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banjoy - Posted - 10/10/2022: 15:31:13
The more I learn about Billy Strings the more respect I have for him ... and I already had a high level of respect for him as a person and for his music.
This guy's the real deal. Good job Billy.
youtube.com/watch?v=_5F9e-KtVCI
Ron Lacey - Posted - 10/10/2022: 17:32:28
I really enjoyed this too. I didn’t know about his personal challenges but I’m a big fan.
BanjoLink - Posted - 10/12/2022: 15:48:44
That was really neat. I worry about young folks and how they handle success, especially growing up in poverty. You see it with a lot of athletes. It sounds like he is aware of the bad side of what can happen because of the way he grew up. Way too often, after seeing what they witnessed a youngster, they tend to repeat it and it just becomes a cycle. Then others totally reject it and are exemplary ........ so far so good!
Jane Paulie is still the best!
Edited by - BanjoLink on 10/12/2022 15:50:15
OldNavyGuy - Posted - 10/12/2022: 16:23:30
I've seen shade thrown his way that he's not really Bluegrass...
Young man loves the music, and does his version.
It's like different actors performing Shakepeare characters...each brings there own interpretation to the role.
Jbo1 - Posted - 10/12/2022: 16:50:23
He played in Tempe, AZ earlier this year. He opened for the Foo Fighters. It takes an incredibly talented band bluegrass band to be asked to do that.
jan dupree - Posted - 10/12/2022: 17:41:00
He is a good guitar player, but mediocre singer, has some decent arrangements. But he is not doing anything a dozen other top Bluegrass Musicians have not done in the past, and is no better than other top Bluegrass Entertainers out there today. For some reason the media is promoting him and making him into some kind of Super Star, which he is far from being.
Edited by - jan dupree on 10/12/2022 17:41:57
Mad Hornet - Posted - 10/12/2022: 17:46:50
quote:
Originally posted by jan dupree
He is a good guitar player, but mediocre singer, has some decent arrangements. But he is not doing anything a dozen other top Bluegrass Musicians have not done in the past, and is no better than other top Bluegrass Entertainers out there today. For some reason the media is promoting him and making him into some kind of Super Star, which he is far from being.
Have you seen him live? I gotta disagree with you here bro. If you haven't seen him live, get to a show.
OldNavyGuy - Posted - 10/12/2022: 17:50:58
quote:
Originally posted by jan dupree
For some reason the media is promoting him and making him into some kind of Super Star, which he is far from being.
I'd rather see the media promoting someone in the music, instead of the white-supremacist trash and conspiracy theories being promoted.
banjoy - Posted - 10/12/2022: 18:16:58
Billy Strings won the Grammy award for best bluegrass album in 2021. That actually means something.
Bela Fleck won best bluegrass album in 2022. Fleck doesn't even sing, and he also used to get that kind of disrespect Billy now gets. I remember lots of people throwing shade on Bela over the years. I remember it well.
What I found most interesting is the real hardships and poverty Billy lived through and was exposed to as a kid. That stuff is as real as it gets. This is just a modern version of all those hard driving, moonshine infused hardships of country and bluegrass legends of past. Somehow, their hardships and life's troubles have more meaning? I don't think so. Billy's music and original tunes draw from a deep well.
chuckv97 - Posted - 10/12/2022: 18:24:32
Kudos to Billy for making it!
Here’s another , Morgan Brake, an up and coming singer with bluegrass influences who also grew up in desperate drug-riddled situations. Complete article in “Bluegrass Today”,, bluegrasstoday.com/devils-land...on-month/ "The single, and the full EP, were produced by guitarist Richard Bennett and banjo man Cory Walker, both of whom also play on the track, along with Jarrod Walker on mandolin, Nate Leath on fiddle, Gaven Largent on reso-guitar, and Dennis Crouch on bass. Jaelee Roberts and Brenna MacMillan sing harmony." This song just floored me,,, I lived some of this stuff years ago.
youtu.be/3THbNe8MyZQ
Edited by - chuckv97 on 10/12/2022 18:35:29
steve davis - Posted - 10/22/2022: 12:58:48
I guess DuPree wasn't involved with Mr. String's Grammy award.
I don't much care for judgmental types.Stardom fits Billy,perfectly.
Billy Strings is opening a whole new world of Doc Watson fans and I love how he learned so much from his Dad at home.
