I am now into my second month here at Clark University and I am proud to say I have thrived in this environment very well. As well as success in all of my classes, I have made a niche in the freshman class as well as the entire student body. I impressed a crowd of parents and students during the annual Clark’s Got Talent show where I thought I would play one of my go to songs: “Blue Night”. I dropped my pick half way through, but I think that just added to the charm of the entire performance. Along with showing my instrumental talents to Clark, I am now presenting the genre I love so much. Every Saturday at 1pm eastern time (10am California time) I have an hour long radio show on Clark Radio. It is called the “Ol’ Dusty Trail” in respect to my father and his previous radio show that gave me a lot of the music I listen to today.
Now to counter that point, something very interesting happened Thursday night that I wanted to write about. My buddy David was commenting on how peculiar it is that I would consider my two favorite genres to be Bluegrass and Rap. I never thought about this concept and first had no response, but I think I finally figured out a justification. What this fact shows about my musical taste is that I am a sucker for drive and frustration/anger in my music. The undisputable characteristic that both rap and bluegrass have is morbid subject matter, whether it be a drinking spree caused by a lost love or the death of a friend
that is forced to adapt to an unfair social and economic structure. Musically, even though they seem different they both are going for the same goal. Both want to get that model drive that causes head nodding and toe tapping. Bluegrass uses banjo rolls for this as rap uses 808 kits and repeating vocal frills. I hope that little tangent helps all the readers understand my preference to a music that is often considered “lesser”; hey, maybe you will give it a try. If you do I suggest the musician Wax who is a guitar player as much as he is a rapper and uses the guitar to help produce his music.
Some of you might be familiar with the fact that I am using this opportunity in the north east to visit cities I never had the chance to when I was living in California. Early in the school year I went to Boston, and two weekends ago I visited Pittsburgh. It was not what I expected it to be, but that was only because of my ignorance toward American Geography. If I looked at a map before I went there, I would have realized that the city is bordering the state of West Virginia. My experience there made me accept the pain of not going to IBMA this year. Most of my buddy’s friends had southern or Pittsburgh accents (which I didn’t know existed) and I felt at home there much more than I did in Boston. It was a great change of pace.
I am starting to miss my California weather. It’s Fall and I am at my limit for cold tolerance. I bought a jacket for the winter, but I haven’t gotten around to the boots. Sadly, I am still wearing flip flops every day to lie to myself that it’s still summer. The other thing I miss more than anything (even my family) back home is DECENT MEXICAN FOOD THAT DOESN’T USE STUPID CHEDDAR CHEESE IN IT. Sorry I needed to get that out.
I was in shock and filled with sadness when I heard the news of Regina Bartlett. I don’t think I need to tell you all what she meant to me especially, but I might as well. Since I was able to hold a mandolin Regina was grooming me as a musician and as a person in general. I always enjoyed playing for her and she made me and the other kids excited to practice and learn more about the music. And if that wasn’t enough, she was generous enough to have me help her at the last GOF, which was a great experience for me. I owe so much to her and I can’t believe that I won’t be taking the stroll during every festival to see her beautiful face and enchanting spirit.
