Bluegrass Music - Transforming Tradition

Home , Foggy Mountain Boys

Masaryk University Brno Faculty of Education Department of English Language and Literature

Bachelor Thesis

Brno 2011

Supervisor: PhDr. Irena Přibylová, Ph.D. written by: Kateřina Teplá

Declaration:

I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the sources listed in the bibliography.

Kateřina Teplá

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank PhDr. Irena Přibylová, Ph.D. for her help, support and valuable advice.

I also want to thank Dalton Stansbury for inspiration and his useful comments.

Finally, the thesis would have never been written without musicians of 2.30 and their willingness to share their musical experience with me.

Thank you very much.

Contents:

1. Introduction ...... 5 2. Bluegrass Music, USA ...... 7 2.1. Definition of Bluegrass Music...... 7 2.2 History of Bluegrass Music ...... 9 The Roots ...... 9 Hillbilly Music ...... 11 Influence of the Radio ...... 11 Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass ...... 12 Flatt and Scruggs ...... 14 The Foggy Mountain Boys, Dobro ...... 14 From Rock and Roll to Folk Song Revival ...... 15 3. Czech Bluegrass Music ...... 16 Tramp Music ...... 16 Post-war Period and Tramp Music ...... 16 The 1960s ...... 17 The 1970s ...... 20 Bluegrass Music after the Velvet Revolution ...... 22 4. 2.30 An Amateur Czech Bluegrass Band ...... 23 4.1. History of the Band ...... 23 4.2 The 2.30 Band ...... 25 Instruments ...... 25 Musicians of 2.30 ...... 25 The Band´s Repertoire ...... 26 Official Auditions ("přehrávky") ...... 30 Czech Lyrics ...... 30 5. Comparison of American and Czech Bluegrass ...... 39 5.1 Function of Bluegrass Music ...... 39 5.2 American versus Czech Bluegrass Music ...... 40 5.3 Czech versus Original Lyrics ...... 41 6. Conclusion ...... 43 List of References ...... 46 Appendix: list of figures ...... 47

1. Introduction

The main goal of the thesis is to compare American bluegrass music to Czech bluegrass played by a non-professional Czech band in the 1980s. Firstly, in chapter two of the thesis the American bluegrass tradition and its history will be described. The third part deals with the history of Czech bluegrass music. The fourth part consists of field research of an amateur Czech bluegrass band and its existence in the context of communism and isolation from the West. Finally, the history of the band, musical instruments and song lyrics will be analysed and compared to find out to what extent the local band was influenced by the

American original and if it enriched the original with something specifically Czech or if it only emulated the American model.

As for American bluegrass, I relied mostly on Bluegrass, A History, (first published in

1985), a book written by Neil V. Rosenberg, professor emeritus of folklore at Memorial

University of Newfoundland and Country Music, U.S.A. (1985) by Bill C. Malone, both a scholar and performer of the music. Another source of information was Dalton Stansbury, an

American translator and bluegrass musician living in the Czech Republic, who provided me with a unique insight into the genre and gave me a valuable view of Czech bluegrass from the perspective of a foreigner. When describing the history of Czech bluegrass, I drew primarily on Vondrák and Skotal´s book Legendy folku & country, 2004, in which Irena

Přibylová played an important role as an adviser for the bluegrass genre. I also used the

Internet sources such as Oxford online Encyclopaedia of country music. And finally, the thesis could have never been written without the musicians of the 2.30 band and their willingness to share their musical experience with me.

The main reason for choosing this topic for my thesis was primarily my love of the music and curiosity as a fan who has enjoyed listening to the genre for many years but did

not know much about its roots and history. As for Czech bluegrass, this unique transformed tradition has not been studied and described much so far and it was really enticing for me to search for the motives that made so many people make such effort to get the music into communist Czechoslovakia through the Iron Curtain, despite the hostile attitude of officials towards anything coming from the West. As a teacher of English I consider the culture of

English speaking countries a part of language acquisition, moreover a pleasant one, which is usually enjoyed by the majority of students, and which should become a regular part of

English courses for students of all ages.

2. Bluegrass Music, USA

2.1. Definition of Bluegrass Music

"Bluegrass is part of country music; it originated with Bill Monroe and his band, the

Blue Grass Boys, during the 1940s. During the 1950s it was named and recognized as a unique form - a music in which singers accompany themselves with acoustic rather than electric instruments, using the fiddle, mandolin, guitar, five-string banjo, Dobro, and bass."

(Rosenberg 3). Elsewhere, Rosenberg (7) specifies: "These acoustic instruments are used in bands of from four to seven individuals who sing and accompany themselves. The band members are almost always men, in fact, in its formative years bluegrass was virtually a male music."

Rinzler (qtd. in Rosenberg 111-2) describes bluegrass instrumentation and repertoire as follows: "Bluegrass is descriptive of a band usually consisting of a guitar and bass, used for backing, and one or two fiddles, a banjo and a mandolin used for lead or solo playing . The songs themselves, if not actually folk or "old-time" songs, generally are closer to that tradition than to the modern tradition of popular Tin Pan Alley or hillbilly songs." Rosenberg

(112) adds: "Emphasis is placed on instrumentation, the roles of the instruments, and the closeness of the songs to folksong traditions." He stresses (6) that although bluegrass has traditional antecedents, it has been a professional and commercial music from its beginning.

"Occasionally used for dancing, it is most frequently performed in concert-like settings, and sound media - radio, records, television - have been important means of dissemination for the music. Bluegrass depends upon the microphone, and this fact has shaped its sound"

(Rosenberg 6).

Malone (323) in Country Music, U.S.A. describes where bluegrass originated:

Bluegrass, for example, is often equated with mountain music or seen as its natural

outgrowth. Many of the major performers did indeed come from the southeastern hill

country, but some seminal bluegrass musicians - including Bill Monroe - came from

other areas. Stylistically, bluegrass is indebted to musicians and styles from a variety

of nonmountain and mountain sources, and its songs come from no one region.

2.2 History of Bluegrass Music

The Roots

To discover the roots of bluegrass music we must go far back into history. The origins of bluegrass can be found in various types of music brought by immigrants to

America. These were particularly immigrants from the British Isles. We can say that bluegrass was inspired by Irish, Scottish and English ballads and dance tunes.

When speaking about the history of bluegrass music, we cannot omit the influence of

African rhythm and music. The African continent is also the place where the banjo, later the key musical instrument of the bluegrass genre, originated hundred of years ago. Originally it was made of a large gourd and a neck with strings. This simple string instrument developed into the banjo on the American continent. Its use is closely connected with minstrel shows which originated in the South of the USA in the early 1830s and soon became very popular.

Přibylová (94) says: "In spite of the fact that the first entertainers were white, the roots, topics and themes of the shows were of "black" origin. Minstrel shows represent an interesting mixture of influences of African American and Euro-American cultures." The tradition of minstrel shows survived until the 20th century. Přibylová (99) describes: "Many artists of the

20th century started their careers in minstrel shows... the minstrel banjo and humour remained in the hands of white men in the 20th century." Přibylová, who did research on Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys in the 1990s, explains: "The position of a banjo player was reserved for a comedian in the white old-time music and early bluegrass music till the 1940s. It ended with the coming of Earl Scruggs (born 1924) to Bill Monroe´s Blue Grass Boys in 1945." She continues: "While hiring the young Scruggs, Monroe questioned him first about his knowledge of jokes, only then he was interested in his ability to play the banjo. The era of a

banjo man-comedian ended with the coming of the marvellous instrumentalist Scruggs, and the role of joke-teller was left to the lead singer or Monroe himself."

