and country bands.

This is from one of Del's shows featuring Jimmy Martin and his band, including Gloria Belle on the big bass, and Vernon Derrick, Alan Munde and Jimmy's son, Jimmy Martin, Jr. I hope it brings back as many memories for y'all as it does for me.







And Jimmy's wearing that famous hat of his, the one that was so hard to miss.

The Old Home Place - Rosine, KY

This is not the most exciting piece of video you'll ever see but some might find it interesting. This was taken from directly in front of The Old Home Place, Rosine, KY. This is the Bill Monroe family home and it is open to the public (free of charge - donations accepted) almost every day of the year. It is a short drive from Owensboro, home of the International Bluegrass Music Museum, and both places can be visited in a single morning. Don't miss it.

"Nashville Cats" - The Del McCoury Band

I finally found a missing video disc from ROMP 2009 this weekend so I can now share a song from the Del McCoury Band. This is their performance of "Nashville Cats" from June 24,2009, the evening of the special benefit to raise extra money for the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, KY. This show was just down the street from the museum - a great evening shared with Mike Snider, Marty Stuart & The Fabulous Superlatives, and Del & the boys.

The Dan Tyminski Band - ROMP 2009 - II

Of all the acts I saw at ROMP 2009, I enjoyed The Dan Tyminski band the most. I've seen Dan, Barry, and Adam as part of Union Station several times, including once in London when I lived there, but this was the first time I've seen this configuration. I didn't know exactly what to expect from them but I should have known that the band would be topnotch just based on the fun these guys always seemed to have when working together with Alison Krauss. They closed the festival, a hot, humid three days that were a real challenge to the audience and the performers alike - and left everyone the park looking forward to ROMP 2010 (less than nine months from now, guys).

From June 27, 2009:

Gloria Belle and Tennessee Sunshine at ROMP 2009 - II

By special request, I'm posting the only other ROMP 2009 recording I made of Gloria Belle & Tennessee Sunshine. The song was recorded on June 25, 2009.

My next big project is transcribing all the great audio I recorded at this year's ROMP festival. It's a bit sad how much time working for a living takes - but, hopefully, I'll get it all done before ROMP 2010 which is less than nine months away.

Larry Sparks - "Tennessee 1949" at ROMP 2009

If there is a more soulful bluegrass singer than Larry Sparks, I have yet to hear him sing. Some come close but there is just something about Larry's voice and delivery that hits me in the heart every time he sings this kind of song.

This is part of a June 25, 2009 show that Larry and the band did in Owensboro, KY, as part of the ROMP 2009 festivities. This show was one of the festival's highlights for me, personally, because it was my first chance to catch Larry Sparks live - after being a fan of his for more than two decades.

North Dakota's Quintana Biffert Has a New Video

When I first heard Quintana Biffert sing she was a little 12-year-old girl who could knock your socks off with her version of "Coal Miner's Daughter." Her mom sent me a homemade (if I remember correctly) CD of the song and I played the heck out of it on my old internet radio station, RAM Radio. The song got a great response and it stayed near the top of the charts for us for several weeks.

Of course, lots of people listened only because Quintana was such a young performer. But Quintana's age, by itself, is not something that would get people to listen more than once or twice - and many listeners never did know how young she was when she recorded the song. The song did so well because it was good, simple as that.

Now, some five years later, Quintana is still singing and searching for her big break. She lives way up in North Dakota and that probably complicates her efforts to get much national exposure but she is not giving up. She's 17 now and sounding better and better.

This video was produced to get Quintana some YouTube attention and was just posted there on September 23:



The video producers are hoping that Quintana can attract a sponsor or two as a result of their efforts and they had this to say:

This is a music video we produced for Quintana Biffert. We shot the video in the Killdeer Mts and Halliday, North Dakota. Quintana is looking for sponsors to further her career and as you can see she has a God given talent. If you wish to help Quintana, please contact us at info@svpmultimedia.com or through our website at www.svpmultimedia.com and we will direct you to Quintana. ENJOY!

