The Summer 2008 issue of The Fretboard Journal is set to be mailed to subscribers next week, with a cover feature on Chris Thile. The piece is an interview, conducted by fellow mandolin trailblazer David Grisman, who graced the cover of the inaugural issue of the magazine in 2005.

Also profiled in this issue is resonator guitarist Jerry Douglas, and a lengthy interview with noted guitar builder Jean Larrivee is included as well.

We have spoken highly of this glossy, full color quarterly in the past for its use of heavy, archival-quality paper and for the excellence of the writing and photography.

Subscription and single issue order information can be found on The Fretboard Journal web site.

The folks at Acoustic Disc are offering free daily downloads from their web site. A different track will be available each day from one of their many fine audio recordings.

Acoustic Disc is the label owned by David Grisman, and tracks from his many fine releases will be among the mandocentric offerings provide as free downloads. These files are in the MP3 format and a new one will be posted around 2:00 a.m. (EST) each day.

HT: Mandolin Cafe

The newest release from David Grisman’s Acoustic Disc label is a duo project featuring he and John Sebastian. Entitled Satisfied, it features these two on acoustic guitar, mandolin family instruments and harmonica on a mixed set of songs and tunes. The 14 selections are taken from the repertoire of blues, folk and traditional music, plus a couple of Dawg tunes and a few from the great American songbook of show music.

This is by no means a bluegrass recording (obligatory disclaimer), but fans of the music of these two genre-defining acoustic artists are sure to be satisfied with the result. My own bias towards this project comes from the twin facts that I was a huge Lovin’ Spoonful fan as a young boy in the 60’s, and the impact that Grisman’s first Quintet album had on me as a young student of bluegrass and acoustic music in 1977.

The Spoonful was a pop sensation at the time, with Sebastian front and center, the group’s name having come from a Mississippi John Hurt song, Coffee Blues, which is included here. Grisman, of course, charted new territory with his Dawg music, but has always betrayed the heart and soul of bluegrass in everything he has done.

One of the great treats upon opening the CD case was finding photos of both Sebastian and Grisman from their “early days” not long after they met as students at New York University in the early 1960s. Grisman was deep into a study of bluegrass at the time while Sebastian was immersed in Delta blues, but the two became friends and even performed together as members of The Even Dozen Jug Band.

Though their careers went in different directions after college, they found themselves performing an impromptu duo set at a concert in 2005, an event that led directly to this new collaboration.

The tracks were cut a la Grisman’s Acoustic Disc formula - meaning everything was recorded live in the studio, sans overdubs. There is a very raw, and ultimately satisfying appeal to this CD, and this may be a big part of it.

Look for Satisfied to be released on November 6, though it does seem to be available for download sale (MP3 and FLAC) at livedownloads.com.

Jon Glik’s fiddle playing can be heard on some of my favorite records. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m a huge Del McCoury fan. Don’t Stop The Music may be my all time favorite McCoury album, and Glik’s fiddle plays an important roll in the band’s sound on that recording.

Over the years Jon has recorded with a number of other bluegrass legends including David Grisman, Frank Wakefield, Peter Rowan, the Forbes Family, Dave Evans, Paul Adkins, Walter Hensley, Bob and Danny Paisley, and more.

Sadly, Jon is now in the hospital due to liver failure. This makes the third time this year he has been hospitalized. Like many other musicians, Jon does not health insurance and is faced with rising medial bills. In the midst of this, he is in need of a liver transplant if he is to survive.

The bluegrass community is coming together in an effort to assist this beloved fiddle player. A fund has been started to raise money for the transplant and to help offset his medical expenses.

Several things are being done to raise money for the fund.

A benefit concert is being held on Friday, October 19, from 7:00-11:00 PM. The concert takes place at The Arcadia Fire Hall, in Arcadia, MD. Admission is $35 at the door. Performers include The Del McCoury Band, David Grisman, David Grier, and The Forbes Family.

Eastman Strings has kindly donated a beautiful 904 D Mandolin to be raffled off at the concert, with all proceeds going directly to Jon’s medical fund.

