by Christine | Dec 29, 2017 | Welcome Column
Since this is a fifth Friday and we have no regularly scheduled Welcomer to welcome, I thought I’d take advantage of the slot to make a brief plea for some volunteers. Here’s the deal–we have some empty Welcome Column slots and it’s time to...
by Christine | Feb 11, 2011 | Welcome Column
I had to drive to Stockton today, and then on to Modesto. I had the ipod on shuffle, and music was the perfect companion. My tastes are eclectic, everything from John Prine to Segovia, and that can startle you out of your reverie, when Alison Brown is followed by Big...
by Christine | Jan 7, 2010 | Welcome Column
We’ve all heard this in one jam or another. The music may roll along for hours, with an emphasis on traditional bluegrass music, when some brave soul will announce shyly (or not), “I’d like to sing a song that I wrote.” Even in a jam where the emphasis...
by Christine | Mar 20, 2020 | Welcome Column
Campout, canceled.Jams, canceled.Concerts, canceled.Lessons, canceled.What’s a bluegrass extrovert (or even introvert) to do in the times of COVID-19? Zoom.Zoom is video application that allows you to meet in real time, chat, maybe even take or give a music lesson. It...
by Christine | Aug 6, 2020 | Welcome Column
It is amazing to me how much music and technology are blending together in new ways. Certainly, there has been an ongoing connection through sound engineering and recording and of course through electrifying or amplifying your instrument or sound. However, it would...
by Christine | Feb 4, 2008 | Welcome Column
Dear friends, Y’all should be getting your February Breakdowns by now and you may have noticed that the CBA’s paper is missing our usual missive from “Bluegrass Folks” Bill Willhelm. He’s been having all kinds of adventures that got in the way of getting out that...
by Christine | Mar 30, 2021 | Welcome Column
(Editor’s note: Here’s one of Cameron’s early efforts. For me it captures the spirit of local bluegrass festivals we’d all like to get back to soon!) In the world of ice cream flavors, where Wintergrass is a ”Psychedelic Rainbow Buzz”, and Father’s Day Festival a...
by Christine | Mar 29, 2021 | Welcome Column
(Editor’s Note: Here’s a guest article Rick scored years ago from banjoist Lynwood Lunsford) “People will follow a bad example as quickly as they will follow a good one, if they don’t know the difference.” I heard this statement in a seminar that I...
by Christine | Mar 15, 2021 | Welcome Column
Last July I posted a welcome column called original material. It was all about how we should be open to new material when bluegrass bands perform on stage. At one time all bluegrass music was new material and we still need fresh voices to enrich the genre. Today I...
by Christine | May 15, 2014 | Welcome Column
Like most kids, I made up my own songs when I was little. My mom and dad would stand me up on the kitchen table and I would belt out my current masterpiece for anyone who would listen. I was probably about 5 when I wrote “Butter Boy,” basically because I loved butter...
