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March 2002

It's that time again, another installment of news from one of the Pacific Northwest's premier bluegrass bands... no wait, that's a different newsletter...

A New Web Site

The Ryegrass Web site recently received an overhaul, so stop by and check it out:

http://www.ryegrassband.com

Does that background color make us look fat?

Standing Room Only

A big thanks to all our fans who came out for the snow at the Penny Cafe in Ballard last Friday. The place was absolutely packed! If you missed the show, don't worry there will be more to come, just stay tuned. In the mean time, you can listen to some of our tunes on the Web:

http://www.ryegrassband.com/music.htm

Band for Hire

We love to play bluegrass, and we're always looking for opportunities to play out, so if you know of a place that might be an appropriate venue, or if you're interested in hiring a band for a wedding reception or backyard party, get in touch with Lynn at lynn@ryegrassband.com.

Band Member Spotlight

This month the spotlight is on Ryegrass Banjo player Lynn Oliver:

Name: Lynn Oliver
Currently resides in: Redmond, WA
Hometown: Rosewood, OH
In Ryegrass: Plays banjo; sings baritone harmonies; runs PA
Influences: Earl Scruggs, Sonny Osborne, Bill Evans, Tom Adams
Main banjo: RB-75 copy made from Timeless Timber pot assembly

Q: Tell us about your music history.

A: Growing up I played trombone in various school bands and guitar in pop and country bands. Fleeing poverty, I elected to study engineering instead of music in college, and I didn't pursue music in any serious way again until about four years ago, when I started learning to play banjo.

Q: Why banjo?

A: On banjo you generally get to play more notes than anyone else, which seems like a good deal, plus no one really expects you to be in tune. And of course, after playing trombone, the obvious choices were either banjo or accordion.

I was first attracted to banjo when Earl Scruggs played for one of my college music classes and I was just blown away by what he could do on a banjo.

Q: Why did you start Ryegrass?

A: The only other job offered was for a clogging gig, but they wanted me to double on accordion. Well, the part about the accordion is not true (so far as I know), but I just couldn't deal with the clogging.

My musical interest is in ensemble playing, and a band offers the opportunity to work with a solid ensemble. It's sort of sink or swim for a relative beginner to try and keep up with a band, but I'm learning a lot and the rest of the band is pretty tolerant.

Q: Why Bluegrass?

A: Growing up on a small farm and then living in Kentucky for many years provided the cultural foundation, but it wasn't until I started learning
banjo and listening to other players that I discovered an interest in Bluegrass. Once I started going to festivals, seeing the music performed live and meeting the performers, I was hooked.