Well alright. I'm tickled to death to be able to talk to you over this contraption they call the internet. I'm not sure how all of this works, but I'm thankful to be on here. I am also tickled to death about the response we are getting. Thanks for your questions and comments.

I am also tickled to death to announce that we have a brand new CD out on Rounder Records. It is called "Wild Hog in the Red Brush." It's all fiddle tunes and I had originally thought that I would do an album of tunes that Ed Haley played that I have on records, tape, and his homemade recordings. But then I have found titles of tunes that he played that I'd never heard him play and titles of other tunes that were in the area at the time he was playing that I was reasonably sure that he might have played. So, based on that I have tried to resurrect a lot of those tunes and to work them up to play. So it's kind of loosely based on tunes that he could have played or at least was aware of in his days so that's kind of how it goes.

An example is the tune "Wild Hog In The Red Brush." There was a guy that had played with Frank Hutchison who was from over in that part of the country where Ed Haley's from that had put the song on a record but it was basically the same as "Uncle Joe." - "Have you ever seen the devil, Uncle Joe, Uncle Joe" And, somehow I had a feeling, 'cause Eugie Hicks had told me that Ed played "Wild Hog In The Red Brush" and somehow I had a feeling that the one that he played was different than that. And then, John Harrod had a tape of an old boy up in Eastern Kentucky playing the song and it was either a 4 or 5 part tune in G that had those little notes in it, and I thought that this sounds more like something that Ed would have played. So, I took that to be the one. I love that title, "Wild Hog In The Red Brush." So, that's kind of how that came about. For more stories about the songs on the album, read the liner notes.

On the album, we've got Bob Carlin on the banjer and Mike Compton plays the mandolin and Ronnie McCoury the guitar and Jerry McCoury the bass.

We had a good time up at John Rice Irwin's Museum of Appalachia Homecoming a couple weeks back. I think my favorite place to play all year is the Museum of Appalachia. I always wanted to be on the Grand Ole Opry in about the 1930's or early 40's, and the Museum of Appalachia has that feeling for me and that's why I love being a part of it.

The thing that this and the Grand Ole Opry had in common was that they were like my grandfather's house on Christmas eve, in that there were old people there, and young people there, and everybody had a reason to be there. Roy Acuff and I talked about this, but some friend of Roy's told me one time and I had never realized it before, but he said the reason Roy Acuff's show was so powerful and the reason that he was what he was, was that what he aimed for was a full spectrum of people at his shows from the very old, 90 years old, to the very young, 2 and 3 years old. That was one axis. The other axis that ran the other way was that sometime during that show he wanted you to laugh so hard that you just didn't think you could control it, and at some other time during that show, he wanted you to cry. If he could have that spectrum in his audience, and have that range of emotion, he felt like he put on a good show. And I can tell you right now, that is a lot harder than it sounds.

Last month we played a benefit for Courtney Johnson and I thought it went really well. It was nice to play in the Ryman Auditorium. I think when you do a show like that and everybody does two numbers each, they put more into the two numbers than if they get up and do a half hour set. I think that's one of the things that made that show so vital.

I was joined by Mike Compton on mandolin and Roy Huskey, Jr. on bass. I played a tribute to Bill Monroe, called "Cross-Eyed Child" that I had written before his stroke and all of that. I was worried when I came off after doing it that the crowd didn't really erupt like I thought and I was worried that it might have been a little bit too down or I may not have gotten through to them. But, I hope it just made everybody think about him a little.

We had a good summer on the Twilight, spent 10 days up there. Everything was good, Dennis Trone was doing good. We're hoping to do a fiddling trip with Old Time Fiddler Magazine on there next year. I even made a trip on the Julia Belle Swain. We played East Lansing, Iowa and the crew came out to the show. We were going to play in Prairie-du-Chien the next day, and they asked me if I wanted to ride down on the boat, so naturally I did.

Well, thanks for browsing my web site. Continue to check it often because I've got lots of ideas of stuff to add to it. And continue to send me your question and comments. I really enjoy the feedback that I am getting from the page.
So send me lots of mail!

October 1996

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