Growing up in Northern Colorado, Hot Rize was one of my favorite bluegrass bands. I even got to see them play at Centennial Village, in Greeley before they got famous. The best part about Hot Rize was when the intermission would come and they would come back as their Alter Egos – Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers. They dressed up in crazy clothes, with goofy sunglasses, and got to have some unserious time on the stage. Tim O’Brien was Red Knuckles, Charles Sawtell was Slade, Pete Wernick was Waldo Otto, and I don’t remember Nick Forster’s goofy name. They played funny Country and Western tunes like “Long Gone John from Bowlin’ Green, and “I Know My Baby Loves Me.”
Today, I had an AWESOME opportunity to speak at Wizard Academy’s First Friday event. The talk I gave was “Can’t Stop The Music: Why music should be used more effectively in education.” *If you are looking for someone to speak on this topic, drop me a line. After speaking, Adam Donmoyer and I got together for a little informal jamming at the Tower. This song was originally made famous by Ernest Tubb, and is a whole lot of fun to perform. I know it’s a bit of a stretch to call this a fiddle tune, but we were definitely fiddling around with it.
Here is a recording of Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers (The Alter Egos of Hot Rize)
That was fun, thanks.
Is there a recording of your talk “Can’t Stop The Music: Why music should be used more effectively in education”?
You Bet! This video was recorded when I gave the Can’t Stop the Music talk at TEDx Fort Collins:
You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
From Hot Rize fan to Hot Rize fan, thank you. Wendell Mercantile was Nick Forster’s goofy name.
Wonderful song and excellent musical performance !