Americana Gazette October-November 2012

MERICANA GAZETTEAOctober / November 2012

FEATURE STORYMSB (Mighty Short Bus)

The Moody BrothersChris ScruggsJessica StilesKevin WelchLeroy TroyBoDeansTom T. and Ms. Dixie HallThe RoysWarner E. Hodges, Joe Blanton & Jason& the Scorchers Concerts

Charlie FayeGeorge DucasJohn BirnerKrause Family BandAction GuitarsFarmer Jason ConcertBob’s Guitar CornerCD Reviews and much more!

Americana Gazette Advertising RatesBusiness Card Ad

$30.00 a year

Classified b/w 3.25” w x 2” h$20.00 an issue

Small b/w 3.25” w x 4.25” h$50.00 an issue

1/6 Page vertical, b/w 3.25w x 6.5”h$75.00 an issue$45.00 an issue for 3 issues$35.00 an issue for 6 issues

1/3 Page vertical, b/w 3.25” w x 12.75” h$150.00 an issue$70.00 an issue for 3 issues$65.00 an issue for 6 issues

1/3 Page horizontal, b/w, 10.25” w x 4” h$150.00 an issue$140.00 an issue for 3 issues$130.00 an issue for 6 issues

½ Page horizontal, b/w, 10.25” w x 6.5” h$175.00 an issue$140.00 an issue for 3 issues$130.00 an issue for 6 issues

Full Page b/w, 10.75”w x 12.75” h$300.00 an issue$285.00 an issue for 3 issues$270.00 an issue for 6 issues

Back Cover color 10.75”w x 12.75” h$375.00 an issue$360.00 an issue for 3 issues$345.00 an issue for 6 issues

Sponsorship Artist/Band Page Border Ad$350.00 an issue$330.00 an issue for 3 issues$300.00 an issue for 6 issues

STAFF WRITERS/PHOTOSCelia Carr

Travis Cooper

Litt Dubay

Frye Gaillard

Rick Harris

Robert Hoffman

Andrea Nolen

Jim Smith

PUBLISHERJoyce Ziehli • [email protected]

SENIOR EDITORAndy Ziehli • [email protected]

www.amer i canagaze t t e .ne t

MERICANA GAZETTEA

2

Greetings:

Fall is here! Yea! Pumpkin bars, homemadesoups, chili, apple orchards, football, back toschool, and frost - just to name a few thingsthat pop into my head this time of year. Fall ismy favorite time of year. In fact Andy and Iwill be celebrating our 33rd Wedding An-niversary on October6th, the same day asmy little “adoptedg r anddaugh t e r ” ,Winter Willow (actualgranddaughter ofWarner and DebHodges) will be cele-brating her very firstbirthday!

My husband, Andyopened Action Guitars in Belleville, WI. Thestore is doing good, keeping him busy withsales, repairs and custom builds. Now with mebeing on the local school board, working fulltime at the New Glarus Home, helping himwith the store and doing this magazine, myplate has become a little full. Thank youeverybody for your wonderful support of all ofthese adventures of ours – you folks are thebest!

Happy Fall!

Till we talk again,Joyce ZiehliPublisher

Anne Sullivan

Bobby Westfall

Rosemary Ziehli

CREATIVE DIRECTORRic Genthe • [email protected]

Winter


Welcome toAmericanaGazette

3

The Americana Gazette is printed by:The Print Center • Brodhead, Wi. 53520

AMERICANA GAZETTE% Andy & Joyce ZiehliP.O. BOX 208 • Belleville, WI. 53508

OFFICE: 608-424-6300Andy Cell: 608-558-8131Joyce Cell: 608-558-8132

101 6th Avenue • New Glarus, WI 53574608-527-4300

Hours: Monday-Saturday 9:30-5:00Sunday 10:30-5:00

TABLE OF CONTENTSWHERE TO LOOK4 The Moody Brothers6 Chris Scruggs7 Karl Gmur8 Mighty Short Bus9 Jessica Stiles10 Litt DuBay11 TheAmerican Cowboy11 B-Side by Celia12 KevinWelch14 LeroyTroy15 Krause Family Band16 RandomThoughts17 BoDeans18 The Roys19 Future of Music19 Bob’s Guitar Corner20 Robert’s Ramblings21 New Music22 Pet Note - Bailey & Isabelle23 Charlie Faye25 Wood, Stone &Water26 The Quilt - Frye Gaillard

and Kathryn Schelt28 George Ducas29 TomT. and Ms.Dixie Hall30 John Birner31 Rick Recalls32 Action Guitars33 CD Reviews34 Warner E.Hodges, Joe Blanton,

JATS Concerts

www.amer i canagaze t t e .ne t4

When two-time Grammy nominee Dave Moody was thinking about a place to cele-brate the fiftieth anniversary of the independent record label started by his father, hedecided on the ErnestTubb Midnight Jamboree. As the second oldest radio show in thecountry, the Jamboree has a rich and colorful history. Launched in 1947, it has fol-lowed the Grand Ole Opry every Saturday night onWSM radio in Nashville, and alongthe way has featured some legendary performances.

I still remember the October night in 1975 whenWillie Nelson played the Jamboree.He was just beginning his meteoric rise, pulling in new fans for country music andhelping to create what soon became known as Americana. Some people were unsurewhat to make of all that, and a few weeks earlier on the stage of Opry, Roy Acuff hadinsulted Nelson’s image – particularly his shoulder-length red hair – declaring with atouch of derision in his voice:“We hope somedayWillie will come back and be one ofus.”

ErnestTubb,one of the Opry’s most warm-hearted members,heard the comment andin order to to make amends invited Nelson to appear on the Jamboree. Willie did, andbrought down the house – a standing room crowd of longtime fans and newer convertswho shared the love of a good country song.

This past August, I thought about that scene – that atmosphere of inclusiveness, andthat musical blend of tradition and change – when Dave Moody took the Jamboreestage. Moody comes from a legendary musical family. His father, Dwight Moody, wasand is a fiddle-playing preacher from North Carolina,who played the Grand Ole Opryin the 1940s in the band of bluegrass legend, Clyde Moody (who was no relation.) In1950, Dwight also played fiddle for Country Music Hall of Famer Hank Snow, beforeshipping off to fight in Korea.

After the war, now a decorated veteran, Dwight worked in Durham, North Carolina,playing square dances on the weekend, performing live on country radio, and study-ing for the ministry.With his wife, Cathy, also a musician, he moved around, pastoringsmall-town Methodist churches, and in 1962 he launched Lamon Records, initially tosupport the building fund at his church. For the first twenty years or so, Lamon re-mained a primarily a gospel label, little known except to the friends and family ofDwight Moody.

But then came the Grammy nomination of 1985.By then his three sons,Carlton,Dave,andTrent,were following musically in their father’s footsteps. They had formed a bandcalledThe Moody Brothers,and among other things in the early ‘80s they were cuttinga lot of country dance tracks,selling,as Dave Moody remembers,“30,40,50,000 singlesfor dance competitions around the world.”In 1984,one of their cuts was“Cotton-EyedJoe,” an old slave song from the American South that became, after the movie “UrbanCowboy,”a line dance standard in the 1980s.

By then the Moodys were living in Charlotte,NC,where Dwight had opened a record-ing studio that he operated with his sons.Dave was still a college student,and one dayafter class he came by the studio and saw an entrance form for the Grammy Awardslying half-discarded on his father’s desk.“Being the young and ambitious, college-edu-cated man that I was,I filled out the form,”Dave remembers.“I never really thought any-thing would come of it. But then we got this call, and we thought,‘Holy,moly!’”

Suddenly, the Moodys were Grammy nominees, finalists for Instrumentalist of theYear,sharing that distinction with ChetAtkins,Ricky Skaggs, theWhites, and DocWatson. It

The MoodyBrothers:

AmericanaArtists and

Entrepreneurs

didn’t matter that they didn’t win. For artists on a small independent label, it was, asDave says,“almost ludicrous” to be in such company. But there they were, and all of asudden their career took off.They began to tour with George Hamilton IV, one of thestalwarts of the Grand Ole Opry who had an enormous following in Europe.

“George took us to the Opry,”Dave says.“We did it quite a bit in those days. It was asif we had won the Grammy. People in Nashville loved the story. For an independentlabel to have a Grammy nominee was unheard of.We played big festivals in Europewith George, and found ourselves on shows with Johnny Cash and the Nitty GrittyDirt Band.We won three International CMA Awards for Best Trio, beating out peoplelike the Gatlin Brothers and the trio of Dolly Parton,Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Har-ris. It was kind of crazy.”

Dwight Moody continued periodically to perform with his sons, including shows at theWhite House for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W.Bush.In 1989,the Moodyscut an album in Prague with Czech recording artist Jiri Brabec – a rockabilly pianoplayer – and released it through their own Lamon label in collaboration with the state-owned company in communist-run Czechoslovakia.At about the same time, they ex-panded Lamon’s roster of American artists. In 1990, George Hamilton IV and hissongwriter son George Hamilton V cut a duet album on the label – a mostly acoustic,folk-country record that still holds up more than twenty years later as a pioneeringAmericana album.

After yet another Grammy nomination, the Moody Brothers rode the wave throughmost of the ‘90s.They turned their attention to Europe for a while,becoming featuredcountry performers at Disneyland Paris when the complex opened in 1992.“We playedthere regularly,”says Dave,a touch of amazement still in his voice.“We also played a bigcountry music club next door with ‘The Moody Brothers’ there on the marquis. Be-tween 1992 and ’98, over 50 million people came through those venues.”

But nothing lasts forever, and by the end of the decade the Brothers began to pursuedifferent paths. Dave and Trent moved back to the United States, where Trent, theyoungest, began his own music school in North Carolina. Dave focused more heavilyon the record label,which he guided toward the gospel roots of its founding.Carlton,meanwhile,continued to concentrate on performing.He became the lead singer for aniconic band,Burrito Deluxe,founded in 2000 with legendary steel player“Sneaky Pete”Kleiner. In 1968,Kleiner had been a co-founder of the Flying Burrito Brothers, joiningGram Parsons,Chris Hillman, and Chris Ethridge to create a California country-rock sound that later influenced the Eagles and many other bands.

When Kleiner decided in 2000 that he wanted to re-create some version of that band,he and Moody chose the name Burrito Deluxe, the title of the Flying Burritos’most fa-mous album. For the next seven years, the new band performed widely and recordedthree critically acclaimed albums, including“Georgia Peach,”a tribute to Gram Parsons,“TheWhole Enchilada,”and“Disciples of theTruth.”Kleiner died in 2007,but the band

5www.amer i canagaze t t e .ne t

has continued to perform occasionally with Carlton singing lead.

Dave, meanwhile, moved his record label to Nashville. He had already recorded hisown tribute to ChetAtkins,“Will the Circle Be Unbroken,”which was nominated for aDove Award in 2002, the gospel music equivalent of a Grammy. But unlike the Gram-mys where he was a finalist but didn’t win,Dave soon won the first of two DoveAwardsin 2005. In 2010 he earned another Dove nomination after co-producing the criticallyacclaimed“George Hamilton IV and Friends:Old Fashioned Hymns and Gospel Songs… for those who miss them. ”The album featured duets between Hamilton and musi-cal guests Ricky Skaggs,Marty Stuart,Del McCoury,Gail Davies,Charley Pride, Bill An-derson, and the Moody Brothers.For all his success in gospel music,however,Dave hascontinued to record other artists, including Kathryn Scheldt,anAmericana songwriterwho hit the top ten in 2012 with her country-flavored single,“Almost Cheatin’.”

All of which brings us to the Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree, where Dave took thestage inAugust to celebrate 50 years of Lamon.Among his guests were country artistsBobby Dean and Courtney Stewart,who have also charted in the past year for Lamon,and of course George Hamilton IV.

“They’re just talented, enterprising people,” Hamilton told me before going onstage.“When I was living in Charlotte,NC,the Moodys were kind of hometown heroes.It wassuch a delight to be around them.We did the Opry a lot together and toured Polandtogether. I can’t think of a family music group more talented or more creative.”

With that,Hamilton walked smiling onto the stage and with Dave singing harmony,hebroke into the strains of “Abilene,” his number one hit from 1963.Together, the twoGrammy nominees, Hamilton and Moody,moved effortlessly into the old gospel stan-dard, “Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad,” and closed their intimate, three-song set withBob Dylan’s “ForeverYoung.”

Somehow it seemed perfect – an affirmation of tradition and creativity, which hasbeen a hallmark of the Moodys,and of their small,but ambitious record label that beganoperations more than 50 years ago.

Frye GaillardPhotos supplied.

6 www.amer i canagaze t t e .ne t

There’s no doubt that the best musicians just know how to adapt to the musical situ-ation that they're in.To know how to lay back and groove with a band,and they knowwhen its time to tear it up.Chris Scruggs is one of those special musicians who knowhow to do just that and not just with one instrument,but with several.He started withdrums,but since he was 11,he has been pursuing guitar,steel,bass and even fiddle.Andnot only that,he has a voice that just works for the style he plays in.Of course,he's hadquite the musical family growing up with his mom being singer Gail Davies and hisgrandpa being Earl,but he's obviously someone who has worked very hard at his craftand its paying off. He and I got to meet up in a coffee shop in East Nashville to talkabout how he got started and where he's taking his music.One thing I'd like to inviteanyone reading this to do,even if you're not a musician and you’re just into the musichistory, go check out some of the great old players that Chris mentions as influences.Their contribution to their respective music genre and style should not be forgotten.And of course, look into Chris’s music as well.

Travis- It’s great to talk with you Chris! I suppose growing up with the musical heritagethat you did, I guess the reaction would be to fully embrace it, or turn away and run.But did you know very early on that music was what you wanted to do?

Chris-Well, it’s something that I never really thought of that much. I mean everyone Igrew up with even if they weren't family, was a musician. It was pretty natural and Inever had to force it at all.

Travis-What was the first instrument you gravitated towards?

Chris- I got this drum kit when I was like 3 years old. Larry London used to own adrum shop here in town and my mom got me one. It was a little kid kit with like, snapon heads. (Laughs) I think I ended up jumping on it more than anything and ended upbusting all the heads.She figured out that I wasn't quite ready for an instrument so shesold them. I started playing guitar when I was 11. I stuck with it from that point. ButI've always been able to sit down and play drums.

Travis- Did having some easier access to some of the heavy hitter musicians growingup,were they able to help you along and teach you things?

Chris-Yeah, I suppose so,but more just general philosophies of music and how to ap-proach a song or situation.More than learning a note for note thing,or licks. I've neverbeen one to ask "show me how you play that lick".Until recently, I've been playing fid-dle and with that instrument so much of it is oral tradition and passing down fiddletunes and under the guidance of Buddy Spicher, he shows how one guy would haveplayed something say, 75 years ago.And here's what so and so added to it in the 50'sfor example. So I've started to study more note for note for the fiddle.

Travis-And I know from jams I've participated in,that some of those bluegrass guys canbe very strict on how and what you play....

Chris-Yeah! And I've always kind of shied away from that.And I’ve never really been abluegrass player. I've always been more into the old country stuff.And the early rock-n-roll stuff.Guitar players like Grady Martin,Hank Garland,Cliff Gallup,GeneVincent,and the Blue Caps.Steel players like Jerry Byrd, Jimmy Day,and Bud Issacs.Fiddle play-ers like Tommy Jackson, Dale Potter, and Buddy Spicher. Bass players like Bob Moore,Ernie Newton and Junior Husky.Drummers like Buddy Harmon.Guys like were amaz-ing and the amount of stuff they played on 3 or 4 sessions a day; 7 days a week. Fromthe 50's to the early 80's. For 25 years they were playing almost 10 hours a day.Theywere so on top of their game and we're lucky all that got captured.

Travis-Were you able to meet many of them over the years?

Chris-A lot of them.Harmon.Moore.Harold Bradley.Particularly steel players,but a lotof those guys became a little more reclusive in their later years. It’s like Cowboy JackClement says, 'we're in the fun business, and if you're not having fun,you're not doingyour job.' I think for a lot of those guys, they just got burned out.And a lot of them did-n't want to talk about it.

Travis-Was it just the changing business that got to them?

Chris- I think so.That and the music itself changed. I remember reading an interviewwith Jerry Byrd and this was in the 70's,where he said if he got invited to a session,hewouldn't know what to do. I think a lot of those guys felt that the music they helpedto create sort of passed over them.

Travis-And they were feeling that in the 70's...

Chris- Yeah, it’s all really subjective.What’s 'real' country...and what’s not. BashfulBrother Oswald, who played dobro for Roy Acuff said country went downhill when

Moving ForwardwithChris Scruggs

RoyWiggins started playing electric lap steel on the Opry for EddyArnold.He said thatwas the beginning of the end. (laughs) It was better with banjos, fiddles and dobros!And if you talk to guys like Ray Price or Little Jimmy Dickens or ones that passed onlike FaronYoung or Carl Smith, they would have all told you that it ended when Elviscame along.After rock-n-roll, things were never the same. So there’s always that issue,its traditional music yet pop music at the same time. It can go back to Jimmie Rodgersincorporating blues music into country. But being traditionally based, it’s easy to saythings isn’t what they used to be. So I guess there really is only two styles ofmusic...music you like and music you don't.

Travis- So besides the country guys,who were the early rock-n-roll guys you were into?

Chris- The first stuff I was listening to was the Everly Brothers.And The Beatles werewhy I got into guitar. I saw Hard Day’s Night when I was 11. I said that’s it! I gotta playthat!

Travis- So you're how old?

Chris- 29.

Travis- (laughs) After all these years, the Beatles are still doing that!

Chris- Yeah! I've got a cousin who's 22, and he dissects the Beatles songs even morethan I ever have.It is interesting,the staying power of something like that. I guess whenit gets shoved down your throat in the popular consciousness. It’s always there. Ifyou've grown up hearing it, it makes no difference whether it was recorded last monthor 50 years ago.That’s the beauty of those recordings.It’s always gonna be there,alwaysrelevant.

Travis-Were there some other British Invasion guys on your list?

Chris- Always dug the Kinks.The Stones of course.The ones who built upon the EddieCochrane/Buddy Holly approach.More chordal lead type playing rather than the twid-dly, single note stuff. It was a special sound.

Travis-Do you personally feel like you've had to walk that line of having to keep thingsmore traditional, or have you felt the freedom to push musical boundaries a bit?

Chris-I think it comes up from time to time. I think it’s kind of funny that maybe in the50's and 60's guys like FaronYoung or Carl Smith made some rock-n-roll records justto try and survive. I think today, listeners can be a lot more conservative.The less cre-ative you are, the more you reproduce what’s already been done, the more people arereceptive towards it.Which is really tough for someone who is creative and wants towrite songs and sound like themselves.You know, before there was a Ray Price shuf-fle, there wasn't a Ray Price shuffle.Before Grady Martin played that fuzz bass on 'Don'tWorry’, there wasn't that sound.

continued on page 35


It is with sad news and a heavy heart that I have to inform you that Green County‘s Mu-sical family lost one of our own this pastAugust. Karl Gmur world class bass player andfriend to all of us passed away. Karl was the anchor of the Roger Bright Polka Band. Hetraveled the globe with Roger spreading the word and gospel of Green County’s vastmusical heritage and showcasing the world class musicianship that Green County mu-sicians offer that still thrives to this day.

Besides being a world class musician Karl was a world class person. He supportedlocal music and musicians throughout his life. With Kay his wife by his side the twoof them attended shows, concerts, and musical events tirelessly these many years. Al-ways a fixture at local musical happenings Karl was a friendly face and pat on the backto many of us at our shows. Never afraid to tell you to“turn it down a little”Karl helpedto mentor many a young musician on stage etiquette and performance. He was a greatguy and a tireless friend to all of us. When the show was not going so well, he wouldtell you to“get them to drink a little more, they’ll come around or play a polka that al-ways works!”

The things that I’ll always remember about Karl with a K as we affectionately calledhim,are his dry sense of humor,his wonderful stories, and his ability to always bring asmile to my face every time I talked to him. It did not matter if you met him on thestreet, in a bar,or at church Karl always had something funny to tell you. With his pass-ing comes the loss of just not a brother but a mentor and one of the last true Polka Mu-sicians in the state. We are fortunate to have a record of his playing on the Roger Brightrecordings so he will always be close to us.

