Categories
Americana Music

John Hartford: Pay Attention, Kids!

I’ll try to make this as brief as possible, but it seems to be important to me and should be to you as well.

I am currently working on an article for Fiddler Magazine (www.fiddle.com) regarding the recent release of The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project: Volume 1. This album is a companion to the 2018 book John Hartford’s Mammoth Collection of Fiddle Tunes. The book contains 176 tunes from John Hartford that were never recorded by him – just written down in music notation and filed away in various notebooks. His daughter Katie Harford Hogue (not a misspelling, John’s real surname was Harford), fiddler Matt Combs and musicologist Greg Reish gathered up these tunes for the book, which is an enjoyable read even if you never heard of Hartford. This year, Hogue and Combs produced the album to include 17 of these songs, performed by a number of A-list bluegrass musicians, including Tim O’Brien, Alison Brown, Ronnie McCoury, Noam Pikelny, Chris Eldridge, and the band Hawktail among others. It sounds fantastic!

John Hartford was a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, writer and steamboat pilot, along with a dozen other unique hobbies. Faulkner, Hemmingway, Steinbeck, nor Anderson could have written a more distinct character into one of their novels. He loved music immensely. He would have jamming parties at his house in Tennessee that would last for days. He wrote one of the greatest country/pop standard songs of all time (“Gentle On My Mind”) that allowed him to live off of the royalties to do his own thing with studying old-time fiddle music and riverboat history.

Hartford died in 2001 of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, which kept him from playing his fiddle and banjo in his final months. His last major appearance was in the music documentary Down From The Mountain, which highlighted the music from the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou. In 1994, I was fortunate enough to jam with him for a few minutes at Gruhn’s Guitars in Nashville. I was passing through town to attend a Civil War reenactment, and stopped into the store to try out a few guitars. From behind me, Hartford walks up, grabs a banjo, and asks me to fall in with him while he started “Cripple Creek.” That was two minutes of Heaven for me, two minutes that I will never forget in all of my life.

I bring up John Hartford because I feel he STILL has never received the recognition that he deserves with the musical audience. Sure, thousands of people know “that Glen Campbell song,” and he has been recognized for lifetime achievements by the International Bluegrass Music Association, the Americana Music Association, and the St. Louis Walk of Fame. However, do people (other than his hardcore fans) realize how much of an influence he had on today’s music? He is considered the Father of Newgrass, which had a cult following in the 1970s and 80s but has become a fixture in the Americana music genre. As most musicians progress to learn more varied styles of playing, he went in reverse, intensely studying old-time fiddling forms so that they would not disappear from history.

I promised to keep this short, so I will state this – Soak up as much as you can about John Hartford! Listen to his music, check out what he was studying, read some of his writings. The man was a cultural genius. People like him come around only once every hundred years or so. So pay attention to what he was saying and doing! Below are some recommendations to get started.
Albums: Gentle On My Mind and Other Originals; Aereo-Plain; Morning Bugle; Nobody Know What You Do; Cadillac Rag; The Speed of the Longbow; Live From Mountain Stage (some of these are out of print, but worth the hunt)
Books: John Hartford’s Mammoth Collection of Fiddle Tunes; John Hartford’s Old-Time Fiddle Favorites (songbook)
Articles: “John Hartford: A Fun and Open Discussion” (Fiddler Magazine, Spring 1997, out-of-print, can be found at www.fiddle.com/articles.page?index=40&articleid=19118)
Video: Down From The Mountain; John Hartford’s Old-Time Fiddling: Trying to Teach My Hands to Do What I Hear in My Head

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

Bluegrass Breakfast … Sort Of.

Well all right! I finally have something to gripe about that is bluegrass related.

A few months back, WSM 650-AM out of Nashville (www.wsmonline.com) started broadcasting a program at 5:00 am Central Time weekdays called “Bluegrass Breakfast.” Now, being in the Detroit area, that is 6:00 am, and I can usually get a good signal of the station on my AM radio driving to work (ever since I was a little kid, I’ve loved tuning in far away stations on the AM radio at night). OK, so it’s really only about 20 minutes of music, due to commercials and the news at the top of the hour. But at least it’s good bluegrass music in the morning, sort of like the old Tom T. Hall song, “Bill Monroe for Breakfast.”

Well, not exactly.

Maybe one song every two or three shows will be a classic bluegrass cut from the likes of Monroe, the Stanley Brothers or Flatt & Scruggs. Most of the songs are of the modern variety, which you would think is at least bluegrass in sound, content, and/or structure. However, you would be wrong. Whoever is programming that half hour has little knowledge or concern about what music is going over the airwaves. There is vary little variety in the playlist, and no one at the station seems to give a squat. For example, at least three times during the week, one will hear “Gone Gone Gone” by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. Sure, Alison started out as a bluegrass performer, but she has branched out over the past decade, and this song (which won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance) is hardly bluegrass. If you aren’t familiar with the song, here’s the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVRxAX6fwg

Another song on “Repeat” throughout the week is “County Line” by Steel Blossoms. I like the song, it’s a good song, with some great visual lyrics. However, with the electric slide guitar dominating the sound, it’s hardly bluegrass. Again, here’s the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PyIhVyAtCY . This sort of tells me that someone at the station knows someone involved with the band and is getting them airplay when they can’t get it during the country-music hours.

