Categories
Bluegrass Guitar

The Art of Bluegrass Rhythm Guitar

With my hands starting to feel their age (the pointer finger on my left hand is starting to get arthritic), I have to re-train myself in playing guitar. As I am still planning on going to the SPBGMA conference in Nashville in January, I know that I will be participating in some motel room and hallway jamming.

Now my lead guitar skills have pretty much dried up, as they weren’t that great to begin with, but I do still work on my rhythm guitar skills. I try to go back to the basics every few months by starting off slow with a metronome (about 70 beats per minute), then each day bring up the tempo a few notches until I get to about 120 bpm, which is pretty much the most common tempo for most bluegrass songs in 2/4 time.

I also occasionally refer to a DVD that was put out years ago by Musician’s Workshop, The Art of Bluegrass Rhythm Guitar with Chris Jones. He has a pretty laid-back approach to working on the rhythm chops, and while stressing the common “boom-chick” strum, he shows modifications, as well as some more modern strums that work with a 4/4 time signature.

After so many years playing electric guitar in punk and alt-country projects, and even after the past nearly two decades of concentrating on acoustic music, simple bluegrass rhythm guitar is really not that simple. The band (without a drummer) relies on that rhythm guitar to help keep a steady tempo. That basic “boom-chick” strum works with both the bass downbeat as well as the chop from the mandolin. I have worked with a lot of banjo players that have very little control of self-timing while doing their Scruggs rolls, and a rhythm guitarist with great control of tempo is a life saver to a bluegrass band.

I decided to check out what could be found on YouTube for bluegrass rhythm guitar. The search pulled out a few videos, and it seemed that each video had not only a different approach to the task, but even different fingerings altogether. Looking at the basic G chord, which in most beginner guitar books shows the first finger fretting the A string at the 2nd fret (creating a B note), the second finger fretting the low E string at the 3rd fret (creating a G note), and the third finger fretting the high E string at the 3rd fret (again, a G note). A few videos show a different position, with the first finger either muting the A string, or not touching the fingerboard at all and letting the second finger “mute” that A string, Then, the fourth finger frets the B string at the 3rd fret,(creating a D note). What this does is create a G5 chord, which removes the 3rd note (B) from the chord and only gives you G and D notes. This has a chime-like sound, which some bluegrassers prefer. Not me, I like the full sound of the whole major chord. One person actually stated in his video that this G5 is the only chord that a bluegrass rhythm guitarist should be using. Really?

Another video had the instructor forming a basic G chord, but with every strum, he would hammer on the low E string to the G note with the downbeat. It sounded less like a bluegrass strum and more like a surf-rock rhythm! One video states that the “boom” bass note should be stressed more, while another video states that the “chick” strum should be the emphasis. It seems that if you watch 10 videos on bluegrass rhythm guitar, there will be 11 opinions!

I will not get into the do’s and don’ts of bluegrass rhythm guitar. My one complaint about almost all of the videos is that they talk as if the typical bluegrass song (with exceptions of waltzes and those in quick 6/8 time) are all 4/4 time. I prefer to think of these as 2/4 time signatures, since the “boom-chick” action is two counts. Most folk and rock rhythms following a straight pattern usually fall into the 4/4 time signature, with a “boom-a-chick-a” pattern. Of all of the videos that I watched on this topic, I feel that Bryan Sutton says it the best on working with this rhythm pattern.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Fiddle

Female Bluegrass Fiddlers

Google and the American Songwriter website must always have me in their cross hairs. Every day when I go online, there is an AS article recommendation. I have stated in previous blogs how I don’t value its content too much due to trying to be too politically correct and implementing the whole DEI thing way too much.

This article popped up a few days ago: https://americansongwriter.com/5-female-fiddle-players-breaking-barriers/

Again, the magazine/website is trying so hard to be “catching the wave” of the whole DEI movement. I highly doubt that they would ever publish an article on five MALE fiddlers pushing the barriers. They listed these five females: Eileen Ivers, Brittany Haas, Sara Watkins, Alison Krauss, and Lucia Micarelli. A good list to be sure, but there are a few women fiddlers that probably should be on here, such as Natalie McMaster and Annie Staninec. I always question why AS chooses such oddball numbers instead of sticking with a Top 10. Perhaps the writers are just too damned lazy to do more than 15 minutes of research.

