Musician and writer (both song and print) for over 30 years. Primarily interested in roots music (Americana, bluegrass, blues, folk). Current contributing writer for Fiddler Magazine, previous work with Metro Times (Detroit), Ann Arbor Paper and Real Detroit Weekly, as well as other various music and military publications. As songwriter, won the 2015 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest (Bluegrass Category, "Something About A Train," co-written with Dawn Kenney and David Morris) as well as having work performed on NPR and nominated for numerous Detroit Music Awards.
On May 5th, the bluegrass world lost another wonderful traditional voice. Evelyn Cox Hobbs, singer and guitarist for the Cox Family, passed away at the age of 66.
The Cox Family as a band was started by father Willard in the late 1970s. They resided in the Cotton Valley of northwest Louisiana. As kids, Evelyn, along with brother Sidney and sisters Lynn and Suzanne, would learn instruments as well as sing harmonies to gospel music. From performing at local hayrides to appearances on the the Grand Ole Opry. The band won a Grammy in 1994 in the Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Album category for I Know Who Holds Tomorrow, a collaboration with Alison Krauss.
Probably the biggest boost to the band’s career was an appearance in the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?, as well as in the documentary of the soundtrack to the movie Down From the Mountain. The band performed two classic songs at the Ryman Auditorium for that film, which showcase the beautiful harmonies that they were known for.
Willard retired from the band shortly after the appearance, but the siblings continued on. Evelyn and Suzanne retired a few years back, and Sidney reformed the band with his daughters to create a second generation of the legacy.
I was fortunate to see the band during the Down From the Mountain tours. Willard had already retired, so Evelyn was the spokesperson for the group. She had kept the laid-back humor that her father always showed on stage. However, it was those precious harmonies that melted my heart. Whenever I need shot of joy, I pull up the performance of “Will There Be Any Stars In My Crown” from the Ryman performance on YouTube. Simply beautiful to hear.
Evelyn, thank you for giving the rest of a voice that could only have been given to you by God to put to good use,, which you did. You are now in Heaven, singing in the Angel Band with your father.
It’s funny how one incident can kill a successful musical career. It could be drug addiction, long-term hatred with former bandmates or other music industry people, failed marriages, or a sladerous comment that got published. But making a music video?
I was talking with a co-worker at my job, and the discussion turned to music videos. I grew up with my teens being part of the early MTV generation. That was when the network was literally just showing videos. They had the occasional interview with an artists, and the whole thing was hosted by six VJs. This was the early 1980s, and the channel would show any type of video that a signed band put out, whether it was of a live performance or some crazy concept.
As time went on, videos turned into mini-movies, with “Thriller” by Michael Jackson being a great example. Other videos became messages, in many cases not related to the music and lyrics. Of course, like many Top 40 songs, the videos faded into obscurity. However, some have remained in the minds of music fans, for better or worse.
Such is the case of Billy Squier and his video for “Rock Me Tonite.” Squier had a great career in rock music in the early 1980s. Radio hits such as “Stroke Me” and “Lonely is the Night” had some powerful vocals with memorable guitar riffs woven throughout. Then came “Rock Me Tonite.” As far as the recording, it matched his previous hits, with a hard-edged power-pop sound.
Then there was the video. To this day, no one really knows who was responsible for approving this and putting it out. At the time, MTV put it on heavy rotation, and probably scared away a lot of viewers along the way. This video is an absolute nightmare meeting a bad joke and having a baby.
Throughout the video, Squier is dancing by himself in his bedroom like no one is watching. Unfortunately, people were watching, and the ridicule soon followed. So much so that, 40-plus years later, the video still stands out as one of the biggest guffaws ever put to tape. Soon after the initial criticism, Squier’s career in music tanked considerably. These days, he makes occasional appearances, but very few have forgotten this catastrophe.
In watching this video again (I forced myself for this blog), my only theory to the making of it was that teenage boys were watching MTV videos not only for the cool hair-metal bands performing, but for the scantily-clad models that appeared in them. Perhaps someone thought that pubescent young girls would have the same reaction when seeing a young rock star dancing around and tearing off his shirt. In short, it didn’t.