These are just two recent examples that I have come across. Honestly, I have never heard either of these songs on any other radio or streaming bluegrass program, Considering that there are thousands of quality bluegrass songs out there that the bluegrass audience would appreciate more, you would think that someone involved with the programming would get his/her head out of the proverbial butt and make it look like he/she knows what he/she is doing! For Pete’s sake, it’s only about 20 minutes of programming! One would think that SOMEONE could handle six or seven songs that fit the bill each day.

I was moved enough to write the station a few days ago to file a complaint regarding the choice of music and lack of variety. I did receive an email back stating that WSM received my email and is forwarding it to the program director. Knowing haw crazy radio stations work these day, they will probably cancel the program rather than change up one or two songs.

Does this bug anyone else? Has anyone listened to the program? Tune in at 650 AM in the morning or online. Let me know. Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

Bluegrass Bass: Part 4 (Final?)

Happy Easter, everyone! It’s not as exciting of a holiday as it should be, what with the Coronavirus “stay home” situation, and there’s not much to gripe about in the bluegrass world, since we are all in the same boat. So I figured that I will talk a bit more about using the electric bass guitar in a bluegrass setting and try to finish up this topic.

I have covered the bass, amplifier, accessories, and some pointers on learning to play bluegrass-style. These few remarks will deal with getting your electric bass to sound more like an upright bass. The first two tips cost nothing or next to nothing, but the others will mean investing a little cash.

Tip #1 – Put a small piece of sponge (the cheap nylon type that you can get at the dollar store) and slip it under the strings right where the strings meet the saddles at the bridge. This will cut the sustain on the strings when plucked as well as get rid of some of the high-frequency overtones. The magnetic pickups in a guitar work off of electrical vibrations from the string movement, and in turn, allow the sound of the string to sustain longer. Muffling the strings a little will cut back a bit on that, which means the vibrations will be less, like the plucking of an upright bass string. In the 1950s and early 1960s, bass guitars from Fender and Gibson actually came equipped with a muting device at the bridge so that the sound was close to an upright, which was still in demand on recordings. A good example of a P-bass using a mute is James Jamerson’s bass playing on early Motown records. It really wasn’t until the late 1960s that the bass sound came into its own and those devices were discontinued. Be sure that the sponge is not too big as to muffle the strings completely, and as close to the bridge as possible.

Tip #2 – Where you position your plucking hand makes a difference in the sound. DON’T USE A PICK! You are going to want to pluck the strings the way a standup bass player does. They usually have the plucking hand right where the fingerboard ends at the body. The strings have much more play and less high end at this position. You can use your thumb (early electric basses had a finger rest on the pickguard for use of the thumb to pluck to get a standup bass feel, while today the rest is used by the thumb for finger plucking), or bring your hand up toward the fingerboard, bend it down at the wrist, and pluck with the index finger or index/middle fingers pressed together. Don’t play modern finger plucking, where the index and middle fingers work in tandem (John Entwhistle made it famous, Jaco Pastorius made it an art form). No, stick with the thumb or single-touch finger, the way a standup player does. You will get used to the callouses.

Tip #3 – Consider using either flatwound or tapewound bass guitar strings. Roundwound strings, especially when new, give off a lot of high-frequency harmonics, sounding like the lower notes of a piano. Flatwound and tapewound strings will cut some of that high end, yet will still give a clean sound, even when using thumb and fingers instead of a pick. The downside to this is that flatwound and tapewound strings are expensive, usually running about $30 per set, which is about twice as much as a set of roundwound strings. You can check out a number of videos on YouTube where players are comparing flatwound and tapewound strings to roundwound strings, although most of them are playing rock or funk grooves to showcase. If you are using a short-scale bass (usually those with a 30-inch scale), finding flatwounds is extremely difficult, and finding tapewounds is near impossible (which is a little strange, since the Hofner 500-1 “Beatle Bass” is a 30-inch scale and was designed for flat- and tapewounds).

Tip #4 – Try an acoustic simulator guitar effect pedal. These pedals are primarily designed for electric guitar players who want to get a near-acoustic sound for a song or two at a gig without having to pull out an actual acoustic guitar. Acoustic guitarists who plugged into the PA system found that these pedals gave them a much more natural sound with a little tweaking of knobs. The first one was produced by Tom Scholz’s Rocktron company. I had one of these, and it did have some great tone control, but was a bit noisy, so forget using it in a recording situation. I also had one of Behringer’s early acoustic simulator pedals, which was also quite noisy. Pedals available today range in price from about $30 to over $150. It’s more of a gimmick than a necessity, to be honest, but if you have money to blow, go ahead.

