Categories
Bluegrass Music

Charlotte Bluegrass Music Festival 2024

A day late, but I just got back from the Charlotte Bluegrass Music Festival. This year, I went the whole three days, and I am glad that I did.

While not much is different from last year’s festival (https://luegra.design.blog/2023/06/25/charlotte-bluegrass-festival-2023/), there were a few high points. Returning acts included Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Williamson Branch, and one of my all-time favorite bands, the David Mayfield Parade. I cannot say enough great things about Mayfield and his band. Amazing musicians, fantastic songs, and the humor that Mayfield spills out between songs, as well as when he takes a guitar solo, is beyond energetic. They were such a big hit last year that they were booked for two days this year. That was four sets that saw only one or two songs repeated due to audience requests. I implore you to check them out on YouTube and follow them however you can. They have a new album coming out later this year, produced by Tim O’Brien. Their version of the classic instrumental “El Cumbanchuro” will leave you breathless!

There were a few stalwart bands that made a return after a few years away. Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers did two good sets, and are one of those bands that never disappoints. The same goes for The Grascals. Founding member Jamie Johnson has returned after eight years away, and he is honest to tell his audiences that it was due to some drinking, family, and other personal problems that he and The Lord were able to sort out. That takes a lot to feel comfortable emough to tell thousands of strangers, but bluegrass audiences are extremely supportive of performers in any situation.

One of my personal highlights was seeing Dale Ann Bradley. She has one of the most perfect voices in bluegrass, and can make any song from a slow ballad to a moving rocker sound soulful. On top of that, she is an absolute sweetheart to her fans. I haven’t talked to her in over 10 years, but she remembered that festival where we last met as well as we talked about some mutual friends. And absolute sweet lady!

I was also happy to see David Peterson & 1946 perform two sets. Long before Jerry Douglas formed The Earls of Leicester to pay tribute to the early Flatt & Scruggs days, Peterson was performing old Bill Monroe, F&S, and Jimmy Martin tunes nuance for nuance, and appearing on stage dressed for the part. Watching the 1946 band is literally like watching and listening to a bluegrass tent show from that period, as they sing and play around a single microphone and choreograph steps to control the sound.

Two bands that performed, which I have not seen before but caught my attention. The first was Highway North, a quartet of young pickers from North Ontario, Canada that made their first appearance at the festival. While the vocals were a bit laid back, the instrumental prowess on guitar and mandolin was phenomenal. Another great act was Dalton Harper. He is a singer/songwriter and a fantastic guitar picker as well. His style reminded me of Josh Williams (as it turned out, they are good friends and have performed together on occasion). I was truly impressed with his performances. I asked if he was going to be participating in the scheduled guitar workshop, and he told me that he wasn’t aware of the workshop. Sure enough, he got roped into leading the workshop the next day, and was joined by Taylor LaBreche and Jake Lavzon of Highways North for some great discussion and even better three-guitar jamming.

I helped out on the Southeast Michigan Bluegrass Music Association’s “Petting Zoo” Saturday morning. This involved having a number of acoustic instruments laid out for kids to try out to see if they would be interested in playing one at home, then talking to parents about cost and lessons. I had one young girl that was totally interested in the dobro. Fortunately, her parents are also hobbyist musicians, and encourage the daughter to pursue music as an interest. My big gripe is that a few adults show up and start jamming in the area so that kids cannot hear what they are doing, and can be overpowering when showing the kids some techniques that the kids cannot comprehend yet. Let the kids have fun first!

I stayed away from the food vendors for the most part, as the prices are way too high, and so is the grease! And of course, due to having to take insulin shots, I stayed in a nearby motel instead of camping. All in all, I will be heading back next year. Since I am not able to hit many multi-day festivals over the year, this one has a special place in my schedule.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bass Guitar Bluegrass Music Lutherie

Leo Jaymz Guitar Kit/Amazon Scam/Larry Sparks

So even though I haven’t even started on the two guitar kits I already have, I purchased a third kit. This kit comes from Leo Jaymz, and is pretty similar to the Fesley kit I purchased a few weeks ago (https://luegra.design.blog/2024/05/19/inexpensive-guitar-kits/).

The big difference with the Leo Jaymz kit is the Strat-style body. They have routed it for the customizer, with spaces for humbucker pickups in the neck and bridge positions. The pickguard is still set up for three single coils, and wiring has connectors, so no soldering is needed. The instruction manual has no text, only pictures showing how to install each component. It really could not get any easier, I guess.

