When I was young I'd not heard of him, but I became a fan in the early '80s when Jerry Garcia was asked in some interview who he thought were "genius" guitar players and Rice was one he named. I immediately bought a Tony Rice Unit album and was completely hooked.
He never played on the west coast, then he got throat cancer & lost his voice so I figured I'd never see him, but then he did that first tour with Peter Rowan. I saw that in a little theater in Palo Alto and he was just so fucking great. Such a distinctive, smooth sound, and also an excellent singer before he got sick.
Living in Northern Virginia in the early 1990s, I was able to see Tony play dozens of times. The Tony Rice Unit with his brother Wyatt on 2nd guitar, Jimmy Gaudreau on mandolin, and Ronnie Simpkins was a finely oiled machine, rewriting the Bluegrass playbook without any banjo or fiddle. I saw them at a few outdoor festivals, once at a beautiful old theater in Fredericksburg, but mostly at the original location of the Birchmere Club in Alexandria.
I was managing a record store at the foot of King Street in Old Town from 1990-1993 and my first hire was Chris, a childhood friend of a good friend of mine, who picked up a job moonlighting in the small record and merchandise store the Birchmere had in the basement. He was able to get his friends in for free most nights, so I wound up catching a lot of great shows there. The Seldom Scene still had their weekly slot then, and their original guitarist/vocalist John Starling had just rejoined the group, then consisting of fellow original members John Duffey on mandolin and vocals, Mike Auldridge on pedal steel and dobro, Ben Eldridge on banjo, accompanied by long-time member T. Michael Coleman on turned-down electric bass.
Starling was also a practicing surgeon, and had arranged to miss one of the weekly shows every month so he could schedule his surgeries. For those night's off, his fill-in was Tony Rice, and those nights with Tony and John sharing harmony vocals and all of them interweaving ensemble playing with crisp soloing, were blissful magic. Tony and Duffey had great onstage chemistry, and were a couple of pranksters, endlessly teasing each other good-naturedly between songs. One time, Duffey was ragging on Tony about the pony-tail Tony was sporting. He called it the Tony-Pony and mentioned how Tony had just gotten back from hanging out and recording with a bunch of hippies in the Bay Area of California. We didn't know it at the time, but he was talking about "The Pizza Tapes" sessions, which were engineered by The Birchmere's longtime soundman, Bill Wolf. Tony's succinct response to Duffey's poking was "nice pants, John" a reference to Duffey's, let's say "colorful" choice of sweatpants he'd chosen to wear to that night's show. Then they would blaze off into a number like "I Haven't Got The Right To Love You", "Little Georgia Rose", "I Know You Rider", or "A Winter's Night With You" and we would all blissfully take it all in.
I moved to the West Coast at the end of 1993, and never got to see Tony play again. It was hard to believe when I heard he'd lost the ability to sing just a year or so later. He had one of the most distinct and nicest voices in the genre. His playing was always top-tier, along with Doc Watson, Norman Blake and Dan Crary, the best of their era.
When I was later living in Humboldt County, I got to see Tony's old collaborator Ricky Skaggs' band at the Van Duzen Theater in Arcata. Ricky had just returned to focusing on Bluegrass after a long period of making commercial Country albums. I think Bill Monroe had set him straight and passed the mantle of carrying on the Bluegrass tradition to him before he died. That was the night I heard Bryan Sutton for the first time, and was glad to see that there was another younger top-notch flat-pickin' guitar prodigy on the scene. It made sense that Ricky went searching for that sound in his band.
Those were some great times, before the evolution of the YMSB, SCI and other jam-grass varieties. All those bands owe Tony and other visionaries like David Grisman, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas and Sam Bush a huge debt of gratitude for expanding the concept of what Bluegrass is.
I hope that Bill Wolf recorded all of those nights when Tony collaborated with The Seldom Scene, and that one day those recordings surface. There are probably some good audience tapes circulating, but it would be nice to hear the boards.
RIP Tony Rice, one of the greatest flat-pickers this world will ever know.
Got some albums queued for later. Turned on from Pizza Tapes.
