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October 2015
“Let life be like music.” ~ Langston Hughes ~
A big welcome, and thank you to our new readers, at the AMA and IBMA conferences, along with all of our many other loyal folks. This issue unoficially marks our 10th birthday. Ten years ago, this very moment, I was setting in a lawn chair with my laptop computer at the New Song Festival in Shepherdstown, WV, putting the finishing touches on the very first issue. Where has the time gone? Ten years seems like an eternity and yesterday all in the same thought; and what a ride it’s been! Such a treat it has been these past ten years to meet so many of you, and get to speak with so many talented musicians and songwriters. It’s been a pleasure to bring attention to the craft of making music the way so many of you do. Each year, since the beginning for us, we’ve seen the industry grow and diversify in amazings. We look forward to ten, and ten, and ten more years. Thanks for coming along the journey with us. Thanks readers, advertisers, contributors, and supporters. As always, we couldn’t be here without you. And we are privileged that you encourage us to continue. We’ll see you out there! 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. Mark Whetzel 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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By Edward Tutwiler
October 2015
By Edward Tutwiler
Are We In Mayberry? During our emersion in the Americana String Music world, we have had the rare privilege to attend a number of well done music festivals featuring some great entertainment. Some of these festivals have been for profit; some have been for charity; some have been single-day events; and some have been multiday gatherings; and all have been enjoyable. Nevertheless, only one festival that we’ve attended has been a multi-week festival that featured some of the best of the national, regional, and local Americana string music groups; that was staged in a bandstand, which has weathered many years of use; and that charged no admission fee to enjoy the show. You read that correctly—multi-week, talent-filled, story-land setting, and free. Let me tell you more.
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton, VA’s Gypsy-Hill Park contains a large, sturdy bandstand that has stood there for many years facing a small grove of trees. This bandstand has been home-stage for the Stonewall Brigade Band that has roots reaching back over 100 years. In recent years, this sturdy old bandstand has showcased many varied and different performances. Each evening during the summer months, in addition to the weekly brass band performance, the bandstand supports different types of entertainment. One night, gospel groups take the stage; another night features jazz music groups. These varied performances and events all attract their own special listening audiences; however, on Wednesday nights, folks gather in droves for the weekly bandstand performance of Bluegrass in the Park. We have trekked to Staunton for several years to be a part of this special Wednesday night happening but never really understood how and why it was possible. This mystery was solved recently after I paid a visit to the office of Mr. Chris Tuttle, who is the Director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Staunton, and asked him to take a
bit of time from his busy schedule to give some history and insight into this most unusual of music festivals. Chris Tuttle has been the Parks and Recreation director for 24 years and has a deep respect for the parks that the city of Staunton is blessed to contain. He began by telling us that the Stonewall Brigade Band has been performing forever in the bandstand that bears its name, and the producers of the other music events have enjoyed a successful run as well but they do not fill the park each week night. Sometime around 2003, Chris decided that the city and its citizens could benefit if he did something to fill the open days with some type of music in the bandstand. He is a fan of bluegrass music and judging from his personal experience in attending various festivals, he was fairly certain that a bluegrass concert would be popular and would bring folks into the park.
Soaked in Bluegrass
Here is how he described his emersion, “Beginning in 2004, we started a Sunday bluegrass music event that we called a one-day festival. We’d bring in four or five bands; have concessions; and draw acceptable numbers of attendees; however, the event was held in August so it was usually very hot, and it made for a very long day.” Concurrently, Steve DeVenny, who is the park superintendent, wanted to try having an open microphone/ jam session in the park’s bandstand on a weeknight as a way to encourage local talent. Since Steve is a bluegrass musician, it was not difficult for him to get local groups to come on Wednesdays and play— basically he planned to have a jam session in the bandstand to which folks could listen. With Chris’ blessing, Steve started the jam, and kept it going for several years. Nevertheless, the end result of all this activity was this: the Sunday festival while good was very stressful to do, and the Wednesday night www.AmericanaRhythm.com
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open-microphone/jam session was not bringing people into the park. If bluegrass music performances were to continue in the park, a different approach was needed.
ity to decide how to spend it. There have been no negatives from anyone and no question about what I’m doing.”
Local Legend
Before you assume this to be a myopic view, consider what the city of Staunton and its citizens get in return. People come to Staunton to attend a Wednesday night performance from several counties away; from cities as far as Richmond and Roanoke; from areas in eastern WVA; and sometimes from other nearby states. These people stay in Staunton area hotels, eat in Staunton area restaurants; buy fuel from Staunton area filling stations; and come early to shop with Staunton area merchants. Chris
There was a legendary radio personality in Staunton named Ray Houser who Tuttle had enlisted to MC the Sunday festival and to be its public face; so Chris called a meeting between Ray, Steve, and himself to plan a different way of achieving the same end—that of boosting park attendance by showcasing bluegrass music. Here is how Chris summed up the result of that brainstorming session: “We three decided that maybe we could stretch the current one-day Sunday festival over eight weeks and stage the event on Wednesday nights. Doing it this way meant we could not only have a place for the local groups to showcase their talent as an opening act but also have a place for regional and national acts as the headliner performance.” And that’s how Bluegrass in the Park morphed into an eight-week long music festival.
Not Just The Locals
of town are the same type of folks that use our park every day. They are not the typical festival crowd that one encounters at traditional music festivals. These folks love coming to the park; they love the bluegrass music; they love to socialize with each other; and they want to buy the artist’s wares.”
Good Eats
Any good festival requires some special festival food and Bluegrass in the Park is no exception. Here is how that came about. In the early days, as we previously stated Ray Houser was the festival MC. Ray was a civic-minded individual who freely gave of himself in many ways. Here is Mr. Tuttle telling how Ray got the festival food con-
The crucial part of any good music presentation is the sound. When Bluegrass in the Park first started, they relied upon the appearing artist’s to provide their own sound system. After just one year of do- High Ground Bluegrass performing at Bluegrass In The Park. ing that, they determined that Photo Credit, RL Beachy method was producing inconsistent results. A local bluegrass player and amplified this by saying, “The city sound technician named Pat Shipe cession in place, “When we first collectively is reaping good finanvolunteered to provide the sound started, I mentioned to Ray that if cial benefit from this event, and system for each week’s perforwe are successful in bringing folks there has been nothing but posimance, and he has been doing so to the park to listen to the perfortive support from city hall. The every since with excellent results. mances, we have to have food for people we serve at Bluegrass in the them to eat. Ray was a life memPark whether they are Staunton I know you are wondering how ber of the Staunton Lions Club and residents or are visitors from out they can justify the expense of top he said that the Lions Club would draw Americana string music talent like the artists that grace the bandstand stage every Wednesday night for eight weeks in a row. Here is how Mr. Tuttle summed it up, “I have in my budget an entertainment account. In the past, that money was used for booking bands for any current event at any particular time. Many times we’d spend over a thousand dollars for bands and only attract 30 to 40 people in the audience. I am a bluegrass fan, and I knew bluegrass would be a hit. I had the money available, and it is my responsibil-
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be able to provide the food concession. The Lions started out in a little trailer before we got them the permanent concession stand that we now have. We do not keep any money from the Lions food service. They are a city civic group that puts all money they raise back into projects for the city residents. The Lions Club provides a service that we need provided for the people who come out to the park to hear the music and in return reap from it their biggest annual fund raising project amount” I wondered if it was a slow start. Chris answered this way, “In our first year, we had some local groups and we were able to book some higher tier regional touring groups. Plus, we had the Larkins who are out of Nashville, TN. After Lowell Larken did that first year for us and found that he did so well with his CD sales, he asked if we would book him back the next summer, and he assured me that he was going to put the word out to the music community about what we had going on up here.”
