Americana Rhythm Magazine Issue #75

July 2018

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By Edward Tutwiler

Welcome to issue number 75! That’s pretty amazing! We’re in our 13th year, thanks to you, who read through these issues; those who trust us with your ad, and those who faithfully pass along the extra copies to your friends and family.

Thank you!

A lot of cool stuff has happened these past 12 1/2 years. We’ve met

all kinds of cool folks, and made some great friends alog the way too.

One of the latest things we’re super excited about is to be able to announce that our budding podcast, Americana Music Profiles, is now available on the iHeart Radio app, as well as iTunes, YouTube, Pandora (pending), and our exclusive app is not far off. You’ll be able to hear those great interviews everywhere!

What an amazing line-up of festivals and events we have to share with you again this time as well! Be sure to tell them AR sent you when you attend these fabulous events.

We’ll see you out there!

Questions, comments, suggestions: greg@americanarhythm.com

Americana Rhythm is published six times a year. All correspondence should be sent to PO Box 45, Bridgewater VA, 22812 or CONTRIBUTORS email to greg@americanarhythm.com. Copies of Americana Ed Tutwiler Rhythm are made available free at various pick up locations within Wayne Erbsen the publication’s region. Subscriptions are available inside the United Donna Ulisse States (only) for $24 US currency made payable by check or Mike Aiken money order sent to, Subscriptions at PO Box 45, Bridgewater, Andrew McKnight VA, 22812. Foreign subscription requests should be sent to Emily Kresky greg@americanarhythm.com. Copyright 2018. All rights reDon Brown served. Reproduction of any content, artwork or photographs DISTRIBUTION is strictly prohibited without permission of the publisher or origi- North River Publishing Integrated Music Media nal owner. All advertising material subject to approval.

PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF Greg E. Tutwiler Associate Editor Ed Tutwiler MARKETING & PROMOTION Mark Barreres (GrassRootsNetworking.com) Letters, Comments, Suggestions ADVERTISING greg@americanarhythm.com Business office 540-433-0360 www.americanarhythm.com advertising@americanarhythm.com

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The Brotherly Approach As we study the early generation of artists of this music genre we often call Americana string music we are reminded that these folks were talented and produced lasting memories. Today’s artists often point to those early performers as providing models to mold their own performances upon One particular performance style that gets mentioned again and again is the tight harmony singing many present day bluegrass groups exhibit.

By Edward Tutwiler

between the Delmore Brothers (the first famous brothers duet act) and rockabilly music’s Everly Brothers (the last famous brothers duet act).

From the mid-1930s into the 1950s, harmony duet acts—often comprised of two brothers— constituted a major style in country music. During this 30’s to 50’s era, dozens of brother acts gained fame through records and radio shows.

in 1933 and became widely known. They performed sacred songs, ballads, blues-inûuenced numbers, and popularized many self-penned songs as well.

The ûrst actual brothers to become nationally known as a duet act were Alton and Rabon Delmore, from Elkmont, AL. They joined the Grand Ole Opry

The end of the 1940’s brought the rise of what many still claim as the most popular brother duet act of all, the Louvin Brothers. The Louvins represented the commercial peak in this brother-

Most Popular Ever

duet style. The Louvin Brothers musical duet was composed of brothers Ira (Ira Lonnie Loudermilk, April 21, 1924 – June 20, 1965) and Charlie (Charlie Elzer Loudermilk, July 7, 1927– January 26, 2011). The brothers changed their name to Louvin in 1947 while working at WROL in Knoxville, because they wanted a professional name that was easier to pronounce and spell. The Louvin Brothers formed a link

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The Louvin Brothers wrote and performed secular country music, as well as fundamentalistinspired gospel music. Ira played the mandolin and usually sang lead vocal in the tenor range.

Charlie played the rhythm guitar and sang supporting vocals in a lower pitch. They sang in the vocal technique that is referred to as close harmony. This is a vocal arrangement held within a narrow range usually with notes that are no more than an octave apart. During their performances, Ira usually sang lead but sometimes the brothers would swap parts in the middle of a song. Many listeners said that their harmony was so close that even a careful listener could lose track of which man was carrying the lead. This vocal interplay

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resulted in them becoming what many consider the most influential harmony duet in country music history. The Louvin Brother’s vocal gift of close harmony inspired many other harmony singers who followed in their footsteps. Their vocal style was an influence on the early rockabilly group, the Everly Brothers, who, in-turn, proved inûuential to many subsequent rock and pop performers, including the Byrds and the Beatles. This unique close harmony vocal style supported the Louvin’s career for 20 tough years. Just as they reached a level of fame and began to prosper a bit, early rock and roll music exploded with Elvis Presley sweeping everything aside (in fact Presley opened for Ira and Charlie on one of his first tours).

MGM in 1951 and 1952. Their recording sessions were sporadic, in part because of Charlie’s military service in both WWII and Korea. Commercial success eluded them until they began recording for Capitol in September 1952.

They maintained the affiliation with Capitol until they disbanded the act in 1963. The Louvin Brothers’ scored a string of hit singles for Capitol in 1955 and 1956, during the early days of rock & roll. Alas, their musical style was meeting changing musical tastes. Many listeners by then considered their high lonesome harmonies and Ira’s soaring mandolin solos that were their trademark to be closer to the country music sound of the 1930s than to the honky-tonk country-pop sound of the mid1950s.

The Louvin Brothers background information at (countrymusichalloffame.org) tells us that Ira and Charlie grew up in a poor farm family who eked out a living on a tiny Depression-era cotton farm in northeastern Alabama. Like many folks in that situation, their life was hard. They had a father who demanded hard work and melted out harsh discipline with little mercy with older brother, Ira, receiving the bulk of his father ’s wrath. Their mother taught them songs from the Sacred Harp Hymnal, which features faith-based songs sung in four parts. While Ira mastered the mandolin, Charlie picked guitar, and the boys saw music as a means to escape the harsh life that they were living. In a biography that Charlie wrote late in his life he stated, “We were two determined little bastards. We were no good at quitting at all.

Whether or not he meant to, I’d say that’s one of the greatest gifts Papa gave us.”

The Louvin Brothers mixed gospel and secular forms that focused on traditional themes of family, love, and obligation. Their first three charting single recordings: When I Stop Dreaming, I Don’t Believe You’ve Met My Baby, and Hoping That You’re Hoping speak to this traditionalism. Their producer at Capitol, attempted to update the Louvins sound, including releasing some recordings without Ira’s trademark mandolin; however, the 1959 release titled, My Baby’s Gone served as their last top ten hit.

