Monroe [Archive] - Mandolin Cafe Forum

07-F HOLE 3 POINT

Jan-26-2005, 7:48pm

PGA, 100% agreement here! I would even say without Mr. Bill we wouldn't even be talking about loars, gibsons etc.....

SPRUCE, i would agree in his later years but not in the early years. go listen to the original cry cry darlin, you'll find her name, blue moon etc, and then tell me he couldn't sing! I would never say he's been the best but I would say he's without a doubt my favorite, with Duffy not to far behind @ #2.....Spruce dont get mad at me lets just agree to disagree ok?.....I still love to read your statements on wood....may God bless..RJ

jim simpson

Jan-26-2005, 8:07pm

I like Bill Monroe

John Flynn

Jan-27-2005, 4:20am

I love his shock absorbers, especially the Monroe-matic. He really made automotive history!

John Flynn

Jan-27-2005, 4:21am

I would even say without Mr. Bill we wouldn't even be talking about loars, gibsons etc.....
And that's a good thing?

ourgang

Jan-27-2005, 4:49am

Monroe may not have been the best singer or the best mandolin player but what he did lent itself very well to his music. Monroe was the master. He never forgot who bought the gas for his bus. When he finished his set, he would hand his mandolin off to one of the band members and head for the crowd. He'd stay in that crowd until everyone got a shake and howdy, everyone got all the pictures they wanted, and when the crowd was done, he would go back to the bus, but not until. Monroe never cancelled a show because he had a cold or the flu or broken bones. I saw him several years ago in Cincinnati after he just broken his wrist. He cut enough of the cast away so that he could play, not so with today's sissy players. Monroe had a love for the music and the fans and all he wanted to do was entertain. Had it not been for Monroe, the mandolin would have died out just like all the other ancient instruments. Monroe was, is and always will be the "Master of Bluegrass".

evanreilly

Jan-27-2005, 6:53am

Here is a little thing I wrote about Bill the Day after he died. Bill Monroe Tribute (http://world.std.com/~ereilly/monroe.html).
There are a great many fans of Bill Monroe who hang around the cafe. Whether or not Monroe is perceived as a good, bad or indifferent musician, he took what was a 'parlor' instrument and gave it a whole new image and role.
Here is one of my favorite pics of William Smith Monroe, who is playing Charlie Derrington's Gibson F-5 in this picture. The guy on the left is a big fan of Bill's!!!

Old Red

Jan-27-2005, 7:58am

Hey Evan,

That's a great picture of you with Bill. #I remember a workshop you did with Bill at Peaceful Valley 91. #After the workshop was over, Bill shook everyone's hand. #When he got to me, he said, "Take good care of that mandolin, now." #

Anyone who thinks that Bill was a musical simpleton should take a crack at "Blue Grass Special" or
"Blue Grass Part One" the way Bill played them. #He knew what made an old time tune work, and he knew how to pare it down to the essence. #Listen to "Dusty Miller" or "Turkey in the Straw", and check out his right hand on tunes like "Blue Grass Breakdown" (Columbia version), especially the last mandolin break. Bill may be an acquired taste, but he's one worth acquiring if you want to learn bluegrass. I've never regretted the many hours I've spent listening to and trying to play his music.

Andy

Darryl Wolfe

Jan-27-2005, 8:17am

Speaks for itself...thanks to whoevers pic it is

evanreilly

Jan-27-2005, 8:20am

Andy:
Thanks for the good memory...
I know you are a big fan of WSM also....
Now, the real clue to Monroe's playing is that he was a wanna-be old-time fiddler who got stuck with the mandolin. His older brother Birch took up the fiddle, and the baby, Bill, got stuck with the mandolin.
I have an live show where Bill states how he likes BLue Grass and all that, but he really loves playing old-time fiddle tunes, like the one's Andy mentioned above.

evanreilly

Jan-27-2005, 8:25am

That is the classic 'Air-brush Special' picture; it was a Decca promo picture originally. It is the same as the picture on the album cover of The High, Lonesome Sound, with the Woolworth $.79 sticker (or some such) on the peghead.

