# General Mandolin Topics > Jams, Workshops, Camps, Places To Meet Others >  Wintergrass

## Tony Pearce

I wondered whether any Cafe members are attending the Wintergrass festival in Seattle 25-28th February.

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## mandopete

It's actually in Bellevue, but that's pretty close to Seattle.

I'll be there as an emcee again this year.

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## Rick Schmidlin

Anyone going from Vancouver.Need to hitch a ride.

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## Tony Pearce

> It's actually in Bellevue, but that's pretty close to Seattle.
> 
> I'll be there as an emcee again this year.


I stand corrected. 

I wasn't sure Bellvue was a well known enough place to distinguish it's locality.

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## Patrick Gunning

Sadly UCLA Law scheduled their spring moot court competition the same weekend, so I'll be missing Wintergrass for the first time since 2004.

I hope the new location works out really well.  I doubt there will be any problems though, Ruffo's always on the level.  One thing's for sure though, everybody there needs to hit the Vasen sets.  They'll melt your face off.

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## Brian Ray

I'll be there...

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## mandopete

So is there any interest in a Mandolin Cafe Meet 'n Greet?

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## Rroyd

Here's a plan.  Mandopete will host the get-together, which will meet in the bar at the hotel, at a time to be decided upon, based on a consensus of cafe members, one week before Wintergrass opens.  Since Mandopete will be raking in the big bucks for his services at the festival, he shouldn't mind picking up the tab for all the attendees.   :Smile:

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## Spruce

> I wasn't sure Bellvue was a well known enough place to distinguish it's locality.


Oh, we all know about it all right....   :Wink:

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## Tony Pearce

> So is there any interest in a Mandolin Cafe Meet 'n Greet?


I'm in. My flight gets me in on the evening of the 23rd.

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## Tom Mullen

I will be there Thurs nite. Am looking forward to seeing Duane, Pete and a buncha my other pickin' buddies.

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## Pete Martin

> So is there any interest in a Mandolin Cafe Meet 'n Greet?


I'm in, let me know time and place.  Not early Saturday morning :Sleepy:  :Sleepy:  :Sleepy:

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## Bruce Clausen

The Olympics will complicate the border crossing, but I'm hoping to be there at least for the Friday.  Look forward to meeting all the cafe people.

BC

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## mandopete

> Since Mandopete will be raking in the big bucks for his services at the festival, he shouldn't mind picking up the tab for all the attendees.



Hey Duane, I gotta idea - how bout we just auction off your Loar and use the proceeds to buy single malts and steaks for everyone up in Daniel's Broiler.

 :Laughing:

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## Spruce

Hey, my doctor says I'm suffering from some sort of fluorescent deficiency, so I'll be joining ya'll this year...   :Wink: 

Looking forward to it.....

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## Gail Hester

I'm probably going on Friday, looking forward to seeing everyone.

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## Pete Braccio

I'll be there from Wednesday on.  :Wink: 

BTW, I just updated the web site. The Songwriting winners are now listed (along with an MP3 of the song).

Pete

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## mandopete

> BTW, I just updated the web site. The Songwriting winners are now listed (along with an MP3 of the song).


Yeah the song is called Hard Place To Suffer by Kristen Grainger and Dan Wetzel of True North.  A really great song that captures the bluegrass spirit of Bellevue, Washington (said with tongue firmly in cheek).

So I will take on the task of organizing the "meet and greet".  Since I'm working this year I'm not sure how much time I will have, but how does Saturday at noon sound to everyone?

_"I just can’t seem to fight this addiction to the tall skinny double-shot, no-foam extra-hot, caramel machiato latte"_

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## Rroyd

Mandopete;
Well, that would be an idea to consider, except that during that Arctic cold snap last month, I ran out of firewood. . .

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## CelticMando

Is that going to be held in Bellevue every year?

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## Mandocarver

That's a great song. Congrats to the writers. I'll be checking out their other work.
Dean

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## Pete Braccio

The new (and improved) Wintergrass schedule is now on line.

