This isn't Grateful Dead but I've been playing in this bluegrass band for over 20 years and we were named from the song, I'm Troubled on the Almost Acoustic album "she'll hug you and kiss you and tell you more lies than cross ties on a railroad or stars in the sky". We do a Dead tune here and there.
I love bluegrass and am lucky to live right in the middle of bluegrass country. The first ever bluegrass festival took place about 45 minutes up the road from where I live, the legendary Galax Fiddler's Convention is about an hour away, and we have the Floyd Country Store about 30 minutes away. The Floyd Country Store is one of the stops on the "Crooked Road" (https://www.myswva.org/tcr). It's kind of ground zero for bluegrass music in Virginia. The place started as a hardware store in the early 20th century - back in the days where that's where you went to buy a guitar. Around 1980 the two owners played in a bluegrass band and used to rehearse on Friday nights. Folks would come by and listen outside and eventually started knocking on the door to be let in on a cold or rainy night. They got tired of their rehearsals getting interrupted to unlock the door so they eventually just opened the doors. As time went on it became more of a jam than a rehearsal and the parking lot across the street became the spot for anyone with an instrument to join in. They still do the Friday night jamboree and have lots of other top acts come through. It's still a country store and cafe and has a great little stage for pickin'. My bluegrass band, Crossties, was lucky enough to play there Saturday night with another local band, The Java Brothers. We had a blast
Here's a few tunes (for more go to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... NGJZSFMNZj)
Blue Ridge Cabin Home - we're in the Blue Ridge Mts and it's mandatory to do this tune . . .
Head Over Heels - a Flatt and Scruggs classic
Salt Creek - a Doc Watson instrumental
Flint Hill Special - a "banjo testimonial"
I Know You Rider-->Sally Goodin-->Rider a tune everyone should know and a classic fiddle song
I've got some awesome bandmates:
Craig Willoughby: lead vocals, mandolin - Craig finished in 2nd and 3rd place in mandolin at the Winfield National Flackpicking Championship in the late 70s (lost to Mark O'Connor one year)
Timmy Mills: banjo - Timmy is the real deal, born and raised in the New River Valley also a fine guitarist (finished in 3rd place at the Galax Fiddler's Convention guitar competition)
Craig Counts: guitar, tenor vocals - Craig and I have know each other since about 1985. His band, The Electric Woodshed started about the same time as my Dead band back in the mid 80s. If we were the local Grateful Dead, they were the Allman Brothers. We are doing a show this weekend with 3 members from each band doing a bunch of each others tunes.
Pete Hastings: harmonica - Pete is a badass. He also in a Appalachian string band called No Strings Attached
Gerry Skendarian: bass, baritone vocal - Gerry also did a few years on bass with my Dead band, The Kind.
Tom Snediker (me): guitar, vocals - I'm a bluegrass hack but I love playing this stuff
I love bluegrass and am lucky to live right in the middle of bluegrass country. The first ever bluegrass festival took place about 45 minutes up the road from where I live, the legendary Galax Fiddler's Convention is about an hour away, and we have the Floyd Country Store about 30 minutes away. The Floyd Country Store is one of the stops on the "Crooked Road" (https://www.myswva.org/tcr). It's kind of ground zero for bluegrass music in Virginia. The place started as a hardware store in the early 20th century - back in the days where that's where you went to buy a guitar. Around 1980 the two owners played in a bluegrass band and used to rehearse on Friday nights. Folks would come by and listen outside and eventually started knocking on the door to be let in on a cold or rainy night. They got tired of their rehearsals getting interrupted to unlock the door so they eventually just opened the doors. As time went on it became more of a jam than a rehearsal and the parking lot across the street became the spot for anyone with an instrument to join in. They still do the Friday night jamboree and have lots of other top acts come through. It's still a country store and cafe and has a great little stage for pickin'. My bluegrass band, Crossties, was lucky enough to play there Saturday night with another local band, The Java Brothers. We had a blast
Here's a few tunes (for more go to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... NGJZSFMNZj)
Blue Ridge Cabin Home - we're in the Blue Ridge Mts and it's mandatory to do this tune . . .
Head Over Heels - a Flatt and Scruggs classic
Salt Creek - a Doc Watson instrumental
Flint Hill Special - a "banjo testimonial"
I Know You Rider-->Sally Goodin-->Rider a tune everyone should know and a classic fiddle song
I've got some awesome bandmates:
Craig Willoughby: lead vocals, mandolin - Craig finished in 2nd and 3rd place in mandolin at the Winfield National Flackpicking Championship in the late 70s (lost to Mark O'Connor one year)
Timmy Mills: banjo - Timmy is the real deal, born and raised in the New River Valley also a fine guitarist (finished in 3rd place at the Galax Fiddler's Convention guitar competition)
Craig Counts: guitar, tenor vocals - Craig and I have know each other since about 1985. His band, The Electric Woodshed started about the same time as my Dead band back in the mid 80s. If we were the local Grateful Dead, they were the Allman Brothers. We are doing a show this weekend with 3 members from each band doing a bunch of each others tunes.
Pete Hastings: harmonica - Pete is a badass. He also in a Appalachian string band called No Strings Attached
Gerry Skendarian: bass, baritone vocal - Gerry also did a few years on bass with my Dead band, The Kind.
Tom Snediker (me): guitar, vocals - I'm a bluegrass hack but I love playing this stuff
