NEW TALENT

crystal & justin - 17april10

It's the people we know that make us feel blessed or not blessed. Pictured here are 2 people I'm blessed to know. Justin I've known since he was 3. Crystal I've known since she married Justin. Crystal is developing her artist eye in this time in her new career as wedding etc photographer. We were talking this evening about how fast her artist eye is opening. She started making pictures with only the subject and in the middle with blank color or staged background. Just months later she is framing her pictures all the way to the corners. The whole rectangular image is what she works with, the subject in relation to surroundings. She's having a good time. Her images get more and more interesting to look at. Google Flash Back Studio Sparta and that should help get there. She's on facebook too.

The radio show this morning was good fun. Played from all 4 Alternate Roots albums, songs sung by Katy, Willard and Scott, good bluegrass with master musicianship and lively spirit. I talked more than usual today. Felt like saying a few things about the band. Sue left me alone the whole hour. One of the times the phone rang a man asked if I my show as on the air. I said, As far as I know it is. I then scanned the board to see if I had everything in order to have the music playing on air. I asked if he had the radio on. No. Didn't have it on. Ok. Yes. It's on today. That was an interesting exchange. A voice I didn't recognize, someone I don't know, who evidently is partial to the show. It always surprises me when somebody tells me they listen, especially somebody wanting to know about it in particular. I do it all for the black microphone. That's my audience, the only audience I know about for certain. Beyond it, I have no idea but for a few who have told me they listen every week. I have no way of making a guess I could have any confidence in when it comes to how many or who listens. I believe it's mountain people for the most part. Much of the music I play is accessible only to the mountain ear.

I don't expect anybody to listen to it, so I'm not disappointed when somebody doesn't listen. I don't want anybody listening to it who doesn't enjoy mountain music. I want no one to listen out of a sense of duty. It's the people listening I connect with every week. I like to be in the studio by myself without distraction to allow myself to flow with every song and choose the the next according to feeling from the last one and where I want to go from there with the next one. Like after several square dance tunes, a waltz or 2 or 3 carries the rhythm at a more relaxed pace. I've been told more people listen to it than I can imagine, but to me that means 7, one more than half a dozen, which is what I imagine.

It's late and I'm fading.