The Bluegrass Hotel Film & Recording project successfully launches at International Bluegrass Music Assoc. Convention.
Sam Bush, Vince Gill, Dan Crary, Curtis Burch and other former members of the New Grass Revival & Bluegrass Alliance participate in project.
October 16, 2008 | Louisville, Kentucky- Sam Bush, Vince Gill, Dan Crary, Curtis Burch and other prominent former members of the New Grass Revival and The Bluegrass Alliance - two of Bluegrass music’s most influential bands – participated in the successful launch of a major Film and Recording project at the 2008 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Convention in Nashville on Sept. 30th. The project is titled The Bluegrass Hotel, based on the old Victorian mansion in Louisville, Kentucky that was a key component of the Bluegrass scene and the residence of major music artists during the Newgrass era of the 1970s.
Sam Bush, father of the Newgrass style of Bluegrass music, was joined at the IBMA Convention launch event by alumni of the New Grass Revival and The Bluegrass Alliance during a showcase that included Alliance co-founder and guitar flatpicking legend Dan Crary, Curtis Burch, Danny Jones, Buddy Spurlock, Jack Lawrence, Tony Williamson and many others. Fred Bartenstein, prominent Bluegrass music historian and consultant to the project, presided over the showcase that featured music performances by Sam Bush and the alumni of the bands, a slide show presentation on The Bluegrass Hotel by its owners and project co-producers Harry & Ann Bickel, and an overview of The Bluegrass Hotel Film and Recording project by co-producers and Bluegrass Alliance alumni Bill Millet and John Jump.
“The Bluegrass Hotel was a both a musical breeding ground and residence for world class pickers that included Vince Gill, Tony Rice, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson, Tony Williamson, Jack Lawrence and many others who made The Bluegrass Hotel “the” place to be”, exclaimed John Jump during the announcement.
The centerpiece of The Bluegrass Hotel project is a documentary Film, which will include 1) reality-based storytelling and jam sessions scheduled be filmed at the legendary Bluegrass Hotel during the late fall of 2008, 2) a 2009 live concert with prominent alumni of the New Grass Revival and The Bluegrass Alliance in Louisville, Kentucky, and 3) archival video of historical performances by The Bluegrass Alliance and New Grass Revival in the 1970s. A coffee table Book, LP record with mp3 download card, DVD and CD will be launched in conjunction with the national broadcast of the Film, which is anticipated for the Fall 2009. As stated at the IBMA launch event, proceeds of The Bluegrass Hotel LP, DVD and CD will benefit the Foundation for Bluegrass Music, the International Bluegrass Music Museum and the Bluegrass Trust Fund.
“The Bluegrass Hotel was Louisville, Kentucky’s equivalent of the Buena Vista Social Club in Havana, Cuba (the award winning film by Ry Cooder); the scene of stellar all-night jam sessions, tall tales, world class pickers and vintage instruments galore”, reflected Fred Bartenstein, Bluegrass music historian and consultant to the project.
“If it wasn’t for The Bluegrass Hotel, I don’t know how a lot of young Bluegrass musicians could have moved to a different city to learn how to play music”, said Sam Bush, former member of The Bluegrass Alliance, founder of NewGrass Revival and Bluegrass Hotel perennial. “It was like that old song, ‘The door is always open”, said Bush. “You were always free to stop by.”
On the following day (Oct. 1), Bluegrass Alliance co-founder Dan Crary continued the odyssey with a sojourn to the Mecca of vintage instruments, Gruhn Guitars in Nashville, Tennessee. Its proprietor George Gruhn, recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on historical and fine instruments, graciously opened the doors of his emporium to continue the filming and recording with Bluegrass Alliance alumni Vince Gill, Curtis Burch, Tony Williamson and Marshall Billingsley, who jammed and swapped tall tales about the old days with Dan Crary, guest artist Chris Eldridge from The Punch Bros., banjo player Terry Baucom, co-producer Bill Millet, and Harry & Ann Bickel
Dan Crary was also at Gruhn Guitars to continue adding segments to his film about the history of the guitar called “Primal Twang”, due for release in 2009. Important segments included Dan performing Bluegrass standards on his Taylor guitar with Vince Gill and Chris Eldridge, both of whom played vintage Martin guitars from Gruhn Guitars awesome collection. “In my estimation, these fine, vintage instruments are living entities that come alive in the hands of great musicians, like those present here today”, exclaimed George Gruhn, who also contributed important segments for the Films. “We are just the temporary custodians of these instruments, and I’d like to think that I’ve done my part to be a conduit to place important instruments into the hands of the great players.” Dan Crary heartily agreed.
Movies
One could make the argument that everything in Harry Bickel's life
during the spring of 1975 was aligned to place him in the Bluegrass
Hotel, a name his fine old Victorian home had yet to earn.
Bickel, then 29, was, in no particular order, a professor of dentistry
at the University of Louisville, a professional banjo picker and
bluegrass obsessive, ready to buy a home and exceedingly single.
When he first walked into the Cherokee Triangle
home, he knew he must make it his. A week later it
was, and within a month he had his first musician
roommate and all-night jam session.
Over the next 13 years, he would have so many of
both that he long ago lost count. His home became a
halfway house and a bluegrass breeding ground, a
place where careers were born and vivid memories
made.
The jam sessions are infrequent these days, and
Bickel's only roommate is his wife, Ann, but the
Bluegrass Hotel remains a storied 2½-story home 30
years after it opened its doors.
Its place in Louisville bluegrass history can't be overestimated, and more than a few of the
musicians coming to Louisville for this week's International Bluegrass Music Association World of
Bluegrass trade show and Fan Fest have darkened its door.
"If it wasn't for Harry Bickel, I don't know how a lot of young
bluegrass musicians could have moved to a different city to learn how
to play music," said Sam Bush, multitalented picker, founder of
Newgrass Revival and a Bluegrass Hotel perennial.
"It was like that old song, 'The door is always open and the light's on
in the hall,'" Bush said. "You were always free to stop by. You still
are. He might not answer the door, but you're free to stop by."
Harry and Ann Bickel actually remain gracious hosts, and their famous
home is a charmer. Its decor and general level of hygiene are far
beyond the old days, when dishware from White Castle filled the
pantry and the number of empty beer cans hinted at how many
boarders were on hand.
"There were times when I was the only person living here, times when there was one other, and times where there were five," said Bickel,
now 58.
Full-time residents included several members of the famed Bluegrass
Alliance in Tony Williamson, Al White, Bill Millet and a youngster
named Vince Gill. Mandolinist Mike Schroeder's eight years in an
upstairs bedroom set a record. Then there were Harry Sparks, Ricky
Burch, Doc Hamilton and Ivan Guernsey.
Frequent and occasional guests included Bush, J.D. Crowe, Bela
Fleck, Tony Rice, John Hartford, Courtney Johnson, Bobby Sloan,
Mark O'Connor, Eric Levine, Steve Cooley and various pickers
who worked for legends such as Ralph Stanley and Bill Monroe.
"Music would just sort of erupt," said Cooley, who had his own
key as a precocious (but already bearded) teenager. "I had some
chops, and they knew I had a real interest, so they treated me like
one of the guys. I was very fortunate, and I knew that I was in a
very good situation."
Bickel, who now works for Western Kentucky University
providing assistance to Head Start programs throughout the
country, was much more than a landlord.
He was an accomplished banjoist before opening the hotel and a
founding member of the Buzzard Rock String Band (he, Hamilton
and fiddler Art Stamp just released a new album on Country
Records called "Wake Up Darlin' Corey"); he and Sparks ran an
instrument repair and manufacturing shop out of the hotel's basement; his knowledge of old-timey
music is comprehensive; and his capacity for cheap keg beer and White Castles was legendary — as
was his generosity when it came to rent (typically $15-$35 per month).
Making a living was still a struggle, even for artists of Bush's
stature.
"There wasn't hardly any money being made for any of us, but
you'd meet Harry Bickel at a club and he'd invite you to stay,"
Bush said. "He was pretty easygoing about it, but he had a sign on
the thermostat that said 'Touch It and Die.' That house never was
warm."
But the parties were hot, especially the annual Christmas party,
which began in 1976. Eventually it drew so many people, including
strangers, that it was moved to its current home, The Rudyard
Kipling.
Bush liked Christmas of '78 quite a bit.
"Back when Louisville had that big snow, in '78 I think it was,
there was a fiddle player came to the Christmas party," Bush said.
"We won't get into names — Bobby Sloan — and when he went to
leave, he slipped and slid from the front steps to the street.
"He had his fiddle case in one hand and a whiskey bottle in the
other, and the whole time he was sliding he was holding his fiddle
up in the air with one hand and the bottle was in the other. Neither
one broke."
In 1988, the 13-year party finally began to slow. Love put on the
brakes, and the wedding of Harry and Ann became the last word in
good news/bad news situations; everyone was fully supportive, but still. ...
"The landscape definitely changed when Harry got married," said Cooley, clearly still a little bitter.
"Everybody had to turn in their keys."
"My only question would be if he ever let Ann touch that thermostat," Bush said.
THE BLUEGRASS HOTEL 's Details
Status:
Single
Zodiac Sign:
Virgo
THE BLUEGRASS HOTEL Editing The Bluegrass Hotel documentary Film for Television & DVD Posted at 3:59 AM Jun 3 view more
Who I'd like to meet: The Bluegrass Hotel is a Film project about the Newgrass era in Kentucky of the 1970s, featuring the original members of The Bluegrass Alliance, New Grass Revival and J.D. Crowe & the New South bands.
Come one, come all, roll out the barrel! DECK THE HALLS III FRIDAY DECEMBER 4 - 6pm - 2am
Featuring DJ Scotch Bonnet spinning the funky riddim and rebel sounds all night long +++ Musical acts MBIRD & Ohrella +++ free GAUNTLET LEGENDS +++ awesome beer specials like $3 Newcastles +++ The final First Friday of the year is always the best - come and see some amazing skateboard deck art!!!
Come one, come all, roll out the barrel! DECK THE HALLS III FRIDAY DECEMBER 4 - 6pm - 2am
Featuring DJ Scotch Bonnet spinning the funky riddim and rebel sounds all night long +++ Musical acts MBIRD & Ohrella +++ free GAUNTLET LEGENDS +++ awesome beer specials like $3 Newcastles +++ The final First Friday of the year is always the best - come and see some amazing skateboard deck art!!!
this Friday October 2 - DCE willl be hosting the opening for the 2nd annual Derby City Espresso Tatto & Body Modification Art Show!
With LIVE suspentions by the kind folks at Twisted Images. Fire breathing, gravity pulls, henna tattoos & at 11pm Live music by Leftmore & The Funk Injection
Derby City Espresso - 331 E. Market St Louisville, KY
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The Bluegrass Hotel Film & Recording project successfully launches at International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Convention.
Sam Bush, Vince Gill, Dan Cary, Curtis Burch and other former members of the New Grass Revival & Bluegrass Alliance participate in project.
October 16, 2008 | Louisville, Kentucky- Sam Bush, Vince Gill, Dan Cary, Curtis Burch and other prominent former members of the New Grass Revival and The Bluegrass Alliance - two of Bluegrass music’s most influential bands – participated in the successful launch of a major Film and Recording project at the 2008 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Convention in Nashville on Sept. 30th. The project is titled The Bluegrass Hotel, based on the old Victorian mansion in Louisville, Kentucky that was a key component of the Bluegrass scene and the residence of major music artists during the Newgrass era of the 1970s.
Sam Bush, father of the Newgrass style of Bluegrass music, was joined at the IBMA Convention launch event by alumni of the New Grass Revival and The Bluegrass Alliance during a showcase that included Alliance co-founder and guitar flatpicking legend Dan Crary, Curtis Burch, Danny Jones, Buddy Spurlock, Jack Lawrence, Tony Williamson and many others. Fred Bartenstein, prominent Bluegrass music historian and consultant to the project, presided over the showcase that featured music performances by Sam Bush and the alumni of the bands, a slide show presentation on The Bluegrass Hotel by its owners and project co-producers Harry & Ann Bickel, and an overview of The Bluegrass Hotel Film and Recording project by co-producers and Bluegrass Alliance alumni Bill Millet and John Jump.
“The Bluegrass Hotel was a both a musical breeding ground and residence for world class pickers that included Vince Gill, Tony Rice, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson, Tony Williamson, Jack Lawrence and many others who made The Bluegrass Hotel “the” place to be”, exclaimed Joh
