The fireflies were out in June in Fairfield, Nebraska when I wrote this tune.

Second part authored in May, 1990. I finished this tune on St. Patrick's Day, so Shamrock seemed like a good title. It also reminded me of the Shamrock Fiddlers of O'Neill, Nebraska. I used to try to play along with them when I first started on fiddle.

It was a rainy summer in Nebraska.

This tune was named for my wife.

Clay Center, Nebraska has a tractor and threshing convention called "Old Trusty Days." Old Trusty was a brand of egg incubator that was made in Clay Center starting in 1903.

First played in public at the Arbor Day Fiddle Contest in Nebraska City, Nebraska on April 27, 1991. Since I had to have a name for the contest, I called it Treeplanter's Reel in honor of Arbor Day. I performed this tune many times from the late 1990s on with the Turtle Creek Bluegrass Band (Steve Gilmore, Mike Metzger, Bill McKay, Rod Businga, Dave Brinkman). Treeplanter's was also recorded by the Rivertown String Band for their CD.

Spring Ranch was a community on the Little Blue River and Oregon Trail in South Central Nebraska.

This tune was first played in public in the early 1990s with the Rivertown String Band from Omaha, Nebraska. We were playing at a contradance near Crescent, Iowa. I did not have a name for the tune, but since it was a cold night in January, it became January Waltz. The Rivertown String Band (Jenni Wallace-Grate, Kathy Wood, Paul Arnold, Jim Wood) later recorded the tune on their CD.

Written in Lincoln, Nebraska in the early 1990s. We were living on land near East High School, so Mary named it East Highlander Reel.

Goldenrod is the State Flower of Nebraska. This was written just before we moved to Laramie.

The tune was named for Split Rock on the Oregon Trail near Jeffrey City, Wyoming.

I was working on this tune at home, and Warrie Means called up to invite me to play some music. When I got to his house, he was mixing up a chocolate cake, because Sherri Means told him he should have a snack ready if he was going to invite me out. So, as he was finishing the cake, I finished the tune.

The title and idea for this tune were suggested by Joyce Kelly at the Ainsworth Music Festival.

Named for the mountain near the home of Warrie, Sherri, Shelby, and Jacob Means outside of Laramie. The mountain is known as Spur Ridge, but since there were lots of mosquitos out the first time I played it with Warrie, it became Mosquito Ridge.

I decided to experiment with playing in the key of Eb, and this tune is the result.

Named for the "French Creek Folk," a band in Custer, South Dakota. Hollis Marriott passed the tune on to the group, and Mary Winchester was the leader when I heard them perform the tune. The French Creek runs through Custer.

Composed on a walk in Washington Park in Laramie, Wyoming.

Jennifer, my daughter-in-law, asked me more than once when I was going to write the Daughter-in-Law Waltz. In 1999, she and Matt visited in Laramie for Thanksgiving, and having them here was inspiration for the tune.

Composed after attending the Peabody Hale Fiddle Contest in Crawford, Nebraska. The piece was inspired by hearing Al and Mary Kalbfleisch play banjo and fiddle and hearing French Creek Folk perform at Fort Robinson, which is located on Soldier Creek.

Composed in Atkinson, Nebraska (my hometown) on August 3, 2001. I was playing tunes with Jay Kelly in Wes and Helen Slaymaker's kitchen. I happened to strum the first four chords on the guitar, and liked the sound. So I gave the guitar to Jay and picked up the fiddle and started to play. The tune was mostly there the first time through. This was first performed in public by Kathy Kirlin at the Casper Fiddle Contest in August 2001.

Written in Atkinson, Nebraska while visiting Wes and Helen Slaymaker for Christmas. Hay Days is Atkinson's summer community celebration. It celebrates the production of wild prairie hay in the surrounding region.

For My Granddaughter

Twin Fiddle version was composed so that I could play the tune with Kelly Wells. We played this once at the Wyoming State Fiddle Contest. Also have vocal and single fiddle versions.

Written the day before my birthday. As Warrie Means and I were playing the tune, Sherri Means commented that I was "another year older." So the tune was named.

I was in Shoshoni, Wyoming for the State Fiddle Content in May 2003. We ate supper at acafe on the west side of town. The sign by the cash register said "Beware of Dog in the Kitchen." As we were eating, we heard the dog barking. The cafe was not open the next time we were in town.

Composed on November 18, 2003 in Laramie, Wyoming. Gem City Waltz was first played in public the next night at the regular "3rd Wednesday of the Month" Jam Session held at Old Towne Bagel Shop in Laramie. Musicians and listeners included Brian Peel, Jacob Means, Shelby Means, Warrie Means, Sherri Means, Bill McKay, Erin Coats, Chris Knodle, Tom Wilhelm, Kyle Shobe, Marge and Larry Roberts, Susan Cogdill, Jodie Covington, Curt Heimbuch, and others. Laramie, Wyoming is known as "Gem City of the Plains."