Karl with a K will be missed by many. His legacy is that he helped to bring a regionalmusic form to a national level,and that he inspired many local musicians to take up in-struments to learn to play even though they did not always play the style of music thathe loved. His support,mentorship,and most of all his friendship will be missed by megreatly. Karl was a fine example of a human being, loving to his family,his friends,andto his music.

It’s going to be hard to play Puempels in the future without Karl’s smile and wit beingthere. I know heaven is hopping with Karl thumping the bass with all his buddies play-ing Polka music for the masses. Hopefully there is beer in heaven to go with Karl’s bassplaying and if not all of us here will raise a glass to one of the best folks whoever graceda stage,Karl Gmur.

Andy Ziehli

We Will Miss Karl Gmur


I caught up with Mighty Short Bus, a Madison,WI.Based“Roots Rock Country Soul band”, and got to ask them abouttheir excellent brand new“MSB Family Band”CD, and whatwas going on in MSB Land.

AG:How did this band get started?Frank Busch:We have been around for a long time and have gone through somemajor and minor changes along the way. I kind of wish we would have let the nameMighty Short Bus die and started over with a different name,but oh well. It startedthe same way a lot of bands do, in a basement with some beer and a dream of play-ing music all the time.

AG:You guys have been a staple of the Madison Music Scene for a long time,whatkeeps you here?Frank Busch:That’s a good question,maybe we should have made the move toAustin, or somewhere where our style of music has a bigger scene. But Madison is anice town to live in, I just wish it had more music clubs; they seem to be less andless these days.

AG:The new CD is off the beaten path for you guys,more on the folk-country Ameri-cana kind of groove,what led you in that direction?Frank Busch:We just had a bunch of songs lying around that sounded like theyneeded to be recorded this way,we try to allow the songs to dictate how they needto sound.

Dan Ryan:The tastes of the individual members and the band have changed and wedidn’t want to stunt any creativity that came from that. Frank had an idea to do therecord acoustically and naturally, so we did it. It was an experiment. It felt like theright thing to do, and luckily for us, it turned out amazing and is something that we

Mighty Short Bus packs aMighty Big Load of Music!


are very proud of and love to share with fans.

AG:What is it about playing together in this band that makesyou all happy?

Dan Ryan:This band has a groove of its own that I have felt develop over the pastyear that, really put simply,makes it fun to play. Everyone listens and feeds off ofeach other to put on the best show possible. We have taken songs and truly madethem our own; inside and out. Showing that to the fans will always keep us happyand push us forward to new music.

AG:Who are your influences and who do you try to emulate musically?Dan Ryan:The range of influences in this band is almost comical: country to rap,popto metal and even classical music. As far as who we try to emulate, I believe we haveall found our own style that we play and we simply try to be ourselves. That is whatmakes MSB,MSB. Our influences, however, reflectTom Petty,The Black Crowes, andmany others.

AG: If you could do anything in this group,what would it be?Frank Busch: Play music and live comfortably as long as we are physically able.

AG: What are some of your greatest moments playing in this band?Nic Adamany:There have been so many great moments playing with this band. Play-ing to a packed club, full of fans who know the words to all of your songs is a veryspecial thing, every single time. Equally as exciting is playing to a large crowd thathas never seen the band. For me though, the first time listening thru the FamilyBand album after it had been fully mixed/mastered was a great moment.


ing songs in high school. Before this EP, I had a littleCD called“Americana”,but it was not a commercialrelease. This was a word that described me andhelped me to do the EP. I also was playing with a5 piece HonkyTonk Band in Portland,doing clas-sic country and people just loved it.Then I moved to Nashville in September 2009and came around the time of the AmericanaMusic Conference. It has been like a whirlwindsince then. My friends asked me what I was goingto do in Nashville? Be a big star? I told them Ihoped to sweep the floor at the ErnestTubb RecordShop. (we both laugh) Low and behold, I got to do

that. I was hired in the mail order department at theErnest Tubb Record shop in Nashville and that was thebest education I could have got in the history of coun-try music. I used to listen to country music all the time;Johnny Paycheck was one of my favorites. I was inheaven working here. I worked there a couple of yearsand also worked for WSM Radio. My first assignmenthere was to meet DJ Eddie Stubbs. I went out to see himwhere he was meeting his oldest fan of 102 years old.He came out to meet her at her birthday party. He is agreat man and in fact I just saw him at Kitty Wells’ fu-neral where he did a wonderful job on her eulogy.

One of my other interesting jobs was “popcorn girl” atthe Midnight Jamboree at the ErnestTubb Record Shop.All kinds of people come out for this and I loved it,wehave a lot of traditions here in Nashville. Curently I amworking on a 3 month project for WSM Radio, helpingsupport their emergency preparedness plan, after that Idon’t know what I will be doing.

Joyce: Where do you play out at Jessica?

Jessica: Mostly do shows locally. I do some shows everyyear in Portland,Oregon and NewYork City and am look-ing forward to branching out to some new venues.Havealso played in Kentucky and on the stage at Bean Blos-som, Indian recently. “The Latest Stiles” CD has beendoing well on iTunes and getting some airplay, includingabroad. I am glad people are enjoying it and I am tryingto get out to play to help promote it.

Joyce: What’s in the future for Jessica Stiles?

Jessica: I’m starting to work on a new CD to be releasedin 2013. I would love to perform on the Grand Ole Oprysome day. If I ever had an opportunity to do that, itwould be a huge thrill. It is an institution that is a partof every Country Music artist’s early aspirations and his-tory. I did get to play at the Country Music Hall of Famein Nashville one time, live onWSM Radio. Guitarist andsongwriter Danny Flowers was kind enough to play withme, and that was one of the neatest venues.

I would also love to sing with Del McCoury sometime,tosee if our voices blend. He’s got the high lonesomesound and always makes me smile when I hear him. Younever know! I want to keep on the path. I am so gladI came to Nashville. If I would never have moved fromOregon, I would not have met all these wonderful peo-ple. Nashville is an inspiring, but challenging place.

Joyce: Well, I have really enjoyed talking to you. I thankPhil Lee for connecting us. By the way,how did you evermeet that fellow? Is it anything we can put in print?

Jessica: (laughing) I met him at the Red Beet RecordShowcase during the Americana Music Conference, hewas performing. What a great guy, Nashville is such asupportive community!

Jessica Stiles’ style is “Straight From the Heart” to quoteJim Lauderdale, or “Stiles…sings in a voice that recallsold-school country forerunners like KittyWells and SaraCarter”according to Peter Cooper.

One day while visiting with Phil Lee at his home inNashville, Phil handed me a CD and said“have you everheard of this gal”. I hadn’t, so Phil said take the CD giveit a listen. Well I did and then I contacted Jessica rightaway so we could chat.Thanks Phil! Someone this tal-ented should not be kept a secret, so here’s to all of myreaders – check this gal out!!!

Joyce: Good morning Jessica. How is the weather inNashville today?

Jessica: It is warm,but I just saw the most beautiful rain-bow. The sky was pink! It was gorgeous.

Joyce: We haven’t had rain for so long here inWisconsin,I can’t remember what a rainbow looks like! Jessica tellme about your youth and how you got involved in themusic industry?

Jessica: I grew up in a musical home. My Mom is a jazzpianist and composer now. Back then, she taught mehow to play folk guitar. I used to play these little ole folksongs. Then I went off to a Renaissance Fair before I setout for college and ended up learning all these ole Eng-lish ballads, Irish music and such. Growing up we lis-tened toWoody Guthrie records,The Byrds,Peter Seegerand so on. I grew up in NewYork City and there werealways tunes on the turntable. Mom was into classicalmusic, then went on to play jazz.There were lots of rock’n roll records at my house. I studied classical clarinetand sang most all my life. I have always been a listeneras well as a singer. I have played guitar since I was ateenager. It is a real simple pleasure and I try not to for-get that. Looking at music as a business, it can be veryconfusing and at times discouraging. Music is just a partof being human. It is a language that we can use to reacheach other.

Joyce: Jessica what instruments do you play?

Jessica: I play guitar. Recently I got an old fiddle. Ihaven’t quite learned how to play it yet, but it’s one ofmy favorite instruments. If I could do over, I’d love tojust play the fiddle. I’d love to be able to scratch away onthe fiddle on the front porch 20 years from now!

Joyce: Jessica, I loved the CD Phil handed me. Tell meabout your writing experiences.Jessica: My first commercial CD was a self titled EP thatcame out in 2009 when I was living in Portland,Oregon.I had 4 original songs and 2 covers on it. I started writ-

Joyce: I was probably at that same party. That’s where Imet him too. And once you meet Phil Lee,there is no for-getting him! We sure do have a lot of common friendsin Nashville – what a small world it really is!

Jessica, you are a great singer and performer and I haveconfidence in you that you will be around for quiteawhile.Thank you Jessica for the interview. See you inSeptember in Nashville. Meanwhile the rest of youcheck her out at:www.jessicastiles.com

Jessica: Thank you Joyce. See you soon.

Story by: Joyce ZiehliPhotos by: Deone JahnkeP.S.(Update from Jessica) I’d also like to add a postscript,it looks like I am moving to Washington, DC this Fall.Know there will be some good pickin’there and I won’tforget my friends inTennessee! Hope to see y’all beforetoo long.

Jessica Stiles“The

Latest Stiles”


Litt Dubay here,Well joke fest is off and running! Both candidates have spokenand we are for nothing but tall tales and lies for the next 2months. I know that there has to be some fudging of numbersfor political purposes but the crap the Republicans is spewingout is unbelievable. Attack Dog Paul Ryan is on the prowl andbarking like a rabid dog. Hard to believe a guy who spends moretime inWashington than here,that he is true toWisconsin. ScottWalker got his 3 minutes of Fame at the convention,should havestayed there. Oh well enough on politics.

Tony Dipofi released his solo CD and it’s selling liketricks at a whore house on nickelTuesday! The man'son fire. Really folks it’s a great CD and you should pickit up,otherwiseTony will make you an offer you can’trefuse.

Word is that Ziehli is going to go to Nashville in Feb-ruary and debut his singing voice for all the folks inMusic City. Hope they have ear plugs. Ziehli’s voicehas been described as a cross betweenWillie Nelsonwith allergies and the mating call of the Tasmanian

LittDuBay’sRant!

by Litt DuBay

Devil. Either way some things should just not be heard!How dumb are people anyways? Organic food is not any better for you than regular grown in the groundcovered in manure. Organic veggies are the same as the regular veggies you get at the store. Both are grownin dirt, covered with manure for fertilizer,washed with the same tap water. The only difference is the price.I used to have a friend that would only eat“happy chickens”. Chickens that were free range raised. I askedhim if they were still happy just before they had their heads removed so he could eat them!

Now for my rant! I hate people who are not tolerant of other folks. People who don’t like people becausethey are gay,a different color,or fat. Those so called Christians who are look-ing out for my well-being by treating those of us that are not right wing re-publican Christian whites like themselves as fellow brothers and sisters.These wackos are so worried about people being gay that they have no com-mon sense. What’s so wrong with gay people? Personally I like people thatare happy all the time! Then there is the color thing. I have never seen abrown person in my life. I’ve seen some folks who say that they are blue,butthey are not even close to that color according to my Crayola Crayon box of52 colors. Now the fat thing really gets me! People who are fat can’t helpit (except those cart ridingWal-Mart folks). Fatness is a disease and shouldbe recognized by the AMA andThe CDC, in fact I have proof that it is a dis-ease and is even contagious, and it is caused byTwinkies! Ziehli was once a skinny tall kid who everybodyloved,then one day after being exposed toTwinkies he became infected and grew to mammoth proportionsovernight! Twinkies are the cause of Fatness. Until he ate aTwinkie he was normal (well kind of) and thenhe became a giant. The contagious part comes from being in the same room with them. Ziehli is known togrow three sizes if even he smells Twinkies. YesTwinkies cause fatness.

People who make fun of Fat People should have to walk a mile in their stretched out Velcro tennis shoes.Being fat is tough. When you are a kid you are forced to wear Husky’s. Pants that announce your fatness tothe world. Obviously thought up by a super skinny geek. You are forced to go the back of the lunch line sothe other kids can get their food before you take it all. You have to sit onone side of the picnic table as your four skinny friends sit on the other soyou can balance their skinny asses from falling off. In gym class you aregiven a washcloth to dry yourself off with when everyone else gets aTurk-ish bath towel. On dates you have to share the tub of popcorn instead ofeating it all yourself. Fat people are discriminated at every turn. Planeseats, bus seats, train seats, toilet seats, especially toilet seats. You should

have to sit on a toilet seat that is so close to the ground that youcould clean your toe nails without lifting your foot. A toilet seatso small that more than half of you hangs off either side.

Lastly it’s very hard to find underwear that does not turn intobikinis after one washing. Sure they fit the first time but afterthat it’s higher voice and butt crack city! Yea it’s tough being fat,but we can get over it. Being a right wing republican bigot ismuch harder to cure!

www.amer i canagaze t t e .ne t 11

the B-SideHowdy!Recently, I was listening to a Bill Staines CD,and thinking ‘oh,this is lovely,’ and then, in the middle of a song, he started toyodel.Which inevitably caused me to laugh. A lot.This in-evitably led to my attempting to yodel,which you couldn’t say was exactly successful.For about a week now,I’ve been walking around spouting my wannabe-yodeling,whichI’m realizing can’t be exactly pleasant for innocent bystanders.So,mine being the dig-ital generation, I went off to ask the internet.And came back with mixed results.Thegeneral consensus is that while you yodel, you sort-of jump from your chest voice toyour head voice.While you do this, you’re s’posed to make your voice crack – it’s notsupposed to be a smooth transition.Apparently,a good way to do this is to sort-of slideup from your chest voice and then suddenly crack up to your head voice. I find thisrather difficult, perhaps partially because I find it hard to take seriously.

I also learned that there are two types of yodeling:western andAlpine, although it’s alittle hard to tell what the difference is. From what I can gather,Alpine was the origi-nal style, and western was adapted after German settlers brought it over to America.From here,things got a little stranger and less reliable.One website insisted that beforeyou actually learn to yodel,you’ve got to have a yodeling outfit (hmm,I wonder whereyou could buy one of those…),access to (and this is a direct quote)‘a large gymnasium,canyon, or mountain pass, ravine, or abyss where you can practice,’ and a pair of in-dustrial noise-cancelling headphones.The same page also claimed that you shouldn’tyodel for at least an hour after eating.

In other places, I found instructions that said things like ‘Shout short words like ‘no!’and ‘hey!’.Then hum loudly. Now you’re ready to yodel!’. I’ve sort-of decided that yo-deling is best learned from someone who already knows how to yodel.YouTube couldalso be a good place to start – there’s a wealth of how-to videos to be found there.Per-sonally, for the time being, I’m planning to stick to my wannabe yodeling. It’s enoughto get me through ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight,’ (good old Tokens!) which is really all Ineed. However, I dare you to try to yodel, if only for a source of comic relief.Whoknows? Perhaps you’ll unleash a talent so fearsome that it allows you to conquer yourenemies.Ta ta.

Written by:Celia Carr

Western novels are a popular read.Since the cowboy became a hero many books havebeen written about his adventures and acts of heroism. Zane Grey wrote 78 novels ofthe west.Max Brand was a great western writer.One only has to read the author nameof Louis Lamour and you will know that a great western adventure is written on thepages between the cover of his books.

And,of course the music in this country that was influenced by the life of the cowboy.The early songs depicted the life of the cowboy on the range.Songs such as Home onthe Range, I’d like to be inTexas for the Roundup in the Spring,Little Joe theWrangler.

When GeneAutry and Roy Rogers came on the scene we discovered that their guitarwas as popular as their famous horses Champion andTrigger.The songs Springtime inthe Rockies and HappyTrails to you will always be attributed to these two cowboys.Today country music is way up there on the charts for all Americans.

The writer MartinW. Sandler said that “Raw courage, a deep respect for nature, and afierce spirit of independence –these are the qualities that mark the cowboy.” Todaythese are qualities that we all admire in people. They are truly AMERICANA.

HappyTrails toYou!

Rosemary Ziehli

Kids in the 1940’s most likely spent Saturday afternoons at the movies.The Saturdaymatinee was a great way to see your favorite cowboy movies.The matinee would con-sist of a cartoon, a continued story, (that was to get you back the following week) anda feature film. It would star one of many cowboys.The great stars of those days wereGene Autry, Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, Johnny McBrown,Allan (Rocky) Lane andthey always had a“sidekick”and of course they had a great horse.They could beat anyhorse thief, cattle rustler, bank or train robber with very little effort.And they alwayswon.Their heroism was awesome.

During the 1950’s and 60’s television came on the scene, with a new generation ofviewers, you could watch all the action with new heroes, plus some of the old, rightfrom your living room.TVWesterns were a great hit and they even ventured into thenight time hours.We had the return of Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, Clint Eastwood inRawhide and of course Matt Dillon on Gun Smoke. We saw epic adventures in mini -series such as Centennial or Lonesome Dove, the cattle drives were long, they alwaysfought the bad guy and the good guy always won. Yes the cowboy was a hero.Moresongs have been written about him and more movies have been made about cowboysthan any other figure in our history.

But,what was the life of anAmerican cowboy really like?Was it really as glamorous aswe would like to believe?

TheAmerican cowboy comes from various backgrounds and really came into his ownafter the CivilWar.The arrival of railroads and the increased demand for beef led to driv-ing big herds of cattle fromTexas to the railroads in Kansas and Missouri. From therethe cattle were transported East for slaughter. Some of the cowboys were veterans ofthe CivilWar,some were men just looking for adventure,manyAfricanAmericans whowere ex slaves became cowboys.The work was hard, the hours were long and mo-notonous and sometimes even dangerous.They were always underpaid for the workthey did.Most were young.

Not all the cowpunchers were men,some of them were women.They were wives anddaughters of ranchers.They also took part in the cattle drives.Many of themwould latershow off their talents and skills in horseback riding and roping in Wild West shows.Most of the cowboys work was on the range. By the middle of the 1880’s the openrange area covered 1,400,000 acres.The cowboy’s job was to look after the cattle.

In the spring there was the rounding up of the cattle, then the branding to get set forthe drive.The trail drive was the biggest venture the cowboy would make.He had todrive cattle thousands of miles over dangerous country. In 1880-81 cattle were drivenfromTexas all the way toWyoming,Montana, and the Dakotas. The cowboy’s life onthe cattle drive was often dangerous. He could be thrown from his mount; He couldbe kicked by a horse, or charged by a steer, or trampled in a stampede. Contrary tocowboy movies, cowboys rarely saw hostile Indians.

When barbed wire made its appearance in the late 1880’s, fencing in large areas ofland, the railroads had expanded their lines to cover almost all the nation, and meatpacking plants were built closer to ranching operations, the big trail drive became un-necessary. The open range was no more.

Smaller cattle drives continued in the west until the 1940’s only on a smaller scale.Today the cowboy uses a truck more than a horse and the ranch owner may even havea small airplane or helicopter to keep track of the herd.The cowboy is still neededonly his job has become more settled.

We really owe a lot to theAmerican Cowboy.Think of all the things he has contributedto this nation culturally. Entertainment wise he has made a big contribution.Think ofthe Rodeo where the cowboy shows off his skills.There is calf roping, steer wrestling,and bull riding.The rodeo is one of the biggest spectator sports in the United States.The United States offers more than 15 million dollars in prize money a year.Cowgirlsparticipate in these events also in the field of barrel racing.They also compete in all girlrodeos where they compete in bareback bronco riding, tie down calf roping andsnatching a ribbon from a running steers back.

Western wear clothing is always in fashion with hats, boots, and shirts all done up inthe western style.

The American CowboyIS VANISHING


KevinWelch,

PoetLaureateof theAmericanaMusicScene

KevinWelch is the kind of songwriter that makes you think. His storiesand melodies are literature put to music, or Americana Opera as I liketo say. His lyrics stand alone as true poetry. There are not many song-writers today that can stand in Welch’s shadow let alone by his side.He is one of the finest songwriters today and has been for the last 25years. His music goes beyond borders and types. A KevinWelch songis pure musical alchemy. He turns simple words and melodies into clas-sic song fare. The desire to write came early to Welch, and from thefoundation of his younger days in Bluegrass bands. He trekked toNashville to try his hand at being a professional songwriter.After work-ing in the song mill’s on music rowWelch became focused on writingsongs for himself. At that point there was no turning back.

