Our good friend Brad Davis is one of those super fast flatpickers that leaves you wondering, “How does he do that?” Well, Brad wrote in to share one of his secrets (besides insane talent, and lots of practice). The secret is coffee.

Brad is an avid coffee drinker. I’ve been in studio sessions with him that lasted 12 hours or more, and I’ve seen him drink a lot of coffee. Somewhere around a year ago, Brad showed up with a new coffee he insisted I had to try. The brand was Coffee Fool. I had never heard of them before, but Brad swore by the stuff.

Brad went on to write a theme song for company, just because he loved the coffee so much. You can hear that song by visiting CoffeeFool.com and clicking the play button in the lower left.

Just a couple months ago at the January NAMM show, Brad teamed up with Flapicking Guitar Magazine editor Dan Miller, to convince the guys at Coffee Fool that bluegrass flatpickers were in need of a special brew to give them the energy boost necessary to keep up with banjo and fiddle players during late night jam sessions. The company responded by creating a special coffee blend just for flatpickers. It’s called Flatpicker Fuel.

Pick the high note and low note at the same time with our post-roast blend of high energy Breakfast Brew, rich Fool’s House Italian and the subtle sweetness of pure Extra Fancy Hawaiian Kona. Just the right combo to keep you jammin’ through the day… or night!

CoffeeFool.com is a great supporter of music and musicians. They are sponsoring some of Brad Davis’ workshops and performances and are also co-sponsoring some live music events with Flatpicking Guitar Magazine. Dan Miller had this to say about working with Coffee Fool.

When Flatpicking Guitar Magazine needed a co-sponsor to help with the costs of promoting and hosting an Infamous Stringdusters show in California, with opening act Keith Little and Jim Nunally, Coffeefool.com didn’t hesitate to jump on board and get involved. They are good folks who love supporting live music.

So if you’re a flatpicker in need of a speed boost, give Flatpicker Fuel a try.

Here is a Christmas memory from guitarist Brad Davis. Brad has performed with Marty Stuart, Earl Scruggs, and Billy Bob Thornton, among others.

The most musical fun that I can remember during the Christmas holiday is when I got invited to the Earl Scruggs christmas party. Most of the folks there I knew, however there were a few that I didn’t. It all felt like family though.

With all of Louise Scruggs’ Christmas decorations the house had a wonderful holiday cheer about it. What I enjoyed most was jamming with Earl and the guests, and visiting with Louise, Gary and Randy Scruggs. Those are the moments that create wonderful memories.

Merry Christmas to all.

The latest DVD release from Flatpicking Guitar is Volume 4 in Brad Davis’ Flatpick Jam series. Like the three that preceded it, this DVD is a play-along video where Brad demonstrates flatpicking solos for 11 tunes, and then plays each one with bass and mandolin accompaniment at four different speeds.

For each tune, at each speed, Brad plays through the solo and then provides a rhythm guitar accompaniment for you to pick the lead. The idea is to allow you to play the solos slowly as you first learn them, with a solid rhythm guitar behind you to keep time.

Once you graduate from the slow version, Brad alternates between soloing and back up twice through so that you can get a good rhythm workout yourself. For more experienced pickers, the fastest version is at a typical performance speed, which could be useful for both warm-up and rhythm work.

The tunes are all familiar fiddle tunes and jam favorites like John Henry, Leather Britches and Home Sweet Home. You can see the full list of tunes on the Flatpick Jam Volume 4 site.

You can also get a taste of the format on this DVD by checking out the free lesson offered in October by Flatpicking Guitar, which offers the tab and MP3 audio for Brad’s version of Crazy Creek from this new DVD.

This Friday (6/20) offers two good chances to catch bluegrass artists online.

From noon to 1:00 p.m. (EDT), The Grascals will be performing live on Knoxville, TN station WDVX’s Blue Plate Special. The station broadcasts at 89.9 FM in the Knoxville market, and the show is streamed online at WDVX.com.

Then at 1:30 p.m., Brad Davis will be interviewed on WorldWideBluegrass.com. Brad will join WWB station manager Gracie Muldoon for her Muldoon In The Afternoon program to talk about what he’s been up to of late.

You can listen to WWB online, where they stream bluegrass music 24/7.