pages as pages

Transcription

pages as pages

OLD TIME NEWS 66 SUMMER 2011
page2
OLD TIME NEWS
THE ONLY UK PUBLICATION DEDICATED TO AMERICAN OLD TIME MUSIC AND DANCE
No. 66 SUMMER 2011
FESTIVAL SEASON IN FULL SWING!!
FANTASTIC FREE GIFT!!!
GROW YOUR OWN OLD-TIME BANJO
IN EASY ANNUAL PARTS - FULL DETAILS INSIDE
SAVE £££’s
(USUAL PRICE £6.99)
Terms & conditions apply
Your home may be at risk
page2
EDITORS’ MEWS...
SUMMER IS HERE, and the festival season well under way. Thanks to everyone who has
contributed to this issue, which is the first in full colour. We hope you like the new look, our first
issue since taking over the production from Mo Jackson who has stepped down after seven years.
We join with all FOAOTMAD members in applauding her skill and hard work in producing the
magazine. Also huge thanks and gratitude are due to Michi Mathias who has dealt with
distribution of OTN for even longer and is also stepping down.
Booked for Gainsborough 2012: New North Carolina Ramblers (Kirk Sutphin, Kinney Rorrer,
Darren Moore with Randy Johnson), Ira Bernstein and Riley Baugus and more to be confirmed.
Dates 10-12 February 2012.
A new member benefit is the FOAOTMAD Tuition Fund, details inside. Two members have already received
bursaries and further applications are welcome.
There is lots of good stuff in this issue: check out the new ‘Foreign Correspondents’ series, & the new Fiddle/
Banjo/MP3 link feature.
No young people playing old-time music? They beg to differ! Also,we talk to Ron Dobbs, FOAOTMAD’s 2011
fiddle champion. Stompin’ good banjo tips, reviews and, for the DIY minded, grab yourself Part1 of our free
banjo! and lots more...
We’ve just been lucky enough to visit
North Carolina (got on the wrong train at
Reading). It was superb, and we spent a
week at Mars Hill College (Blue Ridge
Old Time Music Week). This is a
wonderful event started and run by
Hilary Dirlam for the last 20 years. We
had the great privilege of studying fiddle
with Curly Miller of the Old 78s.
We met up with several expatriate
FOAOTMAD members, with old friends
and also with American musicians who
have been over here and supported the
organisation over the years. You may be
surprised by how many American old
time players know about FOAOTMAD and
how pleased they are that ‘The Brits’
love the music as they do.
in the next issue:
Feature on The Green Grass Cloggers
(pictured left)
Interviews: Hilary Dirlam
(Mars Hill)
Curly Miller & Carole Anne Rose
(The Old 78s)
Reviews: Mars Hill, Mt. Airy Fiddlers Convention
CD Reviews
and much more................................
photoart Andrew & Emily
We really value your input; keep
the great stuff coming in and have
a lovely summer.
ANDREW & EMILY
Cover photo: Fiona Cameron and ‘Butter Holler’ play at Bluff Mountain Festival, Hot Springs, N.C.
OLD TIME NEWS
Published quarterly
Editors............... Andrew Henley & Emily Poole - 01626 867958
(publishers/design/production)
Sub-Editor............Andy Imms
[email protected]
[email protected]
(advertising/events/sessions)
COPY DATES : 1st March, June, September and December. Submissions to the Editors.
ADVERTISING: Andy Imms, 19, Springfield Road, Pamber Heath, Tadley, Hants. RG26 3DL
The editors are not responsible for, or necessarily agree with, contributors’ comments or claims. All material is copyright and may only be reproduced with permission.
Advertising: Whole page.... £40
Half page.... £30
Quarter page.... £20
Eighth page.... £15
Sixteenth page.... £10
Cheques payable to FOAOTMAD
Members’ small ads (<50 words) free. Old time music gatherings for which there is no entrance charge - free quarter page ad
Friends of American Old Time Music and Dance
President.... Tom Paley
Chairman.... Currently vacant
Treasurer.... Claire Rudd
Dance....... Sara Marshall & Josie Anstee
Publicity......Mike Sales
Webmaster...John Messenger
www.foaotmad.org.uk
Secretary......Christine Bell, 23 Halifax Street, Sydenham, London SE26 6JA
[email protected]
Membership...Eve Morris, 67, Greenway, Bishops Lydeard, Taunton, TA4 3DA
tel/fax 01823 432863
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual £20, couple/group £30, +£5 for overseas/air mail.
page3
Amazing Slow Downer Colin Thompson
Old-time music is basically a tradition that is conveyed by
example from one person to another. However, a little technical
help can be useful when attempting to capture the finer details
of a tune that are essential to the genre.
At last year’s Sacrewell Summer Camp, reference was sometimes made to the
Amazing Slow Downer program. Whilst many of our members will be familiar
with this program, there are no doubt others who have yet to discover the
benefits of this very useful piece of software. I have written this introductory
guide to assist those who are new to this program.
My aim is to acquaint the user with the onscreen controls and provide a basic
method by which a piece of recorded music can be slowed down and
transcribed onto paper. Once an operational understanding of this program has
been gained users can adapt the method to suit their own personal needs.
Free trial software of Amazing Slow Downer for Windows or Mac computers is
available from Roni Music at their website:
http://www.ronimusic.com/
This free trial version only permits
playback of the first two tracks of a music
CD and the first quarter of an audio file.
The full version of the program can be
purchased for US$ 49.95 This price
includes a user-licence and free online
support by email.
Find Colin’s full guide on the FOAOTMAD website: www.foaotmad.org.uk
COVER FEATURE Grow your own Banjo!!
Instructions for use
Your FREE kit contains 1 x maple seed,
1 x red ebony seed, 1 x mahogany seed.
We recommend using maple for the rim,
ebony for fingerboard/peghead veneers,
mahogany for the neck.
All seeds are best quality.
Plant in potting compost in plastic containers
(a yogurt pot is ideal) and keep well watered
on a window-sill.
Once established with minimum of 2 leaves,
move to a warm sunny place
(we recommend Australia) and avoid frost
during winter months.
In Spring 2021, Old Time News will feature
a ‘how to’ article on how best to harvest and
dry your woods.
In Summer 2021, look out for your FREE
Banjo Bracket and 3rd fret!!
Start collecting now!!!
(Look for further exciting offers in this series!!
Coming soon: Knit your own fiddle!!!
Bake a Dance Board!!)
(Editors’ note. Have a look also at Audacity. This audio editor will slow down/ speed up/ pitch
change/ change format etc. Free download (PC or Mac) www.download-audacity.com)
MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT!
At the last committee meeting a
FOAOTMAD Tuition Fund was created ...
CAPTION COMPETITION:
ROB JOHNSON CAUGHT ON CAMERA WITH
BASS BANJO!!
Purpose of Fund: To provide financial support
towards tuition which members could not
otherwise access. This is potentially available
to any member (and not age limited). It can
be used towards one-to-one tuition or for
tuition at workshops in the U.K. It is not
intended to be used for accommodation or
travel costs etc.
Preference will be given to FOAOTMAD
organized events.
Funds: Current agreement is for 10 x £100
bursaries.
Applications: Applications are invited from
members and will be confidential. Brief
details of the proposed use of the money and
supporting information (i.e. how the money
will make a difference) should be sent to the
FOAOTMAD secretary. If you are under 18 you
will need parental support.
Awards: Decisions will be made by the
committee following discussion and will be
final.
Successful Applicants: will be required to
provide feedback to the committee following
the event, and will be strongly encouraged to
submit a short piece on their experience for
publication in OTN.
[email protected]
SUGGESTIONS TO THE EDITORS PLEASE
[email protected]
page4
FISH & CHIPS - John Messenger in conversation with
John Schwab
I first met John Schwab in the queue for a fish and chip supper
on the Friday night of the
Gainsborough festival. Both the conversation with John and the fish and chips that followed were a delight. He is a warm and
engaging man with a wealth of knowledge that he is willing to share. And he is a very fine guitarist! I had already done a little
internet searching to find out some more about John, and I soon discovered that there were, in fact, two guitar playing John
Schwabs in the USA, the other one being a Christian rock guitarist!
‘I played folk music in my teens and through to my mid twenties, which was about the early 1970s, when I
discovered dance music. Originally I was drawn to finger style guitar, the Reverend Gary Davies was an
idol of mine, but I could never train my fingers to move with the precision needed. When I heard dance
music, I found something that I could handle technically. It really moved me. During high school I always
thought I was weird because the popular music of the day didn’t make my feet move. So in the 70s I
started listening to a lot of old time music. I was fortunate to be hanging out with a couple of guys in
the Boston area who had been listening a lot to the New Lost City Ramblers and were also aware of
their sources. They had collections of some of the County reissues and shared those with me so that’s
how I learned about going back in time’.
I asked John about his playing with Hoover Uprights:
‘We met in January 1993. I’d known Bill Schmidt, our fiddler, since the late 1970s and he was a founding
member of the Double Decker String Band. Kevin Enoch and Kate Brett then moved to the Washington area
and Bill wanted to play with a good banjo player, so I suggested we try getting together with Kevin and
Kate. It was a blind date but it clicked from the very beginning. We ran into Dave Rice, a harmonica player,
through Kevin who comes from Cleveland where Dave is from. We met up at Clifftop and from the beginning his
harmonica playing and Bill’s fiddle meshed beautifully. We call Dave our ‘blower attachment’!
‘I don’t get out that much to perform, but I play a lot just for enjoyment. Kate and Kevin host a monthly old-time brunch and last
time we had some great tunes with Bruce and Audrey Molsky. I have lots of musician friends all over, for example Scott Prouty, Rich
Hartness, Mike and Marcia Bryant, Brett and Pan Riggs, Gail Gillespie and Dwight Rogers. Another favourite fiddler is Adam Rose
from Santa Cruz in California, who works for the Santa Cruz guitar company as a luthier: he is excellent but totally under the radar.
I used to think of the old time community as a nationwide thing but now it’s obviously international. It really is a community’
John is working on an exciting new old time guitar project:
‘I thought I had a publisher but it turned out they were concerned about the cost, so I assume I will self-publish now. I want to use
the old recordings to teach it. Teaching back-up guitar is relatively recent for me. Five or six years ago, the Mostly Mountain Boys
got hired by Augusta to teach and I started going through the old 78s and picked five of the old guitar heroes. I focussed on getting
the attack right, the basic strum. That then evolved and last year we went to Jay Ungar’s Ashokan Camp. That was the first time I
