A short blog this week, just showcasing three YouTube channels that you may want to check out.
World Bluegrass Day – I am not sure when this channel officially launched, but it was created to celebrate World Bluegrass Day on October 1st. The channel currently has 205 videos dedicated to promoting the bluegrass format. This includes performances from legendary artists, interviews, and short documentaries on related artists and festivals. It is definitely worth it for anyone wanting to learn more about bluegrass, which now during the winter months and spending more time indoors, might be a worthwhile subscription.
Cody M. Music – Cody is a recent graduate from the Bluegrass and Old-Time Country Music program at East Tennessee State University. He’s a multi-instrumentalist, but this channel is dedicated to playing bluegrass guitar. He covers choices in guitars, rhythm patterns, simple solos, and has a thing for covering Billy Strings techniques. Some of his advice and lessons are great, but I find myself disagreeing with a few of his statements and suggestions. I do recommend checking out the channel, as you may pick up some improvements on your bluegrass guitar playing.
Deeslounge615 – I first visited Dee’s Lounge when I was in Nashville last year for the SPBGMA conference. I saw Chris Jones and The Night Drivers one night and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes the next night. The cool thing is that it broadcasts shows at the bar live on its YouTube channel every night a band is performing. If you subscribe to the channel, they will send you a notification what artist is performing that evening, and you have the option of “tipping” the artist through Venmo. Acts include bluegrass, country, roots-rock and folk. If you need a dose of live music but don’t feel like leaving the house because of the weather, this is a great alternative.
Last week I blogged about the three most beautiful angels from Georgia, Trio Mandili (https://luegra.design.blog/2024/12/21/trio-mandili-hallelujah/). Since I subscribe to their YouTube channel, YT’s algorithms tend to send me a Trio Mandili video every time I go online to the site. I have pretty much seen all of their videos, so when one pops up, I know that I have already hit the Like button, but will check just in case.
Recently, the trio’s video of a Polish/Ukrainian folk song “Hej Sokoły” came up. I had seen it already and watched it again. It motivated me to do some research on the song. I was totally moved by the history, and more so by the different interpretations by many artists.
There is no definite authorship for “Hej Sokoły,” translated in English as “Hey Falcons.” Some historians claim the composer is Ukrainian-Polish poet/songwriter Tomasz Padura, while others believe it was written by Polish classical composer Maciej Kamieński. It is based on a 19th century Polish folk song “Żal za Ukrainą.” It has been translated into a number of languages, as its storyline is held dear to many people of different European nationalities.
The story tells of a soldier leaving his love as well as his country Ukraine for a battle. He often sees falcons flying in the sky and asks them to fly back to his homeland and make sure the bells continue to ring, and refers to his girl as his little skylark and swallow. As with many similar folk songs, the soldier dies in battle, and he wishes for wine, as well as to be buried back in Ukraine next to his love.
Because of its storyline, the song has continued to be popular with the Polish and Ukrainian people throughout the 20th century. Polish solders sang it during the Polish-Soviet War, as well as with the Polish Home Army during the Warsaw Uprising during World War II. Most recently, Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have performed it to celebrate victories against the Russian invasion that began in 2022. There have also been versions performed to honor military aid from Poland and the Slovak Republic.
While searching videos of the song, not only is it performed for military concerns, but since it is such a popular folk song, there are clips of people singing it at weddings, school functions and parties. It seems as if everyone in Poland knows the song by heart, the same way perhaps people in the US may know “Yankee Doodle” or “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” only with more spirit and love than we have here in the US.
While I totally enjoy Trio Mandili’s version of this song, the version that most moved me and brought me to tears was one performed in Polish by the Ukrainian Pikkardiyska Tertsiya, an a cappella group from Lviv, Ukraine. I have probably listened to this version a hundred times over the past week and it moves me emotionally each time. I cannot fully describe it, maybe it’s because of my Polish heritage, but it is perfect according to my soul.
Chew on it and comment. Let us hope for a better 2025.
