Interview With Folk Icons Jay Ungar & Molly Mason “We Can Almost Read Each Others Minds.”

Folk icons Jay Ungar and Molly Mason join us for a day of live music, from upstate New York direct to your home. From 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm the duo will lead an online workshop, with a live stream concert later that evening at 7:30 pm. Included in the concert will be a Q&A with SFMS Board Member Autumn Moore. More information as well as tickets for both the Concert and the workshop can be found at the SFMS website.

Earlier this week Jay and Molly spoke with SFMS Staff Writer Peter Winter via email about playing in a duo, making and teaching music amidst a pandemic, and the enduring quality of a slow waltz.

________________________________________________________

You are one of the most revered duos in acoustic music. What is special/different about playing in a duo as opposed to a larger ensemble? 

It’s more flexible and allows us each space for spontaneity. We have been playing together for so long that we can almost read each others minds. While bandmates who’ve played together for years can read each others minds, we each have only one mind each to read. When one of us introduces a spontaneous musical idea the other is able to follow. We each also carry more responsibility. I play most of the solos and fills, while Molly functions as chord player, bass player and drummer. But with more responsibility comes more opportunity as well.

It’s so impressive that you two have been able to move your revered fiddle camps and workshops online due to the pandemic. What was that experience like? Was there a learning curve moving your operation online?

This year was the 40th anniversary of Ashokan Music & Dance Camps. From April through August we offered ten camps ranging from weekends to full weeks and for lots of different instruments, plus singing and dancing. You can check out our future lineup of camps at ashokan.org. The lock-down hit just a few weeks before our first camp in April, the Old Time Rollick. We were fortunate to have Debra Clifford as the director of that program. She’s very social media savvy and had hired a staff who share that interest and talent. They were all a huge help in making the Online Rollick a success. None of this would have happened without our daughter Ruth Ungar Merenda, you may know her from the Mammals. As director of communications and the arts at Ashokan, Ruth headed the team that created our online camps. The Old Time Rollick has usually been capped at 110 people including staff. But the Online Rollick was three or four times that size with participants from around the world. Ruth and her team did a great job and learned a ton doing it, which they were able to apply to our next camp, the Cyber String Fling with Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas. By mid summer they were pros and were being asked to consult with other organizations that were building online music camps. We’re still offering an online series of weekly music and dance workshops along with an interactive lecture series called Catskill Conversations. You can check it all out at ashokancenter.org/events. All the camps and events are archived and are available to participants for a year and a subscription service is also being offered. Frankly we’re blow away by it all!

 What can musicians expect from participating in your fiddle/guitar workshop prior to the concert?

We start by demo-ing the tune we’re teaching together as a duo, then split into two zoom rooms. Molly teaches the basics and subtleties of her approach to chords and runs for guitarists (piano and bass players might also be interested). Jay teaches the melody, ornaments and expression for fiddlers—with all melody instruments welcome.We then get back together and everyone has a chance to play what they’ve learned with the two of us from their own homes. 

How have you two adjusted to the experience of performing virtually? 

We’ve been doing a concert from our home every Wednesday at 8pm on Facebook Live. We play some of our regular concert material and other music that we’ve recorded. But to keep things fresh from week to week, we also play tunes that we haven’t done in years and we dig up new material for each show. It’s a challenge that we both welcome and thoroughly enjoy. It gives shape to our weeks during these crazy times. And most importantly it gives us a way to share our music and connect with people on a regular basis, something that’s so important to us both. We read online comments and have started communicating directly with some of our regular viewers. It’s an exciting new world!

You two are famous for your love of a good waltz! What about that melodic 3/4 time calls to you?

Wow, what is it about waltzes? Our tune book, Catskill Mountain Waltzes & Airs, ventures into slow tunes in 2/4 or 4/4 as well. I think we both love music that makes an emotional connection and touches the heart. Who doesn’t of course. But we have somehow found that waltzes and airs are where we both make the deepest connection with audiences and with one another.

__________________________________________________

Peter Winter lives in Harrisburg where he writes, teaches music, plays in the Celtic group Seasons, DJs, runs half of the record label His & Hers Records and serves on the board of the SFMS. He is on instagram

Storyteller Bil Lepp, Sunday, October 4, 2020. 2 PM (Virtual) Workshop, 4 PM (Virtual) Performance

Bil Lepp is a nationally touring storyteller who travels around the country entertaining kids and adults with his funny tall tales. He’s been featured 15 times at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee has performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and can be found telling stories at many of the nation’s schools, concert halls, festivals, and public functions. He‘s a writer too and his picture book ‘The King of Little Things’ won the 2014 Pan America Prize for picture book writing.

Bil Lepp is also famously the five-time champion of the West Virginia Liars Contest, an event designed to perpetuate the art of oral history and Appalachian culture. He no longer enters the contest but has become somewhat of an authority on how these contests are run. So much so that in 2019 when SFMS decided to hold a Liars Contest at the Susquehanna Folk Festival, we tapped him to mentor us and serve as emcee at this inaugural event.

SFMS received the added benefit of having Bil at the festival where he performed on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and gave numerous workshops for kids and adults. He very quickly became a festival favorite, with fans following him around from event to event!

Now he’s back for a virtual storytelling workshop (for adults) and a performance which will both be held on Sunday, October 4 at 2-3:30 (workshop) and 4-5 (live-stream performance).

These events are held in partnership between the Susquehanna Folk Music Society and the Lititz Storytelling Festival

Both events will be held on Zoom and registration is required. To register visit https://sfms.ticketspice.com/storyteller-bil-lepp

CHAOS DOESN’T HAPPEN ON ITS OWN

A Storytelling Workshop for Adults ($15 and $20 at the Supporter Level)

2pm – 3:30pm on Zoom

Bil Lepp’s stories often move simple everyday acts and occurrences into complex, layered tall tales. How does the chaos happen? Through a few careful, but easy, steps. Want to find out what those steps are? This workshop will look at avenues of exploration and research to help you build the foundation for well-told lies, falsehoods and exaggerations — so your audience walks away giggling and thinking, “Yep, that’s what would happen if…”

LIVE STORYTELLING AND CONVERSATION

4pm Live-stream Performance (A suggested donation of $15 -$20 at the Supporter Level)

After the workshop, we’ll go on the air with Bil for an hour of truth-stretching, shaggy dogs and outright whoppers, and a chat with an SFMS community member.

