I hope you got there; what a fine festival. In case you missed it; there is a way to see these young folks in the next best venue to live. Darin and Brooke’s new DVD, recorded at the Easter Family studio in Charlotte N.C. is as close to the excitement of a live show as you’re gonna get. Invite over family and friends for popcorn; you can’t go wrong with this DVD.
Go to thier website to order: www.darinandbrookealdridge.com
Dr. B
I thought my readers would enjoy this clip. I first met Tommy Edwards way back when he was with “The Bluegrass Experience,” the 1972 Union Grove World Champion band. Here he is joined by some fine musicians and friends old and new. Dr. Peter Temple and Tommy were my first big bluegrass influences. If you are ever in the N.C. Research Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill etc) look for them at places the Q Shack, The Blue Note Grill, and the Pittsboro General Store. Check ’em out. Fine picking and singing; the real deal for traditional music.
Dr. B
http://www.youtube.com/user/CarolinaLightnin/feed?feature=context
Along the way I’ve converted more than a few folks to our music. Every so often someone will ask, “Doc, what is it about this music you love so? I just don’t get it.”
I might give ’em a CD, or better yet, take ’em out to eat and then to a show. Every time I do this and take them to see Darin and Brooke Aldridge they end up quoting their song title, “I thought I’d seen it all. Wow are they good!”
Your father’s bluegrass was great music and I love it, but the young artists have gone to a whole new level.
Darin and Brooke are natural musicians, but they’ve worked hard too. As a kid, Darin would stay up all night and dissect out his last show for even the smallest of errors. By the time he auditioned for Charlie Waller it was, as Charlie said, “like he’s been playing with me for years.” He hired Darin on the spot.
Brooke is a cute little country girl with the big voice. Hear her one time and you’ll never forget her. She’s sung in church and wowed crowds at County Fairs since she was a tyke. You hear about family values; well these young people live it and share the family talent with us somewhere on the bluegrass road almost every weekend.
You can nominate them for any IBMA award and not go wrong, but the categories of “Emerging Artist,” “Female Vocalist” and “Gospel Project” seem extra apropos. Check out their website: www.darinandbrookealdridge.com. Hearing is believing. Don’t take my word for it. Go see ’em.
They are in Boone today at the High Country Festival along with my other favorites, Balsam Range, the Harris Brothers and more. Here’s that link: http://www.highcountrybluegrassfestival.com
The grass needs cutting but my Marfar said, “Oh honey you can work any time. Today you need to play.”
How could a man not love a woman like that?
I’ll be back to fiction next week, but I wanted to tell you of my friends first. See you then.
Dr. B
We got a jump-start on the weekend last night. I played with my wife’s band (Guitared and Feathered) at Harvey Nursing Home. It’s just as regular tour stop for them as the bar scene is for aging rock ‘n rollers, but they don’t need chicken wire to protect the stage from flying beer bottles. The bass player is really cute, doesn’t chew tobacco, and takes me home after the gig! (She’s my wife) I have the life.
A big thunder storm came up right as we were ready to go. They almost called it off because of the weather. The residents met. Their leader is a lady who will be 100 in May. She said, “tell ’em the show must go on. For all we know we might not be here next month.”
I don’t know about y’all, but I ain’t ever gonna turn down anyone that brave. The ladies rocked the house, and at the end of the show that elderly woman went down the hall on her walker singing “Bye Bye Love.”
Today I play in a bluegrass celebrity golf tournament. (They forgot to ask if I was a celebrity so I signed up anyway.) I’m not sure who drew J.D. Crowe. Don’t tell anyone, but I am paired with a former Florida mini-tour veteran who once played in the British Amateur. I heard Greg Luck was gonna be there, and I figured it was my only shot at him. Greg is a stout player. He knows good and well I’m old, have a bad back, and can’t hit it anymore, so he usually feels sorry for me.
Wednesday I made sure the old Neuse River converted school bus was up to another tour season. I pulled away the canvas circus tent cover that protects it for the winter, climbed in, and turned the key. As one old bluegrass boy said, “She crunk right up.” Me, Moose Dooley, Rossie Douglas, the Warbler, and the whole gang are gonna troop over to Cherryville, N.C. for the Darin and Brooke Aldridge festival. It’s the good old days all over again. Check their web site for all the details. www.darinandbrookealdridge.com
What a line up. Tonight it is Closer Walk and also the youth band. The kids are often amazing talents; I always scout for who might play for me when I get to the Nursing Home. Darin and Brooke will play a set too.
