Mike Auldridge | |
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Mike Auldridge at The Birchmere, December 2006 |
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Background information | |
Born | 30 December 1938 |
Genres | Bluegrass, Country, Instrumental |
Instruments | Resonator Guitar |
Years active | 1960s鈥損resent |
Website | Official website |
Notable instruments | |
Beard MA-6 Beard MA-8 |
Mike Auldridge (born 30 December 1938, Washington, D.C.[1]) is widely acknowledged as a premier resophonic guitar (the instrument formerly referred to as a Dobro) player. He played with The Seldom Scene for many years, creating a fusion of bluegrass with jazz, folk and rock.
Auldridge started playing guitar at the age of 13. His main influence through his early years was Josh Graves who also sold him his first Dobro.[2] A 1967 graduate of The University of Maryland, Auldridge worked as a graphic artist for a commercial art firm in Bethesda, Maryland and then for the now defunct Washington Star-News. He did not start playing music full-time until the Washington Star-News folded in 1976.
Today Auldridge plays with Darren Beachley and The Legends of the Potomac bluegrass band[3] Past bands include Emerson and Waldron, Cliff Waldron and the New Shades of Grass, The Seldom Scene (of which he was a founding member), Chesapeake, The Good Deale Bluegrass Band, and John Starling and Carolina Star (which featured three original members of The Seldom Scene). Mike has also been a member of the touring bands of Lyle Lovett and Emmylou Harris.
Auldridge has worked with Paul Beard (Beard Guitars) to produce the Beard Mike Auldridge Models of square-neck resophonic guitars, including an 8-string version.
Auldridge has won numerous awards including a Grammy, and Frets Magazine's "Dobro Player of the Year" and most recently the IBMA's Lifetime Achievement Award.
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