Carl's Music...

Grassahol        Three Wheelin'

Dancin' Roy

Seen on the web...

Mar 1:
Tommy Texino is a pseudonym. No one apparently knows who he actually
is. But his BGRASS-L posts are quite funny. - Carl

Begin forwarded message:
From: Tommy Texino <texino@GMAIL.COM> Date: February 29, 2008 7:02:30 PM EST
To: BGRASS-L@LSV.UKY.EDU Subject: Old Man Trouble takes a look at RV
Reply-To: "Bluegrass music discussion." <BGRASS-L@LSV.UKY.EDU>

Hi, it's Texino. That's El Texino to you covites and grinders and generic pea pickers who conspired to keep my review of the recent Voyage of Discovery led by Rhonda Vincent and The Rage off the list.

Other than remarking how swell the ladies looked in their formal dress and how it wouldn't kill the men to rent a Dinner Jacket, I didn't say anything mean at all. I even said that Rhonda had lost the look that she was always just about to bite someone and said plenty of complementary stuff about her band and Rounder Records too. read more here...

Feb 28:
From: MaryE Yeomans <ancienttones@GMAIL.COMDate: February 28, 2008 4:54:17 AM EST
To: BGRASS-L@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Ralph's "Live" Recordings
Reply-To: "Bluegrass music discussion." <BGRASS-L@LSV.UKY.EDU

A good friend of mine and former long-time Clinch Mountain Boy once told me that they often went into the studio and recorded an entire album in a day, or as it has been said, 4 hours. From my years in Nashville I'm thinking a session consists of 4 hours, no? as far as "buying" time in a studio, so that 4 hour thing makes sense. What this former CMB shared with me is that they'd do each song twice, then Ralph would later pick the better of the two cuts of each song to include on the recording. For this the CMB were paid $50 each for the session and that was all the money they'd see from that particular recording.

Now while this may sound unreasonable to some of you all the way around, it was simply the way things were done and since it was Ralph's band I reckon you love it or leave it. Now I don't know if "Clinch Mountain Gospel" and some of them were done in four hours but for my money you'd have to go a long, long way to beat _THAT_ sound, YMMV.

For a very long time I've thought that one thing that's wrong with many recordings today is that they're over-produced and over-tweaked. Why? Because they can! I'm not quite sure what the point of it is, winning an award? For my money I'd rather have a "good" recording every year of my favorite bands, not have to wait four or five years for some sterile"masterpiece" that might win an IBMA award.

read the rest, here...

Feb 26:
> Have you all seen this :

Feb 23:
It don't get no better than this . . .

Feb 12:

Go here: and check out the Daily Vincent band.

Good acapella tune (with a little comedy) here: 04 - Saturday
Showcase: Dailey-Vincent Band (don't try this with a modem - HUGE
downloads)

Feb 5:
Very cool...nashville portraits...
When he became aware that the Opry was going to be moving from the Ryman, Jim McGuire approached the powers that be there to get special access to the Opry for that final year of 1974. These photos have been sitting around in McGuire's studio for the last thirty years and are now finally available in a beautiful book published by the Turner Publishing Company. McGuire's photos are the heart and soul of the book and he provides the text as well.

Reminds me of that other story about the older couple having a talk and the wife says,
"If I die before you, do you think you'd marry again?"
"Oh, I suppose I might would after a time."
"Well would you let her live in my house?"
"Well, yeah I probably would."
"Would you let her cook in my kitchen?"
"Suppose so. You wouldn't need it."
"Would you let her sleep in our bed?"
"I suppose so. Ain't no use in buying a new one."
"Would you let her play my fiddle?"
"No, she plays mandolin."

Feb 4:
This is just so good on so many levels.

Begin forwarded message:
From: Peter Cady <oldblevins@GMAIL.COM>

It should be noted that, if you play an instrument in front of an audience, and play with at least basic competence, but make some mistakes, the audience can be divided into two groups:

1) The majority who aren't familiar enough with what you're doing to notice the mistakes.

2) The minority (mostly also players) who do notice the mistakes and say, "hey, that guy messes up just like me!" and are sort of pleased.

Those very few who do notice the mistakes and are snotty enough to think they never make any themselves, well.... ".... if they can't take a joke."

Peter

Subject: Fwd: Kentucky Mandolin story
Begin forwarded message:
From: John Bird <birdj1@peoplepc.com>

I think it was in 1975, and I was a beginning mandolin player in a bluegrass band playing daily at Carowinds, an amusement park near Charlotte that straddles the NC-SC border. Bill Monroe was playing there in a big show with several other bluegrass bands. It was my first (and as it turns
out, only) time seeing Mr. Monroe live. After the show, he was at the foot of the stage, and I went up to him and got his autograph. I said, "I was going to ask for 'Kentucky Mandolin,' but I didn't know if you still played it." I meant that they had so many songs that it might not be in the band's repertoire, but I guess he misunderstood me. "Still know it?" he barked out, with a hard look in his eyes. He reached over and grabbed his battered Loar, held it right in my face, and ripped it right off, staring me down the whole time in a challenging look I'll never forget. I just stood there, trying not to look away from his steely gaze. I felt like I was standing in front of a force of nature, a hurricane. When he got through, he slammed his mandolin back in the case and walked away. I never saw him again in person. I think of this moment every time I play the song, and I try to play it with intensity. But I could never match the
intensity he had in his hands...

Feb 2:
The Mighty Handful - 'Mojo' Old guys can rock . . . .

Jan 15:
Very, very clever! Ukelele Orchestra...

Jan 14:
Here's some country singers from bygone days. They were posted on the Hillbilly list.

Frankie Miller
Benny Barnes
Luke Gordon
James O´Gwynn
Terry Fell
Big Bill Lister

Jan 13:

Catchy little tune . . .

Would You Like to Play the Guitar?
(Tune: Swinging On A Star)
(Pat Donahue)
CHORUS:
Would you like to play the guitar?
Carry money home in a jar
From a coffeehouse or a bar,
Or would you rather get a job?
A job is a thing that makes you get out of bed
And work every day until you're dead.
Your back is achin' and your brain is numb
And you just can't wait until the weekend comes
But if you don't want to starve or beg or rob
You're gonna have to get a job
Or would you like to play the guitar
Drive for miles and miles in your car
And pretend that you're a big star
Or would you rather book the gig?
An agent's a guy who takes his twenty percent
What he says ain't always what he meant.
He'll clean you out in ways you never thought
Because he's good at business and he knows you're not.
And then he'll sue if you ever make it big
'Cause he's the guy who booked the gig.
Or would you like to play the guitar
For a living -- har-dee-har-har.
I'll admit it's kind of bizarre
Or would you rather be the wife?
The wife is the one who has to rescue our butts
She's either a saint or else she's nuts.
She gets impatient and she gets annoyed
'Cause she's the one who must remain employed
And, by the way, if you want to wreck your life
Become a guitar player's wife.
'Cause all the monkeys ain't in the zoo.
They can be trained to play guitar too.
Some do a whole lot better than you
But even if you don't go far
You could be worse off than you are
...At least you're playing your guitar.
>

Jan 12:
Emmy Lou Harris. Nice!  

Jan 10:
Them hard parts is tough! And findin' a new string when you need it - whew!