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.
The 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Del and the Boys by the Del McCoury Band was released this week, and you can bet I went and bought it as soon as I could get to the record store. On the first listen, I had forgotten how classic this album truly is.
Del McCoury had a great reputation in the bluegrass community before this was originally released in 2001, and the band received some deserved recognition backing up Steve Earle on his The Mountain album, but this is the one that made Del legendary to this day. It helped that to support the release, Del and the band toured with the Down From the Mountain troupe that year.
However, it is the selection of material, as well as the band performing at its best, that makes this a must-own album. I had previously written about the opening track, “1952 Vincent Black Lightning,” as a perfect song (https://luegra.design.blog/2021/04/17/a-perfect-song-1-del-mccoury-band-1952-vincent-black-lightning/). Following that track were 11 songs (on the original release) that made you try to catch your breath when they were finished. “All Aboard” became an audience request number, almost as much as “1952.” “Gone But Not Forgotten” is break-neck speed with a tear-jerker storyline. “The Kings’s Shilling” is a great bluegrass-meets-sea shanty with amazing harmonies. And of course, what DMB album would be complete without an instrumental, and “Goldbricken” shows off Ronnie and Rob McCoury’s talents, as well as fiddler Jason Carter.
This release includes three extra tracks that were not on the original album. I would have bought the disc even if there was no bonus, but this makes it all the more sweeter. I am so glad that Del McCoury, as well as most other bluegrass artists, have not forgotten the hard-copy of music albums such as vinyl and CDs, unlike so many other artists in other formats that are relying on streaming. There is just something about holding an album cover and reading lyrics or liner notes while the music is playing. It helps to excite more of the senses.
I saw Del and the band two weeks ago at the Charlotte Bluegrass Festival, and at 87 years of age, he still has it. “Inspirational” is probably the best word to describe what he does for the continuing popularity of bluegrass music.
If you don’t already have this album, go out and get it! This one set the standard for modern traditional bluegrass, one that both the old-timers and progressives can truly enjoy and appreciate for a long time.
Hoping that everyone here in the US had a safe and wonderful 250th anniversary of Independence Day.
If you have been following my blogs for a while you know that I love seeing young musicians become skilled with their instruments, and that I also am not a fan of artificial intelligence (AI). That hatred for AI has reached another level this past week. There are now videos of a young musician that I follow in suggestive poses, flashing her underwear, and wearing clothing that I know she would never wear. These videos are definitely created by AI by sleazeballs looking for algorithm hits with no concern of this young girl’s reputation. I will not post her name, as I do not want to have anyone to watch them and give these pedophiles any credit. It’s bad enough that AI is used to create fake music videos and try to pass them off as real bands performing, but this is stooping way too low.
All that I request is that if you see one of these videos, please report it to YouTube. I am sure that there are a number of young female musicians having their reputations ruined by these criminals and getting away with it. It is wrong, hurtful, and should be punishable.
I am currently working on another guitar build. This one is a Telecaster style, and the body required a lot more preparation sanding. For color, I followed an idea that I saw on YouTube of diluting acrylic paint 50/50 with water and wiping it on. I chose a light green, and it seemed to soak into the wood in about 95% of the body, even after three coats. It looks better than the distressed look from the Fesley Strat I did earlier (https://luegra.design.blog/2025/07/06/the-fesley-guitar-is-finished/), but not as complete as I hoped. I also should have used a grain filler to bring out the grain better before staining.
I plan to keep it like this, and start with the multiple coats of Tru-Oil over the next few weeks. Due to the strange hours of my present job, and summer being busy with lawn and house maintenance, this one will take a lot more time to finish.
Speaking of Fesley, I recently learned that the company has gone out of business, with no notice online. Some talk in chat groups seem to think that this may be due to the ongoing lawsuits that Fender is issuing to various guitar companies for producing Stratocaster copy guitars. Ironically, the company in China that was producing parts for the Fesley guitars was also working for Fender, producing components for the Squier brand.