I had to take a second look at the body, though. As pretty much with all electric guitar bodies for this low price, it consists of poplar pieces glued together, then cut with a computer-controlled router. The grain of all of the pieces should be running length-wise from bridge to horns. However, this particular body seems to have a slight angle to the grain. It’s not drastic, but is noticeable to someone looking a little closer.

I still want to stain one of these guitars a unique transparent color, so I have to look all three bodies over. As stated previously, the Fesley body is ready for finishing, while the Ktaxon Tele needs a lot of fine sanding before any finish work. This Leo Jaymz body is sort of in between the two as far as surface texture. It is somewhat smooth, but could probably use a buffing with some super-fine steel wool to get it ready.

I am still interested in looking at and reviewing some bass guitars for young students to work with. I did order through eBay a really short-scale (25.5-inch) mini bass put out by Glarry. I plan on reviewing it here, and possibly on my YouTube channel, once it comes in. I was going to purchase the Ktaxon Fender Bronco copy bass that I briefly discussed in a blog three weeks ago (https://luegra.design.blog/2024/05/25/ktaxon-the-latest-cheap-guitar-brand/). I had recently won a gift card for Amazon, and when I went to the Amazon website, I saw that the bass had a price cut from $59.99 to $49.99. A nice incentive to purchase, so I clicked on the order. Well, shipping for the sale-price bass was $29.99, while shipping for the regular-price bass was $19.99, so there was no difference in the final cost. I wrote to Amazon about this, but have not heard back from them. Hopefully, no one fell for this hidden scam.

Finally, this past Thursday I went to see a bluegrass legend perform at the Kentuckians of Michigan hall in Romulus, MI. Larry Sparks, who has been performing for over 61 years as a solo artist, as well as with the Stanley Brothers, Ralph Stanley, and the Lonesome Ramblers, has had to cancel a few previous performances due to health concerns. I figured that I better go to this show, even though it was on a weeknight, because The Man may stop touring altogether. I was even able to talk by bluegrass buddy Ken to go, as he keeps missing local bluegrass shows for numerous reasons.

Larry was just doing a few shows, no festivals booked, with a small combo. No banjo player at this show, so we actually got to hear his smooth vocals and distinct guitar playing a lot better. He is definitely old school, playing a three-minute song, then bantering for 10 minutes more. However, he is a legend, and you listen to every word he has to say because he has great stories to tell and is somewhat of a rural philosopher. I am so glad that I got to see Larry perform, and it was worth going to work Friday morning on about four hours sleep.

Next week’s blog will probably be a bit late, as I will be at the Charlotte (MI) Bluegrass Festival all weekend.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bass Guitar Music Instruction

Bad Recommendations for Beginner Bassists

I read an online article this week posted by Ultimate Guitar online entitled “Best Songs for Beginner Bass Players” (https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/lessons/best_songs_for_beginner_bass_players.html). The article listed a dozen or so rock songs that had bass lines that were familiar to most listeners. The problem that I had with the article was that only a handful of the songs listed could qualify for practical to learn for beginning bass players.

I have been playing bass guitar for over 40 years, and have taught bass playing for probably a total of 10 years. I will be the first to admit that I am no Jaco Pastorius, but I can definitely hold my own in almost any situation, save jazz or classical. As I looked down the list provided in the article, I found myself shaking my head, concluding that the person who wrote the article, david89zenum, had no real clue on what is important to a beginner as well as the right material with which to start off.

The first song listed was “La Grange” by ZZ Top. As I started reading the article, I pretty much agreed with that selection, as it is a pretty basic blues-rock groove, with the bass following a simple I-minor III-IV note progression. After that listing, it became confusing at best. There were a few bands/songs with which I was not familiar, and there were a few choices that I would agree with:

“Blitzkreig Bop” – The Ramones
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” – Nirvana
“Bad Moon Rising” – Creedence Clearwater Revival

After that, I would have to disagree with a lot of the choices. Now, there were some artists listed that seem to be here to try and be politically correct, such as Taylor Swift and Salt-N-Pepa. I am not even familiar with the songs from those artists, so I could not tell you what the bass lines entail. However, if they have any similarities to the songs I will discuss in the following paragraphs, this article is way off the mark.

“Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson – The bass line on this hit is fantastic to say the least, but it is also very complex for a beginner. It requires a lot of movement of the fretting fingers, even though the hand stays relatively in the same area of the neck. Give it a few months.

“Phone Booth” by Robert Cray – Cray is a great blues guitarist that likes to push the boundaries of the classic blues progression. Even the article author admits that this song is not your typical I-IV-V blues progression. So why teach it instead of having the student perfect the standard progression first? Note that there was no standard blues song listed in the article.

“Under Pressure” by Queen – Like “Billie Jean,” it is another song with a bass riff that needs some time and strength in both hands to perfect.

“Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes – Same thing. A great bass line (although this was actually recorded with a guitar and an octave divider pedal), but it has some quirky movement to it. This means that the “beginner” bass player needs to work hard on timing as much as getting the right notes.

“I Got You (I Feel Good)” by James Brown – This is one of those classic R&B songs that had a fantastic bass groove. The thing is, the player never played the exact line twice. There were very slight changes with each passing of the bass lines in each verse. Definitely not a beginner song.

“Sunshine of Your Love” by Cream – Jack Bruce laid down some fantastic bass lines in Cream, as it was almost required when the band is really only a trio. The bass line on this song is immediately recognizable, but like many others already listed, it requires a lot of fretting hand/finger movement.

I was surprised that the article listed no songs by classic rock bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, or The Animals, all who have songs with memorable bass lines. Heck, Chas Chandler of The Animals laid down some amazing bass work on classic rock songs such as “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” It’s My Life,” and “Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” However, I would never recommend any of those songs to a beginner. Moreover, if the author is going to list James Brown, then why not list something from Motown? James Jamerson was THEEE bass player, and while most of his work is pretty busy on the fretboard (and remember, all of that speed plucking on the strings was done with only one finger), he did lay down some easy lines from which to learn.

Here is my list of a few songs for an actual beginner bass player to work on in order to learn the basics as well as being an integral part of a band. The thing is that the bass player should not only learn the notes, but also timing, working with the drummer, and know what fits well in the song (NOTE: Some of the early songs were recorded with a standup bass, so the recordings do not have great bass response):

“Maybellene” – Chuck Berry
“Ain’t That a Shame” – Fats Domino
“Get Rhythm” – Johnny Cash
“My Girl” – The Temptations (James Jamerson)
“Can’t Buy Me Love” – The Beatles
“Not Fade Away” – The Rolling Stones
“You Really Got Me” – The Kinks
“Can’t Explain” – The Who
“Rock and Roll” – Led Zeppelin
ANYTHING from the Rockpile album Seconds of Pleasure (Nick Lowe on bass)

With anything from Paul McCartney (The Beatles), Bill Wyman (The Rolling Stones), and John Entwistle (The Who), you can hear how their bass playing improved from the early band recordings through the 1960s.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Musical Instruments

Whatever Happened to the Roadie Rench?

I have had this gig-saving tool for probably three decades now. I’ve misplaced it a few times, but have always recovered it somehow. When I have had it available, it always went with me to any gig that I was playing, and I still take it when I go to bluegrass shows, just in case a performer needs to use it. I mentioned it in a blog back about two years ago (https://luegra.design.blog/2022/02/19/musicians-gifts-from-non-musicians/).

The Roadie Rench was extremely popular back in the 1980s and 90s. It was made by a company called Blackstar out of San Dimas, California. It is situated like a Swiss Army knife, and holds a phillips screwdriver, a straight-slot screwdriver, a string cutter, and hex keys for 1.5mm, 2.5mm, 3mm, 0.050″, 5/64″, 3/32″, and 5/32″. From my years of experience with this tool, it has saved the day in many situations.

It is NOT the everything tool. Moreover, it is not what a luthier would have at his shop arsenal. As the name implies, it is meant for gig and jam session emergency repairs. It has its faults, to be sure. It does not have a wrench for tightening either tuning gear, pot, or jack nuts. Of comments that I have seen, some have complained that it does not have a nut driver for Gibson necks. My only REAL personal complaint is that the string cutter is not great. It will cut wound strings on guitars, but has a tough time cutting both plain strings and heavier bass guitar strings.

