NW Bluegrass News Mag online May 99: Letters to The Editor

Your Letters to The Editor

Dear Derek - I think Ian Reynolds’ article in the March NWBN was spot on. Singing all the old songs in the old way is fun but not very creative. Surely all art form (including Bluegrass) must have some creativity - was there anyone more creative than Bill Monroe, for instance?

This is precisely the reason that we (The Acme Band) started writing our own songs. It wasn’t that we were stuck for choice of new material, nor that we thought our songs to be superior. It’s just that we felt we had to do something a little different and also put something back into the music we’ve enjoyed for so many years.

Ian is right - we do all owe the music something. My advice to him is to stop associating with people like yourself, who live in a time-warp!

Yours very TIC, Bob Armstrong, Nenthead, Cumbria.

Thanks Bob! Of course, lots of creativity can be expressed through interpretation an improvisation and lots of people feel more comfortable with familiar things, so there’s nothing wrong with the old stuff. But that doesn’t stop those who want to from taking whatever direction they like - Jazz, bongo-grass or whatever, so long as (as I see it!) they know when to stop using the Bluegrass Stage to show off on.... Ed.

Can someone tell me how a band that doesn’t exist - The Tom Travis Band - got nominated for the BCMA awardsat the expense of great performers such Baker’s Fabulous Boys, The Acmes, Jane on Thunder, Bill Smarme and the Business, The Bluegrass Brothers, The Ken Tardley Playboys, New Generation....etc.

John Wirtz, Somerset. Write to

Dear Derek, Christchurch (NZ) now has a Bluegrass Club. It was started in November of 1998. The nucleus of the club is a local B/G group the Turkey Buzzard Band. We now have about 40 members and meet on the 1st or 2nd Sunday of the month (depending on the band’s commitments) from 2 ’til 6 p.m., in a local cafe/bar in the city centre, to talk and jam with “more banjo’s than soft Mick.” A video night (B/G, of course) and a “join a band night” are planned soon, as well as a weekend B/G camp for next summer!

New Zealand is a great place to live, but we need more BlueGrass artist’s/pickers. The music has a very low profile here. So Come on Down sometime - all the readers, too!

Keep up the good work and enjoy the coming B/G festival season for me.

Regards, Brian J.Oldham., Christchurch, New Zealand.Write to Brian

Brian is a Sponsor and our man down under. There’s the invite, so if ever you are down that way.... ED.

HELLO FROM ACROSS THE GREAT POND here in Canada!

I was given this very old looking banjo over the holiday which appears to come from England, so I thought maybe you could help me out with some info about it. It has a small 8 1/2 inch head, closed back, and stress rod, but I cannot figure out the neck, which has SIX tuning pegs. Where the fifth peg is supposed to be is a hole on the fretboard which runs right through the neck to one of the tuning pegs. This is the info I can make out on the neck: ?AMPHION. W TEMLETT (this is as a signature) Maker, London

Any info you or your readers could pass on to me regarding history, set up, parts, or such would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You, Ian Babey, Airdrie, Alberta, Canada (irbabey@ucalgary.ca)

· Hey - North West Bluegrass News - Great web site! Thanks for posting it. Having the tab and midi files together makes the tab even that much more useful.

Steve Smith (Mandolinist) (stevesm@home.com)

Dear Derek, Since getting NWBN I have a much better understanding of the British Bluegrass Scene. I checked out the Tuesday night Mossley club - met Dave Pope and friends - enjoyed a terrific evenings picking (well, I took my guitar and joined in...) Might try Prestwich next week - pity they share the same evening!

Steve Browne, Mytholmroyd

That’s the kind of thing we like to hear! Hope you sorted out the TabRite & MIDI files (plus decoders) OK! Ed.

Dear Mr Brandon - I have been a fan of Bluegrass Music for many years, most of them, I confess without realising it!! I used to help Ray Cooper do his country music program on BBC Radio Nottingham back in the 70’s and met up with Brian Golbey at that time, as well as seeing Bill Monroe, The McLain Family and Bill Clifton & Red Rector. It was only when mainstream country music (to my ears) went down the tubes, that I realised that Bluegrass had always been the sounds I had most enjoyed.

I joined the BBMA, did the Edale thing and am keen to help gain a wider audience for ‘our music’.

David Finn, Mapperley, Notts.

Derek - We should all be extremely grateful for the time and effort that you put into the NWBN - it gives so many people enjoyment and information - which certainly keeps me going over the long winter nights. It is sad to read of the demise of ‘Edale’ so good luck to Bev’s venture. I do believe that one of the best ways of promoting Bluegrass music is the weekend pick-around - we are hoping to host one in North Wales someday.

John Prytherch, Conwy, North Wales.

Mandolinist Matt Flinner writes (via Ian Reynolds): “Just to let you know I just finished recording a new CD with Todd Phillips and David Grier. It will be called Phillips, Grier and Flinner (what an exciting name) and will be on the same label as mine (Koch over there?). I'm hoping that group can get over to England sometime next summer--I'm going to talk to Leon Hunt about doing the Ironbridge festival next year, and if that works out then we'll try to do some other gigs around it.”

1 May 1999