Composed at the Wyoming State Fiddle Contest in Shosoni, Wyoming. It was Friday night before the contest started, and I had a guitar in my hand and started humming a tune. I named it "Mary's Birthday Waltz" because it was Mary Brinkman's birthday. She had stayed in Laramie for the weekend, and I was just lonesome.

Daniel William Brinkman is my grandson, and he was born on July 29, 2004 in Lincoln, Nebraska.to Matt and Jennifer Brinkman. Katherine Brinkman is his sister. This tune is for Daniel.

Composed at the Happy Jack Music Festival in 2005. As we were sitting around the camp on Sunday morning, I got the idea for this tune. Steamboat is the name of the horse on the Wyoming license plate.

Composed after hearing Dr. Anne Guzzo lecture about augmented chords in Sophomore Music Theory class at the University of Wyoming. The piece was written in the key of C, but I usually play it in A on the fiddle.

I figured this tune out at the Happy Jack Festival and in the days after. I couldn't think of a title that captured the mountain landscape. A few months later, Matt, Jennifer, Katherine, and Daniel moved to Blue Sage Boulevard in Lincoln, Nebraska. Blue Sage seemed like the perfect title!

Composed around the time of the Happy Jack Music Festival at the ampitheater at Curt Gowdy State Park east of Laramie.

Written at the home of Sandy and Star west of Custer, South Dakota on the shady side of the house. Their place is in the area known as Custer Highlands.

Composed in September 2007, and first played in a jam with Hollis Marriott and Cheryl Mayer on September 26, 2007. Cheryl had driven all day to get to Laramie from "two hours east of Reno," and so the tune was named.

This tune was composed on the trip from Plainview, Nebraska to Laramie, Wyoming in the fall of 2007. Turtle Creek had played in Plainview, and it was a long drive back on I-80. The tune was composed without an instrument in my hand, so I had to really concentrate so I could remember it the next day and right it down.

This tune was composed on the banjo, with the first section down the neck, and the second section played an octave higher melodically up the neck. The first time I played it with others was at the monthly jam at Coal Creek Coffee. It sounded great, and I was struck by how lucky I was to have folks like Bill, Brian, Warrie, Tom, and others to play music with. So I called the tune "Lucky."

The Am-C-D chords are strummed, with the bluegrass rhythm resuming on the next chord. This gives a syncopated effect which makes this tune unusual.

A sort of Irish sounding tune that may be close to some other Irish tune that I have heard. The lilt of it just reminded my of my grandson, Daniel William Brinkman, who was four years old at the time this was composed.

I started this tune while waiting for Matt, Jennifer, Katherine and Daniel Brinkman to get to Laramie for Christmas 2008. They had to drive over the "summit," the highest place on I-80, where weather is always a concern.

I have known these two "TWs"--Tally and Tanner Wells since they were babies, and get to see them every year at the Wyoming State Fiddle Contest. Kelly Wells, their Mom, has been my occasional twin fiddling partner in the contest, and is one of my best fiddling friends.

For my sweetheart, Mary Lou Slaymaker Brinkman, who grew up on ranches in Nebraska.

Composed at the Big Horn Festival in Buffalo, Wyoming July 12, 2009. First played with Al Kalbfleish, and then with Bill McKay, Steve Gilmore, Warrie Means, and Brian. Peel at the festival. Their assistance was invaluable! Tunes don't mean much if they can't be shared and played.

As we approached the solstice, I mentioned to Mary that this would be the longest night of the year. She said that I should write a tune with that title, so I did. First played with Warrie Means on December 21, 2009 when he dropped by to pick up a CD. Thanks, Warrie!.

This tune was started on Saturday morning at the Midwinter Bluegrass Festival in Denver. Tom Raridan said it had an "old country-ish sound," and that seemed like a good name.

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Composed in late May, 2010, while we were visiting Matt, Jennifer, and Daniel, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Mary and I were taking care of Katie and Daniel while Matt and Jennifer were in NYC. I had some time to work on a tune, and this is the result.

To Shorty and Betty Richardson, special friends in high school who are together again after 50 years. Congratulations on your wedding, and best wishes from all your musical friends in Laramie. It was a pleasure for Bill McKay, Warrie Means, Brian Peel, Jeff Selden, Nicole Lamartine, and Dave Brinkman to play at your reception in the Elk Mountain Park on July 3, 2010

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For Dr. Julia Obert, fiddler, on the occasion of earning her Ph.D.

I had an idea for a bouncy bluegrass or fiddle tune and this was the result.

Cedar and Flint is a fiddle band that played at the Night Heron Bookstore on July 24, 2011. The other members suggested that I should write the "Wyoming Waltz." Members of the band that day were Pete Ellsworth (banjo), Julie Obert (fiddle), Jay Edwards (guitar), Hollis Marriott (fiddle and guitar), and Dave Brinkman (guitar and fiddle).