bluegrass

It’s been alternately figured that the Dillards, the Byrds or the Flying Burrito Brothers are the founding fathers of country rock. It’s a silly and useless debate to become engaged in. But whereas those two latter groups always functioned, to a certain extent, as rock groups, the Dillards began in Missouri as a straight bluegrass band replete with vocal harmonies and the like.

The band’s decision to head west and give the music thing a go in California, though, changed the trajectory of not just the Dillards’ career, but the folks that comprised the Byrds and the Burrito Brothers. Read more

Bluegrass, even in its hipper incarnation as newgrass, is generally perceived to be the stomping grounds for goyim (look it up). But with the pairing of David Grisman and Andy Statman, perhaps that notion about the genre should change. Of course, each of those players, prior to working together, had put in time in a variety of relatively influential groups dealing in Americana in one way or another (I dunno if the Grateful Dead count. Maybe). But each one of these men have such a broad interest in performance, instrumentation and music in general, that the dueling mandolin extravaganza that could have resulted, comes in as an experimental look at the instrument and what it’s capable of doing. Read more