On-stage communication between musicians can take many forms and is required for a variety of purposes, some vitally important, some completely unnecessary but at least amusing. One of the biggest reasons for communication during a show is to assist someone in
Vendors, especially food and beverage vendors, at a bluegrass festival can sometimes be like an oasis from the elements, a blessed port in a storm. Think of the times you’ve been at a hot and humid festival in late July;
Last week I received my first major blowback from a Bluegrass Today column of mine. I never like to offend people, and it is never my intention to do so. I said as much in my reply to the comment.
Are bluegrass festivals successful? The answer, in 2013 (I prefer to work in the present because it’s so now-ish), is an unequivocal “yes” and “no.” It all depends on who you talk to and how you define “success.” For some,
Last week, we deliberately inflicted pain on ourselves and discussed the topic of album reviews, with actual samples (that I made up, but does it really matter?). Specifically, we examined the categories of the Everybody Gets a Rave and the
No recording artist likes bad reviews. In fact, most recording artists are pretty unhappy with reviews that are even mediocre. When was the last time you heard an artist say, “Well, it was a pretty bad review, but it was
After a new recording project is mastered, photos have been taken, perhaps someone has been hired to write some liner notes, you’ve replaced the tracks of the guitar player who just quit, one of the last jobs still remains, and
You may recall that last week we started a discussion of band travel options, which are numerous, ranging from private jet (should I wait for the laughter to subside before continuing?) to private, near-dead burro. This week I thought we’d examine
One of the basic requirements of any professional band is to be able to get to the gig, wherever it might be. It’s one (sometimes the only) common bond we all share. Some bands carry a P.A. system, some do not.
Last week I was preoccupied with another side business I have, which is the raising of prize miniature llamas (one of the llamas had gone off her feed and would eat nothing but stir-fried alfalfa pellets, and the whole thing