Odell and Winans in Oxford Music online describe two general styles of playing the banjo. "Clawhammer", "frailing" or old time banjo as it is called nowadays, was taught by the first minstrel banjo tutors. It is a style "in which patterns of downward strikes by the index or middle fingernail are combined with upward strokes of the thumb against the fifth string".

"The other major style, "finger-picking", combines upwards plucking by the first, and sometimes second and third fingers, with downward plucks of the fifth string by the thumb."

The two styles also use different types of banjos. Old Time players tend to use open back banjos, which are generally more simply constructed, some even homemade, and reflect upon the rural nature of this tradition. Resonator banjos have more metal components, a tone ring, are louder and heavier, and have become standard for bluegrass musicians. As finger picking gained in popularity, "...by the 1890s it had become the dominant style on the minstrel, vaudeville and concert stages and for amateur urban musicians." Odell and Winans say:

"Finger-style playing became increasingly well-established about 1900 in the rural folk tradition. ... At first, folk finger styles were primarily two-finger picking, but a three-finger style was popularized in the 1920s by the North Carolina banjo player Charlie Poole, and somewhat later by Dewit "Snuffy" Jenkins and others from the region. In the 1940s it was further developed by Earl Scruggs into "bluegrass picking", the most widely heard style today" (Odell).

Among the most famous banjo players are such names as Ralph Stanley, Earl

Scruggs, Bella Fleck, Dave Macon, Tony Trischka, Pete Seeger and Charlie Poole.

Hillbilly Music

Immigrants wrote songs about everyday life in the new world. As most of them were white, young men, living in rural areas in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, their songs usually described daily life and the music was called ‘mountain music‘. Rosenberg describes it as " the vernacular tradition - a mixture of religious, dance, popular, and folk musics" (19). In the early 1930s "brother duets" were common, occasionally a religious quartet was formed. Hillbilly singing was accompanied by string instruments: most prominent was the fiddle (many people could play a little), the guitar was relatively new, the five-string banjo was played mostly by older men, the mandolin and the Hawaiian guitar were gaining popularity, the string bass was rare. Rosenberg (21) says that "there was almost no unaccompanied singing in the music, and they almost always accompanied themselves." A high proportion of religious songs was heard. Such songs were either newly composed or taken from popular gospel music, spiritual traditions, or standard church hymnbooks. The secular songs were usually sad and dealt with love, home and the family. Rosenberg (22) explains how " this predominantly serious and sad music constituted only part of the stock in trade of hillbilly performance. Balancing it was comedy. Then as now, performers occasionally told jokes between songs. But more typical was the comedian in blackface who dressed in outlandish costume and did a "routine"(a brief skit). This reflected the influence of vaudeville, the popular entertainment medium of the era." Hillbilly musicians often wore matching outfits. "Frequently the dress was "fancy"- satin shirt with contrasting borders on collar and sleeves, pants with panels of contrasting colors" (Rosenberg 23).

Influence of the Radio

The invention of the radio and recordings made the music more popular, it was brought from rural to urban areas and spread all over the USA. "In 1927, the first big

southeastern-born country music stars, Jimmy Rodgers and the Carter Family made their legendary first recordings at Bristol."...."With the help of these media, greater audiences became available. This made the profession attractive, more individuals began to enter it, and it became more competitive" (Rosenberg 19).

Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass

"Bluegrass is part of country music; it originated with Bill Monroe and his band, the

Blue Grass Boys, during the 1940s. During the 1950s it was named and recognized as a unique form- a music in which singers accompany themselves with acoustic rather than electric instruments, using the fiddle, mandolin, guitar, five-string banjo, Dobro, and bass."

(Rosenberg 3).

As with any musical genre, it is difficult to say who ‘invented‘ it. Nevertheless, Bill

Monroe is considered to be ‘the father of bluegrass music‘ and the music got its name from his band The Blue Grass Boys, who came from Kentucky, the Bluegrass State. Bill Monroe was born in 1911 in Kentucky as the youngest child in a family of six. According to

Rosenberg (28) "folk traditions of home entertainment were part of the family life. Monroe´s father was a fine dancer, and his mother sang old-time songs and ballads, and played the harmonica, button accordion, and fiddle. " Monroe began trying the guitar and mandolin. In the Baptist and Methodist churches he learned how to sing from the old "shape note" hymnals. After his mother´s death, Monroe began playing in public, accompanying his Uncle

Pen at dances. He also learned a lot from Arnold Shultz, a black man who played guitar and fiddle at country dances and introduced Monroe to the blues. In 1929, Monroe moved to

Indiana to work at an oil refinery with his brothers Birch and Charlie. They formed a band, the Monroe Brothers, and played at local dances and house parties. Later Monroe continued only with Charlie as a duo, performing live on radio stations. After the brothers separated,

Monroe formed his own band and in 1939 they first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. It was originally a radio program with a small studio audience. During the mid- and late 1930s, it became a stage show with a large live audience. "During the war years hillbilly music blossomed" (Rosenberg 61).

Bill Monroe and his band developed music that was different from other country music bands and they soon became very popular. Although their style was unique, it was not considered a musical style then. Rosenberg (98) describes how "during the forties "Blue

Grass" was like a corporate image or trademark for Monroe. Between 1945 and 1950 he recorded four instrumentals using the words Blue Grass in their title. He called his band´s limousine the Blue Grass Special, and the professional baseball team that travelled with his show was the Blue Grass Club." " Bluegrass (the word) originating as a band name, became identified with the musical sound of Bill Monroe´s group as it developed into a genre, surfacing first as a usage by fans to describe this genre" (Rosenberg 116).

Ralph Stanley said about the origins of the genre 1:

Oh, Bill Monroe was the first. But it wasn´t called bluegrass back then. It was just

called hillbilly music. When they started doing bluegrass festivals in 1965, everybody

got together and wanted to know what to call the show, y´know. It was decided that

since Bill was the oldest man, and was from the Bluegrass State of Kentucky and he

had the Blue Grass Boys, it would be called bluegrass.

Bill Monroe´s singing, in contrast with other forms of country music, was high pitched and often described as ‘cutting’ or ‘piercing’. During the 1960s it came to be called

‘the high lonesome sound’(Malone 326). Vocal selections included duet, trio and quartet

1 "Old-Time Man" interview June 2008 Virginia Living pp. 55-7.

harmony singing in addition to Monroe´s solo lead singing. After experiments with various musical instrument combinations the band settled on mandolin (played by Bill Monroe), banjo, fiddle, guitar and acoustic bass and this configuration remains a model to this day.2

Bluegrass was originally performed on acoustic instruments, since electricity was not widespread where the genre originated.