With that said, for anyone with Fender guitars or guitars with the Floyd Rose-style tremolo systems, it does the quick fixes when needed. This tool was meant for the guitarist to keep in his/her pocket or gig bag instead of lugging around a bunch of tools that may never get used anyway. To be honest, one should have a good set of guitar repair and maintenance tools at home, and should check out all of the equipment for functionality before leaving the house to a gig.

Since the Roadie Rench came out, there have been a number of copycats manufactured by other companies such as Jim Dunlop, D’Addario and GrooveTech. These multi-tools have even improved on the original Roadie Rench by including said nut wrench and Gibson nut driver. Some even include a small ruler (I assume for measuring string height). But it was the Roadie Rench that started it all!

Back in April, as I was using the Roadie Rench at the SEMBMA Youth Scholarship Showcase on some instruments in the organization’s “petting zoo” (https://luegra.design.blog/2024/04/26/sembma-youth-scholarship-showcase-afterword/), I got to thinking that I don’t see the tool advertised much any more. I decided to do some Google searches, but came up nearly empty. An actual search on “Roadie Rench” pulls up adverts for the other similar tools, and a few old listings on Reverb and Zzsounds that show the pre-owned RR has already been sold. A search on “Blackstar” only comes up with a guitar amplifier company out of the UK. A search on “Blackstar San Dimas California” came up with only one possible lead, a LinkedIn profile of someone who supposedly owned the company until 2007. I messaged that person, so hopefully I will get some information in the next few weeks.

If you can find a Roadie Rench used somewhere for a few bucks, I recommend buying it. If not, consider snagging one of the copycats through Sweetwater or Guitar Center. They are a worthwhile first-aid kit for string musicians at a gig. Also, consider buying a full set of screwdrivers, the proper nut driver, a few wrenches, pliers, wire cutters, and some other necessary guitar maintenance tools to keep at home for regular guitar maintenance, as well as the book Guitar Setup & Maintenance by Chad Johnson (Hal Leonard Publishing ISBN 978-1-4584-1824-1) for reference.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Musical Instruments

Ktaxon: The Latest Cheap Guitar Brand

Last week, I blogged about a guitar kit that I got from a company called Ktaxon through Amazon.com (https://luegra.design.blog/2024/05/19/inexpensive-guitar-kits/). The kit was cheap, but it also had its flaws, especially with the rough wood texture on the body and neck. I decided to do a little more research on the company.

It seems that Ktaxon is a company in China that does not specialize in any one area. They sell furniture, kitchen appliances, hardware, luggage, and toys along with musical instruments. If you go to its website (www.ktaxon.com) and click on the Musical Instrument tab, most of the items that pop up are from the Glarry line of guitars and basses. In fact, they even post the reviews of the Glarry models that also appear on the Glarry website (www.glarrymusic.com).

There are some instruments shown that are listed as Ktaxon, but do not have any logo or Ktaxon wording on the guitar headstocks. Moreover, there are also other musical instruments, such as violins, percussion, and keyboards, that are similar to the Glarry line. This information makes me assume that Ktaxon musical instruments are built at the same factory as Glarry stuff. Looking at the photos, the guitars and basses have the exact same appearance on the headstock, with only the name Glarry appearing on that brand’s equipment.

The real difference seems to be price. The Ktaxon models tend to be cheaper than Glarry in most cases, a few dollars more with other cases. I can only assume that either the Ktaxon models are Glarry rejects, or that Ktaxon got a better wholesale deal with the factory. You may remember that I wrote about the Glarry GT502 acoustic guitar back in 2020 (https://luegra.design.blog/2020/03/02/glarry-gt502-good-first-acoustic/). At the time, this guitar was priced at $45.99 including shipping. That guitar now goes for $89.99, double the price!

Ktaxon appears to be not dealing with acoustic guitars, but it is selling the same violins as Glarry. There are also guitars and basses that Ktaxon does not have on its website that are beings sold under that name on Amazon.com. They look like Glarry models, but are again missing the nameplate on the headstock. The Ktaxon guitar kit that I purchased a few weeks ago does not appear on the Ktaxon website, so I assume that Ktaxon only sells more sellable items on the website, and hocks “clearance” items on Amazon.

From reviews I have seen on YouTube, the Ktaxon basses are what is expected from a cheap bass. Not that great, but useable for the price. I have been considering purchasing a short-scale “Fender Bronco-style” bass put out by Ktaxon only sold on Amazon for $59.99 mainly to see how good it would be for the beginning young student. If I do purchase one, I will definitely post a review here and possibly on my YouTube channel.