Over the years Welch has kept a close relationship with Kieran Kane,another songwriter who left the mills and Fats Kaplin, writing and per-forming in first the Dead Reckoner’s and then KaneWelch Kaplin. TheDead Reckoners were a tight group of Nashville writers and sidemenwho banded together to write and record their music. This was long be-fore the Muzic Mafia came to town. They were so proficient and inter-esting that Ralph Emery dedicated a whole show on his TNN showNashville Now to perform.


Welch left Nashville in 2008 and moved to Texas. His two older children Dustin andSavannah lived inAustin and he wanted to be closer to them and join a community ofmusicians that focused on the music and not so much the money and the “next” bigthing that Nashville and Music Row tend to do. He still performs with Kane WelchKaplin, and in fact they are touringWestern Canada right afterThanksgiving.

I sat down withWelch and listened intently to one of my very favorite songwriters talkabout his beginnings and what drives him to create such cerebral authenticAmericanaMusic.

AG: Is it hot down there inTexas today?

Welch: It’s hot down here, but not as hot as it usually is this time a year. I try to gonorth and play in Colorado and Northern New Mexico in August. I do a lot of song-writer’s workshops this time a year. I also go to Maine and play on a schooner calledtheTimberwind this time of year. This is a National Historic Landmark, incredible ves-sel.We play music and eat and drink and sail for several days and nights. I’ve been onthe road for the last six weeks so it’s good to be back home for awhile.

AG: Do you have a new album in the works?

Welch: No I don’t at this time. I’ve been helping some other folks out and I’m goingto be producing a couple of albums this fall and winter. I’m also co-writing with someother artists. I’ve been very busy this past year. I was in Europe playing for a monthand a half, and I’ve got a couple of other recording projects I’ve been working on.

AG: Then you’re off to Calgary in November. Could you have planned a colder timeto be there?

Welch: I don’t know. It was the only time that worked for Kieran,Fats, and me to gettogether. It will be cold and windy for sure!

AG: You left Nashville four years ago,what caused that?

Welch: I was increasingly disinterested in what was going on at Music Row. I’ve beenthat way forever,but it finally reached the point that I just had to get away. I could noteven live close to it. Even though there is a great music scene happening in EastNashville, I just wasn’t part of it. My two older kids had moved toAustinTexas alreadyand my youngest was in college, and here I was living alone. I had this cabin in theTexas hill country outside ofAustin and thought I might as well stay there full time. I’mreally, really glad I did. I miss a lot of the players and writers in Nashville; they’re someof the greatest in the world.

AG: I loved your last CD. You’re one of my favorite top three songwriters. How didyou start out as a songwriter?

Welch: I think just growing up listening to records all the time. At some point I quitjust listening to the guitar playing and started to notice the lyrics more. That led meto seek out different songwriters. Growing up in Oklahoma I realized that WoodyGuthrie had grown up just down the road from where I lived, so that sparked an in-terest in understanding his writing and his story telling.

There was one summer when I was 14 or 15 years old and I read On the Road andBound for Glory andWoody's other book. I was really getting into Guthrie and foundout that they had theWoody GuthrieArchives right down the road at the University ofOklahoma, so that opened a whole new door and avenue for me. I started playingmusic when I was seven years old. I started out on the accordion and piano. I was play-ing Henry Mancini,Cole Porter, and all these great Jazz tunes from sheet music. I wasplaying pop music and kid’s music too. I was a big reader too.

I’m from Midwest City which is a suburb of Oklahoma City. It’s to the east about 20miles or so. About the time I was 17 I was going to school at a little college called Cen-tral State, studying music. I joined a Bluegrass band my first semester. I was really dig-ging music school but the band took over. It was so different than anything I had everbeen exposed to. I started learning all these mountain ballads and tunes and it just tookme over. I split and went on the road at 17 and never looked back.

AG: When you went on the road did you go as a soloist?

Welch: No I didn’t even sing at the time. I was just the sidekick guitar player guy. Wewere playing some of our original songs and a lot of songs by other Oklahoma writers.We were doing a lot ofWoody’s songs and acid versions of Haggard stuff. Really revvedup Bill Monroe and Lester Flat stuff got played a lot too. John Hadley was a greatteacher to us. We played all kinds of his songs. Bill Caswell was another Oklahoma guywe covered. These guys were also in Nashville later on.

When I first got to Nashville after traveling five years on the road it was the first placeI had a house or home to go home to. I just crashed at friends or family memberswhen I would get off the road for short stays. Coming to Nashville was a step in set-tling down and trying to make a living as a writer and putting some stability into mylife. I fell in love and decided to get married. I needed a way to support us and staya musician so writing was that way. John Hadley set up an appointment with his pub-lishers and they kind of liked what I played them. They saw fit to give us a place tohang out and work on my music. I was 23 years old when I moved there. That even-tually turned into a 17 year deal as a staff songwriter. The first 10 years I focused onwriting for other people. Then I decided to write for myself. By that time I had got-ten better as a singer. I was never a very good singer as a young guy, so getting to likemy voice with my songs was a process that took a while. Singing demo’s in the studioso that they were not embarrassing for the song pluggers to take around took awhile.I worked very hard at becoming a presentable singer. By the time I was 30 I wasready to give it a shot.

AG: Your kids are very talented musicians/singer songwriters too. Do you ever playshows with them?

Welch: I do when it works out for us schedule wise. I do a bunch of shows withDustin inAustin and we go out and play a bunch of under the radar shows in the South-west and East coast. Small venues and clubs where the audience is upfront and close.When Savannah and the Trisha’s are in town I might get up and play a song or twowith them. Being on the road so much I don’t get to see them very often.They bothhave their own careers and that’s great. My youngest daughterAda isn’t a musician butshe’s sharp. I am very proud of all three of my kids.

AG: If you could write with any songwriter or composer dead or alive who would itbe?

Welch: Boy that’s a hard question. I used to write with Harlan Howard. He was a greatfriend of mine and he taught me a lot about songwriting. When I was in my 30’s andtraveling all the time I kinda of fell out of touch with him,me being so busy. Aboutthat time he started getting ill and slowing down. I had not seen him in a long timeand I stopped over at his house to say hi. He was mad at me for not staying in touchand I could tell. I felt really bad about that. We patched things up that day and that wasthe last time I ever saw him. So I guess if I could write with anyone I would love towrite with Harlan again.

AG: What does the future hold for KevinWelch?

Welch: Well I’ve got a couple of records to produce this fall and winter. I’m doing onewith Jason Eady again. Got the Canada tour with KaneWelch Kaplin, I have anotherrecording project I’m in the middle of, and I guess I should start writing a new album.I also have been doing songwriting classes where four or five songwriters come outhere and stay for the weekend and we work on songwriting techniques and structure.I’ve been doing that for awhile and it is really a lot of fun to do. Here songwriters areof all levels so you get some very cool interaction and diversity when you put it all to-gether. They come here from all over,England,Canada,Australia,all over the States. Sothat’s on tap to continue.

AG: A very full plate!

Welch: Yes, and that’s the way I like it!

www.kevinwelch.comStory by:Andy ZiehliPhotos supplied.


It started out as a typical Friday night, playing one of my solo acoustic shows at theStar Cafe in Goodlettsville,TN. I was a few songs into my set when I recognized thatLeroy Troy, banjo extraordinaire had come in with his little boy, Cash to eat dinner.Now, I'm not afraid to admit that I can get a bit self conscience when I know a pickeris in the audience,but it’s even more special when you know how good they really are.The instinct is to kick it up a notch.They sat, ate and listened awhile, then before theyleft, Leroy gave Cash some money to drop in the jar.Which of course,made my night.

Shortly afterwards,I had started working in the tape library of RFD-TV,where the MartyStuart Show is filmed and Leroy is a regular guest.Since then,we've had the chance toeat our lunch and talk during filming days and even pick together at a local Fridaynight bluegrass jam.He is a fantastic player, a great ambassador of the instrument andknows how to entertain a crowd. Just check out his performance of the 'GrandfatherClock' onYouTube to see what I mean. When I called Leroy to meet up for this inter-view, he said we could meet at his place where he has a shed, or ‘makeshift museum’as I would see it, containing many old country music artifacts.Of course, I jumped atthe chance.Not only that,when we wrapped up the interview,we hopped in his truckand he took me to where Grandpa Jones and Stringbean lived, and the old churchcemetery where Grandpa Jones is buried.All in the beautiful hills and area that isGoodlettsville. I also got to meet ‘Lonesome’ Lester Armistead, who is Leroy’s bandmate in the Tennessee Mafia Jug Band,which another band I highly recommend thatyou all check out.. Overall, I just had a great time hanging with these guys, learningsome of the history and folklore of the people and place, capturing a true essence ofthe South. And I truly had a great time doing this interview!

Travis-Well, I see you just got back from Canada.How did that trip go for you and howhas the summer been going for you guys overall?

Leroy-Yeah! It’s been real good.Been the third time we've gone up there for the blue-grass festival they have up there. It’s really grown. It’s fun to go up and play for them.

Travis- I imagine you're getting ready for filming a new season of the Marty Stuart Show.How did you first get started with that?

Leroy- Marty called me up one day,and said he wanted me to be a part of it.He had theplan of what he wanted it to be like, the set and everything.He thought that RFD-TVwas going in the direction of whatTNN used to be like.To help keep traditional coun-try music alive. Every now and then Marty might suggest what songs to do, like whenStonewall Jackson was on, he wanted me to learn ‘Waterloo’. But usually, I just comein with what I'm going to do and tell Marty about it.

Travis-Growing up in Goodlettsville,TN I understand you picked up banjo at 13.Whatwere some of the factors that got you into old time music and the banjo itself?

Leroy- Good question.When I was a kid mom and dad had a record collection. Onerecord had a picture of a banjo and the first song I heard was 'Foggy Mountain Break-down' by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.And that’s what did it.That’s what made mewant a 5 string banjo. I loved that sound! After that I discovered Roy Acuff, Johnnieand Jack,Hank Snow and Jimmie Rodgers.Although the first instrument I got was a fid-dle; my folks found one for 50 bucks.Took about 4 or 5 lessons,but I had an ear for it.My mom had a piano and I used to pick out tunes on it.My dad used to take me to anold grocery store where they used to pick everyTuesday night. People came from allover, all kinds of groups,Guys from the Possum Hunters who used to be on the GrandOle Opry. One night I was sitting there and right next to me with a mandolin, it wasBill Monroe.He was up there a lot, he had a farm right down the road. In fact the first

TheSultanOfGoodlettsvilleLeroy Troy


night I walked in with my banjo case, along with my fiddle and there was Roy Acuff.He said, 'What’s this?' He goes, 'if you're to play 2 instruments, you're going to have asplit mind.' (Laughs) He was great. He taught me a few tunes on the fiddle, note fornote....'ShootThatTurkey Buzzard' and 'Lee Highway Blues'.But anyway, I got my firstbanjo from the Nashville flea market from an old guy who had a booth.His name wasPeanuts. He could play that Scruggs style and I figured I could learn that.That’s whatstarted it.

Travis- How cool is that? I wanted to ask you about some of the neighbors you hadgrowing up.Were they willing to share their stories and spend some time with you?Were you digging for some of the history of the music?

Leroy- No, I really wasn't.They were just kind of there.But looking back on it, you sortof take some of that for granted. I did get to meet Grandpa Jones who lived up here,but that was after I did the Hee- Haw thing. He kind of took me under his wing, andtook me on the road 2 or 3 times.

Travis- So in the time you had with him, was he willing to teach you things on thebanjo?

Leroy- I never asked.I could already play at that time and I wasn't about to ask him.Andhe could be a bit quick tempered.Sonny Osborne one time asked Grandpa about howto play a lick.And Grandpa banged on the strings and angrily said, 'you do it like that!'(Laughs)

Travis- Obviously, besides Earl and Grandpa, Uncle Dave Macon has had a big impacton you as well.

Leroy- Yeah. Back in '83, I went to Uncle Dave Macon Days in Murfreesboro and metthis old player named Cordell Kemp, playing a banjo like I ain't never seen. I've beenacquainted with the Macon family and they knew Cordell.He had learned from UncleDave directly. So I used to see him. I also found out years later that when my grand-mother was young,they would ride down to see Uncle Dave playing banjo on his frontporch.All that got me into Uncle Dave, finding all these little connections to him.

Travis- And Stringbean lived here in Goodlettsville too...were you old enough to re-member when he was murdered?

Leroy- Oh yeah, I remember that, 1973.We had just gotten a brand new colored TV,seems like the news was covering it for 2 days,pretty heavy.That was a big deal whenhe and his wife got killed. I remember the helicopters flying up around his house.Andit was Grandpa that found them. Grandpa and String had a hunting trip planned, sothat's why Grandpa went over there.He knew something wasn't right when he didn'tsee any smoke coming from the chimney.And then he saw Estelle lying in the drive-way.

Travis-What a horrible ordeal that was. Was there a healthy competition between himand Grandpa?

Leroy- They were best friends. Fishing buddies.And the property that Stringbean andGrandpa lived on,they bought together.Grandpa and Ramona lived in the bigger houseand Stringbean and Estelle lived in the smaller one behind it.Ramona is doing well.Shegave me some of Grandpa’s striped pants, a checkered shirt and a scarf that he waswearing the night he collapsed at the Opry.He had done his show,was walking to theback of the stage, he fell and never did recover.He died a few weeks later.

Travis- I didn't realize that's how he died.So,can you tell how did theTennessee MafiaJug Band got started?

Leroy- I met Lester at a clothing store here where they used to be Friday night music.I loved his singing and playing.And Mike started playing guitar and singing.I've knownthem for several years and played with them off and on over the years. It startedroughly in '85.There have been some different players in it.And Lester owns a little oldstore that was built in the 1800's, where we practice.There's a story about a murderthat took place there too. Everybody has been out there, to come up for the pickin's -MacWiseman,Earl Scruggs,John Hartford,Bill Monroe and even Billy BobThornton andAngelina Jolie when they were together.A week before they got married, they werehere visiting with Marty.Marty kind of cooked up the whole thing, it was fun!

Travis- You have some CD's available as well, at shows and through your website, in-cluding a recent one withApostle Paul Martin on bass and Marty Stuart.Any other up-coming plans for new recordings?

Leroy- Oh yeah. I'm going to get in the studio as soon as I can. I've thinking about thetunes for about a year now. Some get added and taken away.The Jug band is going toget started on one this Fall.

Travis- Do they have any songs that they have written?

Leroy- No, it’s going to be older stuff, obscure stuff. Superman is doing a Roger Millercalled Kansas City Star.He really does it well.

Travis-Well thank you Leroy.This has been a blast! I invite everyone to check out yourwebsite (leroytroy.us) and tennesseemafiajugband.com.Buy some CD’s,you’ll love‘emall!

Written by: Travis CooperPhoto by: CONNIETSANG

Some time back on a chilly autumn night, I went down to my favorite local pub tohoist a pint and maybe talk a little music with friends. I passed through the front doorand was about to descend the three steps that led to the main room when I heard twowomen’s voices singing in absolutely perfect harmony,accompanied by a guitar, fiddleand harmonica.For a minute I thought the owner of the place (a friend of mine namedJoe) had taken my advice and upgraded his sound system.But as my foot landed on thelast step I looked to the left and saw three musicians huddled in the corner playingtheir hearts out.The two young women were in their 20’s; one was playing a fiddlewhile an older man was playing guitar and some simply amazing rack- harmonica. Ispent the rest of the evening glued to my chair, not missing a note.After the gig wasover I talked with them and learned that they were Rick, Ruth,and Katie Krause (THEKRAUSE FAMILY), a father and daughter trio from Middleton,Wisconsin and theyagreed to be the subject of a future article.This piece is taken from the taped interviewI did with them in their living-room surrounded by friends and family on the occasionof Ruth Krause’s birthday dinner.

RH:Rick, did you come from a musical family?

RICK:Yes,my momwas a wonderful singer and piano player.She played all through herlife and was a great lover of all the old standards and torch songs.Her father,my grand-dad,was a fiddle player from Missouri. I don’t recall my dad’s side having much musi-cal ability although dad did like to sing when he got a little beer in him. So I guessmom’s side was the musical side.

RH:Did you sing or play with your mother growing up?

RICK:Oh yeah,mom and I sang quite a bit.Any chance we got.The last 15 or so yearsof her life she would come up here toWisconsin from Kansas and we would sing andplay at nursing homes and such.

RH:Beautiful memories!

RICK:Oh man,she loved it.MelTorme,Chestnuts Roasting OnAn Open Fire,you know,all those standards. She was a great sight reader.

RH: So you are from Kansas then?

RICK:Right.

RH:How did you end up inWisconsin?

RICK:I answered an ad in a theatre magazine.Much to my dad’s chagrin,I gave up foot-ball to put on tights and joined a theatre and mime troupe in Spring Green,Wisconsin.

RUTHIE:Yeah,we have the only dad that went to clown school!

RICK:Then I met and married a beautiful Norwegian girl and here I am.

RH:When I hear the three of you perform I marvel at the way your voices blend. Doyou think that’s a familial thing, like the Everly Brothers?

THEKRAUSE FAMILYBAND


Krause Family Band on Prairie Home CompanionLeft to right…Ruthie Krause, Brian Montrey, Katie Krause, Jim Spansy,Rick Krause, Craig Radi


I talk fast. I can get more words in one minute than most people can. If people havetrouble keeping up with what I am saying,I only think they should listen faster. Prettysimple, isn’t it?

My brain works fast, too. While listening to a conversation,my mind will run severalparallel or connected facts or memories or stories that are triggered by that conversa-tion. In my mind, I have connected the dots and the switch in conversation is appar-ent to me, but I discover it is not so apparent to others. I see their puzzled look andoften I hear,“What does that have to do with what was being said?” Obviously othershave not made the leap in thought like I have. Occasionally I meet someone who isas good at this art as I am. Those persons can follow my switch in topic and maketheir own leap of thought.And when they speak, I follow their jumps in topic withclear understanding. If I take time to analyze the switches, I can usually figure out justwhat made me move from point one in the conversation to point two, etc. Keepingthat in mind, I am going to follow through with a demonstration via this issue’s con-tribution from me. I will guide you through the switches which is something I wouldnot do in person. It is only in the printed form that I will do just that.

The season of fall means the start ofschool. Each school year we teach-ers wondered what would be somespecial qualities or characteristicsof that fall’s group of junior highkids. Individual classes did have in-dividual characteristics. That givesme the leap of thought to a classfrom the late 1960’s or maybe theearly 1970’s. This was a fun lovinggroup. They found many ways tohave fun. They gave nicknames toeach other, and they gave them totheir teachers, too. I was Doc andmy good friend Patwas Peaches. I donot know if I ever

knew howwe earned our nicknames. But I do remember this classwas so literal, and you as a teacher needed to watch what yousaid. “Pick up the room,class,”meant they picked up their desksor chairs and held them up waiting for your next command.“Turn around,”meant they all stood up and turned around. Andmy biggest mistake came when I said,“Drop what you are doing.”Soon the room was filled with books and notebooks and what-ever being dropped to the floor.

That class reminded me of how a handful of the class wanted to goto the Coliseum in Madison for a rock show they wanted to see. They hadsaved their money to buy the tickets,but they had no transportation. After hear-ing of those woes for days upon days, I agreed to take them. I had no desire to seethe show, but I thought I could slip up in the highest seats and wait out the concert.They insisted that I sit with them;which I did probably slouched as low in my seat asI could. Sadly the star of the concert did not come on stage at the starting time. Hemade his appearance 45 minutes late. It was immediately obvious that he was in nocondition to do a show.He attempted three or four songs, and then he simply left thestage. The show was over, and the students’hard earned money bought them little re-turn.

