Review: Thile & Daves - Sleep with One Eye Open

By Jon Stone | @jwstone -  May 12, 2011 

grass|roots ep. 9

When I first started writing the grass|roots column last year, it was with the admission of my limited knowledge in the "genre" and that part of my interest in writing about the genre is the way that one great discovery leads to the next. Though I have learned a lot since then about the tradition (I’ve even begun research for a dissertation that focuses on the rhetoric of traditional American music), this principle remains true. Case in point: A few nights ago, I saw Tony Rice Unit perform. I went, of course, for the opportunity to hear the legendary Mr. Rice play – which was amazing – but I left having witnessed the genius of Rob Ickes’s dobro playing and the charm of Josh Williams who's know for both his work on both guitar and mandolin. Now I have two new artists to get acquainted with.

Chris Thile’s collaboration with Michael Daves on the pair’s new record Sleep with One Eye Open offers the same opportunity. I’m a long-time fan of Thile’s (as you likely know), but Daves is a newcomer both to me and to the bluegrass community at-large. But this is Daves record – it’s his high-and-lonesome voice that props this thing up. Thile is Thile which is to say, he’s fantastic both vocally and mando-ly, but his ego seems checked on Sleep. He gives us plenty of room to get to know Daves a move that seems almost gallant considering the hubris of what it must mean to be Chris Thile. Bravo, Chris.

The record, a collection of bluegrass standards the likes of “20/20 Vision” and “Cry, Cry Darling,” is both a serious and playful update on what Mando Lines over at No Depression calls “your grandfather’s bluegrass” (great review, by the way, Lines). This sums up Sleep, quite well, really. It does its best to be both old and new. We get the old alongside a succinct lesson in traditional music and in Daves high tenor.  The new sneaks its way through in the progressive take on the instrumentation that Thile and Daves so deftly employ.

All in all, this is a great record to start your summer with. It has Dukes-of-Hazard dirt-road chasers to get your blood going (“My Little Girl in Tennessee”) as well as lemonade-sipping instrumentals to enjoy as you porch sit and watch the sunset (“Ookpik Waltz”).  Sleep with One Eye Open is out this week from Nonesuch and, because these dudes mean business, was recorded to tape in Jack White's Third Man Studios in Nashville.

Review: Daniel Martin Moore - In the Cool of the Day

By Jon Stone | @jwstone - April 24, 2011

grass|roots ep. 8

I've been writing this review for the last three weeks. Or at least I've been thinking about writing it. It's taken me some time. And while it isn't that Daniel Martin Moore's In the Cool of the Day is earth shattering or game-changing, it is, for me at least, a very important record. In the Cool of the Day, put out by a relatively new artist on a big indie label, is a decidedly religious album. Even though My Morning Morning Jacket's Jim James (the record's producer and contributor) glosses and universalizes the specifics of its unmistakable Christian message (see below), Moore is unapologetic in his mission: curate, update, and re-imagine favorite gospel and "spiritual" standards (and write a few new ones as well).

Here's the blurb from James in the record's press release:

It’s a spiritual record that may have come from growing up in one particular tradition, but is built to speak to the heart of any soul, from any tradition or walk of life, to say that God, while sometimes called by one particular name, is anywhere and everywhere one could ever want “God” to be, present always in the love we give to and receive from those around us.

I find it refreshing that Sub Pop and Jim James understand that endorsing a religious record for its artistic and even spiritual merit does not undermine their credibility. As part of a largely secular audience that buy records from Sub Pop and other indie labels, I also understand their desire to couch the release of such a record in terms that make it accessible to a wide potential audience. They make it clear that In the Cool of the Day is a record that can be enjoyed by believers and non-believers alike as far as the notions of God and Jesus can be understood as metaphors for love, service, and overcoming selfishness. I'm OK with that.

That diplomatic gloss, however, is telling of a moment when tension between the faithful and those who have thoughtfully put faith aside has reached new highs even while secular humanists and Christians (and other religious folks) seem to have much in common (arguments of science and politics usually but not necessarily aside). And while the issues that separate and vex them are often important, a little understanding would go a long way.

