In the spotlight…Charles Pierre by Caryl Velisek December 2013

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Do you have a background in accounting or
legal or any experience filing for non-profit status with the IRS? If so,
F.A.M.E. needs your help! Please contact Todd at [email protected]
December 2013
In the spotlight…Charles Pierre
by Caryl Velisek
Inside this issue:
From the President
2
Open Mics
2
Songwriters’ SONGFEST
3
Songwriters’ SHOWCASE
3
Gear of the Month
4
Traditional Folk Song Circle
5
The Songs We Sing
5
Workshop Photos
6
In the Spotlight
7
Poetry with John Holly
7
Pull up a chair...
8
On Owning a Martin Guitar
10
F.A.M.E. Christmas Show
12
Comfortable Concert Series
13
Board of Directors
14
F.A.M.E. Goals
14
Membership Application
14
Charles Pierre joined
the Traditional Folk
Song Circle when a coworker told him about
F.A.M.E. He has been a
welcome addition with
his Conga drums and
friendly, smiling
presence ever since.
See story on page 7.
Photo courtesy of Caryl Velisek
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From the President
Hi folks,
I heard an interview with Ricky Scaggs and Bruce Hornsby the other day on a bluegrass
radio station. I am sure that most of you are familiar with those two artists individually,
but what you may not know is that they have been playing together for a couple of years.
(Click here (or visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNOPnahaHHU) to hear them
performing “Mandolin Rain.”) (Youtube). They have two albums together – “Ricky
Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby” and “Cluck Old Hen.” What I found interesting was that the
interviewer was trying very hard to persuade his listeners that it was OK to have a piano
in a bluegrass band and that a pop/rock piano player could play bluegrass. Apparently at
one of their concerts Hornsby was greeted with “boos.”
Staff photo
I see music as always being in transition. We are constantly blending styles and genres. A friend of mine did a
bluegrass version of Paul Simon’s “Homeward Bound.” The Country Gentlemen covered Gordon Lightfoot’s
“Sit Down Young Stranger.” Neil Young covered Don Gibson’s “Oh, Lonesome Me.” In some ways the
internet and technology have helped make those blends possible; in other ways these things have helped us dig
in our heels. But music is always moving, regardless of what people want or think. Somebody is always
putting a new spin on a piece, even if he or she stays in the same genre. The music we make is a reflection of
who we are.
When I perform a song, I am not worried about making sure it is EXACTLY the way a previous performer did
it. I try to put myself into the interpretation of the song. Generally I stay pretty close, but never identical. I like
to hear other performers doing the same thing – putting their own musical personality into the song and
interpreting it in a way that connects with them. It is what keeps the music alive.
Keep listening, keep playing, keep living. ♪♪
Peace,
Rick Hill
Open Mics
Frederick Coffee Company & Café, 100 N. East Street, Frederick: Every Tuesday night 7-10 PM, Todd
C. Walker and Tomy “One M” Wright are co-hosts on alternating Tuesdays. This open mic welcomes all
“family friendly” talent. Generally, performers receive the equivalent of time for two songs each. Enjoy good
food from the enhanced menu in a welcoming and warm, inclusive atmosphere. Sign-up list fills quickly, so
come early if you can.
Beans in the Belfry, 122 W. Potomac Street, Brunswick, Maryland: Third Thursday
of each month 7-9 PM, Tomy “One M” Wright hosts this cozy venue with great
acoustics, as it is an old church reclaimed as a coffeehouse with a friendly, relaxing
atmosphere. This is a SAW- and FAME-endorsed open mic which draws performers from
both groups, as well as the local area. Format is a first-come, first-served sign-up list with
usually 2 or 3 songs each. Percussion available upon request.
Church Street Pub, 489 East Church Street, Frederick Wednesday nights 7-11
PM. Alternating hosts: Wally Worsley and Dave Mott. If you haven’t been to
the Church Street Pub, you owe it to yourself to stop by and find out why people
LOVE this place! Format is similar to other open mic venues: sign up and play!
Enjoy good food and drinks, good company and good music!
Sunday Songwriters’ Songfest
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Frederick Coffee Company and Café
100 N. East Street, Frederick, MD
Every other Sunday at 4 PM Todd Walker puts together an
afternoon of local, regional, and sometimes national talent.
Songwriters perform 30-40 minute sets. Performers are not paid,
so please tip generously.