Big Name Acts
Chris continued, “The next year, I started checking the tour routes of some of the well known groups to see if they would be passing through Staunton. Since no one does Wednesday night music venues, I thought some of the groups would be interested in stopping on their way and do a show for fuel money. I had started doing some contact work on my own, when Don White, a music producer in Nashville who Lowell Larken had alerted, called and suggested bands to me who would be passing through the area. With that contact, I started getting more head-
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line acts by the second summer session.”
their way elsewhere. If I can convince them to appear once, they want to come back because they During his talent search, Tuttle had sell so much of their merchandise. discovered that both Jamie Daley Many quickly see the merit of stopand Darrell Vincent were leaving ping just for the fuel money. I was their respective groups. When he hesitant at first because I did not questioned Don White about this think these national touring acts would be willing to stop here in Staunton; however, once I meet these artists I find they reThe Roys post a selfie at a recent performance. mind me of folks I grew up with in Bath, County, VA. They all seem like they just appreciate a place and a chance to play; and that includes those artists who roll in here on a million dollar tour bus information, White acknowledged and who do 80 to 100 shows a year. the two artists had teamed to form The artists love the atmosphere a new group and offered to book here. I’ve had groups who come in them into Tuttle’s Staunton’s festito play ask me, ’Is this Mayberry, val for exposure. Through a burst it is awesome—the bandstand and of intuition, Tuttle immediately the crowd, everything.’” asked to book them for the following year as well. Chris finished the Of course, lining up the talent for story this way, “I had the contract the concert series and making the signed for the following year beschedule does take some effort. Offore they showed up for their first ten, when an act does well, Tuttle appearance. By the time they got asks them if they will come back to us that first time, they had benext year. If they agree, this is one come famous. They told me that act already booked. After the festifirst night that they were surprised val season winds down, Chris starts that I was able to book them, and his talent search for the next year then they were doubly surprised to with an eye toward booking acts learn that I already had them with broad appeal. booked for the following summer as well. Having Daley and Vincent A Life Of Its Own on the bandstand stage in a As long as I’m here, we’ll continue Staunton, VA public park got us to do this,” Chris said. “I love it, instant credibility and respect. and I think it is a benefit to the When these artists made their first city. Our goal in Parks and Recreappearance here, we packed the ation is to get as many people as place.” we can in our parks. If someone just comes to our park to sit and Lots Of Merch listen to music that is still recreArtists that play the Bluegrass in ation. We want folks to come and the Park festival, rave about the enjoy our parks. They don’t need amount of merchandise they sell. to be a participant in anything With this fact as a bargaining point other than just be in the park and along with the convenience of a enjoy the music. “We think confluence of two interstate highStaunton’s Gypsy-Hill Park is the ways in Staunton and the fact that greatest park in the state of Virginia the event is on a Wednesday, which and we are so fortunate that some is a traditional travel day for tour100 years ago the city forefathers ing festival performers, Chris is had the vision to plan it out.” With able to book bands that he would that final thought, Chris Tuttle probably never get to play his fesleaned back in his chair, and with tival or that maybe even fit his a smile on his face said, “I love it. budget. Here is Chris’ take, “We As far as my job with the city, this catch them because they are passis one of the aspects of it that I reing through. I explain what we are ally enjoy.” doing here, and I tell them the positive side of stopping off while on www.AmericanaRhythm.com
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The Poor Mountain Boys and my-
self have been wearing out the tires on our White Dove rig as we fulfill a big tour schedule this summer. I am happy and sincerely tired and the weird thing is I have been on fire to write, write, write! It seems as though the more worn out my brain is, the more energized my imagination becomes. I have been taking full advantage of the time spent in our van with writing. Those long, boring hours slipping by on the roadways are only boring for the guys in the band. For me, I’ve been living wild tales of floods coming down a mountainside, ready to sweep away my fictitious family and mountain cabin. I’ve been a ghost guarding a sharp turn, on the lookout for foolish drivers taking the curve too fast. I’ve been part of a gossip mill in a small, made-up
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town trying to figure out what is on a quiet man’s mind and I’ve been involved in another break-up put to a very sad melody. No wonder I am tired; Look at the life I’m living! My theory for this compulsion to write is a finely tuned imagination. To achieve this, I use meditation in the mornings where I shut out the noisy part of my world and place myself in a state of gratitude, letting my sleepy mind wakeup slowly during this sacred time. If I feel like I need a little jolt after I meditate, I try an exercise I might have mentioned in a previous article where I use stream of conscientiousness writing for 10 minutes about a random subject. Mostly what I use is discipline. I believe in it, I live by it and I, write by it.
Keeping your creativity honed will allow you to recognize a song idea when it comes around. Here is an example of an idea coming into focus. Rick and I were off to teach a songwriting workshop, tooling down the back roads near Cherokee, North Carolina. The painted green signs on the roadsides read Maggie Valley and somewhere in my brain cells those words started sounding musical to me. We keep a student guitar within arms reach in case this kind of opportunity arises. As Rick continued to guide the wheel, I started noodling around on the six strings until a bouncy melody starts fitting the words that were racing from my mind. Here is the result of my state of awareness:
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Maggie Valley Home words and music by Donna Ulisse and Rick Stanley © 2015 Uncle Hadley Music/ASCAP Pop ‘N Paw Music/ASCAP (chorus) I left my baby and Maggie Valley Headed down a crooked road Thought that Appalachian highway would take me to a new place Somewhere I thought I had to go But now I’m missin’ my baby and my Maggie Valley Home Smoky sunrise ‘cross the mountain Good morning darlin’ from the sweetest lips on earth The smell of pine right outside my window I long to plant my feet back in that Carolina dirt But… (chorus) How could I turn away from Paradise What made me think I’d find a better place to live Now all I want is what I drove away from And all I’ve ever needed lay within those arms of his But… (chorus)
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And The Nominees Are ...
Every Fall, the string/roots (Americana) industry hosts two of it’s most prestigious events, both to educate and inspire performers, as well as honor them for the past year’s accomplishments. The IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association), and the AMA (Americana Music Association) are scheduled to gather early this fall; The AMA in mid-September in Nashville TN, and the IBMA a week later in Raleigh, NC. Each group has announced their finalists for their respective annual awards to be presented at each of the group’s award festivities. Listed here are the top finalists in many of the categories to be honored. Nominees For 2015 International Bluegrass Music Awards (Thursday, October 1) Entertainer Of The Year Balsam Range Hot Rize The Earls of Leicester The Gibson Brothers The Del McCoury Band Vocal Group Of The Year Balsam Range Blue Highway Flatt Lonesome Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver The Gibson Brothers Instrumental Group Of The Year Blue Highway Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper Punch Brothers Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen The Earls of Leicester Song Of The Year ”Big Black Train” – Earls of Leicester (artist), Stanley Johnson, George Sherry (writers)
“Fiddlin’ Joe” – Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper (artist), Mark Brinkman (writer) ”Her Love Won’t Turn On A Dime” – Lonesome River Band (artist), Bart Butler, Timothy Johnson, Shane Minor (writers) ”Moon Over Memphis” – Balsam Range (artist), Mark W. Winchester (writer) ”Southern Flavor” – Becky Buller (artist), Bill Monroe, Guy Stevenson, DeWayne Mize (writers) Album Of The Year Brotherhood – The Gibson Five – Balsam Range The Earls of Leicester – Earls Of Lester Too – Flatt Lonesome When I’m Free – Hot Rize Emerging Artist Of The Year Adkins & Loudermilk Band of Ruhks Becky Buller Mountain Faith Snyder Family Band The Earls of Leicester Volume Five Male Vocalist Of The Year Shawn Camp Del McCoury Buddy Melton Russell Moore Tim O’Brien Female Vocalist Of The Year Dale Ann Bradley Becky Buller Claire Lynch Amanda Smith Rhonda Vincent
Instrumental Performers Of The Year Banjo Kristin Scott Benson Rob McCoury Noam Pikelny Sammy Shelor Ron Stewart
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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
Red Wine Effect upbeat, positive protest of partisan politics, “Mudslide” is a wispy, introspective song about rebuilding after a devastating loss, and the third, “Road Trip,” is a fun song about our adventures touring in our RV. “It’s about 95% true,” they said.
FEATURE ARTISTS What happens when you get
two friends together that just happen to be singer/songwriters? In the music world, that usually spells magic. And such is the case for Hollie Brogunier (Guitar/ Vocals) and Kathy Redwine (Bass/Vocals). Hollie, originally from Maryland, and Kathy, hailing from Oregon, each moved to Nashville on their own accord to further their songwriting careers. Little did they know when they met back in 2008, that the connection would produce such a musically productive collaboration. Imagine Wilson Phillips meets Indigo Girls in a Country bar with a little backroom bluegrass jam. Bonding over things like music, motherhood, and the drink of choice, red wine, they aply named the duo, The Red Wine Effect making the whole thing official in 2010.
