Yeah, Norman and Nancy's warmth in person was kind of a surprise to me. He always looks like such a grouch on his album covers. But he was very informal, down-to-earth, and friendly when I've seen him in concert.
One time, quite a few years ago, I had tickets to see him in a small venue and my mother happened to be visiting us at the time, so we brought her along. She played violin as a girl and my father had played violin professionally as a young man. So, I told her that the guy we were seeing played violin, as well as guitar and mandolin. During the break, I asked her what she thought of his playing and she, rather coolly, said, "he's okay." I explained that fiddle was different from violin and that strict pitch wasn't necessarily adhered to, for example, certain notes might be played intentionally a bit sharp for emphasis. She wasn't buying it and chalked it up to a lack of skill. Well, in the second half of the show, Norman threw in a set of less old-timey tunes -- I forget what they were now, but something more familiar to my mother and played in a more formal style. Well, by the end of the show, my mother said, you're right -- he can really play, and when he wants to play in perfect tune, he certainly can. She also liked the stuff he played after that particular set much better, having realized that what she heard as pitch errors were actually intentional and purposeful.
It made an already wonderful performance all that much more interesting, having my mother come to understand old-time music a little better. My mother, by the way, is still with us, approaching 96 and living independently in an apartment within a community for the elderly. Tough gal. Sorry for the verge.
