Blue grass is family tradition for Roberts 2011

ROBERTS

Posted By: Mistina Christner (email)
Date: 7/5/2018 at 12:39:24

Source: Kalona News 2011

Blue grass is a family tradition for Roberts

While the church's band usually incorporates contemporary Christian with country and western, Roberts said music is an important part of the church, where drums, acoustic guitar, piano and Hammond organ are a common sight in the sanctuary.

By Tyler Harris

Paul Roberts, 56, of Sharon Center, has been playing banjo since he was 23 in 1978. While watching the television show, Hee Haw, he saw Roy Clark playing banjo tunes.
"I got to wondering if I could do that," Roberts said.
So, Roberts bought a banjo, a friend bought a guitar, and the two started jamming together.
However, at that time the blue-grass scene and festivals weren't as prominent as they are now, and it took him awhile before he learned to play bluegrass tunes, Roberts said.
Over time, the bluegrass scene gained popularity in the area. Roberts often went to festivals to learn from other musicians and started performing in them in 1989, he said.
"There's almost a little subculture," he said. "A high amount of the audience are pickers too."
Roberts, who also gives lessons, performs with the Great Bluegrass Herons and his church group, Sharon Praise. In addition, he plays music for performances at the Old Creamery Theater in Amana.
Collaboration with family members and other musicians is a bluegrass tradition, Roberts said.
He performs with his wife in the Herons, and with several cousins from Camanche, in another band, the McPunk Brothers, he said.
"There was one summer almost every weekend, either they came over or we went over there," he said. "That's when we learned a lot of things."
But learning to play the banjo doesn't happen overnight, Roberts said.
"It's hard to do," he said, demonstrating the complexity of an Earl Scruggs riff on his Gibson banjo. "That's going to take awhile."
Other life experiences have helped progress his playing and songwriting as well.
Roberts also farms, raising beef cattle and growing corn, oats and hay.
"Sometimes those things get all mixed up in you and it comes out in a song on stage," he said.
His church, Sharon Center United Methodist Church, has also played a role. It was the first venue he played at, providing a more welcoming atmosphere, Roberts said.
"You're not going to get booed or things thrown at you," he said.
While the church's band usually incorporates contemporary Christian with country and western, Roberts said music is an important part of the church, where drums, acoustic guitar, piano and Hammond organ are a common sight in the sanctuary.
The Church is the location of this Sunday's outdoor Sharon Center Bluegrass Festival from noon to 5 p.m.
Roberts will be performing with his band, the Great Bluegrass Herons and Sharon Praise.
Also performing will be Shinbone Alley, Castle Ridge, and the Ockenfels Family, which is made up of several of Robert's students.
"We're looking to have a good time," he said.