Palatka Bluegrass Festival - Preview

The fourth annual Palatka Bluegrass Festival kicks off on Thursday, February 7^th at the Rodeheaver Boys Ranch about ten miles south of Palatka on Highway 19 . Promoters Norman Adams and Tony Anderson ramrod this fine festival for the folks at Rodeheaver, who use it as one of their major fund raisers. Rodeheaver Boys Ranch is a 700 acre working ranch where about 45 boys whose parents are, for one reason or another, unable to care for them live. The ranch staff, a group of dedicated educators and house parents, have created a loving and challenging environment to turn unhappy boys into productive citizens. During the festival, which always has one of the strongest lineups in the Florida circuit, bluegrass fans get an opportunity to encounter these kids and those who care for them directly, as they serve as staff and volunteers for the event. The festival runs for three days.

On Thursday, Paul Williams and the Victory Trio lead of at noon. Williams is an old-timer in bluegrass who has written hundreds of bluegrass gospel classics. He does a limited touring schedule these days, and it will be a treat to see him. A characteristic of Adams and Anderson promoted festivals is their fealty to early bluegrassers. At the other end of the spectrum, the brand new band Dailey & Vincent will be performing. Jamie Dailey spent the last several years singing lead and doing comedy for Doyle Lawson while Darrin Vincent (Rhonda’s brother) has been with Ricky Skaggs’ group Kentucky Thunder. These two very accomplished sidemen have joined together to form one of the two new bands creating a great deal of buzz this season. Other bands on Thursday are James King, Gary Waldrep, The Grascals, and Blue Highway. I’m told that Blue Highway is releasing a new album with several great new songs by Tim Stafford.

Danny Roberts and Terry Eldridge (The Grascals)

Friday opens with Carolina Sonshine, a mostly gospel group which has stepped up in the last couple of seasons. Danny Stanley has a fine baritone voice and does comedy bits and voice impressions. Steep Canyon Rangers can be relied on for a first rate performance. We’ve never seen the Isaacs Family, but have heard their work and expect them to be excellent. The Gibson Brothers, one of the finest bands on the bluegrass circuit today will offer songs from their new album Iron and Diamonds which will be released in a couple of months. Their work is always of the highest quality, featuring the tight harmonies of Eric and Leigh Gibson and unique musical quality that catches the ear and the spirit. Doyle Lawson, featuring several new band members, is always reliable. Goldwing Express will be there, too.

Eric and Leigh Gibson

Doyle Lawson

Dr. Ralph Stanley

As this festival began with one of the first generation bluegrassers, it will end with one also. Dr. Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys will close the festival with one long set on Saturday evening. Leading up to this closer will be Nothin’ Fancy, a mainstay at this festival, and Marty Raybon & Full Circle, who we have also never seen before, but whose work as we’ve heard it on XM radio is first rate. The Lewis Family, hobbled in recent years by the illness of one of their members, still features one of bluegrass gospel’s prime attractions, banjo player and clown extrordinaire Little Roy Lewis. One of the highlights of the weekend will be Country Current, the U.S. Navy’s touring bluegrass band. Because this band is on active duty in the Navy, they are precluded from making commercial recordings. This means that much of their very high quality repertoire is not as well known as it should be. Lead singer Wayne Taylor is exceptional. Frank Sollivan II is one of the finest mandolin players in the business. Keith Arneson’s work on banjo is elegant and thoughtful and his direction of the band light. This band is not to be missed. Rhonda Vincent, one of the most reliable, hardest touring, and highest quality performers in bluegrass music. One of her great qualities is the amount off-stage time she gives the rabid fans and new converts who flock to her merchandise table. While she is a known quantity, she never disappoints. I’m eager to hear what Darrell Webb, who has replaced Josh Williams at guitar will add to the mix. He was excellent with Wildfire, and he will surely change the mix as well as continue the excellence.

Rhonda Vincent

The Palatka Bluegrass Festival’s lineup is loaded with first-rate performers. In the past five years, the folks at Rodeheaver Boys Ranch have created a fine performing venue featuring over 500 RV sites with water and electric, a pole barn music shed with gas heat for the chilly nights often found in northern Florida in winter, and a fine set of very good vendors. The staff serves tasty hot breakfasts each morning in the ranch dining hall as well as dinners in the evening. Keep your eyes open for the wonderful local navel oranges sold by the festival and transported to your rig if you wish. This is a first class operation with fine performers presented in a prime setting. If you can fit it into your schedule, get yourself there.

Carolina Sonshine

Frank Sollivan II (Country Current)

Hunter Berry (Rhonda Vincent)

Jamie Johnson (The Grascals)

Jimmy Mattingly (The Grascals)

Kenny Ingram (Rhonda Vincent)

Kevin Prater (James King)

Mike Andes and Tony Shorter (Nothin' Fancy)

YeeHaw Junction - Saturday and Sunday - Review

Saturday at a bluegrass festival usually builds throughout the day to a rousing climax in the next to last act of the evening. YeeHaw Junction is a well-organized, carefully thought through event which works well from start to finish. Steve Dittman’s attention to detail, selection of bands, provision for vendors and other amenities, and eagerness to provide a first-rate experience show throughout the event. The day opened warm and partly cloudy, a little humid. It stayed that way almost all day until a slight shower in the early evening, which didn’t seem to faze anyone. Over the day, well over a thousand people would show up to swell the crowds.

The Doerfel Family opened Saturday. I’ve expressed my concerns about family bands, especially those tour hard. When we saw them last year, the Doerfels seemed to me to be a parent created and parent driven group even to the extent of bribing the younger kids to perform. A year later the parents have left the stage to their talented and enthusiastic kids, and their music has become more complex, sophisticated, and interesting. Their instrumentation has become very good. The boys have picked up instrument endorsements for good reason – they’re becoming very good and manufacturers want to be associated with young, dynamic musicians. Daughter Kim, at eighteen a blooming beauty with a voice that ranges from gravelly blues to crooning bluegrass provides leadership and drive with her expert fiddling. Each of the kids has continued to improve. TK (17) playing his sponsored Nechville banjo plays post clear and tastefully. Eddie (14) on mandolin, Joey (13) on bass, and Ben (12) on guitar each contribute in major ways. The younger children are off and on stage, playing games or coming on to sing or play for a song. I don’t particularly like their paying the younger children a dollar to perform, but it isn’t as obvious as it seemed to me last year. As with all family bands, it remains to be seen what happens to these kids as puberty approaches and other interests rise up, but just now they’re filled with enthusiasm and energy. Really worth a look and a listen.

I wrote of Friday’s performance by Valerie Smith & Liberty Park that she seemed off her game. Turns out she worked too hard on the cruise and hit dry land tired and sick. She had complained on stage that the earth was still rocking. By a few minutes into Saturday’s performance the audience was rocking and Valerie Smith was rock solid. She had her energy and voice back in full form. Her interaction with Becky Buller was nuanced and interesting. The band was in full voice. At one point near the end of her first set, the electricity failed so she couldn’t be heard. Quickly she decided to lead the band out into the audience, clogging up and down the aisles, never missing a beat and bringing the audience alive. The audience responded with enthusiasm and encouragement to this display of guts and showmanship. Wisely, she asked Kevin Prater, the solid and able mandolinist for the James King band, to join her on stage for both sets, where he ably complemented the rest of the band. By the end of her second set, Valerie was tired, but visibly excited by the reaction and her own performance.

Dustin Jenkins and Keith Garret (Blue Moon Rising)

Blue Moon Rising contributed two more excellent sets. Their low key presentation and high quality traditional sound coupled with a unique sound make for first class entertainment.

