MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR from your Bluegrass friend, Gary Robertson

Merry Christmas everyone.  I hope this Christmas season brings  joy and comfort to you and your family.  May your New Year, 2010, be the best.  Make sure to have plenty of New Year's resolutions to break, but keep the ones you are sincere in making.

Don't forget the Appomattox Bluegrass Series begins early this year with IIIrd Tyme Out  performing at 2PM at the Appomattox County High School Auditorium.  Tickets are $15 in advance or at the door, but to be sure of getting your seat make reservations.  To see more info, read my previous blog entry about this wonderful Bluegrass Series at Appomattox.

Again, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

"NUFF SAID!"

Appomattox Bluegrass Series Begins Jan. 3rd, 2010 with IIIrd Tyme Out. Also, The James River Bluegrass Association Has A New Web Site

Yes, you read that right, 2010 won't be very old when the Appomattox High School Athletic Boosters Club will present IIIrd Tyme Out at the Appomattox High School Auditorium beginning at 2:00PM.  This year the Appomattox Bluegrass Series has been reduced to only 4 concerts, but my oh my these are some of the very best in the business.  On January 24th Dailey & Vincent will make their 3rd appearance.  These fellows have done no less than soar through the top of the Bluegrass realm.  The series takes a break through the month of February and then brings the inimitable Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver in on Sunday, March 7th.  It will be interesting to see Doyle's 2010 "crop."  Then just two short weeks later the queen of Bluegrass, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage will make their annual appearance.  All shows start at 2PM with the doors usually opening by 1PM.  Tickets are $15 per show whether purchased in advance or the day of the show.  I want to warn you that these shows almost always sell out each year, so you best go ahead and order your tickets now.  By the way, they make great Christmas gifts for you fellow Bluegrass friends and family.  For advance tickets call Kelly Smith at 434-248-6105 or email her at kellyandallen@yahoo.com.  You can arrange to have tickets held at the door, so that you are sure to get a seat.  I'll be reminding you again about these great concerts, but wanted to give you this early heads up so you won't miss a single one.  So, don't forget Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out on Sunday January  3rd at 2PM.  I'll see you there!

While we're thinking about Bluegrass in the area surrounding Appomattox, Lynchburg area, I have been advised that the James River Bluegrass Association has a brand new web site.  The web address is: www.jamesriverbluegrassassociation.com.  That's a really long web address so make sure you add it to your favorites so you can check out what is happening with this great Bluegrass club.  By the way, the web site has Crawdaddy Dave as the webmaster, so you know it will be a quality site.  If you have information you would like to share with the club simply drop in on the site and click the "contact" link and email them your information.

I also wanted to tell you I just arrived back home from a wonderful weekend celebrating the 60th birthday of Jack Woodall.  The event was held at Peggy Woodall's, now deceased, parents house.  All of the furniture had been removed from this old two story farm house and it was kept cozy warm by two old "oil circulators."  How many of you remember this type of heat?  At one time there were probably 75 folks crammed into this old house and the Bluegrass music was rattling the walls.  Thanks to Jack & Peggy for a really fine weekend of Bluegrass, eating and simply good old fashioned fun with friends

"NUFF SAID!"

"Bluegrass Ramble" Some Bluegrass Stuff Happening in December

Hey Folks.  I've been rather lax with my blog lately, but that is what I like about it.  I can be as active or as inactive as I please, 'cause it's my blog!.

Annual Christmas Party @ Amelia Family Campgrounds, December 5th, 2009

Yep, this is the annual get together sponsored by the Amelia Family Campground and The Central Virginia Family Bluegrass Music Festival.  It always occurs on the 1st Saturday of December each year.  Last year we had snow flurries and predictions are for another round of flurries again this year.  So, be sure to bundle up nice and warm.  As usual the pavilion will be wrapped in Tyvek and two big propane heaters will keep everyone snug & warm.  There'll be nearly 20 bands with the first band getting started at 2:00PM and changing each 1/2 hour until finally they have all played.  If you want a seat be sure to bring your lawn chair and get there EARLY.  Supper of potato soup and hushpuppys will be served free of charge.  Bring along your favorite dessert to share with everyone.  See you there!

VFMA Jam Session, December 15th, Tuesday - Annual Food Drive to aid The Virginia Food Bank, 4 bands 7 - 10PM

The VFMA still has their regular monthly jam on 3rd Tuesdays at Brandermill Church with the December jam to occur on December 15th.  This is a very special event this year as along with the regular jamming, four bands will be in attendance to entertain. Cookies & coffee will be served. The schedule is "Homeward Bound" at 7PM; "Borrowed Time" at 7;45PM with a short break at 8:30Pm followed by "Easy Street" at 8:45PM and the "Brandermill Jammers" at 9:30PM.   Be sure to bring non-perishable food items with you that night.  The Virginia Food Bank is in most need of Peanut Butter, Canned Fruit & Vegetables, Hot & Cold Cereals, Pasta, Rice, Canned Fish/Meats.  Make your Christmas the best ever by helping your fellow man.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"NUFF SAID!"

