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October 2014
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So much to say, so little space - but here goes ...A great big hello to all the Americana Music Association (AMA), and theInternational Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) conference attendees. We’reglad you’ve taken the time to give us a glance! [If you’re reading this prior tolate September, 2014, you’ve still got time to check those events out, and wehighly encourage you to do so.]
Many of you have asked, can I find your magazine on line? You can! Thereis a link on our web site at www.AmericanaRhythm.com, or you can godirectly to www.Issuu.com and search Americana Rhythm. The full versionis there to read on line, or you can down load it.
Soon you will be able to find AR’s editorial content in the searchable databases of nearly all the public librarys as well as on line. Cool, huh? More tocome on that one in the near future.
Did you know we have our own internet radio station? Yep! It’s called Ameri-cana House Party. There is a play box and a direct link on our web site. Youcan also listen on your iPad, iPhone, or smart phone via the www.Live365.complatform. Just search Americana House Party. See you out there!
Questions, comments, suggestions:[email protected]
Subscribe to AmericanaRhythm Magazine!See page 7 or visit
www.americanarhythm.com
“Send me your newCDs for reviewconsideration!”
PO Box 45Bridgewater, VA 22812
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Web!LISTEN!
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Americana Rhythm is published six times a year. All correspon-dence should be sent to PO Box 45, Bridgewater VA, 22812 oremail to [email protected]. Copies of AmericanaRhythm are made available free at various pick up locations withinthe publication’s region. Subscriptions are available inside the UnitedStates (only) for $16 US currency made payable by check or moneyorder sent to, Subscriptions at PO Box 45, Bridgewater, VA, 22812.Foreign subscrip t ion requests should be sent [email protected]. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.Reproduction of any content, artwork or photographs is strictlyprohibited without permission of the publisher. All advertising ma-terial subject to approval.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEFGreg E. Tutwiler
Associate EditorEd Tutwiler
MARKETING & PROMOTIONMark Barreres (GrassRootsNetworking.com)
ADVERTISINGBusiness office 540-433-0360
CONTRIBUTORSEd Tutwiler
Wayne ErbsenRyan Babarsky
UNC Ashville StudentsAndrew McKnight
Doak TurnerDon DePoy
DISTRIBUTIONEd TutwilerZebra Media
Associated Dist.Downtown BooksThe Purple Fiddle
Floyd Country StoreShen. Valley Farmers Mkt.
Heritage Farmers Mkt.... many more!
Letters, Comments, [email protected]
PUBLISHER
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October 2014
By Edward Tutwiler
www.AmericanaRhythm.com
Image credit https://trueblueridge.files.wordpress.com
If not for the folks who deem thepast worth remembering, everyhappening be it obscure or memo-rable soon fades into the mists oftime as soon as the last eyewitnesspasses on. Fortunately for the his-tory buffs and others who careabout matters such as this, thereare people and organizations thatdo care. In this story, we want totell you about several ex-amples of this that areimportant to fans ofAmericana Music.
One example is theBirthplace of CountryMusic Museum that re-cently opened in Bristol,TN/VA. The museumwas built in conjunctionwith the Smithsonian Institutionand is a project that was years inthe making. The museum featuresboth temporary and permanentexhibits and is located in the heartof downtown Bristol. (see article onpage 16)
Another example is a project pro-duced and sponsored in part bythe Birthplace of Country MusicAssociation and the Virginia de-partment of Tourism. This is asoon to be released tribute record-ing honoring the original 1927Bristol recording sessions by theVictor Company’s recording en-gineer, Ralph Peer, which arenow recognized as the birth ofrecorded country music. In thisnew tribute effort, current starsand budding newcomers get to-gether to record 16 of the mostmemorable sessions from that1927 watershed event. This new/old effort is called: OrthophonicJoy: 1927 Bristol Sessions Revis-ited.
These afore mentioned examplesof remembering famous musicalevents of the past are wonderful;however, I want to tell you of aless famous but maybe more im-portant example that was told tous recently.
Digging DeeperEarlier this year, our publisher wasmanning a trade booth at theAcoustic Uprising festival inWytheville, VA. The gentlemanstaffing a nearby booth was abuilder of high-end custom man-dolins and a member of an old-time country string music group.The gentleman’s name is Mr. Ray
Dearstone, and he lives just out-side of Bristol TN/VA. During thedown times that festival weekend,our publisher and Mr. Dearstonevisited and bonded over mutualmusical interests; and Mr.Dearstone shared three CDs of oldradio recordings by a group knownas the Curly King and the Tennes-see Hilltoppers. Our publisher latershared his adventure and the CDswith me and suggested that Imight find a story that you wouldappreciate. I agreed and recentlyhad a delightful conversation withMr. Dearstone where he told meabout a very interesting preserva-tion example of his own.
The CDs Mr. Dearstone sharedwith us are copies of recordingsthat were originally made in 1949,and are of local, live broadcasts at
radio station WCYB-AM in BristolTN/VA. Let that date sink in a sec-ond. Bill Monroe had just createdquite a stir with a 1945 appearanceon the Grand Ole Opry introduc-ing a new style of playing the oldmusic. Further, in the late 1940sand early 1950s local AM radio sta-tions were the most important in-
formation providersin the rural areas ofthe southern moun-tains. Plus, theybroadcast manyhours of live coun-try music in an erawhen old-time mu-sic was fastmorphing into whatwould later be com-monly referred to as
country and bluegrass. Radio sta-tion WCYB was one of these local
stations. The station went on theair in December 1946 and had aclear-channel frequency that gaveit a five-state coverage area.
Hanging On To ItIn preparation for this stationlaunch, WCYB officials had audi-tioned at least 35 string musicbands to line up talent forplanned 15-minute live dailybroadcasts. The names of the se-lected groups included: theStanley Brothers; the ClinchMountain Boys; and the subjectof our story, Curly King and theTennessee Hilltoppers. One wellknown WCYB show of the timewas the Farm and Fun TimeShow; and Curly King and theTennessee Hilltoppers were amain-stay on that show.
“ ... not only the famous events in his-tory that need to be remembered butalso those obscure events from theheartland that means so much to thosewho lived them as they unfolded ...”
All Is Not Lost
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According to Mr. Dearstone,Curly King and the TennesseeHilltoppers were a very capablegroup of regional musicians whocould have easily held their ownin Nashville and beyond. Thegroup usually included fourmembers: Curly King (vocals andguitar); Don Campbell (vocalsand electric Hawaiian guitar);Leslie Keith (fiddle); Roy Russell(fiddle); Cousin Zeke Leonard(bass); and Shorty Morris (vo-cals).
It was a standardpractice of the sta-tion to record each15-minute liveshow on large ac-etate discs and savethese discs so sta-tion personal wouldhave content tobroadcast shouldthe group not beable to make theactual live broad-cast time. Once theshow time hadpassed, the discswere of no furtheruse and were usu-ally discarded. Inthe case of the re-cordings of theHilltoppers shows, DonCampbell had the foresight to getthese discs from the radio stationto keep them from being de-stroyed, and stored them away. Astime passed and interestschanged, the WCYB days ofbroadcasting live country musiccame to an end. With the passingof this era, Curly King disbandedthe group and retired from per-forming. As a tribute to King, Mr.Dearstone related, “Curly Kingwas in the class with Eddy Arnold.In my opinion, he could havegone to Nashville and become asfamous as Arnold and many ofthose other guys. He did not wantto leave his home town of Bristol,and when the Farm and Fun Timeshow finally ended, he neverplayed again.”
RegenerationIn the late 1980s, Don Campbelltook those now obsolete technol-ogy acetate discs, which he hadsaved from the trash bin, to theSmithsonian Institution wheremachines exist that can play ob-
solete media and preserve the con-tent onto current storage media.The Institution’s staff personalperformed this service forCampbell, and placed the resulton two cassette tapes.
Not long after, Campbell con-sulted with Mr. Dearstone whothen reviewed the material on thecassette tapes. Here are his wordson what happened next, “I wentthrough the cassette tapes withDon and Curly’s approval. I
picked out thecleanest soundingrecordings that Icould find using thetechnical ability Ihad at that t ime.Now, with digitaltechnology, youhave the ability todo a good job incleaning up record-ings; however, atthat time I did nothave any technicalway of cleaning therecordings so Icould only pick thecleanest ones by lis-tening to them. Iwas able to put to-gether enough ma-terial to producetwo secular albums
and one gospel album. We putthese three albums on cassettetapes and marketed them. In myopinion this resulting collectionof music is the best representationof all the shows that were airedon the Farm and Family Timebroadcasts (at least as far as tradi-tional country music).”
“This collection is all from theoriginal 15 minute TennesseeHilltoppers shows. The record-ings even include some of the an-nouncer introduction for eachsong. When improved technol-ogy became available, I went backto the masters and upgraded thematerial that we had originallyproduced on the cassette tapes,and produced them on CDs.With this effort, I tried to furtherclean up the sound yet still pre-serve the radio station sound.”
