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Thread: The Brilliance of Dawg

  1. #1
    Registered User Glassweb's Avatar
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    Default The Brilliance of Dawg

    I was sitting in my apartment here in Bellingham this morning when I heard some music being played in a park right behind the building where I live. It sounded like a mandolin and a bass (sounded like a good mandolinist with a good instrument) so I went out to investigate and sure enough, there was a trio (mandolin, bass & guitar) working on an arrangement of what must have been an original tune. Or was it original... it sounded oh-so familiar...

    The mandolin player was playing what appeared to be a new Northfield Big Mon model... I could tell it was a recent one because it sported one of their new, Gilchrist inspired tailpieces. He was a guy in his 20's and was a very good, competent and creative player. Really good chords and rhythm playing, nice, clean lead lines and the tone he pulled from that Northfield was impressive. The bass and guitar player were equally competent and I was impressed with how serious they were about creating their arrangement and their sound. And then it struck me... these are the children of Dawg! The music wasn't bluegrass, although it was being played on instruments common to the genre. The mandolinist didn't sound like Monroe, or Wakefield or Bobby Osborne... although I could hear strains of those players in his playing. Really what I heard was a trio playing what is now called "Dawg Music". And so it really hit me... David's musical legacy is intact... it will last for a long, long time. To hear that mandolinist playing Dawggy style really made me feel good to be alive and to be a mandolinist. Because I could relate... David's playing, original compositions and musical generosity has propelled my playing and knowledge of music enormously since I first heard him with Old & In The Way back in Passaic NJ in June of 1973. Such luck that I was at that show!

    The passage of time can be a mixed bag once you reach a certain age. Memories can come back to heal you or to haunt you. But when all is said and done I will be very content and grateful that I was able to live in a time when an ambitious and supremely talented mandolinist from New Jersey came along and created what all of us can only hope to achieve... create a singular musical style and a unique sound sound on the instrument of our choice. David Grisman... ya done good! We are all happy for you...

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  3. #2

    Default Re: The Brilliance of Dawg

    I completely agree with you Glassweb. I came of age with the advent of New Acoustic Music and David, a singular inspiration for this young kid from the Midwest. I will "always" cherish having my eyes and ears opened at Telluride...so fortunate.

  4. #3

    Default Re: The Brilliance of Dawg

    Think you may have seen a young fella named Kian Dye. He has a new band called Cascade String Band and I believe is in Bellingham area. Very talented fiddler as well.

  5. #4
    Gummy Bears and Scotch BrianWilliam's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Brilliance of Dawg

    Well said Glassweb!

  6. #5
    Registered User Glassweb's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Brilliance of Dawg

    Quote Originally Posted by Josh Levine View Post
    Think you may have seen a young fella named Kian Dye. He has a new band called Cascade String Band and I believe is in Bellingham area. Very talented fiddler as well.
    Yes Josh... those were the guys and yes, the mandolin player did mention that he was living here in B'ham. Really good player...

  7. #6
    Registered User Drew Egerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Brilliance of Dawg

    Dawg music is definitely alive and well! On my side of the country we had some great jams on those tunes over the last couple of years at Swannanoa and Alan Bibey camp. Rick Rorex is one guy that has put a lot of work out there in encouraging the younger players that are interested in it and leading some of those jams.
    Mike Marshall has taught lessons on quite a few of the tunes on his site as have Joe Walsh and John Reischman on PegHead Nation and Matt Flinner as well.
    I only got "bit by the Dawg" about 3 years ago but it has been so enlightening to learn and also expand my interest in jazz and other genres as a result.

    Speaking of Dawg and children, his son Sam is doing a lot of great music as well.
    Here is an Instagram post from him along with Alex Hargraves and Ric Robertson puts in some nice mando work.
    https://www.instagram.com/tv/CSU4Vnf..._web_copy_link
    Drew
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  9. #7
    Registered User Jcdraayer's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Brilliance of Dawg

    If you’re on Instagram, Kian posted a great video of him playing Dawg’s solo on East Virginian Blues. The influence is alive and well!

  10. #8

    Default Re: The Brilliance of Dawg

    Do you have a link? :D I'm not sure who "Kian" is and googling "Kian instagram mandolin" doesn't yield anything..

  11. #9

    Default Re: The Brilliance of Dawg

    https://instagram.com/kianjamesdye?utm_medium=copy_link

    My mistake his new project is called Virginia Rail and they have social media stuff as well. Looks like they have a gig on Thursday in Bellingham for anyone in the area.

  12. #10

    Default Re: The Brilliance of Dawg

    Yes! Grisman's influence in shaping today's rich and dynamic mandolin music scene is almost hard to comprehend! Old & In the Way and his continued collaboration with Garcia exposed millions of passionate music lovers to the legacy of Bill Monroe in a way that was undeniably competent, classy, and cool. Garcia/Grisman: The fusion of bluegrass mandolin tradition with counter-culture Americana, exemplified by Garcia the Dead, was not obvious, although it seems almost inevitable in retrospect. Grisman almost single-handedly introduced bluegrass to a massive and fertile new audience -- in a way bluegrass' most natural audience! -- allowing the music to evolve in unexpected, exciting, and creative ways. There's no doubt that Monroe's legacy would have survived happily without a David Grisman; bluegrass doesn't need him; it's too good. But I believe that Grisman's career has been uniquely influential in shaping today's robust and dynamic mandolin culture. It's typical, like millions of others, he's the reason I started playing mandolin and fell in love with bluegrass... before I ever heard the name 'Bill Monroe!'

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  13. #11
    Registered User mandolin breeze's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Brilliance of Dawg

    Goat

  14. #12

    Default Re: The Brilliance of Dawg

    his music is still fresh after decades

  15. #13

    Default Re: The Brilliance of Dawg

    Quote Originally Posted by Joy Soldier View Post
    Yes! Grisman's influence in shaping today's rich and dynamic mandolin music scene is almost hard to comprehend!
    Not even mentioning the other amazing musicians that played with some of the early quintet-era albums, we'd never have the Jazz/space-grass era of Tony Rice without his first playing in the DGQ-- you're looking at tunes like Manzanita, Tipper, Old Grey Coat...

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