Results 1 to 15 of 15

Thread: Article from the Smithsonian on BG

  1. #1

    Default Article from the Smithsonian on BG

    http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-c...ass-180955121/ Something to read and or discuss for you all .

  2. The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to ricomando For This Useful Post:


  3. #2
    Registered User Nick Gellie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Orgiva, Spain
    Posts
    1,439

    Default Re: Article from the Smithsonian on BG

    Very interesting insight from a writer who goes a bit deeper into the Bluegrass phenomenon. I like it when there is a subtle artistic critique that balances the pros and cons of the music, the musicians, and the songs.
    Nic Gellie

  4. #3

    Default Re: Article from the Smithsonian on BG

    Thanks for sharing this, it's always enjoyable to read something vaguely articulate about bluegrass. However, I do disagree with a couple of points. Those bands that maintain the traditional sound of bluegrass are not slavishly preserving an aspect of Bill Monroe at the cost of more progressive elements - in my opinion. I regulalry hear solid, traditional bluegrass that is full of lyrical or musical surprises. The example quoted, The Gibson Brothers, to my ears sound as contemporary as anything being recorded in 2015. I suspect the writer has a definite perspective on what modern music is and anything that maintains too many links with the original sound is to him too untouched by modern innovations. Stick a Beyonce beat on something and it will be rubbish, but very modern. The fact is human emotions and the experience of life are really unchanged (the high- tech devices in many people's pockets don't mean anything) and listening to a Ralph Stanley song from way back can connect with what I'm feeling as much as anything someone might write next week. The same goes for the glide of a bow on a fiddle or a run of notes on the mandolin - there is an emotional reality that is timeless and will always speak to people who can hear beyond the age of the recording. The fact is the music people pretend is so different to anything that came before is really adding and combining elements that have been around for a long time. Bill Monroe didn't create bluegrass out of thin air, he had drunk deeply from the rivers of sounds available to him and the music he made is like new furniture made from old wood. There will be rock albums released in 2015 that have lifted rhythms and lyrics from the Beatles, Chuck Berry, and so on, it all keeps going round in the mix. Musicians who who acknowledge this and choose to play a style that is less diluted by what has come after it are just one strand in the rope, but the writer makes too much of his artificial distinction between traditional and progressive - he can't see the wood for the trees.

  5. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Darren Bailey For This Useful Post:


  6. #4
    Registered User Ivan Kelsall's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Manchester - Lancashire - NW England
    Posts
    14,187

    Default Re: Article from the Smithsonian on BG

    A very interesting article IMHO,it does touch mainly on the 'then & now' theme,but there's far more going on in Bluegrass today than that. I had to smile at this line - "The German-born, Swiss-raised Kruger Brothers, banjoist Jens and guitarist Uwe, demonstrated how Monroe’s innovations have spread even to Europe.". The writer is only 55 years out re.the 'spread' of Bluegrass to Europe. I began playing banjo back in 1963 after i heard Bluegrass for the first time. As i was learning,i came to realise that Bluegrass wasn't 'unknown' in the UK,but simply a 'rarity'. As the '60's Folk Boom kicked off,& because Bluegrass with it's rural roots became an accepted part of the genre,Bluegrass / Old Timey musicians from the US began to appear at our UK Folk Festivals,lead principally by 'The New Lost City Ramblers'.
    When i mentioned above,that there's far more going on in Bluegrass than the things the writer outlines,i was thinking in terms of the new bands such as 'The Infamous Stringdusters' & 'Greensky Bluegrass'. These guys don't wear suits & they play all new songs written mainly by themsleves,but they do stick to the trad. line-up of Bluegrass instruments. Personally,IMHO,they're simply carrying on the tradition (almost) of 'Newgrass Revival' & the type of songs that they were doing. I think that the 2 bands i mentioned are terrific in as much as it's all new music to listen to & to try out for ourselves.
    I think Del McCoury & his band a have also done a great thing in trying to move away from playing purely the 'old songs'. All music eventually wants to 'break out' from it's original mould,Bluegrass is no different & i see no reason why it should be. If we hear something that we don't like within an 'expanded' Bluegrass genre,then don't listen to it,there's still plenty of the 'old sound' out there, & Del & the boys can do that as well, If anything remains 'static' for too long,then 'stagnant' isn't far behind,
    Ivan
    Weber F-5 'Fern'.
    Lebeda F-5 "Special".
    Stelling Bellflower BANJO
    Tokai - 'Tele-alike'.
    Ellis DeLuxe "A" style.

  7. The following members say thank you to Ivan Kelsall for this post:


  8. #5
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Va
    Posts
    2,573

    Default Re: Article from the Smithsonian on BG

    Lot of truth in this article and the previous posts. BG and Rock are about the same age, something most people don't know because BG stayed closer to it's roots so it sounds "older". Not only the same age but roots of both musics are the same and early on there was a lot of similarities, the beat and drive and the high close harmonies were apart of each style. The major difference now is BG gives honor to it's roots, as do most pure styles of music whereas " Rock" has become so commercial that what was done yesterday is outdated.

  9. #6
    Registered User JH Murray's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Burnstown Ontario Canada
    Posts
    794

    Default Re: Article from the Smithsonian on BG

    I think it is amazing that Del McCoury is 76, and he is recording an album of new material which will get played and it will sell. How many rock musicians of a similar age are nothing more than a nostalgia act? Neil Young is among the small handful of rock artists who are still doing something creative that the audience will listen to. Del is known for his lengthy list of hits, but is still considered a relevant artist with something to say. Bluegrass is far from a static genre, and is not as stratified by age as rock has become, which helps to keep it reinventing itself.

