Subject: Re: Armuchee and folklore, anecdotes, etc

Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 10:40:00 -0500

From: Lee Taylor-FLT100 <Lee_Taylor-FLT100@email.mot.com>

 
 

Armuchee, God, what a magical place.

 

Armuchee will always be special to me, because it's where I really

discovered bluegrass music. My first Armuchee festival was literally

a life-changing experience for me. So much a part of my everyday

existence now is involved with bluegrass music, and that's where it

all started.

 

My ex-daddy-in-law Jackie Barnett was playing up there, and we went

up there to see him play. I had just started fumbling around on the

mandolin a little bit, and I spent the weekend sitting around on the

edge of jams and trying to play along. THe ambience of the whole

place, the way everyone made me feel so much at home, it really was

love at first sight.

 

Armuchee is where I met the people who taught me how to play

bluegrass music. I bought the bass I play today out of the back of

a pickup truck at Armuchee, and Morrean Dillard showed me where G

and C and D were. I learned 500 songs from Ben and Morrean Dillard

and Billy and Linda and J.J. Merrill and Bob and Mildred Pinyan and

a bunch of others. Ed Wade and Roger Aycock taught me how to play

"hard" songs. I remember being thrilled almost to death the first

time I got to play bass in a jam session with the Grasscutters.

Playing the two chords I knew on Jack from SC's guitar at Armuchee

convinced me to buy a Martin guitar and learn to play it.

 

My mind is filled with literally thousands of little "snippets" from

Armuchee. Here's just a few, in no particular order:

 

Hearing Annette and her late husband (Ira?) sing harmony. Talk

about making the hair stand up on the back of your neck!

 

Playing "tag-team" bass with David Anderson and/or Gene Daniell.

 

Playing in any jam session with Paul Jordan on fiddle. Now THAT was

energy!

 

Hearing Brush Fire sing quartets with Joe Partridge on baritone

(possibly the best baritone singer I've ever heard) and Elwood

singing bass.

 

The "28 part harmony" from the group down the hill the night we ate

David's $50 ham and all me Hughie for the first time.

 

A GREAT jam (including upright bass) inside Ed's soggy pop-up camper

while it was POURING outside.

 

Playing swing tunes with Tom Hicks and Jay Rhyne.

 

"When My Time Comes To Go". And it was.

 

The hog pen, when the wind shifted just right. <g>

 

Dale Reese getting everyone's water hose in the whole place and

hooking them all together to fill up everybody's water tank from the

one faucet which was "way up yonder next to the stage".

 

Ed breaking three Craftsman ratchets trying to get Cherokee Bob's

lugnuts loose. Ed rebuilding a carbeurator during the festival. Ed

putting up an awning. Ed telling a story you've already heard 20

times, but it's STILL funny. Ed.

 

There's LOTS more, but I'll leave them for someone else.

 

Lee Taylor

 

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