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August 2015
Let life be like music. ~ Langston Hughes ~
In my interview with Robert Earl Keen for the cover of this issue, he said this: “I don’t ever want to do anything else ... I don’t have other dreams about anything – either I’m going to keep going or I’m going to find some other way of doing it ... You just keep moving and doing things that help keep making it all work.” That seemed like a fitting introduction. These pages are filled with stories, and interviews, and advertisements for events and happenings that all seem to be rooted in this commitment and dedication. One story is about a festival that’s been around for 50 years, another for 80. We have a story about luthiers who are super dedicated to making a superior product. We have advertisers that are eager for you to check out the event they’ve been working so hard to put on. And there are bands and artists with great new music available for the summer season. And all this because these fine folks don’t really want to do anything else. This is their dream, and they keep finding ways to make it happen. So, take a little time this summer to thank someone for putting out a great CD, or hosting a great event. They couldn’t really do it without you. Questions, comments, suggestions: greg@americanarhythm.com
PUBLISHER Image credit https://trueblueridge.files.wordpress.com
Americana Rhythm is published six times a year. All corresponCONTRIBUTORS dence should be sent to PO Box 45, Bridgewater VA, 22812 or Ed Tutwiler email to greg@americanarhythm.com. Copies of Americana Wayne Erbsen Rhythm are made available free at various pick up locations within Donna Ulisse the publication’s region. Subscriptions are available inside the United Don and Martha DePoy States (only) for $16 US currency made payable by check or money Andrew McKnight order sent to, Subscriptions at PO Box 45, Bridgewater, VA, 22812. Foreig n su bscrip tion req u ests shou l d b e sen t to greg@americanarhythm.com. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved. DISTRIBUTION Reproduction of any content, artwork or photographs is strictly Ed Tutwiler prohibited without permission of the publisher or original owner. All Zebra Media advertising material subject to approval. Associated Dist. PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF Greg E. Tutwiler Associate Editor Ed Tutwiler MARKETING & PROMOTION Mark Barreres (GrassRootsNetworking.com) ADVERTISING Letters, Comments, Suggestions Business office 540-433-0360 greg@americanarhythm.com advertising@americanarhythm.com www.americanarhythm.com
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Build It,
August 2015
By Edward Tutwiler
They Will Play During this magical, mystical,
Americana string-music tour that I’ve been so blessed to take, I have had the privilege to document the stories of many fine instrument makers. Some have been renowned musicians who also construct a special instrument that delivers the perfect sound to their ears and then build a copy of that instrument one at a time for special friends. Others have been fine craftspeople, with some musical talent, who do quality woodwork and have the
ability to put that knowledge into fine stringed instruments that they custom-build upon order. Once, I met a creative artist whose artistic expression just happened to be unique, exotic guitars with perfect sound and constructed to the finest standards. His finished work was more art to be admired and displayed as such for its unique beauty than for playing music.
What Makes A Luthier
This time, I will tell you about two special people who are musicians, luthiers, and skilled craftsmen but who are also pragmatic businessmen with a primary goal to build fine quality, great sounding guitars; and to sell them in volume as a successful business venture. Who are these men, you ask—they are Jeff Huss and Mark Dalton and they are the creators and driving force behind the internationally
known and respected HUSS & DALTON acoustic steel-string guitar. I sat down with misters Huss and Dalton in their Staunton, VA production center recently at the end of one of their busy days, and asked them to tell us how they put it all together and made it all happen. Jeff Huss began by telling me that he entered the music instrument making world in June 1985 when he started working at Stelling Banjo
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August 2015
Works. Jeff tells it this way, “I play guitar and banjo and that interest led me to going to work for Stelling and I worked for him (editor note: him, being Geoff Stelling) for the next nine years. While there, I became interested in how guitars are made. I got some books and begin studying, and I built my first guitar in 1989.”
were Huss and Dalton guitars. That’s how we started.” Mark continued, “By 1996, we moved to larger rented quarters in Stuart’s Draft, VA and hired our first employee. In 1999, we bought this building here in Staunton, VA, moved our operation to this present location, and hired more
Jeff went on to say, “Around that same time I met up with Mark Dalton (who is a very good banjo and guitar player by the way) I had made a few guitars on my own and eventually made a guitar for Mark. I had a shop at home in my garage where I was building guitars on my own. I eventually transitioned completely out of Stelling’s shop and started building guitars for him to market as his branded offering.”
Improving Skills
what draws people to make instruments for their living.”
Identity
I asked how they decided upon the style or design that their signature guitar would have. Huss said, “It is a traditional design. When I started, I was studying a book that discussed flat-top, steel-string guitars.” Did it describe a standard design, I wondered? Jeff continued, “Yes. We’ve never been ones to experiment around with different designs. We love old guitars and do not want to deviate from those traditional designs— those designs are tried and true.”
As Huss began ramping up his one-man operation, Dalton went to work for Stelling doing the finish work on Stelling’s banjos. (Mark comes from a finishing background and trained in his father’s auto body repair shop.) Jeff injected, “Finishing is my weak area. I was doing the building but I did not know much about finish work.” In 1995, Mark Dalton left Stelling’s employ; and he and Jeff Huss formed their own company. Mark spoke up and said, “This year, 2015, is our 20th anniversary.” Jeff continued, “So, we ended up in my garage—just the two of us—and half of our output was Stelling Guitars. This was a good thing as it meant that we had half of all we built pre-sold. That guaranteed income gave us the opportunity to develop our own line of guitars, which we could market on our own.” Mark added, “We were also doing the inlay work on the Stelling banjos in our shop as well. So, in the early days we were both closely associated with Stelling Banjo Works first as employees, and then as suppliers of finished guitars, as well as subcontractors on some of the fine finish work that the banjos needed. In the beginning, when it was just Jeff and me, we could build four finished guitars a month—two of which were Stelling guitars and two of which
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employees. In 2008, we bought the adjacent building, and here we are in 2015.” I asked about the fact that they both were musicians as well as luthiers, and Jeff said, “Yes we are. Everybody who works here now or who ever worked here plays a musical instrument. I think that fact (that is; being a musician) is
Mark added, “Almost all steelstring instruments are really just copies of everything that everyone else has ever made. It is a real tradition-based world. Even in the electric guitar world many people make copies of the Telecaster, Stratocaster, and Less Paul designs. You can make an electric guitar into something weird and people will
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still purchase it; however, the acoustic guitar world is very tradition based. We do our little take on ever part of the process—our unique stamp—but for the most part our guitars are copies of guitars that were made in the 1930s such as the Martins and Gibson’s. We have a few models that are more unique to us; and as I said before, everything has our stamp upon its process in some way.” I ask them to comment on the process of building their guitars, and Jeff told me that their process covers the range of modern manufacturing techniques but there is still a great bit of handwork involved as well. Jeff added, “There is a lot of handwork; however, we have and use a CNC machine so we can have perfect parts one after the other. Even the leading companies noted for their innovation still have portions of the build process that is handwork.” I asked if they design to achieve a certain sound from their guitars, and do their guitars have a unique sound? Jeff answered, “The sound is a product of the way we build rather that us saying we want a certain sound and experimenting with the build until we achieve that sound. We figured out how to build our guitar the way we wanted it to be, and the sound that resulted was the sound of our guitar. People seem to think that our guitars have a distinctive characteristic to their sound but that
August 2015
unique sound is the result of the build. The sound is fairly close for all of our guitars. Most of the sound comes out of the top of the guitar and that is where we need to be consistent. Some people certainly do tap testing and use a bit of black magic to achieve uniformity in sound. We have a fixture that we use that applies a standard pressure to the guitar top and measures the top’s deflection. In effect, we are measuring the stiffness of each top. We then sand the top until it meets our specifications. Therefore, while the thickness of the top can vary, the stiffness of the top is maintained to our standards. This technique seems to give us very consistent results. We do some custom work with exotic woods in our backs and sides. That is part of the fun part of the whole thing. The different backs and sides certainly will color the sound. A mahogany guitar will sound different than a rosewood guitar. If one uses the exotic woods enough, one can start to recognize the sound resulting from each type. During one period, we used a lot of Honduran rosewood. Those guitars have a very distinctive sound to them.” I asked if they ever produced a custom guitar. Here is Mark’s reply, “We do a lot of custom work but we do not change the structure. The structure must match what we do. We do not change our bracing design; and we don’t modify or omit this or that brace. Any custom work we do will be mostly cosmetic or using special woods. One can do a long list of things to customize a guitar, and we do most everything. With bindings, inlays, and wood choices, there are numerous things one can do to change a guitar in a custom manner.”