Pete

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## RobP

I'll be there some time on Thursay, with hopefully the rest of the band.  I look forward to a gathering, and meeting some of you find folks in person!

See you there

Rob

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## mandopete

Okay, I was over at the Hyatt yesterday meeting with the Wintergrass folks and I scouted for a location for our meet 'n greet.

I anticipate that all of the lobby and jamming spaces are going to be pretty noisy.  We could meet up in one of the numerous bars/restaurants there are attached to the hotel complex.  Or we could just meet up in my room and enjoy some relative quiet.

Any opinions?

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## Pete Braccio

Hi Pete,

Were ever you think is best. I've never been up there so I have no idea what the lay of teh land is.

Pete

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## Spruce

> Is that going to be held in Bellevue every year?


Has anyone else heard the rumors that they are considering moving to it Weiser, Idaho next year...?

Apparently it'll be the 3rd full week of February...

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## mandopete

> Has anyone else heard the rumors that they are considering moving to it Weiser, Idaho next year...?
> 
> Apparently it'll be the 3rd full week of February...


He he he....

My question is really do people want to be able to do some instrument playing/comparisons or do we just want a social event.  Let me know.....

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## Spruce

Single malt and mando tasting??   :Wink:

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## Pete Braccio

Beer and mandolins always work for me. 

BTW,  The Workshop Schedule is now online.

Pete

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## DPrager

I think Bruce is close to the mark here. Perhaps since we're talking Bluegrass and Mandolins we should consider bourbon instead of of Scotch. It's every bit as yummy!

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## Mike Scott

> Single malt and mando tasting??


That works for me

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## Christopher Standridge

I'm in!

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## uno

This sounds great.  Looking fwd to details...

Anthony

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## mandopete

> I think Bruce is close to the mark here. Perhaps since we're talking Bluegrass and Mandolins we should consider bourbon instead of of Scotch. It's every bit as yummy!


I'm with you David and it's Knob Creek or nuthin' for me!

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## Pete Martin

Wild Turkey Rare Breed!!

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## DPrager

We are moving in the right direction here guys.....Kentucky == Bourbon.

This isn't Kilt-Grass.

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## Spruce

> I'm with you David and it's Knob Creek or nuthin' for me!





> Wild Turkey Rare Breed!!





> This isn't Kilt-Grass.


 :Disbelief: 

Maybe we can get a shipment from Darrington??   :Wink:

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## cheesecutter

CedarHog and myself will be there on Thursday - Monday. This will be our first WG can't wait.

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## mandopete

> Maybe we can get a shipment from Darrington??


Oooh-weee that's good stuff!

Okay here is my thinking.  I think we should do this Friday night, probably late (after the shows get done).  I'm thinking we can probably use the media room and I'll check with the Wintergrass folks.  That way we can enjoy some adult beverages at reasonable prices (BYOB), have a chance to visit and pick some mandos if that what everyone wants to do.

Let me know if that's agreeable for everyone.

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## Spruce

Okeedokee....

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## cedarhog

Will be there...with the Elk mando.

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## Pete Braccio

Sounds good to me.

Pete

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## mrmando

I'll plan on bringing the National Silvo electric tenor, the Andersen mandocello, a Rigel or two, maybe a few other weird & wonderful things.

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## craigw

I'm coming up with one of my F-5s as well as a 2000 Derrrington signed F-5L and a late 90s Unicorn & Mustang F-5, all for sale. I'll be sharing booth space with Music Caravan. Making the drive up from south central California and should arrive mid afternoon Thursday. Hope to see ya all there.
www.wilsonmandolins.com

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## Mike Scott

I will bring either my KM1000 or my Bulldog 2 Pt.  Let me know which one most of you want to sample and I'll bring that one.  If no one replies, I'll use my own judgement.

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## tango_grass

Same question every year, and same answer.  Yep, I'll be there.  Thursday AM till the last picker leaves Monday morning.   

8PM, Friday, come party with us in the Oregon Bluegrass Association/River City Bluegrass Festival Suite, Northern Departure is putting on a show.  Suite/Sweet!

