by Christine | Feb 17, 2021 | Welcome Column
A dear friend of mine, an accomplished musician, recently told me they didn’t seem to enjoy playing music anymore. This gave me considerable pause for thought. I don’t think this feeling had to do with any specific physical ailment. I have known quite a few musicians...
by Christine | Feb 14, 2021 | Welcome Column
It’s Valentine’s Day, what shall we play? Probably not the only bluegrass tune I know of that actually has the word valentine in the lyrics: You can send me pretty flowers, you can sen me valentines Send me letters every day but it won’t pay Leap to my desire, nothing...
by Christine | Feb 16, 2021 | Welcome Column
(Editor’s Note: here’s one of Cliff’s ftom a while back. One of by most prized possessions is a an autographed Sympathy Valley Boys fly swatter) I opened the cupboard this morning, and the first thing I saw was my sympathy valley boys coffee cup, right there on the...
by Christine | Feb 15, 2021 | Welcome Column
It is interesting to think of just how old some of the music is that crept into the bluegrass genre from long ago. Bluegrass songs often tell a story. That might be a murder (most likely by a guy named Willie) but it might be something quite different. In the middle...
by Christine | Jan 1, 2021 | Welcome Column
Rest in Peace Tony Rice. You will be missed.“It’s never to late to be what you might have been.” George EliotWhen life is sweet say thank you and celebrate. When life is bitter, say thank you and grow.” Shauna Niewuist“The bad news is that time flies. The...
by Christine | Jan 3, 2021 | Welcome Column
You know about it, or you should know about it, if you are a bonified (or if you prefer, bona fide), dyed in the wool blue-grasser. The “it” in this case is the well known monthly magazine regarding all things bluegrass, titled, “Bluegrass...
by Christine | Jan 4, 2021 | Welcome Column
Back in the middle of the last century, about spring of 1962 “The San Joaquin Valley Boys” band, fell victim to one of these phony T.V. “Talent Contests”. Here’s what triggered the memory of that phony “gig”.One day this week,...
by Christine | Jan 5, 2021 | Welcome Column
There are a lot of great banjo players in the world, we all know. I guess if you had to pick one as the Very Best you’d have to go with Bela Fleck. A few weeks ago I watched a live stream on the internet from Nashville as Bela performed his own concerto for banjo and...
by Christine | Jan 6, 2021 | Welcome Column
The title is a joke – of course I wish everyone a happy new year. As I’ve mentioned before, our culture tends to make a big deal about calendar-based transitions and raise them to the level of important life events. We do this in our financial lives –...
by Christine | Jan 7, 2021 | Welcome Column
Me, like every other amateur or semi-amateur musician (I lost my amateur status long ago,) when faced with the prospect of being locked down for some extended time, promised myself that I would get to the shed and improve my chops. I started well, working with Strum...
