Fiddle me this
Walking past a bar in Davis, the brisk honeyed tones of a fiddle float by on the delta breeze. If you feel like gambling, it’s a good bet that the music is emanating from Andy Lentz, a fixture of the burgeoning Davis acoustic and bluegrass scene. Andy approaches music with a truckload of energy, a superhighway crammed with fiddling skills, and more transportation-themed metaphors than you’d expect.
If you’ve enjoyed seeing Andy perform, or are stopping by this page for the first time, here’s a little info on who he is and what he’s doing.
Background
Classically trained in the Suzuki method since age six, Andy honed his ability to learn by ear by performing as a teenager at Irish pubs. Encouraged by a chance encounter with Martin Hayes, he attended fiddle camps (Port Townsend, WA and Mark O’Connor’s camp in TN) where he dabbled in Scandinavian and swing fiddle and was introduced by Darol Anger to the “chop” style of comping that continues to shape his style.
In 2003, Andy co-founded Davis’ Mad Cow String Band, and though bluegrass remains his first love, he enjoys transcending genres. In the past few years, he’s performed regularly with the UC Davis Baroque ensemble, picked up jazz fiddle, and accompanied numerous singer/songwriters. Andy also currently offers private lessons and has taught Fiddle For Kids at the ![[WWW]](http://wikispot.org/wiki/eggheadbeta/img/sycamore-www.png){kind=small}
Strawberry Music Festival since 2000.
Where’s Andy?
Andy performs with several baroque, country, bluegrass and jazz ensembles. This musical openness (read: blatant promiscuity) leads to a whole heck of a lot of gigs. In fact, if it were physically possible to play in two bands simultaneously, Andy would do it. Until we finish fine-tuning The Device, however, Andy’s probably playing somewhere in California tonight with:
Rita Hosking & Cousin Jack The West Nile Ramblers Mad Cow String Band The Alkali Flats The Bottom Dwellers The Deciders
