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FLAGPOLE AOVeWtFeve /-?,
Right alter I got out of college, I spent
some time in Nashville hanging out in blue-
grass bars, pickin’ parlors and music stores. 1
got hooked on bluegrass. My only other ex
posure had been my dad’s old Flat r and
Scruggs records and what 1 saw on television
— Flatt and Scruggs on the Beverly Hillbil
lies, and the Dillards (who’d end up pickin’
with Andy after they came down from the
mountains and got into trouble in Mayberry)-
When 1 eventually landed in Athens, 1 was
disappointed that you couldn’t go out any
night of the week and partake of the three
B's — Bluegrass, BBQ and Beer. Well, years
later it looks like the three B’s will be together
again. Friday night, Nov. 15, the BTU’s, a
newly formed band of seasoned veterans, will
be providing “real” bluegrass at Wishbone’s
(who will be providing the other two B’s).
Bluegrass was considered a subgenre of
country music in the 1920s, but the late Bill
Monroe n>ok what many considered “moun
tain" or “hillbilly” music and fused country,
iolk, blues, gospel, Celtic, Appalachian and
even some jazz. In the late 1930s, Monroe
formed The Blue Grass Boys, which many
greats played in throughout the following
decades. During the 1940s Monroe, joined by
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs (yeah, those
pickers from the Beverly Hillbillies), created
what many of us know now as traditional
bluegrass. Today, the mandolin, fiddle, banjo
and stand-up bass are used frequently in popu
lar country and rock by artists ranging from
R.E.M., Asa Nisi Masa, Son Volt, Emmylou
Harris and Widespread Panic.
The BTU’s are made up of Mark
Blackmon on fiddle, Mike Harrison on banjo
and vocals, Allan Hughes on guitar, mando
lin, dobro and vocals; and Keith Morris on
stand-up bass and sweet, high baritone vocals.
Harrison and Hughes were members of the
decade-old bluegrass and Texas-swing ensemble
In Cahoots. When fiddlin’ man Andy Carlson
took off for Iowa to get his Ph D. in music,
Harrison and Hughes got a lirtle restless. When
they started talking to Blackmon and Morris,
they all found that they were interested in form
ing a group to play on a regular basis.
Mark Blackmon played with Georgia
Music Hall of Famer Jerry Reed for three and
half years, did a lot of studio work, spent years
with the Normaltown Flyers, played with
Widespread Panic and Kevn Kinney. Mike
Harrison picked up a banjo when he was
about 15 and started playing in bands,
then finally settled in with In Cahoots. Allan
Hughes was probably one of those guys I used
to run into in Nashville at the Station Inn or
Villager — he played in a tolk trio there while
in college. Keith Morris played with the Rebel
Rousers, Mona Lisa and the Pressure Cook
ers, the Peachtree Pickers and the Nathan
Shepherd Band while working on a master's
in double bass at the UGA.
I asked the guys what to expect at a BTU's
show. They laughed and said it would be in
credibly spontaneous. They said they play
mostly traditional bluegrass numbers: Bill
Monroe instrumentals like “Wheel Hoss,”
some Flatt and Scruggs tunes; other
traditionals like “John Hardy,” “How Moun
tain Girls Can Love,” “Down the Road” and
— like In Cahoots — would mix it up with a
little swing. I've never had a bad time listen
ing to bluegrass and am thrilled Athens
again has an active traditional blue-
grass band. See you at Wishbone’s J&i\
Friday night! \ i I
Deb Sommer \ / / / v.
Wishbone's is located in
the former Ronnie B’s lo
cation behind Loco's off
Baxter Street. The
BTU’s play there Fri-
day, Nov. 15.
Where’d You
Get The
“Do,” Arlo?
Yes, it’s An Evening With Arlo Guthrie, two
sets at the 40 Watt Wednesday night, starting
at 8 p.m. And get this: it's a sit-down, no-smok
ing performance. $10. Doors open at 7 p.m.
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Gee, what's all
the fuss? This is
OHLVmy ninth
cocktail!/dropped
the dog off at school &
the kids are being fixed!!Cheers!’
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