The thought of a show took my mind to my first Rose Bowl excursion. We were on atour and part of the tour took us one evening to a dinner theater for dinner and a show.I think the location was the Palladium somewhere near LosAngeles. There were threeof us in our group,and I sat alone across from my traveling companions. Soon a blindman tapped his way down the aisle,stopped by me,and asked if he could sit there. Hewas very outgoing,and he quickly explained he was a big Badger fan, lived in Madison,was a piano tuner, and that his wife and her sister were seated up a head of us. Thenhe whispered a request to me. I was to look out for the sign of the Palladium, andwhen I saw it I should tell him. I did as he asked, and as soon as I told him I saw it tothe right of the bus about half a block away,he stood up and announced,“Look to yourright. There is the Palladium.” Everyone laughed at the thought that a blind man spot-ted our destination before anyone else.

Ready for a leap? We met other interesting people on that trip. To attend a Rose Bowlparade means getting up by 3AM. It is quite cool almost cold in the early morning be-fore the sun rises above the mountains. Knowing this, I took a blanket out of the hotelcloset, folded it over my arm, covered it with my top coat (all men wore them then),and headed for the elevator. On the ride down, a voice from the back of the packedelevator spoke out,“I hope no one here is taking a blanket out of the hotel. It is againstthe law.” For a second I felt panic, I glanced around, and most people were holdingtheir coats close to their bodies. It was at the moment I realized some clown standingin the back was having fun at our expense.

Random ThoughtsAt the parade we were seated behind two older ladies from Ohio, and they had blan-kets on their laps. They told us they come to the parade every year. The game meansnothing to them, and they come for the parade alone. They took out thermos bottlesand poured out “tea”. As the parade went on and the more sips of tea that they had,the louder they talked and the more they giggled. Those ladies were prepared in moreways than one.

At the game the man seated to my right quickly informed me that he was new to Cal-ifornia having moved there that fall from Oklahoma. He said his boss gave him a ticketto the game,and he confessed he knew nothing about football. He wondered if I mightexplain the game to him. Thus, I attempted to educate him. He did not know a thing.Four downs, ten yards, punting, interference, and everything about the game was for-eign to him. So my lessons on football continued through the first quarter. It was atthe start of the second quarter that he was now loudly cheering for Southern Cal. Thesea of red clothed fans around him meant nothing. I stopped speaking to him,and hehad the rest of the game to try and figure out the game.

And now I leap to my second Rose Bowl visit. On NewYear’s Eve our group went toa nearby restaurant for dinner and plans to retire early because of the need to arise earlythe next day for the parade. There we sat in ourWisconsin clothes having a good time.Our waiter arrived and introduced himself speaking with a very thick foreign accent.He passed the menus around, looked at us, and asked who or what we were dressedas we were. I explained we were fromWisconsin and here for the Rose Bowl. “WhereisWisconsin?”he asked. We used Chicago as a reference point. He looked around atus one more time, and he said,“Well, you are going to lose.” We all left the place afterour dinner, and we all agreed NOTIP. He needed a lesson in manners and tact.

The talk of football causes my brain to leap to my long time season ticket seats in theupper deck of Camp Randall. Section DD, row 20. We were a family, and we sat thereand suffered through the worst years of college football possible. One year it was onewin,and we celebrated that as though it was a championship. My seats were the third

and fourth ones in the row, the first two seats were occupied bya former UW champion boxer from Hawaii andhis wife. He was a man of a few words. His wifewas very outgoing, and she treated us to Mace-

donia nuts sent to her from her homestate. But the stars of our section was acouple that always entered the game justbefore kick off. It was a grand entrance,and the entire section waited for that,and you could hear the gasps as they ex-ited the tunnel and turned toward theirrow 19. She was drop dead beautiful.She dressed the part, and he was as dap-per as Cary Grant,and he,too,dressed the

part. But once they made their entrance andsat down, they were as ordinary as the rest of us.Oc-

casionally their two teen age children appeared duringhalf time from some other area of Camp Randall. They,too,were knockouts and dressed in the heights of the day’sfashions. We had a wonderful time, chatting and watching

the game, and once they found out that a former Oregon stu-dent, about the only good player on the team that year, was a friend of mine, I wasquickly elevated to a new status. Slightly before half time,a teacher friend Carol woulddrop into our section for a visit. When she turned the corner to look for me, peoplein section DD would call out,“ She is here,” and they would turn to me and people inmy row would slide over to give her room to sit by me. As I look back, the social as-pect and the UW band was whatbrought us to the games. And be-cause we were patient, we all hadgood seats when it became difficultto get a ticket to a home game. Ieventually moved to the 50 yardline, but once out of section DD, itwas never as much fun for me to at-tend the games.

Now how random are thesethought? I am out of space,but youcan see that my head is full of manymore random thoughts.

Written by: Bob Hoffman


A quote from The BoDeans website:

"I've always thought of the BoDeans as a truly American band," saysKurt Neumann, the founder,primary writer and front man of the vet-eran Milwaukee-based group."We were blue-collar kids straight out ofthe heartland-how could we be anything else?‘Roots rock' was a labelI fought when I was younger,but I came to realize that if by‘roots' youmeant blues, rock, country and soul all slammed together into onesound, then I'd say yes-that is the sound of American-made music."

Neumann fully embraces that notion onAmerican Made,the BoDeans'eleventh album. Its dozen songs are laced through with strands of in-digenous roots elements-Heartland hoedown folk ("American," with guest Jake Owenspinning out the guitar solo), Celtic-rooted mountain music ("Walk Through ThisWorld," "Flyaway"),zydeco ("EverythingYouWanted"),Southern roadhouse soul ("Don'tBring Me Down"), Chicago blues ("Shake the Fever") and 100-proof roots rock ("Allthe World").These tracks are played with heartfelt emotion as well as jaw-droppingskillfulness by the band-Neumann on vocals and guitars, original member MichaelRamos (Patty Griffin, John Mellencamp) on keyboards and accordion, longtimeBoDeans bassist Ryan Bowman and newmemberWarren Hood,a fiddle/violin virtuosofromAustin.

As it turns out, the album title bears a thematic resonance as well asa stylistic one.WithAmerican Made, the BoDeans have created a soul-stirring song cycle that directly reflects the American experience atthis critical moment in our history.The album-which also includes apowerful rendition of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire"-was inspiredby Neumann's blue-collar upbringing and his desire to express whata great country America remains, despite its troubles and the chal-lenges facing it today.

"As we've moved into the new millennium,we've begun to questionour identity as Americans-who we are, or who we want to be," saysNeumann. "With the onset of the Tea party and the Occupy move-ment, it feels like we're pulling in two very different directions.Thesong ‘American' talks about this land of ‘endless possibility,' and‘Where else in the world you ever gonna find this kind of ideology?'We're lucky to have the rights and opportunities that we have, but Ibelieve those rights come with a responsibility to help each otheralong. It's wrong to stockpile millions or billions of dollars while all your neighborsstruggle to survive. It feels like we're losing the common sense that has always guidedus, and that worries me.We're so out of touch with each other-and just trying to findan American-made product has become almost comical. I wanted to bring that all ofthat to the surface-hence the album title."

------------------------------Kurt was out on the road, sounding a little tuckered out, but still very enthusiasticabout this new CD. He was gracious enough to chat with me a little bit about its mak-ing and what else is going on with him andThe BoDeans.

Joyce: Kurt, I listened to your new CD and absolutely loved it. Of course, I grew uplistening to you guys. So I knew I’d like it. Tell me a little bit about this new CD.

Kurt: Thank you Joyce. Yea, the new record is called“American Made’and it embracedme to let me do music the way I wanted to. It was recorded live out in LA,it really gavethe band a good feel for the music. It came out June 12th and now we’ve been on theroad since May 12th touring. We did the southwest, then up the west coast,northwestand back down and then to the southeast. We have been traveling the country, townto town, and glad to be out playing again.

Joyce: Well it’s good to be busy! Kurt who writes the songs?And what or who are theinspirations in your writing?

Kurt: I do all the writing. Life is really the inspiration. I went through my 30’s, 40’sand now am into my 50’s;my philosophies have also grown, changed and evolved. Itry to let that influence my writing a lot. I am hopeful that I have become a better song-writer. It is kind of like being a craftsman,and you hope you get better with time andeach craft or in our case,CD. That’s my inspiration!

Joyce: Kurt, do you come from a musical background/family?

Kurt: I didn’t have a musical family at all. I would take some time out of classes to studysome musical instruments. When this was offered, I jumped at the chance. (we bothlaugh,what a great way to get out of regular class) I started learning to play the drumsearly on. I got a little bit older and I decided I really wanted to write songs. I boughta guitar and started to play that. All evolved from there. I really didn’t have anyone toteach me. Everything I learned was from trial and error and doing things I liked andgoing with my emotions. I play guitar and I’m really a pretty good drummer. I get by

on the piano and bass guitar. I can pretty much play any stringed in-strument. But I don’t play the French Horn!

Joyce: (laughing)This could be a future goal!

Kurt: Yea, it could be.

Joyce: Let’s talk about future goals, besides the French Horn thing.What are your band goals and personal goals?

Kurt: Picking up a Grammy for the new record! That’s been on mybucket list for a long time. Really do want people to hear this record.Think it’s the best record we’ve made in a long time. The problem isgetting it out there and letting people know about it. That’s my goal– get the CD out there and have people check it out.And maybe learnhow to play the French Horn. (laughing)

Personal goals? Well I still have young children at home and I am really focused onkeeping them happy and healthy.They really keep me running.

Joyce: You sound really tired Kurt. How has the tour schedule been running?

Kurt: Yea, I am a little tired. Don’t sleep the best away from home. We are usually out3-4 weeks at a time, then off for a week and back on it again.

Joyce: Well, I will let you get back to your work. I have one last question before I letyou go. Any words of advice to people wanting to get in the music business thesedays?

Kurt: No matter what the state of music is in these days, be sure you are doing it be-cause you love it. I mean really love it. Music has lost a lot of its value as trying to makea living at it.You better make sure you are doing it because you feel love and passionfor it. Well, you may not make any money or make a living off of it, and if you do, youare one of the lucky ones. It is tough out there.

Joyce: Thank you Kurt and I look forward to meeting you in person real soon. Goodluck on the tour and on the CD sales. Readers please check The BoDeans out at:www.bodeans.com

Kurt: Thank you Joyce for helping spread the word.

Story by: Joyce Ziehli

Photos supplied.

BoDeansRelease New CD -American Made


If you haven't already heard of them, the pair are a big deal in the bluegrass scene.They've played the National Anthem for the Red Sox at Fenway Park and at the Octo-ber 2011 Tennessee Titans /Denver Broncos game, which drew a crowd of 97,000.They've played at the Kansas Speedway during the NASCARTruck Series.They've evenplayed for then-President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush at Andrews AirForce Base.

Elaine and Lee Roy have a clear, clean sound and are true to traditional bluegrassarrangements and instruments.The Roy's work has beautiful instrumentation, andpaired with their warm vocal harmonies, the duo give us seven songs that are original,yet reminiscent of old-time tunes that I've heard before.The recording is a joy to listento.

New Day Dawning is an intensely personal album and the driving emotion behind itis the pair's love of their family.Their parents are both French Canadian and as childrenthey lived in Coal Branch,New Brunswick for a time.However,they consider Fitchburg,Massachusetts home. Both locations helped develop them musically.The pair learnedtraditional Acadian melodies from their aunts and uncles in Coal Branch while theirgrandmother played the fiddle. Elaine's first singing gig was in Fitchburg and the duofirst established their musical reputation in Massachusetts.

Three of the songs on New Day Dawning are about family directly. Living Scrapbookis a bittersweet ode to how family has shaped the pair and is a striking showcase forElaine's voice.The other two deal with loss and are more somber, but never despair-ing. It's important to the Roys to emphasize hope and thankfulness even in times ofadversity. Grandpa's Barn was written by Lee and is a reflection on the life and pass-ing of his grandfather.Daddy to Me deals with the death of Lee's father-in-law,who wasa decorated Marine and a law enforcement veteran.

Elaine and Lee want to share their success and they bothcontribute a great deal to charity- in fact, the pair havetaken part in over nine charity events in the past two years.Helping veterans is very important to them both.The Royswere asked to be part ofThe Boot Campaign and they wereproud to join it.The idea is simple: buy and wear a pair ofcombat boots in order to support the troops and raiseawareness of the difficulties they can face on their returnhome.The cause has a large following in the music scene,including one of Elaine's favorite artists,Dolly Parton.

The Roy's charitable work doesn't stop there though; theydevote a lot of time and energy to children's causes. Justrecently, the siblings visited Bogota, Columbia throughCompassion International, and an outreach ministry thatThe Roys support.Elaine and Lee each sponsored an eight-year-old child,Nigella and Miguel, respectively.Seeing howthese kids live, and how grateful they are for what they dohave, was deeply moving and drove home what a differ-ence sponsors' support can make.

But they don't just help kids overseas.This April,The Roysco-hosted the Christmas 4 Kids Celebrity GolfTournamentwith Rob Bironas.A number of musical personalities tookpart, including their friends Tracy Lawrence,Troy Gentry,Doyle Lawson, Dailey & Vincent and Joe Diffie.The golftournament proceeds will give a group of 400 MiddleTen-nessee kids a special Christmas celebration, including aparty with Santa Claus;a $150 chaperoned shopping spreeatWal-Mart; and a new winter coat.The kids chosen face arange of difficulties; be it financial, health-related or the af-termath of abuse;which would otherwise prevent them from celebrating Christmas.

The Roys are happy to be in a position to give back now,but things weren't always soeasy.The pair were picked up by their first recording label early in their career, butfound that the relationship did not work out. In order to be better able to follow theirvision,The Roys struck out on their own as an artist-owned label.This gave them thefreedom to develop artistically without interference and paved the way for anothercollaboration later with Rural Rhythm Records.The pair had already done some of therecording for their album LonesomeWhistle when they were approached with a deal.

Rural Rhythm's president, Sam Passamano Jr,had heard the Roys' work and knew thatthey would be a perfect fit. LonesomeWhistle was released in March, 2011 under theRural Rhythm label.New Day Dawning followed the next year.

And it doesn't stop there.The Roys are working on a new EP project containing sevensongs,which will be available in 8-9 months time.The Roys do this all on top of an in-tense touring schedule,with 150 dates booked this year.When I caught them at the endof August, they had been on the road since January.

The Roys are also breaking into television. Earlier this year, the pair hosted sevenepisodes of Bluegrass Mountains,an international television show featuring guest artistsDolly Parton,Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent, Cumberland River Band and Carrie Has-sler & Hard Rain.The episodes will air to 20 million viewers in New Zealand,Australiaand the United Kingdom.

Roots in Music with The Roys, a 13 episode series, is currently in development andwill be entirely hosted by Lee and Elaine. Each episode will follow a variety-show for-mat, including performances by The Roys, humanitarian features, festival event high-

lights, guest musical artists,interviews, and will close with a jamsession.

The Roys were also part of Pa's Fiddle:America's Music; a musical tribute tothe writing of Laura IngallsWilder, thelegendary pioneer girl.Wilder's booksmention 127 different songs and herfather is famous for his fiddle playing,one of the few forms of entertainmentthat the family had. The show wasfilmed in Nashville's Loveless Barnand The Roys were joined by a num-ber of other artists, including RandyTravis, Ronnie Milsap, Rodney AtkinsandAshton Shepherd.Elaine sang Buf-falo Gal (with the 'gal' appropriatelychanged to 'guy') and Lee preformedGum Tree Canoe. The event also in-cluded a rendition of Battle Cry ofFreedom by Committed, a Christian acapella band fromAlabama who wonseason two of NBC'sThe Sing Off.

This July, The Roys were in TwinLakes,Wisconsin for four days to takepart in Country Thunder for the sec-ond year straight. This year was thefestival's 20th anniversary; the eventcombines camping and music. Eachyear CountryThunder is split into twohalves; the first is held duringApril inFlorence,Arizona and the second half

is held inThe Dairy State.The next time thatThe Roys will be in our area is November9th at Springfield, Illinois' Greater Downstate Bluegrass Festival.You can find out moreabout that festival at www.bluegrassmidwest.com; and more about The Roys atwww.theroysonline.com.

Written by: Andrea NolenPhotos supplied.

The Roys,a brother-sister duo who have justreleased their bluegrass album,New Day Dawning.


The Future of MusicAround HereA couple of weeks ago I had the privilege and pleasure to play a show with by buddiesDoug Sies, John Fahey, Jim Smith,Mark Schwoegler, and Bob King out at Schwoegler’sSugar River Lanes in Belleville,WI. It was a great show where we got to play rock starswith to real life rock stars Joe Blanton andWarner Hodges who are both very good bud-dies and close friends of mine.

During the three hour show I found myself looking across the stage at the graying,bald-ing, and slightly larger friends I grew up with playing music and realized that after weretire from playing there really isn’t anyone left to take our places. Dale Freidig who wasin the crowd that night echoed these same thoughts a week later when he stopped inat Action Guitars. Dale said “after us there is nobody left”, and he was right! There isnot anyone in there 20’s or 30’s playing music in this area anymore. When I was in thatage demographic there was live music every Friday and Saturday nights in every tavernand club within 40 miles of here. You booked double nights in the same club. Therewas a circuit that we all played and all made good money. There were beer tents,wed-dings, and festivals all summer you could play. Now you’re lucky if you can get twojobs a month let alone a double weekend in the same club.

So what happened? A few things I guess, first DJ’s came in and took over the weddingdance market. At first they charged a lot less and then slowly raised their prices to nowequal or even in some cases charge more than a band. I find it hard to stomach payinga DJ a $1000.00 a night and arguing to pay a band $500.00. DJ’s in my opinion are thescrooge of the entertainment business. They have no musical talent, dress up and actlike buffoons, and take work away from honest to good artists.

Next came Karaoke. It was even more hideous with guys who could not make it as DJ’snow hosting real bad talent nights with off key singers and horrible actors trying to im-itate artists and musicians. Then the drinking age changes back to 21 and sent bar andclub owners out of the band booking business,and if that was not bad enough local po-lice departments started waiting in parking lots and picking up everyone who left thebar. In fact one club owner told me that the local police department in his community

Bob’sGuitarCorner

# 6

just about put him out of business because of the way they hassled his patrons whenthey left. Now I’m all for picking up drunk drivers,but not for harassment of peoplewho went out and had a beer or two and get pulled over because some local officerthinks their drunk because they left a bar at closing time. I myself have been pulledover a couple of times coming home after a gig just because I was out at 3:00 in themorning and I have not had a drink in 22 years!

So what do we do to make it good again and get younger folks playing? First we de-stroy every Rock Band type video game and put real guitars in kid’s hands,enter theMAMA’s. Next we get younger folks interested in playing music by supporting localmusicians who play original music. That is really the key! There are not many nationalacts worth copying or covering anymore so it has to come from the local level. In-spire the young by playing outdoor concerts to showcase your music. Take your kidsto see real musicians playing real instruments. Enroll your girls in Girls Rock Campso that they can get a taste of what it is like to play. Buy them a real instrument andget them lessons instead of updating your Nintendo or other game players. Just likereal exercise outdoors is good for kids so is being exposed to real music. Have ahouse concert of your favorite local songwriter or even touring songwriter and letthem feel the excitement of a live show. I’ll bet if you ask any musicians in their 40’sthru their 60’s they will tell you of one single event of seeing a live performance thatgave them the bug to learn an instrument. For me it was being able to play at familyreunions with my Grandma Linden and her sisters.

Lastly supporting local music, taking the time to introduce your kids and youngerpeople to good music (not the crap on the radio orTV today),and encouraging themto be creative. If we have lost one thing in the last 20 years is the art of being creative.We recycle movies,music, and art all the time. Let them be original! It’s okay if youdon’t like their music or art. Your parents didn’t like yours either.

It’s okay to grow up and be a musician. For 30 years I was an accountant/managerand was terrible at it. I hated it! I did it because people told me that if I wanted tomake something of myself that’s what I had to do. I was a part-time musician andloved that. Five years ago I said screw it and started down the path to being a full-timemusician/guitar repair guy and I love it! Many of my friends have gone down thesame path and are creating some of the best music of their lives. Don’t let the musicdie out around here. Support it,nurture it with your kids,and encourage them to bethemselves. Music comes from the soul. It is spiritual and it is healing. It’s also a hellof lot of fun!

Andy Ziehli


One good thing about this long hot summer: the heat and humid-ity kept me in the air conditioned confines of my house on the hillon the couch with fans blowing around me and good books to read.I made some good book discoveries this summer. Now is the timeto share them with you. You can decide for yourself if one or twomight interest you.