For those of you who have never seen the video, I present it here. My apologies if it negatively affects your future life in any way. You are sure to get a few good laughs at the comments that follow.
I was recently asked to assist in getting a bluegrass jam started at a bar here in Detroit. Basically a person that I met at a local jam has an uncle that owns a bar, and this person wants to start a regular bluegrass jam at the bar. I checked out the place, and it has pretty much a faux Irish pub look to it, but the outdoor patio is spacious enough for small concerts.
It got me to thinking about my experience with bluegrass jams over the years. While most bluegrassers may be familiar with the night-long jam sessions after performances at festivals, there is occasionally the established jam session organized somewhere during the times when festivals are not happening, like during the winter up here in the north.
These types of jams are hard to predict as far as success. Most local bluegrass associations (like the Southeast Michigan Bluegrass Music Association) attempt to set up or help sponsor jams, usually after a business meeting. SEMBMA used to do that, but it would be disheartening, as the meeting would have five or six people attending, then as the meeting was wrapping up, 20 people would show up with instruments in-hand. Thus, not much got done by the association from its “members,” as they only seemed to join just to have a place to play. SEMBMA has had to cancel many sponsored activities due to lack of membership volunteer help at them. If the only reason to join the association is to plant your butt at a place to play, then why bother?
One association up here in Michigan used to sponsor a monthly jam at a school. About 10 classrooms were open, and the cafeteria had a small stage for sign-up performing. I went a few times, and the folks that ran it were stand-offish to say the least. Each room was taken up by some amateur band that did not want anyone from the outside coming in to jam. The last that I heard, this association has dissolved sometime around COVID.
Jams at places like restaurants and bars are also hard to keep going. One has to remember that the owner of the establishment is hoping to make money at this business. Live music, even with established bands, can be a coin toss as far as profitability. I am sure that every bar owner would love to have a Billy Strings or Del McCoury play at his/her venue once a month to make up for the dead evenings the rest of the time. Open mics and jam sessions are very shaky at bars. The bar owner may try it once or twice, but if he/she is losing money on that night, forget it going past a third time. I have seen way too many times that jammers show up, play for hours, not buying a drink (or worse yet, try to sneak in their own drinks), then up and leave without spending a dollar on food or beer. There is usually no cover charge on these nights, but I have also seen places that charge a few dollars for jam nights, which stalwart jammers thumb their noses to. In the end, bar owners lose money, and jammers are out of another place to play.
One jam night here in suburban Detroit that I have enjoyed hitting is at the Cirrus Guitar shop. Once per month Mike Franks opens up a room for two hours of bluegrass and folk jamming. After which, everyone there gabs about music, instruments, or other topics, while Mike takes any newcomers on a tour of the shop. This is successful because Mike has a deep love for the music, his shop would probably be open anyways, and the people that show up do not take advantage of his gratitude. If I do show up, I usually bring some snacks for afterwards.
Jams take some time for the news to get out. That first one at Cirrus had five people. It has grown some, but there are other factors (only once per month, it is on a weeknight, and not centrally located). However, the main factor I see that would make a regularly scheduled jam session a success would be the cooperation of the jammers themselves. Accept that someone is allowing you to come into his/her facility for a few hours to play with others. See what you can do for that owner. Provide snacks, help clean up afterwards, help set up beforehand, even pass the hat and throw in a buck or two (if no cover charge is being made) to help play the electric bill for that evening. If that is too much to ask, then just stay home and jam with yourself, or have a jam session at your house. See how much time and effort it takes to make a bunch of jammers happy at no cost to them.
Shortly after I bought my Martin D-28 acoustic guitar, I wanted to use it to honor the founders of bluegrass music. While December 8, 1945 is considered the birth of bluegrass music as we know it, since this is when Bill Monroe appeared on the Grand Ole Opry with Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Chubby Wise and Cedric Rainwater, this incarnation of the Blue Grass Boys made its first recording in 1946. That year is considered the “big bang theory” of bluegrass music.