I would love to see that happen because this little girl is more country than most of the folks in Nashville will ever be. She deserves a chance to see what she can do on a national stage.

The Way Back Machine- No. 9

I've seen a few videos of a very young Marty Stuart displaying the mandolin skills he seems to have been born with but not many of Marty in his late teens. If the information tagged to this video is correct, Marty would have been about 18 years old in this performance with the Nashville Grass from 1976. His voice is not the one we know today, but Marty's many fans will appreciate this as a little piece of musical history:

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver at ROMP 2009

This is a June 27, 2009 video of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver at ROMP 2009 (Owensboro, KY). It is a bit shakier than normal because I was shooting a good distance from the stage without a tripod to steady the camera.

Doyle and the guys seem every bit as strong as they were when Jamie Dailey was still a member of the group. Anyone doubting that only needs to listen to the group's new album, "Lonely Street," and I think they will agree with me.

I have to admit that the opening of the video bothers me a bit - I didn't realize there was such a predominance of gray hair in the audience. This is not encouraging for the long term future of bluegrass music, is it?

The Way Back Machine- No. 8

In honor of Bill Monroe's upcoming birthday, I hope everyone enjoys this recording from 1955 of Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys performing "Roanoke."

Mr. Monroe was born on September 13, 1911 and Sunday marks his 98th birthday.



That's Carlos Brock on guitar, Bobby Hicks and Charlie Cline on fiddles, Jackie Phelps on banjo and Ernie Newton on bass.

Paul Williams & The Victory Trio - ROMP 2009

One of the main reasons I'm such a big fanof the International Bluegrass Music Museum's annual ROMP festival is that I can see so many bluegrass artists in one place over a three day weekend. On the one hand, it's a chance for me to see live performances for the first time from some of the bands and artists I've been listening to for decades. On the other hand, I also get to see some of the best young, up and coming, bluegrass bands in the country today.

Here's an example of one side of the coin, a video I shot on the evening of June 25, 2009, as I watched Paul Williams on stage for the first time in my life. I've followed Paul since his Jimmy Martin days, so it was especially nice to finally get a chance to watch him work live.

Paul Williams & The Victory Trio:

The Bluegrass Solution - "In the Meantime"

I admit it. I'm a whiner when it comes to the fact that live bluegrass music is so hard to come by in a city the size of Houston. I don't mean to give the impression that it's impossible to find bluegrass bands here, because it's not. What irks me is that it's almost always on the other side of the city from where I live and work - and Houston is no small place. I could see bluegrass, like The Bluegrass Solution, just about every week if I wanted to drive forty or fifty miles - but I don't have the time or energy to do that very consistently.

So it was a real pleasure to finally get to see The Bluegrass Solution in person this past weekend. They were a big part of the Trader's Village Bluegrass Festival and I was impressed that the band pretty much performs only songs written by their mandolin player and lead singer, Mr. Richard D. Henry. The guys (Michael Fuller, guitar; Ed Fryday, bass; and Mike Casey, banjo) have been together since 1998.

Richard D. Henry is particularly proud that two of his songs have done very well in the MerleFest songwriting contest's Gospel catergory: "One Step Closer to Heaven's Door" took 3rd place in 2001 and "I Had a Little Talk With Jesus" took 2nd place this year.

This video is their Labor Day weekend performance of Richard Henry's "In the Meantime."

Triple L Band

This is the weekend of the 11th annual bluegrass festival held at Houston's Trader's Village - so you can guess where I've been today. It is still warm on the Texas Gulf Coast but, thankfully, this festival is held under cover of a large pavilion that allows the breeze to pass through the crowd while providing shelter from the sun. It was still a bit uncomfortable but the good-sized crowd didn't seem at all concerned with the heat.