This is disappointing news to be sure. Of all of the kits I have built or plan to, the Fesley one was the best. The instruction manual provided was extremely thorough, and both the body and neck were finished with a very light coat, so that you could either sand it off and use your own finish, or actually build the guitar as-is and have a finished guitar. The Fesley kit was set up for the true beginner to learn about guitar building and lutherie, and I was hoping to either get another kit from them soon or recommend them to anyone interested in building one.
I wasn’t sure if last year’s Charlotte Bluegrass Festival could be topped by having Billy Strings perform, but Wes Pettinger (promoter and organizer) sure did it this year!
The 2026 Charlotte Bluegrass Festival is one for the books. It was amazing all three days, but especially on Friday and Saturday. Let’s cover it some from my perspective:
Vendors – I swore last year that I was not going to eat any of the food sold there, if it meant that I pack a bunch of granola bars in my backpack (which I did). However, dopey me had a craving for french fries one day. For $8.00 I got a Solo cup of fries that must have been cooked in oil old enough to come from King Tut’s tomb! I have NEVER tasted such bad french fries. Never again! I do have to say that the ice cream vendor was decent (you can’t go wrong with ice cream), and I did start to get addicted to the cinnamon roasted almonds. But no fried foods from the vendors ever again!
Friends – along with the usual crew from the Southeast Michigan Bluegrass Music Association, I was able to befriend a few new people. The first was a guy named Stevie (his father named him after Stevie Ray Vaughan). A big, bald loveable man who loves to cook, he was handing out sandwiches to anyone that was interested. As we sat watching bands during Friday and Saturday, he was asking me questions about bluegrass music and the bands/artists that perform. The highlight of the time hanging out with him was on Saturday night, for the 50/50 drawing, he tells me that he should buy some tickets, sonce his dad says he is a good luck charm. Sure enough, the guy won $1,100!. He did join SEMBMA, and plans to attend out annual picnic/pot luck event in August (already telling me the food he’ll bring).
Another new friend is Kaitlyn. She recently moved to Michigan from Wisconsin, and was only able to attend the Saturday evening shows due to work and school. She was dancing with an old guy (not me!) who dances with any gal that will let him, and was actually enjoying herself. We got to talking, and she didn’t have many friends or contacts in Michigan to see other bluegrass events, so I told her to stay in touch with me and I would let her know what’s going on in the area.
David Mayfield Parade – What can I say about this band that I haven’t said already? There is not another band out there (bluegrass or otherwise) that can generate that much energy on stage and geteven the lamest crowd motivated. I absolutely love these guys, they are truly one of the best out there! Unfortunately, they were only playing the festival on Thursday, so hopefully next year they will do two or all three days.
Dan Tyminski – Dan has been promoting his solo stuff for the past few years since he left Alison Krauss & Union Station. While his more recent solo material leans more toward the Americana format, he was smart enough Thursday night to know his audience. Almost all of his set was songs from his first solo project, his time with AKUS or the Lonesome River Band, and a few old bluegrass standards for good measure. He looked a lot thinner than his days with AKUS, so hopefully it is due to dieting and exercise (like myself).
Del McCoury/Larry Sparks/Billy Strings – I’ve lumped them together due to the amazing Friday and Saturday that was created. I swear, Billy must have a GPS tether on his butt, as once the rumor spread that he would be at the festival on Friday, the grounds filled with Billy Goats! Now, even if Billy didn’t show up, both sets by Del and Larry would have been extraordinary, as they are both true entertainers and legends in the bluegrass community. However, Billy’s surprise appearance on both evenings set the festival ablaze to say the least.
The Travelin’ McCourys (the Del McCoury Band without Del, and guitarist Cody Kilby added as a member) did two sets. Sons Rob and Ronnie McCoury have been doing the bluegrass circuit since they were teens, and this configuration allows them to perform material a bit more progressive than what they would be doing with their father. The afternoon set saw Billy come on to perform a few numbers with the band, which by that time there was no breathing room in front of the stage due to the Billy Goats (I can still smell the patchouli and weed two days latern and I am still gagging from it).