I had briefly covered Trio Mandili in a blog a few years back (https://luegra.design.blog/2020/10/17/na-zdrowie-eastern-european-folk-music-and-comedy/), and I continue to be amazed by their vocal talent as well as their natural beauty. These three young ladies from the country of Georgia have been putting out wonderful and entertaining videos for a number of years, and have also release a few CDs along the way.
This past week, it was a lovely surprise to find the trio’s latest CD Hallelujah in my post office box. It contains ten Georgian Orthodox prayers sung either a capella or with minimal accompaniment. I immediately threw it into my CD player once I got home, and was floored!
I cannot even begin to tell you how gorgeous their voices are performing these holy songs. If I were ever to say that there are living angels among us, the ladies of Trio Mandili would be three of them. The opening cut, “Psalm 50,” is hauntingly beautiful. All three voices complement each other so perfectly. They easily move from harmonies to droning vocals.
My only complaint is that, either out of humility or not realizing it, they never put their names on their CDs, and I have three of them. Tatuli Mgeladze is the lone original member, and takes most of the lead vocals, although they switch lead vocals often. Tako Tsiklauri sings much of the high harmonies, and Mariam Kurasbedani sings low harmonies, has a beautiful ear for droning vocals, and plays the panduri (a three-stringed mandolin-like instrument).
At this time, Georgia, like many Eastern European and Middle Eastern countries, are witnessing political turmoil. The ladies of Trio Mandili are patriotic for their country, and while not true activists, they are not afraid to show their support for the people that fight for human rights there. Honestly, they would be the kind of daughters that you would want to have.
This CD has brought me to tears of emotion, both joyful and heart-wrenching. The vocals are a feast, a weapon, a medicine, and a comfort. I implore you to go to www.triomandili.com and spend money to get this CD if you want to truly have your heart moved in a religious way. I will always love these ladies, as their voices continually warm my soul.
Have a wonderful Christmas. Chew on it and comment.
Today’s blog is short due to getting Christmas stuff done for the next two weeks, but this subject really had me shaking my head this week.
I have previously complained about the poor writing found with American Songwriter magazine and online postings. Well, it now has competition with incompetence. The website singersroom.com just put out an article that can only be compared to complete idiocy” “15 Best Pop Music Songs of All Time” (https://singersroom.com/w70/best-pop-music-songs-of-all-time/). To make a statement like that, you had better be a true expert in the field. However, I have never hear of the author Samuel Moore, and his credit only states him as a frequent contributor to the site.
I won’t list the songs he tabulated, but will list the artists: Michael Jackson (2x), Madonna, Adele (2x), Whitney Houston, Britney Spears, Ed Sheeran, Mark Ronson w/ Bruno Mars, Carley Rae Jepsen, Queen, Taylor Swift, John Legend, Mariah Carey, and Lady Gaga.
WTF?!?!?!? If you are going to make the statement “of all time,” you better sure know what you are talking about! Popular music (just in the US) has been around since the late 18th century, and even if we were to limit to recorded music, we could go back to perhaps the 1920s. The earliest song on the list is Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” from 1975, three from the 1980s, two from the 1990s, and the rest coming in during the 21st century.
This list easily shows how uneducated the author truly is. There is NOTHING listed from Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Elton John, or Aretha Franklin just to name a few legendary artists. How about probably the greatest pop song of all time, Judy Garland’s version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”? While I have heard of almost off of the artists that Moore listed (I could not tell you who Carley Rae Jepsen is), none of them, with the exception of Michael Jackson, has ever put out a credible pop song that can compare to the artists that I have listed.
Since I do not subscribe to singersroom.com, I am not able to post comments to the artice. Moore should be glad that is the case, as I would be taking him to task for his lack of pop music knowledge. Hopefully he catches wind of this blog (as I have learned that a few people from American Songwriter have done with my previous blogs), and I welcome him to contact me so that I can fully explain to him what the definition of both “pop music” and “of all time” means. While I do not consider myself the greatest expert on pop music, I do know that there is a lot more out there than what Moore considers the best.
Christmas is coming up fast, and it is always tough thinking of gifts to get someone, especially children, that they can use for more than a day, may be interested in using long term, and are somewhat age appropriate. If you know me, I always recommend something involved with music. Getting a youngster interested in music will benefit in the long run with creativity, attention development, and as some scientific studies show, can help in school with studying and learning.