I've been picking for the last 8-9 years... tried for a few more before that. Music is very rewarding- and humbling. It's humbling to recognize your ability in comparison to some of the true monsters.
Pizza Tapes was my go to CD when driving through the country.
Spent a little time in Russellville, AR. Had some great hikes in the surrounding areas.
Amazing sunsets from the top of Mount Nebo. With some fine barbecue to follow.
Rocking the pizza tapes, window down and the sound up.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: fishcane
Have a slice
Have a slice
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p3g7I6SZ_J8
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
R.I.P. tony
R.I.P. tony
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Strangha
Tony getting inducted into
Sad. Glad I got to have him in my life. Helluva player.
Tony getting inducted into the IBMA Hall of Fame.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBzGDa5DAjE&feature=youtu.be or https://twitter.com/IntlBluegrass/status/1342965105793884160
Tell Me Baby Why You Been Gone So Long https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tONjW0-Ok_4
Tony Rice & Norman Blake - New River Train https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y36HCn4Ivws&list=RDtONjW0-Ok_4&index=4
The Tony Rice Unit - Blue Railroad Train https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhI-4Agmax4&list=RDtONjW0-Ok_4&index=2
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lance just me Newberry
Oh no.
Oh no.
When I was young I'd not heard of him, but I became a fan in the early '80s when Jerry Garcia was asked in some interview who he thought were "genius" guitar players and Rice was one he named. I immediately bought a Tony Rice Unit album and was completely hooked.
He never played on the west coast, then he got throat cancer & lost his voice so I figured I'd never see him, but then he did that first tour with Peter Rowan. I saw that in a little theater in Palo Alto and he was just so fucking great. Such a distinctive, smooth sound, and also an excellent singer before he got sick.
Truly a genius.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Strangha
Tony Rice All Star Jam plays
Tony Rice All Star Jam plays "Nine Pound Hammer" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u964a0f38s&list=RDtONjW0-Ok_4&index=13
Tony Rice - Early Morning Rain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=608tDKO6aL0&list=RDtONjW0-Ok_4&index=15
Tony Rice Jam at 1988 Merle Watson Festival https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPpFWk3gFj8&list=RDgnV5NI348so&index=2
And to see his wizardry up close
Tony Rice Performs "Shenandoah" (an excerpt from the Tony Rice Method on Homespun Music Instruction) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GdfCNKuJzo&list=RDgnV5NI348so&index=5
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Sun so hot, clouds so low
What an amazing musician.
What an amazing musician. Rest In Peace
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: An organ grinder’s tune
rip, i believe i only caught
rip, i believe i only caught him once.
epic talent
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Druba
RIP
RIP
https://www.fretboardjournal.com/features/58957-tony-rice-and-his-holy-g...
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Sound and Vision
Sad to hear. RIP Tony Rice.
Sad to hear. RIP Tony Rice.
Last chance I had to see him was in Naples, Florida of all places and I couldn't make the show.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR0EZO0GKXvvWSuCcPOAL-GPD5h30RZpksR...
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Blue Rose Task Force
RIP ((((Pizza Tapes))))
RIP
((((Pizza Tapes))))
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Thumbkinetic
Pretty sure I did NOT see him
Pretty sure I did NOT see him in an early 80s version of DGQ. I think Mark O'Connor was the hot-shit guitarist by then.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Thumbkinetic
Pretty sure I did NOT see him
Pretty sure I did NOT see him in an early 80s version of DGQ. I think Mark O'Connor was the hot-shit guitarist by then.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Philzone Refugee
Living in Northern Virginia
Living in Northern Virginia in the early 1990s, I was able to see Tony play dozens of times. The Tony Rice Unit with his brother Wyatt on 2nd guitar, Jimmy Gaudreau on mandolin, and Ronnie Simpkins was a finely oiled machine, rewriting the Bluegrass playbook without any banjo or fiddle. I saw them at a few outdoor festivals, once at a beautiful old theater in Fredericksburg, but mostly at the original location of the Birchmere Club in Alexandria.