Want to learn more about Bil? The information below was taken from online interviews and Bil’s website at https://www.leppstorytelling.com

LEARN MORE!

ABOUT BIL (from his website)

Bil’s humorous, family-friendly tall-tales and stories have earned the appreciation of listeners of all ages and from all walks of life. Though a five-time champion of the WV Liars’ Contest, Lepp’s stories often contain morsels of truth which present universal themes in clever and witty ways. Audiences all across the country, from grade schools to corporate execs to the Comedy Central’s Hudson stage, have been delighted by Bil’s mirthful tales and delightful insights into everyday life. Bil’s books and audio collections have won awards including the PEN Steven Kroll Award for Children’s Book Writing, Parents’ Choice Gold awards, and awards from the National Parenting Publications Assoc., and the Public Library Assoc.

THREE EXCERPTS FROM A RECENT ONLINE INTERVIEW July 2, 2020 interview Betsy Bird Q & A, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-rXFRwBK0U

1. Storytelling process

“The stories that I tell on stage, almost all of them I’ve written myself. They are not really fractured fairytales; most of them are sort of Appalachia-based tall tales that I’ve created out of folk cloth. I deal a lot with twisting the way we normally perceive things and turning characters around so they are not who we expect and those sorts of tricks.

The difference between telling a story and having a conversation is when you tell a story the audience can’t ask you questions so you have to anticipate what they might want to ask.

You have to look at what you are putting together and figure out what you might be taking for granted. What you are assuming that everyone else knows. And you have to make sure that it’s clear to your audience what it is that you are talking about.”

2. Creating a believable setting

“The easiest way to do this is to start a story with, “Once upon a time,” or “a long, long time ago.” Anytime we hear those phrases, we’ve been trained since we were little tiny babies that this might mean that plants and pots and pans can talk, and anything magical can happen. We may be put in a world that is still on earth but beyond what we normally experience. As listeners when we hear that it opens up what I call the ‘context box’ and it’s inside the context box that we allow ourselves to suspend disbelief so that we can have an emotional reaction to things we know aren’t true.

3.Becoming a storyteller

“I didn’t know that there was any storytelling outside of the West Virginia Liars Contest. I mean I would get invited somewhere, like one of my very first paying gigs I was at a Buckwheat Pancake Festival and I had to stand on a milk crate and there was a microphone attached to a record player—that was the entire sound system. And I told stories as people went through the buffet line. So nobody had time to listen to my stories as I was telling them.

So I did the Liars Contest for about 8 years then I was invited to a West Virginia festival which was mostly West Virginia tellers, but they invited a guy named Ed Stivender who is a storyteller out of Philadelphia and Ed is a professional storyteller. He’s the first professional storyteller I ever met and it’s the first time I knew that’s a job you could do and then Ed, he’s just an amazing storyteller.

And when I saw Ed I thought, ”Man that would really be fun!” But more importantly, Ed heard me and he liked what I did and he gave my name to the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro Tennessee. And in 2000 I got to do a 15-minute spot at the National Festival and it really went well. And things just sort of took off from there. And by 2003 storytelling was my full-time job and I’ve been doing it full time ever since then. “

Bil with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners at the Susquehanna Folk Festival Liars Contest

 

Saturday, September 12 at 7:30 PM Rob Kronen, 2020 Emerging Artists Showcase winner plays virtual concert

On Saturday, September 12 at 7:30 PM the Susquehanna Folk Music Society presents guitarist and songwriter Rob Kronen who will perform a virtual concert.

Rob Kronen took top honors at the 2020 Susquehanna Folk Music Society Emerging Artist Showcase in early August. He wowed the judges with his soulful voice, groovin’ blues guitar, and songwriting chops. He wowed the watchers too, as the runaway favorite in the showcase audience poll.

Rob, who hails from Berks County, PA, describes himself as a singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has self-released one full-length album, titled Neanderthal (Blue), as well as an EP, titled American Flood: Part 1. He has a passion for incorporating folk melodies into innovative sonic landscapes, as well as learning and teaching the techniques of hill country blues and Delta-style slide guitar.

A suggested donation of $15 ($20 at the Supporter Level) is requested, although viewers may pay what they can. Registered audience members will receive a confirmation email with an access link to view this performance live.  Access is available for one device at a time and cannot be shared.

Tickets are available at https://sfms.ticketspice.com/rob-kronen

For more information, visit the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website at www.sfmsfolk.org or https://www.facebook.com/RobKronenMusic/

We had a chance to learn more about Rob’s background, influences, and projects during a recent Zoom interview.

________________________________________

FOLKMAMA: Congratulations on your 2020 Emerging Artists Showcase win! Your set was so impressive that we just had to get you back for a full-length concert!

I’m curious about your musical background and whose playing has most interested you.

ROB: I was around 12 or 13 when I got a guitar. At the time I was listening to what is now known as grunge music. I wanted to emulate those guys but then I started playing in high school with two friends of mine and stated writing original music, Jam Band kind of stuff.

And then I kept going during college, got my music degree [SUNY Oswego], and kept writing there. After college, I began writing even more. I’ve just been doing that since.

As far as inspirations it’s been a mixed bag. Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of blues artists. Robert Johnson, Furry Lewis. Then I started going on to Mississippi Fred McDowell and later to Arnold Burnside and Junior Kimbrough.

All these guys have been on shuffle throughout the quarantine.

Lyrically, it could be anything. I’ve been taking some inspiration lately from some science writings, mostly climate change stuff which ties into the American Flood project that I’m working on. But beyond that, whatever piques my interest. I like discovering little interesting factoids that I can fit into my songs.

FOLK MAMA: Tell me about your interest in the blues.

ROB: One of the projects I’m going to try to do before the end of the year is taking a lot of the old blues songs that I’ve been listening to a reworking the lyrics about COVID. I’m planning to play some of these on Saturday night.

I take inspiration from the music itself, but also this feeling that this music has to come out. It was sort of popular then it faded, got popular again. There are people that are always doing it because they have to do it.

The time period is interesting. You get the early blues and then the late 20s and the 30s and you get all these classic recordings. The first wave of recorded blues. And then it kind of tappers off, because of the depression and World War Two. But then you find them again —Leadbelly comes back and Big Bill Broonzy comes back and in the early 60s you get to rediscover all these people.

As someone who is trying to make it as an artist, you take solace at different points of their lives and you say ‘they tried’ and then due to circumstances beyond their control they couldn’t try anymore and 30 years later they get to try again. I mean, Furry Lewis was a street sweeper in Memphis, and then in his 70s he played with the Rolling Stones!