However, the article did get me to thinking about women and bluegrass music. The fiddle position in bluegrass bands seems to have a great amount of females. Two of my favorite fiddle players (who just happen to be good friends as well) are female – Brittany Haas and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes. Off the cuff, I can name a lot more gal fiddlers along with those already mentioned: Becky Buller, Laurie Lewis, Kimber Ludicker, Rayna Gellert, Maddie Denton, Ivy Phillips, Kitty Amaral, Deanie Richardson, and Mary Rachel Nalley-Norris to start. That doesn’t include other roots-based female fiddlers such as April Verch, Sophie Lavoie, Jenee Fleenor, Lena Jonsson, Stephanie Cadman, and Miranda Mulholland among others.

This made me think about why so many women are playing fiddle in bluegrass bands. First off, I remember when, in elementary school, the early music program had us choosing what instrument we wanted to learn. Boys always seemed to go for saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and drums/percussion, while girls went for flutes, clarinets, and violins. A boy playing a violin was thought to be a sissy, and looking through high school yearbooks, the photos of the orchestra seemed to mirror that choice, with perhaps one or two male cello or bass players.

I was guilty of that thought for all of my school years, and only knew one male violinist and one cellist. I never even thought of playing fiddle until I started playing in acoustic and bluegrass bands. Being already in my late 30s, it was a steep hill to climb to learn a new instrument. I first thought that because I was playing guitar and bass, along with a little mandolin, the move to learning the fiddle would be easy. BAH! I can’t count the number of times that I wish I could turn back the hands of time to my 4th grade class and say that I wanted to learn the violin. Sissy names be damned!

Back in the early days of bluegrass, if there was a female in the band, they were usually regulated to playing the upright bass. Thanks to acts such as Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard and The Coon Creek Girls, bluegrass began to recognize women as a driving force in the format. Of course, Alison Krauss helped put women on the bluegrass map fiercely in the mid-1980s, and the format has been encouraging for ladies ever since.

Bluegrass has never really “pigeon holed” female performers like other formats. While you may see a lot of statements such as “the female Elvis” or “the female Jimi Hendrix,” women performing in bluegrass, especially fiddlers, have made a name for themselves without having the press resorting to gender comparisons since the 1980s. Musicians should only be judged on their work, not on their gender, race, or creed.

Here’s a clip from a long time back by Belle Starr, with Stephanie Cadman and Miranda Mulholland. I really miss this trio, they should have hit it big. We’ll follow it up with my friend Brittany Haas (with Chris Thile).

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Acoustic Guitars

Cirrus Guitars

There is a new acoustic guitar company opening up – and it is near my house!!!

Well, it is about an hour drive from where I live, to be honest. However, this is great news to see another luthier starting up in the Detroit area. Cirrus Guitar (https://www.cirrusguitars.com/) is the partnership of Mike Franks (of M.J. Franks Guitars) and Tobin McGlassion (of McGlassion Guitars) that will make high-quality, hand-made acoustic guitars at an affordable price.

They have opened up shop in Rochester Hills, Michigan, and from the looks at their website, they have a good idea of what is needed in the acoustic guitar market. As of now, they are making three models: a Dreadnaught, an OO body, and a OOO 14-fret version. All will have basic features, with options available at additional costs. Prices for these guitars (with case) will start at $2,150.00.

What caught my attention was that they will offer two scale lengths at no additional cost. There will be the standard 25.4-inch scale, as well as the shorter 24.9-inch scale. Because of my smaller hands and slight arthritis, I have always wanted a shorter scale fretboard on a Dreadnaught body. Martin has offered such models, but the price has been way out of reach for me. This looks like it would be a great alternative.

The guitars will be built in the same shop as M.J. Franks Guitars, but with a different attitude. Of course, they are looking at getting these guitars into a players’ market. A M.J. Franks guitar starts at $3,850.00. At nearly half the price, a Cirrus guitar is a great alternative to the more boutique guitars.