While playing bluegrass music on that Martin was perhaps tribute enough, I just felt that it needed something more. I didn’t want to do anything drastic to the guitar physically, but wanted to give it something unique. A few years ago, while checking some change in my pocket, I came across a 1946 Lincoln Wheat penny. Wheat pennies are not too rare in general, but you don’t see much in circulation.
Knowing how important the year 1946 is to bluegrass music, I thought that this find was a bit of good luck, or even a message from a spirit. Thus, I taped that 1946 penny to the back of the headstock of the Martin. For some reason, playing that guitar felt a little better. I look at it as a good luck charm when playing the guitar.
Now that I have a few quality acoustic guitars, and I like to play each one equally, I figured that I should mount a 1946 penny to each of them. So besides the Martin, my Cirrus and Sevillana acoustic guitars will now have pennies on the headstock back. I am thinking that instead of taping them on, I may route a small cavity in the headstock back, enough to tightly pound in the pennies. Also, these 1946 pennies are not that rare or valuable, worth about $1.00 each. There are some 1946 pennies that have rare markings that are worth in the thousands of dollars, so if I were ever to come across one of those, trust me, I would not be knocking it into the back of a guitar!
At my new job, my official title is Valet. At the dealership that I work, I greet the customers that come in for a scheduled service appointment, take down the vehicle information, hand it off to a service advisor, park the car in the service lot, then when the service is finished, drive the car back to the waiting area for the customer. Nothing special, a lot of running around, but definitely not as stressful as my previous job.
I meet a lot of people there, probably talk to 30-40 customers each day. It mostly is a formal greeting and asking for any additional concerns with their vehicles. One customer a few days ago was no different. We were mutually friendly, then I directed him to the assigned service advisor. As the advisor was finishing with him and providing him with a loaner vehicle for overnight service, my eye caught the personalized license plate of his own vehicle. MANDOLIN.
I thought that was some message from above. I ran out to his car before he left and had to ask if he did actually play the mandolin. It turned out that he did, and was an avid fan of bluegrass. Well, we talked for a few minutes, and I gave him my number of he wanted to talk more or even jam.
When he returned the next day to pick up his car, we had an even longer talk about the music that we enjoy, and I got him interested in a monthly jam session that goes on at the Cirrus Guitar Shop. We talked about mutual artists that we have seen live, and I let him know about the Charlotte Bluegrass festival in June. Hopefully, he gets in touch with me again soon.
In my five years at my previous job, I did not have an experience like that. There were people into playing music, but it was mostly other genres than bluegrass and Americana, so we really only discussed equipment and instruments. I still stay in regular contact with the one former co-worker that I am helping learn lutherie and guitar building. However, seeing the same people every day and knowing what their life is like outside of work becomes stagnant, and with next to no one interested in your interests, the job becomes redundant at best.
I have only been at this new job a little over a month, yet this experience alone has helped me feel a lot more happy that I made the switch. I do feel that this experience was more than a coincidence, but I also feel that one has to be more observant of his/her surroundings. Keep looking as well as listening. Here in the Detroit area, bluegrass music is far from popular with the population, so I have to go that extra mile to find people with mutual interests. Along with wearing bluegrass-related T-shirts whenever I can, I make it known through related conversations of my passion.
I know that this incident is rare, but if it comes along, one has to learn to grab it.
Happy Easter, everyone! Since I started my new job last month, I have lost five pounds from the continual walking. However, I am sure that I will gain it back this week by OD-ing on Peeps, jelly beans and Cadbury Eggs.
Anyway, one of my YouTube subscriptions is with Elderly Instruments in Lansing, Michigan. Every few days they send me a short video highlighting one of the instruments they have for sale. Usually it is a guitar, either acoustic or electric, or an occasional mandolin. Last week, they sent a video entitled “We’ve got a piece of Grand Ole Opry history.”
