Non-traditional Mandolin Sightings

[John Flynn]

I am not a huge commercial country music fan and I don't really spend a lot of time watching CMT, but occasionally I will dwell on it a litte while flipping channels. In years past, I have noticed, as has been remarked on this site many times, that mandolin sightings with major country groups have been surprisingly rare.

This week, just flipping around, I have spotted two and both were not "bluegrassy" groups, nor were they playing bluegrassy mandos. One was Bon Jovi, who is apparently "going country." In the video of thier new single, "Have a Nice Day," a member of their backup band, not Richie Sambora, was playing an Ovation mando.

Then tonite, I spotted a group called "Sugarland," whose lead player was working on a Rigel G-110 in their video. I checked out thier website and the guy is Kristian Bush (good last name for a mando player!) and the site showed him playing a Breedlove.

Is this a trend? I don't know, but I always like to see the instrument get out in front in new and different ways, even if it is in genres I am not passionate about.

[RI-Grass]

Watch closely and you'll see a number of mandos showing up on CMT and VH1 Country. Gretchen Wilson shows a little mando in her parlor setting for "I don't feel like loving you today." Dixie Chicks, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, and others have more recently shown fleeting glimpses of mandolins.
I love the Rodney Crowell, "Earthboud" video even if the mando is shown only sparingly.

[F5G WIZ]

One group known quite well for their Mando playing is Diamond Reo and I've heard that they can Jam on some BG pretty good. Seen a video with Shania Twain with a Mando player. Of course classic Zeplin had some Mando as well.

[mandopete]

...well, if they add the cow bell, then they'll really have something!

[Steve Perry]

One group known quite well for their Mando playing is Diamond Reo and I've heard that they can Jam on some BG pretty good.

I believe Diamond Rio started out as a Bluegrass group. #The Bass player (I think) is Bobby and Sonny Osborne's nephew.

[Tom C]

Gene Johnson plays mando with Diamond Rio I believe. Darn great player.

[VictorLouis]

I believe the Bon Jovi video you saw was from their "Crossroads" edition where they paired-up with Sugarland. Thus, that was Kris Bush you saw backing them, I believe using an Ovation.

The guy with Diamond Rio looks to be playing a Rigel.

[mandocrucian]

Non-traditional Mandolin

Please define this term in more detail, and it what is the trad. context you are using.

There was mandolin in country music before there ever was something called "bluegrass". And young Bill Monroe in the 1920's and 1930's was just another one of those "country music" mandolin players. And just because he came up with his own particular variant of country music which became a sub-genre of it's own, didn't mean that all country mandolin players went his route or that all Americana mandolin playing automatically became "bluegrass".

Although the electric guitar and pedal steel became the dominant instruments in "country" music, there was always mandolin lurking in the shadows and around the edges... Ira Louvin, Fred Maddox, Leo Raley, Johnny Gimble, Tiny Moore, Paul Buskirk, Jethro, James Burton, Albert Lee, Bernie Leadon...... I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Roger Miller and Don Rich didn't plunk on 8-strings now and then. I know Clarence White did, and he was just as important, if not more-so, as an electric guitarist as he was a bluegrass acoustic guitar player.

NH

[mrbook]

Gene Johnson (of Diamond Rio) played with J.D. Crowe and many others, and was the subject of an article in Bluegrass Unlimited a couple years ago. There are bluegrass people doing Nashville studio work to make a living, and many modern country performers appreciate bluegrass even if they don't play. More surprisingly, there are musicians raised on bluegrass who actually prefer playing the modern pop-country that I and many others here do not think much of. They don't have to give up the mandolin to do it.

[John Flynn]

Please define this term in more detail, and it what is the trad. context you are using.
Sorry, Captain Semantics, it was just an expression. I didn't mean to set off any alarms! Although it seems the other posters figured it out.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[DryBones]

I am learning that anything left-handed is non-traditional! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[ManjoMan]

Jimmy Olander of Diamond Rio is not only a fantastic guitar player, but a heck of a banjo picker. He used to live here in Michigan about 25-30 years ago and I used to go and jam with him at the music store he worked for at the time. I also got to play a couple of shows with him and the local group out of Ohio he played banjo for. If he could only remember me??!!

[mandocrucian]

Sorry, Captain Semantics, it was just an expression. I didn't mean to set off any alarms! Although it seems the other posters figured it out.

It was no problem "figuring it out", but I dind't buy into the accuracy of the expression non-traditional and whatever connotations that implied.

Amazing how semantics can 'spin' the context. For example by substituting just one word so that it reads....

Non-formulaic Mandolin Sightings, FWIW.

NH