Bluegrass has a long, long tradition of family bands, a tradition that is still going strong today. I have always been particularly partial to family bands, especially when it comes to brother or sister harmony singing, but bluegrass (and gospel) bands carry the tradition to an extreme not often seen in other music genres. I want to share a video of one of those bands, Triple L Band, a band comprised of Amy and Len Miller and their three sons. Each of the sons has a name beginning with the letter "L" and, taken together, they provide the band's name.

It is Lance (an electrical engineering student), 21, on acoustic guitar; Landon, 19, on banjo; and Levi, 17, on mandolin. All three of the boys do some singing, but Levi sings lead on every song his dad doesn't - and Levi provides some nice tenor harmony on the songs on which his dad has the lead vocal.

The band, headquartered in New Mexico, drove directly from dates in Iowa to appear in Houston for four sets spread over the two days of the festival. I'm happy they did.

Wayne Turner - "Kansas City"

I've been a fan of the song "Kansas City" ever since Wilbert Harrison made it a Billboard No. 1 record way back in 1959. It would probably take all my fingers and toes to count the versions of "Kansas City" I've enjoyed since that first one, but this cover by Wayne "Animal" Turner is definitely one of the better ones. This video would be worth watching just to get to Wayne's guitar solo at the end - but the good news is that this live version is good all the way through.





Now I can't get the lyrics out of my head:

I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come
I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come
They got a crazy way of loving there
And I'm gonna get me some.

I'll be standing on the corner
On the corner of Twelfth Street and Vine
I'm gonna be standing on the corner
On the corner of Twelfth Street and Vine
With my Kansas City baby
And a bottle of Kansas City wine.

Well I might take a train
I might take a plane, but if I have to walk
I'm gonna get there just the same
I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come
They got a crazy way of loving there
And I'm gonna get me some.

I'm gonna pack my clothes
Leave at the break of dawn
I'm gonna pack my clothes
Everybody will be sleeping
Nobody will know where I've gone
Cause if I stay in town
I know I'm gonna die.
Gotta find a friendly city
And that's the reason why,
I'm going to Kansas City
Kansas City here I come
They got a crazy way of loving there
And I'm gonna get me some.

The Way Back Machine- No. 7

I'm in the mood for some Doyle Lawson kind of bluegrass this evening and this clip is exactly what I hoped to find. It goes back to 1988. That may seem like yesterday to most of us, but step back a second and do the math - 21 years gone in a flash.

Jimmy Martin Family Fails to Settle His Estate

Common as this situation is, this is just sad. It seems that Jimmy Martin's children and his ex-wife are still squabbling about his estate more than four years after the man's tragic death. The Martin family fight, in fact, reminds me of exactly what happened at the deaths of both Tennessee Ernie Ford and Conway Twitty.

According to The Tennessean, the battle involves the five heirs and three co-executors and, to this point, there has been little progress toward settling the $2 million estate:

The case goes on because of an addendum he made two weeks before he died: scolding his children and adding two music business friends as co-executors with his son Lee "Buddy" Martin.

His children believe that the strong-willed musician was lied to about money missing from his bank account and that he was coerced into splitting the power of executing his will.

His four children are at odds over whether someone outside the family should decide who gets what. They have different attorneys and different perspectives on how it should all end.

"This is not what my dad worked all his life for," son Ray Martin said.

Though the estate will be divided among four children, his ex-wife and all their children, future royalties from Martin's songs are likely to add to the value.

[...]

His children allege the problems began when Theresa Martin arrived. The friends whom Jimmy Martin would name as co-executors of his estate were also there nearly every day. Soon, according to court filings, they stopped allowing Martin's children in to visit.

Daughter Lisa Martin Arnold said her father surrounded himself with "yes men" — people who told him what he wanted to hear and gave him what he wanted. She says the men he added as executors were his yes men.

"He was dying, and these are the people who were around him," Arnold said. "Instead of being at peace, it's a circus."

It is obvious from the Tennessean article that Jimmy Martin, as he neared death, was unhappy about his relationship with his adult children. It is also obvious to anyone who has been close to this kind of situation that he was very likely in fragile enough emotional state to be rather easily manipulated by others. What happened in this case will ultimately have to be determined by the courts, of course, but for anyone who has experienced a similar situation this is hard to watch.