Flatt and Scruggs

An important moment for bluegrass music came in 1945 when Earl Scruggs joined

Monroe´s band. The 21-year-old banjo player from North Carolina invented the three-finger picking style which later was called simply ‘Scruggs´ style‘. Another important figure in

Monroe´s band was singer, guitarist, and song-writer Lester Flatt (b. 1914). Rosenberg (69) describes his guitar style as similar to Charlie Monroe´s (Bill Monroe´s brother), but smoother and more syncopated. "He wore a thumb pick and a finger pick on the index finger to create a brushing effect alternating with the bass notes and downstrokes on the higher strings" (Rosenberg 69). Other musicians in the band were bassist Howard Watts (also a comedian who used the stage name Cedric Rainwater) and fiddler Chubby Wise who established high standards for bluegrass fiddling . Rosenberg (70) writes about a smoothness and richness of tone, using more vibrato than most fiddlers when describing his style.

The Foggy Mountain Boys, Dobro

In 1948 Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt left Monroe´s band and formed their own group, The Foggy Mountain Boys, "named after a Carter Family song which they often performed" (Malone 330). In 1955 they added a new instrument to their band. It was a resophonic guitar which had been invented in the late of the 1920s in the United States by the

2 For more details see Rosenberg 40-64

Dopyera Brothers, Slovak immigrants. Dobro is its brand name that comes from DOpyera

BROthers. When Burkett H. ‘Uncle Josh‘ Graves heard Scruggs´ three-finger style, he adapted it to the Dobro and introduced his own bluesy style and as a result, the Dobro is often included in bluegrass band formats nowadays (About Bluegrass).

From Rock and Roll to Folk Song Revival

In the mid-fifties country music declined in popularity as rock music was coming on the scene. Rosenberg (132) explains how country music performers were motivated by economic factors to respond to the rock and roll boom. The response was both in terms of style and repertoire: the fiddle became rare in most "modern" country recordings, many bluegrass bands incorporated Elvis Presley´s spoofs into their comedy routines. Another reaction was creation of Country Music Association (CMA) in 1957. One of its primary goals was to increase the number of radio stations playing country records, which led to creation of the "Nashville sound" as a force not just in country music but in pop music as well

(Rosenberg 132).

During the 1960s, bluegrass was discovered by folk revivalists. Stanley Brothers and

Country Gentlemen successfully entered folk festivals.

In the 1960s a tradition of bluegrass festivals and university clubs was created.

Bluegrass bands had an opportunity to compete with each other at weekend festivals all over the country. Due to the festivals, television, movie and commercial soundtracks featuring bluegrass music, it became more available and was enjoyed all around the world.

3. Czech Bluegrass Music

Tramp Music

Jiří Vondrák (11) in his book Legendy folku & country says he is convinced that the first contacts with American folk song took place when Czech legionnaires met American soldiers in Russia in the Far East. Another important event was the beginning of the Czech

Tramping movement which began to flourish after the First World War as a reaction to the

Scout movement. Tramping soon became a symbol of freedom and democracy. Tramp songs became fashionable, records were made, the bands appeared in the theatres (for example in

Osvobozené divadlo) and romantic motifs also became a part of Czech films. In 1945 at the end of the war, in the western part of the country near Plzeň Czech soldiers were playing a lot of American songs around the campfire. According to Čvančara, American banjoist Stanley brought his five-string banjo with him there in 1945 (Vondrák 17). With this new form of music, upon their return home Czechs had a new vehicle of expression to voice their discontent with the current regime, and moreover, one which could survive best in tramp colonies in the woods. One of the founders of K.T.O., František Hacker, explains: "While tramp in English meant someone without home or a vagabond, the Czech meaning of this word was completely different. A tramp was a person with a positive attitude towards nature"

(Vondrák 19).

Post-war Period and Tramp Music

The 1950s brought changes to tramping and a new generation of tramp musicians arrived. One of them was Fedor Skotal who described the changes: "While the pre-war tramp song was accompanied by one guitar and sung by four male singers, the new generation used two guitars, a double bass and other instruments such as a mandolin"(Vondrák 20). Skotal

explains how in the 1950s and 60s the activities of the regime against the tramp movement became more frequent, being a tramp could mean persecution, and tramping thus became a form of the Czech dissent (Vondrák 22).

Czech country music developed out of the tramp song. In the first half of the 1960s western songs increased in popularity and became part of Czech pop music. The fiddle and four-string banjo began to be used, however, the technique of playing the five-string banjo was not yet known here.

The 1960s

Pete Seeger´s Concert in Prague in 1964

1964 was an important year for the further development of contemporary Czech folk because of one significant event: Pete Seeger´s concert in Prague. Pete Seeger, due to his sympathies with socialist ideals, was blacklisted during the McCarthy Era in America. This made him travel and perform abroad more. Gene Deitch, an American animator and director and Seeger´s friend, who has been living in Prague since 1959, explains how Seeger was shocked by the realities of socialism. "By 1964 I had already been here long enough to become disabused of my own earlier socialist leanings, and I cautioned Pete to be careful in his choice of songs...Pete assumed that at last his war protest songs would fall on happy ears.

Not so. Pete was loudly booed when he sang them in the working class town of Ostrava!

That was a shock for him. What was official here, he discovered, was automatically unpopular" (Deitch 164). Aside from his politics, Seeger's banjo made a huge impression.

After the concert, Deitch described the event: "The main attraction was that 5-string banjo! It was the very first of its kind to be heard in this country. That and his powerful 12-string

guitar, which Pete had inherited from Leadbelly, firmly planted the seeds of American country music. ... Pete´s appearance here directly led to the amazing popularity of American country music among the Czechs! " (Deitch).

Marko Čermák explains how he had tried to emulate the banjo style he had heard from the US Armed Forces radio network on his four-string banjo and how he had failed not knowing that the music had been played on five strings. Thanks to the concert he discovered the existence of the fifth string. The first Czech 5-string banjo could be constructed from photographs taken at this event. Soon after, Čermák began to perform the music on the instrument with the Greenhorns band. He later published two books about playing the five- string banjo. He is the only Czech who has received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Bluegrass Association in 2007 for spreading country and bluegrass music in the Czech lands.

In 1964 Milan Dufek and Antonín Hájek, engineering students, established a band and named it Rangers. Their repertoire consisted of Anglo-American traditionals, folk pop and country music with Czech lyrics. Another influential band, Greenhorns, was founded in

1965. Although they were considered a country music band, from the very beginning they used a bluegrass line-up of instruments. One of the most pivotal figures was Honza Vyčítal, who together with Čermák made the genre so popular when he used the lyrics from a book called Americká lidová poezie published in 1961. These were American lyrics translated into

Czech by Mareš, Škvorecký, Dorůžka and others.

Porta Festival

In this atmosphere of optimism, a new festival of tramp and folk music called Porta began its tradition in Ústí nad Labem in 1967. Rangers and Greenhorns were the most successful bands of that first year. The 1970s became a period of struggle of folk and tramp

musicians against the communist regime. Michal Jupp Konečný, one of the organizers of

Porta, describes how communists would ban a concert at the last moment: "Only the organizers were informed. It was then their duty to call off the musicians, cancel everything...

