Got a call yesterday, Wednesday, from Dennis Cook, Chairman of BMF and TRA, asking if I’d care to jam at the Owensboro Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Museum.
Sally Dickens, Visitor Experience Director, had called Dennis looking for pickers to play for a huge, huge tour group.
Seems a Viking cruise ship was docking in English Park, and it’s 350 passengers were set to be bussed to the museum for tours.
Sally wanted them to experience a Bluegrass jam as they walked through the front doors into the lobby.
When Dennis asked me, I was a little hesitant because I’m not the best guitar picker by a long shot, but I thought if I could get some buddies to go, it might be fun.
Next thing you know, Larry Hill and Marty Hays are willing to go. Then Larry calls Mark Royal, and he’s in.
So at 9:00 this morning, we met Sally in the lobby and started tuning our engines, I mean instruments.😇
Sally already had a couple guys lined up to jam, so introductions were necessary. Mike Hobson was raring to pick his resonator guitar, and Larry Wahnsiedler was fittin’ to play bass.
(L to R, Mike Hobson, me, Marty Hays, Larry Hill, Mark Royal, Larry Wahnsiedler)
And away we went!
There were eight busses arriving around fifteen minutes apart. As each tour group walked in, we made sure we were hot on a good’ern.
We didn’t JUST play when they entered. We played the whole time from 9am to around noon. And we didn’t just play, we had some laughs and chats. Just good ol’ down-to-earth fellowship.
Shortly after we started, Randy Lanham, a staple at the museum, joined us on fiddle. I snapped this pic of some tourists about that time. Randy is wearing a ball cap and sitting on the other side of Mike.
On another note, Randy’s band the Possum Pickers will be playing “The Rosine Bluegrass Gospel Show” at the old Rosine Methodist church (now the Rosine Community Church) September 27 at 7:00.
The tourists today were engaged, and we fed off that. It’s the same with anyone who performs for crowds. You can tell when there’s a connection happening between you and your audience. Personally, I think it’s addictive. In a good way!
After jamming, Marty, Larry and I decided to take a quick trip through the museum. Of course Marty was Marty…
This was a cool exhibit! It illustrates something unique about Bluegrass, and that’s “The Jam Session.” For some folks, jamming is their favorite pastime.
The Hall of Fame portion of the experience is upstairs, and it is impressive. I was particularly fascinated by the order of the inductees. They were spot on, I thought.
For instance, the first nine were… Bill Monroe first, of course! Then Earl Scruggs, then Lester Flatt, then the Stanley Brothers, then Reno and Smiley, Jim and Jesse, Mac Wiseman, the Osborne Brothers, and Jimmy Martin.
Sure, you could argue that Mac Wiseman or Jimmy Martin should be in front of Reno and Smiley. You can debate ‘til your blue in the face who should be in the Hall of Fame and where in the order someone belongs.
We’re having that issue at The Rosine Barn Jamboree. The Rosine Association (TRA) has managed the venue almost from its inception.
This year TRA created a “Wall of Fame.” There have been some heated discussions about whose name should go up and when. It will sort itself out.
As Marty, Larry, and I moved on through our quick tour, we came upon the Jerry Garcia exhibit. I may write a blog post about him in the future, but today one specific object grabbed my attention.
A replica of Garcia’s 1961 Chevy Corvair. I’ve always been intrigued by these cars and their history, but that’s not what caught my eye—it’s how they have the front half protruding from the wall.
You’re wondering what’s so special about that, right?
Well, I’ll tell you. Bill Monroe’s Cadillac from the 1950’s belongs to the Bill Monroe Foundation, and it’s been sitting in a barn on my parents’ farm since the BMF acquired it.
Why is it still there after all these years? Because every expert on car restoration says it’s too far gone to even try restoring. I’ve always disagreed.
If nothing else, something could be done with the parts that are good enough to be restored, something like how Jerry Garcia’s Corvair is displayed.
Imagine just the grill and front bumper and headlights protruding from a wall in the Bill Monroe Museum in Rosine.
Anyone who knows someone or some way to get this done please contact me. Maybe we can start a Monroe Cadillac project?
One thing’s for sure—the car will eventually rust all the way down to nothing. God forbid!
It was still on my mind as we finished our tour and said goodbye to Sally Dickens. What a nice lady!
Sally thanked us again for playing for the folks, and get this! She asked us to come back and do it again next Monday.
I reckon the Viking cruise ship is going on up the Ohio River to Louisville, where the passengers will disembark and fly home.
Then a brand new 350 passengers will board, and the ship will turn and come back down the Ohio and stop in Owensboro again. And there we’ll be waiting in the lobby, jamming just like today.
How cool is that?!
Before leaving town, I had one more photo to take.
When Marty and I reached the dock at English Park, the cruise ship had already pulled away and was about to sail under Owensboro’s blue bridge.
I remember today while we were jamming, as one group walked in, someone asked, “How’s the cruise?” The reply from one of them was, “Wet!”
Ha! A sense of humor!
I’m very much looking forward to Monday. If it’s half as joyful as today was, it will still be better than most.
’Til next time…Happy Trails!…or dare I say…Happy Sails!
