SWBA Bulletin Board

IN THE NEWS

New items are listed from most recent to the oldest.

• May 1, 2011: Loar LH 200 has new look - Hayward, CA, The Loar LH-200, the Acoustic Guitar Forum's pick for 2010's Guitar of the Year is back with a whole new look. With the same classic small-body design and the same attention to detail as the Vintage Sunburst model, the LH-200 is now available in a beautiful natural blonde finish. Carefully assembled in the same hand-carved workshop where the best-selling LH-600 and LH-700 archtops are built, The Loar LH-200 has a historic pre-war body style, a classic blues sound and the projection typical of a much-larger guitar.  Click HERE for more intormation.  

• January 14, 2011: Cherryholmes Family Bluegrass Group to Disband -  A former SWBA Member Band that got its start here in the Southwest, the Cherryholmes family bluegrass band has announced that the group is disbanding and will be bring their 12 year chapter to a close. The individual members will each begin their own seasonal change as they grow and mature. The band said that their final performances will be on May 6 at the Doyle Lawson Bluegrass Festival in Denton, NC and May 7 at Houstonfest in Galax, VA. This has been a great chapter of bluegrass music and many fans have enjoyed watching the band grow, mature and evolve over the years.  Click HERE to read more.

• Nov. 14, 2010: The International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky, celebrates the centennial of Bill Monroe -- They have had art displays, exhibits and more since September. Now, the museum will have the rare priviledge of displaying the famed 1964 Gibson that Monroe used while the Father of Bluegrass Music, Bill Monroe's Loar was being repaired. The mandolin is on loan from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum located in Nashville, Tennessee.  Click HERE for more information.

• Nov. 14, 2010:  Mel Bay Publications, Inc. Announces e-book releases -- Making learning music easier with the release of more than 1,000 e-books. "Continuing its proud tradition of teaching the world to play everything from guitar to harmonica, Mel Bay is once again transforming the way people learn to play music by offering e-books," said Bryndon Bay, corporation president and third-generation Bay. "Our company was founded on the principle that music instruction should be available to everyone, everywhere. E-books make that possible in a more convenient way."  Click HERE for more information.

• October 27, 2010: Rhonda Vincent Receives Wall Street Journal Award: Dallas, TX -- Named the "NEW Queen of Bluegrass Music" by the Wall Street Journal, Rhonda Vincent was honored with the first-ever Bluegrass Heritage Foundation "Star Award" when she performed on Saturday, Oct. 16 at Farmers Branch Historical Park. The award was presented by the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to preserve and promote the heritage of bluegrass music through public performances of the music as well as through educational programs and workshops. Click HERE for more information.

• October 21, 2010: Do You Want to Play at European World of Bluegrass 2011? - If you or your band is interested in performing at the European World of Bluegrass (EWOB) Festival in 2011, it is time to make your application now! Applications will close on December 1, 2010. No extension will be possible. EWOB 2011 dates will be June 2-3-4. For all necessary info, please go to www.EWOB.eu. In the center of the Home page, you can find links to all application (Sign-Up: Bands) and musician info.  Click HERE to read more.

• October 12, 2010: Johnny Miller passed away - We are sorry to report that long-time SWBA member, Johnny Miller has died.  Click HERE for a memorial tribute by close friends and SWBA members, Mike and Gwen Gifford. 

• October 11, 2010: IBMA Music Awards Announced - Daily & Vincent again named entertainer of the years and also Vocal Group of the year.  Click HERE for full list or award recipients.

• October 4, 2010: SWBA announces publication of a new cookbook - Featuring a full range of recipes for complete meals (soups, salads, breads, vegetables, main dishes, deserts, etc.) click HERE for further information on how to order by mail, or pay online.. 

• October 1, 2010: Paula Lane Releases new CD  - Long time SWBA member and formerly with This Just In, Paula Lane has released a new solo CD, "The Lone Raven's Cry," featuring songs she's composed and now performs with other fine musicians.  Click HERE to visit her website, or click HERE for samples and the opportunity to purchase part, or all of this CD.

