In Praise of Amateurs, Gifted and Otherwise

by | Oct 3, 2017 | Welcome Column

I really enjoyed Ted Lehman’s column from Monday (“Risk and the Issue of Professional vs. Talented Amateur”). In it, he outlines the considerable distinction between true professional musicians and amateur musicians, even extremely talented amateurs. I have peered...

In Praise of Makeshift Bands

by | Aug 7, 2019 | Welcome Column

People who are more athletic than I (in other words, everyone) seems to have fond memories of pickup basketball games with their friends. Some of these games (I am told) feature some very skilled players, and I have also heard tell of organized pickup basketball...

In Search of the Perfect Cheater

by | May 29, 2019 | Welcome Column

Capo mishaps over the past week reminded me of this ongoing search….One of the most ubiquitous accouterments to bluegrass players is…. the capo. (Sometimes called a “cheater bar”.) A cursory search of the internet shows the capo to be much older that you might...

In the Garden

by | Aug 26, 2012 | Welcome Column

A couple weeks ago I sang for the funeral service of a friend. His wife had requested the song, “In the Garden,” a perennial favorite for memorials. My friend had been a rice grower, had a large orchard of fruits and nuts, and always had a productive vegetable and...

In the pines, in the pines

by | Sep 10, 2010 | Welcome Column

And it was Saturday morning, and I was about twenty miles west of Willows when the asphault ended and this gravel road started up the side of the mountain and my brakes are three days from replacement and I’ve got a Kia van that is comfortable in the city but ain’t...