If These Four Walls Could Talk

I realize that to some of you silent readers out there I might come off as a groupie, or a flake, with an unhealthy "thing" for musicians. Some of my closest friends might even accuse me of "typical woman" behavior because I take an interest in a man who knows how to use a string instrument.

Hell, yes, I do, and women too, because I love the potential for making music. If someone is brandishing a guitar or banjo I make the leap that there is a reason and I want to see what that person does with it.

Well, with these guys, you don't have to look very hard. Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, a group that has seen many variations over nearly 30 years, heads the pack of stylized bluegrass bands working today. Lawson has assembled some of the finest talent in traditional bluegrass, and all the members wield that talent like men who know how to use their guitars.

They also sing higher than I do. Now that's not something that just any woman would find interesting. But it's me, here.

DLQ are making the rounds in Ohio and are headed to Wadworth, just south of Medina, this Saturday, at the OJ Work Auditorium. I wasn't going to go, as it's the day before EarthFest and my kids are unable to join me. But I'm not sure I can let them slip through northeast Ohio without me.

I love this band for their spirited and flawless stage presence, their slapstick showmanship, their incredible music making, and the fact that like any bluegrass band worth their weight in Grammys, they clean up good. They do tend toward the Gospel side, which over the last few months I had to reconcile with, but their hearts are in everything they do and the music delivers that one hundred percent. That's what makes it work for me.

My kids love these guys and love to sing this song especially. It's a sad sort of unrequited love tale, but it's just so over the top its irresistible. Four Walls is a delicacy of pure and sappy, stylized, traditional bluegrass balladry. These guys are great instrumentalists but frankly I think they're all about the singing. Take a listen and you'll get what I mean.

And for you doubters, it takes quite a woman not to get all worked up if a good looking man sings higher than she does. (Ok yes, I've known quite a few, but that's another post altogether...don't start, Shannon!)

Four Walls