In PassingCurly King passed away yearsago, and Mr. Campbell passed
continued on page 11
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October 2014
Terry andhisDerringBanjo.
www.AmericanaRhythm.com
Chatam County Line
Of all the many kinds of songs thereare to sing, by far my favorites arewhat I call “real songs.” These werenot written in an air conditioned of-fice on the fourteenth floor by fancypants professional songwriters. In-stead, they were written about eventsthat really happened, by real peoplewho were there to witness it.
“I’ve Been All Around This World”could not be any more real if it tried.The outlaw captured in this song wasreportedly hanged for murder in FortSmith, Arkansas in the 1870s. If thisis true, the chances are good that hewas sentenced to die by the famoushanging judge himself, The Honor-able Issac Charles Parker. From 1875to 1896 Judge Parker had jurisdic-tion over Oklahoma and all of theIndian Territory. Over those twenty-one years, he tried over 13,500 casesand sentenced 106 men to death. Ofthat number, seventy-nine were
By Wayne Erbsen
I’ve Been All Around The World
hanged during his term of office. Dur-ing the first fourteen years he was onthe bench, the convicted could seekno appeal, save from heaven.
Parker’s chief executioner was GeorgeMaledon, who took great pride in his“scientific” hangings. Of the seventy-nine men sentenced to death by theHanging Judge, Maledon personallyhanged sixty. When he finally retired,he went on the lecture circuit, proudlydisplaying several of his favorite hang-ing ropes.
“I’ve Been All Around This World”has been collected under such titles as“The Gambler, “ “My Father Was aGambler,” “The New Railroad,” “TheHobo’s Lament,” and “The Hobo’sBlues.”
In 1930, George Milburn published abook entitled the Hobo’s Hornbookthat included a version of “I’ve BeenAll Round this World,” with this greatverse:
Bring to me my supper boys,I’ll eat ‘er done or rawBring to me my supper boys,I’ll eat ‘er done or rawFor I haven’t hada square meal since I left ArkansasI’ve been all around this world
The following tabbed arrangement iswritten out for clawhammer banjo in
what’s commonly known as doubleC tuning (gCGCD). If you don’thappen to play clawhammer stylebanjo, you can take the same melodyand add your favorite banjo rolls.
I’ve Been All Around This World
Working on the new railroadwith mud up to my knees,Working on the new railroadwith mud up to my knees,Working for big John Henry and he’s so hard to please,I’ve been all around this world.
Hang me, oh hang meand I’ll be dead and gone,Hang me oh hang me,and I’ll be dead and gone,It’s not the hanging that I mindit’s layin’ in the jail so long,I’ve been all around this world.
Up on the Blue Ridge Mountainsit’s there I’ll take my stand,Up on the Blue Ridge Mountainsit’s there I’ll take my stand,With a rifle on my shoulder,six shooter in my hand,I’ve been all around this world.
Lulu, oh lulu come and open up the door,Lulu, oh lulu come and open up the doorBefore I have to open it with my old .44,I’ve been all around this world.
Judge Parker
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When you go a fishing,take a hook and line,When you go a fishing,take a hook and line,When you go a courtingdon’t never look behind,I’ve been all around this world.
If you see a rich girl,just pass her down the line,If you see a rich girl,just pass her down the line,And when you see a poor girl,just ask her to be mine,I’ve been all around this world.
“I’ve Been All Around This World”can be found in Wayne’s book, Out-law Ballads, Legends & Lore. Fora free catalog of instruction booksfor bluegrass and clawhammerbanjo, fiddle, mandolin and guitar,get in touch with Wayne at NativeGround Books & Music www.nativeground.com.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEARBalsam RangeBlue Highway
Dailey & VincentThe Gibson Brothers
The Del McCoury Band
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEARBalsam RangeBlue Highway
Dailey & VincentThe Gibson Brothers
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
INSTRUMENTAL GROUPOF THE YEARBalsam RangeBlue HighwayThe Boxcars
The Del McCoury BandFrank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
SONG OF THE YEAR“Dear Sister” - Claire Lynch
”Grandpa’s Way of Life”The Spinney Brothers
”It’s Just a Road”The Boxcars
”The Game” - Blue Highway”You Took All The Ramblin’Out of Me” - The Boxcars
ALBUM OF THE YEARHall of Fame Bluegrass
Junior Sisk and Joe MullinsIt’s Just A Road - The Boxcars
Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny BakerPlays Bill Monroe - Noam Pikelny
Streets of BaltimoreThe Del McCoury Band
The Game - Blue Highway
EMERGING ARTISTOF THE YEAR
DetourFlatt Lonesome
The Spinney BrothersTown MountainVolume Five
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEARDel McCouryBuddy MeltonTim O’Brien
Frank SolivanDan Tyminski
FEMALE VOCALISTOF THE YEAR
Dale Ann BradleyAlison KraussClaire Lynch
Amanda SmithRhonda Vincent
IBMA NominationsIn October, The IBMA will award it’s anual recipients -here are just a few of the nominees.
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It’s hard to watch the CountryMusic Awards and not wonderwhy the IBMA Awards receivesso little national attention. Whathas country music got that blue-grass doesn’t? Bluegrass songscertainly feature longing, lostlove, hard work, history, and yes,even crying in your beer. Blue-grass musicians are just as tal-ented, perhaps more so, as I thinkof the lightning speed associatedwith fiddle, mandolin and banjopicking. I challenge any countryband to keep up with a bluegrassband full of talented musicians!The traditional bluegrass singers’voices pitch into that high lone-some sound made popular by BillMonroe, but that’s not all blue-grass can do—bluegrass music isjust as well rounded as country.
Why Aren’t We As PopularI believe I could count on twohands the number of bluegrassbands that are full-time. Evenwith a record deal, our artistsstruggle. The recording industry
at large provides little funding forartist development and promotionfor bluegrass artists. Many blue-grass performers must have somekind of day job to pay the bills orat least have a re-tirement incomethat helps plugthe gaps betweenmusic gigs, festi-vals and albumsales. While thetop names inbluegrass travelaround in beat upstation wagons,converted schoolbuses, and flycoach class; topartists in rock,country and rapare traveling instyle in privatejets and customfitted buses.
I believe blue-grass music is at
a crossroads. We can continue onas we have since we got startedand ride off into the sunset, or wecan deviate just a bit and take di-rections from other successful
music genres. Change does notmean that we forget where wecame from. Our bluegrass rootswill continue to be the foundationthat gives our music its identity;nevertheless, we need to changethe misconception that bluegrassis just for old-timers, and bringour music into the 21st century. Sohow do we do this without losingour bluegrass core?
Embracing TechnologyIf you look at the music styles thatare currently successful, it’s easyto see what sets them apart — theMedia. Radio channels areclogged 24/7 with stations de-voted to rock, rap/hip hop, coun-try, Christian and even classicalmusic. Yet live bluegrass radioprograms are largely relegated toSundays. I can’t find a radio sta-tion devoted solely to bluegrassmusic. (One exception is WAMU,105.5 FM in Washington, DC. -editor) Of course, I can listen tobluegrass music on-line or evencreate my own digital bluegrass
21st Century Bluegrass By James Reams
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October 2014
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station using computer applica-tions such as Pandora. It is justnot the same as radio play. I missall the depth the DJs provide.I don’t think anyone will disagreewhen I say that the current gen-eration is on visual overload. Wemust face the fact that music pro-grams such entities as VH1 andCMTV are here to stay. You justcan’t deny that this is the age ofthe music video. If that is the case,where are all the bluegrass vid-eos? I firmly believe that TV andthe Internet speak to the masses,while bluegrass radio preaches tothe choir. We’ve got to get moreprofessional looking bluegrassvideos in front of folks.
Better Than Backyard VideoQuality is the keyword when itcomes to videos. YouTube isclogged with unedited videos ofdubious sound quality featuringbands performing live at blue-grass festivals. While entertaining,shaky footage of your favoriteband performing on a festivalstage is not the kind of musicvideo that’s going to grab the at-tention of the music world. Thereis a limit to the emotion singerscan incorporate into a song. Mostbluegrass songs tell a story, so cre-ating a video can take that story astep further by providing imagesthat convey the feeling behind thewords and actually complementthe singing. If we’re going to clawour way out of the poverty classof music, we have to find a wayto emotionally connect viewers ofall ages to our music. I think feed-ing the visual addiction of today’smusic lovers with quality blue-grass videos is critical.
I can hear you question, whereare we going to get the money tomake these videos. It is a validquestion. Making a video can beexpensive but thanks to theInternet there are numerouscrowd funding sources available.I used a web site called Kickstarterto help fund the final productionfor my film documentary, Mak-ing History with Pioneers of Blue-grass. Other popular options forfunding creative projects includethe help one can obtain from web-based sources such as Indiegogoand RocketHub. Making musicvideos is how many well-knownfilm directors got their start so you
could collaborate with a talentedfilm student at a local university,or purchase film editing softwarefor your favorite computer whizkid for Christmas. Who knows,you may discover a futureStephen Spielberg!