The Radio Twins While supporting themselves with day jobs, Ira and Charlie first performed as the Radio Twins in 1942; worked in Chattanooga with the Foggy Mountain Boys in 1943; and as the Louvin Brothers in 1947 at WROL in Knoxville, They spent considerable time in Memphis, until they became regulars at the Grand Ole Opry in 1955 and continued there until 1963.

The Louvins recorded for Apollo in 1947, Decca in 1949, and

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Mando Smashing By the late 1950s, the changing market and Ira’s erratic, addictive-driven, reckless behavior contributed to the brothers’ sinking commercial fortunes. Various sources report that, when performing and drinking, Ira would sometimes become angry enough on stage to smash his mandolin when he was unable to tune it, and, when sober, glue it back together. Such actions as this, lead to the brothers breaking up their musical partnership in 1963 and embarking upon solo careers although, they were not estranged and did perform together several times over the next few years. In his biography, Charlie said, “Somehow, Ira and I managed to remain some kind of friends. It was an ugly thing when he drank and there was no fun in it.”

While the story of the Louvin Brothers relationship seems harsh, one must understand

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stories abound that tell that Bill and Charlie Monroe (Monroe Brothers) endured a temper fueled jealous relationship that resulted in separate career paths; Don and Phil Everly (The Everly Brothers) spent years in an estranged relationship that they never fully resolved; and Ralph Stanley of the Stanley Brothers endured the alcohol addicted conduct of his brother, Carter that hastened Carter’s death. In Charlie’s biography, he wrote, “The Delmore, Monroe, Wilburn, Everly and Bolick brothers duets put out the most beautiful music you could imagine, but when they weren’t onstage, they wouldn’t speak to each other, and they wouldn’t speak to you, either, if you happened to like the other one.”

In 2007, Charlie released a selftitled album on the Tompkins Square label featuring George Jones, Elvis Costello, and Tom T. Hall, among others that received a Grammy-nomination. This was followed in 2008 by a traditional gospel album, Steps to Heaven, and a secular album, Charlie Louvin Sings Murder Ballads and Disaster Songs. In 2010, Charlie Louvin released an album of war songs, The Battle Rages On, and the EP, Back When We Were Young. Charlie died on January 26, 2011, after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 83 year old.

Country-rocker Gram Parsons introduced the Louvins’ songs to the rock world. Plus, he did several Louvin songs in a duet with Emmylou Harris. She reintroduced the Louvins’ material to country audience in 1975 when her version of their song, If I Could Only Win Your Love became her first topten country hit. The Louvin Brothers were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

Music Carries On

After the brothers went their separate ways, Ira released a solo album in 1964, The Unforgettable Ira Louvin, which featured electric mandolin and electric guitar.

Tragically, this was his only solo LP as he died in a Missouri car crash on June 20, 1965 at the age of 43.

On His Own Charlie’s solo career faired much better and began with two topten hit singles: (I Don’t Love You Anymore and See the Big Man Cry). During the 1970s and 1980s, Charlie became a fixture on weekly Grand Ole Opry broadcasts. Watermelon Records released Charlie Louvin’s 1996 album, The Longest Train, which featured Charlie and guest performers. A 2003 tribute album, Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’: Songs of the Louvin Brothers, that showcased many top singers in folk, country, and rock won a Grammy for Best Country Album.

In the Americana string music recordings and outdoor bluegrass festivals that abound through the country, it is not unusual to hear artists offer a Louvin Brother’s song to an appreciative audience. Plus, the tight harmony singing that is a signature sound for many bluegrass and country gospel groups certainly pays tribute to Charlie and Ira Louvin’s legacy.

Up and coming co-ed family groups and young sister duets also exhibit some of the most enjoyable sibling close harmony vocals since Ira and Charlie.

There is much more to know about the life and times of the Louvin Brothers than I have not mentioned in this essay. One of the best places to learn more is reading Charlie’s biography, Satan Is Real. In this book, Charlie tells Ira’s story, as well as his own. He devotes most of the book to their shared lives and careers while spending only a few chapters to tell of the years that followed Ira’s death. It is a profane and honest account of their lives and contains elements that may offend some in the country music world.

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Performing Across The Pond, Part III Credit cards – make sure you have two in case one is lost or stolen. It’s good to have a backup, you will not be able to receive a new one overseas.

In parts I and II of Performing Across the Pond, we covered the basics of building a network of relationships, the type of work ethic you need to have and some of the nuts and bolts you need to consider, such as passports, instruments, auto rentals etc… (See issues 73 and 74, March and May 2018 respectively.)

Let’s finish this series with ‘Taking Care of Business’ or how to maintain your life at home while abroad. I find one of the hardest things to do while on the road in Europe is to maintain any daily music and personal business.

Depending on how long you will be away, you may have personal bills, music business and promotion to keep up with. Here are a few of the tricks that we use:

Mobile Office Passwords – Unless you are content resetting passwords all the time, we travel with a copy of passwords (encoded in a personal preferred manner) so we can pay bills and keep our online presence active.

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Contacts – Be sure to have personal contacts and copies of health insurance, essential medications, and contacts (for the person/people you left to collect your mail, watch your house, pets, plants etc.) Similarly, be sure to have all the names, phone numbers, country codes and addresses for where you are going and with whom you are meeting – venues, hosts, radio DJs etc.

Bills – pay what you can ahead so you don’t have to worry, even if you pay bills online. When possible, I like to pay things that will be due while I’m away or due within the first two weeks of my expected return.

small bag that fits everything office related.

Communication Much of the time, we take our ability to communicate for granted. Put a little time into researching what works where you are going. The best research is if you can speak with friends or family who have recently made the trip, find out what they are using, how they handle phone calls, messaging, and data usage. Will your current phone and service work where you are going?

What works to call back to the states might not work to call country to country within Europe. Learn what you can before you go, plan on being flexible and resourceful. Don’t be surprised if the best information you can find at home isn’t quite how it really works once you get there. Just roll with it and figure it out.

Time Zones Contracts – Whether digital or physical, be sure you have copies of all your agreements. This helps you remember gig specifics and resolve any discrepancies you may have upon arrival.

It’s liberating when you realize the piles on your desk at home can be distilled down to a few pages or online documents for traveling. We take one

During our last European tour in 2017, we were in the process of finalizing the song order on the new album to be able to finish the master. This took an afternoon in a quiet hotel lobby in Germany. We had time constraints on the records and had to proceed. So, there we were, camped out in the lobby corner (where there was power and Wi-Fi), listening on buds through a splitter on a laptop, making notes and

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decisions on seconds between songs.

The hotel staff and guests watched us with curiosity and amusement. The hotel staff was great though, they made room for us and tried to help however they could. Also during that tour, my publicist needed our approval and edits to send out a press release about us playing at MerleFest. What should have taken 30 minutes to complete, took two days after factoring in performing, driving, sending/receiving emails. The point is, you cannot let your business at home lag.

