For some of us there is a deep and inexplicable pull towards the Bluegrass and Appalachian Mountain musical traditions and the stories the songs tell. Maybe it comes from the compulsion to give voice to stories, old and new, of everyday life; of home, landscape, death, birth, job, faith, love, family, loss......so as not to be overwhelmed by a secular and monothematic popular musical culture. And... not to get too intellectual about it... it's really fun to play. Soul stirring stories, ancient melodies, and at times the kind of gutsy drive that hits you in the middle of the forehead and makes you nod your head and smile in recognition. And then we bring to it just ourselves. I once heard Ron Thomason of Dry Branch Fire Squad say that he started that band because he wanted to play tunes that he liked. Me too.