Tag: SPBGMA

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Bluegrass Music

SPBGMA 2025 Summary

Last week I was in Nashville for the SPBGMA conference. Once again, I had a great time! I will be hitting there again next January, hoping to make even more connections. As I did last year, here are some of the good and bad points about the conference and Nashville:

QR Code Parking – I see some cities slowly getting rid of this nuisance, but not Nashville. I hit a downtown garage for 20 minutes and paid $7.00. Later in the weekend, I swallowed my pride and went to Elliston Place (more on that later), and the meter stated $1.75 for one hour. So I scanned the QR code, and then was charged another 68 cents for Travel Fee (my out-of-town license plate?). So now it is $2.43. I am in the restaurant for 20 minutes, and my phone shows a text that my time is almost up! I can see how they sucker people into paying more by this tactic.

Band Competition – There were a few good bands, but the one that I was most impressed with was Lake Side out of Madisonville, TN (www.lakesidegospel.com). The quartet performs mostly bluegrass gospel tunes, and it has some great harmonies. The guitarist for the band is Jonathan Manness, an old acquaintance that I knew from his playing with Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike. It was great seeing him after a number of years. I surely thought that they would place at least 2nd if not 1st, but they came in 5th place. For a list of the finalists, go to the Bluegrass Today website link (https://bluegrasstoday.com/2025-spbgma-international-band-championship-results/).

Alaskan Sunnyside Sisters – This band of young sisters was also in the competition, but did not make it as a finalist. Yes, they were still rough sounding and not truly professional, but I absolutely fell in love with them, as did much of the audience. They performed some bluegrass standards, reminding me a lot of The Peasall Sisters who performed for the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. They are completely adorable, and are really enthusiastic to get better at their instrument playing and singing. I talked to their mother and told her that I would help in any way that I could to get them better. I also recommended that they listen to Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard music for some inspiration and song coverage. They made some good friends at the conference, including Whysper Stephenson, daughter of Larry Stephenson, who was more than happy to jam with them. I highly recommend that you check out some of their videos on their YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@Alaskansunnysidesisters).

Hollace Oakes – I had blogged about this young fiddling prodigy a few months back (https://luegra.design.blog/2024/11/02/two-great-young-fiddlers/). I was hoping that she would show up at SPBGMA, as there are videos on YouTube of her at Galax and IBMA World of Bluegrass. I finally got to talk to her and her father late in the conference schedule, but told them that anything that I could do to help out her fiddling and potential career they should feel free to ask. I told her that it would be great to see her on the band competition stage next year, so hopefully she will be able to form a band to back her by then. She also posted a few videos of the week on her YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@HollaceOakes).

Jamming – As expected, the four days of the conference saw a lot of jam sessions going on in rooms, the lobby and hallways. Because I was doing more networking for my songwriting, I wasn’t able to participate in any true jamming. However, some of what I heard was not only fantastic, but inspired me to write down some song ideas. If you go to YouTube and search “SPBGMA 2025,” I am sure that a few dozen videos will show up showing how great it was. Of course, my old body could not stay up too late to enjoy, so I had my earplugs in when I went to bed earlier than most others.

The Kaintuck Band – So this band was practicing in the room next to mine on Friday. I was in my room thinking that I had not heard any jammers playing one of my favorite songs, “Thirty Years of Farming,” by James King (written by Fred Eaglesmith). Sure enough, God strike me dead, within 10 seconds of that thought, the band next door kicked into it. It was like mental telepathy! Of course, I had to get my shoes on and go to their room and talk to them. Nice guys, the guitarist/singer was from La Grange, KY, where I usually stop on my way to Nashville to have breakfast at the Waffle House. I may have talked about this town before. The Main Street in town has active railroad tracks running right down the center, and there are videos on YouTube showing cars almost getting hit by locomotives. It totally reminds me of Mayberry on The Andy Griffith Show.