Of course perhaps you have a personal/ business manager at home doing all of this for you…good luck with that!

To sum it all up, the rewards of playing across the pond are great. They are not all counted in dollars but also in experiences and new friendships. If this type of touring intrigues you then go for it! As a caveat, Amy and I have been living on small sailboats for over 20 years and like to sail them across big oceans, so what do we know about the cost-value ratio of experience? There is a reason my new album that releases in June is titled Wayward Troubadour.

Check it out! Until next time, happy trails!

See an expanded story on Mike on page 19 of this issue.

July 2018

As I write, the sky outside is looking sleepy, the light is dimming and the air is cool. Springtime has had a real fight with what is left of winter but it finally feels like the gentle weather might win. I know this only because I just took a break to stretch my legs.

I’ve been in a recording studio for seven and a half hours and we are still about three hours away from being done for the day.

At the start of today I came in with a handful of new songs that I have recently written. This is the sink or swim time for my creations and to be honest, it’s a little nerve wracking.

Putting money into new songs is a commitment and once you start you have to see it all the way through or you’ve just wasted precious dollars.

The number one rule to finally pulling the trigger on recording my songs is to make sure they are the best they can be. That means that I have most likely written and rewritten the song a number of times, driving my long suffering husband insane listening to them over and over again as I agonize over each line until I am satisfied with the results. I have to believe that they are viably commercial and have the ability to earn my financial investment back in the song or again, I have just wasted money on the demo recording.

My heart breaks to hear the stories my songwriting students tell me of sessions that cost them an arm and a leg. Then they play the demo for me and I bow my head, working up the courage to tell them their song was not anywhere near ready to record. I

take for granted that I’ve been doing this so long that I have a certain sense about a song and if it’s ready for the next step.

What I like to recommend to new writers, or writers that want to get their songs to the next level is to save the dollars they would spend in recording costs and instead, spend less dollars per song on professional song edits. I promise I am not trying to solicit work but I do them on a daily basis, as do many great writers. I spend lots of time shoring up songs for people and writing comments on why I’ve changed the lyric or melody. I personally use them as teachable moments in hopes that the songwriter will start learning by example and come to a place where my edits are no longer needed. Nothing makes me

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sadder than writers not realizing their goals.

Well, enough reflection on demo recordings…I need to make my way back inside and see where my songs are going. By the way, when you get to the point where a demo is what you need and you walk in the studio with professional pickers that hear what you’ve written and play it like they’ve always known your song, it is a glorious day indeed. To watch your idea spring to life is something I still can’t describe. So go write smartly!

Donna was the 2016 IBMA songwriter of the year, and cowriter of the IBMA Song of the Year for 2017. Reach Donna at www.DonnaUlisse.com.

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Strings Done Differently Nicholson, along with fellow band

By Greg Tutwiler

all live,” he said. “The more we recorded albums, the music kind of got out there. We had several number one songs, (I think now we’ve had like more than 20 number one singles.) so our plan of just playing around here kind of got changed over the years.

We’re now back out playing the same festivals that I was playing when I decided I was tired of traveling. I guess it was just meant for me to be out on the road,” he quipped.

Closer To Home

Balsam Range, over the past 11 years, has played themselves into perhaps one of the most solid, consistent, contemporary bluegrass acts out on the road today. The same five guys who first got together in Darren Nicholson’s (mandolin, vocals) kitchen back in 2007, are the same five guys still playing together today, and are now on tour with their ground breaking new CD, Mountain Overture, recorded with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra.

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mates Dr. Marc Pruett – banjo; Buddy Melton – fiddle, vocals; Tim Surrett – bass, vocals; and Caleb Smith – guitar, vocals; have recorded six CDs together, and won numerous awards including 2014 IBMA Entertainers of the Year, and Vocal Group of the Year.

Not Their First Rodeo Already veteran musicians before they started out on this new venture together, each had become a noted musician in their

own journey, and were each actually slowing down and ready to get off the hectic touring circuit, which is so much a part of working bands. “We had all been band leaders,” Darren told me. “We had all been different parts of working and touring bands, but were all ready to be closer to home, and just play music more regionally.”

“Originally we were more focused on just playing here in western North Carolina where we

Buddy Melton had already released a few solo projects in 2006, with Marc and Tim helping on both of those projects. “At the end of 2006 we all found ourselves back at home in Haywood County,” Darren said. “Marc had toured with Ricky Skaggs, I’d been on the road with Aecia Nugent; Buddy had been with a rockabilly band out of Nashville, and Tim had just come home from the Southern gospel music world. Since we all lived within a few minutes of each other, we said, ‘hey, let’s book some shows,’ and you know, the rest is history.”

Darren remembered the first time the guys played together was continued on page 12

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Thanks to our partnership with ReverbNation (www.reverbnation.com) we are honored to give you a peak at a few of the nation’s hardest working indie artists. Each month we select one entry to showcase for you here. Enjoy!

THIS MONTH’S FEATURE:

By Greg Tutwiler

The Center State www.thecenterstate.com

FEATURE ARTISTS Jeremy Sharp, McKenzie Davidson, and Brad Davidson make up the band, Center State, our ReVerb Nation band feature act for this issue. The St. Joseph and Kansas City area is where founding member Jeremy Sharp called home through the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, where he honed his craft playing with local garage rock bands performing in local dives and bars.

Jeremy eventually connected with an acoustic oriented group called The Bypass, where he experienced working with his female lead vocalist. Although the band had mild success it eventually fizzled out and led Jeremy to start writing songs that leaned more toward the roots and Americana flavor.

A local concert series that was starting up in downtown St. Joseph contacted Jeremy about forming a new music act for the opening series. Jeremy asked friends McKenzie, and then Brad to join in for the show. ”At some point during the rehearsals for the first show,” Jeremy said, “the conversation led to, ‘maybe we should continue playing shows if it makes sense.’ That was in 2012.

It’s 2018 and it’s still making sense.”

Jeremy recalled the moment when it all fell in place. “McKenzie and I

had played multiple venues together in the past, but it wasn’t until Brad got engaged to McKenzie that The Center State was even a thought. Brad accompanied McKenzie to a practice one day, and wanting to avoid awkwardness, I asked Brad if he played any instruments.

When Brad told me he played a little guitar, I said, ‘perfect! Pick up that bass.’ With the realization that he could also provide a second harmony to the songs, we huddled up, broke down, and restructured everything.”

