In Bluegrass music there are many songs where the only instruments played are guitar and mandolin. I totally enjoy hearing a full band including fiddle, banjo, bass and dobro, but once in a while I like to sort of get back to basics with it. This is most enjoyable when you have a good friend who just happens to be a master of mandolin!

Van Atwell is a modest man who might shy from the description of being a "master", but I have been playing this kind of music for over 50 years, and can tell you, I have seldom heard anyone play with this kind of smooth, artistic touch! We wrote this fun song together a few years back.... well Van wrote it, I just added the last verse. We recorded this one live at the house a few years ago. I added the bass today with RB.

We were jammin' this song at the Father's Day Festival in Grass Valley when our good friend John Senior showed up wearing boxer shorts with those phony plastic butt cheeks. John calls the song "Water Up The Crack Of Your Butt!" Very funny John. Now if you think we are going through hard times in this country these days, just listen to the story of this poor Ol' boy! Water Off The Back Of A Duck

I grew up listening to bluegrass and have enjoyed it all my life. I remember that it was often called Hillbilly music. It was played daily in my home by my family and I have fond memories. This song takes my memory back to those times.

Great performance.

Charlie

Hi George,

Well, you sure have a way with words! You are a terrific story teller and vocalist. Great arrangement on the music, also. That was a thoroughly enjoyable listen! You are a very talented man!!!!

The only suggestion I (Alan) have on the mix is to bring the mandolin up a little bit on the lead part. Other than that, you did a great job mixing.

Thanks so much for a couple of minutes of pure musical enjoyment. Best to you.

Alan & Di

PS: We're so glad you joined the fray! The talent here is superlative and ubiquitous. You fit in very nicely.

LOL! What fun! I'm always up for some great foot stompin' bluegrass. Totally enjoyed it.


Josie

This song is a lot of fun!! I think the arrangement and the vocal deliver it perfectly. Well done!! Take care. Greg

Charlie,
Thanks for tuning in! I bet you have a ton of Bluegrass pickers there in South Carolina. Here by Mt. Shasta in far northern California (way different than LA)it is like the Sahara Desert when it comes to finding BG pickers. That is just one reason I am so happy to have learned about BIAB.

Alan & Di,
Thanks for your very supportive and kind words! I am thrilled to have discovered such a vibrant community concerned with creating better music. You two are clearly leaders in this area. Thank you for that.

Josie,
I thought you would like this song. Heh. I checked out your Youtube video titled "Her Old Hound Dog Is Sniffing Out Women Again". Buahahah! Hilarious!! This summer I had a student attend my music camp Bluegrass vocal/songwriting sessions during a regional festival. He wanted to work out the harmonies for "Just An Old Dog" by Jim Faddis of Praire Flyer. I never heard the song before but emailed Jim to get his permission to perform and record it. I think you will get a kick out of it too. See: Just An Old Dogon Youtube.

Nicely played, George. A good energy in the recording.

Enjoyed the listen. - floyd

George

Damn that's good.
I do like John Senior's title for the song tho' LOL

Alyn

Well Done!

much enjoyed!

Hi George,

let me quote Alan: You are a terrific story teller and vocalist. Great arrangement on the music, also. That was a thoroughly enjoyable listen!

Guenter

Good bit of fun there George. Well done!

Alyn,

Right! I thought you might like that title. After listening to all your tunes, I understand that you are a rather salty bloke eh?

Excellent Mandolin work great lyrics thanks for sharing!

George,

That was wonderful, thank you for posting it.

Later,

That was excellent mandolin AND guitar ( ok, and vocals too). Thanks for sharing such a fun tune. My bluegrass buddies moved north, but that song made me want to take the Martin for a spin !

Hi, George and Van !:))


I am totally awed at both
your skills with guitar resp. mandolin !
There´s no doubt, both of you
are masters of the trade !!:))
Enjoyed this very much !:))


Cheers
Dani

Hey Patrick!
Thanks for the kind words. I had so much fun pickin' with my pal Vander. I been giving that Ol' Martin guitar a workout for decades! Fun stuff. Speaking of fun, I just listened to your song about I-65 Take Me to Nashville. Waaaay cool there mister!

Bluegrass festivals are always a hoot. Between the whiskey and the weed... (now there's the title to a song!) and the crazy characters you run into and meet.... yeah, they tend to be fun and interesting places.

I had a friend who really got into BG music and learned mandolin and joined up with a band playing the music of the hills. He loved it and had a festival on his 17 acres of paradise every year at the end of August. He was a good friend up to the day he passed from this world due to cancer.

This is a tune I wrote for him a few years back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DmLXESjGWs&list=UUvsxe9zrCwjhAjw09YoBw6w

I listened to your song. Very well done to the genre. Good song. Keep them coming.

I couldn't have said it any better!

All I can add is WOW!

Enjoyed it. Glad that, at last, we aren't the only bluegrassers around here! Keep on keeping on.