made some pitch-corrected, slowed-down recordings and produced tab, and I thought it worked pretty well. Actually, yesterday’s
class was the most successful and I had a load of fun (so did we John, so did we!). For years I’ve been trying to find a back-up guitar
instruction book but there is nothing except perhaps for one book by Joseph Weidlich, a classical guitarist; he wrote something like
that but it is fairly technical (“Old Time Country Guitar Backup Basics” – Joseph Weidlich, Centerstream). He tried to put it into an
historical context, which is what I’m doing, but it makes a difference to have the sound recordings. Most likely it (my project) will
be a book and a CD but some friends have suggested that it could be helpful to have a DVD, to show how I’m moving my fingers on
some of the runs, and things like reaching the thumb around to note the F# on the bass string for the D chord. I’m still learning. I
was with Suzy and Eric Thompson and I was blown away by the way he got his Bb chord and also his Eb chord. I’d thought I could
have the project completed for summer 2011 but summer 2012 is more realistic’.
I then asked John about his work with the Field Recorders’ Collective:
‘I’m really busy with that. Ray Alden had been doing that single-handed since its inception. Ray was a
pillar of the Old Time community and he was very organised. When he knew that he had terminal
cancer he planned for the future and set up a board of directors to take over the running, and that
I could have
became seven of us including Diane Alden (Ray’s wife). We are sort of the worker bees; we come up
happily
with ideas for recordings, solicit contributions from people who have these recordings and manage
continued talking
the business - and we’re carrying on! It’s interesting, because we’re coming up with ideas that Ray
with John for hours
wouldn’t have had but we’re grounded in Ray’s conception of FRC. It’s been a lot of fun and it’s
and filled up an entire
definitely got a future. We’ll soon be discussing the 2012 projects and we have some pretty firm
issue of OTN. Watch this
ideas already. Another neat thing about working with the FRC is getting in contact with people
space for details of
who I otherwise wouldn’t be in touch with, like Tom Carter (of Fuzzy Mountain String Band fame
John’s publication. It
and
who recorded Gaither Carlton). I’d never met him but I’d certainly revered him since the 70s.
promises to be a really
David Holt (http:/www.davidholt.com/) put me in touch with the Watson family and it was a
excellent and much
delight to work with Nancy Watson (Doc’s daughter). Susie Goehring and I spent a lot of time
needed new approach
talking with her about the FRC and how much we care about Gaither’s music (Gaither Carlton was
to teaching back-up
Nancy’s grandfather). Nancy is working on a series of recordings of the Watson family she made. I
guitar.
was accidentally given a copy of one of these recordings and it is spectacular, just wonderful, with
family interplay. Doc is not the star; he is a member of the family. There is chat and there is music
where they are all playing together. It’s just family music’.
www.hooveruprights.com/
www.fieldrecorder.com/
photo by Ray Banks
NEW FEATURE!!!
page5
Dave Marshall and John Messenger
bring you.....
Boatman Dance
There is a version that rocks along nicely at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhiadfj1iCE&feature=related
This is the first of what we hope will be many featured tunes.
For a while now Dave Marshall has been providing banjo tabs for the
OTN and John Messenger thought that it would be nice to have a
matching fiddle/mandolin part. It is really just a ‘bare-bones’ version
that fits the banjo tab. Much can be added to it, especially some bow
rocking on the F# to D phrases and some droning. It works fine in
standard fiddle tuning or AEAE. We are linking the featured tune to the
website: http://www.foaotmad.org.uk
Of course, Boatman Dance is really a song and one that features in
Pete Budd’s excellent songbook, available as a PDF to download from
the Resources page of the FOAOTMAD web site.
Just go to the resources page and you will find mp3 files of the banjo
and fiddle parts, including a ‘fuller’ version of the fiddle part. You can
slow these down or speed them up as you like (I find that Windows
Media Player gives good speed variation options for mp3 files). We also
plan to give some background to the tunes we present. On this occasion
the featured tune, Boatman Dance, is dealt with in another article.
Banjo Tab by Dave Marshall Tuning aEAC#E
Old time music is an aural tradition and many players dislike the idea
of musicians learning tunes from tab and music, preferring to refer
students to old sources; you should listen to as many recordings of a
tune as you can lay your hands on,
and keep listening to them, but this
will get you started.
If anyone has a particular tune they
would like featured, please let us
know by emailing:
[email protected]
John Messenger & Dave Marshall
The Fiddler’s Companion
www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/
index.html
Fiddle Part from Fiddlers’ Companion Tuning GDAE or AEAE
I have never met Andrew Kuntz
but we have communicated by
email.
I am full of admiration for his
dedication to this wonderful online resource. Contrary to the
name given to the web pages, it
is an extremely valuable
resource for anyone interested
in traditional tunes and not just
fiddlers. In most cases it
provides a wealth of information
on synonyms, sources,
recordings, history etc.,
all fully cross-referenced.
Sometimes you get the actual
tune in ABC format. It doesn’t
just cover old time tunes, and it
doesn’t have every tune that
exists – not yet at least.
John Messenger
page6
SOMEWHERE OUT THERE...
is an old-time musician,
long way from home.
a series where we catch up with our “foreign correspondents”
Tim Rogers of Rough Deal String Band, born in the USA, now living in Ireland.
‘I’ve had a ball playing in the UK. Where do I start? What do I miss? I miss jamming in a tiny little rehearsal room
(meant for two people) with about ten people in the key of C for hours. I miss the wonderful hospitality, passion and
immediacy of the UK players.
I miss the flat beer - I mean real ale (yum). I miss Keith Johnson’s amazing cabin.
Where I live at the moment there is no ‘scene’ as such… but a lot of earnest listeners and some open-minded traditional Irish
musicianers who love to play along. There is no Old Timey session to develop common repertoire….as there are so many trad
sessions, it tends to be hard to delineate, to mark out an old timey territory because you will always get an accordian, flute or
bodhran player who is keen to play. That’s cool with me, this IS the west of Ireland after all. After living out here for four years I
finally put together a combo (band) to create space for playing some old time. We play lots of songs… not many tunes, some acoustic
swing and some bluegrass standards. It’s pretty eclectic….but it all feels comfortably old timey to me. Across Ireland, there is a
scene… lots more players than there used to be. We used to all know each other… although there are plenty of new younger players
these days. I love meeting up with Bill and Ben, or Lena Ulman, Frank Hall or Mick Daly. They are all
amazing musicians and great company.
What is the biggest difference now? Well, there’s the numbers for one thing. There are plenty of
you. The biggest difference would have to be organization. You have a collective momentum and a
will to grow the numbers and the quality of the events (which is excellent). There is a great sense
of belonging together among your members. Hobbyists? No. Passionate players and dancers…
enthusiasts of the highest order. As I mentioned above, I have a new
band: Tim Rogers and the Clew Bay Critters. We play a
residency in Westport - we all play in various other
“Eat when you’re hungry and
combos, and in sessions, mostly traditional Irish sessions,
drink when you’re dry.”
but if you’re wandering around Westport, you may hear
the odd familiar song or tune from the ‘old time’ canon.
There is a “Folk and Bluegrass Festival’ here every June. Coincidentally,
the festival started the year I moved over. I’ve become a sort of a consultant to the promoter,
helping him navigate the various applications from bands looking for bookings. I play an old time
session every year on the Sunday. Rough Deal played here a few years ago. The promoter is an
Israeli guy named Uri Cohen, one of the most passionate and enthusiastic music lovers I’ve ever
known. He puts on a lot of bands in Westport and has a tendency towards Americana and loves
bluegrass and old time.
I drive a lot. My job has me all over the West of Ireland, so I have a lot of time to listen. I love all kinds of music, but I’m presuming
you’re interested in my Old Time listening habits. There are certain recordings/bands/artists that I can’t go more than about a
month without hearing….. Highwoods Stringband, Skillet Lickers, Charlie Poole, Mike Seeger. As for new-ish bands, I’m like the
world’s biggest Big Medicine fan. I love the various Foghorn combos. Steve (Sammy) Lind lived here for a while. We played a lot
together and I’ve always loved his playing. I admit that I’m not terribly well informed or aware of a lot of new bands/releases. I’m
much more inclined towards visiting older stuff that I have up in the attic. I also spend some of my time chasing the old timey stuff
around You Tube. I love all the Joe Newberry
combos… Grey Eagles, Compton/Newberry, and the Jumpsteady Boys.’
‘Foaotmad? I think you’re doing a crackerjack job as is’
Dear Mum,
Haveing a lovly
time here with
all my freinds
at Spring Camp
at Sackerwel
farm. Pleas sent
som fireligters
as the banjo’s
are
hard to lite.
Eerplugs wuold
also be usefull.
photo Andy Imms
xxxx
page7
‘Publish and be D***ed!’
Nick Pilley talks to Clare Milliner and Walt Koken about
The Milliner-Koken Collection of American Fiddle Tunes …..
Walt and Clare are well known as part of the
Orpheus Supertones, with Pete Peterson and
Kellie Allen. Walt was also a member of the
seminal revivalists, the Highwoods Stringband.
What were your introductions to old
time music?
‘Pete Seeger, New Lost City Ramblers,
Folkways records, County re-issues of
78s.’ (W)
‘The Chester County Old Fiddlers’
Convention at Lenape Park, the local
fiddlers of Chester County, PA,
(who were inspired by the Highwoods
String Band).’ (C)
Although you have provided many links to
resources on the internet, have you any
plans to provide any supporting recordings
of your own, either online or on disc?
‘We have plans to make more recordings
(the Supertones have just spent a week in
the studio with Hilary Dirlam on bass)
- as a fiddle/banjo duet, and also solo
banjo. Most of the tunes we play are in the
book.
To record them all would be something for
Guinness’ Book of World Records.’ (W)
Although the actual book has taken
nine years to produce, Clare has been
collecting tunes for the past twenty
years. She wrote them down to
remember and learn, and kept them
together so she could find them easily.
These transcriptions were a goldmine