There are a number of videos discussing similar techniques on YouTube. One technique that is covered on some of the vids that I don’t recommend is “palming” the strings, This involves muting the strings at the bridge with the side of your hand on the pinky side. While it deadens the strings, you are plucking near the bridge, which has more bite than bass.

Play with the tone controls, both on the bass and amplifier, and listen to what sounds the best. Also listen to bluegrass recordings for the upright bass, and see how you can get as close to it. It won’t sound exact, but it will be close, and a lot less money spent overall than even a cheap standup bass. The only problem will be (and continue to be) convincing the stubborn traditionalists that there is no place in bluegrass for an electric bass.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

Bluegrass Bass: Part 3

OK, so you’ve been practicing the bass for a while on your own and you would like to take a chance at jamming with some other bluegrassers. I haven’t gone into discussing bass guitar amplifiers yet, so let’s do that.

Before we go any further, make sure you are purchasing an amplifier for bass guitar. A regular guitar amplifier has different circuitry, and the speakers cannot handle the low end of a bass guitar, which will mean they will get blown out pretty quickly.

When purchasing a bass amp, there are three main things to consider: Power output – this means the wattage kicking out through the speaker, so to speak. You can get anything from a 5-watt practice amp to a 1,000-watt thunder-creating mammoth! Since you will be working with three or four acoustic musicians at this time, a 20- to 25-watt bass amp should be sufficient. You could probably get away with something as low as 10 watts, but you may find that you are turning up the volume to distortion levels just to be heard at times. Anything more than 50 watts, and you are paying for wattage that you don’t need at this time (unless you also plan to play in a rock band), plus you have to consider the size of the amp with that much wattage (covered later). Take a look at Guitar Center and Sweetwater websites and see what they have in that area. Remember to be looking at power output wattage. Some of the off-shoot and unfamiliar name brands of amplifiers will list an amp as a 25 watt, but the back panel of that amp will show a 25-watt “power consumption,” which is the power it is taking in, so it may be only putting out 10 watts. Buying one brand new, expect to pay about $100 for a reputable brand (Fender, Acoustic, Ampeg) 25-watt bass amp. You may find one a lot less used on eBay or Craigslist, or a lesser-known brand (be sure to test it out before buying).
Portability – Everyone at a jam will be walking in with his/her instrument in its case – except YOU! You will also be carrying in an amplifier (as well as necessary cords, more on that later), so think about that. You don’t want to be needing a hand cart to move your stuff, and others will be irritated if they have to help you with your equipment for a simple jam. A typical P-bass weighs about 10 pounds, and more depending on if you are using a gig bag or hard case. As an example, the Fender Rumble 25 bass amp weighs about 21 pounds, and that is one of the lighter 25-watt amps! This amp (and comparable ones) use an 8-inch speaker and are solid state circuitry. A bigger speaker will mean more weight, as well as tube circuitry. On the flip side, you may find a bass amp using smaller speakers, but because of the ultra-portability, you are paying extra. One thing to mention here: get a combo amp, which means the amp and the speaker are in one unit. Buying the amp and speaker cabinet as separate units (known in the rock world as a “stack”) does not make sense for a small-wattage amp. Again, shop around a bit, and if you are able to test them out at a music stores, pick the amp up to test the weight as well as plugging in to test the sound.
Features – An input jack, volume and tone controls, and a speaker are obvious. However, there are a lot of features on amps that you may or may not need.

  • Multiple inputs. Some amps have two input jacks, which is fine, but not necessary.
  • Advanced tone control. This can range from a single tone control on off-brand amps to slider graphic equalizer controls. While shaping the tone, like cutting some of the high end, is useful, a graphic EQ may not be worth to price in features, especially if you are playing live, and the room shapes the sound as much as the amp. A single tone control is sufficient, but a two- or three-knob tone control circuit is perfect.
  • Headphone out jack. If you don’t already have a headphone amp and want to hear yourself practicing, this is useful.
  • Auxiliary input jack. This is if you want to run a CD or MP3 player into the amp so you can play along to songs. Useful for some, not for others.
  • Line output jack. Used if you are using the amp as a pre-amplifier to a larger amp. This is actually a good feature if you are playing a larger venue and they are using a PA system. The soundman can tap into that jack and mix the bass into the house PA without miking your amp. These are usually 1/4-inch high impedance jacks, but some amps actually have the XLR low-impedance microphone jacks, which are better for the soundman.
  • Effect loop jacks. Meant to plug in a special effect guitar pedal or rack unit to mix it in through the amp. Definitely not needed unless the amp is a good price.
  • Fuse holder. Some amps will have a small fuse wired into the system to protect the circuitry. A good feature.