It’s interesting to say in the current climate “What am I doing with this? Why is this appealing in this way? What kind of credit do I owe?” And I don’t know quite honestly. It’s the music that is speaking to me at this moment.

FOLKMAMA: And how has your interest in climate change found its way into your music?

ROB: I read a bunch of science books. One of them was called Eaarth [Bill McKibben] and it had a line about ‘Beaches in Memphis’ Like if all the ice in the world would melt, there would be beaches in Memphis. The imagery of that has stuck with me.

There is a line in one of my songs Jacob about shark attacks on Memphis Beach which doesn’t make sense if you think about it, but in the context of climate change it does. It’s been interesting for me to write on a theme—something as broad as a flood and to write various viewpoints from it. You get a lot of religious themes, and especially around the time of the late 20s and the early 30s was the great Mississippi River flood. So you get a lot of flood songs that are blues songs. I’m just now discovering them.

I started writing these songs in 2013 and am now thinking about the wildfires in California, Climate Change seems so much more real.

It’s still an interesting concept to me and I tend to write about big concepts. My goal is –as it stands now its 3 records and I’m working on the 2^nd. The first one was called American Flood Part 1 and it’s a five-song EP (https://robkronen.bandcamp.com/releases) and it was the first attempt of exploring this theme.

FOLKMAMA: How did you find out about the Emerging Artists Showcase?

I went to the Susquehanna Folk Festival last year to see Dom Flemons. As we were walking around we saw about the showcase and my wife said “You should do that.” And I said, “I don’t know, they’re pretty good” But when the e-mail came out about the Virtual showcase, I decided to enter.

FOLKMAMA: So what are you planning for the Saturday night concert?

ROB: I’m excited. I’m going to be playing an electric guitar. Some old blues covers. I always kind of fall back on the guitar because I got a 10 year head start vs. singing.

So I have an electric setup that I kind of enjoy.  A little bit more atmosphere on guitar, Bill Pursell or some of the other advent guard musicians coupled with old blues songs. I like it. We’ll see how it goes.

 

 

 

 

September 4, 2020. Le Vent du Nord plays virtual concert for SFMS

The Susquehanna Folk Music Society is excited to host the French-Canadian supergroup Le Vent du Nord for the first show of our fall Virtual Season at 8:00 PM on Friday, September 4, 2020!

Join us for a LIVE streamed concert, including Q&A with the band at intermission. Buy tickets at https://www.sfmsfolk.org/concerts/LeVentDuNord.html  Tickets are available until 30 minutes before the show starts.

It will be some time until Le Vent du Nord can leave their native Québec, so the Susquehanna Folk Music Society has teamed up with the band for a special concert, broadcast LIVE from Centre Culturel de Joliette, Québec, using a multi-camera system with exceptional lighting and sound.

Le Vent du Nord have played in the area many times over the band’s 18-year history, and audiences have loved them every time. The group’s dynamic live performances expand the bounds of tradition in striking global directions. It’s no wonder that Le Vent du Nord is a leading force in Quebec’s progressive francophone folk movement.

So what is it about this band that makes Susquehanna Folk want to bring them back again and again? Our patrons really seem to love the familiar Celtic flavor to some of their tunes (due to the couple of hundred years of assimilation between French, Irish and Scottish immigrants to Canada) coupled with a freshness coming from the use of less familiar instruments. The most obvious is the hurdy gurdy, Nicolas’ speciality, and the jaw harp from Réjean.

Song lyrics are, naturally, in French but the obvious problem this could create for English speaking audiences is neatly sidestepped by the often hilariously entertaining explanations offered by the various band members. This humor and the clear enjoyment that the band derives from describing and then singing their songs contributes vastly to the Le Vent du Nord experience.

Nicolas Boulerice’s hurdy-gurdy “adds an earthy, rough-hewn flavor” to the fiddles of Olivier Demers and André Brunet, underpinned by Réjean Brunet’s accordion and Simon Beaudry’s solid string foundation. Vital to the overall sound is the use of both feet to tap out the sometimes complex rhythms of the tune, given the delightful name of podorythmie.

Concert tickets are $13 for general admission or $20 at the supporter level.  Both ticket levels will receive a confirmation email with an access link to view this performance live and both price levels will receive the same viewing experience. Access is available for one device at a time and cannot be shared.

Below is a conversation with Rejéan Brunet, Le Vent Du Nord’s fantastic accordion and bass player. (Adapted from a 2015 interview)

_____________________________________

FOLKMAMA: I’m wondering if you could talk a little bit about the Le Vent du Nord experience. What should expect to hear when they come to one of your concerts?

 

REJÉAN: For the people who have seen us or not seen us it’s always nice. For the people who have not seen us it’s a super good way to experience the old tradition in a new way. We do a lot of traditional stuff and also

compose in the style of the tradition. It’s a good mixture between old and new.

 

Sometimes it sounds quite traditional. We use the traditional instruments: guitar, fiddle, and accordion and we all sing. The group is quite strong on vocals. We do a lot of harmonies so it makes the song really full. So it’s a very unique experience with Québécoise music.

 

FOLKMAMA: Once thing I’ve always been impressed about with your band is that you seem really organized on stage. You seem to know what you’re going to do every moment—real pros!

 

REJÉAN: Yes. When we structure our shows we know that we want to place a trad song in a certain place, the smooth songs we try to place in the middle of sets, we try to start to with a song that will create a feeling of what will happen. We see our show like a popular singer would see it and plan it carefully. Create an event—create a feeling to bring the people in with our stories.

 

And of course the Québécoise accent is so nice when we speak English. After the third or fourth word that we say people are getting into it and very receptive.

 

We have been playing a lot in the states and in many countries where they don’t speak French. We play with words and we always have a lot of fun translating things and explaining instruments.

 

FOLKMAMA: So can you talk a little bit about the unusual instruments that the group plays?

REJÉAN: The hurdy gurdy is a very unusual instrument. Maybe people won’t know much about it. It’s like a wheeled fiddle with strings. There are traces of that instrument a long time ago in Quebec 200 years ago, but not that much. It was not so easy to travel with the hurdy gurdy. But traditionally it’s been singing and fiddle when the colony first started. And jaw harp is a very old instrument, easy to carry, so it was more evident early on.

