And now.....Music. For those who don't know; I am a huge Tony Rice fan. In fact, he's my favorite musician. It all started with a Bluegrass Mix CD that Mom bought. It had "Old Home Place" by J.D. Crowe and the New South (recorded when Rice was only about 24!). He is certainly not the most versatile musician in the world, but perhaps that's the price you pay for having such a strong musical personality. His technical ability, speed, precision, timing, and taste are nearly unrivaled in any genre. A huge part of his style is that listens to mostly jazz but plays mostly bluegrass.
Last year while we were in the States, we went to a bluegrass festival and watched him. We all had a blast. He even autographed my guitar (which is named "Clarence" after another flatpicker and which I probably wouldn't let anyone else write on with a Sharpie).
Right now I'm working on his version of "Blackberry Blossom" off of this Youtube. This song is a very old fiddle tune. Sometime in the 60's blugrassers like Rice started playing them on guitar <---Good idea. The trouble is capturing the fluidity of a bowed instrument on an instrument that's plucked. I can play all of the notes (which was a chore trying to catch them all), but it's not fluid yet. Perhaps if I get it good enough I'll post a video for comparison.
-Luke
WHOAAA! I'm so proud of you for doing a post! I've been trying to "enlighten" Lee about Pony Rice, but I don't think he's quite converted yet. Chet Atkins is his top pick. Anyway! I love it when you write on here. :) Love you lots!
ReplyDeleteChet Atkins is of course tops, but when I hear him play after Rice, I'm like "ok, he's gonna really start in a second". He just doesn't have the singing lead lines.
ReplyDeleteAha, I'm so proud to see a post! :) Seeing Pony Rice was definitely a highlight of our trip. Of course, along with Blue Highway..heh heh!
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