The thing to remember is that, with more features, the higher the cost. Reputable brands such as Fender and Ampeg are going to cost more than some unknown brand, and buying brand new from a reputable dealer will be a bit safer if something needs fixing.

If for some reason you decide to surf eBay or Craigslist for a bargain, be cautious. That doesn’t mean that there are no great buys there (I recently purchased a Fender BXR-100 100-watt bass amp in great shape, only two knobs missing, off the local Craigslist for $50! That’s less than half of what it is worth on the used amp market), but you are not going to have the same warranty coverage that you would get from buying at Guitar Center. As for eBay, if you don’t know much about amplifiers, stay away from anything used, even if it is a great price. Check the reputation score of the seller, then don’t be afraid to email questions. If buying from Craigslist, try to take someone with you that can at least listen to the amp with you. Make sure that the person will allow you to plug the amp in and try it out. If not, skip that person altogether! A lot of people will say that they got it in an estate sale and don’t know if it works, then skip that person as well. Make sure to take a guitar cord and power cord with you as well as the bass.

If testing a used amp, check for a few things. Turn each knob and listen for scratching noise. This means the controls are dirty. If it’s slight, a shot of contact cleaner spray can help once you get it home. However , if the scratching is loud and all over the spin, that pot will need replacing, which is costly if you don’t know how to do it yourself. Also listen for speaker distortion at higher volume. Wiggle the guitar jack at the input slightly to hear if there is any loose contact. Also, look for physical abuse, like massive duct tape patches or hot glue spots. This may mean that the amp was kicked around a lot and one more knock may do permanent damage to the inside wiring.

One final note on this matter: Make sure to invest in a good-quality guitar cable. The cables that sometimes come when purchasing a new bass guitar are poor quality, not even good in an emergency situation. A decent 25-foot cable should cost about $20, but it’s worth it. The more you pay, in all honesty, the better quality it will be. Also, get yourself a good extension cord, a heavy-duty one (not an appliance type) if you don’t have one already.

This ran longer than I thought. The next blog will be about tips to make the electric bass sound a bit more like a stand-up bass. In the meantime, chew on it and comment.

Categories
Acoustic Guitars Bluegrass Music Musicians

Addendum: Coronavirus, Michigan Bluegrass, and Glarry Guitars

Some follow-up on previous blogs …

Coronavirus – the US death toll is over 2,000 as of this writing (March 29). It is going to double for sure, most likely way more than that. We have to remain vigilant and stay to ourselves as much as possible. It is sad that even when we need to turn to God, the churches are closed indefinitely.

Internet concerts are popping up like crocuses on the lawn. That can be bittersweet. Many of the potential viewers are in the same situation as the performers – no job and needing money. Add to that every musical artist is doing this, which means most will be pushed by the wayside. That’s showbiz. It was a positive thing to see that Congress passed a bill providing some financial relief to performers of the arts. However, one idea that artists must realize is that they chose this career, no one pointed a gun at them to do it. It is a freelance type of employment, and it moves the way the wind blows. Whether it is a school district budget, a city or municipal budget, or a pandemic, the arts and entertainment funds are usually the first to get cut during hard times. Please accept the fact that you may have to forego any reliance on playing guitar or singing, and this may be a situation for a long time. I also see these virtual concerts being more of a norm in the future, with live performance venues suffering once the virus threat has subsided.

A good read is an article by Bobby Owsinski in Forbes Magazine: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbyowsinski/2020/03/19/music-business-after-lockdown/#1506837f7c8c

Michigan Bluegrass – While I complained about how little attention is paid to the history of bluegrass music that happened in Michigan, I must say that part of the blame lays on the media in Michigan, particularly in Detroit. On March 22, Eric Weissberg passed away in a nursing home located in suburban Detroit. He was a multi-instrumentalist who performed and recorded with Bob Dylan, Judy Collins and The Talking Heads. His most famous work was playing the banjo part on the hit recording of “Dueling Banjos,” which was on the soundtrack to the movie Deliverance. The New York Times had an obituary; Rolling Stone had an obituary; neither the Detroit News nor the Detroit Free Press had an obituary. Sad. I was motivated enough to write to the Detroit News story desk and complain. I doubt that it will go anywhere. RIP Eric, your work is appreciated.

Glarry Guitars – Well, these guitars are becoming quite popular, and my Glarry blog is the most read of all of them. Checking out the Glarry website (www.glarrymusic.com), in the Acoustic Guitars section, all of the guitars are sold out except one, which I predict will be out very soon as well. Now granted, these are made in China, and with restrictions on imports due to the virus, this may take some time to recover getting them back into the Glarry US warehouses. However, it does go to show that these guitars must be worth the money. One can read the numerous reviews and posts on the website and see that almost all respondents are satisfied with the guitars. Once I got my GT502 set up, I compared it to my Jasmine by Takamine S341 and the Glarry outshined! It won’t replace my Martin D-28, but I may try to get it into the hands of someone who will do wonders with it. I truly hope that this surge in purchasing quality but budget-priced musical instruments helps get people, especially kids, picking them up and putting down the Playstations.