The audience was never officially informed"(Vondrák 326). Porta had to be moved several times, first to Karviná, then to Olomouc, later to Plzeň (Vondrák 351). In the 1980s the regime assumed a greater role and instructed the SSM (socialist youth organization) to organize the event. Porta became a mass meeting, it was attended by thirty thousand people in

1983. Konečný says that in 1982 Porta was such a significant event that Supraphon, the most influential Czech recording company, recorded the first live album of this event. The tradition continued up until 1989, and every year new musicians, who had not been recorded before, appeared on the album. Kovářík (Vondrák 376-7), one of Porta's organizers, talks enthusiastically about the first foreign performers at Porta in the 1980s. He describes how

Tony Trischka, an American musician, one of the best banjoists in the world, was amazed by the vast audience he saw there. Trischka admitted that he had never played in front of so many people. The impression he left there was overwhelming. "His bluegrass banjo perfectly matched an almost jazz-rock bass and rhythmical singing..." Trischka´s band performance inspired a lot of Czech bluegrass players. Irena Přibylová, an excellent publicist and translator, began to organize the bluegrass stage after M.J.Langer emigrated in 1988 (Vondrák

377). Přibylová explains how they started doing bluegrass workshops in 1988. "It was not common to do workshops here, except for jazzmen. Our bluegrass musicians refused to do that. They felt offended to teach someone. Only after they saw Tony Trischka and Beppe

Gambetta teaching, did they realize how prestigious it was." Přibylová is also responsible for bringing together Trischka and Italian guitarist Beppe Gambeta, whom she invited to Porta a year later. They recorded an album "Alone and Together" and remain friends to this day

(Vondrák 383).

The 1970s

Era of "Normalization"

Everything seemed to be great for the music but then the Soviet invasion came on

21st August 1968 and the era of "Normalization" began. Rangers had to change their name to

Plavci, Greenhorns became Zelenáči. A lot of musicians were not allowed to play and perform in public, but the music continued its development. Paradoxically, the 1968 Soviet invasion helped bluegrass in the Czech lands. People who emigrated were able to send recordings, books, and other materials to Czech musicians back home.

Travelling and performing abroad was almost impossible. K.T.O. was one of the few that managed to get to Nashville and had a successful concert there in 1975 (Vondrák 61).

Another popular group of the period was the first Czech modern folk band Spirituál kvintet founded in 1960 by Jiří Tichota. Tichota claims that he had got a five-string banjo even before Čermák made one after Seeger´s concert in Prague (Vondrák 68). His group was also a forerunner of Seeger there. Like Čermák and others, he considers the concert a key moment in the development of the Czech folk song and also in his band´s history.

The folk musicians of this period often started their career by emulating American and English singers and song writers. They usually created Czech lyrics often not knowing what the original text was about. Folk music soon became very popular, concerts were attended by hundreds and thousands of people, a lot of festivals started. Many musicians were persecuted and not allowed to perform in public, some of them emigrated.

Kopidlno - Banjo Jamboree

In 1973 five bluegrass bands met in Kopidlno and the first European bluegrass festival was born. Přibylová says: "In the 1980s there were hundreds of bluegrass bands and dozens of

festivals in Czechoslovakia and we were the second biggest bluegrass nation after the USA"

(Vondrák 222). Jan Macák, one of the founders of the festival, explains3 why the Banjo

Jamboree was so popular here:

In contemporary Western Europe there was no need for such a festival. If somebody

chose to play bluegrass banjo, they could buy an instrument, records, textbooks and

instruction books and go see a good American banjoist who happened to be touring,

then practise and practise. But in Czechoslovakia and the whole eastern block, the

situation was completely different. What was easy to obtain in the West, was

impossible to get here. That is why the festival was so important. Banjoist and

bluegrass bands suddenly had a chance to learn from each other, exchange materials,

get contacts to someone who travelled abroad and was able to buy a banjo, guitar, or

mandolin or find a craftsman who could make a banjo for them.

Cop, one of the most important and longest playing Czech bluegrass bands, was founded in 1978. After great success from 1980-1981 almost all members emigrated to the

USA and Canada. Michal Leicht then completely reformed Cop.

Poutníci from Brno are said to "start a revolution in bluegrass, country, and folk music at one time." The band, which was originally tramp, created its own genre (Vondrák 215) by combining the bluegrass banjo, guitar, mandolin and saxophone. Křesťan explains how

Svaťa Kotas created instrumentals and Křesťan came up with songs that were not suitable for the instrumentation at all, but eventually they created original music by fusing the seemingly incompatible. Poutníci was one of the few freelance bluegrass bands of the 1980s (Vondrák

216-7).

3 leaflet Bluegrass v Kopidlně 25 let, 1997

Bluegrass Music after the Velvet Revolution

The 1989 Velvet Revolution meant a great expansion of bluegrass, more American artists could perform in the Czech Republic and more Czech musicians were able to play abroad. A composer, lead singer and translator Robert Křesťan, originally a member of

Poutníci founded Druhá Tráva in 1991. Since the 1990s the band has toured the U.S., while

Poutníci have also performed successfully over this time. Instruments from abroad became available, Czech instruction books on playing bluegrass instruments were published, bluegrass workshops became popular. Despite all these facts, bluegrass has remained a marginal genre and is rarely played on the radio or television here except for special programs. Nevertheless, the availability of information from abroad has increased the quality of the music performed by Czech players.

4. 2.30 An Amateur Czech Bluegrass Band

4.1. History of the Band

In the 1980s, in the period when bluegrass in Czechoslovakia became very popular, hundreds of bands were founded, including the 2.30 band from Polička. Polička is a small town in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands which has a long musical tradition. Famous contemporary composer Bohuslav Martinů was born there in 1890. The art school today bearing his name was the place where the 2.30 band was allowed to practise during the 1980s.

Recently, the town has become famous for musical events such as Martinů´s classical music festival, Festival Polička 555, and Rockoupání. Also jazz, folk, bluegrass and other genres are regularly played there.

The beginnings of the group date back to 1983 when two of the members, Libor

Hromádka (b. 1962) and Míra Kubík (b. 1962) were doing their military service in Tachov.

There they met musicians Luboš Herman, Ivoš Svozil (banjo), Jarda Janačka (vocals, guitar) and Zdeněk Svoboda (bass). They played both traditionals and their own songs, entering contests and playing festivals (S.K.Neumann) or performances such as "Soldiers Playing for

Soldiers". The group continued to add musicians and complemented their performances with theatre sketches by famous comedian Holzmann. It is important that Libor had known Petr

Kůs, later one of the best Czech bluegrass lyricists, from school in Trutnov where they both studied in the early 1980s. Kůs had a band called Modrá Tráva and he taught Libor to play the mandolin. Kůs later started to play with Poutníci Praha but they stayed in contact, met from time to time, and Kůs sometimes wrote vocals for Libor.

To illustrate the popularity of bluegrass music in the 1980s, the first European bluegrass festival in Kopidlno had attracted about 2,500 bluegrass music fans in 1984 4. At

4 leaflet Bluegrass v Kopidlně 25 let, 1997

this time Poutníci played their own music with lyrics written by lead singer and mandolinist

Petr Kůs. Their originality was rewarded with great success.

After finishing their military service, Libor, and Míra met from time to time but not regularly. Their repertoire consisted mostly of American traditionals often sung with Czech lyrics written either by Petr Kůs (who often created two different texts for one melody) or by other Czech musicians (from groups such as Cop, Prograss and others). They got inspiration from Czech bluegrass bands V modrém stínu, Cop, Zvonky, Chomouti, Poutníci Praha,

Poutníci Brno, Bluegrass Nova, and Prograss.

