Sane women do not wake up one day at 47 and think, “I have never learned a musical instrument, I don’t know how to read music, nor have I ever listened to Bluegrass (Hee Haw and Roy Clark not withstanding – not sure that counts anyway) I think I’ll learn banjo.”
Fortunately for me, I am a redhead and I’ve never been accused of being sane.
I’ve only been playing banjo since May of 2012. Bluegrass is new to me. I’m still learning who is who and what is what. I had a hard time learning songs at first because I’d never heard Cripple Creek (Remember THIS post?), or Orange Blossom Special and other classics. Foggy Mountain Breakdown yes, you’d have to live under a rock to not know that one, the rest all sounded the same to me.
Wanting to do well in my new adventure I decided to immerse myself in Bluegrass and I went out and spent roughly $300 on CD’s before discovering there is good bluegrass, and there is horrible bluegrass — Teach made me promise to never again waste my money on another CD unless I run it by him first. The man has saved me a fortune. I now feel good about owning Alison Brown, Sam Bush, and Allison Krause. This week, I get to add a new favorite, Rhonda Vincent. (Teach owns all of her CD’s)
I posted a Bill Gaither video for Music Monday not that long ago and in this video was Rhonda Vincent and the Rage. I just posted it because I thought it was a cute song — I had no clue who Rhonda was – or the Rage. I was more interested in Bill and the comedy aspect of it, than I was them. They did however sound familiar to me, so I decided to do some research. Come to find out, I’d actually seen Rhonda live last year at the Claremore Bluegrass and Chili Festival, I just didn’t remember her name.
Rhonda falls into the excellent category — She’s all over YouTube and has several CD’s available on Amazon. I recently placed an order through Amazon for two of her CD’s.
I remember her singing this song in Claremore last year — we were on our way out (hubs wanted to leave) and this song just stopped me in my tracks. I like her arrangement better than I do Dolly Parton’s. If you enjoy this, look her up on Itunes and see what else she has. You will not be disappointed.
Disclaimer: FCC regulations require full disclosure – no goods or services have been given in exchange for this endorsement of Rhonda Vincent or the The Rage.
I’ve never heard this song before. It’s kind of a Blue Grass / Gospel mix. with Rhonda Vincent & The Rage and Bill Gaither.
Personal Note: When I was much younger (In my early 30’s) a sweet friend in my 12 step rooms introduced me to the Gaithers. She would have me watch their videos and listen to their songs and write down everything I learned about the God of my understanding. — I actually had a God that I believed in back then, He was harsh, judgmental, and indifferent. He was absent in the big deals of my life (or so I believed at the time.) I find the Gaithers to be very uplifting, both in their music and in their overall message. Even though I’ve never met them, nor seen them live for that matter, they played (and continue to play) a rather large role in my Spiritual formation. They are coming to Tulsa on July 27 and this time, I plan to be there.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE The Black Crows.
I think this video is hilarious and I’m kinda diggin the Girl Power Groove thing they got going on here.
I’m under the weather at the moment so I thought I’d catch up on my blog reading — I was starting to get scared again while studying group rides and what counts as an acceptable speed. I needed the levity. These gals are having fun and you know, I kinda think that’s how it should be.
And then another cycling video just for fun.
Another contemporary praise and worship song that I enjoy. This one always gets me on my feet. Happy Monday y’all.
I heard this song for the first time at a Women of Faith conference back in 2011 I believe. This is definitely one of my favorite songs. These gals have so much energy. Enjoy
This is the song I was working on a few weeks ago. I’m still practicing speed and it will get there eventually. Even so, I thought you guys would enjoy this flashback of The Andy Griffith Show and the Dillards (Called The Darlings in the show.) This song is too cute. Even though the term […]
I love the soulfulness of a banjo when it’s being played well. I’m not a fan of speed so much, but the notes are rich and I enjoy that. Usually. When I don’t think I suck anyway. My hyper focused must-be-as-good-as-Alison-Brown-in-six-months dementor of a brain can suck the fun right out of this adventure of mine if I’m not careful.
I’ve been ready, able, and almost willing to chuck the banjo and start over with a kazoo many times over the past month. I had one of those really rough banjo lessons last week. The kind where I tried so hard that I crashed and burned. I was trying to get Salty Dog from 140 (Which is what I can presently play it at) to 200 (where it needs to be) in seven days. I’d achieved 170 at home, twice and with LOTS of mistakes. I mostly hung around at 160, which is still okay. My hands and brain were so tired by the time I showed up to class I could barely play. Add insult to injury, I did an emotional and mental crash and burn that resulted in my forgetting the song almost completely.
I felt so bad for blowing it, that I actually apologized to my teacher for wasting his time. Oh yeah, no issues with self loathing here. (Insert eye roll) Fortunately for all of us, teach doesn’t share my opinions on what constitutes a waste of time. We put away the books and the sheet music and just started a simple roll pattern. Good call on his part because I’m pretty sure I was on the verge of tears. Then we started picking out notes from Will the Circle be Unbroken. Awesome song if you’ve never heard it.
Instead of trying to kill myself over notes licks and speed, I get to spend the week finding this song on my banjo and writing my own arrangement to it. Do you know what? I’m having a blast. Not that I’m knocking it out of the park or anything. I don’t even have an arrangement I like yet. I have however, spent more time and have had more fun playing with my banjo, testing out chords, finding riffs, and listening to the music than I have since I started playing last year. I even found a really pretty lick (8 full measures) that I can tuck away and keep for a song some day.
I came across this video while I was researching the song. I love it and thought you guys would as well. Have a great Monday y’all.
Deana O'Hara - Speaker, Comedian, Writer 