I should have something different to talk about next week. Until then, chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

Music and the Coronavirus

The Coronavirus is hitting the US as of this writing (March 21) with a vengeance. Thousands of people are infected, and about 150 have died in the country from it. Compared to other countries, especially in Europe and the Middle East, we are relatively tame. Only a few states and cities are declaring mandatory stay-at-home. Most of the country is doing it on a volunteer basis, with many non-essential businesses closing and restaurants doing only carry-out.

Bars and concert venues are closed until further notice. This puts a lot of musicians out of work. Bluegrass artists are especially hit hard, as most of their income as bands come from touring and festivals. With each day passing, there is an announcement that another festival is being cancelled or postponed until later in the year. During this time of the year, many bluegrass bands hit small venues for weekend two-set shows in the north and midwest areas. Now that those are cancelled, the tour buses and vans stand idle.

However, musical artists, managers, agents and promoters are resilient, and are making lemonade out of lemons. It was heartwarming to see that The Grand Ole Opry, which hasn’t cancelled a show ever in its near-century run, will continue to perform on Saturday nights (sans audience) and broadcast it on the radio and through various channels on the internet. The world-famous Station Inn in Nashville is keeping some of its music schedule going by webcasting on its site and having a virtual “tip jar” for onlookers to pay the band. Hundreds of artists are taking to the internet to webcast solo or small combos on StageIt or other concert websites, as well as on Facebook. I urge you to check with your favorite bluegrass artists on their websites to see if they are performing online. As AT&T used to say, it is the next best thing to being there.

Some of the most touching musical moments that I have seen lately on YouTube are the number of videos showing apartment complexes in Europe, which are under lock-down, with musicians performing on balconies for the other residents to enjoy. Some even show multiple musicians trading licks and accompanying each other from different balconies. Music knows no barriers.

With my regular job office closed until further notice, I am working at home (actually my mom’s house, as there is heavy construction going on in front of my house at this time). Yes, I am going batty occasionally, it is confining and stressful to be in the same place for work and after work. It has, however, made me work more on my guitar and fiddle playing, along with songwriting. What little spare time I have in my life I can use it to improve on my musical skills.

This self-quarantine situation is not going to end soon, but it will end eventually. There is promise a few months down the road. The two big roots-music conferences from the Americana Music Association and the International Bluegrass Music Association are still planning to go in September. Little-by-little, we are learning to cope, and music is one of the medicines for the soul.

Now is a good time. If you never picked up a guitar or banjo, do it now. If you already play an instrument, play it some more. Go on YouTube and learn a new lick. Get one of Pete Wernick’s Jam videos (www.drbanjo.com) and play with the virtual band. Record yourself and see how you have improved over the time. When this is all over, you will be a better person for it.

Support music in any way that you can, be it watching and tipping a band on the internet, buying a guitar for yourself that you never thought you would, or just singing. Music supports us in our down-spirited times in so many ways.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

Red Ellis and the Forgotten History of Michigan Bluegrass

I recently read in the March issue of Bluegrass Unlimited that Red Ellis passed away in Little Rock, Arkansas on December 29, 2019. He was 90 years old. The paragraph in the “Life’s Highways” section noted his work in bluegrass gospel with Jimmy Williams and The Huron Valley Boys during the 1960s. The note made a few errors, stating he was born in 1919 and that he served in the Army during World War II (he actually served during the Korean War).

However, the most upsetting error to me was that there was no mention that most of Red’s recorded bluegrass work was done while he lived in the Detroit area. The notice was not well researched, suggesting that all of his work was performed while he lived in Arkansas. I have been doing some research on Red lately for possible induction into the Southeast Michigan Bluegrass Hall of Honor. Red, shortly after his mustering out of the Army, moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan to work for American Airlines and later Ford Motor Company. He also worked as a DJ and engineer at local radio stations in the Ann Arbor area.

During this time, Red hooked up with mandolinist Jimmy Williams, who previously worked with The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers and Mac Wiseman, to record and release a number of records for Starday label. He also recorded with The Huron Valley Boys and Red Ellis and The Crossmen. All of these recordings were gospel bluegrass in content, with many of them being re-released on the Old Homestead label out of Brighton, Michigan. He moved back to Arkansas in 1967, but reunited with Williams in 1971 to record two albums on the Jessup label out of Jackson, Michigan. His last few years were spent DJ-ing and occasionally performing in Arkansas.

