The First Annual
Buckeye Bluegrass
Official Road Trip Journal Entry
February 6-8, 2004
- Destination: Nashville, Tennessee
Now,
I know that many of you are interested in our SPBGMA road trip
story!
It is a tale of music, banjos and old friends in strange places!
And of course, J.D. Crowe!
It
was a Friday night, late, near to midnight before we started
out. Time limitations had placed our departure time late in
the evening, but with a 6 pack of Pepsi and pretzels, coffee
and a handful of CDs, we set off on our adventure. If you are
wondering, the "we" of this story includes my old
friend and banjo mentor, Dave Russell, editorial consultant
for BuckeyeBluegrass and Gander Grass and co-pilot for this
adventure and myself, Sherri Chekal , main editor of the sites.
Since
it has been a good deal of time since we'd spent much time together,
we had about 20 years to catch up on, so, we were well armed
with conversation and good music.
By
4 a.m., we had passed over into Kentucky and were well on our
second wind. After gas and a pit stop for more coffee, we started
back on the road and were promptly met with snow and whiteout
conditions! So much for sleeping and driving shifts. Neither
of us felt comfortable with the other driving solo, so we kept
chatting and began creating songs with rather odd bluegrass
twists...
I
did mention it was like 4 in the morning, right?
Our
favorites had to be "Little Trailer Home on the Hill"
and that classic... "Smokey Mountain Relatives..."
I rather doubt you'll ever hear much of these songs from us,
as we seem to have forgotten most of the 8 or 9 verses we had
come up with by 6 a.m. and the dawn that crept in with ice and
cars in the ditch. The trusty Town and Country mini-van was
surefooted and we met daylight in Tennessee with a cold wind
and more snow squalls. Hard to believe we were in the south
land... seemed more like Michigan!
After
getting into town, settled in the hotel rooms, and more coffee
and eggs, we headed off to the Sheraton and the Bluegrass Mecca
we traveled so far for. Upon entering the lobby, we were greeted
with a flood of people, nearly wall to wall, and the sweet sounds
of music wafted about from jam to jam. It was pure manna for
two road weary souls and we got our, oh, 5th wind of the day!
Jamming in the Lobby!
Some
observations of the convention.... How wonderful it was to
see so many people, of all ages, enjoying this music. This
being my first SPBMA convention, I was pleasantly surprised.
I had expected a good-sized crowd, but we both had to agree,
this was more than we expected. And the young people, that
was truly grand to see so many youngblood picking and playing
bluegrass. We listened to many a jam session throughout the
weekend and music was good. I almost regret not bringing my
Stelling and joining in, I think next year, it will be a priority
to spend a little time jamming.
Way too many
bass to pick through!
As much as I tried to get one to follow me home, I came home
bassless.
Probably
a good thing, my banjo
would have been jealous.
The dealers
were all pleasant and offered their wares with a heartfelt greeting
and an offer to sit and pick or browse through their wares. Dave was
shopping for a new banjo and I had my eye on browsing the bass selection.
We got to play many a good banjo through the place! I must say, the
Tennessee banjos were stunning in their craftsmanship. The inlay work
and the beautiful woods were very attractive. And the different tone
qualities from the woods was the most distinctive I've ever heard.
These
fine gentlemen from Tennesee Banjos can be mighty convincing
when talking banjos to a man shopping for one...
We spent
a good time learning about the Nechville banjos and the highly engineered
and innovative tone rings Ken Nechville has designed. The craftsmanship
in his banjos as well was stunning, with beautiful tiger maple and
some unique designs. Most delightful was his small backpack banjos
and quite a show was made for all by Dave and a mandolin player from
Ohio. (Video hopefully to follow if my 13 year old can figure out
how to transfer it to her Mac Ibook... she's the technical consultant
at BuckeyeBluegrass.com...)
Wrap up two to go....
Now,
the boys at the post think my Stelling that I drew flowers
and hearts on the head is pretty... Just wait till I show
up to jam with one of these bad boys....
However,
in the end, it was Steve Huber's banjo company that won the sale.
The feel of his banjos, and the knock-you-dead tone and sound of the
banjos was a hand down winner. The only decision was whether to buy
one of the show models or wait for a custom built banjo. Dave is playing
with The Mike Adams Band
out of Michigan and he was eager to find the perfect performance banjo
for recording and shows and in the end, he decided to have one custom
crafted for his own hands, and it was good. Like all good things,
he will have to wait till early summer for his Huber Lancaster to
arrive!
