We just finished up our IRIS Chamber Orchestra concert with the bluegrass trio Time for Three, and these guys completely brought down the house. It was really amazing. These three guys (Zach, Nick, and Ranaan) combine the best of bluegrass with the best of classical playing. Their tunes are filled with quotes and structural components from classical music blended with raunchy bluegrass, and the result is irresistable.
The Germantown Performing Arts Center audience was about ready to storm the stage with excitement. Never in the seven years that IRIS has been in existence have I ever seen such a positive audience reaction.time
Playing bluegrass for a Tennessee audience (even one as refined as the IRIS crowd) is like throwing raw meat to a pack of wolves. The audience went nuts, letting their country side out and loving it.
These guys are really awesome in every way. I was hanging out with them last night on Beale Street in Memphis, and they were just as cool and fun in person as they were on stage.
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Jason, I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and I love it. It has been a bit depressing at times, seeing the world I’ll likely be heading into if I can cut it as a freelancer, but I appreciate all the advice just the same. I just wanted to say how cool it is that you met Ranaan – he was my teacher for almost 2 years at the University of Delaware (I’ve since transferred to Temple) and he’s just an amazing guy. Time for Three (as you must know now!) are a great group and I hope you get a chance to see them again – every time I see them they are impossibly better than before.
I also wanted to let you know that you should check out Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, a book which very prominently features Cairo, Illinois (in a pretty creepy way). It’s a long read for someone as busy as you, but I highly recommend it (for what that’s worth 🙂 ). Thanks for a great blog
Brent Edmondson
dbass@temple.edu
Thanks for the feedback, Brent! It is really cool that Ranaan was your teacher. He is a fantastic player and a great guy. I will definitely check out American Gods–I haven’t read it, but I love Neil Gaiman (I read his blog every day). Hope my freelancing stories don’t turn you off from the life. I purposely tell the worst and strangest stories for comic value, but there are a lot of great things about it as well.