The Sound

Photo By Natia Cinco Tristan Scroggins started playing professionally in a full-time touring bluegrass band when he was only fourteen years old (2009).  It was his father’s band—Jeff Scroggins and Colorado—and they loved to be on the road.  Tristan said, “I grew up in a strange situation of touring all of the time.  We started…

Photos by Bud Osborne “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture,” said musician-comedian Martin Mull in a line often misattributed to Frank Zappa. Same holds true for trying to describe a musical instrument’s sound. In wine culture, reviewers and sommeliers have a glossary accepted by consumers, with terms like ‘oakey’ or ‘full-bodied’ or ‘closed’…

Guitar Builder Angling for a Vintage Sound Balsam Range’s Caleb Smith brings an intensity to the stage that’s hard to miss in a live show. The guitarist usually provides a bookend to Grammy-winning banjo player Marc Pruett, who is usually grinning and swaying while picking. Smith is on the task at hand, hitting the notes with…

Photo By John Malinowski If  you travel to a foreign country, you can buy a travel guide, a map and a phrase book and head out on your own, or you can find someone who knows the language, geography, history, and customs and ask them for help.  The second option is usually the easiest, most…

Filling the Gap Between the Traditional and the Progressive Photos by Mark Torrence Although Tulsa, Oklahoma native Rob Bishline did not grow up listening to bluegrass music, the acoustic music of early 1970s performers like Jim Croce and Gordon Lightfoot did grab his ear.  It wasn’t until about 1974, when he was 13 years old…

Overcoming the Pandemic Year Photos by Matthew Dudenbostel Next year will mark the 25th year since Lynn Dudenbostel starting building world-class mandolins and guitars full-time (it’s been 32 years since his first guitar build and 25 since his first mandolin). But even in this pandemic year, Lynn has been exploring new avenues for instrument production,…