Jimmy Martin’s Guitar – There it was, on a guitar stand in the hotel lobby. I was ready to take a photo of it, but a relative of Martin’s was there, and she asked if I wanted to pick it up and play it. REALLY? I had to! Man, it was like touching a piece of Heaven!

Food – I hit the Waffle House a few blocks away from the hotel every morning. I absolutely love their Signature Bowl, and if you are there, you HAVE to have the waffles at least once! As stated previously, I went to the famous Elliston Place, but it wasn’t the same. It had moved out of its old location in the diner building and built a new, larger restaurant next door. The decor is the same, but not the spirit, The food is still great, but it seems like smaller portions. One thing that hasn’t changed is its selection of shakes and malts. I had a caramel malt, and I was in Heaven! I also visited the famous Prince’s Hot Chicken. There was a location only a few miles from my hotel, but because of construction the entire way, it took me almost an hour to get there. The place has a number of levels of chicken heat, from Mild to XXXHot. I went for the Medium, and one bite of the chicken fingers that I ordered was burning my tongue! Trust me, it was excellent, but if the Medium was that hot, I would NEVER go near anything more hot.

IMG Retail – I am going to do a whole blog about this place and experience next week, but let me say that it was such a fun experience that I plan on going back to Nashville sometime this spring or summer just to re-visit this place.

Bands – Along with the Larry Stephenson Band, other popular bands that performed at the awards show included The Grascals, Junior Sisk, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, and Nothin’ Fancy. During the week, a number of other bands that performed included Dave Adkins, NU-BLU, Edgar Loudermilk, and my favorite band, The Kody Norris Show. One band that I had wanted to see for a long time was The King James Boys. They are a fantastic bluegrass gospel group, with amazing harmonies. There was a young lady sitting near me that seemed to know every word of every song that they performed. I asked her if she was related to anyone in the band. She said that she was not, just someone that was a big fan of the band. I immediately tagged her as a “Gospel Groupie,” a term that she and the band loved, and have proceeded to start writing a song about the experience.

Sylamore Special – This band won the band competition last year, and tradition is that the winner performs at the closing of the following year’s conference. The band was great back then, but has matured even more to being a fantastic bluegrass band this year. These younger performers have a good chance of being in the high ranks of bluegrass bands within a few years.

Songwriter Workshop/Showcase – I had complained about labeling this event as a workshop last year, and in some of the promotional material, it was deemed a “showcase.” However, some other material still listed it as a workshop. It still consisted of four bluegrass songwriters (Johnny Williams, Jeanette Williams, Donna Ulisse and Rick Stanley) performing some of their compositions to the audience. As I have stated previously, a workshop would be professional songwriters sitting down with aspiring ones and helping them to better their craft.

Well, that was one of my longer blogs, so I will end it there for now. Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music Lutherie

Getting Ready for SPBGMA/Fesley Body Finishing

I leave for Nashville in less than two weeks for the SPBGMA conference, and I am getting ready in more ways than one. Packing clothes and medicines will get done a few days before, but what I am doing now is getting things done for my networking down there.

I have already posted two new songs on my ReverbNation page, and I may tag on one more before the week is over. I have learned that it is easier and less cumbersome to upload songs on the ReverbNation page and hand out business cards than making a bunch of demo CDs and handing them out. My problem is still getting the nerve to approach artists that I don’t already know.

I really didn’t do any jamming last year, so I plan to try and get into it more this year. I’ll take the Sevillana guitar down with me. Last year I took way too many guitars and a bass with me, and hardly opened up a case let alone jammed. Plus, It takes up way too much room in my small car.

I have already set up some time with one songwriter to hopefully do some co-writing. The conference ends Sunday, but I’ll be sticking around Monday just for the reason of possible songwriting work.

I’m not sure if I will be doing any contacting for article writing. I haven’t heard back from my editor at Fiddler Magazine in a long while. I sent in an article recently, and ever since the magazine went online-only, It has been hard to stay in touch.

I’m also taking down a lot of 12-packs of Vernors Ginger Ale. This is a Detroit staple, and I know a lot of friends down there that crave it and can’t get it in Nashville.