My two favorite books had similar titles. The title of one is AMER-ICA’S BOY by Wade Rouse, and the other title is AMERICAN BOYby LarryWatson.

AMERICAN BOY is a coming of age story of a young boy in a smallwestern Minnesota town. CATCHER INTHE RYE and DANLELIONWINE are often considered the two best coming of age books everwritten, but AMERICAN BOY is right up there in consideration ac-cording to my tastes and views. The book follows two classmatesthat became best friends as soon as they met in school. It is the clas-sic rich boy vs. poor boy tale. The rich boy is the son of the towndoctor, and the poor boy the son of a single mother working as awaitress. The poor boy spends most of his non-school time at thehome of the doctor and his family. The doctor attempts to pass onmedical information to the two boys,and that becomes vital to the

plot of AMERICAN BOY. A woman considered“loose”by the town’s residents is shotby her live-in boy friend who then kills himself in jail. The injured woman is broughtto the house for treatment, and the two boys are allowed to meet her. To the town’sastonishment the woman continues living in the doctor’s house with the doctor’s fam-ily long after her recovery. This only fuels the imagination of the two boys who thendesire to see“more”of her. The doctor is very passive-aggressive to the poor boy whichbecomes the catalyst to the climax of the plot itself.The boy does come of age,but notin the way he thought it would be. Those of us from small towns will recognize muchof the town’s behavior and attitudes, and any reader from a small town can easily re-late to the adventures contained in the plot. The author LarryWatson is aWisconsinresident, and his book MONTANA 1948 remains one of my favorite books of all time.AMERICAN BOY is a very easy entertaining read, and it is the highlight of my summerreading. And can you guess which of the two boys returns as an adult to the same com-munity to be the new doctor of the town?

AMERICA’S BOY by Wade Rouse is a close second to my summer’s best choice.Thebook is a series of very short chapters,much like the stories in this newspaper,whichare true accounts of Rouse’s own life. Rouse always knew he was a misfit in his town,in his family, certainly in school,and even in his own skin. He can now as an adult lookback and find humor in the events of his life even though many are very painful mem-ories. Many of us realize how much of a misfit we were as kids trying to find the per-son within ourselves. What we become has its roots in our childhood no matter whatsort of childhood we had. As a reader you will be making comparisons to your ownrelatives and classmates and friends and acquaintances as Rouse introduces his to you.I actually laughed out loud as I read and recently read for a second time his accountsof his life growing up in rural Missouri in a point whereArkansas and Kansas and Okla-homa are not that far away. I think we all have had aunts and grandparents and maybeeven parents like thoseWade Rouse writes about. Again this is an easy book to read ina short time.

Earlier this summer I read another book byWade Rouse,AT LEAST INTHE CITY SOME-ONEWOULD HEAR ME SCREAM. It was written after AMERICA’S BOY,and it tells thetrue account of Rouse quitting his job in St. Louis to move to rural Michigan and de-vote full time to his writing. I also recommend this book.

Also as a good reading discovery on my part was finding two books by the authorDavid Ellis. They both were very technical books, but they were excellent mysteries.THEWRONG MAN tells the tale of the use of social media and its devices to frame the

Robe

rt’s

Ramb

lings

wrong guy, and then his effort to clear his name and find the real killer. BREACH OFTRUST tells the story of corruption among elected officials. The main character goesundercover to help authorities expose the corruption. There are lots of characters inboth of his books, but they are so well written that you easily can keep them apart inyour reading from chapter-to-chapter. As an additional bit of information for you, theauthor Ellis was part of the prosecution of a well known jailed Midwestern governor

famed for his hair style. Thus the author does have first hand knowledge on cor-ruption.

The last book to mention is BLAME by Michelle Huneven. The book follows theevents in the life of an alcoholic female college professor who is found guilty ofdriving while drunk and killing two people,her time in prison,and her life oncereleased. There are many twists and turns in this story. It is well crafted andkeeps you interested and guessing until you finally discover why the book iscalled BLAME. The author creates very vivid characters and situations for thosecharacters to carry out the plot of the book.

On a few warm afternoons I escaped to the cool comfort of the movies. Justthis week SLEEPWALKWITH ME was my choice,and it was a hit with me. Com-edy stand up guy Mike Birbiglia wrote and starred in the story of events in hisown life. He tells us about his long relationship and of his efforts to make it instand up comedy. It is both funny and moving. Birbiglia is a very likeable guy,and it comes off on the screen. He talks to us directly from the screen, and it isvery effective. In fact,he talks to us even before the opening credits warning usabout the evils of cell phones in theaters, etc. You might look him up onYOUTUBE to get a feel of his comedy. HOPE SPRINGS is a story of us older

adults and an honest look at what happens to long time relationships/marriages. It istold with comedy, with compassion, and it does not attempt to be a cure-all to thewoes of being together for a long time or getting so far into a routine that you do notexperience much happiness in the relationship. The entire cast is brilliant in under-playing their characters, and they often need few words to tell us what they are feel-ing. THE INTOUCHABLES is a charming story of a handicapped man selecting a NorthAfrican man to be his caretaker and companion. Both learn from the other and theirseries of adventures make for a fun time at the movies. At home I watched PRIMEabout an analyst discovering that her client is dating her son,which is an older womanvs.young man romance. What can the doctor do in this ethical bending situation? Andlast BACKBEAT was another surprisingly entertaining look at John Lennon. This movietells of the true story of the friendship of John Lennon and artist Stu Sutcliffe. The artin this case is painting. Lennon wants Sutcliffe to be a member of the group that be-came the Beatles and for a time Stu was a Beatle in their days in Germany. It is an ex-cellent buddy movie, and it was fascinating to see John Lennon in a different way.

And so my rambling is done for this issue. Stay happy!

Written By: Robert Hoffman


“Can You Canoe?” • Okee Dokee Brothers

As childhood friends growing up in Denver Colorado,Joe Mailanderand Justin Lansing were always exploring the outdoors.Whether itwas rafting down their neighborhood creek, taking long bike ridesinto the country or discovering hiking trails through the RockyMountains, Joe and Justin were born adventurers.

Now, as The Okee Dokee Brothers, they have put this passion for the outdoors at theheart of their Americana Folk music. Joe and Justin record and perform family musicwith a goal to inspire children and their parents to get outside and experience nature.They believe this can motivate kids to gain a greater respect for the natural world,theircommunities and themselves.As an independently managed band, the young duo has gained a loyal grassroots fol-lowing that is drawn to their witty lyrics,strong musicianship and unique folk style.Byappealing to the musical needs of the entire family and recognizing that kids deservequality music,The Okee Dokee Brothers are working full-time to advance the familymusic genre.

“Mr. Diddie Wah Diddie” • Randy Kaplan

"Randy Kaplan is such a talented kids' rocker; the kind of performerwho really engages his audience.He doesn't just sing,he tells stories.And we listen stated Eva Glettner,Cool Mom Picks Please checkthis CD out, you will love it.

Info provided by:Beth Blenz-ClucasSugar Mountain PRwww.sugarmountainpr.com

“Camilla” •Caroline Herring

With accolades and endorse-ments from critics and fellowmusicians alike, SignatureSounds recording artist Caro-line Herring has emerged asone of the most literate and

distinctive songwriters of her generation and one of the freshest voices to hit the musicscene in a long time. Since her debut in 2001,Herring has gained a devoted followingand much critical acclaim.Named“Best NewArtist” at the Austin Music Awards, Caro-line has been profiled on NPR’s“AllThings Considered,”been a guest on Garrison Keil-lor’s“A Prairie Home Companion,”and was the onlyAmerican representative involvedin the prestigious Cecil Sharp Project in England, a group of musicians commissionedto compose music based on the life and collections of the famous song catcher.Info provide by:

Lotus NileAshley MoyerLotus NileNashville,TN

“SUNDAY RUN ME OVER” • HOLLY GO LIGHTLY & THEBROKEOFFS

Fifth duo album due out October 9 onTransdreamer Records

Sunday Run Me Over, due out October 9, 2012 on TransdreamerRecords through Megaforce, is Holly’s fifth album with the Broke-offs, who are actually a duo consisting of the London-born,Georgia-

based singer/songwriter/guitarist and Texas-bred multi-instrumentalist and longtimecollaborator Lawyer Dave, who contributes guitar, drums and vocals. But it’s one ofnearly 30 albums on which the pioneering D.I.Y. iconoclast is featured,either as a soloartist or band member, and that figure that doesn’t include her various singles, guestappearances and collaborations with the likes of the White Stripes, Mudhoney, theGreenhornes and Rocket from the Crypt.Throughout a career that’s spanned morethan 20 years, she’s maintained a fierce fidelity to the unpretentious attitude andstripped-down sonic sensibility that’s made her a seminal influence upon multiple gen-erations of garage, punk and lo-fi artists.

FANTASY RECORDS READIES VINCE GUARALDI TRIO’S ACHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS

Set for October 9th,2012 release,new deluxe CD reissue features 24-bit remastering from original stereo masters and three holiday bonustracks. A green vinyl LP edition will also be issued. Vince GuaraldiTrio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas [2012 Remastered & ExpandedEdition] will be released by the Fantasy label in time for the holi-

days. One of the most popular and beloved holiday albums of all time, the multi-plat-inum-selling original soundtrack recording was a Library of Congress NationalRecording Registry inductee on May 23,2012 and a Grammy Hall of Fame inductee in2007.

The 2012 Remastered & Expanded Edition CD will feature the original 1965 recordingnewly remastered with 24-bit technology from the original analog stereo master tapes.It also contains three holiday bonus tracks that did not appear on the original LP:“Greensleeves,”“ThanksgivingTheme,”and“Great PumpkinWaltz.”The digi package in-cludes a 20-page booklet featuring memorable Peanuts character images from thebelovedA Charlie Brown Christmas television special and engaging new liner notes byPeanuts and Vince Guaraldi historian Derrick Bang, author of Vince Guaraldi at thePiano (McFarland Press).Concurrently,Fantasy will issue a 2012 LP pressing of the clas-sic album on green vinyl.

KEYSTONE COMPANIONS/THE COMPLETE 1973 FANTASYRECORDINGS SPOTLIGHTS THE LEGENDARY MERL SAUN-DERS/JERRY GARCIA COLLABORATION INCLUDING SEVENPREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED TRACKSDeluxe four-CD box set,due September 25th,contains vintage pho-tos, extensive liner notes and memorabilia

Keystone Companions/The Complete 1973 Fantasy Recordings,recorded live on July 10 and 11,1973 at the Keystone club in Berkeley,California,beau-tifully captures the magical musical friendship of keyboardist Merl Saunders and gui-tarist Jerry Garcia.The Fantasy Records lavish four-disc set,scheduled for September 25,2012 release on the heels of the 70th anniversary of Garcia’s birth, includes seven pre-viously unreleased tracks, a special booklet featuring vintage photos; liner notes byGrateful Dead expert David Gans;and a poster,coaster,button,and“scratchbook”(repli-cating the design of the original album’s promotional matchbooks).

The sterling band featured Saunders on keyboards;Garcia,guitar and vocals;John Kahn,bass;and BillVitt,drums.Virtuoso David Grisman added mandolin to Bob Dylan’s“Pos-itively 4th Street.”The mix of songs ranged from Saunders originals to covers of songsby Jimmy Cliff, Junior Parker,Holland-Dozier-Holland,Rodgers & Hart,Blind Lemon Jef-ferson,Arthur“Big Boy”Crudup,Lightnin’Hopkins,Don Nix and Dan Penn and Dylan.

Info provided by:Conqueroo:Cary Baker

11271Ventura Blvd. #522 Studio City,California 91604

New & Blues Music –Things To Check Out!

AMERICANA GAZETTESUBSCRIPTIONTheAmericana Gazette is a free bimonthly publication andmay be picked up at area locations. However if you would like acopy mailed to you,please fill out the following information andsubmit a check for $15.00 to:Americana Gazette, P.O.Box 208,Belleville,Wi. 53508.

_______________________________________________________First Name Last Name

_______________________________________________________Address

_______________________________________________________City State

______________________Zip Code

1Year Subscription - $15.002Year Subscription - $25.00

Date:______________________________________


Bailey & IsabelleDan Baird’s Cool Dog Duo

APETNO

TE

I have known Dan Baird for a couple of years now. Heis an amazingly talented songwriter/performer/guitarplayer/bass player/joke teller, just a down to earth greatperson. He’s the“man”with a sense of humor to match.TheAmericana Gazette had done a story on him awhileback. (Check it out online if you didn’t see it.) Now Ifound it only fitting that we (The Americana Gazette)should feature his dogs in an issue. After all, a dog isman’s best friend.Warner & Deb Hodges dogs have beenfeatured in here, as well as Phil Lee’s, Tom Mason’s,Bones Hillman’s, Eric Brace’s, Peter Cooper’s,Tom T. &Ms. Dixie Hall’s and the list goes on.Why not the won-derful critters of Dan Baird? With a little persuasion andsome heavy duty sweet talking on my part, (and youreaders know I can do it) here we go!

If you were a dog living at Dan Baird’s home in Nashville,what do you suppose your life would be like? Well hereit is straight from the dog’s mouths!

“Hello, my name is Bailey. Check out my photo. I ameight years old and am the blonde cruiser. And yes, you guessed it. That is me doingmy best impersonation of Ray Charles. Sometimes I just walk around in these glassesand think to myself, “Hey dude,don’t I look cool in my shades”? I am really, really thatcool.”

“Don’t forget about me.Check out the other two photos. My name is Isabelle and I’mthe baby of the family. I’m only three years old. Here I am on the sofa pretending to

be a good girl. (Pretending is the key word here, Ibegged Dan not to tell you what I had just done.We willstick with me looking like a good girl story for now.)Ac-tually the other photo of me with my buddy, Dan isshowing my real persona. I am in the book room witha candlestick, sitting on Dan.That’s what I’m all about.Looking real pretty and sophisticated don’t you think?”

Now a typical weekday for these two dogs consists of amorning ritual to the dog park. Weekends usually findsthem in the backyard of Dan’s buddy/engineer BenStrano. At Ben’s they meet up with his dog, Runka.Runka and Izzy grew up together so they still enjoy agood chase together, so shall we call it. Runka kind ofbugs Bailey sometimes, but as long as Runka wears outIzzy, Bailey’s Ok with it. This gives Bailey a chance tocatch a good nap when he gets home after the morningfun! Izzy is worn out and down for the count.

As Dan puts it, both of these dogs were“free dogs’ fromthe Humane Society, (well not FREE, but pretty damn close). Dan says they are gooddogs,most of the time. They do however have a tendency to whine they are underfedat dinner time. They look pretty healthy to me!!!!! Your thoughts on this?????

Story by: Joyce Ziehli

Information and photos supplied by: Dan Baird

Dan Baird & Isabelle

Bailey

Isabelle


In September of 2011, I had the pleasure of meeting a remarkable young lady namedCharlie Faye at theAmericana Music Conference in Nashville.Charlie was doing an in-terview with another magazine at the time. As soon as she finished with them, I wentover to introduce myself. (For all you people that know me, you know how hard thismust have been because I am so shy!!!!) Charlie is an amazing singer and songwriter,and cute as a button,with a personality to match. She agreed to give me an interview.Well, it has been a year, but Charlie and I finally connected, and by the time you readthis article I will have met up with her again and actually been able to go to her show-case in Nashville during the conference! It will be awesome.

Here is a little tidbit about what Charlie Faye has been up to which I got from her web-site.

On January 1st,2010,Charlie Faye pulled out of her hometown ofAustin,Texas, to em-bark on a modern bohemian adventure. In 10 months, Charlie made her home in 10different towns;Tucson,AZ,LosAngeles,CA,Portland,OR,Boulder,CO,Shreveport,LA,Burlington,VT,Milwaukee,WI,Nashville,TN,Asheville,NC, and NewYork,NY.

When asked why she would chose to tour in this unusual way, Charlie answers: "Askany musician,on returning from a tour, 'How was Seattle?What was Chicago like? - andthey'll tell you:"I don't know,man,we just loaded out of the van and played...and thengot back in the van and kept driving."

But Charlie didn't want to just skim the surface. Instead of landing in a city, playing ashow, and taking off the next day,Charlie spent a month actually getting to know thepeople and personality of each place she made her home.

Traveling alone,Charlie put together a new band in each town.Playing and hanging outwith musicians in each town gave Charlie a really unique perspective on our nationalmusic culture. Looking back at the year, Charlie says, "If this isn't Americana music, Idon't know what is."

Charlie also wrote and recorded a new song with local musicians each month.Her 10-Town-madeTravels with Charlie record includes members of Calexico, the Eagles,andNavarro,as well asTony Gilkyson,Paul Bryan, Ian Moore,Chris Scruggs,KennyVaughn,Buddy Spicher, and Malcolm Burn.Each song,when recorded,was allowed to take theform of what naturally happened in that place and time.The result is a record that rep-resents a real cross-section of our national roots-based,Americana music scene.

Joyce: Hi Charlie. What’s the weather like in Austin today?

Charlie: Hi Joyce. It is hot, in the 90’s.

Joyce: Well, why don’t we start with you giving us some information on your back-ground?

Charlie: OK. I ac-tually didn’t startplaying as early asa lot of other peo-ple; I kind of dab-bled in highschool. I playedguitar for a year,then bass for ayear, then drumsfor a year, all be-cause my littlebrother was a mu-sician. He actuallyteaches jazz guitarnow. I didn’t playmusic again seri-ously until I was22 years old. Mysenior year atOberlin, I took anEXCO – a student-taught Experimen-tal College Class --with Chris El-dridge, who wasteaching a classabout Bluegrass. Ireally got into it.SoI started a littleband where I wasplaying rhythmguitar. I figured, 3chords -- how hardcould it be? WhenI graduated, askedfor a mandolin as agraduation pres-ent.

I moved back toNew York andstarted going to this bluegrass jam at the Baggot Inn. This is where I met Greg Garing.For anyone who doesn’t know Greg,he’s a phenomenal country/bluegrass/rockabillyartist, he lived in Nashville for a while, but at that point he was in NewYork. He saw

With Charlie Faye

On The Road


me playing mandolin and asked if I’d play in hisband, which I did for about a year. I learned a lot.Then I got a job with Dan Zanes & Friends playingmandolin and guitar and singing harmonies. Duringthe time I was touring with him, Dan won theGrammy for best children’s album of the year. Themusic was great,the people were great,and it was anall-around great gig. At the same time though, I hadstarted writing my own songs. I was becoming in-terested in making a record of my own.When theDan Zanes tour ended, I moved to Austin. I hadtoured through Austin before and always got thesense that there was a really cool music communitythere. I moved in 2007 and started my career inAustin as a solo artist.

Joyce: Charlie, had you made a record of your ownbefore you moved toAustin?

Charlie: Actually I had made a record back when Ilived in NewYork. I recorded it in Philadelphia andit was basically the first 10 songs I had ever written.At that point in time, I really hadn’t had a chance todevelop as an artist yet. And there are some peoplewho love that record, but I really don’t promote orsell that CD anymore. I made my next record, myfirst official release, in Austin a year or two after Imoved here. It’s called“Wilson Street.”

Joyce: What is your songwriting technique?

Charlie: I’m not the kind of person who sits downevery day and writes songs. If I have a co-writingsession,we go in with the purpose to write. And I can do that. But when I’m on myown, it’s basically about making sure that when the inspiration does come, I go withit. You have to make sure you entertain the inspiration when it happens.An idea willcome to me, sometimes just one line, and then I’ll have this little piece of music witha lyric going through my head over and over again. Once it comes in my head, I haveto record it. You always think you’ll remember it,but you can forget it,and then it’s lost,gone forever. Sometimes I’ll sing it into my iPhone while I’m walking down the street.People who see me doing this probably think I’m nuts!

Joyce: Charlie, tell me about yourTenTownTour please.

