Virtuoso and Class Act, Adam Steffy

[Mark Gunter]

Spent the evening re-watching the CFR's Simply Bluegrass DVD's - talk about an all-star cast. No shortage of mandolin players in the bunch, and a bunch of Bill Monroe stories and impressions to boot. Seems I can never just watch a piece of it, gotta watch all four DVD's then it's "Where did the night go?"

Every time I see this I gain more and more respect for Adam Steffey, not just as a mandolinist, but for his spirit of humility. Is there a more humble and unassuming mandolin virtuoso in the spotlight these days?

This program is definitely worth the $$$. You can find a few clips from it on YouTube as well, here's a link to some clips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdlh...lCIjiELKJ-ahKW

[darylcrisp]

Mark
thanks for posting this, I was not aware these were available. I've watched a couple of the youtube videos in the past and was amazed with all the name players being there.

I definitely plan to buy these
d

[Stephen Cagle]

Appreciate the post. I have not seen these but will check out the YouTube clips. note: Adam is one of the most humble guys I know and a class act for sure! Thanks!👌

[Mark Gunter]

Mark
thanks for posting this, I was not aware these were available. I've watched a couple of the youtube videos in the past and was amazed with all the name players being there.

I definitely plan to buy these
d

Darryl, it's a great investment if you're a music history hound like me. Having all these folk, young and old, star quality players in a room together is really an historical event in itself. The stories that are told between songs are more interesting than the performances, and the performances are stellar.

[Drew Egerton]

I met Adam for the first time last summer at a festival. He was a super nice guy, signed my Cafe hat for me.
I ordered the new Boxcars CD Familiar with the Ground today and am really looking forward to it.

[DataNick]

Adam Steffey is a first class gentleman and class act indeed!

The Box Cars played Summergrass San Diego last Aug, and as my band High Mountain Road was in the lineup, I got to hang with Adam in the green room. I found him to be a very kind, genuine, polite, humble guy who engaged me in everything from mando geek/taste testing our respective instruments, to giving me a quick tutorial on the ear-bud type monitors system they were using.

And that Collings MTV he was sporting wasn't half bad either...LOL!

[Ivan Kelsall]

I had a very brief PM correspondence with Adam Steffey over a matter a couple of years back,& you could tell simply by the way he wrote, that he was a thoroughly genuine person. As with all great musicians,Adam knows what a huge talent he has & i get the feeling that the praise he receives is an embarassment at times. Along with John Reischman & Herschel Sizemore,Adam's one of the few players i'd really love to meet,maybe more as 'the person he is',rather than as a mandolin player, & Nick,you're a lucky guy,
Ivan

[DataNick]

...Along with John Reischman & Herschel Sizemore,Adam's one of the few players i'd really love to meet,maybe more as 'the person he is',rather than as a mandolin player, & Nick,you're a lucky guy,
Ivan

Hey Ivan!

That's the beauty of bluegrass!

Not too many music genres where in a festival/performance setting, the local hacks get to hob knob with the big boys...LOL!

Adam is cool and very much a mando geek like the rest of us. For me the biggest blessing was getting him to evaluate/play of both my mandolins; that meant a lot!

[Billgrass]

Adam is a true gentleman. In the current age of blowhards with no talent wailing on their horns, Mr. Steffey is an example of real American values and decency.

[Fretfet2]

I just saw The Boxcars last night in an old school house venue in Lucketts Virginia. They were fantastic! We were sitting close enough to be able to watch them play the instruments. It was my first time seeing the group. Met them all at the CD stand, all super nice people! They seem to really enjoy themselves on stage, loved the genuine smiles. I swear I saw Mr.Steffy in line with the crowd getting himself a coffee prior to the show. Very unassuming . I'm new to BG so it is always surprising to me when the performers are not locked behind a stage door but mixing in the crowd. Really great group! Mr. Steffy is an amazing mandolin player. Looking forward to listening to the new CD that I purchased.

[UlsterMando]

For me, Adam Steffey's mandolin playing disproportionately helped to define
AKUS at their peak. His unassuming personality belies his ability and achievements.
A genuinely inspirational musician.

[Marc Ferry]

Last year at the Jenny Brook festival in Vermont, The Boxcars were doing a late night informal performance where others were invited to come and play along. Normally in those types of performances, the band starts out playing alone, then one by one people work up the nerve to join in until there's a huge, awesome mass of bluegrass. Adam heard me doodling on the mando while they were getting ready and invited me to play the first song along with them. What a great guy and what a great experience!

[Ivan Kelsall]

From Ulstermando - "......helped to define AKUS at their peak." . Adam's intro to the AKUS song, ''Every time you say goodbye'', is still one of the tastiest & musical intros.i've heard to date,in fact,it became a sort of 'instant classic'. For me,Adam Steffey plays melody on mandolin like very few others, & he's firmly in my top 5 players. A nice banjo break from Ron Block as well,
Ivan

[Atlanta Mando Mike]

He had a huge impact on modern bluegrass mandolin. His phrasing and style are heard everywhere now. And his tone is impeccable.

[Mark Gunter]

Thanks for sharing that video, Ivan, classic!

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hi Mark - My pleasure. In his tuition DVD,Adam goes through the process whereby he came up with the intro. Essentially,he simply noodled around with the melody until things 'came together' . I used to noodle around a lot,but nothing like that ever happened to me,
Ivan

[billruns]

The Boxcars played at Hiwassee College last year. Keith Garrett is a local boy and I wanted to see the show and especially see Adam Steffey. The group was asked if they would do a "workshop" and they agreed, however the advertisement for the workshop was late and there was not enough advanced notice. There were only two of us who attended the workshop and I was the only one with an instrument. What an awesome hour jamming with Adam and the Boxcars! He was playing a friends Dudenbostel. If I were not a Baptist preacher, I would have though I died and went to heaven. He is a class act!