Keeping it short, I have a lot of other stuff to do this weekend for Memorial Day.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Electric Guitars Lutherie

Inexpensive Guitar Kits

A few weeks ago, I was watching a video from one of my YouTube subscriptions called The Bald Shredder. He is one of the many guitar experts (i.e., nerds) that reviews guitars, amplifiers and effects. This particular video has him reviewing a Strat guitar kit from Fesley, available on Amazon for $89.00.

His opinion was what I figured. For the price, it is a good way for the beginning guitar builder or luthier to learn the basics. The actual finished guitar is in no way comparable to a Fender Custom or other US-manufactured Strat. He had the Amazon link for the kit in his video description, so I took the plunge and ordered one for myself. With shipping and taxes, it came out to just under $100.00.

The kit came in the mail a few days ago, and it was everything that the Bald Shredder stated. All of the parts are there, the neck and the body are both unpainted (there are painted versions of the kit available) with a clear coat on them, so they have a great smoothness to them. The neck back is smoother than a lot of other guitars that I have used. Like the Bald Shredder, I plan to keep the body in its natural clean finish. The grain is nice, nothing outstanding but not fake looking either.

The kit comes with a great manual for assembling the guitar, as the instructions are easy to follow and extremely useful photos. I haven’t started putting the guitar together yet, as I just got it a few days ago and have a lot to get to around the house before this. Maybe during a rainy day or perhaps during the winter when I am forced to stay inside.

While ordering this kit, I also came across Tele and Strat kits from Ktaxon for $59.99 each. For kicks, I decided to order the Tele kit, which after taxes and shipping came out to a little over $80.00. I found this kit on my porch yesterday (thank God there are no porch pirates in my neighborhood, and luckily I have two larger shrubs that block the view of my porch from the street), and was also what I expected for the money. The body and neck are rough sanded, so will definitely need some final sanding before I do any finishing. The pickguard/neck pickup are already mounted, so that will need to be removed for any body finishing. The instruction manual is practically useless, so fortunately I have some experience with working on electric guitars. It does have everything needed, including a cheap guitar cord and strap.

Again, I don’t plan on working on this kit for a while, and this one I do plan on putting on some finish to the body. Once I get the final sanding in, I may attempt to stain it with a unique transparent color before clear coating. I also need to check out the tuning gears for their quality, as they may need replacing. However, I don’t want to invest too much, as I don’t play electric guitar much (and have better guitars for any time that I do), and am looking at these kits for more lutherie experience than playing.

NOTE: The Fesley kit sold out a few days after I ordered mine and is currently unavailable. If interested, keep checking Amazon for re-stocking. The Ktaxon kits are still available as of this writing.

https://amzn.to/44n3McG

(Sorry, WordPress wouldn’t let me upload the Ktaxon link. Go to Amazon and search “Ktaxon Guitar Kit TL”. I’ve also seen this kit on eBay.)

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Uncategorized

Jim Mills RIP

Jim Mills, one of the best banjo players I have ever seen, passed away May 3rd of a heart attack at his home in North Carolina. He was 57 years old, a way too young age to pass away for a man who showed us so much on the five-string as well as being an expert on the history of the banjo, especially pre-war Gibson models.

Both his father and grandfather were also banjo players. His hearing of Flatt& Scruggs’ “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” cemented his interest in the instrument as well. As a youngster, he was so infatuated with Earl Scruggs that he would put a toothpick between his two front teeth to create a gap like what Scruggs had.

After performing with some regional bluegrass bands, Mills spent much of the 1980s and 1990s performing with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, recording four albums with the band. He then joined Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder around 1998, and stayed with the band until 2010. Afterwards, he spent most of his time collecting and detailing history of banjos, especially early Gibson models. Huber Banjo issued a Jim Mills signature model, which was a replica of his prized Gibson Mastertone RB-75 “Mack Crow” model.

During the 2000s, he was a studio stalwart, recording with Dolly Parton, Dan Tyminski, and Alan Bibey, as well as with Skaggs and two banjo-centric albums for Huber. In 2012, he served as banjo player for Vince Gill on a brief bluegrass tour. He also found time to record three solo albums.

