University of North Carolina Archives

Oh, Didn’t They Ramble wins Association for Recorded Sound Collection award

Oh, Didn’t They Ramble: Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music, a book from David Menconi whose title perfectly describes its content, has been singled out for a Certificate of Merit by the Association for Recorded Sound Collections.

The book was awarded in the category for Excellence in Historical Sound Research in Record Labels or General Recording Topics. Rounder Records, of course, has been responsible for releasing music by some of the most popular artists in acoustic music, like Alison Krauss, Billy Strings, Rhonda Vincent, J.D. Crowe & The New South, Béla Fleck, Sierra Hull, Blue Highway, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, and many, many others.

Menconi, a life-long music journalist, spent much of his career covering the North Carolina Piedmont’s rich music scene for Raleigh’s News & Observer. After retirement, he has had a number of full-length titles published by the University of North Carolina Press, on various music topics. But this one drew a great deal of attention, focusing as it does on the history of one of the most influential independent record labels in the US, and the three colorful characters who founded it.

As Richard Thompson shared in our review last year…

In a new book, Oh, Didn’t They Ramble: Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music, David Menconi traces the story of the legendary music label founded in 1970, beginning in the wake of the American folk revival and 1960s movement politics, formed around the eclectic tastes and audacious ideals of three then-recent college graduates who lived, listened, and worked together.

He draws on previously untapped archives and extensive interviews with artists, Rounder staff, and founders Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton Levy, and Bill Nowlin, who blended ingenuity and independence with serendipity and an unfailing belief in the ‘small-d’ democratic power of music to connect and inspire people, forging creative partnerships that resulted in one of the most eclectic and creative catalogs in the history of recorded music.

The book has been widely praised, but David told us today that an award of this kind from a recording industry association like ARSC is a particular treat.

“Recognition for one’s work is always wonderful, especially in a field this strong. Every other book in this category was amazing, and I’m beyond honored at this. Massive appreciation to The Association for Recorded Sound Collections!”

Congratulations to David Menconi, the University of North Carolina Press, and Rounder Records at the announcement of this honor.

Oh, Didn’t They Ramble is available directly from the publisher in either hardback or e-book formats, from a variety of online booksellers, and for multiple digital readers.

Carolina Bluegrass Band revisited

Two years ago, Bluegrass Today talked with Russell Johnson, Ensemble Director, and Professor Jocelyn R. Neal, Associate Chair, Department of Music, about the establishment of the bluegrass music program at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill’s Music Department.

In this feature we speak to four of the students – Sarah Zelasky, Maddie Fisher, Jon Beyle, and Carter Hodge – about their involvement in the music program and participation in the UNC’s Carolina Bluegrass Initiative, of which the Carolina Bluegrass Band is the rotating performance combination – there was an intake of 17 in one year – that is not only a showcase for the talent in the program, but a part of the audition and examination process.

The students learned about stagecraft, sound design, and band management alongside performance.

Sarah Zelasky is from Raleigh, North Carolina, and she owes her love for music to her mother, an elementary school music teacher in Wake County Public Schools System.

During her high school years, she played piano in a jazz band, sang in the choir and in school musicals, among other activities.

Moving on to college, Zelasky joined multiple UNC ensembles including the Women’s Glee Club, the Marching Tar Heels and Charanga Carolina (a salsa band), before, in her senior year, becoming a member of the Carolina Bluegrass Band.

How did you become interested in music/bluegrass music?

I fell in love with the Duhks, a Canadian folk band when I was nine and my parents took me annually to the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF). Since my discovery of fiddle through their band, I learned violin in my middle school orchestra, played in the Triangle Youth Orchestra, and took fiddle lessons “by ear” from Vickie Montague in Raleigh, North Carolina. I took a bit of a fiddle break in high school as I explored French horn, colorguard, and ukulele. When in college, I didn’t feel that my classical skills were good enough for the UNC Symphony (having always played second violin in orchestras), but I loved the expression that came with fiddling.

What prompted you to join this course, and what were the essential elements as they pertained to you and your entrance-level experience of bluegrass music?