Aquisition
When asked how someone could become an owner of one of their guitars, both Mark and Jeff quickly told me, “We sell to stores. We do not sell direct to the consumer. We wholesale everything to the retail stores. While most of our output is sold when we build it, it is sold to the retail outlets. We are manufacturers not retailers.” Mark continued, “You can not do both. You either must be the builder or the retailer. If you have a production line
at all, then that is what you must concentrate upon. You can not do direct sale. If you have dealers that retail your product, you can not compete with them. That just would not work.” Currently, Huss & Dalton produce several hundred guitars a year for the retail market. Before the recent recession, their production was somewhat greater but they needed to cut back due to that economic situation. Mark, expanded, “We would always like the production number to grow. When the recession came along, we had 13 employees. By late 2007 to early 2008 we begin feeling the effects of the slowdown. Many of our employees are young and they tend to come and go so we were never in the position to need to lay anyone off from their job—everyone always got 40 hours of work each week. That took us down to seven folks but we just recently added someone to take us back to eight employees at present. We think that our current work load is growing and maybe we can add another person this year. We remain conservative about adding folks too quickly. It is hard to train many people at one time. It takes a very long time to train people to do what we need them to be able to do. The work is all very skilled. We spend time trying to take some of the skill out of the work and make it easier for someone to come in and do a job but our system is not such that you can just pull someone off the street and put them to work.” Jeff added, “Even the guys that go to school still need to learn our system the way we do it. We have had good employees that were school trained and we have good employees off the street that we’ve trained, and we had some that were not so good from both places; it more depends on the person.”
Spreading Talent Around
Do not get the idea that these two men sit in an office somewhere and never get their hands on the product they produce. When asked if they were still hands-on, Mark and Jeff replied in unison, “Yes, very much so. At least 80 percent of Jeff’s time and 96 percent of Mark’s time is spent in the production room.” concluded on page 9
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As I sit here in the quiet of my
home office with the computer screen throwing contrived lighting across my hands, I am reminded of how natural and unchanged the craft of song writing is. We can invent all these wonderful new tools to use for writing songs but it still comes down to the very basics; a good idea and the ability to tell a good story in a musical way. At the end of a day, all you need is some time, a pen and paper and perhaps an instrument. Gosh, in the days before folks could document through writing things down in books and pamphlets, history was retold through ballads and poems, passed down from generation to generation in a rhythmic way that could be memorized and kept alive. They wrote songs for the ages, literally! To a degree we are still doing that very thing today. When a great event happens, songwriters sit
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down and write about it. The sorrow or joy experienced by a driven author must be purged and expressed. When 9/11 happened there were sad, comforting, uniting songs written and recorded. One that comes to mind is Alan Jackson’s self-written song, “Where Were You” (When the World Stopped Turning). I remember hearing that song for the first time and connecting to the lyric. He tapped into what so many Americans were feeling because he was feeling it too. He poured his songwriting heart into capturing a moment in time and by doing so it is now preserving that part of our history. Writing how you feel at the moment of one of these life experiences is important and a bit like taking on the role of a historian. I was told once that to be believable, to capture and hold a listener you must write what you know. For a long while I was unsure that
I knew enough of anything to be able to sell a song. There is something to be said for having a little life behind you, some experience in living the ups and downs, walking through a few trials, having felt loss and known triumph first hand so that you can pull from these emotions and put them to music. I am no longer hung up on the feeling that I must live through one of these experiences to write about it. I now use a well to draw from that I have been accumulating for years. If I had my feelings hurt, I threw that into my well, if I had an “ah ha moment” I tossed it in the well, if I felt a love that took me up to the heavens, into the well; all these things are safely stored and ready to be dredged up when needed. These days I take my songwriting job so seriously that I actually go
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out and interview and research for my lyrics. If I haven’t lived through whatever I’m writing about, I try and name what emotion needs to be present in the body of the song, pull from a past, similar emotion hidden in the well and then go about finding out details and write the story as accurately as I can. My husband and I wrote a song a few years ago that is loaded with a fictitious plot of characters and a made-up storyline. It is during the Civil War, which we all know I didn’t live through. To make the story thrive we did a little research and came up with some details that added a believable edge. I want to share this example of writing a song that I did not live through but by pulling on emotions that are mine and by adding some accurate elements I feel as though we gave this story life. The melody is very old-time, Celtic, haunting, Civil War, campfire like…very fitting for the lyric
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August 2015
SHADY GLEN Words and music by Donna Ulisse and Rick Stanley © Uncle Hadley Music/Pop ‘N Paw Music (ASCAP) (recorded on An Easy Climb by Donna Ulisse)
The misty town of Shady Glen lay just behind the mountain Home to northern soldier ghosts sprung from Hell’s own fountain No one seeks the valley’s edge where spirits roam uneasy ‘Cause angry men are walkin’ dead through Shady Glen by evenin’ Red Leg soldiers lost their lives in eighteen sixty four Killed between the moon and sun as told in town folklore All laying by their loaded guns, still wearin’ boots and daggers Now those fallen men still walk, ‘cross Shady Glen they stagger Those soldier boys, they had their way with all the towns good women They shot the old men, burned the fields and plundered for provisions The terror that they wielded cut a path of tears and sorrow Those Yankee blues, they did not know their time was only borrowed Shady Glen is broken land and fit for no one livin’ ‘Cause restin’ in the Devils hands are souls gone unforgiven Now Molly Vaughn of Shady Glen, she gained the soldiers favor Her body was her saving grace; her crafty ways would save her She trapped and cooked a rabbit stew, enough to feed a kingdom And stirred in poison with a smile as the sun was slowly sinkin’ She brought her kettle to the camp dressed up in lace and scarlet Served her stew in army tins and danced beneath the starlight The soldiers ate their fill and watched as Molly turned and swayed The poison moving like a snake, fillin’ up their veins Molly Vaughn of Shady Glen was home before the day broke News of how she’d spent her night was known by all the town folk They were grateful for the stew that stopped those men from breathin’ But now those Red Leg soldiers roam through Shady Glen by evenin’ Shady Glen is broken land and fit for no one livin’ ‘Cause restin’ in the Devils hands are souls gone unforgiven
Huss & Dalton Continued Mark added, “We don’t sit here in the office.” Each one has his special areas of expertise and responsibilities. Jeff works upstairs doing the neck and inlay work plus overseeing those employees while Mark runs and programs the CNC machine. He previously was involved in the setup work but is slowly moving out of that area. Of course, they run the business together. Mark summed up, “It is a small business so we all wear a lot of hats. It is a typical small business—it just has an unusual product.” When Jeff and Mark started building one guitar at a time, they learned to do things smarter and quicker as they grew. Now, they must get new folks to that point a lot quicker. I asked how they do that. Mark said they were still learning and Jeff chuckled and agreed. Mark went on to say, “We are always trying to improve the system by improving the methods, the procedures, and the fixtures. It always needs improvement. We
are always trying to do that. We can achieve quality but we are trying to achieve quality easier. We are always trying to figure a better way to put a certain part into a specific hole consistently instead of having to shape each part individually to fit the hole.”
