September 2015 - Huntsville Traditional Music Association

Volume 5 - Issue-9
www.huntsvillefolk.org
September 2015
A message from our President
Dear Friends,
Schools are back in session and the weather is cooling off a bit. It
must be getting close to Fall. September 20th we will have our annual
HTMA Member's Gazebo Concert at Burritt in place of the regular
member’s meeting and monthly coffeehouse. We have a nice line-up
planned to play that Sunday. I hope that we get a big turnout of
members and friends to enjoy the music on a (hopefully) sunny
afternoon!
HTMA Member Concert
- Sunday - Sept 20th Burritt on the Mountain
Gazebo 1:30-4:30 PM
The program will feature performances from HTMA musicians/guests,
including:
Milltowne (Greg Stags - mando, Keating Johns - guitar
Charelle Hudgins - vocal Dan Charles - violin
John Keller (solo guitar)
Bob Hinds
Jack Ellis
Jerry Le Croy
What’s coming up? In October HTMA is going to have a booth at the
Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention. Mark your calendar
for October 2nd and 3rd at Athens State in Athens Alabama: (see both
the link below, and click here to go to: ARTICLE in this month's issue of
the Newsletter from Bob Hicks, for more information
and/or visit:
http://www.athens.edu/fiddlers/
The Fiddlers Convention will be a great opportunity to enjoy a lot of
old time music, see friends, and generally have a good time. They
always have interesting food trucks, so you needn’t go hungry while
enjoying the music. There will be a number of booths with music
instruments and gear for sale, and craft vendors. I hope to see many
HTMA friends at the convention.
Inside this Issue:
Best wishes for a great fall music season
1: A Message from President Jerry LeCroy
2: Area Events / Executive Board
3: Musical Notes - by Jerry LeCroy
4: Tennessee Valley Old-Time Fiddlers
Convention
5: The BERRY PATCH
6: HTMA Members-Classified ADS
Jerry LeCroy - HTMA President
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- September 2015 Area Events ---NEW HOPE SATURDAY NIGHT JAMS
SATURDAY EVENINGS - Every Saturday starting 6:00 PM
New Hope Senior Center, New Hope, AL
---BREWGRASS JAMS - held on 1st WED Monthly -6:00
PM STRAIGHT TO ALE BREWERY
3200 Leeman Ferry Rd SW, Huntsville AL
http://www.straighttoale.com
HTMA Executive Board
---MILLTOWNE - Every 2nd Friday Evening-Monthly
President JERRY LECROY
[email protected]
Plays at Bandito Southside Restaurant
11220 S Memorial Pky, Huntsville AL
SAT, September 5th
---ELMCROFT ASSISTED LIVING Starting 3:00 PM - 8020 Benaroya Ln., Huntsville AL
Vice President & Public Service Chairman
JIM ENGLAND
256-852-5740
[email protected]
SUN, September 13th - 2-5:00 PM
---GREEN MTN BLUEGRASS JAM
Join Brian Curtis and other jammers outdoors in the Picnic Area
of Madison County Nature Center, Huntsville, AL
Secretary/Treasurer
PAT LONG
256-539-7211
[email protected]
Publicity Chairman
BOB HICKS
256-683-9807 [email protected]
SAT, September 19th
---HARBORCHASE RETIREMENT HOME
Starting 10:30 AM - 4801 Whitesport Cr., Huntsville AL
Performance Chairman
KEN WINCHESTER
256-640-5800 [email protected]
*** SUNDAY, September 20th - 1:30 - 4:30 PM ***
-HTMA Member Concert at Burritt Gazebo
NOTE: takes the place of our regular monthly
Operations Co-Chairman
GEORGE WILLIAMS
[email protected]
meeting and our Coffeehouse Concert this month.
Please plan to join us for a great time!
Webmaster/Newsletter Editor
JERI ANN PAYNE 256-714-4611
[email protected]
SAT, September 26th
---REGENCY RETIREMENT VILLAGE
Starting 3:15 PM -
The leadership of HTMA invites YOU
to be an active part of our great
organization, whether you play an
instrument, or want to share in any
other way, we welcome you and thank
you for your support!
2004 Max Luther Drive, Huntsville, AL
Visit our website www.huntsvillefolk.org
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MUSICAL NOTES
- by Jerry
LeCroy
Last week I pulled a couple old friends out of the closet, guitars that I haven’t been playing much lately. Looking at the cases
in the closet, I began to wonder about collective nouns.
