Re: You Be The Judge
I can settle this whole argument about whether R.S. wears the crown Mr. Bill once wore, with the two-word title of song he recorded recently for actual public consumption: Super Freak. If he could abide drinking, he'd be working mainly in Vegas. --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Taterbugmando group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: You Be The Judge
Reverend! Case closed. (Mandolin case, that is.) --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Taterbugmando group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: You Be The Judge
Mike Just ruptured my rotator cup in the oil field so my mando playing wil be cut back for a few days. one hand typing is rough too anyway, the bruce hornsby album ought to prove he hasnt taken over for bill as i mentioned before, there is an attitude and arrogance problem w rs dont worry about speakinbg your mind and giving us your opinion. in fact, we all value your opinion, we respect you and recognize you as one of the true leaders in bluegrass, esp. in regard to mandolin. you are a true master of the mandolin and if anyone deserves to b heard it is you denny -Original Message- From: mistertaterbug taterbugmu...@gmail.com To: Taterbugmando taterbugmando@googlegroups.com Sent: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:33 pm Subject: Re: You Be The Judge One final note from me... To all of you who read this rag, my apologies for being unpleasant. However/whatever I feel about the situation is my own. I'm sure I bring a lot of my own character warts to the table that color my perceptions and comments. I think it's only fair to admit it, or at least make it known to the rest of you that I'm aware of it and have no notions that what I say is the gospel. Whatever causes my knee-jerk reaction to the current media blurb is my own and I have no crusade regarding the future of bluegrass or who's at the lead. I mean really, if it means so much to the illustrious Mr. KY Thunder that he be looked upon as the figurehead, then by all means give it to him. Let there be a parade and holiday proclaiming him Mr. Bluegrass and all of us can go back to our misguided lives listening to all the wrong stuff. It just seems to me that bluegrass music has been going along just fine in all its current incarnations, however scattered and varied its influences. I don't really think Monroe would have minded, although I'm sure that outwardly he would have complained. Refer back to the story Sam Bush tells about one conversation he had with Monroe... Now what do you call that stuff you play? Newgrass...we call it Newgrass, Bill. Oh yeaI hate that. Sam just laughs about it. I'm pretty sure that Bill did too when nobody was looking. It was better that he kick up a fuss, but I'm sure he was proud that the music he brought together out of a bunch of rural forms had had such a wide impact. It would be in my own best interest to laugh at some of this business and stop being so aggravated by it. It would be better professionally for me to keep my fool mouth shut. But, if i know me, I suspect I won't. G P'tater On Jan 27, 9:20?pm, roy...@aol.com wrote: thanks Mike, I appreciate you Denny -Original Message- From: mistertaterbug taterbugmu...@gmail.com To: Taterbugmando taterbugmando@googlegroups.com Sent: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 8:45 pm Subject: Re: You B e The Judge Denny, Number one...Thanks for showing us the positive side of this situation. Number two...There will never be anyone sitting at the feet of yours truly because that requires worship and I will never be worthy of that. Number three...If you start preaching again and I'm in your area, I'll come listen to at least one sermon considering the amount of fairness you contributed today. Seems you've something that needs hearing. Number four...Not bad for a truck driving, oil well drilling, preacher. G Prodigal Tater On Jan 27, 4:33?pm, roy...@aol.com wrote: While I wouldn't think of Ricky as the traditional Bluegrass musician, and I would expect to see him at festivals because of his commercial approach to the music, I am thankful that he brings in new and fresh ears to the music. Many who like country music will not know who Mike Compton is, though we know he is a fantastic musician and man, they will listen to Ricky. My friends and family often bring up Ricky when they hear me play my mandolin. They don't know who Bill Monroe is, but they know Ricky. They haven't heard of Jim and Jesse but they know Marty Stuart. They don't know anything about Jimmy Martin but they seem to think Vince Gill is a bluegrass musician in part because of his recent album. They have never heard of Seldom Scene but somehow