 

The other instrument that we play that would be interesting to talk about is the bouzoki. It’s quite a new instrument. It’s like the Greek bouzoki except without the rounded back. It looks very much like a big mandolin. Even in Irish music, it came in the end of the 1960s. It was in fact a mistake, a guy wanted to have another instrument, and someone brought back a bouzoki instead. He started to play on that and it became quite popular.

 

FOLKMAMA: I’ve read that about 50% of your music is traditional and 50% are your own compositions. I’ve also read that you like to find old traditional pieces that have never been recorded. Where do you find them?

 

REJÉAN:  It’s always different of course; the story of how we find each one is different for each song. It happens sometimes that we just have found the lyrics and we have to compose a melody for that. Many we go seek people who know a lot about the music or we go to the archives. There is a big University in Quebec City called Université Laval that has a super large amount of archives with old recordings.

 

FOLKMAMA: I saw some of your You Tubes at Celtic Connections (a large winter festival in Glasgow, Scotland), and I saw that you performed with the Scottish singer Julie Fowlis who is a Susquehanna Folk Music Society favorite. How did this concert come about and what was it like performing with Julie?

 

REJÉAN: So it was a special show, only a once in a lifetime show. The concept was “Misses & Messieurs” because we are four guys and we invite only girls. So we had a string quartet that was four girls and we invite a few others like Julie Fowlis.

 

The folk music scene is not so big. So we see each other sometimes at festivals. So we saw Julie many years ago and she’s a great singer. Super great voice. In terms of a Celtic music singer she’s one of the best. So when they asked us to do this special program we said that we thought Julie would be super good. She sang a little bit with us on stage in French. She’s a very nice, a very kind person. Very generous and very talented.

On April 9th-12th–TBS Online Bluegrass Festival Showcases Young Pickers

Autumn Moore, a 17 -year- old bluegrass fiddler and singer from Newport, PA, came up with a terrific idea to host a festival featuring young pickers from all over the country.

The result was the TBS Online Bluegrass Festival. The festival will be held on Thursday, April 9th and continue through Sunday, April 12th.  TBS Online Bluegrass Festival will be produced in partnership with the national organization Tomorrow’s Bluegrass Stars.

The festival can be accessed online through Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/tbsfestival or YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk5tcU8cMMPBPu57 NIOdnkA?view_as=subscriber

TBS Online Bluegrass Festival l will feature 37 bands playing 45-minute sets. The bands come from 17 different states including PA, DE, VT, WV, VA, NC, GA, WI, KY, TN, AR, OK, MO, ID, NM, FL, AZ. Seven of the groups come from Pennsylvania.

Acts who will perform in the festival are made up primarily of 20 years old and under musicians, though having a couple of adult members is not a disqualification. Much younger groups who don’t have a full 45 minute set of music prepared are featured in shorter 15-minute segments. Most of the music will be performed live.

Autumn and her 16-year-old brother, Canyon, form a duet act called Buffalo Mountain Bluegrass. They will be the host band.

Participating bands include (Thursday): Col Dreydon Gordon, Werner Family Band, Donna Ulisse Presentation, Silas Powell, Burnett Sisters Band, Max Brown, The Prickly Pears, Arizona Wildflowers, Isabela March, Snaky Woods

(Friday) Buffalo Mountain Bluegrass, Sammy Murphy, Tucumcari Crossroads, Brett Beiler, Jason Gainer, Brayden Williamson, Ellis Family, Farnum Family, Jerry Ankney, The Band Jubilee,

(Saturday) Buffalo Mountain Bluegrass, Bodie Frankhouser, Whispering Creek, Fiddle Express, Echo Valley, Roller Family Band, Earlysville Bluegrass Boys, Williamson Branch, Billy and the Kids, Pearlgrace & Co, Darrius Flowers, Kentucky Just Us,

(Sunday) Buffalo Mountain Bluegrass, Jerry Ankney, The Kowal Family, Fuller Family Singers, Ayden & Blane Young, Classy & Grassy, Wildwood Honey, Lost Creek Band and Kentucky Borderline.

• 

Brayden Williamson created the logo for the TBS Online Bluegrass Festival and supplied technical assistance.

Buffalo Mountain Bluegrass has played widely throughout the Midstate and performed at the Susquehanna Folk Festival as part of the 2019 Young Folk Showcase. Autumn is also a member of the Susquehanna Folk Music Society Board and Festival Planning Committee where she contributes her considerable insights and knowledge about folk music.

https://youtu.be/bRNGy6o0DOc

Tomorrow’s Bluegrass Stars (TBS) exists to connect young bluegrass artists all over the US and Canada. TBS currently has more than 350 members, all under the age of 20. Membership in Tomorrow’s Bluegrass Stars is open to anyone who plays bluegrass, as long as they are 20 or under.

 

Canal Street String Band: Folk and Blues Roots of the Grateful Dead, a concert on March 14. Harrisburg.

Canal Street String Band, which combines stellar musicianship with an undeniable sense of adventure and plenty of fun comes to Central Pennsylvania on Saturday, March 14, 2020, for a 7:30 p.m. concert sponsored by Susquehanna Folk Music Society at the Fort Hunter Centennial Barn, 5300 N. Front Street, Harrisburg. Concert tickets are $24 General Admission, $20 for SFMS members and $10 for students ages 3-22. Advance tickets are available online https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4272265 or at the door.

For more information, visit the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website at http://www.sfmsfolk.org.

Read about an interview below between SFMS staff writer Curtis Rockwell and Canal Street String Band member Dave Ruch.

____________________________________________________

Unlike many shows, there will be an agenda behind Saturday night’s music – that of exploring the traditional music which influenced, informed, and inspired the music of the band, The Grateful Dead.  “The Dead,” founded in Palo Alto, California in 1965, first performed as “The Warlocks,” but by the end of the year had changed their name to “The Grateful Dead” so as not to copy the name of a then recently released album by the Velvet Underground. 

I had the opportunity to chat with Dave Ruch, who founded The Canal Street String Band, about the theme for Saturday’s concert, and about his Buffalo-based trio.  The themed program had its origins about five years ago. 

“Around 2015 or 2016, we played at the Old Songs Festival which is a big festival up near Albany, New York, and one of the workshops we got placed in was on the musical roots of The Grateful Dead.  Those guys started as a jug band and brought lots of different musical traditions into the fold once they became the Grateful Dead.  Some of the music that people think of as Grateful Dead songs are actually really ancient folk songs or old blues or ragtime things that they just put their own mark on.  All the music that they grew up listening too and playing – all the different rootsy stuff kind of filtered into their own original material as well.”