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## mandopete

> ...come party with us in the Oregon Bluegrass Association/River City Bluegrass Festival Suite, Northern Departure is putting on a show.


Will you be playing the banjo or the clarinet?

 :Whistling:

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## tango_grass

Accordion.   :Cool:

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## Spruce

Here's a little tour of the new hotel...

Guess I'll have to bathe...

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## mandopete

Hey, the music in the background on the video tour is song from my band (Stay Tuned) called Deception Pass!

You can find more of that stuff here.

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## kyblue

Woodford Reserve is the bourbon of choice here in Kentucky...

Produced just up the road from me in Woodford County, home of some of the most famous horse farms in Kentucky.  

Ya'll have fun!

Paula

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## mandopete

I only recently learned that Knob Creek is where Abraham Lincoln was born.

...also a somewhat dubious note:

_"Knob Creek is the preferred bourbon of Soy Dracula!, the world's greatest vegetarian vampire punk rock opera"_

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## mandopete

*Midnight Mandolin Cafe Meet 'n Greet*  :Mandosmiley: 

Okay I checked with the Wintergrass folks and they are fine with idea of us getting together in the Wintergrass Media Room for a meet and greet on Friday night.  Looks like the shows run up to about midnight so that's when I propose we do this.

I will send a PM to all of the folks we have here on this thread with more details and if there are others that are interested let me know.

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## mrmando

> _"Knob Creek is the preferred bourbon of Soy Dracula!, the world's greatest vegetarian vampire punk rock opera"_


Vegetarian vampires? What do they do, go around sucking the juice out of carrots?

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## tango_grass

> *Midnight Mandolin Cafe Meet 'n Greet* 
> 
> Okay I checked with the Wintergrass folks and they are fine with idea of us getting together in the Wintergrass Media Room for a meet and greet on Friday night.  Looks like the shows run up to about midnight so that's when I propose we do this.
> 
> I will send a PM to all of the folks we have here on this thread with more details and if there are others that are interested let me know.


Midnight?   I'll be there. (time permitting)

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## UncleNorm

I hope to be there too.

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## billhay4

I'm interested.
Bill

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## Austin Clark

I'll be there, keep me on the pm list!

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## Rick Schmidlin

I need a ride.

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## mandopete

> I need a ride.


Check with Apollo Ono - I think he's heading back this a way.

 :Smile:

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## Rick Schmidlin

Saw him win  the bronze last Saturday night.

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## Spruce

> I will send a PM to all of the folks we have here on this thread with more details and if there are others that are interested let me know.


Hey Pete...
Your mailbox is full...

_"mandopete has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space."_

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## mandopete

Yeah, it's tough being popular!

 :Smile:

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## mandopete

So I was cleaning up my office last weekend and I came across this, which I will bring to the meet 'n greet.

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## Spruce

I'll be there....

If any of you luthier types want some wood thrown aboard the ol' Focus (not bringing the van), PM me and I'll throw it in...

See ya Friday...

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## Brain

Pete wrote: "I will send a PM to all of the folks we have here on this thread with more details and if there are others that are interested let me know." 

Count me in! I'll bring my fiddle and some of my 
mando buddies that aren't so hip to the intur-net. 

Brian, in balmy Portland

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## Pete Braccio

I can either bring a Rigel CT-110 or a Bulldog F5. Let me know what you're interested in playing.

Pete

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## Jim Nollman

Count me in Pete. I'm now trying to figure out the best way to get to Bellevue to attend Friday's events, and your kind offer to meet on Friday night late. Probably drive home to the islands on Saturday morning. I'm very much looking forward to seeing all the mandolins owned by this group, and also share a look/play of my own BRW three point.

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## Christopher Standridge

Hey,
Just to let you know I will have a booth set up again this year,  I will have a hand full of minty fresh twinpoints and F5s.  I will also be set up to do small repairs and set-ups.  I will have a good supply of Steve's CA bridges and even one of his Redline Resonators.  There will be some other surprises as well.
So come on by while you are decompressing from a jam or a show and we'll talk mandolins, shop, repairs, sports, or whatever.
See you all in Bellevue.