Musical Harmony
“We met in 2008 at a writers’ night at a Chick-fil-A,” the girls told me. “We both had young daughters close in age and we both sang harmony, so there was an instant connection both musically and personally. We started performing together at other writers’ nights in town, always doing harmony for each
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other. We realized quickly that people paid more attention to our music when we performed together. We often get asked if we are sisters because we look alike and our voices blend so well.” Although playing music is their passion, both still hold down full time employment. “Unfortunately, we do not play music full time,” Hollie said. “We both work for the same company, I as a software developer, and Kathy as a customer service analyst. We get to do 95% of our work from home, so when we go on the road, our jobs go with us. And that is both a curse and a blessing. Since Nashville is typically not the best place to find new fans, we don’t really have a geographic home base. We try to tour as much as we can with jobs and families.”
About The Music
Having so much time together, one would think that there would be a lot of duel songwriting going on, but that’s not always the case. “Sometimes we write together, sometimes we write independently, and sometimes we write with other people,” they said. “When deciding what to record, we each have opinions and suggestions, but ultimately we each get the final decision on half of the songs.” They both feel like the best venues for connecting with their audience are House concerts, listening rooms, and wineries. “We try to avoid venues where we are just background noise, like a typical bar/restaurant scene,” Hollie said. Their most recent CD, Red Wine Revelation, is a three song EP. The first, “Crossroads,” is an
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“Oddly enough,” Hollie commented, “Red Wine Revelation was released in January 2015 at the CD release party for our other CD, Afternoon Cab, which was released in March 2014. Since we waited so long to have our release party, we thought we should have some new music for our fans, who had already been listening to the CD for nine months.”
What’s Next?
“We’re working on a multimedia show which will feature our music as well as video, lighting, and other production elements. We hope to have that ready to pitch to small to midsized performing arts centers by next year. Also, we’ll most certainly continue to tour the country in our RV, performing house concerts and experiencing new parts of the world with our kids. We’re thinking about northern California for 2016. Wine country? Yes please!”
www.RedWineEffect.com
October 2015
Nominees Continued ...
Kenny Smith Tim Stafford Bryan Sutton Josh Williams
Mandolin
Jesse Brock Sam Bush Sierra Hull Ronnie McCoury Adam Steffey
Bluegrass Broadcaster Of The Year
Bass
Barry Bales Mike Bub Missy Raines Mark Schatz Tim Surrett
Fiddle
Becky Buller Jason Carter Michael Cleveland
Stuart Duncan Ron Stewart
Dobro
Mike Auldridge Jerry Douglas Andy Hall Rob Ickes Phil Leadbetter
Guitar
Jim Hurst
Cindy Baucom, Knee-Deep In Bluegrass (syndicated) Becky Buller, Bluegrass Crossroads, WMSR Kyle Cantrell, Bluegrass Junction, Sirius XM Chris Jones, Bluegrass Junction, Sirius XM Ronnie Reno, Reno’s Old Time Music, RFD-TV
Bluegrass Event Of The Year
La Roche Bluegrass Festival 2014, La Roche sur Foron, France A Lester Flatt Celebration 2014, Sparta, Tennessee
Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Festival 2014, Richmond, Minnesota Park Slope Bluegrass & Old-Time Jamboree 2014, Brooklyn, New York 42nd RockyGrass Festival, Lyons, Colorado The 14th annual AMA Ameri-
cana Honors and Awards show will be held on September
16th at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium.
Album of the Year And the War Came Shakey Graves Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone Lucinda Williams Metamodern Sounds in Country Music Sturgill Simpson The Way I’m Livin’ Lee Ann Womack Tomorrow Is My Turn Rhiannon Giddens
Artist of the Year Rhiannon Giddens
concluded on page 17
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bought a cattle ranch in the Badlands of the Dakota Territory and fashioned himself into a cowboy. While having a friendly drink at a local saloon, Roosevelt was bullied by a man who
By Wayne Erbsen
Cowboys In Bluegrass? As a kid, I desperately wanted to be a cowboy. I dreamed of owning a horse, riding the range, and doing what cowboys did. And why wouldn’t I? Every night I slept under a cowboy blanket and my lunch box was fully decorated with a decal of a handsome cowboy twirling his lariat. Growing up at the dawn of the age of television, all my heroes were cowboys: Hopalong Cassidy, Shane, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and John Wayne. I watched “Gunsmoke,” “Have Gun Will Travel,” “The Rifleman” and “Bonanza” while eating my TV dinner. My favorite actor was Gary Cooper, whose riveting role in the movie “High Noon” knocked my socks off. Of course, back then the entire country seemed to be smitten with everything cowboy. But we can’t just blame Hollywood a nd the Marlborough man for the popularity of the cowboy as a cultural icon. As
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early as 1893, noted historian Frederick Jackson Turner wrote an influential paper entitled “The Significance of the Frontier in American History.” Turner convincingly argued that the idea of the frontier was crucial in helping to define the American character. Since then, historians have been hotly debating the merits of Turner’s claims of the importance of the West in American history. For now, we’ll leave that argument to the historians. What I’m interested in knowing is how the idea of the cowboy influenced country music in general, and bluegrass music in particular. Stick with me here as I outline some of the ways the idea of cowboys and the wild west snuck into our national consciousness. Theodore Roosevelt - In 1884, New Yorker Roosevelt decided he wanted to live the life of a cowboy, so he
Buffalo Bill Cody
thought the newcomer was a cityslicking sissy. In the fist fight that followed, Roosevelt proved his mettle, and beat the man into believing that Teddy was as tough as the Rough Rider he soon became. When Roosevelt eventually became President, politician Mark Hannah is said to have snorted, “Now look! That
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damned cowboy is President of the United States.” Dime Novels - As early as 1860, the publishers Erastus and Irwin Beadle released a series of cheap paperback books called “Beadle’s Dime Novels.” These and other publications flooded the market with hair-raising stories of brave cowboys and frontiersmen fighting off wild Indians to save beautiful maidens. Buffalo Bill Cody, a hero of many Dime Novels, started his own wild west shows beginning in around 1883. These wildly popular Western extravaganzas helped to popularize the idea of the cowboy and the wild west both in America, England and even in Europe. Books - Owen Wister became known as the father of western fiction with his many books, including “The Virginian” (1902). Zane Gray followed suit with a series of immensely popular books including “Riders of the Purple Sage” (1912). His success helped fuel an entire industry of western books.
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Movies - The first feature movie was a western, “The Great Train Robbery” (1903). Westerns were popular throughout the silent film era. From 1915-1925 William S. Hart dominated western films. Then came Tom Mix, who appeared in 291 western films between 1909 and 1935. Music - In 1925 Carl T. Sprague recorded an authentic cowboy song entitled “When the Work’s All Done This
Fall.” It sold a staggering 900,000 copies at a time when most people didn’t even own a record player. Jimmy Rodgers, known as “the father of country music,” recorded at least seven cowboy songs in his short career and frequently performed in cowboy garb. His hits included “T For Texas,” and he even built a home in Kerrville, Texas. Gene Autry. Anyone looking for the single biggest reason why country music embraced the image of the cowboy needs to look no further than the career of Gene Autry. He singlehandedly changed the look of country music from the hillbilly in overalls to the cowboy in a white hat. As one of the most influential entertainers of all time, he virtually created and popularized the singing cowboy that took Hollywood and the nation by storm. Here, in brief, is how this transformation took place. Sears Roebuck wanted to enhance its national audi-
ence, so it purchased the WLS National Barn Dance in Chicago. During the Great Depression, the country was in sore need of heroes, so the marketing department at Sears hit on the idea of promoting the image of a clean, right living cowboy hero to sell their products. With the stage set for a western hero, in walks Gene Autry in 1931. A likeable performer who was born in Texas, he started dressing like a cowboy for personal appearances shortly after he joined the WLS Barn Dance. Interestingly enough, he bought his first cowboy outfit from Sears Roebuck. Ironically, his first big hit, “Silver Haired Daddy of Mine,” was not a cowboy song, but a mountain song. Jumping on the band wagon, Sears soon produced a plethora of cowboy products, including the “Roundup Guitar.” In 1935, Patsy Montana became the first female performer to have a million-selling record with her “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart.” In 1934, Gene Autry left the WLS Barn Dance for Hollywood to star in “In Old Santa Fe.” This began the era when the singing cowboy dominated the big screen. Bill Monroe. In October1939, Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys joined the Grand Ole Opry. In his first recording for RCA Victor in1940, Monroe recorded Jimmy Rodgers’ “Mule Skinner” Blues.” In a 1980 interview with the author, Bluegrass Boy Cleo Davis remembered that Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys were the first performers to play the Opry dressed in white shirts, ties, and Stetson hats. Monroe’s choice of attire for his Bluegrass Boys wasn’t exactly the full-on “cowboy look,” but it was close. ******************************* Wayne Erbsen is a performer, author, radio host and publisher. He has written two books on cowboy songs including “Cowboy Songs, Jokes, Lingo ‘n Lore” and “Outlaw Ballads, Legends and Lore.” His cowboy recordings include “Cowboy Songs of the Wild Frontier” and “Authentic Outlaw Ballads.” Check out his instruction books for bluegrass banjo, clawhammer banjo, mandolin, fiddle and guitar at www.nativeground.com. If you would like to receive a free Native Ground Books & Music monthly enewsletter containing artiticles, tips, tabs and discount coupons send your name and email address to info@nativeground.com.