Williams and Clark Expedition - ROMP 2009

This June 26 ROMP 2009 video was recorded almost exactly 24 hours before the Dixie Bee-Liner video posted directly below this one, and it was already just as hot and humid as when the Bee-Liners would hit the stage the next afternoon. It was my first chance to see the Williams & Clark Expedition and I was particularly struck by the excellent musicianship of everyone in the band.

This is part of what I saw that day:

The Dixie Bee-Liners at ROMP 2009

This performance by the Dixie Bee-Liners is from June 27, 2009 about 4:15 in the heat of the afternoon, thus the reference to the guys having their shirt-tails out. They are introduced by the head of their label, Pinecastle Records.



It was so hot that I have to remark that the band showed a whole lot more energy than did most of the audience. We had been baking for several hours by the time the Bee-Liners hit the stage and the festival had a lethargic feel to it until things started to cool down later in the day.

The Way Back Machine- No. 6

Without a doubt, Patsy Cline is one of the greatest female vocalists of all time, regardless of genre. She was said to be a country singer despite the way Owen Bradley messed with her style and it is hard to argue with a classic like the Willie Nelson-penned, "Crazy," which in Patsy Cline's hands became an instant classic.



Bradley was determined to make Patsy into a pop star, something about which she was not at all comfortable or happy. In the process, the two recorded the songs for which Patsy is most famous in a career cut so short. Patsy Cline proves here what a great singer she was - way before Pro-Tools came along to turn every mediocre-voiced pretty girl and pretty boy into country singers. That's what's so "Crazy" today.

Gene Watson Fans to Celebrate New Release

Tuesday is a big day for Gene Watson fans. That's the day that Gene's new album, A Taste of the Truth, will be released - and it promises to be every bit as good as the remarkable In a Perfect World he released in 2007.

This morning's Houston Chronicle includes a nice feature on Gene, his schedule, his Toy Shop - and his general take on life, the music business, and how best to avoid being sucked into the lifestyle of a superstar. Click the link for an interesting article on one of the most down-to-earth showbiz people you'll ever meet:

“You know, I need this,” he says of the shop. “I have to have it. I'm the kind of person it's real easy for me to get too close to the forest, you might say. And I don't like that. When I get on my bus till the time I get off tour, I'm music 100 percent. But when I'm off the bus, I've got to have something to do. This has always been the release I had. It's a hobby, that's why I named it the Toy Shop, but it's more than that. It allows me to get back on the bus and do music again. That's the formula.

“I see people that retire, they go home and sit down and go away. And I don't want to do that. I foresee no retirement for me.”

Watson still gets on that bus for more than 150 dates a year. His songs haven't been played on mainstream country radio for years but he retains a formidable and dedicated contingent who turn out for his concerts. It's easy to hear why. Watson is one of the last great balladeers in country music, and he's protected his voice admirably. If the arrangements of his songs sometimes give away the era during which they were recorded, his voice never does. His singing is as studied as the great jazz crooners and is identifiably bracing, clear and emotional.

[...]

Watson recorded A Taste of the Truth as he recorded all of his albums: singing while the band played in the studio. He always works with a producer, but unlike singers who are bullied by their labels, he picks his players and he picks his songs.

[...]

Country music undergoes its changes while Watson's head is under the hood of a truck. He didn't care then, so he's disinclined to care now.

“I know what I'm capable of doing, and I know what people expect from a Gene Watson album,” he says. “I've watched so many fads pass. I've watched it all and tried to stick with what's been good for me.”

Gene Watson is one of those rare individuals whose voice exhibits very much the same quality over a number of decades. This relatively recent version of his signature song, Farewell Party, proves there is a lot left in Mr. Watson's tank.

