Here’s a cautionary tale for bluegrass musicians who also like to try their hand at risky extreme sports. It comes from Jens Koch, the superb young banjo player with Swedish bluegrass group, G2.

Three years ago - before G2 caught the ears of fans and critics alike at EBMA and IBMA - he broke his left wrist horribly in a snowboarding accident. Two bones snapped, and though the bones were set, they didn’t heal properly, requiring that they be re-broken and rebuilt.

“They transplanted some bone from my hip to my wrist so that the radius bone would be long enough, and have the right angle.

Then they used some metal screws and plates (pre-war, of course…I’ve been told it was titanium from Gibson’s Kalamazoo factory in the 30s) to fasten it all together.”

He was unable to play at all for six weeks after the accident, and tells us that after the hardware was installed, played in pain for the next two years.

“The tendons in my wrist and forearm had constantly been grinding on those screws and the plate, causing pain and inflammation. But finally, after a long wait, I got them taken out.

What a relief!! I felt a difference right away because my fingers run a little smoother.”

Though winter sports are a big thing in Sweden, Jens says that he now considers himself a former snowboarder, and agrees that bluegrass music and extreme sports aren’t a good mix.

“Maybe we should all stick to golf or…building snowmen.”

G2, along with the newly restored Koch wrist, will be an invited showcase act at the 2008 IBMA World Of Bluegrass convention in Nashville this fall. Audio samples from their debut release, Where The Tall Grass Grows, can be found on the band’s web site.

Pickers from all over Europe, as well as a few from here in the states, will be gathering the Dutch village of Voorthuizen next month for the 11th annual European World of Bluegrass Festival. The festival takes place May 1-3, 2008.

42 band from 12 different countries will be performing at this year’s festival. In addition to the performances, there will be a trade show, workshops, a children’s program, and lots of jamming.

The EWOB won the the award for Best Event of the Year at the 2003 IBMA Awards Show. And this year looks set to uphold the tradition of a world class event.

The conclusion of the Saturday night concert will be the awarding of the European Band of the Year 2008. The award is giving based on voting by all the performing musicians at the festival. The winning band will have the opportunity to perform as guests at the annual IBMA World of Bluegrass event, the following year.

Last year’s wining band, G2, will be performing this year (2008) at IBMA.

If you’re in Europe, or inclined to visit this summer, make sure you find your way to Voorthuizen during the first week in May.

Swedish grassers G2 performed Monday on Nyhetsmorgon (The Morning Show), the highest rated morning television program in Sweden. The show airs from Stockholm on Swedish national televsion, TV4.

They played two songs from their debut CD, Where The Tall Grass Grows, and sat for an interview segment. The songs they chose were What Would I Say and Where The Tall Grass Grows.

Banjo player Jens Koch tells us that the publicity people with their label, Cosmos Records, arranged for them to perfom on TV4, a major coup for a young band.

“This was a great experience for us! Loads of fun! It’s a big thing to get to play on this show. Some bands would do anything to get the gig.”

Video clips of their guest spots can be found on the TV4 web site. Unfortunately, the TV4 video player does not seem to like Macs, though some Mac users can play them with the latest Flip4Mac plugin.

The European World of Bluegrass (EWOB) Festival is currently seeking submissions from bands that would like to showcase at the 2008 event. The event will take place in Voorthuizen, Netherlands on May 1-3, 2008.

Showcase opportunities are open to bands from Europe, the United States, or anywhere else. You can download a pdf application by visiting www.ewob.eu. Click on the US flag in the lower left for an english version of the page, then select “Contact” from the menu and “Bands” from the submenu. EWOB askes that you fill out the pdf and send it in with your CD, and band photos, to the address provided. They also ask that you fill out the online form so they know to expect your application package.

2008 will be the 11th EWOB. The deadline for application is November 20, 2007, so you’d better hurry.

Much like the IBMA, many European promoters attend the EWOB looking for bands to hire for the coming season. This is a unique opportunity for US bands to play for these promoters, meet them, and book some dates in Europe.

The three days of EWOB are the climax of a month of festivals and concerts held in the Netherlands every May (bluegrass month). During these three days, over 40 bands, including 4-5 from the USA and Canada, will perform. The festival is accompanied by a trade show featuring luthiers, music shops, event promoters, press, radio DJs, and more.