I literally just saw a flyer in the music hall, lol. I missed Irish fiddling, and playing violin in any way, so I decided to join – best decision of my senior year at UNC.

I auditioned in Spring 2017 but, the band already had all the fiddle spots full for the semester. I auditioned again in Fall 2017 and was accepted into Carolina Bluegrass Band. It was definitely a bit of a learning curve to propose and arrange my songs (much different than learning traditional Irish fiddle songs by ear) but, participating in the band gave me opportunity to express myself through music and also gain confidence when surrounded by many talented musicians.

Would you tell me a bit about your experiences during the course and how important was learning the history of bluegrass in the context of learning to play the music?

The course only met two hours a week, so we spent most of our time arranging songs and rehearsing with only a bit of focus on bluegrass history when a new song was introduced.

How beneficial was the course in the context of your musical ambitions?

Learning bluegrass was extremely important to my development as a musician. Before the Carolina Bluegrass Band, I would rarely volunteer to take solos or do improvisation on breaks. Russ and my bandmates really encouraged everyone to step up and take their shot at soloing, so I learned to develop my own breaks as well as create fillers to back up the other musicians in my band. I did not realize how confident I had become at improvisation until I recently joined a new band and found myself constantly volunteering to take solos – something I never would’ve done two years ago. The style of the music itself and the environment created by my bluegrass bandmates made coming to rehearsals a great break from my rigorous and stressful college work.

I hope I can continue my participation in similar bands as an escape from my professional career life once I finish graduate school a year from now.

Zaleski is now an Environmental Health graduate student at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, studying air pollution emissions related to transportation and their health consequences.

Currently, she plays violin with the Harvard College Latin Band and sings with the Longwood Chorus for Boston-area medical and health professionals.

Maddie Fisher grew up in Morehead City, North Carolina; she graduated from UNC in May, with degrees in Music and Environmental Studies.

While there, Fisher was first and foremost a vocal major, and so her career aspirations revolve around singing, songwriting, and accompanying herself with mandolin/guitar.

What prompted you to join this course and what were the essential elements as they pertained to you and your entrance-level experience of bluegrass music?

I had just picked up the mandolin when I first heard about the course, and I figured playing in the ensemble would be great practice. The department had historically only offered classical or jazz-oriented opportunities, and bluegrass or other folk/traditional styles were more in line with what I saw myself pursuing post-grad.

Would you tell me a bit about your experiences during the course?

There have been some really cool moments. I’ve been with the ensemble since its first semester, so I’ve been able to see most all that has happened. I was lucky to be able to open for the Steep Canyon Rangers with a few other Carolina Bluegrass Band members, which was scary but so cool. I was also a part of a group that opened for Hank, Pattie & the Current at the Cat’s Cradle, which was awesome exposure.

I took mandolin lessons from Russell. I’ve also been a part of opportunities to play smaller gigs on and off of campus with Carolina Bluegrass Band. Additionally, the ensemble inspired a research project that I worked on, with help from Dr. Jocelyn Neal, looking at the perspectives of bluegrass musicians from coal mining communities and how their music plays a part in local activist efforts. This work was supported by the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship and the Mildred Mayo Research fund. It resulted in a bluegrass and coal showcase that I put on with a few other Carolina Bluegrass Band members, along with a paper that is coming out in the next volume of the UNC journal of undergraduate research.

How important is learning the history of bluegrass in the context of learning to play the music?

I think that bluegrass history is important in that it shows you where all of the classics and standards came from, which are so much of what you play as a bluegrass musician. The standards are essentially blueprints for newly-created bluegrass music. I think the history is also important because it shines a light on all of the voices and perspectives that have been missing from the bluegrass narrative, which going forward can encourage us to create spaces where contributions from different kinds of people can be supported.

What reasons would you give if you were to recommend the course?

I’d encourage anyone to take it because regardless of skill level, it will help you become a better musician. It’s also cool to be a part of an initiative that’s so new because we’re helping to shape it and its future.

How beneficial is the course in the context of your musical ambitions?