My First VideoI put my words into practice andhave just completed my first mu-sic video with the help of talentedfilmmaker, Rick Bowman ofBackyard Green Films. It was justreleased in July. Check out AlmostHear the Blues on YouTube. Byputting some thought into theprocess, we were able to come upwith a story and pull it togetherwithout breaking the bank. It’sbeing well received and that’s en-couraging. I hope to work withRick again soon on a video for mynew album, Rhyme & Season,coming out later this year. Thereare options out there to fit mostbudgets. Once you have a fewvideos going viral, you can ap-proach sponsors to help fund thenext one. Country music movedinto the spotlight, literally, whenthat music style embraced musicvideos. Bluegrass can do thesame. It’s a sleeping giant justwaiting to be awakened—BGTVanyone? I’d like to hear what youhave to say. Send your email [email protected].
James Reams is an internationalbluegrass touring and recordingartist coming from a family oftraditional singers in southeasternKentucky, playing both old-timeand bluegrass music. Known as an“Ambassador of Bluegrass,” hisdedication and involvement in thethriving bluegrass and Americanamusic community runs deep. In2013 he celebrated 20 years as abandleader, and to date, hasreleased 8 CDs and the DVDdocumentary, Making HistoryWith Music. It is a culmination ofover 10 years of filming andinterviews. James is also theorganizer of the Park Slope Blue-grass Oldtime Music Jamboree, anannual music festival that hestarted in 1998. It’s the only eventof its kind in or around New YorkCity.
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FEATUREARTISTS
Thanks to our partnership with ReverbNation (www.reverbnation.com) we are honored to give you apeak at a few of the nation’s hardest working indie artists. Each month we select one entry to showcasefor you here. Enjoy!THIS MONTH’S FEATURE: By Greg Tutwiler
Matt Hoggatt
Matt Hoggatt is like most othermusicians, just trying to share themusic they love with an audiencethat will appreciate it. However,sometimes in real life the stars doline up in a way that is oftenrelegated to mere lyrics of a song.
Matt’s musical background beganwhile playing in the marchingband during high school andcollege. That experience led himto a stint in the Army Band withthe Army National Guard for sixyears. Once out, he started writingsongs and performing open micnights. “I tried the Nashvillesong-pitching game as an out- of -towner trying to get cuts,” he said,“but I learned quickly that I had abetter chance at hitting the lot-tery.” So Matt started playing thesongs that he wrote for himselfwith no real intention of commer-cial success. “Pretty soon I won afew songwriting contests,” hecommented, “and I started tofigure out that the only rules aboutsongwriting are that there areactually no rules at all.”
Leaning on his military experience,Matt lived the life of a policedetective by day, and a giggingmusician at night. “It was very toughphysically, mentally and financiallyfor me, but I was serious about
both profes-sions. For along time, Ibasically hadtwo full timejobs.”
Then one day,for Matt, lifedid imitatemusic. Iwanted towrite a funsong about aletter to JimmyBuffett,” herecalled, “so Idid; in aboutfive minutes. Itwas a song Iplayed in barslate at nightand that’sabout asserious as Iever really took it.” Matt had beenentering his music in songwritingcontests including one sponsoredby American Songwriter Magazine.He had won 3rd place award once“but the 1st place prize eluded me,”he said. He decided to enter anobscure, non commercial simplesong for a change, his song aboutJimmy Buffet, “and low and behold,that’s what won.” The song titled,“Dear Jimmy Buffett,” featured astory about where Matt askedJimmy for a record deal.
“I had no idea it would lead to memeeting Jimmy. A few weeks later,one of his people reached out tome and asked for some more of mysongs to listen to.” Of course Mattcomplied, and eventually wasinvited to a Jimmy Buffet concert in
Birmingham, AL where he wasagain surprised with an invite onstage to play his song with Jimmy’sband in front of 14,000 people.“And the biggest surprise was thatJimmy had written a response - asong about me. The song wascalled “Dear Matt Hoggatt,” andyou guessed it; it led to a recorddeal. “To this day I still can’t findanyone who scored a record dealquite like I did.”
Now Matt plays music full time.“It’s not easy,” he chides. “I am aone-man show and do most of thepromotion on my own. Peoplethink having an indie record dealmeans you are rich, but in my caseit means I have to work harder. Ilove it though. I enjoy meetingpeople, traveling and spreading mymusic around the country.”
In early 2014, Matt released an E-Book on Amazon.com called“Thoughts of A Traveling Musician,”a collection of random short storiesand blogs form his time on the road.Production on his Jimmy Buffetinspired CD is set to release a littlelater this year, produced by KeithSykes, and features Buffett bandmembers, Mac McAnally, DoyleGrisham, Nadirah Shakoor andTina Gullickson.
For more information, seewww.matthogatt.com.
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more recently; nevertheless, theirperformances along with theother Hilltoppers remain with usin sound forever; because on ashoestring budget and with lim-ited technical tools, two folks whocare about preservation did some-thing memorable. An aging mu-sician from a once regionally fa-mous country music group; anda musician and instrumentbuilder with a good ear did some-thing just as important andmemorable as either of the otherexamples I cited previously—maybe even more so. Here’s whyI say that. Mr. Dearstone told me,“There is a song on one of thesecular CDs titled Black Moun-tain Blues played by Leslie Keith.Leslie once said on the radio showthat he wrote this tune. It is nowknown as Black Mountain Rag.Even though Keith played it in asimpler manner than the blue-grass folks play it today, it is easyto tell that the song is the same.”I say that this fact alone mightmake this labor of love historicallysignificant.
I must conclude that it is not onlythe famous events in history thatneed to be remembered but alsothose obscure events from theheartland that means so much tothose who lived them as they un-folded or heard about them fromthe legends they generated. Nev-ertheless, I remember times longago sitting along side my mother,listening to live and local string-music broadcast by our local AMradio station, and on Saturdaynights by clear-channel WSM inNashville, TN. I honor those like-minded souls such as DonCampbell and Ray Dearstonewho think enough of the past toremember and preserve a tiny bitof the good parts.
Digging A Little DeeperAn interesting aside to Mr.Dearstone’s story is this: I was re-cently looking at the East Tennes-see State University (ETSU) Ar-chives of Appalachia web site(www.etsu.edu/cass/archives/col-lections) and discovered thatthese archives contain WCYBbroadcast records from 1947through 1949 stored on 7-inch,reel to reel audio tapes. This his-torical record was donated to thearchives in 1990 by the director
of ETSU Center for AppalachianStudies and Services, RichardBlaustein. In 1979, Mr. Blausteinand ETSU professor, CharlesWolfe, obtained Don Campbell’spermission to copy several WCYBtranscription discs that he had inhis possession. (Apparently, Mr.Campbell salvaged more thanjust the Tennessee Hilltopperdiscs.) If you have further inter-est in this aspect of the story, youcan send an inquiry email [email protected] with the sub-ject line stating: WCYB RADIOTAPES.
Crafting The SoundI mentioned that Ray Dearstoneis a musician and instrumentbuilder. While that is a story foranother time, I would be amiss ifI did not at least acknowledge thatfact here. Ray Dearstone and JohnMalayer perform together in anold-time/original country duetgroup. Here is how Ray told it tome, “John’s last name is Malayerand my first name is Ray so wedecided to call ourselves theMARAY Brothers. “We do CarterFamily music and songs origi-nally done by the Lubben Broth-ers and the Monroe Brothers. Wedo mostly the older songs. We arerather pleased to do the old origi-nal version of Sittin’ on Top of theWorld as it was originally done bythe Mississippi Sheiks. Themelody and timing of this versionis totally different from the stylein which the bluegrass playersplay this song.”
As to the instrument making, lessyou think that Mr. Dearstone isan amateur luthier, let me dispelthat notion with these facts:Dempsey Young, founding mem-ber of Lost and Found, has playedonly Dearstone mandolins sincefirst being introduced to them anumber of years ago. Further,Shawn Lane, one of the foundingmembers of Blue Highway playsa signature model—theDearstone Shawn Lane Modelmandolin. There is much more totell but to be brief, Ray Dearstonestarted crafting mandolins fromhigh quality raw materials as ahobby in 1979 and went profes-sional in 1992 with his brotherhelping in the shop. By his esti-mate, he has built a total of 200pieces and usually builds about 20per year. You can point yourbrowser to www.dearstone.comand read the rest of this story.
Music TrailContinued from page 5
October 2014
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By Edward Tutwiler
Several years ago, I wrote a trib-ute to the banjo for a different ar-ticle but I think it appropriate toprint again as an introduction tothis story as well.
All God’s creations have voice. Themountain speaks in silent grander,the flower in radiant beauty, andfolks sing and shout. The musicalinstruments that accompany Ameri-cana sounds have voice as well. Thefiddle sings and cries, the mandolinrings, and the guitar hums with soul.But the banjo, oh the banjo—he isso filled with joy he can’t help butlaugh. His happy nature always pre-vails, and he must laugh out loudfor us all to hear.