• September 1, 2010: Bill Monroe Exhibit Opens at IBMA Music Museum - The International Bluegrass Music Museum will open their Bill Monroe Centennial Exhibit on September 10, 2010, as part of the worldwide Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration. This event takes place just three days prior to what would have been Big Mon's 99th birthday. Click HERE for more information

• May 12, 2010: Deering Banjo announces The EAGLE II - The Eagle II banjo is a whole new breed of banjo. It features the ground breaking, patent pending Twenty-Ten Tone Ring which is a completely original Deering design that is unlike any other traditional tone ring. It produces a high quality sound that is versatile for many styles of playing. While the sound is uniquely Eagle, it represents a refinement in the quality of banjo tone, something that allows the player to soar to new heights.  Click HERE for more information.

• February 6, 2010: Del MCoury CD available for $5 - The Del McCoury Band has some good news for you. For the month of February, their latest release, Family Circle is available for download for only $5. Click HERE for more information.

• February 2, 2010: Bluegrass Grammy Awards: Click HERE to see the awards.

• December 3, 2009: New Recording King RK-Elite Banjo - Hayward, CA - Recording King is proud to introduce our most traditional Pre-war style banjo ever. Modeled after the original Mastertone banjos of the 1930’s the all-new Recording King RK-Elite offers players vintage sound and handcrafted construction. Click HERE to read more.

• December 3, 2009: The Loar Introduces All-New Hand Carved Mandolin - Hayward, CA, The Loar releases an all-new A-model mandolin exquisitely hand-carved by their select team of expert luthiers at The Loar Hand Carved Workshop, the birthplace of the best-selling LM-600 and 700 mandolins. Click HERE to read more.

• Sep. 30, 2008: Rounder to Release Earl Scruggs, Family and Friends at the Ryman - Burlington, MA – American music icon Earl Scruggs helped give birth to bluegrass music when he first appeared on the legendary stage of Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium in 1945. Another historic night for Scruggs came in 2007 when he headlined his first-ever Ryman concert. Rounder Records is proud to announce the release of that concert – The Ultimate Collection/Live at the Ryman – first as a digital only release on September 30 and then in CD format on November 18.  Click HERE to read more  

• Sep. 15, 2008: Mac Wiseman to receive National Endowment for the Arts Award - On September 19th, bluegrass musician Mac Wiseman is to receive his National Endowment for the Arts Award in Washington, D.C. The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans.  Click HERE to read more.  

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

(NOTE: Bluegrass events, such as festivals and concerts  in the 

Western United States are posted  on our EVENTS  page)

Announcements are listed from most recent to the oldest.

• Southwest Bluegrass Group (not affiliated with the Southwest Bluegrass Association) provides an opportunity for bluegrassers throughout the southwest and the the rest of the US to share information, pictures and discuss bluegrass related topics.  Click HERE to read more.

• Rounder announces Dan Tyminski Band's video "Wheels" -  The video is from his latest release which includes bandmates Adam Steffey, Barry Bales, Justin Moses, Ron Stewart and Tim Austin.  Click HERE for sample of video and Click HERE to read more  

• Flatpick Guitar Magazine has created The Flatpicking Guitar Network - Designed like many online social networks, such as MySpace and Face Book, users can post their own material (picturs, news, videos, etc.) and communicate with each other.  Click HERE to visit the web site. [posted 7/3/08]

• Dr. Ralph Stanley's portrait painted by renowned artist, Kenneth Hari - Click HERE for more.  To read more click HERE. [posted 7/3/08]

• 2008 National Bluegrass Playoffs Band selected - California Band, Sawmill Road, was chosen Saturday, June 14^th at Huck Finn Jubilee.  Others appearing in the playoff were Palmer Divide, from Colorado, Burnett Family Bluegrass from Arizona and The Brombies from California. [posted 6/16/08]

• New Survey Tells About Current Bluegrass Consumers - The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) solicits data from Simmons Research every couple of years in order to get a glimpse at the Bluegrass Music consumer. The 2007 data is in and the report covers the period of January to November 2007  Click HERE to see the findings. [posted 7/3/08]