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October 2015
Emphasis On The Groove
By Greg Tutwiler
N
ot many years ago, an all-girl bluegrass act was a rarity. The 70s gave us what some say was the first all-female act of the new-grass movement, The Buffalo Gal’s; but nevertheless, it was a heavily male dominated industry. That, of course, has changed in recent years, and not only have the ladies began taking center stage more often, audiences are digging their music too. Such is the case for this edgy grass group of ladies called Della Mae. I caught up with mandolin and vocalist, Jenni Lyn Gardner, fresh off their most recent European tour. Gardner, originally from Conway SC, now lives in Nashville where she’s closer to band mates Celia Woodsmith, vocals/guitar, Kimber Ludiker, fiddle/vocals, Courtney Hartman, guitar/banjo/vocals, and new bass player Zoe Guigueno.
Boston Roots
The band was started in Boston in 2009; the idea of fiddle player, Kimber Ludiker. Jenni told me it was almost as a joke in the beginning, like a female power band. But it quickly took on a life of it’s own and Kimber set out to create something that they all could be proud of and that people would take notice to. Jenni said, “She wanted a group of girls who were proficient on their instruments, at a high skill level. We all came together through mutual friends – I don’t think any of us knew each other in the beginning.” Everyone came from a little bit of a different musical background, which helped shape the flavor of the band. Jenni grew up playing bluegrass in a family band with her dad and grandma, she told me. “We just wanted something to happen,” she recalled. “Several of us had already done the sidewoman thing, and this was an opportunity for all of us to get together and have a voice in a band, and be able to collaborate on music together. It just took off. Every year we’ve added more festivals and received more accolades, and
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put out more records. It’s just gotten better every year. It’s been something we’ve all wanted to continue to be a part of too, and see it grow.” For Jenni, she packed up everything she had, stuffed it into her Subaru and moved to Boston, “on a whim,” she said, “to join this group. I had a feeling about it. After I flew up to Boston to meet the girls for the first time – we jammed for over five hours, and I knew, I have to do this. I have to play music with these girls. There was just something there.”
That Groovy Sound
And it is clearly unique. Not just musically, but vocally as well. “We’re not really ever going to sound like a traditional bluegrass band. We’re all women for one thing,” she laughed. “We don’t sing in the same key as Bill Monroe, you know? It’s never going to be that. Because we’re women, and our ranges, and our point of view even, it’s always going to be different.” Like many start-up bluegrass bands, in the beginning they started out playing more traditional songs with more of a traditional
instrumentation. But as time has gone on, and especially with this current album, Jenni said they started giving themselves the freedom to create the music that they feel in their hearts. Their latest CD is self titled, for a reason. “We feel like it’s the best representation of us right now and who we are as a band,” Jenni said. “We went with a different producer on this one in Jacquire King (Punch Brothers, Nora Jones). He really made us stand behind the mics until he got the perfect feel for each song that he wanted to get out of us. And we were pumped to do it. We wanted to be pushed. That was our goal with this album to be pushed and stretched as musicians. It is a different sound. We didn’t want to do a 180 degree turn, we wanted our fans to still be able to recognize us as Della Mae, but also add some different elements of sound and production, and take it up a notch.” Jacquire King has won Grammy awards for his work on albums for Tom Waits’ Mule Variations, Norah Jones’ The Fall, Buddy Guy’s Blues Singer and Kings of Leon’s Only by the Night. He has a knack for cap-
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turing creative chemistry and spontaneous moments of inspiration, and it was an ideal match with Della Mae’s vocal and instrumental skills. “The whole experience was so inspiring and so much fun, and Jacquire changed the way we think about recording,” Celia Woodsmith commented. “None of us had ever worked with anyone like him before, and he really forced us to rethink a lot of our assumptions about how we make records.” ”One big difference on this album,” Celia observed, “is the emphasis on the groove, which is something that people maybe don’t notice consciously, but which is so important. That’s something that we hadn’t really focused on before, but this time we felt that it was absolutely essential. We would spend hours and hours trying to get the groove right. We also put our instruments through amps in the studio, which is something that we’d never done before.”
Grammys And Airplanes
In 2013 Della Mae received a Grammy nomination for their previous record, This World Oft Can Be. Gardner recalled the moment
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when the nomination came in. “We had just finished a show at the Down Home in Johnson City, TN. We just packed up and loaded the van, and I was the first one in. I checked my emails and there it was; the email from our manager congratulating us. I just screamed. We actually googled it to make sure it was true,” she laughed. “It was so cool to be there at the Grammys and be a part of that celebration. It was very surreal.”
Ambassadors Of Song
The ladies are hard at work year round too, promoting their music out on the road, and abroad. Typically, they are on the road over 200 days a year. “We’ve just been out pretty hard for three weeks, and now we’re home for 10 days, and then we’re back out for another tour to the Philly Folk Fest, and then back through D.C.,” she said. “We’ve been touring a little harder this summer because we have the new album out.” Jenni told me that they have a pretty busy fall before heading out on another State D epartment tour in October. “That’s been really cool for us,” she said. “The first tour we did was back in 2012 to Central Asia. It was life changing in so many ways. We’ve done a total of three tours now with this program, D iplomacy Through Music, and they have brought so much meaning and so much inspiration to our band.
Of course, like with any band, song material is equally important to the success of the band, and Jenni said that most of Della Mae’s songs come from within the band. “Courtney and Celia are the main writers,” she said. “They’ll write a new song and either send it via email, or we’ll get together for one of our band retreats where we rehearse and work on the material. Sometimes we sit down with a bare bones song and work together on the arrangements until we’re all happy with it and feel like it’s complete.”
We always love playing shows, and putting out albums and touring, but whenever we have an opportunity to build relationships with people from different cultures and backgrounds in parts of the world that we had no idea about, then all of the sudden you start to realize, music is so powerful, and can form such strong bonds. We’ve also been to Brazil and most recently the Middle East. For this next trip we’ll be going to South America. The title track from our last album, “This World Oft Can Be,” came about right after our first State Department tour, and it had a really deep meaning for us,” she recalled
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October 2015
Theater Nostalgia Still Attracts
The accolades continue for the re-
five years after it’s initial construction and after nearly a decade of being vacant, the theater reopened again in May 2013. Since then the State Theatre has been named a Great A merican Main Street Award winner as well as being listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places.
stored State Theatre in Culpeper, Virginia. “I can’t wait to go back”, “Acoustics and sight lines are superb”, “Comfy and super friendly staff”, and “Love the nostalgic feeling the minute you walk in the door,” are just some of the comments from recent visitors. Patrons unanimously agree that this renovation project successfully incorporates contemporary elements while retaining the charm of this historically significant Culpeper landmark. Originally called the Pitts Theatre, it was constructed in 1938 and was one of thirty theaters built by State Senator Benjamin Pitts. It is one of only two of these theaters originally built by Senator Pitts that is still in use. Ownership of the theater has changed several times over the years. Initially leased to Regal Cinemas in 1973 by the Pitts family, the newly renamed State Theatre was eventually closed in the early 90’s as a public venue although it
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By Mark Whetzel
was still used periodically to host private events (currently the theater is once again available for conferences, retreats and social events). However, it was eventually closed entirely and came precariously close to being demolished. Eventually like-minded citizens who appreciated the value of the State
Theatre to the local community began taking steps to preserve the landmark. Working with the State Theatre Foundation, the community financed a portion of the $9.3 million renovation project using federal historic tax credits. Seventy
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Although updated with several contemporary features, the State Theatre still retains many elements which add to it’s nostalgic charm. A state of the art sound system, 35-foot stage and a 50-seat black box theater not only enhance the quality of the theater goer’s experience, it also greatly expands the variety of productions that the theater can offer. However many aspects harken back to the early days of the theater including reproduction wall sconces and carpet, a neon marquee as well as the utilization of the original proscenium arch enveloping the stage.
