On Forming a Band

In this age of Bluegrass popularity are there any hardcore Bluegrassers left?

I've been having conversations with various people, some of them not musicians, about the idea of forming a band. I'm certainly not considering such an endeavour at this time, but the conversation has come up. As a result of these conversations it has become clear to me that the desire to form a band does exist for some of the people I've conversed with.

My thinking may change down the road, but at this time in my life, if I was having thoughts about forming a band, I'd be looking for some hardcore Bluegrassers - people that want to play "real" bluegrass - not this watered down stuff that I hear so much of today. If I'm going to go around calling my band a Bluegrass band, that's what I'd want to portray. None of this borderline, is it Bluegrass or is it not? Is it pop with Bluegrass instrumentation? Country? What is that stuff anyway?

Is there anything wrong with these other genres of music that I've mentioned? No, not at all. It's just not what I currently want to be involved with, and I don't want to be in a band that plays half and half either. I'm into Bluegrass and that's what I'm going to focus on! If at some point in time down the musical road I run into some like minded people that I think I can get along with, I think I would consider forming a band.

There are so many things to think about when considering such an endeavour. Could you get along with everyone in the band? Would all of the members have the same goals as you? Would they be as committed as you? Would you be as committed as the rest of the band? Will there be a band leader? Who will it be? Could the rest of the band take direction from someone else? What about work schedules and personal schedule conflicts? Personality conflicts? Travelling? Practice time? It's a never ending list.

In thinking about forming a band, I've come to the conclusion that it would be nearly impossible to satisfy all of the concerns I've mentioned above, but my biggest apprehension is that concerning the committment to get better. Are you and the rest of the band members going to do what it takes to become a band that actually sounds Bluegrassy? Are you going to take the necessary time to learn the licks, intros and breaks that will set you apart, or will you be happy with a hum-drum sound?

Fortunately, forming a band is not something I have to be concerned with anytime soon, or ever I suppose. For now I'll just be content with playing along to my CD's and getting together with some friends at private jams, which is what I enjoy the most - and there's no pressure at all to get better. Playing well enough to be in a band is not something I ever expect to achieve, but I'm going to keep working at playing the best I can regardless of how good or bad that may be.

I'm not an optimist as you might be able to tell, but I'm not a pessimist either, although I know many who would disagree. I like to call myself a realist. I have concern for fact or reality and rejection of the impractical and visionary.

Keep on pickin' everybody.

I Need a Stanleytone

I need another banjo to play all those Ralph Stanley tunes; I mean in addition to the Deering Deluxe that I currently play and the Huber Jim Mills model which hasn't made it to my doorstep yet. By the way, I guess I'm looking at another three weeks minimum before the Huber arrives.

A nice Stanleytone just like the one Steve Sparkman (shown in photo at left with his Stanleytone) plays for Ralph is what I'm thinking of. I can't help myself, every time I hear Pretty Polly or some other Ralph Stanley tune I get banjo fever all over again. It's true, I'm addicted to banjo sounds. My name is Mike and I am a banjoholic in serious need of a 12-step program to help me learn how to play all those banjos! Before I'm done I'll have a great banjo collection of some of the highest quality banjos around. It's a shame that I'll probably never be able to play a single one of 'em, but it'll be a dandy collection nonetheless!

I like my Deering and I know I'm going to love the Huber, but a Ralph Stanley tune just doesn't sound right when played on a flathead banjo. You've got to have an archtop style banjo, which is exactly what a Stanleytone is. Oh sure, I know I can play close to the bridge to try to simulate the Stanleytone sound, but it just doesn't cut it. You've got to have the real thing. One of my biggest problems? I'm a sucker for quality and authenticity.

A well known banjo builder by the name of Frank Neat builds Stanleytone banjos and I just happen to have his telephone number nearby so I've got to run and make a phone call. Ed Betts, if you're reading this post, we may have to plan for a second road trip. I sure hope my wife isn't reading this!

MusicMoose.org

I just stumbled on a great free music lessons resource that I thought I would share with you. It's a web site called MusicMoose.org. There are several free video lessons for banjo, guitar, mandolin and fiddle, as well as lessons for harmonica and saxophone. I noticed there was a placeholder for Dobro lessons as well, but there are no Dobro lessons yet.

I sampled several lessons and found both the material and quality to be very good. There are beginner, intermediate and advanced lessons. There's also a discussion forum related to the site where you can ask the instructors questions. This site is a great resource. You'll need Apple's QuickTime movie viewer to watch the lessons. You also need to register for a free account.

To gain access to the lessons, click the Lessons link just under the logo near the top of the page. You'll notice there are several ways to have the the lessons displayed on your screen - the default is to show all lessons with the most recent lesson at the top. While actually searching for lessons I found this to be very confusing because you'll be jumping all over the place with no rhyme nor reason. To make it easier, I might suggest you choose the instrument category you are interested in, then choose Date created asc in the dropdown listbox. This will order the lessons the way they were originally created, earliest to latest date. If you are following a series of lessons, displaying the lessons in this manner will let you go from one lesson to the next in the order they were intended to be watched.

While sampling the site, the first lesson I checked out was about using a capo on guitar. I then watched several banjo lessons and several mandolin lessons. I was impressed with the content. Admittedly, I spent most of my time on the banjo and mandolin lessons which I found to be very good.

