My grass is blue
There is a Gary Larson cartoon titled “A Conductor’s View of Hell.” The cartoon depicts a tuxedo-clad conductor lifting his baton in musical leadership. The entire orchestra in front of him consists of banjo players.
Bluegrass music appeals to me. I suppose primarily it is the virtuosi musical talents represented by bluegrass instruments. Each soloist steps up to a microphone and unleashes a blazing acoustical solo.
Banjo, Guitar, Fiddle (never violin!), and Mandolin were the stars of the show for this young musician.
At University of Georgia I sang in the UGA Men’s Glee Club, and as an added treat played in the UGAMGCBAOFRG. What’s that you ask?
The University of Georgia Men’s Glee Club (By Audition Only) Folk Rock Group was a fine group of players and singers.
I met a banjo virtuoso there from Lincolnton. His name was Jim Atkins and he did an hilarious imitation of Donald Duck in addition to playing the daylights out of a Gibson Mastertone banjo. Jim acquired a lifelong nickname: “Duck Adkins.” He has delighted audiences for decades with his humor and banjo playing.
We put together a bluegrass/americana band back in those college days called “Farrell Pitts and His All-star Band.” Farrell played a vintage Gibson and served as the lead singer. I played lead acoustic guitar and John Harriman (a cello virtuoso) played bass. My college roommate, Bruce Sellers (who would become an internationally lauded tenor) sang and played washboard. Two delightful sopranos, Kathy Bridges Melton and Andie Reed, sang back up.
We opened our brief career with a concert at The Baptist Center at UGA. The modern chapel was a terrific setting acoustically and we often sang there after weekday lunches.
The side door opened and we walked into the performing space single file. The audience erupted into a combination of applause and yells that, frankly, I don’t know if I have ever experienced since. Harriman turned to me with shock on his face and he mouthed a word not suitable for a family newspaper.
American music lost a real treasure just a few weeks ago. Guitar genius Tony Rice, already in poor health, was taken from us suddenly and completely. The guitar social media lit up with tributes, videos, and words of adoration.
My dear friend and beloved musical brother Dan Crary communicated with me almost immediately. Dan and Tony have shared stages all over the world. The two basically created a space for the solo acoustic guitar in a bluegrass milieu that heretofore was dominated by banjo, fiddle, and mandolin.
Dan and I met during an edition of the Rome International Film Festival, and it was at this fateful breakfast at a downtown eatery that he told me how much he loved my children’s book “Martin the Guitar.” It was Dan’s kind recommendation to a publisher that started “Martin” on its delightful journey.
I visited Dan one fall weekend at a big guitar festival in rural Tennessee. We played in the hotel room together and then Dan suggested we go down to the lobby and pick with some of the participants.
When Dan entered the room, the place fell quiet. The awe on the faces of the assembled pickers was extraordinary. Dan introduced me, and we played some traditional bluegrass tunes with the guitarists, and all the while Dan regaled the folks with stories, tips, and existential philosophy. You see, bluegrass guitarist Dan Crary is not only an American treasure; he also possesses an earned PHD.
Rome’s excellent bluegrass players no doubt mourned the passing of Tony Rice. A number of them shared their grief and admiration on social media. There are great players like the excellent Roger Dees in Rome and they can often be heard at local bluegrass festivals. Before I moved to New Mexico, I often played bluegrass gospel music with Rome composer Stan Pethel and his talented sons. It was always a treat.
More recently I toured the United Kingdom and played at a little hall they call Carnegie in New York City. I was lucky in that my friend, conductor, composer, and banjo player Tim Sharp, recently retired executive director of the American Choral Directors Association, invited me to play guitar on his delightful “Come Away to the Skies: A High Lonesome Bluegrass Mass.”
Dial the bluegrass channel on your Pandora or similar streaming device. I guarantee your foot will tap and your head will nod in time to the music. Also, check out the late Tony Rice and the eternal Dan Crary.
As the bumper sticker proclaims, “My Grass is Blue.”