By John Lawless

AcuTab is delighted to announce our newest banjo tab book, for Steve Dilling. I am very pleased with this new book. Not only does it catalogue the recent recordings of this fine banjo artist, it also provides a very effective study of how modern bluegrass banjo is played.

Few bluegrass bands have made such a powerful impact on our music this past few years as IIIrd Tyme Out, and banjo picker Steve Dilling is a big part of the reason why. His clear, straightforward style always features the recognisable melody of the song and his tasty licks and fills keep the music driving right along.

This new book features all the banjo breaks and many prominent backups from all four IIIrd Tyme Out CDs on which Steve has appeared: Letter To Home, Living On The Other Side, Live At The MAC and John & Mary. Perhaps more so than with previous AcuTab books, this one contains music that will be of great benefit both to novice and intermediate players. Few of the tabs will present much technical difficulty to less experienced players and, coupled with the text notes and the left/right hand fingering indications, these breaks should be accessible to all but the rankest of beginners. The text notes also break down the more prominent elements of Steve's style and will be a big help as you learn to assemble your own solos and play effective backup.

Together with the four IIIrd Tyme Out CDs (also available from AcuTab), Steve's book is like a master class for bluegrass banjo players. Less skilled players can get their fingers (and ears!) around some great examples of contemporary bluegrass banjo while more experienced pickers analyse the subtleties that sets Steve's playing apart and make IIIrd Tyme Out such a dominant force in bluegrass music. It's like a text book for today's style of traditional bluegrass banjo.

The book runs 58 pages and contains 24 songs - 52 tabs in all. More info (including a song list and a sample tab) on the web at: www.acutab.com/dilling words.html

In his intro Bill Evans writes:

"While this book is not quite as good for a banjo player as a North Carolina birth certificate, it comes pretty close. So open it up now, put on your capo and get to work!"

If you visit the AcuTab site you can both find detailed information on the various books we offer and view/download a free sample tab from each volume.

Go to the main site, www.acutab.com, and follow the link to our On Line Catalogue. This will show a list of the books we offer featuring transcriptions from top pickers like Sammy Shelor, J.D.Crowe, Scott Vestal, Pete Wernick, Terry Baucom and several others. They can help any picker seeking to expand either their repertoire or their understanding of "How it's done."

Studying the playing of the greats does not mean you have to play just like they do. Sammy Shelor absorbed the style of Terry Baucom when he was learning, as did Scott Vestal. At one time in their careers, they actually sounded like Terry, but no one would accuse either man of being a Baucom clone now; it was just a very useful part of their development. You can't be a part of where banjo music is going without a solid understanding of where it has been - and is today.

To hear examples of Terry's playing get the first two IIIrd Tyme Out CDs (IIIrd Tyme Out and Puttin New Roots

Down), his two CDs with Lou Reid (Carolina Blue and Carolina Moon). They are great examples of his playing. I also heartily recommend his CD with his current band, Blue Ridge (Common Ground).

I saw Blue Ridge recently and got to spend some time with Terry. You need to watch him live to appreciate his mastery of the banjo. It is not his style that is so amazing, but his absolute mastery of it. His playing is flawless and his timing impeccable. He quotes himself regularly and is not much of an innovator, but who cares? His tone and time are to die for. I try to emulate Terry's playing every time I pick up a banjo - not so much in note choices but in his quest for perfection.

He plays on Herschel Sizemore's brand new CD My Style - very, very tasty and well played banjo.

Dan Tyminski's new release Carry Me Across the Mountain is superb. The songs are great and the performances really sparkle. He is one of my very favourite singers and he teams up on this CD with Ronnie Bowman, Alison Krauss and Dwight McColl.

That very funny Scotsman Billy Connelly is a great fan of the banjo. I have heard him work his interest in the banjo into conversations on the late night shows and during his act. He has called to order AcuTab books several times and seems especially fond of Scott Vestal.

Acutab Books News:

• I have been asked may times about a Tab book for the recent CD Knee Deep... - well, it shouldn't be long - a month or so. The Tabs are all done; we just need to finish the proofing and layout. I also get asked about Craig Smith, especially the Stanley Tradition stuff. Craig and I have discussed this several times. He wants to do a book and we have loose plans to do so. Every time we talk, we exchange apologies for not following up. He keeps a very heavy teaching schedule and my plate is full as well. But there will be a Craig Smith AcuTab in the near future; what it will entail is still up in the air.
• Sonny Osborne - breaks and backups from the classic Osborne Brothers CD, Bluegrass Collection, should go to press by the Fall. Most of the tabs are finished and the book is almost completely laid out. Bill Evans has to get a couple more tabs and some text to me and we will be nearly done.
• Tom Adams' tabs for breaks and backups from the first Lynn Morris Band CD, the last Johnson Mountain Boys CD and the new Blue Highway CD should be available about the same time. Weare also working on a dobro book for Rob Ickes and a mandolin book for Herschel Sizemore.
• We are shooting the first AcuTab instructional video - our first - featuring Sammy Shelor. We shot about two hours of raw footage with a mix of discussion and demonstration. Topics covered equipment (picks, string, banjos), tone, attack, backup, filling the holes, his influences and others that have slipped my mind. We broke down a number of tunes including: Daddy's Dream, Ernest T.Grass, Sorry County Blues, When You Go walking After Midnight, Crossroads Blues, North Carolina Breakdown, Allen's Dream and Soldier's Joy. I'm not sure if every one will make it to the final tape. I hope to have it ready very soon.
  I expect that the Knee Deep banjo book will be next (Shelor, Vestal, Mullins, Trischka, Munde, Wernick, Baucom).
  It is a very scary year!
• We hit the 'magic number' of 250 advance orders for our reprint of Masters Of The 5 String Banjo. Current plans are for a reprint of between 1500-2000 copies. The first printing was for 6500 but we are not committing to keeping this book in print so, now's the time to get your copy! we expect it will be available about the end of September, or maybe later.

21st September 2000