Del’s set was incredible to say the least. At 87 years old, he still kicks it out with an amazing tenor voice and puts bluegrassers less than half of his age to shame. Dell did only one set, and when Billy joined him, Billy brought his father on stage to play guitar as well. Those of us who were there last year remember that Billy’s mother died the night that Billy headlined the festival, and Wes would later dedicated this year’s festival to her memory.
Larry Sparks goes beyond legendary. From the time he played with the Stanley Brothers to today, his down-home voice and trademark guitar sound are an absolute treasure. Surprisingly, there were not as many Billy Goats there on Saturday, so when Billy came on stage with Larry to perform the old Stanley Brothers’ song “Lonesome River,” the front of the stage had more of the die-hard traditional bluegrass fans standing. One can definitely see the gratitude in Billy’s eyes and on his face. Like a kid in a candy store, he is totally enjoying and appreciating the fact that he is able to perform on stage with his bluegrass heroes. I was also amazed that the Billy Goats that were there knew a lot about Larry, as they were shouting out requests of his songs.
Of course, I had to bug my buddy Ken all weekend on what was happening by sending him texts and photos. Every year I tell him the dates for the festival months in advance, and every year he misses it. I told him today the next year’s dates (a whole year away), and he says that he is inking it in.
Yes, June 24-26 are already planned for me, even though I don’t have a clue as to what bands are performing. Next year’s festival will also include a Kids Academy set up by SEMBMA for children to learn more about bluegrass and learning to play instruments. At this point, I’m not sure that I’ll be able to assist in that, but I will be at the the main three days. I really do not know how this year can be topped.
This past week, Fender officially released the limited edition James Jamerson 1962 Precision Bass (https://www.fender.com/products/james-jamerson-1962-precision-bass). At a cost of $3,000.00 retail, it is definitely more than the standard Precision bass available. However, the reasoning behind issuing this tribute instrument seems totally worthwhile.
Every bassist in the rock, jazz, blues, and R&B genres today is in some way influenced by Jamerson. He is often considered the greatest bass player in modern pop music history. Born in South Carolina, he move with his family to Detroit at a young age. He learned to play upright bass while in high school, and turned down a college music scholarship in order to play in the jazz clubs around town.
In 1959, he began to get work at Berry Gordy’s Hitsville USA studio, the home of Motown Records. He became the main bass player for what became known as the Funk Brothers, a group of musicians that created the “Motown Sound” on hundreds of recordings in the 1960s and early 1970s. The list of his work is earth shaking: “My Girl” by the Temptations, “You Can’t Hurry Love” by the Supremes, “Dancing in the Streets” by Martha and the Vandellas, “Bernadette” by the Four Tops, “For Once in My Life” by Stevie Wonder, and “Going to a Go-Go” by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles just to name a few.
Because Gordy felt that the Funk Brothers were merely employees of Motown, the members never received any recognition with their work. Their names never appeared on any liner notes until 1971, when Marvin Gaye listed them on his What’s Going On album. While recording the title track, Gaye would not proceed until Jamerson was located to lay down the bass track. When found, Jamerson was highly intoxicated, and was unable to stand upright. He recorded the legendary bass lines while lying on his back.
When Motown Records moved to Los Angeles in 1972, Jamerson made the move as well, but found that LA studios had a different attitude than what he experienced in Detroit. They required exact reading of charts, and a more bright sound from the bass guitar using roundwound strings (Jamerson had always used flatwound strings, similar to what was used on upright basses). While he did appear on some disco hits of the era, he slowly lost access to studio jobs by the 1980s. In 1983, Jamerson died of cirrhosis due to complications from alchoholism.
Largely forgotten immediately after his death, a book in 1989 entitled Standing in the Shadows of Motown did an extensive biography on Jamerson, including interviews with many rock and jazz bassists. The 2002 documentary of the same name highlighted his work along with the other Funk Brothers. Today, the number of bassists that name Jamerson as an influence is endless: Paul McCartney, John Entwistle, John Paul Jones, Geddy Lee, Bootsy Collins, Flea, Stanley Clarke and Sting just to name a few. Jamerson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and the Funk Brothers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013.
