AFTER THE TRAGIC LOSS of the great John Duffey last December, we thought NWBN readers might appreciate reading the transcript of an interview that Tom Travis did with him for Tom’s radio series Bluegrass Ramble. This is the concluding part of the full version from which the broadcast version was edited.John Duffey - The UK Interview (Part 2) by Tom Travis. Part 1 was in the September issue of NWBN.

TT: Singing the old standards.
JD: Same thing and the music did need material and one of the active things we pursued was to bring... new material in the field.

TT: The Scene is one of the most eclectic bands I’ve ever heard anyway, I mean I heard you do soul... y’know, Midnight Hour... I mean, at one time you just never, ever... mind you everybody’s copying you and doing all sorts of things now.
JD: Well, I guess the best thing that’s happened to Bluegrass music for as far as getting out a little bit, I guess, is Alison Krauss. She still wants to play this kind of music but yet she’s done a few things on the side that have brought her name out more and if she continues to work with the type of band that she has... eventually that may be some help.

TT: Having really listened to it, and listened carefully, and analysed what that band are doing, they really are breaking ground, y’know. The things they are going on between the bass and the mandolin. They are just building a platform on which they can build all sorts of wonderful melodic things - and they don’t exclude the banjo. So many people try to exclude the banjo to make sweet music don’t they? They do it and they recognise the line up and they do it well.
JD: Well, she’s got one thing on her side - youth, and in America, let me tell you, everything is youth, youth, youth. The government wishes we’d all drop dead at forty, y’know.

TT: The thing is we had the baby bulge of post war days and we now have the baby bulge middle-agers. We must be a bigger market than the kids now I would think?
JD: Mmm... well you’d think so, but I don’t know... I don’t see it happening (Laugh).

TT: What about John Duffey and his music in the future - do you have any unfulfilled ambitions?
JD: (Pause) Really none that I can think of, I mean, I’m a cheap date - I’m happy y’know what I mean, I don’t have anything I don’t want to do... I don’t want to, y’know, stand on the Tower of London and shout the Muleskinner Blues!

TT: You’ll just be happy to stand up there and sing and pick?
JD: Well, I mean just more or less the way it is, I don’t have any place that I wanna be or any y’know, weird lick that I want to present to the public or anything like that.

TT: Well, are you going to do any projects with any of your old buddies from way back? Y’know Charlie Waller or...
JD: Well, we have actually two things scheduled for this year; one’s in October and one in November. A little re-union show, one’s on the east coast of the State of Connecticut and the other’s on the west coast in California.

TT. Are you going to record anything?
JD: No, we don’t have any plans to do that.

TT: Oh, what a shame. Well, maybe after you’ve worked to together once again you may get into the studio and lay something down?
JD: Who knows - I’m just hoping the plane stays in the air tomorrow!

TT: He’s going home tomorrow folks. He’s now sitting with me in Blackburn in Britain and... You’ve never been to Britain before?
JD: No, it’s the first time we ever got invited - thank you.

TT: Ah well it’s a pleasure - thanks very much indeed for coming. Before we sign off could you maybe give us the name of a track that you’d like us to play that you’ve recorded over the many years?
JD: I guess... the most famous one over the years... is Wait a minute.

TT: Oh I love that - Herb Pederson song, ahh - let’s do that one! Yes let’s do that, don’t go any further, were gonna do that one.
JD: Well all right (Laugh) if that’s the way you feel.

TT: Thanks John. JD: Thank you Tom.
TT: It’s been a pleasure!

Updated 23rd Jan 1999