Sunday, August 2, 2009

Breakfast with Earl Scruggs. Rockygrass. A new Nechville banjo. Best weekend ever.

Why was the last weekend in July the best weekend ever? Let me count the ways.

I finally saw Earl Scruggs perform. Remember last year when I was so excited about going to the Four Corners Folk Festival to see Earl Scruggs perform? And how disappointed I was when Earl was ill and had to cancel, last-minute? Well I finally got my chance to see Earl.

How did this happen?

My friend Warren scored RockyGrass tickets, backstage passes and a hotel stay. Warren, a great banjo player from Colorado, is a long-time friend of the Scruggs family. He did the tablature for Earl's book and, as you'll recall, he filled in for Earl when Earl was ill at 4CFF. The Scruggs family had tickets and VIP passes to RockyGrass which they gave to Warren, then Warren gave one set to me.

J.R., Kyle and Warren at RockyGrass 2009

That's me, Kyle and Warren at RockyGrass. More on Kyle later when I talk about my new Nechville banjo. (That's right, a new Nechville banjo. I did mention that this was the best weekend ever, right?) But first, more about that hotel stay I mentioned, which resulted in...

I had breakfast with Earl Scruggs. Since we were staying in the same hotel, I got to have the free hotel breakfast with the whole Earl Scruggs with Family and Friends band. I asked Earl if I could have a photo as proof, since I could hardly believe it myself.

J.R. and Earl

But enough about my stalking of Earl Scruggs (with family and friends). RockyGrass was so much fun, it'd have been great even without the extra helping of Scruggs goodness.

More RockyGrass highlights:

  • The gorgeous Colorado scenery of RockyGrass
    RockyGrass main stage Tubing the RockyGrass Festival The Bluegrass Hula Vertical rocks at RockyGrass 2009 Beach scene at RockyGrass 2009
  • Showing off my sawed-off banjo
    Trying out J.R.'s sawed-off banjo at RockyGrass 2009
  • Strangers sharing their funnel cake
  • Vocal harmonies workshop with Anne & Pete Sibley
  • Constantly being mistaken for Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon ("Dude, it was five in the morning and you had that woman dancing on that cooler, remember?")
  • Having a VIP backstage pass
    Serving up the VIP food at RockyGrass 2009 VIP food at RockyGrass 2009 The VIP outhouse at RockyGrass 2009
  • Lots of great bands
    Claire Lynch at RockyGrass 2009 2009-07-25 RockyGrass 080 California at RockyGrass 2009 2009-07-25 RockyGrass 079 KC Groves & The Blue Maddies at RockyGrass 2009 Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper at RockyGrass 2009 Hot Rize at RockyGrass 2009 Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers at RockyGrass 2009 Yonder Mountain String Band at RockyGrass 2009 Chewbacca likes Yonder Mountain String Band Play "My Gal" Please, Yonder Mountain String Band
  • Dancing in the rain
    Rain at RockyGrass 2009 Under the rain tarp at RockyGrass 2009 Under the rain tarp at RockyGrass 2009 (closeup) Dancing in the rain at RockyGrass 2009 More dancing in the rain at RockyGrass 2009 "Can I get a picture to send back to my wife?"
  • Tom Nechville teaching me how to loop back the string on the banjo peg so it doesn't slip
  • Band contest
    Band contest finalists at RockyGrass 2009 Packway Handle Band at RockyGrass 2009 49 Special at RockyGrass 2009 The Hillbenders at RockyGrass 2009 Watching the band contest at RockyGrass 2009
  • Quietly sitting off to the side, playing chords on my banjo, along with the band
  • People in cool T-shirts
    John Hartford banjo quote on a T-shirt Don't blame me, I voted for Ash
  • Taking a hike while playing my banjo
  • Jamming (and recording jam sessions for later use in practice)
    Porto-Party jam at RockyGrass 2009 Inside the Porto-Party jam at RockyGrass 2009
  • Spending time with Warren
    Warren Kennison Jr at RockyGrass 2009 Warren packs for RockyGrass 2009

Best weekend ever.

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