I have one of those CBA denim jackets with the big embroidered patch on the back. My friend Ted Kuster once referred to wearing this jacket as wearing our colors, the same as motorcycle clubs. Sons of bluegrass anarchy or SBACBA here we come. Unfortunately it doesn’t quite roll of the tongue the same way as the TV show. Personally I think it is one of the coolest jackets I’ve ever had and judging from the comments I get asking for how folks can buy one, it makes an impression. So recently I decided to do an experiment in social engineering by choosing to wear my colors once a week to one of my daytime gigs in San Francisco. So far I have run this experiment exactly three times with three results. The first time, wearing my colors on a BART trip in, a lady sitting next to me asked “do you play bluegrass”? I forgot to mention that for this trip I was accompanied by my trusty sidekick, known as Banjo Killer, aka dobro. We had a pleasant, if not shouted conversation over the BART noise, about the CBA, and the FDF, and membership, and music camps, and upcoming concerts. I’ve never had some random person start asking about bluegrass before so it was a pretty trippy experience. But that conversation created a hunger and seeded a monster that wants more, more, more! The next week when I wore my colors, a street person walking the same direction was curious about bluegrass and wanted to tell me about his experiences…unfortunately they weren’t positive experiences because he was frustrated about getting kicked out of jams. I didn’t really understand everything about why he was getting kicked out but I suggested he go to one of our local jams and try again. Maybe he did! The third time I wore my colors was a little disappointing because I didn’t get any comments, not from BART riders, not from street people…and now the monster is getting hungry again. This monster is a greedy beast, but a friendly one. I want to encourage you to wake up your monster and feed him well. Wear your jacket or a FDF or CBA tshirt on a BART ride or to a concert or other social gathering and use it as a conversation starter. Our best way to bring folks in to the CBA, to make folks aware of our community, is through our members. And this is a pretty fun way of doing that outreach where you don’t have to do much except talk to folks that want to know.