In an interview with Bluegrass Today, Franks states that for Cirrus, he will be buying wood in bulk, and wood that may have some minor blemishes that would not be found on his Franks guitars. Personally, a small blemish can be ignored if the guitar has a great tone and feels comfortable at the same time.

Franks’ bluegrass connection comes from building one of his first guitars for Bobby Osborne’s guitarist Joe Miller, and being good friends with songwriter Pete Goble, who also lived in the Detroit area before passing away in 2018.

I will be checking out this Cirrus over the next few weeks, and seriously considering getting myself that Dreadnaught with a short-scale neck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZr0Q-mzxlA&t=2s

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Gospel Music Old-Time Fiddle

2023 Michigan Old-Time Fiddle Contest/Sister Servants/Christian Youth Singers

Two weekends ago was the 2023 Michigan Old-Time Fiddlers Contest at the Applefest in New Boston. There were only four participants, and when I saw Trae McMaken (last year’s winner) seated near the stage, I knew that he would be this year’s winner as well. The guy is THAT good!

The contest was held later in the afternoon, which did see a bit more people in the audience than in previous years. There are also the problems with scheduling. First and foremost, the contest always goes on after the performance by the local middle school orchestra and choir. Every year, that performance always runs over because they go on late due to poor organization by the school music director. Thus, the contest began about 30 minutes late, and as expected, the blues/rock cover band scheduled to go on after the contest decided to start setting up some of its equipment during the contest.

It is sad that this old-time fiddle music is not as appreciated here in Michigan as it is in other parts of the country. I have preached about Michigan’s fiddle and music history many times, but it seems that very few people outside of the actual musicians care about it. I am glad to see that the Southeast Michigan Bluegrass Music Association has gotten some interest from young musicians recently for the scholarship awards. We have awarded one more student some scholarship money since I last wrote about it (https://luegra.design.blog/2023/08/06/sembma-scholarships-part-2/). I was hoping to see a new young fiddler at this year’s contest, but the four contestants were older fiddlers that have participated a number of times.

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We can always hope for next October! In the meantime, if any of you know of any young fiddlers (or banjo players, or mandolin players, or acoustic guitarists) playing bluegrass or old-time music, be sure to send them to the SEMBMA website and have them fill out a scholarship application (https://smbluegrass.org/scholarships/).

As many of you know, I am moving out of my house and moving back into my folks’ house as they both have passed away. I have sold the house and will be completely out by November 1st. So every day I have been grabbing a box or two and shipping it back to my new homestead. Yesterday, while in Hamatramck at a stop light, I noticed a group of young people (about eight) on the corner singing standard Gospel songs like “Rock of Ages” and “Amazing Grace.” They were from a Christian youth group connected with Living Waters (http://www.livingwaters.com/). It was extremely strange, as Hamtramck has become a highly populated Muslim community, and of course, tensions due to the Hamas attack on Israel recently has gotten a lot of people on edge. But there they were, being brave, singing old-time Gospel tunes and holding signs requesting looking toward Jesus.

It warmed my heart to see that. While I am a devout Roman Catholic, I have always loved the songs that early bluegrass Gospel brought forth. On my way back down the street, I saw that they were still singing, so I went to the local store, picked up some soft drinks, and gave it to them, letting them know how beautiful the singing was. They were friendly, and while they started to try to get me to be a part of their organization, I felt obliged to let them know of my faith in Catholicism and that my parish was a few blocks from where we were.

Seeing young people so motivated by their Christian beliefs, and what is more to be standing in an area that could prove to be hostile, was extremely moving, Then again, Jesus was not set on preaching to the believers, but to preach to those that were straying from the Lord and help them see the light.

I end this blog with a video that my friend Sister Clare Marie of the Sister Servants of the Eternal Word sent me. I mentioned this group in previous blogs (https://luegra.design.blog/2020/08/07/nuns-performing-bluegrass-and-diversity/ and https://luegra.design.blog/2021/12/04/715/). These wonderful ladies stay in my heart always.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Acoustic Guitars

More About Acoustic Guitars: Blueridge

I have very briefly mentioned the Blueridge line of acoustic guitars in my previous blogs. Let me spend this blog covering my experiences with these guitars and why I value the old ones, just like many players value the old Martins (including me, of course!).

