Orphan Instruments

Orphan Instruments

Unless their parents force them into it, most people choose to play a musical instrument because they like the sound of it and maybe they like how they fit in with other friends who play an instrument as well. They put in a ton of effort to bond with their instrument...
Drugs

Drugs

Drugs can be good and drugs can be bad. If you have high blood pressure a drug can protect you from an earlier cardiovascular death. But if you are into recreational drugs that set your troubled mind to a different place you might get some enjoyment from the...
Bluegrass Heaven is in the Details

Bluegrass Heaven is in the Details

Ah, life is full of heavenly pleasures, and some of these are obvious, but often, the real thrills are more sublime.  Bluegrass is full of these types of delights. Take the ubiquitous G-run, for example.  Almost nothing defines bluegrass guitar (although there is a...
The Fifty Eight Hour Jam

The Fifty Eight Hour Jam

Who is that lonely guy in the photo playing guitar in an empty railroad passenger car? He looks a little bit like Doc Watson. Doc is ten years past and gone now of course but all the good times are possibly not yet past and gone. Don’t you want to just join that guy...
What Are We All Talking About

What Are We All Talking About

My wonderful wife is an educator by trade, and when she gets together socially with other educators, what do you think they talk about? Yep – education.  It can get downright excruciating for those of us who aren’t educators, but you know what?  I’m always glad...
The Jam Not Missed

The Jam Not Missed

A few years ago, I took a trip to North Carolina.  It was really for a family reunion, with a side trip to visit an old friend – in other words, NOT a bluegrass pilgrimage.  Nonetheless, I brought my guitar, hoping I could squeeze in a jam or open mic somewhere...
Hopping on the Carousel

Hopping on the Carousel

I have a romantic notion that when I was a kid, merry-go-rounds (carousels) didn’t stop.  My memory is they just went round and round, and we jumped on and found a horse to sit on. In retrospect, that seems impossible, but that’s how I remember it.  I KNOW that when I...