If the weather is behaving, I will probably hit Rosine, Kentucky on the way down and pay my respects to Bill Monroe. It is a time-consuming detour, but I feel it has to be done when the opportunity arises.

Of course, I have to hit the Waffle House, Jack’s BBQ, and I hope to visit another Nashville eatery institution, Prince’s Hot Chicken. The original location is just a few miles from my hotel down there, so I don’t have an excuse. While I’m not a big fan of hot chicken, I do like to try places that are featured on food-related television shows and YouTube channels. I’ve seen some great stories about Prince’s, so it is a must!

Changing topics, I decided to get started on finishing one of the guitar bodies. I’m starting with the Fesley Strat body, since it was the best set-up already smooth sanded. I buffed it a bit more with OOOO grade steel wool. It is too cold to do spray painting outside, and I don’t have good ventilation for spraying inside the house, so I’m trying my hand at stain/finishing it with a combination stain and polyurethane coating and a brush. It is a lot more difficult to work with than I imagined, as the stain does not seem to go on that even, perhaps due to the polyurethane. I will probably end up doing at least five or six coats and sanding between them. I do like the color that came out. I am using a stain labeled Mahogany, and on the mahogany body, it darkens it nicely. The label says you can do sanding and re-coating after an hour, but I plan to let it dry for a day and see what happens.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

My Week at SPBGMA

I got back from Nashville and the SPBGMA conference a few days ago, and I will go over some of the notable high and low points that I experienced. These will come about at random, whether good or bad. There will also be thoughts not only about the conference, but about the city as well, since it has been over four years since I last visited for a music conference.

Networking – one thing about bluegrass artists that one doesn’t see with much other formats is that they are very approachable. Pretty much all of the bands showcasing on the main stage will also set up a merch table and enjoy talking to the fans. They are also more than willing to talk to someone like me who is looking to shop some songs for the band to record. Once a band or its members get to know how dedicated you are to the craft, you get to be closer to them. Some of the bands that I got to know better and developed a relationship with during the week were The Kody Norris Show, Nu-Blu, and The Edgar Loudermilk Band.

Article Material – I was able to talk to a number of fiddle players for future articles in Fiddler. One of these article I hope to complete is a coverage of The Violin Shop, a music store on the outskirts of the city (more on this later).

International Band Championship – About a dozen bands that are not A-list bluegrass performers compete for a large cash prize and SPBGMA promotion at the next year’s conference. A few were OK, but most were at the top of their game. You could tell that they work hard not only on their instruments and vocals, but also a rapport with the audience. The two bands that impressed me the most eventually took First and Second Place (Sylamore Special and Off the Rails, respectively). The complete list can be found at https://bluegrasstoday.com/sylamore-special-wins-2024-spbgma-band-championship/ .

Rhonda Vincent – There is a reason she is called The Queen of Bluegrass, A fantastic performer, wonderful singer, and totally personable with her fans. On Saturday, she filmed part of a new video (covering the old Olivia Newton-John song “Please Mister, Please”) with a number of young bluegrass pickers backing her up. Sorry for the blurry photo, it comes from a screenshot of the video I did and wasn’t able to upload the video.

Jamming 24/7 – Not sure if this is good or bad. This is what a lot of people attend SPBGMA and IBMA for — many of them don’t even bother to register for the conference. From Thursday through Sunday, there were at least five jam sessions going on in the main lobby of the hotel during peak hours, Moreover, there were jams going on in a number of hotel rooms throughout the night and into the morning hours. Now I am an early riser for my job, so even though I was on vacation, I was hitting the sack pretty early, and with the time difference (Central Time, and I live in Eastern Time), I found that I could not stay up too late to enjoy the wandering festivities. Thank God that I brought some good earplugs with me so that I could get some sleep. Heck, when I would get up in the morning, you could still hear some people jamming down the hallway. Of course, you wouldn’t see much people at the conference morning sessions. But if you are into listening to live music at all hours of the day and night, this is your weekend!