think Chris Thile is a bluegrass musician. My point is that with rare exceptions, most people don't know anything about bluegrass. If they buy a Ricky Skaggs cd at least they might here Blackeyed Suzie or Rawhide or PIg in a Pen or Get Up John or LIttle Maggie or Rank Strangers. If they are interested, they might even research other musicians. Second, his record company is producing some very good music with groups like Cherryholmes and artists like Andy Leftwich Third, it presents me with opportunities. When people mention Ricky to me, I usually respond by bringing them a few cd's to listen to with samples from a bunch of various artists from the Dawg to Mike Compton to Del McCoury to Do yle Lawson to Rhonda Vincent to Sam Bush and so on. Usually, the people come back and tell me how surprised they were to hear how
RE: You Be The Judge
OK, bear with me. I can say at least one really good thing about Skaggs. The first live performance of Bluegrass I ever saw was Skaggs at IBMA in Louisville and he closed with Get Up John. That song alone was the reason I started into Bluegrass and especially the mandolin. Being from Bowling Green Ky, I became aware of Sam Bush. This led in an around about way to being turned on to John Hartford. Then I had to find out who was playing the mando for him. Now I don't agree with everything Skaggs says and his shows are a little.hokey, but he is radio friendly and does get a lot of people to listen to Bluegrass and like me some of them start digging deeper into the music and finding stuff that really kicks ass. And just for the record I'm in the Compton camp of Bluegrass now that I have dug pass Ricky and his fried chicken stories. J -Original Message- From: taterbugmando@googlegroups.com [mailto:taterbugma...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of mistertaterbug Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 13:34 To: Taterbugmando Subject: Re: You Be The Judge One final note from me... To all of you who read this rag, my apologies for being unpleasant. However/whatever I feel about the situation is my own. I'm sure I bring a lot of my own character warts to the table that color my perceptions and comments. I think it's only fair to admit it, or at least make it known to the rest of you that I'm aware of it and have no notions that what I say is the gospel. Whatever causes my knee-jerk reaction to the current media blurb is my own and I have no crusade regarding the future of bluegrass or who's at the lead. I mean really, if it means so much to the illustrious Mr. KY Thunder that he be looked upon as the figurehead, then by all means give it to him. Let there be a parade and holiday proclaiming him Mr. Bluegrass and all of us can go back to our misguided lives listening to all the wrong stuff. It just seems to me that bluegrass music has been going along just fine in all its current incarnations, however scattered and varied its influences. I don't really think Monroe would have minded, although I'm sure that outwardly he would have complained. Refer back to the story Sam Bush tells about one conversation he had with Monroe... Now what do you call that stuff you play? Newgrass...we call it Newgrass, Bill. Oh yeaI hate that. Sam just laughs about it. I'm pretty sure that Bill did too when nobody was looking. It was better that he kick up a fuss, but I'm sure he was proud that the music he brought together out of a bunch of rural forms had had such a wide impact. It would be in my own best interest to laugh at some of this business and stop being so aggravated by it. It would be better professionally for me to keep my fool mouth shut. But, if i know me, I suspect I won't. G P'tater On Jan 27, 9:20 pm, roy...@aol.com wrote: thanks Mike, I appreciate you Denny -Original Message- From: mistertaterbug taterbugmu...@gmail.com To: Taterbugmando taterbugmando@googlegroups.com Sent: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 8:45 pm Subject: Re: You Be The Judge Denny, Number one...Thanks for showing us the positive side of this situation. Number two...There will never be anyone sitting at the feet of yours truly because that requires worship and I will never be worthy of that. Number three...If you start preaching again and I'm in your area, I'll come listen to at least one sermon considering the amount of fairness you contributed today. Seems you've something that needs hearing. Number four...Not bad for a truck driving, oil well drilling, preacher. G Prodigal Tater On Jan 27, 4:33?pm, roy...