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## mandopete

It's on like Donkey Kong

Tonight at midnight in room 343

Seen ya!

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## Spruce

I'll bring a matching pair of Sullivans (electric & acoustic), an Ome A5, and this puppy...

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## Pete Martin

My old Strad (sigh)...

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## Jim Nollman

I can't make it. Something else came up. Too bad, I was really looking forward to feasting my eyes and ears on a bunch of great instruments.

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## Spruce

Some pics...

My friend Paul from Hawaii checks out the "wall of koa"....



Austin Clark and his latest batch:



A really cool 2-pointer from that batch:



Chris Standridge and his flock:

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## Spruce

Jammin' at the Boyd booth:



Chad tries to find the signature on my Ome....



Paul Lestock and his herd:

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## Spruce

The Midnight Mando Jam:



His feet wiggled when he soloed:



A new Smart F5....
Notice anything strange?



It's the bug hole...
Gotta love it...

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## Spruce

Ran into this A3 at the midnight meeting...
Just wow....

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## Spruce

Eric Foulke's django-inspired mandolin...
This thing sounds _great_...

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## Spruce

Sarah Jarosz rocks a Sullivan....

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## amowry

Bruce, thanks for bringing highlights to those of us who couldn't attend!

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## Nolan

So, what mandolins did you all like there?  I really liked the F5C Gilchrist at Greg Boyds.  The Heiden was #2for me.  The other mandolin that I liked a lot but it was totally different from the Gil/Heiden tone was the Wilson mandolin at Craig Wilson's table.  I'd never heard of Wilson mandolins before but I met Craig there and played his mandolin and that mandolin really has the Loar thing going on.  If you get a chance to meet Craig and play one of his mandolins dont' pass it up!

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## Spruce

> So, what mandolins did you all like there?  I really liked the F5C Gilchrist at Greg Boyds.


That was my first call too....
Just a killer mandolin....

Austin Clark had an A that really spoke to me as well...

The aforementioned Eric Foulke Nuage sounded _amazing_, and is one of the best non-arched mandos I've ever heard...
It could hold it's own in _any_ jam...

So many mandos, so little time...(and money)....

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## mandopete

Wow, looks like the new forum software likes BIG pictures!

First off let me say a big thanks to everyone who showed up for the Meet 'N Greet on Friday night.  In my mind I had envisioned more of a cocktail party that an actual jam session, huh, silly me.  And for that I apologize as we were woefully undersized in the media room.  I am already working with the Wintergass folks to see if we can line up a much larger space for next year.

Now, on to the fun.  I brought the *Knob Creek* (which disappeared fast I noticed) and I still have some of the *Wild Turkey Rare Breed* left.  I heard there was single malt - I didn't see (or smell) it.  It appears that beer was drink of choice.

But the piece of resistance was having *Frank Solivann* and *Jesse Cobb* light it up on the mando jam.  Those are two of my all time favorite pickers and it was an absolute blast getting a chance to play along side them.  I got Frank to kick it on *Screened In* which it cool tune that he wote and makes a great jam tune.  And what can you say about Jesse Cobb that hasn't been said.  What a truly great picker and humble musician he is.

And thanks for *Spruce* for clicking some great photos.  Someone used my camera to take some pictures and all I can say is thanks.  I was just so busy between picking and sipping I plain forgot the camera.  Thanks to *Martin* for bringing the mandocello.  I think Jesse got a real kick out of that puppy.  Thanks to *Rod Bachman* for adding the bass (note to self - bring bass next time).

Okay here's the first shot.  Jesse and I were only two Collings in the room as I recall....

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## mandopete

Okay, here's another view of the mando jam looking backwards.  Not only were we graced by Jesse Cobb and Frank Solivann, but *Mark Miracle* from Sawmill Road sneaked in too.  That's him on the left along with my friend *Lance Brittain*, who's mandola is the instrument I was playing when the "Post a Picture of Yourself" thread kicked off years ago.  A there's *Carl Chatski* on the right.  I also got to see some old friends like *Hide Kawatsure* and we took a stab at Whiskey Before Breakfast (well it was after dinner akshully) in harmony (he did better at than I did).

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## mandopete

Okay, now to answer Nolan's question about the favorite mandolin at Wintegrass.  For me it was *Lawrence Smart's 10-string* fan fret device.  I ran into him down in the vendor area  and he was toting one along for Mike Marshall that he graciously let me pick on.  What a cool intrument.  It's like having a mandolin and mandola in the same box.  I found that the fan frets worked really well (as long as you don't look down) and the short scale made it totally comfortable to play.  This one was a real winner all around!

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## mandopete

...and the aforementioned *Lawrence Smart*.

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## mandopete

And lastly and certainly leastly.  Seen at Greg Boy's display.

Hmmm, is it or isn't it?

(only her hairdresser knows for sure)

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## mandopete

On balance this was one of the best (and busiest) Wintergrass' for me.  I was fortunate to be chosen to emcee the main stage this year and I don't think I cursed all weekend.  We had some great interviews in the media room with *Tim O'Brien*, *The Steep Canyon Rangers*, *The Infamous Stringdusters*, *The Seldom Scene* and *Mike Marshall*.  I also spent time with local favorites *Prairie Flyer*, *The Downtown Mountain Boys* and *Ranger & The Rearrangers*.  I got to hear some great stories about *John Duffey* from the source, *Ben Eldredge*, that was a hoot.  I got to present *Ron Thomasson* with a nice big box of doughnuts as he was not happy that folks here in hospitality room cut the doughnuts in half.  And the highlight for me was all of the great performances by the *The Duo* and *Vasen* (those guys are tall and talented).

Now can the *Nyckelharpa Cafe* be far off?

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## Buddah

So, what did y'all think about the new venue?  I had to miss out on Wintergrass this year, but always enjoyed the Tacoma scene...how did Bellevue compare?

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## Spruce

> So, what did y'all think about the new venue?  I had to miss out on Wintergrass this year, but always enjoyed the Tacoma scene...how did Bellevue compare?


Bellevue simply _smoked_ the Tacoma venue (whatever the hell it's called now)...
(You might take this with a grain of salt, as I quit going to Tacoma 3-4 years ago....)

No contest whatsoever on every level....

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## Jeff Harvey

Hey Nolan, I am the proud owner of Wilson #5. He built it to my specs and I am so happy with it. He is a great guy and charges a fair price. For a new builder, he is really starting at a high point. He is somewhat of a perfectionist and I think that comes through in his mandos! Thanks Craig!

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## markd

I agree tht Bellevue was a way better set up.  For those who could not make it or who chose not to go to Wintergrass this year because of the move from Tacoma, you missed out on a really great time.  The new Bellevue venue for this event was truly a great one and a very nice move in my opinion.  Lot of easy free parking, plenty of places to eat, lots of room to walk around and for vendor booths, everything under one roof, super nice facility with great sound, good layout and plenty of places to jam.  I spent all day Friday and Saturday there – and stayed up until about 3:00 am each night – playing and visiting with bluegrassers from all over the country.  Terrific small workshops with Tim O'Brien, John Reischman, Mike Marshall - the midnight Mando Cafe gathering was fabulous as noted and pictured above and a highlight - were worth the price of admission alone to me.   Great shows by Tim O'Brien (with Bryan Sutton on guitar and Mike Bub on bass - fantastic) the Stringdusters with Jessie Cobb, Mike Marshall, John Reischman and  many, many more.   Really good stuff.

If you did not go, you really missed out. The only thing that I missed - and most everyone I talked to said the same thing - was the old Church Stage venue in Tacoma.  The old Grace Lutheran Church in Tacoma was called the Church Stage - it was a 5-6 blocks up the street from the main hotel venue and a bit of a walk for some, esp in the rain, but it was one of the greatest venues in bluegrass -in some ways, a bit reminicient of the Ryman. But you can't have everything and as cool as the Church venue was, I will take the Bellevue site anytime.  Many, many kudos to the Acoustic Sound-Wintergrass folks for a job well done. 

Mark

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## Michael Ramsey

Aaron really wanted to come to the meet & greet on Friday night.  As evidenced by the travelling travails that the Mountain Heart crew suffered, it wasn't meant to be.  Aaron's flight was supposed to be on the ground around 9 PM pst.  He had planned on checking in, resting a bit and then getting to the gathering.  After being re-routed through Houston instead of Detroit, his plane touched down about 12:30 AM pst (which felt like 3 AM est) and it didn't happen. 

As a side note he touched down in Greensboro, NC (2 hours from our home) at 7 PM last night to find out his bag (which contained his car keys) was SUPPOSED to arrive at 10:30.  That came and went and as of 11 PM last night he was still in Greensboro, hoping to get car keys so he can get home.  I offered to go pick him up but he had confidence the airline would get his bag to him at 10:30.  They didn't hold up their end of their delayed bargain.

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## mandopete

> Aaron really wanted to come to the meet & greet on Friday night.  As evidenced by the travelling travails that the Mountain Heart crew suffered, it wasn't meant to be.  Aaron's flight was supposed to be on the ground around 9 PM pst.  He had planned on checking in, resting a bit and then getting to the gathering.  After being re-routed through Houston instead of Detroit, his plane touched down about 12:30 AM pst (which felt like 3 AM est) and it didn't happen.


Hey Michael - we missed Aaron too!  I don't know if you caught this or not, but the Mountain Heart boys wrote a little triobute to our favorite airline

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## Rob Fowler

Did anybody that attended the festival check out The Absynth Quintet's set? There a local Humboldt County band and were pretty stoked to be invited to Wintergrass this year! One of my local favorite bands here for sure!

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## Michael Ramsey

> Hey Michael - we missed Aaron too!  I don't know if you caught this or not, but the Mountain Heart boys wrote a little triobute to our favorite airline


Oh yeah, I saw that one.  They had the word out via YouTube, Twitter, the Mountain Heart Facebook page, via Delta's Twitter page and brought the news of their troubles (due to Delta and Continental's failures) to THOUSANDS.  I don't know the complete details, but the Delta folks contacted Mountain Heart's band manager, Brian Smith.  

Whether or not the airlines have seen the error of thier ways, Mountain Heart got their attention via the internet.

As a footnote, Aaron just arrived home about 9:30 AM today, via Clay Jones.  At this point he still has no bag and no keys for his car, as the parking fees accumulate at the Greensboro airport parking lot.  I'll probably have to carry him down there this afternoon after work, with his spare key for his car.

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## Nolan

Glad Aaron made it home Mike!   Sunday, when I finally got up after jamming into the wee hours of the morning, I managed to put 2+2 together and realized that Aaron was taking turns on bass in our Jam with Zach from Kenny and Amanda's band!   I'm not sure if it was the lack of sleep or what... but I'm glad I didn't figure out who he was until after the jam!   I would have been too nervous to take any breaks!   Those guys are AWESOME bass players by the way!  I was laughing all night at all the cool things they were doing on bass....

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## mandopete

> So, what did y'all think about the new venue?  I had to miss out on Wintergrass this year, but always enjoyed the Tacoma scene...how did Bellevue compare?


Now to answer this - To a person I have not heard a single complaint.  I expected that parking was going to be the sore issue, it wasn't.  As an example when I arrived on Thursday I had a ton of recording equipment in the car so I expected to valet park the car after I unloaded and accepted the fact it would probably cost me to do so.  Not the case - the valet guy said just unload your stuff, we'll haul it up to your room and you can self park the car.  The parkling lot was open and free to all for the entire weekend, didn't cost me a dime.  That never happened at either the Sheraton or the Murano.

The Bellevue Hyatt hotel really embraced the idea of having Wintergrass in their facility in a way that the previous hotels never did.  Case in point, they had their staff wearing Wintergrass t-shirts - how cool is that?  Seems like it was a two-way street on this.  The people at the festival really appreciated the efforts of the hotel staff (I left tips all over the joint) and the hotel staff was more than accomodating to what must have seemed an unusual event at the outset, but by the end of the weekend was just second nature.