Uniquely Their Own
I wondered about what makes their guitar unique and desirable. Both guys replied but each had a somewhat different view. Jeff said, “I think it is just the sum of all of the parts. We didn’t go at it that way to see how we could make it stand out. Rather, we decided to make a really good guitar because we believed that is what people wanted.” Mark’s take was, “The difference between us and our competitors, which are all bigger that us, is very subtle. Our guitars look just like theirs when they are hanging on the dealer’s wall. We all have our signature sound but when one does enough research and gets past the generalizations, there are just subtle differences between us and the others, and we reach our niche. It as a musical instrument to its full potential.”
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August 2015
Thanks to our partnership with ReverbNation (www.reverbnation.com) we are honored to give you a peak at a few of the nation’s hardest working indie artists. Each month we select one entry to showcase for you here. Enjoy! THIS MONTH’S FEATURE:
By Greg Tutwiler
Carolina Story so we went with it. The two were married two years later and went on their first tour a week after the honeymoon.
FEATURE ARTISTS Carolina Story is Ben and Emily Roberts; Ben from Pine Bluff, Arkansas and Emily from Lennox, South Dakota. They met in Memphis, and now hail from East Nashville. So, you may wonder, where did the Carolina part come from? I did too. “When we first started dating, I took Emily on a week long camping trip in Western North Carolina, outside of Asheville,” Ben said. He had gone to college there for a time and had been a whitewater rafting guide on the French Broad River along with several others nearby. “It was and still is one of my favorite areas in the lower 48 and I simply wanted to take her there so she could see it for herself and hopefully fall in love with it like I had.” One night near the end of the trip while sitting around the campfire, Ben and Emily decided maybe that two heads were better than one, musically, and a light bulb. “We should start a band and give it a go together,” Ben recalled. “On the way home, Emily mentioned Carolina Story as a name. We wanted our songs to tell our story and the stories of others, and North Carolina just so happened to be where the band idea was first hatched. It sounded folky and rootsy enough, and we didn’t have any better ideas, so it stuck.”
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Choirs And Fenders
Ben grew up singing in the church choir and said he’s always been a lover of music, song, melody. “My dad was always educating me and my sister on different bands and artists that he grew up on too. We were raised on the sounds of Neil Young, Cat Stevens, George Jones, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Band, Led Zeppelin, Old Country and Rock n’ Roll.” Ben started playing guitar when he was 12 after talking his parents into buying him a Fender acoustic, “a guitar I still have to this day,” he said. They made him promise to take lessons and practice diligently. “I took a few months worth of lessons, learned four or five chords, the difference between major and minor and figured I knew enough, so I joined a band at the start of 7th grade.” He said. “We played together until my senior year of high school.” Ben ended up going to college on a football scholarship and transferred around to several different schools over the course of several years. “During this time, I sort of put the
guitar down so to speak,” he said. “I didn’t play much, except for around the campfire at parties and with friends.” It wasn’t until he enrolled at Visible Music College in Memphis, TN in the fall of 2007 that he really picked it back up. “You could say that Emily had a huge impact on me,” he recalled. “I met her in the parking lot of the school and helped her move a couch into her dorm room. It was love at first sight for me.”
Devising A Plan
Ben devised a plan to bring to find a way to spend more time with his new found love interest. “Emily was into the music of an artist named Brandi Carlile,” he me. “I learned several songs off of her album, The Story and told Emily that we should sing some of the songs together for fun. She agreed, and we learned the song, “Josephine.” That’s where it all started. We then began crafting our own songs, mainly with Emily as the lead and me only accompanying. We never really set out to start a band or anything. We both knew there was a natural chemistry there
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They returned to Memphis after that first tour because Ben had a year of school left. “We lived in Memphis during that fall semester but I got clearance from the school to finish my last six spring semester hours from the road. I literally would video chat with my class in the afternoons from the road. We would load in at venues and I would Skype in and sit there video chatting with my professor and classmates, often having to step out a few minutes early to go sound check,” Ben recalled.
On The Road Again
Touring has always been a big part of Carolina Story. “It’s how we’ve built our fan base,” he said, “one show at a time.” Since then, Carolina Story has played nearly 800 shows in 43 states. “Now that our son and first child is in the picture,” Ben said, “we tour a little less for the time being but he’s been to every show since he was born in September. I think he’s been to 12 states already.” As a song writer, Ben said, “I am all about the song. I’m constantly chasing after it. I would definitely say that my personal travels and travels as a band influence our writing a great deal. Different cultures of people, different places and things. There’s enough things that we see, hear, feel in one given day that could inspire you and the next song. I just try to keep my eyes and ears peeled for that kind of stuff. You’ve just got to be receptive to it.”
www.CarolinaStory.com
August 2015
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August 2015
By Wayne Erbsen
Are My Arms Too Short To Play The Banjo If you’re old like me, you may remember the TV show, “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” which aired on Art Linkletter’s House Party from 1945 to 1969. Of course, kids aren’t the only ones to say the darnest things. Adults sometimes do too. One of my banjo students recently asked me “Are my arms too short to play the banjo?” If you’re a person with short arms, you may be pondering the same question. If so, you may be thinking that the autoharp may be more up your alley. First, let me tell you that banjos are practically defined by their long necks. They are the giraff of stringed instuments. But if you think the avarage banjo has a long neck, you should see one of the banjos that are copied fom Pete Seeger’s1942 invention that had
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ways played the banjos. Starting in the 1880s, banjos became fashionable instruments for ladies of high society. Even though I wasn’t there to measure their arms, I guarantee many of them had short arms, and I’m guessing that a great number of them became quite adept at playing the banjo.
Pete Seeger
three extra frets and was megalong. In fact, according to Alan Lomax, Pete Seeger’s long and lanky frame made him “look like a banjo.” The truth is that people with long, short, skinny and fat arms have al-
Even the most seasoned and grizzled banjo players can remember back to their early days of playing the banjo. Even though many of them appeared rough and tough, their left arms often hurt, because they simply were not used to holding their arm out so far to the left while holding up the neck of the banjo. Here are a number of solutions to the “short arm problem” if you’re so afflicted.
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1). Use a banjo strap. Be sure to wear the strap so it is placed over your head, not just resting on your right shoulder. If you use a strap, you won’t have to hold up the banjo with your left hand. I realize that Earl Scruggs rested the strap on his right shoulder. However, the only reason he did that was because he often changed from the banjo to the guitar during a typical set, and he didn’t want to have to take off his cowboy hat to do it. 2). When you’re playing the banjo sitting down, the normal place to set the banjo is on your lap between your two legs. When your left arm gets tired, simply move the banjo over to your right leg. Suddenly the neck just got shorter. 3). The neck of the banjo doesn’t necessarily need
August 2015
piccolo banjo by Kevin Enoch
fessionally installed on the fingerboard of the banjo under the 5th string at the 7th and 9th fret. When you want to capo up two frets, you’ll also need to raise up the 5th string two frets. In that case, simply slip the 5th string under the lip of the spike at the 7th fret. If you capo up four frets, you’ll slip the 5th string under the 9th fret. Having the spikes installed will be painless (to you) and is normally very inexpensive. 5). If you play in G tuning on the banjo, many of the notes you’ll play will be “open” strings, meaning you won’t have to fret the string with your left hand. When that happens, you can lower your left hand and give it a quick rest.
to be pointed up at a steep angle, which makes you have to hold your arm up higher. Lower the neck of the banjo down so it’s more parallel to the floor, and your short arm troubles will practically be over.