Jonathan Reinhardt

Jan-27-2005, 8:46am

so we're all playing ancient instruments? got a good laugh from that one.
Bill Monroe was unique. He came from the older time music. But one of the things that makes his music different is how he and his contemporaries turned it from group participatory or small gathering events into a stage presentation event - a new kind of show. It seems to have been a smooth transition, although at that point I was too young to know. Most importantly, he retained that intimate connection to the audience by spending time off stage with them. It is wonderful to see that tradition carried on today.

rasa

Pete Martin

Jan-27-2005, 11:09am

"That is the classic 'Air-brush Special' picture"

THAT'S how they made him look like Cindy Crawford...

mandodan22

Jan-27-2005, 11:40am

I just finished reading a biography on Bill called CANT YOU HEAR ME CALLING by #Richard D Smith. It was written shortly after his death, Not all sugar and spice thats for sure, but very interesting .I read it in two days.
I probably know as much as most bluegrass fans about WSM but there were some stories that really affected me and the way I think about him.
Has any body else read it? I think it could have been controversial when it came out.
Bill was a genius no doubt .
But he was more than that' The way he went through band members and held grudges ,It's hard to imagine the great music that could have been that we all missed out on.

cutbait2

Jan-27-2005, 12:26pm

i also read it. i found it overly gushing and it whitewashed over alot of Bill's character flaws, but a good time line of his career. otherwise.....and I say that as a great fan of Bill, warts aside. i get to pick with a former BG every couple weeks or so, to him BM was the greatest, but suffered no fools.......

Spruce

Jan-27-2005, 12:36pm

"i found it overly gushing and it whitewashed over alot of Bill's character flaws"

Check out Butch Robin's book too...
It'll give you a whole 'nother slant on things....

mandodan22

Jan-27-2005, 12:44pm

I didnt see it "gushing".
The fact that a few subjects were even touched on ,like Bills relationship with his daughter was fairly gutsy.
The way he acted with Peter Rowan I thought spoke volumes.
I'm surprised Peter speaks so highly of Bill.

mandodan22

Jan-27-2005, 12:46pm

SPRUCE
Do you remember the name of that book?
How bad was it between Butch and Bill?

Spruce

Jan-27-2005, 1:33pm

"Do you remember the name of that book?"

It's called "What I Know 'Bout What I Know: The Musical Life of an Itinerant Banjo Player" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1410767094/qid=1106860870/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/104-6081177-6797510) and is a great read....

"How bad was it between Butch and Bill?"

They loved each other like father and son....

evanreilly

Jan-27-2005, 2:38pm

And Peter still speaks reverently about William Smith Monroe.
I once asked Bill about the 'other' song he and Peter supposedly co-wrote. Bill stared off for a long time and replied something to the effect he'd like to help Peter. I was never sure if Bill remembered the song, tho.
And every time I asked Peter to play it, he said it wasn't in current repertoire.....
And, just in case you wondered.... the song is 'It's Love', recorded by Earth Opera.

cutbait2

Jan-27-2005, 2:40pm

as far as I know Bill might have been an angel compared to other country stars

Jan-27-2005, 3:10pm

Bill may not have a clear toned voice but i think its the best of the best. Exspecially for bluegrass. Just think bluegrass as of now wouldn't be here without Monroe. Skaggs wouldn't be pickin those mournful sounds without Monroe. The music world would be a different place.

J. Mark Lane

Jan-27-2005, 3:23pm

I'm with you, Mike. I actually like his singing even better than his mandolin playing, and I do like the latter very much.

Evan, I enjoy seeing that picture (seen it before, enjoyed it then, too). Man, those 70's haircuts...or was that in the 90's? (Ha ha ha).

I got a chuckle over that comment about Peter Rowan. I suspect Bill might have had a, shall we say, less than high approval rate of Peter's, shall we say, fondness for various...substances? Just a wild guess....

Mark

mandodan22

Jan-27-2005, 4:11pm

PETER...SINCE I'M MAD AT YOU YOUR GOING TO HAVE TO SING BACK UP TO MY BOY JAMES.
COULD YOU IMAGINE..?

GTison

Jan-27-2005, 5:07pm

I guess it is always hard for me to see my hero's character flaws displayed so I can see them. Makes me feel conflicted somehow. I didn't like BM for a long time. But later someone challenged me to study it closer. I fell in love and have never been the same. He was just a man though, full of flaws. Brings it all down to earth doesn't it.