My only gripe?  Those magnetic room keys.  Just get it near your cell phone and you're locked outta yer room.  (Note to self - don't go for ice without getting fully dressed)

 :Wink:

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## Chip Booth

> Okay, now to answer Nolan's question about the favorite mandolin at Wintegrass.  For me it was *Lawrence Smart's 10-string* fan fret device.  I ran into him down in the vendor area  and he was toting one along for Mike Marshall that he graciously let me pick on.  What a cool intrument.  It's like having a mandolin and mandola in the same box.  I found that the fan frets worked really well (as long as you don't look down) and the short scale made it totally comfortable to play.  This one was a real winner all around!


I'm really glad to hear Wintergrass was a success this year!  I miss it a lot, as I haven't been able to attend for several years now.

I played Lawrence's 10 string just before he left to go to WG, and that is indeed a great instrument!  The fanned frets were no problem at all, I didn't notice them after paying it for less than a minute.  Some chord shapes are actually more comfortable in my opinion.  The mandolin is not a dry, bluegrass instrument, but what a wonderful voice it has.  I can see it fitting into most any style with ease, and certainly you can play grass on it if you want.

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## Nolan

Besides the great parking situation like Pete mentioned... I really liked how you could jam almost anywhere in the hotel and it wasn't super noisy and didn't feel like you were in an echo chamber.  The Sheridan (or Murano... whatever they're calling it) was too noisy to really hear well in a jam.  I actually was able to sit down at the vendor tables and play mandolins and get a good idea of how they sounded.  I always felt like the vendor areas at Wintergrass, when it was in Tacoma, was the absolute worst place you could give an instrument a trial run.

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## Darryl Wolfe

> And lastly and certainly leastly.  Seen at Greg Boy's display.
> 
> Hmmm, is it or isn't it?
> 
> (only her hairdresser knows for sure)



she isn't----Monteleone

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## Glassweb

Got to play a fantastic F5 by Austin Clarke during my short stay at the event... a very powerful sounding mandolin! Also played one of the Gilchrist A-Jr. models over at Greg Boyd's booth. What a fine mandolin! It's a mando player's dream these days... choices, choices and more choices... huzzah!

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## Darryl Wolfe

GLASS--You need to change your avatar

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## tango_grass

> Aaron really wanted to come to the meet & greet on Friday night.  As evidenced by the travelling travails that the Mountain Heart crew suffered, it wasn't meant to be.  Aaron's flight was supposed to be on the ground around 9 PM pst.  He had planned on checking in, resting a bit and then getting to the gathering.  After being re-routed through Houston instead of Detroit, his plane touched down about 12:30 AM pst (which felt like 3 AM est) and it didn't happen. 
> 
> As a side note he touched down in Greensboro, NC (2 hours from our home) at 7 PM last night to find out his bag (which contained his car keys) was SUPPOSED to arrive at 10:30.  That came and went and as of 11 PM last night he was still in Greensboro, hoping to get car keys so he can get home.  I offered to go pick him up but he had confidence the airline would get his bag to him at 10:30.  They didn't hold up their end of their delayed bargain.


Yeah, Aaron really was a trooper.  To go through all that and still hang around, was really above and beyond the call of duty.  

And Nolan was right, Zak and Aaron were having fun in our jam playing bass, those too really know how to hold it down! Gotta love playing with them.

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## Glassweb

> GLASS--You need to change your avatar


You're right D... I better move on over and let T.I. take over! It's back to The Cyclops I guess...

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## Charlieshafer

No, keep the avatar, and simply add the new motto:  "25 years of mandolin playing and still no side effects."

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## Rroyd

Everyone I talked to loved the new venue; the only regret anyone 
expressed about leaving the old venue was in regards to the 
church and wonderful memories about some of the acts seen there.  I could sympathize, although I didn't appreciate the feeling that every year the church moved farther up the hill.
Any chance of any of Mandopete's interviews being available via the web?

