Mike Marshall Archives - Bluegrass Today

Rosta Capek presents… a great anniversary concert in Prague!

Prague-based banjo and mandolin builder, Rosťa Čapek, is having a double celebration in the spring – his 55th birthday, and the fifth wedding anniversary of what his wife, Iva, describes as “our Big Bluegrass Wedding.” To mark these occasions, he will host a unique concert.

Here’s a glimpse of some of the scenes – with bluegrass soundtrack – at Rosťa and Iva Capek’s wedding (May 16, 2018) …

Iva extends this invitation ….

“Celebrate with us! We will be joined by great musicians led by John Cowan, a member of the legendary New Grass Revival!!! The line-up will be truly stellar, and you won’t see these musicians together anywhere else. They will come exclusively to Prague, Czech Republic!!!

Who will perform? We have invited our friends who are among the best bluegrass musicians. The main star will be John Cowan (accompanied by Seth Taylor, Ashby Frank, and Matt Menefee). You can also look forward to iconic fiddler Darol Anger and fantastic mandolinist Mike Marshall (joined by French bassist Lucas Henry), and a great duo – Grammy-winning fiddler Becky Buller along with one of the world’s best banjo players, Ned Luberecki. Special guest is mandolinist Sharon Gilchrist, who was a member of the Tony Rice & Peter Rowan Quartet. And you can look forward to a few surprises!

Where and when? At our traditional venue – the Dlabačov Hall of the OREA Pyramida Hotel in Prague 6 (Bělohorská 24). You can choose from three concerts (all the main stars will always perform; only special guests and the programme may vary slightly). 14th May (Sunday) from 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and 15th May (Monday) from 7:00 p.m.”

Tickets go on sale today, February 8, 2023, and can be purchased only by emailing Iva.

The hall plans with ticket prices and available seats can be found online.

Accommodation is a available at the OREA Pyramida Hotel, where a 15% discount has been arranged (when booking through their website and use the code CAMP-OREA).

Apollo Picks, endorsed by Mike Marshall and Norman Blake

For several months we have trying to pin down Nik Monnin, the man behind the new Apollo Picks, which have created quite a stir in the bluegrass and acoustic music world. But Nik is a busy guy, not only doing all the intense handworking of the various flat picks he offers for sale, but also designing new models for top professional players who have worked with him to develop signature picks at his shop in Ohio.

The Apollo Picks are made from casein, a phosphoprotein found in mammalian milk. It has a wide range of uses, from food additives to paint to industrial and medical applications, but since it has an organic base, has also been found to be an excellent substitute for natural shell picks. Not all of the casein materials available to the market are the same, and Nik believes that part of what sets the Apollo Picks apart from other synthetics is the large supply of vintage casein he has at his disposal.

“Casein just isn’t made like this today,” he tells us, “and I was able to acquire a large collection of some of that last remaining supply. As it happens, the factory that made this stuff went out of business sometime in the early ’70s, and it won’t ever be made again.”

Nik also makes picks from two other materials, PEI and PEEK. PEI, or polyetherimide, is a plastic material available in many grades. He believes that he and Wyatt Rice, with whom Nik has been collaborating for some time, have found a grade and type of PEI that offers many similarities to shell, in look, feel, and tonal response. A Wyatt Rice signature pick made of PEI is on the horizon from Apollo.

PEEK is a similar thermoplastic, poly etherether ketone, used in a great many engineering applications. It is also utilized in skull reconstruction following brain surgery.

Nik says that both have appropriate uses as picks.

“PEEK is very dense and wears really slowly. It sounds beautiful when polished up, and can tame some of the ‘high end’ on acoustic instruments. For example, John Reischman likes to use PEEK when he puts a new set of strings on his mandolin… then when the strings are broken in, he likes PEI.”

Monnin has only been at this the past two years, but already has more work than he can handle. There is no online store on his web site, and he requests that those interested in Apollo Picks simply join his mailing list. When he has sufficient supply to take new orders, people can be notified that way.

There are 11 distinct pick shapes available from Apollo, covering most of the familiar styles. For example, there are six rounded triangles, differing only in how much the edges are rounded, and five variations on the basic teardrop shape. Jazz players may prefer the smaller teardrop pick with a rounded top, while grassers choose one of the triangles.

