Oh man Paul, you and Gene are talkin' my talk. I am so thrilled to find some Jerry fans here!
Most of my friends chide me for it, but I'm a bluegrass fan first and foremost. I had a good friend, and excellent guitarist, that turned me on to it at a young age and it stuck. I love bluegrass fests and of course Jerry is a mainstay at these. For several years, we hosted a great one here in cowtown. That is until a disastrous flood occured (4 years ago?) at one and pretty much crushed the promoter's ability to do it again. It was quite a mess.
Anyway, the most coveted show for me over any other has always been to see Jerry playing with Sam Bush and Bela Fleck (both of New Grass Revival Fame) sometimes with Tony Rice and sometimes also joined by John Cowan, also from NGR. This bunch of guys is, IMO, the greatest show on earth when they get together. They are the ones that made me love bluegrass.
A funny thing though, The first time I saw them, I actually witnessed some traditionalist bluegrass fans walk away from their show! They didn't like that John played an electric bass! I thought, big deal - kind of reminded me of Dylan's first Newport show. The fact is, they play bluegrass, and it's real bluegrass. Jammin' Bluegrass. They just always did it their own way. Their mind boggling skill and cohesion (and they just have fun together) is what has always kept me coming back for more.
I haven't been able to get to one of their shows for a couple of years because I think that these days they all have too many personal commitments (their own projects) to do a lot of shows together. I think they still play Telluride occasionally, but that's a long haul for me. One of these days though...
I don't really know if it's true or not, but I heard (or read) that Bill Monroe after first hearing the New Grass Revival play asked Sam Bush, "What do call that music?". Sam replied, "I call it newgrass". To which the father of bluegrass says "Well, I call it crap."
The funny thing is, it was these guys that were bringing the young people (like me) into the bluegrass fold. They ratcheted things up a notch, and made bluegrass even better than it already was.
Oh and by the way, Bill eventually came to appreciate it too.
********
Oh, hey you Austinians, Bela and his band , The Flecktones, will be in Austin (at Stubbs) on the 13th, or maybe 14th (I forget), of Sept. Go see them. Another guaranteed smiler.
Marc
And by the way folks, Gene is right, go get Bela's "Drive" album ...it IS an absolute must! Of course, my list goes on and on, but I'll save some for later...
Re: Jerry Douglas
Marc
location: Columbus, OH
listening to: gloating democrats...and that's ok, they earned it.
registered: 2001.11.02
posts: 1067
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Marc
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Oh man Paul, you and Gene are talkin' my talk. I am so thrilled to find some Jerry fans here!
Most of my friends chide me for it, but I'm a bluegrass fan first and foremost. I had a good friend, and excellent guitarist, that turned me on to it at a young age and it stuck. I love bluegrass fests and of course Jerry is a mainstay at these. For several years, we hosted a great one here in cowtown. That is until a disastrous flood occured (4 years ago?) at one and pretty much crushed the promoter's ability to do it again. It was quite a mess.
Anyway, the most coveted show for me over any other has always been to see Jerry playing with Sam Bush and Bela Fleck (both of New Grass Revival Fame) sometimes with Tony Rice and sometimes also joined by John Cowan, also from NGR. This bunch of guys is, IMO, the greatest show on earth when they get together. They are the ones that made me love bluegrass.
A funny thing though, The first time I saw them, I actually witnessed some traditionalist bluegrass fans walk away from their show! They didn't like that John played an electric bass! I thought, big deal - kind of reminded me of Dylan's first Newport show. The fact is, they play bluegrass, and it's real bluegrass. Jammin' Bluegrass. They just always did it their own way. Their mind boggling skill and cohesion (and they just have fun together) is what has always kept me coming back for more.
I haven't been able to get to one of their shows for a couple of years because I think that these days they all have too many personal commitments (their own projects) to do a lot of shows together. I think they still play Telluride occasionally, but that's a long haul for me. One of these days though...
I don't really know if it's true or not, but I heard (or read) that Bill Monroe after first hearing the New Grass Revival play asked Sam Bush, "What do call that music?". Sam replied, "I call it newgrass". To which the father of bluegrass says "Well, I call it crap."
The funny thing is, it was these guys that were bringing the young people (like me) into the bluegrass fold. They ratcheted things up a notch, and made bluegrass even better than it already was.
Oh and by the way, Bill eventually came to appreciate it too.
********
Oh, hey you Austinians, Bela and his band , The Flecktones, will be in Austin (at Stubbs) on the 13th, or maybe 14th (I forget), of Sept. Go see them. Another guaranteed smiler.
Marc
And by the way folks, Gene is right, go get Bela's "Drive" album ...it IS an absolute must! Of course, my list goes on and on, but I'll save some for later...
Most of my friends chide me for it, but I'm a bluegrass fan first and foremost. I had a good friend, and excellent guitarist, that turned me on to it at a young age and it stuck. I love bluegrass fests and of course Jerry is a mainstay at these. For several years, we hosted a great one here in cowtown. That is until a disastrous flood occured (4 years ago?) at one and pretty much crushed the promoter's ability to do it again. It was quite a mess.
Anyway, the most coveted show for me over any other has always been to see Jerry playing with Sam Bush and Bela Fleck (both of New Grass Revival Fame) sometimes with Tony Rice and sometimes also joined by John Cowan, also from NGR. This bunch of guys is, IMO, the greatest show on earth when they get together. They are the ones that made me love bluegrass.
A funny thing though, The first time I saw them, I actually witnessed some traditionalist bluegrass fans walk away from their show! They didn't like that John played an electric bass! I thought, big deal - kind of reminded me of Dylan's first Newport show. The fact is, they play bluegrass, and it's real bluegrass. Jammin' Bluegrass. They just always did it their own way. Their mind boggling skill and cohesion (and they just have fun together) is what has always kept me coming back for more.
I haven't been able to get to one of their shows for a couple of years because I think that these days they all have too many personal commitments (their own projects) to do a lot of shows together. I think they still play Telluride occasionally, but that's a long haul for me. One of these days though...
I don't really know if it's true or not, but I heard (or read) that Bill Monroe after first hearing the New Grass Revival play asked Sam Bush, "What do call that music?". Sam replied, "I call it newgrass". To which the father of bluegrass says "Well, I call it crap."
The funny thing is, it was these guys that were bringing the young people (like me) into the bluegrass fold. They ratcheted things up a notch, and made bluegrass even better than it already was.
Oh and by the way, Bill eventually came to appreciate it too.
********
Oh, hey you Austinians, Bela and his band , The Flecktones, will be in Austin (at Stubbs) on the 13th, or maybe 14th (I forget), of Sept. Go see them. Another guaranteed smiler.
Marc
And by the way folks, Gene is right, go get Bela's "Drive" album ...it IS an absolute must! Of course, my list goes on and on, but I'll save some for later...
