Bluegrass

Hi Fred,

Now that thar be agoin some. Guess what I'm listening to. It's astounding how easily you can segue from style to style and bring a sense of authenticity to each.

You don't hear the old music much any more in this immediate area, but I can clearly remember when there was a square dance every weekend, with local musicians, including my father in law, who played fiddle and what I always called a Hawaiian guitar, and you have the sound down pat. West Virginia PBS has produced a number of programs that are about or include segments with folks really deep in the hills playing and singing; I can easily picture the front porch of a cabin populated by a couple of guys with fiddles and banjos and a squeeze box, and of course a washboard, when I listen to "Blue, Blue Grass..."

While on TV: Ohio University's PBS channel has a program called "Jubilee" every Thursday evening, each featuring a different group, often bluegrass. I'm not sure if it's just local or national, but you might check your listings, if you'd like to hear some "live" stuff.

I visited your website. Very nice. Hay, with a swing like that, you ought to keep score... You can tell Patsy that if I were analyzing her work to a room full of students, I would use the word "genius" somewhere along the way. I hope she exhibits... When you took the crumpled clarinet back to Ted, if you'd had Raven along, he might have given you a refund...

After the bluegrass, what's next? Can't wait to find out.

all best,
mgj