Charlie: I had been talking to some friends in the music biz about what I needed to doto really make a go of it at being an artist. And the general consensus was that I neededto be on the road for the next year. A year on the road sounded kind of like torture tome,with no tour support and all the wear the travel would do on me. The worst thingabout touring in my opinion is that you go from place to place so quickly, you don’thave time to actually get to see the places you’re going or get to form real connectionswith anyone you meet. It can all be very superficial, and while that might be fine fora couple weeks at a time, I didn’t want to do it for a year. I did want to expand my fanbase though. I came up with the plan to spend a whole month in each of 10 differenttowns on my tour. I would find a place to live, form a band and play a residency. Iwould usually play alone the first gig, and by the second gig I might have anotherplayer. By the end of the month, I would normally have a full band,and a full audienceas it grew with each gig and added musicians. By the last show of the month, it waslike a good bye party.

Joyce: The musicians and audience were probably saying,“Don’t go, live and play here!’

Charlie: Sometimes,yeah,and sometimes I felt that way too. There were cities I wouldhave loved to spend an extra few months in. I made lots of new friends during thewhole experience. It was really cool. And now I get to travel solo and play with mylocal bands in all of these cities, and visit my with the friends I made when I was liv-ing there.

Joyce: What is in store for you in the near future?

Charlie: I am leaving for Europe right after theAmericana Music Conference for threeweeks. I’m also working on a new project withWill Sexton.

I also have a couple of other things happening. Of course I write and I play my ownmusic, but I’ve also started to do consulting for other artists. I work with some peo-ple who are just started out,sometimes I help them figure out how to release their firstrecords. Other artists I work with have been in the business for a long time,but theycame up in the age of record labels, and they don’t know how to do all this stuff bythemselves without a team. (Anyone interested in contacting Charlie for this servicecan go through her website at www.charliefaye.com )

Joyce: Charlie, do you have any hobbies?

Charlie: I am a big fan of yoga, and I practice every day, even while I’m on the road. Iam also the founder of an affordable housing project for musicians and artists here inAustin. That and my music and consulting keeps me busy.

Joyce: Wow, you are one busy lady. On that note, Charlie, I will let you get back towork. Thank you so much for the interview and I will see you at theAmericana MusicConference. I will be at your showcase.

Charlie: Thank you Joyce. Looking forward to seeing you again.

Please check out Charlie Faye at her website www.charliefaye.com and be sure to pur-chase her CD. She is totally awesome!!!

Story by: Joyce ZiehliPhotos supplied by Charlie’s website.www.charliefaye.com


When you pluck a guitar string,what happens? To your eyes the string is moving backand forth,vibrating. To your ears, that vibration is interpreted as sound. Pluck it softerand the vibration changes. Pluck it harder and the vibration intensifies. A very sim-ple example of vibration being translated by our senses into something we understand.

When I see a rainbow, it is not because there is a band of color in the sky. This amaz-ing sight is simply the perfect refraction of light through moisture particles,what makesa rainbow beautiful is me. My eyes interpret the vibrations of light into different col-ors that I then truly enjoy.

You know I had to get a Beach Boy’s reference in here somewhere. BrianWilson knowsall about vibrations. The band’s largest hit has the word in its title;GoodVibrations. Thesong was written after Brian’s mother mentioned to him that dogs can feel the vibra-tions of people before they even encounter them.

So it seems that we live in a “vibrational reality”. Everything vibrates to some degree.Ever walk on the beach and for some reason you pause, looking down you notice someparticular item in the sand? There are billions of things there to observe and yet thereyou stand looking down at that one thing. You were a vibrational match to the objectof your desire. Usually the next step is to pick your new treasure up and hold it in yourhand. Doesn’t it just feel good to do that? The combination of your vibration and thevibration of the object of your attention creates something larger than each on its own.Perhaps singing harmony with someone would be a good way to think about it.

Items that seem to be“static”or solid are not the only things that vibrate. Ideas do too.My hunch is you have experienced being in the company of other folks and someonewill offer a thought on some subject. Before you know it that thought has vibrated,viathe contributions of those who participate, into a larger idea. Have you ever sat downwith a piece of printed media,a book,magazine or newspaper,and simply opened toa page or allow your eyes to land somewhere on the newsprint and what greets youare words that feel like they were meant for you. Somehow the meaning for you isdeeper and perhaps entirely different than the context of what you are reading. It just“speaks to you”. Well, guess what! You were in vibrational alignment with the “idea”that was on the page and just like picking up the item on the beach, this short printedsegment has the power to expand and enlighten you.

I have a trifecta of things that vibrate in a very powerful way for me. Perhaps my Na-tive heritage (Bay Mills Chippewa from Michigan) has something to do with my par-ticular attractions as they are part of nature.

The three things that will always make me feel good are wood, stone and water. Evenif I am having my best day ever, put me next to a white pine tree alongside a body ofclean water sitting on a rock, and my best day just became, more better! (I know, Iknow)

Better yet, put me in a log home that is located on a clean body of water with a stonefoundation and fireplace, and I almost become a different man. Why? I am now notonly me, but I am me with the added vibrations of my sacred three: wood, stone andwater.

We all have an on board GPS system, right in our bodies. It is usually called our emo-tions, but, hey, it’s the modern age! Our emotions are the best guidance system everinvented. We know instantly when something feels good or bad. At that point we caneither continue on our merry way (good feelings) or hear the voice in our head “cal-culating route”(bad feelings are our best friend alerting us that we are getting off ourcourse of joy),and we adjust and continue. Our feelings offer us constant feedback onhow we are doing in the adventure of life.

For a reason not completely known to me, log dwellings have always felt good. Notjust good,REALLY good. A friend of our family had a small cabin on the banks of Pick-erel Lake in northernWI. I can still see the white painted exterior logs as clearly as Isee out my window now. I pause and vividly see the honey colored interior walls. Iremember touching them and just thinking how beautiful they were. A stone fireplaceand a screen porch (with a door that slammed just like it should!) were the frosting onthe cake. That place was perfect.

It makes sense to me why living in a log home is something that I desire so greatly. Mytrifecta of high vibrational matches are all there:wood, stone and water. My most re-cent visit to Bayfield,WI found us staying for the first time in a wood clad 2 bedroomcabin. While I always enjoy every second spent in Bayfield, this trip was special as theinternal walls of the structure were wood not plaster and the stone around the fire-place went from floor to ceiling, two stories. We were a 4 minute walk to Lake Supe-rior. What I loved most about the experience was not so much the cabin itself,but howI felt being in the cabin. One reason I can’t wait to own a log structure is I am so look-ing forward to the“me”I will meet there. Same guy as everywhere else but,when I willbe there I will be surrounded by things that have deep joy for me. Not a picture or anappliance but the bones of the structure will be vibrating right in my sweet spot, andmy vibration will rise to match theirs.

I have decided that I am ready for this adventure to begin. Just this week I went tomy local library and checked out books about cabins and other small footprint struc-tures. For most of my life I enjoyed the occasional experience of being near thesethree things I love so dearly. I now know that I am ready for the next step. I can feelit. It feels good. My GPS is not telling me that it is “calculating route”meaning I havetaken a wrong turn in my feelings of being ready. I have no idea of the “how”, I justknow that my destination is owning a log structure to call my own. The “how” is thejourney from here to there. The journey will be sweet as long as I pay attention to myfeelings as I go.

I love wood, stone and water. I love how I feel when I am in their company, separate,or if I am fortunate, allthree together. (As I amwriting this my music de-vice randomly selected“Ultimate Surf .” I am inthe middle of 60 minutesof nothing but the soundof waves. Neat eh?) Thisis exactly the sort of thingI am looking forward to.Here for the past fewhours I have enjoyed mythoughts about my tri-fecta. With my attentionon those good feelingthoughts, I believe the vibration I am offering allows me to continue to experiencethings that feel very good to me. So,my“Ultimate Surf”random selection may not beso random after all. My devise could have selected any track in my play list.

The point of all of this is that when you know you like something, enjoy it! Do it asoften as you can. As you are enjoying your experience try to pay attention to howgood you feel. Those good feelings are like radio transmitters, broadcasting outward,hey I feel good! All the stuff that feels that good will begin to vibrate right along withyou.

The better it gets, the better it gets!

I’ll look forward to seeing you around the campfire!

Written by: Jim Smith

My Trifecta:Wood, Stone&Water


Many are the muses of human inspiration. Tributes ina variety of forms have,over the centuries,celebratedthe talents of individual musicians, charting their in-fluence on history and pop culture. In this autumn ofrock and roll, tribute bands have become a main-stream feature of even the most well-established ven-ues. And histories of genres such as the blues andeven industries (think Motown) inspire new genera-tions exploring the parameters of music. Oddlyenough, with the exception of the Smithsonian’s In-ternational Folk Music project, few have seen fit topay tribute to the music of a specific region, muchless a state.

While cultural legacies of many kinds have been writ-ten by authors with a sociological bent, not manyfocus on music. Authors may give music a role,though it’s often a peripheral one. The best, such asKathleen Norris’ Dakota, are markedly ambitious intheir creativity and scope,and thought-provoking.Yetthe average memoir tends to soothe our hearts withsentiment. Not so The Quilt and Poetry of AlabamaMusic by Frye Gaillard,writer-in-residence at Mobile’sUniversity of South Alabama, and singer-songwriterKathyrn Scheldt. The Quilt is a combined anthologyof reflective essays on Alabama music and an audioCD of songs recorded by Scheldt, the inaugural pub-lication of newly established literary publishing houseSolomon and George. Due out in November 2012,thebook and CD are part of an innovative experiment inmusic and literature reflective of their authors’ cre-ativity, culture and values.

Frye Gaillard, a journalist by training, has writtenwidely and to significant acclaim about southern lit-erature, history,and race relations for over forty years.His book Cradle of Freedom:Alabama and the Movement that Changed History,earnedthe Lillian Smith Award in 2005, an honor given by the Southern Regional Council inAtlanta to notables such as Alex Haley and Eudora Welty. In 2002, Gaillard won theNAACP’s Humanitarian award for his writing on the civil rights movement. These ac-colades give testament to Gaillard’s ability to assess and delineate the complex, nu-anced relationships between the cultural roles and identities people struggle tonegotiate. This is no less the case inThe Quilt and Poetry of Alabama Music.

While Kathryn Scheldt grew up in South Carolina, Fairhope,Alabama, has been herhometown for ten years. Born to musical parents originally from Mobile, Scheldt hasbeen writing and performing songs since she was little:“I was born making noise,”shelaughs. A classically trained guitarist with a Masters in music,Scheldt launched a careerin academia, teaching music at Queens University in Charlotte,North Carolina, and atthe University of SouthAlabama. “I should have known I was in trouble when my ad-

visor called myThesis‘too poetic,’”Kathryn confides—an irony I find rather liberating.Anyone who can breakthrough the dense conventions that surround intel-lectualism to powerfully communicate the messagesof scholarly work earns my admiration.

Over time her love for guitar,her expressive contraltoand her passion for writing edged Scheldt’s interestaway from academia,and by 2005,she had decided totry making a living in performance and launched hernext musical career. Scheldt’s earliest recordings re-flect her diverse musical interests—as well as Al-abama’s heritage-- in spirituals,gospel and jazz,amongother genres.

Gaillard and Scheldt met in 2007, when he and hiswife Nancy took his mother to church one Sunday inMobile, where Kathryn happened to be performing“Mercy, Send a Dove”--a song she’d written about theimpact of Hurricane Katrina. More than a shade deafat 92 years old,Gaillard’s mother was unusually movedby the song. “It’s perfectly gorgeous,”she told Gaillard,who approached Kathryn afterwards to complimenther performance.A year later, Frye’s mother passedaway and he asked Scheldt to sing the song at her fu-neral. The two struck up a friendship that soonevolved into a fruitful collaboration. By 2008, en-couraged by Gaillard,Scheldt was delving into the per-sonal journals she’d kept for years to create new songs,resulting in her first all-original album, Southern Girl,which was produced by Mike Severs in 2009. Sinceco-writing their first song“Words Get in theWay“ (in-cluded in The Quilt’s compilation), the two have co-written over 100 songs, over 70 of which have beenpublished.

Scheldt won acclaim for Southern Girl, earning airplay on over 30 stations across theUS and high praise from reviews in Australia. In 2010, Kathryn signed with LamonRecords,a long-standing Nashville label that has recorded such greats as George Hamil-ton IV and the Grammy-nominated Moody Brothers, to record her fourth album,South-ern Wind. Her most recent album, One Good Reason, also released by Lamon, putKathryn on the charts and in 2012,her single“Almost Cheatin’,”(co-written with Gail-lard) made the top ten on the country chart.

The shift from writing prose to songwriting was not an intuitive one for Gaillard,whoemphasizes that he’s the junior partner in his collaborations with Scheldt. Scheldtcoaxed Gaillard into the role over time by occasionally throwing him a lyric or two forfeedback,eventually moving from casual consultation to deliberate collaborator. Gail-lard acknowledges that he enjoys and has grown from the experience,pointing out thatlyrics are just another form –albeit succinct and with rhyme--through which to tell

The Quilt &The Poetry:A CulturalGeographyof Music

Frye Gaillard


peoples’ stories.“Frye understands character so well,”Kathryn marvels;“that brings ahuge strength to his writing.”

The Quilt isn’t Gaillard’s first foray into music;his 1978 book,WatermelonWine,chron-icled the stories of the “rebel” songwriters Waylon Jennings andWillie Nelson, along-side those of Johnny Cash,Emmylou Harris, John Prine and others as they struggled tonegotiate some meaning from their tumultuous lives and surface their messages insong amid the commercialism that had come to dominate Nashville. Upon watchingJohnny Cash host the last performance at Nashville’s RymanAuditoriumwhen it closed,Gaillard became fascinated with the complexities of country music, which, he main-tains “is a more subtle art form than people give it credit for.” Gaillard picks up thistheme in The Quilt and Poetry of Alabama Music--he cites Waylon Jennings’ ability towrite with compassion about poor immigrants while still being best known for writ-ing the conservative standard“America.”

The book is not meant to be a hall of fame forAlabama’s native musicians; the authorshave no need to be inclusive and pay little tribute to notables such as Nat King Cole,the Commodores orTammyWynette. Rather, this is a closely observed exploration ofcertain themes that refract across the region’s musical history, as well as a deeply per-sonal tribute to the values and messages that resonate with the authors.

When I ask what is it that makes a musician memorable,Gaillard says he respects thosethat “aim high and dig deep—they’re really trying to say something in their songs—about the human condition. They’re touching the heart of what it means to be alive.”He saw this in Kathryn’s work, beginning in that moment in the small chapel in Mo-bile with his mother.

After four years of collaboration as songwriters,Gaillard and Scheldt were inspired towrite about the legacy of the great Alabama songwriters--“under whose musicalshadow we came of age.” FromW.C. Handy to Hank Williams, Jr, Emmylou Harris toDavis Raines, Gaillard attempts, in the first section of the book,, to capture not onlywhat made them unique as musicians in their respective places in history,but to tracethe threads that inextricably link them to their own music and that of their contem-poraries.

Truth and theTelling

The Quilt’s authors trace theAlabama legacy of truth-telling in song beyond the frankstarkness of their early forebears—HankWilliams,Sr.,W.C.Handy and Emmylou Harrisamong others--into contemporary times.Through interviews and close readings of theirsongs, Gaillard identifies the common themes among a diverse panoply of southernsongwriters,writers with powerful sense of place in time and geography,with a deepconnection toAlabama.

Kate Campbell’s literary elegance paints a poignant portrait of Sledge,Mississippi, thetown in which she grew up.Former prison guard Davis Raines testifies with empathyto the cost of turning a blind eye to slaughterhouse work in his finely crafted semi-au-tobiographical album “Going to Montgomery.” In “715,” Peter Cooper exposes the re-lentless racism that continues to hauntAmerica well after HankAaron’s record-breakinghome run--a powerful tribute to the impact that Aaron’s courageous accomplishment

had on our national culture. Allison Moorer reverently transforms a commonplacealienation into beauty in“A Soft Place to Fall”and bravely confronts the consequencesof our tolerance for domestic violence in“Cold,Cold Earth.”

Indeed, as songwriters Scheldt and Gaillard maintain the strong and often surprisingvein of social commentary in Alabama songwriting; their songs reflect a thoughtful-ness born out of empathy for the voiceless, the disenfranchised. In the second sectionof The Quilt, Scheldt provides narrative context for the songs included in the anthol-ogy. Divided into “Stories,”“Feelings,” and “Good Ole Songs,” Kathryn interprets themessages in and influences on the songs, further highlighting the threads that bindAl-abama’s contemporary and legendary balladeers.

The songs’topics range from memorializing the wide-ranging impact of the civil rightsmovement (“Selma”) to the painful deterioration of a couple’s love tested and lost inthe wake of the Vietnam war (“So Easy”). Gaillard’s mastery of history and the pair’scommitment to telling the full, rather than the easy story are visible in such revision-ist tales as“Geronimo’s Cage.” New perspectives on culture and historical figures alsocharacterize much of their collaborative work;“Casey in Love”reveals the little-knownside of the famous railroad engineer whose heroic act of commandeering a train saveddozens but killed him. “The Last Shrimp Boat,” a Guthrie-like homage to the grit andcourage of the fishermen that make their life on the La Batre bayou,was penned withPeter Cooper; it was chosen as the soundtrack for theAlabama Center PublicTelevision2011 documentary In the Path of the Storms.

Art out of Everyday Life

Patterns and shapes telling the talesNeedles move fast,making their trailsTraveling for miles in them ole kitchen chairsAll of us got a story to share

Upon inheriting a bag of brightly colored scraps from which her great aunt sewedquilts (the completed quilts had been appropriated by her siblings), Scheldt took thestrips to a friend she knew quilted. Her friend saw the logic and potential of thosescraps and created for Kathryn the remarkable quilt her aunt had been unable to fin-ish. Inspired by this legacy,Scheldt recalls in a song the story of the famous Gee’s BendQuilters, and identifies the quilt as a powerful symbol of how people come togetherto make art—and music--out of everyday life.

While the transcendent themes of change and heroism refract through the book andthe songs,much of the authors’attention focuses on the diversity of everydayAlabamalife: the daily hauling of shrimp nets by bayou fishermen; the pride a girl feels in thedusty landscape of lower Alabama. Scheldt’s invitation to take refuge from a restlessworld in her hometown of Fairhope is gently nostalgic,melodically evoking shades ofJimmy Buffet, lyrically of Nanci Griffith.

The Quilt and Poetry ofAlabama Music is an experiment,the two authors acknowledge;if there is anything they hope to convey through it, it is that music is able to fulfill thedual promises of being participatory and reflective. Regional song anthologies alwaysrisk becoming little more than catalogs of themes and lineages of influence.Scheldt andGaillard have,withThe Quilt, put on vivid display the myriad yet common face of thehuman experience. Disappointments are the life stuff of music, the residue of dreamsunfulfilled not because they are too grand but because of our struggle to negotiate thefears and fatigue that accompany our journeys.

Gaillard and Scheldt remind us that it’s as much through the telling of a story as thestruggle itself that noble themes emerge. A commitment to the truth. An unflinchingbelief in justice. An empathetic ear for pain and the ability to endure beyond it. And,most appreciably,an abiding faith in song as a vehicle for grappling with all three when,wavering with the vicissitudes of our humanity,we invariably fail to live up to our as-pirations.

The two songwriters have exemplary partners in their effort to produce their musicalanthology; among the musicians performing with Scheldt on the CD are renownedguitarist Rick Hirsch, lead guitarist for GregAllman and founding member ofWetWillie.The CD’s cover art, graced with a magenta Camellia,Alabama’s state flower, was de-signed by internationally-acclaimedAlabama artist Nall.

Scheldt and Gaillard plan to make appearances across the South, sharing the stage bycombining readings from the book and performing the songs it contains, invitingfriends to join them periodically. WhereTV news and newspaper stories fail to securethe attention and empathy of the great national middle,The Quilt and the Poetry ofAl-abama Music has a shot at doing just that. As the authors themselves elegantly demon-strate, this hybrid genre sets up the liminal state in which listeners open their heart aswell as ears to become more receptive to the scope of the human experience. Afterall,Gaillard reminds us: it is the listener who closes the artistic circle by bringing theirown experience to the song and finding a connection to the musician—or the personfrom whose point of view the song is written.