Eugene Crabtree and Josh Greene (James King Band)

James King has replaced two members of his band and, apparently, achieved some new balance in his life. Both these changes have energized him and his band. James has always been a hard living, hard driving performer. In our conversation yesterday, he seemed to have achieved a new level of happiness. His performance reflected that, showing a verve and liveliness we have not recently seen. Eugene Crabtree has joined his band on banjo and Josh Green on fiddle. Both have added variety of depth to his performance. It can only be hoped this current state of affairs will continue and James will add to the record of great songs and stories he has contributed to bluegrass music. I don’t have much more to say about Nothin’ Fancy. They played two additional sets of their very reliable and solid work. It’s always a pleasure to see and hear them. They played a lot of requests, repeated a number of songs, and somehow manage to remain fresh and amusing, perhaps because it is so clear how much they enjoy each other and the audiences for whom they perform.

The highlight for us, as well as for many others here at YeeHaw Junction, was the return of the Gibson Brothers to Florida. They have not performed at this festival for about ten years. Eric, Leigh, and their band brought their wonderful songwriting, singing and picking to Florida and the crowd appeared to love them. The Gibsons sang many of the songs from their well-loved catalog including The Mountain Song, Callie’s Reel, Red Letter Day, Railroad Line, and Ragged Man. Whether they’re performing their own compositions or the work of others, they bring unique interpretations, tight harmonies, and driving instrumentals to them. Eric and Leigh offer close harmony and fine musicianship. Leigh’s voice and strong rhythm guitar fit perfectly with Eric’s banjo and voice. Eric deserves more recognition, too, for his thoughtful and creative work on the banjo. Rick Hayes on mandolin contributes very good play as well as his smiling demeanor and obvious joy in the play. Clayton Campbell plays soaring fiddle solos. His quiet presence belied by the assertive play and lilting backup. Mike Barber, as always rock solid on bass, also added a fine bass riff. It would take a truly hard-hearted person to be immune to the engaging performance of this stellar group. Their new album from Sugar Hill called Iron and Diamonds will be out in a couple of months. Gibson Brothers fans will already be on the lookout for it. Others will be introduced to them through their appearance with Kyle Cantrell on XM radio to premier the disk.

Clayton Campbell and Rick Hayes (The Gibson Brothers)

Sunday at YeeHaw Junction opened with Mike and Mary Robinson’s Bluegrass Gospel Jam, well attended by over thirty jammers and perhaps a hundred others. Bits of Grass and the Cunning-Hams contributed strong gospel performances. The annual fiddle championship was appreciatively received by an enthusiastic audience. Goldwing Express was there, too. Palms Bluegrass Band, and the Doerfel Family wrapped up this very successful and enjoyable festival, as the sky cleared, the sun came out, and the weekend ended.

James King

Kevin Prater (James King Band)

Eric and Leigh Gibson

Nothin' Fancy

Becky Buller, Valerie Smith, Kevin Prater

YeeHaw Junction - Friday: Review

Friday dawned bright and clear with a cool breeze from the northwest. It promised to be a lovely day filled with great music even if the evening would be cool to downright chilly. Predictions panned out pretty well. Monroe Crossing opened the day, continuing their high quality performance from Thursday. This band, little known outside the Midwest, deserves a national audience and reputation. Their eclectic mix of classic bluegrass and more contemporary sounds combined with high energy and first-rate musicianship should be pleasing to just about any bluegrass aficionado except the most intransigent, hard core traditional bluegrass fan. At one point they began with commenting that Bill Monroe is a member of five separate music halls of fame, including both bluegrass and rock and roll, and then used “The Road is Rocky, but it Won’t be Rocky Long” to morph through the original to rock-a-billy, a polka, to the blues. This clearly demonstrated the flexibility and versatility of Monroe’s music for today as well as having something to say about Monroe himself. Benji Flaming on banjo picked Bela Fleck’s “Whitewater” as well as an incredibly sweet and melodious banjo solo in their second set. Despite his very unusual way of holding his banjo, Flaming is a young banjo player very much worth watching. This band is extremely entertaining, engaging the audience with humor, gentle ribbing and banter. Monroe Crossing does honor to their namesake, dressing in forties era slacks and the awful painted ties your father used to wear (add a generation or two if you wish), but their music reflects trends and tastes from the thirties until today without seeming forced or mannered. Look for this band and request your local promoter to book them.

The Martin Family

The Martin Family had two sets today, more appearances than their repertoire supports. They will continue to tour and to improve if they don’t rest on their laurels. Son Dale has a pleasant voice and is becoming a competent flat picker. All three girls are developing their instrumental abilities as well as their singing. Family harmonies are close and solid. The package isn’t yet complete, but there’s reason to believe this band has the potential for a breakout success. Seventeen year old Lurita, on Dobro, shows real promise.

Valerie Smith & Liberty Park

Valerie Smith appeared tired and somewhat ill from their recent cruise. Her voice has pretty well recovered from last year’s surgery, but she didn’t seem at the top of her game on Friday. Since she has two sets on Saturday, I’m going to reserve further comment for tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, Becky Buller continues to provide musical and personal warmth and strength. Chad Graves has come into his own on Dobro with this band. Thomas Wywrot, a fine flatpicker, filling in on guitar was very good. Bobby Daniels provides the bass beat well and unobstrusively.

David Davis and the Warrior River Boys offered their usual very high quality two sets. Hailing from Alabama, Davis plays straight up Monroe style mandolin. His clear, fast picking is nearly flawless, and he complements it with a fine mid-range tenor voice that easily slips into falsetto when necessary. Robert Montgomery, a neighbor of Davis’s has joined the band on banjo. He plays very good breaks and backup, serving as a good addition to the band. Long-time bassist Marty Hayes’ voice blends very well with Davis’s as they showed so ably on a Louvin Brothers duet in their second set. Paul Priest on guitar sings very well, plays strong rhythm, and offers quality flat picking. Owen Saunders on fiddle is one of the best. His laconic style belies powerful playing and tasteful backup. One of Davis’ strongest songs is a recounting of the death by friendly fire of Stonewall Jackson at “Chancellorsville.” This is an essential work for fans of Civil War songs, much better musically than, say, the “Ballad of the Rebel Soldier.” Another strong song “Gold Watch and Chain” examines the small rewards for a life of hard work. Davis and his band are important parts of the bluegrass world and much deserve wider recognition and play.

Bluegrass Parlor Band

Unfortunately, The Bluegrass Parlor Band was only scheduled for a single hour long set placed at what would be dinner time for most festival goers. Those who went home to eat missed an outstanding performance. Tom Henderson, founder of the band and former owner of the late Bluegrass Parlor in Tampa, attended despite being slowed by illness. His bright smile and friendly manner help promote this band in public, while he still has sharp and thoughtful advice to give his young protégées in private. Much is made of the development of the precocious Walker brothers in this band, and it’s easy to overlook the development of the other players. Seventeen year old Austin Wilder is quickly maturing into a wonderful bluegrass musician. His flat picking on guitar is fast, accurate, and interesting. His voice has matured in the last year and provides the solo quality this band demands. Heather Franks has continued to develop on fiddle, in taking on some of the emceeing responsibilities, and singing both lead and harmony. Jason Jones on bass never says a word on stage and keeps up a most reliable bass beat.