It turns out that Elderly has for sale a Gibson open-back banjo custom made for Uncle Dave Macon. Unless you are completely unaware, Uncle Dave was one of the original stars of the Grand Ole Opry. He was a complete entertainer, telling jokes and stories along with humorous folk and early country songs. His frailing/clawhammer style of banjo playing was pre-Scruggs, and he used the banjo more like a prop than a skilled instrument. As country music matured, his style of entertainment faded from the stage. However, stalwart bluegrass and old-time music fans still hold Uncle Dave in high regard, and there is an annual music festival in Tennessee called Uncle Dave Macon Days.
After Uncle Dave’s passing, the banjo was sold to another Opry star known for his frailing banjo style – Grandpa Jones. While Grandpa was better known for working with a resonator banjo, it is wonderful to imagine that two of the greatest Opry stars owned and play this particular instrument. Of course, I had to go to Elderly’s website to see the price tag. Wow! $50,000! It is being sold in as-is fair condition, with one rim hook missing and a hole in the rim that Elderly assumes was meant for mounting an armrest.
Is that a way-too-high price? Perhaps, but considering that the Fender Stratocaster that David Gilmour of Pink Floyd used on “Comfortably Numb” sold at a recent auction for $14.5 million, celebrity-owned musical instruments can command high prices. However, modern music memorabilia collectors are not as interested in Opry legends such as Uncle Dave Macon or Grandpa Jones.
I am sure that Elderly is totally open to negotiate the price, and are keeping the banjo in its current condition figuring that the potential buyer is looking at it as a museum piece rather than a player instrument. I hope that it finds a good home, particularly a museum that will display it for the historical value it has. In the meantime, here are some Uncle Dave Macon and Grandpa Jones clips.
This past week we lost two influential artists in the bluegrass and Americana fields. Ronnie Bowman died from injuries due to a motorcycle accident on March 22, and Chip Taylor passed away from cancer on March 23.
Ronnie Bowman was well known throughout the bluegrass community for his wonderful voice and great songwriting. As with many bluegrass artists, he got his start performing gospel music in church. His first break came with joining the Lost and Found band in 1987. From 1990 to 1002, he was the singer and bass player for the Lonesome River Band, which also included his lifelong friend Dan Tyminski. He would later form Band of Ruhks with Kenny Smith and Don Rigsby.
His solo career included a number of albums, but he was best known in the bluegrass and country music community for his songwriting. He wrote and co-wrote a number of songs for Chris Stapleton, Lee Ann Womack, and Brooks & Dunn as well as many bluegrass artists.
Awards received included IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year for 1995, 1998 and 1999. His album Cold Virginia Night won the IBMA Album of the Year for 1995, as well as the title song winning Song of the Year.
I only talked briefly once at an AmericanaFest back around 2008. He was performing with showcase artist Melonie Cannon, with whom he had co-produced her album and co-written songs. A very humble man, one could tell he enjoyed all aspects of music performance, be it writing or being on stage. His presence in bluegrass will surely be missed.
Chip Taylor should be considered a legend in the music industry if for only two of his many songs that he wrote. It was he that wrote the Troggs’ classic “Wild Thing,” which has become a garage band staple. On the other side of the music spectrum, he penned “Angel of the Morning,” which was a country hit for Juice Newton.
He was born in Yonkers, New York, and was the brother to actor Jon Voight. He wanted to be a professional golfer, but entered the music business instead. After his success with “Wild Thing,” he continued to work freelance as a songwriter. While “Angel in the Morning” was originally written in 1967, it wasn’t until 1981 that it was a hit for Newton.
Other songs of Taylor’s includes “I Can’t Let Go” (the Hollies/Linda Ronstadt), “I Can Make It With You” (Jackie DeShannon), “On My Word “Cliff Richard), “Try Just a Little Bit Harder” (Janie Joplin), and “He Sits at Your Table” (Willie Nelson).
By his own admission, he had a gambling addiction, being unsuccessful as a professional gamble during the 1980s and early 1990s. During a performance at SXSW in 2001, he met fiddler/vocalist Carrie Rodriguez, and the musical partnership led to a number of albums that helped jump-start the Americana music format. He also performed with Canadian fiddler/vocalist Kendel Carson, as well as released a number of solo albums.
