The first time I ever heard a mandolin and knew who was playing it was David Grisman. The Garcia/Grisman albums really had me listening, made me want to figure out what David was tapping into to get that sound.
The second was Sam Bush. Bela Fleck and the flecktones came out with “live art” in 1996 and I was blown away by the rhythm mando, of course Newgrass revival was a discovery that would lead me further down the rabbit hole...
I think I got my first mandolin in 1998?
Tim O’brien, Ronnie McCoury, Jeff Austin and Chris Thile all influenced me heavily in my early years, and still do.
I went back and tried to educate myself, listen to a bunch of old stuff I had missed but had a hard time getting into Bill Monroe (with apologies to Bill). The Bill Monroe and Doc Watson stuck a bit, but I always seem to like the modern takes on Bill’s music (again, with apologies).
There is a huge demographic of mando players I came across through the cafe here and then either discovered I had already heard them but didn’t know, or who I liked and ended up following them... Mike Marshall and Andrew Marlin being two respective examples. With all the stuff I have read and seen through here, I guess in a way my biggest mandolin influence is mandolincafe. You all seem to know the obsession I had assumed was all in my head...
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