Music, Mammals, And A Man With A Saw

I’ve been a singer/songwriter and touring musician for most of my life, and one of the big pay backs I get from being an on-the-road musician is the variety of people, places, and situations I find myself in. Let’s face it, the reality is, you spend much more time traveling, and waiting to travel, (airports, buses, traffic jams) than you do actually performing. So it makes your life much more fulfilling if you enjoy that aspect of the job as well as playing. This has always been true for me.

us. It was an incredible feeling to have one come alongside our small vessel, gently roll to one side and look right in my eye - Direct eye contact. It was an unbelievable thing to feel from a very large, warm-blooded, airbreathing mammal at sea.

CONTRIBUTORS

Ed Tutwiler

Wayne Erbsen

Donna Ulisse

Mike Aiken

Andrew McKnight

Dan Walsh

Rebecca Frazier

DISTRIBUTION

North River Publishing Integrated Music Media

Letters, Comments, Suggestions greg@americanarhythm.com www.americanarhythm.com

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My life and well-being are about motion. I live on a boat, and as I write this, she is gently rocking, and giving me a sense of motion and time. How many beats per minute is this swell? What sort of groove would this translate in a song? I get antsy being in one place for too long. Luckily I found music and performing when I was a teenager. They became the catalyst to move my life in a positive direction. My music has given me the vehicle to keep moving forward, meet new people, and experience life from a unique vantage point. As a songwriter, and storyteller, I am fortunate to be able to share these stories with others.

We, in this profession, are the direct descendants of wandering minstrels and troubadours. Hopefully, we are weaving our place in the fabric of the future past. Here are a couple of examples of this troubadour, modern day.

In my stage introduction to the song, “Save the Whales,” I tell the true story of crossing the North Atlantic Ocean with Amy on a 35’ sailboat. We were 1000 miles from any land, and found ourselves surrounded by humpback whales. They were mostly matching our speed of 6-7 mph, and were breaching, spouting, and traveling with

I desperately wanted to communicate with them, and the first thing I thought of was, my guitar. I dashed below and brought up a little battery powered amp and strapped it to the mast. (I thought maybe they would feel the vibration through the metal mast to the ship’s hull and then the water.) I sang and played to the whales for about two hours. They stayed and hung out with us and then moved on. They were an amazing audience that gave me the gift of this experience and memory. I’ve since shared the memory through story and song to many, many people. I didn’t make any money performing that day, but I was richly rewarded for being a musician and viewer of life.

Next; there was a time we were in Antigua, West Indies. We were anchored out, and I was booked a few times a week playing shows for tourists; Making just enough money to keep the boat afloat. It was New Year’s Eve. I had finished my show. It was late, and we were walking along the harbor, when I heard this beautiful music. We followed the music, and came across these three elderly gentlemen playing in the straw market. One had a guitar, one an accordion, and one a saw. They were great! They played traditional folk music of Antigua. I was enchanted and inspired. It was absolutely real, and from the heart, as is all good music.

These are just a few of the moments that keep me inspired to continue traveling, and sharing my songs, and stories, from town to town, country to country.

By Edward Tutwiler

The history of the US as a nation contains stories and legends of noteworthy traces, trails and roads that played a part in that founding history. Alas, these paths are no more—just dusty memories or modern noisy interstates.

Have no fear. There still exists a trail from a bygone era. That trail is Virginia’s Crooked Road or as maps would have it: US Route 58.

is known as The Crooked Road, Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail.

The Crooked What?

The Crooked Road is a driving trail through the mountains of Southwest VA that connects nine major venues and over 60 affiliated venues and festivals that visitors can enjoy every day of the year. The Crooked Road is a heritage trail to explore the musical history of the region along Virginia’s southwestern Blue Ridge and Cumberland Mountains. The marked route winds through miles of scenic terrain in southwest VA including 19 counties, four cities, and 54 towns.

Performing venues along The Crooked Road celebrate the musical heritage of the region’s Appalachian music: Old Time, Folk, and Bluegrass. It also celebrates traditional dance such as,clogging, buck dancing, square danceing and other traditional dances, as well as singing traditions of the region.

While this is no journal for a geography lesson, bear with us for a few words to set the stage.— US 58 is an east–west US highway that runs for 508 miles along the VA’s southern border from just northwest of Harrogate, TN to Virginia Beach, VA. It is the longest numbered route in Virginia.—end of geography lesson. In the past this road was called by some the most dangerous to drive in the state; and has been reputed to have been a route that more than a few moonshine runners traveled late at night, but now 330 miles of it

There are major venues along the way including the Heartwood, which is The Southwest Virginia Artisan Gateway in Abington; the Ralph Stanley Museum in Clintwood; the Carter Family Fold in Scott County; the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol; the Blue Ridge Music Center just off the Blue Ridge Parkway; County Sales and the Floyd Country Store in Floyd; and the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum at Ferrum College.

Came To Be

The idea for Virginia’s Crooked Road came in early 2003 when a number of public officials, musicians, and other folks were interested in an economic continued

Continued from page 3 development strategy for the Appalachian region and wanted to draw on the region’s rich musical heritage. Over time, the project grew, and today The Crooked Road and its affiliated venues span 19 counties. It begins in Rocky Mount, VA and continues to the Breaks Interstate Park on the Virginia border. Major venues along the route are located in Ferrum, Floyd, Galax, Abingdon, Bristol, Hiltons, Norton, and Clintwood, and affiliated venues are located in nine neighboring counties and several independent cities along the way.