This course has been super helpful. I aspire to be a musician and songwriter, and this course has given me a ton of tools that are important in making that happen. Since joining, I’ve gotten really good at picking up harmonies and can work out mandolin breaks much more easily. I also just have a much better understanding of how the different layers and instruments of songs come together, which is important in being a good musician and band member.

Maddie Fisher (mandolin) is now a member of the Carrboro-based Dissimilar South, a “freewheeling band” specializing in “meaty, heart-breaking, and twisted southern Folk” music.

Jon Beyle is a Chapel Hill, North Carolina-native and now a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill with an Exercise and Sport Science major, and minors in Coaching Education and Music. While at UNC he competed on the track and field team in the throwing events as well as in the multi-discipline events (decathlon, heptathlon).

Beyle, who has played guitar and sung since at middle school, started taking banjo lessons with Hank Smith through UNC in 2017, and, to a lesser extent, played the piano.

What prompted you to join this course and what were the essential elements as they pertained to you and your entrance-level experience of bluegrass music?

I joined the UNC Bluegrass Ensemble after taking the Bluegrass History course taught by Dr. Jocelyn Neal. I was a fan of bluegrass and traditional music when I heard it but, wasn’t too familiar with the specifics of it. My earliest and strongest memories of bluegrass came from The Andy Griffith Show watching The Dillards perform. After studying the genre and watching the band open for the Steep Canyon Rangers at Memorial Hall on campus, I decided this would be a great opportunity to learn and perform another style of music.

The essential elements of being in the ensemble performing bluegrass were simply to have an open mind and be willing to immerse yourself in the genre. Russell Johnson is great at taking students with little or no bluegrass experience and teaching them the subtleties of the style while not squashing their own unique musical talents. Along with some musical talent, as long as you came in willing to learn more about bluegrass and put in the work to better yourself, you had the prerequisites for the ensemble.

How important is learning the history of bluegrass in the context of learning to play the music?

Learning the history of bluegrass is important in getting to the core of the music itself, however, one of its beauties lies in the “jamming” nature of the genre. Bluegrass is a music meant to be played with others and, in my experience, it is a welcoming community. Even when I was barely scraping the surface of bluegrass history, I was welcomed to bluegrass jams and encouraged to play as much as possible. Since I’ve become more experienced, I’ve been able to play bluegrass with friends even when they know very little about it. In fact, introducing those with other musical interests to the genre brings new ideas and helps bluegrass to grow.

With that said, diving into the history of bluegrass gives you a deeper understanding and appreciation of the music. It can turn your view of the genre upside down. For example, the banjo is seen as such a symbol of the “redneck” American South, but how many people know its origin is traced back to Africa, coming over with the slaves? Always popular in bluegrass jams, the song Sitting on Top of the World was originally a blues song. In learning that this genre has various influences, I feel welcomed to bring my own influence and my own style to how I play this music, while still holding true to the bluegrass giants who have come before.

What reasons would you give if you were to recommend the course?

Through this course I met many amazing people who happened to be great musicians, and we were able to bond over the music that we were learning and playing together. The Director of the band, Russell Johnson, made every rehearsal fun. He did a great job utilizing the many talents in the band to play bluegrass while not trying to squeeze us into a mould and squash our unique interests and abilities. As with any ensemble at the University, this course can be a foray into the world of performance. Those with little stage experience will be given the opportunity to step into the spotlight, while more experienced performers can still learn from Russell and his years of professional music performance. Overall, anyone in this course will have fun and become a better musician and performer along the way!

How beneficial was the course in the context of your musical ambitions?

The importance of this course in my musical ambitions can’t be understated. Without being involved in the Bluegrass Ensemble I’m not sure that I would have the confidence to be publicly performing music as I am today. Before I joined, I was a “bedroom guitarist,” occasionally playing for family and friends. I learned so much through the course and fell in love with playing music with others. As I got a taste for performing onstage, I took the knowledge and experience I gained beyond school, starting a band with four other ensemble members. Our band, Sugar On Fire, started small, playing small events as favors for friends, and has grown into a larger part of our lives. In addition to Sugar On Fire I began writing and performing my own music as a solo act, hoping to somehow piece together a living by doing what I love: playing music. The Bluegrass Ensemble swung my life in a new, fun, incredibly rewarding direction.