Maybe that's what I like so much about Daniel Martin Moore's record. It is a rational declaration of faith. One that, because of its context and company with other Sub Pop releases as well as Moore's activist ethos coming off the Dear Companion project (with Ben Sollee), manages to celebrate the traditional even while it implicitly calls for greater human empathy and progressive, ethical tolerance.

All that said, In the Cool of the Day is a truly lovely record with a Sunday-afternoon sweetness. While the entire record could be described as hymnic, those hymns bounce around between utter solemnity and jazzy, celebratory swing. The album begins with several songs in the latter category including "In the Garden" and "Up Above My Head", both of which remind me of songs folks might want to clap their hands to after a rousing sermon. But it's the solemn songs on the second half that resonate and demand a searching of the soul. "Softly and Tenderly" is an almost whispered plea for spiritual reconciliation: "Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling... calling, 'Oh children, come home!'" "Cool of the Day, "It is Well With My Soul," and "Set Things Aright" all touch on the classic Christian themes of repentance, peace in spite of suffering, and victory over death -- all with soft and smart accompaniment: sometimes just Moore and a piano, but often embellished with fiddle, banjo, and bass.

So, with hopes of acknowledging (and counting myself among) Christians still interested in Jesus' advocacy for compassion, tolerance, equality, and peace, I can't think of a more appropriate record than In the Cool of the Day for Easter.

Hope yours was wonderful.

-Jon

grass|roots :: four acoustic acts for your consideration

By Jon Stone | @jwstone - November 29, 2010

grass|roots ep. 7

The year is fading quickly. Soon you will be bombarded with lists a plenty, including several here, declaring the top ArcadeKanyeNationalSufjan records of the year. Before that, however, I wanted to throw down a final four records from 2010 that fit somewhere within the wide net I've been calling grass|roots. Each of these bands/artists put out great records this year that, I would guess, have been largely overlooked in mainstream circles. Ease into the first day back from turkey by getting acquainted with some acoustic music from some very talented smiths of the song.

Chatham County Line - Wildwood



First, I direct your attention to Chatham County Line and their record Wildwood. They are a North Carolina quartet that walk a lovely line between traditional bluegrass and indie folk. The first time I heard them, I could have sworn it was Jim James on lead vocals, but no -- that's lead singer/songwriter Dave Wilson who, uncharacteristicly for a bluegrass band, has a soft reverb on the vocal mic that adds a layer or warmth to the songs on Wildwood. The record has a few other non-traditional elements on it that set it apart/make it awesome. The harmonica on "Crop Comes In" (see above) is super sweet and it crops up in several other songs giving them a rustic, bluesy sound. Also, a drum kit often kicks in and kicks things up a notch or two. Add the multi-voice harmonies and great songwriting to the mix and Wildwood is in the top 3 great bluegrass releases of the year.

If you dig into them and like what you hear, these guys are veterans; they have four other amazing records released over the last 10 years you should check out.

+++

The Giving Tree Band - The Joke, the Threat, and the Obvious



Also great is another just-this-side of traditional group,The Giving Tree Band from Chicago. In addition to their laid back bluegrass/string-band sound, they represent a fascinating example of sustainable musical production. These dudes play instruments made from the wood of fallen trees. Seriously. They record their music in buildings powered by solar and wind energy. Their albums are printed and packaged with 100% recycled materials. They plant trees to offset pollution created by the distrabution of those records. They are the real deal, people. In the midst of such greenery, they've also put out a lovely record that deserves your attention. You may have caught them opening for Frontier Ruckus a few weeks back and they will also be playing the Chicago Bluegrass Festival next weekend in Chicago.