A few weeks back, the mailbox atthe AR office yielded a press releasefrom an organization known as theBaltimore Museum of Industry(BMI). The release was from ClaireMullins who is the Director of Mar-keting and Events for the BMI andtold about a new exhibition on thehistory of the banjo in Baltimore.
Officials from the Balt imoreMayor’s office founded BMI in 1977as a private, nonprofit organizationestablished to celebrate the past,present and future innovations ofMaryland industry and its peopleand to do so through dynamic edu-cational experiences.
Making MusicThis present exhibit is titled, Mak-ing Music: The Banjo in Baltimoreand Beyond , and features banjos,sheet music, profiles of local banjomakers, and explores how Balti-more, MD was instrumental in thehistory of American banjo musicand why Baltimore was at the cen-ter of one of America’s first popu-lar music crazes. The exhibit issupported in part by the MarylandHumanities Council and the Mary-land Arts Council. The exhibitopened in April of this year, and itis scheduled to run through earlyOctober of 2014.
In today’s music world, we associ-ate the banjo most closely with the
genre of music that folk call blue-grass and we forget that it has along, shrouded past as one of themost popular music instruments inthe country. What is often over-looked is that the banjo is an in-strument of African origin and pro-vided one of the few pleasures en-joyed by an enslaved people. Earlyillustrations abound showing fancypeople dancing while a servant/slave off to the side plays a banjoto accompany another musicianplaying a fiddle. Together, thesetwo instruments were at center of18th century dance bands. Well intothe 19th century, the banjo was thefolk instrument of black musicianseventually coursing into the handsof the poor white Scot-Irish peopleof the Appalachian region. Because
Banjos InBaltimore
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Lester Flatts andEarl Scruggs
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the historical path of this instrument thatwas born during slavery; had a rich 19thcentury association with African-Ameri-cans; and followed by a 20th century con-nection with rural white southerner
people, the banjo has until fairly recentlybeen burdened with unfair and unkindstereotypes.
A Present ReminderThe BMI exhibit reminds us that for nearly300 years the banjo has been a part ofAmerica’s past, and that the city of Balti-more played an integral role in this legacy.Baltimore craftspeople were early manu-factures of this instrument, and the citywas the birthplace of some of the mosthighly regarded banjo players in history.The release tells us, “The largest concen-tration of banjo sightings in North Americabetween the 1730s and 1830s was in theChesapeake region of Maryland. As thenorthernmost point for the southerneconomy and the south’s most industrial-ized city, 19th century Baltimore was thecrossroads for slavery and industry andbecame the site of the banjo’s earliest massproduction.”
“William E. Boucher, Jr., an immigrantfrom present-day Germany, capitalized onthe demand for banjos and in the 1840s,began a successful business manufactur-ing them and running a music store. Mr.Boucher and the city of Baltimore helpedto transform the banjo into an icon of oneof America’s first pop music crazes, lead-ing to its enduring presence in the handsof everyday Americans.”
5 String LegacyMr. Roland Woodword, the executive di-rector of BMI, states, “The banjo isquintessentially American, and has a longand proud history. This exhibit exploresmany facets of the banjo’s legacy, and pro-vides important historical perspective onthe instrument in Baltimore and else-where.” Not to be left to the annuals ofhistory, the state of Maryland continues
today to be the home of banjo talented artists suchas Grammy winner Cathy Fink and virtuoso banjoplayer Buddy Wachter as well as author and histo-rian Stephen Wade whose performance of BanjoDancing had a 10 year run at the Arena Theatre
in Washington D.C.
If you are a banjo player, a history buff, orjust a curious soul like me; this seems like aroad trip that we need to take before the ex-hibit closes in October. The Museum is aleader in innovative education about Mary-land industry and a major attraction for Bal-timore, Maryland, and the Mid-Atlantic re-gion. The hours of operation are Tuesdaythrough Sunday from 10 AM to 4 PM, andclosed Mondays. The Museum is located at1415 Key Highway, Inner Harbor South, Bal-timore, MD. If you want a few more detailsbefore you take the trek, contact Claire
Mullins, Director of Marketing and Events at 410-727-4808 ext. 119 or email [email protected].
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October 2014
Photo credit: Michael Marsland
Frank Solivan grew upin California at the feet ofa huge musical family onboth sides of the isle.Weekly family meals feltmore like mini-festivalswith the aunts and uncles,brothers and sisters, andcousins all pitching in onthe family jams. “Therewere ten kids ongrandmother’s side alone,and they all had a bunchof kids,” Frank said, “sothere was a lot going onlike that when I wasgrowing up.”
At eighteen, he set out forAlaska in the mid-90s.From there he movedaround for a while; Nash-ville, Hawaii, etc., andback to Alaska. He pickedup little odds and end jobsall the while continuing toplay music. “I found workin kitchens, I was abouncer, substitute schoolteacher, school bus driver,truck driver, whatever Icould get my hands on,”he said.
Boot Camp And BluegrassOf course Frank made friends inthe industry through the yearsplaying at festivals and such. Someof these friends had joined theNavy country band, an active mili-tary troop used to promote Navyrecruitment. They had a tourthrough Alaska and reconnectedwith Frank while they were there.“About a month after I had hungout with those guys I went toWintergrass (An indoor bluegrassfestival held in February in Wash-ington State) where they happenedto be playing,” Frank told me.“Their fiddle/mandolin player’sdaughter was having surgery andhe couldn’t make the gig. I sawthem as they walked into the ho-tel and they said, ‘what are you do-ing, do you want to learn somemusic and play with us?’ I said‘sure’ and sat down and learnedfour sets of music in a really shortamount of time.”
Frank learned that there was anelectric guitar position opening upin the band and was asked if heplayed guitar. “I said, yeah, I playthe guitar.’ Their response was, ‘doyou play the electric guitar?’ I said‘sure’ and began immediatelybrushing up on my electric guitarchops.”
A year and a halflater the auditionwas announcedand Frank flewfrom Alaska toWa s h i n g t o n ,D.C. After a sec-ond auditionFrank was of-fered the job.“The next thing Iknow, I’m doingpush ups in bootcamp for dutywith my electricguitar, mandolin,
and fiddle. Six years, one month,and 24 hours later I got out to domy own thing, which was to cookand play music.” Frank said, “Foodand music are the two things thatbring people together. Both are pas-sions of mine. Both are highly cre-ative processes.”
By Greg TutwilerDirty Kitchen, Sweet Grass
Dirty KitchenTrue to his loves, Frank named hisband Dirty Kitchen after a fiddletune he wrote. “A long time ago Idecided to write a fiddle tune in-stead of cleaning my kitchen,” hesaid. “So I recorded that song onmy first solo project, and it’s thefirst tune that I ever wrote thateludes to my passion for cooking.I’ve always been connected to thecooking industry in some way, mymom’s in the food industry, andmy whole family loves food, i.e.those big gatherings. When Iwasn’t working or playing musicI would consume cook books oneafter the other and learn all thesedifferent recipes. The next thing Iknow, I’m making up my ownrecipes or putting my own spin onit, just like we do with our mu-sic.” Frank has even been tinker-ing with a self-created recipe bookthat he hopes to one day publishin conjunction with a CD of foodoriented songs.
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October 2014
Not So ColdFrank’s new CD, Cold Spell, re-leased on August 12th,, one dayahead of learning that the bandhad collectively been nominated forfour 2014 IBMA awards, includingMale Vocalist of the year and man-dolin player of the year nomina-tions for Frank. “We put a lot ofgreat love and energy into this andattention to detail and arrange-ment,” He told me, “I’ve been re-ally trying to hone my singing tobecome a great singer also. It’s re-ally my life long pursuit to be asgood as I can be, and enjoy it inthe process.”
Frank went on to explain; “Thething about perfection and musicis, if it’s perfect it isn’t music. Itneeds that element of human init. When we cut a record, we cut itall live, and do as few edits andoverdubs as possible. We want thevibe of us all playing at the sametime. We want to capture thatnatural energy, not make it up. Weplay a song through until we canhit the arrangement and then wehit the record button. Sometimeswe might hit record a half dozentimes until we get the best take andthen use that one as our base line.”
Banjo player Mike Mumford, lastyear’s IBMA Banjo Player of theyear winner, was once again nomi-nated, and the band was nomi-nated for Instrumental Group ofthe year. Guitarist Chris Luquette(2013 IBMA Instrumentalist of theYear Momentum Award winner)and Bassist Danny Booth roundout the current line up known asDirty Kitchen.
