Champion Fiddler, Inspired Performer
I remember hearing Noel Doering play Crafton’s Blues at the Colorado State Fiddle Contest back when I was a kid. I remember thinking that it was pretty much I Don’t Love Nobody in F. It is pretty similar to I Don’t Love Nobody, and Hotfoot for that matter, but it’s still a pretty cool tune. [...]
Spotted Pony is another tune that I learned from Steve Eulberg. One of the really cool things about performing with Steve for me has been the opportunity to expand my repertoire. I have learned a bunch of old time and Celtic tunes from Steve in the last few months. I have no idea what the [...]
I learned Red Apple Rag from Tony Ludiker back when I was in High School on one of my trips to visit him. I play it pretty similarly to how I learned it. It’s kind of a contest arrangement, but I haven’t ever played it in a contest… I remember one time during the Gambler’s [...]
What can I say? I have a special place in my heart for tunes in the key of Bb, even if they aren’t hornpipes. I found Daley’s Reel in the book “Hot Licks for Bluegrass Fiddle” by Stacy Phillips. I hadn’t looked at that book in a while, and thumbed through it, and found Daley’s [...]
I don’t have a tone of history with Hotfoot. I have a few memories. I remember hearing some of my friends play it at Weiser when I was a teenager, and I remember Texas Shorty (Jim Chancellor) play a great version of Hotfoot at the Grand Lake National Fiddle Contest one year. I learned Hotfoot [...]
Red Skinned Gal is a fun and swingy tune (at least the way I play it.) I originally learned the melody from Tony Ludiker, but there is some Orville Burns in my arrangement as well. Red Skinned Gal is a variation based on the tune “There’s a Brown Skinned Gal Down The Road Somewhere,” which [...]
Snow Deer is a fun old fiddle tune. It’s upbeat, and happy, and fun to play. AND, it is a great twin fiddle tune. I really can’t think of a reason to dislike it unless you are an angsty teen who is looking for songs that are angry and depressing. I just finished my fiddle [...]
One of the frustrating things about doing a new fiddle tune every day is that I often don’t get to spend as much time as I would like preparing a tune for the day. In fact, sometimes, the first time I played the tune was for the camera, and it’s done in one take. The [...]
Yesterday, I posted a challenge that the first one on Facebook to respond correctly to the question: “What is a Sally Growler?” would have today’s tune dedicated to them. And, Kerry Varble was the Winner saying that a Sally Growler is an ugly fish. Greg Fisher got a second place win (sorry, no prize for second [...]
Sally Growler is just plain hard to play. On it’s face, it doesn’t sound that tricky, but it sure feels that way to my fingers, especially the B part. Sally Growler is another hornpipe that I learned during my infamous week at Dale Morris‘ house. That week, he gave me a bunch of hornpipes to [...]