Bobby Osborne & Rocky Top X-Press - "Bluegrass Melodies"

This Bobby Osborne & Rocky Top X-Press performance is from the afternoon of June 26, 2009 in Owensboro, KY, scene of ROMP 2009. I've mentioned before that the heat and humidity for ROMP 2009 were both unusually high, and by the time of Bobby's late afternoon appearance the heat had already taken its toll on the audience. That is why this video is, at times, of the shaky variety - I had backed away from the stage in search of a little shade and I was using more telephoto lens than I normally use.

Bottom line is that it may not be good video, but it is definitely classic Bobby Osborne & Rocky Top X-Press.

Gilley's Founder Sherwood Cryer Dies

I've been so busy this week that I failed to hear about the passing of Sherwood Cryer, a Houston legend who was so instrumental in creating the massive Houston honky tonk known all over the world as Gilley's. Apparently, Mr. Cryer died some time Monday but his family is releasing no details at this time.

It was the John Travolta movie, Urban Cowboy, that made Gilley's so famous, of course, but none ot it could have happened without the marketing genius of Sherwood Cryer. Cryer, inventor of the mechanical bull (made famous by Debra Winger), ran the club that became homebase for Mickey Gilley. Gilley and Cryer were partners in the club until the two had a falling out and broke up the partnership. The club itself burned to the ground at the hands of an arsonist in 1989.

This Houston Chronicle article brings back some memories for those of us who spent a little time in Gilley's before Urban Cowboy - when it was still a real Texas honky tonk.

Gilley's bumper stickers were a common sight in those days, plastered by Cryer's employees on vehicles parked in the club's lot. Patrons who didn't want the stickers, which featured a red Gilley's logo on a white background that glowed when illuminated by headlights, were advised to leave their sun visors down.

The bar was founded in 1971 after Cryer discovered Gilley singing at a Pasadena club where he was making so little money he could barely pay his three-member band. Cryer told Gilley, “How would you like to have a club of your own?” the singer was quoted as saying five years ago.

[...]

Cryer later opened another bar in Pasadena, G's Ice House, now closed. He made millions as a result of Urban Cowboy, but filed for bankruptcy after losing a suit to Gilley and in later years lived in a trailer behind G's, walking with a cane and still dressing in his signature coveralls and athletic shoes. The only way to reach him by telephone was the pay phone at G's.

Conley said that when Cryer died, he always wanted it to be kept quiet

“Just bury me in the backyard,” Conley recalled Cryer saying. “That way, his friends would have the hope of seeing him again and his enemies wouldn't have anything to celebrate.”

Sherwood Cryer was one-of-a-kind and Gilley's was one-of-a-kind. I still grieve a little bit when I drive by the spot where Gilley's stood for so many years and I always wonder why Mickey Gilley and Sherwood Cryer coudln't work out their differences instead of killing off the goldmine that made both of them so rich and provided so much good music to those of us lucky enough to find our way there on a regular basis.

From all accounts, Mr. Cryer was not an easy man to be around but, in the end, neither he nor Mr. Gilley covered themselves with glory by letting their anger and resentment overrule their common sense. Houston was poorer as a result of their foolish decision to fight it out in court.

Rest in peace, Mr. Cryer. I forgave you and Mickey a long time ago.

Remember Debra Winger on Sherwood's mechanical bull? Of course, you do.

The Way Back Machine- No. 5

This is another song from the 1950s television series "Ranch Party." This time around Tex Ritter is on hand to introduce Mac Wiseman who does a rousing version of "When I Saw Your Face in the Moon." It's not exactly bluegrass but, hey, it is Mac Wiseman and any video of Mac from those days is nice to see.



I don't remember seeing "Ranch Party" as a kid. Was it a regional show, a West Coast kind of thing, or was it syndicated across the whole country? I would love to have these old clips on DVD, that's for sure.

Steve Martin - Banjo Player of the Year? Really?

Now, don't get me wrong. I love Steve Martin's books, movies, and stand-up act. I even like the fact that he has the banjo skills to play with the big boys and that he really seems to enjoy "our" music. He seems like a genuinely nice guy and he makes whatever movie he appears in better just by being part of it.