• 50th Annual Grammy Awards - "The Bluegrass Diaries," Jim Lauderdale, Best Bluegrass Album of the Year.  Click HERE to hear samples from the album, and click HERE to see the full list, click HERE to comment on the SWBA Blog. [posted 2/8/08]

• 2008 Northern California Bluegrass Society's Bluegrass Awards Announced - Sidesaddle and Co. from San Jose was named Northern California's "Bluegrass Band of the Year" for 2008 at a ceremony held on Saturday, February 16 in downtown Redwood City. The first time "Northern California Bluegrass Awards" were presented by the Northern California Bluegrass Society as part of that organization's inaugural "Bluegrass On Broadway" Festival.  Click HERE to read more. [posted 2/20/08]

• Working Girl Blues: The Life and Music of Hazel Dickens - The University of Illinois Press has announced another valuable book, Working Girl Blues: The Life and Music of Hazel Dickens. Working Girl Blues is the life story of singer and songwriter Hazel Dickens, the inspiring voice of a whole generation of women and workers. This latest book is another volume in the University of Illinois Press Music in American Life series.  Click HERE to read more. [posted 1/22/08]

• Bluegrass in Russia - Click HERE to visit the webs site of a bluegrass group in Russia that recently contacted SWBA, seeking interest in their music here in the United States.  Music samples are also available online (not exactly traditional bluegrass). [posted 11/19/07]

• The Rainbows of Fall.  Not exactly about bluegrass, but nice.  Turn on your speakers and click HERE for some pictures of fall splendor.  [posted 11/19/07]

• Bobby Osborne Joins Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music Faculty.  Dean Osborne revealed the addition of Bobby Osborne to the faculty of the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music in Hazard, Kentucky.  Bobby Osborne is teaching bluegrass music history.  Click HERE to read more about Bobby Osborne's appointment to the faculty, and click HERE to read more about the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music. [posted 9/13/07]

• Rounder releases of Clair Lynch CD.  Burlington, MA – Claire Lynch, one of bluegrass's most beloved vocalists, songwriters, and bandleaders, released Crowd Favorites October 9 on Rounder Records. Crowd Favorites is a collection of some of the most-requested songs from Claire Lynch's impressively rich repertoire. Click HERE to read more. [posted 9/8/07]

• Homer Ledford featured on Kentucky Luthiers Exhibit and Web Site. The Kentucky Arts Council and the Kentucky Historical Society has a special exhibit and companion website featuring the art and tradition of Kentuckians who are considered masters in the making and repairing of guitars, fiddles, banjos, mandolins, dulcimers and other original stringed instruments.  Click HERE to see the article about Homer Ledford, and from there possibly visit the other web pages that are part of the web site. [posted 9/8/07]

• Video  clips of Silverado performance available online.  These are video clips of a concert for Bluegrass Association of Southern California at the Braemer Country Club. BASC reports that Silverado set an attendance record for their Tuesday night concerts.  To view the clips click HERE.

• New book published about fiddler, Howdy Forrester:  Fiddler of the Opry: The Howdy Forrester Story, by Gayel Pitchford, has been published by Viewpoint Press in California.  Click HERE to read more about the book and how to obtain it.  [Posted 5/1/07]

• Website features vintage Bluegrass Posters: Mitch, aka the Kardboard Kid, has been collecting posters all his life.  He's posted them on his own website, where they are divided into several categories, including Country and Bluegrass.  Click HERE to go to his website and view his vintage bluegrass posters.  [Posted 3/10/07]

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MUSIC REVIEWS

• Infamous Stringdusters - Fork in the Road

Sugar Hill

Song List: No More To Leave You Behind, Fork In The Road, Starry Night, 3 X 5, 40 West, Tragic Life, Poor Boy's Delight, No Resolution, My Destination, Letter From Prison, Dream You Back, Moon Man

For a bluegrass band, the Infamous Stringdusters are an uncommonly large group, with six members, encompassing all the commonly used bluegrass instruments: guitar, mandolin, Dobro, banjo, fiddle and bass. Many bluegrass bands establish their sound based not only on the instrumentation in their group, but also which of the key instruments is absent. The Stringdusters have them all, and the members come with impressive resumes. Two are second generation bluegrass players. Guitarist Chris Eldridge performed with his father in the Seldom Scene. Fiddle player Jeremy Garrett is the son of Nashville bluegrass player Glenn Garrett who wrote a song that appears on this CD. The younger Garrett also played with Lee Ann Womak and Bobby Osborne.

