I grew a lotвЂ¦ I came down there wanting to be an amazing guitar player and blow peopleвЂ™s minds. вЂњIt wasnвЂ™t very hands on, almost no guitar playing, which turned out to be really great.

вЂњMostly I just hung out with him and we talked about music, listened to music, and discussed music and philosophy,вЂќ Eldridge said. Later, in his college years at Oberlin, Eldridge, by then вЂњobsessed with bluegrass and string band music,вЂќ designed an independent study that involved spending a couple of weeks with Rice in North Carolina studying at the masterвЂ™s knee. And I was pretty gobsmacked later when I opened my ears a little bit and just listened to how he played and the powerful sound and incredible impact he would make.вЂќ вЂњBut his music was a real constant in my life, the soundtrack of my childhood. вЂњTony was always around, but I was really young so it didnвЂ™t mean that much to me until I got to be a little older and started playing guitar a little more seriously,вЂќ Eldridge recalled last week. The youngest son of Ben Eldridge, the banjoist and co-founder of legendary East Coast bluegrass band The Seldom Scene, Chris grew up not only listening to RiceвЂ™s records, but also frequently in his company as the guitarist would crash on the familyвЂ™s couch whenever he was in town. Crowe, or Jerry Garcia вЂ“ has had an outside influence on the Punch players individually and collectively. But RiceвЂ™s guitar work вЂ“ whether in stripped-down solo acoustic performances and recordings, as a member of David GrismanвЂ™s band during the dawning of Dawg Music or in collaborations with Norman Blake, J.D. The Brothers вЂ“ who are led by the MacArthur вЂњGenius GrantвЂ™ Award fellow Chris Thile on mandolin and includes bassist Paul Kowert, guitarist Chris Eldridge, banjoist Noam Pikelny, and violinist Gabe Witcher вЂ“ have been stretching not only the boundaries of their instruments but also approaches to acoustic music for more than a decade. All of the five virtuoso string musicians who comprise the Grammy-winning folk-grass band Punch Brothers were fervent fans of Tony Rice.

Enjoy every sandwich tribute album