However, investing in a musical instrument can be expensive, and as many parents know, it may result in a guitar, clarinet, violin, or piano never being used and eventually gathering dust. So how does one get a child, or even an adult, interested in playing music on the cheap?
The Five Below stores that appear in numerous strip malls and shopping centers around the country may be a quick oasis. A lot of us already know how reliable these stores can be for last-minute gifts such as T-shirts, candy, toys, and other unique items. While I was in one a few days ago to find another Christmas item for my brother, I noticed that it had a few musical items that may pique the music curiosity of some children, and of course, the items won’t break the wallet.
First, there are a number of different ukeleles available, usually plastered with cartoon characters or designs that more attention was paid to than the actual quality of the instrument. Now I am not a big fan of ukeleles, but they made a big surge of interest a few years back, and many people started picking them up to learn on. The ones available at Five Below are hardly pro instruments, and they will probably get banged around against walls and furniture more than plucked. Moreover, the features such as tuning gears and strings are not high-quality, so don’t expect it to stay in tune or sound good at the outright. However, it may get a youngster interested in a string instrument, and if enough attention is paid, a better ukelele, or even a small guitar, violin, or mandolin may be in order soon enough.
The miniature keyboards have been around for decades, thanks to companies like Casio, and have been useful musical tools for hobbyists and pro players alike. I still have one that I purchased probably 30 years ago and I still play around with. Thanks to advanced technology, mini keyboards that would have been pushing $100.00 back in the 1980s are as inexpensive as $5.00 at Five Below. They usually have a half-dozen different sounds that can be engaged at the push of a button, and also come with a simple drum machine built in so that one can play to a rhythm pattern. These little items are always great to get a child interested in creating music, and even adults tend to have fun playing with them. Heck, back in the days when I was an electronics geek, I would re-wire these things to be able to plug into a guitar amp or PA system so that a band’s keyboard player had one for his/her arsenal.
If one doesn’t mind a lot of pounding with hopes of having the next Ringo Starr or even Buddy Rich in the family, there is the simple drum set. This consists of usually three drum heads, a rudimentary cymbal, and a pair of small drum sticks. This is not a Tama or Ludwig professional drum set to be sure, but for hundreds of dollars less, it may get a child interested in percussion once he/she gets involved in a music program at the elementary school.
Finally, there is the old standby, the harmonica. It was my first musical instrument, and I still have a few that I play when I get a creative idea going. My brother, who was never really into playing a musical instrument, has started playing around with one in his 60s. We know that these instruments have been around since the American Civil War, and soldiers in every war since then relied on them to bring a little bit of musical comfort when resting near the battlefield. They are pretty easy to learn on once one understands the pattern of reeds in each hole. While professional harmonicas can run several hundred dollars, simple ones can be had for, yes, $5.00 at Five Below. This instrument has always been a go-to gift for anyone who has even a slight interest in music.
Of course, there are many videos on YouTube that can instruct beginners on these or any other instruments that are on hand. And if for some reason the child loses interest in the short time, there is not a lot of money lost.
I finally got to the Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky after wanting to get there for years! I had a few days off during the Thanksgiving weekend, so I made the eight-hour trek.
First off, just because Kentucky is south of Michigan doesn’t necessarily mean it would be warmer down there. I froze most of the time there and took the wrong jacket. But it was still worth it to go. I thought that the building would be larger than it is, but the work done with displays and exhibits use the space perfectly.
Walking into the museum, one is met by a friendly worker that explains all of the rules and features. You are given a Walkman-style device that narrates parts of the museum displays by programming in the number on the wall next to the display. To be honest, I didn’t use it much, as I already knew the history of the photos and items. And those items were fantastic to see! Carter Stanley’s Martin guitar, Bill Monroe’s Rolodex that had all of his business contacts, John Hartford’s banjo, and Uncle Pen’s fiddle. There was a video accompanying the fiddle showing a number of bluegrass fiddlers playing the legendary instrument. The best was when Ricky Skaggs, after playing the fiddle, says, “That’s got some stank to it!”