Sequins – I swear, with the exception of one band in the aforementioned championship competition, all of the females in those bands were wearing sequins. It tended to look tacky. It made me think that the bands cared too much for the looks and that they were auditioning for Las Vegas or Branson, Missouri rather than a bluegrass festival. It just doesn’t look good in my opinion.

Songwriter Workshop vs. Showcase – One of the seminars was listed as a Songwriters Workshop. This consisted of four bluegrass songwriters (Daryl Mosley, Johnny Williams, Jeanette Williams, and Raymond McLain). The performers each performed a few of their original songs, and talked about where the inspiration came from. To me, this is more like a showcase than a workshop. A songwriter workshop would entail successful songwriters working with aspiring songwriters on improving on their craft, such as discussing subject matter, arrangements, and even taking an idea and making it into a song together. I hope that SPBGMA considers how to promote this or create an actual workshop next year.

Hotel Parking – The Sheraton Airport Hotel has been host to the SPBGMA event for a number of years, and I would think that they would have a little better control of parking. They did have an extra lot about a 1/4 mile away that would have shuttle service, but it seemed that they still allowed non-hotel guests and non-conference attendees to park in the hotel lot until it was full, so if you were registered at the hotel and went off site for a while, you didn’t have a spot to park when you came back. There was a person at the gate entrance telling people about the shuttle service, but his suggestion only seemed to work when the hotel lot was completely full. I found myself walking a long distance twice getting back to the hotel while carrying some baggage. A better way to handle it would have been unless you had a hotel room, you should be forced to park in the supplemental lot and take the shuttle in.

Waffle House – We don’t have them in Michigan, so I hit one every chance that I get going south. Fortunately, there was one about two blocks from the hotel, so I was in Heaven. You can bet that I was there every morning that I stayed down there. The breakfast bowls with hash browns, cheese, and egg and choice of meat (my preference was sausage) are to die for.

Jack’s BBQ – Another favorite place of mine in Nashville. Now that downtown is pretty much ruined by progress, I don’t visit that location, so I go to one southwest on Charlotte St. The brisket and Texas sausage are cooked to perfection, and they have some amazing sauces, with the Carolina being my favorite.

Elliston Place – Another favorite restaurant, although I didn’t go to it, and probably never will again, because of …

Downtown Parking – The days of parking meters, even in areas like Music Row and the Gulch, are gone. I understand paying a king’s ransom in a lot downtown, but in the street in front of Elliston Place (and other areas), the meters have been replaced with signs showing a QR code. You have to scan the code, then enter your credit card number in the app. I feel sorry for anyone, especially from the older generation, who doesn’t understand this technology. Nashville central has made itself into a tourist trap. A candy bar is $3.00, and so is a 1/2-litre bottle of soda.

Hotel Food – Just as bad is the cost of the hotel food. It knows that a lot of the guests won’t venture away from the hotel, so it was charging $8.00 for a hot dog, $14.00 for a hamburger, $12.00 for a ham sandwich, and $3.00 for a banana.

Exhibit Hall – While not nearly as big as the one found at IBMA, there were a few interesting vendors. I did pick up a great t-shirt with the US flag but the stripes are violin bows. There were some nice new and vintage guitars, as well as banjos and a fiddle table. They had a second room for exhibitors, but it was almost empty with the exception of two music schools having tables. It would be great if more vendors would show up for this, as people do take an interest in buying bluegrass-related swag as well as trying out different instruments.

Nashville Music Stores – Because of the gentrification of downtown, long-time businesses have either closed up or moved away from there. Carter’s Vintage Guitars is still near downtown, so you have to pay for parking to visit. Fortunately, two of my favorite shops, Gruhn’s Guitars and The Violin Shop, have moved to the outskirts of town and have ample free parking. Any guitarist visiting Nashville has to make a stop at Gruhn’s. It is pure Heaven in there, although everything has a high price. Same with The Violin Shop and fiddlers. However, both stores know that a lot of people come in to just admire the selection, and you can always buy a t-shirt or keychain to prove that you were there. Grimey’s Record Store also moved out of its original location to the East Nashville area, but I wasn’t able to get to it this time.