James Reams, Walter Hensley & The Barons of Bluegrass are donating all proceeds (during the month of October) from the sale of the CD Wild Card, featuring Jon Glik on fiddle, to Jon’s medical fund. To order the CD, they ask that you mail a check for $15, made out to Jon Glik Medical Fund, to Mountain Redbird Music, 565 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215. They ask that you also include $1 in cash or postage stamps to cover shipping costs.

You may also contribute directly to the fund by sending a check to Jon’s sister, Barbara Glik. Again, the check should be made out to Jon Glik Medical Fund, and mailed to:

Barbara Glik
P.O. Box 4005
Annapolis, MD 21403

Let’s all pull together and help one of our own in his time of need.

One of the endearing aspects of bluegrass music is the way that we treat our early pioneers. Instead of being shuffled to the sidelines, the founders of our music are celebrated by current bluegrass artists, and the larger audience generally welcomes the opportunity to show their appreciation for the contributions they have made.

A great example will be on display at next weekend’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco, CA. When The David Grisman Experience performs on this free, 3 day festival on October 7 in Golden Gate Park, David will welcome Curly Seckler to join him on stage.

Curly had a hand in shaping the way bluegrass tenor is sung, and is widely regarded as being as influential in the earliest days as Bill Monroe or Ralph Stanley. Not only did he record more than 100 tracks with Flatt & Scruggs during his 12 years with the band, he also wrote several of their most memorable songs, like No Mother Or Dad and That Old Book of Mine.

Curly performed as a member of Lester Flatt and The Nashville Grass from 1973 until Lester’s passing in ‘79, and then fronted the band himself up to his retirement in 1994. He didn’t retire completely, however, and marked the year 2004 - his 70th in bluegrass music - by recording a total of 28 tracks, released as two CDs on the Copper Creek label (hear audio samples in iTunes).

Later that same year, he was inducted into the IBMA Hall of Honor, and gave a memorable performance at the 2004 awards show.

You can find more details about the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival on their web site. Austin City Limits will be filming at the festival, and we sure hope that Curly will make the cut and appear when the footage is aired.

Three cheers for Curly Seckler - and for David Grisman as well!

We recently told you about the law suit filed by David Grisman’s Dawg Music (Acoustic Disc) label against online video sharing site YouTube.com. It appears that’s not the only lawsuit he’s filed recently. He’s also suing Universal Music Group and Warner Music for contracting to sell his music online through digital download services without first consulting him, or paying the expected royalties.

What’s more, he’s extended the suit to include eight online download services which have distributed the music provided to them by Universal and Warner. The eight include Apple’s iTunes, AOL Music Now, Buy.com, Microsoft’s MSN.com, Napster, RealNetworks’ Rhapsody, WalMart.com, and Yahoo Music. He finds them guilty by association. That’s going to be a hard sell in my opinion because these services always pay to the label, who then distributes royalties to the artist. It seems to me his complaint should be with the two labels he signed contracts with to distribute his music.

The filing claims that “irreparable injury” has been done to Dawg Music by this situation and Grisman is seeking $150,000 for every work whose copyright was violated. Taken as a whole and spread across all the defendants, this would equal millions of dollars.

It seems Grisman has a contract with Universal and Warner, but his complaint is that they took on themselves authority that wasn’t granted to them by the contract. I’ve seen some pretty vague wording in some record contracts offered to artists by the labels that would give the label the right to “all future media” or some such. This could be one of the cases. I think Grisman needs to focus on his contract with the labels in question. I really don’t think he has any case against the online retail outlets.

In the first case I’m aware of involving a bluegrass artist, mandolinist David Grisman has filed suit against online video sharing website, YouTube. From large media conglomerates such as Viacom to soccer leagues, many have filed similar suits since Google’s recent acquisition of YouTube.

Grisman’s lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of cash for copyright infringement, as well as a court order forcing YouTube to comply with copyright laws in the future. Grisman and company seek to pursue the case not only for themselves, but also for other independent musicians and publishers.

YouTube’s response to such cases has historically been that they always comply with requests to remove unauthorized material when asked to do so by the copyright owners, and are therefore protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

The suit was filed May 10, 2007 in a San Francisco federal court.