Click HERE to read more of this review.

• LITTLE ROY LEWIS, EARL SCRUGGS & LIZZY LONG - Lifetimes (CD & bonus DVD)

  Vine Records / Mountain Home MH11182

  http://www.amazon.com/Lifetimes-Scruggs-Long-Lewis/dp/B000NVSZ8U

  Playing Time – 47:19

  Song list: All the Good Times Are Past and Gone, James White, Heaven is a Small Town, Obelisk Flour, The Has Been, The Preacher and the Bear, Gotta Travel On, One More Yesterday With You, I Will Find You Again, The Bluebirds Singing for Me, Catamount Chase Breakdown, The Five-String Song, I'm Not Falling for You, The Road Before Me, (posted 7/19/07)

  Buegrassers are familiar with the many accomplishments of Earl Scruggs and Little Roy Lewis who are given top billing on this album despite their fairly understated roles. Scruggs appears on five cuts, and Lewis only on four.

• Windy Ridge Bluegrass Band - Old Windows
  http://www.windyridgebluegrass.com/
  windyridgeband@aol.com
  Song list: My Little Girl In Tennessee, Ashes of Love, Bury Me Beneath the Willow, Lonesome Pine, I Still Miss Someone, I Saw The Light, Orphan Girl, Think of What You've Done, Are You Teasing Me, Jesus Savior Pilot Me.

  The nice thing about the bluegrass community is that there are niches for everyone involved with the music. California-based Windy Ridge is a quartet that acknowledges their strength comes from their kinship, camaraderie, chemistry, and love of the music. Windy Ridge is Tim Bryant (guitar, mandolin), Cary Jones (bass, mandolin, fiddle), Frank Bayuk (resophonic guitar) and Claire Wagner (banjo). In this set of classic jam favorites, they work collaboratively to let each band member grab a share of the spotlight. As an example, their set features each band member assuming lead vocalist duties on a few numbers apiece. I think my favorite on the album is their rendition of "I Saw the Light" because this is their one quartet number and because every member gets a piece of the action in the breaks. Claire's singing and banjola on Gillian Welch's reflective "Orphan Girl" is another favored choice. Windy Ridge chose "Old Windows" as the title for their album because their goal was to "take a look back at some old gems, well-recorded and well-liked in the bluegrass genre."  [Posted 6/10/07]

   

  Click HERE to read more of this review by Joe Ross.

   

• J.D. Crow and The New South - Lefty's Old Guitar  

  J.D. Crowe and The New South

  Rounder Records 11661-0512-2

  One Camp Street, Cambridge, MA 02140

  SONGS - Mississippi River Raft, Lefty's Old Guitar, Just Loving You, Rovin' Gambler, In My Next Life, You Can Be A Millionaire With Me, I Only wish You Knew, Loneliness, I'm A Hobo, Too Often Left Alone, Blue Bonnet Lane, She Know When You're On My Mind Again

  Playing Time – 34:10

  From Kentucky, J.D. Crowe began his career as a member of Mac Wiseman's band in 1955. Thus, "Lefty's Old Guitar" is also somewhat of a half century celebratory milestone for J.D. ."

   

  Click HERE to read more of this review by Joe Ross.

   

• Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder - Instrumentals

Skaggs Family Records

This first all-instrumental release from Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder features an entire collection of music penned by Skaggs himself.