6). If you love the sound of the banjo, but are thoroughly convinced that your arms are too short, there are a number of other banjo-like instruments that feature a banjo pot with a much shorter neck. Common among these kind of instruments are banjo-mandolins and banjo ukes. Around the turn of the last century tiny picallo banjos as well as banjeaurines were popular, but they are harder to find these days than hen’s teeth or frog’s hair
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4). Use a capo on the 2nd or 4th fret. This will make your banjo neck ridiculously shorter. Remember that when you capo up, you’ll need to raise the 5th string up too. Music stores and outlets typically sell what are called 5th string capos. However, I much prefer having a miniature model railroad spike pro-
Wayne Erbsen has specialized in teaching total beginners to play the banjo for over fifty years. Whether you have long or short arms, check out his many instruction books: Bluegrass Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus, Bluegrass Jamming on Banjo, Clawhammer Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus, Southern Mountain Banjo and Starting Bluegrass Banjo From Scratch. His newest banjo book will be out later this summer, Clawhammer Banjo – Tunes, Tips & Jamming. Visit www.nativeground.com. www.AmericanaRhythm.com
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August 2015
Robert Earl Keen: Happy Prisoner By Greg Tutwiler
Texas singer-songwriter, Robert
Earl Keen began his professional recording career in 1984 with his debut album, No Kinda Dancer. Since then, he has recorded 18 full-length albums and written songs that have been covered by vaious artists from the country, folk and Texas country music scenes including George Strait, Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, and the Dixie Chicks, just to name a few. Although Keen is today most commonly considered an Americana artist, his roots are in bluegrass music. In his early days, Keen played and sang bluegrass music with a four-piece band of fellow Texas A&M Aggies, calling themselves the Front Porch Boys. “I always felt like the genesis of my songwriting comes from my lifelong love of bluegrass,” he explains in a press statement. “I’m sure it’s shaped the way I wrote certain songs and certainly shapes the way that I like certain songs, in that a lot of bluegrass stuff is really narrative in nature.” So, it seems like a logical next step for him to come back to bluegrass, if you will, with his most recent CD; Happy Prisoner, The Bluegrass Sessions. Robert told me, “We’re what one would call a touring band. I am always touring – all year round – we come home long enough to change our laundry,” he laughed. And fans have come to expect a certain kind of show from Robert Earl Keen and his band. And for the most part, they’ll get it, with a few minor adjustments. “The departure here is that every time I put out a record, I come out and play a few songs from the new record, but I’ve never done that thing where I dedicate myself to the new record and play it from back to front,” he said. “However with this record, because it’s bluegrass, we had to
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put down our electric instruments and pick up all these acoustic ones – so it’s important to somewhat reflect what’s going on with the record more fully.” “This time, not only are we going to be playing what’s on the record, we will also be playing our back catalogue too, but in a bluegrass style. I think that’s going to be really exciting because the people that are going to be coming are not coming because of the bluegrass, they’re coming to see our show and hear what we’ve played in the past. I’ve got hundreds of songs in our catalogue, and so we’re still going to be playing some songs from that, but in this acoustic style.”
Back To Bluegrass
“It was just a drive I guess, a compulsion.” Keen said that he had thought about doing this project for many years, but for whatever reason just hadn’t been able to pull it off. “I guess about two years ago now, I got to do this point where I said to myself, ‘I’ve got to do this bluegrass album now.’ So we got the wheels in motion,” he said. The CD includes 20 songs, but surprisingly, no originals. “I really wanted to pay tribute to bluegrass music,” he said. “I learned how to play the guitar behind contest fiddlers. At the time, I only knew a handful of chords. I ran into a guy who was a contest fiddler that went to fiddle contests all around the state. So I started going to those events. I played songs like, “Tom And Jerry,” and “Lime Rock,” over and over. It was great back up for me. Playing these chords over and over, you really get to where you can play. Right outside on the parking lot there’s always a bluegrass band too. I had already known about bluegrass and bluegrass songs but I didn’t know that I could step up there and play with them, and that is where I really got excited about it.
It was a huge part of my beginning in music so I didn’t feel like I was meant to say, ‘oh, I can write a bluegrass song too.’ I wasn’t interested in that part of it. I was really interested in the music that I loved that already existed.”
A Happy Prisoner
“It came from some pajamas my wife and I and our two girls wear,” he quipped. “During the holidays we watch movies and eat popcorn and wear these horizontal striped
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pajamas we all have. We call them our Happy Prisoners. I though it was a really good title for this record. The great dichotomy in bluegrass music is that the music is happy, but the stories are tragic. I was looking for something that defined that, and one day I opened up my drawer and there were my Happy Prisoner pajamas. It just made sense.” Keen took the show to Merlefest this year, plus they performing at
August 2015
Redwing Roots in Virginia; and at the Telluride Bluegrass festival; the Big Sky festival and several others. “I’ve played almost all these in the past, but I’ve never played them all in the same year. I’ve been able to be part of a greater and a wider road of music this year, rather than just playing theaters and honky tonks,” he said.
Brute Force And Ignorance
Keen spoke once about that moment when it felt like there was validation for all the hard work he had put into his music. “All of a sudden, I heard my song on the radio (San Antonio’s KRIO) backto-back with a Sheryl Crow song that was popular at the time, and I thought, ‘Man, this is cool!’ It was the first time I really felt like I was a real part of the music business, despite having been in it already for a pretty long time. And right after that, I went to a show in San Antonio and there were 1,500 people there! Up to that point I’d been playing to, max, maybe 150. That was the real ah-
meant to do this. Regardless of the opposition, I still am going to continue to do this.”
Whatever It Takes
Keen’s done a lot of other things along the way too. “I’ve done everything,” he said. “I was a roughneck on an oil rig for five years out of high school and into college. I’ve done carpentry, I worked for the railroad commission; I even worked for the IRS. I’ve done tons of little crappy jobs along the way too. When I first went to Nashville, I worked for five different temping agencies.” “I don’t ever want to do anything else though,” he said.” I don’t have other dreams about anything – even if I get knocked down, I rub my face and think ‘either I’m going to keep going or I’m going to find some other way of doing it. I’ve done both – forged ahead, and I’ve figured out how to do other things. You just keep moving and doing things that help keep making it all work.”
The Right Stuff
hah moment for me that really got me going and kept me going, because before that I’d been doing this for eight or 10 years and had a lot of rejection but very little success.” I asked Robert to describe the musician’s life from his point of view, and how he’s been able to make it this far. “Brute force and ignorance,” he said. It’s tough some days, it’s real tough. And you can really get down, we all do. But for some reason, I believed in myself. I believe I was
There’s another key ingredient too that seems to have a major influence into the success of Robert’s band. “I run my business like a business,” he told me. “I listened to musicians early on, from the very beginning, complaining that they never got to be on the record. This band has been recording together almost since the very beginning – this band. Occasionally. we’ll bring in some guest members here and there, but the core band always makes the records. Further, all my guys have insurance and a retirement program. It seemed to me that the answer was, of course, have really good players, but then give them the same benefits everybody else has with their job. You need security in this world. And it made sense to me to make that part of this business too. I try to do right by them and in turn they try to do right by me.”
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August 2015
Sibling Harmony Back in the winter, we attended the DC Bluegrass Union’s indoor festival. It was a top notch festival held in the ballroom of an up-scale hotel and unique in that we stayed on the same floor on which the ballroom stage was located. This convenience provided plenty of opportunity to mingle with the performers between sets. One particular act that caught my attention was Mountain Fever Record Company recording artists, Gold Heart. Gold Heart, features three talented young sisters (Tori on mandolin; Jocey on guitar; and Shelby on fiddle. They have been touring since 2005 but are just now getting the recognition they so richly deserve. Thus far in their young lives, they have appeared at hundreds of live performances and produced four albums that show case their rich talent. I admit to being unfamiliar with their performance but was quickly won over by their harmony singing, which I rate as the best to which I’ve listened. After their first set, they presented a workshop to discuss harmony singing in bluegrass music. Now, many workshops at festivals, while enjoyable, usually are just stripped down acoustic performances. Not this one though, these ladies presented a most through and complete lecture and demonstration of how they achieved the tight harmony for which Gold Heart is quickly becoming known. As soon as I could, I met up with Ms. Tori Gold and asked if she would try to document for AR’s readers what she told the workshop gathering. What follows here originated as an email that Tori sent to me during a long an arduous spring tour in an attempt to answer my request to her and her sisters at the DC festival. - Editor
The sounds of harmony can be beautiful, sooth-
ing and even somewhat haunting. It is a mysterious sound that can captivate your heart and bring tears to your eyes. Our mom taught us to sing harmony with each other. We grew up out in the country, and on our long highway drives to and from our home, she would help the time pass faster by singing with us. We would sing cute songs like Jesus Loves Me and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Mom would sing the tenor harmony and she would have us take turns singing along with her while the others stayed on the simple melody. At the time we didn’t realize what she was doing, but she was teaching us to sing and love harmony. Dad would tune in to the bluegrass station on our way to church each Sunday and our family grew to love the heavy harmonies of bluegrass music.