There was a display of some of today’s popular bluegrass acts. I was happy to see my “kid sister,” Vickie Vaughn, in a photo with her band Della Mae.
One other great section is a bunch of acoustic instruments hanging on a wall that are purposely there for visitors to try and play. Bluegrass has always been a format that common people play, so it makes sense for that music to be accessed easily by the people attending.
One of the best displays was dedicated to bluegrass history coming from the Cincinnati/Dayton, Ohio area. Banjoist Joe Mullins narrated the video, showing all of the locales that bands like the Osborne Brothers and J.D. Crowe performed, as well as radio stations and record companies such as the legendary King Records, home of the Stanley Brothers, Reno & Smiley AND James Brown!
The second floor had the Hall of Fame member display. It was great to see all of the artists, radio D.J.’s, and promoters that made bluegrass music famous and have kept it alive. Two plaques that I definitely wanted to see were of guitarist Clarence White and his brother, mandolinist Roland White. Clarence was inducted in 2017, with Roland inducted in 2018. I was disappointed in the fact that the brothers’ plaques were not next to each other, separated by two other 2018 inductees. I made the suggestion to move Roland’s next to Clearance, as it would be spiritually important for the brothers to be together again. Hopefully that move will be made soon.
Also on the second floor was one of the main reasons that I made the trip — The bluegrass dedication to Jerry Garcia. While I have never been a big fan of the Grateful Dead, I have always valued Garcia and his love and respect for all roots music. He started out playing folk music, moving on to playing banjo in the Hart Valley Drifters before forming the Dead. During the 1970s, while the Dead was taking a break, he played banjo in the legendary band Old & In The Way. Up until his death in 1995, he was continuing to perform acoustic music with various side projects.
I totally recommend anyone into roots music to make the trip to Owensboro (about a 90-minute drive west of Louisville by way of I-64/U.S. 231 through Indiana) and visit the museum. By the way, there is also the Green River Distillery a few blocks away, just in case you need another reason to go.
Here’s something that I wanted to blog about for a while now, but I never really knew how to approach the subject. I am going to talk a little about bluegrass artists covering pop and rock songs, trying to get them to sound bluegrass.
This idea has been around since bluegrass was still in its youth and the birth of rock-n-roll. Most everyone knows that Elvis Presley’s first single contained a rockabilly send-up of Bill Monroe’s lamenting waltz, “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” Mr. Monroe didn’t think much of the cover, that is, until the royalty checks started coming in. Then, he was so impressed that he re-recorded the song to include a rockin’ 4/4 time version on the second half of the recording.
Through the years, bluegrass bands have dipped into the pop and rock-roll bag to get new musical ideas as well as to keep bluegrass relevant. Jim & Jesse McReynolds recorded a whole album’s worth of Chuck Berry songs. Through the 1960s, bands such as Flatt & Scruggs and the Country Gentlemen often picked up on rock and folk songwriters for material. Flatt & Scruggs had a minor hit with the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Nashville Cats” (which Del McCoury also recorded, and I will look at later), and a number of Bob Dylan compositions. That led to the disagreements of the band’s direction and ultimate break up. Earl Scruggs would go on to record and perform a number of pop and rock songs with his sons, while Lester Flatt would delve back into the traditional bluegrass sound.
During the 1970s and 80s, there was a lot of bluegrass artists covering pop and rock songs. Tons of bluegrass bands were covering the Beatles’ songs because they were popular. The Seldom Scene covered Ricky Nelson’s “Hello Mary Lou” (which has now become a bluegrass standard), as well as many Grateful Dead compositions. Of course, it helped that the band, particularly Jerry Garcia, was big fans of bluegrass, and the Garcia/Robert Hunt writing team was highly influenced by old-time music. Progressive bluegrass bands such as the New Grass Revival would often incorporate pop and rock songs their albums. NGR does an amazing cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t that Peculiar.”
