OUR LEAD ARTICLE this issue is an interview with another guitarist. This
time it's the turn of Chris Wilson. Chris is probably almost totally unknown
outside our own area, but we've decided to raise the profile and awareness
of our own bands by featuring them now and again. If you're "anyone who's
anyone" watch out – we'll be after you eventually!AN IMPORTANT ARTICLE this issue is Steve Read's on his thoughts for learning about chords in songs. Please make a special effort to read it and, if possible, send in some feedback, which I know Steve would appreciate. IT'S VERY GRATIFYING to get letters like the one from "Ken Tardley" in this issue. It's always nice to get some reassurance that you are heading in the right direction. But we would be equally pleased to get critical letters because any sort of comment will help us provide what our readers want. Also a bit of controversy will make the newsletter more vibrant, so don't be frightened to disagree with any of the articles - your letter will be published. ON THE SUBJECT OF DISAGREEMENT, I would like to take issue with a comment in one of the articles in the last issue. Dave Brightmore wrote an excellent review of the Frets Unlimited showcase at the Chester club. In it he said "Bluegrass is never really planned is it?" While I agree that there is a big place in bluegrass for unplanned, improvised sessions, I think there is also a place for planned and arranged music and this the way many bands prefer to work... comments welcome. I SAID IT WAS GOOD to have a bit of controversy and we certainly have some in this issue. Read Mike Preston's BBMA News column. Edited only for brevity, we have published it in its entirety because it summarises much of the good work that the BBMA has done during John Sheldon's reign as Chairman. Many thanks for all the good work and our best wishes to Tom Travis, an excellent replacement for John. The article does, however, contain some comments with which I strongly disagree. Mike says "there is no room for... rival projects." What are the rival projects? He also says "Any expansion outside the BBMA in terms of magazines or publicity projects is likely to be counterproductive." I think that the bluegrass scene can benefit from strong regional connections within the BBMA. In fact I think that this will make the BBMA even stronger, encouraging people to move from their local influences to take a broader view. Please write and tell us what you think. Also please, please join the BBMA and let them know what you think. They have the potential to further the cause of bluegrass in the UK, but only if we all give them our support. SPEAKING OF 'THE WEB', if you have access to the Internet, do have a browse around our web site. It has been very well put together by Derek and has lots of information. Please let Derek have any comments; I don't think he has enough work to do and I'm sure he would like to spend more time developing the web site. Next issue it's back to Derek, thank goodness. I hope I've managed to stir things up a bit for him! This edition is 16,508 word long.
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