Moose

Jan-28-2005, 8:02am

One of the last times I saw WSM in-person was at an outdoor park in Pa. - After the/his show, he came out and sat in a folding chair at the stage door ; there were folks lined-up for autographs, pics,..., etc. - I stood at a distance and took notice of the "mix" of those in line ; I took note of senior citizens with "walkers".., hippie-type(no offence intended).., middle-aged/class "blue-collars", "professional" types, teenagers... - many "dads' had their kids either in their arms or on their shoulders... Bill stayed 'till everyone got what the came for : to see and shake hands with "the master" - I regret that I did not have my camera... - THAT scene would speak a thousand words.. IMHO.. Moose. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Spruce

Jan-28-2005, 9:57am

Moose

Jan-28-2005, 10:20am

Great story! Thanks for sharing.

Peter Hackman

Jan-29-2005, 11:31am

Last time there was a Monroe thread I was ridiculed for at least trying
to contribute, so I've hesitated to join. Now that the thread
has grown to 31 posts I take the risk.

I see the exact place Monroe and his music have in my heart. Hadn't
been for Bluegrass music I would never have picked up the mandolin
in 1966. I had heard all of Monroe's LPs by then and I believe
he was the first BG act I ever heard, on a country music
sampler in 1961 or 62. Or maybe Flatt and Scruggs.
(the first live act was the Stanley Bros. in early 66 - Carter Stanley
was marked by his illness and its causes)

My focus for some reason had narrowed since I started playing the
guitar in 1958. Perhaps I felt this was a music I could actually master.
I devoured it. In 1969 I heard my first BG festivals. I watched Monroe
with one sorry group at Bean Blossom, at Berryville, and at the Ryman.
Glimpses of greatness were to be had only with his
ex-associates, notably J Martin, D McCoury, and Mac Wiseman.

Monroe had 10 groups at his festival and my impression was there aren't
that many groups that are even half-way good. BG seemed like a provincial
music, and a thing of the past. I was actually witnessing
the beginning of a process. But I lost interest, for the most part.

Since then BG has been but one part of my background, something I try to incorporate in my playing along with lots of other influences.
I like the old mixolydian and the blues, I loved Monroe's emphasis of the fiddle,
I've always enjoyed his singing, although
my role model in those days was Duffy and the Country Gentlemen.
(I actually met Duffy three times, twice in his shop, and once at a party
in Silver Springs, Maryland. Also heard him sub twice for J Gaudreau,
although he had left the group.Quite a character,very friendly though)

I realize today, whatever you've heard, whatever has impressed you
at one time is part of yourself, you can't just throw it away.
I adopted some of Monroe's blues ideas, but with a freer phrasing
(the jazz and Western Swing influence), and some of the fiddle
tunes (in the mixolydian). I always thought it was odd that he
reserved his melodic imagination almost exclusively for his
instrumentals. I still play the Lonesome Moonlight Waltz
and Crossing the Cumberlands, purely as a mandolin piece,
with a locked g on the third course, to emulate the banjo.
I still get ideas, or, perhaps, ideers from his music.

I am aware of his limitations, therefore also of his originality.
I don't want to belittle him and I don't want
to put him on a pedestal, as music is always and only music to me.

And I don't hear the "astonishing versatility" that
Smith raves about in his book - actually, as ususal with journalists,
I find most of his comments on the music woefully
inadequate and confusing.

Moose

Jan-29-2005, 1:11pm

Mr. Hackman : That is an excellent, well-put & most objectice post ; thanks for sharing it. (I agree.., by the way!)- Moose. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

jmcgann

Jan-29-2005, 2:38pm

Bill Monroe- either you "get it" or you don't.

I used to didn't "get it".

I was looking for stuff I was hearing "today" in his playing, and it's always a mistake to put something down for what it isn't instead of really fully seeing what it IS. Now I get it, it took time and some wising up on my part, and his music now has a huge place in my musical universe.

Anybody who complains he's sloppy or out of tune or anything like that is missing th epoint (I know, I used to do it!) It's like asking to have the garlic removed from the sauce. SO WHAT!?! You wanna just eat cream o'wheat your whole life? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif There's lots of vanilla shakes available in the mandolin world (and I love them), but I also love the incredible range of emotion I hear in Mr. Monroe's music, everything from tender to punch your lights out; from a hand on your shoulder to a middle finger and groin kick.