The Gary & Barry Davis Show W/ Borrowed Time - What A Blast!

This past Saturday night I had three choices if I wanted to attend a show featuring Country/Gospel or Bluegrass music.  Not being a huge fan of Southern Gospel I chose to ignore The Gaithers in Richmond and having seen and heard The Bluegrass Brothers and The James King Band many times I chose to drive over to Powhatan to see Gary Davis & Borrowed Time.  It is simply not possible to go to every show, so I had to choose one.  Also, there's the bonus of the availability of a very good meal.  Now, I know I can hear a lot of you saying, "Well, you've heard Gary Davis & Borrowed Time many times, too."  That's true, but when Gary wrote me his brother Barry was gonna be there I simply decided that's where I wanted to go.  And, boy, am I glad I did.

First let me tell you that Barry and his wife Maggie, from Iowa,  both ran the Richmond Marathon that very day.  Also, it was revealed that Barry had just been told a few weeks ago that he had the dreaded "C" word, stage 2 Lymphoma.  He and Maggie are taking things with a positive outlook and I know that together they will beat this disease.  Keep them in your prayers. Nuff said about that; let's move on to the performance.  Gary & Borrowed Time started the show at about 7:15 with three of the songs they are best known for.  Then Gary asked Barry to join the band on stage.  Barry bounced upon the stage and grabbed his Guitar (Now, remember, he spent just over four hours running the Richmond Marathon!) and started playing rhythm and singing along in the background.  Gary calls his band a Bluegrass band, but rarely do they actually sing songs from the standard Bluegrass repertoire, so when they actually do sing such a song much is made of that fact.  When they asked Barry to come around a sing a song it actually was Bluegrass and Gary apologized to the audience, in good humor.  The crowd was with the band and it was good to find that Barry very much shares the same sense of humor as Gary.  After several songs by the band and a couple more Bluegrass songs by Barry there was to be a sudden and certain change to occur.  The band began playing an odd but very familiar rhythm; then Barry stepped close to the mike and began singing in a strong falsetto all of the sound effects that begin the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."  Then Gary started adding the weema-wappas to the mix and things really started going crazy from that point on.  Barry sang the entire song in that falsetto and by the time he was finished the entire room was on it's feet cheering and clapping uproariously.  It was a fun song that added much to the evening's entertainment.  Gary Davis & Borrowed Time may not play the very best Bluegrass music, but if you leave one of their shows without feeling you have been entertained, then it's like Gary says, "You better start looking for the undertaker!"

A note to you pickers:  Gary announced that "The County Seat Restaurant" in Powhatan, VA will begin having Bluegrass jam sessions every other Monday evening beginning January 11th, 2009.  Contact the County Seat for times and details at 804-598-5000.

Bluegrass, Lousy Weather & A Marathon?, "Bluegrass Ramble" November 14th, 2009

Good Morning Bluegrass friends.  This ramble has nothing whatsoever to do with the Richmond Marathon other than it will occur today.   Today, I'm going to focus on this bit of lousy weather we've all had to endure here in Virginia over the last several days.  We've had around 6 inches of rain in our area and the ground is saturated.  That said, my house was built during the depression by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) for $500.  The lady who had the house built was a widow whose late husband had been a lumberman and had traveled to the Philippines to harvest mahogany and other exotic trees and was there when the Japanese invaded and he was never heard from again.  She received insurance compensation and took that money and had this house built.  Just a couple years later she added two more rooms to the house and under those two rooms she had a basement dug.  This basement is more like a cellar as it was built using simple brick for the walls and no kind of drainage was thought of other than a sump hole in the floor and a sump pump installed to handle the seepage of water during heavy rainstorms.  Over the years this basement has been flooded due to the sump either going bad or there being no electricity to operate it. This time the pump simply didn't work and right now I have just over two feet of water in the basement.  This really wouldn't be a problem except that my oil-fired furnace and my electric water heater both sit on the floor of the basement.  Of course, they now are sitting in over two feet of water.  I have purchased a new submersible sump pump and as soon as the skies brighten enough I will drop it into the water and begin the long drawn out affair of draining the basement. 

On a brighter note I wanted to remind you of the Bluegrass Brothers and The James King Band concert tonight at the Amelia County High School Auditorium.  Tickets are $15 at the door and the music starts at 7PM.  Also, don't forget Gary Davis & Borrowed Time will be performing at the County Seat in Powhatan tonight.

"NUFF SAID!"

The James King Band & The Bluegrass Brothers at a "Special Veterans Week-End Event" Amelia High School Auditorium - November 14th, 2009

That's right, Lawson Entertainment presents two of the finest in Virginia Style Traditional Bluegrass bands, The James King Band and The Bluegrass Brothers in what has become an annual event over the Veterans Day week-end in Amelia, Virginia.  Starting at 7PM on Saturday November 14th you'll be treated to some of the best Bluegrass Virginia has to offer.  Here are some photos I have taken of these two great groups over the years.             As I sit here at this computer at 6:45AM on Sunday November 8th I can think of little to tell you about these two bands that hasn't been said by me and many others.  Suffice it to say if you're a fan of one of these bands you're probably a fan of the other.  Great Bluegrass begets great Bluegrass.  Well, actually there is a great deal I can tell you about the James King Band and that is the band is comprised of a whole new bunch of band members  They are: Greg Moore, Glenn "Cookie" Inman and Ron Spears.

