Blog Archives

“Lost In The Ozone Again” . . : George Frayne (aka Commander Cody) 1944 – 2021

Posted on October 13, 2021 by RoyMusicUSA — 1 Comment

Being a young Deadhead in the early Seventies, I was familiar with other bands that could be fitted into that very loose genre known as country rock. Actually, it didn’t matter very much if you were a deadhead or not,…

“Seven Year Twitch” : A Long Strange Trip and The Debut Album of Wire Wood & Steel

Posted on June 28, 2021 by RoyMusicUSA — 2 Comments

I realized this month that I’ve been writing this blog for seven years with at least two post a month without a break. Why have I done this for that long? Because I’m a music nerd and one thing that…

“A Good Feelin’ To Know” . . . : Rusty Young & Poco

Posted on April 25, 2021 by RoyMusicUSA — Leave a comment

I read that pedal steel guitarist Rusty Young passed away recently. Young was one of the first musicians to integrate the pedal steel guitar, an instrument associated with with country music, into rock. Young’s playing was central to the band’s…

“From My Window” . . . : Snow Music from Wire Wood & Steel

Posted on February 18, 2021 by RoyMusicUSA — 1 Comment

When I woke up this morning I saw that NYC was in the middle of a pretty decent snowfall. After the morning beverage, I began to play my guitar while looking out the window, not really thinking about what I…

Tagged with: Acoustic Guitars, Acoustic Music, Wire Wood & Steel
Posted in Country/Bluegrass, Improvisation, Jam Band

“Set Out Running” . . : Friend Of The Devil by Wire, Wood & Steel

Posted on January 22, 2021 by RoyMusicUSA — 1 Comment

I have previously posted about a new music project I’ve started called Wire, Wood & Steel (see https://roymusicusa.com/2020/05/11/what-i-did-on-my-permanent-vacation-new-music-project/ and https://roymusicusa.com/2020/09/03/wire-wood-steel-an-new-acoustic-music-project/). After some delays I finally started recording and I thought I would share the first song, an instrumental cover of…

Guitarist Tony Rice 1951 – 2020

Posted on January 7, 2021 by RoyMusicUSA — Leave a comment

On Christmas Day, 2020, guitarist Tony Rice passed away at the age of 69. Rice was a pivotal figure in bluegrass guitar. His music spanned from traditional bluegrass to jazz-influenced New Acoustic music to songwriter-oriented folk. I first became aware…

Tagged with: bluegrass, David Grisman, Dawg Music, guitar, Jerry Garcia, Tony Rice
Posted in Country/Bluegrass, Improvisation, Jam Band, Music Appreciation and Analysis

A Haiku For The Holidays 2020

Posted on December 11, 2020 by RoyMusicUSA — Leave a comment

Yeah, This Year Sucked Big We Can Only Look Forward And Hope For The Best

Tagged with: Haiku, I Got Rhythm, Jamband, Jazz, The New Jazz Spasms
Posted in Country/Bluegrass, Jam Band, Jazz, Music Appreciation and Analysis

“Playing To The Tide” . . . : The Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast Deep Dive Into Workingman’s Dead

Posted on October 12, 2020 by RoyMusicUSA — 3 Comments

This past June was the 50th anniversary of the seminal Grateful Dead album Workingsman’s Dead. This was my introduction to the Dead. My brother and I had spent the summer at a bungalow colony up in the Catskill Mountains of…

Wire, Wood & Steel – An New Acoustic Music Project

Posted on September 3, 2020 by RoyMusicUSA — 2 Comments

I had previously announced the start of a new music project that would focus on acoustic music called Wire, Wood & Steel (see https://roymusicusa.com/2020/05/11/what-i-did-on-my-permanent-vacation-new-music-project/) starting with a video of myself playing an original song on the dobro. I’ve now added…

“When The Living Was Easy” . . . : Gershwin’s Summertime

Posted on May 21, 2020 by RoyMusicUSA — Leave a comment

Normally (yeah, what’s that now . . ) the end of May would be the start of summer with thoughts of vacation plans, beaches, outdoor concerts (yeah, about that . . .) The song Summertime was written by George Gershwin…