All of these shapes can also be ordered with beveled edges to individual preference.

So ordering from Apollo Picks isn’t a simple point and click exercise. Monnin offers three materials, 11 pick shapes, and either left or right hand bevels. They are also available in a number of colors and patterns, primarily in the casein. PEI picks are solid black, and PEEK can be solid white or grey. They sell for $35 each, and delivery is dependent on how backed up the shop is at the time of your order.

Both Mike Marshall and Norman Blake are recent endorsers, each of whom has a signature shape and size pick with their name attached.

So visit their web site, learn a bit more about this high-quality boutique product, and get on the mailing list for production updates.

Mike Marshall’s virtual mandolin orchestra does Bill Monroe

Mike Marshall needs no introduction to bluegrass fans. In addition to his jaw-dropping virtuosity and collaborations with Darol Anger, David Grisman, and many more, he is an avid teacher as his many students on ArtistWorks will attest. Recently, to do something cool while they are all home at this crazy time, he put together a project with thirty-two of his students to play Bill Monroe’s Lonesome Moonlight Waltz.

Marshall created the arrangement and played all the parts, then threw it out to his students to play the various mandolin parts, octave mandolin, or mandocello. He played the bass part, which to my eyes and ears is the scene-stealer. His student, Martin Heitkamp from the Netherlands, took on the role of coordinating the project by accepting videos from and editing them into the final production.

Mike graciously answered a few questions about the project.

Hi Mike, who came up with this idea?

Mr. Mike.

How did you choose the tune, and what others did you consider?

I was looking for something that many people had heard before and maybe was not too fast or crazy difficult.

Was there any special work on the arrangement to accommodate remote players?

No, I pretty much just came up with the arrangement myself, played all the parts and then transcribed them into Sibelius which can then generate TAB and Music notation.

How long did it take from start to finish?

Well it’s been at least a few weeks in the making.

Are there more similar projects in the works?

We’re getting so much positive response to this one that, of course, the gears are now turning to do more.

Was there a screening or could anyone join in the fun?

Anyone who wanted to join in was welcome. That’s the vibe at my online school. It’s all about everyone playing at whatever level they play. We all share our knowledge and love for the mandolin and invite everyone to participate and contribute what they have to offer.

Tell us about the instruments that you played — that’s some bass!

I’m loving this 4th Generation Northfield. It’s a Red Spruce 2 bar with a few radical ideas up under the hood that Adrian and Koske at Northfield and I have been fiercely pursuing for a few years now.

The octave is an Austin Clark that I had built for Caterina with a slightly shorter scale length, and the bass is an old Gibson from the teens that Todd Phillips got his hands on many years ago, and put a fretless fingerboard on it. It’s a party ANIMAL!

What surprised you the most about the project?

So far it’s the reaction of people who see it. There’s something very touching and real about seeing amateur musicians jamming along like this and getting that connection going that we are all missing so much. I thought it would just be for the online students but it is getting some attention. Even my sister called today almost in tears.

What new positive things do you think might come out of this?

I am hoping that people will get more creative with this technology. You know a year ago I would have perhaps poo-pooed all this computer time and internet connection stuff, but clearly at this time we all are needing this and it’s giving us a sense of community.

It’s a shame that we all can’t jam yet in real time. But I’ll bet that’s not too far off. And when THAT happens, then you are going to see some sparks fly.

How are you and your family coping with COVID-19?

We’re actually doing okay. Caterina is the Professor of Mandolin at the Conservatory in Cologne and she has been using the Artistworks model as a way of teaching her students from there. They record themselves and send her the video, and then they both connect and she reviews it for them.

So the act of recording yourself is a real turning point for most of us musicians. As soon as we hear or see the first playback we usually say “Oh my, I can’t send her that! I better fix that one part.” Well, that’s really cool because us teachers are having a positive effect on the students before they even see us, right?

We have two daughters, seven and nine, and they play piano and violin and are going great guns with the music, with all this time to play and hang out with us. I got instruments stands for the banjo, mandolins, and guitars, and just leave them around so they are starting to pick those things up too, so watch out.