In the winter of 1984 the bluegrass band was "officially" founded. The members decided to name it 2.30, which was the price of the local 11° beer. Libor Hromádka, who is a forester, persuaded Míra Kubík, who works as a firefighter, to move to Polička and play the guitar. Libor played the mandolin. None of them had a musical education then. Libor started to attend private lessons of music theory. He bought his mandolin from Eda Krištůfek, one of

Czech musicians who made instruments. Another member of the band was Láďa Jonák who originally played the twelve-string guitar and later the bass. Láďa, who had never studied music, learned basic music theory from Libor. When Míra Roušar joined the band to play the bass, Láďa became the banjo player. There were several bass players over the following years including Láďa Kalášek and Jirka Vymětal. In 1986, Maruška Marečková joined the band and brought a new instrument, the fiddle. When the Bluegrass Marathon in Bor u Tachova took place, Pavel Slezák offered to take the band in his car there. He fell in love with the Dobro there and joined the group together with violinist and singer Lenka Kocourková. The band used six instruments then.

4.2 The 2.30 Band

Instruments

Some of the instruments used in bluegrass music were difficult to get in communist

Czechoslovakia. Libor, the bandleader, describes how he purchased the bass for 300

Czechoslovak crowns and two books by Jaroslav Foglar, who was a banned author then and whose popular books were hard to come by during communism. Láďa bought his first banjo from another bluegrass player Luboš Herman. Libor used an F5 mandolin made by Eda

Krištůfek, Kuba played a Boeing guitar made in Japan. Pavel managed to buy a homemade

Dobro from Jarda Toms from Prague.

In 2011 there are a number of internationally renowned Czech craftsmen who make quality instruments. Guitars, mandolins and dobros by Jiří Lebeda, Ondra Holoubek,

Rostislav Čapek and Eduard Krištůfek are purchased worldwide. Banjo-makers Jarda

Průcha, Láďa Ptáček, and Pavel Krištůfek produce metal parts used throughout the world by renowned makers such as Gibson.

Musicians of 2.30

Throughout the 15 years of its existence, the following people performed with the band:

Mandolin: Libor Hromádka

Banjo: Láďa Jonák

Bass: Míra Roušar, Láďa Kalášek, Jirka Vymětal, Petr Teplý, Petr Sekanina

Guitar: Míra Kubík, Dušan Kantůrek (12-string guitar)

Fiddle: Maruška Marečková, Lenka Kocourková, Olga Dolejšová

Dobro: Pavel Slezák, Petr Teplý

The Band´s Repertoire

Pavel not only played the Dobro, but he wrote lyrics as well. The proportion of instrumentals to songs was 50:50. Here is the band´s repertoire (dated 1st January 1986) rewritten from Láďa´s diary of the band:

Songs:

"Jako kytka rudá" (Your Love is Like a Flower) Flatt and Scruggs "Yes, Sir" (Hot Corn Cold Corn) Flatt and Scruggs "Ať se ten řetěz nerozpojí" (Will the Circle be Unbroken) Roy Acuff "Klekání" (The Bluebird is Singing for Me) Mac Wiseman and Lester Flatt "Proud řeky Ohio" (Banks of the Ohio) traditional "Jimmy Brown" (Jimmy Brown the Newsboy) Mac Wiseman "Kalifornský bavlnář" (California Cottonfields) traditional "Cesta za svítáním" (Raised by the Railroad Line) Paul Craft/ Seldom Scene "Valčík na rozloučenou" (Auld Lang Syne) traditional folk song/ lyrics by Robert Burns "Hamr" (Nine Pound Hammer) traditional "Bluma" (Blue Moon of Kentucky) Bill Monroe "V údolí" (In the Pines) traditional

Instrumentals: "Banjo z mlžných hor" (Foggy Mountain Breakdown) Flatt and Scruggs "Dědovy hodiny" (Grandfather´s Clock) Henry Clay Work "Tequila Mockingbird" - Pam Tillis

"Kamenný potok" (Stoney Creek) traditional "Starej Pepa Klárk" (Old Joe Clark) American folk song "Kriplův křik" (Cripple Creek) An old time Appalachian folk song "Oheň v horách" (Fire on the Mountain) lyrics Robert Hunter/ music Mickey Hart "Modlitba panny" (Maiden´s Prayer) Bob Wills "Chlapec s rudými vlasy" (Red Haired Boy) Irish traditional "Bouře nad kukuřicí" (Shucking the Corn) "Divoká kytka" (Wildwood Flower) lyrics Maud Irving/ music J.P. Webster

2.30 enriched their performances with popular non-bluegrass songs such as Bílá

Bonanza, Zina a Váňa (by Jarek Nohavica), or Hejkal (by Wabi Daněk). Among their songs were a lot of American melodies sung with Czech lyrics written either by Pavel Slezák or members of other Czech bands. 2.30 collectively decided to sing entirely in Czech because none of them could either speak or understand English. In November 1985 Láďa stated in the band´s chronicle: "When we sing in English, we have a weird accent."

A typical feature of most of the Czech texts was that they seldom maintained the original content and meaning. One example is the song "Rozdej pár tónů". The original

American version was written by country star Hank Williams and was called "I Saw the

Light". The song in Czech was sung and played in bluegrass style and the meaning of the text was also completely changed. Here is the original American text:

I Saw The Light Words and music by Hank Williams 1948

I wandered so aimless, life filled with sin; I wouldn't ask my dear Saviour in. Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night; Praise the Lord, I saw the light!

Chorus I saw the light, I saw the light. No more darkness; no more night. Now I'm so happy no sorrow in sight. Praise the Lord, I saw the light!

Just like a blind man I wandered alone,

Worries and fears I claimed for my own. Then like the blind man that Jesus gave back his sight; Praise the Lord, I saw the light!

I was a fool to wander astray, For straight is the gate and narrow is the way. Now I have traded the wrong for the right; Praise the Lord, I saw the light! source: http://my.homewithgod.com/heavenlymidis2/light.html

Let´s compare it with the Czech lyrics (written by Prograss):

Rozdej pár tónů

Ref. Rozdej pár tónů, rozdej je rád Rozdej pár tónů ať nejseš sám Hudba je všelék, všelék co znám Jenom pojď blíž a zazpívej nám.

1. Tisíce písní slyšel jsem hrát a spousty not já učil se znát Veselé i smutné nápěvy znám jenom pojď blíž a zazpívej nám.

2. Všem lidem hrát písně co já mám rád všední svý trable já za hlavu dám Zpívejte se mnou, zpívejte sbor písně tak čisté jak vítr z hor.

3. Starý nebo mladý, s duší bolavou určitě si najdou píseň laskavou Tak jen přijďte k nám, vždyť nás to potěší hudba je lék ten ze všech nejlepší.

What is obvious from the first stanzas of the songs is that they are both optimistic, but that is all they have in common. While Williams´s original is strongly religious, the Czech counterpart is entirely secular without any references to God or the Bible, which is typical of the communist era when it was created. Williams is preaching to God, he is sorry for the sins he has committed. His song, although optimistic, sounds quite serious. On the other hand the

Czech text is rather light-hearted and invites people to enjoy the music and have fun. It is music rather than God which can solve people´s troubles and heal their souls.