This just seems to be one more example in which Michigan is often forgotten when it comes to talking about bluegrass music during the 1950s and 60s. The automobile industry was booming during this time, and many men from Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and the Carolinas relocated to the Motor City for steady work. Want for back-home music made bluegrass and old-time country music extremely popular on the radio stations and in local dives. Jimmy Martin and The Osborne Brothers got their first post-Monroe big breaks in Detroit performing on WJR as well as Casey Clark’s TV show on CKLW out of Windsor.

The meteoric rise of The Motown Sound suffocated the bluegrass scene in the Detroit area, with most popular artists moving back south by then. Heck, Charlie Moore even recorded a song in 1972 (which has been covered many times) called “I’m Leaving Detroit.” Today, while there is no great scene for bluegrass here, there are remnants of fans at the local Kentuckians of Michigan hall. The west side of the state has produced some fantastic talent, with the band Detour as well as guitar wizard Billy Strings making names for themselves. Even when bluegrass was at one of its lowest points during the 1970s, the Jessup label helped keep it alive, releasing two albums by Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys (featuring young versions of Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs).

The history books on bluegrass music seem to completely ignore how popular and developing the genre was during the 1950s and 60s in Michigan due to the automobile manufacturing workforce. It gets mentioned as a footnote at best. It is even more insulting when it gets misrepresented in coverage. It is high time that this small piece of bluegrass music history gets more recognition. There are a number of ancestors in Michigan who should be proud of what bluegrass meant to the area in past decades. Hopefully, organizations such as the Southeast Michigan Bluegrass Music Association and the West Michigan Bluegrass Music Association will step up even more to not only preserve, but to promote the great history that is there.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Nashville

I, Too, Believe In Nashville

By now, everyone is aware that, early March 3rd Tuesday morning, tornadoes swept through central Tennessee. Cookeville, Mt. Juliet, and Nashville all got hit hard, with 25 reported deaths total. In Nashville, the sections of town known as Germantown and East Nashville/Five Points, places where much of the musicians and songwriters in town reside, were hit the hardest. Reports say that the Nashville tornado traveled approximately 50 miles total.

Once I learned about the tornadoes when I woke up Tuesday, I spent all of my morning texting, calling, and emailing all of my friends in Nashville, praying that I would hear something back soon (power was out over most of the city as expected). Fortunately, as of this writing, everyone of my friends has checked back in as safe.

This is not the first disaster for Music City in recent history. There was another line of tornadoes back in 1998. In 2010, downtown Nashville flooded due to heavy rains and a miscalculation of dam control. Yet the spirit of the city lived on.

Photos of the devastation were popping up on the internet within a few hours of the event. One that stands out is an iconic snapshot of the Basement East music venue in East Nashville. I usually hit this bar whenever I am in town, and to see what happened to the place is both hurtful and proud of the city. The bar is completely destroyed, with only one corner of an outer wall standing. Yet, that corner has a patriotic mural with the words “I Believe In Nashville” emblazoned.

That says it all about one of my favorite cities. Within hours of the disaster, citizens were out on the street, pausing for a few moments, then moving forward. They checked on others, cleaned debris from the streets, and the air filled with the sound of chain saws trimming fallen tree limbs. Those that weren’t doing actual clean-up were out there distributing water and sandwiches.

Because Nashville is such a closely-knit community, the bigger music stars came out to help as well. Dierks Bentley, who had just missed the tornado at a local airport, was on hand at his drummer’s destroyed house to help clean up. Tuesday evening started a swarm of benefit concerts for tornado victims at The Station Inn as well as many of the bars along Broadway. Many more were donating money to various charities set up for the disaster.

I kind of know what these people are going through. A tornado came through my town of Hamtramck back in July of 1997. It destroyed a small lumber yard two blocks from where I was living. Power was out for nearly a week. I also remember neighbors sticking with each other. People who never really talked before were playing cards together by battery light. Everyone walked the streets checking in on everyone else. Tornadoes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are horrendous. But, in some ways, they bring people closer together because they have no prejudices. They destroy the houses of white, black, rich, poor, gay, straight, all people. With that, everyone reflects with that “it could have been me” thought, and empathy and sympathy take over.

It hurts that so much of my beloved Nashville was destroyed, and that some people lost their lives from a storm that gave little warning. I am thankful that it was not worse, and that the people I love and care about are all safe. I believe in Nashville as well, and I know that this will only make the city greater in strength.

If possible, please contribute to one of the following charities to assist Nashville tornado victims:

Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (www.cfmt.org)
United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties (www.igfn.us/F/2oz0/n)
Red Cross (www.redcross.org)

Categories
Acoustic Guitars

Glarry GT502: Good First Acoustic

I have talked briefly before about making musical instruments affordable so that anyone can learn to play music (see Bluegrass Bass: Part 1). Fortunately, there are some instruments that are affordable to beginners, although the quality and playability can come into question, which in turn can be a motivating factor on continuing to play music, especially with a youngster.

