The other soundtrack to my life

I know that I've already written about how the banjo is the soundtrack to my life, but I think I have two soundtracks. Please don't think I'm cheating on the banjo, it's not like that.

I just happened to find one particular song that I love equally - the banjo will understand.

"Take a Back Road" by Rodney Atkins

This is the song that epitomizes where I'm at in my life right now. I live in a city, and don't get me wrong I love it most of the time, but every once in a while I just want to be on a country road.

Bless Rodney Atkins' heart, he always knows just what to say.

Home is where the rebels yell

I've been reluctant to admit it, but Georgia (specifically Savannah) is growing on me. Let's not go crazy here, Georgia and I still have plenty of issues to work out, but overall it isn't so bad.

Except for being unable to buy alcohol at all on Sunday's. I will never get over that.

In North Carolina we can buy alcohol on Sunday's after 12. I'm not sure they meant to make it that way, but that time is oddly convenient to the time church gets out. Food for thought.

North Carolina A.L.E. is locked and loaded.

But just as I thought I was starting to accept my newfound coastal lifestyle, I went home. And I attended a country music concert no less.

I walked away from that concert with two revelations. One, Tim McGraw is the George Clooney of the country music world, a.k.a. he is a hot old man. Two, I miss North Carolina so much it hurts.

There is just nothing like sitting on the lawn of a Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan and The Band Perry concert, hearing the performers talk about how great North Carolina is and then hearing an overwhelming amount of rebel yells in response.

Home sweet home.

As I weaved my way to the bathroom I passed a multitude of men with no shirt, a beer gut and work boots on. It was enough to bring a tear to my eye... especially after that $14 Strawberry Daiquiri.

Georgia has been a nice place to live for now, at this time in my life. But there is just no place quite like North Carolina.

I love it, hate it and am confused by it, but at the end of the day, bless my heart, it's my home.

I leave you to enjoy a song by North Carolina native Eric Church titled "Carolina."

Dierks Bentley, you make my heart flutter

Don't be concerned fellow southern enthusiasts, I'm not veering into the realm of music blogs.

I just have an affinity for bluegrass... and the way Dierks Bentley's butt looks when he's strumming a guitar (yes, it's different than when he's not holding a guitar).

Yep. Those are nice jeans... and boots for that matter.

So, you may ask, besides his nice tush, what makes Bentley worthy of an entire blog post? Well I'm glad you asked.

For me, Dierks Bentley personifies the southern spirit, particularly with his latest and greatest album, Up On The Ridge, which was released in 2010.

That's a fine looking album cover.

It seems that Bentley has followed the winding path of most southerners and this album is his way back to his roots.

He tried country music and achieved monumental success, but something was missing. So he learned to integrate the past with the present and created his own version of bluegrass - Up On The Ridge.

This is a dilemma southern people face everyday. How do we remember and celebrate the past without letting it consume our lives?

Dierks Bentley has the answer. Apparently you make a bluegrass album.

But enough talking. Let's get to the music. Reward yourself with a listen to the title track, "Up On The Ridge," but prepare to be put in a banjo and fiddle daze.

Bless the heart of whoever gave Dierks Bentley his first guitar and first pair of tight blue jeans. Now the world is blessed with beautiful music played by a man who is also easy on the eyes.

I like my grass blue

Bluegrass music is not scary - it's fun!

I moved to Savannah seven months ago and in that time I have discovered that bluegrass music makes a lot of SCAD students nervous.

I have to say that I'm a little baffled by that.

Bluegrass music is the heart and soul of the south. It's our roots personified.

Ok. On second thought, maybe I'm not all that baffled. But I do think people should give it a chance.

That's right!

Most people think of bluegrass as being old men picking banjos and fiddles, singing about losing their women or their dog.

While that is not entirely untrue, there is so much more to the genre, especially with the emergence of contemporary bluegrass.

Interestingly enough, a lot of country singers have begun to adopt bluegrass attributes, such as pop country music star Dierks Bentley, so it's entirely likely that you've listened to bluegrass (and liked it) without even knowing it.

For me the appeal is almost always in the lyrics, but then again I can never listen to a good banjo picker without getting a chill up my spine.

Here are some examples of my favorite bluegrass songs ranging from the least scary to the scariest.