Most of the songs the members of 2.30 listened to and tried to emulate were copies they obtained from Petr Kůs (who had them from abroad) and also pirate recordings from

Czech festivals usually made with a tape recorder. When they listened to the songs at home, they often had to play them in slow mode to be able to catch the solos and play them as similar to the originals as possible. There were no attempts to improvise or change anything because they thought this was the only right way this music should be played.

Official Auditions ("přehrávky")

All bands in the communist era who wanted to perform in front of the public had to pass an official audition called "přehrávky", which meant playing in front of a commission that examined not only their ability to play the instruments and sing, but also the political correctness of their repertoire and the technical aspects of their performance: amplification and lighting. Libor (the bandleader) remembers that "money they got for their performances depended on the assessment they got from the commission. The commission also decided that

70% of the amount was for a bandleader, 30% for the other players." That is why Libor became a target of frequent jokes that he is 70% of the band. (An invitation letter for 2.30's audition is given in appendix 9)

Czech Lyrics

The ideological and artistic quality of lyrics was assessed by experts from Regional

Cultural Centres (Krajské kulturní středisko). In September 1988 the lyrics of twelve songs played by 2.30 were analysed by expert M.Kučera from The Regional Cultural Centre in

Hradec Králové. Six texts ("Blůma", "Folsomské blues", "V údolí", "Jako kytka rudá", and

"Cesta za svítáním") were left without comments. The lyrics of "Proč píseň zpívám" were judged as "primitive and naive but probably adequate for the music". (see appendix, fig.10)

When assessing the Czech lyrics for "Baby Blue" written by Pavel Slezák , the critic wrote: " The content and ideology of the text is all right. The term "zažlo" will please all

Czech language teachers and poets. The only pity is that the author of the original is the poet songwriter Bob Dylan..." (appendix fig.10)

Slezák´s text (including the term "zažlo" in the third stanza) follows:

Baby Blue

1. Jinou píseň zpíváš, já to dobře vím, marně hledám nápěv, marně hledám rým. Píseň, která s tebou šlape dál při ní vál by vítr, sníh by tál.

A potají se vkrádám do tvých snů za tebou jdu dál - Baby Blue.

2. Znal jsem spousty dívek, který nezklamou jen jsem máv a svět mi ležel u nohou. S kytarou jsem náhle zůstal sám a teď je to jediný, co já dnes mám.

A potají se vkrádám do tvých snů za tebou jdu dál - Baby Blue.

3. Krásný den, kdy spatřil jsem tvou snědou tvář, tisíce hvězd mi zažlo v srdci velkou zář. Já věděl, že ty jsi to o čem jsem snil já věděl, že ty jsi můj jedinej cíl.

A potají se vkrádám do tvých snů za tebou jdu dál - Baby Blue.

4. Jednou přijde den, kdy možná pochopíš, kdo ve stínu se schoval a přeci byl ti blíž.

Kdo tvoji píseň sladkou chtěl by hrát, kdo jediný tě opravdu měl rád.

Ten den se stanu pánem tvých snů Půjdu s tebou dál - Baby blue.

We can compare it with Dylan´s original:

It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast Yonder stands your orphan with his gun Crying like a fire in the sun Look out the saints are comin’ through And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense Take what you have gathered from coincidence The empty-handed painter from your streets Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets This sky, too, is folding under you And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

All your seasick sailors, they are rowing home All your reindeer armies, are all going home The lover who just walked out your door Has taken all his blankets from the floor The carpet, too, is moving under you And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you Forget the dead you’ve left, they will not follow you

The vagabond who’s rapping at your door Is standing in the clothes that you once wore Strike another match, go start anew And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

In "Baby Blue", I think, Slezák did not have any ambitions to follow in Dylan´s footsteps. He most likely did not even know the text, which was a frequent way of creating

Czech lyrics at a time when only a few people could speak English in communist

Czechoslovakia. They also did not worry about the copyrights. Moreover, Dylan is such a great poet that only a few translators are able to express his ideas in Czech while preserving the original magic of his lyrics.

Another one of Slezák´s texts, "Peklo nad Nevadou del Ruiz", is according to the expert from the Cultural Centre, " a somewhat heavy-handed version of a traditional theme of this genre. Fortunately, the grammatical mistakes cannot be heard while listening to the song.

The forms such as "sám´s " (which are used here to match the rhythm) are evidence of the author´s amateurism, as far as the formal aspect is concerned." In the song "Proud řeky Ohio"

Mr. Kučera praises the idea and the text is, in his opinion, "solidly written", but he immediately pontificates that the term "vrýt" (dig) can hardly be used in connection with a tree and that "sázet" (plant) should be used instead. Among other songs assessed were

"Plán", in which the use of the grammatically incorrect form "by si" and "by sis" (you should) was criticized and deemed impermissible in the expert´s opinion. Finally, Kučera considers the Czech lyrics for "Tennessee Waltz" to be the best. He says: "It is, no doubt, the highest quality text of the whole collection. It meets professional standards in both content and form." Here is the text:

Tennessee Waltz (Czech lyrics by Bohouš Chaloupek)

Já bych tančil, pojď, má milá, hrajou Tennessee Waltz, volnej jsem a hvězdy už spí, a jen prstem kejvneš, lásko, a já s tebou tančím, mám blízko tvý srdce, vždyť víš.

Nezapomínej, když hrál jsem Tennessee Waltz, pouze ty víš, jak je to se mnou, naše láska, moje milá, ta přišla s tou nocí jak překrásnej Tennessee Waltz.

We can assume, when we see that the original name of the song has been preserved, that the story will also be the same. But while in the Czech version the love begins while dancing the waltz, in the original one (by R.Stewart and P.W.King), the singer´s love comes to an end:

I was dancin' with my darlin' to the Tennessee Waltz When an old friend I happened to see I introduced her to my loved one And while they were dancin' My friend stole my sweetheart from me.

I remember the night and the Tennessee Waltz Now I know just how much I have lost Yes, I lost my little darlin' the night they were playing The beautiful Tennessee Waltz.

One of the few songs where the original content was preserved, is "Your Love Is Like a Flower" by Flatt and Scruggs:

Your Love Is Like a Flower

It was long, long ago in the moonlight We were sitting on the banks of the stream When you whispered so sweetly, I love you As the waters murmured a tune

Oh they tell me your love is like a flower In the springtime blossoms so fair In the fall then they wither away dear And they tell me that's the way of your love

I remember the night, little darling We were talking of days gone by When you told me you always would love me That for me your love would never die

It was spring when you whispered these words dear The flowers were all blooming so fair But today as the snow falls around us I can see that your love is not there

Source:http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/flatt-and-scruggs/your-love-is-like-a-flower- 11690.html

The Czech text was written by an unknown musician from Prograss:

Jako kytka rudá

Kde jsou chvíle, kdy zmámení láskou jsme sedávali v trávě nad řekou

V noci nám nad hlavou měsíc svítil a z dálky šuměl řeky proud.

To byl máj, když byl kraj plný květů a zdálo se, že patří jenom nám

A já jsem věřil tvojím slovům tys šeptala mně ráda tě mám.

Tvoje láska je jako kytka rudá, když rozkvétá nejhezčí se zdá

V parném létě se do stínu skrývá a na podzim pak rychle uvadá.