A few months back I learned about a company in China called Glarry (www.glarrymusic.com). It produces a number of different acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric bass, ukelele, melodica, and percussion models at extremely affordable prices. Now, if I had seen a new acoustic guitar anywhere at a department store or eBay for under $50 two years ago, I could assure you that it would have been absolutely unplayable, with garbage tuning gears, no fret balance, and action way too high to finger any chords.

However, a check on YouTube shows a number of video reviews for Glarry guitars, and almost all of them have overall positive feedback for the instruments. I had written about Glarry on LinkedIn a few months back, stating that it could possibly be making the Model T of acoustic guitars. The reviewers range from Joe Six-Packs to professional guitarists and repair persons. There were a few things that most of them agreed upon about the guitars when pulled out of the box and set up for first-time playing, which is what I wanted to find out as well.

I decided to purchase the Glarry GT502 Dreadnought Cutaway Spruce Acoustic Guitar. At $45.99, it is the lowest-priced dreadnought in their line. The package comes with a gig bag, hex wrench for adjusting the neck, and pickguard (which is not attached, allowing the buyer to choose to put it on). Shipping is free, although you can pay a few bucks more for faster shipping and insurance. You can only pay by credit card or PayPal, since all of the transactions are done with the China office. This can be a turnoff, since there are so many sham Chinese companies popping up on the internet. However, this company has a good reputation, and does have warehouses in the US.

The guitar arrived in three days, and my experience was like most of the YouTube reviewers. The shipping box is just one layer of cardboard. The area near the headstock was crushed, so I feared the headstock was damaged (fortunately, it was not). The guitar itself was wrapped only in thin packing material, not even bubble wrap. Fortunately, FedEx was somewhat careful, and it all came undamaged.

Once unwrapped, I went about checking to see if all parts were there and working. I tried to approach it like someone with no guitar experience, but that was not to be. I started going over the structure with a fine tooth comb, and saw that, for the most part, the guitar was worth the cost. The neck was straight, so no need to adjust (even though that hex key is provided and the adjustment is easily accessible). The tuning gears, while not the best, are durable enough. The frets themselves are good quality, but the end cuts are rough, especially down past the 12th fret. This can be irritating when moving your hand over the fretboard. The action was much higher than what it should be, but that was due to the saddle being leveled bad. Also, the saddle divots for the strings to guide over were next to nothing, which meant the strings were moving all over while trying to tune and strumming hard.

Once I tuned it, I noticed that, while it was playable, there was a lot of work needed to get this guitar into a quality playable situation. The strings on the guitar were extremely cheap, and one of them was so dead-sounding that I thought there was a problem with either the saddle or headstock nut. The saddle being at a bad level meant that it was hard to finger down fretted notes past the 7th fret. The guitar is a lot lighter than a Martin or other stalwart dreadnoughts. While the top of the body is made of spruce, the sides and back are made from basswood, which is a cheaper, less durable wood available in Asia. Once unwrapped, the heavy aroma of glue comes out, so you know how much of it was used to put the guitar together. The tone is good but not comparable to a well-aged Martin. However, for a guitar at less than $50, it is a true bargain.

There are some things that you can do to get this Glarry acoustic to sound better and be a solid beginner guitar as well as a reliable back-up for someone with a higher-quality primary guitar. Two things to do immediately:

  • Change the strings. The strings that are already on the guitar are probably from some bulk pile at the factory in China, and are really low quality. You will notice a big difference. Check with your local music store or a guitar-playing friend. If you are a beginner, start off with an extra-light gauge set of acoustic strings (not electric or electric-acoustic). A set with the high E string at about .011 will be good on beginner fingers. Once your finger tips start to callous and you want a stronger tone, you can move up to heavier gauge strings. This shouldn’t break the bank, as a decent set can be had for around $8.00.
  • Get a better gig bag or case. The bag that comes with the guitar is extremely cheap with no padding. It has the same durability as a windbreaker jacket. While it will keep the dust off of the guitar indoors, it is not good for traveling. Again, check with a local guitar store or check online sources like eBay or Sweetwater. You should be able to pick up a gig bag for $15 and up that has padding as well as carrying straps. Make sure that you are getting one for a dreadnought full-size acoustic guitar. Glarry does sell quality hard-shell cases, but they cost more than the guitar itself, so it is up to you if you want to invest that much to carry a beginner guitar.

Other recommended work on this model to get it sounding good may need to be done by someone who does guitar repair work if you are not skilled enough. They are not difficult jobs, but unless you have at least a little woodworking experience, you may want to ask around. These jobs may cost about as much as you paid for the guitar, but the result will be a great player.

