Robert Krestan has answered the question a thousand times.

In fact, it's a question he's come to expect.

How did a group of musicians from the Czech Republic come to love bluegrass?

"Well!" said the leader of Druha Trava, from a hotel in North Carolina, "Bluegrass was very popular in our country since the late 1960s. When I heard it for the first time, I was captured by the sound of the five-string banjo, and I immediately wanted to become a banjo player. It was a totally different sound."

Back then, the Czech Republic was part of communist-ruled Czechoslovakia, so locating old bluegrass and jazz records, a five-string banjo or any other American imports wasn't easy.

But Krestan improvised, crafting one from a tambourine.

"It was difficult early on because bluegrass was considered subversive," said Krestan. "It was an American music, and everything American was considered subversive. We tried to get tapes and recordings of American bluegrass music, but it was extremely difficult."

The first bluegrass recording Krestan ever heard was by Bill Monroe. Later, he was introduced to groups such as the Country Gentlemen and, in the late 1970s, was exposed to groups that were part of the "new grass revival."

Krestan assimilated as much of the music as he could, drawing inspiration from the sound and styles of Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson.

"I took something from each of them," said Krestan. "From Johnny, I could believe everything he sang. Kristofferson had a husky kind of voice."

When Krestan and some of his friends began to perform bluegrass music, it was accepted but still marginalized.

But that changed after Pete Seeger visited the country.

"When Pete Seeger came to town in the early 1970s, his visit was very important for the development of bluegrass in our country," continued Krestan. "Then in 1975, Johnny Cash came to town, and I attended the concert, and I couldn't think of anything else for a couple of weeks."

After the dissolution of communist rule in 1989, commonly known as the "Velvet Revolution," things began to open up.

In 1991, Krestan formed Druha Trava, which translates as "second grass." The group's earliest recordings focused on cover songs from "new grass" artists, rock bands like Dire Straits and material from Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton.

Then the band also started to write original material. "We were also interested in writing music that was a reflection of our own culture," he said.

Last year, the group released its 18th recording, titled "Good Morning, Friend," taken from a song written by Cash. The CD also pays homage to Tom Waits and Dylan and includes "Bad Moon Rising" by John Fogerty.

"These were my influences," he said. "I was born with a very beautiful voice, but when I turned 16, I tried to make it less beautiful because of these singers. I tried to force my voice to be different, and I think I succeeded."