of information in themselves. Walt
and Clare felt it was important to
have them printed. Some had come
from recordings of jams at festivals,
and many of these were not faithful to
any source recordings. Many were from
CDs of the original artists and they
were fine.
‘But I’m going to play through them all at
Clifftop this year, in our booth, starting
with Abe’s Retreat, and playing through
every tune in the book. Anyone who would
like to record any or all are welcome, but
please understand, it won’t be
flawless!’ (C)
Why are there no bar lines?
‘We felt that bar lines and changes in
time signature within each piece were
unnecessary distractions from the
transcriptions. Several people who
complained, when they heard that
we were doing that, have told us
that they don’t even notice it now.
Each beat is beamed, so it’s easy to
read.’
In an age of downloadable resources
and frequent paperback issues,
what made you choose to produce a
high quality, hardcover book
instead?
‘It was important to get these tunes
down on paper before the actual
recordings disappeared for one
reason or another, and we’ve seen
tune collections that are quite old,
so we wanted something of quality
which would last. A hundred years
from now, the owner of our book
won’t have to ask “Where is my
cassette player, my CD player, my
8-track?”. You won’t need electricity
to access these tunes.’
‘The earliest traceable recordings are
“George Booker” and “Cumberland Gap”
recorded by Uncle Am Stuarton July 7,
1924, or “Bucking Mule” and “Whip the
Devil Around the Stump” recorded by
J. Dedrick Harris in 1924.
Capt. M. J.Bonner, born in 1847, was the
oldest person used as a direct source in
the book. His “Yearlings in the Canebrake”
was recorded in 1925.
Uncle Jimmy Thompson is a close second,
born in 1848.
His Billy Wilson was recorded in 1926.
Emmet Lundy’s “Highlander’s Farewell”
traces back to Greenberry Leonard, born
about 1820.’
photo Kate Somerville
The Highwoods are still held
in high esteem. Some years
ago you released a CD of live
recordings. Is there the
material and enthusiasm
(hours in the day!!) to
produce another?
‘Yes, there is some more
material, but the recording
quality, panorama, etc.
leaves a lot to be desired.
There has been talk of a
video documentary of the
HSB, but there is little to no
footage of the band from
their touring days. The
Highwoods Live album is sold
out, and the rate of sales
was so slow that it would be
very uneconomical to do
another pressing unless new
demand is created
somehow.’ (W)
Is the UK likely to see another visit by the Orpheus Supertones?
‘We would love to do another tour or three of the UK. We had a wonderful time there on both of our
tours. Unfortunately, we get bogged down in the booking end of things. We almost had someone in
England interested in doing some booking for us, but nothing came of it. As for barn-storming,
sleeping in the train station, eating brown rice, and playing for change: been there. We’ll leave that
up to the young folks.’ You can order the book at mkfiddletunes.com
page8
FOLK ROOTS AND FIDDLE TIPS:
2011 Gainsborough Fiddle Champion, RON DODDS, talks to OTN
I was surprised but pleased when asked
by Andrew and Emily to put this brief
piece together about myself, my musical
influences and perhaps some pointers to
those just into fiddle playing, so here
goes.
Growing up on Tyneside I left school at
15 and went straight into shipyard work,
changing direction in my thirties to
work with offenders and drug misusers
and, prior to retiring, working in Adult
Learning.
My earliest musical tastes were mainly
blues and I was lucky enough to catch
some of the great players passing
through Newcastle on tour, notably
Memphis Slim, John Lee Hooker and
Jimmy Reed. During the vibrant folk
club scene of the late 60s and early 70s
I was introduced to a wide range of
traditional music and fiddle styles, Irish
players such as the late Bobby Casey
and Sean Mcguire; Aly Bain and Willie
Hunter from Shetland and many local
Northumbrian players. It would be true
to say this exposure to traditional music
fired me up in my mid 20s to take up
the fiddle and all I wanted to do was to
be able to knock out a couple of tunes.
But we all know that it does not stop
there and the more we get into the
music the wider it seems and the
learning continues. During that time I
joined in with sessions where all kinds
of traditional music was played and I
was fortunate to be able to play many
years for dancing with older, more
experienced musicians.
Once I retired I was able to put more
time into the playing;
I bumped into Colin Tipping from the old
folk club days and was roped in to play
Members’ free ads
with him and David Dry for Step This
Way dance team. I also currently play
fiddle and Dobro with a couple of
friends - Barry Wood (mandolin, guitar
and vocals) and Brian Hoey (guitar and
vocals) under the name of Bones Creek.
My musical tastes are wide and varied,
ranging from fiddle players such as the
late Hobart Smith, Vassar Clements and
Chubby Wise to Rayna Gellert and Dave
Bing. I am also heavily influenced by
Mike Auldridge and Stacy Phillips’s
Dobro playing and David Lindley and Al
Perkins on pedal steel. One of my
favourite all time recordings is the
triple album ‘Will The Circle be
Unbroken’ recorded in the 70s with the
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and a host of
traditional players such as Doc Watson,
Merle Travis, Vassar Clements,
Maybelle Carter and Norman Blake.
I was also asked if I could add a few
pointers to anyone just into the fiddle
or struggling, as we all do, with certain
aspects of playing. Hope they are
useful.
Approaching a new tune: I think
that it is important when attempting to
learn a new tune to have the complete
structure in your head before you start
to work out the actual notes.
I find that it helps to think chordally
and once you have the chords you may
find that the fingering follows naturally.
Playing in front of others: I know
how nerve jangling this can be especially
in the company of other musicians, but I
would suggest that you take up every
opportunity to put yourself in this place.
Have respect for the music, try not to
worry about mistakes, as we have all
made them, and try to be totally
immersed in what you are playing.
Remember that ‘skill comes in doing’.
Music Theory: Some basic
understanding of the connections
between notes, scales and chords will
allow you to understand what players
are doing and is also valuable in enabling
you to communicate with other
musicians.
Fingering: I believe that the best idea
is to work out which fingers do the job
for the kind of sounds that you want to
make – if you find yourself shying away
from a musical idea because you fall out
of tune, practice the phrase over and
over slowly until you are happy with it.
Always listen to the notes and sounds
that you are producing, this will help you
to play in tune – don’t get discouraged.
Bowing: Watch what other players are
doing in terms of their bowing and if it
suits you use it, if not work out what
does feel right for you and develop your
own style. Remember there is no right
or wrong way, just different ways.
ads will appear for one issue only.
GRIFFIN BANJOS new model 'REGULATOR' - highest handmade
quality for less that £1000. Striking 11" fretless Fairbanks
facsimile c.1879. black walnut, lovely sound. £995.
Beautiful 11" cherry wood model, rich and sonorous tone. £975.
James Bowen, 01588 680666. [email protected]
FOR SALE Superb Martin OM28V (2007) in Martin Geib style
case. Four sets of D'Addario light gauge strings included.
Sounds and plays like a dream. £2,000 or v.v.n.o. For further
information, contact Andy Imms on 0118 970 1202
please contact Andy Imms
BANJO for sale - Open-back 5 string, 1930s, by John Grey.
Good tone and projection, geared tuners and carry bag.
£325.
Bill Claridge, 01935 850897 (Somerset)
OLD TIME RECORDINGS-major & obscure American label CDs,
videos & tune books
SAE. to Eve Morris, 67, Greenway, Bishop’s Lydeard, Taunton
or click advert on www.foaotmad.org.uk page.
page9
La Fuente in El Fonte
It started off as Spainmusic, a sort of shorthand and then
became (S)painfingers, thanks to FOAOTMAD member
Dave Dry. But “La Fuente de Musica” is the name I finally
devised, in an attempt to lend gravitas and credibility to a
project I have been leading for the past five years—
bringing a few of the leading and most inspiring of
teachers in the world of old-time music to a remote
mountainous retreat in southeastern Spain, to share their
time, talent, and expertise.
Gravitas is slightly redundant in the situation, however, because the
main outcome of the enterprise has been huge amounts of fun being
had by all involved: the teachers, the resident participants, the
work scholars (charming slaves who devote vast sums of time and
energy in exchange for the privilege of being there), the
facilitators, and even the neighbours (several of whom have now
started playing the five-string!) Yes, this obscure Andalucian idyll is
turning into a veritable Mecca for those who love old-time country
music and those who didn’t know they loved it but now find
themselves strangely attracted. For two weeks in each year, one in
May and one in October, la casa is taken over by players, workshops,
picking sessions, creative opportunities, terrifying performance
ordeals, new experiences of all sorts, friendships, superb food, and a
big warm swimming pool. And that’s just on site. Walkers, climbers,
cultural explorers and beachniks also find joy round about.
My original aim in organising the workshops was to find a happy way
to share the bliss of this Spanish location with friends and like-minded
people, and to create an opportunity to spend time with one of our
favourite musicians and teachers, Dave Bing. Since then, Dave has
continued to teach at La Fuente, and we have had Tim Bing, Beverly
Smith, and Carl Jones. This year will feature Beverly Smith and Alice
Gerrard in October, and Dave Bing, Peter Dunn, and myself in May
2012.
Alice Gerrard is a living legend in bluegrass and old-time circles, and
the opportunity to live and study with her is not to be missed. The
autumn workshops have seen a rise in interest in singing. During last
October’s week, communal singing became a main feature of our
time together; almost everyone on site, and some neighbours joined
in the afternoon duet singing class with evening song sessions filling
the casa’s big room every night. Alice will be a great asset to the
October week, because of her huge experience as a singer. She will
teach banjo, individual singing, and duet singing, and Beverly will
teach fiddle, guitar and duet singing.
The project is a labour of love; it’s non-profit and all proceeds go to
supporting our wonderful visiting teachers, and covering the costs of
looking after our participants.
Kate Lissaeur
Upcoming weeks are:
October 1-8, 2011 Beverly Smith and Alice Gerrard:
Fiddle, Banjo, Guitar, Singing
May 12-19, 2012 Dave Bing, Kate Lissauer,
and Peter Dunn: Fiddle, Banjo, Guitar, Singing
page10
MUCH BAR-ROOM CHAT HAS FOCUSSED RECENTLY ON THE
COLLECTIVE INCREASING AGE OF FOAOTMAD MEMBERS ... WHO