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By Tori Gold
We’ve just released our forth recording on Mountain Fever Records titled, Places I’ve Been. It has 12 original songs that were written by Jocey and Shelby. If you have a chance to listen to this project, you will find very good examples of the harmony singing that we try to project. I am going to mention three of the songs as illustrations of some of the harmony parts that folks sing. Harmonies are primarily based off of the 1, 3 and 5 intervals. In our song Raleigh, we sing a traditional harmony trio. In this song, Shelby sings lead (1) which is sandwiched in the middle, Tori sings tenor (3) which is placed on the top, and Jocey sings baritone (5) which is beneath it all. Tim O’Brien recently told us this about our harmony, “You illustrate suspended chords in your trio; that’s the kind of thing you can only do if the pitch is rock solid, and it is”. Another stack in bluegrass harmony singing is called inverted harmony. If you’ve listened to the Osborne Brothers, then you know what we’re talking about. Steam Engine is a song on the album that features this style of harmony. It is a very powerful and edgy stack of harmony singing. The intervals are still 1, 3 and 5, but this time the root (1) is placed on top, with the baritone (5) just below. The low tenor is still a (3) in the stack, but it’s now under the baritone. There is also some duet singing in bluegrass music. Our song Truth displays duet harmony. We decided to record this song as a duet since singing with this arrangement can be really fun for the harmony singer. This is because it allows for much more freedom with the notes you choose to sing. The fusion of our voices on this song gives us opportunity to create a good vocal tension. There is nothing quite like singing as sisters. Sometimes we feel as though we can read each other’s minds. We have never really had a difficult time coming up with harmony parts for our songs. It is a God given gift that for the most part just comes naturally. We write the vast majority of our band’s repertoire, so we get to choose the harmony styles that we feel fit the melody and lyrics of each song. Singing with emotion and having great harmony really paints a picture for the listeners. It is a very important aspect of the song. The basis of our sister harmony comes not so much from the technicalities, but from the heart.
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The Main Events Two of the “Americana” scene’s three major festivals are scheduled to take place in just a few months. The Americana Music Festival & Conference, and the International Bluegrass Music Association’s World Of Bluegrass both get under way in late September/Early October. Musicians and fans alike are invited and encouraged to par-
ticipate. Each provides the opportunity to connect with artists and industry leaders in a relaxed, but festive environment.
The Americana Music Festival & Conference takes
place September 15th - 20 th in Nashville, TN. The New York Times called it “The coolest music scene today.” Each year, legendary
artists and next generation rising stars, along with industry professionals gather for four days of music and education. The event will draw thousands from all over the world. While artists, managers, labels, radio stations, publishers, agents, promoters, retailers all gather to discuss interests and needs by day – they venture out into the historic city of Nashville in the evening for performances and showcase at numerous venues including the historic Ryman Auditorium.
August 2015
The (IBMA) International
Bluegrass Music Association’s World Of Bluegrass and conference is set to be held September 29 – October 3rd for the third year in Raleigh, NC. After relocating from Nashville, TN in 2012, the leading industry bluegrass event
has certainly found a new home and new fans for the international organization. Simply stated, the IBMA’s mission “is the trade association that connects and educates bluegrass professionals, empowers the bluegrass community, and encourages worldwide appreciation of bluegrass music of yesterday, today and tomorrow.”
“World of Bluegrass is the annual bluegrass music homecoming,” according to the IBMA site, “a multifaceted industry event and festival with hundreds of offerings for every bluegrass professional and fan.” The business conference and trade show takes place for the first three days, with the weekend featuring a massive free street festival filled with music and artisans. It was estimated that the 2014 weekend exceeded 180,000. Any true fan of Americana/Bluegrass/String music would look back at both of these events as a highlight of the year. I know we do!
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August 2015
50 Years Of Festival, and counting
You can almost imagine Jerry Orbach striding across the lawn to the pavilion, grabbing his teenage daughter by the arm and dragging her away from the evil influences of bearded Oak Ridge Boys, or wicked banjo players like Bela Fleck, or rocking guys named Smash Mouth. Orkney Springs, Virginia, home to the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival, is so evocative as a resort town of yesteryear that it could be a time machine to the days of Dirty D ancing and earlier…much, much earlier. A huge four story hotel, built in the 1870s, with balconies circling every level, presides over a tiny town of picture perfect cottages surrounded by woods and mountains. The rich folk from the National’s Capital once came out by train and buggy to escape the city heat and take the curative waters of Orkney’s springs. They ate in the 40 by 150 foot dining hall and danced in the 5,000 square-foot ballroom. Now folks come from near and far, dine on elaborate picnics with wine and candles, then settle back on blankets or lawn chairs to enjoy world class performances in one far out corner of the world. The 2015 festival consists of nine concerts spread out over summer weekends from mid-July through Labor Day.
One Of The Oldest
What began more than 50 years ago as a summer camp for orchestra conductors, evolved into symphony concerts for the locals, which, in turn, adapted with the times to become a summer long concert series encompassing a wide range of musical genres. Can there be a greater contrast than singer Jackie Evancho, a 15-yearold classical music sensation, and the legendary, well-traveled Oak Ridge Boys, who are both on the schedule this summer.
Jazz Band encouraged a second line that took the stage with them. And the old basketball court to the right of the stage often becomes a dance
While continuing to honor its roots with a symphonic show every year, the Festival also hosts frequent bluegrass minifests. Set for Sunday, September 6 this year, the bluegrass celebration will feature the Seldom Scene joined by Grand Ole Ditch, Shenandoah Alley, the Barefoot Movement, and Springfield Exit. The music festival actually takes place on the grounds of Shrine Mont, a conference and retreat center serving the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. In 1979 Shrine Mont purchased the Orkney Springs Hotel and the surrounding 1,000 acres of land and restored the facility in 1987.
floor as the spirit and rhythm of the performers moves the audience. As one old-timer describes the music festival “It’s a great party.”
Something For Everyone
Over the years performers have reflected both timeless and timely tastes with audiences enjoying the likes of Charlie Byrd, Janis Ian, John McCutcheon, the Irish Breakdown, Richie Havens, Arlo Guthrie, The Temptations, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kathy Mattea, Ricky Skaggs, Travis Tritt, and Kris Kristofferson.
Few summer concerts series predate this one in the Shenandoah Valley, about two hours west of Washington DC. In fact, it is the longest-running outdoor series in Virginia. Orkney Springs is so appealing to the musicians who come to play that one characterized his gig as “a paid vacation.” On weekends when the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra performs, you can stroll the streets in the early afternoon and enjoy mini-concerts as string players rehearse on cottage porches. When the a capella group Straight No Chaser showed up last year asking where the gym was, they were directed to an open field, where they ended up playing Frisbee football and corn hole. With a covered pavilion that seats about 600 and a sloping lawn that can accommodate about the same number, the music fest is an intimate setting, where the crowd and the performers often mix. Irish fiddler Eileen Ivers abandoned the stage for a dance through the aisles with a Pied Piper like line behind her. The Preservation Hall
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By Joan Anderson
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Shrine Mont’s amenities rival those of any family resort including swimming, tennis, hiking, sports activities, volleyball, shuffleboard, bocce, hayrides and camp fires. And don’t forget that gigantic ballroom. You don’t have to be Episcopalian to enjoy it. Individuals and groups are welcome on a space available basis. Music Fest concert goers sometimes reserve rooms in the hotel so the evening of music under the stars lingers on.
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For more about the Festival and its 2015 season, visit www.musicfest.org
August 2015
Folk Music Loses An Icon
Legendary Folk Singer Jean Ritchie dead at age 92
Jean Ritchie, who brought hun-
dreds of traditional songs from her native Appalachia to a wide audience and in the process helped ignite the folk song revival of the mid-20th century, died in early June at her home in Berea, Ky. She was 92.
Without Jean Ritchie, Doc Watson, Pete Seeger, and a small circle of others, the modern folk revival and all that wonderful old-time Appalachian music would be obscure, maybe even lost, instead of being infused all through the Americana string music of today.
She appeared on some of the world’s most celebrated stages and helped keep the old-time music alive for an international audience. Ms. Ritchie performed jointly with some of the best-known names in folk music, including Pete Seeger and Doc Watson. She was closely associated with the Newport Folk Festival, performing at its inception in 1959 and many times afterward. Ms. Ritchie had a quiet, striking stage presence. Hers was not a trained voice but nevertheless projected a melodious, lyrical, and plaintive sound with which she accompanied by playing the Appalachian dulcimer. She brought the dulcimer with her when she moved to New York in the late 1940s, and is credited with almost single-handedly reviving interest in that instrument. The mountain dulcimer world owes Jean Ritchie an unmeasured gratitude for the current wide recognition of this unique American originated string instrument.
Dinah Ansley, who is known to many as Dulcimer Dinah and is one of the respected local masters of the mountain dulcimer said this about Jean Richie and her influence, “There’s less than a remnant of the incredible power and influence that folk music of the 1950’s exercised that continues to resonate (in music) today. I was privileged to witness Jean Ritchie and Doc Watson share a stage at some major festival in Maryland about 7 or 8 years ago. It was magic. They were love—love and respect of each other; shared humor; totally complimenting; and making beautiful, beautiful music together. It’s a stream—and I have to remember that no individual second in a stream is like the one before or the one coming. Simultaneously all the moments of a stream are connected. We all pass it on as best we can—it’s not merely how to play an instrument, it’s an honoring of a way of being with and becoming the living music.”
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Fest Camping In Sytle
August 2015
to other festival goers. At one upcoming festival, the amenities include power in each tent, a bath towel (for the shower trailer), an air conditioned restroom trailer with running water, and a lounge that includes daily snacks and coffee. Bring your clothes and leave the rest to “hotel” crew.
By Greg Tutwiler
Friends, Lauren Cecil and Jason
Johnson, call Ruckersville, VA home base, but their business venture, Solid Ground Shelters, takes them all across North America these days. Both former travel guides, they also shared a love of the outdoors. They traveled around the country taking international guests on camping trips showcasing the great outdoors. “What we realized,” Lauren told me, “is that people really love being in the outdoors, they really do want to turn their cell phones off and be in nature, but they hate camping,” she mused. “I think after a certain age, camping loses it appeal. I love it too, but a backpacking trip where I’m going to be sleeping outdoors for seven days is sounding less and less appealing as I start getting older.” In forming Solid Ground Shelters, Lauren and Jason had a few points
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they wanted to achieve. Firstly, Lauren said, “make camping more comfortable, and get more people into the outdoors who wouldn’t normally camp.” You’re probably thinking by now – that’s all great – but what does that have to do with music? I am so glad you asked. I first heard of the Solid Ground Shelters, and the idea of Glamping (as they call it – glamorous camping.) when it was featured as an option at a few of the regional festivals here in Virginia – specifically, Floydfest in Floyd VA, and The Festy, outside of Charlottesville, VA. In both cases, hotel accommodations aren’t super accessible. And thanks to the Glamping, the outdoor hotel option is becoming more and more appealing to folks who want to enjoy the experience of staying on
the festival grounds, don’t own a travel trailer, and don’t want to sleep on the ground. “It’s camping with all the creature Davis Crosby comforts – and allows campers to experience all the things they love about a hotel. We call it a luxury outdoor hotel,” Lauren said. “You check in just like a hotel, your European inspired canvas tent is pre-assigned, and everything is ready for you; bed with a genuine mattress and linens, rug, night stand, table and chairs … and in many cases, 24 hour concierge service. If you need something, we’ll go off site and get it for you.” It’s a VIP village, often complete with perks and frills not available
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Lauren told me that typically there is a 10 tent minimum if you wanted to engage their services for other events such as weddings or private and family functions. However, at these festivals, the promoters will have the glamping area as an option from the festival web site. For about the price of a luxury hotel room, this alternative definitely sounds like an experience to add to your “try this” list this year. For more information, or to find out which festivals will feature the Solid Ground Shelter option, visit www.SolidGroundShelters.com or call them at (804) 413-6143.
August 2015
In this new series, we get a little deeper into the inside track with some of our featured artists. These stories are just a snapshot of a longer interview that you can hear in it’s entirety by clicking the link on our web page; www.AmericanaRhythm.com.
Lee Sims
Lee Sims is often referred to as a Colorado music icon, and a “down home superstar.” His current CD, Deep In The Heart Of Me, is a return of sorts for Lee, to the music industry. As a youngster, Lee’s dad would take him to jam sessions, and prod him to get up there and perform along with the adults. “My dad’s friend would play guitar and I would get up there and sing along behind him,” Lee recalled. “I was playing for a mostly older audience, so it really helped me build up my confidence.” Lee recalled his days learning how to play a guitar, “I would take my parents old records and slow them down just to learn how to play certain riffs.” And in 1965 he began his music career with his first band at the age of 15. “While everyone else was listening to the Beatles, I was hammering out the Hank Thompsons and the Hank Snows,” he said. “I was listening to the Beatles and playing Johnny Cash.” Lee left high school for college, playing music all the way through, and full time up until about 12 years ago he said, before entering the private sector as a US Mail carrier. “I was fortunate enough to be able to play music my entire life up to that point.” And now, with retirement in site, the new CD, Deep In The Heart Of Me, is laying the ground work for a second season as a full time musician. His music is reminiscent of the more classic country sound. “This sound has actually redefined who I am as an artist,” he said. “A lot of people are in a quandary as to where their listening ear is going. So I’m finding a new audience, which is actually quite exciting.” To find out more, visit www.LeeSims.com
TBelly
UK’s Russell Keefe says he’s been playing music since he was a “small child,” he mused. In and out of several bands during his music career, it was a stint with Les McKeown’s legendary Bay City Rollers that occupied a lengthy season of his life; 18 years, he said. Les, the original lead singer, was looking for a new band to tour with. “I was called to go play a TV show with him in Germany, just after the wall came down,” Russell recalled. “I did one TV show, and 18 years later, here I am. It was a lot of fun, but it was time to do something else,” he said. So three years ago, Russell formed his new band, TBelly with several other former Rollers. And while this era of his music leans more towards original blues, Russell said that blues hasn’t really been mainstay for him until recently. “While I was growing up there were bands like Led Zepplin and Deep Purple, that sort of thing, and I was into their music, but I don’t have a massive legacy with it. I would always mess around with it during sound checks and on my own. So it just came through that. My singing style and my voice suit it. And when the Rollers finished, I needed a new band, and this is what came out of it.” The new band, TBelly, and their new CD, Dead Men Don’t Pray, is full of Russell’s original tunes. “This suits me perfectly,” he said. “I’m not 18, and I’m not a pop singer. My songs fit, and I like this style,” he said. The band will be touring the eastern part of the united states for two weeks in July, and possibly back again later this year on the west coast before dialing back into the studio for another round of TBelly blues. To find out more, visit www.tbellyband.co.uk
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August 2015
Galax Event Turns 80 E very
second weekend in August, folks from all over descend on the rural music community of Galax, VA, for the annual Old Fiddlers Convention. It has become a staple event for many string musicians, and many more fans, an annual pilgrimage to the old time music gathering to listen, reminisce, and renew old acquaintances. This year marks the 80 t h incarnation of the convention. Hundreds of musicians gather to entertain, jam with others, and compete for thousands of dollars in prizes and coveted titles. All forms of instruments can be heard through the festival grounds including of course, fiddles, as well as mandolins, guitars, banjos, stand up bass, dulcimers, and
Photo credit - Tom Jones
dedicated to “Keeping alive the memories and sentiments of days gone by and make it possible for people of today to hear and enjoy the tunes of yesterday”. And that is still the mission today. The festival actually featured two events in 1935, but by the second one (that fall) had outgrown their indoor facility and was moved to the present location of Felts Park in Galax, VA. Only once has the festival not held an event – during WWII, due to travel limitations. The festival has grown so much
even mouth harps. And many of these musicians have played and performed at most of the 80 events. The Old Fiddler’s Convention began in the spring of 1935 after a few members of the (then new) Moose Lodge #733 needed a way to raise funds and grab the attention of potential new members. A newspaper article from that era is noted as saying that the Convention was
that now SRO (standing room only) is often the case.
