WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO NOW?

[David Houck]

My favorite band, East Nash Grass is playing at a small venue here in Roanoke this evening...

Enjoy!

[edwardofhuncote]

My favorite band, East Nash Grass is playing at a small venue here in Roanoke this evening...

Enjoy!

I did.   

At least I did when they finally took the stage. There was right much hassle involved with getting in and it was cold. Then the opening band started late, and went long, playing some real shall-we-say 'chestnuts' that I really could have missed. They'd have been okay for maybe a half-hour or 45 min. set, but an hour was pushin' it and running over was a good excuse to find the restroom. (admittedly, I'm a tough crowd...) So East Nash Grass didn't actually start until like 9-something after we came in at 6:30 for a 7:30 show. I was ready, and they didn't disappoint. Seriously... I follow this band pretty darn close, and even I was surprised at how tight they are fresh off Winter break. And it was nice to finally meet them all in-person and talk for a minute. They tried out a buncha' new songs last night, and Maddie confirmed that a new project is in the works. James said he thinks it probably will drop sometime in late-Summer. The bad news is, they've gotten too busy to keep playing at Dee's on Monday nights, so now the streamed shows will be fewer and further between. The good news is, East Nash Grass has moved beyond a regional act and firmly established itself in the bluegrass music scene. I've seen this kind of musical magic happen before... I'm really happy for this bunch. It's been great watching them grow into this band. Makes me wanna' go back again and try harder!

Let's see if this works... I caught the encores.

[edwardofhuncote]

The next track from Alison Krauss & Union Station is out..."Granite Mills" stays firmly in the vein of her penchant for dark ballads... and this one's really dark, albeit historically rooted. We finally get to hear Russell Moore on lead vocal here, and some spooky modal fiddle, backed with possibly an octave mandolin... or is that a high-strung guitar as the primary rhythm instrument? I ain't sure.

[cozmik_cowboy]

The next track from Alison Krauss & Union Station is out..."Granite Mills" stays firmly in the vein of her penchant for dark ballads... and this one's really dark, albeit historically rooted. We finally get to hear Russell Moore on lead vocal here, and some spooky modal fiddle, backed with possibly an octave mandolin... or is that a high-strung guitar as the primary rhythm instrument? I ain't sure.

Heard that one a couple days ago; a wonderful addition to the tradition of disaster ballads - which are the next-best thing to murder ballads! 

Peter (who will listen again with an ear to the octave mando/high-strung question)

[pauldo]

[David Houck]

That was nice.  The combination of fretless bass and classical guitar was interesting.

[cozmik_cowboy]

The next track from Alison Krauss & Union Station is out..."Granite Mills" stays firmly in the vein of her penchant for dark ballads... and this one's really dark, albeit historically rooted. We finally get to hear Russell Moore on lead vocal here, and some spooky modal fiddle, backed with possibly an octave mandolin... or is that a high-strung guitar as the primary rhythm instrument? I ain't sure.

Heard that one a couple days ago; a wonderful addition to the tradition of disaster ballads - which are the next-best thing to murder ballads! 

Peter (who will listen again with an ear to the octave mando/high-strung question)

And so I have.  I'm pretty sure I'm hearing unison courses there - but no, I'm not 100% sure, either.

Peter (who guesses he'll have to keep coming back to it until he is sure:  Oh, the torture........)

[cozmik_cowboy]

Oh my, yes!!!

Peter

[edwardofhuncote]

The next track from Alison Krauss & Union Station is out..."Granite Mills" stays firmly in the vein of her penchant for dark ballads... and this one's really dark, albeit historically rooted. We finally get to hear Russell Moore on lead vocal here, and some spooky modal fiddle, backed with possibly an octave mandolin... or is that a high-strung guitar as the primary rhythm instrument? I ain't sure.

Heard that one a couple days ago; a wonderful addition to the tradition of disaster ballads - which are the next-best thing to murder ballads! 

Peter (who will listen again with an ear to the octave mando/high-strung question)

And so I have.  I'm pretty sure I'm hearing unison courses there - but no, I'm not 100% sure, either.

Peter (who guesses he'll have to keep coming back to it until he is sure:  Oh, the torture........)

It's jangly... failing using my phone-a-friend privileges, I guess we'll find out how they reproduce it when the the tour kicks off next month. Russell can play mandolin. Ron is usually the utility multi-instrumentalist guy. It'll be one or the other of them.

[pauldo]

Granite Mills is powerful.   As mentioned, those disaster ballads really strike a chord! 

[edwardofhuncote]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granite_Mill_fire

(in case someone wonders whatnawurld we're a-goin' on about...)

*and I'm going with this instrument is actually a dulcimer... with a 6-1/2 fret... the real question; who da' hell played that?!

[cozmik_cowboy]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granite_Mill_fire

(in case someone wonders whatnawurld we're a-goin' on about...)

*and I'm going with this instrument is actually a dulcimer... with a 6-1/2 fret... the real question; who da' hell played that?!

Ah - in the immortal words of Arlo Guthrie, there was a third possibility I had not even counted upon - even though there's one sitting about 8' from me as I type!

OK, another listen with that in mind, & I'll report back.

Peter

[cozmik_cowboy]

OK, that time I think heard some picked fiddle that I don't recall from last listen.  And there's a banjo, and Jerry, and Alison, and a bass - and I think I'm just gonna go ahead and say they put a lot of layers in this, and its not clear-cut.  So I'm inclined to say what the heck; why not just say it's mandolin, & octave mandolin, & bowed fiddle, & picked fiddle, & mountain dulcimer, & high-strung guitar, & what the heck - why not uilleann pipes?
Sounds good, whatever it's made with.

Peter

[cozmik_cowboy]

Keeping in the disaster ballad/murder ballad framework, Jimmy Swope, "The Man Who Killed John Prine":     

Peter (who hopes this doesn't come too close to the politics ban.....)

[edwardofhuncote]

RIP Ernie Sykes. Thank You for teaching a dumb dreamy kid from Virginia how to sing a third harmony part while playing a proper walking bass line behind a singer, for showing him how to make some grocery money on Broadway and Printer's Alley with nothing but bass and a good sense of what not to play.

Keep that Angel Band straight, old buddy.