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Theatre manager Jodi Stone has been with the State Theatre since June of 2013. She and her husband moved to Virginia from southern California in 2008 after he accepted
a job with the Library of Congress facility in Culpeper. Her accounting background led to her initial work with the theater. She elaborates, “Through a series of staffing changes and the growing pains of operating a historically restored 1938 arts venue I have come to be the Theatre Manager. I am excited and humbled at the responsibility of leading this wonderful performing arts venue in its mission of Showcasing The Arts To Everyone. The State Theatre Foundation, Inc.
is a 501 c(3) nonprofit organization and we are working in conjunction with other non-profit organizations and individuals in our community to provide arts entertainment and education to the entire Piedmont Region.” Currently, the State Theatre offers a full calendar of events. Theater, film, music and dance are all well represented with a diverse lineup which in the past has featured notable performers such as Bruce Hornsby, Lyle Lovett, Eddie Money, and the Manassas Ballet. The Fall 2015 schedule will include classical pianist Hyojung Huh, Marty Stuart, the Charlottesville Ballet, Gaelic Storm, the Rocky Horror Picture Show and the Hunger Games Trilogy. Comedy, educational opportunities, school tours and various special events are also well represented in the upcoming season. A complete list of performances and other events is available on the State Theatre website at: www.culpepertheatre.org
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Nominees Continued Jason Isbell Sturgill Simpson Lucinda Williams Lee Ann Womack
Duo/Group of the Year
Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn The Lone Bellow The Mavericks Punch Brothers Shovels & Rope
Emerging Artist of the Year First Aid Kit Houndmouth Nikki Lane Doug Seegers Shakey Graves
Instrumentalist of the Year Hubby Jenkins Laur Joamets Greg Leisz John Leventhal Stuart Mathis
Jim Lauderdale hosting the 2012 AMAs
Song of the Year
”Dearly Departed” — Shakey Graves; Written by Alejandro Rose-Garcia and Esme’ Patterson ”East Side of Town” — Lucinda Williams; Written by Lucinda Williams ”Terms of My Surrender” — John Hiatt; Written by John Hiatt ”Turtles All the Way Down” — Sturgill Simpson; Written by Sturgill Simpson ”You’re the Best Lover That I Ever Had” — Steve Earle & the Dukes; Written by Steve Earle.
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October 2015
Making Music After 50
When, at age 50, you finally realize life is too short, what then? I found myself in that moment of epiphany three years ago when my father passed away. There I was, staring the “life is short” mantra square in the face ... with more than half of my life in the rear view mirror.
some young band going to sing about divorce, their parents being ill and dying, dating younger women or the frustrations of getting older? It was the quest for this answer that reignited my passion for making my own music juxtaposed to my father ’s death. Indeed, it was my therapy and the beginning of a journey.
Where had the time gone? And what had I done with my time? Sure, I had always embraced the challenges I thought were important in life. I established a successful career; I found love (or love found me). I sought and enjoyed adventure and good health.
Life Long Passion
But one of my lifelong passions was creating music. I grew up listening to the latest bands, working in record stores, going to concerts, and playing guitar. I was never the greatest musician but I felt I had the creativity to properly emote my message. A s I was
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By Paul Livornese
listening to contemporary music, I couldn’t find anything that spoke to me, or men like me and to their experiences in their later years. I consider myself an avid new music fan, but find most of today’s lyrics very youth centric. How is
Reliving the experiences that have guided me into my 50s has made me who I am. And the catharsis of writing about my life has driven me to realize and pursue what I’ve always dreamed of: being a recording and performing musician who creates original music. This was therapy for me personally.
It Ain’t Easy
But starting a band isn’t an easy task. And starting a band at 50 — as a nobody in New York City — is nearly implausible. As fate would
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have it, I was persuaded to sing at an open mic night. And borrowing a guitar that was tuned down, I stepped onstage for the first time and found my own unique “voice.” By finding my voice I was able to finally start to imagine the songs I’ve written, the way I heard them in my head. If finding my voice was raising the proverbial ship’s sail, I still needed mates who would stand, create and perform with me. I recruited a drummer Paul Triff, a friend and experienced musician I’ve played with in the past. And then, reluctantly, went to the only other place where I knew I could find a bassist: Craigslist. My promise was clear: a man band with no drama. I was lucky enough to find Paul Dugan, an experienced upright bassist who had been playing for years in NYC with such notables as Patti Smith. They were generous with their time and talents. And interestingly enough, now everyone in the band was named Paul. In fact, Paul was also my father’s name. Coincidence?
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Lining Them Up
This was a journey for the young at heart. And with these mates in tow, I had found others with life experiences and goals similar to my own: to create original music, unique and compelling , for ourselves first; and second, for anyone who’d listen.
life lessons and experiences, give them a full dose of what’s coming down the pipeline of life. This journey onstage has even manifested into a dream come true with the release of Ten Ton Man’s first album — all inspired my by father’s passing. You see, in the time when I cared for my father, his dying rearranged my priorities. And the mourning process was a revelation and a rebirth for me. Today, I’m left humbled that the music I’ve recorded has exceeded all my expectations. Not only has it been a catharsis for me, I’ve witnessed the music ignite a passion in and among music loving crowds, wherever we play. As I rediscover myself in my 50s, my hope is to continually share my journey as an emotional hollow in song for other souls to relate.
All over 50, we still had a lot to say musically and “Ten Ton Man” (we were originally called Rocco’s Midlife Crisis, but went with a more metaphorical name ) was our vehicle to express ourselves. Today, we take the stage alongside those 20-30 something shoegazers and with our
Dare, venture out, reinvent, do what you always wanted to regardless of success or failure or your age, young or old. You will never know one without the other. I plan on singing this song all my life. Paul is also a Creative Director and a contributing blogger for HuffPost. See also our Inside Track on Paul Livornese and his band. For more inf ormation tentonman.com.
Little Fest Turns 10
In a time when acoustic music is rapidly growing in popularity, and festival gatherings are on the rise, it’s a bit harder to maintain enough interest to keep the gates open. People have multiple options on the same premium weekends. So it’s ever important to create and maintain a niche’; something that makes any given event unique. Smithfield Music’s Aiken & Friends fest (Smithfield, VA) is enjoying it’s tenth anniversary this year, thanks, in part at least, to it’s own unique approach. This fest has been committed from the beginning to the songwriter, and original music. They’ve endured a limited budget, tropical rains, tornado warnings, and even bridge closures along major roads into the festival. “And still we persevere and grow with the support of the fans who return and spread the word,” said fest founder, Mike Aiken, himself an Americana/Country /Roots artist.
“It started with my desire to start a lowkey music festival that would feature mostly Americana and acoustic music,” Aiken said. “Geographically, the area had to be accessible by, and have accommodations for boats, motorcycles, B&Bs etc. The location also needed to have a good vibe of its own.” While Mike was looking for a venue for his festival idea, the town of Smithfield, VA, and Smithfield Music expressed interest in hosting the festival. “It turns out our goals were similar,” Mike said. “The first time I visited Smithfield, Virginia, my wife Amy and I were running from Hurricane Bonnie on our floating home. We fell in love with the quaint, artsy, historic town. What we didn’t realize was that Smithfield has a very active music scene. Thanks to Jim and Elaine Abicht who head Smithfield Music, the non-profit entity whose proceeds benefit youth music education, it was easy to get behind their cause and start our festival here with them ”
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October 2015
One Big Idea
land), a 27 acre island park owned by the state of North Carolina. By Greg Tutwiler
C
ory Hemilright was your typical bluegrass music fan. After college, he moved from Dare Country, North Carolina to Bristol, Tennessee to go to work for a local law firm. “I had a cabin on the river,” he told me recently, “And a lot of my bluegrass buddies would come out and play music. We often joked about bringing something back to the beach.” The beach for Cory is the Outer Banks in North Carolina, commonly known as OBX for anyone who’s been there. Quite frankly, it’s my personal favorite beach to visit. A few years ago, I heard about a bluegrass music festival taking place at the beach. What a ‘novel idea,’ I thought. Cory thought so too, although the local input was less than supportive. “It just so happened I ended up moving back here,” Cory told me. “And when I got here I started
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missing those bluegrass get togethers. I started talking to my friends about it, and decided I needed to try this and see want happens. The locals thought I was crazy – they definitely think different now,” he quipped.
Making It Happen
In 2012, Cory formed Hemiliright Entertainment Inc. and launched the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival in Manteo, North Carolina. The festival park is located on Roanoke Island (Now dubbed Bluegrass Is-
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The first year the festival sold 3,000 tickets. Not bad. Last year, however (the third installment of the festival), the number topped 12,000. “The island can only hold so many people,” he said. “Eventually it will be a situation where it just sells out. People say ‘would you move it to another venue,’ but to me that’s what makes it special. Part of the success was just luck, but I also think it was the combination of the location, the venue, and the line-up.” Of course, line-up does make a difference, and Cory has consistently top performing acts, and this year’s event even features a reunion performance of the popular Cherryholmes Family Band. And next year’s event already has a special appearance scheduled from the Soggy Bottom Boys.
Shag Music And More
Ironically, the local folks didn’t embrace the bluegrass festival. Cory told me that out of the 12,000 folks at last years festival only
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Cory with Rhonda Vincent
about 400 came from Dare County. “The locals came to me and said, ‘we don’t like bluegrass, we like beach music, do a beach music festival,’ He recalled. “I said, ‘well, let’s give it a whirl.’ And it’s turned into a good time. It’s not as big as the bluegrass festival, but the event still draws 800 to 1,000 predominately local attendees who truly love Carolina style (Shag) beach music.”
In 2016 Cory plans a series of one day Island Opry events that feature a mixture of older country and bluegrass. “It will be kind of like the Grand Ol Opry, our version of it at least,” he said. “Each show will feature four to five acts like Collin Ray, John Michael Montgomery, Rhonda Vincent, and The Roys.” Two years ago he added a mainland festival, but so far the attendance numbers haven’t quite been where they needed to be, and Cory says that event for 2016 is tentative. But the adventure expands with the adding of a Christmas bluegrass festival, A Bluegrass Kind Of Christmas, planned for the Hilton Hotel in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina the week before Christmas, 2016.
Keeping Track
Cory has been running the business and keeping up with ticket and merchandise sales from a room in his house. “We sell merchandise year round and we sell tickets everyday for the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival,” he said. “We have people calling all the time looking for tickets, our t-shirts, hoodies … and I thought, ‘man, I need to get an office.” “When we started looking around it began to make sense to set up a multi-functional office/retail space where we could facilitate everything from one place, he said. “So they scouted around the area landing on a vacant 800 sq. ft. store front location facing the bridge to Roanoke Island. “I can see it from my office window,” Cory said. “It has a nice porch with rocking chairs, and about 50 feet from the store there is a local pavilion where we’ll e v e n t ua l l y host small free miniconcerts throughout the season next year. You’ll be able to come into the store, buy your ticket, pick up a tshirt, make accommodations on the island, and then go listen to a free bluegrass concert.” Who would have thought five years ago when Cory started planning a festival that was born out of missing back porch jams, it would turn into a multi-event, multi-venue enterprise. Cory would tell you it wasn’t really as much of a plan as was just responding to the love of the music and bring a bunch of friends and fans along for the ride. And in acknowledgement of the quality and uniqueness of the festival, The IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) has nominated the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival this year Event/Venue Momentum Award. Congratulations Cory!
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October 2015
In this 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.
Artie Tobia New York is home for singer/ songwriter Artie Tobia . The Hudson Valley press said Artie’s musical style “fuses stories of real people with the musical influences of rock, blues, folk, and country.” His latest song, “Aberdeen,” was recently named a Top 10 song for the week by Alternate Root Magazine. “Music is just in my DNA,” Artie told me. “My great, great grandfather played with John Philip Sousa. I had grandfathers and uncles and cousins who all had careers in music. So I got the gene and/or that bug,” he mused. “It just became what I do. I got started fronting a band, and here I am.” Artie said he remembers vividly the first time he was the “front man,” and how terrified he was then. “We were playing out on a stage in a field in the middle of someone’s property, and I just remember at one point being very conscious of the fact that I hadn’t moved once the entire time.” Fast forward to present day; he has written over a hundred songs, and recorded four studio albums; the la test, Aberdeen. “I’ve always been a songwriter,” he said. “I think I wrote my first on when I was eight or nine. It wasn’t very good, but I’ve always gravitated towards that.” And it’s the songwriting that makes Artie’s music special. “Listen to my lyrics,” he said. “If you want to know who I am … I am right there, hiding in plain sight.” Artie says he finds inspiration from events, phrases, or just observing the lives of friends. “I like grabbing onto a line and then spin off on that. There are so many great lines that haven’t been developed,” he said. “Sometimes, of course, it’s just a theme that I choose work with.” Today Artie plays more than 200 shows a year; some solo, and some with a full band. He’s opened for national acts, performed at festivals, and even entertained intimate audiences at House concerts. To find out more, visit www.ArtieTobia.com
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Ron Short
G.T. Hurley
South Western Virginia is home base for Country/ Americana artist Ron Short. Ron and his band, The Possom Playboys, feature a vibrant sound reminiscent of bands that once traveled the two-lane highways of America, filling the dance floors of those iconic road side honky-tonks.
The great cowboy state of Montana is home for G.T. Hurley. His music has been described as a blend of Waylon Jennings and Billy Joe Shaver, with a little Tex Ritter tossed in for good measure. GT himself calls his music “Outlaw Western Country.”
Ron is a multi-instrumentalist, and his musical influences range from Old Regular Baptist “line-out” singing to the newer styles of today’s Americana artists. In addition to being a prolific songwriter, Ron is also a playwright, and has spent the past 30 years performing with the Roadside Theater all over the world, from the Czech Republic, to the Lincoln Center in New York City. He is the co-producer of Music of Coal: Mining Songs from the Appalachian Coalfields, and producer of a PBS series companion CD, Appalachia: Music From Home.
G.T. has been playing music since he was twelve years old, and started writing songs not long after that. But he says he really didn’t get “professional” about it until an experience at the conclusion of a festival performance not long ago. “A fairly renowned artist in the western circuit complimented me at the end of my show, which is something he didn’t do very often. And it really gave me a shot in the arm, and the motivation to move forward and keep doing what I was doing.”
“I grew up with this music,” Ron said. “And I was lucky enough to belong to one of those mountain families where music was just a central part of life for us. My uncles played. My mother and father couldn’t work without singing. And I went to an Old Regular Baptist Church, which has that old eternal sound of hymn singing that goes back ages and ages. So I’m connected to a musical history where I’m just another chapter in it. I’m the hardest working musician flying under the radar you can find,” he mused. “I believe that if we as musicians are going to play publically, we need to dedicate ourselves to making sure that what we are communicating to people is the timelessness of the music. And if we then as musicians ourselves become timeless too, that’s fine. But we need to understand that our job is deliver up the music. It is through the music that we may then become timeless.” In the past 20 years, Ron has recorded seven CDs, and his latest, Hillbilly Highway, is a continuing example of his talent, heritage, and love for the music. To find out more, visit www.reverbnation.com /ronshortandthepossumplayboys
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G.T. started out on the five string banjo, but moved pretty quickly to the guitar as his main instrument. The military took a front seat to any sort of music career when he enlisted at age 17. The resulting 20 year career and repeated deployments proved a little too difficult to tote around a guitar, so he put it on hold. “When I got out I found myself a good Gibson guitar,” he said. But in 2009 he almost lost his right leg in an industrial accident, and nearly lost his life. The rehab took three years, but gave G.T. the opportunity to start playing and writing again. “It was a very transformational thing for me.” He recorded his first CD in 2012, featuring a cowboy theme, and it gained him quite a bit of attention; enough so to encourage him to continue the path. “When I discovered the Americana sound, I said, ‘these guys get it.’ That’s where my music fits,” he said. His latest studio CD is titled War Horse, and the first single, “Boots On The Ground,” reached number one on the Roots Music Rock Chart three weeks in a row in late June and early July, 2015. To find out more, visit www.gthurley.com
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Listen to the expanded interviews at www.spreaker.com/show/ americana-music-profiles, or search Americana Music Profiles in iTunes!
Ten Ton Man The new EP is called Permission to Sin, and the single is called “Crazy Theory” for Paul Livornese and his band Ten Ton Man from Brooklyn, New York. Their music has been called a “folksy, countrified blues creation; something that rivals Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, and Neil Young.” Paul’s band, Ten Ton Man, is not your a verage post college, pre-adu lt jam band. These guys, all in their 50s, bring life times of skills, experiences, and convictions to the idea of creating music. All three members, coincidently, are named Paul; Livornese on vocals and hollow body guitar, Paul Triff on drums, and Paul Dugan on stand-up bass. (Paul) Livornese says he got is start coming up through punk rock bands in the city when he was younger, and entered art school in 1980. “I put music down for a while as my professional career took a front seat to that,” he said. “At 50, my father passed away, and I realized how short life was, and that I really should be enjoying my passion. So I started a band.” Paul recalled a moment when one of the members of the band Misfits handed him his guitar and said, ‘try this.’ “It was tuned down a half step,” Paul recalled, “and all of a sudden I found my voice. The passion and the ability and the creative juices all kind of joined in one big creative explosion. I was just headstrong then in getting my music out there.” Paul said that Led Zepplein was probably his favorite band a young man. “But my playing and what came out of me was an amalgamation of this blues and country sound. I was never really a big listener of that, but this is what came out.” Now with the new EP, No Depression says “they have a grip on a style that few explore and they are succeeding. This is that proverbial tea with honey …” Indeed. To find out more, visit www.tentonman.com
Peewee Moore Peewee Moore was born and raised in the foothills of the Appalachian Rainforest just across the TN border in Fort Oglethorpe, GA, but these days he spends most of his time on the road logging more than 45,000 miles a year performing an endless string of one night stands, honky-tonks, dance halls, festivals, and theaters. Peewee has shared the stage with several of his hero’s over the years including, Kris Kristofferson, Billy Joe Shaver, David Allen Coe, Ralph Stanley, Dwight Yoakam, and Charlie Daniels, just to name a few. “Every time I get to play with a hero of mine that’s still alive I’m blown away by it. It’s an honor and a blessing every time,” he said. Peewee started playing guitar when he was just nine years old. And it was the family influences that steered his musical path from there. “I grew up listening to Waylon, and Willie, and Johnny Cash, and guys like that from my mom and my uncles. They were musicians and big into the outlaw movement,” he said. “That really turned me on to that kind of music and it just stuck with me.” He actually formed his first band in elementary school. As an award winning and highly acclaimed Outlaw Country Singer/Songwriter, his new CD, Making Sure The Story’s Being Told, has country, Americana, and hints of Honky-tony all throughout the songs. “The outlaw part is just my way of not conforming to the mainstream music,” he said. “I’m just trying to do it my own way. But I’ve always been a fan of Hank Williams and Ernest Tubbs, and guys like that. I love all that stuff.” And it shows up all over Peewee’s music. Nearly all of the songs on this new CD are Peewee originals, however there are a few covers mixed in as well. “There were songs that were in my repertoire that I’ve done for years and just really have a special place in my heart,” he said. To find out more, visit www.peeweemoore.com
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October 2015
OCTOBER SEPTEMBER Smokey Mountain Folk Festival Sept. 4 - 5 2015 Lake Junaluska, NC www.lakejunaluska.com Shenandoah Valley Music Fest Sept. 4 - 6 2015 Orkney Springs, VA www.musicfest.org Happy Valley Old Time Fiddlers Conv. Sept. 4 - 6 2015 Lenoir, NC http://happyvalleyfiddlers.org/ Interlocking Music Festival September 10 - 13, 2015 Arrington, VA www.locknfestival.com Mountain Song Festival September 11 - 13, 2015 Brevard, NC http://mountainsongfestival.com Grottoes Family Bluegrass Festival September 10 - 12, 2015 Grottoes, VA www.bluegrassingrottoes.com Rockbridge Mountain Music & Dance Festival September 11 - 12, 2015 Buena Vista, VA www.rockbridgefestival.org 75th National Folk Fest September 11 - 12, 2015 Greensboro, NC http://nationalfolkfestival.com/
Hoppin’ John Old-Time & Bluegrass Fiddlers Convention September 17 - 19, 2015 Silk Hope, NC www.hoppinjohn.org Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion September 18 - 20, 2015 Bristol, VA www.bristolrhythm.com Arcadia Bluegrass Festival September 24 - 26, 2015 Upperco, MD http://www.bluegrassville.com/arcadia/ homepgfall.htm Edinburg Ole Time Festival September 18 - 20, 2015 Edinburg, VA www.edinburgoletimefestival.org Nothin’ Fancy Bluegrass Festival September 24 - 26, 2015 Buena Vista, VA www.nothinfancybluegrass.com Watermelon Park Fest September 24 - 27, 2015 Berryville, VA www.watermelonparkfest.com Outerbanks Bluegrass Festival September 23 - 26, 2015 Roanoke Island, NC www.bluegrassisland.com Brew & Blues September 26, 2015 Front Royal, VA www.brewandblues.com
Carolina Bible Camp Bluegrass Fest September 12, 2015 Mockesville, VA www.cbcbluegrass.com
Misty Mountain Music Festival September 25 - 27, 2015 Crozet, VA www.mistymountainmusicfestival.com
(AMA) Americana Music Festival September 15 - 20, 2014 Nashville, TN www.americanamusic.org
Ancient Tones New Sound Festival September 25 - 27, 2015 Union Grove, NC www.ancienttonesfestival.com
Daily Vincent Land Fest September 17 - 19, 2015 Denton, NC www.daileyvincentfest.com
Aiken And Friends Fest September 25 - 26, 2015 Smithfield, VA www.aikenandfriendsfest.com
Email festival listings to info@americanarhythm.com
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www.AmericanaRhythm.com
Mountain Magic Bluegrass Fest. October 3, 2015 Buchanan, VA www.townofbuchanan.com Wide Open Bluegrass October 2 - 3, 2015 Raleigh, NC www.wideopenbluegrass.com Jumpin’ Bluegrass & VA State Bluegrass Championship October 8 - 11, 2014 Chesterfield, VA www.vafolkmusic.org The Festy Experience October 9 - 11 , 2015 Nelson County, VA www.thefesty.com Shakorihills Grassroots Festival October 8 - 11, 2015 Pittsboro, NC www.shakorihillsgrassroots.org Richmond Folk Festival October 9 - 11, 2015 Richmond, VA www.richmondfolkfestival.com Rockahock Family Bluegrass October 15 - 17, 2015 Lanexa, VA www.rockahockbluegrass.com LEAF October 15 - 18, 2015 Black Mountain, NC www.theleaf.org 40th Home Craft Days Festival October 16 - 18, 2015 Big Stone Gap, VA www.homecraftdays.org Blue Ridge Folk Life Festival October 24 , 2015 Ferrum, VA www.blueridgeinstitute.org Halloween Boograss Bash October29 - 31 , 2015 Ferrum, VA www.andersoncountysc.org/boograss
October 2015
Along
phone 410-404-7399 or visit the web at www.patrickraymondguitars.com.
the Shenandoah Music Trail
Changing Of The Guard
By Don Depoy, Phd.
Deep in Eastern Virginia, far from the Shenandoah Music Trail and The Crooked Road, is the Southwind, a small café and Pizzeria in Mathews, Virginia. Southwind has been the central meeting place for local musicians to come together and make music since 2001. The original owners, Ned and Dia Lawless were at the jam I recently attended. Ned had joined in the jam on guitar while Dia mingled among her many friends. When ask about the history of the jam, Dia was quick to smile, “We had so many great musicians in the area that weren’t coming together, and were just playing on their own. We wanted to create one central location where they could share what they were doing and make everyone better.” Southwind is located in the old Lee Miles’ General Store. It was in operation from 1924 until the mid 70s. The original shelves from Miles’ Store are still intact and hold Southwind Pizza & Boar’s Head merchandise. The jam has become a major attraction for musicians and fans coming as far away as Richmond, VA. Southwind soon started showcasing one of the eight or so local bluegrass bands every other Saturday evening. The jams provide a great opportunity for young and old, novice and master musicians, to come together to continue the oral transmission of music making to the next generations.
In House Luthier I had the opportunity to attend the Southwind jam while in Deltaville launching Rosie, our
their musicianship to a higher level. The shared songs become a little sweeter and the harmonies a little more magical.”
After 12 years running the Southwind, Ned and Dia sold it in 2012 to Dean Tsamouras. Dean continues to focus on what Southwind has become known for: its pizza, sandwiches and salads made with the freshest ingredients. The Southwind has received many accolades for it’s food including a near 5-star rating. And Dean continues the popular musical entertainment on the 2nd & 4th Saturday of every month. With weekly Thursday night acoustic jams from 6:30 PM ‘til closing. Come for the food, but don’t forget to bring your instrument. More information about the Southwind, 44 Church Street,
recently purchased 37 foot sloop. I arrived in Mathews around 7 PM and the jam was already in full swing. With guitar, mandolin, banjo a couple of instrumentalless singers, the group played through bluegrass standards, classic rock, Wagon Wheel (in G, of course), and a few original songs. I was invited to sit in and pick a few songs, so I did. I also got the chance to play a really sweet 00-size guitar made by Patrick Raymond, a full-time luthier who lives in nearby Kilmarnock, VA. His guitar was beautifully crafted, had a good punch, and was well toned from top to bottom. A picker since age 13, Patrick has been building handcrafted instruments for over 15 years, as well as doing repair work on other acoustic instruments. His hand made guitars have traveled the world, and the guitars he has donated have raised funds to support many charitable organizations. To find out more about Raymond Guitars
Mathews, Virginia and the local music scene: Call 804-725-2766 or visit their web site: www.southwindpizza.com or Facebook: Southwind Pizza
Join In For Fun “Why not visit a new jam session and create a little excitement in your own music. Lifetime friendships and longtime musical bonds are made where it is least expected in remote, sometimes hard to find stops along the road,” Martha encouraged, “A new musician in the jam creates an excitement within a group. But to add someone who is nonintimidating with higher level playing skills, affords everyone in the jam an opportunity to raise
www.AmericanaRhythm.com
SMT Update After much consideration, the Board of Directors of the Shenandoah Music Trail has decided not to limit the SMT to just the Shenandoah Valley area. Following the belief that mountain music started here in the Shenandoah Valley, and has been disseminated all over the world, the Trail will expand and begin to include other areas of Virginia. The common goal is to bring together musicians, venues and their audiences. Our redesigned website will soon offer a calendar of events and google mapping for easy navigation to live music events. SMT is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Virginia Commission for the Arts, Virginia Tourism Corporation and private funding. More information call 540209-3540 or on the web at www.shenandoahmusictrail.com. Facebook: Shenandoah Music Trail.
Third Season Bluegrass Jam Sessions return to Elkton, Virginia The Elkton Bluegrass Jam Sessions are scheduled to return to the Elkton Community Season starting on September 16th, and will be held every Tuesday evening from 6 to 8:30 PM running through December 22nd, resuming on January 12, 2016, through June 7th. Listeners as well as pickers of all ages and abilities are welcome. There is no dress code, so just come as you are! The acoustic Jams are free and open to the public
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October 2015
Music From The National Scene
Music From Your Neighbors
welcome to another edition
of SPINS! Feast your ears on all this ear candy! (in no special order) - This collection will keep you busy for a while - 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! With all the festivals still on tap for this year, I bet you’ll get a chance to hear some of these folks live too. Enjoy! www.AmericanaRhythm.com. Uncle Woody, The Spin Doctor PO Box 45 Bridgewater, VA 22812
The Tennessee Mafia Jug Band Lester’s Loafin’ Lounge www.tennesseemafiajugband.com
It’s the fifth CD for the happy, jumpin’ Tennessee Mafia Jug Band, and hat tip to recently deceased founding member “Lonesome” Lester Armistead. If you like the “jug band” sound, you’ll like this
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The Malpass Brothers The Malpass Brothers
Aaron Burdette Tinderbox
www.themalpassbrothers.com Brothers Christopher and Taylor bring us again that classic, iconic honky-tonk flavor, drawing images of juke boxes and 50s diners. This is real deal stuff - produced by Hall of Famer Doyle Lawson. One of our favs this round
www.aaronburdett.com
www.coreysmith.com
Tinderbox is the sixth CD for Americana singer/songwriter, Aaron Burdette. The seasoned writer/entertainer, along with his dynamic road band bring us a solid collection of stories infused with that classic American sound
You don’t record 10 CDs unless you’re crazy, or you’re just that good. Corey is just that good. It’s loaded with great hometown feelin’ music. Think Zac Brown meets Rascal Flatts, back of the pickup truck music. Yep
The Lonesome Trio The Lonesome Trio
Steep Canyon Rangers Radio
The Slocan Ramblers Coffee Creek
www.thelonesometrio.com
www.steepcanyon.com Good bands just seem to always get better. True for sure for these guys from North Carolina. The Steep Canyon Rangers are nearing a class all of their own - and rightly so. The latest project, Radio, is wearin’ my CD player out. Fans will dig this new set
www.slocanramblers.com The west end of Toronto, Canada is h ome for the Slocan Ramblers - they blend intricate melodies with creative song writing for a refreshing northern flavored, grass up set on their new CD Coffee Creek
The Surreal McCoys The Howl & The Growl
The 1927 Bristol Sessions
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Corey Smith While The Gettin’ Is Good
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Crow & The Canyon Leaving Soon
Brian Buchanan
www.crowandthecanyon.com Up and coming roots/string band Crow & The Canyon have been helping put Portland Oregon on the map since 2014. Their new CD, Leaving Soon, has been called a “master class in contemporary American roots music. Well worth checkign out
www.reverbnation.com/brianbuchanan
Virg inia native sin ger/ songwriter Brian Buchanan’s latest CD, Truth, is classic Americana. Brian graces stages from Virgina to Nashville, and is a regular performer on the Shenandoah Jamboree TV show. It’s good ol’ down home music
These three fellas have been making music together for over 20 years, since meeting in college. But this is their debut CD. The blend of acoustic folk and bluegrass is a delightfull happy combina-
Get Together Banana Recalls Youngblood Classics
Steve Williams And The Most Wanted Pockets Full Of Gold
The Waifs Beautiful You www.eightofive.net
www.trinityriverband.com
www.lowelllevinger.com Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the iconic rock band, Youngblood - founding member Lowell Levinger rearranges 12 of their classic hits in a unique Americana style. Quite enjoyable indeed. A great way to reminisce
www.steviewilliams.co.uk Possibly the gem in the stack for this edition - Stevie Williams and The Most Wanted Band’s new CD Pocket Full Of Gold has a solid collection of slightly off center, country Americana. It’s familiar, but pleasently fresh
www.birthplaceofcountrymusic.org/ OrthophonicJoy
Popular Australian folk rock band, The Waifs, back with their latest; Beautiful You. It’s been dubbed a “roots-rock musical feast.” We’ll go along with that. It has a classic feel, blended brilliantly into a groovy, folky rootsy, vibe
Here’s a new one for you Americana Punk. Press says they have one foot in the garage, and the other on a roadhouse barstool. I know, we’re pushing the envelope but it’s fun stuff. Makes you want to get up and boogie
Orthophonic Joy re-imagines the iconic recordings that created the Big Bang of country music - It’s a double lenght CD packed with guest artists - Timeless, haunting, and powerful. It’s a must add to your collection
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You can send new Americana CD releases for consideration to PO Box 45, Bridgewater, VA, 22812
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Orthophonic Joy
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October 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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