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Close To Picture is a four track EP project from guitarists Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge, who have been touring together this summer. Eldridge is a progressive grasser, whose primary performance venue is Chris Thile's Punch Brothers. With the band on a break, he has been collaborating with acoustic six string jazzer Lage. The duo have [...]
It was announced a few months ago that bluegrass' own Chris Thile will be awarded a MacArthur genius grant. Congratulations. There isn't a more deserving artist. But hold your applause. His award is eclipsed by the honor he is receiving this week: An Album Of The Week! (Now you can applaud, toss your hats, throw [...]
Banjo wizard Noam Pikelny has posted a video from his ongoing tour in support of his current album, Beat The Devil and Carry a Rail. The video is for his original banjo tune, Manchicken, found on his 2004 CD, In The Maze. Assisting are Luke Bulla on fiddle, Sam Grisman on bass, Chris Eldridge on [...]
You never know what songs you’ll hear when the Seldom Scene is playing. Not only is the band entering it’s 41st year – giving the Scene one of the deepest catalogs around – but members regularly add new material to their stage show. I was lucky enough to attend a grand New Year’s Eve tradition [...]
Continuing in their established trend of terse, esoteric and slightly archaic references for album titles, Punch Brothers have announced that their new CD, Antifogmatic, will be released June 15 on Nonesuch Records. And also continuing in the newly-established trend, they are offering a special deluxe pre-release package chock-full of extra goodies. For $25 you will [...]
Here's Part 3 of our interview with Chris Thile and Chris Eldridge (a.k.a. Critter) of the Punch Brothers. In this third, and final, installment, we'll be discussing the actual process of recording the new Punch Brothers CD, Punch, and in particular the major composition, The Blind Leaving The Blind. Brance: Your last CD, How To [...]
When we left our dynamic duo yesterday, at the end of Part 1 of this interview, they had just engaged in a small snowball battle. Having concluded that brief engagement, we returned to the interview. Brance: What about the other four songs on the CD? Chris: We basically co-wrote those tunes as a band. Those [...]
With the release of the new Punch Brothers CD only a week away, Chris Thile fans are eagerly awaiting the latest entry in his musical diary. This one has been a long time coming. I had the opportunity to speak with Chris, along with guitarist Chris Eldridge (a.k.a. Critter), last week and ask them about [...]
The folks at Flatpicking Guitar Magazine have posted an online clip from the most recent DVD release, Guitarmageddon. It features Josh Williams, Andy Falco and Chris Eldridge tearing up Cherokee Shuffle on stage at the Station Inn in Nashville. As you might expect, the boys pick it solid throughout, and surely do so throughout this [...]
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine has released their latest concert DVD, following the familiar theme of grouping popular flatpickers they have set with previous releases. Guitarmageddon, co-produced with SimpleFolk Productions, showcases three young flatpicking firebrands who have been making their presence felt in bluegrass this past few years. Chris Eldridge, Andy Falco and Josh Williams are featured [...]
