Dan Grotewohl - Bear in the Greengrass
Ordering CD
To order my CD, Bear in the Greegrass, you have a couple options: Buying directly from me (via PayPal), or through one of a couple charitable sites that I endorse and support, such as Vital Ground or Oceti Wakan. I also try to channel a percentage of my CD sales to Walton 21st Century Rural Life Elementary and to the St. Anthony Fraternity Secular Franciscan Order. Please keep in mind that when buying from other sites besides this one or one that I've listed, I see zero money for those illegitimate sales. While I'm happy to donate all or part of CD sales to the above causes, I also would like to eventually pay off the first CD in hopes of recording a new CD.
For any questions related to the CD, performances, lessons, or general questions, please email me at mtnfiddle@yahoo.com
Review Snippets
This is an absolutely astounding album by a little known five-string fiddler . . . Grotewohl has now produced an album that alternates between thrilling, incendiary dance tunes and eerily beautiful airs and laments . . . the album ends with a hair-raising and heartbreaking lament entitled "Lillie Alice," . . . the four-note motif on which the tune is based is deeply affecting and almost frighteningly mournful . . . It's a powerful finish to a truly stunning album.
Bluegrass Unlimited, Nov. 2000 - Highlight Review
Once in a great while a truly original instrumental voice emerges in acoustic music, and fiddler Dan Grotewohl makes quite a splash on his debut CD, Bear in the Greengrass . . . Grotewohl is equally facile in Celtic fiddle styles and the old-time styles he learned in the heartland, and his strong, steady bowing and original, confident ornamentations are equally evident in both styles of music . . . Bear in the Greengrass is one of the most satisfying fiddle records I've heard in a month of Sunday's, and all the more impressive because it marks Grotewohl's solo debut.
Sing Out! 50th Anniversary Issue
. . . Dan Grotewohl is an accomplished fiddler with a fluid, long bowing style learned from his teacher Lyman Enloe. He applies his skills to a brisk and appealing collection of tunes . . . Grotewohl captures the energy of Irish music and back-porch charm of old-time tunes . . . He also does a fine job of capturing the more aspects of both traditions, creating haunting and gloomy arrangements of several slow pieces. . . All told, this is a very satisfying hunk of fiddle music.
Dirty Linen, Steve Winnick, Ph.D.
Bear in the Greengrass sounds great . . . . and Dan's playing is super. Dan has the ability to play many different styles, which I think is nice. Dan's arrangements are fantastic.
Byron Berline
To my mind Dan Grotewohl is one of the finest - enviable - examples of a fiddle player whose style is so comfortably their own that they can move smoothly through several styles and still sound natural. Here's a guy who sounds like the Fiddle History of North America all wrapped up in one player - from an Irish limestone to Appalachian hollows to bluegrass to bourbon and all the way at the other end - swing! How does he do it? While his reels and such have major guts, I also like the 3/4 numbers. He doesn't try to make them sound sweet or pretty - they just are, thankfully, with no extra effort.
Dale Russ