December 1
Steve Gellman
Andrew McKnight
December 15
Caleb Karriker
Cody McGuire
December 29
F.A.M.E. Member
Songwriter Showcase
Photo courtesy of Todd Walker
Monday Songwriters’ Showcase
Brewer’s Alley, 2nd Floor
124 N. Market Street, Frederick, MD
Shows begin at 7:30 PM
Now in its eighth year, Monday Night Songwriters’ Showcase can be enjoyed every Monday at 7:30 PM in
beautiful downtown Frederick, upstairs at Brewer's Alley. The program starts with a piano prelude, followed
by three songwriters doing three songs each (so you can't get bored). The featured songwriter for the evening
goes on around 9 PM for 45 minutes, followed by three more three-song performers. Somewhere in the mix,
we throw in some poetry from our resident poet, John Holly. Our MCs are Ron Goad, Todd C. Walker, and
Tomy “One M” Wright, frequently interrupted by Rod Deacey on sound. Shows are FREE — we collect
tips for the featured songwriter, but there is no door charge, so come and support LIVE MUSIC!
Our featured songwriters are a mix of national and regional touring performers, with many award winners
from all genres. If you would like a calendar for the first part of 2013, please e-mail Rod ([email protected])
and he'll send you one. For information about playing a three-song spot, contact (1) Ron Goad: [email protected], (2) Todd C. Walker: [email protected], or (3) Rod Deacey: [email protected]. For info
on featuring (the 45-minute money spot!), contact Rod Deacey: [email protected].
December 2
Bob Sima
This is our only Songwriters’ Showcase in
December; after this, we take a break until 2014
Happy holidays!
Gear of the Month by Todd C. Walker
My first stringed instrument was a Harmony Roy Smeck ukulele that I
Page 4
purchased from Sears when I was about ten or eleven years old. I think it cost me $12.
My good friend Mark Masciarotte had gotten me interested in playing uke after showing
me a few chords on his banjo ukulele. I loved my Harmony uke. It was made with solid
Mahogany, had a plastic fretboard and was easy on the fingers. And, it sounded good. At
one point in its life someone sat on it (by mistake - maybe me). I used Elmer’s Glue to
piece it back together. I haven’t seen it since my kids were in elementary school, but it
still played nicely and even with the original strings it came with. I wonder what
happened to it? Hmm…?
I reminisce because the venerable ukulele is again the
instrument of choice for many folks, young and older. A
Staff photo
ukulele is relatively inexpensive, highly portable, easy on the
fingertips and takes a relatively short time to learn. Maybe
you own one.
Since I cannot locate my trusty Harmony Roy Smeck, I purchased a Bushman ‘Jenny’
model about four years ago. Although quite ornate, and fairly expensive ($400 +
shipping), it has never quite risen up to what I remember my Roy Smeck sounding like.
Maybe if I could do an A/B comparison I might discover differently, but I’ll hold onto
my sometimes faulty memory (thank you very much).
The Bushman appears to be made from solid Mahogany, although I would expect more
resonance if that is true so maybe the back/sides are laminated. If so, I succumbed to
advertising and didn’t get the best of deals. Until last spring it had an intonation/tuning
problem but that was easily fixed by a little nut tweak done by my personal guitar tech.
It’s now a pleasure to play, sounds relatively good and has just enough glitz to satisfy
my stage persona. But would I recommend the Bushman ‘Jenny’ to you, or purchase
another one? Nope. Too pricey for just okay sound and abalone trim that must be fake
because it doesn’t sparkle. So I give it a thumb’s down. Not enough bang for the buck.
Having spent too much money on a (in my opinion) just okay instrument, I decided to
Photos by Todd Walker
check out the low-down cheap end of the spectrum from an overseas eBay seller.
Bruceweiart (eBay user name) has advertised inexpensive instruments and instrument parts (inlay, fretboards, etc)
for close to ten years. I have often been curious as to how good, or bad, his instruments would be. Not willing to
spend $800-$1,000 on a guitar that could implode after a couple weeks, or one that might be totally unplayable, I
decided instead to take a chance on one of Bruceweiart’s inexpensive all solid wood ukuleles. The nice all solid
Acacia Koa tenor uke you see in the photos cost me $59.99 + $60 shipping (shipped from Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam). I wasn’t expecting it to be as nicely made as it turned out. The wood is highly figured and Bruce added a
hint of sunburst that accents the uke beautifully.
Tuning it up (out of the box), the ‘Bruce’ tuned accurately and sounded good. The compensated saddle is a nice
touch and I’m sure it helps with intonation & tuning. I even like the silky smooth non-glossy satin finish. The only
problem was the string height – too high. My guitar tech looked at it and suggested filing down the nut slots and
voilà, it now plays nicely. Action is not quite as low as the Bushman’s, but very playable. Sound ? Well,
surprisingly it sounds as good if not better than the Bushman, at approximately 25% of the cost. How do I rate it?
A thumbs up!
