Acoustic Spotlight Presents: Willie McDonaldWillie McDonald was mandolin player, lead and harmony singer and frequent songwriter for the Bluegrass Patriots during its over thirty- year run as an internationally-loved traditional bluegrass band. The Patriots were festival favorites across the nation and in Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden and Denmark. The Father of Bluegrass himself endorsed them. They played their last official concert on October 21, 2011.
The European tours came about as a result of a good turn Willie did for a man at the California Grass Valley Father's Day Festival in the early 90s. "After the show a red-haired Irishman named Jerry Madden came up and asked me to teach him how to play "Rebecca." He wanted to pay me for the lesson but I refused so he said, 'I'll make it worth your while.' Before long we got a call from a promoter in Ireland wanting us to come there on tour. Jerry had recommended us." That tour and the several that followed were great successes. "One year we had a driver but after that we rented cars and drove ourselves. The European audiences loved our traditional approach to bluegrass. They don't get as much exposure to it as we do. They are very appreciative." Besides the music, the Irish were amazed at Willie's ability to quaff a brew or two especially since they are known for being pros in that area themselves. "What can I say? If you train at altitude you can do OK at sea level," Willie jokes.
The Patriots met promoters from other European festivals the first time across the pond and were then invited to participate in other festivals and a circuit through the country playing clubs and various bluegrass venues. They performed at the largest folk festival in Europe at Tonder, Denmark. Tickets are sold separately for each concert during the festival. Around twenty-two thousand tickets are sold each year. There is a volunteer staff of about twenty-seven hundred. "At one of the concerts we sang, 'I Can't Quit Cigarettes.' Glenn (Zankey) learned to say that in Danish. The crowd loved it."
Willie grew up in Burlington, Vermont. He never had music lessons but did sing in the church choir and played rock and roll on his guitar. After high school Willie came to Colorado to join his mother who had moved to Vail. From there he settled in Fort Collins where a relative taught at CSU. Important influences were Doc Watson whom he heard in Fort Collins and greats Ralph Stanley, Bill Monroe and the Osborne Brothers at Bean Blossom. The Oklahoma-based Country Gazette was a major influence on Willie in the 70s.
A mutual friend in Fort Collins introduced Willie to Glenn Zankey. They began playing together with some others but already had two guitars so Willie picked up the mandolin. "I learned Bailey's Horn Pipe and a few other songs to begin with. I never had formal musical training but bluegrass music is a great teacher." The harmonies and chords are a good basis of music theory.
The Bluegrass Patriots played their first concert in 1980. They distinguished themselves in several ways. Their ease on stage, great instrumentals and traditional tight harmony singing set them apart. "I've always thought emphasis should be on singing. What you play on your instrument is your business. We spent a lot of time on vocals." Willie attributes their longevity the fact that no one moved away and everyone assumed some of the duties required to keep a band going. "Kenny (Seaman) did the bookings. The competition for a spot is very stiff nowadays and it is hard to get in. He did a great job." Willie is glad not to be playing far and wide any more. He says playing festivals and touring is a "young man's game." As he gets older it is harder and harder to spend the weekends going from place to place. "My boss was very accommodating and let me off work but I have a lot of interests and all the weekends were taken. It's good to have time for other things now."
Willie was the proverbial handsome eligible bachelor mandolin player for a majority of the Patriot years. Handsome he is, but no longer single. He now plays with the McDailey Experiment, a group formed with his wife Susan Dailey. "The McDaileys started as a marriage workshop. We first played at the Grand Junction Memorial Day Festival in 2001." Willie plays guitar, sings lead vocals and acts as front man for the group that includes Amy Anderson and Paul Kiteck.
Willie is a published songwriter. He has written as many as three songs in one day. "Sometimes the ideas come one right after the other. They usually start with a mandolin melody and develop from there." Willie finds it is easier to write songs when you are unhappy and down and out. Several of his songs appear on the six Bluegrass Patriots albums. His "Bound in Sorrow" from the Patriots' The First Decade album was also recorded by Bill Grant and Delia Bell. Willie's "The Captain," "Many Miles from Home," and "You Can Run But You Can't Hide" were popular additions to the highly-acclaimed When You and I Were Young, Maggie album. The Chapmans recorded "You Can Run But You Can't Hide." It went to number four on the charts.
Willie will always continue to perform. He is a member of Capo Zero that has played at the Black Rose Acoustic Society. The McDailey Experiment plays a few concerts here and there too but Willie is content to kick back and have some more time off stage. Just in case you need a Patriots fix you can still order some of their albums by going to their web site or listening to YouTube videos. I spent part of an afternoon doing just that. It made me miss them even more.
Willie will be performing some around Colorado but for now we can be glad for the more than thirty years of traditional bluegrass we enjoyed from him and the Patriots. It was great while it lasted.
