Bluegrass Bug: Ashby Frank Puts the Pedal to the Mandolin

Ashby Frank reimagines “The Bug,” originally recorded by Dire Straits in 1991 and later a Top 20 country hit for Mary Chapin Carpenter in 1993, as a high-octane bluegrass track.

Joined by bassist Travis Anderson and session drummer Tony Creasman, Frank delivers a spirited reinterpretation. The arrangement retains the song’s country-rock backbone while emphasizing virtuosic instrumentation. Carpenter’s signature chicken-picking section becomes a showcase for guitarist Jim Taylor’s flatpicking, followed by an extended outro of improvisational banjo and mandolin runs.

Frank’s vocals add a rockabilly edge to the lyric’s dry humor:

Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug
Sometimes it all comes together, sometimes you’re a fool in love
Sometimes you’re the Louisville slugger, sometimes you’re the ball
Sometimes it all comes together, sometimes you’re gonna lose it all

“I grew up listening to the great country music of the 90s,” recalls Frank, “and first heard this song when it was recorded by one of my favorite singer songwriters, the great Mary Chapin Carpenter. I wasn’t aware that it was a cover until several years later, when I heard the original recording by Dire Straits and discovered that it was written by Mark Knopfler. That band had such a deep groove on that original cut that I really got into, and I immediately started thinking about how a Bluegrass arrangement might work.”

“I brought the song up in the studio when we started recording my new album,” he adds. “And we bounced it around until we came up with a groovy traditional-meets-jam band version that I’m super proud of. Seth Taylor (guitar) and Matt Menefee (banjo) added some wicked solos, and my friend and label mate Jaelee Roberts added some killer harmonies.”

“I even threw in a couple of yodels, which is a career first for me,” Frank says. “I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.”