Message from the Strange One in Santa Cruz

Welcome back to the #1-Article-Most-Read-By-Me, Bluegrass ‘n Stuff! This month’s column is all about harmony, and we’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s get right to it. Oh, first, you might want to get a snack. It makes the reading experience more enjoyable, that’s all....

Microphone Ballet

The hard working sound engineer may be one of the most under-appreciated people in Bluegrass music. Most people go to a Bluegrass event and enjoy the music without even thinking about how much work it takes to make the listening experience clear and accurate for...

Mighty Fine, Son, Mighty Fine

I have not, to the best of my recollection, participated in lengthy paeans to departed musical heroes, with the exception of a piece on John Lennon a few Decembers back. Yes, I wrote about John Lennon in my CBA Welcome column! Some musicians have a impact that is very...

Mike McKinley

Dear friends, Well, it’s a Post Super Bowl Monday. It was quite an entertaining game, eh? I have bellied up to ye olde keyboard this morning to welcome one and all to the CBA’s website. In case you have not been here before, this space is filled daily with pearls of...

Milestones – Ahead and Behind

As I look back on 40+ years of playing music, there were a lot of steps along the way. Some of them I recognized as steps, some were specific goals, and others I only realized were breakthroughs as I’ve watched others go through them. I imagine a lot of things I think...