The Walker brothers – Cory and Jarrod – have moved beyond amazing because of how well they play “for their age” and have emerged as top notch pickers. Younger brother Tyler, still only twelve, has joined the parlor band on rhythm guitar, but showed his vast potential with a couple of breaks. Cory, who tours with Sierra Hull, has joined the ranks of the finest young pickers in a universe populated with very good banjo players. In the past year his stage presence and singing have grown to complement his great picking. He has taken over leadership of the band, keeping it integrated and moving all the time. Jarrod, age fifteen, the quieter and less expressive of the two, picks his mandolin with sure confidence and great skill. His breaks, often reminiscent of Alan Bibey’s work, are clear, precise, fast, and interesting. Both boys are outgoing and personable to boot.

Blue Moon Rising offered two sets. Initially, I was less than impressed by this group. They have emerged for me as one of the finest young bands. I think the reason for this lies more with me than with them. Blue Moon Rising comes on stage quietly and begins their set without fireworks or fanfare. As their sets continue, it becomes increasingly clear that they are just flat terrific. Irene saw this much before I did and has encouraged me to continue to listen to them and to allow myself to grow. Original members Chris West and Keith Garret both are superb writers, singers, and pickers. This is a pretty difficult combination to beat. Joined recently by Dustin Jenkins on banjo, they have continued to improve. Their new bassist, Harold Nixon, brings broad experience to the band at this often overlooked instrument. The band plays traditional bluegrass with a contemporary sensibility. Their songs have become a staple on satellite radio and their performances are polished and highly professional. Like the members of Grasstowne, this fine band will continue to impress those who recognize really good bluegrass music presented without relying on showiness or flash. Chris West and Keith Garret contribute many of the original songs for Blue Moon Rising. Songs like “Jeffrey’s Hell,” “When the Mountain Fell Down,” and “Papaw Taught Me” are wonderful songs and belong in the standard repertoire sung by other bands and by field pickers.

The Larry Gillis Band contributed another solid set, once again demonstrating this reconstituted band’s happy combination and quality.

Larry Gillis and Evan Rose

Nothin' Fancy

Nothin’ Fancy offered two sets of their crowd pleasing patented combination of music, humor, and tomfoolery. Their reliable sets can be counted on to bring attendees into the tent and to keep them interested and amused. Bandmaster and chief song writer Mike Andes keeps things moving along with his wit and humor. His reliable smooth baritone voice and impish look work for him. It was good to see Gary Farris back with Nothin’ Fancy after shoulder surgery this winter. We had last seen them at Berryville in November when Gary’s injury severely hobbled him. Since then, surgery and therapy have helped, but he still hurts. Mitchell Davis on banjo is reliable for both his humor and his play. Much is made of Chris Sexton’s classical violin background. Most interesting is his use of song motifs from both classical and pop music as small illustrations in his bluegrass fiddle. Such playful vignettes, for those who really listen and who know other music, stand as a form of musical joking that in many ways is at least as funny as his also effective physical humor. Tony Shorter on bass is unusual for bass players because he brings a range of experience and influences to his bass play. His plastic face and moony expressions advance the band’s goals. Nothin’ Fancy is truly an ensemble effort in all elements of its performance. These elements fit together into an effective whole which keeps audiences intrigued while never falling into the realm of bad taste.

Friday provided a fast paced and enjoyable day which will hard to top on Saturday.

Becky Buller and Valerie Smith

Keith Garet (Blue Moon Rising)

Dustin Jenkins (Blue Moon Rising)

Heather Franks (Bluegrass Parlor Band)

Jason Jones (Bluegrass Parlor Band)

Robert Montgomery (David Davis)

Rebecca Rose (Larry Gillis)

YeeHaw Junction - Thursday: Review

Thursday at many festivals can be a time of surprise as promoters introduce generally unfamiliar local bands and lesser known national ones. Promoter Steve Dittman has taken advantage of the fact that Valerie Smith’s Bell Buckle cruise was returning from the a Caribbean cruise to book several bands that might not have traveled all the way to Florida just for this event. I like to feature bands that we either haven’t heard or who we’re hearing for the first time that turn out to surprise us. Thursday featured two bands either new to us or so improved as to be worth of special mention. Festivals often reserve their best bands for Friday and Saturday. Thursday turned into a really happy afternoon and evening despite a cool front coming in with chilly rain and winds shortly after dark, because of the high quality of two bands.

Bill and Maggie Anderson

Bill and Maggie Anderson opened the afternoon with their pleasant blend of mellow ballads and gospel songs. Bill lays down a strong rhythm guitar (the current one being his own design) while Maggie’s Dobro gives their performance greater complexity and depth. One of their strong songs is “Touch of the Master’s Hand,” and allegory about a fiddle auction in which the master fiddler steps forward to play a worn out looking fiddle, turning it into a virtuoso instrument. Their work provides a good example of the nexus between folk music and bluegrass. They have recently relocated from upstate New York to the Galax area of Virginia and are taking advantage of sending deep roots into their rural locale.

Bluegrass Stagecoach Band

The Bluegrass Stagecoach Band is recently formed and still working to find its sound and stage personality. Their repertoire consists mostly of bluegrass standards and a few tunes written by the banjo player and the guitarist. The banjo player has a solid high lonesome tenor voice. YeeHaw Junction provided them with a good opportunity to sharpen their presence and increase their comfort before an audience. Shirley Simes, formerly a member of the Gary Waldrep Band, joined them and added her very fine fiddle playing to their mix. Like many bands, the Stagecoach Band met as jammers at a festival and formed a band. They’re based in Milledgeville, GA.

Larry Gillis Band

Larry Gillis has been a performer I’ve had a hard time warming to. He plays a very hard driving, fast, aggressive banjo style and, in the past, has not seemed to me to represent himself very well. What a change! Gillis has been joined by three members of the Rose family (Lonesome Whistle Band) as well as Shirley Simes. The addition of these personable and able sidemen (and women) has allowed Larry Gillis to relax on stage and to let his personality emerge. Russell Rose as on guitar and singing either lead or harmony brings maturity to complement Gillis’s energy and intensity. Evan Rose, now seventeen, has only improved since we last saw him two years ago. This young man easily joins the group of virtuoso young mandolin pickers who are finding new directions to take the mandolin. His harmony with his father on “Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms” reached to high tenor notes out many singers’ range and perfectly on target. Shy looking Shirley Simes doesn’t play a retiring fiddle at all. Her vigorous breaks and tasteful backup play add depth and charm to this band. Rebecca Rose on bass gives her instrument a full workout, maintains a rock steady beat, and exudes warmth and humor. All this allows Larry Gillis to show his strengths – intensity, speed, power, enthusiasm, and a good baritone voice. This is a band that has taken several steps upward and has earned an enthusiastic reappraisal.

Martin Family Band

The Martin Family comes from Missouri. Featuring three sisters and a brother backed by their father on bass, The Martins show promise and have been recognized for their instrumental play by winning several regional SPBGMA awards. They drove in from Blythe, California for this performance and then encountered rain and wind during their second set. I want to take a closer look at them on Saturday before I write much more. Their voices will continue to mature, reaching to the already competent level of their instrumentation.

Monroe Crossing

Monroe Crossing provided the real surprise of the evening. This band has been together with mostly the same personnel for eight years and presents a well organized, high energy program of both breadth and depth. Honoring their namesake, the play at least one Bill Monroe song in each set. After that they head in interesting and creative directions. They’ll be presenting two more sets on Saturday, after which I’ll have a good deal more to say. At each position in the band they show strength and versatility. Banjoist Benji Flaming has a very unusual style of playing, bobbing up and down while holding his instrument in an almost vertical position. He developed this style while playing lots of solo banjo, finding he could reach chords and notes more easily from it. Mark Anderson plays an inventive and highly figured bass style while selling his enthusiasm with a broad, beaming smile and frequent mugging for the camera. He involves the audience, bringing them in with his personality. Matt Thompson on mandolin serves as emcee while Art Blackburn on guitar contributes lead singing and strong instrumentals. Lisa Fuglie playing fiddle and often singing lead does a fine job. Her rendition of the Dolly Parton standard Jolene really stood out. The singer in this version isn’t the weak passive soul Parton and Vincent portray. Rather, she’s angry and will do nearly anything to stop this more beautiful and vibrant person who wants to steal her man. It was truly a bravura performance.

