Regarding Pandolfi’s recent pot stirrer:
It’s pretty much all been said out there, but I’ll tell you what gets me going to the point that I have to write about it. It’s when I read comments like this one -
Bands like Railroad Earth, Green Sky, Yonder Mountain, Infamous Stringdusters, etc. are going to be labeled bluegrass and I think that’s fine…as long as they understand where the roots of the music came from and they have an understanding and respect for that.
Get stuffed. We’re all out here working as hard as we can to live doing what we love. You are the armchair quarterbacking internet dweller. For us to care about whether or not you approve of our reverence for tradition or the lack thereof would render us unable to do our jobs.
Same dude, same comment -
The only thing I wish is that these newer grassy bands stop all playing solely through pickups and get some high quality mics, like the Punch Brothers or the Jaybirds. I went to a Yonder Mountain show 2 weeks ago and I cringed every time I heard Jeff Austin solo with his pickup-burdened Nugget. He might of well had a Michael Kelly or something as it would have sounded the same. Sorry if that’s harsh…just not a big fan of his style or sound, I guess.
We’ve already established our freedom to an opinion, but had you ever done any touring you’d probably have realized the technical and acoustical limitations of playing with live microphones on loud stages. They don’t make the sound better. Period. Ever. I’ve never heard of the Jaybirds, but I’m guessing the crowd that the Punch Brothers primarily plays to is a very quiet crowd. Good for them. Obviously some of us prefer a different setting.
By the way, Andy Hall came to the Nashville show last night and helped us destroy the place.