Potholes – Now here in Michigan, we grow potholes like Hawaii grows pineapples. They are everywhere, so we are used to rough pavement. Sometimes, our road commissions will get out there and fill them so there aren’t too many damaged wheel rims and axles. Two weeks ago, Nashville had a big snowstorm, and as the snow melted, it caused a fair amount of potholes, especially on highways that usually don’t experience these problems. The city’s solution? Just post highway signs that say “Rough Road – Please Use Caution.”

Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge – I used to love hitting The Station Inn every time I visited Nashville. However, it is completely surrounded by high-rise apartments, and parking, even pay-to-park, is next to impossible to secure. It’s not worth the fight. Fortunately, two bluegrass artists were doing shows at Dee’s in Madison (a northern suburb of Nashville). The place is a dive to say the least, but is perfect in my eyes. While it is not strictly bluegrass (band bookings include jazz, R&B, rock and country), a lot of bluegrass artists that live in the area hang out there no matter who is on stage. I have found my favorite bar down there!

Frugal MacDoogal’s – If you ever crossed a large department store, a dollar store, and a liquor store, this would be it. An absolute amazing selection of beers, wines and liquors, and prices are very good. This is another place I visit any time I am in Nashville.

The Kody Norris Show – Kody is a true entertainer, combining Jimmy Martin, Bill Monroe, Porter Wagoner, and George Jones. He and his band dress to the nines in Manuel suits, but the charm is how tight the band is when performing. Kody, his wife fiddler Mary Rachel, and the rest of the band are extremely friendly to their fans, and Kody went out of his way to catch up with me and talk business during some downtime.

Vickie Vaughn – seeing Vickie the night before I was scheduled to head back to Detroit was the best gift that I could ask for. I first met Vickie in 2014 at a Leadership Bluegrass meeting, and since then we have remained great friends, even though we don’t get to see each other much. I have always called her my “kid sister” because of how our personal paths have paralleled. Since I have known her, her career as a bluegrass bassist has bloomed to playing with High Fidelity, Della Mae, and winning Bass Player of the Year this past September at the IBMA Awards Show. She is truly one of the most beautiful ladies and wonderful people that is in my life, and I will always love her.

That’s enough for now. Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

This Weekend at SPBGMA

I had a few minutes break from the SPBGMA conference here in Nashville. So far it’s been great! I’ll post more about it next week. Here’s a quick pic of the Edgar Loudermilk Band performing a showcase. Until next week, stay safe!

Chew on it and comment.

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 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
Bluegrass Music

IBMA 2023 Award Ballots

Well, it’s that time of year again. The International Bluegrass Music Association sends out its first round balloting for the 2023 awards. Since I am no longer a member, I don’t get to nominate or vote, but I am still on the Association’s email list, so I get the announcements. Also, my inbox gets inundated with dozens of emails from artists, managers, booking agents and record companies with “For Your Consideration” in the subject line.

For anyone not familiar with the IBMA’s process, the first round consists of any member can write in anyone that they want for any category (bands, musicians, vocalists, songs, albums) and send it back. The second round usually lists about 10 names in each category, from which you select five. The final round lists five or so nominees, for which you choose one. There are other awards given out during the business days at World of Bluegrass that are usually chosen by the board members, such as the Momentum Awards and Hall of Fame recipients.

I have always been disillusioned by the IBMA awards, much like my apathy towards the Grammys. The mass membership does not critically look at the past year, especially when it comes to the nominations of vocalists and musicians. In each category, easily 80% of the names are repeats from the previous years, whether or not those artists have put out any recorded material during the year. Songs and albums are pretty much current, but that has a lot more to do with how well the record companies and publicists have done their job rather than how innovative that song or recording is.