Would I recommend you immediately log onto Ebay and order a Bruceweiart uke? Nope, Make N Music
(F.A.M.E. Corporate Sponsor) has a fine selection of ukuleles for under $150 that play and sound really good. But,
this was a fun experiment. It just goes to show that a higher price doesn’t always guarantee better sound or
playability, at least when it comes to ukuleles. Next time maybe an expensive vs inexpensive guitar challenge is in
order. Yes, that could be fun. Now go make some music! ♪♪
Todd
Traditional Folk Song Circle
Page 5
Dublin Roasters Coffee, 1780 N. Market Street, Frederick
Second Saturday of each month 2-4 PM
Thirty folks attended the November 9th Song Circle held at
Dublin Roasters. Thirty-two songs were sung, nine of which had
not been previously sung by the group. Two of these
new songs, “Good Love” and “Bye Bye Love” are not in our Rise Up Singing
songbook. Barbara Collins danced to “Mari's Wedding” and Doug Lundgren and
Sharon Mulholland danced to “Waltzing Matilda.” The group began the event by
singing our traditional opening song, “You Are My Sunshine.” Tomy Wright
dedicated the last song of the day, “Take Me Home, Country Roads” to all the folks in
the group having November birthdays.
Attendees included Andy Celmar, Ginny Brace, Barbara Collins, John Cooper,
Annie Cummins, Eric Dubbin, Dennis Duffey-Nairex, Todd Dutton, Karen Fetters,
James Frank, Dan Frasier, Craig Gillespie, James Gillespie, Marilyn Gillespie, Rick
Hill, David Koronet, Marge Lance, Jeannie Lloyd, Steve Lloyd, Doug Lundgren,
Gloria McCracken, Sharon Mulholland, Jay Odom, Charles Pierre, Lynn Purdum,
Mike Sodos, Caryl Velisek, Daylynn Wright, and our Song Circle Host, Tomy Wright.
Photo by Todd Walker
The Songs We Sing by Caryl Velisek
The second song we sang at our November Song Circle was one most of us are familiar with, “America the
Beautiful.” Most of us learned it and first sang it in school. The lyrics were written by Katherine Lee Bates and
the music composed by a church organist and choirmaster, Samuel A. Ward. Starting out as a poem, the words
were revised several times until they are as we sing them today. The music was originally written as a hymn. It
was first published with the Bates words and Ward's music in 1910.
Woody Guthrie's “This Land Is Your Land” is one we have sung before and I’m sure most of us have sung it
outside of our Song Circle sessions. It is listed as one of the USA's most famous folk songs and, according to
my sources, Guthrie wrote it in response to Irving Berlin's God Bless America, which he considered
“unrealistic and complacent” and he was tired of hearing Kate Smith sing on the radio. It was one of 50
recordings added to the National Recording Registry in 2002. Even with its overtly political verses which are
in line with Guthrie's sympathetic views of communism, it is still very popular.
I remember Tom Paxton's “Bottle of Wine” mostly by the Kingston Trio's version, but it was done by many
others, too, including Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs and Tom himself.
“The Erie Canal” was written in 1905 by Thomas Allen after Erie Canal traffic was converted from mule
power to engine power, raising the speed of the traffic considerably. It's also known by several other names
including “Fifteen Years On The Erie Canal” and “Fifteen Miles On The Erie Canal,” among others. During
the sixties folk era it was recorded by Glen Yarborough, Pete Seeger, The Weavers, and The Kingston Trio.
“Sinner Man” was one I was not familiar with. It's an American traditional spiritual that dates to the turn of the
20th century and has been recorded by a number of performers including The Weavers. (Continued on page 7.)
Page 6
WORKSHOP PHOTOS
RHYTHM, STRUMMING AND FINGERPICKING, NOV 16
INTRODUCTION TO STUDIO RECORDING, NOV 23
Photos courtesy of Todd Walker
In the spotlight…Charles Pierre
by Caryl Velisek
Page 7
Charles Pierre came to this country from the Caribbean Island of Dominica in 2003. He
lived in New York City up until five years ago when he moved to Maryland. He and his
wife, Natasha, and two sons, five year old, Zachary, and three year old, Avery, live in the
Frederick area now. Both of his sons are musical and have been to our Song Circle with
him, as well as Natasha. “Zachary is a consummate vocalist and also likes the trumpet,”
he said, “but Avery loves the guitar and drums.”
“My love for music took on a life of its own by the time I was in secondary school (high
school), Charles said. He and two of his friends started a band in high school and started
playing gigs. “I also got involved in theater, acting in drama, and playing the drums.”
He also started playing for musicals and dances in college and got involved in that a lot. Photo by Caryl Velisek
“When I started working after college, I wasn't as active with theater or the drums for a while.