  10. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to JH Murray For This Useful Post:


  11. #7
    Registered User Ivan Kelsall's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Manchester - Lancashire - NW England
    Posts
    14,187

    Default Re: Article from the Smithsonian on BG

    From all i've seen of Del McCoury in videos & YouTube clips,he still has a very 'young'(er) outlook & still enjoys his music as much as he ever did. He's also done the right thing IMHO,in adopting a newer approach to Bluegrass with the style of songs he's doing & helping to keep 'his' outlook on it fresh. Del always seems to be enjoying himself & that's terrific to see & hear. He's been one of my favourite Bluegrass musicains since i bought the Bill Monroe LP "Bluegrass Tim" donkey's years ago. I tried to get to speak with him at Owensboro back in '92,but Del & the guys seemed to evaporate after their spot on stage,
    Ivan
    Weber F-5 'Fern'.
    Lebeda F-5 "Special".
    Stelling Bellflower BANJO
    Tokai - 'Tele-alike'.
    Ellis DeLuxe "A" style.

  12. #8
    Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Maryland
    Posts
    4,881

    Default Re: Article from the Smithsonian on BG

    I`m not so sure that Del is too crazy about the "new" bluegrass as many of you say, he doesn`t perform with his two sons when they book shows called "The Traveling McCoury`s". Band, they seem to lean more towards a different sound then Del likes, that is just my opinion...They do play one or two traditional bluegrass songs but also get way out in left field with the rest of their songs, they are both great pickers, no doubt about it and I guess they want to try other forms of music and possibly sell CD`s to non-bluegrass fans, after all that is what they do for a living...I remember hearing J.D. Crow say one time that he tried to play music that everyone might want to buy but after he retired from the road he wants to stick to just traditional sounding bluegrass...I have always found that a band should play what the audience wants to hear, if they can that is....

    As far as the article goes I have read it three times and still can`t figure exactly what he is saying...if he is comparing the old against the new I didn`t see it....I wonder how much of a bluegrass fan he really is....

    Willie

  13. #9
    Registered User Steve Sorensen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Santa Clarita, CA
    Posts
    2,461

    Default Re: Article from the Smithsonian on BG

    Willie,

    You need to take a listen to Del's SiriusXM show. He actively and enthusiastically promotes bands like Greensky Bluegrass, Leftover Salmon, Yonder Mountain String Band, String Cheese Incident, etc. I, personally, find his energetic support for all variations of bluegrass-based music to be refreshing and a great example of how players can embrace both tradition and innovation.

    Steve
    Steve Sorensen
    Sorensen Mandolin & Guitar Co.
    www.sorensenstrings.com

  14. The following members say thank you to Steve Sorensen for this post:


  15. #10

    Default Re: Article from the Smithsonian on BG

    Pretty sure most of their repertoire when playing without Del is predominately stuff that they play with Del, unless you are talking about side projects like the album with Keller Williams or when they are supporting other bands. Stylistically Ronnie, Rob, and Jason Carter are rooted in Bill Monroe style, but depart if they are being hired to work with another artist.

  16. #11

    Default Re: Article from the Smithsonian on BG

    Can't believe they bashed the Gibson Brothers like that. In many ways they are more progressive than Del.

  17. #12
    Registered User Ivan Kelsall's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Manchester - Lancashire - NW England
    Posts
    14,187

    Default Re: Article from the Smithsonian on BG

    The ''Travelling McCourys" & the "Del McCoury Band" seem to be 2 sides of the same coin. The 'T Mc's' seem to play more of the more modern songs,while with Del,they play a mixture of stuff old & new.
    I totally agree with Steve Sorensen about Del's open minded approach to the new bands & it's nice to see these bands gaining support from a gent who IMHO,is one of the true Bluegrass 'Greats',a real 'Elder Statesman' of Bluegrass music,
    Ivan
    Weber F-5 'Fern'.
    Lebeda F-5 "Special".
    Stelling Bellflower BANJO
    Tokai - 'Tele-alike'.
    Ellis DeLuxe "A" style.

  18. #13

    Default Re: Article from the Smithsonian on BG

    Thought it was a well thought out, well written, balanced and informative article.
    Especially a great article for those who know nothing about BG.

  19. #14

    Default Re: Article from the Smithsonian on BG

    A nice article, but I tend to concur with Darren above. I started reading other articles by the author to see if I could discern something of his orientation toward music in general (one might ask - does Mr Himes consider all such trad approach to music irrelevant? Or merely the trads at Merlefest/bluegrass/mountain music..?). There's more to the story - but perhaps Mr Himes does not start in that multifaceted direction in the interest of brevity.

    True, we typically value plastic arts in this respect - nostalgic re-enactment of works, periods, movements and schools are generally avoided. But music is performance-based, and not subject to identical formalisms as other modalities such as in the plastic arts, so we might avoid equating the two and applying the same criticism to each (as evinced in the article).

    His "Why We Should Teach Music History Backwards" is an apt observation, though.

  20. #15
    Mando-Afflicted lflngpicker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    So Cal
    Posts
    2,240
    Blog Entries
    6

    Default Re: Article from the Smithsonian on BG

    Thank you, much, for posting this interesting piece. I learned some interesting things I had not known.
    2014 BRW F5 #114
    2022 Kentucky KM 950 Master Model

    YouTube Original Recording of My composition "Closer Walk"

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •