Bluegrass...

I love, love, LOVE bluegrass music. Banjos especially. I love the pickin' and the hootin' and the hollerin'. We saw the band Cherryholmes in Ft. Collins last night... I'd never heard of them. I don't follow bluegrass very much, it's a closet thing for me.

It started with Steve Martin. I adore Steve Martin's work and he played banjo. He's the first actor/t.v. personality I fell head over heels for - joined the fan club and everything. I watched all the Saturday Night Live stuff, loved the bunny ears, arrow through the head and that song, "King Tut".

(Recently, he wrote Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company. Both were excellent, excellent reads - heartwarming, touching, funny. If you ever see his books, pick them up and give them a try.)

AND the banjo is such a happy instrument... how can anyone be SAD while listening to a banjo? It just isn't physically possible. To cap it all off, when my sister and I were young, our Mom took us to bluegrass festivals where we camped and ran around like wild jungle animals listening to all sorts of bluegrass on stage and around other campsites when people brought out instruments for pickin' sessions at night.

Anyway, the Cherryholmes were this really great, high energy, finger blurrin', fast pickin' bluegrass family band. A Mom and Dad with their 4 kids who were in their 20's and 30's? They were so talented. If you like a mean fiddle, mandolin or banjo, this band is for you!

Years ago, we were going through a hard time financially and it was my birthday. Furry Husband knew I loved the banjo so he bought me the finger picks. We had a couple neighbors over for a few beers and they laughed, "aw, c'mon! Bring out the banjo! You got her a banjo didn't you?!"

Nope. We didn't have the money for a gift like that and they had no idea how happy those little banjo picks made me. I don't think anyone left our place thinking that was all I got for my birthday... it was and it was enough. I thought it was such a sweet, unique and thoughtful gift.

Many Christmas's ago I DID get a real 5 string banjo from Furry Husband. I took some lessons and you know what? Musical instruments are really hard to play!!! Made me appreciate musicians on a whole 'nother level. How they can keep track of their fingers, make incredible music, move around, dance and sing ..... all the while pickin' their instrument?

*shaking head in amazement*

I gots no earthly idea how they do that....