Friday and Saturday’s lineup is really strong. I’ll be posting both days.

Shirley Simes

Russell Rose

Evan Rose and Larry Gillis

Larry Dancing

Matt Thompson (Monroe Crossing)

Linda Fuglia (Monroe Crossing)

Art Blackburn (Monroe Crossing)

Martin Family Band

Tut Taylor and Kruger Brothers Benefit

Tut Taylor

Tut Taylor called from his hospital room in Wilkesboro, where he’s recovering from an infection, to tell about a benefit concert to be held at the Peace Haven Baptist Church in Wilkesboro on February 23rd. The concert will benefit his granddaughter Melissa Dyer who needs a kidney transplant. All donations will be matched by the Georgia transplant organization (associated with the National Kidney Association) up to a total of $10,000. Admission will be free and donations will be taken at the door.

Performers will be the Kruger Brothers and Tut Tayler with special guests Maynard Holbrook and David Taylor. There will also be a raffle to which a Tennessee Crafters Guitar has been donated by Mark Taylor. Tickets will sell for $5.00 or three for $10.00. Tut says that people not able to attend can send him the donations and he’ll purchase tickets in their name. There will be two shows and the guitar will be drawn during the intermission. Send donations or requests for raffle tickets to Tut’s home at:

808 Old 60
Wilkesboro, NC 28697

Admission to the event will be free, and donations will be accepted. Make checks payable to the Melissa Dyer Kidney Fund. Funds raised will help assure that Melissa is able to sustain care and medication after the transplant occurs.

Tut particularly asked me to let his friends know that as soon as he gets home from the hospital he'll set too and answer all the e-mails he's received. He's most grateful for the concern and support his friends have expressed.

Jens Kruger

Joel Landsburg

Maynard Holbrook

Lee and Tut Taylor

Internet on the Road

YeeHaw Junction is pretty much Internet Hell. It’s located in the middle of Florida cattle country, surrounded by large pastures and citrus groves. The junction once was a stop on the long gone railroad; now it’s an exit on the Florida Turnpike about 35 miles west of Vero Beach. The bluegrass festival at YeeHaw Junction has a great lineup, a gregarious and professional promoter, and plenty of fans who come from the immediate area as well as around the country for this event. Into this happy, but electronics deprived zone has come Tom Mason to deliver Internet connections to thirty happy campers as well as to sell satellite links for Internet and television receivers. Tom and his wife Fran operate Management Assistance, Inc. from their home in Grafton, OH as well as from their Eagle Coach as they travel to a variety of festivals and other events around the country. Their primary product is HughesNet 7000 satellite dishes complete with all the equipment needed to operate from an RV on the road for $1295.00 plus monthly service fee from HughesNet. The system comes complete with antenna, tripod, pointing system, modem, router, and cables, as well as 24 hour support.

Servicing RVers at festivals isn’t the central element of Mason’s business, but it gives him the chance to build business while being able to listen to great bluegrass music. He also offers network support, is a Microsoft and Intel OEM provider, builds systems and servers, supports small businesses, libraries, and school systems. His company also provides emergency management services to government agencies. They currently have a large account in Kansas as well as a county in West Virginia. Recently they’ve worked, in addition to bluegrass festivals, the Family Motorcoach Association annual rally, other RV shows, and Escapees get-togethers. They also sell a very compact dish receiver ideal for RVers living in cramped spaces or under weight restrictions

Tom and Fran travel in a well-appointed Eagle Coach he bought in Florida, and recently featured on the
cover of Bus Conversion Magazine, where it was deemed sexy enough to serve as the centerfold. Look for them next time you’re at a festival or RV event.

They’re truly personable folks and fun visit with.

Rivertown Bluegrass Society, Conway, SC

There aren’t any national bands here, no headliners, no frills. There’s just good bands and knowledgeable fans making good bluegrass music, jamming, and enjoying listening. And, in the end, isn’t that what bluegrass music is all about? On a regular rotation in Lumberton, Lynches River, Fayetteville, and here in Conway local bluegrass societies hold their monthly meetings. For a bluegrass fan or pickers, there’s an opportunity nearly every Saturday all year round to make and listen to bluegrass. The Rivertown Bluegrass Society meets on the third Saturday of each month in the Burroughs and Chapin Auditorium of Horry-Georgetown Technical College along U.S. Route 501 just east of Conway, SC. Jamming begins at around 3:00 PM, there’s an hour of open stage at 5:00, and three bands begin their shows starting at 6:00. The evening winds up shortly after 9:00 and everyone can be home in bed by ten. This pattern is repeated at bluegrass societies across the country, and this, truly, is where bluegrass lives.

A drought has been plaguing the southeast, so it’s hard to begrudge the region this much needed rain, but a chilly rain fell all day Saturday and it was hard to get out and get going. Inside the college, though, the environment was friendly and welcoming. After renewing our membership, buying our tickets, and contributing to the 50/50 drawing and the cake raffle we select our seats and go to find the jamming room. I pull out my banjo, get cold feet and put it back in its case, then pull it out again. After tuning, I take a seat and boom-chuck along as a group of much better pickers sing and pick, choosing four different keys for four successive tunes. It’s good ear practice for me, but I really can’t keep up. I notice other pickers also of lesser experience around the periphery, but there’s no place for a slow jam in this setting. Soon bands begin to come in to warm up and the jam breaks up. Later in the evening I return a couple of times and there’s always a group in the small room jamming as well as folks listening appreciatively.

In the main auditorium bands began playing at 5:00 o’clock sharp. Since there were four of them, each only had about fifteen minutes on stage, but that gave them a chance to perform and the audience an opportunity to hear local friends and pickers in front of a microphone. It also served as an opportunity for some performers to warm up, as they were members of bands on the regular lineup. At six, McRoy Gardner, vice-president of the Society, introduced the Toby Creek Bluegrass Band. This band, hailing from the Charlotte, NC area is a relatively new combination of pickers, all of whom are pretty experienced. Due to the injury of their mandolin player, Bob Toppin, who played in four different configurations on Saturday night, filled in. This band played a selection of bluegrass standards leavened with a healthy dose of bluegrass gospel competently as the audience filed into the auditorium.

The next group provided the musical highlight of the evening. Bill Jordan and Southern Bluegrass is based in Fayetteville, NC. The band presents itself well and chooses its music from well-known standards leaning toward groups like Seldom Scene and The Country Gentlemen which were ground breakers in bringing bluegrass into the modern era during the sixties and seventies. As with many bands appearing at such events, this band does not have much of a web presence, making it difficult to gather information about them. Bob Jordan, on bass, is the senior member, although band-mate and long time friend Al Callahan serves as emcee and lead singer while playing a solid rhythm guitar. Callahan has a pleasing stage presence and keeps the act moving along. Southern Bluegrass features two players worth mentioning. Joe Pessalano plays a clear, well-modulated mandolin and sings both lead and harmony as well as contributing to the emceeing chores. He’s young and is worth keeping an eye on. J.K. Godbold is an accomplished banjo player and contributes a strong stage personality, too. The two combined on rousing versions of Blackberry Blossom and Dueling Banjos. Godbold’s humorous efforts to mimic the guitar line culminating in the familiar race-off at the end were effective and interesting. Rocky Springs on Dobro put in a guest stint on Blackberry Blossom. Groups like this can be found throughout the bluegrass world; people with day jobs who play at a level just below the touring bands, but know the music, the audience, and how to perform. Bluegrass music provides such an uncertain income and transitory lifestyle that making the decision to become a touring player represents a big risk and significant downside.