The Center State, like a lot of groups in this genre feature mostly original songs. Jeremy is considered the songwriter of the group. ”It’s a very basic process,” he said. “I simply find some hole to write in, i.e. a bathroom, closet, bedroom, or wherever it’s easy to focus. I experiment on different chord structures, then immediately after starting a music idea, I start to analyze and understand what the music is feeling like. Is it sad, or happy; does it have a story to tell, or a message to share. Then words develop as illustrations that define the meaning of the feeling

that the song is trying to share. Then it’s all roughed in on a basic recording through an iphone. When it’s time to record, we sit down and listen through the multiple ideas on record, then pick and choose the songs we like and that sound like they might fit together. Then the rough versions of the songs develop from there by finding lead lines, and proper melodies and harmonies.”

Jeremy said their favorite audience is found in the relaxed and engaged wine sipping crowd. “But, our music seems to reach a broader spectrum too,” he commented. “We attract those yearning for a story; those who have experienced pain and are drawn to beauty. We have multigenerational, cross cultural fans.”

Jeremy said they are often being inspired by the folks that come out to hear their music. “There was a young girl who decided to pick up the violin after being inspired by one of our shows,” he recalled. “It was weird and beautiful that we could influence

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the younger generation that way.

Hopefully we’ll hear of her success one day. Another memory was in the midst of recording our first album, we blew up an air mattress in the back and took turns sleeping in between takes. That was when jobs and school pushed us to do the recording process in the middle of the night. That whole project stretched us!”

Like many other musicians, Jeremy, Brad, and McKenzie all have other gigs to help pay the bills. Jeremy is a media director, Brad is a scientist, and McKenzie is still a student. “Even though we aren’t so called full time, we definitely aim to sound full time. This band is guided by one principal; Does it make sense when we write, or book shows, or develop any ideas? That is the beginning of the conversation. It’s predominantly seen when booking shows. What’s the pay? Or if it doesn’t pay well, what benefit do we get from the show that makes the most sense. Are we opening for a band we would love to open for, or are we getting a live recording for a session, or is it a benefit we believe in? Full time is always something we are open to, but it would have to make sense. We simply want to make good music at a professional level.”

The Center State has just released their sophomore album, Wilderness. The band feels like this is an album where they have grown musically, and been able to explore different sounds while staying true to who they are. “The song, “Sunrise” was co-written with Leigh Nash from Sixpence None The Richer, and her husband Stephen Wilson, who is a writer for Curb Records. The album was mixed and mastered by Jarod Hadaway of Last Triumph Records.

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Balsam Range continued from page 10 in his kitchen around January of 2007. “It was just a jam session to see what we had together.

When we did our first real show, we didn’t even have a name for the band,” he said. “We did the John Boy and Billy comedy classic at Grove Park Inn in Nashville.

Our first official show as Balsam Range wasn’t until March of 2007.”

“This whole thing was kind of Marc and Buddy’s brain child, because they were already playing regionally together. Tim and I found ourselves at home, and Mark said to us, ‘you know I’m not getting younger. I think there’s another window for me to play music at a higher level, and I would like to do that.’ “So we got together and jammed, and immediately had this feeling that, ‘wow this could be something special right here.’ So we went in and started recording.”

Branching Out One of the connections Balsam Range has made over the years is with musician John Driscoll Hopkins of the Zack Brown Band. “John had heard our song, “Blue Mountain,” (which is still our most requested song on Sirius XM radio.) He emailed us out of the blue one day and said, ‘hey would you like to get together to play and sing.’ That led to several shows together, and we ended up recording an album with him.

That led to us opening several shows for their band, and we’ve even gotten to be a part of their music festival in Charleston, SC,.”

The band actually got to be in a movie with John as well; Careful What You Wish For. “John has a theater background and he ended up being cast in this movie.

He asked us to be in with him, so

Keeping The Balance Balsam Range is a full time band as far as most bands go, but the guys also worked day jobs along the way. “Mark just retired though,” Darren said. “Buddy’s very close to retirement; and all I do is play music for a living. I have a side project, and I freelance doing studio work.

Caleb builds guitars. But as far as touring goes, we’re still weekend warriors. We don’t do tours where we’re out for like three or four weeks at a time.

We’re usually more of a Thursday through Sunday, and Friday/ Saturday type thing; the typical bluegrass band schedule.”

“That schedule enables us to have a balance between road life and family life. That was a large part of why we had all gotten off the road anyway. We all had children at the time. Now they’re growing up, and graduating high school, so that does free us up to travel a little more. We’re all still really enjoying this though. We feel really lucky to still be the same five guys together as a band after 11 years. Not many bands get to do that. We really try not to overlook how lucky we are to still be doing what we love at this level.”

we were in a scene as a bar band.

It was a cool experience. We got to spend a few days there shooting; that was a lot of fun.”

“There has just been a lot of cool things that has happened because of our relationship with John.

That’s really how we got saddled up with the Atlanta Pops,” Darren said, in reference to their latest CD project.

Changing It Up “Hopkins recorded a Christmas album a couple of years ago with an orchestra, the Atlanta Pops, and we recorded one of the tracks on it. That record just sounded so amazing with the Atlanta Pops backing the band. We’re not the first bluegrass band to record with an orchestra of course; I think maybe the first bluegrass band to do that was the Osbourne Brothers in the early 70s. So it’s not a new idea, but not a lot of people have done it. I think the biggest part of Balsam Range’s sound is that we all like different concluded on page 15

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With my band - excited, childlike, half-broke and full of anticipation - I set out on the road to the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, with a car stuffed with instruments, clothes and snacks. I had heard tales of New Orleans for years - voodoo, people never sleeping, music that never stops. I had no idea that I would find all of that and more, and that I wouldn’t understand what the city was like until I was immersed in it.

for the bypassers. Our nights lasted until at least 5:00 AM, every night, drinking in the sounds of New Orleans - jazz, funk, soul, and blues - dancing until our feet were sore, making friends, laughing, and roaming free. When the sun came up we fell asleep; until a few hours later when I awoke to find my friends in deep sleep wherever there was space.

The magic of New Orleans is mysterious and indefinable. There is an underlying pull that seems to bring together people of all ages, colors,

Collaborative Efforts We made a pitstop in Nashville to join our friend and fellow songwriter, Brian Craddock, for a songwriting session. We piled into his studio and started brainstorming ideas. Our first song, “Lead me now to New Orleans”, envisioned ourselves being pulled down the country by a force larger than us to follow our passion for playing music. Our song took us down the highway paralleling the Mississippi River, to New Orleans, (the mouth of Louisiana) where we found ourselves soaking in music, love, passion, and inspiration. Our song ends nestled below the Eìtienne de Boray Oak, “The Tree of Life”, in the heart of New Orleans.

Our next song, “Into Temptation”, plunged us forth to follow the rest of our path down the country in real time. Too excited to wait until morning, we departed at 8:00 PM and drove straight through the night until we arrived at 3:00 AM, delighted by the illuminated streets of the French Quarter - still buzzing with music pouring out of the open windows of the bars and people dancing and conversing in the streets.

