Intermountain Acoustic Musician, Volume 10 Number 6, June 1993

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Bluegrass Conspiracy A fine evening· of bluegrass is on tap June 5, as the conspirators present their newest stuff The Intermountain Acoustic Music Association proudly sponsors Bluegrass Conspiracy in concert June 5, 7:30p.m. at the Social Work Auditorium on the U ofUcampus. Tickets are $9 in advance ($10 day of show) $8 for lAMA members, $7 for seniors, available at Acoustic Music, Compact Discounter, Intermountain Guitar & Banjo, Local Music, Smokey's Records, all Sound Off locations and from individual members of the lAMA. Bluegrass Conspiracy performs a mix of original numbers, arrangements of traditional bluegrass tunes, and blue­grass arrangements of folk, pop and country tunes. With each performance, they roll out something new-an indica­tion of their desire to keep reaching for new sounds. The Conspiracy has appeared throughout Utah, and can now accu­rately call themselves an international act. They toured Canada and the Pacific Northwest in 1991 and were the head­liner band at the Shuswap Lake Blue­grass Festival in Celista, B.C. in 1992. Recordings to date are Makin' Blue­grass and soon-to-be-released, Mountain Daylight Time. Mark your calendars now-I'll be taking attendance! -Kevin McCusker From an inauspicious beginning as a pick-up quartet under the name, Blue­grass All-Stars, the Conspiracy has achieved a significant following in the Intermountain area. From the president ... The current configuration includes Mark Anger, banjo; Dave Hunt, guitar & fiddle; Ron Spears, mandolin & guitar; and Bangs Tapscott, string bass. Each are accomplished players, and like many bluegrass musicians, are adept on more than one instrument. Dave Hunt, (new­est member of the band) for example, won the Utah State flatpicking contest and took second place in fiddle in 1989. All take turns singing lead and tight four-part harmonies are a trademark of this band. 1. Jam sessions: The Wednesday night jam sessions will move to Sugarhouse Park in June. I wish to ex­tend a very special thanks to Dave Crompton for the use of his establish­ment for the jams through the months with long hours of darkness. Let's face the facts: Dave gives a lot by letting us jam there. After all, the average session picker doesn't order a lot of food, and doesn't tip much. Per­haps we might bring in some business, but we might scare off some as well. Remember to patronize this fine estab­lishment all year round, and also ... say thanks while you're there. 2. This month, lAMA will sponsor a concert by a regional band, the Bluegrass i Intermountain Acoustic Musician, June 1993 Conspiracy. This is, I hope, the first of many such concerts-lAMA feels a strong commitment to its own. I have approached members of virtually every acoustic band in town with the offer of lAMA produced concerts-here's the first. By the way, I haven't heard back from the rest of you. Are you still inter­ested? 3. Have a good summer. Wear lots of sunblock while jamming, keep your seatbelts fastened, sign your organ do­nor cards, and write if you have a change of address. -Kevin McCusker, lAMA president