The mission of The Crooked Road, Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail is to support economic development by promoting heritage tourism and Blue Ridge and Appalachian culture. It is the hope that visitors will experience authentic mountain music where it was born.

In 2024, The Crooked Road will celebrate its 20th Anniversary. To learn more about The Crooked Road, reach out to these contacts: www.thecrookedroadva.com; direct an email to info@thecrookedroad.org; or call (276) 492-2400, ext. 2409. If you wish, you can send a snail mail to :One Heartwood Circle, Abingdon, VA 24210

It is also worth noting that you can find out about regional events show-casing heritage music and similar weekly updates at https:/ /www.facebook.com/ thecrookedroadva.

On that note, let us end our little essay with this tidbit that Ms. Carrie Beck sent to us to whet your interest in making a road trip in 2023 on The Crooked Road. It is a list of weekly gatherings for all you pickers and listeners. She alluded that this is a good sampling but that you can find more events at: www.thecrookedroadva.com and at www.facebook.com/ thecrookedroadva.

Monday

Marion Monday Night Jam

7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

The Henderson

203 N Church St. Marion, VA 24354 www.thehenderson.org (276) 206-0627

Honey Bea’s Bluegrass Jam

6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

392 S Railroad Ave

Honaker, VA 24260 (276) 873-5188

Ferrum College

Monday Night Jam

7:00 pm

Blue Ridge Institute & Museum Lobby

20 Museum Drive Ferrum, VA 24088 (540) 365-4412

Monday Night Biscuits and Jam

5:30 pm kitchen open, 6:30 - 9 jam

Crooked Road General Store

6292 Gate City Hwy Bristol, VA 24202

VFW Monday Night Jam

6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

VFW Post 1115

701 W Stuart Drive

Hillsvillle, VA 24343

Tuesday

Chilhowie Bluegrass JAM-boree

5:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Chilhowie Lions Club

116 Industrial Park Road

Chilhowie, VA 24319 https://www.facebook.com/Ronbrickey2022

(423) 270-1359

Coffee Break Jam

8:30 am – 11:00 am

The Coffee Break

111 A N Main St Stuart, VA 24171 https://www.facebook.com/ TheCoffeeBreak73/ (276) 694-4232

Matthews Living History Farm Jam

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Matthews Living History Farm

476 White Pine Rd

Galax, VA 24333 https://matthewsfarmmuseum.org/events/ (276) 773-3080

Wednesday

Old Time Jam

7:00 pm

Twin Creeks Distillery

510 Franklin St Rocky Mount, VA 24151 www.twincreeksdistillery.com (540) 483-1266

Blacksburg Old Time Jam

Every Wednesday Night (seasonal)

7:00 pm

Blacksburg Market Square https://www.facebook.com/blacksburgjam/

Wednesday Night Jam

7:00 pm

Macado’s – Emory

31025 Oxford Ave Emory, VA 24327

1908 Courthouse Jam

6:30 pm

Historic 1908 Courthouse

107 E. Main Street Independence, VA 24348 https://www.facebook.com/1908Courthouse

(276) 773-3711

Roanoke Old Time & Americana Jam

6:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Golden Cactus Brewing

214 5th St SW Roanoke, VA 24016 www.facebook.com/groups/ 166264850665642

Thursday

Fries Thursday Night Jam

Doors open at 6 p.m.

Fries Community Center

316 W. Main Street Fries,VA 24330 www.friesva.com/thursday-night-music-jams/ Narrows Old Time Jam

5:00 pm – 9:00 pm

MacArthur Inn

117 MacArthur Ln Narrows, VA 24124 www.facebook.com/macarthurinn (540) 726-7510

Thursday Acoustic Night Jam

Doors open at 6:00 pm; Jam 7 pm – 9 pm

Lay’s Hardware Center for the Arts

413 Front St E Coeburn, VA 24230 www.facebook.com/ LaysHardwareCenterForTheArts

(276) 807-7039

Crooked Road Jam – 1st Thursday of every month

Southwest Virginia Cultural Center & Marketplace

1 Heartwood Circle

Abingdon, VA 24210

Friday

Allen Hicks Jam

6:00 pm

1844 Bethel Road Nickelsville, VA 24271 www.facebook.com/hicks-Friday-night-jam-

354625367946662 (276) 479-2739

Rabbit Ridge Pea Pickers Jam

6:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Cleveland Recreation Center

6 Ivy Ridge Road Cleveland, VA 24225 www.facebook.com/RabbitRidgePeaPickers (276) 889-3846

Allison Gap Jam

7:00 pm

Palmer Mill Community Center

618 Palmer Avenue Saltville, VA 24370 https://www.facebook.com/VisitSmythCounty (276) 780-1498

Willis Gap Community Center Open Jam

6:00 pm

144 The Hollow Road Ararat, VA 24053 www.facebook.com/wego4music (276) 2519906

Axe Handle Distilling Community Bluegrass Picking

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

42236 Wilderness Rd, Pennington Gap, VA https://facebook.com/AxeHandleDistilling

(276) 318-6162

Sunday

Floyd Country Store – Sunday Old-Time

Jam

1:30 pm

206 South Locust Street

Floyd, VA 24091 www.floydcountrystore.com

(540) 745-4563

Floyd Country Store – Sunday Bluegrass

Jam

4:00 pm

206 South Locust Street

Floyd, VA 24091 www.floydcountrystore.com

(540) 745-4563

Fiddlehead Diner

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

1101 W Stuart Dr.

Galax, VA

(276) 238-1801 https://www.facebook.com/fiddleheaddiner/

1011 W Stuart Dr, Galax, VA 24333