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mandopete
Aug-15-2008, 11:43am
NOTE: #This is the NEW, improved polling process, see notes below

This week the IBMA annouced their final ballot choices for 2008. #In general we've seen the same names over and over and I thought it might be a little bit of fun to see who we Cafe members would choose instead.

So we'll roughly follow the same voting format as the IMBA with 2 ballots:

Week 1 - Select up to 5 of your favorite bluegrass mandolin players in 2008 - in no particular order (think of this as the primary election).
Week 2 - I'll compose a list of the top 5 vote getters from week 1 and you will select one of the names from that list (think of this as the general election).

There is only one rule - no flaming. #Let's keep this enjoyable.

This is just for fun, no prizes will be actually awarded.

mandopete
Aug-15-2008, 11:51am
Okay, here's my ballot...

1) John Reischman
2) Adam Steffey
3) Jesse Cobb
4) Mike Henderson
5) Alan Bibey

David Zaruba
Aug-15-2008, 12:03pm
1. John Reischman
2. Doyle Lawson

dave
Aug-15-2008, 12:13pm
Darin Aldridge from "The Circuit Riders"
Sarah Jarosz
Sierra Hull
Jim Richter
Barry Miterhoff

Ted Lehmann
Aug-15-2008, 1:38pm
1)Alan Bibey
2)Darrin Aldridge
3)Adam Steffey
4)Wayne Benson
5)Ashby Frank

I'll probably want to change my mind tomorrow - Ted

Mike Bunting
Aug-15-2008, 1:49pm
Mike Compton
Sam Bush
John Reischman
David Grismam
Andy Statman

bienkow1
Aug-15-2008, 1:51pm
#1.) Mike Compton





Ronnie McCoury
Sam Bush
Adam Steffey
Doyle Lawson

In a very particular order.

Greg H.
Aug-15-2008, 1:54pm
1 Alan Bibey
2 Johnny Staats
3 John Reischman

the rest of my usual picks have already won it (or wouldn't because they're playing too far off shore from BG).

MandoJump
Aug-15-2008, 1:56pm
Jesse Cobb
Sam Bush
Ronnie McCoury
Tim O'Brien
Adam Steffey

PineTar
Aug-15-2008, 2:06pm
Ronnie McCoury
Danny Roberts
Jesse Cobb
Adam Steffey
Wayne Benson

UncleNorm
Aug-15-2008, 2:22pm
Reishman
McCoury
Dan Roberts
Steffy
Compton

pocketbones
Aug-15-2008, 2:46pm
Steffey
Benson
Brock
Compton
Ramsey

man dough nollij
Aug-15-2008, 4:55pm
1) Skaggs
2) Grisman
3) Bush
4) O'Brien
5) Sierra Hull

ALog
Aug-15-2008, 5:54pm
1. Ronnie McCoury
2. Ricky Skaggs
3. Doyle Lawon
4. Sam Bush
5. Jesse Brock

pjlama
Aug-15-2008, 6:04pm
Cobb
McCoury
Lawson
Skaggs
Steffy
This is my Bluegrass list, the OP did say BG.

mandopete
Aug-15-2008, 6:27pm
This is my Bluegrass list, the OP did say BG.
Yep, bluegrass, that's the ticket!

Excellent - KEEP 'EM COMMING

Mandoe
Aug-15-2008, 10:19pm
David Grisman
Sam Bush
Matt Flinner
Andy Statman
Kym Warner

Bradley
Aug-15-2008, 10:30pm
Doyle Lawson
Ricky Skaggs
Mike Compton
Wayne Benson
Alan Bibey

Mike Bullard
Aug-15-2008, 10:57pm
Ronnie McCoury
Andy Leftwich - anyone else heard this guy play?
Mike Compton
Ricky Skaggs
Sierra Hull

Ivan Kelsall
Aug-16-2008, 4:52am
1) John Reischman
2) Herschel Sizemore
3) Ricky Skaggs
4) Ben Winship
5) Adam Steffey,
Saska

Rroyd
Aug-16-2008, 9:30am
Thanks for the new format. I wasn't all that upset with the old one, although I did throw my mandolin out into the yard in reaction to getting to choose only one player with your first poll.
Jesse Cobb
Shawn Lane
Kevin McKinnon
John Moore
Herschel Sizemore

Shelby Eicher
Aug-16-2008, 9:37am
Chris Thile
Andy Leftwich
Adam Steffey
David Grisman
Mike Marshall

mandopete
Aug-16-2008, 9:42am
Interesting results so far.

Remember, if you want your voice to be heard, VOTE!