“But then, I got into the music again. I've done a lot of gigs with my friends, Todd Dutton and Jay Odom and
other musicians. At one time we had a drumming group of five we called ‘I.’“
Charles works in Plant Protection and Quarantine, a program within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). As a training specialist, Charles develops,
designs, and implements training programs for the USDA. ♪♪
The Songs We Sing
(Continued from page 5.) I must confess I was not very familiar with
country music until the 50s when my husband started singing Johnny Cash’s “I Walk The Line” while we were
driving to a cattle show one day and it piqued my interest. I had never heard his “I Still Miss Someone” until
we sang it at Song Circle. Cash wrote it with his nephew, Roy Cash, Jr., and it’s been included in most of
Cash’s live recordings. Cash later recorded it as a duet with Bob Dylan but it has never been officially
released.
We also sang John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” James Taylor’s “Sweet Baby James,” Gordon
Lightfoot’s “Early Morning Rain,” “Four Strong Winds,” “La Bamba,” “Day 0,” “I'm Looking Over A Four
Leaf Clover,” The Grateful Dead’s “Ripple,” “Waltzing Matilda,” “If I Had a Hammer,” “Circles,” and “Dock
of the Bay.”
We’ll be singing more songs next month. Hope you enjoy and join us. ♪♪
Poetry with John Holly
John Holly
Photo by Todd Walker
Frederick Coffee Company and Café, Every-other Thursday evening from 7-9 PM.
Come join us at the reserved tables at Frederick Coffee Company and Café for an
evening of poetry. We feature published poets and themes according to the season. We
always welcome original works from F.A.M.E. members and guests who would like to
share, read, or listen.
December 12
Open Poetry Night. All poets welcome!
December 26
Open Poetry Night. Bring poetry. Bring friends.
Music Variety Showcase
The Epicure Cafe, 11213 A Lee Highway (route 29) Fairfax, VA: Second
and fourth Wednesdays at 8 PM, hosted by Ron Goad. Open Mic: Show
up, sign up, perform 1-3 songs. Epicure is an independently owned and family
-run cafe with tasty food, including appetizers, Greek specialties, salads,
sandwiches, subs, pasta, desserts, coffee drinks, wine, and beer — ask about
The Gourmet Musical Pizza! Epicure features various creative events that fill
every night of the week, including wonderful musical acts, local art
exhibitions, open mics, poetry readings, comedy, and now: storytelling! All
this and an outdoor hookah!
Pull up a Chair…
The Newport Folk Festival by Frederick Folklorist
Page 8
You know you’re getting
old when events start having
their 50th anniversary and
you’re older than the event!
Such is the case with me and
the Newport Folk Festival.
What do Pete Seeger, Photo by Todd Walker
Theodore Bikel (the actor),
Oscar Brand, and Al Grossman all have in common?
They were the first Board of Directors that helped
founder George Wein start the annual Newport Folk
Festival in Newport, Rhode Island back in 1959.
Interesting to note that four out of those five are still
with us. The youngest being George Wein at 88, who
also founded the Newport Jazz Festival a couple of
years earlier.
Okay, it’s here that I have to tell you something that
happened while I was writing this article. I started
wondering who the very first performer was at the very first Newport Folk Festival in 1959. I really didn’t
think it was that tough of a question. Boy, was I ever wrong! I researched the question for several days, but
came up empty. I decided to email the present director of the Festival asking him who the first performer was.
He replied, “I have no idea.” I was surprised. Then he added “I’ll forward your email to our folk historian. If
anybody knows he will.” The next day I received the historian’s response... “I have no idea.” Again I was
surprised. His email went on to say, “But I have a folder in my office that should have the answer.” Later
he emailed that he couldn’t find the answer in the folder of papers, but he thought he might have it in a folder
at his house. If it wasn’t there then he would have to forward my request to Pete Seeger and see if he could
help. I was secretly hoping that he wouldn’t be able to find it so that word of F.A.M.E. might make its way up
the mountain to Seeger’s cabin in upstate New York. But, alas, he found the answer. Guess what? The very
first person to perform was none other than Pete Seeger himself! Okay, back to the story.
Through the years the Festival experienced its ups and downs. In fact, it was canceled twice. The 1959 and
1960 Festivals were financial disasters. So bad, in fact, that it was canceled for 1961. It started back up again
in 1962 with Pete Seeger at the helm as manager. All of the artists, no matter if they were stars or unknown,
received the same pay of $50 plus transportation and lodgings. Most of the bigger names however gave the pay
back and paid for their own expenses. The money earned by the Festival would go not only to producing the
Festival, but also to funding grants and research to encourage local music activities – and occasionally for
something with immediate results, like buying a guitar for Mississippi John Hurt. According to Pete, the
Festival was to have two functions. “First, to present folk music in a situation free of the usual economic
necessities and second, to help preserve the traditions upon which the current revival are based.” In other
words, to water the plant without rotting the roots. They wanted to promote folk music balanced between big
names and home-grown talent without one burying the other and without anyone going broke again.