Selections: Goin' To Richmond, Missing Vassar, Wayward To Hayward, Montana Slim, Crossing The Briney, Crossville, Gallatin Rag, Dawgs' Breath, Spam Jelly, Goin' To The Ceili, Polk City

Ricky Skaggs has featured instrumentals on his various albums before (where they're often among the highlights), but this set is the first time Skaggs and his Kentucky Thunder bluegrass ensemble have released an album solely of instrumentals, which makes this a special treat. From the Irish feel of the opening "Going to Richmond," Skaggs and the band hit a confident and assured groove that is at times as much string band jazz as it is bluegrass, and on the absolutely huge-sounding "Crossing the Briney," which makes used of the Nashville String Machine, the sound shifts closer to classical music, complete with massive, swelling crescendos. But this set has a traditional side, too, highlighted by the easy-rolling "Missing Vassar," and while Skaggs wrote all the pieces here, it isn't difficult to imagine Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder as an old-timey string band hanging out on the porch and playing a set of local favorites on a Saturday afternoon. It is this ability to stretch the boundaries of bluegrass while still adhering to a traditional base that makes Skaggs and company so interesting, and when Andy Statman brings his clarinet to the gentle, bright "Gallatin Rag" in a guest spot, the music ceases to be bluegrass or jazz or traditional or anything in particular, but emerges instead as a hybrid of everything at once. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

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• Boohers - Grandma’s Songs (CD, 2005)

Lonesome Day Records LDR-008; 143 Deaton Road, Booneville, KY. 41314;

TEL. (606)398-2369; EMAIL murraymusicgroup@hotmail.com;

www.lonesomeday.com OR http://www.theboohers.com/; Playing Time - 37:01

The Boohers are a captivating family band that makes their debut on Lonesome Day Records with "Grandma’s Songs” which is actually the group’s fourth album overall

Click HERE to read more at Bluegrass Works.

• Cherryholmes - self-titled (CD, 2005)

Skaggs Family 6989020142

PO Box 2478, Hendersonville, TN. 37077

www.skaggsfamilyrecords.com OR www.cherryholmes.net

Michelle Nikolai michelle@skaggsfamilyrecords.com

INFO: Kissy Black TEL. (615)298-1144 OR kissyblack@lotosnile.com OR jocelyn@lotosnile.com

Playing Time - 45:51

The Cherryholmes' pendulum of repertoire swings from Bill Monroe ("Tallahassee") to the Dirt Band ("Workin' Man"), and Hazel Dickens ("Workin' Girl Blues") to the Louvin Brothers ("No One to Sing for Me").

           Click HERE to read more at Bluegrass Works

• David Grier - I've Got a House to Myself

Dreadnought Records (David's own imprint)

www.davidgrier.com

david@davidgrier.com

Available from Tricopolis Records

Playing Time - 46:24

David Grier's been a giant of the bluegrass guitar for a good while now....and a lot of folks out there will tell you with good reason.  One of Acoustic Guitar magazine's Artists of the Decade, Davis takes a big step here with an album completely and exquisitely performed on solo guitar.

Click HERE to read more of this review at Tricopolis Records.

Here are some internet website that have Bluegrass reviews: http://www.talentondisplay.com/joeross7.html and http://www.bluegrassworks.com/reviews.php; 

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BUY/SELL 

No items listed at this time [December 6, 2010] 

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 JUST FOR FUN 

Q: What would a Bluegrass musician do if he won a million dollars?

A: Continue to play gigs until the money ran out.

Q: Why do fiddle players pick on banjo pickers? 

A: Cause they can’t pick on their fiddles.

   Q: Why aren't there tubas in bluegrass bands?

   A:  Because they are HEAVY METAL!!!

Q: What does a banjo player do when asked "Give me a five"? 

A: He says, "Go get your own banjo."

Q: What does it mean when a guitar player is drooling out both sides of his mouth?

A: The stage is level.

   Q: What did the guitar say to the guitarist?

   A:  Pick on someone your own size!

   Q: How many guitarists does it take to change a light bulb?

   A:  Twenty. One to change the bulb and nineteen to say, "Not bad, but I could've done better".

   Q: What is the difference between a guitarist and a Savings Bond?

   A: Eventually a Savings Bond will mature and earn money!

   Q: What is the difference between a guitar and a tuna fish?

   A: You can tune a guitar but you can't tuna fish.

   Q: How many bass players does it take to change a light bulb?

   A: Only one - but the guitarist has to show him first.

   Q: How can you tell the difference between all the banjo songs?

   A: By their names.

Q: What's black and blue and laying in a ditch?

A: A guitarist who's told one too many banjo player jokes.

   Q: How can you tell if a violin is out of tune?

