Articles

Fiddling Gopher Addis (or, More on Don Reno Sidemen) In last month’s column, we fielded a query concerning two musicians who worked with Don Reno and Red Smiley in the early 1950s: Chuck and Jay Haney. The Haneys had the distinction of appearing on Reno & Smiley’s first recording session together, on January 15, 1952…

Originally from Massachusetts, Amy Clay studied to become a classically-trained violinist. However, after moving to the San Francisco Bay area, she began getting into other styles of playing, like country and bluegrass music. She played with area musicians and attended local jams, and a few years ago she started writing her own material about subjects…

Adam Granger is a guitar player from Norman, Oklahoma who lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.  He learned banjo from fellow Normanite Alan Munde in 1968.  He was a columnist for Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, and is the author of Granger’s Fiddle Tunes for Guitar, published by Mel Bay.  Adam played and wrote humor for A Prairie…

The Secret Behind 444 Photos by Eric Ahlgrim Individually, the four musicians of Wood Box Heroes are the super powers of their instruments, a veritable acoustical Justice League with their masterful musical skills. As a combined force, Josh Martin, Matt Menefee, Barry Bales, and Jenee Fleenorbring a wealth of knowledge and experience with their newly…

Banjo Slayers Today, many small-shop mandolin builders produce what have come to be called “boutique mandolins.” The mandolins of one of those craftsmen, Thomas “Skip” Kelley, have been mentioned on the online blog, MandolinCafe.com in conversations with other high-end names. The website, Mando Mutt, is the exclusive dealer for Skip Kelley mandolins.  Mando Mutt’s owner,…

Photos By Cassidy Wayant Photography In many parts of the country, the wonderful roots music genre known as bluegrass continues to flourish due to targeted efforts to keep the music alive and flowing into the future. In some states, it is the Junior Appalachians Musicians program that facilitates the teaching of over 1,000 students in…