Find Your FlavorWhen I asked Frank about the styl-ing and phrasing of the brand ofmusic they play he said, “I don’treally think about that too much.If you like it, great. If you don’t,that’s okay too – don’t listen to it.That’s the beauty of living inAmerica and having so many dif-ferent kinds of music. Find the fla-vor you enjoy. I don’t really wantto be pigeon holed into anything –I just want to make good music.The bluegrass demographic is ouraudience because we’re allbluegrassers in the band. But I alsosing some blues and some jazz.And when I go to listen to music
I’m going to put onStevie Wonder, orJames Brown, orsomething like that.But I also try to listento other bluegrass mu-sicians too so I get thefeel for what they aredoing as well. We justdon’t want to makecookie cutter music. Iwant my own soundto come through sowhen people hear usthey know that it isour band because onlywe sound like us. Wedon’t want to be for-
mulaic in any way. We often don’tuse the same intro or outro on oursongs. And we try to use imageryand more complex subject matterstoo. We want depth to it.”
“It’s an honor to be getting recog-nized on this level,” Frank said. “Itmakes me feel like we’re achiev-ing what we set out to do.” Righton, Frank! As this industry grows,and evolves, and takes on new nu-ances, one thing’s for sure; Beingyou will become increasingly im-portant to remain viable on a pro-fessional level. Frank Solivan andDirty Kitchen clearly have proventhat uniqueness, authenticity, andbeing true to your vision of whoyou want to be does work, and itseems to be what the listener islooking for too.
Find more info on Frankand the guys at
www.dirtykitchenband.com
October 2014
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As generations of music fansgrow up, the tendency is alsoto grow away from the influ-ence of their foundationalroots. Naturally, each new cropof entertainers strives to findtheir own voice. That is to beexpected. Yet, it’s equally im-portant to keep memory ofhow we got here. And thanksto the recent opening of theBirthplace of Country MusicMuseum in Bristol VA/TN,that preservation has been putin place for generations tocome.
The 24,000 square foot centerwill offer multiple exhibitspaces that feature not onlytemporary, but permanent exhib-its as well. The museum will alsoincorporate educational and inter-active programming into its offer-ings making this not only a placeto commemorate the history, butalso a place where you can learnon a deeper level.
Why BristolBristol straddles the border be-tween Virginia and Tennessee, andholds a rightful spot in music his-tory as the place where historicalicons like The Carter Family andJimmie Rodgers laid down the in-fluential catalog of songs referredto as “The 1927 Bristol Sessions.”
These sessions were so highly re-garded as musically important, thatJohnny Cash declared them “thesingle most important event in thehistory of country music.”
The $10.5 million dollar museumwas built in conjunction withWashington, D.C.’s Smithsonian
Another Reason To Visit BristolInstitution and is a project years inthe making. “The opening of theBirthplace of Country Music Mu-seum is something that our com-munity has been looking forwardto for many years, and we takepride in giving our communitysomething that celebrates our richmusic heritage,” said Leah Ross,executive director of the Birthplaceof Country Music.
Dr. Jessica Turner, director andhead curator of the Birthplace ofCountry Music Museum said,“What the museum offers is a va-riety of ways to interact with mu-sic history in fun and innovativeways, and we are thrilled to launchsuch a quality museum here indowntown Bristol.”
For more information about theBirthplace of Country MusicGrand Opening event, please call423-573-1927 or visit the website, www.BirthplaceofCountryMusic.org.
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October 2014
Shovels and Rope
If you’ve ever had the opportunityto visit the Sun Records location onUnion street in Memphis, TN, youknow how quaint and simple theiconic studio looks. But perspectiveis not reality. Began in 1952 by SamPhillips, the Sun label was thelaunching pad for many hopefulmusicians who went on to forevershape the world of music we knowtoday.
According to the Sun Records website, “Phillips was patient and will-ing to listen to almost anyone whocame in off the street to record.Memphis was a happy home to adiverse musical scene: gospel, blues,hillbilly, country, boogie, and west-ern swing. Taking advantage of thisrange of talent, there were no stylelimitations on the label. In oneform or another Sun recorded themall.” Artists such as Jerry Lee Lewis,Carl Perkins, Charlie Rich,Conway Twitty, and Roy Orbison
are notable stand outs, but prob-ably none more famous than ElvisPresley or Johnny Cash.
This past July 4th, 2014 marked the60th anniversary of arguably one ofthe most famous recordings at theSun studios. An aspiring singerfrom Tupelo, MS, Elvis Presley re-corded the hit, “That’s All Right”– and it was what many agree thebirth of Rock and Roll.
Another Sun protégé was a youngman by the name of Johnny Cash.Later commonly known as TheMan In Black, Cash’s careerspanned for decades before his pass-ing in 2003. The singer-songwriter,actor, and author not only becamea country music legend, his songscrossed many musical boundariesincluding rock and roll, rockabilly,blues, folk, and gospel.
The Legends On DisplayIn honor of the place and the art-ists that were there in the begin-ning, The Johnny Cash Museumin Nashville, TN has unveiled anew exhibit, The Legends Of SunRecords collection. It features arti-facts that spotlight Johnny Cash,Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, JerryLee Lewis, Carl Perkins and drum-mer W.S. Holland.
“I’m pleased that the Johnny CashMuseum is celebrating the achieve-ments of these five legendary per-formers, and I know that Elviswould have been tremendouslyhonored to be included in this ex-hibit,” stated Priscilla Presley. JerryLee Lewis said of the exhibition,“Johnny and I started at SunRecords over 50 years ago andworked together for decades. Wewere good friends and I’m proudto be involved in The Legends of
Cash Museum HonorsSUN Legends
Sun Records exhibit at the JohnnyCash Museum.”
W. S. Holland said, “the drumsthat are currently on display in theJohnny Cash Museum are the sameset that recorded ‘Blue Suede Shoes’and the Million Dollar Quartet.They were also the first ever fulldrum set to be played at the GrandOle Opry. At Sun Records, itwasn’t something that we thoughtwould make history. It just hap-pened. We never thought anyonewould even know about it after acouple years. Those days seem likea dream, but they also seemed likethey just happened a few weeksago.”
The Johnny Cash Museum itselfhouses the world’s largest collectionof artifacts and memorabilia per-taining to Johnny’s life and career.The Exhibits, films and other itemshave all been officially endorsed bythe Cash Family.www.JohnnyCashMuseum.com
October 2014
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When American Profile Maga-zine did a story on two Iowan folks,Bob and Sheila Everhart, theystarted with an interesting analogy.“When Bob Everhart plays ‘DownIn the Valley’ he hears the voices ofpioneers. And those voices have in-spired a museum, two halls of fame,and a festival to honor America’straditional and rural music.”
Everhart is quick to add, “The Na-tional Old Time Festival we put onis in its 39th year. That’s a recordfor Iowa, and for the kind of mu-sic we present, it’s a record forAmerica. When I say the names ofsome of our presentations, like aguitar pull, or a harmonica howl,a banjo jamboree, a dulcimer do,an autoharp gathering, a poet’s cor-ner, a fiddler’s jubilee, even a man-
dolin pick-in, itfosters images,and in manycases definitememories, ofwhat America’smusic used to belike. Doing thisfor 39 years hascreated a situa-tion where wenow need sevendays/ten stagesto accommodatethe over 600performers,andwhat is evenmore amazingis where theycome from.”
Everhart and his wife Sheila workon the event the entire year. Ac-cording to Sheila, “This is a monu-mental task for us, just schedulingthat many performers can be anightmare, but Bob has been do-ing it for a very long time now, andhe enjoys each and every perfor-
mance, especially those that engen-der the continuation of whatAmerica’s early rural music waslike.”
Not Listening To America“America’s rural music is the mostdiscriminated musical genre inAmerica,” Bob said. “It has beenunder the gun so many times it’s a
wonder it even still exists. Whenradio and recordings first came intobeing, the only licensing agencywas ASCAP who refused to licensethe old-time mountain music forradio airplay because they felt itwas unfit for human consump-tion. Perhaps they weren’t listen-ing to America then, and in manycases, I think they don’t listen toAmerica today. That’s why wework so hard keeping this particu-lar event alive and well.”
The Everhart’s formed a 501(c)3non-profit agricultural expositionorganization in 1976 to keep theevent alive. “We’re kind of like achurch,” Bob said. “Our religion isof many stripes, but the stars of ourflag are the ones that still keep thelight of America’s musical heritageunextinguished.”
Bob and Shelia are recording art-ists for the prestigious SmithsonianInstitution. Created by Moses Aschin New York City, it is now themost respected record label main-
Preserving Rural American MusicBob Phillips is a correspondent forNational Traditional Country MusicAssociation (NTCMA) - a non-profitcorporation devoted and dedicated tokeeping acoustic rural country mu-sic alive. www.ntcma.net.
By Bob Phillips
October 2014
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taining America’s musical heri-tage in the country. “We’ve re-corded six albums for theSmithsonian, and that has led usto creating a program we call theTraveling Museum of Music. We
have spent two years working onit, and researching it. This is a pro-gram of music that was popularin rural America. It’s historicallyaccurate, sometimes funny, some-times sad, most times very mean-ingful entertainment suitable forall ages, and especially appreci-ated by an older audience. That’sexactly how we continue ourwork saving America’s rural mu-sical heritage.”
