rossiter@cornell.UUCP (David G. Rossiter) (04/17/85)
I haven't noticed any postings re: Blue Grass music on this net, so I decided
to post some information for those who might be interested in learning more
about it. This is a long posting, but I hope you will find it worthwhile.
Definition: There are of course many variants of any sort of music. To a
reasonable first approximation, we can distinguish two main types:
1) `Traditional':
Acoustic 4 to 7 piece groups (usually guitar, string bass (may be electric),
mandolin, 5-string banjo; often fiddle (violin); sometimes dobro (resophonic
guitar), 2 or 3 part country and mountain harmonies (derivatives of scotch-
irish) with some 1 part white blues and 4 part gospel (derivatives of
primitive baptist and methodist tradition). Simple melodies, rhythms, and
chord structure, with highly-stylized improvisation (`breaks') alternating
with singing. Instrumentals are usually fast-paced, derived from country
dance styles (breakdowns, hornpipes, reels). Lyrics deal with a narrow range
of themes, descended from mountain and parlor tradition.
2) `Progressive':
Extends tradition in several directions: a) more complex harmonies, borrowing
from rock and pop, b) more complex melodies and chord progressions
often borrowed from jazz or swing, reflecting the wider training and
background of these musicians, c) more subjects for the lyrics, d) more
kinds of instrumental arrangments, including planned harmonies, varying
rhythms.
Many listeners have a hard time connecting those on the edges of the
progressive movement with the older styles. The connection is usually that
the progressive musicians grew up loving and playing traditional forms, and
are very comfortable in them. So the progressive movement is an evolution
from within the tradition. Very rarely do people who began in another area
of music move into bluegrass of either sort.
Top nationally-known (touring) groups (home base in parenthesis):
traditional:
Johnson Mountain Boys (DC)
Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys (McClure, VA)
Hot Rize (Boulder, CO)
Bill Monroe & the Blue Grass Boys (Nashville, TN)
Country Gentlemen (DC)
progressive:
Tony Trischka & Skyline (New York City)
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (Roanoke? VA)
New Grass Revival (Lousiville, KY)
Seldom Scene (DC)
Peter Rowan & Crucial Country (Nashville, TN)
[note b.g. fans -- don't flame if your favorite group isn't here! I'm just
trying to give a good sample for the general net audience!]
Where to hear it live:
-- festivals: like folk festivals; held in the summer months almost everywhere
in the country. Big festivals at Bean Blossom IN, Hugo OK, Lavonia GA,
Gettysburg PA, Ancram NY, Denton NC, Telluride CO, Lousville KY, many more
-- auditorium shows, most common in the winter
-- clubs. Less important than in the `golden' (i.e. lean) years. Best known
are the Birchmere (Arlington, VA) and Station Inn (Nashville, TN).
Sources:
Mail-order records & books: County Sales, Box 191, Floyd, VA 24091
-- ask for their free catalogs of traditional, progressive, fiddle, etc.
-- very reasonable prices ($7.00/lp for most labels)
-- monthly newsletter with frank, generally accurate reviews, free for
one year with any order
Record labels:
-- Sugar Hill: Box 4040, Duke Station, Durham, NC 27706
- superb sound quality, top groups, emphasis towards progressive and
country groups
-- Rebel, County: see County Sales (above)
- emphasis on traditional groups, reissues of classics; sound quality
variable (especially on older material)
-- Rounder: Somerville, MA
- similar to Sugar Hill; good sound quality
Magazine:
-- Bluegrass Unlimited, Box 111, Broad Run, VA 22014
- $15/yr
- record reviews (a bit behind the releases), articles of extremely
variable quality about perfomers past & present, news items, appearance
calenders, festival advertisements. Really the only consistent source
of news, although not professional
Radio stations:
-- WAMU-FM, 88.5, Washington, DC -- about 6 hrs/day
-- no commercial full-time bluegrass stations
-- almost none on commerical C&W, although they will play Ricky Skaggs
-- many college and educational stations have short segments
Television:
-- `Fire on the Mountain', Nashville Network
And for those of you lucky enough to live near the Nation's Capital: for
complete personal appearance information, dial the WAMU-FM `Bluegrass Hotline',
(202)-885-8869.