Now, that's one HUMAN being.

You want smooth and clean all the time? I don't have to tell you who to listen to.

You wanna hear a STORY, LIFE is somebody's playing? Look no further.

Not to imply that smooth=soulless or anything like that. It's just that with Mr. Bill Monroe, you are dealing with a different set of emotional cards.

Those Bear Family boxes are some powerful listening. So is that original bluegrass band with Flatt and Scruggs. I wonder how many players out there who put down Bill have really checked that stuff out beyond a cursory glance...

Mike Bunting

Jan-29-2005, 5:11pm

That says it for me, thanks John. In a world of cheesy TV formed emotions, Monroe is just REAL.:)

evanreilly

Jan-29-2005, 5:13pm

"Now, that John McGann, he plays a parh'ful lot of notes." WSM <G>

Jan-29-2005, 6:32pm

Im enjoying reading every post. Good time Good time.:)

Fretbear

Jan-29-2005, 8:10pm

It has to be in context as well; you won't find a bad mandolin note on the recording(s) of "The Original Bluegrass Band" (with Flatt & Scruggs) or with his brother Charlie as "The Monroe Brothers" and as for his singing are we talking about the inimitable "A Voice From on High" or the countless dreadful vocal scrapings found on many other recordings. (I am a fan by the way.....)

jmcgann

Jan-30-2005, 4:54am

Evan, I just figured out a note to leave out. I tied a string around the finger that plays it so's I'll remember... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Spruce

Jan-30-2005, 11:35am

You know, it's funny that when a lot of players came along in the 60's-70's who were throwing in some "weird" phrasing or wild notes, they were written off by some as being too "out there"...

Sam and Dawg come to mind...

But if you listen to some of the solos that Mr. Bill took throughout his whole career (especially in live performance), there's some just crazy stuff that he plays....

Live versions of "Wayfarring Stranger" #from about '66-68 come to mind...
All those upstroke harmonics and spooky phrasing....

I mean, the guy was wacked, and yet I think most people view him as a rather conservative player with a ton of soul...

Maybe it was the suit and hat... # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

jmcgann

Jan-30-2005, 5:34pm

Yeah Bruce- i heard some live stuff c.1963 or so that is truly avant-garde!

mrbook

Jan-30-2005, 7:11pm

A few months ago, I talked with an older guy who listened to Monroe in the 1940s. "We didn't take to him right away," he said, "He was kind of radical..." Now it's traditional. It just takes time.

The books by Richard Smith and Butch Robins are both essential, as is Jom Rooney's BOSSMEN: BILL MONROE AND MUDDY WATERS. The personal stories don't diminish Monroe a bit in my eyes - they only explain a few things I suspected from observation. These guys are my heroes, but they are human, too. It's also nice that some of those stories didn't circulate too much in his lifetime. Unlike politicians, bluegrass and country musicians sometimes get a little privacy regarding their private lives - although most seem to have lives filled with juicy stories.

Peter Hackman

Jan-31-2005, 12:16am

Oh, by the way, Britsh magazine Country Music People has a nice article
about Monroe in the latest issue. It centers on Monroe's UK tour in 1975.

evanreilly

Jan-31-2005, 8:41am

I must add an essential book to the one's mentioned above, all of which I have, of course.
One of the best, most in-depth and scholarly books relating to Bill Monroe is Tom Ewing's The Bill Monroe Reader (http://www.press.uillinois.edu/f00/ewing.html).
Tom was not only Monroe's last 'guitar man' for 10 years, but has been the writer of the the Bluegrass Unlimited historical column for a long time. He may well be the most authoritative source for Monrovian history.
And at present Tom has been travelling around the country doing research on the lesser-known periods of Monroe's early career for his authoritative biography of Bill Monroe, also to be published and released by the University of Illinois press.

GTison

Feb-02-2005, 8:10am

Is Tom playing with anyone now? He's a nice fellow. He put some of the old songs back when he played w/ BM. I liked Bill's music while he was there. Maybe more than when W. Lewis was there. Seems like when Baker was there bill never played as many solos or breaks. Bill loved the fiddle I think. Tom has a smooth voice and style. It was different at first but still good.

hhvolfan

Feb-02-2005, 11:52am

There are a lot of things that can be said about Bill Monroe. Best mandolin player ever, is not one of them. I mean no disrespect to the man, but there are a lot of musicians out there today that can not only play better than Bill Monroe, they play licks that Monroe couldn't even dare attempt.