Saturday kicks off with the eclectic Rev. Al Dunkelman and New Plowed Ground, and then the Harris Brothers come on. They are one of the best blues bands I’ve ever heard. Balsam Range is there; they are some the finest new progressive bluegrass guys on the planet, and so is J.D. Crowe, the master of the traditional 5 string banjo. And Lord knows Darin and Brooke are my favorite husband/wife duo anywhere, a blend of modern acoustic country duets, gospel, and bluegrass that is unsurpassed.
Me, I’m gonna take it all in. In beween stage shows, I’ll sit under a shade tree with my wife, count my blessings, and jam with anyone who comes along and wants to play.
Come pick one with me if you get a chance. I’m the old guy is a straw hat and sunglasses; can’t miss me. Y’all have a fine weekend; old Doc is gonna rock the best he can.
Dr. B
All us bluegrass folks are more alike than we are different. The other day I got a CD from a group all the way out in Portland, Oregon, Kathy Boyd and Phoenix Rising. It was a gospel project titled “Walk Humbly.”
Isn’t that a great title? Bluegrass people everywhere tend to be more humble than much of modern society. They are so talented, and yet do not seek celebrity, but play because it is a spiritual thing. I’ll bet they are a lot like the bands I have been in over the years. We did some private parties and shows, but much of it was for nursing homes or schools, or a fund-raiser for some poor soul struck down by illness. We played because our souls could not get by without music.
The CD liner notes and pictures remind me of our people right here in North Carolina. Ms. Boyd is a petite dark-haired lady bass player (as is my wife) surrounded by a trio of tough-looking hombres in cowboy hats and beards. I noticed their fiddle man doubled on the mandolin. Unless the cat can play both of them at the same time, I might just have to sit in with them on the mandolin if we ever get out to Oregon. My favorite was “Faith, Hope, Bluegrass Music.” Those three things sustained me through some very lonesome times in the doc gig, so the band spoke my language with that cut for sure.
Check out their website at www.phoenixrisingband.org
Guys, if you ever tour North Carolina look up old Doc. I’m the one in the straw hat and sunglasses, and I often wear some wild Sam Bush Hawaiian shirt with pineapples on it. I know all the best jam sessions around. One time some folks were in from England to take in MerleFest. We were the opening act for Larry Sparks at Perry’s Auction Barn in Statesville just before the big festival, and someone sent the visitors over to ask me where they could play. They hung out with us and jammed with Charlie Waller at a regional bluegrass hang-out called the Bomb Shelter the next night. They said they liked that better than MerleFest! I’m not always that lucky but we’ve had a great run of it.
I hope to post soon on a North Carolina event coming up this weekend. Rising stars Darin and Brooke Aldridge have their own festival, and it promises to be a dandy. Look over the line-up at www.darinandbrookealdridge.com.
I’ve got some doc paperwork to catch up on, but I’ll be back with some more stories soon. I hope to have an announcement on my book any time now. As my agent says, he’s gonna go out on the patio and switch on the party lights. When he met me he had only a very peripheral knowledge of bluegrass. The good news for us is now he’ll insist on a bluegrass band for the music.
When an old doctor can get an intellectual man to realize bluegrass music is like “Using your Bible for a Road Map” as to how to live life you’ve done something right, but I gotta give Indie all the credit. I learned it from him, and I’m gonna pass it on to you in “The Mandolin Case.”
Talk to you soon.
Dr. B
Mountain Home records has it going on. This little label is setting it in fire North Carolina. The have two of my favorites bluegrass bands on their roster, Darin and Brooke Aldridge and Balsam Range.
It is clear to me the label is progressive and looking for the young bans who refuse to put out cookie cutter art. I spend an afternoon in the WNCW studio with Balsam Range. Like other fine modern bluegrass bands, they respect the tradition, but are innovative and keep pushing forward. When you listen to their music, you’ll hear plenty of bluegrass, but also country, blues and jazz.
When I was a kid our world was segregated, but I used to love to watch the African-American spirituals on Sunday morning television. The picture quality was poor; an old grainy black and white black and white, but it didn’t diminish the soul of the music one bit. These guys even have some of that kind of sound too. They didn’t wear those cool old robes though.
My wife and I joined them for a sound check. Dennis Jones, the bluegrass voice of the airways in the Carolinas (and the world via Internet stream) gave them their final instructions. Once on the air it didn’t take long for the boys to break out of the mold.
“Let’s see. It’s been a while since you guys have been here. When was your last visit to the studio?”
Marc Pruett: “1947.”
Everyone laughed and it was on. If you go see Balsam Range plan on a good time. They are gonna have fun whether you like it or not.
Dennis Jones is a masterful engineer. He sat at this huge console that has about 4,000 knobs and buttons, only 1,000 of which I knew what to do with. He could see the little boy in me dying to play and called me over.
“Put on these headphones, Doc.”
“Thanks. Man what a rich sound.”
“The kids call it ‘pfat’ nowadays, Doc.”
“Hey, what does this knob do?”
He smiled. “It controls the volume in your mix.”
I eyed the board. Fascinating to an old doc. “How ’bout this one?”
“I wouldn’t mess with the other ones, Doc. They can shock you if you don’t know which ones to twist.” He broke into a wide grin.
“Yes sir.”
Man could he dial you in. Most bands I have played in work off the economy mix. We all hear the same thing in our ear monitor, and have to compromise a bit to make everyone happy. The WNCW Studio B set-up allowed each player to ask for more or less of each component until the mix suited them. I know for a fact this is a band that gets along, ’cause every one of ’em asked for more banjo!
They mentioned on air Balsam Range will be at the Darin and Brooke Aldridge festival on April 10. There will be some very traditional bluegrass bands like J.D. Crowe, but also a fine blues band, the Harris Brothers. Darin and Brooke are the host band. They are bluegrass, but also lean towards modern acoustic country and gospel. This festival is a good introduction for folks not familiar with our music as it offers variety, the highest quality, and a very reasonable price. It is a festival that needs to be on every southern bucket list.
Balsam Range is not afraid to be different. If you have a Romanian folk dance number you like send it to ’em. They might just give it a whirl. Check ’em out at www.balsamrange.com. Visit WNCW 88.7 too at www.wncw.org. Dennis Jones has one of the best Saturday bluegrass and Sunday morning gospel shows in the world. You can pick ’em up on Internet steam if you visit their site. One of these fine days good old Tommy Bibey might come across the air and play you a tune.
I don’t think I’ll twist too may knobs on that board, though. It is pretty electrified for bluegrass, and I don’t want to get shocked.
Dr. B
We got a call last night from Darin and Brooke Aldridge. Today is their official CD release day. Their show at the Don Gibson theater sold out. Maybe I should say it ‘Souled Out’ as Johnny C. would sing, ’cause they have soul and aren’t afraid to show it.
There is a reason for all this. Folks love their music. There is nothing more to it than that. Dennis Jones of WNCW 88.7, the bluegrass voice of the Carolinas and Internet stream radio predicted their success over a year ago. Eddie Stubbs of WSM Grand Ole Opry radio loved their CD and told the world. Kyle Cantrell of Siruis radio has an interview on tap in February.
As big as that is though, it is more than that. These folks are professional musicians, but they haven’t forgotten to sing from the heart. They aren’t pro-tooled or fluffed up or marketed or packaged in some pop culture homogenized cookie cutter art. They are real.
They are red clay and mica; mountain church suppers and funerals, late night jam sessions and endless road miles in search of their voice. Their people want to hear this kind of music. The barbers and preachers and teachers and mechanics and doctors and all kinds of regular people who are weary of a greedy world spoke for these artists, and they spoke loud. As Indie would said, we are all gonna have a large (bluegrass for big) time.
The Aldridges are in music because they were both born and called to it. They aim to use their gift to let us forget, at least for a moment, all the senseless hate, power, and ego that often dominates our modern world.
As the Stanleys would say, ‘It’s standing room only.’ For the fine people who have music in their heart and didn’t wind up with a ticket, I sure am sorry to say there are no more for this one, but there will be many more shows.
For some folks it is ‘Standing Room Only Outside Your Heart.’ For them I hold no animosity, but only regret they are so hard-hearted they don’t even take a minute to hear what these kind of artists have to say, or even worse do their best to degrade traditional music by preconceived notion. This you can be sure of: we will never go away. One way or another you have deal with us.
I believe people who love true music have grown tired of the status quo. If I never in my life see an artist exploited by some dude out to make a buck who can’t play the first note, it’ll suit me just fine.
It is obvious from the turn-out I am not alone in that opinion. Folks like me have always been out there, but we have begun to find each other. Through the power of the Internet, the grass-roots movement has taken hold. It is now much more than just a bit of kindling smoke a few of us die-hards breathe on to keep the fire burning. Bluegrass based country music is poised to make a serious comeback via young artists like Darin and Brooke Aldridge.
If you don’t believe me, ask Dennis Jones or Eddie Stubbs. They are experts. Or you can come to the Don Gibson Theater and see for yourself. It’ll be standing room only but the Fire Marshall might let you stand in the back a minute and take it all in.
Marty Stuart sold out his show there, and now Darin and Brooke Aldridge have too. My guess is theaters like to see a full house in these hard times, so traditional music seems to be off to a good revival in Shelby N.C. Given it is the home of Don Gibson and Earl Scruggs it is as it should be.
First of all, let me establish credentials here. I, Tommy Bibey, am the world’s only physician bluegrass fiction writer. I write fiction, but I never lie to my reader. I love bluegrass music because it is real. As a doc I burned up inside to be my best. I saw a lot of pain, suffering and death. If I hadn’t had my music I would have already been dead from a heart attack. I owe it much.
As a result of my love of that music, I know a lot about it, and have met many of the people involved in. If you have read my blog a while you know this.
I want to be sure you understand this: Country music is three chords and the truth, and the truth is Eddie Stubbs knows more about bluegrass and country music in the little finger that wraps around his fiddle bow than old doc knows in his whole body. (Okay, my heart is in it pretty good, I agree with that) Mr. Stubbs is the voice of WSM Grand Ole Opry radio. He is not in the business of making idle claims. He knows what’s happening. Period.
Eddie had Darin and Brooke Aldridge on WSM Grand Old Opry online radio live last night. He loves their new CD and interviewed them at length.
It was near surreal. He seemed to present the tunes in rough order of his anticipation as to how the will play on big time commercial radio. I don’t know Mr. Stubbs, and yet he sized them up in the order I would consider correct. Bottom line, though; there are no weak cuts.
He pointed out the CD will be available in the Ernest Tubb Record shop in Nashville next week, and can be ordered off their website now. The link is: www.darinandbrookealdridge.com He informed the world the Darin and Brooke CD release party will be at the Gibson theater over in Shelby, N.C. (the one I’ve been telling you about) on Friday night January 22, 2010. It is hard to figure, but either by sound business acumen, luck, or some uncanny knowledge of the street (perhaps all three) this crowd continues to find the best young talent and get them booked before the rest of the world knows what is shaking out.
Mr. Stubbs is well-connected at the Opry. When I was at the IBMA convention this fall he introduced the General Manager of the Opry, Mr. Pete Fisher, who gave the key-note address. Mr. Fisher presented a strong argument that to maintain and improve the Opry brand they must seek out the best new bluegrass acts who would appeal to a traditional county music audience. I believe Darin and Brooke Aldridge are just the kind of folks he hopes to find. They are the best male/female country bluegrass duet I’ve heard in many years. Producer Jerry Salley thought so too, and now it seems Mr. Stubbs is of a similar opinion.
As we have discussed, in bluegrass it’s all about the timing. Mr. Horace Scruggs said so; for me that makes it true. As far as our kind of music on the Opry, the timing is right and the timing in now. I know for a fact the Opry has bluegrass and traditional country on their radar. Mr. Fisher told us so in his speech. We have their ear, and they have begun to understand that groups like Darin and Brooke Aldridge might make their brand stronger than ever. In my humble opinion if you believe our kind of music needs more representation on the Opry, the time to tell them so is now. If we do not do so we have no room for complaint if they don’t present the music we love. These are hard economic times in the arts, and the Opry is listening to what everybody has to say right now.
To my readers in Australia, you are gonna love “The Sweetest Waste of Time.” (It was written by y’all’s folks, Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson) Mr. Stubbs found it a fine number and a likely hit here in the States. I bet it will go over good in Australia too. WSM online is world-wide so maybe some of you caught it last night. He also played ‘It Moves Me’ and ‘Corn’ which is my song of the day today, ‘Hero,’ a tribute to Vince Gill, and several others through the program. All good.
The English Professor, Ted Lehmann, knows a bit about bluegrass himself. He writes one of the biggest independent bluegrass blogs in the NorthEast. Go over and see what he has to say. His link is: www.tedlehmann.blogspot.com
Here is my bottom line. Old bluegrass hands like me in N.C., people who know music, have known of these kids for a long time. We love ’em like our own. Eddie Stubbs thinks the world is gonna love ’em too. We’re proud to share ’em with y’all, but also can’t help but admit we’re also proud they’re from our neck of the woods. Heck, I’ve picked and sung a few with ’em along the way myself. I’m thrilled for them and tickled to have watched it all happen.