You do remember collective nouns from eighth grade English, don’t you? That would include a herd of cows, a pod of whales,
and a flock of most birds (but a murder of crows). But what are the collective nouns for musical instruments? I could not
think of any words that might show up in the OED, but I’m willing to nominate a few candidates:
•
•
•
•
•
•
A crash of cymbals
A squeal of violins (accompanied by a stick of bows)
A panic of banjos
A clutch of autoharps
A lap of dulcimers
A riff of guitars
This expansion of language may not have any utility for younger musicians, but I have observed that many of my musician
friends tend to acquire more instruments as time and budget allow, and many of us are loathe to part with an instrument we
have enjoyed playing. The result is often a closet-full of nice instruments, and hence a need for new collective nouns.
Lately I have been trying to work out some playable arrangements for some classic tunes.
Part of the impetus for this is that I’m enjoying the frequent uploads that Bob Hinds has been putting on Facebook. Bob is
getting some mileage from a little video camera, and his guitar arrangements are really lovely. Bob’s arrangements are too
challenging for me to copy, but lovely enough to inspire me to do better. If you aren’t familiar with Bob Hinds music, you
really need to come to the Gazebo concert on the 20th, where you will see what I mean.
Ken Winchester is working on booking our coffeehouse gigs for 2016. If you know someone that you would like us to book,
please give Ken your recommendation and their contact information. If there are musicians that you might really like to see
in the intimate setting of the old church, please consider sponsoring a performance. Your donation to fund a concert is tax
deductible, and can allow us to book artists who will otherwise be beyond HTMA budget limits.
In the same vein, Ken is booking HTMA members to open for our 2016 coffeehouses. If you’d like to strut your stuff in front
of a friendly and attentive audience next year, ask Ken to put you on his volunteer list. I have played at one coffeehouse this
year, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to get out for the gig.
Speaking of coffeehouses, our association could really use a volunteer to help with coffeehouse logistics, mainly schlepping
the PA gear back and forth. There isn’t a huge amount of hardware to move, but if you can help us out by taking on some of
the work that will be a big help to the operations committee, and contribute to the success of the shows we put on.
It’s pretty easy to volunteer for any of the service committees at HTMA!
One email or phone call will suffice, and the duties are negotiable to fit the amount of time and effort you are able to
commit. We could use help in several areas:
a.
Operations – George Williams is carrying HTMA operations pretty much single-handed. We could use help with
logistics, and we really need a volunteer to be the backup sound technician.
b.
Publicity – Jeri-Ann Payne is doing a bang-up job as webmistress and newsletter editor, but she has a lot of other
demands on her time. I expect that Jeri-Ann would be delighted to hand over either the newsletter or webpage to a new
volunteer. Neither post requires huge investments in time, though they both need attention at least monthly.
c.
Historian – I would love for an HTMA member to help us build a more detailed history section for the webpage. We
have a large amount of old HTMA files and newsletters, concert recordings, and photos on hand to support this venture.
Keep smiling and playing music! Jerry LeCroy
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Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddler’s Convention
The 49th consecutive Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddler’s Convention
(TVOTFC) will be held October 2-3 on the Athens State University campus. Once
again, over 15,000 folks will spread out over the lovely and shaded Athens State
campus to enjoy traditional music and dancing contests, jam sessions, food and
arts & crafts booths.
The origins of this amazing music event originated in the mid 20’s with fiddling contests that served as fund
raisers for the local schools. After a several decade hiatus following WWII, Sam McCracken, a master fiddler
born in 1888, began having gatherings in his Limestone County home.
Due to the popularity of the event, the convention was soon moved to the Athens State campus in 1967. Joyce
Cauthen has posted and excellent history and description of the TVOTFC in the Encyclopedia of Alabama www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1117
This year the Fiddler’s Convention will sport several new changes including raising the cash awards to over
$18,000. In addition to fiddlers of all sizes, there are contests for harmonica, mandolin, bluegrass banjo,
dulcimer, Dobro, old time singing, flatpicking and finger picking guitar, old time banjo, bluegrass band, old time
band and buck dancing. In the past, many HTMA members have competed and won in many of the contests.
Be sure to visit the official web site at www.athens.edu/fiddlers to see all the latest information. If you’ve never
been to the TVOTFC, you must come see it for yourself. I visited it for the 1st time over a dozen years ago and
haven’t missed one since.
This year HTMA plans to set up a booth near McCandless Hall, near the main contest stage and also close to
many of the best jam session areas. In the past, HTMA has set up a canopy tent, folding chairs, our HTMA
banner and an info table for the public. The booth has served as a place to hang out with other HTMA members
and friends as well as a place to present the HTMA to thousands of folks interested in traditional music. It’s also
a great place to stash your instruments or to sit down and eat (food is readily available from dozens of vendors).