Some have pointed out the irony of someone who has always encouraged fans to bootleg his live performances now suing a video sharing site, but Grisman draws a distinction between fan bootlegs and “Google distribution.” Personally I don’t see much difference myself, since the fan bootlegs invariably end up online where they are distributed worldwide in the same way that YouTube clips are. But ultimately, as a copyright owner, it’s his right to decide when and where to allow use of his copyrighted works. But, you might ask, was a lawsuit really necessary?

Here’s part of the text from the suit.

they [Google and YouTube] deliberately refuse to take meaningful steps to deter the rampant infringing activity readily apparent on YouTube which would, in turn, have a negative impact on the advertising and other reviews and other value achieved through the large volume of traffic on the YouTube Web site.

Essentially the difference, as Grisman and company seem to be drawing it, is that YouTube, and by extension Google, is making money on the site where fans trading bootlegs aren’t. At least that’s the thought process, and I can go along with that. If he’s willing to give away, so to speak, his copyright by allowing fans to tape, that is different from someone seeking to monazite his copyrights without his consent.

I understand how he can be ok with live show taping, but not ok with YouTube video sharing. Other copyright owners might be ok with it though (I know some who are). So why try to take that choice away by forcing YouTube into a business model that wouldn’t allow it? Why not just ask YouTube to remove your works and, assuming they do, leave it at that?

The David Grisman Quintet has announced that noted jazz guitarist Frank Vignola will be joining the group.

Frank has been working as a professional musician since he was in his teens, doing clubs and sessions in and around his native New York City. He recorded and toured with a number of big selling artists, but drew attention to himself when he launched a Hot Club Of France tribute band in 1988, a group which has been credited as sparking the resurgence of interest in the music of Django Reinhardt in the United States.

He started a recording career with Concord Jazz in 1993, and released several projects there and on other labels, but captured the attention of acoustic music fans as a member of Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing group. He has a CD with Casey Dreissen and Matt Flinner called Gyspy Grass which mixes bluegrass and Django-inspired influences.

Vignola has also produced a number of instructional projects for Mel Bay, including books, CDs, DVDs and downloadable video lessons. Frank’s newest CD, Vignola Plays Gershwin, is on the Mel Bay label.

Samples of Frank Vignola’s music can be found in the iTunes Music Store, and on his web site.

The tour schedule for The David Grisman Quinet can be found on their site.

Last week we told you about a couple of ebay auctions by WDVX in Knoxville that were part of it’s 2007 fundraising efforts.

The first auction was for an autographed Martin DXM guitar. The second auction was an autographed Tony Rice model Santa Cruz guitar. Friday evening the third, and final, instrument went up for auction on ebay.

This time it’s a mandolin. An “F Style” Liddy Mandolin featuring a fern peghead inlay and tobacco sunburst finish. The instrument is sporting autographs by Ricky Skaggs, Sam Bush, Ronnie McCoury, Doyle Lawson, David Grisman, Marty Stuart and more.

Once again this instrument and the accompanying case have been provided by Smoky Mountain Guitars in Pigeon Forge, TN.

The bidding began Friday evening February 16th, and will continue through the auction’s closing date of Sunday February 25th, at 6PM EST.

More photos of the instrument are available on the ebay auction page.

With New Year’s Eve upon us, let me recommend my very favorite version of the perennial December 31st classic, Auld Lang Syne. It comes from David Grisman’s terrific 1983 release, David Grisman’s Acoustic Christmas, and features a much younger and not-so-famous Bela Fleck on banjo.

If you are a Rhapsody subscriber, you can find it here. If you aren’t a subscriber, you can still download the Rhapsody software for free, and listen to up to 20 songs each month at no charge.

It’s a great way to ring in the New Year in a rip-roaring bluegrass style.

On behalf of both Brance and myself, The Bluegrass Blog wishes our readers all over the world a happy, healthy and prosperous new year! We hope that 2007 is kind to you all, and that one year hence, you will find yourself well and in good spirits.

There is an interview posted yesterday on jambands.com with David Grisman. It was conducted by Randy Ray, and covers David’s new efforts with his Bluegrass Experience, his new Quintet CD, Dawg’s Groove, his collaborations with Jerry Garcia, and his thoughts on the O Brother, Where Art Thou phenomenon (he didn’t care for the film).

Read the full interview at jambands.com.

