Idle hands

[zerostargeneral]

This has inspired me to start my own label;

THIS 7'000'000$ AUDIOPHILE POWER CABLE IS DEFINITELY WORTH IT !!!! (youtube.com)

I intend/hope this will be my first tune on my first album;

Night And Day - YouTube


Parker cheated using junk and playing sax, I however shall use cheap booze and play the kazoo.

Neri Oxman on bass, Claudine Gay on vibes.

KIndest regards, G.

 

[Another Johnson]

Can we subscribe? I hope it’s all vinyl all the time.

 

[zerostargeneral]

Dear Johnson,

I am not currently pulling my weight on this one the search for the right reed for my kazoo has me stumped.

Neri is switching bow technique (Odessa to Franco-Belgian).

Claudine thought her vibes were analogous to Milt Jackson not fully understanding the playing element of the trio.

As for the formats; eight track?

kindest regards,G.

 

[Another Johnson]

Dear Johnson,

I am not currently pulling my weight on this one the search for the right reed for my kazoo has me stumped.

Neri is switching bow technique (Odessa to Franco-Belgian).

Claudine thought her vibes were analogous to Milt Jackson not fully understanding the playing element of the trio.

As for the formats; eight track?

kindest regards,G.

Before you decide, you should watch the kazoo reed evaluation video tape (on Beta), available from one of the other Johnsons on Ama Zing.cam. Kazoo reeds are much more difficult to trim properly compared to say, oboe reeds, but on the video tape they take you through the process blow by blow (literally).

Incidentally, I love Claudine Gay on vibes … also great on the musical saw. The bowing technique is really important on the ol’ saw.

Sigh …

 

[Another Johnson]

As for Neri (Otto Korrekt just changed Neri to Nero twice, but Nero did not play bass), I go back to the Stephen Crandall era, and I think we’ve lost a lot. Random Vibration, a field which Crandall literally defined, is highly relevant to many of the discussions we see here, not to mention its affect on kazoo reed shaping.

 

[zerostargeneral]

Dearest Johnson,

Crandall was a truly serious and rigorous scholar, applied dynamics could have been ignored without his work.

Material ecology is guff dressed up as invaluable academic reading. When Gwyneth starts down that road it may involve
Scented pages?

When I noticed Nashville it reminded me of my eternal appreciation of the American south. The brightest people I have ever
Encountered were the Cranston family from Alabama, the humour was inordinate without flaw or offence.

I spent '91 in Nola drinking hurricanes with genii that got me into bluegrass and zydeco. Checkpoint Charlie and Molly's bar
On Decatur with a balloon blower and the Cranstons. Below is the first time I welled up at a live performance outside of the
Classical sphere;

" I am Weary Let Me Rest," the Cox Family (youtube.com)

KIndest regards,G.

 

[Another Johnson]

Bluegrass is a genre that you neither need to be high NOR lonesome to enjoy. But you do have to be willing to tolerate a lot of “little darlin”, emotion, passion, and what would seem to be absurdity (at least to city folk).

My interest set intersects with bluegrass. Bluegrass artists make good friends.

There is an annual program on the Saturday nearest Veteran’s Day at the Country Music Hall of Fame. It has historically been called Bluegrass and Beyond. Jim Hurst hosts it on behalf of, and in honor of, the Crump family (they owned a huge radio station over in eastern Virginia). This program is part of their legacy.

My point in talking about this is that Bluegrass is definitely a family focused traditional activity, and performing families are often highlighted in the Bluegrass and Beyond program.

There nearly always (but not always) seems to be a patriarch and/or matriarch who was able to instill the love into a second generation. The most long lasting performing families have daughter in laws and or son in laws, and even grandchildren, in their act. Bluegrass and (to a lesser extent) Gospel are genres driven by dedication to and love of making music with your family. This was more common in the days before the “idiot box” (as it was once called) was invited into every corner of the Western World.

We will out clever ourselves. The tools are here, and they’ve been picked up.

 

[zerostargeneral]

Thank you Sir,

Well noted on the bluegrass friends call and thank you for the info on the program.

Kindest regards,G.

 

[Another Johnson]

One of the great things about the bluegrass genre is the oral tradition. The stories that the old heads tell on each other are often hilarious.

of course tradition can also be an obstacle. There are a lot of youngsters (now 40+ years old) who have honed their skills in bluegrass and then gone on to classical training and beyond. I’ve spent many a night at Station Inn when an older mentor would call a youngster up to join the band. Some of these are well recognized names today, but they’re not making a lot of money, either inside or outside the traditions.

Of course traditions bother some. I invited a famous rock guitarist to come along to Station Inn one night. He was always amenable to a trip to Third and Lindsley. But his response to “Hey, we’re heading over to the Station Inn” was “I’d rather chew glass than go listen to bluegrass.”

Aside from the horrible food and weak beer characteristic of The Station Inn, he missed a great show.

 

[Another Johnson]

FWIW, I do not listen to bluegrass very often on my stereo. I do listen to some of the new wave … Alison Krauss, Chris Thiele, Sarah Watkins, David Grier come to mind quickly.

But more traditional stuff loses a lot when you move out of the live performance. You’ve really got to be there, close enough to touch the performance. It can be riveting.