Mickey Sellers (Rivertown Board Pres.) Recieve
Recognition from Vietnam Vets

Palmetto Bluegrass

Palmetto Bluegrass, a local group made up of pickers from Horry and nearby Georgetown counties, was the final group on the bill. With McRoy Gardner acting as emcee for the group as well as for the entire evening, Palmetto Bluegrass offered a country flavored bluegrass often favored by local folks. Banjo-guitarist David Smith, familiar to those attending jams at Rivertown, picks well and has a fine high baritone singing voice with a crooner timbre and a little vibrato, unusual for bluegrass singers. He offered a banjo composition of his own called “Mexican Bluegrass” that had a distinctly south-of-the-border sound to it. His granddaughter, Cameron Oviedo, sings a competent country song and very good harmonies while supporting the bands rhythm on the mandolin. Kenny Cameron plays a solid bass and offered a really amusing shaggy dog story that’s better heard than described. A highlight of this band was Bob Toppin flat picking a resonator guitar. Toppin has had a long career in bluegrass, leading service bands and spending a good deal of time as a sideman in Nashville before settling in Conway. His work on the round neck resonator tuned to a regular guitar tuning raised the question of why more bluegrass flatpickers don’t choose this option as way to get more high quality sound from their instruments. Toppin is likely to throw in humorous musical motifs at any time, bringing happy chuckles from those listening carefully.

The evening ended with a Grand Finale, a feature reaching back to the earliest days of bluegrass festivals, when Bill Monroe would get on stage and narrate the history of bluegrass music by bringing living legends to the stage to play. These finales would culminate in a large and exciting jam. The Rivertown program ended with a finale which filled the stage as performers and audience alike joined in singing “Will the Circle be Unbroken.” These events often end with an extended drawing for cakes donated by members, the 50/50 drawing, and other door prizes. This rather quaint effort helps support the event while giving attendees a chance to get something back besides the music. At large festivals, the 50/50 can rise to substantial numbers. Local bluegrass societies offer lots of inexpensive entertainment, provide musicians a place to pick together, and create a family environment for an enjoyable time. Rivertown has expanded its offerings with a couple of small one-day festivals and picking days combined with church suppers. If you’re visiting in an unfamiliar area, whether it’s California, New England, Florida, Minnesota, Ohio, or Texas, Googling the local bluegrass Society or Association is likely to yield lots chances to listen or participate. Give it a try.

Snobird & Cracker Bluegrass Reunion - Preview

The Snobird and Cracker Bluegrass Reunion held at Craig’s RV Park seven miles north of Arcadia, FL provides a very pleasant interlude between the much larger and more ambitious events at YeeHaw Junction and Palatka. When we were last at Craig’s two years ago, they were in the process of upgrading and improving their already more than adequate performance area. This smallish park serves as the event headquarters for the Southwest Florida Bluegrass Association, where monthly weekend jams are held. Craig’s also hosts an annual bluegrass homecoming in March and another in the fall. The bluegrass camping is all rough camping, but hot showers are available in the main park, only a short walk away. Snobird and Cracker runs from January 31^st through February 2^nd.

Cadillac Sky

This year’s lineup highlights Cadillac Sky and The Chapman’s. Each band will be performing over a two day period, allowing fans to get a good dose of their music as well as plenty of chances to interact with band members. Both bands lean toward the progressive end of the bluegrass spectrum and have forged enthusiastic young audiences. Cadillac Sky recently endured an unpleasant and controversial incident when they were asked to leave a festival in Arkansas. Nevertheless, their popularity continues to grow and they weathered the situation well They are very animated and offer a terrific show. The Chapmans bill themselves as “America’s Favorite Dysfunctional Bluegrass Family,” although the three brothers have to work pretty hard to appear dysfunctional while working with their taciturn father Bill. Both bands put on a very good show and will contribute substantially to an enjoyable weekend festival.

Bill Chapman

The "dysfunctional" Chapman Brothers

Web sites and MySpace (a digression) – I want to digress for a few words about how bands present themselves occasioned by Cadillac Sky and the Chapman’s web presence. Increasingly, bands are relying on their MySpace sites to become their web voice. The opportunity to present a big slice of their music, use lots of annoying visual backgrounds, and accumulate a myriad of “friends” and comments is more valuable to them than their desire to communicate useful and important information. The other day I went to a Blue Moon Rising’s MySpace site and found the background to be so cluttered, busy, and obtrusive I honestly couldn’t read the information to use it for this blog. Both Cadillac Sky and The Chapman’s have made their web sites very difficult to navigate and to use for genuine informational purposes. I suspect this is being done to appeal to a particular audience. Nevertheless, when it becomes difficult to explore a band’s schedule, learn about their band members, and communicate easily with them, the web becomes a problem rather than a facilitator. Perhaps the fact the MySpace is free is a mitigating factor, but there’s no substitute for good taste. End of rant.

The Wilson Family Band

The Wilson Family Band would never even think of billing themselves as dysfunctional, nor would anyone else. They come from rural Folkston, GA, just east of the Okefenokee Swamp, where father Robert owns a lumber company. This is a family band that truly enjoys being together as a family making music. Robert and his wife Melissa have been in and around bluegrass for years and have brought daughter Katie (12) and son Clint (18) as happy, well-adjusted kids who love making music together. They never fail to please the audience. Recently they have been presenting very effective workshops, too. Their mix of gospel and secular tunes along with Katie’s sparkling personality and the parents’ huge pride in their kids is clear. Clint also appears on banjo with Ernie Evans and Southern Lite.

Robert Wilson

The two promoters of Snobird and Cracker are each part of bands that will be playing at their festival. Alan Colpits of the SWFBGA plays for Swinging Bridge and agreeable and easy to listen to band. Ernie Evans and Southern Lite, similarly, do a creditable job. Recently, Cory Walker has been playing banjo with Southern Lite, bringing one of the most exciting young banjo players in the country to this band. Both bands play twice during the weekend, as does Roger Bass and the Hillbillies. The Generations Bluegrass Band appears primarily at the Pine Island Elks Lodge in addition to Snobird and Cracker. Finally, Tyler Williams and the East Tennessee Bluegrass Band and Smokey Greene will be performing. Tyler Williams has a great voice and is a real crowd pleaser. We’ve heard him as a guest with other great bands and are looking forward to seeing him with the college bluegrass band. Smokey Greene is an old-timer, now in his mid-seventies who has been popular in the northeast and Florida for many years. His mellow singing voice, skillful guitar work, and humorous songs draw a loyal and appreciative group of long time fans wherever he appears.

Tyler Williams

Snobird and Cracker is an enjoyable small festival. There is lots of pretty high quality field picking going on there throughout the weekend. Mike Robinson and Mary Robinson, for those staying over until Sunday, will be leading their gospel sing. This is a good stop on your bluegrass trail.

Smokey Greene

Matt Menefee (Cadillac Sky)

Clint and Katie Wilson

WLSC Radio - Loris, South Carolina

“Banana” Jack Murphy is a youthful looking 43, but his young looks belie the twenty-five years he’s spent as a broadcaster. He began on the radio a few weeks after graduating from high school and has been at it ever since. He’s worked as a dj in hard rock, classic rock, country, and bluegrass as well as doing radio and TV interviewing, selling advertising, and doing general promotion. With this broad experience, it’s little wonder that when he got the chance he purchased a small radio station and started developing the sort of programming best representing his interests and enthusiasm. WLSC (AM 1240) in Loris, South Carolina is the result.