Dreams Come True The next seven days were filled with more excitement, inspiration, and connection than we could have imagined. We lived in a hotel for a week with as many as 12 people at any given time. The refrigerator was crammed with food, beer, and wine. We had the privilege of performing two nights at The Howlin’ Wolf Den and sharing the stage with three other Virginia bands - The Southern Belles, Jouwala Collective, and Choose Your Own Adventure.

Bravely approaching the stage, we sang and played our hearts out. We danced in the sunny streets while barefooted brass bands played

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cultures, and walks of life. There is an excitement in the air that allows you to continue through the night without being defeated by exhaustion. The city produces a

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sense of overwhelming intoxication that is filled with such beauty and vibrancy that it sways one to fall in love with a city that was waiting for her or him all along.

We ended our trip at the foot of the Tree of Life. We climbed the branches and sat among the Spanish moss, exhausted, and triumphant. Reflecting back to the song we wrote in Nashville seven days prior, we were speechless at the fact that the song seemed to have a life of its own that led us the entire trip,

Balsam Range continued from page 12 kinds of music, bluegrass,” he said.

not

just

“We had some of our songs scored. And since then, we’ve done several shows with the Pops.

Now we have the sheet music so we can play with any group. We recently did an event at Western Carolina University with the student orchestra there. We can just take our sheet music to Philadelphia, or to Boston, and we can play with the orchestras in all

delivering us right to the end. We unhesitatingly trusted in the pull of the moment and the inspiration: and that, I believe, is the true magic of New Orleans.

Emily is a full time musician in the making. Working part time for a live music space, she spends her days writing songs, practicing, and connecting with fellow musicians; and her nights performing whenever she can, jamming with others, and traveling the region whereever the pursuit of the gig life will take her

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the different cities. Once we heard the music live it was like, ‘gosh, this is amazing! We’ve got to record this. It’s just captivating to hear those big string sections and how they enhance and add to a song. It’s just unreal. So we took some of our favorite and most requested Balsam Range tunes and recorded them on one album with the orchestra. You still get the major bluegrass element in the music,” he said. “It doesn’t change that. You know the song is still the same, it’s just enhanced.

It’s just something that’s novel, and that’s exciting for us.”

www.AmericanaRhythm.com

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July 2018

Listen to the expanded interviews at www.spreaker.com/show/ americana-music-profiles, or search Americana Music Profiles in iTunes!

Becky Buller If you don’t recognize Becky Buller ’s name, you’ve likely heard one of the many song’s she written over the years.

Becky has penned songs for such artists as Ricky Scaggs, Rhonda Vincent, The Infamous Stringdusters, Doyle Lawson, and more.

Her first CD in four years, has just released, Crepe Paper Heart. “It wasn’t supposed to take this long, but so much good life got in our way,” she said recently. Good things like being the first person ever to win the IBMA Instrumental, and Vocalist categories in the same year in 2016. That, coming off of a 2015 IBMA Songwriter, Emerging Artist, and Recorded Event of the Year awards.

The Manchester TN resident, originally from Minnesota, says she is a product of a musical marriage in a way. “My mom and dad met when my mom walked up to dad in college and told him he was playing cheater chords on the guitar,” she laughed. “When I was about five my parents got interested in bluegrass music, so I grew up playing it. Actually, I picked up fiddle so I could sing in my parents band. I was told, ‘you have to play something, you can’t just sing. It was the only instrument they didn’t have in the band at the time.”

Becky eventually went to Bluegrass school at East Tennessee State University. Upon graduation she took a job working with Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike where she was immediately immersed in professional. “I traveled all over the world playing music with her for ten years,” she said. Becky then spent a few seasons with Brooke and Daren Aldridge before starting her own band in 2015.

“I’ve worked odd jobs within the industry, yes,” she said, but music has been her professional life since graduating college. Although her degree was in public relations, Becky says she’s “mostly been teaching – I do a lot of teaching, and have since college, teaching private lessons; fiddle and violin, songwriting, and singing too.”

Rick Lang

Of course, Rick is not just a songwriter, he has also recorded six studio CDs, including his latest released in February of 2018, Undertow.

While Rick is a serious songwriter and musician at heart, he also has another passion; wood. Rick tells me that his wife and he are entering into their 33rd year in the hardwood business. “My wife and I started a hardwood lumber company in 1986, where we sell high-end hard woods like walnut, and cherry, and other quality woods to furniture makers.”

When it comes to Rick’s experience with the two parts of his life, they are not as far apart as you might think.

“Songwriting for me is a very o r g a n i c experience,” Rick told us. “And working with a natural resource like hardwoods is also very organic.

I spent a lot of the early part of my life in the woods marking timber and working at saw mills. It has always felt like working with the wood, and songwriting feeds off each other – very compatible.”

Rick says he stumbled upon Bluegrass music in the 80’s. “I was totally captivated by it. And that’s where my interest in songwriting and playing music started.

And it’s been growing over the last 30 years or so right along for my passion for the hard wood business. I spend most of the time in my life doing either one or the other. I feel very, very fortunate to have a life where the two central parts of it are things that I absolutely love and have a passion for.”

In addition, Rick is a free-lance writer, conducts song-writing workshops, and currently chairs the IBMA Songwriter committee as a mentor in the IBMA Songwriting Mentor Program.

To find out more, visit www.beckybullercom

Folks are inspired into a life of music by many things; often it’s a family history of music or peer exposure in high school or college. For Phillip Pappas, college was about Physics.

Although he had started playing guitar when he was 15, life was to be about pursuing a Physics job. But something wasn’t right, and he realized that it wasn’t for the right reasons. “People would come into work, and they didn’t seem very happy until they were talking about their vacation,” he told us. “I realized that I didn’t want to be that guy.”

With faith a strong part of his life, Phillip began to pray about where he should be headed with is life.

“Deep down, I knew the answer all along,” Phillip said, “but I never felt worthy to pursue what my heart truly desired.” So the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX native stepped out in faith and began pursuing his passion of music.

All was going right, finally, so he though. He met a girl named Lauren, the woman of his dreams, and they realized they wanted to do music together.

Lauren, from a musical background herself, grew up with a dad who “had an affection for white stratacasters.” His life and the future seemed on track. Then at 27, a scare with malignant skin cancer changed his perspective again.

Fortunately for Phillip, they caught it in time, and he’s cancer free. After the recovery, “I realized that we should be doing music together, and enjoying life together,” he said; And they did. Now the two travel and play music together as the indie folk duo, Mountain Natives. Their debut album, Essential, is filled with songs born from a place of gratitude and hope. “Mountains of adversity can be thrown in the sea,” is their motto. “We’re natives to obstacles, and we’re native to trouble.

