IB bluegrass INTERNATIONAL
Vol. 32 No. 11 December 2017
International Bluegrass Editor: Kelly Kessler kelly@ibma.org
Vol. 32 | No. 11 | December 2017
Designer: Erin Faith Erdos erinfaitherdos@gmail.com
STAFF
Paul Schiminger Executive Director
Kelly Kessler Director of Communications and Professional Development
Amy Beth Hale Director of Member Services
Eddie Huffman Director of Convention Services
BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
Joe Mullins, Chair Ben Surratt, Vice Chair Denise Jarvinen, Treasurer Regina Derzon, Secretary Alan Tompkins, Executive Committee member
Kenny Smith - Artist/Composer/Publisher Jeremy Darrow-Artist/Composer/Publisher Jamie Deering-Merchandisers/Luthiers Mike Drudge-Agents/Managers/Publicists Silvio Ferretti- International Dan Boner-Print Media/Education Marian Leighton Levy-Recording/ Distribution/Marketing
William Lewis-At Large Steve Martin-At Large Stephen Mougin-At Large Mike Simpson-At Large Wayne Taylor-Artists/Composers/Publishers Claire Armbruster-Event Production Bob Webster-Broadcast Media
INFO CONTACT US
INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS
IB, the monthly digital publication of the International Bluegrass Music Association
(ISSN #1095-0605) IBMA: The IBMA is the non-profit music
4206 Gallatin Road, 37216 USA 615-256-3222 | 888-GET-IBMA Fax: 615-256-0450 Email: info@ibma.org Website: www.ibma.org
association that connects and educates bluegrass professionals, empowers the bluegrass community, and encourages the worldwide appreciation of bluegrass music yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Statement of fact and opinion are made on the responsibility of the writers alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of the officers, directors, staff or members of IBMA. Portions of International Bluegrass may be reprinted provided that explicit citation of the source is made: “Reprinted with permission from International Bluegrass, the publication of the International Bluegrass Music Association, www.ibma.org.�
TA B LE O F C ON T E N T S INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS
DECEMBER 2017
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Support Each other. Support Bluegrass
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IBMA News
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Industry News
International Bluegrass
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Here’s how the Wernick Method helps bluegrass grow We’re in 42 states & 11 countries
1. The Wernick Method gets folks jamming *right away* with just 4 chords: G, C, D, and A. They learn essential bluegrass songs, how to play along and even fake solos on new songs. It’s easy and fun — jamming keeps them involved and motivated to practice. 2. Compare this with closet playing, often a dead end that results in so many new students giving up. Lessons, tabs, and videos generally lead people to closet playing. If they start jamming, they stay involved in bluegrass... usually for life. Learn to jam first!
6000+ students, 70+ teachers
EUROPE
AUSTRALIA
“Pickers want to jam! Most teaching keeps them in the closet, but we get them jamming. Come JAM with us!”
PETE WERNICK
LetsPick.org All classes listed on
TS! L U RES
How our students rate their classes on a 1-5 scale
Fun !!
Good LearninG experience
“I have been waiting to start
WeLL Worth the Money
5
2765 2625 2676
4 796 923 775
3 130 154 187
2 1 22 7 34 18 56 24
Anonymous online surveys from 565 classes in 42 states and 11 countries. Response rate 60-80%.
playing real bluegrass with people for quite a while, and now I can.”
Teachers!
“I made a huge leap. I can actually sing! ”
Bluegrass teachers needed to teach the Wernick Method: We’ll certify and train you at no cost — and you can start a class as soon as January!
For 15%, we provide:
Talk to Pete Full teacher training pete@drbanjo.com l Customized class flyer l Class page on LetsPick.org l Registration, handling payments l Promo blasts to our email list l Student materials, emailed and hard copy l Consult with Pete as needed l Student evaluations & summary Info: LetsPick.org, click Teachers l
“The learning curve is amazing in this jam class setting.” Wernick Method classes
teach real bluegrass jamming! All ages.