IS AROUND TO KEEP THE OLD-TIME FLAG FLYING? WHERE ARE
ALL THE YOUNG PEOPLE??
At 18,
Christine
Cooper set
off to travel
round the
world with a
fiddle on her
back.
She started
learning
violin when
she was 5.
“I’d already
learnt some
Irish tunes
from my
Dad, and
music seemed like a good way to meet people,
so I started going to Irish sessions in Australia.
I met a fiddler at an Irish session in Melbourne
who was passionate about old time and
introduced me to the local scene, which at that
time was very strong, with a great weekly
session.
I loved the fact that one tune would be played
for such a long time, allowing you to really get
into the groove, and the repetitive trance-like
quality of the music. This also meant the tunes
were easy to pick up as a newcomer to the
music.”
Likes: Tommy Jarrell’s Sail Away Ladies
Keiran Towers recalls his introduction to old-time:
“I came along to jam sessions with my Dad when I was
about 10 and just sat in the corner drawing pictures.
Old-Time was new to both of us although I never really
had a choice as this was my only ever real exposure to
any kind of folk music.
I took up the fiddle on my 11th birthday.”
Likes: Duck River, Elzic’s Farewell, Lost Girl
Su Mo found old-time music through
bluegrass: one of the Thunderbridge
Bluegrass Boys suggested she learn
the banjo … “I did some browsing on
the internet and came across Adam
Hurt. I was absolutely stunned by his
music and banjo playing, which
turned out to be clawhammer. I
discovered he was teaching at Sore
Fingers in April 2010, so I went for
the course and have not stopped
playing since!”
Likes: Violet Hensley’s version of
Paddy Won’t You Drink Some Cider
Tony Leach, from Somerset, is a
guitarist and singer. He heard his
‘ever-innovative’ friend, Su Mo,
playing the banjo: this, and Su’s
old-time recordings, was his
introduction to old-time music:
“ I began to really appreciate the
delicate sounds of the banjo as a
lead instrument. I began playing
with Su and my enjoyment of the
music, playing as well as listening,
really grew from there.”
Likes: Explosion at the Fairmount
We asked, what can FOAOTMAD do to
encourage younger players and encourage them
to join the organization if they haven’t already?
Mines (Blind Alfred Reed)
Gainsborough is very popular and the whole network created through FOAOTMAD is seen as very important on both a personal and
information level. Those who have attended Sacrewell Camp said this is a highlight too.
There were lots of ideas: more information on the history of the music; a talk on this would be welcomed.
More information on FOAOTMAD so newcomers can easily find out about its role and member benefits. It was commented that the
price of membership, and Gainsborough, was very difficult to meet for young people on minimal income, and that concessions would
help attract them.
A slightly more user-friendly name. An old-time presence at all Bluegrass events.
More media and technology links would attract young players, maybe using the creative talents of some of our young members.
“FOAOTMAD is very friendly and welcoming. Unfortunately this means the quality of the jams deteriorates... it would sound
much better if the big groups split into more, smaller groups! I think FOAOTMAD is doing pretty well. I really enjoyed the
scratch band contest at Gainsborough this year. It would be nice to see members have more awareness of the music as dance
music and see more people dancing and playing at square dances.”
Not everyone found it so easy: some commented that it can be hard for younger players to just ‘find their way in’ and an ‘active
welcome’ would make things easier (some kind of mentorship scheme? Ed) so they can relax and have a good time.
While they recognize and appreciate the importance of keeping the music pure, some felt constrained at times: “People have been
told off for playing a tune the wrong way, or the wrong chords. Young musicians are interested in exploring many musical styles and
often have a collage of influences which make up their own individual style…. traditions survive only by morphing with the
generations.”
It was felt that old-time music, a “fascinating, gutsy, quirky and beautiful genre” was best promoted by making it accessible,
especially through role models like Adam Hurt. “If young people had the opportunity to play old-time in groups together they would
love it, but it’s hard to get into the music if there’s no-one to play with. Groups could be set up in schools, but a lot depends on
having a supportive teacher in the school.”
page11
WE FOUND QUITE A FEW WITHOUT MUCH BOTHER - AND THEY TELL US THERE
ARE MORE WHERE THEY CAME FROM! WE TALK TO SOME OF THE UK’S
YOUNGER OLD-TIMERS. THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT (AND BANJO-SHAPED)...
Jo plays with other old time musicians whenever she can.
“More younger people are definitely playing old-time in the UK now than when I started. I don't think it's necessary to make a
special effort to attract people.”
Sonia would like to play in an old-time band in the future. At the moment, she performs solo at local folk clubs, but there
are no old-time sessions in her area. She particularly enjoys the campfire sessions at Sacrewell, though would like to see
more beginner sessions there.
Kieran is at Uni and plays with friends in a band: “we perform at open mics and play a mixture of Old-Time, Irish, Bluegrass and
Scottish tunes although we are working on some slightly less folky material.”
For Christine, fiddle is “an important part of earning my living, and I play many styles of music on it. I’ve recently taken up the
banjo, which I also love, and I enjoy singing with it. I play professionally in a few bands and solo, and I’ve recently started an old
time band with two great young musicians, Barry Southern and Alan Wright. We’re called The Snowdrops, and we’re looking for
gigs! You can listen to us at http://thesnowdrops.bandcamp.com.”
Charlotte and Laura play professionally as a duo (The Carrivick Sisters), mainly original bluegrass/folk/old-time inspired stuff.
“There’s a great bluegrass session once a month but no local old-time ones that we’ve found unfortunately.”
Tony hopes to make his living in the future as a professional musician and composer: he plays with Su in old-time band
“The Temporary Trio”: “Only recently, since my introduction to playing Old-Time, have I really been able to rate myself as a
guitarist. I'm still quite basic and unflowery and can't do much widdly stuff - and to be honest I'm quite happy to leave that to
the many more accomplished players out there! - but Old-Time has given me a lot! I think a tight rhythm guitar is very
important to Old-Time – it really drives the songs in the absence of, in a lot of cases, much other rhythm or percussion. I'm
happy to provide that backup. We're now gigging and are set to play more and more in the future. Our band leader Su is the
specialist of the group. She helps us keep check that, while we're free to interpret the traditional material in our own way and
'make it our own' so to speak, we also stay faithful to the core elements and the spirit of Old-Time.”
Sonia Parkes first
heard old time music at
Didmarton festival. She
says it was the
harmony of the sound
that attracted her. She
started out playing
guitar, then switched to
fiddle because she liked
the sound of it better.
Likes: Tom Bigby Waltz
(from Jay Ungar’s DVD)
Jo Cooper learned
about old-time music
from her sister
Christine: “I played
fiddle long before, but
I didn't start playing
old-time until I shared
a house with a fiddler
who played it, and I
also started learning
banjo. I like the inclusiveness of the music, and the hypnotic
effect of playing simple tunes many times.”
Likes: Nail that Catfish to a Tree, Joe Birchfield’s Sally Ann
When they were 13, twins Laura and Charlotte Carrivick went with their Dad to Sore
Fingers: Laura had been learning violin for two or three years and Charlotte had taken up
mandolin. They liked the American music they had found reproduced in music books about
fiddle styles:
“That year was the year that Stuart Duncan was teaching bluegrass fiddle; inevitably it
was full so Laura did old-time instead with Kate Lissauer, although she had no idea what
old-time was or how it was different from bluegrass. Since then, we’ve attended as many
of the old time concerts that Neil White organizes at the Crabshell Inn in Kingsbridge as
we can.”
Like: Fine Times at our House
TALKIN’ BANJO:
page12
stompin’ dave allen’s top banjo tips
We caught up with Dave Allen, Gainsborough 2011 Banjo
Champion ......
Spend as much time on music as you can.
From picking up guitar as a teenager I knew music was going to be my life. I spent three
years studying jazz and pop music at college, then I had a couple of years out when I
travelled, was a street entertainer, performing mainly blues, and bluegrass. Then I spent
some time studying classical music and I went on to do a music degree at Southampton
University. This resulted in deciding to concentrate on blues and folk music. Since I
completed my degree in 2000 I have been based in Bridport, Dorset for the last ten years or
so. The thriving music scene down in the West Country has been a big help. If you only have
very limited time for your hobby, old-time music is a great style of music to choose; you’ll
be able to join in with others much more quickly than, say, gypsy jazz. The time spent
studying other styles of music such as blues, bluegrass and folk music is certainly useful
when trying to pick up old-time music. If old-time music is the only kind of music you like
and the banjo the only instrument you’ve ever tried to play, you’re probably going to find it
heavier going than someone with more of a musical background.
Practise often and break things down.
I think people always want a magic answer to how to become
proficient on an instrument but the truth, that no one wants to
know, is that it takes a lot a repetitive practice. Also if you
want to play good old-time banjo you need to listen to lots of
good old-time banjo music. Playing or practising for short
periods every day is supposed to be more productive than, say,
playing for hours just once a week. The main thing is not to
have long periods where you don’t even pick up your
instrument.
I’m a big believer in breaking things down into small chunks,
and learning tunes methodically with a lot of repetition. I’m
not a very natural learner of tunes: I have to work hard at it.
Being familiar with a tune - having listened to it a lot - before
I try to learn it does seem to help.
Don’t try to learn too many tunes at once.
I try to learn just a few tunes at any one time otherwise I get
very confused and just forget everything I’m trying to learn.
You obviously need to learn one tune at a time, but I think it’s
best to try to learn a few tunes over the course of a week,
otherwise you drive yourself mad with the repetition of the
same tune over and over. There’s certainly people who know
vastly more tunes than me. I think it’s better to learn one tune
really well than a whole bunch of them badly.
I think my personal talent lies more with my hopefully
infectious enthusiasm, and love of the music, than learning a