This time is mixed, of course. On the one hand, we are missing hanging out with our friends casually, but on the other, we have all this time. I think that both Caterina and I were wishing for just that for some time now, so here it is. The challenge will be for us all to keep our spirits up as this thing is clearly going to get extended. But we feel really lucky that we have each other and these little ones to keep us constantly on the move and creating the next …. whatever.

How is ArtistWorks pivoting?

Well, they are doing great of course. With all of these students at home, I am, of course, getting a lot more video exchanges from folks, but I’m loving it. Many folks who were maybe too shy at first to send me a video are in that place finally where they say “Well heck! Let me just send him one.”

And that’s when we can start to get down to business and get some good work done.

How many students do you have and what percent are active?

I have many, many students and in the past it has only been about thirty percent sending me videos, but I think that has come up a bit now.

Do you have any new releases, online shows, or other things cooking?

Darol Anger and I just released a straight-up Duo project called Da Capo on Adventure Music label. It’s just the two of us doing what we do when we play live shows. No overdubs. No other musicians.

I’m very proud of this one. He and I have been playing together for 41 years. JEEEZ! And that energy and connection has never wavered. It’s some kind of crazy magical thing that’s pretty hard to explain.

I’ve been asked to write a concerto for a mandolin orchestra in Germany that I’m working on at the moment.

Also, the Big Trio with Paul Kowert and Alex Hargreaves was about to get together this spring. That’s on hold for now, but it’ll rear its head just as soon as it can.

Caterina just finished her first solo CD which I helped produce. It’s a monstrous project that I can highly recommend.

Thanks so much, Mike.

Thanks man, happy to do it, my friend.

Mike has a lot of experience herding large groups of mandolin players as you can see from this video which is like a who’s who of twentieth-century mandolin players. How many stars can you identify?

Trischka and Marshall team up in Rotterdam

Tony Trischka and Mike Marshall, two legends in the acoustic string music scene in the US, will perform in a rare duo setting together as headliners at this month’s Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival. The free 3-day event is held outdoors on the Pijnackerplein square in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, and runs June 22-24.

They join nearly two dozen acts from across Europe to play both traditional and more innovative bluegrass for the audience in the streets. Bands will appear from Austria, England, Poland, Belgium, and Scotland, plus a hearty sampling of groups from The Netherlands. The streets surrounding the square are also filled with art and children’s activities.

Trischka and Marshall will also offer a pair of free workshops for interested musicians, Tony teaching banjo and Mike mandolin.

The festival is run by Guido de Groot, a cartoonist and interior designer, who is also a great bluegrass fan. He lives in the Pijnackerplein neighborhood, and had been struck by the fact that the square has a lovely bandstand, but there was never any music played there. So he invited some friends to come and play some bluegrass there, which initially served as a block party for about 400 people.

Soon it was much too big for that purpose, and the Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival was born. It is supported by area businesses, including banks and arts organizations, and donations from the city, plus income from selling food and drinks. Now as many as 10,000 people come for the festival, which attracts locals and visitors from across The Netherlands and other European locations.

Festival organizers also use the occasion to help educate the public about bluegrass music, including programs in the schools. Several schools are now involved in a program that teaches young musicians the basics of bluegrass, and then features them as the opening act on the festival stage. The program is growing year over year, and Liorah Hoek with the festival tells us that they have high hopes to see it continue.

They also look for unique crossover acts that might draw people who wouldn’t otherwise show an interest in bluegrass. This year they have paired a Dutch bluegrass band with a popular rap crew, hoping that rap fans will get a chance to discover that they like bluegrass too.

Hoek invites everyone to make a trip to Rotterdam to see their beautiful city, and enjoy some great music at no charge. Plus she says that they have the cleanest festival toilets in the western hemisphere!

See full details online.

Mandolin Symposium taking a break

David Grisman and Mike Marshall, two legends of American mandolin music, have announced they are discontinuing their Mandolin Symposium which had been held annually at UC Santa Cruz this past twelve years. Dozens of top eight-stringers from around the world have taught there over the past decade plus.

Their efforts with the Symposium were not limited by playing style, with representatives of every imaginable discipline represented. Masters of bluegrass, folk, jazz, classical, klezmer, Brazilian, and Italian mandolin music have been featured in their sessions.

Grisman and Marshall shared this statement about the Symposium.

