THE ONLY UK PUBLICATION DEDICATED TO AMERICAN OLD · PDF fileTHE ONLY UK PUBLICATION DEDICATED...

THE ONLY UK PUBLICATION DEDICATED TO AMERICAN OLD TIME MUSIC AND DANCE NO 55 AUTUMN 2008 NewsIN THIS ISSUE...

EDITOR’S RAMBLINGS 2

CHEWING THE FAT . .3

EVENTS AND TOURS .4

WHERE CAN I FIND . .5

OLD TIME BELLES . . .6

A PICTURE FROMLIFE’S OTHER SIDE . .7

CD REVIEWS . . . . . . .9

DANCE PAGES . . . . . .10

GOING TO THE WESTFEST REVIEW . . . . . . .12

CHAIRMAN RAY . . . .14

MT. AIRY, GALAX,GLENVILLE ANDLANSING 2008 . . . . .15

AROUND THE REGIONSDERBYSHIRE . . . . . . . .16

OLD TIME MUSIC ONTHE INTERNET . . . . . .18

Front cover illustration by Mo Jackson

This issue features...

Women in Old Time Music

2 Oldtime News Autumn issue no 55 2008

New Friends... The EDITOR’S Ramblings

THE OLD TIME NEWSis published quarterly and sent to Foaotmad members,

free. Submissions by email, on PC disk, or on paper.

This document will be made availableon the internet for future use.

LAST COPY DATES ARE:1st March, June, September and December.

Send to Colin Meadows: [email protected]

The Editor is not responsible for, nor necessarilyagrees with contributors’ comments or claims.

All material is copyright © the writer, photographer, orartist and may only be reproduced with prior permission

This issue edited by Editor Colin MeadowsGraphic design and production by Mo Jackson

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846 Stuart Hamiltondetails witheld

847 Nick ReeceDolgellau,Gwynedd

848 D. J. TwiggNewquay,Cornwall

849 D. BrownSwanage, Dorset

850 David TeagueDosthill,Tamworth

851 Julian ParhamLeamington Spa,Warwickshire

852 Ken RedmondInnellan,Argyll and Bute

"Dan Eccles and Jake Jones perform their celebrated Sumo Flatfoot routinefor the family show at Towersey Festival" - Claire Rudd

Welcome to the latest edition of the OldTime News. This is our first attempt at

a themed edition, ‘Women in Old TimeMusic’. We have three quite differentapproaches from Rosie Davis, ChristineCooper and Christine Bell. Rosie’s article,tracing her own path into a musical life,seems likely to resonate with many of uswho have perhaps had similar experiences.Christine Cooper takes an overview of thehistory of a woman’s place from the earliestrecordings to some of the folk who areplaying today and Christine Bell takes a lighthearted look at female/male relationshipswith some interesting comments for banjoplayers in particular.

After a rather soggy summer we gird ourloins for autumn and then winter. Lookingto the future, I hope you are thinking abouthow you can help FOAOTMAD, especially byvolunteering for one of the committee posts.As Chairman Ray has given notice of hisplans to step down we particularly needsomeone to take his place, a hard act tofollow. All the committee posts will be up forelection though some of us will be standingagain.

We seem to get very few contributions fromguitarists or fiddle players. It would be goodto have items on alternate tunings, especiallyfrom guitarists, and picking styles you areexploring. We’ve also not had much interestfrom people who write their own songs ortunes.

After the festival season, which I hope youall enjoyed, comes the opportunity for some

rather more concentratedworkshops. Two I’d like todraw to your attention inparticular. Firstly, theDwight Diller and DavidBing workshops, see P20for details, and later someworkshops lead by AdamHurt in December see P4.

The next issue probably won’t be with youuntil the new year so I’ll take this opportunityto wish you all the best for the festive season.

Thanks to every-one who contributed to thisissue and to Mo for putting it all togetherwith her usual skill.

Colin Meadows

Oldtime News Autumn issue no 55 2008 3

Chewing the FAT

When the latest edition of ’TheOld Time Herald’ arrived a fewdays ago it was good to see afull page devoted to a review ofthis years GainsboroughFestival.

David Duran,from Barcelona, did usproud with a comprehensive roundupof all the performers and workshops.We have, of course, already printedseveral reviews and so you all knowjust how good it was this year but it isespecially pleasing to see favourablementions for some of our own, UKbased groups, such as TheDowntrodden String Band and TheKittyhawks. Lets hope that widerpublicity for our efforts will attractmore US performers to visit in future.