Back to the bass guitar, this is a recreation of the 1962 Precision bass that Jamerson used during most of his career. It was his third Precision model (the previous two were stolen), and he used a Fender Bass V and a Hagstrom eight-string bass on occasion. This bass comes with a rosewood fretboard, a three-tone sunburst body, chrome covers for the pickup and bridge, and a finger rest (guitarists playing the bass in the early days often used the thumb for plucking the strings). It is strung with flatwound strings, which give off a much more hollow sound closer to an upright bass. Jamerson was known to never change his strings unless they broke, so they may have remained on the bass for years. He claimed that the dirty strings gave the sound its “funk.”
While this bass guitar may get the player closed to the “Motown Sound,” one needs to remember that the bass is only half of the sound. In the studio, Jamerson’s bass was plugged directly into the mixing board. Strangely, many of the guitars were as well, and the monitoring for all of these instruments was done through a large speaker, which some of it bled back into the drum and other microphones while recording. When he did use an amplifier, it was usually an Ampeg B-15 Portaflex tube amp/speaker combo (one of the absolute best bass amps ever made!), or a Kustom stack.
If I had $3,000 to spare, would I snag this bass? Absolutely! Not only due to the sound that the early Precision basses gave off, but to appreciate the work that Jamerson gave to modern pop music. I recommend anyone to watch the 2002 documentary on the Funk Brothers, and if in Detroit, to visit the Motown Museum to see the “Snake Pit,” the recording studio that so many hits from the 1960s were recorded at. Jamerson deserves so much more recognition in the music industry than what he has received, but this Precision bass helps.
Next weekend I will be at the Charlotte Bluegrass Festival, so the blog may be late.
I will be heading to the Charlotte Bluegrass Festival in a few weeks, and this time, I plan to do some jamming after the shows. Besides getting a good supply of energy drinks so I can stay up past my normal bedtime, there are a few other things that I am either taking or preparing for.
Before packing, I need to check to make sure the guitar is ready as well. I will most likely be taking the Martin D-28 “Hazel” with me, as my Cirrus acoustic is at the Cirrus Guitar shop getting a modification. At the last jam session there this past Thursday, I asked Mike Franks to install the 1946 penny into the back of the headstock (https://luegra.design.blog/2026/04/19/the-1946-penny/). I haven’t picked it up in a while, so the strings may need changing, and I will want to stretch them out a bit before the jamming weekend.
A few other things that I will be taking along:
An extra set (or two) of strings. It is insurance just in case I do break a string, as well as being neighborly and offering a replacement to someone else that breaks one.
A fake book. Since I have been writing my own material over the past few years, I have slacked off on knowing many of the bluegrass standards by heart. Until the Charlotte weekend comes, I plan to spend every available minute thumbing through my fake books and re-familiarizing myself with them. I blogged about fake books a while back (https://luegra.design.blog/2020/07/17/a-brief-look-at-bluegrass-fake-books/), and while I don’t plan on playing just old bluegrass standards, It is nice to know that I have references.
Tool kit. I am not sure if I mentioned this item before in a previous blog, but I have been finding that if I go to a jam session or even a bluegrass show, I take along one of these. It is a case about the size of a ladies wallet, and consists of tools that one may need in emergency repair situations, such as string winder, string cutter, truss rod hex key, screwdriver, and other maintenance items. You can get one of these for about $20.00 through wish.com or Temu. They are not the most quality tools, but they work in that emergency. I usually throw in additional items in my kit, including the Roadie Rench-like multi-tool (available from D-Addario) and a feeler gauge.
Recording device. It is possible to record with my phone, but I have a pocket digital recorder used by some people to record notes instead of writing them down on a small pad or sticky note. I temporarily lost my good one, so I picked up another one, then found my original buried under some books. These recorders are small, about the size of a large pack of gum, and are very easy to use. The second one I have charges via USB for power, and both have proven to be worth keeping around at all times to record a lyric thought or a guitar riff for later use. I purchased my second one from Temu for less than $15.00, so I recommend snagging one.
