RE: bluegrass whatever
-Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] What people see or hear in this act, I don't get. Oh, wait, they have women who bare parts of thier bodies. That must be it. Oh jeez, Matt, since when do you start complaining about women on stage showing parts of their bodies? [Matt Benz] Complain? Who, me? Just looking for a reason why anyone paid any attention to this band. "Must be the gams," sez I...
RE: bluegrass whatever
Cherry Lou says: I'm on digest so I'm kinda jumping in on the tail end of the whole bluegrass hack band stealing jobs from the real guys thing, but it strikes me as incredibly distasteful. Should there be a bluegrass INS to keep all those outsiders from stealing jobs from our boys? Begin the thinning of the herd!! Christ, and people ask me why we (tmp) don't play bluegrass festivals. Because no one in any seedy rock club in America is going to judge whether we're fit to represent a entire genre. Why are people in the bluegrass clique so defensive and insular? Who said anything about outsiders? Some of the worst examples I've seen are insiders - like bands with guys in them who promote festivals, and swap out time on their stages to play on the stages of festivals promoted by other guys who are in bands. In fact all of the examples I can think of fall more into that category. I hate to be all hippie, but isn't music supposed to be unifying and all that? What the hell is with all this snide divisive shit? Let damn Darius Rucker play the mandolin fer chrissakes. It's an instrument, not the holy grail. I think it's great for Darius Rucker to talk about liking bluegrass, play the mandolin (which is as much a country and country-rock instrument as a bluegrass one, anyhow), and so on. I've been out arguing that The Mountain is a bluegrass album since long before it came out (Ronnie: "he knows it not easy to play, and it's not an easy thing to sing"). Maybe I'm insular about bluegrass compared to some folks, but I'm a lot more relaxed about a lot of the bluegrass boundaries than a lot of others. I don't think bluegrass is a matter of lists of forbidden and required instruments, for instance. But I do think that skill and craft are every bit as much a part of bluegrass as the more-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder soul and feeling. Monroe was emphatic about it; he told Gordon Terry, who played fiddle on "Christmas Time's A Coming," that if he didn't play it just like Tex Logan (who wrote it), why, he'd have Tex come in and record it - and that's just one example. Talk to Blue Grass Boys and they'll tell you all kinds of stuff about his musical demands. Jimmy Martin was the same way. Ralph expects you to be able to play your instrument to be a Clinch Mountain Boy. Different kinds of music have different values in different proportions - I'm not proposing this as an assertion of bluegrass's superiority - and I think bluegrass values that kind of stuff, bluegrass as it was created and developed by great musicians who put in just as much hard work as they did feeling and spontaneity. That's the short answer. Jon Weisberger, Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger
RE: bluegrass whatever
On the way into work, heard a interview with Ricky Skaggs on the hated and snooty NPR discussing his BG music, and preforming examples of the "high lonesome" sound with his band, showing the vocal differences between say Flatt Scruggs and the Stanley Brothers. A good piece, tho NPR was obviously being condescending and too east coast liberal about it. Those bastards.
HATCH SHOW PRINT ==Re: bluegrass whatever
In a message dated 4/26/1999 11:55:21 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: It even goes down to non-musical things such as album covers (I've heard a few people get bent out of shape because Ricky Skaggs' new album "doesn't look like a bluegrass album" i.e. no people on the cover.) Next time they ask... Striking a "chord" here -- for the uninformed who may be curious about the CD's artwork -- it was done by none other than graphic artist, typesetter extraordinnaire, Hatch Show Print manager, JIM SHERRADEN. Andanyone that knows ANYTHING about country/bluegrass knows that Hatch is responsible for some of the best Opry/Elvis/Hank posters that have ever been created. Not to mention all the great posters which they continue to produce for the famous (Emmylou's Ryman cover, Jimmie Dale's cover, Maverick's London shows next month) the soon-to-be-famous and not-so-famous (deals start at $150) out of the Hatch shop on B'way in Nashville. (oh yeah, I've spent entire days in the place just pulling out old wood blocks and watching the process take place) So, that's my PSA for the day. If you're in town stop by and say Hey! Jim is one of the nicest guys in town. It's a living museum folks!! Kate.