+++

Doug Paisley - Constant Companion



The first thing I notice on Doug Paisley's sophomore release Constant Companion is the keys. It's kind a strange thing to stand out on a mostly acoustic record built around the voice and guitar of a great song writer -- but sometimes it's the nuances on an album that make it shine. The Hammond B3 on the opening track (and others) as well as the amazing piano work throughout centers this record and sweetens in in a way that makes it the perfect afternoon chill music. Doug Paisley has been aptly compared to Bonnie "Prince" Billy. What separates the one from the other, though, is that the latter as a moniker for Will Oldham operates as a kind of smoke screen -- you're never sure, even through the ache, when Oldham is being honest and when he is inventing. With Paisley, there's never a question.

+++

John Shade - All You Love is Need



Finally, early in the year a friend introduced me to the solo artist John Shade and his debut record All You Love is Need. We featured John on a podcast back in April. All You Love is Need was recorded in Bon Iver's cabin in Wisconsin by Justin's brother Nate Vernon late last year and is, simply, a charming record that I've listened to again and again throughout the year. I'm just sorry I haven't given the album a more distinctive shout-out earlier. Pick up his record over at bandcamp for whatever you'd like to pay.

Review: Mandolin Orange - Quiet Little Room

By Jon Stone | @jwstone - October 26, 2010

grass|roots ep. 6

I spend a lot of time listening to music just on the left side of what might be called bluegrass. In fact, as I've thought about this series and music that I might want to include, I've often hit a bit of a brick wall because, while I enjoy what might be considered "traditional" bluegrass, very rarely am I blown over by it. Instead, my tastes have an affinity with the progressives (as I've explored in the past), but perhaps are even more grounded in the singer-songwriter crowd where focus moves from the instrumentation to the melody and ethos of songs. Genre-wise, music journalists have a tough time categorizing both of these kinds of groups. They're all a little bit grassy, a little bit country-folk, a little bit something else.

Last year I told whoever would listen how much I loved Sarah Jarosz's debut, Song Up In Her Head. I'll spend what's left of this year (and likely long into next) proclaiming my penchant for Mandolin Orange and their debut, full-length Quiet Little Room. It is a gem of a record mixing folky male/female duets and (mostly) acoustic guitar,  mandolin, and fiddle instrumentation. The music doesn't shy away from using a drumkit when its appropriate, but leans mostly on hauntingly sweet slow tunes with Gillian Welsh/Dave Rawlins-style close harmonies and stringed instrument solos. Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz can be added to the growing list of great acts who employ this formula: Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore come to mind immediately, but, for some reason (and I suspect it's a good one), Nathaniel Rateliff's record this year, which is full of amazing songwriting with really lovely vocal harmonies, hangs nicely in this crowd too.

In any case, I highly recommend your checking out Mandolin Orange's record and seeing them if and when they swing through your town. I hope they make some midwestern touring plans soon!

Check out "Train Song," a non-album track, below, but also click here and listen through to a bunch of great YouTube performances (many off the record) from the band. (And thanks to Anson for the heads up on this and so many other great bands!)

Review: Punch Brothers - Antifogmatic

By Jon Stone | @jwstone - June 30, 2010

grass|roots ep. 5

I’m both fascinated and baffled by the Punch Brothers’ refusal to allow the music they make to be classified as bluegrass. I suppose that Chris Thile has been pushing that line since way back in Nickel Creek where the band took more of a “yes, but” approach. And while back then that "but" was aimed at securing Nickel Creek’s success as a pop band that played with traditional bluegrass instruments, Punch Brothers have pushed that same paradigm into as many different genres as to have made, in their eyes, the "but" no longer accurate.

I’m not so sure. To me it seems disingenuous and even slightly contentious to drive that hard line – to insist a separation from a tradition so rich and from one that the players in the band have such strong ties to. I suppose that Punch Brothers are making an important (to them) effort to break free of a tradition, and they must have important reasons for that. In fact, the only thing that allows for a bit of empathy is my own understanding and experience (and difficulty) with academic disciplinarity (I’m a grad student in an English department), which can sometimes feel like over-chaperoned school dance which, as you might imagine, often stifles creativity and "new moves" even as it demands them.