Calling cards. You never know who you will be talking to at one of these bluegrass festivals. I hand these out a lot over the weekend, most notably to artists when I am trying to push some of my songs, but also other fans and players for future jamming and correspondence.
This year’s festival looks fantastic as far as a lineup. Along with my favorite band the David Mayfield Parade, the legendary Del McCoury is scheduled to perform, along with the Travelin’ McCourys, Larry Sparks, and the Dan Tyminski Band. Considering the Billy Strings played last year, this festival is proving to be a go-to for national bluegrass acts of A-list stature. I am so looking forward to these three days.
So I found another “bargain” on ShopGoodwill.com. This time, it was a Daisy Rock Debutante guitar. I had done an interview with the owner of Daisy Rock, Tish Ciravolo, years back for an online music magazine, and I know that Daisy Rock puts out quality guitars and basses geared toward the beginning young girl player.
Ciravolo founded Daisy Rock back in 2000, inspired by her daughter’s interest in music, and the marketing at that time in the musical instrument industry tended to be geared toward young males. Her designs for electric guitars and basses tended to have a more visual appeal to girls, with bodies shaped like hearts, flowers and stars. What set these guitars apart from other beginner instruments was that quality went into the product. Hardware was much more durable and professional in feel.
Through the years, Daisy Rock’s lineup changed, moving more toward traditional body styles like Les Pauls and Stratocasters. However, this past year, the lineup was narrowed down to one design, bringing back the heart-shaped “Heartbreaker” guitars and basses. Ciravolos has won many awards in the music industry for her innovations and dedication to the music industry.
The Debutante models, like the one I snagged, were mostly Les Paul inspired, being a single cutaway and a hard (non vibrato) tailpiece. This particular example has only one humbucker pickup in the bridge position, and a single volume control. Cost may have been a factor, but for a beginning guitarist, this may be smart, with less knobs to figure out and to have the player concentrate more on actual practice.
A feature prevalent on most Daisy Rock guitars, including this Debutante, is the extremely short scale of the fretboard/string length. At 22 ½ inches, it is more than two inches shorter than a typical Gibson scale. This is set up perfectly for the pre-teen and early teen player to get started without getting frustrated about stretching out the fingers to form a chord.
As stated before, the hardware is quality, maybe TOO good. The hardtail bridge/tailpiece can be found on many Strats and similar guitars not set up for a vibrato tailpiece. The problem here is that to string this tailpiece, one needs to thread the string end through a hole on the back, then attempt to worm it under the saddle. These saddles were designed for common vibrato tailpieces, where the string is threaded from the rear of the guitar body through the vibrato’s balancing weight, then directly up to where it easily goes through the bottom of the saddle. As I was changing the strings, I was having difficulty getting the strings through this design, basically having to bend the string end tip slightly and twisting it around until it caught into the bottom of the saddle. I hope that a young person does not get frustrated enough to quit playing because of this.
When the guitar arrived, there was not a lot that needed to be done to get it back into playing condition. I cleaned up the residue on the body and back of the neck, re-installed the output jack on the plate, changed the strings and set up the neck relief/intonation. Plugging it into a small amp, this guitar has a decent clean sound, and the humbucker gives off some good distortion tone when run though some form of overdrive. Overall, the guitar is impressive as a starter.
I don’t intend to keep it, but hope to pass it on to some youngster interested in learning the guitar. I didn’t get a case or gig bag with it, just the guitar. I’ll probably throw in a cord and strap along with some picks to sell it off. This is a great starter electric guitar for small hands.
Apologies for the delay with this blog, I drove across the state to see one of my favorite bluegrass guitarists, Rebecca Frazier (https://luegra.design.blog/2023/05/27/the-amazing-rebecca-frazier/), at a festival in Niles, Michigan. It was wonderful to see her, and she was just as happy to see me after so many years of just emailing and messaging each other, And her band loved the chrusciki (Polish cookies known as “angel wings”) that I brought.