Hands-on learning in large & small groups. Only four chords needed, G, C, D, and A. l Full ground rules and etiquette of typical jams. l Ear skills taught: How to find melodies, fake solos, carry a tune, sing harmony. l How to lead songs and follow new songs. l Tab/note reading not needed or used. l Low-pressure, time-tested teaching! l Gentle tempos! Mistakes expected. l l
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Bluegrass organizations!
Sponsor a teacher to be certified and start teaching jamming locally.
LetsPick.org
International Bluegrass | December 2017
“I feel like I’ve made jamming friends for life.” FESTIVALS hosting Wernick Method classes:
Merlefest (NC) Blue Waters (WA) Palatka (FL) ROMP (KY) Grey Fox (NY) Route 66 (CA) Tamworth (UK) Gettysburg (PA) Pemi Valley (NH) Jekyll Island (GA) Myrtle Beach (SC) Delaware Valley (NJ) Mammoth Lakes (CA) Pickin’ in Parsons (WV) Albino Skunk Fest (SC) Pickin’ in the Pines (AZ) Lighthouse Bluegrass (BC) Bristol Rhythm & Roots (VA/TN) Palisade Bluegrass & Roots (CO) ... and many more!
Let’s Pick!
% of students who cited it as a reason they attended the festival? 46% Info: LetsPick.org, click Festival Directors
Support Each Other. Support Bluegrass
At the end of the year, the IBMA turns to the bluegrass community for support of the Bluegrass Trust Fund and the Foundation for Bluegrass Music. Thanks to you - the hard-working and generous members of our bluegrass community - the Trust Fund helped people this year who faced devastating setbacks. Thanks to you, the Foundation helped kids and seniors and music-lovers of all ages in between learn bluegrass. You stepped up and made these worthwhile programs possible. We are beginning a new era.. We ask for support not just for these worthy causes, but for the organization that made them possible. For the first time since it was founded, the IBMA is now a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization through its merger with the Foundation for Bluegrass Music. This means that your donations are now tax deductible to the full extent allowed by the law When we take a moment to consider what the IBMA has accomplished since 1985, the track record is fairly remarkable: § Created or helped create the Bluegrass Music Museum & Hall of Fame, the Bluegrass Trust Fund, and the Foundation for Bluegrass Music (now known as the IBMA Foundation) § Launched the world’s single biggest bluegrass event, World of Bluegrass, that now attracts over 200,000 attendees § Created a 2-day festival with over 100 bands § Created the IBMA Business Conference that features extensive band showcasing, including the Bluegrass Ramble § Created Leadership Bluegrass to develop, strengthen, and connect leaders in our music § Created the IBMA Awards to recognize excellence in our field and raise visibility for bluegrass music. These honors include the IBMA Hall of Fame, the Distinguished Achievement Awards, the International Bluegrass Music Awards, the Special Awards and the Momentum Awards § Created an enduring member-driven professional organization to advance bluegrass music through professional development, advocacy and business-to-business opportunities.
International Bluegrass
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HEADLINE HERE
Now you can donate to your choice of the IBMA, the Bluegrass Trust Fund and the IBMA Foundation on one convenient form.