I think that his presence is good for bluegrass music because of the extra exposure that someone like a Steve Martin will bring. I'm happy for the success that his new album, The Crow, has had. Really...I am. I promise.

But Banjo Player of the Year? Can that really be right? Are we ready to say that every single one of those great banjo pickers who work the road so many weeks a year are second to a part-time banjo player who just released his first album? Is this more publicity stunt than reflection of reality on the part of the International Bluegrass Music Association?

I'm happy enough to see Martin nominated (because of all the extra coverage the nominations are receiving) but I won't feel comfortable with the choice if he ends up winning. Maybe I take these awards too seriously, maybe not. What do you think?

The Dan Tyminski Band - ROMP 2009

Weather conditions at ROMP 2009 were a bit different than they were the first three years I drove to Owensboro, KY, to attend the International Bluegrass Music Museum's annual festival there. The 2006-2008 festivals were marked with high temperatures, a good bit of wind, and tremendous thunderstorms. The 2009 festival, on the other hand, saw lots of heat and humdity, very little in the breeze department, and very high humidity.

It was not only the audience that felt the combination of high temperatures and high humidity, though - it must have been just as bad on stage even with the large fan that was set up on one side to blow directly on the bands. By the time that the Dan Tyminski Band appeared late on the evening of June 27, the fan was no longer working but, as you can see from this video, the guys were working hard and seemed to be having a great time doing it.

This is one of the songs from the latest Dan Tyminski Band album, "Wheels." If you don't have this one in your bluegrass collection already, check it out. I think you'll like it.

Here's a sample:

The Way Back Machine- No. 4

This is great. The mandolin player in this clip from an old Porter Wagoner show is 14-year-old Marty Stuart. It's a version of "Feudin' Bandjos" with Marty taking the place of one of the banjos. This is the Lester Flatt group of that era - and Lester finally gets in the picture at the very end of the clip.


I find it amazing that people like Marty Stuart, Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley, among others, were working with major bluegrass bands at such young ages. Those were the days...

Does Anyone There Know Who Bob Dylan Is?

Bob Dylan may be a musical legend and icon to Baby Boomers around the world, but their children and grandchildren might not have a clue about all of that. One 22-year-old policewoman in Long Branch, New Jersey brought that harsh reality home to Mr. Dylan this week when she hauled in the "scruffy old man" who was said to be acting suspiciously in a Long Branch neighborhood.

Britain's MailOnline has the story:

I'm afraid we all fell about laughing,' said Craig Spencer, a senior officer in Long Branch, New Jersey. 'If it was me, I'd have been demanding his autograph, not his ID.

'The poor woman has taken rather a lot of abuse from us. I offered to bring in some of my Dylan albums. Unfortunately, she doesn't know what vinyl is either.'


It was in 1965 that Dylan wrote Like A Rolling Stone, with its line: 'How does it feel to be on your own, a complete unknown?'

He found out while staying at the Ocean Place Resort in Long Branch. Before taking part in a concert with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp, he decided to take a stroll through the town's Latin quarter.

'Residents called to complain there was an old scruffy man acting suspiciously,' said officer Spencer. 'It was an odd request because it was mid-afternoon. But it's an ethnic Latin area and the residents felt he didn't fit in.'

Hey, just a minute...isn't that ethnic profiling? I thought that was a bad thing.

(Yes, I know that Mr. Dylan is neither Bluegrass nor Honky Tonk. But, I'm one of those Baby Boomers who happen to believe that the man transcends musical genre, so I hope you got a chuckle out of this story. He does look pretty good in a hat, too, doesn't he?)

Angela Easterling's Black Top Road

Black Top Road was my introduction to Angela Easterling and her music. It is a whole new world out there for aspiring singers and songwriters, a world in which they carry most of the burden for getting the word out about themselves, their bands, and the music they produce. Record labels seldom do that kind of thing for new artists anymore, a change that is not necessarily bad considering that there are so many new tools through which to get the job done – and who cares more about marketing than the artist responsible for the music? Easterling is one of the smart ones; she is definitely getting the job done and word about her music is spreading fast.

