The First Annual
Michigan Bluegrass
Official Road Trip Journal Entry
February 6-8,
2004 - Destination: Nashville, Tennessee
Now, I know that many of you
are interested in our SPBGMA road trip story!
It is a tale of music, banjos and old friends in strange
places! And of course, J.D. Crowe!
It was a Friday night, late, near to
midnight before we started out. Time limitations had placed
our departure time late in the evening, but with a 6 pack
of Pepsi and pretzels, coffee and a handful of CDs, we set
off on our adventure. If you are wondering, the "we"
of this story includes my old friend and banjo mentor, Dave
Russell, editorial consultant for Gander Grass an Buckeye
Bluegrass and co-pilot for this adventure and myself, Sherri
Chekal , main editor of the sites.
Since it has been a good deal of time
since we'd spent much time together, we had about 20 years
to catch up on, so, we were well armed with conversation
and good music.
By 4 a.m., we had passed over into Kentucky
and were well on our second wind. After gas and a pit stop
for more coffee, we started back on the road and were promptly
met with snow and whiteout conditions! So much for sleeping
and driving shifts. Neither of us felt comfortable with
the other driving solo, so we kept chatting and began creating
songs with rather odd bluegrass twists...
I did mention it was like 4 in the morning,
right?
Our favorites had to be "Little
Trailer Home on the Hill" and that classic... "Smokey
Mountain Relatives..." I rather doubt you'll ever hear
much of these songs from us, as we seem to have forgotten
most of the 8 or 9 verses we had come up with by 6 a.m.
and the dawn that crept in with ice and cars in the ditch.
The trusty Town and Country mini-van was surefooted and
we met daylight in Tennessee with a cold wind and more snow
squalls. Hard to believe we were in the south land... seemed
more like Michigan!
After getting into town, settled in the
hotel rooms, and more coffee and eggs, we headed off to
the Sheraton and the Bluegrass Mecca we traveled so far
for. Upon entering the lobby, we were greeted with a flood
of people, nearly wall to wall, and the sweet sounds of
music wafted about from jam to jam. It was pure manna for
two road weary souls and we got our, oh, 5th wind of the
day!
Jamming in the Lobby!
Some observations of the
convention.... How wonderful it was to see so many
people, of all ages, enjoying this music. This being
my first SPBMA convention, I was pleasantly surprised.
I had expected a good-sized crowd, but we both had
to agree, this was more than we expected. And the
young people, that was truly grand to see so many
youngblood picking and playing bluegrass. We listened
to many a jam session throughout the weekend and
music was good. I almost regret not bringing my
Stelling and joining in, I think next year, it will
be a priority to spend a little time jamming.
Way
too many bass to pick through! As much as I tried
to get one to follow me home, I came home bassless.
Probably
a good thing, my banjo would have been jealous.
The dealers were all pleasant and offered
their wares with a heartfelt greeting and an offer to sit
and pick or browse through their wares. Dave was shopping
for a new banjo and I had my eye on browsing the bass selection.
We got to play many a good banjo through the place! I must
say, the Tennessee banjos were stunning in their craftsmanship.
The inlay work and the beautiful woods were very attractive.
And the different tone qualities from the woods was the
most distinctive I've ever heard.
These
fine gentlemen from Tennesee Banjos can be mighty
convincing when talking banjos to a man shopping
for one...
We spent a good time learning about the
Nechville banjos and the highly engineered and innovative
tone rings Ken Nechville has designed. The craftsmanship
in his banjos as well was stunning, with beautiful tiger
maple and some unique designs. Most delightful was his small
backpack banjos and quite a show was made for all by Dave
and a mandolin player from Ohio. (Video hopefully to follow
if my 13 year old can figure out how to transfer it to her
Mac Ibook... she's the technical consultant at BuckeyeBluegrass.com...)
Wrap up two to go....
Now, the boys at the
post think my Stelling that I drew flowers and hearts
on the head is pretty... Just wait till I show up
to jam with one of these bad boys....
However, in the end, it was Steve Huber's
banjo company that won the sale. The feel of his banjos,
and the knock-you-dead tone and sound of the banjos was
a hand down winner. The only decision was whether to buy
one of the show models or wait for a custom built banjo.
Dave is playing with The
Mike Adams Band out of Michigan and he was eager to
find the perfect performance banjo for recording and shows
and in the end, he decided to have one custom crafted for
his own hands, and it was good. Like all good things, he
will have to wait till early summer for his Huber Lancaster
to arrive!