Blueridge guitars are marketed in the US by Saga Instruments. During the line’s history, they have been like most imported guitars from Asia, being manufactured in Korea, then in China, and eventually also in Indonesia. The brand has been around since the 1980s, and made a big comeback around 2000, producing a line of acoustics that were re-vamped with extra visual frills (i.e., fancy headstock inlays) to target the bluegrass market.

It was around that time that I started taking an interest in the brand. At the time, I was playing with a Martin DXM, which was the lowest-end Martin that was still being made in the Nazareth, Pennsylvania factory. While it was a good, solid acoustic guitar, it still lacked a lot of tone that one would expect from a Martin. I began seeing on the internet some stories about older Blueridge acoustic guitars that had a great tone comparable to Martins. I spent some time surfing eBay and found a model called the BR-OS going for about $125.00. I took a chance and purchased it.

I was amazed at how great the thing sounded! A nice, warm sound, almost too close to a Martin, just a wee bit quieter overall. But this guitar was excellent to say the least, especially for what I paid. It showed some road wear, with a few small dents in the body and a small piece of binding missing along the fretboard. The BR-OS was made in China, based on the Martin D-28, with a solid spruce top along with rosewood back and sides. The inner bracing is also similar, and the headstock is reminiscent of Martin, with a simple cursive logo. I have owned this one now for over 20 years, and it is still one of the best acoustic guitars that I have ever played.

I immediately sought out to purchase more of these models. I came upon another BR-OS for about the same price and grabbed that one up as well. However, it had a lot of differences. It still sounded great, but the neck had a much more “V” cut to it, and the headstock had a curved “V” cut as well, similar to the Dean electric guitars. I kept it for a while, and sold off the Martin DXM for the same amount that I had paid for it a few years back (about $300.00). Side note: While Martin still has the X series of acoustic guitars, they stopped making the DXM long ago. It was a good guitar, and if you can find a decent used one for about the same amount of money, I would recommend it, especially as a back-up acoustic.

I was also checking out the newer models of Blueridge the were coming out at the time. I purchased the lowest-priced model, the BR-40. While it had a decent volume, I was not too satisfied with the tone, and re-sold it soon after, losing a few bucks in the transaction. I also came across a BR-OM on eBay, and snagged that for about $100.00. This is similar to the BR-OS, only with a laminated top, which doesn’t have as rich of a tone. I did like that the neck was very similar in comfort, so I decided to put a pickup in it and use it for my live solo shows.

When I got my 1981 Martin D-28 around 2005, I knew that it would be my main acoustic from that point on. My acoustic collection was a bit big, and I eventually sold off the V-cut Blueridge for the same amount that I paid. It was around that time that I was finding more articles about the old Blueridge acoustics and how great they were compared to the newer models. From my experience with the BR-40, I could attest to that thought. Saga has been putting out much more quality models of Blueridge guitars over the past two decades, including the limited-edition Carter Stanley and Larry Sparks models. I have noticed that the prices for new models have jumped up in price to almost double than what they were going for about 10 years ago. Of course, that is true with just about all guitars today, be it acoustic or electric. Guitar Center and Elderly Instruments are selling the BR-40 for about $645.00. To get at the beginner market, Saga introduced a lower-priced Bristol line of acoustic guitars. This reminded me of when Martin put out the Sigma guitars years ago. These Bristol guitars are good beginner guitars, but do not have that great of a tone, due in part to so much laminated wood being used.

The older Blueridge models have also seen a price jump, probably due to the reputation that they have. Scanning eBay recently, I did see a few V-cut BR-OS models going from $300.00 to $500.00, and a Martin-style headstock BR-OS for $598.00. There was also an early made-in-Korea model labeled BR-O5 going for $350.00. If these were in great shape, it would be worth looking into. However, purchasing a used guitar online without trying it out is a risky chance.