But we believe that even if you have burdens on your shoulders, you can absolutely overcome it,” Phillip said.

To find out more, visit www.ricklangmusic.com Check out

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Mountain Natives

Award-winning Rick Lang calls New Hampshire home, even though his songs have given him world wide credentials. With over 70 song cuts to his credit, Rick’s songs have been recorded by Bluegrass artists, Southern Gospel artists, and even Jazz singers.

To find out more, vivit www.themountainnatives.com on iTunes

www.AmericanaRhythm.com

July 2018

www.AmericanaRhythm.com

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July 2018

Banjo Nickaru

Listen to the expanded interviews at www.spreaker.com/show/ americana-music-profiles, or search Americana Music Profiles in iTunes!

& Western Scooches

A band who was not long ago noted as having “unfailing high-spirit,” by the London Times, the gang has found a way to once again channel that spirit into their latest project, “Get Us Out Of Fearland.”

Nick’s musical background allows him to bring a vast amount of musical roots to the foundation of this group. His dad, Rich Russo, was a heavy metal musician in the 1960’s featured on Columbia records. They even landed a couple hits, along with a playing schedule that included moments with Sly and the Family Stone and Chuck Berry. As a kid, Nick would play drums on some of his dad’s session in their basement studio. “I even used my dad’s old 8-track and reel-to-reel recording gear when I got older, with my own bands,” he recalled.

Nick’s wife and partner in the band, Betina Hershey, also has her own musical journey that she brings to the mix. “When I was growing up, my mom would play the piano every day, and she was a painter too,” Betina recalled. “My dad played the trumpet with many Broadway shows including Phantom Of The Opera. I ended up getting the part of Meg and touring with the play,” she said.

Get Us Out Of Fearland is the sophomore CD for the Scooches, and contains mostly all originals songs. “The music on here is really a melting pot of all of these different flavors that we work with instrumentally,” Nick told us. “Many of them are songs Betina wrote over the course of the last year or so and really are reflections on where the world is today and how we feel being in it.”

Gary Antol’s life spent living in mountain towns in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland give him an authentic perspective to draw on as he leads his band, the Jacob’s Ferry Stragglers.

Their old-time, bluegrass, jamgrass, rockabilly, and swing music influences lead some to call what they do high energy Appalachian Bluegrass. Gary says it much more simple than that. We’re just here to, “write good songs, honor the music, have fun, and take it to the road.”

The Stragglers have become a popular band in the festival circuit, entertaining crowds with their brand of grass. Their latest CD, their third, Poison River, is set to release this summer. Folks have said they are, “a daring and talented young bunch (Bluegrass Unlimited), and their music “will touch that part of your heart that loves good songs,” Bruce Mountjoy, WYEP. Gary said, “as cliché as it might sound, I was really turned on by the sounds of Elvis as a young kid. My mom really loved the early Elvis, the rock-a-billy stuff. It was a combination of that, and my dad’s Beatles albums lying around all over the place. My dad played guitar too, and that really got me started in wanting to learn to play.”

Gary grew up as a kid playing guitar in the 80s and says he was “really into all that hair band music.

No matter how terrible the music was, they all had really fantastic guitar players,” he recalled. “I spent a few years wanting to be Eddie Van Halen.” Gary moved on to the Blues, which progressed into an interest in Jazz, which led him to Duane University where he graduated with a degree in Jazz Guitar.

That led to stints at amusement parts, then cruise ships before finding himself fronting an Appalachian roots band. “It was a strange way to play music, but a nice way to make a living,” he mused.

To find out more, visit www.banjonickarucom

You might call Johnny Chops, an alter ego of sorts for Austin based singer-songwriter Johnny Richardson.

His band, Johnny Chops & The Razors serves as the outlet for everything that he doesn’t get to do when he’s out on the road with his “day job,” playing bass guitar for the Randy Rogers Band. Their latest self titled CD is filled with self-penned tunes that Johnny has been collecting over the past year or so.

Johnny’s dad was a choir teacher for nearly 40 years, and his granddad was a talented, self taught guitar and fiddle player. But Johnny says it was an uncle who gifted him a guitar that really sparked his musical journey. “I never really had enough money saved to purchase my own guitar. I couldn’t mow enough lawns,” he laughed. “When I was about 15 or 16, my uncle took pity on me and gave me this battered old acoustic guitar. I think it was a Martin copy, or something like that. But it had this great case that went with it. His brother had created all of this weird, crazy artwork all over it, and I thought it was like the coolest gift in the world.”

“When I finally figured out how to pull a couple chords together, everything else I was doing sort of took a back seat to the guitar. I just wanted to spend hours and hours a day on it.”

When Johnny was in college he noticed that there were a lot of guys playing country music and being able to gig a lot. “I knew I was a passable guitar player, but most of the bands seemed to always be looking for a bass guitarist. There was a guy I was friends with who said, ‘we’re looking for a bass player,’ and I said, ‘I’ll be your bass player.’

Johnny bought a bass and got up to speed really fast, gigged around as a bassist, and a position with the Randy Rogers Band where he’s been for 18 years. Not a bad day job, indeed.

To find out more, vivit www.johnnychopsmusic.com

To find out more, visit www.jacobsferry.com Check out

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Johnny Chops

Jacob’s Ferry Stragglers

Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches is led by New York, m u l t i in strumen talist, Nick Russo. Nick’s band has found a niche with their music, combining elements of country, bluegrass, western swing, rockabilly, blues, Dixieland, jazz, and even traditional folk music.

on iTunes www.AmericanaRhythm.com

July 2018

Birthday Bash To SamJam Sam Karr, founder of Sam Jam, says he’s been a fan of Bluegrass music and festivals nearly all his life. “I grew up with my father and his friends all going to Bluegrass festivals, and them taking all their kids along with them,” he recalled recently. “The bands we listened to became some of my favorite groups, and I grew up listening to them on records and cassettes.”

In 2004 something happened that would forever change how Sam enjoyed his Bluegrass music. ”My nephew was turning 21. I had taken him a on trip with me to the IBMA event and he fell in love with Bluegrass music. I live in a area where I had several acres of land, so I told him for his 21st birthday party, I was going to

hire a Bluegrass band to play in my backyard and we’d have a big blowout party.”

So Sam hired the Mark Newton band to play at his nephew’s party that year in his backyard in Marshall Indiana. “We had about 30 people there and we threw it down,” he exclaimed.

“We had so much fun, and the next year all the folks asked if we

Put Him On A Boat

By Greg Tutwiler

Mike Aiken and I have known each other for many years.