Beyle is a singer/song-writer who performs solo and as the guitarist and lead singer for Sugar On Fire, the Triangle, North Carolina-based band that started in February 2018. All five members came together through their involvement in the Carolina Bluegrass Band.

Carter Hodge is the first recipient of the Joanne and Victor Marshall Bluegrass award (as presented by UNC Department of Music).

Hodge has been in the ensemble for five semesters. Having just graduated, Hodge is a double major in Women’s and Gender Studies and Music, with a creative writing minor in poetry.

How did you become interested in music/bluegrass music?

I have always been interested in music, since I was a kid. I started really young playing violin and piano, and learning classical music but, fell in love with guitar and other folk/bluegrass instruments toward the end of middle school. I’m primarily a guitarist and heard about the bluegrass band because my ex-partner and bandmate was in it. It seemed like the absolute best fit for me to contribute and grow as a musician in the department, given that I don’t really play classical. As soon as I got going with mandolin and the ensemble, I learned to love bluegrass and appreciate the ways it was making me a better musician.

What prompted you to join this course and what were the essential elements as they appertained to you and your entrance-level experience of bluegrass music?

I joined the bluegrass ensemble because I felt that as a popular/folky musician, there wasn’t much room for me in the music department. I was also intrigued by bluegrass, having not been exposed to it much prior to joining. Guitar was my primary instrument, but I was interested by and willing to play banjo, mandolin, and bass. The thing I’ve taken away most from starting at nearly no mandolin is the importance of locking in with your band rhythmically, and the ability to take breaks/solo.

At UNC how important was learning the history of bluegrass in the context of learning to play the music?

In terms of history, we didn’t actively learn too much about the history as we use our time to rehearse. However, bluegrass is such a culture with norms and expectations for how you play and interact that are really easily linked to history. So, by nature of learning to play bluegrass, you learn about Flatt & Scruggs, band practices/set ups, the culture of bluegrass jams, etc. Russ was also good about encouraging us to know who wrote our songs and made them famous, so we learned to appreciate what was a Scruggs tune, or a Bill Monroe song, or something that was more of a crossover.

What reasons would you give if you were to recommend the course?

I’d recommend the course to other musicians because bluegrass teaches so many important skills applicable to any kind of musician. You have to pay attention to dynamics, learn how to maintain energy and drive at all tempos, function as a band to complete the whole rhythm section, juggle solos, etc.

To me, it’s awesome that you can join the band even without much bluegrass experience. It’s challenging but, it feels often like there is nothing but growth to be had as people learn what bluegrass is and how to play it.

How beneficial was the course in the context of your musical ambitions?

Bluegrass helped me grow tremendously as a musician. I learned a lot about helping lead a band through rehearsals and gigs. I also went from playing zero mandolin to being a fairly competent mandolinist! Playing breaks and arranging songs carefully for bluegrass were skills that instantly translated to how I play with my other band. Bluegrass has improved me as a technical player and as a musician, in knowing my way around rehearsals, sound equipment, arrangements, sets and community.

Londoner (England) Carter Hodge is, like Fisher, a member of Dissimilar South, as well as playing with the Carolina Ukulele Ensemble.

You can follow the Carolina Bluegrass Band on their Facebook page.

UNC auditions for Carolina Bluegrass next week

If you are a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and want to get course credit for playing bluegrass, it’s time to get it touch with the music department and sign up for the Bluegrass Ensemble (MUSC 212 Section 006).

The ensemble is open to all the bluegrass instruments (banjo, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, reso-guitar, bass, and vocals) and the class can be taken by music majors and non-majors, plus graduate students at UNC. Billed as the Carolina Bluegrass Band, the group is under the direction of Russell Johnson, with assistance from Hank Smith.