As for the newer Blueridge models, the “Pre-War” and “Historic” models seem to have a great tone and volume, and are a lower-priced alternative to a Martin. Elderly sells these models anywhere from $865.00 to $1,995.00 with a gig bag. Personally, after playing some of these models, I am pleased more with the Sevillana 2208 dreadnought that I secured back in 2022 from a distributor in China (https://luegra.design.blog/2022/07/16/this-dreadnought-needs-to-come-to-the-u-s/). I am still hoping that this guitar can make it to the US before the world sees more international turmoil.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

IBMA World of Bluegrass: Where Will You Go?

Last week during the World of Bluegrass conference in Raleigh, the IBMA announced that 2024 would be the last year that WOB would be held in that city. It has been there for about a decade, moving from Nashville. When that move was announced, I pretty much decided that I would not be attending due to the driving distance from Detroit to Raleigh, about 14 hours one-way. That meant that I would have to take off two extra days just for driving, and the job I had at the time didn’t give me that much vacation time.

Of course, I later dropped my membership with the IBMA due to political reasons, but have continued to get emails from them, and since the association is central to the bluegrass music industry, whatever it does gets around as news to all bluegrass fans. The strange thing about this announcement was that the IBMA did not announce where it will be moving the WOB convention in 2025. I can remember when it announced in Nashville that Raleigh would be its next location for three years, then the contract kept getting renewed for three-year extensions. It was originally in Owensboro, Kentucky, moving to Louisville in 1997. It then moved to Nashville from 2005 to 2012, and then to Raleigh starting in 2013. COVID wiped out the convention completely in 2020, was brought back in a smaller capacity in 2021, and a hurricane half-ruined the 2022 edition. One can only assume that the past three years had some sort of impact on the decision to relocate.

On many of the bluegrass news websites and chat groups, the big debate is where WOB will happen starting in 2025. Chris Jones even wrote a humorous take about the future location in his Bluegrass Today column (https://bluegrasstoday.com/from-the-side-of-the-road-new-home-for-world-of-bluegrass/). I may even consider re-attending if the IBMA takes up Chris’ suggestion of holding it at Galesburg, Michigan!

If you follow any of the debate, more cities are suggested than I can ever find on a map. Will it go back to Louisville, Owensboro, or Nashville? Perhaps, but I doubt it will go back to Music City, even though Nashville has set itself up as a perfect convention city over the past two decades. The other two Kentucky locations have built themselves up to be more convention-friendly over the past few years, but it is still a “maybe” for either one.

A new location? Most likely, but where? Hard-core bluegrassers would go to war-torn Ukraine if they knew Del McCoury would be headlining. The United States is such a large country that no matter where the convention was held, it would be a long distance for some people. One also has to consider convention center availability, the amount of hotels available, highway access, airport access, hospitality and dining, smaller venues for showcasing, and cooperation with local authorities. I am sure that IBMA has a verbal agreement with some location, else they would have not made the announcement. Perhaps making the announcement, they hoped to get some bids on locating it at particular cities. It all just seems that there is a lot going unanswered with little time to fully prepare.

The IBMA has moved away a lot from its original traditional values over the past few years, which again made me leave the association. Who knows? Maybe the 2025 WOB will be in New York or San Francisco, if only to show how progressive the association has become. It would be a shame if the association would continue to ignore its most sacred traditions that the founders such as Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, Jimmy Martin, and the Osborne Brothers bought forth — that there are family and Christian values within the bluegrass community, and that while its music is now appreciated world-wide, there is still that precious heart and soul of the genre that continues to live in the east-central region of the country.

In the meantime, we still have the SPBGMA conference in Nashville this January!

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Acoustic Guitars

Jasmine Guitars: The Good, As Well As The Bad and Ugly!

Jasmine acoustic guitars. You either love them or hate them. And that depends on the model, I guess. I have had three Jasmine guitars over the years, and only one has really impressed me.