For more information on Kathyrn Scheldt, visit her Website at: http://www.kathryn-scheldt.com/

For more information on Frye Gaillard, visit http://fryegaillard.blogspot.com/

The song Fairhope can be found onYouTube at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiD8atyJh10

ByAnne Gravel Sullivan

Kathryn Scheldt


Howmany of you recognize the name,George Ducas? Well if you don’t,you better startchecking him out now. Below is a little bit of background on him from his website.

George Ducas has enjoyed success as an artist with two albums on Capitol Records anda string of hits like hisTop 10 single“Lipstick Promises.”Ducas preceded his recordingcareer by penning Radney Foster’s solo career launching Top 10 hit “Call Me Lone-some,” and has continued to score as a writer of hits for Sara Evans (her multi-week #1song “A Real Fine Place To Start”), George Jones and Garth Brooks (the Top 20 duet“Beer Run”) and the EliYoung Band (“AlwaysThe Love Songs,”which hit theTop 10).

In late 2010,George Ducas brought his music back home toTexas with the release ofhis“Volume UpWindows Down”. Now,Ducas rolled into the summer sun with“Cow-Town”, a summer stomper for theTexas charts,and the single that will put the final ex-clamation mark on his first Texas-exclusive project. Since first emerging as adeep-rooted country artist with contemporary appeal in the mid-to-late 1990s,he hasenjoyed hits as both a Nashville major label artist and songwriter.But his musical heartand soul reside in the honky-tonks, roadhouses and dancehalls of his native Lone StarState.

Ducas led off his return to his home state ofTexas with“Never GoesAway,”co-writtenwithTexas artist Randy Rogers. The tune,a widescreen tale of loving memories and de-sire, was Ducas’ first single from his current six-song EP.The Texas Music Chart hit“Breakin’ Stuff”, one of 2011‘s most-played songs on Texas Music airwaves, is a bris-tling hard-edged confessional of the mistakes we all make in life. Rollicking numberslike“TwangThang,”and“Pure Blue Heartache”brim with the vitality and adventures ofa night of live music on theTexas scene,while the ballad“Amnesia”tackles the regretseveryone knows and feels. It’s a collection of the real country with a modern kick thatDucas is known for, and as its title implies, a perfect soundtrack for driving the high-ways and byways of the Lone Star State.

“It was time for me to take the bull by the horns and do things my own way,”explainsDucas as he embarks on the next chapter of an already successful and fulfilling musi-cal career, this time as an independent artist.“I consider myself very much a singer andsongwriter with the emphasis on performing.And being out there playing for peopleis the part I really missed.”

And getting out on the road again is exactly what George Ducas is going to be doing,but I managed to catch up with him to talk a little about his CD and what else hasbeen going on in his life recently.

Joyce: Hello George. Just wanted to say that I absolutely love your new CD. My hus-band and I listened to it on a trip yesterday and thought it was one of the best CD’swe’ve heard in a long time.

George: Thank you Joyce. I appreciate the support and thanks for doing this inter-view.

Joyce: You are welcome. My pleasure.Well, let’s start on the interview. Tell us a littlebit about yourself.

George: I don’t come from a musical family. My Dad was forced to take violin as ayoung kid and did not like it at all. My Dad’s really good at math, I guess math and

music go together! My Mom’s a poet. She gets all the credit on that or the blame.(welaugh)

Joyce: We will go with credit.

George: Somewhere betweenWillie Nelson and KISS I started playing guitar. It waslike an ah ha moment. I was about 9 or 10 years old when I started playing. I was try-ing to impress the girls. I wrote songs trying to emulateWillie Nelson. (laughs)

Joyce: Do you play any other instruments besides the guitar?

George: “No”, I do plunk around on the piano at the house when I’m writing withsomeone.

Joyce: Let’s talk about your writing techniques.

George: Lots of inspirations come from conversations. Sometimes I hear stuff in thegrocery store or working out at the Y. For example the song,“Breakin Stuff” has aunique little story I like to tell. It is a true story, not fabricated at all.

Joyce: Do tell.

George: After I had worked out one day, I walked up to the little coffee area at theY.It was a chilly late winter, early spring day and I stopped to get coffee to warm up be-fore I went outside. An elderly woman in front of me was trying to open a little packetof creamer and her frail fingers couldn’t quite negotiate it. So I waited, for awhile,sev-eral seconds,then I asked her if she needed any help with that. She said,“Oh yes,thankyou so much.” I hadn’t wanted to offend her,by assuming she couldn’t do it,but afterall I did wait awhile. She was grateful. She handed it to me, I popped it open andhanded it back to her. She replied,“that was so easy for you”with such amazement inher eyes. I said,“Yea, I’m good at breakin stuff”. I thought to myself,wow that couldbe a song, so I went home and wrote it that day with Keifer Thompson, the half duoof Thompson Square. We write a lot of songs together. Keifer asked me where I gotthat idea from. I told him this literally happened to me and we both laughed.

Joyce: You are so lucky you had good manners that day and helped that elderlywoman!

George: That is so Wisconsin of you! (we both laugh )That’s funny. I don’t knowhow often I’ve been accused of having good manners?

Joyce:Well it’s a great song and you are lucky you minded your manners that day!What are future goals for you?

George: I am going to be touring and hope to be recording by myself and with oth-ers. There was a time when I was more a part of the Nashville scene, and I certainlywelcome that, but now I am half time inTexas.

Joyce: George any fun hobbies? I see you have a couple of children to keep you busy.

GEORGE DUCASRELEASES NEW CD – “COWTOWN”



BREAKING NEWS!!! BMI will celebrate the incredible songwriting career ofTomT.Hallby naming him a BMI Icon at the company’s 60th annual CountryAwards.The privateceremony will be held on Tuesday, October 30 at BMI’s Music Row building inNashville.

The BMI Icon award is given to songwriters who have had a“unique and indelible in-fluence on generations of music makers.”An all-star musical tribute will pay homageto Hall,who joins a list of past honorees that includes Billy Sherrill, John Fogerty,KrisKristofferson,Willie Nelson, Isaac Hayes, Merle Haggard, Brian Wilson, Dolly Parton,Loretta Lynn, the Bee Gees, Bobby Braddock,Ray Davies, James Brown and more.

TomT. Hall is one of the original master craftsmen of country music, a distinct voicewho elevated the art form by staying true to himself and fostering a sincere respect forhis listeners.

Like the most expertly crafted short stories,Hall’s songs are detailed vignettes,vivid andfamiliar thanks to his unwavering devotion to the sharply drawn characters who pop-ulate them.The Kentucky native’s approach earned him the nickname“The Storyteller.”As a recording artist,Hall had seven No.1 singles,all self-penned:“AWeek in a CountryJail”(1969–70),“TheYearThat Clayton Delaney Died”(1971),“(Old Dogs,Children and)WatermelonWine”(1972–73),”“I Love”(1973–74),“Country Is”(1974),“I Care”(1974–75), and“Faster Horses (the Cowboy and the Poet)” (1976).The Grammy winner alsofamously wrote smashes for others, including “Harper Valley P.T.A.,”which Jeannie C.Riley took to No. 1 on country and pop charts in 1968, as well as “The Pool Shark,” achart-topper for Dave Dudley;“(Margie’s at) the Lincoln Park Inn" and“That’s How I Gotto Memphis,” recorded by Bobby Bare; and“Little Bitty,” a mega-hit for Alan Jackson inthe late 90s.Hall has earned a total of 31 BMI Awards for songwriting spanning coun-try and pop genres, and six of his songs have accumulated more than one million per-formances each. In 2008, he was welcomed into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In2011, songwriters Eric Brace and Peter Cooper produced their own take on seminal1974 children’s album Songs of Fox Hollow.The project, I Love:TomT.Hall’s Songs ofFox Hollow,featuring top-tier roots artists delivering new versions of the classic songs,was nominated for a Grammy, reflecting the undiminished resonance of Hall’s music.

In addition toAmericana, it should also be noted that since Hall's retirement from tour-ing, he has enjoyed mega writing success in the worlds of both traditional and mod-ern bluegrass music and old time country, as well as classic and progressive country.He has collaborated extensively with his wife Miss Dixie,and the Halls were named SP-BGMA Songwriter of the Year for 10 consecutive years, garnering them the Master'sGold and Grand Master's Gold award.It is never surprising to see as many as five or sixHall compositions at a time in the bluegrass charts, several of them reaching No. 1,such as “Bill Monroe For Breakfast,” which Hall recorded himself; a new version of“That's How I Got To Memphis” by Charlie Sizemore;“Clinch Mountain Mystery” byThe Larry Stephenson Band;“Train Songs”by Ralph Stanley II;“TrainWithout a Track”by Junior Sisk and Rambler's Choice; and “The Boys In Hats and Ties” by Big CountryBluegrass, just to name a few.

Hall’s personal story is also uniquely tied to BMI: He met Miss Dixie, his wife of 45years, at the 1965 BMI Country Awards in Nashville. During the BMI Country Awards,BMI will crown the Country Songwriter, Song and Publisher of theYear and salute thewriters and publishers of the past year’s 50 most-performed songs from BMI’s countrycatalog. BMI President & CEO Del Bryant will host the ceremony with JodyWilliams,BMI Vice President,Writer/Publisher Relations, Nashville; and Clay Bradley, BMI Asso-ciate Vice President,Writer/Publisher Relations,Nashville.

Dixie andTomT.will also be featured in an upcoming book titled "It Goes a Little Some-thin' LIkeThis" by DakAlley.

Information and photos provided by: Good Home Grown Music

TomT.& Dixie Hall

TOM T. HALLAND MS.

DIXIE HALL

Tom T. Hall & Ms. Dixie Hall

Tom T. Hall


What do,THE MASTICATOR,ALTO BOOST,CAGED FUZZ,andWOODYDRIVE all havein common? Give up?Alright, I’ll tell you.They are all names of guitar effects pedals de-signed and built by Mineral Point musician and electronic re-purposing guru JohnBirner.All are made from 100% recycled materials, and reflect John’s wonderful imag-ination, creative drive,and aesthetic view.This guy could make your toaster sit up andbark if he wanted to.Parts from old stereos,radios,television sets and phonographs,notto mention, altoid mint tins, wire mesh, dental drill foot switches, and wood from anAmish saw mill have all been used in his creations.We recently sat in his living-room,surrounded by his menagerie of one of a kind guitars, effects, and amps, to discuss hiswork.

RH:When did you start messing around with electronics and why?

JB: Shortly after getting my first electric guitar. I think it was more about wanting some-thing and not being able to afford it. I remember when I was a kid my dad wanted aset of steamer trunks. So he built some.We recently visited him and there they were,40 years later. If you can’t afford it, build it.And you get an education too. I also thinkpeople are starting to return to an appreciation of that one of a kind thing.

RH:Do you have any formal training or is this guerilla electronics?

JB: Oh this is guerilla electronics for sure. I would pick up old stuff and try to repairit. I’ve taught myself from books and now the internet is a great source of informationon everything.

RH:When someone first told me about you they said that you build “FRANKENGUI-TARS”.Tell me a little about that.

JB: Well, that’s a great name for them,but I don’t actually build guitars from scratch likeI do an amp or an effects pedal. I take a guitar that no longer functions and rebuild it.Some parts are recycled from other guitars, and some parts I make.

RH:Are these guitars as easy to find as they used to be?

JB: I used to get guitars for 5 or 10 bucks at garage sales and occasionally I can stillfind one, but collectors are now interested in some of these guitars. Japanese guitarssuch as aTiesco or Guyatone are in demand. Some of these old guitars from the 50’sand 60’s are great although some of them are the cheese graters we know and love.Youcan see what’s being collected on eBay. I can still pick up necks and bodies but I’vebeen moving away from guitars. I have the skill to build cases, amps, and effects, butI’m not a luthier.

RH: Looking at your effects pedals, the way they are designed, the materials used, andthe way you ornament them, they seem to be as much about art, as they are about apiece of gear.You have a high tech electronic device built from old radio and stereoparts housed in a box made from rough cut lumber from an Amish saw mill. It allscreams folk art to me.

JB: Well, you know we have gotten away from art in our every day lives.We have for-gotten that art can be useful. It isn’t just something you hang on the wall. I think folkart might be a good description. I’m trying to create my own niche.

RH: Are you selling what you make?

JB: Yes I am,on eBay,but I’m soon going to have my own website. I offer a 90 day guar-antee. If it’s broken I will fix it for free.

RH: Do you think the comparatively cheap Chinese amps and guitars of today willsomeday be collector’s pieces like the instruments and equipment of our youth?

JB: It’s hard to say.We never thought the old Kay,Harmony,and Danelectro guitars andamps would be worth anything and now some of them bring big prices. I don’t thinkthe new Chinese stuff could ever have the historical significance that the Japaneseequipment has.You know that whole Cold War, space race, seeing who was betterthing of the 50’s and 60’s, gave us some great amps. I have worked on and own a lotof those so called vintage amps and they just sound so much better.

RH:I think the things you are building like;THE MASTICATOR FUZZ PEDAL,made fromre-cycled electronic parts, the foot switch from a dentist’s drill, and ornamented witha toothy smile painted on the face of the effect, kind of tips the whole vintage thingon its head.

JB: Like I said earlier,“it’s my niche”.

To see some of Johns work, visitYouTube: SoaringtortoiseOr Email him at: [email protected] and photo by: Rick Harris

www.soaringtortoiseelectronics.com

MEET ELECTRONICRE-PURPOSING

GURU -JOHN BIRNER


This is the third installment of Rick Remembers and I think I have some fun and maybeeven thought provoking tunes for you in this edition of theAmericana Gazette.Put onyour seatbelts and here we go.

CONWAYTWITTY (Working Girl)A great tune about a hooker per-formed live on the PorterWagonerT.V. show. Listen to that pedalsteel.That’s the great John Hughey.Conway and his band are razorsharp on this tune.This was pretty x-rated stuff for the time.

LONNIE JOHNSON (Swingin’The Blues) Man if this solo guitar in-strumental doesn’t blow your wig-hat off call the doctor. Every-thing is in it but the kitchen- sink. Just awesome.

BONGO JOE (IWish I Could Sing) Just keep listening.This guy wasso real it was scary. Music needs people on the frontier and thisguy was on the rim of the earth! I remember when the lp cameout. Some people loved it and a lot of people hated it, but it ringstrue to me.

LESLEY GORE (You Don’t Own Me)A friend recently told me thatthis song made a huge impact on her in ’64.And people say musicdoesn’t matter. It’s always mattered.

THE ELECTRIC FLAG (She Should Have Just) This is from the ALONGTIME COMING lp.I loved the song,the band,and the record.Psychedelic jazz, soul, and blues. They billed themselves as ANAMERICAN MUSIC BAND,and they sure were. ’67 was an amazingyear!

STAPLES SINGERS (I’m Coming Home) A friend gave me a collec-tion of old Staples stuff and this was on it. I checked onYOUTUBEand bingo! There it was. I just had to share this with you! Thesevoices have been places I can’t go!

MARTIN DENNY (Quiet Village) Martin Denny created his owngenre (EXOTICA) with tunes like this.Not many people can makethat claim. These were usually beautifully recorded instrumentalsongs, using the latest in recording technology, superb musician-ship, and replete with exotic themes, sound effects, and world-beat instruments.My mother played this stuff endlessly when I wasa kid.That is until Bossa Nova got popular. I loved it all.

GOLDIEANDTHE GINGERBREADS (Can’tYou Hear MY Heartbeat)White, American,60’s girl group,killer vocals and they even playedtheir own instruments.Toured with the best of the Brit invasion. Ifyou closed your eyes you would think you were listening to THEDIXIE CUPS orTHE CRYSTALS! I love their vocal sound.

BESSIE BANKS (Go Now)This record did and still does knock meout.I first heard the Moody Blues recording of it in ’64 and still lovethat version. But soon after I heard Bessie Banks original.FLIPSVILLE!By: Rick Harris

RICKRECALLSPay Dirt

RICK:Sure, I think that’s part of it but, it also might be a sisterly thing.Being raised to-gether, hearing the same musical influences.

RUTHIE:Katie and I grew up listening to the same music, the same people.

RH:Obviously, you were a musician first.How did the family thing start?

RICK:Katie is the oldest and she was always singing,but by the time she was 10 or 11years old I noticed when she would sing in school and do solos she really had some-thing special going, and I thought,“all-right, here we go!” It was about that time shestarted singing with me in church,weddings, and that sort of thing.We went to an oldPentecostal church back then and they really encouraged that sort of thing.ThenRuthie,being a few years younger started coming in here and there, and that’s whenit really got going.

RH:Your harmony sounds so completely natural it seems almost spontaneous. Is it allworked out?

KATIE:A lot of it is worked out. But, some of it isn’t.We’ve been singing together forso long we usually know who’s going to do what. If it isn’t working out that’s whendad usually takes over.

RH:Ruth, your fiddle playing is absolutely beautiful.Do you have any fiddle heroes?RUTHIE:Oh yeah, so many. Stuart Duncun and Bruce Molsky for sure.

RH:Rick,How much writing do you do?

RICK:A fair amount. I’ve always had songs. I just turned 54 you know, but it wasn’tuntil about 10 years ago that I started writing with the girls and the group in mind.Ruthie has written some things and Katie has written a few spiritual things we’ve donein church. I really believe that their best songs have yet to come out in full bloom.

RH: I recently heard you guys on The Prairie Home Companion. I thought your per-formance was great.You really came roaring out of the gate. It must have been quite athrill.Tell me about it.

RICK: It was an amazing experience, seeing how the show came together, as they re-hearse, edit scripts and songs right up to show-time.The band, cast, and crew arevery warm and unpretentious, and some of the most talented performers I’ve everbeen around.Garrison Keillor is one of a kind.We all felt good about our performances,and having Garrison sing bass on “Swing Down,Chariot,”was a blast.

RH:Girls I hate to put you on the spot but I just have to ask . What’s it like being in aband with your dad? How do you meet guys with him hangin’ around?

RUTHIE:Well,Katie is married now, and we just never met any guys anyway.

KATIE:He’s our guy!

RH:You three are one class act,I’ll tell you that! Rick,you did alright for a guy who wentto clown school.May I have another piece of birthday cake?

You can see and hear THE KRAUSE FAMILY BAND on their website krausefamily-band.com and their cd can be purchased on cdbaby and amazon.com.

They will be doing a return appearance onTHE PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION broad-cast from Madison,WI in January.

Story and photo by: Rick Harris

krause... continued from page 15


On the corner of Main andVine in BellevilleWisconsin sits a 100 year old building thathas served as a General/Grocery Store,Health Club,Second Hand Store,PhysicalTher-apy Office, and Flower Shop. Today Guitar Shop is now added to the buildings proudheritage. Joyce andAndy Ziehli have opened a full service Guitar Repair,Restoration,and Custom Build shop with a retail area.

This isn’t your big box music store! It’s a throwback to the days when you knew thefolks by name,could get advice without the hassleof loud music blaring in your ears from the inter-com system,could trust what the sales people toldyou about an instrument, did not pay for repairsyou didn’t need, and local musicians had a placeto hang out and swap stories. Action Guitars is aplace where you are welcome and customer serv-ice is their number one concern.

Action Guitars is the perfect addition to Bellevilleand Northern Green County’s ever growing musiccommunity. Nestled along the Sugar River and theDane/Green County lines Belleville has been ahotbed of musical activity for the last 140 years.Starting when veterans of the Civil War broughtback instruments from the South and joined themwith the local ethnic music of the local Swiss,Ger-man, Norwegian French,and Irish farmers and res-idents, the music scene was started. Over the next140 years many fine local musicians and song-writers have called this area home.

Action Guitars is a continuation of the Ziehli’s pur-suit to bring notice to the fine musicians who callthis area home. Along with theAmericana GazetteandAG Recording Studio (formerly Sugar River Stu-dio) Action Guitars brings the Ziehli’s plan full cir-cle. “We wanted to have the ability to promote local music and musicians. By havinga studio and guitar shop we are able to meet and hear them. This gives us the abilityto also write about them”, saidAG Publisher Joyce Ziehli. “All three businesses feed toeach other, so it really works well for us.”

Andy has been repairing and restoring guitars and stringed instruments for over 25years for many local musicians. “I learned to fix guitars from Ray Kentner in Madison,said Ziehli. Ray was the best there has ever been. I would go up to his store and workon Saturday’s learning how to fix gear. I did this for over a year. The rest I learned onmy own. I have always had a fascination with guitars, how they work, how they aremade. Ray told me 25 years ago to open my own shop,but the time was not right. NowI’m older and ready for the challenge of it. It’s a dream come true for me.”