When I think of the Americana genre, I imagine something like Black Top Road, a mixture of several musical styles, a conglomerate of folk, country, blues, rock, and even the “western” that has disappeared from what some still call “country and western” (a brilliant little song called “Stars Over the Prairie”). Easterling covers them all, and she covers them well.

My Black Top Road favorites are the ballads because Easterling’s emotional vocal style shines brightest on that type of song. One of those, “The Picture,” is a particularly haunting take on the despair felt by a daughter who discovers a picture in the personal effects left behind by her father that makes her question just who her father really was and whether she ever really knew him. Despite how sad this one is, it is the song that I keep returning to for an extra spin or two each time I listen to the album. Other ballad standouts include “Helpless” and “Field of Sorrow.”

Black Top Road is a very personal album for Angela Easterling, an album for which she wrote most of the songs, none of them more poignant than the title song in which she revisits the agony of having to sell off one-third of a farm that has been in her family since 1791 simply to pay the inheritance tax that came due at the passing of her grandfather. Easterling is justifiably worried about what will happen to the farm the next time it moves from one generation to another. Someone should send a copy of “Black Top Road” to every member of Congress before more family farms have to be broken up to satisfy the tax man.

Angela Easterling has defied any sophomore jinx that may be associated with recorded music. Listeners will find a lot to like in Black Top Road because she has no fear about expressing honest emotion and sentiment – and she has the voice and delivery to do it right. It is still a little early in the year to be picking best albums but, to this point, this is one of my 2009 favorites.

Bottom line, the songs on this album are real. They reflect the pain and emotion of real life in a way that FM radio wants little to do with anymore. Forget FM radio. Do yourself a big favor and grab a copy of Black Top Road instead of twisting the FM dial in frustration. This is a good one.

The Way Back Machine- No. 3

How about some 1950s George Jones, "our little friend," as introduced by Tex Ritter on Ranch Party? The film quality is pretty poor but this is historic footage of a country legend in his earliest days as a national performer. Possum was special even then.

Help Preserve Bean Blossom - Buy a Brick

Your Name Here (Sample Brick)

Bean Blossom's Preservation Foundation has announced a new program by which bluegrass fans from around the world can contribute to the preservation of the Bill Monroe Music Park by purchasing the individual bricks that will be used to construct a "memorial brick wall."

According to the Foundation:

The memorial wall will be located near the famous Bean Blossom sign at the fork in the road near the music stage.

The fully tax deductible price will be $100 a brick this year, and includes custom engraving worded by the brick donor. Each brick will include 3 lines of text and 12 spaces per line. Once the wall goes up, the price will go up to $125 per brick due to the cost increase of engraving while the bricks are already in place. The bricks will be set in available areas at random.

Order forms and online orders are available at www.bbjfoundation.org or can be mailed to: BBJF, c/o Bill Monroe Music Park, 5163 North State Road 135, Morgantown, Indiana 46160. A PDF order form is available here.

The Foundation has already received huge interest in the Bean Blossom Brick Wall project during the planning time and feels like fans and patrons of the park could also purchase these as for birthday, Christmas, Anniversary or other gifts.

I have yet to make it to Bean Blossom - but one day I will make it and it would be nice to see my name on the wall when I finally do get there. This is a great idea and I suspect that all bluegrassers would be proud to be part of it. Think about it, folks.

Killing Train Time in Spring, Texas

You never know what might happen at a live music event. It's all a bit like live television was in the days before video tape came along and took all the surprise out of it.

I went out to Hyde's Cafe in Old Town Spring Sunday afternoon and I was reminded (as was this great country band) that strange things happen when you least expect them. These guys, though, made the most of the moment when a loooong train passed only about 20 yards or so behind their outdoor stage just when they started to kick off a song. They quickly switched to some "train music" for the duration.