Jasmine started out as being marketed by Takamine Guitars to be a low-cost alternative to its acoustic guitar lineup. They were made during the 1990s and early 2000s in China. About 10 years ago, Jasmine was created as its own separate brand by KMC Music, and most of the guitars are manufactured in Indonesia. Early models will have “Jasmine by Takamine” on the headstock, while more recent models will just state “Jasmine.”

My first Jasmine was a 12-string (I don’t remember the model number) that was purchased used back in the mid-1990s. My pop-punk band The Masons (of detroit) (yes, that is how we spelled it) were doing some acoustic shows, and since it was just single guitar/bass/drums, I wanted to fill out the sound more with a 12-string. I remember that the thing was a pain to stay in tune, even after I replaced the tuning gears. The nut was not sturdy, moving about if you loosened even one string. Even though it had a dreadnought body, it wasn’t every loud. I actually trashed it after a few years because it was falling apart so much. Its legacy still lives on, as the headstock appears on the cover of the CD compilation that I produced in 1997, Boombacoustic!

Just prior to the COVID pandemic, I was shopping around for some acoustic guitars that I could bang around at jam sessions and such, not wanting to take my prized Martin or Blueridge guitars to get damaged. I came across a Craigslist ad that someone in town was selling a Jasmine S341 with case real cheap. He was leaving town and wanted to get rid of everything except the clothes on his back. I gave him $50, I figured that the hardshell case was worth that. I probably was not that far off with that thought. The S341 was a model that Jasmine put out in the mid-2000s to be a somewhat total package for a beginning guitarist. It retailed for about $250.00, and came with that hardshell case covered in faux leather with a big brass-like badge showing “Jasmine by Takamine” on the side. The dreadnought guitar has a black finish, something that I have never been a big fan of (apologies to Johnny Cash). The previous owner must have not played it much, or even pulled it out of the case often, as the guitar still had that glue smell to it that newer, cheaper guitars give off. Like my previous experiences with Jasmine guitars, the tone was not that great, typical of acoustic guitar bodies made almost entirely of laminated wood finished in a opaque paint. It plays well, the neck is pretty comfortable, but other than playing it solo, it wouldn’t cut through too well in a jam, especially a bluegrass setting. I played it once at a Songwriters Anonymous meeting, and then the pandemic kicked in, so it has sat in waiting ever since. I plan on selling it off soon, hopefully to someone who could appreciate it more than the previous owner or myself.

Two weeks ago, I purchased a Jasmine S35 off of eBay. I was a bit sorry at the time, as although I got a decent final bid price, the shipping was higher than the price of the guitar. It totalled just under $70, and without a case or gigbag. I received it a few days ago, and I have been surprised by the sound of this beginner acoustic! It has a dreadnought body, although at first glance, it looks a wee bit smaller. This is one of the newer models not marketed by Takamine. It has the specifications of most lower-cost acoustics (spruce sitka laminated top, mahogany sides/back, rosewood fingerboard), but the sound is much more loud than I expected, and has a much richer tone than most beginner guitars. I don’t plan on keeping it, but after a clean up and bridge modification, I am sure that I can find an interested customer. I have seen this particular model going anywhere from about $80 used to $150 new, and if all of them sound as good as the one I have now, it is a good buy.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Guitar Bluegrass Music

Josh Williams: Bluegrass Instrumental Genius

More cleaning around my soon-to-be sold house, I came across a great DVD. Guitarmageddon: Josh Williams, Andy Falco and Chris Eldridge Live at the Station Inn. This was recorded around 2007, was put out by Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, and the three of them look young and energetic. If you get a chance to watch or purchase this DVD, or come across clips on YouTube, be sure to watch it!

This got me to thinking about Josh Williams again and what an amazing bluegrass musician he truly is. If you ever get to see the 1994 documentary Gather at the River: A Bluegrass Celebration, which covers the 1993 IBMA World of Bluegrass convention, you will see the first incarnation of Pete Wernick’s Young Bluegrass All-Stars. This band included very young versions of Williams (on banjo), Chris Thile (mandolin), Cody Kilby (guitar) and Michael Cleveland (fiddle), all of whom went on to bigger fame in the bluegrass community. Williams would later join Special Consensus on mandolin, then spend a good deal of time playing guitar with Rhonda Vincent and The Rage. He would also win the IBMA Guitar Player of the Year award three times!