Over the course of the next decade there were to be many notable performances. The breakout star of the first
Festival in 1959 was an 18 year old singer with dark eyes and long hair. She wasn’t even listed to perform on
the program. The artist on stage at the time was her friend, Bob Gibson. He encouraged her to “sing a couple
of songs for the crowd.” This was her big break and her name was Joan Baez. The 1969 Festival saw Johnny
Cash introduce a young Kris Kristofferson. This was his big break and the first time the public would hear his
talent. And then, of course, there was this guy named Bob Dylan.
Without going into a lot of detail, let’s just say that Dylan’s Page 9
first and second appearances at the Newport Folk Festival in
1963 and 1964 were huge successes. His third appearance in 1965... umm...
not so much. This was, of course, the first public electric performance of his
life and it went over like a lead balloon. Joan Baez, who was the first person
to introduce Dylan to the public at the 1963 Festival, said she felt betrayed
and didn’t talk to him for years. Seeger was so upset he said that if he had
an ax he would have cut the cable. A note about the result of Dylan going
electric: He was only 24 at the time. Young people of his generation had
just lost their “Prince of Camelot” when JFK was assassinated about 18
months earlier. Dylan seemed to speak to them through his music with
songs like, “The Times They Are A Changing,” and they were listening. So,
when Dylan left folk music behind and went electric, many of his
generation left folk music as well. This lack of “new blood” so affected the
Newport Folk Festival that they had to close their doors in 1971. Those
doors stayed closed for the next 14 years.
If you act quickly, you can own Bob The Festival started back up again in 1985, but it was never the same. As
Dylan’s Fender Stratocaster, which he Heraclitus said, “You can’t step in the same river twice.” Things are always
played at the 1965 Newport Folk
moving. Joan Baez, who played at Newport, said that what she loved about
Festival; it’s up for sale at Christies
Auction House December 6th. Bid the Festival when she started, the real heart of it you might say, was that
often, bid high; it’s expected to bring in when the show was over all the artist would gather backstage with their
about $500,000!
guitars, banjos, and harmonicas and sing together. They would share and
learn from each other. Give a listen to one of the recordings of the very first
Festival in 1959 – click here or type http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4se8-ywCPdM into your URL bar.
You’ll see and hear Pete Seeger, Odetta, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul & Mary, and others on stage having a great
time and sharing and learning from each other. “And then I realized that didn’t happen anymore,” Baez said.
Everyone left with their entourage and only seemed interested in themselves and not the folk music.
In 2009, Pete Seeger, at 90, played the 50th anniversary Newport Folk Festival by invitation. He said he was
happy to return, but longed for the day when he shared the stage with coalminers, lumberjacks, and seafaring
men singing songs about the mountains and the sea. I love what he said as he looked out over the crowd for the
last time. He said the real legacy of the Newport Folk Festival plays out all year long, all over the country. “I’ll
place my hope in the thousands,
tens of thousands, of small
festivals all over the place.”
I’d like to think that in our own
small way, F.A.M.E. is keeping
the legacy that Pete talked about
alive. And, if he ever hears
about us in his mountain cabin
in upstate New York and wants
to perform at the open mic at
the Frederick Coffee Company
on a Tuesday night, we promise
to hold a slot open for him. Just
leave a piece of carrot cake for
me, – that’s all I ask, Pete.
Next Month: The best folk song
you think you know, but you
never heard of. Huh?? LOL ♪♪
Page 10
On Owning a Martin Guitar, Part I
This is the first of a two-part series by Bryan Barry
Many of the acoustic guitar playing members of F.A.M.E often use Martin guitars during
their performances. Among them, John Durant, Frederick’s “traveling troubadour,” has
performed for many years on a Martin model D-28 that he purchased new when his career was
just starting. Piedmont Blues style guitar player, Frank Davis, often favors a Martin D-41
model when leading his band through a “dawg blues” selection on stage. Songstress Diane
Bryan
Bunch, can often be seen strumming away on a Martin D-15 while working her way through photoBarry
by Todd Walker
an original song at The Frederick Coffee Company’s Tuesday night open mic series.
Master finger picker, Mike Schirf, always holds everyone’s
attention when you see him performing on his Martin
“Performance Artist Series” model guitar or on his recently
acquired Martin 12-string guitar – always making you
wonder, How does he make that finger picking look so easy?