Jack became “Banana” Jack about twenty years ago when he moved to Myrtle Beach and was broadcasting the morning program with a partner named O.J. (no…not THAT O.J.). The station wanted listeners to have something with their O.J., so they figured bananas went well and Jack was named. He’s been “Banana” Jack ever since. A slight man, Jack seems larger than his size as his enthusiasm for his present effort is so great. As we drove to Loris from our campsite at Ocean Lakes, we came into WLSC’s listening area and heard some God and Country country music, Jack’s enthusiastic presentation of upcoming events and possibilities, some classic country with Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson and a few ads. We came into Loris, a small, neat southern town which expects to benefit from the expansion westward of the Grand Strand as land, even in these slow times, has become ever less available and more expensive near the beach. WLSC is located in a brick storefront on the corner of SC 9 and Main Street, an ideal location for local folks to stop in and chew the fat, listen to music, or perform live.

The WLSC studios are still a work in progress, having only recently moved to town from a dilapidated mobile home a few miles out of town where the transmitter is still located. The storefront window looks right in on the broadcast studio where Jack is working. He’s been doing live radio, but as we come in he pushes a few buttons and steps out to greet us while the technology takes over. For the next hour the music plays, the ads run, and the show goes on without Jack’s having to take the mic again. We sit together on a beige leather sectional and talk about his career in radio, his love of country and bluegrass music, and his hope and dreams for this small radio station. We’re interrupted briefly as a young musician gives Jack a call to seek air time and they arrange an in-studio interview and later as workmen come in to install insulation - a work in progress.

At present, the station is programming bluegrass mostly on Saturday with some additional tunes interspersed with the country and gospel offerings. At noon on Saturdays WLSC carries Cindy Baucom’s syndicated Knee Deep in Bluegrass program, an IBMA award winning show heard nationwide,. After Baucom’s program, Jack spins three hours of bluegrass programming from 2:00 until 5:00 PM on Saturday afternoons. Plans are afoot for increasing the amount of bluegrass played at the station, and, since there is no other bluegrass outlet in the region, Jack expects to be able to draw an audience for it. For listeners not within WLSC’s signal range, the station streams audio here.

The studio has sufficient space to permit live programming. At present most of the live offerings are local gospel singers who perform and preach from the studio on Sundays and Monday evenings. His plans, however, include a couple of programs which will include live bluegrass programming. “Bluegrass on the Corner” and “Live from Loris” are both in the plan and will be coming soon. Jack is also programming two syndicated segments of western music on Saturdays. Clear out West features Andy and Jim Nelson telling stories and spinning western tunes. Spirit of the West celebrates cowboy life.

Just as we’re preparing to return home, we sight a small space toward the back lined from floor to ceiling with old 45 rpm and 33 1/3 recordings of classic rock, country, and bluegrass. The albums and records are in pristine condition and will provide listeners with hundreds of hours of pleasure re-experiencing music too little played on the radio these days. Original albums by Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Kitty Wells, Flatt & Scruggs and more are there. Jack pulls out albums and records while he excitedly shares his memories of these performers and his love for the music. The décor of his station will feature his collection of recording and radio memorabilia. All in all, Banana Jack Murphy has shown remarkable ambition and ability as he takes a station which had seen better days and prepares it to fill niches where a need exists in his broadcasting area. Bluegrass and country music fans could do much worse than check in on this station as it develops.

YeeHaw Junction Bluegrass Festival - Preview

The 2008 Florida bluegrass season kicks off at YeeHaw Junction from January 24 – 27 with a full schedule of national and regional bands, plenty of field jamming, and first rate vendors. Located on the grounds of the “Historic Desert Inn,”in YeeHaw Junction, FL and promoted by Steve Dittman, YeeHaw Junction provides few amenities, sits in an isolated location, and offers just about everything a bluegrass fan could want. The area is cattle country, and the fields on which the festival takes place show ample evidence of recent use by large animals. Although the junction referred to in its name was a stop on the Florida East Coast Railway, today the nearest transportation is an exit on the Florida Turnpike where US route 441 crosses it. The Desert Inn, once servicing cowboys as the local brothel, has now become respectable. YeeHaw junction is about 30 miles west of Vero Beach on the east coast of the state. You can find a map here.

The festival features a fine selection of bands, mostly leaning towards the traditional side. The Gibson Brothers, making a rare sojourn into the Florida scene, will headline on Saturday. With their new CD, Iron and Diamonds, due out in a month or two, they will surely preview many of the songs on this long anticipated album. I heard the title song as well as another new tune called “Angry Man” at their sister Erin’s Christmas concert. Both are very strong pieces. Seven of the twelve entries on the new disk are written by the Gibson’s, so count on hearing some of their greats from the past as well as the new material.

The Gibson Brothers BandBlue Moon RisingBlue Moon Rising will perform on Friday and Saturday. Their new CD is being released this month and should be available at YeeHaw. This group was nominated for Emerging Artist of the Year in 2006 and has toured and gained popularity since, emerging as a first rate group. Chris West, a talented singer/songwriter contributes much of their original work. Keith Garret on mandolin adds a high quality voice. This band has a fine sound and fans will recognize a number of their songs, which have had extensive play on XM radio as well as other bluegrass radio stations. Unfortunately their web site and MySpace entries provide too little up-to-date information to help in writing a serious preview.

Two festival mainstays who never fail to please fans and newcomers will be at YeeHaw Junction, each for two days of performances. The James King Band will perform on Saturday and Sunday, offering their blend of “sad and mournful” songs filled with death, loss, and misery while always entertaining fans who request many of these tunes from their own list of favorites. James King has one of the finest and most interesting voices in bluegrass music. When he’s on his game, he’s one of the very best. The band has undergone some recent changes with Adam Haynes on fiddle leaving to join the new Dailey-Vincent Band. Adam Poindexter has been back with King for about a year and John Wade is rock solid on bass. Kevin Prater’s Monroe style mandolin and high tenor singing blends wonderfully with King’s baritone. Nothin’ Fancy is scheduled for performances on Friday and Saturday with their unique combination of fine singing and humor. This band never fails to please. They owe much in style and content to The Country Gentlemen, often acknowledging this debt, but they have their own unique sound, led by Mike Andes singing many of his own compositions and providing strong mandolin. The instrumental standout in this group is Chris Sexton on fiddle. Trained in classical violin at the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music, Chris blends perfect bluegrass pitch with humorous musical references to a much broader repertory. He becomes the butt and the source of much of the group’s humor. Mitch Davis provides understated and solid banjo work. Gary Farris singing high tenor and playing rhythm guitar, is a mainstay of solid performance. Tony Shorter on bass has had a varied career including stints in jazz and rock which help to inform his bass playing. He sings tenor harmonies as well. Nothin’ Fancy keeps its show fresh and lively. New fans are in for a very pleasant surprise and those familiar with this band will be pleased to hear old favorites as well as new musical and comedic material.

Nothin' Fancy

The Martin Family Band will perform on Thursday and Friday. Based in Jefferson City, MO, this band of young pickers fronted by older family members is self taught and, based on cuts on their MySpace page have a solid, traditional sound. The Martins have been SPBGMA Midwest Instrumental Group of the Year for several years and this year are nominated for awards in seven SPBGMA categories. They tour widely and can be heard from coast to coast. While they claim influences from a range of bands from traditional to more progressive, their sound on the cuts they offer is pretty traditional and presents a solid sound. They do not yet appear to have a record label or to have produced a CD. Readers of this blog know my concerns about family bands. I’m open to hearing and seeing this band, but really can’t provide too much information about what to expect from their performance.

