Unlike sites where you pay subscriptions to obtain their instructional materials, Big Music Tent allows you to purchase these courses for a one time fee, and retain access to the video and tablature materials in perpetuity.
Rob had produced a similar course last summer, containing lessons on how to play five emblematic solos Josh recorded back in the day, and this new set offers five more.
Included are:
Fireball
Foggy Mountain Breakdown
Flatt Lonesome
Foggy Mountain Rock
Home Sweet Home
Each of the solos is played fast and slow before Ickes breaks it down section by section with multiple camera angles. In all the course runs over 90 minutes and is offered online for $30. You also receive tablature for the various solos taught.
Here’s a brief video of Fireball.
Big Music Tent is also offering a package deal now to get both volumes of Josh Graves solos video lessons for $50. Volume 1 has Rob teaching the following:
Randy Lynn Rag
Ground Speed
Reuben
Jennifer’s Waltz
Little Rosewood Casket
He also sets aside time to discuss and demonstrate Josh’s chop, his technique for emulating the sound of a mandolin chop using the reso-guitar.
As is true for most students of the bluegrass instruments, resonator guitarists are especially enamored of the instruments made just prior to the US entry into WWII. In the late 1930s and early ’40s, almost all of the reso-guitars were being made by a pair of companies, Dobro and National, both of which were tied to a family of Slovak immigrants.
John Dopyera had started National in 1927, only to leave a year later to form a competing company with four of his brothers. Dopyera Brothers was shortened to Dobro, and one of the most iconic brands in the history of bluegrass was born. So iconic, in fact, that many people today use the name Dobro to generically refer to any resonator guitar, regardless of the builder.
Dopyera had founded National to market a tri-cone resonator, only to soon discover that a single cone was both louder and less-expensive to manufacture. Given that the entire purpose of resonator guitars was to make them loud enough to be heard over other instruments in a band, John wanted to pursue that type of construction, and designed a single cone model whose patent was listed in his partner’s name. When we went to Dobro, he turned the cone upside down to avoid infringing.
But in 1932, he was able to merge the Dobro and National companies under the same roof making single cone, inverted cone, and tri-cone models in both wooden and metal bodies. Over time, bluegrass sliders came to favor the Dobro-style, inverted single cone design, and most of the reso-guitars you are likely to see today are built that way.
Steve Toth, a reso-enthusiast and collector of vintage Dobros, has put together a gorgeous volume that will have tremendous appeal to his fellow lovers of pre-war instruments. Dobro Roots – A Photo Tour of PreWar Wood Body Dobros is just as the title implies, a glossy, large format volume with plenty of pictures of early Dobro guitars, catalogs, and advertisements.
The author makes clear in his introduction that the book makes no attempt to serve as the archive of all the models made and shipped, but to provide a chronicle of the various models which were manufactured prior to their discontinuation in 1941, presented in chronological order, including the guitars made by Regal. In most cases, he also includes images from the catalogs of that day, showing a retail price of as much as $39 for the more ornate models.
Toth only covers guitars made prior to 1941, and there is no discussion of the revivals of the brand or its current status as a part of the Gibson Guitar company. That’s for another book, on another day.
In addition to the high resolution, full page images of the instruments, Toth includes an audio CD with the book which features 15 tracks of him playing 15 different vintage Dobros. Some are reconditioned guitars, but most are all-original.
With even a shallow interest in the history of American stringed instruments, this volume will educate and delight. For serious Dobro fans, it’s a must-have. You guys finally have something to match wits with all the banjo, guitar, and mandolin books!
Dobro Roots runs to 216 pages, and includes a foreword by Jerry Douglas. It shows a price from the publisher (Hal Leonard) of $55 for the book/CD package. Many online resellers have it available as well.
By now we’re all familiar with the continuing story of Dave Carroll’s sing-off with United Airlines over the breaking of his Taylor Guitar. He didn’t get an adequate response from the United Customer Service people, so he took to the internet and released a music video on Youtube entitled, United Breaks Guitars.
That first song relayed the facts of the situation. The second song expressed his frustration at United’s lack of cooperation. Carroll has now released song #3, the final installment in his trilogy, incorporating a funny play on words into the title, United We Stand. This last video comes nearly 8 months after the release of the original. Carroll’s career has seen a huge boost from this story, and he acknowledges that in this third tune.
The real interesting part, for us anyway, about song #3 is his decision to take a turn toward bluegrass styling on this one.
Musically, I wanted UBG 3 to be a high energy fun song that made the statement that I wasn’t alone in the success of the series and that the UBG was really “everyone’s victory” for the small guy against huge impersonal corporations. I’ve been called “the Everyman” many times since July and so I chose a Bluegrass feel for the song and wrote a chorus that only works if others sing along with me. Bluegrass is the perfect “roots” music that accomplishes my intention.