When I was a lot more involved with the IBMA, as well as subscribing to Bluegrass Junction on Sirius/XM and talking more with artists, I could tell throughout the year who would win an award without doubting myself. I honestly do not pay much attention now. I am glad that some younger artists such as Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, and my good friend Bronwyn Keith-Hynes are getting recognized without too much prejudice from the traditionalists. However, I was never really interested in award ceremonies, even when some of my work was nominated at the Detroit Music Awards years ago. They may look good on a resume, but personally, I appreciated a positive comment from someone that I didn’t know more than a plaque or statuette.

As for the Momentum and Hall of Fame Awards, that is even more political, so to speak. While I was a member of Leadership Bluegrass, I was part of a small group that was petitioning to get Hazel Dickens to be a member of the HOF. She was already a recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award back in the 90s, but we felt that she belonged in the HOF due to her extensive work in songwriting. She was finally inducted in 2017 with her early performing partner Alice Gerard, right before I resigned from Leadership Bluegrass due to its political involvement.

I know that the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) has similar awards at its conference in January, but I have never paid too much attention to it. Perhaps this upcoming year I will, as I do plan on attending the 2024 conference (Please, no family tragedies!). While SPBGMA is not as influential as IBMA, and it does value the more traditional side of bluegrass, I have some faith that SPBGMA values its membership’s thoughts and opinions more than the IBMA. And it has great jam sessions just like IBMA.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

Why I Respect Billy Strings

I don’t buy too many CDs any more. Mainly because I don’t get around to seeing/hearing who is out there. However, I do try to keep my ear to the ground when it comes to bluegrass. And I have been pretty vocal in my previous blogs about my admiration of Billy Strings.

A few days ago, I went out and purchased a copy of Me/And/Dad, Billy’s latest release that he recorded with his stepfather Terry Barber. Terry was the man that got Billy into playing guitar. Granted, there were some demons in both men’s lives over the years, namely addictions, that have had an impact on their lives’ direction. As for Billy, growing up in a drug-infused part of Western Michigan didn’t help, but his love for music helped him overcome much of those demons along with an understanding patriarch.

We all know how Billy has become a rising star, not only in the bluegrass community but in the live music spectrum, drawing humongous crowds from traditionalists to Deadheads. One of the things that I admire about him so much is that, to paraphrase Lester Flatt, he never got above his raisin’. His humility has always shown through, and this album is just a sample of that. He recorded a number of bluegrass and old-time country standards with Terry, and share vocal duties throughout. The album has a stellar cast of backup musicians, including Ronnie and Robbie McCoury, Michael Cleveland, Mike Bub, Jason Carter, and Jerry Douglas.

You can feel the family warmth throughout the song selection. It truly feels like Billy and Terry jamming with some friends in the living room on a Friday night. With all of the flash that Billy can have on stage at one of his sold-out shows, one can tell that this is where he is most comfortable.

I talked briefly a few weeks ago that Billy was at SPBGMA in Nashville last month (and how I missed it). You can take it for granted that he drew an amazing crowd. However, what I failed to mention is that he went there with a 13-year-old mandolin player named Wyatt Ellis. Billy knows that people come to see him play his chops, but he is very giving in wanting to showcase other talent, especially young kids coming up in the bluegrass community. Perhaps he is serving as a big brother/mentor to Wyatt, and hopefully he can keep Wyatt on the right track in life as well.

Cheers to you, Billy, it is an attitude such as yours that helps keep bluegrass going!

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music Lutherie Songwriting

Back to Work!

Well, we laid my mother to rest yesterday, and I feel that I should get back to busy-ing myself in order to keep my mind alert and my slightly arthritic hands working.

Yes, I missed SPBGMA, but I am glad to see that it was a success. Lots of jamming, and plenty of surprises. I am committed to being there next year!