The Doerfel Family Band from northern New York will appear on Saturday and Sunday so as not to overlap the Martins. The Doerfels are a very attractive looking band who sell themselves as filled with self-motivating young pickers. The father Tom’s use of a dollar bill to bribe one of the younger family members to perform at a festival last year brings this description into question. Nevertheless, they seem to be wholesome and happy group. Watching the kids between sets spread out on the floor with coloring books scattered about and the older kids taking care of the younger ones strengthens this impression. The band maintains a kind of Amish/country plain look which fits well with their red headed, freckle-faced wholesomeness. They tour full time and the kids are home schooled. While the band retains a strong visual presence for me and their youthful enthusiasm for their play is clear, I can’t, for the life of me, recall a single musical highlight of their performance.

Monroe Crossing

Monroe Crossing is a Minnesota-based bluegrass band appearing at YeeHaw Junction at least partly because they happen to be returning from the Bell Buckle Cruise on the first day of the festival. The bios of band members on their web site suggest a wealth of experience leavened by a good dose of youth. They are a busy band, but probably not well known outside the Midwest, their usual touring grounds. The band was founded in 2000 when three other acoustic bands from Minnesota failed, allowing this band to form.

Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike appear on Friday and Saturday. The last time we saw this band, Valerie was recovering from throat surgery and couldn’t sing at all. By this time she should be back in fine voice, which is fine indeed. Becky Buller, the lovely singer/songwriter/fiddler adds immeasurably to the quality of Liberty Pike and supplements Smith’s very pleasant voice and songs with her own very high quality. Chad Graves on Dobro is quite good. The other two new additions we haven’t heard, but Valerie has high standards in the musicians who work for her.

David Davis and the Warrior River Boys can always be counted on for high energy Monroe style bluegrass with an Alabama twist to it. Fiddler Owen Saunders is especially good. This high energy band deserves more national recognition than it gets. They provide a first rate performance that will have fans yelping for more. The Larry Gillis Band, coming from Georgia, also offers speed but last time we saw them they seemed a little ragged. Since he and his brother split, the band has not generated the same level of enthusiasm as before. The addition of Russell Rose on Guitar and Evan Rose on mandolin (both formerly of the Lonesome Whistle Band) may presage a major uptick in the quality of this band. Russell is a very solid rhythm guitarist and singer. His son Evan, now about seventeen, was a true mandolin prodigy when we saw him last, and there’s no reason to think he hasn’t continued to improve.

Several other bands grace this festival. The Cunning-hams, Bits of Grass, and Palms Bluegrass will be featured on a Sunday that offers lots of bluegrass gospel. Mike and Mary Robinson will open the morning with their bluegrass gospel sing, always popular with folks who want to sing and pick the old songs as well. Mike will offer a brief and thoughtful message, too. Goldwing Express will also perform on Sunday. The charm of this Branson, MO based band continues to elude me, but I’m told by promoters that they bring folks in the gate, and visual evidence suggests there are people at many festivals primarily to see them perform. Their shtick is corny and highly manipulative with blatant appeals to motherhood, country, nation, and God all wrapped up in one concluding pastiche. I find their approach more insulting than inspiring, but apparently I’m not in a majority on this one. On the other hand, The Bluegrass Parlor Band will thrill people seeking to be on the front side in recognizing and applauding young talent. Featuring young pickers Cory, Jarrod, and Tyler Walker, this band follows in the long tradition of the Bluegrass Parlor in bringing young pickers of exceptional promise to fans.

The Bluegrass Parlor Band

YeeHaw Junction opens the season on a high note despite the question hanging in the air concerning how well attended such events will be. The price of gasoline and the general unsteadiness of the economy suggests that promoters will be taking a risk. They have sought to maintain low charges for those attending, while costs of getting to and staying at events have risen for both fans and bands. Steve Dittman has assembled a first rate lineup for YeeHaw Junction and one can only wish him success.

The New Hampshire Presidential Primary

This morning we drove out to do some errands prior to leaving for our winter bluegrass trip. As we approached the bank in the center of town we realized that a John McCain rally was about to begin. After parking, we went over to the bandstand in the middle of the park and were told that McCain was expected in about half an hour. I went across the street to finish our banking while Irene grabbed the McCain sign a worker offered her and started waving it. Now, we’ve been married for nearly forty-four years. It’s a mixed marriage (i.e. we belong to separate parties), but after all these years we’re still talking to each other. We watch lots of TV news, we discuss the issues and the candidates a lot, sometimes we argue, we’ve even been known to stop talking for a few hours, but, for the most part, it’s been an amicable disagreement that we both enjoy. Attending political events and being involved in this election has been an important part of the season.

We moved to New Hampshire for our retirement for a number of reasons, mostly to be nearer our sons and their kids when we’re at home. Elder son is an attorney whose career has been very much involved in New Hampshire party politics, and Irene went to a number of events during the 1996 presidential election year. She had told me how exciting it was, but I sort of discounted the New Hampshire primary as an important event in thinking about our move here. Well, I was wrong and it really is exciting. The New Hampshire primary will be held tomorrow. We’re stopping at the polls on our way south. In the general election our votes often cancel each other out, but this year we each believe our vote will count and that it will be important.

Actually, we’ve only gone to see two of the candidates in person. We went to see John Edwards at two rallies, the most recent about two weeks ago. He was preceded by Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne who sang a couple songs before introducing Granny D, a nonagenarian who walked across the United States in support of campaign finance reform and lost to Judd Gregg in the race of U.S. Senate. She introduced Edwards. Edwards is handsome, dynamic, and passionate about the importance of achieving his goals. He exudes confidence and sincerity. Irene found herself rising to applaud his money lines and really taken by his wife Elizabeth. The whole event was both moving and persuasive.

This morning, John McCain walked across the street from his bus, the Straight Talk Express, hit the rostrum full speed, and gave an enthusiastic and believable stump speech. He emphasized his connection to veterans, his distance from George Bush on matters of deficit spending, and from almost everyone in his support of the military surge. He said that while people might disagree with him on specific issues, they would never doubt his integrity or his commitment to the American people. He was particularly strong in his support of medical care for returning veterans. The presence of retired Senator Phil Gramm of Texas at the rally was mute testimony to McCain’s commitment to fiscal conservatism. (I mentioned to Senator Gramm that we had heard him give the fourth of July speech in the football stadium in Tyler, TX in 1976. He remarked I was giving away my age.) By the end of the rally Irene was enthusiastic and I was confident that if McCain won the election we’d be in good hands. As a matter of fact, while we both know this will be an important election, each of us is confident that the choice this year will be between two strengths, not a “hold your nose” election.

Beyond the rallies, our phone has been ringing off the hook and the doorbell chimes daily with canvassers coming to extol the strengths of another candidate. Democrats have been more in evidence than Republicans, but both have appeared. Each of us has been polled on the phone by a national polling organization, Irene by LA Times/Bloomsberg and me by Pew. After a while we’ve begun to feel that not only does our vote count, but that our vote will help to mold the votes of those in later primaries. It’s really good fun and makes us feel as if we’re involved in an important aspect of the American experience.