There were kids EVERYWHERE,
picking and playing....
it was wonderful to see!
Picking
up a couple t-shirts for my daughters, I was very impressed by the
selection of the team from up Michigan way. Nice shirts, really cool
designs. As a graphic artist, I'm always impressed by good, high quality
graphic designs! It was hard to decide! And I was so pleased that
Charlie and Doris Chase from Classic Collection had the Emmylou Harris
CD, "Roses in the Snow" that I've been looking for! Yes!
New jams for the ride home! Such nice folk, too, another Michigan
bluegrass merchant.
And I
think I found about 200 flyers of shows and festivals and so much
more to wade through for the two websites! Of course, we brought a
big stack of flyers for Buckeye Bluegrass as well as passed out a
good deal of business cards. It was very rewarded to find that already
people have been hearing about the sites and our efforts!
Why
sure, we don't need the van anymore, sounds like a fair trade....
Look at all the pretty
fiddles...
Finally,
it was time to take a break and catch a few bands during the Showcase
of Bands times. Good thing, because I was beginning to remember that
I was no longer 16 and that it had been nearly 30 hours since my eyes
had closed! Through out the adventure, I lost my flyer with the names
of the showcase bands, but I must say, they were enjoyable and it
was fun to watch the antics and the bands as they interacted with
the crowd. The music was great too, and it was neat to see different
bands interpreting the old classics with new twists and different
approaches. The crowd was good sized and responsive and you could
see that the bands were enjoying themselves and the sets they offered
were full of enthusiasm.
This
young man just found out how much that bass is going to set him
back....
These babies WOULD cost
as much as the van.....
A
Martin for everyone!
I think,
we were working on our 11th wind at that point and after a late lunch,
we decided to wander about some more, shop more, listen to jams throughout
the hotel. We finally decided it was time to try and get a break before
we came back to hear the big boys play! By 7 p.m. we were back at
the Sheraton and ready! We watch Ronnie Reno and his band, the Reno
Tradition and that was a treat. And then, we saw Ronnie Bowman. He
is really impressive and I enjoyed his offerings... I'll be adding
him to my list of must get CDs. Charlie Waller and the Country Gentlemen
were especially touching to watch when Charlie's son debuted a song
he had written about the passing of his father's guitar to his son.
I'm not sure, but I think you could have heard a pin drop and there
was hardly a dry eye in the house afterwards.
For me,
however, it was the arrival of J.D. Crowe and the New South that made
the day. In all my times, I have never seen J.D. and his boys live,
and this was a great place to see him. The crowd was thrilled and
he played fine, and I managed to control myself and behave! We hustled
out to the band's table afterwards to see about meeting him in person,
however we waited and waited... no J.D. Finally through the grapevine
we learned he was still in the backstage area, doing photos and meeting
with the fans, so we got back there. He was wrapping up the visitors,
and we got a chance to meet him and take a couple pictures. Considering
we were approaching hour 40 without much shut-eye, we kind of looked
like shot-down pilots having to smile and pose with their captors...
but we didn't care, it was J.D.!!! And we got a chance to talk a bit
with him... (Well, I was just standing there in shock, really, so
Dave to the rescue!) He asked J.D., what was the most important thing
to playing the banjo. "Play the song, play the melody,"
He remarked. "Simple, work in the melody." That was reassuring
to hear, that a good strong driving sound could be made with a clear
melody line, simple and clean. Dave also asked, "What was the
most important thing Jimmy Martin taught him about timing. Without
hardly a pause, J.D. replied, "Play the melody and keep the roll
going."
Don't
hold these pictures against us.... we're at about oh, hour 40+
without SLEEP...
Anything
for bluegrass!
My quest
for the weekend was done. I'd met J.D. Crowe, and he even shook my
hand and took a picture! I'm quite sure this is a weekend I'll remember
for a good long time. And yet, it was not over!
We'd developed
a powerful thirst, not to mention a need for munchies and decided
to head over to the Gibson Factory to listen to some live bluegrass.
But apparently, we'd wandered about the hotel too long, listening
to the jams throughout the place, and the Gibson Factory near the
Grand Old Opry was closed! It was only midnight, so we headed to the
Earnest Tubb's record shop! Having never been in Nashville, this was
a treat. Seeing a bus inside a store, well that just ain't done back
at home, and being a tourist, I just had to take a picture! I don't
believe I've ever seen so many bluegrass CDs in one place!
The parking
lot was iced over... (weird weather in Nashville!) so we decided to
make our way to a close by honkey tonk called the Nashville Palace.