“With new potential for fundraising, new possibilities arise: to launch additional programs, to roll out our geographic expansion beyond our historic base, to add more staff and resources…there are many possibilities for upside on the horizon.” The IBMA - thanks to you, our members - has been a driving force for the advancement of bluegrass music. New this month, donors wanting to help the organization will be able to take tax deductions. Our organization will also qualify for a range of grants not available to us in the past. With new potential for fundraising, new possibilities arise: to launch additional programs, to roll out our geographic expansion beyond our historic base, to add more staff and resources…there are many possibilities for upside on the horizon. As we enter this exciting expanding course, won’t you please join us? For the very first time, we ask you to make a tax-deductible donation to the organization whose proven track record makes bluegrass thrive. The Bluegrass Trust Fund had a banner year in 2017. Bluegrass Today ran a series of articles on the Trust Fund, introducing its mission and good works to a far wider audience. This brought a sharp rise in requests for aid. At year’s end, the Bluegrass Trust Fund has given out more than it has received by more than $25,000. The Trust Fund meets an urgent need, and its mission lies at the heart of our bluegrass community. If you are in a position to do so, we ask that you support the Bluegrass Trust Fund. Your donation helps with emergency medical bills, disaster relief and other aid to bluegrass professionals who are facing dire setbacks. While the Foundation for Bluegrass Music has officially merged with IBMA and is now the IBMA Foundation, the mission remains the same: to cultivate the future of bluegrass through education. The Foundation has fostered bluegrass programs in schools for all ages. Your gift to the IBMA Foundation puts instruments in the hands of kids, gets bluegrass curriculums into schools and funds grants to bluegrass programs. 6
International Bluegrass | December 2017
THE IBMA
- now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit is the organization that empowers the global bluegrass community and bluegrass professionals
THE BLUEGRASS TRUST FUND -the first charitable organization created by IBMA – offers direct aid to bluegrass professionals in times of emergency need
THE IBMA FOUNDATION -formerly the Foundation for Bluegrass Music - cultivates education in bluegrass for all ages through a range of programs and grants
Give to empower the global bluegrass community
DONATE HERE
BLUEGRASS TRUST FUND Give to help bluegrass professionals in times of emergency need
F O U N DAT I O N Give to make the future of bluegrass strong through education
IBMA NEWS
2017 Official Showcase Artists the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys. Photo credit: Willa Stein
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As you read this, the IBMA will have officially merged with the Foundation for Bluegrass Music, which will now be known as the IBMA Foundation.
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In-depth discussions continue between the IBMA and the Local Organizing Committee (our Raleigh partners) on extending World of Bluegrass in Raleigh beyond 2018.
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The Leadership Bluegrass Class of 2018 is being vetted by the Selection Committee, the Planning Committee, the chair of the IBMA Board, Joe Mullins and Executive Director Paul Schiminger. Announcements will go out midDecember.
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Work on 2018’s World of Bluegrass has begun. Look for official showcase applications at the start of the new year.
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Our new membership database is currently being beta-tested.
INDUSTRY NEWS
December 2017
ARTISTS, COMPOSERS & PUBLISHERS - NEW RELEASES Tim Stafford has a new album out on Hedge Drive Records, called “Acoustic Guitar”. The seventeen instrumental cuts include eight solo guitar pieces. To round out the other tracks, Tim is joined by Dave Eggar, Adam Steffey, Stuart Duncan, Gaven Largent, John Gardner, and Daniel Salyer. Tim Shelton sings the lone song on the project, “We Are America”, an anthem Stafford wrote with Bobby Starnes. Watch the video for “We Are America” here. You can find “Acoustic Guitar at Tim’s website.
MohaviSoul has released their first full-length CD, Hometown Blues. Founded by songwriters Randy Hanson and Mark Miller, their soulful bluegrass/ Americana sound is fleshed out by bandmates Orion Boucher, Jason Weiss, Dan Sankey, and Will Jaffe and a guest appearance by John Mailander. You can find “Hometown Blues” here.
MERCHANDISERS & LUTHIERS Straight Up Strings has included the Bluegrass Trust Fund in its special t-shirt promotion this year. Straight Up took pre-orders for t-shirts with charming technical drawings of a banjo or mandolin, and offered to share half the profits with the Trust Fund. All of us at IBMA appreciate this fundraiser benefiting the Bluegrass Trust Fund again this year!
ARE YOU AN IBMA MEMBER? We value our members. Do you have a new project, an event, a product or service, a milestone or other news you’d like to share with our readers? The IB e-blast goes out to over 30,000 readers. Please include email contact, website, images (saved to 72 dpi/no larger than 5 MB) and any relevant links. IBMA reserves editorial discretion. Deadline: news items and press releases are due at the IBMA office via snail mail or email by the 18th of the month.
International Bluegrass
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WHAT WHAT YOU YOU NEED NEED TO TO KNOW KNOW
If If you're you're in in Nashville, Nashville, please please go! go!
Wednesday, Wednesday, December December 13, 13, 9 9 PM PM Station Station Inn Inn 402 12th Ave. S, Nashville Admission: $40, 402 12th Ave. S, Nashville Admission: $40, which which includes includes their their brand new CD, brand new CD, Echo Echo in in the the Valley Valley
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