Tony Rice Article

[David Lewis]

I write occasionally for the toppermost.co.uk site - here's my latest, which I hope you enjoy (or at least don't hate). And yes, I probably missed your favourite Tony Rice Track.


https://www.toppermost.co.uk/tony-rice/

[grassrootphilosopher]

David,

having read the "article", let me adress some points.

I am as much a Tony Rice fan as the next man, so I have no issues with the article as such. But I am concerned about mixing fact and fiction. I have spotted some inacuracies that I don´t like. The article is so short that some broadbrushing may be okay, but I think that one has to stick to the facts.

You wrote: "He learned the basics of bluegrass from the Kentucky Colonels, and other LA based players like Ry Cooder, Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen." That is not correct. Though TR was exposed to bluegrass by other musicians like the Kentucky Colonels, and we all know that Clarence White was the number one musician to shape TR´s guitar playing, the others that you named were not ones who "taught" TR. If I´m not mistaken TR learned the basics of bluegrass from the band that his father played in (with the late Don Parmley and the Gosdin Bros).

You wrote: Finding J D’s experimentalism (electric guitars and drums) not to his taste, he moved back to San Francisco where he joined the David Grisman Quintet (watch this space for David Grisman). That is not true either. The electric thing was full swing with Keith Whitley, Jimmy Geaudreau, Steve Bryant and Bobby Sloane if I´m not at all mistaken. The seminal J.D. Crowe band on Rounder 0044 (Crowe, TR, Skaggs, Douglas and Sloane) was a short lived thing, mainly acoustic and the players (Skaggs, Rice etc.) went their ways not because of the way the New South was structured. If I´m not mistaken Rice and Grisman met and Grisman asked Rice if he wanted to come to California to join Grisman in his Quintet.

You wrote: On that band’s demise (the context points to the David Grisman Quintet, so I guess you mean Grisman´s band), Tony formed the Tony Rice Unit, which continued the vision he has for progressive acoustic music. That is not correct either. The David Grisman Quintet (or Quartet or whatever) thrived with other musicians, for example Marc O´Connor on the guitar (check out their recording with Stephane Grapelli).

I have the slight suspicion that you "lifted" some of the intel of Wikipedia and short cirquited some facts. My "knowledge" though it may not be entirely correct as I didn´t double check it this morning mainly comes from the TR "Still Inside" biography.

Concerning your asessment of the different musical pieces, well most of it is a statement about what you like, so I´m good with that. I wouldn´t say that Chris Eldridge or Dan Tyminski are "direct decendants" (and decendants of what?) when it comes to the guitar style of TR. That may be said of Richard Bennett or David Greer (who took the whole thing some steps further). But at least I would leave this question open for debate.

I appreciate the effort to popularize bluegrass (new acoustic music, americana etc.) by spreading the word. Keep it up.

[David Lewis]

Thank you for those comments, Olaf. I do appreciate it. I might see if I can adjust the bit about the Kentucky colonels especially. I tend to not use Wikipedia, except for dates or pictures for lectures (properly attributed) but it is possible i found a source that used it, or I inadvertently used something I found in Wikipedia that I didn’t triple check. This is not an excuse of course. I couldn’t get a copy of the book (I’m still waiting for it - welcome to Australia) to use except for a trip to the state library where you can’t borrow them. So I was reliant on online sources.

But again, thank you.

[David Lewis]

Ps, according to the dawg himself, tony asked if he could join the dgq. Dawg tells the story on the dgq 25 anniversary concert.

[Fretbear]

You wrote: "He learned the basics of bluegrass from the Kentucky Colonels, and other LA based players like Ry Cooder, Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen." That is not correct. Though TR was exposed to bluegrass by other musicians like the Kentucky Colonels, and we all know that Clarence White was the number one musician to shape TR´s guitar playing, the others that you named were not ones who "taught" TR. If I´m not mistaken TR learned the basics of bluegrass from the band that his father played in (with the late Don Parmley and the Gosdin Bros).

And Jimmy Martin and Lester Flatt.....

[grassrootphilosopher]

Thank you for those comments, Olaf. I do appreciate it. I might see if I can adjust the bit about the Kentucky colonels especially. I tend to not use Wikipedia, except for dates or pictures for lectures (properly attributed) but it is possible i found a source that used it, or I inadvertently used something I found in Wikipedia that I didn’t triple check. This is not an excuse of course. I couldn’t get a copy of the book (I’m still waiting for it - welcome to Australia) to use except for a trip to the state library where you can’t borrow them. So I was reliant on online sources.

But again, thank you.

I know how difficult it is to write an article. Take a concert for example. These fleeting moments of music are long gone when you write about them. So you rely on your memory and possibly notes that you took. In other situations you sometimes have to deal with inacuracies that cannot be resolved (when did Bill Monroe purchase his barbershop F-5? 1942? 1945? The man himself gave different dates).

Ps, according to the dawg himself, tony asked if he could join the dgq. Dawg tells the story on the dgq 25 anniversary concert.

I know there was conversation about joining the DGQ. And as far as I know the DGQ came into being when TR joined. Before that it was a planned project.

And Jimmy Martin and Lester Flatt.....

Jimmy Martin (and LF) was an inspiration for TR for sure. That´s well documented. But I doubt that TR had first hand "learning" contact, meaning personal interaction. If you count records, then yes. Like I learned timing from Bill Monroe and Edd Mayfield (playing with the records; I couldn´t get a decent rythm playing with the Country Gentlemen but that changed over time).