FiddleStar

The nice groomer lady didn’t listen to my mommy and gave me a very handsome haircut instead of the mohawk that was requested. I’m clearly even more popular in the neighborhood than I was before and I got a puppuccino for behaving properly and not embarrassing the family. #shihtzus #puppuccino #genesimmonstongue #kerchiefboy #afterphoto (at Dog Oasis)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2aPdX9hWga/?igshid=1rfyinu3tx8mh

Good morning Lester friends and fans. Today I’m going to get a haircut and this is my before picture. My new mommy knows zero zip zilch about dog grooming so wish me luck. I saw her googling “funny Shih tzu hair styles” last night. That’s not a good sign, is it? #shihtzus #manbun #batisbae (at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2ZU3Xyh0rL/?igshid=125kpvokn84c5

Sometimes you have to forget that you teach music all day and perform it all night and get out and experience some music that reminds you what you liked about it in the first damn place. @marysueenglund and I went to see @mistertaterbug and @js.newberry tonight in a delightful house concert hosted by our friend @prone2violets and it was incredibly life affirming. Also, there were dogs. #butterandbiscuit #thedailyhat #whoopee #prewarguitars (at Nashville, Tennessee)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2YPvA4BMSY/?igshid=1ic8v80n81bwi

One of my very best friends in the world, @ashbyfrank who I admire and respect and who makes me laugh and who is really smart and whose singing makes me cry immediately and is super bad at taking compliments so he’s probably cringing right now but I don’t care, made an album with @brandonbostic who I adore and think is one of the most incredibly talented and thoughtful people and musicians I know and am also lucky to call a dear friend, along with @deanier who has raised the bar for fiddling in a thousand ways and who is raw and real and funny in both her fiddling and her personhood. This album has been knocking around and trying to make it out in the world and this week it finally did and it’s really worth the wait. Here’s a screen shot of my favorite song on the album, (I mean, it’s my favorite at the moment, but that might change because there are so many good options.) so you can immediately find it on the places where you do the music. Also, Ron White is in the cover photo and they’re opening for Jamey Johnson in October so that’s all stuff you love to hear. It’s just that Ashby and Brandon are two of my favorite singers and I don’t really know what kind of music this album should be called - I just know you’ll think it’s badass. #thelikelyculprits #likelyculprits #bffnewmusic #somewherelonely (at Morgan County Jail)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2XY-XjBYej/?igshid=5lglsh3mylj

Well, today’s #fiddlinarthursmith Tuesday entry has words, but you sure as hell won’t ever catch me singing them. I give you, “Henpecked Husband Blues” and if you really want to hear the lyrics, you can go look it up yourself and listen to the whole song from Arthur and the Delmore Brothers. When people tell you times were different in 1937, believe them. In other news, this is a super fun simple blues tune and I straightened it out a bit from the way Arthur fiddled it on the record. He played a fiddle break between each verse and usually jumped the gun by one beat getting into it, as well as at the halfway point of the break. It didn’t really make sense for me to play it that way since there were no vocals to play off of, and no backup guitars to confuse, but it’s an option for you if you do decide to go around singing these ridiculous words. You know I love Arthur but I’m choosing to blame this on the Delmores… 😉 Full version around the Facebook and within the YouTubes. #fiddle #fiddlelesson #fiddlestar #floraljumpsuitbytarget #blues #henpecked (at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2PN-2DAtD6/?igshid=1vwary16uwt1q

Please help us officially welcome Lester to our little family. Lester is a five year old Shih Tzu doggo and he’s a Very Good Boy. Since many of you will ask, he does have a little back story. He used to live with some dear friends of ours but when they welcomed a handsome human baby boy into their family, it turned out that Lester wasn’t as comfortable with that situation as they would have hoped. Lester came to visit us for a few days and it became clear that he was happy here and they and we decided together to give Lester a home where he could be the only baby. I want to thank our friends for having everyone’s best interests at heart and make sure that we honor all the work they did to make him possibly the goodest boy who ever was. We love him very much already and can’t wait for you all to meet him. He sleeps through all my fiddle lessons so we think he’s gonna be just fine during camps. Oh, and before you bluegrassers get all tore up, he’s named after Les Paul. So don’t expect any G runs out of him. #lester #theyreallgooddogsbrent #shihtzusgram (at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2Eu2seBjOU/?igshid=19qz95idmr9c

I found more songs without words! I mean, tunes. Whatever. You know what I’m saying. The point is, it’s #fiddlinarthursmith Tuesday and we’ve got another barn burner for you today. Or, rather, barn smolderer. It’s in C and it’s a fun one that moves between 2nd and 1st position throughout each section. I’m not sure why you have to play each part twice all the way through though. Seems like too much. If I were going to do this my own way, I’d just do one A and one B each time through. But this isn’t about me. (I mean, it is, but you know…) Also, this is dedicated to those of you who live in Cheatham County. You know who you are, and you know why you deserve this. Lots of love, my friends. Whole version on the Facebook and the YouTubes. #fiddle #fiddlestar #fiddlelesson #cheathamcountyblues (at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B19lVHNA-7L/?igshid=14lqrjystkjhn

Ate Korean food and talked about all manner of fiddle nerdy things with these fine people. A few hours went by awful quick and they were starting to sweep under our feet when we finally got up to leave. Then of course we had to talk about a few more Arthur Smith tunes while standing outside. I do like how music helps you find people to call friends. #thetunesthatbind #japchae #fiddlinarthursmith (at Korea House)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1zbDWCho8_/?igshid=4y648j532rrb

Happy #fiddlinarthursmith Tuesdays, dear ones! I’m opening with a lot of enthusiasm because today’s classic is a waltz AND I chose to play it in Bb because it’s a singing song so I can do what I want and you know how much I love both Bb and doing what I want. I still struggle with the grammar error in the title and I almost left that word out entirely but that’s how Arthur and Alton Delmore wanted it, so that’s how it’s gonna be. The melody of the verses and choruses are basically the same so I just played it in a couple of octaves and also in 2nd position to keep things interesting. This is a fine song and one you could learn to kick off and sing and you’ll be winning friends and influencing people at jams all over the land. I think this is the whole version so off you go then! #fiddle #fiddlestar #therearenotthereis #ardmorealabama #delmorebrothers #bflatrules (at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1rMMnDBkI4/?igshid=124gax3jrffkk

Aaaaaaaand, moving on. I decided to bail on the Vision Solos already. They took two weeks to break in and then when they finally started staying in tune for longer than 30 minutes, they immediately got zingy. Yuck. When I’m dead and gone, I do not want people to talk about my “zingy” signature sound. I had a full set of the Kaplan heavies sitting around (and @tessabearasaurus also put a set on just yesterday so this way we can test them together - fiddle nerds) so I figured that’s what we’d do next. Lester has high hopes. He and I will report back. #zingy #shihtzusofinstagram #fiddle #fiddlestar
(at Fiddlestar)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1pRXzohhnB/?igshid=12w8knfb3k6lj