Colin Meadows

LAST ISSUEDave Dry writes to tell us that therewas an error in his article on Sewerbyin the last edition. It was AnnGoodwin and Annie Whitehill whoorganised the dance workshops onSaturday and Sunday. Dave willdoubtless grovel suitably when nextyou meet him.

THE GREEN GRASS CLOGGERSThe Green Grass Cloggerswill be honoured on Saturday,September 27th at Western CarolinaUniversity's Mountain Heritage Daywith the Mountain Heritage Award.The award is given each year to agroup and/or individual for theircontributions to advocating,educating and perpetuatingtraditional mountain music, dance andculture in western North Carolina.

Among others awarded over the lastthirty-plus years have been SouthernHighland Handicraft Guild, ArvilFreeman, The Dietz Family, Mars HillCollege, John C Campbell Folk School,John Parris, Mary Jane Queen andothers.

Buying yourfirst banjoDave Marshall

Iam often asked to recommend amake or model of banjo that would

be a suitable for a beginner wishingto learn how to play theclawhammer style of old time music.There are many aspects to considerand hopefully it will become alifelong journey so I have put a fewthoughts down in this article in thehopes that you set off on the rightfoot.

BudgetFirst of all, decide on your budget. Thereare new mass-produced open back banjosavailable for little more than £100 but asa rule of thumb, the build quality, ease ofplaying, and tonal quality of aninstrument will all improve with price.Hand-built instruments from UK luthiersstart at around £500. Generally speaking,quality instruments built in both the USAand the UK will hold their value muchbetter when it comes time to upgrade. Tomake the most of your budget, youshould also consider buying second-hand.Bargains are out there if you areprepared to be patient in your search.Don’t forget the classifieds in Old TimeNews.

SoundIn my opinion, this is the MOST importantaspect that you should consider. Despitepopular myth, banjos do not all soundthe same! Listen to as many makes andmodels of banjo that you can and THENdecide for yourself what sound YOUpersonally prefer. Visit internet sites suchas Zepp Country Music,www.zeppmusic.com andwww.frailin.com/Advice.html for awonderful selection of short recordingsmade on a wide variety of banjosrecorded specifically for the purpose ofcomparison. Decide for yourself whichones you like and which ones you don’t.It will help enormously in deciding whatmakes it onto the short list.

Type of banjoFor the “old time clawhammer” style,you will be searching for an open back 5string banjo. The “voice” of theinstrument is largely determined by itsconstruction and one of the mostimportant aspects is the “tone ring”. Thisis a ring of metal or wood that sitsunderneath the banjo head. If you arelooking for a “plunky” sound then a

simple “rolled brass” tone ring would beperfect. For a slightly brighter and louderbanjo, consider instruments with a“Whyte Laydie” or “Tubaphone” tonering, but these tend to be moreexpensive. The body or “pot” is usuallymade of wood or a combination of woodand metal (“overspun”). Many banjosmade around the turn of the 20th centuryhave overspun rims and generallyspeaking, these instruments are quieter.Avoid the Windsor-style “zither” banjoswhich appear frequently on eBay. Ifpossible, choose a banjo with a geared5th string peg. Tuning is a nightmarewith friction pegs.

As a beginner, you may not be tooconcerned about banjo head size. It istypically 11” diameter or thereabouts, butyou will also see banjos with 12” heads.Generally these give a deeper, fuller bassand are popular for the “Round Peak”sound.

Makers and modelsThere are many well established luthiersin the USA and UK that build goodquality instruments. Whilst no means anexhaustive list, I would recommend thatyou consider the Kevin Enoch“Tradesman” model (US), the “Student”models by Bart Reiter (US) or MikeRamsey (US), the “Sodbuster” model fromDave Stacey (UK) and the “Old TimeBanjo” from Barry Murphy (UK).

SuppliersIt is easy to import an instrument fromthe US but bear in mind that you willhave to add freight cost (approx. $250),import duty (approx. 3%) and VAT at17.5%. I have bought all of myinstruments from the States, eitherdirectly from the luthier or fromreputable dealers such asElderly Instrumentswww.elderly.com Mandolin Brotherswww.mandoweb.com Music Emporiumwww.themusicemporium.com and ZeppMusic www.zeppmusic.com. If youcannot try the instrument before you buy,make sure to ask for a sound samplebefore you decide. All of these supplierswill send instruments on approval. Becareful if you consider buying aninstrument off eBay. If possible, visit theseller before committing to the purchaseand ideally, take an experienced banjoplayer with you. There is also a hugeselection of second-hand banjosadvertised privately onwww.banjohangout.org but most are inthe US.

If you would like any specific advice, youcan contact me at:[email protected]

Happy hunting!


