Anomalies

Anomalies

Many things attract our attention simply because they are so unusual.  You have in your mind a preexisting concept of what is normal and then you see something that is so outside the box you don’t know how it could have possibly come to be. In the bluegrass world I...
Yes You Should Play

Yes You Should Play

Well, it happened again. I played a gig last weekend and it went really well. The band was tight, the audience was delighted (and they let us know, enthusiastically). I played well, and felt really good about myself. The next day, I saw another band play, and they...
Accommodations

Accommodations

Things happen that are out of your control and if you want to keep going, you have to be able to make the appropriate adjustments or accommodations. That’s great intro for a welcome column on a bluegrass web site… he says facetiously or as they say “says no one ever”...
Melissa Carper: An Interview

Melissa Carper: An Interview

If you don’t know Melissa Carper’s music, you really ought to. Her recent solo album, Daddy’s Country Gold, while not bluegrass, is the kind of traditional country that bluegrass fans will appreciate. Bass player Dennis Crouch produced this album, and plays on several...
The Social Lubricant – Courtesy

The Social Lubricant – Courtesy

Now that we’re gradually coming out of a period of isolation. It’s a good time to remember our manners as we re-enter public scenes.  I’m thrilled to be out and about more, but I have witnessed some lapses in common courtesy, and wish to address it before things get...