Saying that Bill Monroe is the best simply because he came up with Bluegrass music is like saying that the Model A is a better car than todays models, because Henry Ford designed it. Bill was the pioneer of Bluegrass music, his life's work has been an inspiration to many. I fully respect his abilities and his talent, his music is what many of us learned from. He deserves a spot at the top for sure, but in my opinion, he's not the best ever.

As a matter of fact, It would be hard for me to pick "The Best". I have several nominations, and all my nominees are limited to Bluegrass, simply because that's all I know.

Ronnie McCoury, Sam Bush, Chris Thile, Adam Steffey, Alan Bibey, Wayne Benson and Ricky Skaggs.

All these are excellent musicians, and I would almost bet that they were all inspired to some degree by Bill Monroe.

Just my Opinion, hh

Spruce

Feb-02-2005, 12:22pm

"All these are excellent musicians, and I would almost bet that they were all inspired to some degree by Bill Monroe."

Going out on a limb there, aren't you hh?? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Welcome to the Café!...

GTison

Feb-02-2005, 12:43pm

I still digin monroe here! Here now try to get into some Bill Monroe, man.

you know I'm listening to bluegrass on the net. ALOT of it sounds the same. It sure is hard to come up with a bluegrass style that is unique today. Lots of " Doodlly doodly doodaly do" on the mandolin, whinning dobro, bluesey banjo licks, and common voices. Yeah LOTS OF EM CAN PUT MORE NOTES IN A SONG no doubt there, BUT what's the point? Gets to be like who can play the video game the best. It makes me be pretty introspective about what I'm doin playing the mandolin. Playin and singing someone elses songs. Bill Monroe IS the best. the rest are just chasing His dream...

mandopete

Feb-02-2005, 12:48pm

One other perspective on Mr. Bill...Mike Compton seems to regard Monroe's playing from more of a blues perspective. To me, that really sums up the emotion and to large extent the sonic vocabulary (how do ya like that one!) I hear in Monroe's music. Just think of him playing in the context of a Robert Johnson or Muddy Waters. It starts to take on a whole new meaning.

Now don't even get me starting on his concept of time. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Moose

Feb-02-2005, 3:21pm

Yeah!!!..."sonic vocabulary"!! - I'm gonna' drop this at my Friday nite "jam-session" - tell 'em I read it in...a book. hee.. hee.. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

Jmoss

Feb-02-2005, 3:50pm

SPRUCE, i would agree in his later years but not in the early years. go listen to the original cry cry darlin, you'll find her name, blue moon etc, and then tell me he couldn't sing! #I would never say he's been the best but I would say he's without a doubt my favorite, with Duffy not to far behind @ #2.....Spruce dont get mad at me lets just agree to disagree ok?.....I still love to read your statements on wood....may God bless..RJ

Hi RJ...

My tongue was firmly in my cheek when I made it sound like I was dissing Mr. Bill...

Nothing could be further from the truth....

To me, he's one of the solid cornerstones of modern music, period.

I recently ran across an old reel-to-reel tape of a radio broadcast of Bill with the BGB at the Great American Music Hall in SF in late '77, and what a joy it was to relive that evening.

He played "Right, Right On", saying that it was the first time they ever played the tune.

But a really cool part of the show was after he broke a string on "My Little Georgia Rose" and was handed the opening band's mandolin while his was being restrung.
He did a few short upstroke Gmin chords, and then ripped a sizzling "Kentucky Mandolin" on an unfamiliar mandolin.

Needless to say, it sounded just like Bill. #I think that mando could have been an Ibanez and it would have sounded the same. #

That man's hands had so much tone it them...
I was there. If I remember correctly that was also a Loar
that he was handed. I also don't believe it was broadcasted,
but either recorded by me or if it is only one set then recorded
from a room back stage to a reel to reel. Even thought Bill
would let anyone record the show, there was one time that
an MCA rep caught someone with a line feed to a reel to reel
back stage and broke that up. Bill went along with it to
back MCA. That said, I had my cassette running on the
board mix from the console and no one ever noticed that.