Tickets for the show are available at $10 in advance and $15 at the door.  Advance tickets are available from Lawson Entertainment by calling 804-561-0705 or by logging onto their web site www.lawsonbluegrass.com/ .  As in the past, I'm certain there will be a "will call" box available for advance sales.

Also, that same night Gary Davis & Borrowed Time will be in concert at The County Seat in Powhatan, Virginia.  Call 804-598-5000 for reservations.  Gary tells us that his brother, Barry Davis, from Iowa will be at the show and will sing a few songs as a guest of the band.

"NUFF SAID!"

"Bluegrass Ramble" Oct. 2009

I'm gonna start this ramble with some thoughts about what I believe to be Bluegrass and what is being presented as Bluegrass. As most of you know I have always had a fairly strict sense of what Bluegrass is supposed to be. Bill Monroe & The Blue Grass Boys played Bluegrass. Flatt & Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys played Bluegrass. Both bands were comprised of basically five main instruments, Mandolin, Guitar, Banjo, Fiddle and Bass. Flatt & Scruggs later added the Dobro, but that's a whole 'nother story, so don't get me started on that right now. I think Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys played Bluegrass even though there were occasionally drums in his music. At the time Jimmy was simply playing good ol' country music and if he wanted a drum he used it. Thankfully, to my ears, the drums are almost silent. Bluegrass music, true Bluegrass music, must have a Banjo present, even if it never takes a solo break. Now, I know a lot of your are disagreeing with me right now, but even more of you are agreeing. Hey, we all know what traditional Bluegrass is, now don't we?

Well, I suppose a lot of you have noticed that I have been relaxing my strict standards as to what makes Bluegrass Bluegrass. A lot of bands these days don't feature the banjo and some don't even have a banjo at all. I really didn't like this trend, but I have heard some really great music(without Banjo) in recent years that I'm proud to include into my thoughts as Bluegrass. Just recently Brandon Rickman, the lead singer for Sammy Shelor's, Lonesome River Band released a CD of powerful Bluegrass music without a hint of Banjo anywhere. Allison Kraus and Lynn Morris both were some of the first to feature songs without Banjo. And speaking of these two ladies, having women in Bluegrass is also a change I have embraced. There are many women in Bluegrass today. And, since I really like women, I have have truly enjoyed their emergence into Bluegrass. In fact, many times when I have presented my "Night Owl Concerts" at IBMA in Nashville the majority of the groups have been comprised entirely of women or at least were led by a woman. I have been very resistant to the electric bass, but now I find it doesn't disturb me as much as it once did. So, looking back, I would say my outlook on Bluegrass has changed and I am much more flexible these days.

That said, I must tell you about a CD that arrived in my mail, unsolicited. It is entitled "Charlie Daniels & Friends, Joy To The World" subtitled "A Bluegrass Christmas." The first thing I want to tell you is that, indeed, there are many Bluegrass performers on this CD. Performers such as: The Grascals (Terry Smith, Terry Eldridge, Danny Roberts, Kristen Scott Benson & Jeremy Alshire); Aubrey Haynie, Kevin Haynie, Dan Tyminski, Evelyn Cox and Suzanne Cox. These are all great Bluegrass performers; absolutely. But when you add things like drums on most every track along with instruments such as tambourine, shaker, 12 string guitars and a casaba it is easy to see that the album is sorely misidentified as "A Bluegrass Christmas." The drums are featured very prominently in most every track of the CD as are the un-necessary noises of the other percussion instruments. On a positive note, I must tell you the package is wonderfully presented and there is not only a CD, but also a DVD with videos of each of the songs being performed live. The CD comes in a tri-fold cardboard package with both of the CD/DVD slots facing the center to prevent accidental slipping out of the disks. All songs are well annotated with all singers and instrumentalists listed for each. I find it odd that the producers are aware that knowing the details about each recording is important to Bluegrass enthusiasts, but they are not aware of the more strict parameters that identify and define Bluegrass music. The music is varied and features special tracks by Aaron Tippen, Jewel, Kathy Mattea, Evelyn Cox and Suzanne Cox and a well told story, "A Carolina Christmas Carol" written and read by Charlie Daniels. Overall the CD/DVD is well done with high production values throughout. I love the Christmas season and I'm sure I will enjoy "Charlie Daniels & Freinds, Joy To The World" CD/DVD set as well. I just wish the producers at "Blue Hat Records" could have resisted labeling the package as Bluegrass. It makes me wonder, "Is Bluegrass becoming so important, today, that a record label would misidentify a CD in order for it to thought of as Bluegrass?" Could that really be true?

"NUFF SAID!"