Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Pictures From Lower Broadway in Nashville












More later.









The Well Beaten Path




The side door at the Ryman, and the back door to Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. A short 35 steps, the 'well beaten path'.

Birth Place of Bluegrass

This plaque was erected about three years ago. Eddie Stubbbs was the prime mover in getting it.

Some people, especially thoae from Rosine disagree, They claim Bill Monroe was born in Kentucky, bluegrass belongs to Kentucky.

The theroy in Nashville goes like this, If a women
from Rosine has her baby while visiting here, the birth certificate will read, Nashville Tennessee.

The Ryman


The historic Ryman Auditorium.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Eddie Adcock, Bionic Banjo Player

Eddie Adcock says "I'm almost fully recovered" from surgery to implant electrodes in his brain to relieve tremors in his left hand. It has been very difficult for Eddie to play up to his expectations.

Eddie said "I can play without tremors and as fast and as good as I ever did" All that remains is some "fine tuning" and removal of a few stitches. He states, "I will be good for 12 years," when his chest implanted battery is due for a change.

Eddie, a member of IBMA Board of Directors, was in attendance at the World of Bluegrass Monday.

Look for Eddie at an upcoming 'Good Morning America', where this remarkable procedure will be explained.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Hazel Dickens Concert On Line


There is a very recent Hazel Dickens concert available on line. Backing her is pretty much the same group that she used to bring to the Elizabeth Moose, years ago, Dudley, Richard, Ronnie and a fiddle player I didn't recognize and I missed the introduction.

http://kennedy-center.org/ -under Performances select Millennium Stage, then search Hazel Dickens.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Western PA Artist, Picker, Bloger



The Bluegrass Painter
As many of you know, Bob was pleased to provide artwork for the IBMA World of Bluegrass 2008. His original watercolor was used in the graphic design of the marketing and promotional materials, including the 2008 poster. Bob is exhibiting his art at Booth #83 during Fan Fest and is happy to sign posters purchased during the event as a courtesy to attendees. Just stop on over to Appalachian Studio's booth, say hello and have your poster signed at no charge by the artist.
Preview the poster at, http://www.appalachianstudio.com/
See Bob's Bluegrass blog at, http://www.mountaindo.typepad.com/

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Blue Shades Showcase

To anyone attending the IBMA next week, Blue Shades will be showcasing for the Pickin' in Parsons folks.
Tuesday Sept 30 at 11:00pm in the Renaissance Hotel, 3rd floor, Belmont 3.

Little Roy and Vince Bartlebaugh


I'm sill learning my way around this blog business, thought you might enjoy this picture of two great banjo pickers.

IBMA Membership Letter From Board Chair


I thought this email would be of interest to all Bluegrass enthusiasts. It is obvious the board has been very busy recently, and the new openness is greatly appreciated.

HAVE YOU CONSIDERED IBMA MEMBERSHIP?

John

To the IBMA Membership:
"As we prepare to attend the 2008 World of Bluegrass, I would like to share with the membership a brief list of some of the organizational accomplishments over the past few years. Many of you have helped us realize these accomplishments by your participation in the IBMA process. I would strongly encourage all IBMA members to attend the seminars, constituency meetings and the town hall meeting at WOB where ideas are both shared and generated. We are looking forward to another very successful and enjoyable event!
Here is an abbreviated list of some of our recent accomplishments and activities:

Created the Foundation for Bluegrass Music, a 501(c) 3 entity that can receive tax deductible donations (the IBMA can receive donations but they are not tax deductible) and can assist with funding special projects. The Bluegrass in the Schools program has been transferred from the IBMA to the Foundation and will be able to fund educational projects through the Foundation. The creation of such a foundation has been on the table for several years and we were quite pleased that we were able to bring this plan to fruition.

Organized an informal gathering of Nashville-area industry leaders to discuss current industry issues and to exchange ideas about possible future plans and initiatives; ASCAP donated meeting space for this gathering.
Appointed an Award Show Oversight Committee to work directly with show producers and staff.
Enlisted a third-party accounting firm to conduct an internal financial control review and offer recommendations. The review was positive and recommendations will be implemented in the near future.

Secured Directors & Officers insurance for the Board.

Appointed a Site Selection Committee to investigate options for the WOB after 2009; many cities were contacted, several submitted bids, and the Board reviewed all information provided by the committee to eventually decide to keep the event in Nashville for the next several years.

Organized the first-ever International Summit, which will be held at WOB on Tuesday and Wednesday. Industry leaders that include promoters, artists, media and association representatives from around the world were invited to participate in this event that will be facilitated by Fred Bartenstein, who facilitates our Board Strategic Planning meetings. We hope to find better ways to relate to and serve our non-US membership.

Met in April for our spring board meeting, facilitated by Fred Bartenstein, and created a new Strategic Plan that will guide us from the present through the year 2011.

After many years of being told it is virtually impossible to develop a health insurance plan for a geographically diverse organizational membership, we seem to have found a possible plan that will be available to members in certain states and will hopefully soon be available to the entire membership. Representatives of this plan will be at WOB to share information and offer possible health insurance opportunities for at least some of our membership.

Proposed awards criteria changes.

Marketing Committee new initiatives include hiring a publicist to promote WOB, inviting industry leaders to WOB and organizing a meeting of label leaders.

Re-activation of Simmons Research.

Special membership campaign in April 2008 netted 256 new professional members.

Leadership Bluegrass program continues its ongoing success.

Involvement with other music industry trades (Nashville Music Council, etc.).

Industry database and service updates and expansion.

Created the Association Newsletter by Board rep of that constituency.

Conducted survey of Event Producers by Board rep of that constituency.

Undergoing review of membership categories; studying Membership Committee recommendations.

We are excited about the growth of the organization and look forward to working towards accomplishing our objectives and goals as we face the challenges of the ever-changing world of bluegrass music."

All the best,
Greg Cahill, President and Board Chair

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Traditional Ties, 09/28

The featured new release on ' Traditional Ties' this coming Sunday, 9/28, will be CHHR2 from Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain.
Every Sunday on WYEP 91.3 FM, Pittsburgh PA. at 10:00 pm.
Streaming audio - http://wyep.org
Show web page - http://wyep.org/traditionalties

Setting Changes

Hopefully the time of posting will now be correct, and comments are now open to all.

Opps

It didn't take long to be reminded that Mountain Therapy did a showcase in Louisville, thanks Tim.

Initial Post

Darlene and I are preparing to leave for Nashville, and attend the International Bluegrass Music Association's (IBMA) annual business conference, trade show and fan fest. It starts Sunday September 28 and ends October 5.



I will be posting from time to time while there, with personal observations and impressions. It will be a busy and exhausting week, but with lots of information, music and socializing, and yes fun.



A personal for me will be the Blue Shades after hours showcase Tuesday night. I believe this will be the first Western Pa band to showcase since Beaver Creek, way back in the Owensboro days.