Just about now, every year, when we are amidst of our 2nd or 3rd cold blast, I start to get the itch. Got my early bitd tickets to Old Settlers Music Festival. But that doesn’t suffice. I need that “Old-Timey Sound.”  Bluegrass and nothing else will do.  Essentially this is the DEL MCCOURY BAND WITHOUT DEL. On stage are: Ron McCoury on mandolin, Rob McCoury on banjo, Jason Carter on fiddle, and Alan Bartram on bass , with featured guests on guitar and vocals, is the latest incarnation of the most awarded band in the history of bluegrass -The Del McCoury Band. “Known for their individual prowess on their instruments and their rapidly expanding reputation as collaborators with the members of numerous musical icons from Vince Gill to the Allman Brothers, The Lee Boys and Phish, this touring unit blends the best of the Appalachian tradition with the improvisational magic of jazz. Unique live collaborations are the hallmark of their performances, and demonstrates why people across the country hail them as the best bluegrass band in the world.”  I have seen these boys play many times with and without Del and am  always blown away by  the McCourys generational representation on stage.The McCourys name will surely live on in music for years. Seeing this gig at One World was awesome, up close and intimate.. Only problem; nobody  was dancing until I  closed my eyes.
(THANK YOU K.F. FOR  THE PICTURES.)

[fa:p:id=1066715989,j=r,s=s,l=p]AUSTIN DAZE: How did you get started in music?

OLIVER RAJAMANI: Well I started playing music in India where I grew up and I started really young—probably when I was about 5 or 6. My family was really into music–my uncle had a band–so I used to play in the band and I was just surrounded by music. In India, especially back in those days, there was just a lot more live music on the streets. You don’t find it as much today. It is still there but you don’t find it as much.

Then I went to an International American School in India–that’s why my English is without a thick India accent—where I studied western classical music and theory as well as jazz. I was in a rock and roll band. So this was another side to my Indian music. Also, my father was really into country music—it was a big thing over there back then. A lot of people think that I grew up listening to the kind of music that I play but I actually grew up listening to a lot more country because my dad listened to it all the time at home. Sometimes I play a country song at my shows and they think it’s weird but they don’t realize that is what I grew up on. Read the rest of this entry »