How It Goes DownThe music festival takes place Au-gust 25-31, at the PlymouthCounty Fairgrounds in LeMars,Iowa. “LeMars is the ice creamcapital of the world,” Everhartsaid, “so we are very pleased tobe in a location that has air condi-tioned buildings that can accom-modate all the stage. We haveeverything from a Log Cabinfront porch, to a quiet little nookin front of an old wind mill in whatwe call a pioneer ghost town. That’swhere the Carl Sandburg read-ings, poetry, autoharpists,storytelling, dulcimers, and zitherplaying and quiet music takesplace. The main stage accommo-dates nearly 2,000 fans.
Many professional performerscome from around the world tomake the festival international inscope.
Additionally, special guests likeJohn Carter Cash, Larry Cordle.Stephen Pride, (the youngerbrother of Charley Pride), andLuLu Roman (one of the stars of
Hee Haw), are all making thetrek to the corn fields of Iowa.
A Piece Of History“Agriculture was, and still is, oneof the most important industriesin America. That’s why we havethe Mobile Museum containingdisplays relative to Iowa’s ancientagriculturists, right up to thepresent, with us. We inviteschools in Plymouth County, andall counties surrounding Ply-mouth, to send their kids to usfor a field day of incredible his-tory as revealed in the old songsthat Bluegrass legend Bill Mon-roe (who by the way, found hiswife in Iowa) labeled this musi-cal history the ‘ancient tones.”
For more information visitwww.ntcma.net.
Advertise InAmericana RhythmMusic Magazine
~Print and On Line~Our 10th year in print!
Reach 10,000+ readers!Musicians, and Fans of
Americana Music
20 www.AmericanaRhythm.com
Along
Music Trail Shenandoahthe
By Don DePoy PhD
As I sit writing this in the greatstate of Maine, I am contemplat-ing where our travels will take usnext, including getting to meetmany of you at the ShenandoahMusic Trail’s booth at IBMA Worldof Bluegrass in Raleigh, NC thisfall. I am also reminded of theShenandoah Music Trail’s goal; topromote, preserve, and celebratethe great music traditions of theShenandoah Valley. The SM Trailoffers pickers and listeners an op-portunity to experience musicstyles that date back to the 1700s;styles that shaped and set the stan-dard for much of today’s Ameri-cana music also know as old-time,bluegrass, string, roots, mountainsoul, and alternative country mu-sic.
The history of the development ofthe Americana string musicrightfulloy indicates that the his-torical moment of the Birth ofCountry Music was in Bristol, TNon July 25, 1927. However, did youknow that before Ralph Peer’s 1927visit to Bristol he had already be-gun bringing this hillbilly music toa fast growing audience? Here’s abrief back-story.
Talent DiscoveredIn a recent issue of ShenandoahL i v i n g m a g a z i n e(www.shenandoahmagazine.com), writerDave Nealon recounted the storyof local resident John Evans whois credited for discovering some lo-cal talent. Evans operated two fur-niture stores in the RockinghamCounty area of VA. Evens stockedwind-up phonograph machines
and 78 RPM records at his stores,and those items were popular at-tractions in those days.
By 1927, rural southern music hadbeen growing in sales for a coupleof years. A popular annual localouting was the Elkton, VA FieldDay event. This event featured con-tests, food, and lots of live localmusic. One headlining act was agroup from the Blue Ridge Moun-
tains named Bela Lam and HisQuartette. John Evans heard theLams perform and contacted RalphPeer, a record industry friend ofEvens, who worked for OkehRecords in New York. Peer invited
the Lam group to New York tomake records and offered to pay alltheir expenses as well as a 50-dol-lar per disc stipend. The Lams re-corded 14 songs on July 7th and 8th,1927, and Okeh released 12 of themthat were credited to Bela Lam andHis Quartette.” The records weremoderately successful. Peer leftOkeh soon after this event andwent to work for Victor. He headedsouth to find more musicians to
record for Victor, and theBristol Sessions are now his-tory. Peer did again recordedBela Lam and his newlynamed Greene County Sing-ers, this time for Victor, andthese sessions were held inRichmond, Virginia in 1929.
Tune-book RootsHere’s another interestingback-story. Sources such asBill Monroe and a host ofscholarly books written onthe history of bluegrass allindicate the major role Bap-tist church singing played in
the development of bluegrass mu-sic, especially the harmony vocalstyle so closely associated withbluegrass music. It is interesting tolearn that the most popular hymnbook carried by early settlers down
Bela Lam and Green County Singers
October 2014
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the Wagon Road and west on theWilderness Road into Kentuckywas actually published in Dayton,VA, a small town just south ofHarrisonburg on Highway 42. This
book is the Kentucky Harmony. Itis a shape note tune-book, publishedin 1816 by Ananias Davisson.
This book is generally consideredthe first Southern shape-note tune-book in history. The first edition ofthe Kentucky Harmony was 140pages long and contained 143 tunes.Unlike some books printed beforeand after this publication, the Ken-tucky Harmony always containedfour part vocal settings for its tunes.The influence of the Kentucky Har-mony can be seen in later tune-books, even as late as Walker’sSouthern Harmony and B. F.White’s Sacred Harp . IrvingLowens considered the KentuckyHarmony”, One of the most im-portant and influential collectionsof American folk hymnody evercompiled...”. Despite the nameKentucky Harmony, Davisson livedmost of his life in the ShenandoahValley and is buried in Port Repub-lic, VA.
About The TrailThe Shenandoah Music Trail is aseries of driving loops designed toshowcase Valley music, promotethe area’s rich history and naturalbeauty. The Trail covers 14 coun-ties and is divided into three sec-tions. The upper, central, and lowervalley regions all feature easy driv-ing, multiple-loop excursions andthey extend from Winchester, VAto Roanoke, VA. These routes ac-cess current musical venues, trailstops featuring mountain music,historical places, and location mark-ers for musicians that have had sig-nificant impact on American mu-sic. Currently, there are over 75
Music Venues with over half offer-ing weekly programs; 27 jam ses-sions (many weekly); 46 festivals;and over 20 historical event places.The Shenandoah Valley is alsohome to the first bluegrass day(Berryville, 1960); the first blue-grass festival (Luray, 1961); and thefirst bluegrass multi-day festival(Fincastle, 1965).
Whether you live in theShenandoah Valley or are lookingfor some new travel destinations,we hope you might come visit usand experience all we have to of-fer: amazing natural beauty; richhistory; diverse people; and mostof all, our music. Come sing yourway back home to Shenandoah anddon’t forget to bring your instru-ment. And if you plan to attendthis year’s IBMA, stop by ourbooth and say hello.
The Shenandoah Music Trail issponsored in part by Virginia Tour-ism Corporation, Virginia Commis-sion for the Arts, National Councilfor the Arts, and our faithful spon-sors and members. SMT is aShenandoah Valley, all volunteer501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Seemore at: www.svmmma.org.
You can read more about the BelaLam story here,http://shenandoahmagazine.com/l a m - f a m i l y - m u s i c i a n s /#sthash.FgHBRAFN.dpuf
Ananias Davisson
SMT Grant UpdateThe Shenandoah Music Trail recentlyreceived a grant from the VirginiaCommission for the Arts to bring pro-fessional music programs to two ofthe most under-served populationsin Virginia, senior citizens and veter-ans. Dr. Donald DePoy, ExecutiveDirector for the Shenandoah MusicTrail states, “We are honored to beselected from scores of other appli-cants to bring Shenandoah Valleymusic to folks who have little or noopportunity to hear high artistic mu-sic performed live.” He goes on toexplain, “This grant is specificallytargeting non-profit senior and vet-eran facilities reporting that they haveminimal or no money budgeted formusic-life enrichment programs.”These facilities typically rely on lo-cal, non-professional musicians whograciously volunteer their time buthave little, if any, professional train-ing in life enrichment program de-velopment.
October 2014
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Arm yourself with pen and pa-per and you can travel the world,live on the moon, fight wars longpast, create heartache and find thelove of your life; all for theprice of a little time. For anextra added bonus, you canput those thoughts to amelody and sing your story... Songwriting!
Let’s begin with the begin-ning, the inspiration. Where dothose great songs that we’ve beensinging since we could sing, comefrom? Someone’s imagination,that’s where. These songs wereborn from something a writer ex-perienced, an experience bor-rowed, or a tale dreamed up. Asongwriter can sit down and write
a song for the ages by listeningand seeing what their imaginationwas unveiling and then actingupon it. Your imagination must
be nurtured on a daily basis, sothat, like any muscle in yourbody, it will be ready to go towork when you are in the placeto write a song. There are anynumber of ways you can giveyour thoughts a workout.
Here is a simple trick: try lookingaround you and picking out anobject, any object, and with a penor computer, describe what that
object is, what it means toyou and how it makes youfeel. Go a step farther, andmake up a fantastical taleabout where it came from,for example, on a ship fromCasablanca in the early1600’s, given to your great,
great, how ever many greats,grandmother as a memento totreasure after she was rescuedfrom pirates - you get the picture.
