Ted Lehmann's Bluegrass, Books, and Brainstorms

YeeHaw Junction Bluegrass Festival - Thurs & Friday - Review

2012-01-28T10:46:00.000-05:00

YeeHaw Junction fits a traditional bluegrass fan like an old glove. You know, when you attend this Keith and Darlene Bass production that you'll hear familiar music played, mostly, by bands you've heard before or by bands you may not have heard but who will play music with which you're deeply familiar. Names like Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, The Osborne Brothers, Carter & Ralph Stanley, and

Guitar Zero by Gary Marcus - Book Review

2012-01-26T04:00:00.016-05:00

Gary Marcus, a psychologist who teaches at New York University, opens his wonderful new book Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning with a simple question: “Are musicians born or made?” Of course simple questions don't have simple answers. In seeking to answer his question, Marcus took more than a year to engage in extensive practice and research, including attending

The Western Lit Survival Kit by Sandra Newman - Book Review

2012-01-23T07:48:00.001-05:00

The Western Lit Survival Kit: An Irreverant Guide to the Classics from Homer to Faulkner by Sandra Newman shows its cards in its sub-title. This is supposed to be a funny book about literary classics, and, in many ways it succeeds. The book often brought a smile to my face and sometimes proved itself to be laugh out loud funny. The introduction claims to help readers get past using books

Nu-Blu & Morris Brothers at Rivertown Bluegrass Society - Conway, SC

2012-01-22T17:05:00.000-05:00

It's always fun for us to return for a Saturday night show at the Rivertown Bluegrass Society in Conway, SC. Rivertown provided us with first bluegrass experience back 2000 or 2001 while we were spending a winter in our fifth wheel at Myrtle Beach Travel Park. In those days the monthly third Saturday show was held at Coastal Carolina University. One of the featured bands was Blueridge

Josh Williams "Mordecai" Goes Viral

2012-01-22T13:08:00.002-05:00

It's been an exciting day here at the blog. It appears that while I wasn't looking, my video of Josh Williams singing "Mordecai," a story of a wandering Jewish peddler, to a bird perched on his guitar has gone viral. As of a few minutes ago, it had suddenly received over 150,000 hits and been identified by a couple of YouTube channels specializing in such things as worth watching. I thought I'd

Larry Stephenson, Local Scene at Berryville Bluegrass, VA

2012-01-18T14:42:00.001-05:00

Frank & Cyndy JurneyFor the past ten years promoter Frank Jurney and his wife Cyndy have been promoting a winter bluegrass series for the benefit for the Clarke County Athletic Association in the 550 seat auditorium at Johnson-Williams Middle School in Berryville, Virginia. During that time, in addition to offering superior bluegrass programming monthly through the winter, the program has donated

YeeHaw Junction Bluegrass Festival, FL - Preview

2012-01-12T07:59:00.000-05:00

A bumper sticker sold at the "World Famous" Desert Inn at YeeHaw Junction asks "Where the Hell is YeeHaw Junction?", a good question that bluegrass music lovers who have faithfully attended this fine traditional festival opening for its eighteenth year in the middle of a large pasture just west of the Junction of Florida Highway 60 and the Florida Turnpike don't need to ask. As they travel west

Our Man in the Dark by Rashad Harrison - Book Review

2012-01-12T05:00:00.017-05:00

When I read the description of OurMan in the Dark by Rashad Harrison I thought the word noir was merely the affectation of a publicist looking for a way to describe this dark novel set in the period between John F. Kennedy's assassination and Martin Luther King's. But sure enough, the book has a black and white cinematic quality resonating the films of Humphrey Bogart with a touch of Orson

What's “New”? - Essay

2012-01-11T08:14:00.000-05:00

The essay below is a lightly edited version of my Welcome Page essay published yesterday on the CBA website. As always, I look forward to your comments here, in the forums, and on the mailing lists. How do we respond to “newness” in our lives? Are you one of those people who jumps at a new idea, adopting the product, trend, or idea right away because you find it intriguing or exciting? Or are

Wine to Water by Doc Hendley - Book Review

2012-01-10T05:00:00.017-05:00

Doc Hendley isn't much of a writer, but he has an important story to tell. In his book Wine to Water: ABartender's Quest to Bring Clean Water to the World Hendley portrays himself as something of a slacker, a marginal student who stays in school, a mediocre musician who always has a band, a nascent bartender who succeeds because he makes contact with his customers. Along the way, Doc realizes

Gibsons and Larry Stephenson at Berryville, VA - Preview

2012-01-04T08:13:00.000-05:00

The Gibson Brothers and the Larry Stephenson Band will present a concert at the Johnson - Williams Middle School in Berryville, VA on Saturday, January 14th at 7:00 PM. While the concert is nearly sold out, promoter Frank Jurney tells me there are a few seats left. If you can still get in, this concert will prove to be very satisfying. If you can't, take a look at the rest of the concert series,

New by Winifred Gallagher - Book Review

2012-01-02T08:03:00.003-05:00

In New: Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change (The Penguin Press, 2012, $25.95) Winifred Gallagher has drawn on genetic research about the effects of the neurotransmitter dopamine and synthesizied this work with explorations of our science and social science to explore how we experience the “new” in our lives. The “new” effects how our restless seeking for what is new or our stubborn

