This is the first guy to get me interested in the five-string – and also the first guy to discourage me in it. If I couldn’t play like that – and I sure couldn’t – I didn’t want to play.
Will Blog for ISP Time, Glaucoma Meds, or Cheap Booze.
Free! (and worth every penny)
Scary Manifesto that keeps getting pushed down on the sidebar by filthy capitalism!
They say that Louis XIV had the inscription Ultima Ratio Regum cast into all the cannon of the French Army. It means “The Ultimate Argument of Kings,” and that always struck me as one of the most honest and up-front things any ruler or would-be ruler ever said. “We can dress it up prettier than this, but when it comes down to the unvarnished truth this is what it’s about: You’ll do as I say or I’ll send my goons to kill you.”
I thought about that for a long time. If there’s an ultimate argument, it seems only logical that there must be an ultimate answer. For years I thought the ultimate answer must be the bullets in my rifle, but it never seemed quite right. I’ve got bullets – he’s got frigging Cannon Balls. I mean, if there were three hundred million rifles throwing bullets at him, then maybe. But we all know that’s not going to happen. So if there’s an ultimate answer to his ultimate argument, it sure as hell ain’t bullets.
It finally came to me – and that’s when I abandoned the city and most of my stuff, and gave all that was behind me a good stiff Randian Shrug.
The ultimate answer to kings is not a bullet, but a belly laugh.
Our Founder
Our Late Editor
Little Bear 2009-2018
Our Late Cattle Wrangler
Laddie the Amazing Torso Boy 2011-2020
Blogroll
- 357 Magnum
- 5 Acres and a Dream
- 90 Miles From Tyranny
- A Day in the Life of a Talk Radio Blogger
- Adaptive Curmudgeon
- Armed & Non-Violent
- Bayou Renaissance Man
- Bill St. Clair
- Borepatch
- Carl Bussjaeger
- Claire Wolfe
- Commander Zero
- Dio's Workshop
- Eaton Rapids Joe
- Forgotten Weapons
- Freeholder
- Home on the Range
- Instapundit
- Irons in the Fire
- James Zachary
- Kent McManigal
- Nails and Sawdust
- Never Yet Melted
- Resistance Library
- Say Uncle
- The Price of Liberty
- The Smallest Minority
- The View from North Central Idaho
- The Vulgar Curmudgeon
- The War on Guns
- The Zelman Partisans
- True Blue Sam
- View from the Porch
- Weer'd World
- Wendy McElroy
- You will shoot your eye out
- Zendo Deb
Previous OPSEC Violations
Yeah, that is a serious downer.
I arrived at Scruggs backwards, via Bela Fleck and to a lesser extent Tony Trischka. For those guys to speak in such reverent tones–well, it was worth checking out. (Incidentally, that’s the same way I found out about the stupefyingly talented mandolinist Jethro Burns, via Sam Bush and David Grisman.)
Only saw him a couple of times, at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival (woulda been late 90s), and it was always an “Earl and friends” kind of show: Earl plus folks that considered him a hero–which was dang near everyone. (The infectious sense of fraternity is one of the things I love so much about bluegrass.)
I suppose this leaves Bill Keith as the elder statesman of record now. Dang, but there were (and are) some good ones.
You know who else this makes me miss? John Hartford. Soul*, chops, and attitude.
_______________
* When it came time to choose a piece to play at my wedding for the first dance, there was no contest. I’m still not sure I’ve heard anything more romantic than that. 🙂
Kevin, you sure mentioned a few names of my favorites. I was about 12 (in the early 60’s) and riding on my bicycle. Came to a small bus (sitting on the street on the A&M campus) with “Flatt & Scruggs” written on the side…the door was open. I stopped and a guy said, “Hey kid, come on in.” Both of them were sitting there drinking coffee. They were nice as could be. I do like bluegrass. Always liked the guys in New Grass Revival. So many musicians that played with Bill Monroe became famous in their own right…well I’m just rambling.
Bennie
Jerry Reed could play a banjo pretty well himself, one heckuva player.