Remembering Kenny Baker

July 20, 2011

  Kenny Baker, longtime fiddler for Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys, died of a stroke last week in Tennessee at the age of 85. Kenny’s passing didn’t make headline news [although the "newspaper of record" did finally publish an obituary: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/02/arts/music/kenny-baker-bluegrass-fiddler-dies-at-85.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries] , and unless you were reading a bluegrass blog or heard it through the bluegrass [...]

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Peace Gardens International Music Camp Workshop

June 13, 2011

A big thanks to everyone who joined me for the IMC fiddle camp last weekend. It was so much fun working with all of you.  I was awed by your enthusiasm and sheer persistence: two full days of learning fiddle tunes can be a bit much, but you all hung in there like crazy. It [...]

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Frequently Asked Question #2: How do I mic a fiddle or violin (in the studio)?

June 12, 2011

Getting a fiddle to sound natural and warm through a microphone is a problem that just about every fiddle player I know struggles with. So if you’re frustrated by the sound you’ve been getting either in the studio, know this: it’s not just you. Over the years, through (often painful) trial and error, I’ve a [...]

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Festival Seasons is Here!

June 8, 2011

If the triple digit temperatures weren’t a dead giveaway, the my/the 48s’ schedule this week clinches it: festival season has arrived. This Thursday and Friday, I’ll be teaching a two-day bluegrass fiddle workshop up at the International Music Camp in Peace Gardens, on the North Dakota/Manitoba border. For more info, visit http://www.internationalmusiccamp.com/. On Saturday, the [...]

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Frequently Asked Question #1: What’s the Difference Between a Violin and a Fiddle?

May 24, 2011

By far, the question I’m asked most often by students and ordinary civilians is this: “What’s the difference between a violin and a fiddle?” There are the standard joke answers that string players are required by law to give (e.g., “About $15,000,” or “It’s a violin when you sell it and a fiddle when you [...]

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Illustrated Eric: Welcome to the Redesign!

April 30, 2011

It was time to redesign. Winter was long and dreary. And dreary and long. And did I mention long?  And my website was starting to look a little gray and drab, like the giant mounds of dirty snow we’ve been buried in for the last six months up here in Minnesota. So Jeanne, my lovely [...]

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Minnesota State Arts Board Grant

March 4, 2011

Just found out that I’ve been awarded a Minnesota State Arts Board Grant. So excited! This will help fund an all-instrumental CD I have in the works. For this one, I’ll be performing/arranging a collection of tunes from Upper Midwestern fiddlers across genres/traditions. I’m still collecting tunes, so if you have any suggestions, send ‘em [...]

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MBOTMA Jam Camp

August 20, 2010

I’d just like to say thanks again to all of the jam camp students at this year’s MBOTMA fest. It was a ton of fun working with all of you this year — and I know I’m also speaking for my fellow High 48s and for Willie Scott Bauer. We’ve posted pictures from jam camp [...]

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The High 48s New CD is Done, Done, Done

March 19, 2010

The High 48s have just released their third CD. It’s called Up North, and it features eight High 48s originals, two bluegrass classics and a song we picked up from the Irish band The Pogues, as well as some smokin’ guest appearances from Mike Compton on mandolin (www.mikecompton.net/ ) and Randy Kohrs on dobro (www.randykohrs.com). [...]

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