At one point during Wednesday night’s announcement of nominees for this year’s IBMA awards, Jim Lauderdale caught himself reading the choices for female vocalist of the year for the second time, and Sam Bush kidded about having a déjà vu moment. Unfortunately,
This marks the first time I've ever composed one of these on a smart phone (my manual typewriter is in the shop). I'll be using a lot of short words or words suggested by the washcloth, even if it's not
Judging by the hate mail, the slashed tires, and the kidnapping of my goldfish, I’d say last week’s column was a little too edgy. And I guess I understand; after all, what could be more controversial than suggesting that entertainers
This was the column I was hoping to get someone else to write for me. It was the one that was supposed to deal with the issue of politics and/or religion in stage MC work. I called some pretty reliable friends
This is the third in a series on stage-show MC work. In the previous installment, I tried to answer a few frequently asked questions (or FAQ, for those in a hurry), covering issues like who should do most of the
While working in the studio on their Classic History album, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver had the cameras rolling to capture footage for a promo video for Doyle's new Family of Friends fan club. The CD, only available to Family of
Last week I tried to break on-stage MC work down to basics to make the mission seem less daunting for anyone who may find speaking to an audience intimidating. To sum up and review: you’re just trying to make the audience
Something that you or your band must eventually face (besides a non-existent retirement plan), is that at some point, usually no more than three or four songs into a show, you will have to say something to your audience. With the
While attending the 40th annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival I was struck by three bands in particular that caused my mind to race with an age old question. For decades it’s been asked: “What is bluegrass music?” The question comes in
Somewhere deep in my file of road stories, I have an unpleasant recollection of spreading out a sleeping bag on the ground behind a truckstop in the former Yugoslavia (because there was no room at the inn), surrounded by empty
