The fiddler
By Nila Harris
If you caught “The Today Show” on Dec. 14, chances are the fiddle player looked familiar. Brandon Godman, Pendleton County High School Class of 2005, accompanied country music star Jon Pardi on the NBC telecast.
Godman is no stranger to performing in the limelight. Heading to Nashville not long after graduation, Godman played for many well-known artists, including Karl Shiflet, David Peterson, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Dale Ann Bradley and The Band Perry. He started with Jon Pardi when Pardi was just getting recognized.
Godman has played at the Grand Ole Opry (15 times), Carnegie Hall and Ryman Auditorium. He has played fiddle since he was 10 years old, but most of his touring career took place during the years 2007 to 2013.
GETTING STARTED
When he was a boy, Godman’s grandparents, Faye and Jim Godman, took him to Goforth Dance Hall. Godman said he remembers listening to Herman Williams play the train song “Orange Blossom Special.” Godman said he loved trains and was drawn to that song.
He begged his parents, Mike and Sandy Godman, for a fiddle. They declined, believing it was just a phase. But they noticed that not only did young Brandon continually listen to fiddle music, he tried to play what he heard using a comb, brush and a coat hanger. His parents relented and told Godman that he could use his farm money to purchase a fiddle.
Godman said he began taking lessons from Blanche Coldiron in Grant County. Coldiron, whose personal music can be found on Apple Music and Spotify, played multiple instruments. She would play a song, then would have Godman play it.
Coldiron was also an instrument collector, so Godman would spend an additional two to three hours each week learning about the various instruments she had.
The inquisitive nature didn’t stop there. When Godman would visit Goforth, he said he would ask Williams, “Why does it have this?” and “How does this work?”
On his 16th birthday, Godman spent an entire weekend helping Harold Zimmerman catalog his instruments.
Godman met Zimmerman on a middle school field trip to Northern Kentucky University with teacher Michelle Lustenberg. The two became fast friends, despite the age difference — Zimmerman was 84 at the time. Zimmerman became a mentor to Godman.
BRANCHING OUT
The life of a musician is hard and unstable so Godman began exploring other avenues. He had been studying. . .
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FIDDLER, continues on Page 5