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My guess is he leaned it up against a wall and it slid

A few meters from that "background music source" would have been in pitch blackness. Lacking a well lit, soundproof studio at the festival site, the best we could hope for was a spot backstage where there happened to be some enough light to see CJ and the mandolin. We had to squeeze this in between the end of the Po Ramblin' Boys set and the start of the following act. And yeah, they started as we were nearing the end of the interview.

I think that was planned or staged to happen that way.

As Peter says, Bill Monroe was always evolving. Bill was always a vocalist first and his music from 1939, when he first joined the Grand Ole Opry, was a lot different than it was in 1946, when he cut the first songs recognized as “bluegrass” music. This Land Is Your Land is interesting because Woody was a big fan of the Original Carter Family. Woody set that song to the melody of the Carter Family song Little Darling Pal Of Mine. Flatt & Scruggs did an instrumental version on their Foggy Mountain Banjo album. It’s the “timing” in bluegrass that provides what you’re calling the drive, not necessarily the tempo. Peter’s background here is so insightful. Every aspiring bluegrass player should listen to this over and over.

@@DubClark "Timing" exactly! Thank you.

Maybe by "Vocals" he either meant or was including "Harmony". While there are many different genres of music that have great harmony, bluegrass has some very distinct arrangements of where people put the 2nd, 3rd and 4th parts. Especially when you get into the family groups or the brother groups that have sibling harmony. And sometimes you get a magical combination of voices that blend well even without a blood relationship...such as Seldom Scene. But I think the "Drive" you're talking about is the one thing that distinquishes bluegrass from every other type of music. A lot of people think Rock and Roll had drive...but really it had BEAT. Hence the name BEATles came from Lennon's fascination with the BEAT of Rock and Roll. Some Country music has drive and some has beat but that's due to the "melting pot" nature of country music. I remember when Alan Jackson tried to do a bluegrass album, using all A-list bluegrass pickers. But instead of them recording what they knew to be good bluegrass, they allowed Jackson's country influence to drag them down to his level of picking. The entire album is them trying to step up and Jackson holding back. The project makes me think of a train with two locomotives, one pulling forward and the other pulling in reverse. What's missing is the drive which makes it a pretty good country album but a really poor bluegrass album. The same was true with Dolly Parton's bluegrass attempt. Tom T. Hall was very proud of his bluegrass album and while it had the drive it needed, he also included drums which didnt' sit well with the bluegrass community. However it produced some good tunes that were adopted by bluegrass artists who performed them just fine without percussion. The ultimate question of "What Makes A Bluegrass Song" has been debated over and over by countless authorities and pickers and fans over the decades and no one has ever been able to establish a solid definition. I've heard the question asked: "If Lawrence Welk played 'Uncle Pen' would it be a bluegrass song or would it be a big band number?" And I think I've heard every answer possible on both sides of the issue. But I think the one thing to consider is not who the performer is or what song is performed, but rather HOW it is done. Example: When the Seldom Scene did "Sweet Baby James" was it a bluegrass song or a folk song. Another example: When the Hillbenders did "TOMMY" was it bluegrass or acoustic Rock? Again, I contend that the answer lies in HOW it was done rather than what or who.

@@DubClark I think TEMPO has a lot to do with the drive. Take Monroe's "With Body and Soul" as an example. It's tempo is slow and although it has been played by countless bluegrass bands over the years, I don't really consider it to be a bluegrass song. It's a great song but just not a bluegrass song. It lacks the bluegrass drive. As did Blue Moon of Kentucky in the original Monroe recording. It wasn't until Elvis recorded it and kicked up the tempo that Monroe Re-recorded and blended the slow start with the uptempo after the opening chorus. That's when the song got drive. Basically, I think you have to have tempo in order to have drive. Timing is the time signature of the song ...as in 3/4 waltz time or 2/4 cut time etc. etc. and while it's important, it has nothing to do with TEMPO. Drive also has a lot to do with the contrast of the down beat and the after beat. Without a strong after beat, you can miss the effect of the tempo and lose the "Drive".

It wasn't written to be a dirge but I can fly pickin bluegrass but I don't like bluegrass versions of This land... first and foremost,IT IS A PROTEST SONG! Honestly, how much protest do you hear in bluegrass songs? I heard a man trying to sing it the other day at a farmers market and you could literally have smoked a cigarette between some of the words of each line(perhaps a little exaggeration😂). It was hard to listen to. Perhaps it is time for some newly written and timely music.

9/23/23: GAVEN