Q+A: Glenn Zankey of Bluegrass Patriots talks Fort Collins music, life on the road

The Bluegrass Patriots started in Fort Collins nearly four decades ago and skyrocketed to success: they toured across the country and around the world, graced the cover of ‘bible’ “Bluegrass Unlimited,” and stuck together for six albums over 31 years— all before finally hanging up the hat in 2011. I sat down with lead singer Glenn Zankey to talk about the band’s path to success and his love of life on the road.

Zankey and his wife Joann moved in 1999 from a old townhouse on College Ave. they thought they’d “spend the rest of [their] lives in,” but this home seems to fit them well. A ruddy dirt road leads to their drive and though it’s dusk, when I look up, I can already make out a smattering of stars.

We settle in amongst earthy decor from Joann’s time living in the San Miguel, Mexico artists’ community, joined by the couple’s dog Minnie and two cats, Little Brown Kitty and Big Black Kitty. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Did you always think you would be a musician?

A: Oh, I was involved in music from the early days. My mom was into music. I started piano lessons at five years old.

In high school, the best experience I ever had with music was being in the choirs. I sang in everything I could get in, it was just a blast. Barbershop, madrigal groups, that kind of stuff. And I was a rock’n’roll-er.

Q: So when did bluegrass come in?

I had an older brother who came back from college in Dayton, Ohio and there’s a bluegrass music scene there. He came back for Christmas and brought a friend of his from college, a fiddle player. They played [bluegrass] in our kitchen and I remember thinking, yeah this is cool.

He had albums from Doc Watson. It was magical to me. I wore the records he had out. I’d sing those songs for my rock’n’roll buddies in high school and they thought it was a hoot!

Q: How did the five of you come to be the Bluegrass Patriots?

A: Well that band [I was] playing in moved on and in 1980 we started [the Bluegrass Patriots] — me, Willie McDonald, Ken Seaman, Danny Rogers, and Rick Bradstreet.

Fort Collins had a vibrant bluegrass scene in the 70’s and 80’s and it still does. Willie back then was a guitar guy but he bought a mandolin and learned how to play.

Q: How did you first build your following?

A: We did a lot of stuff for very little early on, like most bands. On Friday and Saturday nights, we’d get the scoop on where all the parties were and we’d play at five or six. We only had maybe 12 songs. They fed us beer while we were there and it was a blast, just a blast.

Our very first gig was at the Durrell Center. In those days, we played a lot at the Ramskellar, too. We’d tell people, “hey we’re playing tonight, come down!”

Q: When did you first know you’d ‘made it?’

A: Well, everyone in our band had a day job. And for the first ten or 15 years, we were camping. We were bringing tents to a festival that had nothing but RVs. Because it was a lot of retired people with money, you know?

The second half of [our career as a] band, we were flying more and more. So we’d leave on a Friday and come back on Monday, because we all had to get to work! We did a lot of consecutive weekends like that.

Q: What was your day job?

A: I was a carpenter. Now, I’m a general contractor. I’m trying to make the money that I didn’t make because of [the band.]

I did graduate with a degree in computer science, but it was right after the recession. So I interviewed for several jobs, but there was just nothing out there. That was the same time the band was starting and it just got more and more fun and it had more promise. I was making enough money to live on as a carpenter and I was having too much fun. I can’t retire yet, but I have no regrets.

Q: Did you ever picture yourselves achieving this level of success? Touring around the world?

A: Yeah, that was kind of our goal. And we had a lot of success at it. We’ve been to the northeast and the southeast, the northwest and the southwest, and Canada. We went to Ireland and England and Denmark.

Q: Is there a specific moment from those international tours that stands out to you?

A: There’s a festival in Denmark that has music from countries all around the world. One of our hits, “When You and I Were Young Maggie,” is a tune that’s really well-known in Europe. We sang it on a stage in the town square of Tonder. It’s a big festival with thousands of people and the whole crowd was swaying back and forth. That was definitely the high point.

Q: Was your time on the road ever wild?

A: Yes. There’s some stories I couldn’t tell you. But we weren’t trying to get girls. There were no girls chasing you, let me tell you! The average age at some of these bluegrass festivals is 65 or 70.

Q: So no trashed hotel rooms?

A: No, but we stayed in some trashy motels.

Q: What advice would you give to young musicians starting in Fort Collins today?

A: If it feels like work, go somewhere else. If it’s fun, it’s easy. But you could say that about a lot of things, I suppose.

Q: How does it feel to be a legacy in the bluegrass scene?

A: Wow, I never thought of us that way. We’re known, but I wouldn’t call us a legacy.

The biggest reason we got along so well and were playing [for so long,] was that nobody had an ego. It was just fun, there was never any goofy crap. Nobody wanted to be lead man or anything like that.

Q: So, I have to ask: how did the band “break up?”

A: We quit in 2011 because of the travel, it got too much for us. One of the guys said, “Hey I can’t do this anymore.” Now, I’m not gonna tell you which one, it’s a secret. But it wasn’t me. In fact when he said that, I was like, ok, you know, I can deal with that.

Joann, who just entered the room: So in other words, he might have said it.

A: We all agreed because we couldn’t lose [a] member, otherwise it would be something different.

Q: Any upcoming reunion events?

A: Our banjo player has been putting on the Midwinter Bluegrass Festival for years now. It used to be at the Holiday Inn off Mulberry by the interstate, but now it’s down in Denver at the Ramada off I25 and 120th. It’s this weekend, [Feb. 16–18.]