Maybe someone has covered this before but, are the rattlesnake Rattles still in Bill's mandolin? I was watching the Homespun Tape of Bill and John Hartford, and it just got me wondering. That is one large set of rattles!
Maybe someone has covered this before but, are the rattlesnake Rattles still in Bill's mandolin? I was watching the Homespun Tape of Bill and John Hartford, and it just got me wondering. That is one large set of rattles!
Good Pickin', Steve
Somewhat related....at MandoMania at Merlefest recently, someone asked Mike Compton about rattlesnake rattles in the mandolin and he proceeded to yank out a GIANT rattle from his Gilchrist! I guess they used to drop them in fiddles to keep the varmints out, and now people do it because Mr. Monroe did and you *might* just channel some of that special mojo.
I witnessed that, and laughed at Joe Craven appearing astonished. He is without doubt, the most astonishing picker I have heard in some time. He was close to David Grisman for something like 17 years and has picked up a few tricks of his own!
Joe has always been a fabulous picker, fiddler, percussionist.......that is how he got into the DGQ!
I remember seeing him at a Grass Valley festival, about 20 years ago. I had been hangin' with the DGQ
and knew what a great mandolin player sounded like. This was a jam in the middle of the night, playing Django & Swing.
I went & woke up my friends to go hear him. Wasn't surprised a bit when Grisman hired him a few years later.
And playing in a pro band like the DGQ for all the years, certainly honed his skills. Joe is one of the most
musical players I've seen. His heart is connected directly to his fingers.
SternArt, Thanks for the history lesson! We knew the moment we saw Joe, that he might be "special" and we weren't at all disappointed. We thoroughly enjoyed listening to him.
Interesting to hear about Joe Craven. Thanks.
When I first saw DGQ in concert -- he abolutely blew me away with his musical powers.
Not trying to steal the thread, but an interesting note about Joe Craven. When he was in college he heard the first David Grisman Quintet album.....and went out the next day & bought a mandolin. To think that in his musical quest he actually got to be in the DGQ, his source of inspiration, is pretty magical! And with David he got to play with the likes of Jerry Garcia and Stephane Grappelli......it will be interesting following his his musical path, just like Anger, Marshall, Phillips, Rice etc. BTW I don't think Joe has anything inside his mando, but is known to make anything into a percussion instrument, maybe he has some rattles in his drum kit.
I bought an old jeep, inside the glove compartment was some rattlesnake rattles...........guess where i put them, had no other use!
It had 29 rattles... certainly the largest I have ever seen.
Charlie
Y'all can take that to the bank. Thanks for the lore on The Loar, Charlie.
Jamie
There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. Logan Pearsall Smith, 1865 - 1946
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