If you want to hear and study what turns peoples props
about Monroe, you need to listen to the 1950's live
recordings as well as the 48 to 47 reissues without
the added reverb put on the LPs. Monroe's voice was
solid there and is mandolin playing on live breaks
of On and On have so much depth that it is hard for
mandolin players to even hear it let alone play it.
It is what is wonderful about Monroe and Baker both,
that the more you study it the further from it you get.
Their playing offers a lifetime of inspiration for those
who take the time to seek it out. The bends, the subtle
inflections... When you tire of all the rest, Bill will
still challenge you. He is the only mandolin player
that Frank Wakefield will listen to.

Jim Moss
FWB

Spruce

Feb-02-2005, 4:24pm

"I also don't believe it was broadcasted,
but either recorded by me or if it is only one set then recorded
from a room back stage to a reel to reel."

They broadcast the first set live on KNEW, and interrupted it several times for station IDs...
(Thankfully, no songs interrupted).
It's on the reel-to-reel tape that I only recently discovered at the bottom of a box...

And at the end of that set, the DJ did a classic interview with WSM which was also broadcast...
It's a great listen to hear Mr. Bill bristle when the DJ says something like "I know you didn't invent Bluegrass music"...

The second set was not broadcast to my knowledge, and might have originated from your tape, as the quality is totally different...

"It is what is wonderful about Monroe and Baker both,
that the more you study it the further from it you get."

Ain't that the solid truth....

mandopete

Feb-02-2005, 4:39pm

It's a great listen to hear Mr. Bill bristle when the DJ says something like "I know you didn't invent Bluegrass music"...
Yeah, go ask Louise Scruggs!

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Spruce

Feb-03-2005, 11:28am

Hey, does someone have a way of hosting a 11:38 long MP3 of an "interview" with "Bill Monroe" and "Lester Flatt", with Glen Ducan and Charlie Van doing their incredible Mr. Bill and Lester impersonations?

This recording is a hilarious scream, and I think everyone would enjoy hearing it (about 10 times!)...

Ducan and Van just nail Bill and Lester, with all their signiture traits...
At one point, they crack themselves up so much they can barely keep it together...

Lots of material there to work with, too... #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif #

Who are these guys, anyway? #(Glen and Charlie, that is)...
I hadn't heard of them till I got this CD....

abram

Feb-03-2005, 6:14pm

"If you want to hear and study what turns peoples props
about Monroe, you need to listen to the 1950's live
recordings"

Funny you should write that, I just got my hands on two of those from bluegrassbox-they're awesome. I'd never realized how great of a song "bile them cabbage down" was until hearing Bill do it.

Does anyone know who the guy telling jokes the whole way through the set would have been in 1954?

"I went down to the restaurant and ate so much chicken I'm in foul shape!"
"I asked the waitress, you got them frog legs? She said no, I just walk like that!"

great stuff

Scotti Adams

Feb-03-2005, 7:27pm

Not Sure who Charlie is but Glen is a fiddle player who done his stint with Monroe I think in the late 80's....he went on to be a highly sought after studio musician....Hes played with everybody from Doyle lawson to Reba McIntire...I think he was even apart of Rebas band for awhile. Most recently he was apart of the super group Long View now he fronts his own band Rock County....which may actually be broke up by now.

Moose

Feb-04-2005, 9:29am

Hey Scotti ; this is off-topic but worth telling 'cause it's a "Sonny(ism) - Few years ago I saw Sonny and Bob at a Festival ; they had David Crow playin' fiddle ; Sonny introduced him(David) with these words... "...we got to leave right after the show 'cause I promised David's mom we would have him back for school tomorrow morning. He's in his last year at Law Schol. Would'nt 'ya know he's on the payroll of two 'ol boys that never graduated from high school!" - God bless Sonny and Bob - now back to the regular program... hee.. hee.. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

Scotti Adams

Feb-04-2005, 9:39am

..I bet the Brothers mom told Mon to have Sonny back before school the next morning...after all he was only 14 yrs old...

Moose

Feb-04-2005, 10:31am

Yup!.... hee.. hee... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

csstanley

Feb-04-2005, 10:58am

I picked up a double disk set from the Library of Congress on Bill Monroe and his mandolin playing. The first disk is an interview type show with Bill and John Hartford(?) and the second with Sam Bush doing some of the songs. Some of you may have seen this.