Along with the repair and restoration services Action Guitars has a fine selection ofused guitars, basses, amps, and mandolins. Ziehli said “I really try to keep the pricesdown so people and especially kids can afford a good guitar and amp. About 75% ofour inventory is priced between $100.00 - $300.00 dollars. I have some high end stufffor that type of buyer. All our instruments are professionally setup and ready to play. Iwarranty all the instruments I sell.”

The repair and restoration work is done by Ziehli,An-drew Pulver, and Morgan Smith. Lindsey Pfeifer runsthe office and takes care of the phones and customercontact inquiries. Joyce comes up on her days off andon Saturdays to help out. Lindsey’s baby girl Finley isalso a fixture at the store a few days a week. Theshop rate is $40.00 per hour,you can haggle on the in-strument prices, and they take trade ins and consign-ment sales at 15%. Many local musicians stop by forcoffee and cookies to hang out. The Green CountySongwriters Group will be holding sessions atActionGuitars starting this fall (check the actionguitars.comfor dates and times); there will be singer songwriterconcerts and other events throughout the year. Localmusicians and bands can have their CD’s sold and dis-played at Action Guitars at no cost to them.

Ziehli.Pulver and local musician John Fahey have de-signed and made custom built lap steel guitars calledZiehli Steels. They come in a six or eight string con-figuration. What makes these instruments special isthat they are equipped with benders to producepedal steel guitar sounds. They also make otherunique stringed instruments, cigar box guitars, andthey build custom guitars. Their custom guitars andsteels are used by weekend warriors and professionalmusicians here and in Nashville.

Please stop by Action Guitars and checkout their inventory and repair shop. TheZiehli’s and their staff are there to get you up and playing again. If you are a beginnerstop and see them so they can get you going on the right foot to a life time of enjoy-ment making music.

Action Guitars is on Facebook (EveryTuesday a free giveaway on their Facebook page)and on line at actionguitars.com

Submitted by: Andy and Joyce Ziehli

Action Guitars,The Return of theMom& Pop Shop

Brianna Hardyman & Craig Chicks Pickin at Action Guitars

Morgan Smith, Lindsey Pfeifer holding Finley PfeiferBack Row: Andy Ziehli, Andrew Pulver

Warner E. Hodges & Joe Blanton

33

Susan Catania ♪♪♪ • “Little Big Sky” • Jersey Girl MusicNew Country

This is the third national release for Susan Catania. The reviews onher first two were very impressive. Catania is a professor at theBerkley School of Music so she obviously knows her way around asong. Little Big Sky is filled with hooks galore,catchy tunes and lotsof storytelling.

This seven song EP is well put together. Catania is a very competent artist and knowshow to write songs to catch the listener’s ears. I would have liked this CD a whole lotmore with less guitar and razor sharp fiddle. If you like the New Country that is blast-ing through the radio andTV today you’ll love this CD. For me it was just to in the face.Hey I’m old and I like my Country music with a little twang, not a Marshall Stack.

Review by:Andy Ziehli

The Coal Porters ♪♪♪♪♪ • “Find the One • Prima RecordsBluegrass

The Coal Porters are one of the best Bluegrass Bands going today.That’s quite a statement to make since they are from England;wellall but one of them is from England. Sid Griffin is the leader andchief songwriter for the Coal Porters. Griffin if you are not awareof is a fantastically talented man. He wrote the first and best biog-

raphy on Gram Parsons, wrote a wonderful book on Dylan, headed the Long Ryders,and is an all-around nice guy. Griffin assembled The Coal Porters to break out of theCountry Rock mold and explore Bluegrass and Roots music.

The band is made up of four other talented musicians;John Breese on Banjo,Carly Freyvocals and Fiddle,Neil Robert HerdVocals,Dobro,Guitar,andTailTrowVocals and Bass.Griffin plays Mandolin,Vocals,andAutoharp. The songs on the CD are a mixture of orig-inals and covers including Paint it Black by the Stones. I can honestly say that I loveeach and every song on this CD and cannot for the life of me pick a favorite. Pure mu-sical genius here! All the writers are top-notch and I cannot find fault in any tune here!

The Coal Porters are a versatile total entertainment package. This CD like their pastrecords shines and speaks volumes of their talent and skills. If you love traditional andNew Grass Bluegrass music this CD is for you. There is everything here that Tradi-tionalists and New grass lovers will find common ground on. I totally recommend thisCD to everyone! It rocks, it rolls, it twangs, it echoes from the hollers with pure Moun-tain Roots sounds (with a little Sitar thrown in)!

Review by:Andy ZiehliGeorge Ducas ♪♪♪♪♪ • “Volume up, windows downPropel Records • Country

Finally a new George Ducas Record! Ducas is one of the best all-around country writers today! I mean real country not that crapyou here on CMT, GAC, and the other flavor of the week stations.Ducas had a great career going in the early to mid-nineties. He wasand is a talented writer with great vocal chops, and gosh darn it he

had the look and it was genuine not manufactured. Enter the post Garth age.

This EP shows Ducas at his finest as a writer and a singer. The songs are well writtenwith catchy hooks (Lipstick Promises from his early year’s one of the best!) like the“old”days. TwangThang is pure country delight. TheTelecaster barks and the fiddlessing. Never goes away is a beautiful love song with attitude. I love the organ in it.CowTown is a pure country rocker that fits in with the new country today ala JasonAldean. Pure County heartbreak is my favorite cut on the EP. It’s country pure to thebone!

Ducas is an excellent tunesmith and deserves a listen again. It’s a shame that guys likehim don’t get the recognition that they deserve. He’s 100 times more talented than any-one on the country Top 40 today! He writes his own songs (for real), he can play, hecan sing, and he’s still got those good looks to catch the women market. I think it’ssafe to say if there is anyone out there that can save Country Music and return it to arespectable form of music not the cartoon Poppy image it has today,George Ducas isthe Man! Buy this CD! Help start a movement!


CDReview


The Time Jumpers • Rounder Records ♪♪♪♪♪

TheTime Jumpers is the name of an eleven member super-group ofhigh dollar Nashville studio musicians. It’s also the name of theirfirst studio album.And a fine one it is,offering twelve new countrytunes seasoned with just the right amount of jazz, swing, and pop.But please, don’t get me wrong.This is real country.You know, justlike it used to be.There isn’t a single screaming rock slide guitar on

the whole record! But……….there is amazing pedal steel, fine electric guitar, drivingfiddle, and pumpin’ piano and accordion.The song writing is first rate and both themale and female vocals are gorgeous.Oh, and did I mention Vince Gill? Easily, at leasthalf of the tunes on this CD could be seamlessly placed on any classic country albumcollection in existence.Although history has taught us that super-groups are not al-ways super, it must be said thatTheTime Jumpers and their new album are simply ex-cellent!

Review by: Rick Harris

The Twangtown Paramours • The Promise Of Friday NightInside Edge Records ♪♪♪♪♪

The Twangtown Paramours offer an acoustic album of gentilebeauty and wisdom to the second chancers, lost lovers,and the bro-ken hearted of this world.The songs are well written and the stringsare beautifully effective throughout this collection.Vocalist Mary-beth Zamer delivers their message of resilience,hope,and belief in

love, superbly.This is a very nice record, and Marybeth Zamer is simply wonderful.


Clark Paterson ♪♪♪♪ • “Walkin Papers” • Country

Clark Paterson is a new Country Singer with a very bright future.First of all he plays real country and his country has some balls.There’s steel guitar, real bass, and songs with substance. I like thisEP a lot.

There are only four songs on this EP. All of them are really well writ-ten songs.There is great lead guitar work done by Simon Flory and Luke Schneider’ssteel guitar is a pleasure to listen to it. I really enjoyed the first two tracks,If I were youand New Love. Both of these songs were great toe tappers and got my attention.

If there is a short coming to this collection is that Paterson’s vocals sound like he wasrecorded in a tin can. They are very thin. Next time Paterson should find a differentengineer and producer who can bring out the best in his voice. He has the songs; hejust needs the team to help him put it all together.


Elizabeth Mitchell • Little Seed songs for children byWoody Guthrie • Smithsonian Folkways ♪♪♪♪♪

Twenty years ago,while searching through the folkways bin in anold record shop,musician Elizabeth Mitchell found a ten inch vinyltreasure that changed her life. It was: Songs to Grow on for Motherand Child,Composed and Sung byWoody Guthrie.Now we are thelucky beneficiaries of her discovery. She has just released what I

think is one of the best children’s albums I’ve ever heard: Little Seed songs for chil-dren byWoody Guthrie. I once read that it wasn’t thatWoody Guthrie could think likea child, it was more that he himself was child like.Whatever his initial source of inspi-ration was really doesn’t matter.What matters now, is the songs he left behind. Eliza-beth says,“at this point in my life, these songs are a part of me,part of my family.”Afterlistening to her new CD,I believe her.Her thirteen performances retain all of the magic,love, and wonder found in the original versions.Yet, she has still found a way to re-en-ergize them, breathing new life and a renewed sense of sweetness and mystery intoeach song. Listen to her voice on the tune: Sleep Eye. I think this album is magical.Woody would be proud.


Guy Forsyth • The Freedom To Fail • Blue Corn Music♪♪♪♪♪

Guy Forsyth’s press release said,“soul-stopping blues infusedAmer-icana.” Brother that ain’t the half of it! I don’t think that I’ve everheard a recording that covers so much ground so convincingly.Country and electric blues,alt-rock,country,alt-country,folk,gospel,and maybe just a whiff of American song book are all here.And get

this, he even tossed in what you might call a contemporary field holler, so beautifullywritten, rendered, and recorded, you can almost smell the sweat and hear the ham-mers falling!This record is a near perfect serving of the stew we callAmericana!“Cap-tain, can I please have another bowl?”



On July 27th Nashville basedband Jason and TheScorchers did a show atSchwoegler’s Sugar RiverLanes.Yes, it was really them,less their drummer PontusSnibb from Sweden. Ourlocal drummer,Mauro Magellan fromMonroe sat in for this gig. The venue was packed.People traveled from all over the United States to see this show. The parking lot wasfull of license plates from Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska,Minnesota,Michigan and Missouri.And the admission was only $5.00. Jason Ringenberg,Warner E.Hodges,Al Collins andMauro Magellan put on one hell of a show. They made the stop here on their way toMankato,MN to open the next night forTesla.

Then on a return visit toWisconsin,Warner E.Hodges along with Joe Blanton returnedto Schwoegler’s onAugust 25th to perform with some of our area local musicians,BobKing, John Fahey, Doug Sies,Andy Ziehli, Jim Smith, Mark Schwoegler and Tim Hintz.The song selection was amazing from Southern Rock, a little country here and thereand some awesome blues and reggae. A little bit for everyone. Warner was the guitarGod and Joe is such an amazing singer. Joe’s version of“Let It Be”blew everyone away.Our local musicians were right on as well. We are so lucky to have such talented folksin our community. Joe andWarner were here last January and had such a great timeand the audience was so receptive they decided to come back and do it again!

Warner and Joe also played at Old Smokey’s in Monroe with our very own JimmyVoegeli and some of the crew from the Jimmy’s. The place rocked! While inWiscon-sin, these two Nashville fellows put on one hell of a Guitar Clinic at Heid Music in

ROCKIN

AT SCHWOEGLER’SSUGAR RIVERLANES

Madison,performing severalsongs off their new CD,Bluefield’s Pure. You can geta copy of this by going totheir website at: www.the-bluefields.com . Let me tellyou, that CD never straystoo far from my car CDplayer and once you listento it, you will understandwhat I am saying. The Blue-fields consist of Warner E.Hodges, Joe Blanton andDan Baird and the Ameri-cana Gazette hopes to spon-sor a show with them atSchwoegler’s in March orApril of 2013!

TheAmerican Gazette spon-sored both of these showsand we thank all of the local musicians, Schwoegler’s Sugar River Lanes, Jason and theScorchers,Warner Hodges and Joe Blanton and all you fine folks that came out to sup-port these shows. Special thanks to Tim Hintz for running sound. Rock on - - - - theywill be back again next year!!!

Joyce ZiehliAmericana Gazette

Al Collins

Mauro Magellan

Jason Ringenbergand Warner E. Hodges

Joe Blanton


George: Yea I have a son and daughter, they are 9 & 11. I love to coach my son’s flagfootball team and go to my daughter’s swim meets. I am very proud of both of them.I love being a Dad, it is awesome. I also love embarrassing them too.

(we continued to talk several minutes about kids, tae kwon do, school issues, etc.)

George: I plan on doing about 4-6 or possibly 8 shows a month. Any more than thattakes me away too much from my family. I want to have to do it, I don’t want to justneed to do it.

Joyce: George before I let you go, any words of advice for new upcoming artists?

George: Work hard at your craft. Take an idea and expand on it and make it universal.This makes a great song.Study the structure of the song, this only makes the song bet-ter. You need to write a great song, not another average song!!!

Joyce: George we are also reviewing your new CD for this issue. Any other commentsabout the CD?

George: It was a lot of fun to make. I felt a lot of personal growth since my last CD.I’m anxious to get back on the road. You can find out how to purchase it from mywebsite www.georgeducas.com

Joyce: Thank you George. Any plans on coming North on your tour, likeWisconsinwhere we obviously have great manners?

George: (laughing) Nothing booked up this far North, but you get me a gig, and I’ll bethere!

Story by: Joyce ZiehliInformation and photos from George’sWebsite and Management Company.

ducas... continued from page 28

AG: What's in the future for Mighty Short Bus?Nic Adamany:The future includes as much writing and recording as we possibly can.Rock, acoustic, etc.we like to play it all. In addition,we hope to be touring on a na-tional level very soon.A new albums and new markets, and hopefully making awhole bunch of new fans and friends.

AG:Any plans to do an "Acoustic"Tour, like what you did with the MSB Family BandCD?Frank Busch:That would be great, I think we should put together a busking tour ofEurope, since it’s all acoustic and we wouldn’t have to plug in.

Nic Adamany:We've been known to play a few acoustic shows from time to time,and it is quite fun. Ideally, I think it would be great to do a tour where we open withan acoustic set, and then rock the house with electric guitars and loud drums. "Thelight and the shade", as Jimmy Page would say!

AG: Where can people see you guys over the next couple of months?

Nic Adamany:We will be all over the Midwest, and out in Colorado the next fewmonths.A tour for Shiner Bock in Illinois,UW football tailgate parties,more festivals,and a return to some of our favorite clubs.

AG: Really Great work on the new CD, thanks for your time guys.

You can catch Mighty Short Bus at one of the following venues near you.

Thursday Oct- 4 10:00 p.m.Menomonie,WI @ theWaterfront – Homecoming Bash w/ Summit Brewing Co.

Saturday Oct. 6 12:00 p.m.Madison,WI @BadgerTailgate Party

Sat-Nov-3 9:00 pm:Milwaukee,WI @ MilwaukeeAle House

Friday Nov 9 -10:00pm Hazel Green,WI @ the Sandy HookTavern

Wed-Nov-21 9:00 pm:Middleton,WI @ ClubTavern

Fri-Nov-23 10:00 pm:Libertyville, IL @ Mickey Finns

Friday Nov 30 9:00 pm Steamboat Springs,CO @ the Ghost Ranch Saloon

Saturday Dec 1 9:00 pm Clark,CO @ Hahn's Peak Roadhouse

Article by BobWestfallPhotos supplied

msb... continued from page 8

Travis- And even with Doc,ClarenceWhite...there sure wasn't lead guitar playing hap-pening in bluegrass and string band stuff quite like that before them.

Chris- Yeah! Or Bud Issacs pushing pedals on the steel guitar.The progress in musicused to be accepted.Nowadays, they get a lot of flak for it.That, or people don't evenbother to pay attention.Many people want to buy into a 'genre' of music. Like, 'comesee our band...we're REAL country.'Well, it could be country and still be bad country.(Laughs) That doesn't matter to me. Just do something that’s great.As long as its spe-cial and has a spark in it.When HankWilliams sang, there was that magic along withDon Helms backing him on that steel. It made no difference what 'genre' it was at thattime. It’s branding.Like someone saying, 'I'm going to a bluegrass festival, and that’s allI want to hear.And if the band doesn't have a banjo, or someone is adding some per-cussion, you hear...'that’s not what I came here for.'

Travis-With the great musical abilities you have,does the songwriting side come as nat-ural to you?

Chris-Songwriting isn't something I ever really push. I probably haven't written any-thing in a year. But a year ago, I wrote 12 songs in like 8 weeks. It’s important to nottry and force it.You can hear the difference when it’s forced or not.That’s what somecomplain about, when you hear these songs on the radio that are written by thosewho say' hey, let’s get together and have a planned writing session.' Or let's get to-gether and shit out a song. (Laughs)And you can tell when it’s not 'inspired'.There areseveral artists who have had incredibly prolific eras. Look at the Beatles catalog.

Travis- And some could say that Dylan came along and changed a whole lot of thingsfor them...

Chris- Yeah, that’s right, and they probably changed Dylan a bit too. It goes back towhat I was saying about how people want you sound a certain way. Like when Dylangoes on stage with an electric guitar and gets booed off.Or you stop writing, 'She LovesYou', and they say,' well I like them better when they weren't taking drugs.' Probablywhat they mean to say is that you like them better when they were laying songs eas-ily into your lap.As soon as you bring out,' I Am The Walrus', they have to think forthemselves,which many don't want to do.

Travis- I see that all too often.I assume you're starting get calls for sessions.Do you likethat side of things or do you prefer the live shows?

Chris- I like it all really. I don't really pursue playing with others. Some want to do ses-sions and stay in town. I like to do that with people whose stuff I really like. I do a lotof stuff at the Beach House here in town with Mark Nevers.But he does a lot of musicthat I really dig. I like being a part of that.There are other situations where I feel like Ididn't fit in.

Travis-Were you able to feel those situations out and say "I can't really add to this"?

Chris- No.By the time you're there...you're kind of screwed. (Laughs) If I'm not feelin'it...you'll find me in the bathtub with a razor. (Laughs)

Travis- How did the call come up with M.Ward

Chris-We met in '05,we were both inTucson working on our own records.Where likeNeko Case and Richard Buckner record.Very funky,analog,2 inch tape studio.Ward wasworking on 'PostWar' there, although nothing he recorded there, I don't think madethe final cut. I ended up playing some steel on some tracks.He called me last Decem-ber about doing some dates, playing guitar and steel in Chicago.After that gig, he saidI have a new record coming early next year,do you want to tour the world? I said sure.We have a good chemistry and a lot of common ground.We're all into old records,me,Ward and the bass player Mike Coykendall.We all come from the same kind of musi-cal place.We’ll be doing Austin City Limits Fest,Mexico City after that. L.A, and someTV appearances after that.

Travis- Have you started work for your follow up to 'Anthem' yet?

Chris- Yes! I have it finished and in the can. I'm trying to find a label for it now. It wasrecorded at the Beach House with Mark Nevers. I played all the instruments on it.Adessa Jorgenson sang the female vocals and Buddy Spicher is helping out with sometwin fiddle stuff.There’s that fear when you record everything yourself of things sound-ing stale. It’s important to work as fast as you can so you don't over think stuff.

Travis- Gotta ask...did you enjoy being in the movie 'Country Strong'?

Chris-Yeah, it was fun! People always say making movies is really boring, lots of wait-ing around.But I'm used to waiting around for the sake of art. I found it all interestingand had a great time doing it.Made a lot of money too! (Laughs)

Travis- Do you have some shows coming up in town?

Chris-Yes,Americana MusicAssociation (AMA),and a thing during IBMA.Not sure howthat's going to go...with electric guitars and drums.I foresee a Pete Seeger type personcoming up to the stage with an ax to chop the cables. (Laughs) Or the ghost of Bash-ful Brother Oswald!

Travis- (Laughs)Well Chris, thanks so much for the time. I wish you all the best.

Written by: Travis Cooper

scruggs... continued from page 6

Date post:	20-Mar-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	americana-gazette-sugar-river-productions
View:	229 times
Download:	9 times

Americana Gazette October-November 2012

Documents