From The Side of the Road… tips for new bluegrass artists
In the last 10 or 15 years, bluegrass music has had its share of people trying to break in from other genres of music. Apparently the lure of low money and smaller touring vehicles is just too tempting for some people. Some are well-established artists, often from the country music world, who either no longer […]
From The Side of the Road… talking politics on stage
Returning to the stage MC work subject, this is a revised version of the final installment of my series on the subject: This was the column I was hoping to get someone else to write for me. It was the one that was supposed to deal with the issue of politics and/or religion in stage […]
From The Side of the Road… deconstructed band names
Way back in the first year of this column I did a series on band management, pretending that I knew something about it. The first installment dealt with the subject of naming bands, since it’s something every band has to do before they go about getting work, building web sites, playing gigs, and eventually going […]
From The Side of the Road… MC work – third time’s the charm
This is the third in a series on stage-show MC work. In the previous installment, I tried to answer a few frequently asked questions (or FAQ, for those in a hurry), covering issues like who should do most of the talking in a band situation, excessive talking on stage, and the “Tu Ning” joke. At […]
From The Side of the Road…some more stage MC basics
Last week I tried to break on-stage MC work down to basics to make the mission seem less daunting for anyone who may find speaking to an audience intimidating. To sum up and review: you’re just trying to make the audience feel welcome and feel that you care about them. You also need to get […]
From The Side of the Road… no, you do it – I don’t want to do it
Something that you or your band must eventually face (besides your sound check and your non-existent retirement plan), is that at some point, usually no more than three or four songs into a show, you will have to say something to your audience. With the proliferation of music camps, online instruction, YouTube tutorials, and other […]
From The Side of the Road… Mr. Bluegrass Manners tells the truth
Mr. Bluegrass Manners has taken time away from his book tour promoting his new bestseller, Jam Session Offenses, Real and Simulated – Navigating bluegrass etiquette in the age of AI, to take the latest burning bluegrass questions from readers. As related before, Mr. Bluegrass Manners is too polite to use social media himself, so all […]
From The Side of the Road… cologne for the man who plays bluegrass
Since it has been established in the advertising world that if you can identify a niche, you can target it, it was probably inevitable that we would one day see the rise of bluegrass men’s cologne. Bluegrass women’s fragrances had already been introduced last year with the noted success of Bleu Diva, and Je Pick […]
From The Side of the Road… where are they now?
Last week, after passing along some of the findings in my research into the whereabouts of some familiar characters in bluegrass songs, I received some questions, comments, and suggestions. The suggestions, which mostly involved where I should go, and what I should do when I got there, probably shouldn’t be repeated here, Bluegrass Today adhering […]
From The Side of the Road… the rest of the story, bluegrass song edition
People always seem interested in where music celebrities, or lesser-known one-hit wonder types, have disappeared to. I seem to recall VH-1, or one of those channels that used to show music videos in the ’80s, devoting a whole show to the subject. I think people get a particular kick out of seeing a star who […]