All of this is by way of introduction to Antifogmatic. On the new Punch Brothers record, Thile’s band’s does its best to meet that multi-genred challenge. In doing so the band presents a diverse collection of songs: each crafted with a slightly different aesthetic, but cohesive enough to hang together in surely the most concise and likely the most (commercially) successful Punch Brothers record to date. (I’m including 2006’s How to Grow a Woman From the Ground here. It was a Punch Brothers record even if, as banjoist Noam Pikelny joked during their Bonnaroo set, it was released under a different band name: “Chris Thile”.)

That cohesion is achieved by the band’s devotion to their acoustic instruments. That devotion, though, is also what makes the bluegrass distinction difficult to shake. The record was produced by the multi-talented John Brion (His list of production work is long, but my favorites are his work on Rufus Wainwright's eponymous debut and Fiona Apple's 1999 release When the Pawn...). Brion's goal was to get the sound of the record as close as possible to what he heard when he sat in the middle of the musicians while they played. I think he succeeds as each percussive tap and evocative pluck of the five instruments in play ring through giving the record a sound that highlights both its parts and the sum of those parts.

The concision on Antifogmatic is achieved, most notably, by the absence of a 40-minute, pseudo-classical piece (and in my opinion, masterpiece) that was the last record’s epic “The Blind Leaving the Blind.” The songs are mostly all healthy, four-minute affairs, but Antifogmatic conspicuously leaves the long instrumental (and technically mind-blowing) jams for the deluxe edition.

For me this album is a small step back for fans of the emotional powerhouse that was 2008’s Punch—it doesn’t delve nearly as deep into the depths and gutters of life’s toughest lessons like Punch did. But this, as I mention earlier, is probably the right move for the band to make. I argued in my review of Punch that Punch Brothers managed to be accessible despite their affinity for progressive playing, and while I think that was likely a misplaced argument to be making for that album, it fits perfectly for Antifogmatic. The new record should easily capture the attention of new fans with songs like the opening, Strokes-esque “You Are,” ballads like “Alex” and the barn stomping “Rye Whiskey” (which in recent episode of All Songs Considered, Bob Boilen himself mistook for a standard). Every song on the record is original, every song was written collaboratively, and even though the band gets billed as "Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile" on their current tour, on Antifogmatic, Thile is clearly making room for the rest of the band.

So the question remains, bluegrass or no bluegrass? Well, give a listen to another album standout “Next to the Trash” in which the Punch Brothers move seamlessly (as they so often do) between at least three genres. I think it really just boils down to generational traditions. If you try to lump these guys in comfortably with the last 50 years of bluegrass musicians, you just can't. But for me in 2010, this is how the best bluegrass sounds. This is the future.

Buy: Punch Brotheres - Antifogmatic

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I can't resist posting this video of the boys playing "Cry, Cry Darling" with another favorite of mine, Sarah Jarosz, backstage at Bonnaroo. Enjoy.

grass|roots :: Tony Rice

By Jon Stone | @jwstone

grass|roots ep. 4

In my first grass|roots post, I mention that my interest in writing about acoustic music and its traditions is an exploratory venture and not one based, necessarily, on expertise. With this post on Tony Rice, I begin that exploration in earnest. Surely there are folks out there that know more -- I encourage their comments and suggestions.

My last several posts have been about my favorite acoustic musicians -- Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, Chris Thile -- all of which have had a hand in moving bluegrass music in a progressive direction. Tony Rice is, in this respect, as influential and integral to this move as any of these musicians, if not more so.  You can trace his songwriting, guitar playing, collaborations, and solo work directly through the history of that move.  Like these artists, he has, throughout this career, managed to be both traditional and a-traditional.

