What's in Your CD Player Right Now?

What's in Your CD Player Right Now?
January 31, 2009

What're you listening to at this very moment? What's that album that is sending chills up and down your spine? You know, the one you copied to keep with you so you could leave the original at home.

Bluegrasshack is totally blown away by the sounds of Joey Martin + Rory Feek (Joey + Rory), the Middle Tennessee couple from those pleasant, relaxing, "mac-and-cheese-comfortable" Overstock.com commercials. Yep! They're in the CD player even as these fingers type.

We found them as soon as that first commercial ended, wanting to know more, wanting to buy...even if it was from Overstock.com. Joey has an earlier self-titled album, "Joey Martin," and Joey and Rory have an album called "The Life of a Song".

Check out Joey + Rory and their music at:
www.joeyandrory.com
myspace.com/joeyandrory

Check out Joey Martin at:
www.joeymartin.com

You're going to hear much more from this amazing duo, especially since Carl Jackson, Stuart Duncan, Rob Ickes...and several other notables...have also noticed them and gotten involved in their music. "Sweet Emmylou"...oh, my goodness!

Now...what's that in your CD player? Let us hear from you!

Pick away!

Flowers of the Forest

Flowers of the Forest
January 28, 2009

The bluegrass music community once again is saddened to lose two incredibly talented musicians. PAT COLLINS (12/18/1955 - 11/21/2008) of The Drifters Bluegrass Band (KCMO) and KEN ORRICK (12/2/1940 - 1/24/2009) of Lost Highway Bluegrass Band will long be remembered for their contributions to this music we all love.

Here is information about both performers and their bands:

The Drifters: MySpace URL: www.myspace.com/thedriftersbluegrassband

Lost Highway: Website: http://www.losthighwaybluegrass.com Bluegrass Ireland Blog: http://bluegrassireland.blogspot.com/2009/01/ken-orrick.html and Bluegrass Blog: http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/ken-orrick-passes ~ Also see the following to read the obituary and tributes to Ken Orrick. Feel free to leave a tribute for Ken's family to read: www.tributes.com/obituary and type in Ken Orrick and January 24, 2009.

This writer treasures her signed vinyl called "Memories of the Past" (Lite Records LR 116), which she received when Ken Orrick and Lost Highway came through Memphis and played at the Tennessee Gentlemen Bluegrass Shack in Lucy, TN. The "Memories of the Past" recording featured Ken Orrick (guitar, vocals), Nick Haney (bass, vocals), Jeff Harvey (mandolin, vocals), and Lauren Seapy (banjo, vocals).

Flowers of the Forest: The phrase goes back to much earlier times in Scotland and Ireland. It is a tribute to fallen soldiers and friends.
Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_of_the_Forest

Pick away!

The Town Square Bluegrass Twitch

Can you feel it yet? The Town Square Bluegrass Twitch? Faith and begorra, it's about to begin! All it takes is a green sprig here, a buttercup there, bright sun, longer days, a warm day or two...right here, 'way down deep in winter...and folks are already beginning to itch and twitch to get back to our wonderful Friday night riot which we call The Collierville Historic Town Square Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Jam.

We operate on BST (Bluegrass Standard Time), which means we start gathering at the square or at the church at "around 6:30 PM CST," and there's just no tellin' when we're liable to quit!

We're having a wonderful time on Friday nights out on Houston Levee Road at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer. Fr. Colenzo Hubbard and his wonderful congregation have been so warm and generous! We love those folks! Thanks, everyone at Redeemer!

We also love our town square, and we're aiming for mid-April as a time to return...if it's not snowing that night! After all, this is West Tennessee!

If you're a regular at the square, warm up those fingers! It won't be long now! If you've never been to the square on Friday nights during the spring, summer, and early fall, you've missed it! It's free, it's completely open to everyone, and we don't watch the clock. We just hang out and pick 'til the last string is plucked! Sometimes that's purty late and the sprinkler system starts coming on! Is that a gentle suggestion, maybe?

There's no place more beautiful than the Collierville Historic Town Square in the spring...just you wait! Our hats are off to the Parks and Recreation Department for their superior work all over town, and especially at the square.

So, let's pick awhile longer indoors where it's warm and dry and then we'll head to the square for our (and this is the amazing part) 10th anniversary! Tell your friends and neighbors, hose off the folding lawn chairs, and we'll see YOU at the square in mid-April!

Pick away!

Yes, We (All) Can!

January 20, 2009
Inauguration Day

On this historic day, we are forced to remember, reflect, renew, restore, and go forward from where we are at this moment. Why not do something today to rekindle a friendship, to restore a relationship, to help someone rebuild his/her life? So what if it's met with indifference? You will feel better for your effort. Go pick a special tune for someone. Sing them one of their favorite songs. Try to right a wrong. Give back to your community. Make a donation. Let others know you care...right there in the small space around you.

Yes, We (All) Can!

Pick away!

How did you live your dash?

From: Heartland Circle Blogs
Author: Linda Ellis, with credit and appreciation
Passed on to Heartland Circle by: Sheila Hines Edmondson
For you because you asked

How did you live your dash?

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning...to the end.

He noted that first came her date of birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years. (1934-1998)

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth...
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
The cars...the house...the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard...
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real,
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile...
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy's being read
With your life's actions to rehash...
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

Classical Gas!

