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I saw these guys perform together several years ago, just the two of them. They played for two solid hours and it was one of the most exciting and dynamic performances I've ever seen. I'm really...

Just picked up Bryan Sutton's latest. Wow! I believe the opening track, Cricket on the Hearth, may be the best recording of a fiddle tune ever. And the cd just gets better from there. Nice...

Thanks Bernie, and good points. If Adam Steffey borrowed Nick’s $600 mandolin for a gig, how many people in the audience would even notice? What if he had to use an Ultex instead of his Blue Chip? ...

My first thought as well. Generally in stories like this there's another side that isn't being told. If his playing wasn't welcomed by other residents, that could cause problems.

That was a TD 50. He wants to try a TD 40 because he thinks it'll produce a little bit brighter tone. He had a TD 35 at one point and it was way too thin. Nick prefers the teardrop shape but likes...

Replace "Practicing Scales" with "Playing By Ear" and I'd agree with him completely.

Scales are useful, but only in the sense that they enhance a player’s ability to make music. In and of...

You might give some Monels a shot. There's a good thread about them here. We've really enjoyed the Martin Monels on guitar and are going to try the Gibson version on mandolin soon.

Great news! We finally got in contact with Matt Miller and he is still making these picks on a limited basis, but is interested in expanding his operation if the demand is there. He and Nick are...

GREAT interview! One of my favorite parts is where each kid lists their goals, and looking back, you realize they’ve accomplished many of them. They were specific, too. Sierra wanted to become the...

I'm looking forward to hearing that John Denver tribute. We have Scratch Gravel Road (also featuring Rick Farris on mandolin and vocals, basically the same lineup as above with a different bass...

As you can see from my first picture above, we brought Nick's guitar with us. Juuuust in case he found one he liked better, and we wanted to make a deal. Stan correctly identified it as a Bourgeois...

My son and I just visited Mandolin Bros. last week. We were vacationing in Point Pleasant, NJ and thought we’d make the trip up. Spent about five hours there before heading back.

We found them...

Same here! In fact I hadn't followed him for several years but something about his name stuck with me, and when I recently saw a video of him playing with Joy Kills Sorrow I thought, "Is that the...

Case in point, here's a nice video of Jake playing some Gospel music with his family when he was 13. For the tradition-minded folks. I bet he could still play like this if the situation called for...

That reminds me of another crucial element of improvisation: fearlessness. If you’re going to learn to improvise, you have to get over your fear of making mistakes. You have to be willing to crash...

I would say yes, but also add that an audience wants to connect with the performer, and a little bit of connection goes a long way. The quality of the music is secondary to that connection for the...

You’re going to get a lot of good suggestions but the one thing I’ll emphasize is: develop your ear. Start figuring out melodies by ear, and always know the chord progression and what chord you’re...

Another thing I would encourage you to do is to watch as many live performances as you can, and really pay attention to what they're doing. There are a lot of "complete show" videos on youtube now...

Here's a serious question - if Ricky Skaggs is in the recording studio and he gets a word wrong, who's going to tell him?

Yes! Thank you! Don’t play unless you can add something. Bluegrass hates redundancy almost as much as it hates poor timing and minor chords. Unfortunately many jammers come to jam, not make good...

My son Nick and I had the pleasure of meeting James Alan Shelton last year and he was very friendly and complimentary of Nick’s playing. We talked about guitar stuff, what kind of strings he used,...

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet but Adam recently got a Henderson A-style. I asked him about it last year and he said he ordered an A so he'd get it quicker.

Saw him again a couple weeks ago...

That’s Jason “Sweet Tater” Tomlin. These guys put on a killer show and the choreography around the condenser is a big part of it. They were a lot of fun to watch, and listen to.

It can be done but you have to figure out how to deal with the monitors. Monitors are really what kill this type of setup.

Junior Sisk has a great stage setup that uses a condenser. One big...

Yep. Melody comes first when improvising this style of music, whether it’s a vocal tune or a fiddle tune. I would focus on learning how to play melodies by ear, and always know what chord you’re...