“A couple months ahead of time, we were staring at the fact that we were going to have to put together an hour on the musical roots of the Grateful Dead without ever having done it before so, fortunately for me, I have a long background playing that music, as the first band I was ever in was a Grateful Dead cover band back in the eighties. 

The Grateful Dead has been a gateway for untold thousands of people to discover things like Bluegrass music and old time Appalachian music and old blues.  We were in this venue called the Dutch Barn which is this ancient beautiful old wooden barn from the seventeen hundreds that’s on the property and it was completely packed.  There were probably one hundred and twenty people in there and we did the presentation and the response just floored us.  People just couldn’t get enough – they loved the stories of the music and how the Grateful Dead came to it, but the thing that really blew us away was that probably two out of every three people that we talked to afterwards told us that they didn’t even like or had never really listened to the Grateful Dead, but they raved about the presentation. 

That sort of turned on a lightbulb for me.  So we’ve expanded it to a full evening show with lots of great stories, lots of great music, and again, it’s something that people, whether they have any interest in or experience with the Grateful Dead’s music, it appeals to folk music fans, but it’s also bringing in some Grateful Dead fans who might not usually attend a folk music event.”

The Canal Street String, consisting of Dave Ruch, Phil Banaszak, and Jim Whitford, got its start in the historic district of Buffalo, NY.  “The band started ten years ago back in 2010, but we’d already known each other for twenty-some years and had played in various combinations together with other people over the years, but it was 2010 when I decided to put this group together and I called these two guys to see if they wanted to do it with me.”

The band was formed in response to the city of Buffalo looking for entertainment for its downtown area.  “We have a fabulous waterfront here on Lake Erie that’s steeped in history with the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes. They were interested in putting together some entertainment right down there at the waterfront. 

In the 19th century, there was a street called Canal Street that was, according to all the sailors, some of whom had been all over the world, the wickedest street in the world.  In something like a three block radius, there were something like eighty theaters and brothels and houses of ill repute servicing the sailors who were coming in off their ships and getting paid in Buffalo Harbor.  So I named the group after this old commercial strip.”

“Initially our repertoire was heavy in kind of maritime folk music, you know shanties and things that the lake sailors used to sing, canal songs, stuff that was, if not directly from Buffalo’s waterfront, was based on that sort of experience.”

“I dreamed up the group before I’d even talked to these other guys and sent in a proposal – Canal Street String Band playing music from Buffalo’s heyday and assorted other folk music, and they went for it so they hired us to play a couple of shows.  So at that point I had to put the group together even though I hadn’t talked to either of the other guys yet.  I reached out to them and fortunately they were interested in doing it so we put a whole repertoire together for the first shows and the band has just grown from there.”

While this Saturday’s show focuses on influences for the Grateful Dead, Dave and his musical partners are interested in collecting, preserving and cataloging traditional music, as well as adding some of their own original tunes to the traditional canon.

 “As part of a project up here unrelated to the Canal Street String Band, but related to traditional folk music, I was tasked with putting together and being the project director for a website documenting traditional folk music of the Adirondacks which is a region in northern New York State.  So as part of that I was combing through all kinds of different collections and things and discovered that there are still people up in that region who learned music directly from their elders and their community and they learned it in the traditional way which would be not by reading it on a page but by learning it from another human being. “

“There are a couple wonderful fiddlers up there who have repertoires that go back into the nineteenth century of tunes that have been just handed down through the generations.  I’ve befriended a wonderful woman who had a singing repertoire that went back to her ancestors of the nineteenth century, so yeah there are still people carrying those traditions forward and so it hasn’t ended, though it’s certainly harder to find.”

“We also do perform our own music.  Our fiddle player especially, Phil Banaszak, has written a bunch of great instrumental fiddle music that’s a little more adventurous than your traditional fiddle tunes, so that’s usually part of our show.  We’ll maybe do one or two of those on this particular night.  That’s another element to what we do, we’re not strictly playing old music that we’ve dug out of the archives, we’re also creating our own music which has been really fun.”

More of The Canal Street Band’s music can be explored on their website, www.canalstreetstringband.com Dave’s musical endeavors, including his contributions to the Emmy Award winning project, “Songs To Keep,” can be found at www.daveruch.com

A Note About Coronavirus Precautions:  Based on the latest guidelines from state and local departments of health, the current plan of the Susquehanna Folk Music Society is to hold all upcoming events as scheduled.  We are taking extra precautions for the safety of our patrons, including making sure that bathrooms have additional supplies of soap and that door handles and surfaces are sanitized prior to shows. For the time being, when we have snacks during intermission, we will be offering only individually wrapped food items.  Our staff and volunteers have been directed to stay home if they are ill, and we ask the same of our patrons. If you are a presale ticket-purchaser who is ill and unable to attend, we would be happy to exchange your ticket at no cost for a future performance.  We will announce any modifications to upcoming events via our website and through e-mail communications (so please keep us apprised if you have recently changed your e-mail address).  We look forward to seeing you at a show soon.

Live from Sweden, it’s JEARV! March 1, 2020 at The Ware Center in Lancaster.

Jaerv, an energetic group of five Swedish musicians who draw from jazz, pop, and other musical genres in an extroverted, vigorous, and heartfelt folk music style, comes to Central Pennsylvania for a Susquehanna Folk Music Society concert on Sunday, March 1, 2020, at 7:30 p.m., at the Ware Center’s Owen Salon, 42 N. Prince Street, Lancaster, PA.

• 

A Jaerv performance combines five-voice vocal blending with energetic dances and free improvisation. Members of Jaerv include Harald Nilsson on guitar and vocals; Tobias Hedlund, percussion; Anders Bergsten, double bass, myckelharpa (keyfiddle) and vocals; Markus Gustavsson, fiddle and lead vocals; and Joel Hagen, flute, whistles, soprano saxophone, EWI (electronic wind instrument), and vocals.

With so many instruments and such different musical backgrounds, Jaerv is careful to create a pleasing acoustic sound. Reviewers say the double bass, flute, soprano saxophone, fiddle, nyckelharpa, and drums create broadness and energy in their arrangements.

Concert tickets are $25 General Admission, $22 for SFMS members and $5 for students ages 3-22. Advance tickets are available at The Ware Center, by calling (717) 871-7600 or online at http://studentservicesinc.vbotickets.com/event/jaerv/36690.

For more information, visit the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website at www.sfmsfolk.org

Recently we had a chance to speak to Joel Hagen, Jaerv’s flute and saxophone player.

______________________________________________________

FOLKMAMA: Can you describe your music? What styles do you draw from?

JOEL: Our music is best described as traditional Scandinavian folk music with influences from pop, jazz and Celtic music. We combine five voiced harmonies with traditional folk instruments such as the nyckelharpa.

FOLKMAMA: Where do you get your repertoire? Do you write it yourselves, or is it mostly traditional music?

JOEL: We usually pick traditional Swedish tunes, from a specific part of the country, and then arrange the music together as a group. About half of the repertoire is traditional music, the other half is written by someone in Jaerv. 

FOLKMAMA: Can you talk about the instruments that you play. Are the instruments traditionally used in Swedish Folk music? What about the beautiful harmony singing? is that traditional?

JOEL: The nyckelharpa would be the most traditional Swedish instrument. It is widely used in Swedish folk music and you would even find many nyckelharpa communities in the US. The harmony singing is quite common among female groups but not male groups so we are very unique in that sense.  The other instruments we have with us are all used in Swedish folk music but you would also find them in other styles and countries. However, the combination and range of the instruments we have with us is quite special for Swedish folk music.

FOLKMAMA: You played in our area just last summer, and before that a year ago in Lancaster.  What projects have you worked on since then?

JOEL: We have had many projects going on during the last year. This Christmas we did five concerts together with three different choirs. About 10 of our songs have been arranged for choir and also published and distributed to many other choirs across Sweden. We have also been working with a Japanese Koto player, both touring with her in Sweden and also recorded some music together where Jaerv sings in Japanese (!).

FOLKMAMA:  If folk music from Sweden Celtic, or does it come from different roots entirely?

JOEL: Swedish folk music would have its roots more from the southern part of Europe. Many Swedish tunes are very similar to baroque and other classical music. But you would also find Celtic influences which came later on through the trade exchange with Great Britain. 

FOLKMAMA: Your first concert for SFMS was in 2009. What changes have occurred in the band since the?

JOEL: It has been over 10 years!? Well, much has happened I hope:) Plenty of more vocals. We have added an organ, six-string guitar, Irish whistles, a tenor nyckelharpa, lots of new percussion and a much better sound! 

Interview With Irish Trio HighTime: “We Want to Bring The Audience on an Adventure.”

HighTime, a fresh new trio from the heart of the Connemara region in Ireland, will bring their mix of traditional Irish and modern folk music to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of York on Sunday, February 23rd. The evening begins at 7:30 pm.  The concert is sponsored by the Susquehanna Folk Music Society.  More information can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets are $25 General Admission, $21 for SFMS Members, and $10 for students (ages 3-22).  Tickets will be available at the door or online.

Earlier this week, band members Séamus Ó Flatharta, (Celtic Harp, whistle, bódhran drum, Irish dancing & vocals) Ciarán Bolger, (guitar and vocals) and Conall Ó Flatharta (flute, whistle & vocals) chatted with SFMS staff writer Peter Winter about the groups origins, their 2018 debut “SUNDA,” and being ambassadors of the Irish Gaelic language.

_______________________________________________________

Where does the band name come from?

Ciarán (Guitar/Vocals): The name “HighTime” came about in reference to a feeling within the band and between its members that it was long overdue (high time) that we started a band seeing as we had been playing together for so long. 

This is a widely used saying in Ireland and throughout the world. Séamus and I are more accustomed to the Gaelic version of this saying as we come from a Gaeltacht (Irish Speaking) area in Connemara in west Galway. This expression has an equivalent in the Irish/Gaelic language (thar ama – pronounced haur – awwmah).

HighTime also implies a fun, fresh and exciting experience which is what the band aims to give their audiences at each show using music, songs in the English language as well as the Irish language, dance and story.

How did the three of you all begin playing together?

Ciarán: Séamus and I have known each other since childhood. We are next door neighbours living on the same mountain face with a small cattle field separating both houses, looking out over Ardmore bay in Connemara, County Galway. For as long as we can remember, our families have been playing music together.

In 2015, Michael and I met while performing with a touring professional Irish music and dance show, Celtic Legends. Michael hails from the Irish Music hub of Manchester, England and has been living in Ireland for many years; moving over permanently to study and graduate from the highly regarded University of Limerick where he attained an Honours BA in Traditional Irish Music & Dance. 

Séamus and Michael met later in march of 2016 while performing at the Hövelhof Irish Music festival alongside Séamus’ older brother, Conall and I. This sparked a huge connection between all of us and the band, as a three piece outfit, was formed officially in late 2017. In early 2019, Michael replaced Conall as a full time member.

How did you decide on “Sunda” the title of your 2018 debut album?

Ciarán: Sunda, as an album name, came about as a play on words initially. In the Gaelic language, Sunda means Sound – the nautical term for a stretch of water between land and an island etc. There are many such sounds to be observed on the rugged west coast of Ireland where Séamus and I hail from.

However we found that it came to represent a deeper meaning within the band; the will to navigate between the tradition of Irish music and also other influences we have in music and to showcase that in our music and in the debut album. 

Two of you grew up learning Irish Gaelic, do you think the traditional language of Ireland is becoming more wide spread?

Séamus (Harp, Dance, Vocals): We certainly hope so! Wherever we go, we try and fly the flag for the language, so to speak, and generate an interest among our audiences. We feel that this a great platform to get people excited about the language. It is an exceptionally beautiful language and we feel it is our duty to showcase it during our shows and to make songs in the Irish language as well as phrases relatable to audiences of all ages and nationalities.

The more utility a language has, the stronger it is and can become. We feel that music and the arts in general can be a great way to give any language utility. Music is a true mode of expression after all! We hope that by weaving Gaelic into HighTime shows people will feel the urge to learn more about the language and take initiative to find out more.

How do the three of you balance honoring tradition but also bringing your own innovations to this music?

Séamus: I don’t think this is something we do consciously, it’s more of a natural occurrence. Because our tradition and culture has been such an integral part of our upbringing, it’s almost inevitable that it should emerge in whatever style or genre we decide to explore. 

As three very curious and open minded individuals, we are very interested in exploring different genres as a band. We have a somewhat unique and flexible approach to our musical and vocal arrangements. We thrive off drawing from different influences and inspirations, be they traditional or more contemporary, while allowing our interpretation of the music to materialize with as much time and space as we see fit. Similarly when it comes to our original compositions, our tradition, culture and language remain an integral part of the finished product.