When they get out there y’all be nice to them ’cause they are genuine sweet young people, and Lord knows they can they sing and play. I can’t wait for you to hear em.
Dr. B
Bear with me. With this post many loose ends are tied together. If you read the whole thing, you will be amongst the chosen ones, because you will understand the truth is simple. Bluegrass is but rocket science.
Alison Brown grew up in California, and went to U.C.L.A. for her undergraduate studies. Indeed she still looks like a little surfer girl on the cover of a Beach Boys album. There’s more to her than that though. After U.C.L.A. she earned an MBA at Harvard, and then went on to Wall Street, where she was the only investment banker in New York who read both the ‘Weekly Bond Trader’ and ‘Bluegrass Unlimited.’ I can identify. I’m the only doc in town who reads both ‘The New England Journal of Medicine’ and ‘Bluegrass Unlimited.’ Only thing is the kid is smarter than me, ’cause she can read ’em both at the same time!
Her story reminds me of Gillian Welch. Ms. Welch grew up in L.A. where her parents were writers for the Carol Burnett show. Somehow the child knew she had to be a hillbilly singer. She turned out to be a great one, although you have to wonder how her folks took the news at first.
Something similar stirred in Ms. Brown’s soul. She knew deep down inside part of her was Appalachian, and she was compelled to seek it out. She did just that, and became the only bond trader I know of who quit her day job to pursue a career as a professional banjo player. It was a brave move for a young lady.
Steve Martin (who has returned to his roots and plays some with the Steep Canyon Rangers) gave up his banjo career to become a comedian due to the economic realities of the music gig. As he said, “I don’t recall a banjo player who ever asked anyone to toss his banjo in the back seat of his Porsche.” Think about that. The cat left the music world for the stability of a regular paycheck as a stand-up comic. (As you know, it worked out. )
Alison went on to take her music around the world. (literally) It is the wake-up call music of choice for the rocket scientists, as the NASA shuttle astronauts listen to the Alison Brown Quartet while they sip their morning Tang. The Quartet, while rooted in bluegrass, is a smorgasbord of traditional styles. In addition to Alison’s spectacular banjo picking and Doc Watson style guitar work, they have a fine jazz pianist, and a drummer who keeps perfect bluegrass time. The rock solid bass man is Alison’s husband Garry, who ties it all together. (In our house my wife is the bass player and she sure is the glue for our outfit.)
My guess is Garry has to be the glue for the Quartet because when they leave out for a gig he has to retrieve multi-instrumentalist Joe Craven from the school yard before they can depart. There he’ll find Joe teaching children the fine art of how to convert the human body into one giant ham-bone percussion sound effects guru. I also can identify with Joe. He is but a large child who was lucky enough to find what he loved, worked hard to be good at it, and is kind enough to share his good fortune with us. With Joe it’s Gris mandolin licks, old-time fiddle, Stephan Grapelli jazz violin, a couple parts Dixie-Land, mix in great story telling, add vaudeville style soft shoe dance routine, go eat supper at Shakey’s pizza parlor for the last of the old-time Medicine Shows with Greasy Medlin type gig. If the man takes up tap-dance, he’s got it all. I take in a lot of music, and I’m not often mesmerized, but Joe took me into his world and didn’t let up for the whole show.
The thing that strikes me about Alison, and the Quartet, is that in spite of all their genius they remain humble. No one could hear them play and not be struck by their virtuosity as musicians. Alison is a woman who has conquered more than one man’s world and she ain’t even old yet. She and her husband Garry now own and operate the eclectic Compass Record label in Nashville, Tennessee. Her worldly success is enormous, but my sense was the lady is as down home as if she’d grown up a back porch picker in the sandhills or red clay of North Carolina. Bless her heart, she ain’t got above her raising. Lester would be proud.
It was so fitting she played at the Don Gibson theater in Shelby, N.C. It is the home of Earl Scruggs, and like my young banjo pal Kristin Scott Benson, Alison Brown is a true Scrugg. Alison has been around the world and back but doesn’t see herself as one bit better than anyone else; just a human being fortunate to have a gift to share with the world.
