So...I am asking my non-WV friends here. Have you ever experienced Bluegrass music? I have never really listened to any, other than when watching Disney's "The Fox and the Hound" movie with my kids. I had pictures in my mind of old men with no teeth gumming smoking pipes, sitting in rocking chairs, picking a banjo while somebody played a fiddle and everyone did that sterotypical hillbilly dance. It was such a redneck kind of thing. I would have never gone to see a Bluegrass concert. Ever.
Then came last night. The GSC Bluegrass group played at our school lounge and they had invited a group from Kentucky to join them. They played for about 2 hours and I totally enjoyed the entire thing. My dear friend, Mary Sue, even joined them to sing a couple ditties. So...I am a Bluegrass convert. Here are two video clips from last night. The big guy in the first clip is a friend of mine that I didn't even know played an instrument. Apparently, he is one of the best in the region. The old guy with him is a world famous banjo-ist (I don't know what you are supposed to call him), his name is Buddy Griffin and he is the Bluegrass prof here in Glenville.
The second clip is of the Kentucky group. They were really amazing and totally entertaining.
So, I can't say that I will ever purchase a Bluegrass CD, but I certainly will not turn away from an opportunity to attend a live concert.
On another note, we also had our annual GSC picnic that day and there were a bunch of venues. One was a really funny gameshow in which this funny lady would ask some really easy questions for points. During an intermission, my friend Josh got up and preformed his "Evolution of Dance" routine to our great delight. Here it is...at least most of it.
It was a really beautiful day and I had a great time. I will miss the friends I made here and the experiences that I have had will remain with me for a lifetime.
Anyways, talk to everyone later.
Love Tanya
4 comments:
Bluegrass seems to be full of surprises. It was about seven years ago when my father experienced "O Brother Where Art Thou" and became hooked on bluegrass. Being the head of the household he imposed his obsession on the rest of the family and we became the Family Bluegrass Band. Dad on banjo, mom on guitar, little sister on mandolin, and Kaiti on the fiddle.
Dad practiced religiously. Little sister cried at every mandolin lesson. Mom had better things to do. And I squeaked and screeched through page upon page of "The Wabash Cannonball."
In time Dad's phase passed and he picked up a new hobby, but the instruments remained. Hoedowns were not my cup of tea, but because bluegrass was shoved down my throat, I had been presented with an opportunity. Turns out the Texas fiddle can make the same sounds as the Celtic fiddle...which I happen to love.
Also I highly recommend Nickel Creek if you want a fresh young bluegrass sound -- they crossed over into more European folk songs as time went on, but it is still all so good.
I am so sorry I missed Josh Doing His Jig......-Sigh-
I'm a little slow on commenting these.... That was quite the night picking and playing... I finally made some money from bluegrass yesterday when I went to North Bend!
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