Incorporating a hillbilly band with fake beards, a la O Brother Where Art Thou?, and even parodying one of the scenes from the movie, the song is fun, acknowledges the up side for his career, but makes the point that he’s still skeptical that United will actually make any meaningful changes in their policies.
Jerry Douglas makes his first appearance around 3:30 in the video, where he is mentioned by name and then featured prominently for the remainder of the video, even during the “dance off” portions at the end.
The story of the video trilogy is told in full on Carroll’s blog, but here is an excerpt speaking to Douglas’ involvement.
I also wanted to hear dobro on this track and the world’s best and only name that comes to mind on that instrument is Jerry Douglas from Nashville (in addition to an outstanding solo career Jerry plays in Alison Krauss’ band (Union Station). I took a chance and emailed Jerry’s manager about the idea and was thrilled when he replied saying Jerry would be happy to take part and, not only that, but Jerry would be in the video if we could figure a way to shoot his part in Nashville.
Some guys are always busy. Never content to be doing just one thing, Uncle Phil Leadbetter is one of those busy people. He currently performs as a member of the award winning band Grasstowne, but Uncle Phil has decided to fill up his schedule by offering a series of mini-concerts and workshops in Flordia during the first part of March 2010. He’s teamed up with former Newsouth band member Richard Bennett for this run.
The two are longtime friends who enjoy playing together. The two were both part of J.D. Crowe’s band in both 1994 and ’95 when Flashback was nominated for first a Grammy and then IBMA Album of the Year. Since that time Phil has gone on to win numerous IBMA and SPBGMA awards.
Phil tells us these venues are small and space will be limited, so those interested in attending the concerts and workshops should call ahead to make a reservation.
Here’s the schedule.
MARCH 4 2010
VALRICO, FL / CONCERT
JAYMER QUE BBQ 7 PM
(813) 657-4227
MARCH 5 2010
PALMDALE, FL / CONCERT
SABAL PALM OLD TIME BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL
MARCH 6 2010
NAPLES, FL / WORKSHOPS (PHIL AND RICHARD)
FRED’S DINER
(239) 287-2035
For those interested in the process of recording bluegrass music, mic choice and placement is an important key. Grammy Award winning producer and IBMA winning dobro player, Randy Kohrs recently recorded a short how-to video for Royer Labs on this very subject.
Royer Labs produces some of the best ribbon mics available today. Randy endorses them and uses them extensively in his studio when recording both his own band, and others. In the video Randy shares his ideas about mic placement and technique for dobro, banjo, fiddle, and drums.
When Randy mentions using the mic “badge backwards” he means that he’s using the back side of the mic to record with. The “Royer” logo or “badge” is located on the front of the mic. These Royer ribbon mics have a figure 8 pickup pattern. Royer developed an offset ribbon design to allow their ribbon mics to handle higher sound pressure levels than traditional ribbons were capable of. This offset design means that the ribbon is occupying a different physical space inside the capsule depending on which side of the mic you use. This difference creates some subtle tonal differences in the mic’s response. Basically, the back side of the mic tends to sound a bit brighter, while the front side sounds a little warmer.
Many of the things Randy says in this video are applicable regardless of which mic you’re using, but remember that his comments are made regarding the Royer ribbon mic.
This post is a contribution from Casey Henry. Casey is the daughter of banjo player and bluegrass entrepreneur, Murphy Henry, and an accomplished banjo player in her own right, as well as an experienced instructor. Currently Casey and her brother Chris are fronting a band called The Two-Stringers. She first posted this on The B, earlier this morning.
Yesterday at Madison Funeral Home a packed crowd gathered to say goodbye to Uncle Josh Graves, to honor his life, his music, and the tremendous impact he had on the lives of others. Many beautiful arrangements of flowers surrounded the casket, including white and yellow roses from Alison Krauss. Red roses adorned the coffin. I know a couple of Josh’s sons, so I said hello to them and conveyed my condolances. Brian mentioned he needs to come back to the dentist office where I work, and Josh Jr. said he still intends to get me to play some gigs with him, which he initially called me about at least a year ago–unfailingly good natured and polite even in their hour of grief.
Eddie Stubbs delivered the eulogy, giving a run-down of Josh’s life and career. His first job was with Esco Hankins. He married his wife Evelyn when he was 17 and she was 15. 61 years of marriage. We gave her a round of applause for that. There were so many stories about Josh. He wrote some songs for Flatt and Scruggs, some of which had the good fortune to be on the B side of hits. Josh commented “My side sold just as many as the A side.” Eddie asked him how he was doing after he lost his legs. Eddie “cleaned up” Josh’s answer: “I ain’t kickin’ no posteriors.”