silly amount of tunes. Personally, probably because of my
background learning in blues and jazz, improvisation comes
more naturally to me than learning tunes. In old-time material
improvisation is at most times very subtle, which for me
actually makes it much more interesting.
Get some good tuition.
I took up banjo when I was twenty one; by then I already had a
lot of experience playing guitar. I was lucky enough to find a
great teacher in London, Pete Stanley. I had lessons with Pete
as part of my degree. I studied bluegrass banjo with Pete, but
he also taught me how to play claw hammer style. I learnt
minstrel tunes, and quite a few old-time tunes too.
Sore Fingers is an excellent place to get some expert tuition,
inspiration and meet like minded musicians. I attended John
Herrmann’s old-time week long fiddle course in 2009 and I
think this had a very positive effect on my playing overall.
Listen to as much as old-time music as you can.
I first became interested in old-time music through
Bournemouth’s Appalachian dance team Spank The Planks.
I was really a bluegrass banjo player at the time, but they very
graciously let me join their old-time band, The Broken String
Band. I became interested, and began to learn old-time
dancing. This soon became a big feature of my performing. I
dance to bluegrass and blues as well as old-time music.
It was through Spank The Planks that I became exposed to a
mixture of old and new old-time music, like Tommy Jarrell and
Fred Cockerham, Benton Flippen, Robic & The Exertions, The
Fuzzy Mountain String Band and Bob Carlin. I managed to
attend workshops and performances by great people like
Bruce Molsky, Brad Leftwich, Ira Bernstein and Riley Baugus.
Over the years old-time music has just kind of crept up on me.
At some point or other I discovered music I adored: Narmour
and Smith, The Stripling Brothers, Joe Thompson, The
Mississippi String Band, The Skillet Lickers, Uncle Dave Macon,
Grandpa Jones, Eck Robertson, JE Mainer, Wade Ward, Charlie
Poole, The Kessinger Brothers, Jimmie Johnson, Burnett &
Rutherford, Glen Smith, and Doc Boggs among others. I started
to realise I was really getting into old-time when I enrolled on
John Herrmann’s old-time fiddle course.
Tommy Jarrell and Fred Cockerham’s music always really
appealed to me, but it always seemed so indecipherable. Even
once I’d learnt to frail pretty well, and could play most things
from tablature, Round Peak style just seemed unachievable.
I’ve only fairly recently discovered Brad Leftwich’s Round Peak
style Clawhammer Banjo which is an excellent resource for
that style, as is recent release Kyle Creed Clawhammer Banjo
Master by Bob Carlin and Dan Levenson.
For me John Herrmann’s fiddle course really activated my
interest and made me really realise that this old-time music is
definitely for me. Since then I have been very addicted to
listening and trying to learn old-time music. In the year or so
previous to that I had a real fixation with Flatt & Scruggs. As
well as really going mad about Tommy Jarrell I have collected
and listened wholeheartedly to quite a lot of the material that
came up in John’s fiddle course such as Edden Hammons,
Gribble York & Lusk, Melvin Wine, Estill Bingham, Wilson
Douglas and Henry Reed. All of this led to me recording and
releasing my first CD of exclusively old-time material last year
- One Foot Across The Pond.
American roots is I suppose the best description of what I
perform because I cover quite a lot of the quintessential
American roots styles: Old-time, Blues, Bluegrass, jug music,
and some Gospel and Country. I don’t play any Cajun, Zydeco or
Native American Music which would also be included as
American Roots styles, but I enjoy listening to all styles of
American music. The Country music I play is strictly vintage. It’s
still quite a task I’ve taken on, but it fascinates me and I can’t
seem to help myself. But then that’s me - what other fool
would try to play, sing and dance at the same time? It all adds
up to a lot of humility on my part which is part of the reason
why I called my last bluegrass CD Fake American Accent.
page13
Since attending Gainsborough I’ve been listening to Tommy
Jarrell at Pinewoods Camp Volumes 1&2. I thought I’d devoured
all of Tommy Jarrell’s commercially available recordings.
Imagine my delight when I saw Paul Brown was selling this disc
at the festival. Paul Brown and the late Mike Seeger do a great
job accompanying Tommy on this field recording which has a
lovely natural feel to it. Gainsborough was the first exclusively
Old-time festival I’ve attended and I loved it. The great thing
about music is that, no matter what your level, there is always
more to learn.
For more information www.stompindave.com
This summer Stompin’ Dave’s performances include The Cornish Bluegrass Festival, Didmarton Bluegrass Festival, Wadebridge
Folk Festival, Southsea Folk & Roots Festival, The Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, The Electric Palace, Bridport, The Blackmore
Theatre, Exmouth, The David Hall, South Petherton, and The Chapel Art Centre, Bath.
Debby McClatchy solo tour of Britain
Sept 15 Maidenhead Folk Club, Berks
16-18 The Cornish Bluegrass Festival
20 Dartford Folk Club, Kent
22 Royal Oak Folk Club, Lewes, Sussex
23 Brewtown Folk Club, Burton-on Trent, Derbys.
24 Davey Lamp Folk Club, Washington, Newcastle
upon Tyne
28 Sowerby Bridge Folk Club
30 Carlisle Folk and Blues Club, Cumbria
Oct 1 Village Music Day, Helmsley, N. Yorks
2 Ring O Bells Folk Club, Warrington, Cheshire
6 The Plough Arts Centre, North Torrington, N. Devon
For more info www.debbymcclatchy.com
New Friends
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
T.O’Connor Surrey
C.McAllen Faversham
Peter Haynes (family) Malvern
Michael Andrews Sheffield
Alan Evans (family) Worcs.
Michael Dallaway Wolverhampton
Melvin Stopper &
Liz Stopper Lincs.
Frank Creber London
Martin Kennard Southampton
Brian Swinton &
Sue Green Hull
Mansel Kedward Pembrokeshire
Apologies to Sue Rooke for the mis-spelling of
her name in the New Friends list last issue
page14
Knee Nudge at Kingham: The beauty of small numbers
PETE BUDD REPORTS ON SORE FINGERS
Jock Tyldesley, Old Time Fiddle and Bob Carlin, Old Time banjo
The dominant memory of this years SF was the
stunningly wonderful weather, warm and sunny every
day, blue skies from 6am, and everyone spilling out onto the
grass to soak it all up, in the all too short intervals between
classes, coffee, scratch band practice, eating, mini-concerts.
All the better for being unexpected because the weather
forecasts had given little hint of such summeriness. But it did
lead to my biggest disappointment of the week, in that Bob
Carlin, famed for his Hawaiian shirts, had also read the
forecasts and packed his winter clothes instead. He did bring a
selection from his splendid collection of vintage socks, but I was
really looking forward to some of those shirts…
Following John Wirz’s email in February saying that there
was only one person signed up for OT fiddle, I
went in expectation of a somewhat smaller
“In
class than the 18 that had somehow
any group
materialised. Apparently this last minute
there should
booking pattern repeats every year for the
only be ONE
OT classes, which always end up with close
clawhammer
to the maximum 20 students, but it makes
banjo”
for an anxious Spring for the organisers,
who have to commit to airfares for foreign
tutors early in the year, with few confirmed
and booked students in sight.
The dominant theme that Bob and Jock encouraged throughout
the week was the importance of musical interactions between
players and how this is really only possible in small groups
playing in close proximity.
This was the fourth Sore Fingers week I have been to, and the
first one where the Old Time fiddles and banjos got together.
I have found out since that it has happened in previous years,
but this seems an obvious and extremely desirable thing to do
and I hope this will be made a regular feature of the week, and
perhaps expanded in future SFs.
After a couple of days of separate development, the fiddle and
banjo class congregated in the library midweek for a talk on
playing together. Bob emphasised that for him, the best
possible way in which to play OT music is in effect his ideal
band: just two people - one fiddle and one banjo, which
together can provide everything in the way of rhythm,
syncopation, harmony, melody (if there is any), without needing
guitar or other instruments. Bob and Jock demonstrated how
when playing like this, many of the old players, sitting knee to
knee, would not stick to the usual two As and two Bs, but would
play the high part the usual twice, and then play the low part
for as many times as they felt like. And then with no obvious
signal visible to onlookers, move to
the high part together – the
hidden signal was usually a
“My
slight increase in knee
greatest pleasure
pressure or a slight lift
at US festivals is just
of the fiddle.
wandering around the
Bob and Jock
camping area, with a small
emphasised that in
group playing every ten yards. So
this one to one
many different songs, tunes,
combinations of instruments to
situation there is the
listen to, and because of the
maximum potential
small groups they can all sound
for real interaction
much more focussed.
between the players
Wouldn’t it be wonderful
who can try and match
to hear that here?”
more and more closely
what the other is doing.
Bob pointed out that if the
players move even closer together,
there is a sudden and unexpected huge increase in sound
intensity when the instruments are around eighteen inches
apart– especially useful if there is a lot of background noise.
Some of us tried this out later and the sudden proximity
increase in sound density is quite surprising –
however, given the usual British reserve this is
best tried with someone you know quite well!
(apologies to those experimented upon).
On the Wednesday afternoon the fiddles and
banjos were herded outside and told to form
pairs and go off and play Emmett Lundy’s Julie
Ann Johnson – a tune the fiddle class had worked on early in the
week - for the rest of the lesson, or at least twenty minutes.
The pairing up procedure could be improved! But it was most
impressive to see around fifteen fiddle and banjo pairs, knee to
knee, scattered across the grass in front of the main school,
sunshine and shade, locked into the same tune, and many of
them did keep on JAJ for over the suggested twenty minutes!
The reports on this were very positive and some of the pairs got
together again later in the week to do more of the same.
Bob suggested that if you really have no choice but to play in a
large session – in a pub for example, where everyone is of
necessity in the same area, then focus on the person next to
you and play WITH them.
I have been playing OT music for over thirty years, with regular
trips to outdoor festivals in the US, and the one thing that
bemused me when I discovered FOAOTMAD ten years ago, and
continues to do so, was the universal tendency amongst UK
players, great and small, to form large sessions. In the US, I am
used to hearing music played in groups of up to about six
