i had the great good fortune to see john perform several times. his was a unique talent who combined fiddling, banjo pickin' and clog dancing (while performing on one of his hand wrought instruments.) i saw him once at the telluride bluegrass festival, where he stepped down from the stage and into the huge throng, inviting all its members to sing and dance in a line that reached from one end of the park to the other. that was a magic moment. john was the pied piper, the gentle poet and the livin'-a-dream riverboat pilot. i knew that the concert he gave at the boulder theatre last march would be one of his last and something thus to be treasured. i'll sure miss you, john but feel better knowin' you'll join that gang of bluegrass masters who have gone before and keep on jammin' and jokin' and singin' til we can all dance together again in an endless line, you in the lead. -kelly
