Rod Moag

Rod Moag

Ah-Haa! Goes Grass: A Bluegrass Tribute to Bob Wills (Textracs)

The obvious question, right off the bat: Why do an album of Bob Wills music in bluegrass? In fact, Moag himself asks this question (and answers it) in the liner notes, with an explanation just as detailed as you'd expect from a UT professor. The answer, in part, is the obvious similarities between the two forms; bluegrass, like jazz, depends heavily on virtuosic soloing, and so does Western swing, actually a form of jazz. The less obvious question: Why these songs? Moag leads off predictably enough with "San Antonio Rose" and "Faded Love," but then goes into less obvious titles like "Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone" and "Tater Pie." The answer again ties into Moag's professorship. As anyone who listens to the best radio show in Austin -- Moag's Country, Swing, and Rockabilly Jamboree Thursday mornings on KOOP 91.7FM -- knows, Moag's encyclopedic knowledge of classic C&W won't let him settle for the merely obvious when he can reach into such a deep well. But finally, the necessary question: How well does he execute? Pretty damn fine. A fair-to-middlin' vocalist, passable enough in a genre where picking is really the name of the game, he shores up the singing with fine guest spots from Bob's niece Dayna Wills. In addition to Moag's fine guitar, dobro, fiddle, and mandolin playing, he rounds up a National Honor Society of string players: Byron Berline, Johnny Gimble, Alan Munde, Cindy Cashdollar, Tom Swatzell, Paul Glasse, and Don Keeling (among others), all names that will make knowledgeable roots music fans gasp in awe. Okay, that's all the questions. Moag passes, with honors.