Weave it like soft cotton until itunfolds like a blanket. You are ac-complishing several things withthis exercise. You are getting your
“Weave it like softcotton until it unfolds
like a blanket.”
creative juices flowing, stretchingthem and working them out. Andyou are also learning to write withimages.
Until the next time, I bid you towrite about what you “see”!
Donna Ulisse has been a two timenominee for IBMA Songwriter of theYear. She has been a signedsongwriter to Uncle Hadley Music(ASCAP) in Nashville, TN for fifteenyears and has released seven blue-grass albums on the Hadley MusicGroup label. She has had her songsrecorded by Claire Lynch, Nu-Blu,The Bankesters, Darin & BrookeAldridge, Louise Mosrie, Diana Jonesand also a song on the 2014 Grammywinning album Streets of Baltimoreby Del McCoury Band, and she hasjust published her first book TheSongwriter In Me: Snapshots of MyCreative Process available onAmazon.com.
October 2014
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Lesley Riddle
Written by UNC Asheville students enrolled in the Liberal Studies Introductory Colloquia,“The Art of the Blues” (Fall 2005) and “Jazz and Blues in American Culture” (Fall 2003)Supervised by Project Advisor: Bryan Sinclair.
“Influenced by ragtime, country string bands, traveling medicine shows, and popu-lar song of the early 20th century, East Coast Piedmont Blues blended bothblack and white, rural and urban song elements in the diverse urban centers ofthe Southeast and mid-Atlantic region. In contrast, the Delta blues style of ruralMississippi is believed to have less of a white influence, as it was produced in aregion with a higher concentration of African Americans. Although it drew fromdiverse elements of the region, East Coast Piedmont Blues is decidedly anAfrican American art form. The Piedmont blues style may even reflect an ear-lier musical tradition than the blues that emerged from the Mississippi Delta.”http://web.archive.org/web/20060208185500/http://facstaff.unca.edu/sinclair/piedmontblues/riddle.html
East Coast Piedmont Blues
By Cori Gross and Christia Aldridge , UNC Ashville Students
Lesley Riddle is considered bymany to be one of the biggestcontributors to country music aswe know it today. Born on June13, 1905, in Burnsville, NorthCarolina, Riddle received littleeducation as a child and pursuedmanual labor as a career. One ofhis first jobs wasat a cement plant,where anaccident cost himhis right leg at theknee. During hisrecovery period,Riddle focusedhis attention onlearning to playthe guitar. Hedeveloped hisown uniquepicking techniqueand slide style.
Throughout the 1920s, Riddleplayed and sang with small stringbands at churches andneighborhood gatherings. InKingsport, Tennessee in 1928,Riddle met A.P. Carter, foundingmember of the Carter Familycountry band. Carter learned thesong “Cannonball” from Riddle,and Riddle began accompanyingCarter on his “song-collecting”trips throughout the Appalachianregion. Carter would write downlyrics he liked, and it was Riddle’sjob to remember the music.Maybelle Carter, A.P.’s sister-in-law and guitarist for the band, isnoted as having learned much inthe way of guitar technique fromMr. Riddle.
Like many blues men of his day,Riddle relocated to Rochester,New York, in 1942. He sold hisguitar in 1945, either because hecouldn’t find anyone to makemusic with, or simply didn’t wantto anymore. It was there that MikeSeeger hunted Riddle down to
record him in1963. Seeger andthe New Lost CityRamblers playeda concert withMaybelle Carter,who playedseveral songsshe had learnedfrom LesleyRiddle. Seegerasked her whoshe had learnedthe songs from,
and upon finding out, Seegersearched Riddle down andpersuaded him to continueplaying. Between 1965 and 1978,Seeger made several recordingswith Riddle on the guitar andpiano. In 1993, Rounder Recordsreleased these recordings as wellas recordings of Riddle playingwith the Carter Family. Riddledied on July 13, 1980. He was agreatly talented musician whomade an undeniable impact onthe sound of the Carter Family,thus influencing country music asa whole. Unfortunately Riddlenever received the recognition hedeserved, and the only recordingof his music available today is thealbum Step by Step.
13.
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October 2014
AUGUSTBlue Ridge Music & BBQ Fest
August 23, 2014Harrisonburg, VA
www.blueridgemusicandbbq.com
Shenandoah Valley Music FestAugust 29 - Sept. 1 2014
Orkney Springs, VAwww.musicfest.org
Happy Valley Fiddlers Conv.August 29 - 31, 2014
Lenoir, NCwww.happyvalleyfiddlers.com
SEPTEMBERInterlocking Music Festival
September 4 - 7, 2014Arrington, VA
www.lockenfestival.com
Grottoes Family Bluegrass FestivalSeptember 4 - 6, 2014
Grottoes, VAwww.bluegrassingrottoes.com
Rockbridge Mountain Music& Dance Festival
September 5 - 6, 2014Buena Vista, VA
www.rockbridgefestival.org
Jumpin’ Bluegrass & VA StateBluegrass ChampionshipSeptember 11 - 14, 2014
Chesterfield, VAwww.vafolkmusic.org
Carolina Bible Camp Bluegrass FestSeptember 13, 2014
Mockesville, VAwww.cbcbluegrass.com
Beer & MusicSeptember 20, 2014
Harrisonburg, VAwww.rocktownfestival.com
(AMA) Americana Music FestivalSeptember 17 - 21, 2014
Nashville, TNwww.americanamusic.org
Email festival listings [email protected]
Daily Vincent Land FestSeptember 18 - 20, 2014
Denton, NCwww.dailyvincentfest.com
Hoppin’ John Old-Time& Bluegrass Fiddlers Convention
September 18 - 20, 2014Silk Hope, NC
www.hoppinjohn.org
Bristol Rhythm & Roots ReunionSeptember 19 - 21, 2014
Bristol, VAwww.bristolrhythm.com
Good Times Tastes & TraditionsSeptember 20 - 21, 2014
Staunton, VAwww.augustava.com
Arcadia Bluegrass FestivalSeptember 18 - 20, 2014
Upperco, MDhttp://www.bluegrassville.com/arcadia/
homepgfall.htm
Edinburg Ole Time FestivalSeptember 19 - 21, 2014
Edinburg, VAwww.edinburgoletimefestival.org
Nothin’ Fancy Bluegrass FestivalSeptember 25 - 28, 2014
Buena Vista, VAwww.nothinfancybluegrass.com
Crooked Road Music FestivalSeptember 25 - 28, 2014
Abingdon, VAwww.abingdon-crookedroadmusicfest.com
Watermelon Park FestSeptember 25 - 27, 2013
Berryville, VAwww.watermelonparkfest.com
Outerbanks Bluegrass FestivalSeptember 25 - 28, 2014
Roanoke Island, NCwww.bluegrassisland.com
Brew & BluesSeptember 27, 2014
Front Royal, VAwww.brewandblues.com
Misty Mountain Music FestivalSeptember 26 - 28, 2014
Crozet, VAwww.mistymountainmusicfestival.com
OCTOBERAiken And Friends Fest
October 3 - 4, 2014Smithfield, VA
www.aikenandfriendsfest.com
Mountain Magic Bluegrass Fest.October 4, 2014
Buchanan, VAwww.townofbuchanan.com
Wide Open BluegrassOctober 3 - 4, 2014
Raleigh, NCwww.wideopenbluegrass.com
Norton Wine & Bluegrass FestivalOctober 4 - 5, 2014
Petersburg, VAwww.chrysaliswine.com/
The Festy ExperienceOctober 10 - 12 , 2014
Nelson County, VAwww.thefesty.com
Shakorihills Grassroots FestivalOctober 9 - 12, 2014
Pittsboro, NCwww.shakorihillsgrassroots.org
Richmond Folk FestivalOctober 10 - 12, 2014
Richmond, VAwww.richmondfolkfestival.com
Rockahock Family BluegrassOctober 16 - 18, 2014
Lanexa, VAwww.rockahockbluegrass.com
40th Home Craft Days FestivalOctober 17 - 19, 2013
Big Stone Gap, VAwww.homecraftdays.org
Blue Ridge Folk Life FestivalOctober 25 , 2014
Ferrum, VAwww.blueridgeinstitute.org
25www.AmericanaRhythm.com
October 2014
We’d love to show up in your mail box six times a year!The rich culture of Americana music is the
fastest growing music today! Let’s stay in touchsubscription to Americana Rhythm. It’s only $18.
Send us your name and address along with your check ormoney order for $18 made out to Americana Rhythm, to POBox 45, Bridgewater, VA, 22812. (PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY)You can also subscribe Via PayPal on line at www.AmericanaRhythm.com
Name:
Address:
City: State: Zip:
If you live in, near, or evenwithin driving distance of down-town Raleigh, NC, it would beworth your while to mark Octo-ber 3rd – 4th on your calendar, andhead that way. Why? This marksthe second year that the Interna-tional Bluegrass MusicAssociation’s convention will beheld in the city. It is the businessside of bluegrass music for bands,promoters, labels, venues, and allthings related to making andpresenting music. However, theculmination of that is an amaz-ing two days of what the IBMAsays is “some of the best blue-grass lineups of the fall anywherein the nation.”