people, rarely more than this, with generally one of each
instrument, perhaps two fiddles or guitars, but certainly only
one clawhammer banjo. Players sit very close together, and
achieve a tightly phrased and focussed sound. If there are
twenty players present they are likely to form into four
or five sessions. By contrast in
the UK, the normal group
“Jock
playing often follows a
and Bob continued to
honeypot pattern where
emphasise the importance
2 or 3 players start
of the musical interactions
playing, others quickly
with the people you are playing
accrete round the back,
with, and that this can really
the circle widens so it’s
only be achieved in
no longer possible to hear
small groups”
properly and the initial
cohesion is lost.
Bob Carlin repeated the sage, if unwelcome to UK ears, advice
that Tom Sauber gave a whole workshop on at a previous
festival – in any group there should only be ONE clawhammer
banjo. Two banjos (and only two) can play in the same group as
long as one fingerpicks chords up the neck – this occupies a
tonal range that nicely complements the other instruments
without interfering. As Bob wandered round in the evening, he
would come up and ask ‘there are two banjos in this session,
which is fingerpicking?’
Other tutor suggestions include: play tunes for a very long time,
try and get in sync and stay there for as long as possible. In the
US, at festivals especially, the aim of many players is to get into
a groove, where the music seems to play itself, and this is a
wonderful experience for players and onlookers alike.
My favourite playing memory of this Sore Fingers was four of us
trying this out in the library, with Helen and Heather on fiddle,
playing Hunting The Buffalo for what seemed like an hour, with
pauses to try a different tuning/key, change the chords and so
on – maybe not a high powered session, but the concentration
and interaction meant this was a far more musical experience
than the usual twenty person melee. And the musical
involvement is there for all participants, not just the person
that starts the tune. Give it a try!
CD REVIEW:
John Messenger
page15
Brad Leftwich & The Hogwire String Band
Rascal Fair – DTR CD-00
This band
hails from
Bloomington,
Indiana and
it’s the latest
of Brad’s many
musical
associations.
Brad is a
master fiddler
with excellent
credentials,
learning his
trade from the
likes of Tommy
Jarrell. Some
of us were
fortunate
enough to
attend a 3-day workshop with Brad that took place after the 2002
Gainsborough Festival where Tom, Brad and Alice were
headlining. I learned much about bowing at that workshop and it
was a highlight of my fiddling apprenticeship. Brad has a
brilliantly smooth and powerful style of playing and his bowing is
impeccable. (If you haven’t already heard it listen to the album
‘A Moment in Time’, where Brad is joined by Dan Gellert).
Although Brad is the ‘big name’ in this band, the three other
members are by no means overshadowed by him. Brad’s wife,
Linda Higginbotham, joins him as the band’s banjo player. I’ve
always really liked the ‘Brad and Linda sound’ with fiddle and
really hard, driving banjo-uke playing. On this album Linda also
plays 5-string banjo and sings. The two other band members are
not known to me but have a huge presence in the band. Marielle
Abell sings and plays upright bass and is a very fine clogger too,
having danced with the highly acclaimed dance troupe Rhythm'n
Shoes. For me, the most striking contribution of Marielle on this
CD is her outstanding vocals. Joel Lensch also sings with a fine,
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
strong voice and plays a rock-solid backup guitar that gives the
band so much energy. Joel is described as an ex punk rocker who
has spent time in Portland, Oregon. An odd background? Not
really. Punk, skiffle, old-time – they’re all manifestations of the
same thing.
The album is a mix of songs and tunes with plenty of good
material to show-off the bands vocal skills. There are 16 tracks in
total with only five of these instrumentals. Of these five my
favourite is “Susan’s Gone”, which has some wonderful whooping
in unison with the fiddle. Brad, Marielle and Joel all lead on
different songs, and we get off to a great start with a four-part
harmony, a capella intro to the first track, “Rabbit in the
Lowland”. Track 2, “Rascal Fair”, is the only non-traditional
track. It’s a beautiful ‘new old time’ song in ¾, written by Linda
with a tune by Marielle, who takes the lead and shows us the real
quality of her voice. Other highlights are “Big-Eyed Rabbit”
where the two men do a great harmony job, and that old
favourite, “Fall on my Knees” where we find out how well Joel
and Marielle sing together. The last track, “Death’s Dark
Train” (based on Dock Bogg’s “Little Black Train”) has a nice
surprise with a false ending from which the tune re-emerges with
just fiddle and banjo-uke and Marielle giving us an ‘audioglimpse’ of her clogging skills. I’m struggling a bit here, because
the truth is the whole album is very good and there isn’t a single
duff track. Are there any bad points? Well there are one or two
occasions where the lead vocal seemed to me to be slightly
overpowered by the harmony but, hey, I’m just nit picking! Go
and buy a copy and treat yourself to a musical feast!
The album cover shows a crow (I know it’s a crow as it’s on its
own!) with a piece of barbed wire in its bill. The nerd in me
made me Google ‘hogwire’, which revealed a fascinating array of
different wire fencing products, so I’m not really sure what
hogwire is. However, I’m much clearer on what the Hogwire
String Band is. They’re a tight, driving four-piece old time band
whose playing and singing is just the best. I hope they get over to
this side of the pond. I’ll fight you for a front seat!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Established 1793
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
of! Quality
Instruments,
and
! Purveyors
!
! Musical
!
!
! Strings
!
! Accessories
!
!for Over
! 200 Years
BUY, SELL,
EXCHANGE
07986 285584
Some 5 strings……
Fairbanks ‘Whyte Laydie’ no.7, c.1908, engraved inlays, carved heel etc, OHC, EC.
Clifford Essex ‘Professional’, c.1915, maple neck, 12” spunover rim, VGC, HC.
John Grey piccolo, c.1900, mahogany neck, 7” spunover rim, 13” scale, OSC, EC.
Deering ‘Boston’, c.2010, mahogany neck, metal rim, OHC, EC.
Ibanez Artist, c.1970’s, mahogany, flathead, Gibson copy, HC, EC.
Mandolins…..
Weber F-5 Fern, c.2006, sunburst, vintage sunburst, fern phd inlay, OHC, EC.
Gibson F-4, c.1937, oval hole, sunburst, truss rod, adj.bridge, OHC, EC.
Gibson A-0, c.1929, carved spruce top, maple b/s, dk brown stain, HC, EC+.
Lyon & Healey Style C, c.1918, carved spruce top, stained maple b/s, OHC, EC.
Guitars……
Gibson L-Century, c.1933, sunburst, spruce/maple, pearloid/inlaid fbd, HC, EC.
Martin D-18, c.1966, spruce/mahogany, some minor repairs, OHC, VGC.
Martin 0-17T tenor guitar, c.1947, all mahogany, OSC, EC.
Also loads of tenor & plectrum banjos, ukes and assorted fretted wonders…..
£ 6,750.00
£ 975.00
£ 350.00
£ 875.00
£ 695.00
£ 2,950.00
£ 3,750.00
£ 1,350.00
£ 1,950.00
£ 5,950.00
£ 2,750.00
£ 1,850.00
johnalveyturner.co.uk Now open, our new Camden Town, North London premises: Unit 9, 43 Carol St, London NW1 0HT
philip.alexander
@johnalveyturner.co.uk
A combined workshop and retail unit, where customers can view and try our vintage fretted instruments at their leisure.
Comprehensive repair and restoration service from our in-house luthier, Mike Cameron.
page16
CREAMED TATERS and NEUROPLASTICITY
MICHI MATHIAS TALKS TO PAUL BROWN AND TERRI MCMURRAY
I was delighted to get to interview Paul Brown and Terri
MacMurray, two-thirds of the Mostly Mountain Boys, at
Gainsborough as I've known them for many years but never
had the chance to really talk with them. Both became
interested in listening to and playing music at an early age,
and feel a strong connection with the people from whom
they learnt their music, which keeps the tunes and songs
alive for them.
Paul: When I heard the old styles, starting with my mom's music, it
seemed as if it was something special, out of times gone by, and that
was interesting to me. More than anything else, I started to
understand that every one of these songs had a story behind it, of a
real person, with a real life and a real life story. And then when
I stared to learn the banjo tunes and the fiddle tunes more, I found the
same thing happening. I wanted to go and hear people who actually
played the tunes.
Brad Leftwich tells the story of proudly playing one of Tommy's
tunes to him when he was just learning, and Tommy being very
polite but completely unable to recognise it....
T: The same thing happened to me! I thought I'd learned his version of
Sally Ann from listening to the Come and Go with Me recording, and
Tommy said 'that's a nice tune, what do you call it?" Several of us have
had that experience of visiting various older musicians, showing them
what we thought was some of their music. So there you go, I missed
whatever the key pieces were that would have said, 'that was Sally
Ann.'
I wondered whether Paul or Terri could remember any
breakthrough moments of suddenly "getting" something about
the music.
photo Katie Polluk
I wondered where Paul's mother had learnt her songs, and if he
ever turned his back on this music, after starting banjo at age ten,
in favour of other music when he was growing up.
P: She learned them from older people, both white and black, in a
little community in Virginia called Goode. Every summer my
grandmother would send my mom and my aunt back to Virginia, to
friends of hers who had an old plantation house. I went there too a
few times in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. She learned a small collection of
songs that she really loved, and I came to love them too. She would
sing them all the time when I was a child. I never got the words to the
rock songs of the day, I couldn't understand them, I couldn't hear them
when they sang them. I can't tell you a single song title, can't tell you
the words. But this stuff, I loved. Sounds terribly boring but I actually
never got tired of playing and I didn't move away from it.
Terri grew up singing with her family, where she was the eldest of
seven children and her mother and father were involved with
camps.
T: We camped and and sang songs, folks songs mostly. My Dad wanted
so desperately to play an instrument, so he'd bring an instrument
home... and I'd learn to play it! He brought a uke home when I was
about eight or so, then I wanted to play guitar so I started playing that.
Then she heard her first banjo (which happened to be Dixieland,
though she didn't know it at the time) and was fascinated by the
sound.
T: When I was 20 I bought a five-string banjo and there was someone
offering lessons at the community college. Once I heard old-time
music I was just taken. So I went down to the Mount Airy fiddlers'
convention and was offered the opportunity by people I met there at
the camp to be taken over to Tommy Jarrell's. I went back again and
visited, and wound up essentially spending the summer there. I lived