I will still be moving back into my mom’s house and selling my house, so the clean up will continue, along with cleaning out some of my mom’s stuff from her house. As for me, more selling off of music equipment, especially amplifiers and other electric guitar-related stuff that I never use any more. I’ll be also selling some jackets that don’t fit or never fit in the first place but I was too lazy to get rid of. My advice is, if you are in the Detroit area, keep checking Craigslist and look for “Dearborn/Hamtramck” as a location.

I will be trying to hit more shows as well. Not much offered during February and March, but I will keep checking and hope to find a few major bluegrass shows that I can have guitarists try out the 2208! I will definitely try to hit a bluegrass festival as well, but with Milan and Blissfield both cancelled, it will be either Charlotte or something on the west side of Michigan.

And back to practicing gutiar and fiddle, as well as songwriting. Taking care of mom took a lot out of practicing, and I was not motivated to do any songwriting, Hopefully, I can get inspired. I plan to attend more Songwriters Anonymous meetings, as they have always had supportive people.

And finally, lutherie. I definitely want to get back to maintenance and repairs of guitars. I plan to start simple, like setting up that $47.01 bass guitar that I got a few months back (https://luegra.design.blog/2022/12/17/the-47-01-bass-guitar/). I still have a few Yamaha acoustics that I want to set up, one that needs some repairs, and a lot of other minor jobs. I really enjoy working on guitars, and I want to accomplish a few things before the Demon Arthritis takes over.

Next week, I should have a blog full of rants and raves. Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

Review of 2022 Resolutions

I decided to use this final day of 2022 to look back on how much I followed/missed on my resolutions for the year (https://luegra.design.blog/2022/01/08/my-2022-resolution/).

As for getting my house cleaned and sold, that hasn’t moved too far along. Mom is now 90, and I am literally at her house taking care of her when I am not at my job. I have been able to sell a few things on Craigslist, but there is a ton more. Every time I think that I have something big accomplished with that house, I turn my head and see something bigger that needs to be done. My getting that new job then quitting two days later did not help, as I could have been taking some PTO (that I lost when I returned to my old job) to get in there for a day or two to make a dent.

The guitar and fiddle practice has also slipped. I picked up the guitar for a bit around Christmas, but the fiddle has been dry since around Thanksgiving. Well, this weekend I should grab both of them for some refresher. The arthritis is starting to kick in more with the fretting hand as well as the first finger of the picking hand, so I may need a bit of aspirin or put something on them before diving in to a regimen with the two instruments.

The Songwriters Anonymous group has been getting together in-person since the spring, and I have been able to attend a few meetings. However, because of mom’s care, as well as getting up early for work, I have missed the past few months. I hope to be able to hit a few more over 2023.

Songwriting itself is still lukewarm at best. I have jotted down a lot of ideas, and even bought myself a little pocket recorder to record some lyric ideas just in case a pen and paper are not around. However, no complete song for 2022. God, I hope something inspires me enough for a full song or two in 2023!

Attending SPBGMA last year fell through, but not this year! In a few weeks, I will be in Nashville! Everything is set – hotel, registration, and a rough itinerary. This is my first vacation in over three years, so I won’t let anything screw it up!

As for lutherie, that was also slow. I did some minor work on one of the Yamaha guitars that I bought specifically to clean up and make more playable. But again, I wish that I could have done more.

I was able to get to two days of the Milan Music Festival this past August. Unfortunately, the festival has been retired for good, so I am hoping that something else will take its place, at least for that weekend or near it. Other than that, Bela Fleck’s show, a few indoor shows at the Kentuckians of Michigan Hall and the Michigan Old-Time Fiddle Contest, I really didn’t get to see much live music. I’m not interested in large concerts at all, and The Ark still has high COVID restrictions, so I don’t plan on attending that venue soon. I do find myself scanning the internet for live music in the area, especially bluegrass shows, a lot more than I used to.

So for 2023, it seems that I am on Repeat from 2022. More songwriting, more guitar/fiddle practice, more cleaning of the house, and more searching out live music.

One thing that I did do this past year was video myself performing one of my old songs in my Kitchen Koncert series.

Chew on it and comment.

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