Dnes už jen vzpomínám moje drahá a kdo ví kde ty rudý květy jsou

Teď je mráz a sníh venku padá ten sníh snad zavál lásku tvou.

This is one of the few songs sung by 2.30 in which the translator carefully followed the original. The number of stanzas, their content, and also the mood of the song was preserved without any changes, unlike in another song by the same band, the above mentioned "Rozdej pár tónů". The assumption we can make is that there were often other

reasons for not preserving the original content than the inability to translate it from English into Czech.

Performances

Throughout a year there were a lot of events where 2.30 performed bluegrass music.

The most frequent were "Večery trampské písně", "Večery s kytarou", "country bály",

"vandrbály", Christmas parties, sessions by campfires, in pubs, shows in theatres and, of course, significant events in the musicians' lives such as weddings or birthdays. The band carefully planned their set lists for important performances. In his diary of the band Láďa archived one set list where the band alternated quick sets with a magician - four songs, then the magician, another five, then the magician, a few instrumentals and bluegrass standards, then the magician again, and the final set and encore.

For a festive occasion such as a wedding, the members of the band would dress up in white shirts and ties (see appendix fig.6) exactly like the Foggy Mountain Boys in the late

1940s. For less formal events they usually wore casual clothes.

When Láďa got married in 1986, the other members of 2.30 composed a wedding song for him and his wife. They used Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young´s music. The original song

"Teach Your Children" changed into "Svatební" (A Wedding Song):

1. Máš po boku svém toho, kdo chtěl být s tebou svázán.

Držíš její teplou dlaň, no tak ji chraň, láska je balzám.

Ref.: Svatební už zvon vám vyzvání, ukončil to čekání

čas teď dozrává, jdeš se svou láskou.

2. Víš , co znamená, když teď jste dva,co světem táhnou .

Ber a dávej též, za štěstím běž, dva život zvládnou.

Ref.: Svatební už zvon vám vyzvání, ukončil to čekání

čas teď dozrává, jdeš se svou láskou.

To sum up, the 2.30 band sang entirely in Czech. They often used lyrics from other

Czech bluegrass bands, mostly by musicians from Prograss, who wrote them for American melodies. Libor also got a lot of texts from Petr Kůs. As for the content, frequently, the texts did not follow the American originals, which was mainly due to the negative attitude of the communist regime towards the American themes. Often, the reason for changing the content was inability or disinterest to translate them from English, which was the case of Pavel Slezák from 2.30 whose lyrics were always different from the American ones.

5. Comparison of American and Czech Bluegrass

5.1 Function of Bluegrass Music

Traditional American bluegrass music had many functions. Apart from their own compositions, bluegrass bands usually also played religious music, dance music ( both folk and popular), songs with a story (ballads) and also sentimental lyric songs. When we go through the list of songs played in the 1980s by 2.30 (noted in chapter 4.2), we can see that about fifty percent of their repertoire was American instrumentals, the other half was predominantly American ballads and lyric songs sung in Czech. As the communist regime´s attitude towards religion was strongly hostile, religious themes, although present in the original American versions, almost always disappeared. Even nowadays, more than twenty years after the Velvet Revolution, the Czechs are a nation of atheists and few religious themes are sung in Czech bluegrass music. As for dancing, I would say that Czech bluegrass fans are listeners rather than dancers. While Contra dancing or square dancing is very popular in the

US, Czech attend bluegrass concerts to sit and listen, not to dance. Even if it is a country ball, they may spend the whole evening sitting, listening to music, chatting with friends, and drinking beer, of course. However, some of these events are occasionally attended by groups of enthusiasts who do know some country dances and encourage the audience to join them on the dance floor.

My American friend and teacher Dalton (b. 1969), who apart from being a translator, is an excellent old time banjo and fiddle player, keeps telling me5 how surprised he is seeing so many bluegrass musicians and fans here in the Czech Republic, thousands of kilometres from the place where the genre originated. The first answer that came across my mind was that everything coming from the West was banned during the communist era, that is why it attracted so many people. Later other phrases such as a revolt, protest, escape from the reality

5 personal interview, fall 2010, Polička

of socialism, freedom, and forbidden fruit occurred to me. But would that be enough to keep so many people interested ? Or is it the power of the music itself? It seems that it is really the music that matters, since two decades after the Velvet Revolution when the genre is forbidden no more, it has lost none of its sweetness. It still attracts thousands of Czech bluegrass fans and there are hundreds of bluegrass bands on the Czech scene.

5.2 American versus Czech Bluegrass Music

Another question I am trying to address is whether bluegrass in the Czech context remained the same or if the Czech musicians changed it somehow or created something original. Dalton claims6 that what he hears here is primarily an attempt to emulate the

American original:

The bands make an effort to look the part, dressing up in suits, skinny ties, and

western hats. They play the canon of standards, singing with a southern twang when

they can hardly speak English. They study the musical breaks as if it were a science,

learning solos note for note so that it is just the way they heard it on some Bill Monroe

recording. They seem not to have ever considered the idea that bluegrass doesn´t have

rules, that there is no right or wrong way to play, and that the primary purpose of the

music is to have a good time.

Unlike Dalton, I feel that Czechs have transformed the genre beyond its American roots. Why would it be labelled Czech bluegrass if it was entirely American? On one hand, among Czech bands there are lots of those who just copy American model but, on the other hand, such bands as Poutníci and Druhá Tráva brought new features into bluegrass by using instruments such as saxophone, Irish whistles, or drums. This unusual instrumentation

6 personal interview, spring 2011, Polička

together with adapting songs from rock and folk genres and Křesťan´s own compositions created a unique style that is difficult to classify but in which bluegrass remains the essential core and a point of departure for journeys to other genres.

So what is bluegrass music? Is it something regular, with rules firmly given, not allowed to be changed? Or is it rather a living thing that is growing and developing? The very first "bluegrass" I listened to was played by Poutníci, Druhá Tráva and Tony Trischka in the early 1990s. When I heard Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys on CDs for the first time twenty years later, I was really surprised that "that" was the traditional bluegrass! It was so different from what I considered bluegrass to be! Is not Tony Trischka as different from Bill

Monroe as Druhá Tráva from (traditional bluegrass playing) Black Jack, for example? Are any of them more or less "bluegrass" than the others? Since we live in a globalized world, there are few pure genres which follow strict rules. In all countries, I hope, there will always be bands trying to follow in Monroe´s footsteps, but also innovative and progressive ones which will move the music forward by merging and absorbing features of other genres, creating something new and unusual, something that surprises you, but which is also familiar to you, because it has its roots in old traditions.

5.3 Czech versus Original Lyrics

Czech lyrics were often composed because the original texts were not politically suitable or because the musicians did not speak English well enough to sing them or understand them. Therefore, a wealth of Czech lyrics were composed, often completely different in theme and content from the originals.

Sometimes both versions shared the same theme and mood, although the actual text was different, as for example in "Home from the Forest" and "Vracím se tam k nám" (by

Pavel Slezák), or "Waterbound" and its Czech version "Tam vracím se rád". In some cases a ballad changed into a sentimental lyric song, when transformed into Czech, as in "Banks of the Ohio" and "Proud řeky Ohio"(by P.Kůs). Monroe´s love song "Good Woman´s Love" changed into a sentimental one "Černej pláč" (by J.Patras) and vice versa "Come Sit by the

River", a song about an idyllic childhood, became a love song "Hvězdu svou vem do dlaní"

(written by Slezák).