The musicians who play at EWOB choose their favorite European band to send to Nashville the following year to perform at IBMA. This year’s winner is G2. Be sure you read this recent post by John about G2.

One band that I did get to see at IBMA last month that really impressed me was G2, a young quintet from Sweden who won the 2007 European Band of the Year Award, announced at the EBMA European World of Bluegrass festival in May.

Brance and I caught one of their after hours showcase performances, and ran across them jamming with some of the Infamous Stringdusters on another occasion at the Sugar Hill Records suite. They are all impressively talented players, all the more so for the adeptness and intimate familiarity with the nuances of modern bluegrass given that they are all still in their twenties, and grew up far from where bluegrass festivals and fiddlers conventions are common.

Like American musicians who dedicate themselves to styles associated with other cultures - like Celtic or Gypsy swing - and get to travel to where the music is native, the guys in G2 were all excited to visit the US this year for the first time as a band, and even more so to be attending the IBMA convention. They only had the opportunity to play a few small showcases this year, but will be an invited main stage showcase act at IBMA 2008, and could make a big splash next year in Nashville.

Their debut CD, Where The Tall Grass Grows was released this week (11/7), which not only demonstrates their technical prowess as bluegrass pickers, but also the songwriting skills of guitarist and primary vocalist Christoffer Olsson.

Olsson wrote all but three of the thirteen songs, with themes that will be familiar to people anywhere, but with a decided emphasis on rural and/or small town life that is so much a part of the bluegrass idiom. In a nod towards the American roots of this now truly international art form, one of his songs is Going Back To Georgia. At IBMA last month, I overheard someone asking if he ever wrote songs in Swedish, whereupon he responded that, no, he didn’t… “because you can’t rhyme in Swedish.” (more…)

This past weekend saw the awarding of the prizes for European bluegrass bands at the European World of Bluegrass festival, and we are delighted to see that G2, a young Swedish band we recommended to you all last fall, came away with the top honors.

They were selected as the European Bluegrass Band for 2007, with Meantime from Slovakia in second, and Kreni from the Czech Republic in third.

G2 will represent the European Bluegrass Music Association at next year’s IBMA World Of Bluegrass in Nashville, giving them the opportunity to showcase their music before the throng of bluegrass industry folks in attendance. Congratulations guys!

The Audience Popularity Award was also announced last weekend at EWOB, with Wheel Drive from Netherlands taking first, G2 again in second, and Rawhide from Belgium in third.

As always, you can keep tabs on the European bluegrass scene by reading The European Bluegrass Blog.

Shortly after we posted last week about the interview with Jim Lauderdale on CMT.com, we heard from our friend, Jens Koch, who plays banjo with the young Swedish bluegrass group, G2.

Jens wanted to let us know that Jim would be appearing at CountryGala this weekend (2/17-18) at Vara Konserthus in Vara, Sweden. G2 will be appearing on the show both nights, and Jens will be performing on banjo with Jim.

You can hear samples of G2’s contemporary bluegrass music on their MySpace page.

You may not be familiar with a band named G2, but we suspect that you may be before long. They are five young Swedish blugrass musicians, who teamed up in October 2005 with a plan to form a new, contemporary bluegrass band.

The name came with their recognition that they were a part of the second generation of bluegrass players in Sweden, and they have been busy this past year writing, recording and promoting the group. They produced a three song demo within months of their first meeting (audio available on the G2 web site), which has won some high praise from bluegrass artists in both Europe and the US, including Blue Highway’s Tim Stafford:

“Sounds to me like you guys could be the vanguard of a new bluegrass movement in Sweden. I sure hope so.”

The feedback from the demo has prompted them to record a full length CD and the band, currently unsigned, is working now on writing and recording tracks for this project, with a projected release in the first half of 2007. G2 is also planning a US tour for the late summer of 2007, and is hoping to hear from venues (or an agent) in the US that can help fill in dates.

We heard recently from G2’s banjo player, Jens Koch, that they will be opening for Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver in Stockholm on Monday (9/4), and the guys are both thrilled and honored for the opportunity.

Keep an eye out for these young guys, who seem to be fine representatives of the second generation of bluegrass musicians in Sweden. They can be contacted via the Guest Book page on the G2 site.