Bobbie Dier
Aug-16-2008, 9:44am
Mike Compton
Alan Bibey
Wayne Benson
Adam Steffy
Mike Marshall

Not necessarily in that order. They are all # 1 in my book.

Kbone
Aug-16-2008, 10:02am
Aaron Ramsey
Alan Bibey
Chris Thile
Mike Marshall
Ricky Skaggs

Steve Cantrell
Aug-16-2008, 10:10am
1.Mike Compton
2.Ronnie McCoury
3.John Reischman
4.Ricky Skaggs
5.Jesse Cobb

Danny Clark
Aug-16-2008, 11:00am
Doyle Lawson
Danny Roberts
Wayne Benson
Ricky Skaggs
Ronnie MCcoury

Sean Greer
Aug-16-2008, 11:35am
Ricky Skaggs
Chris Thile
Ronnie McCoury
Sam Bush
Doyle Lawson

sgarrity
Aug-16-2008, 9:55pm
1) Mike Compton
2) Ashby Frank
3) Mike Compton
4) John Reischman
5) Mike Compton

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

mandomurph
Aug-16-2008, 11:08pm
Compton
Reischman
Steffey
Lawson
McCoury

Joel Spaulding
Aug-16-2008, 11:18pm
Grisman
Bush
Benson
Ronnie
Ricky

To my knowledge, all the above have played
some Bluegrass in 2008.

Magnus Geijer
Aug-16-2008, 11:24pm
Bruce Harvie (http://www.rockisland.com/~tonewoods/Mangler_of_Bluegrass.html)

Since I'm only submitting one name, I assume it counts five times?

/Magnus

woodwizard
Aug-17-2008, 1:30am
1. Reischman
2. Bush
3. Grisman
4. Skaggs
5. Thile

mandolirius
Aug-17-2008, 2:15am
Sam Bush
John Reischman
Mike Compton
Doyle Lawson
Frank Wakefield

Jonas
Aug-17-2008, 3:15am
Mike Compton
David Long
Roland White
Tim O'Brien
Ronnie McCoury

Fred G
Aug-17-2008, 9:06am
Jesse Cobb
Ronnie Mcoury
Ricky Skaggs
Mike Compton
Sam Bush

Dave Robson
Aug-17-2008, 9:40am
John Reischman
Ronnie McCoury
Mike Compton
Alan Bibey
Andrew Collins

chip
Aug-17-2008, 10:27am
1. Sam Bush (will win again but not my favorite)
2. Ronnie McCoury
3. Ricky Skaggs
4. Doyle Lawson
5. Chip Wittpenn

MandoSquirrel
Aug-17-2008, 4:55pm
I don't care if my voice is heard or not. Do they have to be alive, currently working? Most bluegrass mandolin players are pretty much the same.
My top 5 for Bluegrass:
Bill Monroe
Pee Wee Lambert
Frank Wakefield
Jesse McReynolds
John Duffy

grassrootphilosopher
Aug-18-2008, 6:14am
MandoSquirel,
I like your list.

Since I would think we´re voting for living mandolin players of the year, here´s my addition:
1. Frank Wakefield
2. Herchel Sizemore
3. Jimmy Gaudreau
4. Dick Smith
5. Butch Waller

And that´s a list that contains musicians that ought to have more recognition.

Scott Tichenor
Aug-18-2008, 8:20am
I have the day off today and am spending a few minutes trying to figure out this boards polling software. It actually has ability to conduct polls based on membership, ie., you only get to vote once. If I can figger it out, we'll do one. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

Scott Tichenor
Aug-18-2008, 8:36am
Vote here (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST&f=3&t=56111).

mandopete
Aug-18-2008, 9:14am
Hey Scott - that's cool, thanks!

The idea I was thinking was to try to mimic the IBMA voting process which as it was described has both a "primary" and "general" election. #I though it would be interesting to see which 5 mandolin players out of the entire world were seen as the favorites here on the Cafe. #It's always seemed odd to me that we see the same 5 names, give or take, every year.

mandopete
Aug-18-2008, 10:45am
Very interesting - I just voted using the poll that Scott set up and I notice something odd. #When I looked at the results I see that Sierra Hull is currently tied with Mike Compton for the lead (20%).

What is interesting to me is that she gained very few votes so far in our "primary". #This means that if we held a general election today her name would not even appear on the ballot.

Just goes to show you.

f5gibson
Aug-18-2008, 11:13am
Ronnie McCoury
Ricky Scaggs
Mike Compton
David Long
Adam Steffey

mandopete
Aug-18-2008, 2:51pm
Greetings fellow voters!