Nevertheless, the most dramatic changes involve religious songs. Apart from the above mentioned "I Saw the Light", there are others in which the original theme was not preserved. For example "Were You There" became a love song "Bílá pláň" (Slezák). One of the few songs where the religious theme remained, although not so strongly expressed, is "Cíl můj je vzdálený", originally a gospel "Lord Don´t Leave Me Here".

6. Conclusion

The aim of the thesis was to compare American bluegrass music to its Czech counterpart to find out to what extent the music played by a Czech band was influenced by the

American original, and describe the similarities and differences found between Czech and

American bluegrass.

To learn about American bluegrass, I relied mainly on academic sources such as

Rosenberg´s Bluegrass A History, Malone´s Country Music, U.S.A. and Oxford online

Encyclopaedia of country music. I focused predominantly on Flatt and Scruggs, whose songs constituted a major part of the 2.30 repertoire. As for instruments, I chose the banjo as the defining instrument in bluegrass music and described it in detail. Thanks to Dalton

Stansbury, I had a unique and marvellous opportunity to hear the American old-time banjo style played at bluegrass sessions and festivals recently in Polička. Our discussions about

American and Czech bluegrass music were really inspiring and useful for me and my work on this thesis. Since academic sources dealing with Czech bluegrass were not available, I chose a popular book by a musician and documentary filmmaker Jiří Vondrák, in which Irena

Přibylová describes the history of Czech bluegrass music. I also read an autobiography by

Gene Deitch, an American director living in Prague who writes about his friendship with Pete

Seeger and his concert in Prague in 1964. I used his interesting comments on the circumstances surrounding this event in my thesis.

As far as my field research is concerned, I analysed the band´s chronicle and documents related to their performances. The most pleasant and interesting part of my research was interviewing four members of 2.30. Their stories gave me a feel for the political and cultural environment in which they played. Thanks to the materials they shared with me,

I could analyse the band´s repertoire, performances, and instruments they played. Since I

managed to obtain a vast collection of lyrics written by a member of 2.30 and by musicians of other Czech bluegrass bands and also documents connected with official auditions including the ideological and artistic assessment of their lyrics, I focused mainly on these texts, trying to show how the American originals were transformed into Czech, and attempted to explain the reasons that led to the composition of lyrics with different content.

My analysis of all the materials available led me to the following conclusion: The

2.30 band repertoire consisted mainly of American bluegrass instrumentals and songs, composed mostly by Flatt and Scruggs. Apart from these bluegrass melodies, 2.30 enriched their performances with popular folk revival songs (for example by Dylan and Crosby) and also with non-bluegrass songs by Czech musicians (Nohavica, Daněk). When singing

American songs, they sang them entirely in Czech. A lot of Czech texts were written by Pavel

Slezák, one of the members of 2.30. His lyrics were always different from the American ones.

All in all, we can say that while the melodies were emulated by 2.30 with an intention to play them as similar to the originals as possible, the lyrics were completely different. Czech lyricists, in general, rarely followed the American originals. We can assume that this was due to the political environment. Singing in English was not desirable and moreover, only a few people could speak the language. Original recordings of American bluegrass songs were not available. This resulted in Czech musicians writing lyrics that were different from the

American ones, often avoiding religious themes, surprisingly frequently using American place names, sometimes preserving the original name of the song although changing the content.

As for the function of the music, we can say that the role of both American and Czech bluegrass was to entertain people. The "comedy" that was a part of traditional American bluegrass performance was preserved when transformed into the Czech environment in the form of theatre sketches or magicians´ shows incorporated into performances.

One of the specific features of bluegrass played by Czech musicians was that apart from having fun and a good time, for musicians in communist Czechoslovakia, playing bluegrass was a means of expressing their discontent with the totalitarian regime and dreaming about a different way of life which American culture symbolized.

As I write in 2011, the 2.30 band no longer exists but all four members I interviewed continue playing bluegrass music. Libor, the bandleader, who originally played the mandolin in the band, is now learning to play the dobro. Each year he organizes a local bluegrass festival called "Modrá je dobrá" in Polička. Míra, the guitarist, has been learning to play the fiddle recently. They both perform with a new bluegrass band. Láďa, the banjo player, is now recovering from a stroke and is learning to play the banjo from the beginning again. Petr has traded in his double bass for a bass guitar and from time to time he organizes bluegrass jam sessions in a local pub. They all attend bluegrass workshops regularly and occasionally perform in public.

It seems that although the music has lost the flavour of forbidden fruit after the Velvet

Revolution, it has not lost its magic and is still played with the same enthusiasm as it was played twenty-five years ago.

List of References

Malone, Bill C. Country music, U.S.A. (1st ed. 1985). Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002. Print.

Rosenberg, Neil V. Bluegrass: A History. (1st ed. 1985). University of Illinois Press, 2005. Print.

Vondrák, Jiří, and Fedor Skotal. Legendy folku & country. JOTA servo. Brno, 2004. Print.

Deitch, Gene. For the Love of Prague. (1st ed. 1995). A.G. Design, spol.s.r.o. Prague, 2008. Print.

Deitch, Gene. "What else´ve you got in your cellar, Gene?". Occasional Deitch 2001. genedeitch.com. Web. 17 Feb. 2011. Irena Přibylová. "Minstrelové s černou tváří". In Smích a pláč. Eds. Irena Přibylová and Lucie Uhlíková. Městské kulturní středisko v Náměšti nad Oslavou, 2009. Print.

Odell, Jay Scott, and R.B. Winans. "Banjo." Oxford UP, 2007. Web. 04 Feb. 2011

Tribe, Ivan M. "Country Music." Oxford UP, 2007. Web. 04 Feb. 2011

“About Bluegrass.“ IBMA. n.d. Web. 10 May. 2010.

Appendix: list of figures

Figure1: Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass

Figure 2: : Bluegrass Instruments

Figure 3: Logo and photo of 2.30

Figure 4: 2.30 in 1985

Figure 5: Photo of 2.30 in the square in Polička

Figure 6: 2.30 at Míra Kubík´s wedding

Figure 7: 2.30 in Tyl Theatre in Polička (1980s)

Figure 8: 2.30 (in the early 1990s)

Figure 9: An invitation letter for 2.30's audition

Figure 10: Assessment of the ideological and artistic quality of lyrics

Appendix fig.1: Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass

source: http://filmfan.cz/wp-content/uploads/BillMonroe.jpg

Appendix fig.2: Bluegrass Instruments

source: http://www.tzorafolk.com/canaan-country/images/bluegrass-instruments.gif

Appendix fig.3: Logo and photo of 2.30

Appendix fig. 4: 2.30 in 1985

Appendix fig. 5: Photo of 2.30 in the square in Polička

Appendix fig.6: 2.30 at Míra Kubík´s wedding

Appendix fig.7: 2.30 in Tyl Theatre in Polička (1980s)

Appendix fig.8: 2.30 (in the early 1990s)

Appendix fig.9: An invitation letter for 2.30's audition

Appendix fig.10: Assessment of the ideological and artistic quality of lyrics