His research with banjos produced a book on Gibson pre-war models in 2009 entitled Gibson Mastertone: Flathead 5-String Banjos of the 1930s and 1940s. He built a museum of sorts in his basement of vintage banjos, including a Gibson RB-4 model that was originally owned by Snuffy Jenkins. He welcomed anyone from collectors to just browsers to his home to check out the collection. He would eventually expand his collection to include vintage guitars, including pre-CBS Gibson Les Paul models.

As far as accolades, he won six IBMA Banjo Player of the Year awards, and was on six Grammy-winning albums. There wasn’t a vintage musical instrument shop in the country that he didn’t stay in contact with, and his knowledge was always called upon when a unique banjo appeared at a shop.

I was fortunate enough to get to see him play with Kentucky Thunder at The Ark in Ann Arbor back in the mid-2000s. As fast as Skaggs like to play the songs, Mills could easily keep up and well as keep his cool. Although his biggest influence admittedly was Scruggs, his picking style and speed was much more akin to J.D. Crowe. No matter how fast the fingers were going, there were never any slip-ups or wrong notes. Everything was perfect.

I recommend checking out Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky live recording Live at the Charleston Music Hall to really hear how great Mills’ picking was and how well he fit into the band situation.

Jim, you are now able to do some jamming with Earl. Rest in Peace, sir.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Mandolin Bluegrass Music

Frank Wakefield RIP

Last week, a great bluegrass mandolin player passed away. Frank Wakefield was a bluegrass character to be sure, and seems to be forgotten be most modern bluegrass musicians. Where Bill Monroe was the Elvis Presley of bluegrass, and the Stanley Brothers were the Everly Brothers of bluegrass, Frank Wakefield was the Johnny Rotten of bluegrass.

He was always pushing the boundaries of the mandolin in bluegrass, which turned off many traditionalists. He started off playing with Red Allen in the early 1950s, then moved up to Detroit to audition for Jimmy Martin. While Martin at the time did not need a mandolin player, he recommended that Wakefield contact Marvin Cobb, leader of the Chain Mountain Boys. Wakefield played with the band for a while, then joined up with the Stanley Brothers. However, Ralph Stanley and Wakefield did not get along musically, so Wakefield went back to the Chain Mountain Boys.

Wakefield’s style was boundary-pushing to say the least. The Chain Mountain Boys recorded the single “Tell Me Why My Daddy” with the B-side of the classic “New Camptown Races” for a small Detroit label, Wayside Records, that specialized in country and bluegrass. In fact, an advertisement in Billboard in 1957 is considered the first use of “bluegrass” to describe the music.

The Chain Mountain Boys disbanded in late 1957, and Wakefield continued to record for Wayside with Buster Turner. He also toured with Jimmy Martin for a time, then moved to Washington, DC to work again with Red Allen. With Allen, Wakefield would play such venues as Carnegie Hall, and he began to teach mandolin to future luminary David Grisman. He would later work with the Greenbriar Boys, and began to write classical-influenced instrumentals for the mandolin. This work would eventually get him invited to perform with the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Pops.

Wakefield would spend the 1970s recording solo work, being backed up by banjoist Don Reno and fiddler Chubby Wise. He would also tour with Jerry Garcia’s solo projects and warm up for Grateful Dead shows. His last notable recording was on the 1999 Grammy-nominated Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza, which also featured Grisman, Sam Bush, Ricky Skaggs, Ronnie McCoury, Jesse McReynolds, and Bobby Osborne.

The best description of Wakefield comes from Grisman: “He split the bluegrass mandolin atom. Some of us, obviously, will never be the same again.”

While I never got a chance to meet Wakefield or see him perform, I always had a soft spot for him in my bluegrass heart due to his time in the Detroit area when he really began to use the mandolin as a bluegrass weapon. Those early Wayside Records recordings were released in 1976 by Rounder Records called Early Days of Bluegrass, Volume 2, so if you can ever find that album, be sure to get it.

Frank, you will be missed by those who truly appreciate no0t allowing bluegrass to become stale.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music Music Instruction

SEMBMA Youth Scholarship Showcase: Afterword

Last Sunday, April 21st, the Southeastern Michigan Bluegrass Music Association held its showcase of the Youth Scholarship recipients at Woldumar Nature Center in Lansing. It was great to see the four students perform, and even better to see a great turnout for an audience. I tried once again to video the event, and while the video itself was good, the audio going into the built-in microphone was terrible. Hopefully I can get the hang of this camcorder someday.