2011 Photo Retrospective IV

2011-12-28T07:48:00.000-05:00

Here's the last of this four part series. As I was going through the thousands of images, I found many worthy of being included, but search fatigue (both mine and yours) suggests IBMA with its associated events and awards is as good a place to stop as any. As usual, these are purely in chronological order, and not grouped by band. Enjoy! Dumplin' Valley - Kodak, TNLittle Roy Lewis & Lizzy Long

More than Words Can Say by Robert Barclay - Book Review

2011-12-26T08:20:00.001-05:00

I'm not familiar with the conventions of romance novels, but this work gives off all the signs of having been written to a formula, one that has millions of adherents but little appeal to me. Nevertheless, having asked TLC to send it to me, I determined to struggle my way through More Than Words Can Say by Robert Barclay, even though, from only a few words into it, I doubted very much I would

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2011-12-24T09:17:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to All of You Who Have Visited UsDuring the Year Thanks!

Fifth Anniversary Post

2011-12-22T07:52:00.001-05:00

On December 22, 2006 Ted Lehmann's Bluegrass, Books, and Brainstorms made its debut. Today, therefore represents the fifth anniversary of its birth. As I have each year for the past several, I want to take a look backward as well as to use this entry as an opportunity to thank all those people who have contributed to its continuing success and growth. This blog represents my second effort to

Reunion Hill Band at Fritz Fries - Friday 12/16

2011-12-20T07:44:00.001-05:00

Fritz Fries is a very pleasant restaurant on Main Street in Keene, NH which has a lively and comfortable ambience serving a simple menu of delicious panini, salads, and hand-cut fries with a variety of sauces available. Adding to the sauce of the location are weekly live music presentations on Friday evenings. We went to Fritz Fries on Friday to see the Reunion Hill Band in a full performance,

2011 Photo Retrospective III

2011-12-19T08:05:00.000-05:00

Summer is a time during which we could, had we resources, energy, and time attend a festival every week. Here's a series of pictures covering four of our favorites while still allowing us to spend summer weekends with family and friends in the Adirondacks. Again, the photos are presented in chronological order with no attention paid to trying to include all band members or have them grouped

Where Might We Be Headed? - Essay

2011-12-15T08:14:00.000-05:00

The essay below is a lightly edited version of my monthly column on the California Bluegrass Association's welcome page. It's always an honor to have been invited to post on this outlet. I look forward to continuing the discussion of the issues raised here on the comment section as well as in the forums and on our Facebook pages. To start with, I want to say I have no deep concerns about the

The Heights by Kate Ascher - Book Review

2011-12-14T07:01:00.000-05:00

Each time I approach Kate Ascher's new book The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper, I look at it with interest and find myself saying things like, “Oh! That's interesting,” or “Gosh, I've always wondered about that” while never wishing to read the book through or study it. This lushly illustrated oversize volume offers containing hundreds of computer generated drawings offers more detail than

Jenny Brook Open Mic - Weston, VT

2011-12-13T09:37:00.001-05:00

Weston (VT) Rod and Gun Club The Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival is a year-round effort by promoters Candi and Seth Sawyer to develop, maintain, and grow a traditional, family oriented bluegrass festival. They continue to succeed in their efforts despite encountering dramatic and difficult to overcome family crises of illness that would long ago have destroyed the will and spirit of a less

2011 Photo Retrospective II

2011-12-12T06:02:00.001-05:00

Here's the second edition of my annual holiday special photo offerings. These photos were all taken during the relatively brief period from the end of April through the middle of May at three events - Merlefest in Wilkesboro, NC, The Doyle Lawson Bluegrass Festival at the Denton FarmPark in Denton, NC, and the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival held at Granite Hill Campground near Gettysburg. All

George Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow - Book Review

2011-12-11T04:44:00.000-05:00

George Washington has always been a sort of cardboard character to me. I've long since given up many of the myths (lies) we were taught as children – Pastor Weems' “Father, I cannot tell a lie” about the cherry tree, the coin across the Rappahanock, and so-on. Nevertheless, I came to view Washington as a distant, cold, perhaps even limited character due to his storied reticence, maybe even a

2011 Photo Retrospective 1

2011-12-06T09:45:00.000-05:00

Here's the first of a series of posts containing pictures I've selected as among the best we've taken during the past year. I've tried to choose photos I like as photos rather than focus on picturing whole bands or describing events. I hope you find some you like as the 2011 bluegrass year winds down towards Christmas and the New Year. The pictures are in chronological order beginning with The

To Join the Lost - Seth Steinzor - Book Review

2011-12-01T08:17:00.003-05:00

Dante Alighieri wrote what has become known as “The Divine Comedy” between 1308 and 1321 in Italian, rather than the current lingua franca of Europe, Latin. In it, he is guided through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, first by the Roman poet Virgil and then by his true love, Beatrice. His use of the vernacular Italian signaled a new literary language accessible to common people as well as