Categories
Bluegrass Mandolin Bluegrass Music

So Why Did I Buy Another Mandolin?

So back during the pandemic days, I received a $400 debit card from the government. It was the last payment to me before I got a job, and I am not sure why they put it on a debit card instead of the usual sending the money straight to my bank account. Anyway, I completely forgot about it since I was now working.

Fast forward over two years, and while cleaning out my wallet a few weeks ago, I came upon the debit card. I went online and it still had the full amount available, but it was set to expire in about a month. Well, I wasn’t bound to let $400 slip away, but to be honest, I really didn’t know what I would use it for. I am pretty well set as far as basic necessities like food, paying utilities, and clothing. My thought was to treat myself to something special.

I didn’t want to splurge on an expensive meal. No, I wanted to get myself something to last me for a while. I first thought about a pizza oven, but I knew that I would probably use it once or twice, then it would gather dust in the garage. I also considered getting myself a handgun for protection at home, but because it was government money, they would probably deny that purchase the way the current administration is trying to suspend the second amendment.

My choice was then something in the musical instrument field. I have way too many acoustic guitars, and $400 wasn’t going to get me anything as good or better than I already have. The same goes for the bass. I have a banjo, dobro, and fiddle that I work with, but nothing to inspire me to get something more, again not for $400.

I always wanted a F-style mandolin, but the price was always out of reach. I have a decent A-style mandolin which I played regularly until I switched over to fiddle a while back. However, recently I saw that The Loar company (a stringed instrument manufacturer out of China) was marketing a LM-310F model, retailing for $400 through Guitar Center.

(WARNING: If you do an internet search on the The Loar LM-310F, you will find that a number of retailers are selling this model for $100 or less. DO NOT BE TEMPTED! These are international criminal rings that get your credit card information, keep emailing you about a delay in shipping, then after 30 days, you will never hear from them and you get nothing in return. Often these thieves will also sell your credit card information so that you will be REALLY screwed, and it will be difficult to get back your money, unless you have a really good credit card bank).

The GC near my house actually had a LM-310F at the store, and after trying it out by playing a sloppy version of “Bluegrass Stomp,” I knew that I wanted it. Since it was the floor model and they didn’t have any stock in the store room, I got a nice discount, and was able to pick up a heavy-duty gig bag for the $400 plus some change.

Let me tell you, this thing has a great bark to it when strumming those bluegrass chops, and the tone is nice and warm, way more closer to what a bluegrass mandolin usually sounds like instead of an A-style. It has a solid spruce top, a narrow V-cut neck (which is great for my smaller hands), and a nice satin finish. The main difference one can see compared to a standard Gibson F-5 mandolin is that the fretboard ends at the 20th fret. There is no upper extension of the fretboard over the body that made the Gibson model famous (along with a guy named Bill Monroe using it as his main weapon).

I have fallen in love with the mandolin all over again. I enjoy messing around with it while watching television, but I do plan on practicing on it more once I return from the SPBGMA conference next week in Nashville (NOTE: I may be late on next week’s blog, or even miss it entirely, due to the conference, but I will give a full review when I get back).

I would definitely recommend this mandolin for those moving up from a beginner A-style model but still not having the cash to afford a more costly F-style model (https://www.theloar.com/)

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

Audie Blaylock RIP

A few disappointments for me over the past 24 hours. The first one was that I missed the John McEuen show at The Ark due to a really bad snowstorm here in the Detroit area Friday night. The second one I just learned about as I was beginning to write this blog.

Audie Blaylock passed away earlier this week at the age of 61. While he was not a household name in the bluegrass industry, he left an indelible mark on the bluegrass music scene. Although born in Texas, he grew up most of his early life in Lansing, Michigan, playing in local bands and being a regular face at Elderly Instruments. Professionally, he started out playing mandolin for Jimmy Martin in the early 1980s, and went on to work with a number of other artists, including Red Allen, Lynn Morris, Chris Jones, and Rhonda Vincent (where I first met him). He then started a solo gig with his band Redline, as well as worked with fiddle master Michael Cleveland.

His home base was Auburn, Indiana, so he was a regular performer at bluegrass festivals in the Indiana/Ohio/Michigan area. I became good friends with his one-time fiddler Patrick McAvinue, whom I still talk to and recently wrote an article on for Fiddler. Audie was always friendly to his fans and fellow musicians. Learning a lot from his time with Jimmy Martin, his band was always tight when it came to performances, especially song arrangements.