What are some other musical acts (of any genre) that have been an influence on you three?

Michael (Flute, Whistles, Vocals): I am hugely influenced by great flute players such as Matt Molloy and Michael McGoldrick, Alan Doherty, Kieran Munnelly, etc. I listen to a range of different music from different world traditions too. I particularly enjoy backing up voices harmonically with the flute and am influenced a lot by vocal music. I think we all have a keen interest in singing and harmony singing which is why it is to the fore in our music. Ciarán, no doubt, has been influenced by the great Irish balladeers such as The Clancy Brothers, The Dubliners, Paul Brady and Andy Irvine (the list goes on!). Yet we all have very broad musical tastes especially in the wider folk music world.

I think the areas that we grew up in also massively influenced us. It’s clear that Séamus and Ciaran are influenced by the traditions and musicians of their native Connemara area, be it Sean Nos singing or the instrumental music of the region.  Séamus would have  grown up listening to the singing of Connemara Sean Nós legends such as Bríd Ní Mhaoilchiarán, Joe John Mac an Iomaire and Josie Sheain Jeaic Mac Donnacha. In a broader sense as a harpist, the likes of Michael Rooney, Laoise Kelly and Michelle Mulcahy have been massive influences.

What do you want audiences to walk away with from a High Time show?

Michael: We hope that they walk away with a sense of joy and fun at the end of a show. There is a big sense of community in any traditional music genre and we love getting the audience involved in the show whether it be singing, clapping or dancing along.

We like to exhibit many facets of the traditions of Irish music, Irish song, language and dance throughout the show and hope that we can foster an interest for these aspects in our audiences. Irish music is full of life and as a band, we are always wanting to give the audience an uplifting experience. 

In a sense, we also want to bring the audience on an adventure. As with any adventure, there are always ups and downs and we bring these struggles and triumphs to light throughout the show. We love telling the stories that underpin the music and songs. This means navigating through history and culture; whether it be through sorrowful haunting sean nós songs as well as lively blasts of traditional tunes with Irish dancing.  Most of all though we want our audiences to walk away feeling energized (and wanting to come back and see another show)!

_______________________________________________________

Peter Winter lives in Harrisburg where he writes, teaches music, plays in the Celtic group Seasons, DJs, runs half of the record label His & Hers Records and serves on the board of the SFMS. He is on instagram

Interview with Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh fiddler and founder of Celebrated Irish Group Altan: “I’m Very Proud That The Band Has Continued And Evolved.”

Altan, one of Ireland’s foremost traditional groups, will bring its combination of tunes and songs to the Abbey Bar, located above the Appalachian Brewing Company in Harrisburg  on Thursday, February 20th. The evening begins at 7:30 pm.  The concert is sponsored by the Susquehanna Folk Music Society.  More information can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets are $30 General Admission, $25 for SFMS Members, and $10 for students (ages 3-22).  Tickets will be available at the door or online.

Earlier this week, fiddler, vocalist, and co-founder of Altan, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh chatted with SFMS staff writer Peter Winter via email about the musical tradition of Donegal where the band hails from, her work with the organizaion Cairdeas na bhFidléirí (Friendship of Fiddlers), and what keeps Altan exciting after 30 years!

_______________________________________________________

So much of your music is a celebration of the musical tradition of your home county of Donegal. What do you associate with the music of this region?

County Donegal is situated in the North West of Ireland. On the Western part it is dominated by the Derryveagh mountains, which divides the county between the bog land and the good farming land. This varied topography gives Donegal a distinctive style in the musical dialects of the area as a whole! It seems to lean towards Scotland in its music, where a lot of the people had to emigrate to make a living and in turn brought back songs and tunes! Today the fiddle is the main instrument in the county but all of the other instruments , flies, pipes, whistles and accordions are also in abundance.

You founded Altan in the late 80s. What about this band has kept it
exciting and fulfilling for you over the years?

Myself and my late husband Frankie Kennedy started the band together,
never planning to take it too seriously as we were both teaching at the
time. But after 30 something years of touring and life in general I’m very
proud that the band has continued and evolved. I am really excited about this latest combo and our latest album The Gap of Dreams, as I feel with Martin Tourish (accordion) and myself playing melody and Ciaran (bouzouki) and Dáithí (guitar) adding great color with their accompaniment, the music has a very special dynamic and depth.

What was behind the decision to return to Donegal for newest album
“The Gap of Dreams” (2018)?

We wanted to indulge in the atmosphere and source of our music.
It seemed that it was time to go to the hills of Donegal and play the
music of the area. It worked as when we would travel to the studio daily, we would stop and appreciate where we really were. As an artist would bring his easel and paints out to paint a picture, we would bring the images into
the studio while playing and singing! The Gap (of the title) being that space between this world and the other!

You are a founding member of Cairdeas na bhFidléirí. Could you explain a bit about what this group stands for and why it is important to you?

Cairdeas na bhFidléirí meaans the “Friendship of Fiddlers,” which was set
up in the early eighties (circa 1982) to promote and make sure that the
fiddle music and style of Donegal was preserved and passed on to future generations. Donegal fiddling is unique and very different to other Irish fiddling styles. It also has a very unusual repertoire which isn’t found anywhere else!

What do you hope audiences take away from an Altan show?

I hope everyone will enjoy the show! I also hope that listeners will take away an understanding of the deep tradition of songs, both in my native language Gaelic and English, and of course the unique fiddle music of the area.

Who are artists in traditional music that are inspiring and interesting to you right now?

I’m enjoying so many young musicians at the moment! I can’t get over the standard and integrity of the musicianship these young musicians have obtained. I love listening to a young Dublin fiddler by the name of Liam O’Connor, Another one to look out for is Iarla O’Donnell. There’s also a 12 year old Donegal fiddler by the name of Brandon Shovelin that blows me away. There are so many amazing musicians, Rebecca McCarthy Kent, Aoife Ní Bhrídín, Molly Wall….. I could go on! Recently while discussing this with one of Donegal’s veteran fiddlers Danny Meehan, he pointed out that long ago we looked to all the older musicians for inspiration; but that now its the opposite! We are looking at the younger generation for inspiration! He was so right!

_______________________________________________________

Peter Winter lives in Harrisburg where he writes, teaches music, plays in the Celtic group Seasons, DJs, runs half of the record label His & Hers Records and serves on the board of the SFMS. He is on instagram.