@aol.com wrote: While I wouldn't think of Ricky as the traditional Bluegrass musician, and I would expect to see him at festivals because of his commercial approach to the music, I am thankful that he brings in new and fresh ears to the music. Many who like country music will not know who Mike Compton is, though we know he is a fantastic musician and man, they will listen to Ricky. My friends and family often bring up Ricky when they hear me play my mandolin. They don't know who Bill Monroe is, but they know Ricky. They haven't heard of Jim and Jesse but they know Marty Stuart. They don't know anything about Jimmy Martin but they seem to think Vince Gill is a bluegrass musician in part because of his recent album. They have never heard of Seldom Scene but somehow think Chris Thile is a bluegrass musician. My point is that with rare exceptions, most people don't know anything about bluegrass. If they buy a Ricky Skaggs cd at least they might here Blackeyed Suzie or Rawhide or PIg in a Pen or Get Up John or LIttle Maggie or Rank Strangers. If they are interested, they might even research other musicians. Second, his record company is producing some very good music with groups like Cherryholmes and artists like Andy Leftwich Third, it presents me with opportunities
Re: You Be The Judge
jeffrey,?? i'm there with you man, denny -Original Message- From: Alexander, Jeffrey jeffrey.alexan...@louisvilleky.gov To: taterbugmando@googlegroups.com Sent: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 6:35 pm Subject: RE: You Be The Judge OK, bear with me. I can say at least one really good thing about Skaggs. The first live performance of Bluegrass I ever saw was Skaggs at IBMA in Louisville and he closed with Get Up John. That song alone was the reason I started into Bluegrass and especially the mandolin. Being from Bowling Green Ky, I became aware of Sam Bush. This led in an around about way to being turned on to John Hartford. Then I had to find out who was playing the mando for him. Now I don't agree with everything Skaggs says and his shows are a little.hokey, but he is radio friendly and does get a lot of people to listen to Bluegrass and like me some of them start digging deeper into the music and finding stuff that really kicks ass. And just for the record I'm in the Compton camp of Bluegrass now that I have dug pass Ricky and his fried chicken stories. J -Original Message- From: taterbugmando@googlegroups.com [mailto:taterbugma...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of mistertaterbug Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 13:34 To: Taterbugmando Subject: Re: You Be The Judge One final note from me... To all of you who read this rag, my apologies for being unpleasant. However/whatever I feel about the situation is my own. I'm sure I bring a lot of my own character warts to the table that color my perceptions and comments. I think it's only fair to admit it, or at least make it known to the rest of you that I'm aware of it and have no notions that what I say is the gospel. Whatever causes my knee-jerk reaction to the current media blurb is my own and I have no crusade regarding the future of bluegrass or who's at the lead. I mean really, if it means so much to the illustrious Mr. KY Thunder that he be looked upon as the figurehead, then by all means give it to him. Let there be a parade and holiday proclaiming him Mr. Bluegrass and all of us can go back to our misguided lives listening to all the wrong stuff. It just seems to me that bluegrass music has been going along just fine in all its current incarnations, however scattered and varied its influences. I don't really think Monroe would have minded, although I'm sure that outwardly he would have complained. Refer back to the story Sam Bush tells about one conversation he had with Monroe... Now what do you call that stuff you play? Newgrass...we call it Newgrass, Bill. Oh yeaI hate that. Sam just laughs about it. I'm pretty sure that Bill did too when nobody was looking. It was better that he kick up a fuss, but I'm sure he was proud that the music he brought together out of a bunch of rural forms had had such a wide impact. It would be in my own best interest to laugh at some of this business and stop being so aggravated by it. It would be better professionally for me to keep my fool mouth shut. But, if i know me, I suspect I won't. G P'tater On Jan 27, 9:20?pm, roy...@aol.com wrote: thanks Mike, I appreciate you Denny -Original Message- From: mistertaterbug taterbugmu...@gmail.com To: Taterbugmando taterbugmando@googlegroups.com Sent: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 8:45 pm Subject: Re: You Be The Judge Denny, Number one...Thanks for showing us the positive side of this situation. Number two...There will never be anyone sitting at the feet of yours truly because that requires worship and I will never be worthy of that. Number three...If you start preaching again and I'm in your area, I'll come listen to at least one sermon considering the amount of fairness you contributed today. Seems you've something that needs hearing. Number four...Not bad for a truck driving, oil well drilling, preacher. G Prodigal Tater On Jan 27, 4:33?pm, roy...