“We’d like to thank our partner Stephen Ruffo, our incredible staff and all of the talented instructors who have helped make this annual event a true celebration of the versatility and beauty of the mandolin. We appreciate all your skills and efforts in helping us create a broad and far-reaching curriculum each year.

To our many students who have attended during the past 12 years — we thank you for passionately consuming everything we could throw at you and still wanting more. Your eagerness to learn and grow is inspiring. You made this event possible.

Hopefully we’ll be able to make the Mandolin Symposium experience available to you in the future.”

Let’s hope to see them come roaring back again before long.

Mike Marshall and the Turtle Island Quartet

When it comes to adventurous modern string music, mandolinist Mike Marshall has all the right credentials. Bursting onto the scene with the David Grisman Quintet in 1978 at the age of 21, Marshall has been a popular recording and touring artists ever since, performing with other notable artists like Chris Thile, Darol Anger, and Edgar Meyer. Stylistically, he ranges from bluegrass and traditional folk music to jazz and choro.

Likewise, Turtle Island Quartet has been making waves since 1985 as innovators in modern chamber music, incorporating elements of contemporary American music into this classical format. Bluegrass and folk fiddle music have often found their way into the quartet’s original music.

Now, Marshall and the Quartet have joined forces for a new, self-titled album, due on March 18 from Adventure Music. It includes original compositions from Mike and Turtle Island founder/violinist David Balakrishnan, plus pieces from Brazilian composers Egberto Gismonti and K-Ximbinho. Darol Anger also contributes an arrangement of Robert Johnson’s Crossroads, scored for mandolin and string quartet. Long time Marshall fans will likely be looking forward to this collaboration’s take on his Gator Strut.

The label describes the music as “Indian/bluegrass, Celtic/country, contemporary classical/Latin,” which sounds intriguing, to say the very least.

Look for Mike Marshall and the Turtle Island Quartet wherever you purchase your music later this month.

Acoustic Music Seminar applications due Dec 1

Attention talented young string players…

Applications for the 2014 Acoustic Music Seminar at the Savannah Music Festival must be turned in by December 1. The week long seminar runs from March 30-April 5 in Savannah, GA and is open to musicians 22 and under (as of April 2014).

All string players are welcome: violin family, banjo, mandolin, guitar. Education Director Jenny Woodruff tells us that they have also had harpists and dobro players attend. The seminar runs for 6 days, with hands-on mentoring in musicianship, songwriting and small-ensemble work.

Instructors for next year include Julian Lage, Tim O’Brien, Daniel Hope, Bela Fleck, Darrell Scott, Abigail Washburn, Chris Eldridge, Casey Driessen, Avi Avital, Mike Block, with others expected to be announced, all under the direction of Mike Marshall.

Only 16 players will be accepted into this elite program, all of whom attend on full scholarship, including room and board.

Full application details can be found online.

The web site shows an application deadline of November 15, but it has been extended to December 1.

Mike Marshall with the Pacific Chamber Symphony

Mando monster Mike Marshall is set to perform this weekend with the Pacific Chamber Symphony. The program has him featured on two pieces: his own composition, Concerto No. 1 for Mandolin and String Orchestra, and Harpsichord Concerto #5 in Fm (BMV 1056) by JS Bach.

Two shows are scheduled, both under the direction of Lawrence Kohl. The first, on Saturday (3/2) will be held at the Mt. Tamalpais United Methodist Church in Mill Valley, CA, and the second on Sunday (3/3) at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center in Lafayette, CA.

Not many contemporary mandolinists have found themselves in as many stylistic settings as Mike. He first hit the scene as second mandolin with the David Grisman Quintet, which he joined as a young man in the 1980s. There he met Darol Anger, with whom he has recorded multiple projects. He has explored and recorded in jazz, bluegrass, new acoustic, classical and traditional folk music forms.

Marshall’s concerto was written in 2006 as a commission from the Plucked Strings Foundation and the Classical Mandolin Society of America. It was first performed in 2007 at the North Carolina School for the Arts in 2007.

Mike tells us that the piece was initially conceived for a mandolin orchestra, with him as soloist, but after performing it that way a few times, he has come to feel that it works better with bowed strings behind the mandolin for the contrast in textures.

