The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #73111   Message #1270413
Posted By: Jerry Rasmussen
12-Sep-04 - 06:04 PM
Thread Name: Is bluegrass an attitude?
Subject: RE: Is bluegrass an attitude?
And your right too, Kevin. Some folks is just naturally stone-faced.
And some folks is just naturally hams. Just for me, personally, I always think of music as a form of communication. For some people who are more musically sophisticated than me, maybe they can enjoy a whole evening of music without the more personal interaction I look for.

A few years ago, when I was writing articles for a folk newsletter, I did one on the difference between bluegrass and old-timey bands. I just quoted some of the statements that people in the audiences at the concert series I ran made. One of the differences that I noticed over the years, and kidded about is that bluegrass musicians say they are doing a "show." That implies to me that they are consciously presenting their music in a way that they think the audience will respond to. Too often, I found old-time bands had a terrific time cracking each other up, and weren't paying enough attention to the audience. All generalizations, admittedly.

Jerry