Most recently, Mike has been penning a column for Americana Rhythm called On The Road. What I find fascinating, and what I think many people don’t know about Mike, is that a good percentage of His life is, and has been, spent living on a boat. So we thought it would be fun to explore that life and it’s influence on his music.

(Following is just a taste, while our expanded conversation can be found on our podcast, Americana Music Profiles.)

Mike said he started out like many musicians, playing and touring in cover bands. However it took. what he calls, an “inner battle,” to set a new life course in motion. For Mike, the battle was over the “love of music, and the love of the ocean.”

“At one point, for the type of sailing I wanted to do,” Mike told me, “I had to resign from the band I was in. We put together a boat and set out to cross the oceans. I thought, ‘well, that’s going to be the end of my music career.”

Mike and his wife Amy left from Lake Eire, down the Erie Cannel, and out the Hudson River to the Atlantic Ocean. “We went down the Canadian Maritime, south,” he said. “The Music scene is so good in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, so we got immersed in that for a whole year. We went on to the Azores, and then mainland Portugal where we were based out of Spain for about three years. We moved on to Antigua for a few years, and then the Caribbean.”

By Greg Tutwiler

were going to do it again; So we did. And it continued to grow. I hosted it there for four or five years, until it got so big that my neighbors ran us off,” he quipped. “We had tents all over the yard and had added several more bands over the years. I wouldn’t take a vacation. I’d just hire a big name band to come play at our backyard festival instead. I lost money, but I had a blast,” he laughed.

Knowing it was time to find a bigger space for his backyard jam, Sam began to look for another spot to host the festival.

A friend named Robby Taylor who was affiliated with Miller Lite encouraged him to move it to a space in Cincinnati – Miller Lite would sponsor it and see if it could really grow. It was a huge success, but again, limited space, so they had to move once more.

Sam met Rick Greene in 2009, a public affairs professional, at Rudy Fest. Rick pitched the idea of SamJam moving to the Pike County Fairgrounds where it would have room to really grow.

“I went up and looked at the fairgrounds, and man, it just blew my mind,” Sam exclaimed. “So we started over, again, from ground zero.”

Since then, SamJam has grown into one of the premier Bluegrass festivals for may folks, not just from the surrounding area, but across the country. The 2018 version held this coming Labor Day weekend at the Pike County Fairgrounds in Piketon, Ohio, features five days of music with some of the industry’s top headliners including, Daley and Vincent, Flat Lonesome, Claybank, Dave Adkins, Sideline, Lonesome River Band, Doyle Lawson, and many more

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To find out more about attending SamJam 2018, visit www.samjambluegrass.com, and listen to our expanded interview with Sam Karr on our podcast, Americana Music Profiles.

Deep down, he really wondered if he had made the right move. “But the way it turned out,” he recalls, “it was the best move for my music; to disappear a little bit. It gave me a ton of time to write, and a ton of influence.”

Mike’s music today is seasoned with the salts of all those adventures, and filled with stories - not made up ones, but stories he and Amy have lived and experienced.

Check out Mike’s brand new CD, (his 7th) Wayward Troubadour.

www.AmericanaRhythm.com

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July 2018

The letters on the lines are the names of the notes you play on that string.

I’ll eat when I’m hungry, I’ll drink when I’m dry, If I get to feeling better I’ll sprout wings and fly.

By Wayne Erbsen

Rye Whiskey With Summer coming on, you might be feeling a little thirsty. In that case, let’s sing or play a song called “Rye Whiskey.” This version can be found in my new book, Easy 2Chord Songs for Mandolin. First thing, I’ll give you a little background on the song and then I’ll share some tips on playing it.

In 1905, the folklorist E. C. Perrow collected the earliest American version of Rye Whiskey in the mountains of east Tennessee under the title The Drunkard’s Song.

Digging even deeper into the source of this song, my old cowboy buddy Jim Bob Tinsley discovered that one of the verses of Rye Whiskey was sung in London as early as 1737.

Since then, the song has seemingly divided and multiplied and versions have been collected under a wide variety of titles such as Wagoner’s

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Lad, I’m a Poor Stranger and Far From My Home, Old Paint, Way Up on Clinch Mountain, Jack of Diamonds, Rambling Waddy, Rabble Soldier, O Molly, My Horses Ain’t Hungry, Old Smoky, Rebel Soldier, I’m a Poor Troubled Soldier, and even Hesitation Blues.

The North Carolina legendary musician Tommy Jarrell added the “sprout wings and fly” verse, so I couldn’t resist including it.

Rye whiskey, rye whiskey, Rye whiskey I cry.

If I don’t get rye whiskey I surely will die.

You don’t have to be drunk to play Rye Whiskey, but it might help. It’s in waltz (or ¾ ) time, which means there are three beats in each measure. The timing is very straightforward and almost all of the notes get one beat.

Near the end of line one you’ll see a note that has two vertical lines. That means the F# gets two beats. In addition to standard musical notation, you’ll see tab for mandolin or fiddle.

If the ocean was whiskey And I was a duck, I’d dive to the bottom And never come up.

Oh whiskey you villain, You’ve been my downfall.

You’ve beat me, you’ve banged me, But I love you for all.

Jack of Diamonds, Jack of Diamonds, I know you of old.

You’ve robbed my poor pockets Of silver and gold.

www.AmericanaRhythm.com

But the ocean ain’t whiskey And I ain’t a duck, So I’ll drink more rye whiskey And trust to my luck.

I’ll drink and I’ll gamble, My money’s my own.

And them that don’t like it Can leave me alone.

My boot’s in my stirrup, My bridle’s in hand, I’m leaving sweet Molly, The fairest in the land.

Your parents don’t like me, They say I’m too poor, They say I’m unworthy To enter her door.

John WaynePrine Erbsen has been chasing the origins of songs for fifty years or more.

Check out his easy instruction and songbooks for bluegrass and clawhammer banjo, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, ukulele and dulcimer.

Www.nativeground.com

July 2018

Music From The National Scene

Music From Your Neighbors

welcome to the SUMMER

edition of SPINS! Check out all this wonderful ear candy (in no special order)! Fest season is in full swing and we can’t wait to see some of these acts out on stage. Plug in your ear buds and dial up some of these fine folks. And please let them know we sent you.

