by Christine | Dec 29, 2016 | Welcome Column
Doin’ it up right, playing all night longTryin’ to think of something else to make a bluegrass songYou can hear it on the radio and also on TVAs far as music is concerned, there’s nothin’ else for me.- “Blue Grass Style” – Vern & Ray -> Laurie &...
by Christine | Apr 4, 2012 | Welcome Column
Somewhere in history, there must have been a marketing genius who realized the way to create widespread demand for this folk music form would be to throw open the doors and invite everyone in. The Big Barn consists of jam sessions and ,now that the weather is...
by Christine | Oct 26, 2016 | Welcome Column
My first bluegrass band ever is still in business. The band members are separated by over 100 miles, so rehearsal is not an option – at least not very often. We do have a website, which I haven’t updated in, um, a while. There are many bands more adept at the...
by Christine | Nov 20, 2017 | Welcome Column
When you have the opportunity to hear good music live, that makes all the difference. You feel like an inspired part of the music as it happens and that makes it extra special. Many of us here in California are fortunate to have local venues that support our music....
by Christine | Apr 3, 2011 | Welcome Column
I can’t believe that my face is red. I wore a big shade hat and the skies were mostly overcast all day—perfect weather for spring clean up around the ol’ garden. For over six hours I labored and my body is now reminding me of each second—hamstrings strung to their...
by Christine | Mar 19, 2018 | Welcome Column
I had a really bad dream last night. My beloved Carolina Tar Heels were losing in the NCAA basketball tournament and just then the TV broadcast broke to a commercial. Usually I hate commercial interruptions while I’m watching sports on TV but in this case it was a...
by Christine | Nov 27, 2011 | Welcome Column
I’m writing this on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving because I know things are going to start getting crazy here in a day or so. It’s Tuesday! You know what that means? It’s the night I listen to the CBA Bluegrass Show on KCSS. Marcos Alvira and his crew of weekly...
by Christine | Feb 13, 2009 | Welcome Column
John Green left the fifth string guitar store open like he does every Thursday night. And the faithful were gathered there like usual. And we were burying them beneath the willow, and singing about how a hundred years from now we’d still be crying, and we were old...
by Christine | May 22, 2011 | Welcome Column
I think we are all getting just a little bit weary of being “jerked around” by spring. Spring officially began on March 20, that’s over two months ago and here we are, still with our patio cushions in winter storage and wintery clothes still hanging near the front of...
by Christine | Sep 30, 2020 | Welcome Column
Some folks I know are hyper-detail oriented, and I have mixed feelings about that. On one hand, attention to detail generally makes things come out better, and is a trait of most highly successful people. On the downside, slavish attention to detail sometimes makes...