He would leave The Rage due to some addiction troubles, but would form a solo band, as well as sit in with a number of bluegrass and country artists. Around 2008, I got a call from Jim Lauderdale asking if I would pick up Williams from the Detroit Metro Airport and drive him to a gig in Grand Rapids, about three hours away. I agreed, but then we hit one of the worst snowstorms in west Michigan, so the three hours turned to about six hours. Moreover, Williams was in a depressed mood due to the untimely death of mandolinist Butch Baldassari earlier that day. But we kept in touch for a while (I would always refer to him as “Colonel,” due to his home state of Kentucky), but slowly lost contact.

Williams would eventually kick the addiction habit and get back to performing with Rhonda Vincent for a few more years, as well as tour on a Tony Rice package. A few years back, he decided to leave touring completely, citing spending more time with his family. His output since then has been very sparse, but fortunately, he has not been forgotten by those that have worked with him in the past and are still active.

I bring Williams up now for a few good reasons. Currently, we have some great young guitarists in the bluegrass fold, most notably Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle. I am taking nothing away from these two – I find them both as incredibly talented players. However, there were some amazing bluegrass flatpickers in the previous generation of bluegrass that has slowly been forgotten. As for the Guitarmageddon video, Eldridge gained cred performing with The Punch Brothers, and Falco has been a highlight of the band The Infamous Stringdusters. Williams should not be forgotten at all. His body of work with Special C, Rhonda Vincent, and solo projects prove that he is a fantastic instrumentalist to be highly recognized on his own.

I have found a few videos of him on YouTube recently, showing up for a jam at the Acoustic Shoppe with members of The Chapmans, and performing on some tribute projects. I hope to get in touch with him soon, but I hope more that he can get back on stage a lot in the near future to showcase what a talent he really is.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Polka Music

Perfect Song #10: “Who Stole the Kiszka” by Frankie Yankovic

I have told my buddy Ken that there are certain songs that I want played at my wake after I pass away, and this is one of them. I was raised in a Polish-American household, and my father would constantly play polka music when he was home. That man could play with the AM radio dial and find a polka station in the middle of nowhere while we were driving in the car.

As a kid, I got tired of polka music, but this song always remained in my heart. During the 1970s, Detroit had a Saturday night horror movie host called The Ghoul on Channel 50 that used this song as his introduction. I still have to pull it up on YouTube every so often when I need a good smile.

Frankie Yankovic was like the Elvis Presley of polka music, especially in the Midwest. He was of Solvene descent and grew up in Cleveland. His polka band The Yanks were extremely popular with the first-and second-generation Polonia people from the late 1940s until his death in 1998. There wasn’t a Polish, Slovene, or Bohemian immigrant family that didn’t have at least one Frankie Yankovic record. He had a number of hits, including, “I’ve Got a Wife at Home,” “Blue Skirt Waltz,” “Just Because,” and this one. He was dubbed “America’s Polka King” in 1948 during a battle of the polka bands in Milwaukee. His music appealed to the masses, especially in cities that had a high Eastern European immigrant populations such as Cleveland, Detroit, Buffalo, Chicago, and Milwaukee. Weird Al Yankovic, although not related, paid many tributes to him in his performances.

For anyone not familiar, kiszka is Polish blood sausage, originally made with animal intestine, blood, ground meat and barley. You either love it or hate it. My parents loved it, and I hated it. I still cannot stand the smell of it being cooked, let alone the taste. Which is what makes this song so special. The singer values it so much that he is willing to give up szynka (ham), kielbasa, and pierogi for his kiszka. Fortunately, Jasu (“John” in Polish) finds the kiszka and brings it back.

From the drum beat and baritone sax introduction, one can tell that this is a happy song. Polkas have that great 2/4 beat for dancing, but this song is a bit faster than normal polkas. With that fast tempo, all of the musicians are at their peak. Then when Frankie sings that first line of “Someone stole the kiszka,” you cannot help but laugh, because who in their right minds would want to steal blood sausage?