If you follow any music business news, you know that the past few weeks have been filled with talk of Fender and its lawsuit against a number of other guitar manufacturers regarding the making of Stratocaster style guitars. It began with Fender presenting cease-and-desist orders to other companies, from larger ones such as PRS and Ibanez, to smaller boutique operations such as LsL.
Many observers are assuming that this lawsuit comes from an earlier success that Fender received in Germany against Yiwu Philharmonic Musical Instrument Co., based out of China. In a court in Dusseldorf, the decision sided with Fender that Yiwu must discontinue selling Strat style guitars in the European Union countries. It didn’t help that Yiwu failed to send attorneys to the court in the first place.
So Fender received a ruling that qualified the Strat as a copyrighted form of art which no other company could sell similar guitars. However, this was a German court. So Fender decided to take action here in the US, a much larger guitar market for electric guitars. The initial letter from the Bird & Bird Law Firm sent to other guitar manufacturers stated “Subject of this letter is your offer of products which infringe the copyright of our client’s Fender Stratocaster guitar. We insist that you immediately stop manufacturing, selling, marketing, or producing such infringing products.” The letter also demands that companies destroy current stock and secure sold guitars to destroy as well.
When guitar podcasters and music journalists got wind of this, the internet blew up. Note that Fender received a patent on the Stratocaster back in 1953, and started mass producing them the next year. For a product that has been around for over 70 years, it seems strange that Fender decided to take action now.
Immediate reaction from the defendants has been mixed. Granted, Fender has the cash to afford the best legal representation. Companies like Ibanez and PRS also have the money, so they seem willing to put up a fight. However, LsL admits that it cannot financially fight Fender. Fans of the company set up a GoFundMe page to help LsL with attorney fees.
Since the first news, any information regarding continues legal work and negotiations seems to be hush-hush. Very little is being leaked out by Fender as well as the defending guitar manufacturers. Moreover, these little bits come out every day, so opinions and new podcasts and vlogs come out just as fast as the news arrives. Most recently, Fender has revised its lawsuits, stating that it was not interested in all two-horned body guitars, and those companies that replicate the Strat will be removed from the lawsuit if they do modifications to their models that show a distinct difference to the Strat.
Nost people following this lawsuit are assuming that Fender is specifically going after PRS. John Mayer, who was a Stratocaster through most of his career, recently endorsed PRS and its Silver Sky model. Other than the differing headstocks, the Stratocaster and the Silver Sky are basically the same guitar, body shape and electronics.
(These are just a few of the many YouTube vlogs dealing with the lawsuit)
Perhaps Fender is miffed that Mayer went to PRS instead of staying with it. Looking at guitar fans postings on the internet, most believe that Fender is the bad guy, some even suggesting a boycott from future Fender product purchases. As stated before, every waking day seems to bring another update to the lawsuit. I plan to follow it as a curiosity rather than a main concern. However, whatever happens in the court will definitely have an effect on the future of not onlyt musical instrument manufacturing, but product manufacturing in general.
I had another topic all set for this week’s blog, but something happened yesterday that affected me, so that I will save that one for next week.
Yesterday morning, a song from the 80s came into my mind that I loved. “Every Word Means No” by Let’s Active. A great new-wave pop gem written by band leader Mitch Easter (who also produced R.E.M.’s first two albums). Originally a three-piece band, it added a second guitarist for touring. Her name was Lynn Blakey. She was from the same music scene as the band, which was the Athens, GA/Raleigh, NC area.
I had met Lynn at an Americana Music Association conference back around 2006 (more on that later). During her touring with Let’s Active, the band did a show in San Francisco with The Replacements. Lynn was the muse that inspired Paul Westerberg to write one of the greatest songs of the 80s, “Left of the Dial” (a song that I plan to include in my Perfect Song blogs).
After playing in local bands for a few years, she formed a wonderful folk/Americana project called Tres Chicas with fiddler Caitlin Cary (Whiskeytown) and Tonya Lamm (Hazeldine). The band released two albums on Yep Roc, and showcased at the AMA in 2006. That is where our paths crossed.