Willie Barry has two Martin guitars that he alternates back
and forth on when trying to put the “glide in your stride” and
the “bop in your hop” while crooning away songs from the
Photo courtesy of Barry Bryan
50s. When you hear Phil Badel of The Jukebox Underdogs
performing the opening riffs of “Home Sweet Chicago” on
The welcome sign in the Martin factory lobby during my visit.
the streets of Frederick, he’s pumping out those licks on a
Martin D-18 guitar. F.A.M.E. Board of Directors member, Max Honn, often uses a Martin OM-13 on stage to get
the tone he seeks. When not playing his Hawaiian-style Weissenborn slide guitar, Ken Glasser finger picks away on
a Martin D-16 — making any given Richard Shindell song really stand out. F.A.M.E.’s president, Rick Hill, can
often be seen strumming away on a Martin J-12 twelve-string guitar (a favorite guitar of Pete Seeger) when he
performs around town.
On any given night, at any local music venue, among the Taylor, Takamine, Gibson, Guild, and Fender guitars, you
will most likely always see at least one Martin guitar in the hands of a seasoned performer. Ever wonder why?
The real Martin guitar history
The C.F. Martin Guitar Company was established in 1833 by Christian Frederick Martin, an enterprising young
guitar maker emigrating from Germany. He first set up shop at 196 Hudson Street in New York City. Six years
later he moved the guitar building operation out to the rural countryside near Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Over 175
years later, Martin is still hand-crafting guitars in Nazareth, one at a time – with a sixth generation Martin family
member still at the helm overseeing day-to-day operations. Martin is well known around the world for making
superior musical instruments with incredible tone as well as longevity. Over the years Martin has created the
Dreadnought body style, the 14-fret neck, “X” bracing system, and numerous other acoustic guitar innovations,
which many other guitar builders have copied over the years. Currently Martin has dozens of different guitar
Barry Bryan and Willie Barry at the Martin Guitar factory located in Nazareth, Pennsylvania ; photo courtesy of Barry Bryan
Martin guitars and The Beatles
Page 11
Many of The Beatles’ White Album songs were composed by Paul McCartney and John
Lennon on twin Martin D-28 guitars while on vacation in India. Mal Evans, The Beatles’ equipment
roadie at the time, bought two stock Martin D-28 guitars straight off the rack for Paul and John at a local
music store in London a few days before the India trip. As The Beatles sat next to Donovan and the
Maharishi sharing music and meditating together, the twin Martin guitars played an integral part of John
and Paul’s song-writing process — and later for many of the songs on the Let It Be album.
When you hear Paul McCartney finger picking “Blackbird” or John Lennon playing “Julia,” you’re
hearing Martin D-28 guitars. From that point on, their former guitar of choice, the acoustic Gibson J160E, took a distant back seat to their new Martin guitars.
models to choose from to accommodate almost anyone’s playing style. Older Martin guitars command enormous
amounts of money worldwide, especially models that pre-date World War II featuring Brazilian Rosewood back and
side construction.
Over the years Martin guitars have found their way into the hands of Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, George
Jones, Joni Mitchell, Elvis Presley, Gordon Lightfoot, Del McCoury, Arlo & Woody Guthrie, John Mayer, Ricky
Nelson, Robbie Robinson, Kurt Cobain, Elizabeth Cotten, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Merle Haggard, Judy Collins,
David Bromberg, Neko Case, Pete Seeger, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Jimmie Rodgers, Sting, Tom Paxton, Ernest
Tubb, Paul Simon, Andy Griffin, Merle Travis, Jimmy Buffet, Ricky Skaggs, Steve Miller, and countless others in
the folk, rock, and bluegrass world.
My early history with Martin
Maybe the first time I ever saw a Martin guitar was when I saw master guitar player Doc Watson “flat
picking” at the Smithsonian Folk Festival one summer afternoon when I was just a teenager. I never
heard of Doc Watson before – until I attended a sparsely attended performance by him and his son Merle
– performing on a small outdoor stage down on the mall in Washington, D.C. After only about ten
minutes into their set I was hooked on Doc Watson and his music – was seeking out his record albums,
and was dreaming about owning a Martin acoustic guitar one day.
Martin guitars were expensive when I was teenager – and they still are. It took me a long time to be able
to afford to buy one. It was a Martin model D-35 dreadnought and it set me back $600. I put $100 down
on the guitar – buying it in a small music store in Flemington, New Jersey – and made payments on it
over the next six months. It was the first time I ever bought anything on credit. Today the same model
guitar has a list price of $3,249.00.