But what about today’s bluegrass bands and their choices in pop and rock music. Some bands such as Del McCoury can pull it off pretty well. Take his cover of the aforementioned “Nashville Cats”:
However, with his band’s cover of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” in which they are joined by Sierra Hull, the Gibson Brothers, and a few others, it comes off to me as very tiring:
A few years back, the Grascals, who have always been known to cover popular country songs, had a bluegrass hit with its version of the Monkees’ “Last Train to Clarksville.” For me, it was OK, but not fantastic. Granted, at the time of the release, the Grascals were probably the most popular band in bluegrass, so they could take a chance on material.
Of course, Alison Krauss knows a good song when she hears one, and can make it her own. While not exactly bluegrass, she did put an acoustic swing to Bad Company’s “Oh, Atlanta”:
One artist that I think has a really good ear on choosing pop and rock songs to cover in the bluegrass vein is Dale Ann Bradley. I have always been a big fan of her, and part of the reason is that she chooses great material to record. Here are two fine examples of covers – the Kris Kristofferson/Janis Joplin hit “Me and Bobby McGee,” and Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down”:
A band out now that I really like is Echo Valley. They are a bunch of young kids that sound great together, and I was glad to finally see them live last January at the SPBGMA conference. They perform some great bluegrass gospel, and have a few decent traditional sounding songs. However, I am not too impressed with their choices of covering modern rock songs. Among these are Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” Electric Light Orchestra’s “Don’t Bring Me Down,” and Guns & Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine”:
Again, I really like this band, but the choice of rock songs makes me wince. Maybe it’s me, but I just don’t hear a good melding of genres here.
This is definitely a “Chew on it and comment” blog. I would like to hear what others think. My blog next week will be a little late, as I will be going to Owensboro, Kentucky on the Thanksgiving weekend to visit the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
I spent much of today cleaning out closets and the attic of clothes, mostly belonging to my deceased parents, to pack up and donate to charity. I also threw in a few things of mine that I either no longer fit in or don’t have the interest in continuing to wear.
Then I came upon this – an old vest that I used to wear when I played in my first punk bands. Holy cow! I vaguely remember finding this white vest at a Salvation Army store, then attacking it with red and blue markers to create a Union Jack. I was totally into the Mod look at the time, listening to The Jam, The Who, The Kinks, and The Small Faces.
I also put a few badges on it, relating to punk, Mod, reggae, and ska bands. Boy, did this bring back tons of memories:
the Peavey T-20 bass, my first real bass. That thing weighed a ton, but it was full-scale, and I felt like a real musician. I sold it after a few years, got some better basses, but a couple of years back I purchased another one before they started being considered “vintage” and going up in price.
the mid-70s Fender Bassman amplifier and a homemade speaker cabinet. Unfortunately, I gave that amp head to a female bass player that I had a crush on, but I still have the speaker cab. Loaded with a 15-inch Eminence and covered in polka-dot carpeting. An ex-friend borrowed it for a while and let her cat scratch its claws all over it.
the dozens of musicians that I worked with back in the early to mid-80s. Bands were everywhere, so you seemed to cross paths with just about everyone in Detroit. I laugh now that, in bluegrass bands, it is nothing to hear that members come from three or four different states. Back then, bands in the Detroit music scene rarely had members that were more than a few miles from each other. I can even remember there was this big East vs. West thing, where rarely did you work with someone on the other side of Woodward Avenue.
the Venues. Hamtramck was the epicenter. Besides Lili’s 21 and Paycheck’s Lounge, there were at least a dozen other bars in that two-square-mile city that bands could play. Even the most talent-less band could find a gig on a weeknight somewhere. Plus the dozens more bars in the suburbs, attempting to cash in on the burgeoning new-wave scene that ended up never really happening.
the Metro Times. Everyone grabbed a copy on Wednesday afternoon to see what bands were playing where. If you were a musician, you always checked out the “Musicians Wanted” classified ads to see who was looking for a guitarist/bassist/drummer into the music that you were into. Keyboardists were a hot commodity. Even if you couldn’t play one, if you had a synthesizer, you were in!
I could go on, but there’s way too much to talk about. I’m glad that time was a part of my life, especially my musical life. I learned a lot about music and the business back then, and realized that dreams are usually just that. Everyone at the time thought that they were going to be the next Beatles. It didn’t happen, but we had some fun trying to get there.
