Last week, after passing along some of the findings in my research into the whereabouts of some familiar characters in bluegrass songs, I received some questions, comments, and suggestions. The suggestions, which mostly involved where I should go, and what I
Opinion / Humor
From The Side of the Road… the rest of the story, bluegrass song edition
People always seem interested in where music celebrities, or lesser-known one-hit wonder types, have disappeared to. I seem to recall VH-1, or one of those channels that used to show music videos in the '80s, devoting a whole show to
From The Side of the Road… email shorthand for grassers
We've all been seeing the ways in which AI technology is already being used to improve our lives, that is before it destroys civilization as we know it about two years from now. As an example of its practical application,
From The Side of the Road… Bill v. Earl, revisited
For some reason, pandemic nostalgia perhaps, there has been a whole new round of comments about an editorial written by David Morris in Bluegrass Today back in late 2020 about who the real "Father of Bluegrass" is, Bill Monroe or
From The Side of the Road… more bluegrass translations
Last week I was preoccupied with another side business I have, which is the raising of prize miniature llamas (one of the llamas had gone off her feed and would eat nothing but stir-fried alfalfa pellets, and the whole thing
From The Side of the Road… bluegrass, euphemistically speaking
People that are new to bluegrass music sometimes need some help in translating our jargon. Hearing that someone is "tearing it up on the five" may sound like ordinary and recognizable information to us, but to the uninitiated, it's not
From The Side of the Road… impress your friends – talk bluegrass!
I'll admit that, perhaps because of my radio day job, I listen more intently than I should to radio advertising. I'm especially drawn to those featuring contrived conversations: "You mean you really get cash back on every gas purchase?!" "Yes I do." "Wow!
From The Side of the Road… 500th column reflections
This is my 500th column for Bluegrass Today. This has taken me a little by surprise; I thought I had run out of ideas by column 50, and perhaps I had. But somehow, even if running on fumes and a
From The Side of the Road… Catch the Bluegrass Wave
The IBMA is in the midst of a membership drive which has been christened, "Catch the Bluegrass Wave." Before going any further I want to encourage you to become a member of this organization that continues to do great work advancing
From The Side of the Road… B-o-o-o-r-i-n-g
We have an annual(ish) tradition here, which is to compile some of bluegrass music's most uninteresting stories of the past year, after which I try to narrow them down to five that really stand out as yawn-inducers. Why do we do