His crowning achievement came in 2004, when he helped coordinate the Grammy nominated album A Tribute to Jimmy Martin: The King of Bluegrass. The recording gathered up some of the best in bluegrass, including J.D. Crowe, Sonny Osborne, Paul Williams, Kenny Ingram, and Michael Cleveland. He always had a high regard for Martin, and continued to perform many of Martin’s songs live and on recordings.

I went to see Audie and his band many times, as he was more than happy to do gigs in the Detroit area outside of bluegrass festivals. Talking with him was like talking to your next-door neighbor. He was interested in everything, be it music, musical instruments, automobiles and hot rods, farming, and woodworking. He proved to be a great bandleader, in that his bandmates always had great respect for him even after pursuing other projects.

I am sure now that Audie is performing once again with Jimmy at that bluegrass festival in the sky. You will be missed down here, sir.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Musicians

John McEuen: A Legend

This coming Friday I will be skipping my company’s holiday party to go to a concert that I know that I will enjoy much more. John McEuen of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band fame is doing a solo show at The Ark in Ann Arbor. If there has ever been a complete entertainer in the Americana realm, it is John McEuen!

I have always been a fan of the NGDB, and thought that McEuen was the ultimate in cool with that grizzled beard and dark stare from his eyes. Any true fan of roots music, particularly traditional country, folk, and bluegrass, has a copy of the classic 1972 album Will the Circle Be Unbroken, in which the band brought in country pioneers Merle Travis, Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Roy Acuff, Vassar Clemens, Jimmy Martin and Mother Maybelle Carter to record country and folk standards. This three-record set continues to be popular with Americana audiophiles, and spawned two follow-up albums in 1989 and 2002.

McEuen joined the band when it was starting out in 1966, performed on some of its most iconic songs (“Mr. Bojangles,” “House at Pooh Corner,” “Fishin’ in the Dark”), playing guitar, banjo, mandolin, and fiddle, and was in the band when it was the first US rock band to tour the Soviet Union in 1977.

NGDB would shorten its name to The Dirt Band during the late 1970s and early1980s and adjusted its sound to be more pop-oriented. They had a hit in 1980 with “Make a Little Magic” and appeared on a number of television specials, including one with long-time McEuen friend Steve Martin. They were even the back-up band for Martin’s comedy hit “King Tut.” McEuen left the band in 1986 to pursue a solo career. He would produce and perform on Martin’s 2009 solo album The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo. He would rejoin NGDB in 2001 for a number of anniversary celebrations and recordings, only to leave again in 2017.

A fantastic read is McEuen’s autobiography The Life I’ve Picked: A Banjo Player’s Nitty Gritty Journey. He talks about his life of working at Disneyland with Martin, teaching Martin some banjo licks, the ups and downs of being a member of the NGDB, the thrill of recording the Circle masterpiece, the tension while touring the Soviet Union, and working with his kids in musical projects.

One of my favorite stories from McEuen I read in a biography on guitarist Duane Allman, Skydog. McEuen relates to a time when the NGDB and the Allman Brothers Band were both waiting at an airport, and Allman told McEuen to pull out his banjo and play some tunes. McEuen was reluctant, thinking people would be annoyed, but Allman snapped back that anyone that didn’t appreciate banjo music was pretty much un-American. McEuen relented, and Allman was happy.

I first met McEuen when the NGDB was performing a showcase at the AmericanaFest back in 2015. I remember introducing myself to him, and he stared me down saying, “Do I owe you and money?” He has a fantastic sense of humor, which show during his solo performances. I have seen him a few times, and I know that this upcoming performance will be just as good if not better. I hope to get a chance to talk with him quick for a possible interview on his fiddle playing for Fiddler.

So if John McEuen is touring in your area, make sure to check him out. Like John Hartford and Doc Watson, McEuen is an American musical treasure, with tons of stories to tell. I leave you with some great McEuen videos.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Christmas Guitars

My Christmas Gift to Myself

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will have a safe and pleasant New Year. This was my first Christmas alone, as mom passed away last January and I was not in the mood to spend the day with anyone. I basically sat home, did a little writing, and watched some football games.

I did, however, buy myself a Christmas present. Since I had no one to spend some money on, I decided to spend it on myself. I didn’t want to break the bank, but I did want to get myself something that I would enjoy. About two weeks before Christmas, Fender had an online sale for a few of its guitars at 40% off. I looked at the list, and saw that there was a Squier Affinity Stratocaster, regularly $249.99, going on sale for $149.99!

Now, I haven’t played much electric guitar in the past 10 years or so, and have been selling off a lot of my unused equipment, including guitar amplifiers. I have two electric guitars left in my collection (a 70s-era Guild Starfire hollowbody and a 90s-era made-in-Mexico Fender Strat that was my workhorse during my final electric band days). The Affinity series for Squier/Fender used to be the low-budget line back in the 90s. I had an Affinity Telecaster from that period that was OK at best, as the tuners and bridge/saddles were cheap and the body was cheap plywood with hollowed out cavities that were filled with styrofoam. I paid about $100.00 new for it and junked/modified it for a few years until I sold it off with my house cleaning. However, the Affinity series seems to have been upgraded by Fender, with its Sonic series being the new lower-cost series.

The Affinity Strat looked to be a bargain for the price, and they had it available in a cool Surf Green color. Total cost was $158.99, and it came via US Postal to my PO Box in a little over a week.

I have to say that I am really impressed with the workmanship. Yeah, it’s made in China, so that probably has a lot to do with the lower cost. The body is solid and has some heft to it. The hardware is good, and the pickups are typical Strat sounding — not hot but not weak either. The neck has a matte finish to the back of it, which needs a buffing with some OOOO steel wool to smooth it out a bit. The fingerboard looks like rosewood, but is Indian Laurel, most likely a cheaper wood that the Asian market uses on mass-produced guitars.

I have always loved the sound of a Stratocaster, especially that switch position of neck/middle or middle/bridge pickup selection. It’s a glassy tone that Stevie Ray Vaughan used so well (although he had some hot-rodded pickups). Plus, I always enjoyed playing around with surf instrumentals by The Ventures and Dick Dale. I haven’t tried out the tremolo bar yet. The bridge looks a bit different from other Strat whammy bar systems, so I hope that it doesn’t crap out after a few bends.

All in all, it is a really good guitar for the price. Checking the Fender website, this guitar is on sale again at 20% off, or $199.99, until supplies last (https://www.fender.com/en-US/8-days-deals/affinity-series-stratocaster/0378000557.html). That leads me to believe that they may be getting rid of either this model or the Affinity series completely. So I would recommend that, if you are looking for a solid beginner electric guitar, or a reliable backup, you order this model while you can. It is backed by Fender, so it does have some good reputation.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Christmas

Polish Christmas Traditions

Well, I’m running a bit late due to the holidays. Today is Christmas Eve, and tonight I will participate in two Polish family traditions.

In the early evening, I will be having the Polish dinner known as Wigilia (veh-GEEL-Yuh). It consists of a number of non-meat dishes, basically practicing abstinence before the birth of Christ. With this being the first Christmas since my mother passed away, my brother has taken over the dinner chores and location. While I have never been a fan of most of the food served, I will go to keep peace in the family.

Next will be going to midnight mass, known as Pasterka (pah-STARE-kah). My church does the mass in both English and Polish, with the church choir singing Polish Christmas carols, known as koledy (koh-LEH-dih) a half hour before mass. My parish, Our Lady Queen of Aspostles in Hamtramck, Michigan, is a very traditional Polish church, and goes all out in decorating the altar for the holiday. As I am an early-to-bed person, I hope that I can stay up and not fall asleep in church.

Christmas day will be quiet for me, I will probably treat it as a regular day off, except to go visit my folks at the cemetery. Actually, I could use the rest, considering that I’ve been busy shopping, working, and baking the past few weeks. With mom gone, I’m not as motivated about the holiday to be honest.

I leave you with some koledy performed by the beautiful Polish choir Mazowsze (mah-ZOV-sheh). Merry Christmas to all of you.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Folk Music

Recommended Book: The High & Lonesome Sound: The Legacy of Roscoe Holcomb

This gem I purchased through Hamilton Books a few years back and came across it recently while sorting books after my move. This one is also authored by John Cohen, whose book Speed Bumps on a Dirt Road I reviewed back in June (https://luegra.design.blog/2023/06/17/recommended-book-speed-bumps-on-a-dirt-road/). Cohen looks at the life of Roscoe Holcomb, a legendary Appalachian musical artist that carried on the tradition of old-time music during the 1950s and 60s while the world around him was slowly modernizing, perhaps not for the better.