   A: The bow is moving.

Q: How many upright bass players does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: 1...5...1...5...1...5...

   Q: How do you keep your mandolin from getting stolen?

   A: Put it in a banjo case.

   Q: What does a mandolin player say when he gets to his gig?

   A: Would you like fries with that?

   Q: Why did the Boy Scout take up the Dobro (i.e., resophonic, slide guitar)?

   A: They make good paddles.

   Q: Why don't banjo players play hide and seek?

   A: Because no one will look for them.

Q: Why do many bluegrass bands have dobro players?

A: They need someplace level to set their drinks.

Q: How do you get a banjo picker off your front porch? 

A: Pay him for the pizza

Q: How many bluegrass musicians does it take to change a light bulb? 

A: Three, one to do it and two to argue about whether that was the way Bill Monroe 

     would have done it.

Q: What's the difference between a fiddle player and a dog?

A: The dog knows when to stop scratching.

Q: What's the least-used sentence in the English language? 

A: "Isn't that the banjo player's Porsche?"

Q: How do you make an upright bass stay in tune?

A: Chop it up and make it into a xylophone.

Bluegrass Dictionary

The world of Bluegrass Music is awash with esoteric, arcane, and otherwise marginally comprehensible terminology.  In an effort to simplify and clarify these words, the following dictionary is offered.  In other words, here's a list of a few common Bluegrass vocabulary term and their definitions:

A-Hole Mandolin: A fully assembled mandolin...not in parts.

Acoustic: An instrument for playing pool of billiards (not necessarily a banjo)

Album Jacket: Item to keep posterior warm in winter.

Backbeat: Used to greet an old friend at a Bluegrass festival.

Banjo Pot: Used for cooking stew or soup when camping at a Bluegrass festival.

Banjo Tab: A diet soft drink for pickers.

Bark: Mandolin's sound when playing Dawg music.

Bass: What Daddy sings.

Breakdowns: What occurs after 14 hours of parking lot picking

Bridge: To help you cross those troubled waters.

Capo: Hot cereal that sponsors a Bluegrass radio show.

Chinrest: An instrumental played to give the lead singer a break.

Chops: A mandolin player's disease

Chords: Type of pants seldom worn by Bluegrassers

Chromatic Picking: Polished playing (often performed on a dobro).

Chromatic Scale: Nothing a little dobro polish won't remove

Chunking: Chinese mandolin rhythms.

Clawhammer: A tool for straightening bent fingerpicks or arthritic fingers.

Clog Dancing: Originally for Holland, a cross between rhumba, cha-cha-cha, and waltz

Crosspicking: What happens when a picker gets angry.

Dawg Music: Something your pet sings to.

Dobro (r): Pillsbury Doughboy's brother.

Double Stops: Two endings to a song, often seen in jam sessions.

Duet: Instruction, or command given to the banjo play to start a song (opposite of "refrain")

Fifth String Nut: Person crazy about banjos.

Fine Tuners: Best tuners that money can buy.

Fingerboard: What happens to a picker's fingers after playing the same old licks year after year.

Flatpicking':  To pick like Lester Flatt.

Flattop: John Duffey's hair style.

Frailing: Turning pale and sickly white when electric instruments are used to play bluegrass

Frets: What a guitar player gets when about to do a break for a song never played before.

Guitar Case: A psychotic guitar player.

Gutbucket: Bucket for used fiddle strings.

Hot Lick: Something your pet does to your arm while you hold a burger

Lloyd Loar: Folk Loar's brother.

Mountain Dew: What's on the flower petals when you stop picking at 4am.

Pick Guard: Deodorant for pickers.

Pitch: Act of promoting you band to get gigs.

Refrain: Don't Duet!

Reno roll: Winning gambling spree in Nevada

Resonator: Automatic device for applying resin to strings.

Scrugg's Style: Desinger dress code for Bluegrass bands.

Slap Bass: What's done to awaken the bass singer, or alert the bas player to take a break.

Solo: Word used to describe the bass vocal part.

Tater-bug: Spying device to record hot mandolin licks.

Truss Rod: Item to improve a banjo player's posture, or contain the overhand above the belt.