Jerry Douglas, who is on tour on the west coast, flew in for the visitation on Monday. He had to fly back to play in San Diego Tuesday but left a letter which Eddie read. He talked about when he was learning, when all he thought about was how to make the sounds he heard coming out of the Dobro on records, that Josh was his “invisible friend,” always with him, always in his head throughout the day, in school or wherever. One of the most important events in his life occurred when he met Josh for the first time at the festival campsite of some friends. Josh gave him something more important than a handshake or a pick or a string clipping. He asked young Jerry to sit down and play a tune with him. He handed Jerry his Dobro and he played Jerry’s. He made time for this skinny kid who wanted to learn to play. And that has stayed with him every since.
Someone else who Josh called “Kid” is Marty Stuart. Marty told about how when the Flatt and Scruggs TV show came on in Phildelphia, Mississippi, when he was growing up, the air would lift. In a town torn apart by racial tension and violence it was like a respite, a bright spot that left a hole each week when it ended. Marty called that band “A divinely called band made up of divinely called men.” He played a moving, bluesy version of “Flatt Lonesome”, accompanied by Ricky Skaggs on guitar. When he played the first few notes he stopped and said to us “I’m out of tune” and proceeded to tune. He turned toward Josh, lying in his coffin at the front of the room and said, “I know I’m out of tune.”
Music played an important part of the service. Tim Graves started the program with “What a Friend” on the Dobro. Dean Osborne’s band sang “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” The Whites, with Ricky Skaggs, sang a song Josh wrote, “Come Walk With Me” and later sang “Farther Along.” Before the service they played the instrumentals Josh recorded with Flatt and Scruggs (so loud the little funeral home speakers were kind of distorting) and the postlude was Josh’s recording of “Flatt Lonesome”.
Josh was buried in Hendersonville but I couldn’t go to the graveside service because I had to come back and teach banjo in the afternoon. In attendance were Gary and Randy Scruggs, Carol Lee, Tim O’Brien, Rob Ickes, Randy Kohrs, Phil Ledbetter, Kim Gardner, everyone from the IBMA office, David Crow, Jill Douglas, Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Ronnie McCoury, Carl Jackson, Curley Seckler, Mac Wiseman, Jesse McReynolds, Mike Bub, Roland White, Eddie and Martha Adcock, Kenny Baker, Raymond Huffmaster, Toshio Watanabe, Saab Inoue, Lance LeRoy, Laura Cash and others I’m sure I missed. It was a fitting service for someone who was a hero, personally and musically, to thousands of people throughout his life.
Over the weekend Boing Boing reported that John and Rudy Dopyera’s collection of instruments is for sale in its entirety. The Dopyera brothers are best known as the inventors of the Dobro, which is how the instrument got it’s name. The collection is for sale directly through Elderly Instruments. It will be sold only as a collection in it’s entirety which includes 12 instruments and 2 workbenches.
Rudy Dopyera passed away in 1978 and left his instruments and workshop to brother John, at that time 85 years old. When John passed on in 1988 the combined instruments and contents of the two workshops were packed up and put in storage by the family. Family members have now decided to sell the existing collection, plus the historic workbenches on which the brothers did much of their early work.
Elderly is asking that only those with serious interest in purchasing the collection contact them about it. Contact info is available on the page linked above.
Jerry Douglas’ new CD The Best Kept Secret is a secret no longer. Today is the official release date for the latest CD from dobro master Jerry Douglas. I’ve posted about this previously, but just wanted to remind everyone that they can get a copy today.
Jerry Douglas: Fogerty’s Buddha?
Jerry Douglas and John Fogerty have built a musical bond based on good pickin’ — with a little bit of Texas Swing thrown in for good measure. The swing in question is the Bob Wills classic “Swing Blues No. 1” that appears on Jerry’s new album ‘The Best Kept Secret’ (KOCH/Sept. 20), with Fogerty contributing vocals.
As for the picking, that’s been going on for years, as the two get together regularly to play some songs and share a few lessons. Says Fogerty: “A few years ago, I realized I hadn’t become the guitar player I wanted to be when I was starting out, so I got really busy and that’s when I found Jerry Douglas. He’s the Buddha that I pray to every day. He has long been the mentor that I’m living up to.”
In addition to Fogerty, ‘The Best Kept Secret’ features a stellar cast of performers ranging from Jerry’s touring bandmates to Bill Frisell, Derek Trucks, Alison Krauss, and Bela Fleck.
