The Sound
Mickey Abraha m
How to Win Friends, Influence People, and Play the Guitar Meet Mickey Abraham: Teacher, musician, and all-around good fellow. Longtime subscribers to Flatpicking Guitar Magazine will already be well familiar with Mickey, as his excellent monthly instructional guitar column and tablatures have graced the pages of the flatpick.com website beginning around 2008 and continue on…
Hawthorn Banjos
It just makes sense that the finest musical instruments would be comprised of premier quality parts assembled and crafted by experienced luthiers, and that’s the foundation of Bradford and Company’s Hawthorn™ brand of instruments. If retired lawyer Glenn Bradford can’t find a particular part that meets his quality standards he will make it himself or…
Story Behind The Song Two Highways
“I don’t know how much of this you can share, but I’ll tell you,” joked Larry Cordle about the story behind one of his earliest compositions. “Two Highways” dates back to the late 1970s—a pivotal period in the life of this renowned songwriter. It was recorded first by his childhood friend and musical mentor…
Phil Salazar
And His Fabulous Fiddle Shop Many of the artists that we interview in Bluegrass Unlimited grew up in musical families. The majority of them are raised in southeastern regions of the United States where bluegrass and country music was played in their homes from the time they were born. California native Phil Salazar also grew…
Bil VornDick
Putting Together The Pieces Photos Courtesy of Bil Vorndick Bil VornDick, audio engineer/producer to the stars, summarized his role in the studio and music industry, “I’m there to help people and I’m good at putting together puzzles. I like putting it together so people will enjoy listening to it.” VornDick’s puzzles have garnered him…
Story Behind the Song Wild Bill Jones
Any tribute to The Stanley Brothers calls for an inside look at a favorite Stanley Brothers song. I’m not the expert some are on The Stanley Brothers or Ralph Stanley, but I’ve always enjoyed their lonesome, high-in-the-mountains sound on songs like “Rank Stranger,” “Angel Band,” and so many others. In looking back through some of…