How many instruments is too many?

Like most people, I only have two hands. Like a lot of other musicians, I play several instruments. So the short answer the above question is a simple formula of (Instruments I can play) X (Pairs of hands). But wait! I like to play both electric guitar AND acoustic...

How Music Organizations Stay Young

Good morning from Whiskey Creek, where our retired lives speed by with the velocity of a bullet train. It’s a bit ironic, to me at least, that as Lynn and I grow older, slow down commensurately and become more deliberate and pondering about the daily choices we make,...

How to Argue Better

I’ve said many times, one of the things that bluegrass and baseball have in common is, they’re both fun to argue about. Bill Monroe or Jimmy Martin? Mickey Mantle or Joe DiMaggio? One of life’s little pleasures is arguing back and forth the points that make either...

How to raise a child, bluegrass-style

Dear friends, If there’s one thing we do around here it’s obsess about stuff. We are, after all, an association built upon adherence, maybe even fanaticism, to the proposition that the music we love deserves to be both preserved and promoted. Most people are happy...

How to Sound Like an Old Person

“Old age sticks up Keep Off signs & Youth tears them down” e.e.cummings This past weekend, I was witness to a lively after dinner discussion that featured folks from my generation and my son’s generation. Not surprisingly, my generation sounded cranky and old and...