I got it because I was getting a mando for Christmas and wanted something to help me along. I knew of Bill before I started playing but really never listened to him much. At least not like I do now anyway.

In the sit down interview, Bill said something astounding to me that many artists wouldn't dare stand on today.

John asked him why the Bluegrass boys look the way that they do. Bill said basically that he wanted them to look like somebody. He didn't want them to look like they just fell off the back of a truck and then gonna try and entertain people.

Some of you may not care much about that but I think it has a deeper meaning than what he just said. Music is more than just playing music. Its about how you present yourself to people and an underlying notion that Bill was a deeply religious man. I believe that his faith in God and how he desired to portray himself in front of an audience very much carried this man to a higher plateau than many other artists today.

And this isn't meant to be offensive to any artists here. Its just an observation. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Bill, Charlie, Birch, Ralph, Carter all have DEEPER meanings to me than just names at the end of songs. Its called heritage and honor.

Moose

Feb-04-2005, 12:07pm

Exactly - Thanks for sharing.

mandodebbie

Feb-04-2005, 6:08pm

Duh..... is he related to Marilyn Monroe??? I think she played ukelayee.... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

evanreilly

Feb-04-2005, 9:21pm

To answer Abram's question about the comic in the 1954 live show, it may have been 'Uncle Puny'.

futrconslr

Feb-04-2005, 11:25pm

How did Big Mon come to play those monster arpeggios that is so linked with his style? Seems awfully sophistacted for a sloppy,no-good, hillybilly hack. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

I would like to know that though. One of my favorite things I ever read about Monroe was a quote from Compton that basically said he thought he would start with Monroe and then after he mastered that he would move on to the other guys!!!! I think he would tell you that he is still working on Munroes style even though IMO he plays it in some ways better than Monroe did. Mr.Bill is where its at. The cool thing about listening to his music is that I hear some different nuance everytime I pop those cds into the player. I can barely remember seeing him play at the opry with my grandparents back in the 70s. I wish I had got to see him when I had more of an appreciation for his stuff.

Spruce

Feb-05-2005, 11:50am

"I think he would tell you that he is still working on Munroes style #even though IMO he plays it in some ways better than Monroe did."

I sure hear this a lot...

The Monroe/Compton comparison, that is...

And yet, every time I hear Compton I hear a very distinct and recognizable style that obviously borrows from Monroe, but is a whole lot more removed from WSM than a lot of other players out there these days....
Especially on the F4 he's been playing lately...

Frankmc

Feb-05-2005, 12:11pm

I just got the DVD set with Monroe/Hartford/Bush also. Started watching it this morning with my 11 yr old niece. Her comments....
" Wow! That is so cool. Look how his little finger flicks out once in a while."

and..

" Isn't he a little old to be playing that fast?"

I do believe she's seen the light!~

Frankmc

csstanley

Feb-05-2005, 1:09pm

Frank, that is an awesome DVD set. Don't ya agree?

Hartford asked him one time why he didn't use his pinky. I assume referring to watching it flail like your neice noticed.

Bill said, "I don't need it." I like to fell out of my chair when I heard him say that. Like jees, why use when you don't need it?

Frankmc

Feb-05-2005, 1:31pm

LOL, Bill does have long fingers so I need to use my pinky where he may not. It's really a study in economy of motion to see his hands work. I thought I new the tunes from the TAB, but Tab just does not convey the hand motion and subtle inflections you see live.
These are going to be in my DVD player a least a year!

Frankmc

bflat

Feb-05-2005, 4:52pm

re- pinky; i believe Bill was meaning he didn't go up the neck alot; which seems to be evident in transcriptions of his music

re- Bill and religion, while he may? have had a strong faith, i've not heard much of it in the writings on his life, singing gospel music doesn't necessarily translate to being a faithful christian. I think the main drivers in his life were a ruthless pursuit his music and similar pursuit of women

re- Bill and his outfits; apparently he was very sensitive about being portrayed as a "hillbilly" and wished to be as far from that persona as possible. hence hat, tie, etc

no offense meant this is just what i've gathered from reading the available material on his life, there are some here who spent time around the man, maybe they could add..

re: vocals and music - its had to imagine how someone can say his vocals weren't good or his picking was simple; you really have to break it all down by periods i think