Lifetime warranty
The cool thing about buying a new Martin guitar is that it comes with a lifetime warranty (for the original owner).
Anybody that has ever owned an acoustic guitar knows that, in time, any acoustic guitar will need a repair or
adjustment to keep it tip-top playing shape. Over time, changes in temperature and humidity will certainly affect the
wood in your guitar, which in turn will result in a possible crack on the top (or elsewhere), a loose interior wood
brace, or even a bowed neck. The Martin lifetime warranty covers many of these problems; and, they will fix them
for free if you take your guitar to an authorized Martin repair shop. Locally one of the better Martin repair shops that
has worked on several of my own guitars is Fairbuilt Guitars (www.fairbuilt.com), located in Purcellville, VA. Their
repair work is impeccable, their prices are fair, and their turnaround time is very fast.
My first Martin, a D-35 Dreadnought model (which I still own), has been repaired by The Martin Guitar Co. several
times over the 37 years that I’ve owned it! They replaced the pick guard one time when it started buckling up a little,
did a couple of bridge repairs, repaired cracks on the guitar, made several truss rod adjustments, and even did a
complete neck reset once, which involved completely removing the neck from the guitar body and reattaching it
again to correct the playing angle on the neck. Over the years my repair receipts have totaled over $1,400 on my D35; and, Martin has paid for it all. Mind you, I only paid $600 for the guitar when it was brand new!
A few times I have even taken my guitars back to the Martin Guitar factory in Nazareth, Pa. to have repairs done. It’s
about a three-hour drive from Frederick, not far from Easton and Bethlehem. Upside is that you know any repair will
be done perfectly; downside is that you have to expect them to have your guitar for about three months before you
see it again. A few weeks ago I took both my Martin bass guitars back to the factory for neck resets (covered under
the warranty). About the end of next January I might see my basses again? While their repair shop is quite large – the
volume of guitars coming from all over the world for repairs and restoration is equally just as large. That’s why
sometimes it’s better to go to a local authorized Martin repair shop if you’re in a hurry to get your guitar back.
In Part II next month: designing your own “custom” Martin guitar, “guitars of the stars,” and discover the special
surprise waiting for Willie Barry at the C. F. Martin Guitar Company. ♪♪
Page 12
Christmas Show at Frederick Coffee Co.
Friday, December 20: Rick & Claire, Brett Barry, Tomy Wright, Rick Hill, John
Durant, Craig Cummings, Scott Barrett, Rod Deacey, Todd Coyle
Saturday, December 21: John Holly, Brian Derek, Safe Harbor, Doug Alan Wilcox, Jonah Knight,
Dave Weiner, Max Honn, Dave Mott, Willie Barry
Shows start at 7 PM
Committees
Members! Looking for an active role in F.A.M.E.? Here’s your chance to get involved!
Find a committee that lines up with your interests and skills and contact the chairperson.
A. Membership Committee – Todd, Chair; Karen
1. Maintain membership roster
2. Notify members when their membership renewal is due
3. Chair organizes the Membership Committee as to how they generate renewals
4. Inform Board of Directors (BoD) of steps taken to accomplish renewals/obtain new members
5. Propose membership policy to BoD
6. Maintain membership applications and record of premium distribution
7. Dispense membership premiums
8. Manage premiums (keep supply list, order shirts, etc.)
9. Coordinate membership roster with Newsletter Chair
10. Organize/facilitate/delegate and summarize annual membership meeting
11. Ensure dues are received and deposited
B. Events Coordinator Committee – Ron
1. Maintain communications with endorsed events
2. Organize and oversee concerts, concert series, music circles, open mics and other performanceoriented programs
3. Serve as Point Of Contact for those seeking F.A.M.E. endorsement
C. Marketing and Promotion Committee –Fran , Chair; Tomy, Roy,
1. Organize/coordinate community outreach with other organizations
2. Maintain F.A.M.E. website
3. Assist with advertising for specific events
4. Newsletter
5. Maintain tent, table, signage, etc.
D. Education/Workshops Committee – Hank, Chair; Co-chair, Tomy, Mike
1. Plan and oversee workshops
2. Oversee mentoring program
3. Research and identify non F.A.M.E. educational opportunities
E. Scholarship Committee – Fran; Rick, Chair
1. Establish criteria/guidelines for scholarship awards (individual and organizations) and present to BoD
for approval
2. Establish scholarship fund
3. Make recommendation to the BoD for benevolence
4. Award scholarships and benevolence
5. Formulate a percentage for annual giving and propose to BoD
6. Propose to the BoD organizations to which we may want to donate
Comfortable Concerts presents...
