The Fields Of Bluegrass Radio Hour's Cary Allen Fields

by Terry Mathley

Cary Allen Fields is a man who wears many hats.  Host of two different radio shows, husband, father, musician, founding board member of a new foundation, ambassador for Bluegrass, Americana and Roots music, and the list goes on and on.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Cary at the WICR studios in Indianapolis this week.  We discussed music, his two radio shows, the new foundation and the Central Indiana music scene.


T-Bone's Prime Cuts:  What drew you to Bluegrass music?


Cary Allen Fields:  The first place I ever heard bluegrass music was on an old Philco floor model radio w/ a beautiful walnut cabinet, it belonged to my granny. The kind you turn on and wait for the signal to fade in as the tubes warm up.  The channel presets are labeled "WSM," "WLW" (Cincinnati, OH), "WCKY" (Villa Hills, KY) that played both kinds of music. As in, traditional country and traditional bluegrass. Mom sang that stuff to us when we were kids, my love for the music is encoded into my DNA and rooted in family.


TBPC:  How old were you when you realized you wanted to be on the radio?


CAF:  You know, I didn't allow myself to ever think it possible. Despite the fact that radio, in Chicago where I grew up and Kentucky were I spent summers on my uncle's farm, did so much to shape my musical taste. When I look back now and see how in demand the mix tapes I made for my friends were, and how the content of those things was a reaction to how homogenized and formulaic radio became in the 80s and 90s, it was obvious I was moving in that direction without realizing it. I felt compelled to share great music that my friends might not have had an opportunity to hear otherwise, driven even.


TBPC:  Were there any DJ's that influenced your style?


CAF:  Wayne Rice, my good friend and host of "The Bluegrass Special" on KSON in San Diego, was the cat that demystified radio for me and made me say, "Hey, I want to do that!" Tim D of The Free Zone on WICR is the individual that gave me the shot and made it clear that I'd need to go genuine or go the hell home. When Tim showed me by example that honest music + honest producer/host = something that will shine out like gold when all around is dark, everything else fell into place.


TBPC:  How do you see the role of the internet when it comes to the future of radio?


CAF:  The internet can make a niche that might only have fans numbering in the thousands in a given community viable. If you're from a tiny town anywhere on the planet and you put you a kickass radio show together, you've got you a real shot at being heard despite the "locationally challenged" deal. Man, when you realize you got a family in Northern China and an individual in Norway listening each and every week, not only does it bring home the fact that bluegrass and roots music has serious international cred, it validates your parking on the planet! We're in our ninth year of streaming live on the web and we've received emails from places like Australia, Japan, the UK, and from all over North America.

This community of ours is perceived as "The Land of Bean Blossom" by the rest of the world. And along with inventing the form in the first place, that is a big part of Bill Monroe's legacy (Monroe was the park's founder). If you live in Indiana, love bluegrass, and haven't been to Bean Blossom to attend a festival, someone in Idaho, Brazil, or Okinowa is wondering what the hell you're waiting for. Europeans in particular have a real sense of how great Indiana is. They know the history, who came from here. Someone from Amsterdam is more likely to know who the great bluesman and long-time Indianapolis resident Yank Rachell is. We're working to remedy that. 


TBPC:  You were off the air for a short while here and during that time you received an outpouring of affection in the form of letters, calls and emails. How did that make you feel?


CAF:  Like this thing is a hell of a lot bigger than whether or not producing a radio show week in and week out is a comfortable fit with a "day job," and being a husband and father. When the show went away for a couple of months I was absolutely overwhelmed at the outpouring of support and affection. You wouldn't believe some of the letters, it was absolutely overwhelming how nice folks were. And for them to care enough to take the time to let us know they hated to see us hang it up. That means a whole lot. It's renewed my resolve. You know that musician that has a gorgeous song that deserves to be heard, sleeps in his car after playing a bar, drives for hours to play a 43 minute set to 11 people and makes $23 dollars? Me and that guy have more in common than I care to admit. And the sooner we stop seeing the business end of things as evil and embrace capitalism, the sooner we can quit our day jobs.


TBPC:  What advice do you have for someone interested in a career in radio? 


CAF:  Volunteer. The next Ira Glass, David Dye and Elizabeth Cook is interning at a public radio station somewhere, I guarantee. And I hear The University of Indianapolis has a pretty killer Communications Program, if you want to go that route.


TBPC:  Besides Bluegrass, what other kinds of music do you enjoy? 


CAF:  I like any kind of music that comes from here (points to his heart). If I'm being told a story that I can identify with by a voice as real as the day is long, I'm particularly receptive to that. And more often than not, that kind of music isn't over-produced. And there are no synthesizers, drum machines, or cheez-whiz in general. Americana music is all over the road like Otis on his way home from the liquor store. Bluegrass, soul, ragtime, Cajun, REAL country, singer/songwriter, jazz, old-timey, rockabilly...it's a BIG umbrella. The opportunity to host Redbud Radio is a direct reflection of what I'm spinnin' at home on the box. And I know a lot of folks out there are hearing the same thing when they hit 'random' on their player.


TBPC:  Speaking of Americana, how would you describe the Redbud Radio show?


CAF:  I have to admit, I think I've looked at the Americana charts like, twice in the couple of years we've been doing the thing. If we are on a Stax/Volt kick that week, or if it's Clarence White's birthday, or if we just got a new Charlie Pride boxed-set, what you hear is what you get. Don't get the impression you ain't going to hear the new James McMurtry, Otis Gibbs or Ray Wylie Hubbard release, though. The old "free form" FM radio shows I used to hear late at night when I was a kid, it's not unlike that thing. Doing a theme show featuring train songs, or illustrating the connection between bluegrass and the blues, those are fun programs to put together. You throw in an in-studio performance from some great area talent or a band that drops by the studio while they're in Indy, and you really got you something. 


TBPC:  What are some other jobs you've had?


CAF:  Whether I was x-raying welds on titanium rods used in nuclear power plant installations, digging post holes in the hot New Mexico desert, operating a forklift on a dock in South Chicago, or running my own commercial cleaning business, it was all just a means of getting me to the music. You got to pony up, whether you want to see Junior Wells at The Checkerboard Lounge, Loretta Lynn at The Little Nashville Opry, or follow The Grateful Dead around for a month. Nowadays, you can add "supporting the family" as motivation. 


TBPC:  What can you tell us about The Redbud Foundation?


CAF:  The Redbud Foundation is a non-profit in the start-up phase. A clear need for an organization that gives all the great artists that pass through Indianapolis a reason to stop in for a visit on their way to elsewhere was the impetus. And providing the community-at-large with opportunities to proliferate information, attend shows, and take pride in this scene of ours is the basic focus. Indy doesn't know how great it is, so part of this is simply education, too. Planting the seeds that will give us the music scene of a Austin, TX or Asheville, NC in a decade or two is something that takes community involvement, that's a fact


TBPC:  What can we expect from Cary Allen Fields in the next year?


CAF:  Man, we got some good things planned for 2011. I could sit here and tell you about new websites and business plans and ideas for incorporating new features into "The Fields of Bluegrass Radio Hour" and "Redbud Radio" all dang day. The important thing is, we have some excellent live music planned for the year ahead. Sure looking forward to sharing that with our fellow Hoosiers. And if the world outside of Indiana tunes in to hear what we have going on, we'll certainly welcome them with our famous Hoosier hospitality.

Fields Of Bluegrass:  www.fieldsofbluegrass.com/
The Redbud Foundation:  www.theredbudfoundation.org

Photo Credits:
Top Photo- Haley Rae
Bottom Photo-  Dean Metcalf