Questions for SAM BUSH?

[jjboone101]

Howdy Fellow Mandolin Fans,

I'm taping a short interview tomorrow morning (Wed) with Sam Bush for my bluegrass show on the local community radio station. I've got a question list rolling, but would love to get some additional smart & insightful questions for Sam from my fellow Cafe members.

What are you dying to ask Sam Bush???

Many thanks!

Jonathan James
"High Lonesome Radio Hour"
WCOM 103.5 FM
Chapel Hill

[Fretbear]

What kind of pick does he use?

[Scotti Adams]

Sam use to use a Fender extra heavy teardrop shaped pick...dont know if that still holds true. I offered to give him a tortoise shell pick once..he politely declined and went on to say the Fender pick was the pick of his choice. I would like to know where he got his truss rod cover for Hoss.

[lakedog mando]

Why doesn't he re-record the Homespun instructional DVD set, The Sam Bush Mandolin Method,
that was duped or recorded off pitch? Yes, I can tune to the DVD but unless he didn't have artistic control it seems like he doesn't care about his performance. I don't believe that is the case. Maybe he never listened to the final cut and no one has told him about the pitch issue. Or is this question to confrontational?

Pick on...

[greg_tsam]

1. What is his advice for structuring leads? What are some techniques or ideas?
2. What are some good techniques for practicing tremolo? Should the movement come from the wrist or elbow? How has his wrist injury affected the way he plays?
3. What direction is his playing heading into?
4. Does he read music? Does he recommend learning to read sheet music for those of us that play by ear or learn by tab?
5. He won the national fiddle championship 3 years in a row as a child and went on to play with numerous, great talents throughout his career while becoming an icon himself. How has the excitement and joy of music and the joy for pickin' changed over the years?
6. Does he still get excited joining an open jam with different talent levels?

[jimbob]

not to start an argument, but I have a Homespun DVD set and the pitch seems fine....

[jjboone101]

Good stuff, folks. Keep'em coming.

Just sharing, but here are some good tidbits I ran across....did you know he broke two elbows in one year? That he recently did some gigs with the original Wailers, of Bob Marley fame? That his '37 Gibson -- Hoss -- just had its fourth fretboard put on, this latest one by Dave Harvey at Gibson? That Sam is such a baseball nut that he travels down to Jupiter, FL for St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training?

[Scotti Adams]

If you listen to Sams tremelo closely you can actually hear the beat..he emphasizes the beat in his tremelo which is not an easy feat.

[jimbob]

I'd just like to ask him, " Man, how do you do that ?!??"

[squirrelabama]

Which tracks on Glamour and Grits were cut with his Andersen F5? does he ever pick on that one any more?

[JEStanek]

Who doe he like to listen to?
What's his Desert Island CD (the only music he could have on a desert island)?
Who would be his favorite people to record with?

Jamie

[MandoNicity]

I'd be curious to know how he wound up playing with Little Feat, and how that experience was for him. I too would like to know if he still chooses a Fender Heavy as his pick of choice.

[45ACP-GDLF5]

What kind of pick does he use?


He uses a D'Andrea .96mm He gave me one and told me that he uses the shoulder of the pick instead of the point.

[Kevin K]

What case does he use?

[blawson]

Has his family acquired another (hu)man's best friend after the passing of Ozzie?

[Larry S Sherman]

How does he like playing Jethro's 2-point Gibson?

Larry

[Steve Ostrander]

If Sam hadn't become a musician, what would he have been?

What's on Sam's Ipod?

Who influenced him the most?

BTW--I loved his work with the Nash Ramblers.

Steve O.

[Hal Loflin]

What is his fondest memory of the time he spent with Bill Monroe?

[Bigtuna]

I second the what's on Sam's Ipod question.

Does Sam play anything besides mandolin, fiddle, and guitar?

Who would he like to work with that he has not already cut an album with?

What's Sam's thought on doing an album of Jethro Burns covers with some of today's newgrass heros (fill in the blank with your favorites).

[Phillip Tigue]

What about his time with John Hartford? He has done several Hartford tunes on albums and live, and more since John's passing. How has John Hartford's style effected him musically and the bluegrass/newgrass style in general?

[Ken Olmstead]

What is he asking Santa for christmas and was he a good boy this year? :)

[woodwizard]

Here's the pick Sam gave me that he was using the last time he played here in Arkansas. I would like to know how he's doing health wise? We were both born in april of '52 so I know he's no spring chicken even tho he plays like one.
I would also like to know how ole' Hoss is holding up from all the years and years of steady pickin'? And last & most important ... WHEN'S HE COMING BACK TO PLAY IN ARKANSAS????

[jjboone101]

Had a great thirty minute conversation with Sam Bush today by phone for a radio interview. Sam is sitting in at local club this Saturday with Bill Evans and Soulgrass.

Some tidbits from the call:

-- Regarding the question from here on the Cafe about what is getting heavy play on his iPod these days: the newer CD from John McLaughlin called "Floating Point", Jeff Beck, The Band, all things Clapton, and the latest CD from Steve Winwood "Nine Lives"

-- Sam recently did 3 dates with the original Wailers, of Bob Marley fame, and hopes to do more dates in 2009. He said it was a complete blast;

-- He's busy writing and working on material for a new CD on the Sugar Hill label and plans to get in the studio in January;

-- When Doc Watson calls, Sam drops everything to perform with him;

-- Sam has owned his '37 Gibson F5 called "HOSS" (as named by Tony Rice) for 35 years now. Just had its fourth fretboard installed, by Dave Harvey at Gibson, and the intonation is "better than ever."

-- When Sam was performing at the Ryman with Emmylou Harris and the Nash Ramblers, they were backstage getting ready in the chair with hair and makeup. Bill Monroe walked by and offered to go get his scissors out of the bus for quick haircut for Sam. As Sam said he learned later, Bill teased folks he liked;

-- Related to Monroe, Sam said a friend of his focused really hard on learning to play some Monroe tunes on the mandolin exactly like Bill did. After performing a few for Mr. Monroe, Bill said in effect to the guy "Well that's pretty good. Now what can you do yourself?" In essence, copying is flattering but make your own trail.

-- Sam's favorite Monroe tunes to play and listen to? Wheel Hoss and Uncle Pen.

[Darryl Wolfe]

Had a great thirty minute conversation with Sam Bush today by phone for a radio interview. Sam is sitting in at local club this Saturday with Bill Evans and Soulgrass.

Some tidbits from the call:


-- Related to Monroe, Sam said a friend of his focused really hard on learning to play some Monroe tunes on the mandolin exactly like Bill did. After performing a few for Mr. Monroe, Bill said in effect to the guy "Well that's pretty good. Now what can you do yourself?" In essence, copying is flattering but make your own trail.



That may have been me :grin:

[jjboone101]

Does that sound familiar, Darryl??