… Lilt (Keith Carr/Tine Eck)
Date: December 13, 2013
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Page 13
Suggested Donation: $10-$20
“Comfortable Concert”
adds a little Celtic
to the December holidays!
Join us on December 13 for an evening
of Celtic, Traditional Irish Music, with
locally based duo, LILT!
Lilt is the duo of Keith Carr and Tina
Eck. They will entertain us with their
spirited versions of traditional Irish
music with the help of a guitar,
bouzouki, banjo, flute, and tin whistle.
Keith Carr is classically trained in
trumpet and piano. He is also a
performing guitarist. He is on the
faculty of The Washington
Conservatory of Music and also teaches
camps and workshops. He co-hosts the
Irish music sessions at the Limerick
Pub in Wheaton, Maryland.
Tina Eck is also on the faculty of The Washington Conservatory of Music Program @Glen Echo. She plays Irish
wooden flute and tin whistle. She discovered her love of traditional Irish music in the 90s. You can find her
performing at various festivals, Kennedy Center, Irish Embassy, and Ireland.
Tina has been award a Maryland State Arts Council Grant for “Solo World Music Performance.”
Lilt’s latest CD (Sept. 2011) is Onward. Listen: www.liltirishmusic.com, www.reverbnation.com/liltirishmusic
Please join me for a little Irish flair to bring in the holidays.
Light refreshments/beverages are offered.
When: December 13, 2013
RSVP:
Time:
Doors open at 7:30pm
December 11 to: [email protected] (Please refer to the FAME newsletter)
Suggested Donation: $10-$20 (solely for the artists)
Upcoming Comfortable Concerts
1/10/2014
1/31
2/21
3/14
4/11
5/9
Bob Sima
Joe Marson
Dave Weiner
Pete Looney
Barbara Martin
Jeremy Neely
www.bobsima.com
www.jormarson.com
www.youtube.com/daveweiner
http://petelooney.blogspot.com/
www.barbaramartinmusic.com
www.neelymusic.com
F.A.M.E. Goals:
F.A.M.E. Board of Directors
Page 14
To
nurture, promote and preserve original
and traditional acoustic music of all genres in Frederick
and Frederick County through live music, education
and community outreach.
To educate aspiring musicians and the general
public about all aspects of original and traditional
acoustic music of all genres via workshops, open
mikes, showcases and concerts.
To reach out to the community via workshops and
concerts, especially through schools and youth
F.A.M.E. Newsletter welcomes your photos and stories about
organizations and the setting up of mentoring
local acoustic music and musicians. Please email submissions to
opportunities for young and aspiring acoustic musicians.
the editor at [email protected] by the 15th preceding the
Rick Hill, President
Todd C. Walker, Vice President
Tomy Wright, Treasurer
Karen Fetters, Secretary
Hank Kobrinski
Max Honn
Roy Greene, Editor
month of publication. Submissions subject to editing.
Some other organizations in the area that you may want to check out:
Washington Area Music Association
Songwriters’ Association of Washington
Folklore Society of Greater Washington
Baltimore Songwriters Association
DC Bluegrass Union
Baltimore Folk Music Society
F.A.M.E. M e m b e r s h i p *
6509 Springwater Court, #6404, Frederick, MD 21701 www.frederickacoustic.org
P l e a s e C i r c l e yo u r c h o i c e o f M e m b e r s h i p L e v e l :
Supporter
$
25 (NL, Sticker, T-shirt)
Sponsor
$
50 (NL, Sticker, Two T -shirts)
Corporate
$ 100 (Window Stickers, Program Listings)
Lifetime
$ 200 (Sticker, T-shirt, Two Free Concerts)
T-shirt Sizes (Circle One):
S
M
L
X
XXL
* A l l M e m b e r s h i p s ( e x c e p t L i f e t i m e ) a r e g o o d f o r o n e c a l e n d a r ye a r ( J a n u a r y t h r u D e c e m b e r )
Please PRINT clearly
NAME:
TODAY’S DATE:
ADDRESS:
PHONE:
EMAIL:
P r e f e r r e d A c o u s t i c M u s i c G e n r e s ( C i r c l e a l l t h a t a p p l y) :
A m e r i c a n a , A c o u s t i c R o c k , A d u l t C o n t e m p o r a r y, B l u e s , B l u e g r a s s , M o d e r n F o l k , T r a d i t i o n a l F o l k ,
Old-Time, Singer-Songw riter
I am interested in: Showcases, Open Mikes, Concerts, House Concerts, Music/Music Business
Workshops
A r t i s t s yo u w o u l d l i k e t o s e e f e a t u r e d a t F . A . M . E . e v e n t s :
H o w d i d yo u f i n d o u t a b o u t F . A . M . E . ?