Born and raised in California, he moved to Louisville, Kentucky in the early 70s and began playing on a variety of important projects. Almost immediately, he participated in a record that has become a pivotal record in bluegrass history -- the pivotal record, even. The record was 1975's J.D. Crowe and the New South. This was a super-before-they-were-super group with the legendary J.D. Crowe on banjo and the now-legendary players  Jerry Douglas, Ricky Skaggs, and Tony Rice filling out the rest of the band. Check these cats out (and see if you can look beyond those butterfly collars and leisure suits to see a super squirrely  Douglas behind the haircut and scowl. Also, pay attention to Rice's golden playing and really lovely voice):



From there Rice launches into a career of both ground-breaking solo work and high-profile collaborations that have made him one of the genre's living legends which you can read about on his wiki page or, much better, in his just-published authorized biography, Still Inside. (I can't wait till my schedule opens up enough to read that biography. It's been delayed for years now. Autographed copies are still available from the linked site.)

My story with Rice is that I came across his music as a beginner bluegrass fan and before I knew anything about the stuff above. I picked up a record (as I often do) at my local library that looked interesting -- it was that simple. The record was his The Bluegrass Guitar Collection (2003). It is a fantastic instrumental record with a laundry list of the best-of-the-best collaborators on it. Next I got his Cold on the Shoulder and thought, "who is this guy singing?" I had no idea that Rice sang, or why (when I found out that it was his great voice I was hearing on this and other solo records) he quit. It's bittersweet, then, to hear the story he recounts of his first guitar experience here. Rice's singing voice is gone. He has dysphonia, a medical condition that has left his vocal chords damaged and unusable.

I'd highly recommend your doing some exploring here. I'm betting that if you made a short trip to your local library you'd find some great stuff. Check out Church Street Blues or Manzanita. Rice-perts, drop a few recommendations for us here as well. In the meantime, enjoy this solo performance of Shenandoah/Danny Boy. I think you'll see hear immediately what I think makes him so special.



Tony will be in Stoughton, WI on April 23rd at the Stoughton Opera House and in Chicago at the Old Town School of Folk Music on April 25th.

grass|roots :: Punch Brothers - Punch

By Jon Stone | @jwstone

grass|roots ep. 3

Tomorrow night the Pabst will welcome The Punch Brothers to Millwaukee for a second of three Wisconsin stops on what front-man Chris Thile has been calling the third annual "Hypothermeanderings Tour." (Madison, they'll be at the UW Union Theater tonight and at the UW Platteville Center for the Arts on the 6th).

In 2008 the Punch Brothers released Punch, an album that my iTunes tells me I have listened to more than any other in my collection. It was not just a favorite album of 2008, it has become one of my favorite records period.  It, for me, does something distinctly unique and innovative -- something that very few bands in both popular and bluegrass music are attempting, let alone succeeding in. Chris and his brothers Punch are at once reinvigorating a genre and pushing that genre into new and progressive realms. But what is more remarkable is that they are doing so in a completely accessible way. Much of modern "progressive" bluegrass is as likely to alienate new listeners as attract them. The Punch Brothers do the opposite.

I first became acquainted with Chris Thile through his work as a member of the band Nickel Creek. Thile, along with the siblings Sara and Sean Watkins brought bluegrass to the masses with songs that drew on the bluegrass tradition, but infused it with pop sensibilities. This, I think, was the genesis of what I was talking about above. Nickel Creek made a move that made the music not only approachable by said masses, but relevant as a step forward for popular bluegrass. The Punch Brothers have kept pushing.

Though all three members of Nickel Creek contributed work to the band (and both are now doing great solo work), Thile's songwriting, voice, and virtuoso mandolin playing impressed me most about the band. 2005's Why Should the Fire Die especially began to show off Thile as pulling out ahead of the pack with tunes like "Helena," "Can't Complain" and "Doubting Thomas." Each which, while fairly straight ahead pop tunes, had heart-wrenching narratives of not just failed relationships, but the deeper issues that surround trauma: issues of belief and faith. Thile often comes back around to religious imagery in his current work which he uses as a kind of motif to represent the unrepresentable. Singing about the disintegration of a marriage (which he does on Punch) becomes analogous to the disintegration of faith itself. It's devastating to listen in on, but unflinchingly poignant and beautiful.