In 2009, Ace Records released a compilation CD of Taylor compositions recorded by other artists entitled Wild Thing: The Songs of Chip Taylor.
He began receiving treatment for throat cancer in 2023, but eventually succumbed to it last week. I was fortunate enough to get to meet up with him at an AmericanaFest in the early 2000s. What a wonderful man, totally appreciating the newly generated fan base that he was getting with the Americana format. I have a photo of me with him on one of my old computers that unfortunately, I do not have access to right now. But my memory of talking to him remains with me, and he will be a permanent “cool guy” with me, if only for writing “Wild Thing.”
Back in the early 2000s when I still had satellite radio, it was always tuned in to for or five stations. One of them was Bluegrass Junction (of course). During that time, a band in heavy rotation was the Earl Brothers. Led by banjoist/vocalist Robert Earl Davis, the San Francisco-based bluegrass project had heavy gothic overtones to its sound. Instrumentally, it sounded like early Stanley Brothers, but Davis’ vocals gave it an alt-country grit. While many bluegrass bands at the time were starting to lean toward the progressive side, the Earl Brothers stayed traditional, with minimal solos and doing songs about death, drinking, and the Gospel. Chris Hillman of the Byrds fame (who started out playing mandolin in the bluegrass band the Hillmen) is quoted as saying “The Earl Brothers have got the soul and the songs and the attitude that brought us all into bluegrass music in the first place.”
They put out a few albums from 2004 to 2012, all with that lo-fi bluegrass sound that felt more like jamming on the back porch than in a studio. They had a cult following with the bluegrass and Americana fan base, but did not do much touring after 2013. I figured that Davis had pretty much wrapped up his work and moved on. Every so often, however, there would be a YouTube video of some new single from the band posted. About two weeks ago, Bluegrass Today posted a new video from the band. This one, entitled “Chicken Biscuit,” strays from the minimalist bluegrass and adds some electronic instrumentation. The overall sound still has what Davis calls “hillbilly trance.”
In the early days of the Americana Music Association, I hung out with a female bass player from SF that worked in an earlier project with Davis. She had told me that he was always more into bluegrass than Americana/alt-country, and forming this band was what he intended. I can totally understand, as when I became immersed in bluegrass in the late 1990s, I was getting into the early stuff by Bill Monroe and the Stanley Brothers. My personal favorite bluegrass band is still Reno & Smiley. While I love listening to any bluegrass, be it traditional or progressive, it’s that old-time sound just hits me the right way. That is why the Earl Brothers CDs will always be in the front, and as I go back to learning the banjo, that is the sound that I want to get.
Let’s start off by saying that I have a new job, and I will be working most Saturdays, so my blog posts will probably appear on Sundays instead.
Last Sunday I went to The International Institute of Detroit for both a workshop and performance by my favorite fiddler, Brittany Haas. We have been friends for years, but me living in Detroit and not able to travel much, while she is a traveling musician, we only see each other face-to-face about once every two years. I was definitely going to the show, which she performed with percussion dancer Nic Gareiss, but I wanted to see how she handles a workshop. As always, she impresses me like no end!
During the workshop, which there were about a dozen students (I was not one of them, as I haven’t picked up the fiddle in months and I know I am too rusty), Brittany taught the fiddle tune “Black Hawthorne,” originally performed by Vassar Clements and Norman Blake on the An Americana Christmas album. It was great that she chose a relatively unknown song that was also easy for beginners to comprehend. The participants ranged from absolute beginners to regular performers, and all seemed to be grateful for learning a new tune as well as how well Brittany communicates. The workshop lasted an hour in the afternoon, and ended too fast, as you could tell that all of the students were totally psyched from the experience.
I was not able to catch Nic’s step-dancing workshop that followed, as I had other commitments. However, I did come back in the evening for the fiddle/dance performance. Brittany and Nic have known each other for over a decade, and despite their individual busy schedules, they usually hook up for a few shows interspersed throughout the year. This particular one had a very intimate setting, with a small stage that Nic requested no PA system and even chairs on the stage for people to sit in and watch the show up close.