He shared a few thoughts about both the process of writing a structured piece, and the concerto itself.

“It took me quite a long time to write, since every note has to be put on paper when you are dealing with these kinds of groups. I spent a lot of time on airplanes chugging away at it. I think it represents a different side of my writing due to the fact that I did not use an instrument for much of the writing, but instead worked just with the music paper and the computer.

When we get away from our instruments we hear things a little differently. Maybe we are constrained in some way by our instrument’s contact. This was a new experience for me, and I look forward to more like it.

The first movement starts as a slow kind of heroic rock thing, and then evolves into a baroque counterpoint dance with some pretty quick mandolin passages thrown in here and there.

On the second movement, I begin on mandocello and then switch to mandolin. It has a pop ballad vibe with some interesting chords and really grew out of the mandocello. It then moves into a romantic Italian-like section for the mandolin where I play double stop melodies.

The last movement is very bluegrass inspired and really gets moving. It is probably the biggest challenge for most orchestral players, since they may not have had much experience playing those kinds of grooves and making a fiddle tune really spin right. I do my best to translate the language to them in what is usually a pretty limited amount of rehearsal time, but I have found most players really receptive to the challenge, and if they can hear my mandolin in some kind of monitoring situation they can usually lock on really well and go for the ride. Sometimes I might even pick up a fiddle and demonstrate.

The challenge is that most of the little things that we do in our music are not really things that we ever write down. So if you just play what’s on the page you are probably missing half of the good stuff. But as soon as a player sees something being done physically, if they are smart and open to it, they can usually do it pretty quickly or at least get in the ball park.”

Mike describes the Pacific Chamber Symphony as consisting some in the best players in the Bay Area, and he feels confident that they will do the piece justice, or as he put it, “they are going to ROCK it!”

No recordings exist yet of his Concerto No. 1 for Mandolin and String Orchestra, but he is hoping to get a video from this weekend’s performances.

The Bach piece was initially written for harpsichord in F minor, but has been re-scored in G minor for mandolin. Mike says he first heard it played by German classical mandolinist Caterina Lichtenberg, with whom he has been working in preparation.

“The first movement has lots of triplets in it, but the second is a gorgeous slow movement which is famous with oboe players because it was used as movement in one of his other concertos, as well as part of a Cantata. The third movement is a joy ride in 3/8 with lots of fun twists and turns.

With Bach you just cannot go wrong right? Everything he wrote is just perfect and balanced and never gets boring, but also stands tall and still like a monk in a rain storm while swirling his players about like they were miniature toy soldiers. It’s as if he invented most of what we think of as MUSIC!”

I can certainly agree with that sentiment.

You can get full details about the shows this weekend from the Pacific Chamber Symphony web site.

Free tuition for the Acoustic Music Seminar

Applications are now being accepted for participation in the Acoustic Music Seminar at the 2013 Savannah Music Festival. This five day program for young string players involves hands-on instruction from such noted soloists as Julian Lage, David Grisman, Darol Anger, Jerry Douglas, Bruce Molsky and Rushad Eggleston from April 1-6.

The camp is under the direction of Mike Marshall, and there is no charge for tuition, accommodations, meals or ground transportation for the 16 students selected to attend. Applications must be received by January 1, 2013, and can be submitted online.

Submissions must include two musical examples, one of which must be video and audio, along with two letters of reference. These can be sent by email, fax or mail.

Full details can be found online.

Into The Cauldron transcriptions

Mike Marshall has prepared a book of transcriptions from his 2003 CD Into The Cauldron, a set of stunning duets with fellow mando-wizard Chris Thile. It contains transcriptions from 9 of 11 tracks on the CD, including the main melody, harmony parts where applicable and a few of the solos taken during these tunes.

Mike thinks that folks will be able to learn a thing or two from these pieces, transcribed for the book by Matt Flinner.

“I just hope folks get as much joy from playing these tunes as we did.

Keep in mind that we did 95% of these arrangements without written music, so it’s a little strange for me to see it in written form. But I hope that these pages will help fill in some gaps for people if they just can’t seem to transcribe it off the CD by ear.

Believe me…. I understand.”

The book has just been published, and will be available within a few days from Elderly Instruments, who will be the sole distributor.