If you are a musician or someone just thinking about learning how to play an instrument, check this site out.

Who Would You Like to See in a Live Performance?

Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys - that's who I'd like to see.

I get the feeling there are a lot of people that think Ralph Stanley couldn't sing his way out of a wet paper bag - I don't know why, that's just the impression I get. If that's the impression you have, you need to listen a little closer.

Ralph Stanley was born in Stratton, VA, in 1927. He is a living legend in Bluegrass and old time mountain music. I never paid Ralph all that much attention myself until recently, but I find the more I listen to him and learn about him, the more I appreciate him and his band members.

The sound of Ralph Stanley is unique. He has the sound of centuries past, with incredibly soulful undertones. His high lonesome sound makes you feel like you're in the Appalachian Mountains, standing right beside him. Patty Loveless describes Ralph Stanley as the "King of Mountain Soul."

I was looking at his tour schedule to see how close to this part of the world he might be travelling. The closest place I could find was at a place called the Stone Mountain Arts Center in a rural town called Brownfield, in the state of Maine. Brownfield is a little more than an hour past Portland, Maine. Curious as I was, I typed "Stone Mountain Arts Center" into the Google search engine and sure enough, I hit pay dirt.

Once at the Stone Mountain Arts Center web site, I was intrigued; so much so that I read much about its history, background and owners. From the Stone Mountain Arts Center web site:

Nestled in the foothills of the White Mountains, the Stone Mountain Arts Center is a beautiful timber frame barn hosting national acts up close and personal in an equally beautiful setting.

This unique space is located just over the border from NH in Brownfield, Maine. Drive up a country road, with the mountains as your guide. When you reach the top there with it’s red clapboards, this special performance space towers over Noonan’s 200 year old farmhouse providing you with a dramatic audience experience you will not soon forget.

The timber frame barn is what really caught my attention. The more I read, the more I couldn't stop.

It just happens that Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys are doing a concert at this 200 seat location on Sunday, July 8, 2007. This may very well be the road trip of the year for me. If you think there is a possibility that you too might like to go this event, I wouldn't hold off reserving tickets.

There's a host of other well known names appearing at this venue as well. The Grascals, Kathy Mattea, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Crooked Still, Suzy Bogguss and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones to mention a few. Visit the Stone Mountain Arts Center web site to view their complete calendar of events.

Latest and Greatest Feedback Eliminator

I've been asked many times about the electronic equipment I use at the Bluegrass Friends jam sessions. I keep things pretty simple. I use a 12-channel Yamaha EMX5000-12 powered audio mixer, two Marshall Electronics MXL-2003 condenser microphones for vocals and either one or two (usually just one) Marshall Electronics MXL-603S condenser microphones for instruments. I also use a Behringer DSP1124P feedback eliminator which does a reasonable job at notching out the unwanted frequencies in a less than perfect room, speaking from an acoustic point of view.

While the DSP1124P is a pretty good unit for removing unwanted signals in the audio chain, as of late I've been employing an additional feedback eliminator. This new unamed model removes feedback of an entirely different type and it works great! I think I'll call it the Feedback Destroyer Pro II. See photo on right. Do it yourself types can easily fabricate one of these in less than 5 seconds. By far, it's the most effective feedback eliminator I've ever employed.

Applications for this model are unlimited. To date I've been able to use it while watching television, at concerts, and when I'm on the telephone with my friends. You'll probably find even more uses for it, limited only by your imagination.

Hunny Wants to Blog

Hunny made a decision - decided she wants to blog - muttered something about Bluegrass Widow the other day.

Widow: a woman whose husband leaves her alone frequently or for long periods to engage in a usually specified activity (like Bluegrass music).

Hey, she doesn't have to be a Bluegrass widow! I've been trying to get her to play an instrument for some time now but she's not bitin'. I invite her to accompany me at all of the Bluegrass festivals but she doesn't go for it. I ask her to go to all of the Bluegrass concerts, but she doesn't do that either. Is it really my fault she feels like a Bluegrass widow? Is it unreasonable that I play Bluegrass music in the morning while eating breakfast, while getting ready for work, in the car, at work, before bed and while trying to sleep? I'm listening to Bluegrass right now. The fact that Hunny isn't as enthusiastic as I am about all things Bluegrass can only mean one thing - the girl clearly needs help!

Do you see the jacket she's wearing in the photo above? I call that her mandolin jacket. Why? Because she'd look great with that jacket if she was holding a mandolin! Go ahead, visualize - I'll wait. There, see what I mean? But, because she has no interest in learning how to play a mandolin, it's just a waste of a good jacket!

I'm not exactly sure what Hunny is going to blog about, but I can only imagine a site riddled with jokes about everyone's favourite instrument, and you know which one I'm talkin' about - you know, the one with 5 strings. She seems to thrive on those jokes.

For those of you that might be interested in whatever foolishness she comes up with, here's a link to the Bluegrass Widow Blog: http://bluegrasswidow.blogspot.com/. Whatever you do, don't let her steer you away from Bluegrass music. Always remember, in the words of Lee Alward, "there's no doubt about it, Bluegrass music is the sweetest sound on earth!"