It was fun to watch and, you have to admit, few things mix better than trains and real country music. (Band members include Jim Sloan, Wayne Turner, Drop Watson and two others I have to apologize to for not catching their names - on steel and drums.)

The Way Back Machine- No. 2

Let's enjoy Larry Sparks singing about "Them Blues." From the looks of some of the hair styles on these guys, I'm guessing late '70s or early '80s on this one.

Kill Nashville Pop

I am proud to say that I was one of the first 15 people or so to join this grassroots movement to bring real country music back to Nashville, Tennessee. I will also admit that I am truly surprised that the idea is catching fire the way it is. The movement's growth has been steady, if gradual, but Larry Shell and his crew really seem to have it rolling now.

My buddy Janice Brooks (of Bus of Real Country internet radio) brought one of these banners wih her to Owensboro, KY, for ROMP 2009 and displayed it on the back of her folding chair out at the park during the last two days of the festival. The banner is large enough that it caught the eye of a local reporter and was mentioned in a newspaper article about the festival. The sign also made a few people curious enough to come by and ask what we were up to - one or two were offended by the idea - giving us a chance to explain what Larry Shell (The Rev) was up to and why we support him. Whether we converted anyone or not, I don't know, but we did preach the sermon more than a few times.

Shell really has this thing moving now, including last week's first "Kill Nashville Pop" concert held in, of all places, Nashville. Imagine that. From all accounts the show was a rousing sucess and is just the first in a planned series of shows to publicize the cause.

On August 6, The DailyTimes.com (Blount County) published a comprehensive article on the movement and those working so hard to make it successful:

In reality, says the man who started the “Kill Nashville Pop” movement, it has nothing to do with putting down or getting rid of other artists. It’s about returning the mantle of country music to the sound pioneered by artists like Hank Williams Sr., George Jones, Tom T. Hal and other musicians of yesteryear.

“We’re not an organization that goes out and bashes other people about their music,” acclaimed Nashville songwriter Larry Shell told The Daily Times this week. “We’re more about celebrating the country music we love. I’ve had a few people say, ‘Why did you title it Kill Nashville Pop?’ Well, No. 1, I like that phrase, and No. 2, nobody would notice it if we called it ‘I Love Country Music.’ I wanted to get people’s attention, so I use the phrase that I like.

[...]

Shell acknowledges that there is hope — he points to Jamey Johnson as traditional country’s “great white hope” — but the balance of country-pop CDs coming out of Nashville far outnumbers the traditional country albums being made there, he said. “I have no hard feelings in my heart toward any of the artists who have to work in this miserable, set-up situation we find ourselves in today,” Shell said. “This whole music industry is in flux right now, but the one thing we don’t need to change is the fact there are people who love traditional country music, so let’s make some for them again.”

Click on the link, above, for the entire piece.

You might also want to go to Larry's Facebook site and sign up to "Kill Nashville Pop." Come on, you know you want to...

Cherryholmes Choose the Wrong Event

What kind of "folk fest" would see half its audience waving their hands over their heads to indicate a keen disinterest in live bluegrass music? Maybe it's a Canadian thing?

The response that Cherryholmes received in Edmonton yesterday is a little hard to understand because I've never seen the Cherryholmes family on stage in a performance that anyone would characterize as lethargic or flat. I suspect the problem was with the audience - not the Cherryholmes - but I do have to wonder why the Cherryholmes would place themselves in a situation where they have to follow a heavy rock band (even a Chinese one).

The Edmonton Sun reporter had little sympathy, to be sure. I doubt that Justin Bell, confused as he apparently is, writes his own article headlines, but take a look at the general contempt shown by the newspaper headline-writer to the Cherryholmes:

East meets ho-hum
Chinese heavy rock blows away Nashville bluegrass at folk fest

This incident makes me wonder how a Chinese heavy rock band would fare at a Kentucky bluegrass festival. Thankfully, we are unlikely to ever suffer that fate.

The Way Back Machine- No. 1

"Uncle Pen" from Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys - 1956