We've heard that Randy Travis used to bus tables there before he made
it big! It was getting near to one in the morning and the place was
near to empty with a house band playing some country AND western music
for the two or three tables of patrons.
However,
this was the oddest part of the whole weekend. Dave turns to me and
says, "Dana's here..." and sure enough, Dana Cupp, Jr.,
local boy gone big time, strolls over and is amazed to see us here.
One could only think of that line from Casablanca.
"Of
all the gin joints, you had to pick mine....."
I was
finding it a bit hard to talk! 20 some years ago, I'd spent many a
day in the Cupp family home in Michigan, listening to some great bluegrass,
tagging along with Dave. And here Dana was, inviting us in and showing
us a nice time! Dana played with Bill Monroe until he passed away,
and now Dana plays with the Osborne Brothers throughout the country!
He splits his time between Nashville and all points, and it was truly
luck to have gotten the right connection with him! Dana had to get
his banjo out and he and Dave talked shop for awhile. We ended up
closing the place down as Dana's guests and managed to find our way
back to the hotel to finally end our 48 hours of Bluegrass, Bluegrass,
Bluegrass!
Talking
shop with Dana Cupp, Jr.
The morning
came with a bit of a shock, and we managed to spend 3 or 4 more hours
at the Sheraton, listening to bands, doing a little more shopping
and browsing and spent a good deal of time listening to some of the
lobby jam bands. We settled on a family of siblings from Missouri
that were very good. I believe they were the Martin Family and they
were definitely a class act. Watch for these kids, they will be going
places as they mature and polish up.
Unfortunately,
it was time to begin our journey back to the northland... and we bid
Nashville fond farewell. We just might have to take Dana up on his
offer to return and visit him and the brothers at the Opry some weekend,
but for now, it's back home and the good old routine of life... only
8 months till the IBMA convention in October!!!!!
Look out
Louisville, here we come!
30th
ANNUALSPBGMABLUEGRASS MUSIC AWARDS
- & 21st NATIONAL CONVENTION -
HELD FEBRUARY 5-6-7-8, 2004
Sheraton Music City - Nashville, Tennessee
2004
AWARD WINNERS
Results of Presentations held on Sunday, February 8th.
1.
Bluegrass Promoter of the Year
NORMAN ADAMS (Recipient of Grand Masters Gold Award 2004) Ten Year Winner in this Category
Dreama Stephenson
2. Bluegrass Radio Station of the Year WSM-AM Nashville, TN
3.
Bluegrass DJ of the Year Eddie Stubbs, WSM-AM
4.
Bluegrass Newsletter of the Year Inside Bluegrass (Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Assn.)
5.
Bluegrass Song Writer of the Year Tom T. Hall & Dixie Hall
6.
Bluegrass Album of the Year "ONE STEP AHEAD" - by Rhonda Vincent / Rounder Records
7.
Bass Fiddle Performer of the Year Missy Raines
8.
Dobro Performer of the Year Tim Graves
9.
Guitar Performer of the Year Kenny Smith
10.
Mandolin Performer of the Year Ronnie McCoury
11.
Banjo Performer of the Year Sammy Shelor
12.
Fiddle Performer of the Year Hunter Berry
13.
Female Vocalist of the Year (Contemporary) Rhonda Vincent
14.
Female Vocalist of the Year (Traditional) Lynn Morris
15.
Male Vocalist of the Year (Contemporary)
RUSSELL MOORE (Recipient of Masters Gold Award 2004) Five Year Winner in this Category
Larry Stephenson
16.
Male Vocalist of the Year (Traditional) Dan Tyminski
17.
Gospel Group of the Year (Traditional) IIIrd Tyme Out
18.
Gospel Group of the Year (Contemporary)
DOYLE LAWSON & QUICKSILVER (Recipient of Masters Gold Award
2004) Five Year Winner in this Category
The Lewis Family
19.
Gospel Group of the Year (Overall)
THE LEWIS FAMILY (Recipient of Masters Gold Award 2004) Five Year Winner in this Category
Mountain Heart
20.
Vocal Group of the Year Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
21.
Instrumental Group of the Year Del McCoury Band
22.
Bluegrass Band of the Year (Overall) Rhonda Vincent & The Rage
23.
Entertaining Group of the Year IIIrd Tyme Out
24.
Entertainer of the Year Rhonda Vincent
25.
Song of the Year "KENTUCKY BORDERLINE" by RhondaVincent / Rounder Records