Depending on the number of participants, several different bands may be assembled, with a recital at the end of the semester featuring all class members.

Auditions for the Spring ’19 semester will be held this coming Tuesday, January 8, in the Music Department. Interested students are encouraged to contact Russell by email to set up a convenient time to schedule an audition.

Players at any skill level are welcome to audition, and private lessons are also available for the various instruments.

The band has only been in force for a few semesters, but students and faculty alike are excited to have bluegrass ringing out in the music department.

Visit the UNC Music web site for more information.

Hank Smith accepts banjo position at UNC

Raleigh, NC-based banjo player Hank Smith has accepted the banjo lecturer position with the Music Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He will be offering private lessons at the school beginning in the Fall 2017 semester.

Smith performs regularly with Hank, Pattie & the Current, a progressive string band also based in Raleigh. He is a South Carolina native who is well-versed on his instrument in a wide variety of styles, including bluegrass, jazz, and classical. In his non-musical time, Hank is also an author, and has published a novel of fiction about life on the road with a bluegrass band called Leaving Auburndale.

UNC students will be able to take advantage of his many years of experience teaching banjo lessons, and his overall mastery of the instrument. Interested students should contact the Music Department for more information.

This is the second bluegrass-specific faculty member hired at UNC, following Russell Johnson who came on last Fall to manage The Carolina Bluegrass Band, the school’s official bluegrass ensemble for students.

Carolina Bluegrass Band auditions next month at UNC

The first year of bluegrass at the University of North Carolina is in the books, with auditions to join the program in the upcoming fall semester set for next month.

The school introduced a bluegrass ensemble into the curriculum of the music department as part of their Bluegrass Initiative during the summer of 2016. Russell Johnson, who leads Research Triangle-based The Grass Cats, was named the director of the new group, billed simply as the Carolina Bluegrass Band. He will host auditions on campus August 21-22 for any students who would like to be considered for band, which earns academic credit like any other elective class.

Professor Jocelyn R. Neal, Associate Chair of the Department of Music, told us in an interview last month that they want to expose students, who come to Chapel Hill from all over the state, the country, and the world, to music and arts native to North Carolina.

“The inclusion of bluegrass in the Department of Music matches our broader goals of including more vernacular and popular musics in our offerings, areas that are increasingly relevant to our students in a global community. Our faculty have been researching and writing about music and culture in these contexts for years; bringing these classes into the department allows our undergraduates more access to these growing areas of study.

Finally, North Carolina is home to a number of significant strands of bluegrass music. This inclusion of bluegrass in our curriculum extends our University’s responsibilities and attention to this region, its history, and its interface with the rest of the world.”

Ted Lehmann attended the program’s recent spring semester concert and recorded these videos of the Carolina Bluegrass Band on stage.

First up is Chris Burris doing a grassy version of Chris Stapleton’s If It Hadn’t Been For Love.

And a take on the bluegrass classsic, Big Spike Hammer, by William Hall.

Other students in the videos include Maddie Fisher on mandolin, Liz Short on fiddle, Jake Cochran on guitar, Sydney Wheeless and Lee Landess on banjo, and Reese Krome on bass.

Any UNC Chapel Hill students who would like to audition in August are asked to contact Russell Johnson in advance by email.

Banjo instructor sought at UNC Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the largest and primary campus of the 17 that make up the UNC system, is advertising now for a banjo instructor in their Music Department.

This addition is part of their Bluegrass Initiative, an effort to offer performance opportunities for music majors within the bluegrass realm, and to present curricula that teach the history of the music, in which central and western North Carolina have played a large role.

The position is listed as part time, beginning in August 2017, to teach private banjo lessons to as many students as may sign up. The time commitment will be based on the number of students. A one-year contract will be offered, and the school is listing a bachelor’s degree and three year’s experience playing and teaching banjo in a professional environment as prerequisites.

Compensation will be based on experience and qualifications.

The job posting can be found online, and applications can be submitted from the web site.

The University is determined to build a bluegrass presence through the Bluegrass Initiative, and while the number of banjo students may be small to start, the Music Department is eager to build up the musicians they need for their Carolina Bluegrass Band, which we highlighted yesterday.