I had mentioned this showcase a few weeks ago (https://luegra.design.blog/2024/03/09/sembma-youth-showcase-april-21st/), and was glad that it was a moderate success. SEMBMA member Marcia Bailey also brought a few instruments for interested kids to try out at the Association’s “petting zoo.”

What made me pleased the most was that the four students are really passionate about improving on their playing. Eleven-year-old Dominic impressed me the most with his off-the-cuff knowledge of old-time fiddle tunes that he was warming up to. Belinda is another 11-year-old fiddler that I first saw at the Michigan Old-Time Fiddlers Contest back in 2022 and worked hard to get her parents to apply for a scholarship. She has a great teacher in Keala Venema, who is a well-known fiddler in the western part of the State. Thirteen-year-old Henson was performing standard banjo tunes in the style of Earl Scruggs. Lydia was also performing on banjo, but I was really impressed by her strong vocals for a girl of 14.

The four joined their instructors for a jam session at the end of the performance. It was great to talk to Keala again, as well as talk to some of the parents about how proud they are of the students. I was really glad to see Lydia jamming with some of the older musicians at the session going on downstairs.

I hope that between seeing these performers, as well as testing out some instruments in the petting zoo, that we can see more young people interested in taking up an instruments and pursuing music as a dedicated hobby or even an eventual career. I was able to talk to one mother who was really interested in getting her son involved, as he plays violin at school but is more interested in bluegrass and folk music than classical.

For more news about the event, you can visit the Bluegrass Today website where SEMBMA president Bill Warren posted some of his photos (https://bluegrasstoday.com/woldumar-nature-center-monthly-jam-in-lansing/). There’s one of me with a really small guitar. It says that I am part of the jam session, but I was really only tuning the thing for the petting zoo.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

Ben Eldridge RIP

Earlier this week, one of the great second-generation bluegrass musicians passed away. Ben Eldridge was best known for his reserved yet perfectly fitting banjo work in The Seldom Scene. What made him unique was that he was able to fit the banjo tastefully into the progressive (for the time) songs that the band was perfroming.

With the folk-rock style songwriting of John Starling, and the in-your-face tenor vocals and mandolin leads of John Duffey, The Seldom Scene had an “artist’s artist” reputation in the bluegrass field. While highly respected among other bluegrass bands, The Seldom Scene gained praises from people in the pop, rock, and country music genres, including Linda Rondstadt, Emmylou Harris, and Ricky Skaggs. Eldridge helped solidify that reputation by being a banjo-slinger, not just a player. He knew exactly what would fit in each and every song. His playing was perfect in every song.

During the 1960s, he would play in a few traditional bluegrass bands, including with Cliff Waldron. However, it was when he hosted jam sessions with Duffey, Starling, and dobro player Mike Aldridge at his home in Bethesda, Maryland that there was a realization that something rich was going on. Most of the band had regular jobs and could not fully commit to a touring schedule, so on an off-shot remark from Country Gentlemen leader Charley Waller, they took the name The Seldom Scene.

Eldridge was a mathematician by trade at the time, but the band found themselves getting regular evening performances in the Baltimore and DC areas. Through the years, there were a number of personnel changes, to the point where, after Duffey’s death in 1996, Eldridge became the sole founding member. The band would continue to prolifically record albums and sparsely tour (sticking mostly to shows and festivals in the DC area), but after 44 years, Eldridge decided to retire in 2016. His legacy with the band included 55 albums, including one of the earliest live albums released by a bluegrass band.

Though he would appear on stage with either The Seldom Scene or other bands, the last few years of Eldridge’s life were spent in full retirement. He passed away on April 14 at the age of 85.

Unfortunately, I never got to meet Ben Eldridge, but I have conversed many times with his son Chris, who performs with the Punch Brothers. Chris is an amazing bluegrass guitarist, probably one of the best on the scene today. If there is ever any truth to the adage “the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree,” it would be of Chris and his father Ben.

I recommend that you seek out a Seldom Scene recording, especially a live one. I guarantee that you will hear some of the best interacting among players, be it musically or on-stage banter. Ben Eldridge’s to the band, as well as early progressive bluegrass music, cannot be denied.

Chew on it and comment.

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