A Taste of Bluegrass
I have been down the bluegrass rabbit hole lately, and I wanted to share a couple tunes with the community. I didn't grow up with this as the soundtrack of my youth, and I never even lived in Appalachia. I didn't really discover it until after my family moved out west. Nonetheless, this kind of music speaks to my soul. Much as I love speed metal, alternative rock, and the occasional dose of electronica, folk music resonates in a way that probably can't be articulated. If there is magic in this world, it emanates from live performances on acoustic instruments.
EDIT: if you're unfamiliar with American folk music, bluegrass is named after Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys, a country music band playing dance songs and ballads based on Appalachian tradition. It draws heavily on traditional music from the British isles along with a variety of other influences over the years.
Up first, an old video (apparently filmed on a potato, but with decent audio) of Peter Rowan and Tony Rice (RIP) with Bryn Davies and Sharon Gilchrist. This version differs greatly from the Grateful Dead's Cold Rain And Snow and any other more traditional renditions I have heard.
Sharon Gilchrist is a notable mandolin player in her own right, and besides playing with the Peter Rowan and Tony Rice Quartet, she has also performed with the spectacular old-time band Uncle Earl as well as many other groups. @flemingfarm, if you haven't had a chance to see her playing, you're missing out!
This is another classic tune, and while I really like John Hartford's recording, this group may take the cake. I love the way all these folk music bands tend to rotate around a stage microphone to showcase different members in turn, and everyone seems to be having fun. Here's another neat performance with a different tempo and new improvisation.
Going back before my time, I also recommend Will the Circle Be Unbroken by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band along with some of the best bluegrass musicians of 1971. I recently bought a physical copy of this album on CD because it is still absolutely phenomenal over 50 years later.
What are your favorite kinds of folk music? Do you have a local favorite style from outside the US? I already know @bertrayo has shared some amazing Venezuelan tunes on instruments he even makes himself, so there may be other Hive musicians who need to be discovered, too. Drop some good links in the comments, please!
And I'm even playing The Beatles now. Might try bluegrass in the future. I used to be a mandolin player and I always liked the thing they do over there with the mandolin. It's a really fast way of playing and tons of double stops.
I even love the way if playing of some musicians. Mike Marshall is one of them. My absolute favorite is Sierra Hull. Those eyes and that technique are a killer combo.
I saw your recording of Yesterday, well, yesterday.
Ha, ha, ha, ha. Yeah, there's not a way of saying that and not make sound silly.
I recorded Something yesterday. And gonna keep going with The Beatles' tunes for some time.
I need to see if I can make this work on my banjo. I have a capo for easy open A tuning, but I'll need a while to figure out the finger picking patterns.
I know that guy. He has a cool Star Wars Medley arrangement.
Capo on the banjo? Isn't your banjo tuned like a mandolin?
It's a 5-string. gDGBD is typical, open G with the 5th string an octave higher than the G in the main 4. Maybe I should write a post about banjo stuff.
It's like a Brazilian Cavaquinho with an extra high G. That's cool! Banjos have this really crazy play style. But a post about it would be great.
That looks similar to my baritone ukulele, but that is typically tuned DGBE like a guitar missing the two lowest strings.
That's why I said Brazilian Cavaquinho. In Brazil the tuning of that instrument is DGBD.
Hey @jacobtothe, long time no see! Great to see you still posting here on Hive! Hope you are doing well!
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That's some nice tunes to hear, i enjoyed them, thanks for sharing.
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Lol, I'm slightly irked you didn't tag me in this, I did grow up in Appalachia :) Thursday nights were pickin'n'grinnin at the firehouse most weeks. I always had a love/hate relationship with bluegrass, I love the murder ballads but never had much use for all the gospel tunes (I was raised heathen) but it was kinda hard to get one without the other.
You ever listen to Billy Strings?
Fucker can really play, he's one of my favorite current bluegrass musicians. Sturgill Simpson is badass too but I prefer his more rocking stuff to the bluegrass.
<edit< Almost forgot to mention the Dead South
Isn't the Dead South from southern Canada, though?
Yeah, and Billy Strings is from Michigan. I blame the hillbilly highways.
I really enjoyed that video of Squirrel Hunters. And thanks for reminding me to get out my Uncle Early CD and listen to it again.
Oh, Tony Rice. He makes it look so easy that I thought I could do it too! I even bought a Santa Cruz Tony Rice model guitar. Whew that thing was like Formula one race car. I got into a gear crazy phase and traded it. It was such a beautiful instrument. Getting older I need something a little easier to play and a smaller body. I still fantasize about getting another one...
Here's a favorite of mine - Buzz Busby
I was going through my CD collection, and I have this album that is definitely worth a revisit. And there's the long tale of the guitar it was named after.
Thats a great album/cd!
Fretboard journal is so cool. That's the most detailed story of the guitar I have read. Thanks!