Edited by - steve davis on 10/22/2022 13:00:53
Toothless in Kentucky - Posted - 10/22/2022: 16:27:04
quote:
Originally posted by banjoy
The more I learn about Billy Strings the more respect I have for him ... and I already had a high level of respect for him as a person and for his music.
This guy's the real deal. Good job Billy.
youtube.com/watch?v=_5F9e-KtVCI
Yeah he is our local bluegrass hero from Morehead Ky. He might be the biggest name from here.
steve davis - Posted - 10/23/2022: 08:16:49
There will always be those that feel the need to put someone down.
Emiel - Posted - 10/23/2022: 09:01:13
This is nice too: Billy Strings educating the audience about old-time music and its rediscovery, Clarence Ashley, Doc Watson, and a nice-sounding version of the The Cuckoo Bird.
youtube.com/watch?v=hqY5-uKKA18
banjoy - Posted - 10/23/2022: 09:17:44
Emiel That is an excellent clip you posted. It really shows how steeped in history and tradition Billy really is, and how much he cares.
What strikes me about the clip is how the audience is yammering on and on when he starts telling this story, then by the end of the story they've mostly quieted down and are actually listening to what Billy has to say. Teaching them about who Doc Watson was. Talk about carrying the torch...
I always enjoyed how into Doc Watson Billy is and he spreads a lil' Doc wherever he goes it seems. To some folks Billy Strings is just some rock metal head who horned into bluegrass music ... which is a million miles from reality.
As I said in my OP, this guy is the real deal. Opinions may vary, but that's mine.
Edited by - banjoy on 10/23/2022 09:19:01
steve davis - Posted - 10/23/2022: 10:09:38
Billy's fans are world-wide.
wrench13 - Posted - 10/23/2022: 13:15:10
There are always musical gymnasts who can sound like they know a style, I will not name names. Billys guitar breaks are diversive but tasteful, cant say that about every one. I like him.
arnie fleischer - Posted - 10/23/2022: 17:54:52
I'm with Steve. When I first heard Billy's playing my immediate reaction was, wow, I hear Doc Watson in his attack, his clarity, his note separation, his tone. I also like his edgy and powerful singing. As my wife said when she first saw and heard Billy (when he was in his early 20's and looked so very young), you don't expect someone who looks like that to have that kind of voice.
banjoy - Posted - 10/23/2022: 20:58:58
I did not come from any music tradition at all and never heard much bluegrass or folk outside of what limited stuff tv could show me growing up. When I entered in the banjo scene and started to become aware of who was who -- which was all new to me -- Doc Watson was already a fixture in this music.
I suppose I could have just googled and learned all about Doc, or read a book, but I never did. So I'm pretty ignorant of the history of the music I play. It is what it is. I had no idea of Doc's origin story until I watched the video clip Emiel posted above. Billy explaining Doc's history. I learned something new (to me) about Doc Watson right here in this thread, thanks to Billy Strings.
1935tb-11 - Posted - 10/24/2022: 07:03:40
he is super talented and is putting acoustic/traditional music in the main stream and drawing attention to a whole new audience. all these things are good for string music. the more marketable it is the more profitable it is. so i say pick on man !!!
steve davis - Posted - 10/25/2022: 08:46:19
I believe Billy's Doc Watson "core" was learned at home from his Dad.
steve davis - Posted - 10/25/2022: 09:28:41
quote:
Originally posted by 1935tb-11
he is super talented and is putting acoustic/traditional music in the main stream and drawing attention to a whole new audience. all these things are good for string music. the more marketable it is the more profitable it is. so i say pick on man !!!
I heartily agree.Every so often someone extraordinary happens to a music.
Talents that reach across genres while still maintaining where they came from.Jimi Hendrix creating amazing journeys while staying connected to The Blues,Sam Bush's reinvention of the mandolin,but I still hear some Monroe in his chops.Bela's "World Vision" with plenty of "traditional" connections and of course Billy Strings' ability to seemingly go wherever his imagination takes him in the moment while still finding great satisfaction (on stage and in the audience) playing Deep River Blues tell me the best musicians want to include "approachable" selections in their playing.
I read an Earl article once where he talked about playing what the audience could relate to (not his exact words).
They didn't want to get away from their roots...they just want to take them for a ride.
