Articles
IssueM Articles
Outlaw in Your Mind
Songwriters are the eyes of the world and Baltimore songwriter Caleb Stine’s eyes are better than most. Armed with a storyteller’s inquisitiveness and a restless independent spirit, Stine is songwriter of uncompromising heft, he can spin tales that are joyful expressions, songs that are serious meditations on life, and write tunes that are all of…
TinkerTar
The Best Way to Get Young Kids Started on Stringed Instruments There are many equivalences that one can make between learning a musical instrument and learning a language. In fact, studies have shown that if a person learns to play a musical instrument when they are young, their brain processes it like a language, using its…
Billy Cardine
Resophonic Explorations Billy Cardine has explored the possibilities of the square-neck resophonic guitar far beyond the genres of bluegrass, folk, country, Americana and blues. While musical explorations that push the outer bounds of genre are not typically embraced by bluegrass hardliners, Cardine is a musician who knows how to reign in his expansive musical abilities…
Notes & Queries – November 2023
Q: I’ve heard it said that the 1959 Folkways album Mountain Music Bluegrass Style was the first bluegrass album ever recorded. I guess that means a set of songs and tunes recorded specifically to be released in album format. Does that sound right to you? I recall purchasing albums by the Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe,…
The Louvin Brothers
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine August 1972—Volume 7, Number 2 I. Why The Louvin Brothers? Not only because they played with a full bluegrass band for a year, and not only because of their deep roots in old-time duet singing, but because of the firm impression their songs and style have had on bluegrass music….
A Leap of Faith for Missy Raines
Reprinted from Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine October 2005, Volume 40, Number 4 It has taken two decades, but bass player maestro Missy Raines is finally ready. “It’s terrifying,” the five-time IBMA Bass Player Of The Year confesses of her bold move to transition from bandmember to bandleader. “I have always wanted to do this, for twenty…