  • Shave down the saddle. Again, almost all of the review videos, as well as my guitar, had a very high saddle (the white bar that the strings rest on by the soundhole, if you didn’t already know). A good 1/16 to 1/8 inch needs to be taken off, but this is one of those cases where one would file off just a bit from the bottom evenly, then replace it into the bridge and re-evaluate the string height on the fretboard. If doing this on your own, a good reference book that I mentioned in a previous blog is Guitar Setup & Maintenance by Chad Johnson (Hal Leonard Publishing ISBN 978-1-4584-1824-1). NOTE: The saddle (as well as the nut and bridge pins) is made of plastic, which is cheap and does not do much for the guitar tone. Be careful shaving it, as it is easy to remove too much.
  • Smooth out the fret ends along the side of the fretboard. If you have the confidence to do it on your own, take a sanding block with fine sandpaper and evenly glide it along the length of the fretboard edge, slightly angling the top of the block toward the center of the fretboard. This should smooth out some of the snag ends of the frets sticking out beyond the white binding. Again, take it to a repairperson if you prefer and have the extra money.

There are a few other quirks, like the markers on the fretboard and side binding are off in places. For a guitar under 50 bucks, you cannot expect much. However, this Glarry acoustic does fit the bill for any beginner who wants to get started with bluegrass or other folk-type guitar music and doesn’t want to sink in a lot of money just in case the mind changes shortly thereafter.

I may talk about this guitar more later, particularly comparisons to other acoustic guitars and how you can upgrade it. In the meantime, chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

Bluegrass Unsung Hero: Andy Griffith

Every year at the World of Bluegrass conference sponsored by the International Bluegrass Music Association, they present Momentum Awards for musicians and people in the industry that have had an impact on the progress of the music format. One person who definitely deserves an award (albeit posthumously) is television star Andy Griffith.

Andy Griffith was a legend. He was a great actor who could do both comedy and drama, serve as both the hero and villain, and made all of his characters believable. Of course, what he is best remembered for is the role of Sheriff Andy Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show. While he continually helped keep the peace in Mayberry along with a number of comedic characters, he also had a charm that could put anyone at ease. A good friend and I will continually text each other to say that we are in one of those moods that only an episode or two of The Andy Griffith Show can cure.

What I respect Griffith the most for, and what so many people seem to forget about him, is his love for music, particularly roots-based music like bluegrass and Gospel. Throughout the series of the television show, there was hardly an episode where at the very least Andy could be found strumming a guitar on the porch in the evening.

Griffith was seeped in music as much as in acting. He graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Music and was the president of the glee club. One of his first great roles in film was as the guitar-slinging bum turned political influencer “Lonesome” Larry Rhodes. Previous to that, he had released a comedy album and appeared on Broadway. Then came the role of Sheriff Andy Taylor. It seemed he had a guitar to his side more than a pistol. He brought forth a persona that made everyone wish that he was the sheriff of their town.

But the love of music went beyond strumming a guitar. Early episodes included appearances of the West Coast bluegrass group The Country Boys, which included brothers Clarence and Roland White and would eventually become The Kentucky Colonels. One of these shows revolved around a city-slicker record executive coming to Mayberry to record local bands, which included Griffith performing a few tunes with the band. Other episodes included Gospel singing by fellow Broadway actor Jack Prince (who portrayed moonshiner Rafe Hollister), and Andy promoting a rockabilly guitar player named Jim Lindsey (portrayed by James Best, better known later as Sheriff Rosco Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard). Even the show’s theme song was a catchy tune, still with us today in a Lincoln SUV commercial with Matthew McConaughey.

However, the most popular musical episodes involved the arrival of the Darling family to town. Denver Pyle was the father figure and did the talking, while his four silent sons were the members of the bluegrass band The Dillards. Every episode they appeared usually had two songs, with either Rodney Dillard, Griffith, or sister Charlene (played by Maggie Peterson) singing lead. While Pyle playing a jug with the band was laughable, those appearances helped not only The Dillards, but folk and bluegrass music in general at a time when bluegrass was found mostly on college campuses.

Yes, one can say that The Beverly Hillbillies show, with its theme song “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” and appearances by Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs was more prominent. The theme song was a hit on the Billboard charts and, along with “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” appearing in the movie Bonnie & Clyde, got Lester & Earl back into the spotlight. However, those appearances on The Beverly Hillbillies seemed much more comical and hokey compared to the music on The Andy Griffith Show. Both shows were comedy, but music performances on TAGS seemed much more part of the storyline, and never seemed like it was promoting something else.

Even after that show went off the air, and Griffith went on to Matlock as well as a number of film roles, he still had a passion for music. He put out a number of Gospel and folk-style albums in the 80s and 90s. He also made appearance on a number of variety shows singing folk and Gospel songs. In 2003, Martin Guitar Company showed its appreciation for him by issuing a limited-edition Martin D-18 Andy Griffith Acoustic Guitar. If a company like Martin can see how important Griffith was for roots music, then a whole lot of other people and organizations should as well.

Andy Griffith was as American as apple pie and baseball. If a fifth face was to go on Mount Rushmore, it should be his.

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started