PLEASE PRINT CLEA
Use seperate pap er
RLY
if necessary
(city/state/zip)
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According the festival’s web site, “In 1965, a Saturday afternoon program was started to relieve the pressure on Saturday night. In 1967, NBC-TV covered the entire three nights and Saturday afternoon. A few years ago, a Wednesday night performance was added. In 1999, Tuesday night competition was added. A Fiddlers’ Youth Competition was added in 2000, which added Monday night to the schedule.” Contestants must register in advance of the convention; however, there is no charge for registration. A lt h o ug h musicians come from distant states, and at times f r o m foreign countries, the tunes are often the same that have been heard at the convention down through the years
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August 2015
Summer School For Musicians
Did you ever attend summer
camp when you were a kid? I did once, and the only thing I got from the experience was learning how to lace up the sides of a flimsy coin pouch with thin strips of white plastic. Not a big item to mark off on my life’s bucket list that is for sure; however, if I could have a do over on that camp thing, I know what I’d do. I’d attend the week-long Mountain Music School to be held at Mountain Empire Community Collage (MECC) in Big Stone Gap, VA this July 27 through 31, 2015. You know this will be a premier school because MECC is no newbe in the culture and music promotion business. MECC is now and has been for many years the Southwest VA area’s cultural center for Appalachian crafts and music. Going on 40-plus years, MECC has hosted a Home Craft Days festival, which has been the premier festival celebration of Appalachian culture and music in that region.
The MECC Music School event is dedicated to the preservation and continuation of Appalachian music and culture, and provides students age 10 through adult the experience of learning traditional oldtime music in a fun and supportive atmosphere. If you become a student at this School, you may select an instrument and skill level of your choice and that choice can include: beginning and advanced
By Edward Tutwiler
old- t ime fiddle, claw-hammer banjo, guitar, mandolin, dulcimer, autoharp, and standup bass fiddle. In fact, if you are lucky and pick the right choice, the school has a limited number of instruments available by request on loan for the week. In addition, if you are one with intermediate or advanced skills, you can participate in an optional string-band class. As an added bonus, you will also get to dance and sing along at daily concerts featuring some of the Southwest VA region’s most gifted old-time musicians. Mountain Music School
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wraps up on Friday afternoon with a celebration and a rousing student/instructor concert that is open to the family and friends of students and faculty. Tuition for Mountain Music School is $150 for adults and children. Youth students can qualify for full or partial tuition scholarship by completing a scholarship application form. Tuition includes lunch, snacks, and a Mountain Music School t-shirt. Big note: the class sizes are limited so if you plan to attend, early registration is a must. Register at the following web site:www.mountainmusicschool.org. Plus there is a ton of information on the web site about MECC and its cultural influence and mission. There are no wrong choices to be made for the MECC Music School experience as you will join your schoolmates for a week of music, mountains, and memories in a special area of VA where generations come together to celebrate the unique richness and beauty of Appalachian culture—and no plastic lacing of flimsy coin pouches is involved in the experience
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August 2015
JUNE Wayne C. Henderson Music Festival June 20, 2015 Mouth Of Wilson, VA www.waynehenderson.org Music In The Mountains Festival June 24 - 27, 2015 Summersville, WV www.adamsandandersonbluegrass.com River And Roots Festival June 26 - 27, 2015 Berryville, VA www.riverandroots.com Grayson Co. Fiddlers Convention June 26 - 27, 2015 Elk Creek, VA http://www.ecvfd.net/home/grayson-countyfiddler-s-convention South Branch Valley Festival June 27, 2015 Romney, WV
JULY Norris Creek Pig Pickin’ Bluegrass July 2 - 4, 2015 Louisburg, NC www.norriscreekpigpickin.com American Made Weekend July 3 - 5, 2015 Hot Springs, VA www.garthnewel.org
Tazewell Old Time And Bluegrass July 10 - 12, 2015 Tazewell, VA www.craborchardmuseum.com Red Wing Roots Festival July 10 - 12, 2015 Mt. Solon, VA www.redwingroots.com Old Time Banjo Festival July 11 - 12, 2015 Alexandria, VA www.oldtimebanjofestival.com Highland Co. Old Time Fiddlers Conv. July 16 - 19, 2015 Monterey, VA www.highfiddle.com Winchester Blues House Festival July 18, 2015 Winchester, VA www.winchesterblueshouse.com Shenandoah Valley Music Festival July 2015 - September, 7 2015 Bayse, VA www.musicfest.org Mineral Bluegrass Festival July 16 - 18, 2015 Mineral, VA www.mineralbluegrass.com Floyd Fest July 22 - 26, 2015 Floyd, VA www.floydfest.com Appalachian String Band Fest July 29 - August 2, 2015 Clifftop, WV www.wvculture.org/stringband
Bishop’s Jubilee July 3 - 5, 2015 Orkney Springs, VA www.shrinemont.com Wayside Bluegrass Festival July 8 - 11, 2015 Stuart, VA www.waysidepark.com Doc & Rosa Lee Watson Musicfest July 10 - 11, 2015 Sugargrove, NC www.musicfestnsugargrove.org
AUGUST Pickin’ In Parsons August 5 - 8, 2015 Parsons, WV www.fiverivercampground.com Bluegrass In The Blue Ridge August 6 - 8, 2015 Luray, VA www.bluegrassinluray.com
Email festival listings to info@americanarhythm.com
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Virginia Highlands Festival July 31 - August 9, 2015 Abingdon, VA www.vahighlandsfestival.org Augusta Heritage Center Music Season July 26 - August 9, 2015 Elkins, WV www.augustaheritagecenter.org Oak Grove Folk Music Festival August 7 - 9, 2015 Verona, VA www.oakgrovefestival.com Bluegrass Valley Music Festival August 7 - 9, 2015 Blue Grass, VA www.bgvmusicfestival.com 80th Old Fiddler’s Convention August 3 - 8, 2015 Galax, VA www.oldfiddlersconvention.com Blue Ridge Mountain Music Fest August 15, 2015 Wintergreen, VA (434) 325-8292 www.wintergreenperformingarts.org Hot August Music Festival August 15, 2015 Cockeysville, MD www.hotaugustmusicfestival.com Highland Jam August 13 - 16, 2015 Elkins, WV (304) 642-2351 www.highlandjam.com Vinton Old Time Bluegrass Fest. August 14 - 16, 2015 Vinton, VA (540) 345-8548 Camp Barefoot Music Fest August 20 - 22, 2015 Bartow, WV www.campbarefoot.org
August 2015
Advice For Aspiring Musicians “What is the single most important money-making tip you would give a new singer/ songwriter?” That question was asked of Featured Artists at *The Standing “O” Project, and answers from 16 of those working musicians are collected in this book; some are single sentences, others are pages long. Killing it In the Streaming Age offers a different take on what it means to have a music career in the 21st century. And what’s really surprising—virtually all of the advice is non-digital, real-world and do-able. My answer focused on the “Real Money” you want to make and save; “the real “currency” that makes this business go is how you handle yourself – call it integrity if you will. The quality of your art means a lot less if people think you’re an ...”. His thoughtful essay on making a life and livelihood in the 21st century music business will likely strike a chord with vet-
eran musicians as well as those just getting started. The book is chocked full of great advice and thoughtful - and often unique perspectives.