@aol.com wrote: While I wouldn't think of Ricky as the traditional Bluegrass musician, and I would expect to see him at festivals because of his commercial approach to the music, I am thankful that he brings in new and fresh ears to the music. Many who like country music will not know who Mike Compton is, though we know he is a fantastic musician and ma n, they will listen to Ricky. My friends and family often bring up Ricky when they hear me play my mandolin. They don't know who Bill Monroe is, but they know Ricky. They haven't heard of Jim and Jesse but they know Marty Stuart. They don't know anything about Jimmy Martin but they seem to think Vince Gill is a bluegrass musician in part because of his recent album. They have never heard of Seldom Scene but somehow think Chris Thile is a bluegrass musician. My point is that with rare exceptions, most people don't know anything about bluegrass. If they buy a Ricky Skaggs cd at least they might here Blackeyed Suzie or Rawhide or PIg in a Pen or Get Up John or LIttle Maggie or Rank Strangers
Re: You Be The Judge
I have a great disc by Dave Brubeck called Old Tiger and Young Lions or something like that. On each track is a guest artist for whom Brubeck wrote a melody. Each melody was suggested by the name of the guest. In many cases, Dave wrote the melody out on the way to the studio, sitting in back of the limo, and the guest saw it for the first time in the session. On alot of the tracks, they used the first take. I assume in an improvisational format like jazz, there is some wiggle room, but still, that level of talent just floors me. On Jan 27, 3:57 pm, mistertaterbug taterbugmu...@gmail.com wrote: Jason, I'll have to say that it's pretty much standard procedure to count on doing multiple takes on the major sessions, unless of course there are players there that can just lay it down first take. Some bands can go in and take a couple and get a useable one. Usually, somebody has to fix something(frequently it's me) while everybody else sits and eats miniature Milky Way bars. A lot of times the focus is to get a good rhythm track or get a track that has a good overall feel and then start building the finished product. I've heard of artists taking 6 months and loads of money (upwards of the cost of a Loar) to cut an album. I wonder what used to happen when people like Ella Fitzgerald or Frank Sinatra went into the studio? You know as well as I do what happened. They laid it down and that was that. Being on the road 11 months out of the year helps with that. Hey, all ya'll don't get me wrong. Skaggs is a talented man who's worked hard and there's no denying that. I'll give him that because it's a fact. It's that *other* thing I was talking about anyway. Now I'm done with it. Tater On Jan 27, 1:37 pm, J Hill jason.hi...@gmail.com wrote: The only thing I have to say on the topic is that I had heard someplace that the Ricky Skaggs and KY Thunder frequently use over-dubs / multiple takes and that seems to have tainted my listening to their music. I've heard them live and there's no doubt that his band can play and I'll be the first to say, as in the recent Yo-Yo Ma inaugural recording discussion, if you can play it once you can play it in my book (even if it took you 6 takes to get a keeper). All that being said, it does differentiate between the recordings we hear today in which recording time can be as cheap as the electricity it takes to run your MacBook and the recording days of old in which there were 5 guys crowding around a single microphone and recording time was a scarce commodity. It very well could be that RS doesn't use multiple takes anymore than any other band in which case I don't mean to single them out unfairly. Jason- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Taterbugmando group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: You Be The Judge