I want to point out that this thread and poll is separate from the cool poll that Scott started. #I'm really interested in the IBMA's process. #They use a two stage process that I feel should give some different results. #Please continue to vote here (you get to pick 5!) and we'll have the "general" poll next week based upon the Top 5 vote getters.

thx

Rick Schmidlin
Aug-18-2008, 3:05pm
1)John Reischman (home town favorite, saw him peform in Vancouver last Saturday Night, man was it hot!)
2) Sam Bush ( loved him at Merlefest and love the DVD)
3) The Dawg (for everything he has done)
4)Mike Compton (Saw him at Merlefest, blew me away)
5)Ronnie McCoury ( Saw him L.A, NYC, Vancouver, always a joy. They should be called The Del and Ronnie McCoury Band, sorry fo his brother, but all he is is the banjo player http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif )

strings
Aug-18-2008, 4:39pm
Flinner
Hannigan
Reishman
Bush
McCoury

Col. Suggs
Aug-18-2008, 5:28pm
Sam Bush
Mike Compton
Ronnie McCoury
Tim O'Brien
Ricky Skaggs

mandotrout777
Aug-18-2008, 7:26pm
Sam Bush
Ronnie McCoury
Jesse Cobb
Ricky Skaggs
Lou Reid

Mandomax
Aug-18-2008, 9:05pm
McCoury
Bush
Lawson
Grisman
Wakefield

Pete Braccio
Aug-18-2008, 9:25pm
Bush
McCoury
Compton
Steffy
Grisman

adgefan
Aug-19-2008, 3:44am
Have we had a single nomination for a woman yet? I guess I'd better change that...

1. Charlotte Carrivick
2. Ben Winship
3. Andrew Collins
4. Chris Thile
5. Sam Bush

mandopete
Aug-19-2008, 9:16am
Have we had a single nomination for a woman yet?
3 for Sierra Hull and 1 for Sarah Jarosz.

adgefan
Aug-19-2008, 9:20am
Well, aren't I stupid http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

kyblue
Aug-19-2008, 4:06pm
Jesse Cobb
Jesse Brock
Sam Bush
Jeff Parker
Jimmy Gaudreau

Just going from the IBMA eligibles

but I love Tim O., Compton, Long and others too! And...
oh, never mind.

tango_grass
Aug-19-2008, 5:31pm
Jesse Cobb
Doyle
Ronny McCoury
Mike Marshall
Adam Steffey

mandopete
Aug-20-2008, 9:20am
<bump>

Poll closes Friday, August 22nd.

tango_grass
Aug-20-2008, 5:18pm
Ahh come on Pete...I may be a bump, but I dont think I deserve a nomination.... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

45ACP-GDLF5
Aug-20-2008, 5:35pm
Bobby Osborne
Jesse McReynolds
Frank Wakefield
Doyle Lawson
David Grisman

In no particular order.

All of the other nominees are great pickers, but these 5 have never won IBMA or SPBGMA Mandolin Player of the Year. Their time is WAY past due!!!

Daniel Wheeler
Aug-20-2008, 7:12pm
Adam steffey
Ben Rochester
Chris thile (bg?)
Ms hull
Jesse Cobb

Monte37
Aug-20-2008, 9:55pm
How can anyone do 5 players..

Gotta have the Dawg
How bout Hamilton De Hollanda?
Mike Marshall
Paul Glasse
Kym Warner of the Greencards..lookout!
How can you not say Chris Thile?
How can I not include everyone listed from y'all.
I need a top 20, cuz I haven't even touched the young ones.
Sarah Jaroz
Sierra Hull
Can't do it...

Monte37
Aug-20-2008, 10:24pm
Oops...maybe I stepped out of limits a bit. Hmmm to stay within the bluegrass genre.
Well, does Brazilian bluegrass work, swing or jazz bluegrass..? Naw sorry, but thats my story and stickin to it.

mandopete
Aug-22-2008, 11:13am
<span style='color:red'>This Poll Is Closed!</span>

All right, let's consider this primary poll as closed. #Thanks to everyone that participated. #In total there were 54 names that were placed in nomination as the favorite Bluegrass Mandolin Player for 2008. #

Since we had a tie for the last spot on the roster we'll actually have 6 names to choose from. #Here they are (in alphabetical order)...