I had to leave early due to my starting my new job early the next morning, but I did want to show you what kind of fun a performance like this can be.
Yesterday I hit the Lansing Guitar Show. It was nice, but nothing spectacular. As expected, about 90% electric guitars and amps (I’m not complaining, it’s just that I don’t play electrics that much any more). And of course, everything was way too pricey for me. I am still wondering if it was worth the three hours total drive back-and-forth to attend. I actually got through the entire show in a little over an hour, walking through it three times. It was set up in two separate rooms that were far apart, and there were not good signs pointing to the rooms.
I got to talking to a gentleman who was selling a late 1960s Guild Starfire II semi-hollowbody double cutraway. The thing was not completely original, as the bridge, tailpiece, and one pickup were replacements. He was asking $900.00, basing it on the harmonica-style bridge (it is wider, and looks like a harmonica) being a rare item. Dealers were passing on his offer (I totally understand), but it got me to thinking about a guitar that I have.
It’s a 1971 Guild Starfire I, which is a true hollowbody, with a single cutaway and a Bigsby-designed vibrato tailpiece. The pickups are original, but are quite microphonic, meaning that they act like a microphone (I actually used to talk through them at shows) and they feedback terribly. The thing needs some minor work, particularly the headstock plate needs gluing. The one dumb thing that I did to it was have a girl that I wanted to date paint a skull on it, as I was into rockabilly back then and thought it would be cool. Well, her skull looked more like a white tadpole. I remember my bass player at the time used to call it “the Happy Sperm Guitar.” I also remember that, playing the guitar though my Fender Twin Reverb, was absolute magic. With the right overdrive, that was the perfect-sounding rock-n-roll rhythm guitar. I guess that is why I still have not parted with it, but at least the talk gave me somewhat of an idea on how I could sell it just in case.
I talked a while back about how much I miss some out-of-print music magazines (https://luegra.design.blog/2021/06/06/the-print-magazines-that-i-miss/), particularly the Frets Magazine from the 1970s and early 1980s. This was an offshoot of Guitar Play Magazine, focusing on all acoustic instruments. Besides acoustic guitar, coverage included banjo, fiddle, mandolin, autoharp, dobro, sitar, and just about any other acoustic stringed instrument. It discontinued for a few years, but was brought back in the 2000s, but stuck to mostly acoustic guitar. The older issues covered artists that I thought were the best in bluegrass. So when I saw one vendor has a bunch of old guitar magazines, I had to thumb through to see if there were any treasures. I was able to snag his few copies of Frets. I love reading those old articles (just look at how young and skinny Jerry Douglas was back in 1986!).
One of the reasons that I went was to get a replacement nut for the Leo Jaymz Strat that I just finished building. The nut that was on the neck was horrendous! It was cut way too high, and even filing down the slots didn’t help. Plus it was made of a cheap plastic, so I picked up a bone one for a few bucks.
As I was leaving, I got to chatting with Cooper Wentz, who operates Galloup Guitars out of Big Rapids, Michigan. Besides building guitars, he runs lutherie classes out of his shop, which consists of programs ranging from eight to 24 weeks of intensive research and building of guitars, both acoustic and electric. For more information, go to galloupguitars.com .
But what struck me as very interesting was the lutherie tool that he recently developed. It is part of an online system that he has set up called Acousonix. The main aspect is a hammer-like object that has a small plunger on one side of the head, and a LED screen on the other side. This idea is to hit a piece of wood that is mounted on the body of the acoustic instrument (or before mounting) with the plunger, and the LED screen will display what that piece is tuned to acoustically for the best tone and stability of the guitar to be built. It is an amazing concept to be sure, and I hope that he has great success with this project. For more information, go to acousonix.com .
The next nearby show is in Toledo in June, so that gives me time to decide if I want to go, considering that I start my new job tomorrow and need to find out when I can take time off.
Luegra 