That Lonesome Sigh of a Train Goin’ By

by | Jul 1, 2019 | Welcome Column

There are an awful lot of songs in Bluegrass and country music that refer to the lonesome sound of a train whistle in the night. If you’ve ever heard that sound, you know exactly what the songs are referring to. That sound touches me in the deepest part of my...

That Lonesome Sigh of a Train Goin’ By

by | Jun 21, 2005 | Welcome Column

There are an awful lot of songs in Bluegrass and country music that refer to the lonesome sound of a train whistle in the night. If you’ve ever heard that sound, you know exactly what the songs are referring to. That sound touches me in the deepest part of my memory....

That Old Analog Cabin on the Hill

by | Dec 24, 2012 | Welcome Column

For many years our stereo system sat in a large, boxy cabinet in the corner of our living room. It included a tuner/amplifier, a CD player, a cassette dubbing deck, and, of course, a turntable. The cabinet included four drawers full of tapes and a large compartment...

That Thing

by | Apr 8, 2013 | Welcome Column

The first one I ever saw was maybe eight or ten years ago. It looked like such a handy thing. Obviously, it was very useful and probably something that every aspiring musician should own. I saw this thing at the very first jam I ever went to. Practically everything...

That Warm Blue Glow

by | Dec 2, 2012 | Welcome Column

It is dubious whether Mark Twain ever said, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” Whether the quote is actually attributable to him or not is irrelevant once one has spent a July day at Ocean Beach in the City. What is not in doubt is that...

That Was The Week That Was

by | Oct 16, 2017 | Welcome Column

The Daily Grist: “I’d rather fight a hundred structure fires than a wildfire. With a structure fire you know where your flames are, but in the woods it can move anywhere: it can come right up behind you.” Tom WatsonI am really looking forward to going to work this...

That’ll Learn Ya!

by | Sep 2, 2015 | Welcome Column

THE DAILY GRIST…“Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination.  They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving the quality of life.  Libraries change lives for the better.” – Sidney...

That’ll Learn Ya!

by | Sep 28, 2015 | Welcome Column

THE DAILY GRIST…“Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination.  They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving the quality of life.  Libraries change lives for the better.” – Sidney...

That’s Not Bluegrass!

by | Jul 27, 2018 | Welcome Column

Note: After I wrote this, I discovered that Marty Varner’s column about Tyminski’s “Southern Gothic” album last year. I almost scrapped this column, but since it deals with the recent live concert in Berkeley as much as the album, I’m keeping it. Read more about the...