Denny, Number one...Thanks for showing us the positive side of this situation. Number two...There will never be anyone sitting at the feet of yours truly because that requires worship and I will never be worthy of that. Number three...If you start preaching again and I'm in your area, I'll come listen to at least one sermon considering the amount of fairness you contributed today. Seems you've something that needs hearing. Number four...Not bad for a truck driving, oil well drilling, preacher. G Prodigal Tater On Jan 27, 4:33 pm, roy...@aol.com wrote: While I wouldn't think of Ricky as the traditional Bluegrass musician, and I would expect to see him at festivals because of his commercial approach to the music, I am thankful that he brings in new and fresh ears to the music. Many who like country music will not know who Mike Compton is, though we know he is a fantastic musician and man, they will listen to Ricky. My friends and family often bring up Ricky when they hear me play my mandolin. They don't know who Bill Monroe is, but they know Ricky. They haven't heard of Jim and Jesse but they know Marty Stuart. They don't know anything about Jimmy Martin but they seem to think Vince Gill is a bluegrass musician in part because of his recent album. They have never heard of Seldom Scene but somehow think Chris Thile is a bluegrass musician. My point is that with rare exceptions, most people don't know anything about bluegrass. If they buy a Ricky Skaggs cd at least they might here Blackeyed Suzie or Rawhide or PIg in a Pen or Get Up John or LIttle Maggie or Rank Strangers. If they are interested, they might even research other musicians. Second, his record company is producing some very good music with groups like Cherryholmes and artists like Andy Leftwich Third, it presents me with opportunities. When people mention Ricky to me, I usually respond by bringing them a few cd's to listen to with samples from a bunch of various artists from the Dawg to Mike Compton to Del McCoury to Doyle Lawson to Rhonda Vincent to Sam Bush and so on. Usually, the people come back and tell me how surprised they were to hear how wonderful the music was and that they weren't expecting to enjoy it. I will give them some Steffey and they will be amazed at the clean sound. I will give them Evening Prayer Blues from Compton and Long (one of my favorite recordings of all time) and they are amazed at the feel. I will give them some Roberts/Grascals or Ronnie McCoury or Mandolin Extravaganza. In the end, because they asked about Ricky, I was able to give them some other sounds to put into their ears with the hopes that they would become as big a fan as I am (and I am a big boy). My point is that while I would rather sit at the feet of the Tater and I love the traditional Monroe feel, I think Ricky can help bluegrass. I do agree that there is probably some pride involved but that is something he will have to deal with on his own. I can still enjoy his music. Anyway, just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in the pond...have a great day Denny Wilson Snyder, Texas -Original Message- From: mistertaterbug taterbugmu...@gmail.com To: Taterbugmando taterbugmando@googlegroups.com Sent: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 3:57 pm Subject: Re: You Be The Judge Jason, I'll have to say that it's pretty much standard procedure to count on doing multiple takes on the major sessions, unless of course there are players there that can just lay it down first take. Some bands can go in and take a couple and get a useable one. Usually, somebody has to fix something(frequently it's me) while everybody else sits and eats miniature Milky Way bars. A lot of times the focus is to get a good rhythm track or get a track that has a good overall feel and then start building the finished product. I've heard of artists taking 6 months and loads of money (upwards of the cost of a Loar) to cut an album. I wonder what used to happen when people like Ella Fitzgerald or Frank Sinatra went into the studio? You know as well as I do what happened. They laid it down and that was that. Being on the road 11 months out of the year helps with that. Hey, all ya'll don't get me wrong. Skaggs is a talented man who's worked hard and there's no denying that. I'll give him that because it's a fact. It's that *other* thing I was talking about anyway. Now I'm done with it. Tater On Jan 27, 1:37?pm, J Hill jason.hi...@gmail.com wrote: The only thing I have to say on the topic is that I had heard someplace that the Ricky Skaggs and KY Thunder frequently use over-dubs / multiple takes and that seems to have tainted my listening to their music. ?I've heard them live and there's no doubt that his band can play and I'll be the first to say, as in the recent Yo-Yo Ma inaugural recording discussion, if you can play it once you can play it in my book (even if it took you 6 takes to get a keeper
Re: You Be The Judge
Bluegrass needs new leadership. HmmmI guess we should consider ourselves lucky that Master Skaggs is willing to assume the mantle of leadership and take such a burden upon himself. I wonder what he'll have us do? -- Original message from mistertaterbug taterbugmu...@gmail.com: -- I'm just gonna stay outa this. I think it's important to know what others are up to so I'm posting the link as forwarded to me. You'll have to decide what the motivation might be. http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/jan/22/ricky-skaggs-digs-deep-vau... Instigi-tater --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: You Be The Judge