If the Alison Brown Quartet shows up anywhere in your neck of the woods, for Heaven’s sake please don’t stay home and watch television; go see them play. More than that, listen to their human story as they share it with you via their music. Dr. B is old but I learned some from them and you will too. Her music is already out of this world, and one of these fine days they’re gonna land a gig on the moon. The least y’all can do is make her welcome when she shows up in your corner of the planet.
The Alison Brown Quartet will be in Glasgow, Scotland soon. Make sure to take in the show while they’re there. Alison’s got plenty of Appalachia in her, but I’m gonna give you a hint. I think she’s part Scots-Irish too. They way she plays that Celtic music it has to be true.
Other than my wife, my daughter knows me as well as any woman on Earth. I am very proud of her. Like Alison, she is young, attractive, and not afraid to be both feminine and tough. My daughter knows bluegrass. She always says, “Daddy, you’re so simple you’re complicated to people.”
And so is bluegrass music. I wish my old pal Indie coulda been there. He loved ‘Leaving Cottondale,’ Alison’s 2001 Grammy winning instrumental. Indie would said, “Now son, that girl can pick a five-string.” As far as Alison Brown and bluegrass music Indie always said, “It ain’t no more complicated than that.”
Indie was very wise. Bluegrass ain’t complicated. After all, it’s not rocket science; or is it?
Go visit them at: www.alisonbrown.net Tell ’em some crazy old doc sent you. Talk to you soon,
Dr. B
When folks hear the name Alison many of them tend to think of Alison Krauss, but there is another music Alison you need to know about. Her name is Alison Brown. Ms. Krauss knows her well, as they have toured together in the past.
Alison Brown has a cool resume. She did her undergraduate work at Harvard, and then earned an MBA at UCLA. After that she was a Wall Street investment banker. I guess maybe that became too tame a life for her, so she went out on tour with Alison Krauss. She was the first female IBMA banjo player of the year. She won a Grammy in 2001 for ‘Leaving Cottondale.’ For the folks who say bluegrass crowd isn’t sophisticated, I only ask they re-read this post and then send their rebuttal in the comments.
Nowadays she and her husband Gary West own Compass Records in Nashville, Tennessee. They produced Dale Ann Bradley’s IBMA award-winning CD, one of my personal favorites in the year 2009. The lady can pick bluegrass banjo as well as any man alive but is equally at home with jazz, swing, or pop tunes. Her husband is a fine bass player and businessman. These people know music.
Alison Brown will be at the Don Gibson theatre in Shelby N.C., January 9th, 2010. My favorite artists are always the ones who believe in their work and in what they hope to say. They don’t look for corporate to create an image for them. Ms. Brown is that kind of performer. Her show will appeal to a broad demographic spectrum. It will be attended by everyone from the local hot pickers to young mothers who want to see a lady colleague who can do it all, to old docs who appreciate and love fine acoustic music.
I have become enthralled with this Gibson theater. It’s a cozy 400 seat venue with great acoustics and is small enough to take in the show in detail without one of those widescreen monitors. It’s just the kind of hang-out for a cat who has spent his life marching to a different drummer, even though we don’t have one in bluegrass. (Alison might; I am not sure, and if she does it is okay by me.) If promoters take a chance on people who refuse to settle for cookie cutter art I plan to support them.
At times patients and readers have asked how I’ve maintained my enthusiasm for my work after so many years in the trenches. The answer ain’t blowing in the wind, but can be found in the artistry of folks like Alison Brown or Darin and Brooke Aldridge who will follow her at the Gibson on Jan 22.
If y’all want to know what makes Doc tick, take in these shows. It would be a good start to understand an old doctor who is so simple he’s complicated, or a complex young woman like Alison Brown who creates art of simple beauty. I do not know her well, but my guess is in spite the differences in our ages and day jobs we have much in common. Like me, I think Alison Brown is driven by motives that involve more important concepts than simple commercialism.
I know this. If anyone shows up within driving distance of Harvey County and they aim to make my life better via their creative efforts, I’m gonna get in the car and go. I am called to do my day job, and I persevere. However, the doc gig involves a lot of pain and suffering for folks, and you often find yourself tangled up in impossible circumstances. Through art, I believe we can see a few glimpses of dignity as we trudge along, and I intend to take in all I can.
Y’all go see Alison Brown. You won’t regret it.
Check out her link: www.alisonbrown.net
Dr. B
Dr. Tom Bibey: Stories of the Bluegrass Music Road 