The Bluegrass Blabber President’S Message the Professionals Their Due
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September - October 2015 Volume 21, No. 5 The Inland Northwest Bluegrass Music Association The Bluegrass Blabber President’s Message the professionals their due. We maintain a By Joe Beckett distance, and I hope integrity, from the over- “O for the gentleness of old polished, super-computerized, bloated Romance, / The simple plaining orchestrated current form of country music, but of a minstrel’s song.” - Keats still suffer from the minimal financial I have been reading a reinforcement of bluegrass music. There is also a history of bluegrass music by kind of “purism” in maintaining the sparse and Robert Cantwell, called basic nature of the stringed instruments we use, Bluegrass Breakdown: The Making of the Old without special effects. Southern Sound (University of Illinois Press, The instruments remain basically the 1984/2002). Cantwell states that Bill Monroe same: acoustic guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, described bluegrass music as “Ancient Tones.” dog house bass, and dobro if you have it. Listen When one ponders the history of the music, it’s to some modern players, Thile, Pikelny, Jarosz, to easy to agree with that. The old ecclesiastical name a few. Bluegrass musicianship can hold its hymns from the middle ages, combined with the own with any jazz group alive. In fact, when I sparse but fulfilling Celtic fiddle tradition, then have the pleasure of exposing a new-comer to throw in the influences of the blues with its bluegrass, the comments about the musicianship flattened 5ths and 7ths, all combine to give us this are commonly the first expressed. Yet we American art form called bluegrass music. amateurs maintain optimism about our abilities The Grand Ole Opry and radio station and hope someday to at least pull off a half-fast WSM grew from one guy playing fiddle with his version of a fiddle tune. (Or maybe that’s all self- daughter to a migration every Saturday of amateur disclosure on my part.) musicians in the form of farmers, domestics, What a treat that our festivals are giving skilled and unskilled laborers, all blue collar us the opportunity to not only listen to but meet common people, if you will. The Opry grew out the Grismans, Griers, and McCourys. I hope I of a tradition of minstrel and traveling medicine never tire of the thrill I get when I hear the music shoes. Bill Monroe joined the broadcast in 1925 played by our bluegrass heroes. For us baby after breaking with his brother, Charlie, but many boomers, we were reminded of this music when believe it all started in 1946 with Flatt and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s first “Will the Circle Scruggs. be Unbroken” album was released back in 1972. It’s ironic that we continue to struggle For some of us this music portrayed the “simple with bluegrass as a professional music form. life” we thought we were after. For others it was There is tension with the “homemade, blue collar a graduation from the great “Folk Scare” of the baseline,” and our festivals are managed by non- 60’s. (Continued on page 5.) profit volunteer organizations attempting to pay Inland Northwest Bluegrass Music Association (Continued from page 4.) describe the music (contemporary folk blues?), but it’s a delight to listen to and guaranteed to Events Calendar please. Joshua Palmer, met-a- cog-ni-tion (pxrec.com). Saturday, Oct 10, 7pm - INBMA Music Young Palmer is, quoth the Showcase. Trent Elementary School, corner of website of the Ratliff Trent Ave. and Pines Rd., Spokane Valley. mandolins he endorses, “a Scheduled: Doug & Terry; Bill Musgrove & mandolin virtuoso from the Friends. More to be announced. foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Gadsden, Alabama. Hailed as a Information in this events calendar comes from INBMA members directly, only occasionally from other prodigy, Joshua exhibits the musicianship and sources e.g. the INBMA website (don’t count on it). technique of a seasoned player.” Palmer is joined Please check with the organizers before traveling to these events. Information can be inaccurate. here on thirteen contemporary bluegrass numbers The website calendar may include events not by a lineup from a bluegrass music Who’s Who: listed here; see spokanebluegrass.org/events. If you have band gigs, please submit to Brad Sondahl Andy Hall (dobro), Nate Leath (fiddle), Mark ([email protected]) for the INBMA website and/or enter Schatz (bass), Kenny Smith (guitar), Scott Vestal them yourself on the INBMA Facebook page (www.facebook.com/spokanebluegrass). Venue events (banjo), Taylor Baker (2nd mandolin), and Dede are listed here in the Blabber and must be emailed to Wyland and Tom Mindte (harmony vocals with editor Mitch Finley ([email protected]) no later Palmer on lead vocals). And, to boot, Palmer than the 20th of even numbered months for inclusion in the next Blabber to be published in the next, odd- wrote ten of the songs and tunes on this CD numbered, month. Materials received after the 20th of himself. Prepare for your jaw to drop. an even-numbered month may not appear in the next scheduled issue of the Blabber. If you want to be sure Johnny Warren & your event is in the Blabber, you must send it to the Charlie Cushman, Purely Blabber. Instrumental (amazon.com/ Purely-Instrumental-Johnny- Charlie-Cushman/dp/ B00V2OWZB0). Warren, son of Foggy Mountain Boy fiddler Paul Warren, and virtuoso Scruggs-style President’s Message banjoist Cushman celebrate the style of banjo and fiddle duets beloved by Johnny’s dad and Earl (Continued from page 1.) Scruggs. The thirteen--six traditional, seven new Anyway, I’m sure you’ve had enough of --instrumentals include “Back to Foggy my pontificating. Please sign up with Ray for the Mountain,” “Warren’s Reel,” “Sippin’ the monthly (October through May) INBMA Music Whiskey,” “Liza Jane,” and “Old Liberty.” Showcase if you want to be part of it. He is filling Guests on various tunes are Jerry Douglas up the schedule fast, and we always enjoy having (dobro), Bryan Sutton (guitar), Del McCoury our local member bands play. I hope you have had (guitar) Kent Blanton (bass) and Mike Bub (bass). Gonna wear out some shoe leather with a wonderful festival season. Keep on pickin’! some major foot tappin’ here! Remember we can always use volunteers to help us with the Showcase as there is plenty of work to go around. Volume 21 No. 5 September - October 2015 Page 5.