click. rant mode engaged. Good lord. It may be that Picky-Ricky's greatest talent is that of self-aggrandizement. That coupled with his well-known penchant for receiving and transmitting the gospel from god himself on stage may explain his self-anointing. There's no doubt the man can play and sing but how can one take him seriously when he WAS the problem he decries back in the '80's? I mean he gets down on the whole urban cowboy thing but has he seen his own video--the one where Bill Monroe plays Uncle Pen to Ricky's corporate exec? Oy gevalt. What a putz. This schmuck carries like 8 guitars in his band and calls it digging deep into the tradition. That's actually something that bears notice too, this death-grip on tradition that so many bluegrassers seem to employ as if it were a post-mortem stamp of approval from Bill himself. It seems to me that if bluegrass is a living, breathing art form then it needs to grow and evolve in different and often strange and unnerving ways. You don't have to like it but you have to respect it. Only art forms that are dead and buried repeat themselves endlessly. Going back to the vaults of tradition and then inflecting it with one's own personality and interpretation is a viable way of breathing new life into a genre art form. Going back to the vaults of tradition and saying this way and only this way is right is embalming and turns the vaults of tradition into Lenin's tomb, fit only for periodic review. rant mode off Dasspunk wrote: I got a 404 error from Mike's link. Here's one that should work: http://tinyurl.com/dhuvja It's always been clear that Ricky wants to be the heir for Bluegrass. Luckily, want of a thing don't make it so... It would also seem that he suffers from self loathing... I can’t get excited about (the music on country radio). It’s all cookie cutter like they are trying to build one car for everyone. Brian --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Taterbugmando group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: You Be The Judge
Right on, Fredand while this might be a small quibble, I just can't tolerate that whole "Mama's fried chicken" stage persona. Very, very tiresome. -- Original message from Fred fkel...@scicable.net: -- Good lord. It may be that Picky-Ricky's greatest talent is that of self-aggrandizement. That coupled with his well-known penchant for receiving and transmitting the gospel from god himself on stage may explain his self-anointing. There's no doubt the man can play and sing but how can one take him seriously when he WAS the problem he decries back in the '80's? I mean he gets down on the whole "urban cowboy" thing but has he seen his own video--the one where Bill Monroe plays Uncle Pen to Ricky's corporate exec? Oy gevalt. What a putz. This schmuck carries like 8 guitars in his band and calls it "digging deep into the tradition." That's actually something that bears notice too, this death-grip on tradition that so many bluegrassers seem to employ as if it were a post-mortem stamp of approval from Bill himself. It seems to me that if bluegrass is a living, breathing art form then it needs to grow and evolve in different and often strange and unnerving ways. You don't have to like it but you have to respect it. Only art forms that are dead and buried repeat themselves endlessly. Going back to the vaults of tradition and then inflecting it with one's own personality and interpretation is a viable way of breathing new life into a genre art form. Going back to the vaults of tradition and saying "this way and only this way is right" is embalming and turns the vaults of tradition into Lenin's tomb, fit only for periodic review. Dasspunk wrote: I got a 404 error from Mike's link. Here's one that should work: http://tinyurl.com/dhuvja It's always been clear that Ricky wants to be the heir for Bluegrass. Luckily, want of a thing don't make it so... It would also seem that he suffers from self loathing... "I can’t get excited about (the music on country radio). It’s all cookie cutter like they are trying to build one car for everyone." Brian --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" group. To post to this group, send email to taterbugmando@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
Re: You Be The Judge
