I'm a thinkin Mr. Skaggs must be suffering from delusions of grandeur. If so, I hope he gets well soon, the poor sinner.
Chubby Oregon Territories On Jan 26, 11:52 am, [email protected] wrote: > Interesting topic - I've seen lots of pro and anti Ricky stuff on discussion > threads and heard lots of chatter about Ricky's ego. He's has definitely put > off a fair number of "real" bluegrass folks - I guess most bluegrassers > prefer a good dose of humbleness in their bluegrass heroes - myself included. > > I'm glad he came back to bluegrass after his country success. The guy's a > great picker and singer, front man, side man, judge of talent, you name it - > the guy oozes talent and I enjoy most of his music. In addition to his > musical talent, I would assume he's been and is still currently financially > successful if he can carry a 6 member band around and run a mostly bluegrass > record label and still make a living -- so he also apparently has some good > business and PR smarts. Creativity??? Not so much... I don't know that many > tunes that Ricky has made standards there weren't already standards... > > I think his self-promotion rubs folks the wrong way - he doesn't mind doing a > little self promotion if it helps him sell a few more cd's or land a few > gigs. He also kinda stepped into the bluegrass gap on the Opry after Monroe > died and the Osbornes and Jim/Jesse dropped off the Opry scene. So he's > still on the Opry and uses that platform to help with his promotion. There > are a number of folks from 80's country music like Ricky who aren't nearly as > visible as Ricky is today. > > I don't really buy into this -- “I felt a20deep calling to go back to > bluegrass (after Monroe died),” Skaggs says. “There was a need for new > leadership. I felt like someone needed to take that position that he left.” > > I guess since Monroe didn't appoint anyone and there wasn't a committee to > name the "Dear Leader" (aka - Kim Jong-il) of bluegrass, Ricky nominated his > own self. > > So, all that said, I'm guessing his return to bluegrass and his notion that > he's the new leader was as much a business decision as it was an artistic > decision. > > I prefer the folks who let their music do the talkin'... > > John Gay > Memphis > > -----Original Message----- > From: Mike Hedding <[email protected]> > To: Taterbugmando <[email protected]> > Sent: Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:58 am > Subject: Re: You Be The Judge > > on't you all get it? Ricky is trying to distract you so you'll stop > racticing and he'll sound better by comparison. We're all falling for > t. Now then, back to practicing. > On Jan 26, 11:07 am, mistertaterbug <[email protected]> wrote: > This comes from one who is of sharp wit and tongue and of little > tolerance for you-know-what... > > "How come he hasn't bestowed upon himself a lofty title a la Jimmy > Martin? Father of Bluegrass: that's taken; King of Bluegrass: that's > taken, too. Hmm... Emperor of Bluegrass? Crown Prince of Bluegrass? > Secretary of State of Bluegrass? I got it. AMBASSADOR of Bluegrass. > No, no. MISSIONARY of Bluegrass. That's it! It's perfect. > > YAWN..." > > Now, > The whole thing, > and this will be my only comment of a personal > nature, is that Skaggs has the audacity to assume he has the ability, > the creativity, the vision to breath fresh air into the genre(...by > going backwards?). The whole notion that he feels the rest of us who > love the music need to be led in the right direction so that the > essence of the music does not get lost is insulting in the first > place, but to be so pompous as to publicly make the statement that he > is the one to guide us along the shining path is absurd. Monroe never > gave Ricky a personal directive to take the load upon himself, to > carry the torch, to lead the way, to show us the light. He did ask, > over and over, that we all do it. This bit is ALL Skaggs. > > As Fred so aptly put, an art form that does not change dies. This was > stated by David Grier some years back too. Monroe changed and adapted > his music to fit the times, the sidemen he had, the new sounds he > heard. He changed his arrangement of "Blue Moon of Kentucky" after > Elvis cut it to incorporate the obvious appetite for an up-tempo > version. He started using minor keys after the folk revival and the > blossoming of "newgrass" (check how many minor key songs there are in > Monroe's catalogue leading up to the era), I think because he could > see that the sound was popular and sold records. He gave Earl Scruggs > the spotlight in the 40's because Earl had the goods. I was fortunate > enough to play "Goldrush" with the > co-writer of that tune on Saturday. > I can tell you now from having done it, I think Bill Monroe followed > Byron Berline's bow arm on that tune, not the other way around. Monroe > had the sense to know when to "not be the boss" (although he > maintained the illusion certainly) and when to let the music breath > and just be what it was going to be. And because of that, it grew and > progressed into a much more sophisticated art form that had room for > Carter-family-simple melodies as well as psychedelic flights of fancy. > As was mentioned before, Monroe was right for the time that he came > onto the planet. Any other time would likely not have suited him. > > Okay. I apologize for being unpleasant. The older I get the less > patience I seem to have for some things, not to mention less control > over my mouth. > Tater > > On Jan 26, 9:18 am, Don Grieser <[email protected]> wrote: > > > He's starting to get the jowls of Jabba the Hut--he's always had the > > personality. <g> > > > On Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 7:41 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Right on, Fred....and while this might be a small quibble, I just can't > > > tolerate that whole "Mama's fried chicken" stage persona. Very, very > > > tiresome. > > > > -------------- Original message from Fred <[email protected]>: > > > -------------- > > > >> Good lord. It may be that Picky-Ricky's greatest talent is that of > > >> self-aggrandizement. That coupled with his well-known penchant for > > >> receiving an > d transmitting the gospel from god himself on stage may > > >> explain his self-anointing. > > > >> There's no doubt the man can play and sing but how can one take him > > >> seriously when he WAS the problem he decries back in the '80's? I mean > > >> he gets down on the whole "urban cowboy" thing but has he seen his own > > >> video--the one where Bill Monroe plays Uncle Pen to Ricky's corporate > > >> exec? Oy gevalt. What a putz. This schmuck carries like 8 guitars in > > >> his band and calls it "digging deep into the tradition." > > > >> That's actually something that bears notice too, this death-grip on > > >> tradition that so many bluegrassers seem to employ as if it were a > > >> post-mortem stamp of approval from Bill himself. It seems to me that if > > >> bluegrass is a living, breathing art form then it needs to grow and > > >> evolve in different and often strange and unnerving ways. You don't > > >> have to like it but you have to respect it. Only art forms that are > > >> dead and buried repeat themselves endlessly. > > > >> Going back to the vaults of tradition and then inflecting it with one's > > >> own personality and interpretation is a viable way of breathing new life > > >> into a genre art form. Going back to the vaults of tradition and saying > > >> "this way and only this way is right" is embalming and turns the vaults > > >> of tradition into Lenin's tomb, fit only for periodic review. > > > >> Dasspunk wrote: > > > > I got a 404 error from Mike's link. Here's one that should work: > > > >> >http://tinyurl.com/dhuvja > > > >> > It's always been clear that Ricky wants to be the heir for Bluegrass. > > >> > Luckily, want of a thing don't make it so... It would also seem that > > >> > he suffers from self loathing... > > > >> > "I can't get excited about (the music on country radio). It's all > > >> > cookie cutter like they are trying to build one car for everyone." > > > >> > Brian > -~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ > ou received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > Taterbugmando" group. > o post to this group, send email to [email protected] > o unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > or more options, visit this group > athttp://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en > ~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~--- --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" group. 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