Ian Ly is the 2023 National Flatpick Guitar Champion who plays with the Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band. He grew up in Santa Cruz, CA, has studied with Steve Palazzo and Jake Workman, and is currently studying Visual Communications Design at San Francisco State University. This young artist’s story has only just begun.
Hi Ian, can you tell us when you first started playing music?
I’ve played music since the fourth grade when I took piano lessons. I didn’t take to piano very much, but I think it laid down some important foundations.
When did you first start flat-picking?
I picked up the guitar in 2016 when I was in high school. I had started listening to some bluegrass, and actually took a few banjo lessons, but I really got hooked on guitar when I started taking lessons from Steve Palazzo in Santa Cruz.
Were you involved with California Bluegrass Association (CBA) Youth programs?
I was not! There wasn’t as much bluegrass going on in Santa Cruz at that time, and I didn’t start playing bluegrass until my teens, so I kind of missed out on it. I was kind of a bedroom flat-picker for a while there.
What instruments do you play?
I play guitar, and I can fake it on mandolin. I spent a while there trying to play more mandolin, but it didn’t quite take.
Tell us about studying with Steve Palazzo. How has he motivated you?
I took lessons from Steve for four or five years, until I moved out for college. One thing I like about Steve’s approach is that he has a deep knowledge of bluegrass/American traditional music history, and shares that knowledge. Steve really pointed me in the right direction around who to listen to, and what to listen for. Steve is very honest, so you know if he compliments you he means it, and that’s a great quality in a teacher.
Talk some about the bluegrass scene in Santa Cruz.
There was a small bluegrass scene when I was growing up, and there are still regular jams that go on. I used to be a regular at the Crepe Place jam on Soquel Ave. There are some great pickers, but they tend to keep to themselves. I played a lot with Hide Kawatsure, a great mandolin player in the area.
Congrats on winning the Walnut Valley National Flatpick Contest. You said you had been going for five years before you won. What changed in those five years that helped you finally win the title?
I got better. I think that’s the main factor in those contests, just working on your fluidity, musicality, and confidence. That and the judges. There’s no special contest technique that I know of.
Ian Ly – Walnut Valley National Flatpick Guitar Championship 2023 – 1st Place Winner
It was interesting that you had a mandolin backing you during the competition. Is that unusual?
It is unusual. Most contestants have guitar backup, but I find it tends to overlap a bit too much with my leads, and I just needed a timekeeper. That mandolinist, Scott Schmidt from Tulsa, OK, is a great player with rock-solid rhythm, so I asked if he would back me up.
Are you still participating in contests?
No, I don’t feel a need to. It was mostly just for fun, and a personal goal of mine. Maybe I’d do the RockyGrass contest if I ever make it out there.
What impressed me about you playing in the finals, beyond the obvious technique and tone, was how relaxed you were while playing in what must have been a high-pressure environment. How have you been able to do that?
I didn’t over-practice or over-prepare. I worked on those tunes for a week or two before that, and ran them once or twice the night before the contest. A lot of it was improvised. Having confidence in your improvisation and not being tied to an arrangement is a good way to clear those nerves.
That’s a nice-looking Collings Guitar that you won.
That is a great guitar. My main axe right now is a Bourgeois that I play with Crying Uncle, and I have a 1980 Santa Cruz Tony Rice that I mostly play at home, in duets, or at local gigs.
I enjoyed that song you sang, Ode to a D-18. How long have you been singing that?
I heard that song from the Norman Blake and Tony Rice album, and I’ve been singing it for a while. I figured it’d be fitting since I learned a lot on that D-18 that my parents gave to me as a high school graduation gift.
You seem like a natural fit for the Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band (CUBG). Have you known those guys for a long time?
Sort of, I met them in passing at the Father’s Day Festival in 2019, but I’d been following them on social media. They asked me to fill in on a few gigs for the 2023 Festival, and I joined a while after that.
Jumping in to an established group is not always easy. Has it been fun and/or a challenge learning their material and making it work?
Yeah, fun and definitely a challenge. Miles, Teo, and Andrew are such inspiring musicians, and playing with them has pushed me to keep improving, and keep pushing my musical boundaries. And it’s just a blast playing with them, which is the most important part.
Has the band’s traveling schedule impacted your studies?
I have to be more on top of my time management. During festival season we could be flying out and playing every weekend, so I have to make sure I have time to get work done in the hotel room or on the plane. I’ve been able to make it work so far, though.
Can you talk about the upcoming album and where folks can hear it? Did you have compositions on it?
Yeah, we have two singles out right now with more on the way. The album’s still in the mixing and mastering process, but it’ll be out next year for sure. I didn’t write any songs on it, but I do sing a cover.
We recorded it in five days with Adam Engelhardt at Sony Music Studios in Nashville. It was a totally new experience for me, and I really enjoyed it. We wanted to put our best foot forward and get some really good tracks out there. I think we accomplished that.
Roland by the Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band
You’ve done some travels with the band. Are there any highlights or fun stories you can share?
Recently we played in Livingston, Montana, and our hosts were kind enough to take us to Yellowstone. We saw hot springs, bison, and luckily no bears. Another time we missed a connecting flight and spent a night in the Minneapolis airport.
What is your process for working through any challenges you encounter musically?
I usually bang my head against the wall until I get it right. Everyone hits plateaus, but the best thing to do is not lose hope, and make an effort to set time aside for practice. Listen, learn things by ear, play with musicians who are better than you, and you are guaranteed to improve.
Do you see music as a full-time endeavor professionally?
I could definitely see it, and want to try being a full-time musician, but I’d be happy to do it on the side as well. I also want to start teaching more.
What other bands have you played with, or are playing in?
I currently play with The High Water Line, which is a semi-traditional, semi-mashy band based in San Francisco with Tyler Stegall, TJ Carskadon, Amy Kassir, and Jim Toggweiler. It’s a good chance for me to play straight-ahead bluegrass, which I love. We play every fourth Monday (schedule permitting) at Blondie’s Bar on Valencia Street. I also do occasional pickup gigs in the city where I assemble a four or five-piece band.
What other shows do you have coming up?
Crying Uncle is playing at the Hop Monk in Novato on December 20. I’m also playing in Evan Ward’s band at Blondie’s on December 9. He’s a great Bay Area banjo player that more people need to know about.
Is there anything else you would like to say or plug?
If anyone is interested in lessons, DM me on Instagram at @i.a.n.l.y. I can do Zoom or in person!
Thanks much Ian!
Crying Uncle Bluegrass at the IBMA Awards Night 2023, for David Dawg Grisman’s induction into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame
