Bob Stone
From:
Gainesville, FL, USA
|
Posted 8 Oct 2001 7:30 am |
|
| I had the great pleasure of being MC for BR549 at the 2000 National Folk Festival. Not only is Donny a great musician on steel, fiddle and mando, but he's a really nice guy too. We had a great time talking backstage. |
|
Todd Weger
From:
Safety Harbor, FLAUSA
|
Posted 8 Oct 2001 11:28 am
|
|
I have to agree with y'all. Donny Herron, along with the rest of the BR5-49 boys, all do a bang up job, and play LIKE THEY ARE AWAKE. Not only that, but they don't take themselves too seriously, either. They have FUN.
I've only heard them live one time, but I'll remember it for a long time. Last summer, July 2000, they were booked to play a small job in a little town in Wisconsin near the Illinois border by the name of Broadhead. The event was outdoors, and was possibly the worst publicized event I've ever seen. There were nine different bands (our band played first) slated to play, and there may have been 200-250 people there all day -- TOPS. BR5-49 came out to play to this small but enthusiastic group and PLAYED THEIR HEARTS OUT FOR OVER 2 HOURS!
They could have just come out and thought "what the heck is THIS? Where is everybody?" played halfway for a 1/2 hour and split. Instead, they knew the people there paid to see them, and wanted a show. They did not disappoint us. Donny Herron blew me away with his back 'n forth fiddle/steel/mando playing all day. They do it how THEY want to do it, and dang it, that's OK by me.
The next day, I was telling friends about it, and NOBODY had even heard about the fact that they'd be there playing. We were there, though, and RIGHT IN FRONT. It was great!
And for the record, Donny's style and tone (mostly on their live CD) was a major catylist in getting me off my butt, buyin g a used Fender steel and getting started. Always a good thing, IMO.
TJW
------------------
Todd James Weger/RD/RTD
1956 Fender Stringmaster T-8 (Amaj9, C6, A6); 1960 Fender Stringmaster D-8 (E13, C6) through an old Super Reverb or Deluxe; Melobar SLS lapsteel (open G); Chandler RH-4 Koa semi-hollow lapsteel (A6)
|
|