Got one you want us to listen to? send it to:

Uncle Woody, The Spin Doctor PO Box 45 Bridgewater, VA 22812

Steve Dawson Lucky Hand

www.michaelkelsh.com

www.blackhenmusic.com

With a deep dive into acoustic roots music, David Davis and his band deliver big on a set of 1920s cuts from he great Charlie Poole. If you like historic music, you’ll dig this

A Sears and Robuck guitar launched 11 year old San Antonio native Michael Kelsh on his musical journey. The ex-Southern Culture On The Skids band member has a new solo project - Harmony Sovereign - and it’s so good

If you enjoy instrumental projects, and dig the blues, this is a CD for you. Dawson combines the six and 12 string guitars with a lap guitar, steel guitar, and harmonica to produce a uniquely genuine collection of bluesy gems

Mike Zito First Class Life

CoCo O’Connor This Ol’ War

Tas Cru Memphis Song

David Davis

Out In The Open

and the Warrior River Boys

www.steepcanyon.com

Didn’t He Ramble: Songs of Charlie Poole

The Steep Canyon Rangers are o ne of the most entertaining acts on the festival circuit today. Their latest CD, Out In The Open, in our opinion, is their best to date - enjoyable from the first track. It’s a must add

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Kristi Stanley

Balsam Range Mountain Overture

Michael Kelsh Harmony Sovereign

Steep Canyon Rangers

Heart Wide Open

www.daviddavisandwrb.com

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www.balsamrange.com

www.banjonickaru.com

www.mikezito.com

www.cocooconnor.com

www.tascru.com

Any fan of this award winning band will want to add this CD to their collection. And if you’ve never heard these guys before, you gotta hear what you’ve been missing. This latest is a collection of their biggest songs, backed by the Atlanta Pops. Wow! Love it

Although she married into bluegrass royality, Kristi Stanley, wife to the son of the legendary Bluegrass icon, Ralph Stanley, has a voice of her own. The music and magic of her new CD, Heart Wide Open, speaks for itself. It’s down home traditional grass

Mike Zito is no stranger to the blues music scene. His latest, First Class Life, is followup to his acclaimed 2016, Make Blues, Not War. Since his first CD all the way back to 1997, Mike has honed and perfected his craft, obvious on this latest project.

CoCo was a budding songwriter in Nashville, but needed a change of pace to find her musical rhythm. A season in New Mexico is just what the music doctor ordered. Back to Nashville to record This Ol’ War, O’Connor’s found her groove

On the heels of his award nominated project, Simmered & Stewed; Tas Cru’s hopes to strike it hot again with his latest blues project, Memphis Song. Featuring 12 original songs, Tas songwriting skills shines through form beginning to end. We think you’ll like it

The Kennedys

The Vogts Sisters Broken Ties

Travis Shallow & The Deep End The Great Divide

Fink, Marxer, Gleaves Shout and Shine

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Old Crow Medicine Show Volunteer www.crowmedicine.com

We’re a little partial to our hometown boys, Old Crow Medicine Show, but heck, they are an amazing band!

Doc Watson thought so too when he discovered them back when. Their latest, Volunteer, continues the roots/ grass Old Crow tradition

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Safe Until Tomorrow www.kennedymusic.com Peter and Maura are no stranges to the road, with two stints out with Nanci Griffith’s Blue Moon Orchestra. With 14 duo albums already to their credit, Safe Until Tomorrow, continues the tradition of prolific songwriting and their alternative Americana feel

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www.vogtssisters.com

It’s hard to top sibling harmony. And it’s nearly impossible to imitate. Sisters Abigail and Maggie Vogts have been touring together since 2012. Their latest CD, Broken Ties, their fourth, demonstrates their super tight sister harmony wondefully

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www.finkmarxergleaves.com

www.travisshallow.com

North Carolina native Travis Shallow mixes Americana, and soul, with a pinch of rock and country to create his latest, The Great Divide. Folks love his friendly vocals and insightful song lyrics. Could become your summer jam

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Combining deep roots melodies with their interest in social issues, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer earned grammys in ‘04 and ‘05, and have been nominated 11 times. Their latest CD, Shout and Shine, teams up with innovator Sam Gleaves

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You can send new Americana CD releases for consideration to PO Box 45, Bridgewater, VA, 22812 www.AmericanaRhythm.com

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July 2018 Don Brown has spent the better part of his career doing what he calls, “helping people with people.” He’s written five books, including his latest, Simple Truths in Music and Life. This latest project is a collection of wisdom gathered from Don’s experiences and time spent with Uwe Kruger of the Kruger Brothers.

Give Away 25 Percent?

“I’ve seen so many people play without their little finger, why would you give away 25 percent of your fingering capabilities?

Would a basketball player give up one quarter of their height?”

Uwe Kruger Twenty-five percent of our fingering capability given away.

I admit it; I steered away from using my little finger at every turn for a long time. Total disclosure; I still don’t use it one hundred percent of the time. The beautiful thing is though; anchoring is usually done with the pinky finger. It’s just leaving it in place, nothing too challenging, but the whole time it’s in place it’s getting stronger.

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Uwe himself swears that the pinky is the strongest finger we have.

Start using it right now. At first, if you’re anything like me you won’t like it. But then you will come to realize how much mobility it gives you, and then you’ll notice that the span from index to pinky is really very comfortable for two-fret patterns, especially across strings (much more so than index to ring). Do not give away twentyfive percent of your fretting capacity.

You wouldn’t knowingly give away a quarter of your life, your energy, your smarts, your speed. Don’t do it to your music; start it up now!

Be A Mando Player In No Time Easy 2-Chord Songs for Mandolin is the latest book from our longtime friend and contributor, Wayne Erbson.

If you’ve ever sat out in the audience at your favorite festival and thought, ‘I wish I could play an instrument,” or “I wish I could play mandolin like that guy,” ... here’s your chance.

The book sites “39 Simple Songs with lyrics and, music, and tab,” that you can play by learning two easy chords.

It even includes an audio CD, so you can listen along to see how the song is supposed to sound. That way you can know if your getting it right.

Wayne writes, “This book is for you if ... you barely even know what a mandolin is; you don’t know a note of music; you can’t carry a tune in a bucket, you’ve watched upmteen YouTube videos and you still can’t make heads or tails out of the mandolin; You’ve tried other instruction books that only made you want to pull your hair out and stomp your mandolin into little pieces; You’d be grateful to find a friendly and non-judgemental way to learn the mandolin.”

www.AmericanaRhythm.com

The CD included in the book features examples of ALL the songs, played slowly on the mandolin, with a guitar accompaniment so you can hear how it’s supposed to really sound with other instruments.

There’s even illustrations of hand positions and how to hold and strum the instrument.

Want your own copy? Contact Wayne at Native Ground Books & Music, www.nativeground.com, or (800) 752-2656.

July 2018

SUMMER SPECIA L: 2 years for just $3 2

Send us your name and address along with your check or money order for $18 made out to Americana Rhythm, to PO Box 45, Bridgewater, VA, 22812. (PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY) You can also subscribe Via PayPal on line at www.AmericanaRhythm.com

Name: Address: City: State:

Zip: PLEASE PRINT! Use seperate paper if necessary

Subscribe using PayPal at www.AmericanaMusicMagazine.com

www.AmericanaRhythm.com

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