Hurry Hurry Hurry Hurry

tinacasagrand — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:53:46 +0000

Columbia, MO boasts some great performers (like Molly Trull and The Last Kings) that energize the city’s free shows, benefit concerts and opening acts. Anna & the X’s are my favorite. Deep lyrics, smoky vocals, punchy percussion and talented mandolin pickin’ (a special Moonbeam octave mandolin) from my friend Nate. This song, “Hurry Rush” exemplifies some of their best elements.

This was my last sighting of the band in the spring, and I heard that distance forced them apart, which is pretty sad.

Miranda, Let’s Make Corn Muffins comes one step closer to reality

tinacasagrand — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 05:48:12 +0000

That’s me, on the right. I’m playing the mandolin. Trey’s on spoons, Paige has her didgeridoo. We have a name, an album cover design, and some song titles . . . now I just need to learn how to play.

Rest in Joy, John Wynn

tinacasagrand — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 06:03:00 +0000

This spring when I called John Wynn, he listened to my pitch about a mandolin art history project and invited me out to his shop. When I arrived in a big red Chevy, Mr. Wynn said, “a girl who drives a truck—there’s a girl I can trust.” He laughed, and I laughed, and we were off to a great start.

He showed me his latest works in progress that already looked stunning. We talked for a few hours about his start in music, his Welsh and Dutch heritage, the value of helping new musicians, his apprentices, how cool he thinks his wife is, and so many other things. He had great stories, and was also interested in hearing mine. When occasion arises to talk about the visit I made to Ozark, it gives me joy to tell other people about Mr. Wynn. He is truly one of the kindest, most thoughtful people I have ever had the pleasure to sit down with.

His shop was dusty, filled with years upon years of pictures, books, inlay scraps, instruments, knick knacks, tools, bluegrass DVDs, festival fliers and American flags. Here’s a video of Mr. Wynn playing “The World is Waiting for the Sunrise” with video pans around his workspace:

His talent really floored me, and he admitted it wasn’t easy. But, my goodness, the man made it seem so fluid. My grandmother nearly melted when I showed her the video, and she asked if I would put it on a CD.

I bought a mandolin last week, and my hope was, honestly, to get good enough to justify purchasing a nice one made by Mr. Wynn. I’m so sad to hear about his death, but maybe I can honor him by following through with learning how to play. I hope to upload more videos of him as soon as I get time.

Letters to Dixon » Music

Hurry Hurry Hurry Hurry

Miranda, Let’s Make Corn Muffins comes one step closer to reality

Rest in Joy, John Wynn