Dan Tyminski. Photo by www.jimmyabegg.com.

I’m not much into hero worship because people are people. And while they may often do heroic things, very few people are “a hero” all the time while alive, if they are human. We are all struggling each in our own way, almost everyone is heroic sometimes, and no one person is really fundamentally better than another person.

That caveat aside, I saw The Dan Tyminski Band at the Carter Family Fold [recently], and were I prone to hero worship I could probably go for those guys as deserving of some serious admiration.

The band is composed of Dan Tyminski, Adam Steffey, Ron Stewart, Justin Moses, and Barry Bales

I had been a fan of the musicians and music for quite a while, but had never seen them on TV or live.

There is something very “sweet spot” about those gents’ music and demeanor that is not immediately apparent unless one is paying close attention. In a small venue like the Carter Family Fold it really was very plain to see.

What clinched it for me was that a band composed of virtuoso musicians, of significant fame, can perform at such a small, simple and informal venue, with no video cameras in attendance to broadcast to the masses their awesomeness. It seemed to me, as I enjoyed the music, that this was also testament to who they are as musicians, and people. In short, they are real, and have not forgotten they are real.

I really like that.

They hung around after the show at the 10×10 tent which served as entrance and exit in the yard. So as I was leaving I went up to Dan, simply shook his hand and said “Great Job Dan”, and headed off as I had a 2 hour drive back home, and had gotten up at 6 that morning.

It is probably my imagination but surprisingly enough he seemed a little down.

On the way home I felt a little bad because I thought I really should have taken a bit of time to tell him how “awesome” they were; then brushed it off because I figured he already knows, and it was probably “post-performance crash”, or he had shot a terrible round of golf and it was gnawing at his self-esteem.

On the other hand I wondered what made them awesome for me, what I would have told him, and it seems pretty simple.

I think Dan Tyminski and Associates have a gift for making people happy, and that is really a big big thing. It’s not easy. In fact, like all true art, it is no doubt excruciatingly painful a good deal of the time.

So Dan, If you were down, cheer up buddy, you and your friends are really gifted and share that gift with others in a very nice simple generous human manner.

Of course you are stars to many, including me, but you hit the “sweet spot” on a human level as much as on a musical level.

So “Just Thanks”. As much as I needed that, I am sure everybody else there did as well. And obviously, good luck with your golf game.

–Henri Deschamps

About Henri Deschamps and The Mast Farm Inn

Henri Deschamps is the current CEO of The Mast Farm Inn. The Mast Farm Inn is a world renowned full service North Carolina Country Inn & Restaurant in Historic Valle Crucis, NC, is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a Member of PAII and Of The Select Registry. You can also visit The Mast Farm Inn Website online.