No, not the "Classical Gas" written and popularized by Mason Williams 'way back when. I use my fuel card each time I shop for groceries at a local store. They scan the card and just today I realized a savings that even I don't believe. I filled up with regular unleaded for...ready? I filled up for 12.9 cents a gallon! Now, that's what I call classical gas!

Need me to connect that story to bluegrass music for you? I can now afford a new bluegrass CD of my choosing (Steep Canyon Rangers, perhaps), or I can attend a concert at the Lucy Opry, or I can check out the January Dulcimer Gathering (Jan. 17, 2009) at White Station Church of Christ, or I can afford to go to "Breakin' Up Winter" at Lebanon's Cedar Forest (Mar. 6-8, 2009), or I can go to the Station Inn in Nashville to see who is there this week, or I can even shove the savings deep in my jeans pocket and stumble on down the road whistling the theme from "The Andy Griffith Show".

Pick away...on "Classical Gas," maybe?

In Memoriam: Butch Baldassari

In Memoriam: Butch Baldassari (December 11, 1952 - January 10, 2009)

See details of this Nashville mandolin artist's amazing life at www.soundartrecordings.com

Please keep his wife Sinclair and son Blake in your thoughts and prayers.

See that little dash (-) up there between birth date and death date? You have seen the little essay that asks the question "How Did You Spend Your Dash?" Well, Butch Baldassari spent his dash about as well as anyone ever could!

Spend your dash as well as you know how...starting NOW!

Pick away for Butch!

Lucy Opry Welcomed The Grascals

The Lucy Opry welcomed The Grascals on January 10, 2009. The band is a delightful combination of instrumental work, incredible vocals, and personality we should all hope for. The Grascals are: Jamie Johnson (guitar, vocals), Danny Roberts (mandolin), Terry Eldredge (guitar, vocals), Terry Smith (upright bass, vocals), and the two talented newcomers, Jeremy Adams (fiddle), and Kristin Scott Benson (banjo).

The Grascals have a new product: Keep On Walkin' which is available on CD and on a 33 1/3 vinyl album! Yes, vinyl is back and in a big way! Vinyl album producers can't keep up with the demand right now. Hope you held onto your albums from back in the day...hope you have something to play them on!

As some wit once said, "Lawdy! What a time!"

Next up at the Lucy Opry: The Steep Canyon Rangers on Friday, March 6, 2009

Season tickets available: www.lucyopry.com or for individual shows at the BPACC box office (901)385-6440 (30 days prior to performances)

The Lucy Opry is located inside the Bartlett Performing Arts & Conference Center at 3663 Appling Road, Bartlett, TN

Special thanks go out to Will and Beth Mays for bringing many fine bands to the Lucy Opry over the years--and for the incredible lineup for 2009. Haven't been to the Lucy in a while? Come on out and enjoy the music!

Pick away!

Free Banjo Workshop on Sat. 24th at 12:30

What would bluegrass music be without banjo? Who knows... but it wouldn't be bluegrass! If you are a beginner or intermediate banjo player, or if you are interested in learning how to play banjo, our own Tommy George has agreed to put on a free workshop. Tommy is our resident expert at building and setting up banjos (and other instruments!) Tommy has been playing banjo for quite awhile and plays with his group, Cypress Creek. Cypress Creek is a long established and popular bluegrass band here in our area. You won't find a nicer guy either. So come on out and take advantage of this great opportunity to learn from one of the best around.

The workshop is at Hope Presbyterian on Walnut Grove Road at 12:30 pm on Saturday, January 24.

Ya'll come and bring yer banjers!

The Lucy Opry 2009 Season

The Lucy Opry 2009 season is filled with major leaguers! Will and Beth Mays have sought and landed some of the finest award-winning bluegrass bands that are working today! Special thanks to Will and Beth for their efforts! Support them--support the Lucy! Buy your tickets! Get out there!

Looking for something to do on Saturday, January 10? How about checkin' out THE GRASCALS! Those folks are just plain incredible! This one may sell out!

The rest of the season looks like this--and boy, is it great!

Friday, March 6 THE STEEP CANYON RANGERS
Friday-Saturday, May 1-2 BPACC/Lucy Opry Pickin' Picnic capped off on Saturday with an indoor ticketed performance by THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS
Saturday, August 8 SPECIAL CONSENSUS
Friday, September 18 DAILEY & VINCENT
Saturday, October 17 BLUE HIGHWAY

The Lucy Opry is located inside the Bartlett Performing Arts & Conference Center (BPACC) at 3663 Appling Road, Bartlett, TN ~ Phone: 901.385.6440 ~ www.lucyopry.com

Pick away!

The Tennessee Gentlemen Bluegrass Shack

I stumbled in the Tennessee Gentlemen Bluegrass Shack in January of 1980. The little ol' shack was located on Pleasant Ridge Road in Lucy, TN. I almost never found the place! What I heard that night and many nights thereafter changed my life forever! I was hooked on bluegrass music from the moment that I heard the Tennessee Gentlemen, who were leader-founder Troy Castleberry (mandolin, vocals), Donny Catron (guitar, vocals), Steve Gregory (bass, vocals), and Richard Bailey (banjo). A lot of water has flowed under the bridge in the last 29 years--some good, some not so good--but I will always remember the warm, comfortable feeling I got inside that little hundred-year-old one-room schoolhouse known as the Bluegrass Shack.

Pick away!

Speak up MABA

Here's a venue to express your ideas and opinions for the Memphis Area Bluegrass Association.