David Grisman is among the list of judges for the upcoming 2007 Independent Music Awards. It seems they like to choose mandolin players to represnt bluegrass and acoustic music, as Chris Thile was a judge at the 2006 IMAs. The IMAs are intended to provide real career opportunities for the winners. The winners will be strongly promoted to over 9 million music fans through print, radio, and online promotions via the events co-sponsor, Border’s Books & Music.

The IMAs recognizes excellence in Music, Music Promotion, Packaging and Merch Design. The program’s year-long marketing campaigns, partnerships and distribution alliances put IMA Winners and Finalists in front of millions of music fans and industry decision makers around the world.

Some of the benefits awarded to winners are:

• Featured in the 2007 edition of The Musician’s Atlas
• Artists info will be posted on the IMA online jukeboxes. The jukeboxes also include clickable links to artist websites.
• More than 9 million Borders Books and Music customers, music fans and industry pros will be directed to the IMA jukeboxes via targeted promotions throughout the year.
• Promoted in print, broadcast and online media campaigns.
• Their CDs will be available for sale at BordersStores.com.
• 10,000 copies of the IMA Winners CD will be distributed to music fans and industry movers and shakers at music conferences, festivals and other events throughout the year.
• The IMA CD compilation will be promoted to college radio stations throughout North America

We’ve written a good bit recently about Chris Thile, and his return, if not necessarily to bluegrass, at least to recording and performing within the structure of a bluegrass ensemble. It seems somehow appropriate in this setting to highlight two new recordings from David Grisman, an artist with some interesting parallels to the young Mr. Thile, and without whose contributions what Thile does musically is not likely to have progressed as it has.

Like Thile, Grisman was drawn to bluegrass music - and the mandolin - a very young age. Similarly, he developed a new sub-genre of more experimental string music that managed to draw in new fans, while also repelling others.

I well recall my first hearing of the debut recording from The David Grisman Quintet when it was released thirty years ago. It was a bit like my hearing JD Crowe’s “Old Home Place” Album (Rounder 0044) around the same time. I knew that the music I was new, powerful, and likely to have a far-reaching impact.

And so it has proven to be.

Grisman has chosen to celebrate this 30 year anniversary of the introduction of Dawg Music, as his early fans dubbed his new jazz-inflected string band style in the mid-1970s, with two new releases. Both will be released on his own label, Acoustic Disc, on October 3, and together they showcase his appreciation and passion for both traditional bluegrass and more adventurous acoustic string music.

We made a brief mention of DGBX, the CD from The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience, back in July. At the time, Brance simply saw a notice about the CD online, and neither of us had heard it. The group has served as Grisman’s outlet for bluegrass, and has performed sporadically over the past few years in the Bay Area of California, where the various members reside. (more…)

Acoustic Disc, the mando-centric record company owned by David Grisman, has started experimenting with online music downloads. At this time, only four titles from their catalog can be purchased via download, but more are expected to be added should the project be deemed successful.

The Acoustic Disc downloads are being served by Livedownloads.com, a web site that is dedicated to connecting touring bands with their fan base, and fosters the direct sale of live show recordings via downloads. The site is operated by nugs.net, whose owner Brad Serling is often described as the “Johnny Appleseed of live concert downloads,” and a prominent figure in emerging video on demand technology. Livedownloads.com is supported by a number of popular “jam bands,” such as Yonder Mountain String Band, String Cheese Incident and Widespread Panic.

Fretboard Journal is a new quarterly magazine for acoustic instrument players, builders and collectors. The inaugural issue includes an interview with David Grisman, a history of Santa Cruz Guitars and a profile on “the Millionth Martin.”

Fretboard Journal is published and edited by folks with many years of experience in music, magazines and acoustic instruments. They describe themselves and the new publication thusly:

The Fretboard Journal is an archival-quality, quarterly publication celebrating the culture of fretted musical instruments. We chronicle the most innovative instruments (mandolins, banjos, ukuleles and”?of course”?guitars) and instrument makers of the last 150 or so years; the best players; and the most interesting tales from the world of music. In addition, each issue boasts stories from the working musician”s perspective and never-before-seen photography. Basically, we”re the nerds in the guitar store who love sharing a yarn with fellow players and this is our outlet.

Subscription information is available on their web site.