Much of the bluegrass and acoustic music world has been buzzing this spring about Secrets, the debut CD from young phenom Sierra Hull - and rightly so. Just as folks in the business had been talking about Sierra for several years prior to her coming out party, they have been focusing as well on a teen aged picker from Texas, Sarah Jarosz.

At sixteen years old, Sarah is the newest artist signed to Sugar Hill Records by Gary Paczosa, the label’s Nashville-based A&R man who had previously brought Red Stick Ramblers and Donna The Buffalo to Sugar Hill. Sarah performs on banjo, guitar, mandolin and voice, and is a songwriter to boot. Her music, samples of which can be found on her MySpace page, defy easy categorization and show a startling level of maturity for such a young artist.

She has shared the stage with some of the most celebrated acoustic artists in string music, and performed at major festivals like Telluride, Wintergrass and RockyGrass plus a showcase during an IBMA Children’s concert at their annual Fan Fest.

We asked Sarah to tell us a bit more about herself and how she came to this point.

“I sing, play mandolin, guitar, clawhammer banjo, and some piano. I first started playing piano when I was about six years old, but the first instrument that I seriously fell in love with was the mandolin at age 10. Since then, I’ve developed an equal love for the clawhammer banjo, guitar, singing, and songwriting.

I first started songwriting when I was about 12 years old. Ever since, I’ve always put a lot of time and effort into writing as much as possible. I really love it. It’s the best way I can express myself. Nothing compares to the feeling I get when I finish a song. It’s pure bliss.

My family and I have always loved music ever since I can remember. Growing up, I was fortunate to be a part of a great music program from Pre-K through 8th Grade, under the direction of an amazing music teacher, Diana Riepe. The first music that really inspired me to want to start singing and playing was Hot Rize, Tim O’Brien Nickel Creek, Chris Thile and Abigail Washburn. I’d say the first experience that made me realize ‘Oh yeah… I definitely want music to play a major role in my life’ was when I first met Chris Thile at the Old Settler’s Music Festival about 8 years ago. He was playing there with Nickel Creek, and I went up to get his autograph, and he signed my program: ‘Let’s jam sometime.’ (more…)

For all you tech-heads and home recording enthusiasts out there, this one’s for you.

Each month, Mix magazine prints articles about recording and post production techniques, gear, studios, interviews with engineers and producers, etc. It seems they end up with extra material that just didn’t make it into the print edition each month. These extras are often published online in the form of Mix Online Extras.

This month being bluegrass month (I wonder if the publishers knew that?), it seems highly appropriate that their online extra is an article covering the topic of Recording Bluegrass Instruments.

The format of the article couldn’t get much better. The author tracked down four of bluegrass music’s top engineer/producers and asked them how they go about recording the various bluegrass instruments. Those interviewed were: Gary Paczosa, Bil VornDick, Randy Kohrs (and by extension, Michael Latterer), and Steve Chandler.

After introducing each of these engineers, they offer a brief introductory section where each is allowed to talk about their general philosophy of recording bluegrass tracks. Page two is where the specifics hit the page. The article tackles each instrument in turn: mandolin, fiddle, banjo, guitar, bass, and dobro. Again, each engineer gives their specific choices for mic, mic placement, pre-amp, compression, etc.

If you have an interest in recording bluegrass, this is an article you should take the time to read.