There were
kids EVERYWHERE, picking and playing....
it was wonderful to see!
Picking up a couple t-shirts for my daughters,
I was very impressed by the selection of the team from up
Michigan way. Nice shirts, really cool designs. As a graphic
artist, I'm always impressed by good, high quality graphic
designs! It was hard to decide! And I was so pleased that
Charlie and Doris Chase from Classic Collection had the
Emmylou Harris CD, "Roses in the Snow" that I've
been looking for! Yes! New jams for the ride home! Such
nice folk, too, another Michigan bluegrass merchant.
And I think I found about 200 flyers
of shows and festivals and so much more to wade through
for the two websites! Of course, we brought a big stack
of flyers for Buckeye Bluegrass as well as passed out a
good deal of business cards. It was very rewarded to find
that already people have been hearing about the sites and
our efforts!
Why
sure, we don't need the van anymore, sounds like
a fair trade....
Look at all the pretty
fiddles...
Finally, it was time to take a break
and catch a few bands during the Showcase of Bands times.
Good thing, because I was beginning to remember that I was
no longer 16 and that it had been nearly 30 hours since
my eyes had closed! Through out the adventure, I lost my
flyer with the names of the showcase bands, but I must say,
they were enjoyable and it was fun to watch the antics and
the bands as they interacted with the crowd. The music was
great too, and it was neat to see different bands interpreting
the old classics with new twists and different approaches.
The crowd was good sized and responsive and you could see
that the bands were enjoying themselves and the sets they
offered were full of enthusiasm.
This
young man just found out how much that bass is going
to set him back....
These babies WOULD
cost as much as the van.....
A
Martin for everyone!
I think, we were working on our 11th
wind at that point and after a late lunch, we decided to
wander about some more, shop more, listen to jams throughout
the hotel. We finally decided it was time to try and get
a break before we came back to hear the big boys play! By
7 p.m. we were back at the Sheraton and ready! We watch
Ronnie Reno and his band, the Reno Tradition and that was
a treat. And then, we saw Ronnie Bowman. He is really impressive
and I enjoyed his offerings... I'll be adding him to my
list of must get CDs. Charlie Waller and the Country Gentlemen
were especially touching to watch when Charlie's son debuted
a song he had written about the passing of his father's
guitar to his son. I'm not sure, but I think you could have
heard a pin drop and there was hardly a dry eye in the house
afterwards.
For me, however, it was the arrival of
J.D. Crowe and the New South that made the day. In all my
times, I have never seen J.D. and his boys live, and this
was a great place to see him. The crowd was thrilled and
he played fine, and I managed to control myself and behave!
We hustled out to the band's table afterwards to see about
meeting him in person, however we waited and waited... no
J.D. Finally through the grapevine we learned he was still
in the backstage area, doing photos and meeting with the
fans, so we got back there. He was wrapping up the visitors,
and we got a chance to meet him and take a couple pictures.
Considering we were approaching hour 40 without much shut-eye,
we kind of looked like shot-down pilots having to smile
and pose with their captors... but we didn't care, it was
J.D.!!! And we got a chance to talk a bit with him... (Well,
I was just standing there in shock, really, so Dave to the
rescue!) He asked J.D., what was the most important thing
to playing the banjo. "Play the song, play the melody,"
He remarked. "Simple, work in the melody." That
was reassuring to hear, that a good strong driving sound
could be made with a clear melody line, simple and clean.
Dave also asked, "What was the most important thing
Jimmy Martin taught him about timing. Without hardly a pause,
J.D. replied, "Play the melody and keep the roll going."
Don't hold
these pictures against us.... we're at about oh, hour 40+
without SLEEP...
Anything
for bluegrass!
My quest for the weekend was done. I'd
met J.D. Crowe, and he even shook my hand and took a picture!
I'm quite sure this is a weekend I'll remember for a good
long time. And yet, it was not over!
We'd developed a powerful thirst, not
to mention a need for munchies and decided to head over
to the Gibson Factory to listen to some live bluegrass.
But apparently, we'd wandered about the hotel too long,
listening to the jams throughout the place, and the Gibson
Factory near the Grand Old Opry was closed! It was only
midnight, so we headed to the Earnest Tubb's record shop!
Having never been in Nashville, this was a treat. Seeing
a bus inside a store, well that just ain't done back at
home, and being a tourist, I just had to take a picture!
I don't believe I've ever seen so many bluegrass CDs in
one place!