This could be an excellent chance to get in on the ground floor of bluegrass at UNC.

Russell Johnson and the UNC Carolina Bluegrass Band

Last summer (2016) the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Music Department hired Russell Johnson, the well-known bluegrass singer, songwriter and mandolin player from Cary, North Carolina, to the faculty position of Ensemble Director for what was called the Carolina Bluegrass Band.

Of course, the University of North Carolina bluegrass music program isn’t the first one established at an American university. There are some long-standing courses, such as that at South Plains College, Levelland, Texas, and ETSU (East Tennessee State University), Johnson City, Tennessee. There is a program at the Hazard Community Technical College, Hyden, Kentucky, and at Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky, as well.

All are very well-established places of learning various aspects of the bluegrass and general music business. The IBMA has a fairly comprehensive list of universities and colleges online.

To find out what is involved in the process of setting up a bluegrass music program in a university or college, Bluegrass Today spoke to Russell Johnson and Professor Jocelyn R. Neal, Associate Chair, Department of Music, effectively Johnson’s boss.

Johnson also touches on the difficulties that he has encountered thus far.

What is the job title?

“Faculty Position: Ensemble Director for the Carolina Bluegrass Band

The Music Department of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill solicited applications for an ensemble director for the Carolina Bluegrass Band, starting 1 July, 2016. The Carolina Bluegrass Band is part of the Bluegrass Initiative, launched by the Music Department in 2016, which includes a bluegrass ensemble, new academic courses, symposia, and performances.

The ensemble director will lead all aspects of the bluegrass ensemble during the academic year. Responsibilities include recruiting and auditioning students, designing the course syllabus, leading weekly rehearsals, managing publicity and outreach, and presenting public performances each semester. The ensemble director will collaborate with other faculty to plan relevant master classes and symposia. The bluegrass ensemble is open to both music majors and non-majors; the ensemble will satisfy some degree requirements for music majors.

Qualifications: three years’ experience as a performer and band leader preferred; proficiency on at least one traditional bluegrass instrument; competency coaching all traditional bluegrass instruments. Education: bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree in music, southern studies, humanities, or a related field preferred. Review of applications began on 20 April, 2016. Salary being be commensurate with qualifications and experience. UNC-CH is an equal opportunity employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.”

….. and what was it that you thought you could bring to the position?

“I’ve been a band leader since I started playing music in the late 1980s and felt that I matched up with the criteria in the job description. I also taught individual lessons for six years.”

What challenges did you face during the first semester?

“One challenge has been that only a very small percentage of the students have had any exposure to bluegrass. So we have to start with the basics, from the ground up. (Of the 25 students that have taken the course last fall and this spring, only two (8%) have had any bluegrass background.) Others have been exposed to folk, Americana, acoustic, jam bands (The Avett Brothers, Mumford and Sons, Nickel Creek) or older country music (Hank Williams, Louvin Brothers), but only the two or three would know who Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs were unless they took the bluegrass history course at the University.

If a student brought in a traditional song, for instance Wayfaring Stranger, they knew it from a modern-day interpretation like Ed Sheeran’s. All of the violin players (fiddlers) came from a classical background, most of the guitarists were classically trained, except the ones that were also singers. Bass players have been jazz and orchestral players.

Also getting the word out that there is a bluegrass ensemble on campus to the student body has been challenging. It’s so new, not many students know about it. The first semester 70% were music majors or minors, this semester 80% are music majors or minors. I don’t feel all of the student body knows it’s available yet.”

How was the bluegrass ensemble received within the music department?

“Maybe a question for Professor Neal.”

Professor Jocelyn R. Neal, Associate Chair, Department of Music of shares her thoughts on the question ……..

“The UNC Bluegrass Initiative, which we launched in Fall 2016, aims to bring together the many resources UNC has that relate to bluegrass music with a more direct undergraduate experience and interface with the community. Our archives, including the Southern Folklife Collection, include remarkable holdings in bluegrass music; many of our faculty on campus have researched and published on bluegrass; graduate students in several of our departments have done excellent research projects that engage bluegrass.