FOR THE MUSICIANS AMONGST US:

You're too old to play gigs when:

1. It becomes more important to find a place on stage for your fan than your amp.
2. Your gig clothes make you look like George Burns out for a round of golf or Dolly Parton with no bosom.
3. All your fans leave by 9:30 p.m.
4. All you want from groupies is a foot massage and back rub.
5. You love taking the elevator because you can sing along with most of your set-list.
6. Instead of a fifth member, your band wants to spring for a roadie.
7. You lost the directions to the gig.
8. You need your glasses to see the amp settings.
9. You've thrown out your back jumping off the stage.
10. You feel like heck before the gig even starts.
11. The waitress is your daughter!
12. You stop the set because your ibuprofen fell behind the speakers.
13. Most of your crowd just sways in their seats.
14. You find your drink tokens from last month's gig in your guitar case.
15. You refuse to play without earplugs.
16. You ask the club owner if you can start at 8:30 instead of 9:30.
17. You check the TV schedule before booking a gig.
18. Your gig stool has a back.
19. You're related to at least one member in the band.
20. You don't let anyone sit in.
21. You need a nap before the gig.
22. After the third set, you bug the club owner to let you quit early.
23. During the breaks, you now go to the van to lie down.
24. You prefer a music stand with a light.
25. You don't recover until Tuesday afternoon.
26. You hope the host's speech lasts forever … … …
27. You buy amps considering their weight and not their tone or “cool” factor.
28. Feeling guilty looking at hot women at the audience, 'cause they're younger than your daughter.
29. You can remember seven different club names for the same location.
30. You have a hazy memory of the days when you could work 10 gigs in 7 days and could physically do it!
31. Your date couldn't make it because she couldn't find a babysitter for the grandkids.

32. The set list has to be in 20 point type..
33. Your drug of choice is now coffee…
34. It seems impossible to find stage shoes with decent arch support.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

You know, sometimes, when I lie in bed at night and look up at the stars, I think to myself, 

"Man! I really need to fix that roof."

An hour before church service, the pastor approaches the guitar player and says, "I'm glad to see you include Bible precepts in your playing."

The guitarist asks "Do you mean "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord?'"

"No," answers the pastor, "Don't let the left hand know what the right hand is doing."

For those of you who missed the Monsters of Bluegrass in concert, Halloween 2005, you're in luck!  You can see video highlights by clicking HERE and HERE and HERE.

IN CONCLUSION:

And finally, due to several typos found on the SWBA website brought to the SWBA webmanager's attention by devoted readers of the SWBA website, the webmanager has decided to terminate employment of two Spell Checkers, one from the English edition and one from the Latin edition.  Also, any devoted reader wishing to make a complaint should do so by writing legibly in this space: ( )

For more Bluegrass Humor(?) visit: http://www.markfair.com/editor.html

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   Continued news items, announcements and music reviews

Announcing the Southwest Bluegrass Group on Yahoo - Have you heard about the Southwest Bluegrass Group on Yahoo?  If you haven’t, you can take a look by clicking HERE. There are many benefits in and reasons for becoming a member of the Southwest Bluegrass Group.  Most importantly, it's a place for connecting with other bluegrassers, a place to share, to learn and to chat about: 

• All kinds of bluegrass information, news, trivia

• Instruments for sale, lessons, and luthiers

• Calendar of events with timely reminders

• Songs, lyrics, tablature

• Photos from Bluegrass events

The Southwest Bluegrass Group is rapidly growing, with more and more members showing a strong bluegrass 

presence here in the southwest.  It’s FREE and EASY to join (how to join is clearly indicated at the website).  

It’s not affiliated with any bluegrass association, and ANYONE can become a member.  Those who belong to 

  the group can add to everything posted there.  Ready to check it out?  Click HERE.

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  ---------------------------------------------------------------

Fiddler of the Opry: The Howdy Forrester Story, by Gayel Pitchford

The book is the first thorough account of the life and music of the influential Tennessee fiddler who died in 1987, with sections covering his upbringing in Hickman County, his early career and partnership with Georgia Slim Rutland, his long stint with Roy Acuff's Smoky Mountain Boys, and his various recordings, compositions, and arrangements. It's over 240 pages in length, including musical notations for 23 of Forrester's pieces and a nice selection of photographs. The wide-ranging sources for Pitchford's research are well-documented in the book's notes, and they include extensive information and ephemera provided by the Forrester family.

