Bluegrass is a mixture of old-time music, blues, ragtime and jazz which no one person can claim to have invented. However, Bill Monroe is often referred to as the founding father of bluegrass music because the music was named after his band, "the Blue Grass Boys."
On Victory Base Complex the local 'Blue Grass Boys' go by another name, "Baghdad Bad Boys." Although when they play during the Sunday morning service held at 8:30 a.m. at Hope Chapel they do not refer to themselves as such.
"Bluegrass music, for the most part, is very simple," Chaplain Jeffrey Houston, chaplain, Multi-National Corps - Iraq, said. "You can enter a bluegrass group at any point, as a brand-new beginner or an accomplished picker."
"We do it for the stress release and we have a good time," Houston said. "Smiling and laughing is the best therapy there is," Houston said. "We didn't intend for it to be group therapy it just turned out that way."
"It's therapy," said Chaplain Charles Hamlin, 716th Military Police Battalion. "I look forward to every Friday night and playing music with these guys. Music is good therapy."
"It has been going on for several months now," Houston said "We'll just keep this up as long as we can."
The group which varies from 15 to 20 people plays every Friday night at 9 p.m. at Building 24F, the Mini Chapel near the bus stop just north of Dodge City North.
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