with his daughter just down the road for a summer and then chose to
move there. He was a very very welcoming person and that's one of
the reasons that he was one of the people who was visited a lot. And
he was the most generous person with his music and his time.
Both Paul and Terri spent a great deal of time learning from
Tommy Jarrell--in fact, that's where they met--and also visited and
learned from many other older players.
P: If I get interested in something, I'll just quietly seek someone out.
So the first of the old-timers I met was Fields Ward. I asked around,
and a couple of people said yeah he's still alive, so I started to try to
find his address, and wrote to him, didn't get an answer, tried again,
then called him up and he said "come visit, come see me!" That was
my big window in, because I loved Fields' singing from his old
recordings; they sounded like my Mom's songs. So that's where it
started, and that's when I realised I really should listen to as many
people as I can while they're still alive.
I'm sort of an apprentice, I have an apprentice personality, it's the way
I do it in every line of work that I've done. So with the music, it was
the same thing. I just quit my job and decided I would get whatever
work I could to support myself while I was doing this other thing, which
I then did for years. So now when most of those older people who
were brought up in the days before modern technology are dead, I find
it very important to try to share the stories of being around them, and
to share the music. When I play on stage, nine times out of ten it will
be something that I've learned from someone I knew, whether it was
my mom or one of these other old timers. And it brings the tunes and
songs alive for me and that's what I try to do for other people.
Michi gives Ray Whiteway-Roberts a banjo lesson
T: It's such a gradual process. We'd play tunes, we'd watch Gunsmoke,
we'd eat beans... it was being able to spend every single day there.
Other people would come and go, and I would watch and listen to
other people playing with Tommy and I'd just figure things out; and he
was a good teacher too, actually.
P: I think I recall a few from all the musicians I was around. I went to
Tommy's about every day for about six months, then several times a
week for at least another six months, and I really started learning
detail on the banjo. I remember there were moments where he would
be showing me a tune and I would see something he had done that
sounded really, really good, that was quintessentially a banjo moment,
and I'd realise: this is something that happens a lot on the third string
in the key of A, this is really important to him and how he's thinking
about this. Or sometimes there was something about his right hand
motion that was unique, and I all of a sudden realised "hey wait a
minute, Tommy uses the first string as a drone as much as he uses the
fifth string!" and that was a big big insight for me when I realised he
was hitting the third string with the index finger, then the first, then
the third, then the first, then the fourth, then the first, whatever it
was, always back to the first string. Things like that I would notice; it
was really exciting.
I played Raleigh and Spencer on the guitar the other night on stage
here. I'll never forget being at Fields' house in his kitchen, and I said
“I'd just love to see you play Raleigh and Spencer.” And he's playing it
in the key of A, making that big long A chord and I realised he's sliding
backwards down the neck with his little finger and I thought, this is key
to the way he's playing this song and if I can latch onto that, all the
rest of it is going to come into place. So there were moments like that.
T: Tommy would roll his fingers-- he'd play a fretless banjo, but even if
he played a fretted banjo-- he'd roll his fingers on the first string,
where it wasn't just a slide hitting the fifth fret and the fifth string,
he'd roll his fingers. And using the fifth string as a melody note. He
did that in some of his banjo tunes and I never would have dreamed of
that. So there are things like that.
P: Benton Flippen the fiddler uses unusual fingering on the left hand.
One time I was over at his house learning a tune in his kitchen. He was
looking at me and I was looking at him and at one point he stopped
playing for a second and just started to laugh and said, "I can't look at
you, I can't make out what you're doing with all them little fingers."
I said “okay, just don't you look at me, I'll look at you and you just play
the tune.” I was using all of mine the way most human beings do, and
he just doesn't.
T: Mostly it's just two, and watching him play with his two fingers was
one of those moments of "Oh my gosh, that's why you've got those slides
up and slides down" because he's using one finger to slide into some notes
and out of some notes. That kind of stuff, we try to carry on and pass on
those little things.
We talked about how to go about learning to play this music better,
as we all want to do, in the
absence of traditional
players to listen to directly.
T: When people are learning
to play music--and a lot of
people here are beyond
beginners, beyond
intermediate, you've been
playing for years and years-I'd say slow it down. Slow it
down to try to understand
the phrasing. You can learn
notes but don't lose the
essence of the tune by
stripping away those funny
in-between notes that are
important, and I know they're
hard to hear. You don't have
the old musicians, but with
programmes like Amazing
Slowdowner that were never
available, you can slow things
down and hear these bluesy
photo Ray Banks
notes and things like that
that really are important.
They aren't mistakes or
accidents where it's "Oh they missed something".
P: You listen to the recordings that are available. You listen until you
just think you couldn't listen any more. I just listen over and over again.
But I think, just as Terri says, you have to preserve the essence of the
songs and tunes; you have to understand the rhythms of life that created
the music and let that happen through the music and then, understand
the scales and notes that people are using which sometimes are a little
off from concert. There are blues notes snuck in there even in the white
music because of all this interplay of cultures. And you have to be open
to that, so that you really understand the style of the music.
And then I think it's like everything else, it's practice. Anyone who is
going to be any good at anything, is going to spend some time with it.
And enjoy it. You know, it's not a contest, it's not something where you
have to demand of yourself a certain level of achievement within a set
period of time. All this music the old-timers really enjoyed. You play
along, you listen hard, you focus hard, you try to reproduce things, you
understand the overall aesthetic. Within that you develop your own
voice, but I think if you just do it a step at a time, without placing a
specific demand, it's going to come along. It's a very traditional way of
learning.
I mentioned John Herrmann's advice to try to copy note for note,
bow stroke for bow stroke from old recordings, because the things
that don't feel natural add to one’s technique and there is no danger
of ever sounding exactly the same.
P: I completely agree with John on that.
T: Because that's the part where, if you strip away the things that you
don't understand to begin with, you're probably stripping away the
essence of the tune. Where you wind up putting in the bendy notes or
whatnot, later on, makes it your own.
P: The more I've played, the more I understand that each one of us is
wired and coordinated uniquely, so you're never going to play just like
anyone else. You will never do it. Benton put it to me one night at a
dance party at my house, when there were several fiddlers playing. He
had just finished playing, and Robert Sykes was playing some of the
same tunes but they sounded different. Benton said, "You don't want to
sound like the other man, you've got to sound like yourself." He said,
"It's all creamed potatoes, just fixed a little different. It's all creamed
taters." And it was just a great thing, a really freeing thing to hear this
88-year-old fiddle player saying no, I don't believe you should sound just
like everybody else, you have to sound like yourself. He's basically saying
be honest, be yourself, understand the music but have your own voice.
As there happened to be a large and lively session going on outside
the room, this brought up the benefits and drawbacks of playing in
big groups.
page17
P: In some ways for me they're good and in some ways they're bad. The
good thing is, they're companionship in music. They help you sometimes
to keep time and learn a tune by playing it over and over. If there's a
negative for me, it's that you may not learn a real version of a tune, and
you may not really be able to hear all the notes in the tune or really get
a real sense of the style. You may not be able to really grab the tune in
more than a sketchy manner.
T: Tommy used to have house parties and he liked to sit so that you were
about knee to knee, a banjo, a guitar, his fiddle, sometimes a mandolin,
sometimes a bass. It would be a tight small group. So even if there were
a lot of people there, it would be a few at a time. And then he'd say,
"Okay Ernest, get your fiddle out" and the group would change so they
each took turns playing. The idea was that you're supposed to be
listening to each other and if the fiddlers haven't played together a lot,
the nuances get lost and things can become more generic-sounding.
The upside of sessions is, I know that I came a long way as a banjo player
and as a uke player by being able to be on the edges of a group like this,
to play up to tempo, to at least learn the skeletons of some tunes, and so
for that I think they're fun. For preference we like being able to sit in a
small tight circle knee to knee - because we could play four or five
versions of Sally Ann that I can think of off the top of my head, and
they're different, but you wouldn't necessarily hear the difference.
Then we had a fascinating discussion about brain function and
learning. Studies show that basketball players, for example, can
improve their skills through visualisation without even touching the
ball, which activates the same areas of the brain.
T: Paul was saying the other day that when he was taking care of me
right after my shoulder operation, he didn't play. He was cooking and
cleaning and being the perfect nursemaid, but he said tunes were always
running in his head and he whistled and hummed, and when he started
back to playing...
P: It was three weeks or more that I didn't play. I didn't play a thing.
T: ...he was able to do some things that he hadn't been able to do.
P: I'd hum and whistle and sing, and what I realise is that I was probably
moving my hands a little bit without even knowing it, while I was
wandering around the house doing housework. I'd be doing things with my
left hand, really imperceptible motions probably; if you'd asked me to
identify them I probably couldn't, but everything I've read about brain