But up to the present, we did not have a good way to connect our undergraduate students with this music. The Bluegrass Initiative has changed that by adding bluegrass to the Department of Music’s formal offerings.

Students can now play in the Carolina Bluegrass Band and receive course credit for that music-ensemble course just like they would for other ensembles such as Global Rhythms, Charanga Carolina, or performing in a departmental opera production. And I teach an academic course on the history of bluegrass music, which fills different elective options for students, similar in concept to histories of other musical practices, traditions, or genres.

Our UNC Bluegrass Summit, which we hosted last November, brought these threads together: a public audience who heard scholarly research, exhibition of our archival holdings, both a workshop and a headline concert from Steep Canyon Rangers (who boast several UNC alums), and more.

In hiring our band leader, I was looking for someone who was a multi-instrumentalist who could coach individual players in the band; someone who knew how to create a tight ensemble whose approach to the music is more than just the sum of the individual players on their own instruments; someone who understands the rich and complex history of the music as well as its present styles and direction; and someone who had the skills to coach the students for live performance and presentation. Russell Johnson’s experience in all aspects of the industry, both as bandleader and performer, as songwriter and studio engineer, and three decades’ of working in the business, made him a terrific match for the job. But beyond that, he was interested in taking on the project of bringing bluegrass to college students and guiding them to explore the music.

As Russell explained, for many of our students, this is not music that they have internalized or that they learned at home. This opportunity to explore something new is one of the best aspects of a university music department: it’s a real learning experience that broadens and enriches their training as musicians, both for those who see bluegrass as a primary home and those for whom it really is an exploration outside their musical home.

The inclusion of bluegrass in the Department of Music matches our broader goals of including more vernacular and popular musics in our offerings, areas that are increasingly relevant to our students in a global community. Our faculty have been researching and writing about music and culture in these contexts for years; bringing these classes into the department allows our undergraduates more access to these growing areas of study.

Finally, North Carolina is home to a number of significant strands of bluegrass music. This inclusion of bluegrass in our curriculum extends our University’s responsibilities and attention to this region, its history, and its interface with the rest of the world.”

What was the reaction of the rest of the student body?

Russell Johnson comments ….

“That would be hard for me to answer. It’s a big school, close to 20,000 undergraduates. All I have to base it on would be the response the band received at their Fall concert. There were mainly students in the audience, and I thought it was well received and went over great. A very enthusiastic response. Every seat was filled and basically standing room only (which I understand is not always the case for department concerts). I think a lot of music majors/minors are interested in what’s happening with the ensemble.”

You’re holding auditions for the spring semester … are you seeking a different set of musicians, or for those to augment the first band members?

“I had nine students return from the first semester class of 15. I have 18 enrolled this semester with two auditing. I have split them into two different bands of about 10 each. I do not have a traditional five or six-piece band yet. Our performances are based on students coming in and out in different groupings to perform songs so that everyone is engaged and performing. Everyone learns to play the songs but we ‘feature’ different students on different songs. I eventually would like to have a band of six-seven that performs the entire repertoire.”

What are the objectives for the spring semester?

“My objective every semester is to teach students about bluegrass, learn a repertoire and perform a concert.”

Are those from the first grouping looking to work in the professional bluegrass marketplace in the coming months?

“I couldn’t answer that. I do think there are a few that will pursue music full time when they graduate, and I think they have learned things in the bluegrass ensemble they will take with them. For instance, the importance of basics like tuning, timing, harmony singing, arrangements, pacing of a concert, and performing in an ensemble (band) setting and how all the parts need to complement each other.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is Russell Johnson’s alma-mater.

Currently Johnson leads The Grass Cats, the only group on an independent label that has four singles to reach #1 on the Bluegrass Unlimited national chart.

As a reminder, if you are interested in adding academic qualification to your existing bluegrass talents you might want to check out what’s on offer at the various universities and colleges …..

These interviews were conducted in March and April 2017.