HATCH SHOW PRINT ==Re: bluegrass whatever
On Mon, 26 Apr 1999 12:11:32 EDT [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: So, that's my PSA for the day. If you're in town stop by and say Hey! Jim is one of the nicest guys in town. It's a living museum folks!! I'll attest to the awesomeness of HSP. You can get great reprints of classic concert posters (George, Tammy, Narvel, for example) along with ones like "Roy Acuff for Governor" from the time when Roy ran way back when. Mostly fairly inexpensive, too. My bro bought that alt-country classic Uncle Tupelo poster (St. Louis' 2nd-Best Country Band) for like a buck. He was even nice enough to give it to me. No trip to Nashville is complete w/out a visit to HSP. Are you listening, Wynn? William Cocke Senior Writer HSC Development University of Virginia (804) 924-8432
RE: bluegrass whatever
Matt Benz wrote: On the way into work, heard a interview with Ricky Skaggs on the hated and snooty NPR discussing his BG music, and preforming examples of the "high lonesome" sound with his band, showing the vocal differences between say Flatt Scruggs and the Stanley Brothers. A good piece, tho NPR was obviously being condescending and too east coast liberal about it. Those bastards. Ricky tried. A nice comparison of Highway 40 Blues done as a country piece and as a bluegrass piece, and a nice demo of adding that high lonesome tenor. After this stirring piece of a cappella singing, BlandNPRInterviewerWoman asked, "Why would you want to sing like that?" Or something about as derogatory. ~Greg ___ Get your free, private email at http://mail.excite.com/
RE: bluegrass whatever
Ricky tried. A nice comparison of Highway 40 Blues done as a country piece and as a bluegrass piece, and a nice demo of adding that high lonesome tenor. After this stirring piece of a cappella singing, BlandNPRInterviewerWoman asked, "Why would you want to sing like that?" Or something about as derogatory. Maybe that's why they didn't archive that segment at the Morning Edition site; too embarrassing. Sorry I missed it, Jon Weisberger, Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger
RE: bluegrass whatever
Sorry, I didn't hear it that way at all. Man, you folks are all up in arms over a nice introduction to BG 101 taught by Ricky Skaggs. The woman asked him questions. "Why would you want to sing like that?" means as "opposed to other styles" re: where did it come from. There was nothing wrong with the segment at all.
RE: bluegrass whatever
On Mon, 26 Apr 1999 14:27:15 -0400 Matt Benz [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Sorry, I didn't hear it that way at all. Man, you folks are all up in arms over a nice introduction to BG 101 taught by Ricky Skaggs. The woman asked him questions. "Why would you want to sing like that?" means as "opposed to other styles" re: where did it come from. There was nothing wrong with the segment at all. This was gonna be my reply but Matt beat me to it. The question was more like "Why is the 'high lonesome sound' high" meaning why is it that there are there those exquisite high harmonies as opposed to low harmonies, and what does it mean musically. RS then went on to explain the gospel influences on bluegrass and so on. I thought it was an astute question. Man, all this hippie/NPR-bashing has me grumpy. William Cocke Senior Writer HSC Development University of Virginia (804) 924-8432
Re: HATCH SHOW PRINT ==Re: bluegrass whatever
In a message dated 4/26/99 4:14:36 PM !!!First Boot!!!, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: So, that's my PSA for the day. If you're in town stop by and say Hey! Jim is one of the nicest guys in town. It's a living museum folks!! Kudos, P2-ers whom have stayed at my place will testify that I have a fondness for hatch Show posters, as my flat is graced with them, including the famous "Roy Acuff For Governor" poster. Whenever in Nashville, it's one of my prime stops. Mitch Matthews Gravel Train/Sunken Road
Re: HATCH SHOW PRINT ==Re: bluegrass whatever
P2-ers whom have stayed at my place will testify that I have a fondness for hatch Show posters, as my flat is graced with them, including the famous "Roy Acuff For Governor" poster. Whenever in Nashville, it's one of my prime stops. Is there a web site for the place? Stick np-Hank Williams Jr. -Can't You See
Re: bluegrass whatever
Hey there, I hate to be all hippie, but isn't music supposed to be unifying and all that? What the hell is with all this snide divisive shit? Let damn Darius Rucker play the mandolin fer chrissakes. It's an instrument, not the holy grail. cherilyn. I (heart) Cherilyn. Later... CK ___ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
RE: bluegrass
Someone wondered if anybody else had gotten hot-shot bluegrass players to work with them -- so I've got to mention Dan Fogelberg, who in the 80s got a who's who of bluegrass knights to back him on a record. Forgettable songs, generic muzac-ified bluegrass, if I remember correctly. Some of the songs (though not the performances) were memorable, but they were covers of bluegrass classics. Another point about bluegrass that someone brought up -- how with a lot of folks the high, keening vocals are an instant irritant. It can never be pointed out often enough that "high lonesome" is only one of a number of bluegrass vocal styles. It is not an accident that the "low friendly" sound of Flatt Scruggs was among the most popular - not only with the public at large, so to speak, but also with many bluegrassers. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
RE: Bluegrass Advice
Can any of you good knowledgable folks recommend a history or two of bluegrass worth reading? There aren't that many books devoted to bluegrass, which makes it a fairly easy job. Start with Neil V. Rosenberg's _Bluegrass: A History_, and follow it up with Richard D. Smith's _Bluegrass: An Informal Guide_ for more detail on latter-day developments and artists. Artis's _Bluegrass_ is pretty decent, though largely superseded by Rosenberg's later book, and Barry Willis's _America's Music: Bluegrass_ has a lot of useful detail mixed in with some dubious stuff, though it's very badly organized. In my opinion, the other book that frequently gets asked about - Robert Cantwell's _Bluegrass Breakdown_ - needs to be treated with a lot of caution, and is best tackled after grounding in Rosenberg and Smith. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
RE: Bluegrass Advice
Shannon mentions: Another book that is edited by Rosenberg is also interesting reading, it is called "Transforming Tradition: Folk Music Revivals Examined" a couple of chapters in that book deal with bluegrass. To which I'd add that the book as a whole ought to be of great interest to P2ers interested in questions of "authenticity," etc. Other chapters deal with blues, folk music, etc. Highly recommended. Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
RE: Bluegrass Advice
Jon: To which I'd add that the book as a whole ought to be of great interest to P2ers interested in questions of "authenticity," etc. Hmm, I'll check that out right away! g, --junior