function and building learning and the like seems to indicate that if you
practise something, even without the object in your hands, you will get
better at it; you build those connections in the brain.
T: It's called neuroplasticity
or something.....
P: I didn't totally believe it
until this time when she had
the operation, because when
I got back to playing my
fiddle, all of a sudden I could
play some stuff that I had
not been able to play the
way I wanted to, before. It's
amazing. Like that [banjo]
tune we did today, Salt River,
where I demonstrated it on
the fiddle. Remember all
those years when you
dreaded my attempting the
high part of this tune? We
joke around about this a lot,
but there are some tunes....
photo Ray Banks
T: It can be a little brutal!
P: She'd say "Could you please practise them while I'm at work? For the
time being." She'll say "for the time being," not forever, but I got back
and I could play the tune. I went in there this morning and I hadn't even
warmed up, and I did the tune. So it's practice, thinking about it,
whistling it, humming it, and just having a good time with it.
T: And listening. We will put on the June Apple CD, we'll put on that
Camp Creek Boys, and there is not a time that we don't go "Omigod! Did
you hear that?" You back it up, and listen, and you go...
P: "I never heard that before!" You've been listening for 30 years and
you've never heard it before. I tell people listen, understand, practise,
be with it. That's the key.
page18
COASTLINE BLUEGRASS MUSIC EVENT 3- 5 June 2011
Hugh Connor reports
The Coastline Event is now
one of three bluegrass/old
time events in this area of
the North Wales holiday
coast. The other two are
the North Wales Bluegrass
Festival on the first
weekend in July and the
Bluegrass Picking Weekend
in Tal y Bont, Nr. Conwy in
September.
The Coastline Event moved to a new site near Llandulas this
year. Although the views are not as spectacular as the old
site, the field is flatter and so better for camping. I prefer
this style of festival, on a remote self contained site, as it
feels more secure and creates a better festival atmosphere.
As usual, the Coastline organisation was very thorough with
plenty of toilets, showers and all musical activities well
catered for. There was the main marquee for concerts, picking
tents, session space and a beer tent serving local real ales.
There was also a choice of tickets to cater for most punters’
needs. There was also a good crowd of about a dozen
FOAOTMAD members.
The main bands this year were Home Made Jam, Longway and,
headlining from Sweden, G2. Members of Longway (who were
previously in Runaway Bluegrass Band) have now been
performing at North Wales since the first festival in 1989.
Many thanks to
Mo Jackson, longtime Old Time
News producer,
and Michi
Mathias, even
longer-time Old
Time News
distributor, who
have now stepped
down from their
respective roles.
FOAOTMAD very
much appreciates
all your skill and
hard work.
I have been watching them since 1991 and as always, they
performed solid driving bluegrass interspersed with their
unique Scottish humour. G2 was a new act for me; it was nice
to see a younger line- up carrying on the traditions.
They played a mixture of traditional, contemporary and self
penned songs - notably, a song,“Conwy”, inspired by their last
visit.
photos Jim Whitehill
The festival was blessed with sunshine for most of the
weekend and it was a perfect setting for the Saturday
afternoon dance display by Tappalachian from St. Albans.
There were eight dancers (7 female and 1 male) dressed in
various shades of blue, pink and black with hair and shoelaces
to match. The team developed out of one of Kerry Fletcher’s
classes about four years ago and now performs locally and at
various festivals. More impressively (for me at least) was the
eight piece dance band. Apparently, they started off with a
lone fiddler and recruited a mandolin player who was also a
music teacher who in turn brought some of his pupils to the
band and they all attend the weekly practices. What this
illustrates is that when musicians and dancers come together
in old time music there is an organic growth, which is what
FOAOTMAD is all about.
After several lively and well choreographed dances by the
team, the audience was invited up for a workshop. We danced
for about an hour in glorious sunshine before retiring to the
beer tent for some well earned refreshment.
Running concurrently with the dancers was an open mic session
in the marquee. This was an opportunity for the seven acts
who took up the challenge to perform on stage with full PA to
a good sized audience.
Sunday morning was a bit wet, so we had an impromptu old
time session on the campsite before packing up. I had to
shoot off to Manchester for the 3rd Harmonica Day, hosted
by the National Harmonica League. This was an excellent
event including workshops, demonstrations on various
harmonica styles, sponsored raffle prizes and a concert/jam
session by The Hex Men blues band, and all this for only £5 –
highly recommended.
page19
WHERE CAN I FIND ?
WHERE CAN I FIND A SESSION?
Contact [email protected] with any
amendments or new entries.
BERKSHIRE - Reading: 1st Sunday 12 noon
The Retreat - Colm Daly 01189677408
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE - Aylesbury: alternate Wednesdays
The Hop Pole - Mark [email protected]
CLEVELAND - Saltburn-by-Sea: Wednesday - Spa Hotel
‘Pickin’ Parlour - open mike £1 cover charge.
Occasional Friday guest artists. Stan Gee 01642 478859
[email protected]
CAMBRIDGESHIRE - Cambridge: 2nd Tuesday at The Zebra,
Maids Causeway. Oldtime/bluegrass - Michelina Craft
01223897840
Cambridge Bluegrass and Old Time Session, 2nd or 3rd Wed
Six Bells, Covent Garden, off Mill Rd, Cambridge.
Contact Julie Watson [email protected].
CORNWALL - Bodmin: 2nd Thursday - Tony Taylor
01208 872252
- Penzance, New Old Time Session At the Union Hotel,
Chapel Street, Penzance - Bob and Sibs 01736 332 821
CUMBRIA - Middleton-in-Lonsdale: Friday 9pm - The Head:
old-time (dancers welcome). Hugh Connor or Chris Riley
01539 560534 Free food for all performers
DERBYSHIRE - Bakewell: Thursday - Queen’s Arms, Bridge St.
DE45 1DS - [email protected] 07986 903409
page20
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE - Radford: The Plough, St. Peter’s St
1st. Monday Bluegrass/Oldtime. Yvonne Dreyer - 0115 9249438
[email protected]
OXFORDSHIRE - Oxford: The Duke of Monmouth, 260 Abingdon
Road. Last Thursday of each month. Taube Marks 01865 552111
- Wallingford: 2nd Tuesday - Cross Keys: bluegrass/oldtime.
Lucy Quinn: [email protected]
SCOTLAND - Dunblane, ʼTappit Henʼ nr Stirling, Tuesdays.
Iain Watt, 0789 109 6757
SOMERSET - Taunton: Tuesday - The Lamb and Flag, Blagdon
Hill, alternate Tuesdays. Derek Parsons 01823 442713
or Nick Pilley 01278 450780
SUFFOLK - Bury St Edmunds - Mermaid Folk @ Rose & Crown,
The Bull, Woolpit and The Dove - B.New 01284 717199
SURREY - Ewshot: 1st Friday - 01276 609954
WALES - George III Hotel, Penmaenpool, nr.
Dolgellan,Gwynedd. Old Time/Bluegrass session first Friday
Nick Reece [email protected]
07990 866249 01341 422353
WORCESTERSHIRE - Castlemorton - Plume of Feathers
Weds. 8.30
YORKSHIRE - Ripponden: last Tuesday - Royal Hotel Rishworth
- Ryburn - 3 Step Folk Club. Pete Coe 01422822569
- Sheffield - 3rd Monday - Kelham Ireland Tavern, Russell Street.
Dave Young 0114 2330596
- York: Sunday - Golden Ball. Mike Tavener 01904798738
- York: Tuesday - The Maltings, Lendal Bridge
Mike Tavener 01904798738
- Hebden Bridge: Wednesday - The Fox and Goose,
Clive Green 01706 814682
EAST YORKSHIRE - The Tiger, Market Place, Driffield.
First Thursday - American tunes and songs.
Stewart Tindale 01377 240324 [email protected]
DEVON - Teignmouth: 1st Thursday - Devon Arms: USA roots.
Bob Matthews 01626352007 or Howard Morton 01803329734
DORSET - Weymouth - Victoria Inn ('Knights in the Bottom')
B3157 Bridport Road out of Weymouth, a mile outside the main
village of Chickerell. Contact Lynn 01258 880039,
[email protected]
EAST SUSSEX - 2nd Wednesday of the month. The Black
Horse, High Street, Lewes - Michi Mathias 01273 471431
WHERE CAN I FIND AN OLDTIME BAND?
Contact [email protected] with any
amendments or new entries.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE - Winchcombe, Cheltenham. 1st Tues
Corner Cupboard Inn. 07920 101659
[email protected]
BERKSHIRE - The Illbillies
01189 677408 [email protected]
HERTS - Hemel Hempstead, Laverstock Cricket Club
Ist Tues @ 8pm Chris Lawrence
CORNWALL - The Boardbeaters
KENT - Rainham: 1st & 3rd Wednesday Oast Community
Centre: old-time/bluegrass. Graham Anstey Tel: 01634 260281
-Tunbridge Wells: Last Wednesday, 8 pm Beacon Hotel,
Tea Garden Lane: bluegrass/old- time.
Mick Allchorne 01892 833057 www.kentfolkmusic.co.uk
DERBYSHIRE - Down Trodden String Band
01629 812092! [email protected]
DEVON/ S. SOMERSET - Gollywhoppers Old-time duo
01626 867958, [email protected]
HAM P S H I R E ( H a n t s / W i l t s ) - O l d Ye l l e r D o g
[email protected]
LANCASHIRE -The Flowers, Todmorden Rd. Bacup.
Clive Green 01706 814682
LO N D O N - Lost Marble String Band!
LONDON - Sunday. The Shakespeare, 1 Arlington Way,
Finsbury- [email protected]
East London - Old time, Last Tuesday of the month, 8pm
Birkbeck Tavern, Langthorne Road E11
[email protected] 07990737539
Bluegrass and Old Time at the Blue Lion pub, 133 Gray's Inn
Road, London, every other Wednesday from 7pm. Mailing list,
email [email protected]
See also www.bluelionsession.wordpress.com
IRELAND (EIRE) - Rough Deal String Band
00 353 1 8331920 [email protected]
MANCHESTER - Bluegrass/OldTime session The Frigate Whitefield, Manchester, 9-11pm every Tuesday.
[email protected]
Cajun session, old time often featured - The Beech Pub,
Chorlton, Manchester, 9 pm last Tues of the month.
[email protected]
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE-The Gathering - American
Old-Time Music Session - The Fusilier, Victoria Ave, off Station
Road, Forest Hall Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 0JB. Thursday
evenings 8.30pm : [email protected]
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE - Blisworth: 3rd Monday
The Walnut Tree Inn: old- time/bluegrass. Andrew Metcalfe
KENT - Rattle On The Stovepipe
07765377441 [email protected] www.davearthur.net
KENT - The Kent Carters
07951571198 www.myspace.com/kentcarters
TYNE & WEAR - Old Fiddley String Band
WEST MIDLANDS - New Corona String Band
SOMERSET/AVON - BuffaloGals
01373474110 www.buffalogals.co.uk
SOMERSET/DEVON - 44 Gun String Band
01823 421241 01803 856958 [email protected]
SUSSEX - Old Faded Glory String Band
EAST SUSSEX: So Last Century Stringband
07853 913722, [email protected]
WALES - Snakewood Stringband.
07990 866249 .01341 422353
Nick at [email protected]

pages as pages

Transcription

Similar documents

Sunday, May 15, 2016 9:00am - 6:00pm

Concert review: Banjo king Tony Trischka absorbs at Listen Live

March Red Barn - Red Barn Radio

15 DC Bios - the Dancing Bears

Sept. 5-6, 2014

DOO-WAH RIDER BIOGRAPHY

- Foaotmad

BK Block Party - Downtown Brooklyn Partnership

Udavum Karangal of USA Madras Pavilion proudly present