The parking lot was iced over... (weird
weather in Nashville!) so we decided to make our way to
a close by honkey tonk called the Nashville Palace. We've
heard that Randy Travis used to bus tables there before
he made it big! It was getting near to one in the morning
and the place was near to empty with a house band playing
some country AND western music for the two or three tables
of patrons.
However, this was the oddest part of
the whole weekend. Dave turns to me and says, "Dana's
here..." and sure enough, Dana Cupp, Jr., local boy
gone big time, strolls over and is amazed to see us here.
One could only think of that line from Casablanca.
"Of all the gin joints, you had
to pick mine....."
I was finding it a bit hard to talk!
20 some years ago, I'd spent many a day in the Cupp family
home in Michigan, listening to some great bluegrass, tagging
along with Dave. And here Dana was, inviting us in and showing
us a nice time! Dana played with Bill Monroe until he passed
away, and now Dana plays with the Osborne Brothers throughout
the country! He splits his time between Nashville and all
points, and it was truly luck to have gotten the right connection
with him! Dana had to get his banjo out and he and Dave
talked shop for awhile. We ended up closing the place down
as Dana's guests and managed to find our way back to the
hotel to finally end our 48 hours of Bluegrass, Bluegrass,
Bluegrass!
Talking
shop with Dana Cupp, Jr.
The morning came with a bit of a shock,
and we managed to spend 3 or 4 more hours at the Sheraton,
listening to bands, doing a little more shopping and browsing
and spent a good deal of time listening to some of the lobby
jam bands. We settled on a family of siblings from Missouri
that were very good. I believe they were the Martin Family
and they were definitely a class act. Watch for these kids,
they will be going places as they mature and polish up.
Unfortunately, it was time to begin our
journey back to the northland... and we bid Nashville fond
farewell. We just might have to take Dana up on his offer
to return and visit him and the brothers at the Opry some
weekend, but for now, it's back home and the good old routine
of life... only 8 months till the IBMA convention in October!!!!!
Look out Louisville, here we
come!
30th ANNUALSPBGMABLUEGRASS MUSIC AWARDS
- & 21st NATIONAL CONVENTION -
HELD FEBRUARY 5-6-7-8, 2004
Sheraton Music City - Nashville, Tennessee
2004 AWARD WINNERS
Results of Presentations held on Sunday,
February 8th.
1. Bluegrass Promoter
of the Year
NORMAN ADAMS (Recipient of Grand Masters Gold Award 2004) Ten Year Winner in this Category
Dreama Stephenson
2. Bluegrass Radio Station of the Year WSM-AM Nashville, TN
3. Bluegrass DJ of
the Year Eddie Stubbs, WSM-AM
4. Bluegrass Newsletter
of the Year Inside Bluegrass (Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time
Music Assn.)
5. Bluegrass Song
Writer of the Year Tom T. Hall & Dixie Hall
6. Bluegrass Album
of the Year "ONE STEP AHEAD" - by Rhonda Vincent /
Rounder Records
7. Bass Fiddle Performer
of the Year Missy Raines
8. Dobro Performer
of the Year Tim Graves
9. Guitar Performer
of the Year Kenny Smith
10. Mandolin Performer
of the Year Ronnie McCoury
11. Banjo Performer
of the Year Sammy Shelor
12. Fiddle Performer
of the Year Hunter Berry
13. Female Vocalist
of the Year (Contemporary) Rhonda Vincent
14. Female Vocalist
of the Year (Traditional) Lynn Morris
15. Male Vocalist
of the Year (Contemporary)
RUSSELL MOORE (Recipient of Masters Gold Award 2004) Five Year Winner in this Category
Larry Stephenson
16. Male Vocalist
of the Year (Traditional) Dan Tyminski
17. Gospel Group
of the Year (Traditional) IIIrd Tyme Out
18. Gospel Group
of the Year (Contemporary)
DOYLE LAWSON & QUICKSILVER (Recipient of Masters Gold
Award 2004) Five Year Winner in this Category
The Lewis Family
19. Gospel Group
of the Year (Overall)
THE LEWIS FAMILY (Recipient of Masters Gold Award 2004) Five Year Winner in this Category
Mountain Heart
20. Vocal Group of
the Year Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
21. Instrumental
Group of the Year Del McCoury Band
22. Bluegrass Band
of the Year (Overall) Rhonda Vincent & The Rage
23. Entertaining
Group of the Year IIIrd Tyme Out
24. Entertainer of
the Year Rhonda Vincent
25. Song of the Year "KENTUCKY BORDERLINE" by RhondaVincent /
Rounder Records
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