I was managing a record store at the foot of King Street in Old Town from 1990-1993 and my first hire was Chris, a childhood friend of a good friend of mine, who picked up a job moonlighting in the small record and merchandise store the Birchmere had in the basement. He was able to get his friends in for free most nights, so I wound up catching a lot of great shows there. The Seldom Scene still had their weekly slot then, and their original guitarist/vocalist John Starling had just rejoined the group, then consisting of fellow original members John Duffey on mandolin and vocals, Mike Auldridge on pedal steel and dobro, Ben Eldridge on banjo, accompanied by long-time member T. Michael Coleman on turned-down electric bass.
Starling was also a practicing surgeon, and had arranged to miss one of the weekly shows every month so he could schedule his surgeries. For those night's off, his fill-in was Tony Rice, and those nights with Tony and John sharing harmony vocals and all of them interweaving ensemble playing with crisp soloing, were blissful magic. Tony and Duffey had great onstage chemistry, and were a couple of pranksters, endlessly teasing each other good-naturedly between songs. One time, Duffey was ragging on Tony about the pony-tail Tony was sporting. He called it the Tony-Pony and mentioned how Tony had just gotten back from hanging out and recording with a bunch of hippies in the Bay Area of California. We didn't know it at the time, but he was talking about "The Pizza Tapes" sessions, which were engineered by The Birchmere's longtime soundman, Bill Wolf. Tony's succinct response to Duffey's poking was "nice pants, John" a reference to Duffey's, let's say "colorful" choice of sweatpants he'd chosen to wear to that night's show. Then they would blaze off into a number like "I Haven't Got The Right To Love You", "Little Georgia Rose", "I Know You Rider", or "A Winter's Night With You" and we would all blissfully take it all in.
I moved to the West Coast at the end of 1993, and never got to see Tony play again. It was hard to believe when I heard he'd lost the ability to sing just a year or so later. He had one of the most distinct and nicest voices in the genre. His playing was always top-tier, along with Doc Watson, Norman Blake and Dan Crary, the best of their era.
When I was later living in Humboldt County, I got to see Tony's old collaborator Ricky Skaggs' band at the Van Duzen Theater in Arcata. Ricky had just returned to focusing on Bluegrass after a long period of making commercial Country albums. I think Bill Monroe had set him straight and passed the mantle of carrying on the Bluegrass tradition to him before he died. That was the night I heard Bryan Sutton for the first time, and was glad to see that there was another younger top-notch flat-pickin' guitar prodigy on the scene. It made sense that Ricky went searching for that sound in his band.
Those were some great times, before the evolution of the YMSB, SCI and other jam-grass varieties. All those bands owe Tony and other visionaries like David Grisman, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas and Sam Bush a huge debt of gratitude for expanding the concept of what Bluegrass is.
I hope that Bill Wolf recorded all of those nights when Tony collaborated with The Seldom Scene, and that one day those recordings surface. There are probably some good audience tapes circulating, but it would be nice to hear the boards.
RIP Tony Rice, one of the greatest flat-pickers this world will ever know.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Jay
RIP Tony!
RIP Tony!
Got some albums queued for later. Turned on from Pizza Tapes.
I've been picking for the last 8-9 years... tried for a few more before that. Music is very rewarding- and humbling. It's humbling to recognize your ability in comparison to some of the true monsters.
Rest Easy.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
Great stuff Dave. Wow.
Great stuff Dave. Wow.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Ken D.
I always liked the Rowan-Rice
I always liked the Rowan-Rice Quartet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErvKGpY8X4c
Got to see Tony play with Sam Bush at the Oregon Gardens. RIP.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mtndog
Pizza Tapes was my go to CD
Pizza Tapes was my go to CD when driving through the country.
Spent a little time in Russellville, AR. Had some great hikes in the surrounding areas.
Amazing sunsets from the top of Mount Nebo. With some fine barbecue to follow.
Rocking the pizza tapes, window down and the sound up.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Sycamore Slough
https://www.youtube.com/watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmAqD4yuOU0
Grisman's commentary upon the "Pizza Tapes" sessions.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Jerman
one of the best flat pickers
one of the best flat pickers ever, rest is peace