Sam Bush
Mike Compton
Ronnie McCoury
John Reischman
Ricky Skaggs
Adam Steffey

...as I think about this a bit these names are already on Scott's poll so I'm not sure we actually need a final ballot or not. Post a comment if you think we need a new thread.

mandolirius
Aug-22-2008, 4:19pm
&lt;...as I think about this a bit these names are already on Scott's poll so I'm not sure we actually need a final ballot or not. Post a comment if you think we need a new thread.&gt;

That's the question I was asking earlier. It seems like the Cafe poll has made this one redundant. This is an observation not a criticism.

mandopete
Aug-22-2008, 4:25pm
Keep in mind the cafe poll was put together by Scott, he picked the 10 names for the list. #At the outset I was curious to see if we would come up with anything in the way of a significantly different list, we didn't.

We did however (IMHO) come up with a different list than the IBMA and that's interesting to me. #For example Sierra Hull's name appears on both the IBMA list and Scott's list. #Nothing against her, she is a talented musician. #But with that said she didn't garner much in way of votes in this poll. #I guess I would question why her name would be on the list.

Just the nature of polls I 'spose!

mandolirius
Aug-22-2008, 5:49pm
I'm of the opinion that any list is bound to generate some buzz based on its omissions. What I liked about your informal poll was that it started out with a blank page. Instead of weighing the relative merits of some choices that were given to me, I had to sit and think about who, of all the great bluegrass mandolin players I would pick. Sam Bush is my favourite bluegrass player and he will always be on any list I come up with. But he's gotten his fair share of accolades in recent years.

The next person I thought of was John Reischman. He's had his band, The Jaybirds, together for about a decade and has produced a handful of wonderful CD's, the most recent in 2007. John Reischman's written a lot of great tunes for the mandolin and the band has put in a lot of miles on the road, so he's been active on the bluegrass scene.

Reischman himself is a "player's player". That is, when I talk to other mandolin players his name often comes up. When I listen to great bluegrass players I'm often impressed. But when I listen to Reischman I often find myself thinking "that's exactly how I'd like to have played that".

I wouldn't exacly call John Reischman un-recognized, but I think he's a bit un-sung. He's also from the west coast and it seems a lot of the winners come from the east, particularly around the Nashville region. It would be refreshing to see an IBMA winner from a different part of the world.

Anyway, those are my reasons for picking John Reischman.

mandopete
Aug-22-2008, 6:08pm
Yes, I believe the IBMA poll starts with a blank slate as well. Again, each process may yield different results. Not to get too much into politics (I won't), but this was the first year I had ever attended a caucus. What was interesting in that process was there was time for discussion about "why" we preferred one candidate over another.

Your reasons for picking John Reischman are the same as mine. He has now recorded 4 CD's with Jaybirds as well as two previous solo releases. As you said, he's a player's player, exemplifying the 3 T's (taste, tone and technique). With his current band he has sucessfully melded elements of both bluegrass and old-time music into an appealling amalgamation. His quiet demeanor may be part of the reason he doesn't get the recognition he deserves.

So perhaps it would more interesting if each of said why we voted for a particular mandolin player.

Clyde Clevenger
Aug-22-2008, 7:21pm
The most popular mandolin player and the best mandolin player are not the same person.

mandolirius
Aug-22-2008, 7:31pm
At that level, there are no "bests"...just favourites. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

JimRichter
Aug-22-2008, 7:55pm
I like this poll better -- I got named twice. Somehow Scott forgot me http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Jim

man dough nollij
Aug-22-2008, 11:31pm
I agree that this poll should go another round to pick the winner-- it's not redundant. Nope.

mandopete
Aug-23-2008, 11:56am
It appears to me that Mike Compton has a pretty considerable lead in Scott's poll and his name was second only to Ronnie McCoury for the most votes here in the primary. I'm not sure we would come up with anything different.

mandopete
Aug-23-2008, 11:58am
The most popular mandolin player and the best mandolin player are not the same person.
Care to elaborate on that Clyde?

mandolirius
Aug-28-2008, 3:45am
So what's going on with this poll? Do we have a winner?

mandopete
Aug-29-2008, 10:47am
So what's going on with this poll? Do we have a winner?
See below...

Since we had a tie for the last spot on the roster we'll actually have 6 names to choose from. Here they are (in alphabetical order)...

Sam Bush
Mike Compton
Ronnie McCoury
John Reischman
Ricky Skaggs
Adam Steffey

Clyde Clevenger
Aug-29-2008, 11:19am
Compton and Reischman are the two best in my opinion. Niether will ever get the IBMA awaard as they are not very good "self" promoters and they aren't flashy, machine-gun players. I really do think they are both players players who play to move their audience, not to amaze them. I never really liked the circus.