Like his other book, this is primarily a photo book, with very little text other than brief captions until the very end of the book. The story can be seen in the powerful photos of Holcomb and the people that he is surrounded by. Many of these photos are also in Speed Bumps, such as Bill Monroe’s performance in Hazard, Kentucky, but they are intermingled nicely and minimally, so that the montage leans more as a personal vision of an individual, namely Holcomb.

This book chronicles Cohen’s 1959 trip to east Kentucky to meet and work with Holcomb, who at the time had left the workforce due to many injuries. He supplemented his income by performing at folk festivals and farming. The black-and-white photos say so much about what Holcomb and his family struggled with in the Appalachian Mountain area. A moving photo is one just showing his hands and how weathered that were, even for a middle-aged man.

The text toward the end of the book includes reflections about Holcomb by those that knew him, as well as a 1978 interview with Holcomb shortly before his passing. However, the icing on the cake is the CD and DVD included with the book. The CD includes 13 tracks of Holcomb performing traditional songs on banjo, guitar, harmonica and vocals. While thumbing through the book, this CD is the perfect soundtrack. The DVD contains two short documentaries on Holcomb, one filmed during a 1964 visit with him, and the other a 2010 look at his life. The 1963 doc is a treasure, like watching a grainy television show from that time period. Not only it gives a back-in-time look at Holcomb, but also a reminder on how we saw documentaries back then.

This book was originally published in 2012, and while going for over $40.00 new, a Google search shows that it can be had for under $10.00 used, although I am not sure if the CD and DVD are included or what the condition is. Like Speed Bumps, it is a worthwhile purchase if you truly appreciate where old-time music was still living while much of the other country was looking at rock-and-roll.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Guitars Music Therapy

Three Items Tested for the Arthritic Guitarist Hand

A few weeks back, I blogged about working on my rhythm guitar skills for jamming at the upcoming SPBGMA conference (https://luegra.design.blog/2023/11/11/1255/). I also briefly mentioned that I am feeling slight arthritic pain in my left index finger (the hand that I fret with on guitar). I have tried putting pain-relief creams on the finger, but they are either too messy or just don’t work.

So the next step for me was trying some light therapy at home and at work. I purchased the following three items to see how well they would help.

The first is a small, rechargeable hand warmer. I picked it up through Amazon for about $10.00. It is about the size of the roller on a toilet paper dispenser and is charged through a USB connection, either with your computer or an AC outlet adapter. It took a while to first charge it up, and because it is manufactured in some foreign country, the English directions for using, charging, and storing it made absolutely no sense. Once I figured the thing out, it proved to be quite useful. It has three heat settings, which you control by pushing a small button that is embedded into the end. Good luck at controlling it if you have fat fingers. You can see what settings are on by the small LED light next to the switch (which also has the USB port there). Anyway, the low (blue) and medium (green) settings are great, but the high (red) setting is almost too hot to touch. While it seems to be designed to be gripped by the whole hand, I roll the warmer on my finger for a few minutes for fast temporary relief. It re-charges pretty quickly (the heat lasts for about three hours), and can also be used to charge up a low-battery cell phone. People at my workplace have seen it and ordered it for themselves. Overall, a good purchase.

Next, we have the Musician’s Practice Glove, which advertised as being a therapeutic glove for arthritis. It looked to be sort of like the compression socks that I wear for my diabetes condition, but for the hand. Once I put it on, I knew that it was next to useless. While there is a small amount of compression around the palm of the hand, the fingers are loose, and there is stitching at the finger tips. So, trying to press your fingers on the fretboard is troublesome. If you form a chord with your fingers, the cloth on the glove tends to muffle any open strings next to that finger. Moreover, forget any type of solo fingering, as you have to press down even harder to not muffle the plucked string. I think that I paid about $8.00 for this through Amazon, and I would advise anyone to pass on this product.

Lastly, there are the Copper Fit Hand Relief Gloves. I picked up these at the local CVS Pharmacy using a coupon. They regularly go for about $20.00, but I paid about $15.00. These are compression-style gloves that fit tight all along the hand and fingers, while leaving the fingertips bare. The palm area has a rubberized grip to it for non-slipping. These are not designed with the guitarist in mind, of course. Trying to move your fretting hand along the back of the neck smoothly is impossible. However, they do feel good for compressing on my hands and fingers. The recommendation is to wear these for 6-8 hours. My hands are always doing something messy either at work or home, so I put these gloves on before I go to bed and remove them when I wake up. I do notice that my finger does feel better in the morning, so this was a good purchase as well.

