Welcome to State Of The Union, appearing each month in bluegrass now magazine! This column provides the spouses of professional bluegrass musicians with a forum in which they can share their insights, observations, and experience with fans and other bluegrass spouses.

March 2004: Tim Tew on LOYALTY AND SUPPORT

It's a chilly Saturday in coastal North Carolina, and Tim Tew has just finished washing the family car. Inside, his wife, banjo player Gena Britt Tew, is cleaning the house. A traditional scenario in most households, right? But don't assume that this is traditional for Tim and Gena. He's just as likely to be in the house wielding a dust rag or a broom, and she's just as likely to be outside with a chamois and some Turtle Wax. This is NOT a conventional marriage.

A soft-spoken man with a bright smile, Tim first met his wife when he saw her playing at the Tír na nÓg, a well-known bluegrass venue in downtown Raleigh. Though Gena is best known for her hot banjo picking, she was playing upright bass that night with a group that included Steve Dilling and John Chapman. By his own admission, Tim was greatly impressed. “I thought she was really beautiful standing up there,” he remembers. “And I thought she could really pull a bass!”

Tim listened to bluegrass as a youngster, but he focused on sports in high school, and was an all-conference athlete in football and baseball. After graduating, he joined his dad in the family business. “We build houses; we've been doing lots of remodeling and adding on lately,” he says. Presently Tim is preparing to build an addition on the house he shares with Gena-a nursery for their baby, who will be born in May.

Three years ago, he bought a resophonic guitar and began learning to play. When he met Gena, he was playing mandolin with Constant Change, which placed second in the 2003 SPBGMA band competition. The couple married on June 28, 2003, and Gena asked Tim to join her band in November. He was happy, but a little nervous; after all, he'd only been playing for a couple years. “Gena telling me to have my own style-that really helped me,” he says. “I appreciated that she included me.”

Tim is laid-back when it comes to the attention his wife receives. He has, indeed, been called Mr. Britt, but he doesn't care. “It's all right! One of my best friends introduces her as Gena Britt, which I think is neat: 'This is Tim's wife, Gena Britt.' Onstage, I want her to be introduced as Gena Britt.”

Though his marriage is progressive in many ways, Tim comes from a fairly traditional family. His father is a carpenter and a preacher in the Pentecostal Freewill Baptist church. His mother, for much of his childhood, was a stay-home mom. “My mom is the greatest. We didn't have much growing up, and she did what she could to make sure we had nice things to wear; she'd make our clothes,” he remembers.

Tim and Gena have learned to share pleasures and responsibilities in their own relationship. “It's a job,” Tim comments. “You get out of it what you put into it. Also, if it weren't for what the Lord is doing with our lives together, things probably would be harder. He is our rock.” On the road, they listen to their favorite artists, including Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Tony Rice, and Jerry Douglas. Tim does most of the driving so Gena can catch up on sleep. At home, they enjoy playing video games. Tim loves to cook; they share the clean-up chores; Gena handles bills. And they're both active in their church, and play in a bluegrass/Southern gospel band, The Tew Family, with some of Tim's relatives. “We have so much fun together!” Tim confesses. “It's really enjoyable.”

Gena has a full-time job as a training coordinator for a major bank, and travels occasionally for her job. She's decided to take a little break from touring until after the baby is born. Tim is confident that that the new Tew will make a good thing even better. “We enjoy each other too much for anything to change that. We're a unit, I guess. When it all meets together and pops-having fun, being crazy about each other, playing music together-it mixes well. We know what we've got, and the baby will just add to it.”

The pride in his voice is sincere and unmistakable: Tim Tew might be Gena Britt's most ardent and loyal admirer. “She is exceptional. Such a hard worker! I still don't think she gets it when I tell her, 'I look at you as a fan.' You don't find many banjo players, man or woman, who can carry out double roles, playing and singing lead. The other night, my mom said, 'I'm so happy to see how much you think of her.' And I said, 'I'm glad it shows.'”

Visit Tim & Gena online at www.genabrittband.com.