The bar was 12th and Porter in Nashville. It was one of about five or six that were showcasing bands during the AMA conference weekend, so crowds were spread out among them. Tres Chicas was the final band that night, and as showcases go, performances run late, so the band did not go on until after 1:00 am. During the performance, a guitar string broke on Lynn’s guitar (or maybe it was Tonya’s?). Anyway, I ran up and volunteered to change it (I have changing strings fast down to a skill. I was more popular on the Detroit music scene back in the late 80s/early 90s as a roadie than I was as a musician).
After the show, Lynn came up to me and thanked me for the help. We started talking, and our conversation went long and everywhere. It was literally like talking to your soul mate. She stole my heart (as she probably stole Westerberg’s 20 years earlier). As we were closing up the bar, we exchanged email addresses, and she kissed me. I will remember that moment like it was yesterday. We emailed back and forth a few times, then I lost touch with her. I guess this was about the time she met her future husband, German musician Ecki Heins.
Fast forward to yesterday, I decided to Google her to see what she was up to. To my shock, I learned that she passed away on February 6th of metastatic cancer.
My heart dropped to the floor. I read through some of the articles about her life and death, and all said the same thing – that she was a beautiful human being. That I can vouch for. Her wonderful presence on stage continued with her off stage and in her personal life. I learned from reading that she was first diagnosed with cancer in 2022, went into remission, but it recently came back. During her later years, she served as cantor and choir leader at her local Catholic church. She also returned to college to get a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies.
She passed away with Ecki by her side (he is also dealing with a cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy treatments). During the weekend of May 29-30, artists that she has worked with over the years, including members of Tres Chicas and Let’s Active, as well as Alejandro Escovedo and Chris Stamey, will be performing at a tribute concert.
Lynn, always know that the hour spent with you in Nashville was one of the most precious that I have ever experienced, and will remain with me forever. You were truly a gift to not only the music scene, but to mankind as well. You will always own a piece of my heart.
Every few days, I go to the Goodwill auction website (www.shopgoodwill.com) to see what music equipment I may be lucky to pick up (I rarely go to an actual Goodwill store, as there never seems to be anything that interests me). The site has a separate category for musical instruments, with sub-categories for guitars/basses, stringed instruments, percussion, woodwinds, brass, electronic, and amplifiers/effects. As for the guitar section, most of the items are garbage, but there are a few items that come across that are worth a second look.
Of those few items, some are actually quality instruments. I have seen many Fender, Gibson, Guild and other name brands on the site. However, most of these are being scouted by dealers, and the bids are much higher than I want to compete with. Occasionally, I am able to snag a decent buy. Such might be the case with my recent purchase of a Fender Squier Strat. With a quality Fender gigbag, shipping and handling, the total was about $80.00. NOTE: Be sure to check the shipping cost before you bid on anything. This is a national auction site, so if you are on the east coast, and the item is from a Goodwill store in California, the shipping cost may be more than the item itself! Also note that sales tax is not included until after you purchase, so be sure to mentally calculate that. Finally, note that many items will not be shipped and must be picked up locally.
So when the Strat arrived, there was a bit more work to be done on it than the Goodwill photos showed and were not in the description. I knew that I would have to get a replacement whammy bar and knobs, but I did not see that the output jack was broken and needed replacement. Also, there are some major dings that bits of the wood are chipped off. Finally, the owner took a Sharpie pen to it. Some of the writing is just names of bands, others look like autographs. Not sure who the signers are, but a good cleaning with nail polish remover or Goo Gone should clean up that stuff.
I have already ordered replacement knobs, whammy bar, and output jack for those areas. As for the wood divots, fortunately, those areas are along the side where the sunburst finish is black. I can patch that area and do some sanding/finishing without having to re-finish the entire body. Parts and finishing materials, the cost will probably be about $20.00 total. Time-wise, it will take me a while, as my new job still has me doing some overtime until more people are hired in. I look at this as more of a passion than trying to make money, so if and when I sell this, I will probably break even.
Again, if you decide to hit the Goodwill auction site, bid carefully. You may get a bargain out of it!
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.
Luegra 