I also have been doing some hand and finger exercises for temporary relief from the pain. My advice is that, if you are still young and playing guitar, check with a doctor on how to remain nimble for the longest time possible.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Folk Music Rock Music

Shane MacGowan RIP

This past week, one of the most popular vocalists of the punk-rock era passed away. Even if you weren’t a fan of The Pogues, you damned well knew about Shane MacGowan. He was a hero and an anti-hero at the same time. He took The Pogues to international acclaim with his common-man songs that he wrote or co-wrote, along with choice traditional Irish, Celtic, and British Isles folks songs. The band panned away from distorted electric guitars and chose traditional acoustic instruments from Ireland, including accordion, tinwhistle, and four-string banjo. Yet, the sound was heavy, due to the attitude that MacGowan gave with his growling voice as well as what he motivated from his bandmates.

MacGowan formed The Pogues in 1982 after performing in a few punk bands, getting lessons on a traditional Irish music sound from his family members. The Pogues was known for its intense and powerful live shows, motivating fans to pay attention to the folk songs of old and the messages that they conveyed. MacGowan was known physically for his underweight figure, large ears, and extremely poor dental work. Yet he was like a demigod on stage, and his followers would not only pay attention to his vocals, but would sing along with choruses like the fans at a rugby or soccer match.

MacGowan also kept his Irish ancestry up to its fullest, especially when it came to alcohol. More times than not, he would appear on stage completely inebriated, and he gave George Jones a run for his money by not showing up to the gig or being too drunk to perform. It became so bad that he was actually kicked out of his own band in 1991 and The Clash’s Joe Strummer was asked to take over vocals for a time. His reaction was to form another band called Shane MacGowan and The Popes. He would re-join The Pogues in 2001 and perform with the band until 2014.

MacGowan’s addiction was not limited to the drink. He became a heroin addict, and only reformed with the help of Sinead O’Connor, who had him arrested so that he would admit to a judge that he had a problem and sought help. While he was able to kick those habits, injuries from a fall in 2015 had him in a wheelchair for most of his last years. He passed away from pneumonia on November 30 at the age of 65.

MacGowan and The Pogues had a number of songs that, while never hitting big in the US, they became sing-along anthems among the punk and alternative music fans for years. Cover such as Ewan MacColl’s “Dirty Old Town,” Eric Bogle’s “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda,” and the traditional “Jesse James” brought out with a harsh attack gave them new life. MacGowan also penned a number of memorable tunes, including “The Old Main Drag,” “Lullaby of London,” and “If I Should Fall From Grace with God.” However, what makes it so sad that he has passed away at this time is that his most memorable composition will be now heard on many radio stations for Christmas. “Fairytale of New York” was co-written with bandmate Jen Finer in 1988, and talks of a drunk sitting in a jail cell and thinking about Christmas with his sometime-love, which is sung as a duet with the late Kirsty MacColl. It is also ironic that MacGowan was born on December 25th.

Indie music fans of my age will always hold Shane MacGowan in our hearts, not only for his songs, but for his devil-may-car attitude that kept him going even in the worst of times. We all hope that he is having a pint of Guinness up there in Heaven.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Classical Music

The Loss of a Wonderful Young Talent

People who know me know that I am a big supporter of young people learning music. Whether for enjoyment, performance, or eventual teaching, seeing a child or young adult playing an instrument or singing and continually improving is a blessing. It does not matter the genre of music, only that the young student is passionate about it and wants to improve on him/herself to be the best that he/she can be.

That is why, when I read this article a few days ago online, my heart sank into my stomach with sadness, hurt, and grief.

https://slippedisc.com/2023/11/violin-student-21-ended-her-life-tragically/

Veronika Jugasová was a young violin prodigy from Czechia. She started playing the instrument around 6 years of age, and was trained by some of the best violinist/instructors in the country, including at the renown Prague Conservatoire. Even in her youth, she was winning many competitions, receiving international acclaim.

Her death has been determined a suicide, and while it was a shock to so many who loved and admired her, many of her peers and instructors fear that the pressure and stress of performing and heavily disciplined practice was a psychological strain on the girl. Veronika was scheduled to perform at the Prague Music Festival this coming week.

Social media related to classical music has been abuzz regarding this tragedy, with so many other young performers inferring in their comments that they can somewhat understand how Veronika felt. Classical music and opera are genres that require immense determination and extreme hard work. Not only does a passion need to be there, but there is that beyond-normal exertion to become the best, just as what one would see in someone striving to be a professional sports athlete. Unfortunately, young performers in this position sometimes find it hard to balance their time and efforts, and are often surrounded by parents and instructors that pressure them even more. These young people are still children in many ways, and are not fully developed to handle the stress and difficulties of being an adult.