The Wide Open Bluegrass, as it isreferred to, is a free Street Festivalfrom noon until 11:00 PM Fridayand Saturday. It features fourmusic stages, a youth talent stage,the North Carolina Whole HogBarbecue State Championship, adance tent, and a variety of foodvendors and other street festivalofferings.
Scheduled performers this yearinclude, The Gibson Brothers,Steep Canyon Rangers, BalsamRange, Lonesome River Band,Town Mountain, Ricky Skaggs &Bruce Hornsby with KentuckyThunder, Del McCoury Band,Yonder Mountain String Band,Della Mae, Russell Moore & IIIrdTyme Out, The Grascals, andmany others.
For additional information aboutthe IBMA, or the Wide OpenBluegrass schedule, visitwww.wideopenbluegrass.com.
Wide OpenBluegrass
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John CowanSixty
www.johncowan.comJohn Cowan got his start asthe bassist for the New GrassRevival - 35 years later,known by many as the “Voiceof Newgrass,” his latest, Sixty,is considered his most ambi-tious. And, it’s good!Newgrassers, check it out.
The SlambovianCircus Of DreamsA Box Of Everything
www.slambovia.com
Michael Cleveland andFlamekeeper
On Down The Linewww.flamekeeperband.com
Dubbed the “greatest hitsyou’ve never heard,” TheSlambovian Circus of Dreamsbrings a unique twist to Ameri-cana / alt. Folk - a cool 70sish vibe - and a great musicalexpereince. Nice, guys.
Jack ClementFor Once And For Allwww.jackclement.com
David MayfieldStrangers
www.davidmayfieldparade.netProlific folk grass, singer/songwriter David Mayfieldhad one goal with this newproject, Strangers; “record atimeless album.” It ’s agrass,celtic, folk, journeymaninspired collection well worththe spin. The imagery is vivid;timeless even. We like it.
Dolly PartonBlue Smoke
www.dollypartonentertainment.com
Texas Bluegrass bandAcoustic Sound Hounds de-buts it’s sophomore set withASH. Every band seeks thatsignature sound they can calltheir own - ASH has done it -catchy vocal harmony andfinger snappin’ tunes. Tradi-tional grass with a twist.
Acoustic Sound HoundsASH
www.acousticsoundhounds.com
Who doesn’t know Dolly Par-ton - this country music, liv-ing legend returns to herroots with her grass tinged,Blue Smoke. As muchAmericana as anything, Dollyjust knows how to make goodmusic. You’ll like this .
Dale WatsonThe Truckin’ Sessions Trilogywww.lancecowanmedia.com
“Cowboy” Jack Clement diedin August 2013 at 82, not longafter he finished recordingthis CD, only his third - but tocall him a legend probablycomes up short. He was“America’s whimsical maver-ick.” And this legacy collec-tion is a poetic epitaph.
Frank Solivan& Dirty Kitchen
Cold Spellwww.dirtykitchenband.com
Seldom SceneLong Time
www.folkways.si.eduProfoundly influencial SeldomScene’s early cutting edge,out of the box approach pavedthe way for what became thenew grass movement. Theirlatest is a “family reunion”with current and foundingplayers. It’s a must have.
Wayne TaylorMovin’ On
www.waynetaylorandappalossa.com
50 years is a long time to doanything. But when you’vebeen making good music thatlong, it’s worth celebrating -Larry Sparks one ofbluegrass’s early generation- still makes good music.
Larry SparksLonesome And Then SomeA Classic 50th Celebration
www.larrysparks.com Carolina native, Wayne Tay-lor spent 18 years with theNavy’s outreach band Coun-try Current, honing his musi-cal chops. His latest soloproject, Movin’ On, is yet an-other solid installment of hiscontemporary to traditionalgrass sound.
Doug SeegersGoing Down The River
www.rounder.comSelf proclaimed, “Doug TheDrifter,” Doug Seegers hashad quite the life. The “fre-quently homeless” 62 yearold got discovered at a Nash-ville food pantry by a Swed-ish country music star. Theresult, a darn good record -and a cool story.
Leading a new generation ofgrass flavored pioneers,Frank Solivan and his band,Dirty Kitchen, have beennominated as 2014’s Instru-mental band of the year. Ifyou like inovative string mu-sic, you’ll like this.
You can send new Americana CD releases for consideration to PO Box 45, Bridgewater, VA, 22812
With nine IBMA Fiddle playerof the year awards, MichaelCleveland is on of the premierfiddlers of his generation.These guys knock it out of thepark with this straight up drivin’grass collection.
Mike Auldridge, JerryDouglas, Rob Ickes
Three Bellswww.concordmusicgroup.comShould read, Three Legends- Three dobro masters col-laborate for this once in a life-time set. Sadly, MikeAuldridge passed shortly af-ter recording. This is one tograb for sure. Out Sept. 16.
October 2014
Music From Your Neighbors Music From The National Scene
welcome to the latest edi-tion of SPINS! How can theseguys keep making suchgreat music? Wow! Grabyour iPad or Smart Phoneand dial up some of thesefine folks. We bet you lovethem all - we do!
Of course, soon you’ll be ableto hear cuts from thesegroups featured on ourInternet radio station,Americana House Party aswell. You can turn us onfrom the home page of ourweb site at www.AmericanaRhythm.com.
Uncle Woody,The Spin Doctor
Although the trilogy beganback in 1998, this third in theseries from classic Texasswingman Dale Watson is ablast to listen to. Think MerleHaggard meets WaylonJennings meets Jerry Reed -Bam! Bet you can’t keep stillwith this CD in the spinner.
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October 2014
www.AmericanaRhythm.com
Greg Tutwiler with Andrew McKnight
Depending on where you live, of-ten times, access to live music is noteasy or accessible. That, and thechanging seasons, curtail the avail-ability of outdoor music festivals.Never fear. There is a viable solu-tion; House Concerts. That’s right,a concert in your home. Perhapsthe concept has not escaped you,but you’ve never considered theidea personally. Why not?
Solo acts and smaller duet/trio actsare always looking for opportuni-ties to share their craft. And mostare very willing to entertainsmaller audiences. If you thinkabout where many of them findwork, it’s often in 30 to 40 seat café’sand coffee houses. Well, I bet yourliving room or basement probablywould accommodate that manyfolks. (Many artists will even playfor 15 to 20 people.)
My friend and long time contribu-tor to AR, Andrew McKnight,shared some insights with meabout this really neat social gath-ering. “House concerts make up agood percentage of my concertschedule these days,” he said,“Many folks do this as a specialevent when I come to town, for oth-ers it’s a monthly occurrence. Theyget the beautiful nuances of voicesand strings, up close and personal.”
Presenting a house concert is prettyeasy he told me. “Once we arrangea date, the rest falls into place sim-ply. You need to figure how manypeople you can comfortably fit,where you can procure sufficientseating (borrowing a few foldingchairs from your church is com-mon), and get emails, flyers orpostcards out to interested friends,coworkers, and/or folks at other lo-cal folk/acoustic venues.”
And it’s not as costly as you mightthink. House concerts are oftenunderwritten all or in part by thehost or sponsor(s) in combinationwith admission donations from at-tendees.
Here are a couple of tips Andrewoffers for making your House Con-cert night a success.Get an audience interested in ad-vance and in the seats at the show.Make and send your own invita-tions from companies like Postcardor Evite, or use an email list andmake phone calls.
Plan ahead for details like park-ing, house and bathroom access,seating, refreshments, and admis-sion donation collection.
Provide an attractive perfor-mance and listening setting; theright lighting and ambiance canbring the warmth and magic ofCarnegie Hall to your living room
“Make sure in addition to being agood host you can enjoy the showyourself, instead of runningaround like a maniac tending todetails while everyone else is en-joying the show,” Andrew said.“The night of the show, you maywant to have some refreshmentsready, or specify a BYO if you pre-fer. Welcome your guests as theycome in and point their way to theadmission donation jar and refresh-ments. Consider introducing theartist and letting your audienceknow that it is a listening perfor-mance (cell phones on stun,please). Allow for socializing beforeand after the show and on the in-termission, and perhaps encouragethem to check out the CDs.”
“Then at the end of the night, folkswill thank you for a wonderfultime; ask to find out when you’redoing it again; and say goodnight,” Andrew continued. “A fewminutes of tidying up and rear-ranging the furniture and voila,back to your own house!”
If you would like to speak to An-drew about a house concert, youcan visit his website atwww.AndrewMcKnight.com. Tofind house concerts to attend andsupport in your area, visitwww.houseconcerts.com.
Bringing MusicTo Your Home