Interesting topic - I've seen lots of pro and anti Ricky stuff on discussion threads and heard lots of chatter about Ricky's ego. He's has definitely put off a fair number of real bluegrass folks - I guess most bluegrassers prefer a good dose of humbleness in their bluegrass heroes - myself included. I'm glad he came back to bluegrass after his country success. The guy's a great picker and singer, front man, side man, judge of talent, you name it - the guy oozes talent and I enjoy most of his music. In addition to his musical talent, I would assume he's been and is still currently financially successful if he can carry a 6 member band around and run a mostly bluegrass record label and still make a living -- so he also apparently has some good business and PR smarts. Creativity??? Not so much... I don't know that many tunes that Ricky has made standards there weren't already standards... I think his self-promotion rubs folks the wrong way - he doesn't mind doing a little self promotion if it helps him sell a few more cd's or land a few gigs. He also kinda stepped into the bluegrass gap on the Opry after Monroe died and the Osbornes and Jim/Jesse dropped off the Opry scene. So he's still on the Opry and uses that platform to help with his promotion. There are a number of folks from 80's country music like Ricky who aren't nearly as visible as Ricky is today. I don't really buy into this -- “I felt a20deep calling to go back to bluegrass (after Monroe died),” Skaggs says. “There was a need for new leadership. I felt like someone needed to take that position that he left.” I guess since Monroe didn't appoint anyone and there wasn't a committee to name the Dear Leader (aka - Kim Jong-il) of bluegrass, Ricky nominated his own self. So, all that said, I'm guessing his return to bluegrass and his notion that he's the new leader was as much a business decision as it was an artistic decision. I prefer the folks who let their music do the talkin'... John Gay Memphis -Original Message- From: Mike Hedding michaelhedd...@gmail.com To: Taterbugmando taterbugmando@googlegroups.com Sent: Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:58 am Subject: Re: You Be The Judge on't you all get it? Ricky is trying to distract you so you'll stop racticing and he'll sound better by comparison. We're all falling for t. Now then, back to practicing. On Jan 26, 11:07 am, mistertaterbug taterbugmu...@gmail.com wrote: This comes from one who is of sharp wit and tongue and of little tolerance for you-know-what... How come he hasn't bestowed upon himself a lofty title a la Jimmy Martin? Father of Bluegrass: that's taken; King of Bluegrass: that's taken, too. Hmm... Emperor of Bluegrass? Crown Prince of Bluegrass? Secretary of State of Bluegrass? I got it. AMBASSADOR of Bluegrass. No, no. MISSIONARY of Bluegrass. That's it! It's perfect. YAWN... Now, The whole thing, and this will be my only comment of a personal nature, is that Skaggs has the audacity to assume he has the ability, the creativity, the vision to breath fresh air into the genre(...by going backwards?). The whole notion that he feels the rest of us who love the music need to be led in the right direction so that the essence of the music does not get lost is insulting in the first place, but to be so pompous as to publicly make the statement that he is the one to guide us along the shining path is absurd. Monroe never gave Ricky a personal directive to take the load upon himself, to carry the torch, to lead the way, to show us the light. He did ask, over and over, that we all do it. This bit is ALL Skaggs. As Fred so aptly put, an art form that does not change dies. This was stated by David Grier some years back too. Monroe changed and adapted his music to fit the times, the sidemen he had, the new sounds he heard. He changed his arrangement of Blue Moon of Kentucky after Elvis cut it to incorporate the obvious appetite for an up-tempo version. He started using minor keys after the folk revival and the blossoming of newgrass (check how many minor key songs there are in Monroe's catalogue leading up to the era), I think because he could see that the sound was popular and sold records. He gave Earl Scruggs the spotlight in the 40's because Earl had the goods. I was fortunate enough to play Goldrush with the co-writer of that tune on Saturday. I can tell you now from having done it, I think Bill Monroe followed Byron Berline's bow arm on that tune, not the other way around. Monroe had the sense to know when to not be the boss (although he maintained the illusion certainly) and when to let the music breath and just be what it was going to be. And because of that, it grew and progressed into a much more sophisticated art form that had room for Carter-family-simple melodies as well as psychedelic flights of fancy. As was mentioned before, Monroe was right for the time that he came onto the planet. Any other
