From The Side of the Road… bluegrass pronunciation key
Is it “Mon-ROE” or “MUN-roe”? Is how we pronounce bluegrass names important? It probably is, yet it’s not always as simple as it might seem. Do we pronounce people’s names the way they would pronounce them themselves, or do we just say those names the way we were raised to say them? It’s hard for […]
From The Side of the Road… what if bluegrass bands were named for their hit songs?
This month I’m wearing my classic country DJ hat (size 7.5) and working at SiriusXM Willie’s Roadhouse on weekday mornings most of this month. While on the air the other day I played Stateside by Mel Tillis, and I was reminded about the country music tradition of naming your band after one of your hit […]
From The Side of the Road… comparative recording budgets
If this week’s column seems at all disjointed, it’s only because The Night Drivers and I are in the studio all this week, and I’m writing this in between takes of our new medley of Next Sunday Darling is My Birthday and One Night in Bangkok. It got me thinking about the whole recording process, […]
From The Side of the Road… is bluegrass very superstitious?
We live in a world full of superstition. Perhaps this is the time to cue the drums to kick off that Stevie Wonder song, unless you object to drums, in which case cue the drum mounted on the bass and played by the bass player, who is definitely not a drummer and who is not […]
From The Side of the Road… how to keep your band together
Last week I promised to give a few tips for band leaders on how to keep band members longer. Or, if that really isn’t a big priority for you (and for some band leaders it isn’t), a few suggestions for how to get rid of them faster. I’ve been through times of fluctuating personnel and […]
From The Side of the Road… are your bandmates really your friends?
What makes some bands stay together for years, and others have perpetual personnel changes? If you answered, “the one that stays together for years has never taken a current band photo or purchased an expensive vehicle together,” congratulations! You’re a regular reader, and I really appreciate it. In reality, though, it may require a somewhat […]
From The Side of the Road… the lost bluegrass verses
I’m no ethnomusicologist. I’m not even a mixologist or any other kind of “ologist,” but lyrics interest me, and sometimes I like going a little deeper into some of the mysteries presented in the bluegrass standards we know and love. Many people just let the cryptic or confusing parts of these songs go, as I […]
From The Side of the Road… important jamming rules in bluegrass
I just got done teaching at Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamp last week (always good klean fun). This reminded me of the column I wrote several years ago about jamming. It was written the year the Night Drivers and I taught at the MBOTMA festival’s Jam Camp in Minnesota, and I thought it might be fitting […]
From The Side of the Road: bluegrass fusion – yes or no?
Last week we discussed the blending of bluegrass music with other styles, including some that may not at first listen seem that compatible, like bluegrass and heavy metal, the fusion which kicked this whole subject off in the first place. Some combinations of styles don’t seem that compatible on the second or even the 115th […]
From The Side of the Road… don’t cross the streams!
A number of years ago, I got a message from a musician with a band called Grandpa’s Cough Medicine (I was a little hurt that they had rejected my band name idea, Grandpa’s Immunosuppressant Rheumatoid Arthritis Medicine, but I got over it). He suggested that I write something about the “cross-pollination” of music, audiences, and […]