The Missy Raines Quartet plays in Harrisburg on Sunday, February 9

A Journey with an Upright Kay Bass, and Missy Raines

by Curtis Rockwell

            At 7:30 PM on February 9, 2020, at the Appalachian Brewing Company in Harrisburg, we will be welcoming the critically acclaimed Missy Raines and the Missy Raines Quartet for a Susquehanna Folk Music Society sponsored concert. 

Missy was awarded the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Bass Player of the Year award for the eighth time in 2019.  Her most current album, Royal Traveller, produced by banjo wizard and veteran musician Alison Brown, was awarded the IBMA instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year, and has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. 

For tickets and information visit: https://www.sfmsfolk.org/concerts/MissyRainesTrio.html

I had the pleasure of asking her a few questions about her musical journey, and about some of her current projects.  Here are some of the highlights:

What brought you to performing Bluegrass music and the upright bass?

            “As a kid my parents were already into bluegrass music.  They were going to hear live music – that’s what they did for fun and they did that before I was born.  They were seeing early country music.”

            “A few years later I came along and I grew up where there was always bluegrass on the radio.  So I started playing piano early on because music seemed like part of my life, and then I switched to guitar because I was more and more saturated with bluegrass.  My role models at the time were Lester Flatt and Mac Wiseman.  But then one day my dad bought a bass, I think on a whim, and so it was in the house, and so as a kid, you know, you’re curious and you’re already showing a certain musical interest so I just started picking it up and playing it and I really liked it and just stayed with it.  That bass that he bought, turned out, is a really nice Kay and it’s the bass that I play today.”

When did you start playing publicly and professionally?

            “I was playing in bands and in bars that I wasn’t old enough to be in since I was like twelve or thirteen years old.  I played in bands in high school, every weekend so I didn’t participate in the high school football games and dances because I was always gigging somewhere, and I was very happy with that.  As soon as I graduated from high school, I left and went out on my own and started playing with bands.  I’m not saying I made quite a living that way during those days, but I’ve just always been playing.”

If I were to steal your car, what music would I find you were listening to? 

            “You might find Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Lucinda Williams, you know, Christian McBride, and lately just about anything.  I try to listen to a little bit of everything.  Yesterday I was going through my iTunes list and I was listening to Grizzly Bear, but you know I probably hadn’t listened to that in five or six years.  I really like to keep it going and I’m always trying to listen to new stuff and hear what’s being made today.  Bonnie Raitt is a perennial favorite.  That’s classic – that’ll never go away.  But I’m also getting ready to download some Billie Eilish.  I love everything.  Bluegrass is what I know best.  If I’m going to listen to bluegrass, I’m going to listen to Bill Monroe and Tony Rice and I’m going to listen to the Nashville Bluegrass Band and stuff like that.”

Can you reflect on how Bluegrass has changed or evolved over the last several decades?

            “I was first affected by traditional bluegrass which is what I’d heard, but then the evolution started as early as The Country Gentlemen.  At the time, they were considered very contemporary and very modern, and changing what bluegrass was.  Of course now they’re considered very traditional, but you have to put yourself in that place and in that time.  Then Sam Bush came along and he created things like Newgrass and that was more influenced, I think, by rock music and some jazz, but more contemporary rock for its day.  And that completely influenced and became a part of what I was interested in.  Then you’ve got folks like Tony Rice and David Grisman, both of whom had this complete traditional thing happening but they brought in jazz and various things at the time.  It became, for lack of a better term, Dawg Music – this sort of acoustic music that was influenced largely from jazz. So all of those things were hugely influential to me, because that’s what I was hearing when I was coming of age.  The way I still see them is, it wasn’t even just the music that specifically they were creating, but it was the act of the influence.  It was the fact that I started seeing this cycle.  I had been part of this my whole life.  Ever since I can remember, I’ve known who these musicians were and I could recognize how they were all different from each other, so to me, what bluegrass defined was innovation, like was supposed to be and meant to be a process of – oh – you hear this then you do this and it might not sound like what you just heard, but it will be influenced by and enriched by it, and that’s part of the process.”

            “I think the most important thing for me has been where others may seem to grasp and hold on to what they think bluegrass is supposed to be – it’s supposed to be something that happened in 1946 and didn’t change – I don’t see that.  I do love that sound – I might want to hear that and love it and relive it for what it is, but I don’t believe that’s what I’m supposed to do.  I look inside and try to pull out something that’s unique to me that represents the things that been pouring into my life and pouring into my head and what I’ve been influenced by.  That includes a whole other world of music as well.  The ones who are making a difference are the ones who are learning from the tradition, learning from the masters, and then putting their own spin on it.  They’ve all done it, but they’ve all done it differently, so there’s room for everything in my mind.”

How has the role of women in Bluegrass changed?

            “It’s definitely changing and improving, but there’s lots of room for it to get even better.  It’s changed since I’ve been playing, since I first got started, and that was better than it was twenty years before that.  It’s always evolving, but I think we have a long ways to go.  I play in a sometimes band called The First Ladies of Bluegrass.  We are the first five women to win in our instrumental categories from the International Bluegrass Music Association.  The first IBMA awards show was in, I think, 1990.  The first woman to have won in that arena was Allison Brown, and I think that was in 1992.  I didn’t win until 1998, and then I didn’t win till almost 10 years later, but what that span represents is how much faster we’re moving now as opposed to how slowly we were moving for a long time. I think honestly the internet has changed all that and made everything move faster, so we’ve got a long ways to go.  I’m proud to still be here.”

Tell me a little bit about your online program for teaching aspiring musicians to play the bass.

            “I have an online school called the Artistworks Academy of Bluegrass, School of Bass.  The Artistworks folks are amazing, it’s one of the best companies I’ve ever been associated with.  So I created a curriculum online available to subscribers where they go and the can cherry pick whatever lessons they want to and they can go at their own pace and they can loop the lessons. The other element is the video exchange which is so unique.  So folks can upload a video of themselves, so even though its online and we’re not having “Skype” lessons, they are getting actual personal interactions with me because I look at the videos and then I respond to them personally with my own video and talk about what they brought up.  It’s really rewarding because it’s allowed me to have such a broad reach all over the world and I wouldn’t ever be able to possibly teach all the students that I reach individually through this school. There just wouldn’t be enough hours in the day.”

            “I do love teaching and I try to do at least two to three music camps every year.  It’s part of what I’ve done. I started teaching seriously around 1998 and it’s something that I really do enjoy.”