Proceed with an open mind please.

This little ditty, "If I die Young" by The Band Perry, hit number one in September 2010. New to the music scene, the lead singer of this family band writes all the songs and they collectively utilize bluegrass techniques within the country genre.

"When You Come Back Down" by Nickel Creek is a go-to favorite when I just want to relax and enjoy an evening. The easy combination of mandolin and fiddle will surely please even the most weary bluegrass listener's ear!

"Shady Grove" by Doc Watson might be a tough sell to a newbie listener. Traditional to the core, Doc Watson is one of bluegrass's most legendary performers. Give it a chance and you might find yourself mesmerized by this banjo picker.

I hope this post will easy the fear's of anyone nervous about giving bluegrass a chance.

If you don't listen to bluegrass then bless your heart, you don't know what you're missing!

Gangstagrass?

I recently became incredibly intrigued by the FX show, Justified. To clarify, by 'intrigued' I mean that I watched almost the entire first season in one night.

The show itself is great. Timothy Olyphant plays Raylan Givens, a badass U.S. Marshall who moves back to his native Harlan, Kentucky to help rid the town of criminal organizations. Add to that lots of shooting, tight jeans and awesome cowboy hats and you can imagine why I was so easily hooked.

But ironically, it wasn't the tight jeans and cowboy hats that caught my attention, although they certainly didn't lose my attention.

The attention grabber was the theme song or, more specifically, the band's name: Gangstagrass.

These New York boys, along with their Brooklyn producer, Rench, have created a whole new genre of music that combines authentic bluegrass with rap to create a very unique sound.

Well, it might not be considered a whole new genre. Around 2006, Cowboy Troy came out with his version which was "Hick-Hop," but that was more rap mixed with country music rather than bluegrass.

But technicalities aside, I think the best part about this genre of music is that it is a perfect representation of southern progressiveness. Accepting this type of music is the south's way of progressing, or at least I think it is.

So, for me, seeing rap successfully mixed with country or bluegrass music shows a move in the right direction. A combining of passions and histories.

Bless Gangstagrass's hearts!

The Banjo is the Soundtrack to My Life

When I was in college in the mountains of North Carolina, yet another place I mistakenly thought my accent would go undetected, my friends, well my non-southern friends, became enamored with my accent.

In fact, they became so enamored that they decided my accent reminded them of a banjo (hence the title of the blog).  So from then on, whenever my accent would get particularly thick someone would start making banjo noises.  That was also usually the cue that no one could understand me.  I would be adding vowels and dropping consonants left and right until I would hear the banjo noise and notice the confused expressions around me.

Note: My accent gets thick(er) during select occasions.  If someone talks about it.  If I am drinking.  If I am extremely excited, mad, sad, sick or whiney.  Okay, maybe it's not so select.

Anyway, at first I was a bit offended by the whole banjo distinction.  I don't think I sound like a banjo... much.  Then I realized that I love the banjo, so why would I not want to be associated with it?

Nothing lifts my mood more than a great mixture of banjo and fiddle music, especially if it's Doc Watson.  How can you not be inspired by a blind 88-year-old who is one of the best guitar and banjo players of our time?  As a side note, even though he is blind, he managed to build a toolshed behind his house in North Carolina... impressive?  I think yes.

The banjo has influenced a lot of areas of my life.  It's my muse for writing (and yes, I'm listening to the Doc Watson Pandora station right now), it's my relaxation tool and its a source of bonding for my father and I.

Incidentally, I was recently able to combine 3 of my favorite things into one glorious afternoon.  My father and I regularly visit wineries in the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina.  Well on this particular day we pulled up to a winery called The Divine Llama... and no I'm not kidding.  This winery/llama farm was the greatest place ever.  The co-owner stopped working in the vineyards (which are right next to one of the llama pens), opened the tasting room, put on banjo/fiddle music and gave us a wine tasting.

Llamas?  Check.
Banjo music?  Check.
Wine?  Check.
Best day ever?  Check!

So I have decided that I am no longer embarrassed by the banjo comparison - I'm fully embracing my banjo-ness and consequently my love for llamas.

Bring it on non-southerners.  You're going to have to try harder than that to make me ashamed of my southern ways.

But bless your heart, I know you're trying awful hard!

Come on back now, ya hear?