This is a definite party song. If the J. Geils Band were a polka band, they would have recorded this song. Even non-Polonia people love to hear this classic. It has all the makings of a fun song – the fast tempo, the playful saxophone, and the hilarious lyrics. My mother told me that this song was a favorite of my grandfather, and I can understand why. It is a slight humorous slam at our Polonia background, but also makes us proud to be Polonia.

If you ever need a good smile, put this song on. It’s two minutes of pure fun!

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music Music Instruction

Bluegrass School Instruction?

I came across another article this past week regarding teaching music to children. This one is from a blog that is posted on the Alfred Music website (https://www.alfred.com/blog/tips-starting-elementary-guitar-program/). Alfred Music is similar to Hal Leonard and Mel Bay, in that they produce hundreds of books and videos on musical instrument instruction. However, its focus is much more toward educational programs, covering a wider variety of instruments (strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, etc.), and setting up actual teacher/student paths.

The blog brings up some interesting thoughts for teaching guitar-centric curriculum to younger students. Some say that it is hard for a young person to learn guitar. The author states that he has had continual success with young students. My thought is that getting them to be interested in the instrument at a young age is the best bet for continued interest, not just as a hobby but perhaps as a possible profession. The struggle is getting young students to be disciplined in practice and progressing. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, distractions are aplenty, mostly coming from social media and video games. Playing video games is easy, but the teacher (or parent) needs to instill the idea that there is no long-term satisfaction with winning a video game, yet progressing on a musical instrument has tons of rewards.

The Alfred blog looks at setting up an actual guitar instruction classroom. It mentions the initial (and follow-up) cost of having everyone in class secure a guitar. It is very unlikely that in a class of about 25 elementary students, every one of them will afford a decent acoustic guitar, and it is even more unlikely that someone like Billy Strings will donate guitars to a school (https://bluegrasstoday.com/billy-strings-donates-guitars-to-all-the-students-at-his-former-school/). Thinking way back to my elementary school days, the music program consisted of everyone in 4th grade being taught basic instrumental music theory by purchasing a cheap recorder/flutophone (which one or two students’ parents even passed on), learning the basics, then moving on to some regular instrument such as trumpet, snare drum, violin, etc. While I wanted to pursue drums at the time, my parents only gave me one choice – play the old saxophone that my brother ditched, or nothing at all. After two years, I lost interest in it completely. I took an interest in guitar (particularly, bass guitar) at 15, played in my cousin’s oldies band, and went from there, much to my parents’ dismay.

The blog suggests that to cover some costs, the teacher/students/parents could resort to fundraising. Now this blog was written in 2018, pre-pandemic, and these days, people a lot more conscious of where their money goes. If anything, considering setting up such a project will require a lot a research. First, seeing if it is feasible – if enough kids would be interested in such a program in one classroom. Personally, I think that it would be unlikely, but perhaps an after-school project for an entire school would work.

Interest may also be gathered by presenting a music performance at the school by a local or touring bluegrass band. A lot of bluegrass bands have an educational program. The best initial place to find out this information is when Bluegrass Unlimited magazine publishes its Annual Talent Directory (https://bluegrassunlimited.com/article/2022-talent-directory/). Bands will note in their listing if they provide educational programs. While most kids will probably be fidgety during performance, there will most likely be a few that will take interest in learning an instrument. Maybe a few will not be interested in guitar but another instrument like bass, banjo, mandolin, or fiddle.

There are a few other suggestions within the Alfred blog to look over that I will not cover here. I recommend reading the article. If serious about starting a music program within a school, you may consider securing the instructional books that Alfred offers entitled Sound Innovations for Elementary Class Guitar (https://www.alfred.com/sound-innovations-elementary-class-guitar-overview/). I am certain that a quality basic program in elementary school can lead to a bluegrass-oriented program in middle or high school. If I could turn back my personal hands of time and stuck with using my high-school teaching degree, I would have been motivated to set up some form of bluegrass/folk music club at the school at which I was working. As one can see form my past blogs, I am very interested in getting young people to be interested in performing acoustic music, particularly bluegrass music.

Chew on it and comment.

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