What is this guy doing?

So I've been tryign to work on spicing up my open chords a bit. Mostly been messing with hammer ons and pull offs.

I came across this video on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9gXOIfZzpA

Around 30 seconds in. It looks like hes playing a g chord with hammer ons and pull offs. However, its got me pretty stymied. Usually when I do a hammer on or pull of its on a down or up stroke. To me it looks like hes moving his fingers on his left hand independently.

Can anyone dumb it down for me?

Seems pretty simple to me. Just try to hear the hammer ons/pull offs instead of trying to watch them. Not as important how it looks on the video. Looks like he does the pull off every other beat though. On 2 and 4. Once you have an idea of what it sounds like in your head, practice is slower to work out the timings.

I guess its screwing me up watching it because it looks like his hand is strumming and his left fingers are workign independantly

Hey sarcazmo,
Lot of good flatpicking going on there, if what you're asking about is that strumming pattern he's using. That's all in those pick strokes, and I think he's putting an upstroke in between those notes on the 3rd string. It's not as hard to do, if you slow it down first. First try it using a straight UDUD pattern, you can add that other stroke later.

I'll probably end up goofing around with it next time I grab the Martin. If you want to prep yourself for something like it, or get some basic ideas for this concept. I have a tutorial on Sycopated Strumming Patterns, and it will help you build consistency in your pick strokes.

Here's the link.
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=995

I've heard this guy before, and he has many influences. Clarence White, Tony Rice, Doc & Merle Watson, even hear some Django. There are many more, but I won't name them all now. We'll just say he's a great picker, and leave it at that.

Are you really interested in bluegrass? Were you looking for bluegrass, or did you just happen to find the video. I was just wondering, because he flatpicks those old fiddle tunes. Anyway, let me know if I can help you with anything.