Copies can be mail-ordered directly from the publisher for $26.95 each, plus $4.00 shipping per book (California residents add $1.95 sales tax per book). Canadian orders must be accompanied by a postal money order in US funds. Allow 15 days for delivery.

Viewpoint Press
PMB 400, 785 Tucker Road #G
Techapi, CA 93561

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High Hills CD Leaves on the River

Songs: When I Get home I'm Gonna Be Satisfied. Angel's Flight, Night Rider's Lament, Leaves on the River, Orphan Girl, I'll Fly Away From Here, Rawhide, Moonlight, Lullaby, Maui Sunrise, I'll Stay Around, Someday Soon, Wayfaring Stranger, Amazing Grace, Over the Rainbow

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Dry Branch Fire Squad CD on Rounder - "What separates Dry Branch Fire Squad from most neotraditionalists is its knowing, unsentimental evocation of mountain culture. Rather than representing Appalachia as a kind of mythical paradise lost, the band often speaks to the present-day realities of lost jobs, rural slums, poverty and social disintegration.' – Los Angeles Daily News

Burlington, MA – May 15, 2007, Rounder Records  released Thirtieth Anniversary Special – a definitive collection by one of America’s most venerable and beloved bluegrass bands, Dry Branch Fire Squad. An extensive album, with 21 tracks, Thirtieth Anniversary Special spotlights the wide spectrum of Dry Branch Fire Squad’s repertoire of mountain soul, bluegrass and old-time music, featuring live tracks, studio favorites, rarities and a capella gospel cuts, packaged with new liner notes and archival photos. Thirtieth Anniversary Special complements Rounder’s previous Dry Branch Fire Squad anthology, 1987’s Tried and True and includes new recordings since that collection’s release (plus four previously unreleased tracks). Led by singer, mandolin-picker and raconteur Ron Thomason, Dry Branch Fire Squad is one of the most compelling and unique bluegrass bands to emerge in the past three decades. With each album (over a dozen to date), Dry Branch Fire Squad carries timeless traditions into the modern era with a blend of reverence, soul and wit all their own. Bluegrass Unlimited calls Thomason “one of the most soulful vocalists in bluegrass history.”

Thirtieth Anniversary Special follows up Dry Branch’s 2-disc live CD, Live at the Newburyport Fire House (Rounder, 2005) which documents their endearing live performance, with Thomason’s humorous storytelling and between-song commentary. The Boston Globe called the album “irresistible,” while Dirty Linen said, “The 15 songs reveal a group that is at the peak of its form.”

Dry Branch Fire Squad is: Ron Thomason (lead vocals and mandolin), Brian Auldridge (guitar, mandolin and harmony vocals), Tom Boyd (banjo, Dobro and vocals) and Dan Russell (bass and guitar). Beginning May 19, the band will perform at festivals and concert halls throughout the U.S.

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Rounder announces upcoming release of Clair Lynch CD.  New recordings of favorites from her Front Porch String Band days highlight the signature groove of the Claire Lynch Band, while ten classics from her Rounder catalog form an ideal introduction to one of acoustic music's most innovative artists. Luminous and elegant, Lynch's music is a mesmerizing blend of bluegrass, country, folk, and swing, exquisitely showcasing her gifts as a vocalist, songwriter, and bandleader.

   Crowd Favorites Track Listing:

1. Train Long Gone

2. The Day That Lester Died *

3. Fallin' in Love

4. Hills of Alabam' *

5. If Wishes Were Horses

6. Your Presence is My Favorite Gift

7. Jealousy

8. Silver and Gold

9. Sweetheart, Darlin' of Mine

10. Kennesaw Line *

11. Thibodaux

12. Wabash Cannonball *

13. He Don't Like to Talk About It

14. Friends for a Lifetime (Song for Kegan)

*Indicates new recording by The Claire Lynch Band

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