The Sound

It’s every picker’s nightmare scenario: having a treasured instrument stolen. That happened to me back in 1972. My basement-level Chicago apartment was broken into while I was away from home, and when I returned, I immediately discovered that my 1947 Martin D-18 guitar was missing (along with some valued audio equipment). I called the police,…

Hometown Hero Of N.C. Bluegrass Broadcasting  Photo by Lee Capps Buddy Michaels loves to talk.  Ask him a question then sit back and enjoy the ride, because he’s likely to detour through a story or two before arriving at the answer.  His favorite subject: music and the people who make it.  So what better path…

By Don Cusic Sometimes, it takes a while for a song to find the perfect home. “It Rains Everywhere I Go,” written by Don Cusic in the late 1970s, didn’t find its just-right singer for more than two decades. Ultimately, the song was released on Lynn Morris’s Mama’s Hand in1995 by Rounder Records, and Rounder…

Geoff Stelling Bids Farewell to Banjo Making After 48 Years It may seem an odd thing to say in an age when the options for professional-quality banjos are plentiful, but there once was a time when they didn’t extend much beyond Gibsons.  But by the mid-70s, when Geoff Stelling was thinking about starting his own business…

Photo by Justin Camerer Although the bass is not the most glamorous of bluegrass instruments, it is certainly just as important as every other instrument in the band.  It is the glue that holds the band together and without glue, you only have disparate pieces.  About twenty years ago I was producing an instruction video…

With A Lot of Help from Its Friends Shaken by tragic personal loss and global economic turmoil, the Santa Cruz Guitar Company and its founder, legendary luthier Richard Hoover, have come through a perfect storm of emotional and business challenges over the past two years and emerged stronger than ever as the company celebrates 45…