First you met Ben Manburg, the Bass player, who the other ScatterGrass band members consider as the guy who feeds life into and is the backbone of this group. Ben draws you in . . . with his humor, his sincerity and his sweet charm. Next we introduced Donny Hicks, the Fiddle player. Donny is basically the main ingredient of the band’s sound and brings more than can be mentioned in his professionalism to every performance. On top of that, he keeps everyone in the group grounded! Fritz Kraemer is the player who adds color to this band of musicians with every stroke of his instrument. He lays down the harmonies that keep their concept alive . . . which is the main thing they strive for in music and in life. The final member of ScatterGrass is Paul Briggs, a self-taught Singer, Song Writer and Musician. Although he definitely had help along the way from his many mentors, Paul says he was enrolled in “The School of Hard Knocks” early on in life. But to understand him, you will first need to know this about him . . . . Paul says one of his earliest memories at age four, other than getting his butt beat by his Mom, which he still thanks her for, was one day riding in the center of the back seat of his Dad’s ‘56 Pontiac. They pulled upside a huge red barn, arriving somewhat early for a dance which was to take place. While his Dad was chatting out front with the two hosts, Paul heard a strange and unfamiliar noise coming from inside. Peeking between the cracks of the barn doors, he saw five gents huddled together in a tight circle . . . just the guys and no one else. Without a thought he bolted inside, towards what he describes as “the most unusual, intriguing sound he ever heard.” Not recalling many more details, he thinks he slid between the banjo player legs and found himself right in the middle of a real Blue Grass band. Mesmerized, young Paul watched these gents play their instruments while they just tore up the song “Fox on the Run.” Now here’s the kicker in this story for Paul. As he was looking up, there was a big round light directly above them that hung from the rafters. As Paul tells the story, “the fiddle player looked me dead in my eye and made sounds come out of that fiddle that only angels could make. I was hypnotized looking up through that light. I thought I was seeing God. It was one of the most powerful and inspirational moments of my life and I have to say I have had many since. I will never forget that image nor that sound. It will probably go with me to my grave.” The weirdest thing Paul says of this whole story is “when I tell people about this phenomenal experience I had, they say they didn’t know God played the fiddle.” - My name is Rough Writer and I report for the ScatterGrass band. Watch for more insights & news to come . . . .
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 12:52:41 +0000
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