As a poet who grew up in southern Indiana, taught for 34 years in the New York area, and moved with my family to Indianapolis last year, I have enjoyed following this exchange on Appalachian music and all the strands that led into it and remain a part of it. A living tradition this rich honors all who live and love it! We saw Ralph Stanley and the band at the Vogue not long after we moved here. What a great evening that was: beats anything my wife and I saw in and around New York all those years, and we saw some good stuff! When we walked into the Vogue, Ralph and all the band members were sitting there at a long table with stacks of CDs, signing them for folks and talking to them. What a beautiful way to begin the evening!
My maternal grandfather, who died about 25 years before I was born, played the mandolin and sang tenor. My mother, who was 6 when he died, talked about her father's music all the time, especially in her last several years, of 84. My father played the fiddle at barn dances in southern Indiana when he was a youngster, and his father played the trumpet and the violin. I have written a number of poems about this musical heritage that are collected in my poetry volumes. My children both play the violin, and my son also plays guitar and drums. Daughter came to Butler Univ. here on a violin scholarship. They are both natives of Bogota, Colombia and are proud of their Colombian, Native American, and "adopted" German heritage, as they should be. One wonderful thing that has happened since we moved to Indianapolis is that I have begun to collaborate with singer-songwriters Greg Ziesemer and Kriss Luckett. We performed together at the first Indiana Poetry Festival last month. Whoever said that poetry and song are separate doesn't live in the same world that I live in. Greg's terrific band The Spud Puppies, which has a bluegrass base (sometimes called "newgrass"), has a new CD, "Off the Leash," just coming out; the CD party/concert is this Friday night at Locals Only. You can bet my wife and I will be there to here Kriss and Greg sing their gorgeous harmonies. Best wishes to all, Norbert Krapf www.krapfpoetry.com http://www.thespudpuppies.com/ Bluegrass Bulletin Board brought to you by the fan club of Dr Ralph Stanley & His Clinch Mountain Boys subscribe or unsubscribe at http://drralphstanley.com/