His first major solo release, Not All Who Wander are Lost, came out in 2001 just as Nickel Creek was gaining steam (though he's been putting out records since he was nine...! His first, Leading Off came out in 1993 and has recently been reissued by Sugar Hill). A mostly instrumental record, Not All Who Wander boasts collaborations with Stuart Duncan, Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Jerry Douglas, and Bryan Sutton -- many of whom who had, for years, already been pushing on the borders of what might be considered bluegrass music. These were the masters. More importantly, these were Thile's heroes and now he had officially joined their ranks.

Thile has continued to put out interesting solo work, including Deciever in 2004 (as an experiment he plays every instrument on this, a more pop/rock record) and has several duo collaboration records: Two with fellow mandolinist Mike Marshall and one that came out just a few months ago with bassist Edgar Meyer.

This most recent project, however, is the one that I think is game changing. Sometime in 2006 Thile wrangled a new band together. This band, however, was different than previous work. No longer focused on pop music, per say, or carving out musical relationships with the greats, the new project was about reciprocity. Each of the musicians were young players but, like Thile, were on the top of their game with sufficient pluck (pardon the pun) to work and be incredibly successful on their own (the current line-up has Chris Eldridge on guitar, Paul Kowert on bass, Noam Pikelny, banjo and Gabe Witcher on the fiddle). When they got together to record How To Grow A Woman From The Ground (not yet under the Punch Brothers moniker) you can hear things clicking right away. Whether in the opening track "Watch 'at Breakdown" (which launches a Flatt & Skruggs thing into the stratosphere), or "The Beekeeper" (which makes sure it stays in orbit), the record is clearly a demarcation of something great on the rise.

Punch solidifies and reiterates everything I've already been saying. They keep on pushing. In this case, and perhaps the reason I have come back to this record so often, it is the four movement, thirty-six minute, pseudo-classical piece "The Blind Leaving the Blind" (the foray into dealing with the grief of divorce I was talking about). It is a piece to be unraveled. Melodies weave in and out; choruses and musical motifs modulate and recirculate, and the piece -- especially if you see them do it live -- just completely envelopes you. This is smart music, folks. It is music that inspires thinking even as it has you tapping your foot. It not only inspires the listener to keep digging into the bluegrass tradition (as it did me), but makes a trip to see a symphony seem in order. I think this is what Thile intends. He wants us to both have a great time with his music, but learn something from it and be inspired by it.

And if thirty-six minute bluegrass symphonies seem a bit out of your league (despite what I said about accessibility), there's other stuff that might encourage your checking out the band. They love a good cover, for example. How to Grow a Woman has the Strokes' "Heart in a Cage," their Daytrotter session (see below) includes a cover of Wilco's "Poor People," and they are known to close shows with this gem (which features Gabe Witcher on vocals):



If you like that -- you might just like their "Morning Bell" too.

Word is, the Punch Brothers just recorded a new album due out in the Spring. Before then, I really hope you get out to see them.

Review: Béla Fleck | Africa Project – Canopy Club, Urbana

By Jon Stone | @jwstone

grass|roots -- ep. 2

Since seeing Béla Fleck's Africa Project last Sunday night (at the Canopy Club in Urbana, IL), I've been thinking about what I might say here to communicate what a unique experience it was. I think it might be best if I do some showing instead of telling. Consider first this video, which shows the meeting of Fleck with Tanzanian musician Anania Ngoliga:



Now have a listen to N'goni Ba, the seven-piece group from Mali (pictured above):



These are the musicians who accompanied Béla Fleck on Sunday night. Anania played his ilimba or "thumb piano" -- something I had only seen five-note versions of in the past -- and N'goni Ba's Bassekou Kouyate is a master of the West African lute or n'goni. The n'goni is a seven-string instrument that is thousands of years old and thought to be an ancestor of the American banjo (though how the n'goni can have more than three strings is beyond me: the neck is the diameter of a small broom handle!).