What we need to make this successful is some help from interested HTMA members. We need an easily
erectable canopy (preferably not with partisan school logos), a 6 or 8 foot folding table, some folding chairs,
maybe some hay bales, some info cards or fliers to hand out to the public and most importantly folks to man the
booth and greet the public.
To insure that we always have at least 1-2 people at the booth, we have used sign-up sheets in the past.
We could also use an HTMA volunteer to coordinate this booth project.
Bob Hicks ,
HTMA Publicity Chairman
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the BERRY PATCH
GOOD OLE DAYS
It was only about eighty years ago when:
Four hundred, forty-five dollars would buy a new Chevrolet that would, with a good effort, carry the family an average
of 230 miles each day when on vacation travel. Usually, for most vacationing Americans, it was a three week affair; one
week going, one staying, and another getting back home.
Flat tires were a common occurrence. Many cars carried a spare mounted on the back. If no spare was available,
repairing a “flat” was often a challenge. The do-it-yourself method required the use of a jack, tire-tools, cold-patch kit,
hand-pump, and a handy puddle of water to baptize the tube in to “check for leaks.” Chances of successfully repairing
the leak with the first effort were about fifty-fifty, assuming one was experienced in such matters. The neophyte had
about one chance in ten of success on the first try. A hot, over-head August sun
beating down on the man fixing the flat was no cause for celebration, but good cause
to give the man plenty of space. A wise mother took the kids and a blanket to some
far-away, shady spot, out of hearing distance. Daddy, the hot sun, and the flat tire
were a combustible combination, not a fit place for young ears.
That same year, and for several thereafter, Professor Thomas Marshall’s
American History was in common usage in our country. Thomas, speaking of the
slave, wrote: Although he was in a state of slavery, the Negro of plantation days was
usually happy. He was fond of the company of others and liked to sing, dance, crack
jokes, and laugh. (I guess this was the writer’s way of saying misery loves company.)
Shirley Temple was age four and already appearing in “picture-shows.” Times were
difficult for many musicians, causing Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman to share a
common room while playing in various pit bands in New York City.
In Beaumont, Texas, Harry James was not so lucky with a traveling bandleader named
Lawrence Welk who denied Harry’s bid for a job because, You play too loud for
my band.
A clock maker in New Jersey discovered that it was hazardous of his employees to
use radium for painting of luminous figures on clock dials. Out of regard for their
safety, he converted to the use of uranium.
… Such was life, back then.
Joe M. Berry
09/01/2015
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Do you have an item for sale? Are you looking for an instrument? Are you wanting to acquire, trade or
sell musical gear, recordings, books, get something repaired.... Do you need music lessons? Are you wanting to join or
find a new group or band member? Then...this NEW section of our monthly newsletters is for members to place ads for
services or instruments or anything related to music. It will be updated once monthly, on the 1st of the month. If you
have an item or advertisement you want published, please send an EMAIL to "[email protected]" ( Jeri Ann)
to have your listing included in the upcoming month's newsletter. In your email, fully describe what your offering or
looking for, and how you want users to contact YOU, via email, phone or both, etc. Once your listing or item is no longer
active, please also email [email protected] for removal of your listings.
Please note that HTMA makes this service available to aid our users in finding, trading or selling music items and
services only - and we are not responsible for the completion or non-compliance of any transactions between
members.
Fiddle-Violin Lessons -
by Dan Charles
Danny is offering expert violin/fiddle
lessons for students wanting to learn
to play or improve their fiddle skills!
A special hourly rate is available
for HTMA Members. Please contact
[email protected] FOR INFO.
“Early 1980s US-Made Travel Guitar that fits in a case small enough to fit under an
airline seat (case included). Likely solid walnut or
cherry. It has a pickup and feels like a 50s D-18
when expanded. I traveled with it for years but
now do all I can to avoid airplanes. $200
Rick Russell ([email protected] /
256-417-1474)
more ads.... next page
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The Jimmie Rodgers Collection Guitar Recorded
Versions Tab Book, Hal Leonard by Fred Sokolow
Excellent paperback $10
Stephen Foster – America’s Troubadour by John
Tasker Howard, 1953, used paperback $7
Susanna, Jeanie, and the Old Folks at Home: The
Songs of Stephen C. Foster from His Time to Ours
November, 1975 by William W. Austin
Nov
Used hardback $5
Us
Set of 3 Music Together Books (Fiddle, Triangle &
Bongos) produced by the Center for Music and Young
Children (CMYC) by Kenneth K. Guilmartin and Lili M.
Levinowitz
Excellent condition, paperback, $5 for set.
contact: [email protected]
Looking for a band member, hosting a jam session,
wanting to be part of a group? Place a listing here...
Listings here for instrument care, repair &
maintenance
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