Small practice amps are aplenty and can be purchased at some reasonable prices. Kustom has always made smaller practice amps since its inception back in the 1960s. For a long period, it was the only thing that they were producing, as its trademark roll-n-tuck padded monster solid-state amps were becoming unpopular. Recently, the company has gone back to making larger amps, even some retro padded ones, but they still mostly produce the small practice varieties.
Kustom has always had a mediocre reputation at best. While the roll-n-tuck models were what every garage band had back in the 60s, they proved to be cumbersome (they were housing large transformers meant for tube amps, using them on the tiny transistor circuits), and the “naugahyde” covering would tear easily. Solid-state circuitry fell from grace during the 70s and never gained much of a following afterwards except for smaller practice amps.
Through the years, Kustom built a number of different smaller amps, usually no more than 20 watts, at cheaper prices than Fender or Marshall could do, so they were popular with beginning musicians (and cost-conscious parents). The KLA10 is probably the most popular practice amp that Kustom has put out for a long time. It has seen different stylings and trim colors, but has remained pretty much the same as far as features and performance.
What you get with this amp is the basics. From left to right on the front panel, there is the Drive switch, input jack, gain control, voice control (a fancy way to say tone control), volume control, headphone jack, LED power indicator, and power switch. The open back exposes the rear of the six-inch speaker, and the power cord is coming out of the circuitry casing. Nothing else, just covered in Tolex and pseudo-chrome corner guards. For the beginning guitarist, it is a fun amp to use. The overdrive/distortion is decent sounding. It’s not Marshall stack or other tube overdrive, but can give a good distorted sound, especially with a humbucker pickup. The headphone output allows playing without disturbing others.
The KLA10, however, is no longer manufactured, replaced by Kustom with the KG1 with very similar specifications and features. The KLA10 can be found on eBay or Reverb for under $40.00. If you can snag one for under $25.00 in good condition, you may want to get it. I will be honest, I picked up mine, with some dirt on the covering, surface rust on the chrome corners, and some scratchy pots, for only $6.00! A little elbow grease and some TV tuner cleaner in the pots should make it sound great. In short, it is a great practice amp, be it headphone or through speaker. Moreover, it will serve as a satisfactory recording amp if using a regular guitar amp proves too loud and disruptive. HINT: Make sure that the guitar is in tune. One string out of tune through a solid-state amp sounds horrible!
Occasionally, the YouTube algorithm pays off. In recent days, I have come across two young fiddlers that impressed me with their talent. It makes my heart swell that there are some young people out there that are really taking an interest in music, particularly roots music like old-time fiddling. It brings up my spirits after the disappointing turnout at the Fiddle Contest I was at a few weeks ago (https://luegra.design.blog/2024/10/12/2024-michigan-old-time-fiddlers-contest-sad-turnout/).
The first is Fiddlin’ Hayley King. I only found her a few days ago, so I haven’t seen a lot of her videos, and I notice that her YT page does not have a lot of them. However, I was impressed with her original tune, “Little White Pumpkin,” which she performs on both fiddle and clawhammer banjo. From the looks of it, she also plays mandolin and guitar, and has a sweet voice. There’s not much information about her on the internet besides the YT page and a Facebook page, but a 2019 article on her states that she secured a full ride scholarship from Morehead (Kentucky) State University at age 16 (https://www.blythewoodonline.com/2019/01/king-fiddles-her-way-to-college/). She is definitely someone who will snag some interest in the bluegrass and old-time fiddle crowd shortly. I do see her being picked up be a bluegrass band real soon.
Next is Hollace Oakes. At 14 years old, she is impressing everyone that comes across her. Another multi-instrumentalist (fiddle, mandolin, piano, guitar) as well as flatfoot/clogging expert, she has competed for the last few years at the famous Galax Old-Time Fiddle Convention for the past few years, winning the blue ribbon in 2023. This past August, she performed the National Anthem on fiddle at the Convention. She is often seen performing with clawhammer banjoist Margo McSweeny, and has won praises and jammed with Carley Arrowood. I have a feeling that within five years, this young lady will be appearing on a lot of bluegrass stages, probably even the Grand Ole Opry stage.
Luegra 