I will not go on about this subject too much. What I will say is that, like a child wanting to be a baseball player, a tennis pro, or a professional musician, give them room to learn, and compassion when they falter. These children have a passion, but they are still human, not something that we can mold into super-humans. Let them know that we are there for them whatever happens, and offer that hug and shoulder to lean on.

Dearest Veronika, you are in so many hearts at this time. Know that you are still loved by so many, that you are still a star in our eyes, and we know that The Lord is enjoying you perform for Him and has given you the most cherished award, the angel wings.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Americana Music

Perfect Song #11: “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet” by Blue Rodeo

I can still remember the first time that I heard Blue Rodeo. It was about 1988, I was practicing bass on a Peavey Patriot bass guitar that I just purchased, and I had a Canadian radio station on. I believe that it was CJOM, a CBC public radio station “left of the dial.” The band was being interviewed, then one of their cuts from their first album Outskirts came on. BAM! I was knocked off of my feet, and found a sound that I was looking for in a band!

Since they were out of Toronto, it was hard to find any of their music in a record store here around Detroit, even in the indie stores. I finally secured a cassette of that album, and I pretty much played it until it self-destructed. I soon snagged the second album, Diamond Mine, and kept up with any news that I could about the band. Fortunately, Detroit is just across the river from Windsor, so Canadian rock and country stations, with their 30% Canadian content rule, would often play Blue Rodeo. I couldn’t understand why this band was not getting any attention here in the US. They had that spirit that The Band had – equal servings of rock, country, blues, and folk. They defined the Americana sound!

They got some stateside recognition with their third album, Casino, due to production by Pete Anderson (guitarist for Dwight Yoakam). The band kicked out amazing stuff, to say the least. Two cuts from that album were getting extensive airplay from to Windsor station The River 93.9 FM. The charm came from the songwriting and excellent harmony work of the guitarists Greg Keelor and Jim Cuddy. They seemed to keep coming up with amazing songs that I couldn’t help but keep singing to myself.

Because of their lack of US promotion, they rarely toured here, but would do a few shows along the northern border, including here in Detroit. I can remember them doing a show at the Majestic Theatre and spending the evening chatting with a woman who flew up from Atlanta to see them because it was the closest US show to her. They had that Grateful Dead magnetism with their audience. Everyone there knew all of the words to all of their songs.

This leads me to this installment of the Perfect Song. Blue Rodeo’s fifth album, Five Days in July, had a number of those sing-alongs. However, the most powerful of these, and perhaps the bands most recognized and powerful song, was the second track on the disc, “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet.” Starting off with just acoustic guitar and a mandolin riff, Keelor comes in with his gritty vocals singing about a woman leaving him, and he still hasn’t figured out how to react. Keelor’s and Cuddy’s beautiful harmonies take over during the chorus (Cuddy going from low harmony to high harmony is amazing), then the band comes in like a hurricane for the second verse.

The song continues to chug along like a strong steam locomotive, then comes a fantastic pedal steel solo by Kim Deschamps. This, to me, was when the band sounded its absolute best. Unfortunately, Kim and the band had a falling out shortly thereafter. Anyway, after the solo comes another chorus, then that powerful ending. Keelor really hits it vocally, and Cuddy’s answering to him is just too beautiful.

This song has had such an impact with the fans that, during shows, Keelor lets the audience sing the first verse on its own without his help. I actually have a karaoke CD that a friend gave me with Blue Rodeo songs, and I remember putting this song on repeat and singing Keelor’s part constantly. The song would have fit in to The Band’s catalog easily. To be honest, every time I hear this song, I get choked up, holding back a tear. It just induces vivid memories to me, of lost loves, times when I was enjoying playing in a band, and just appreciating those precious moments in my life.

When reading posts on YouTube of the video for this song, so many people feel the same way. Blue Rodeo will always remain one of my all-time favorite bands. I still cannot understand why the band never got the recognition it deserved here in the US (when I worked with the Americana
Music Association, I begged and pleaded to get the band a showcase, but to no avail), but then again, I think of how perhaps God was giving a few of us a precious gift that others would not receive.

I won’t go into more description of the song or band, just listen and experience it for yourself. Read some of those comments and see how the song has impacted people.

Chew on it and comment.

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