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## mandopete

> Any chance of any of Mandopete's interviews being available via the web?


The answer is yes, once I get them edited.  They will be available via the KBCS website as archived copies of the Bluegrass Ramble show.

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## he-day

Hey Pete, 

It was great to see you at Wintergrass. 

Speaking of Greg Boyd booth I was impressed by Laurence Smart A style black top mandolin. Laurence also carried his F5 mandolin with him. I am not sure if that was for sale or not, but it was the best sound mando that I tried at Wintergrass. 

Take care,


Hide Kawatsure
http://www.myspace.com/hidekawatsure

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## mrmando

> Speaking of Greg Boyd booth I was impressed by Laurence Smart A style black top mandolin.


Yes, I liked that one too. The Monteleone F5 copy didn't do anything for me. 

I tried three mandolas that knocked my socks off: the Gilchrist H5 at Boyd's, Gail Hester's second H5, and an Arrow jazz one that Paul Lestock had. 

Paul also had a gorgeous archtop tenor guitar that he wanted me to take home, but Joe Craven beat me to it. 

Chris Standridge had a great 2-point with a mismatched top: Engelmann on the bass and Adirondack on the treble. Very cool. Austin Clark's instruments were impressive as well.

Coolest moment of W'grass was a few minutes spent with a certain Cafe member's Loar...

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## Michael Ramsey

> Yeah, Aaron really was a trooper.  To go through all that and still hang around, was really above and beyond the call of duty.  
> 
> And Nolan was right, Zak and Aaron were having fun in our jam playing bass, those too really know how to hold it down! Gotta love playing with them.


Zak is a good friend and Aaron came home talking about a Juzek bass that Zak was using for the weekend.  I didn't know until now that he got to participate in any jamming, but he absolutely loves playing bass.  It was actually his first instrument.  There a story on Aaron's site that talks about him playing bass at ten years of old age.

As another side note to the traveling travails of Mountain Heart, listen to this.  Some of the bandmembers left out of Atlanta on Wednesday evening, heading to Miami and then to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands.  They have a band gig (and a few small side gigs) there this weekend.  Jimmy was trying to carry his fiddle onboard, as he did on Delta, when he was headed to Seattle.  In Atlanta, there was a very heated 20 minute discussion about why he COULDN'T carry on a single fiddle case.  

Jimmy ended up having to gate check the fiddle in a regular case, not a flight case, and it rode in the belly of the plane.  What airline you say?  DELTA.  They also had to make an unscheduled stop in San Juan, due to being LOW ON FUEL!  When they landed, THEY BLEW A TIRE OUT ON THE PLANE.  Everyone had to leave the plane, gather their luggage, go back through security, spend 6+ hours doing all this, since the airport in San Juan didn't have a tire to go back on the plane.  Eventually, they got on another plane (whoch Delta had to provide tickets for) and travel an extra hour onto their destination in St. Croix.  The entire trip took them about 13 or 14 hours (counting switching planes, stopping for fuel, security, etc., etc.).

Aaron boarded in Charoltte, NC, yesterday, about 1.25 hours from our home, and walked on an American Airlaines jump jet with both his mandolin and dobro as carry ons.  He called last night as he arrived in St. Croix, and said he was able to do the same thing from Miami to St. Croix, with no trouble.

Seeing exotic countires, visiting different cities, playing the music is SO fun.  But sometimes, the travel is so wearisome.  Sorry if I derailed the Wintergrass thread.  All the guys really enjoyed being part of the show.

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## Michael Ramsey

As I was just typing the post above, Jim Van Cleve sent this message to me via Facebook:

"The AP out of San Juan has somehow learned of this MESS, and has contacted us... more on the story soon."

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## mandopete

The folks from Bellevue.Com spent quite a bit of time interviewing people and taking photos and shooting video during the festival.  You can see more on their website.

Here's a picture of Tim O'Brien in the media room as we were doing the interview.  I expect that this will air on KBCS later this month.

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