QVS nson's bluegrass crusade by Debby Fairley Bluegrass isn't too old, explained Hanson. "It all Terry Schmidt and Bill Dye. Hanson A North Carolina bluegrass once rode a played , player started with in the thirties-- he took the Schmidt on Dye on harmonica. "That's of from Omaha to Lincoln in the , 35 motorcycle rain, just old country songs and speeded them up and them Dr. and his our old to meet Steve Hanson; because he's heard put Reymus Country Rhythm Boys, mostly in a higher key with a lot of this very close high band," said Hanson. from an Omaha banjo repairman that there was a guy harmony-a- nd made . " There have been other bands, a lot of them. A rock named Steve Hanson living in Lincoln who played Monroe is scheduled to at the Nebraska and roll band, band, a folk band, a band. bluegress, good bluegreass. And bluegrass music is perform jug Union this the Union Concerts and once I recorded with a soul band. I'd something you don't hear much of in Nebraska. spring, sponsored by "Hey, Wow, Committee. Hanson will be the "warm-up- " musician. almost forgotten that." Monroe started the old mountain Hanson's mother was a music in school and Hanson and the North Carolinan got to playing using songs too, major songs made for the and . Bluegrass taught piano afterwards; his father often-someti- mes banjo really played saxophone, together every so for four hours at five-strin- g only requires a banjo, a fiddle ("that's clarinet, piano and organ-a- nd loved . "There'd be time, said Hanson's wife LeAnn and to be just they got a violin played bluegrass style"), a , a guitar a jam session every Saturday night, so I'd go to sleep friends, too. pretty good and a bass, Hanson said. With those instruments, "just listening to live jazz," Hanson said. "You can't help it" (he said. "When you find about any song can be played bluegrass. It's the style In ninth grade Hanson bought his first guitar, and so friends-mos- someone who plays bluegrass, you're goddamn that makes bluegrass. Some groups take began taking lessons and playing with tly to see can't but be Country-wester- n Paul glad him, you help and play it bluegrass; we've even got Peter, and Mary songs. friends...Bluegrass people are dose." Then his sister bought him an album of the New They have to be. Hanson said "a real high List City Ramblers playing oldtime music ("which is in estimate" of the number of bluegrass players just slow bluegrass"). That's when it all said Lincoln be started, might 20, probably a whole lot less. bluegrass Hanson. "That music really knocked me out." ( He "There's an of bluegrass musicians in bought a banjo and taught himself to play with underground an -- album of the Beatles songs played bluegrass." only incidental help the few Lincoln Nebraska," Hanson said. . "They're around, but ,from banjo X" ' he found. he'd nobody knows about it but other bluegrass players." players Mostly have someone play a There's a certain to that makes it tune so he could The problem is that Nebraska isn't really bluegrass rhythm bluegrass slowly that watch the fingers different than Hanson and then then it himself. territory. Most oldtime music contests and gatherings , said, moving, try easy-goin- g n there's the way the musicians talk to the are primarily country-wester- with a dash of By the end of his sophomore year in high school, folks in the audience-"bluegr- ass bullshit" the bluegrass, Hanson said. Hanson said, he was hooked. Hansons call I it. "I'm convinced could make a living playing This summer at the Brownville Oldtime Fiddlers' "It's always sort of the same: "We want to thank bluegrass," Hanson said. "I'm not much of a hustler, Contest, Hanson and a few friends decided to put you k'ndly for being here. We're not going to do a but I think with good people we could do it. I could whole lot of a whole lot of . . together band about three hours before contest talking, just picking. get a manaonn piayer ana a guitar piayer ana a Danjo time. They called themselves Ferlin Puny and his and you talk to the other musicians over the music and a bass, but there's no fiddle around.. .I'd even and in as Bluegrass Boys, and they won the band division. Then throw jokes you go." take a violinist who wanted to learn to play fiddle." But "sort-of-bluegras- they won the grand prize in the overall competition. it's not a very boisterous humor. Mostly the Right now Hanson is half of a still " players stand stock and just their fingers move, duo that plays at Lincoln bars: Der Loaf and Stein, "One of these guys I'd only seen once a year at fast. the and others. A good proportion of Brownville, and a couple of others I hadn't played 12 Apartment The Hansons watched Channel TV as they folk-typ- e in r their songs are James Taylor songs he said, with 'ong time, but there are a lot of songs that talked- -a of an open-ai- r videotape countrybluegrass mostly to keep the audience happy. most bluegrass people know, so we just started festival Nebraska earlier this fall. at Wesleyan He teaches banjo, guitar and mandolin lessons playing," he said. The first on were Hanson and two people friends, part-tim- e at Thomson Music too. "I'd kind of like to teach music fulltime when I graduate (in December with a wildlife management major). It'd be steady income and I like it a lot. I'd have enough students too-the- re's a growing interest in bluegrass, I think. At one time I had three mandolin students, and I only teach bluegrass mandolin. That's pretty good." But the Hansons' dream and long-rang- e goal is to go to Minneapolis where many of their friends have gone, and join a good bluegrass band. The underground's in Minneapolis too. Cactus Flower

, I i .'t ' ' mediocre , : comedy ; Review by Larry Kubert Mediocre comedies are a hazard of the theater. They're like an anchovy pizza; it's a good idea when it's but it when finished I f ordered, you regret you've eatinq. The Lincoln Community Playhouse production of Abe Burrows' Cactus Flower is a prime example of this. Opening with not a bad concept (bachelor dentist, who wished to remain that, tells girl friend that he's married), Burrows' play promptly moves on to a piaiuuainous ena. Apparently many cast members in the Playhouse production weren't too excited about the play either, mm. as they didn't exhibit much excitment in playing I tin -- their roles or performing for an audience. nanson . . . i m f , One of the few who was excited with the show was convinced I could make a ' Carl Martens as the dentist, Dr. Julian Winston. living playing bluegrass.' Martens mugged it up with the audience with his flashy takes and dead-pa- n expression. Evidently this X is what the audience wanted because they ate it up. kf- f, v . Mugging is not nexessarily good theater but in this instance it was acceptable, simply because it was good Turn to page 11 fridav. december 8. 1972 daily nebraskan page 9

m . a .