By Andrew Mcknight
as one of the biggest inequities in the music business: dispite being talented creative professionals with a profound work ethic, singer/ songwriters are often shortchanged professionally. Killing it In the Streaming Age is currently available in soft cover or Kindle edition.
Editors John D illon and Viv Nesbitt host Art of the Song Creativity Radio, a one-hour, listenersupported weekly radio program broadcast on over 150 stations across North America. They have interviewed some of the biggest names in the industry with a focus on the universal truths common to all creative expression. Together, he and Viv launched The Standing “O” Project, a “socially responsible streaming” site dedicated to overcoming what they see
*What’s the Standing O Project? Thanks to my visit several years ago on the syndicated “Art of the Song Creativity Radio” (National Public Radio) show, I was one of the guest artists invited to be part of the Standing “O” Project. Standing “O” brings artists and listeners together deep into music that might be considered to have “limited commercial potential.” Artists bring their music. Fans bring their support. Hosts and founders John Dillon & Vivian Nesbitt bring hundreds of hours of rare interviews (including my show). In a way, Standing “O” does what your radio station used to be so good at: offering surprises and rich content
www.AmericanaRhythm.com
that can change your day. It’s a very exciting idea that could change the face of music, designed to connect singer-songwriters and music fans in original and profound ways. And here’s the best part: the fans who support Standing “O” are also supporting the musicians who make it possible. Independent artists share in the membership contributions, providing a muchneeded revenue stream to help them continue creating music. Basically, we’re all working together to build an artistic empire of good music, human connection and flourishing creativity for the common good. Try it free for 10 days, no card required. Come visit my page http:/ /standingoproject.com/artist/ andrewmcknight, and click the Start Free Trial button at the top
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Andrew McKnight’s is an awardwinning folk and Americana artist. Since 1996 his musical journey has traced over half a million miles of blue highways, and earned him a wealth of critical acclaim and enthusiastic fans for his captivating performances and seven recordings.
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August 2015
Music From The National Scene
Music From Your Neighbors
welcome to the latest edi-
tion of SPINS! Feast your ears on these delicious musical morsals (in no special order) - How can these guys keep making such great music? Wow! Grab your iPad or Smart Phone and dial up some of these fine folks. We bet you’ii love them all like we do! And they’re just in time to help you plan your summer and fall fest schedule. www.AmericanaRhythm.com. Uncle Woody, The Spin Doctor PO Box 45 Bridgewater, VA 22812
The Steeldrivers The Muscle Shoals Recordings
www.goldheartsisters.com These young sisters have been sharing their intense harmonies with us since 2005. Tori, Jocey, and Shelby; a.k.a Gold Heart, can just plain sing! Their new CD, Places I’ve Been, is one of their best too. Sing it girls
Antique Persuasion Don’t Forget Me Little Darling
www.bigcountrybluegrass.com
www.voxhallrecords Brandon Rickman (Lonesome River Band) along with Jenee Fleenor (Blake Shelton’s band) and Brennen Leigh team up for this tribute to the music of the Carter family. They nailed it. You’ll like this
Not many bands stand the test of time - especially in the string music world. So when a band releases their 18th CD, you want to take notice. True to their traditional roots, it’s another top notch collection from this great group
Gold Heart Places I’ve Been
www.thesteeldrivers.com For some bands, we just don’t need to say much - The Steeldrivers are just that good. Their fourth CD was recorded in the heart of Muscle Shoals, and from the first track to the last, simply awesome
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Big Country Bluegrass Country Livin’
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The Faster It Goes www.therailsplitters.com
Dale Watson Call Me Insane
Sideline Session 2
Woody Pines Woody Pines
www.dalewatson.com
Colorado natives, The Railsplitters are hoping their sophomore effort, The Faster It Goes, will extend their early success. Rockygrass’ Best New Band award in tow, they are out sharing their modern twist on the time honored grass tradition. We like it
Austin’s king of Honky-tonk is keeping the spirit of American music alive with his new CD, Call Me Insane. Dale’s music makes me want to dig out my copy of Smokey And The Bandit! Good ol’ toe tappin,’ foot stompin,’ down home boogie. You’ll love this
www.sidelinebg.com For a couple of guys just looking for something to do on the side, [Steve Dilling (III Tyme Out),
www.woodypines.com Reminiscent of a 50’s juke joint, Woody Pines, like many of the new groups these days, have carved a sound that is distinctly unique. Part rocka-billy, part twang-bang, and a little hillbilly boogie - and, we can’t stop listening
Eight O’Five Jive Too Many Men
www.crackerbarrel.com
Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road Country Grass
www.eightofive.net
www.trinityriverband.com
www.vogtssisters.com
Dubbed the “Rockstars of Bluegrass” by CMT, Jamie Daily and Darrin Vincent (Daily & Vincent), have a new 15 song live collection exclusively on the Cracker Barrel label. With multiple Grammy and IBMA to their credit - this is a great sampling
www.carolinaroadband.com Loraine Jordan is one of the hardest working women in bluegrass music today. And to her credit, her band, Carolina Road, is steaming along at full throttle. Their new CD is the stuff awards are made of. Keep an eye on this one
Nashville’s Eight O’Five Jive, an award winning jump-blues band, seems to be out in front egnighting a resurgence in the genre’. They are a high energy, contageous ball of fire to watch, and the music is pretty darn good too
This family band features traditional bluegrass sounds sealed together by tight family harmonies, topped off by lead singer, Sarah Harris, twice IBMA nominated. Their new CD, Heartstrings, will earn them new fans for sure
Another of our “family” band features - Kansas natives, The Vogts Sisters feature super sibling harmonies throughout their blend of Americana, Folk, and Country collection on the new CD, My Own Dixie. Future looks bright
Dale Ann Bradley Pocket Full Of Keys www.daleann.com Five time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year winner Dale Ann Bradley has achieved international acclaim for her vocal abilities - this time around she produced and arranged the music herself - and might we say, “well done Dale, well done.”
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Daily & Vincent AliveI In Concert
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The Railsplitters
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Jason Moore (Mountain Heart), Skip Cherryholmes, (Cherryholmes family band), along with newcomers Brian and Daniel Aldridge], Sideline Blue-
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grass is fulltime good stuff
Trinity River Band Heartstrings
The Vogt Sisters My Own Dixie
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You can send new Americana CD releases for consideration to PO Box 45, Bridgewater, VA, 22812
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August 2015
We’d love to show up in your mail box six times a year!
The rich culture of Americana music is the fastest growing music today! Let’s stay in touch subscription to Americana Rhythm. It’s only $16. Send us your name and address along with your check or money order for $16 made out to Americana Rhythm, to PO Box 45, Bridgewater, VA, 22812. (PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY) You can also subscribe Via PayPal on line at www.AmericanaRhythm.com
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