Fleck is an undisputed banjo master. He's an innovator and his work transcends genre. He's bound to show up again and again in this series. He's won thirteen Grammy awards for his work, most often with the Flecktones, but also for various other projects. And just a few weeks ago, his "Africa Sessions" received two. He's gone beyond mere progressive virtuosity here. With this Africa project he's making some important arguments, acknowledging gracefully but forcefully that American folk history is not just American. Our roots extend into Africa and beyond. He knows from his experience in bluegrass and jazz that music can be a key to understanding culture. It unlocks hidden doors and grants access to the hearts of people in ways that other intellectual explorations cannot -- which might have something to do with the title of the project. It's called Throw Down Your Heart (The flash homepage linked here is astounding. Spend some time there exploring the project's variety of places and contributors.)

The show was amazing. Fleck graced us with a few solo numbers, but his priority was clearly to shine a spotlight on each of his collaborators. He demonstrated how the kind of musical conversation begun in the video I shared above can evolve to become beautiful show pieces. These collaborations are meant, I think, to celebrate the unmistakable similarities in our cultural musical traditions by bringing them, at last, to our attention. In fact, I love that Throw Down Your Heart somewhat undermines  some of definitions I tried to flesh out in my first grass|roots post last week (right out of the gate in episode 2!). In describing his idea behind the project Béla says: "I thought it was important for people to realize where the banjo comes from . . .  it's been associated so much with a white-southern stereotype that most people don't realize it's an African instrument."  By finding a role for the banjo in African music (rather than the other way around) Fleck finds a way to not just celebrate but venerate African music and musicians.  Indeed, with Throw Down Your Heart Béla Fleck helps to correct our notions of what is meant when we talk about roots music.

grass|roots :: Jerry Douglas

By Jon Stone | @jwstone

grass|roots -- ep. 1

I don't remember the first time I heard Jerry Douglas play, but I do recall when I first started to notice. It was on a solo number -- "Tribute to Peador O'Donnell" -- on the live Alison Krauss and Union Station record.  It wasn't life-changing so much as it was game-changing. Hearing Douglas -- his virtuosity, his unmistakable style, and, really, hearing what a resophonic guitar (or Dobro) can do -- was like stumbling upon something completely new, yet totally familiar.



Jerry Douglas put a new face on "country" music for me. Five or six years ago, I barely knew bluegrass/roots from Toby Keith (or country from Country), so Jerry Douglas (and, to be fair Alison Krauss and the rest of Union Station) got me and my preconceived notions out of I Love this Bar & Grill and on my way into a wonderfully rewarding musical exploration. He's been called the greatest Dobro player who ever lived and in addition to thirteen solo records (since 1979), he's contributed his special brand of slide to over 1600 albums. 1600! I had the great pleasure of seeing him play at last year's Ellnora guitar festival at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana, IL. It rates among the best few hours of live music that I've ever heard. (I still can't believe that it was a free show--thanks Krannert!)

As many of you likely know better than me, American Roots Music is a voluminous and multi-chambered instrument. It encompasses country and blues, gospel and old-time, folk and bluegrass, among others. In essence, when you think about it, these genres make up the bedrock of influence for many if not most of the bands that we love here at Muzzle of Bees. Of course, from these "roots" would grow the more dominant genres of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and jazz which would each come to define the nation musically (and which we like quite a bit here too). But there is something intriguing to me about acoustic instruments and musicians that typify roots and especially bluegrass music -- something familiar and true.

So begins a new regular feature here at Muzzle of Bees that I'll be calling, simply, "grass|roots". I'll be trying my best to get a handle on the genres listed above by documenting my own exploration of them. I'll start early next week with review of Béla Fleck's show here in Urbana on Valentine's eve, and will press forward from there with album and concert reviews, artist and label spotlights, and whatever else seems related and relevant.

I start with Jerry Douglas because his work rubs up against, influences, or in some other way resonates with so much of what interests me currently in roots music.  I'm compelled by the growing, modern grass-hybrid genre (sometimes called "progressive" or "newgrass") that he is so often connected with (and that I have written about before) and will continue to explore it here. Watch for upcoming posts on Tony Rice, Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer, Sam Bush, and Mark O'Conner just to name a very few.