Hello all, we are (pause for effect)… EXIT 2 NOWHERE!!!!!!!

We are the future of acoustic music, or maybe not. Perhaps a link in the chain. Gid Tanner begot Bill Monroe, Bill Monroe begot, John Hartford… well come to think of it, Bill didn’t directly beget John Perhaps the met in a bar and had an epic arm wrestling encounter. After several days of wrist twisting neither man prevailed. So they agreed to call it a draw, busted open a jug of shine and talked about the way wet dogs smell. But perhaps I digress.

Back to that chain thing I was talking about.

In 1971 John Hartford released “Steam powered airplane” and forever changes the world. Of course it was a very small part of the world, but a part of the world I was interested in. I was well acquainted with the works of Bill Monroe, and was a huge bluegrass fan. But there was a disconnect. I never plowed the back 40, or slopped a hog, or had an Uncle that played fiddle at the local barn rising. I was a chunky suburban brat that had my share of problems, but never really reached the depts of low lonesome misery. But John had altered the paradigm of Bluegrass by addressing things he was acquainted with.

Of course one of the thing John was acquainted with was them “Jazz cigarettes”. Because there were a scant few references to Marijuana, the traditionalist labeled it “Hippy grass”.

As the Planets aligned, Jerry Garcia decided to do a Bluegrass project with David Grisman. This led to the formation of an all star band named “Old and in the way”. Jerry’s involvement led a few thousand “Dead heads” to check this project out. While John Hartford created “Hippy grass”, Jerry Garcia got the hippies listening to it. Oddly enough, “Old and in the way” featured Pete Rowan, a former member of “Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass boys”. Of course by this time, Pete had grown his hair long and gone, according to the traditionalist “Crazy as a sh*** house rat”.

Moving forward we get, Hartford, Old and in the way, Yonder Mountain string band, String cheese incident, Blueground Undergrass, and on and on. Append to the list, one Exit 2 Nowhere (not to be confused with the Canadian band exit to nowhere. USA USA USA!!!).

Our relationship with Traditional music is kind of like an abusive marriage. We warmly embrace Traditional music… until it doesn’t know when to shut its freaking mouth. No wait. That isn’t really politically correct. Perhaps I should say we are continuing the great tradition of taking the music we revere and making it our own. That is all Gid, Bill, John and Jerry did. We are just another link in the chain.