Drama City by George Pelecanos - Book Review

Drama City opens as Lorenzo Brown awakens in his plain but clean flat, gets dressed, and takes his dog Jasmine out for a walk, being sure to bring a plastic bag along to pick up Jasmine’s business. On his return he does his exercises, but no longer with the intensity he once did them during his eight years in prison. At the same time Rachel Lopez wakes in her bed and gets ready for work while fighting something of a hangover. She puts on clothes which hide her figure well. As she leaves for work she picks up file folders, her keys, and her badge, admiring herself in the mirror before leaving for work. With such simple, plain details George Pelecanos sets in motion another one of his fine crime novels set in the seedy, drug infested world of Washington, D.C.

Pelecanos is the author of fourteen crime novels, of which Drama City is the thirteenth. There are a couple of trilogies, starting with the Nick Stefanos stories about Greek-Americans interacting with blacks in a multi-ethnic D.C. He also has written a series of novels featuring Derek Strange, a Washington police detective who discovers new maturity and strength as the series develops. There is a novel set in the early forties giving the back story for Nick Stefanos, but it seems to be out of print. Recently he has written more stand alone novels as his voice has become ever stronger and his sense of character and plot have become richer. He’s a master of dialogue and the telling detail, perhaps because he’s become such a fine film writer. Pelecanos is one of the writers and co-producer of HBO’s The Wire, without a doubt the finest piece of television drama ever. Drama City has much the same kind of foreboding atmosphere as The Wire as well as the sharply drawn characters whose lives have bleak pasts and even bleaker futures. Pelecanos' writing is gritty and often violent, but his violence takes on a certain beauty and life of its own, fully fitting into the environment he creates for it.

Pelecanos frames his narratives with music, and not music I’m familiar with. His characters love the music reflecting their character and backgrounds – jazz, rap, soul, rock, punk, and more. The music his characters hear reflects their world, and even though I don’t know the sounds, their music makes the world more familiar to me, too. Mostly it’s a pretty hopeless world peopled with drug dealers, addicts, crooked cops, and just plain people trying to stay straight in a difficult world. Lorenzo and Rachel are just such people. The story of their struggle to keep their dignity and survive in a world where many don’t make it forms the kernel of this gripping tale. Pelecanos has been well recognized as a master story teller, and this novel is hugely satisfying. There were times during my reading I had to set the book aside and take a walk because the tension had become so great. If you haven’t read Pelecanos yet, you need to. You won’t regret it.

Published by Little Brown at $24.95 and now available in paperback everywhere.

How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman - Book Review

Jerome Groopman, M.D. has written a book that provides a great service to anyone who ever had to visit a doctor. How Doctors Think (trade paperback edition out in March) helps readers to understand how our docs approach solving the problems of our health, but even more important, he suggests ways to help our physicians focus more thoughtfully. Perhaps the most frightening aspect of Groopman’s book is his willingness to open the door of doctor error and provide insights into what goes on inside a doc’s mind leading to those errors. He says that the majority of such errors lie in two kinds of problems. First, the cognitive errors doctors make in thinking through a complex series of factors to arrive at diagnosis and a treatment plan. Second, the effects on medical practice of the pressure from insurance companies, HMO’s, and government agencies to reduce costs by restricting practice. They force doctors to see more patients, to spend less time with each one through their reduction in payments, and reimburse expensive and spectacular surgeries at higher rates than they pay for the more mundane practice of nipping illness in the bud at the level of primary care.

Dr. Groopman teaches at Harvard Medical School where he holds a chair and is Chief of Experimental Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He specializes in hematology and oncology and writes regularly for The New Yorker magazine, where several of the chapters in this book first appeared. An extended biographical sketch appears here. He is the author of three previous general interest books as well as numerous professional papers.

In How Doctors Think Groopman identifies various ways that doctors’ diagnoses follow established patterns closing them off from engaging in original thinking and problem solving. He uses numerous case studies to support his assertions and to show how some doctors learn to force themselves outside stereotyped ways of thinking to find alternative solutions to problems viewed as intractable. The case studies feature engaging patients and doctors in real situations that actively involve the reader in the process of diagnosis and treatment. The result is a fascinating book whose narrative intrigues while its principles are clear not only to medical practicioners, but all decision makers.

Groopman champions the role and function of the primary care physician. He argues “the higher we go in the scale of specialist training, the less complex the medical problem becomes.” (98) Medical gatekeepers encounter patients who complain of symptoms that may have little or nothing to do with the underlying disease. They must work through a myriad of indicators to arrive at a preliminary diagnosis and refer to the appropriate specialist. This requires deep and thoughtful attention to physical as well as emotional components. He cites evidence that the typical doc listens to a patient for a mere eighteen seconds before beginning to talk. It has become increasingly fashionable for insurance companies and hospitals to develop templates and clinical algorithms leading to a narrowing of the doctor’s thinking process. Such formats often treat too few symptoms, deny useful or essential tests, and reduce the doctor’s ability to think deeply and seriously about solving the patient’s problem and often leading to a mistaken diagnosis. Groopman repeatedly emphasizes the importance of avoiding the stereotypical thinking that comes from the use of templates and clinical prototypes just because most patients fit into the typical diagnosis.

A number of bias enhancers function in a physician’s world, and it’s important to be aware of them. How the physicians feel about the patient, doctors’ discomfort with uncertainty, their tendency to piggyback on previous diagnoses, and their need to be right all affect the quality of their thinking. The pressure placed on them to see more patients and spend less time with each one makes their decision making even more difficult and precarious. Doctors’ efforts are further sabotaged by the pressure brought upon them by patients requesting drugs and treatments advertised in the media and sold to them by the drug companies, for whom Groopman reserves a special spot in hell for their pressure tactics while recognizing their importance in fighting disease and promoting research. Doctors are not immune from his criticism for their willingness to accept the largesse of the drug companies and equipment manufacturers.

Groopman continually returns to the “art” of diagnosis, focusing on doctors who go to special lengths not to allow their preconceptions or the previous judgments of others, keeping them from digging deeper to find a correct solution. He points out that medicine is often uncertain, but doctors are under pressure to present a specific differential diagnosis. Diagnosis may be made even more difficult because the new technology provides a plethora of detail. For instance, a CAT scan or an MRI may provide thousands of pictures for a radiologist to examine. Drug companies, he says, “create a clinical disorder by medicalizing normal changes and challenges in life.” (209-210) Thus, aging is seen as a condition subject to treatment rather than a part of the human life cycle.

Finally, the book’s most important chapter may be the last one “Epilogue: A Patient’s Questions” in which Groopman instructs readers on how to question their doctors in such a way as to encourage the practitioners to think through medical problems more thoroughly and in new ways. By suggesting non-threatening ways to ask open ended questions, Groopman seeks to help patients optimize their doctors' thinking and decision making without raising their defensiveness. Throughout this book, Groopman emphasizes the humanity of people in the medical profession. For good and ill, these are people subject to the strengths and weaknesses of all humans. When patients work with their physicians to help them be their best, they do themselves and the profession the greatest service. By writing this book, Jerome Groopman has contributed to such an enterprise.

New Year Portfolio - Ring in the New

Happy New Year! With the new year I present a group of young pickers who, if you haven't already seen and heard them, you'll be encountering them soon. I've tried to keep my list mostly to pickers under twenty years of age. Again, the list is not exhaustive, being limited to people I've heard, seen, and photographed. Nevertheless, I think it provides a representitive picture of what you might expect in the future.

Jarrod and Tyler Walker (Bluegrass Parlor Band)

Josh Pinkham

Molly Kate Cherryholmes

Ryan Holladay

Sierra Hull

Jason Davis

Katie and Clint Wilson (Wilson Family Band)

The Lovell Sisters

Cory Walker

Jayme Booher

All pictures by Ted Lehmann, reproduce with permission only