EVENTS ANDTOURS 2008

OFF KEY... John Hill

Despite being a systems analyst and living in St John’s Wood, Auberon allowed hisenthusiasm for all things Old-time to become an obsession.

The Buffalo Galswww.buffalogals.co.uk

Fri Oct 24 FontmellMagna, DorsetSat Oct 25Portesham, DorsetSat Nov 1 Woot-ton Fitzpaine,DorsetFri Dec 5 Bourton (Wincanton), DorsetSat Dec 6 Ibberton, DorsetFri Feb 7 Puddletown, DorsetSat Feb 8 Studland, DorsetFeb 21 2009, The Arc Theatre, Trowbridge

The CarolinaChocolate Dropswww.carolinachocolatedrops.com

Nov 12 WalbertonVillage Hall,ArundelNov 13 Fiddlers,BristolNov 14 LondonJazz FestivalNov 15 Darwin Suite, DerbyNov 16 The Sage, GatesheadNov 18 Festival Blues Sur Scene, ParisNov 19 Paradiso Upstairs, AmsterdamNov 20 Crossing Border Festival, DenHague, Holland

Also there may be a short tourmid January.

New WeekendPicking Session?

Sara Grey is putting out feelers to seewhether there would be any interest ina weekend old time session at theTaybank Hotel in Dunkeld next June. Shethinks it would be a good idea to have anice cozy session up in Scotland... therearen't many of those up in the wilds andthe Taybank is a great music venue.

If you are interested in finding out moreemail her at the address below. If thereis enough interest she will discuss thematter with the Taybank landlord.There are lots of B&B's in the Dunkeldarea,and probably plenty of camping. Itwould be a good way for people tocombine it with a holiday. This woulddefinitely not be a festival...just aweekend session.

[email protected]

Adam Hurt banjo &fiddle workshopsAdam Hurt is organizing a series ofbanjo and fiddle workshops to beheld this December in King’s Lynn,Norfolk.

An extended session on Round Peak banjowill be conducted over the weekend of 5th-7th December, followed by a day-long fiddleworkshop with a special emphasis onbowing on Saturday, 13th December and aday-long banjo workshop covering alternatetunings for the key of G on Sunday, 14thDecember.The banjo sessions are designed for playersof an upper-intermediate level or higherwho are comfortable with the drop-thumbtechnique, while the fiddle session would bebest suited to rather advanced players.

Cost £55 per day. This is for the single daycourses on the first weekend. The secondweekend is a two day workshop so the priceis £110. Numbers are limited to 12 studentsper workshop.

Workshop hours 10:30 am to 5:00 pm withbreaks for lunch and refreshments.The venue: The workshops will take place atmy home at Flitcham near King's Lynn inNorfolk full address and details supplied toapplicants.

For further information contact Adam [email protected] or

Roger Young [email protected]: 01485 600948

Hot off the BBC press releases:BBC4 TV autumn/winter schedule - no datesor times given but from previous suggestionsthis could be February.

The Story Of The American Folk RevivalA three-part series that tells one of the key storiesof 20th century America. The opening film featuresthe Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Robert Johnson,Blind Lemon Jefferson, Mississippi John Hurt andother blues and hillbilly singers who werediscovered by record companies and folklorists inthe Twenties and Thirties.

The second film enters the "dream life of theAmerican left" with "hobo" Woody Guthrie and"jailbird" Leadbelly. In the final film, the earliersingers are rediscovered and celebrated by a newgeneration of Americans, who tell their own storiesabout how they used the idea of a purer, simplerpast to create something quite new - the excitingsounds of Sixties folk.

Featuring a stunning soundtrack, the series alsoincludes rare archive and contributions from JoanBaez, Judy Collins, The Band, The Byrds, Odetta,Harry Belafonte, The Kingston Trio and TheWeavers, as well as survivors and their families fromthe first wave of recorded folk.

To accompany the films there will be a screening ofa concert from London's Barbican celebrating musicfrom the series.

Nick Pilley

Ira Bernstein andRiley Baugus:(dates at time of writing)

Thu 6 Nov New Greenham Arts,Newbury, Berks (with The Mandolinquents)Fri 7 Nov The Platform and Dome,Morecombe, LancsSat 8 Nov Reeth Memorial Hall, Reeth, nrRichmond, N YorksSun 9 Nov Square Chapel Centre, Halifax,W YorksTue 11 Nov Queen's Hall Arts Centre,Hexham, NorthumbriaFri 14 Nov Melling, LancsSat 15 Nov Mellor Brook, LancsSun 16 Nov Edgworth, LancsSat 22 Nov Boughton Monchelsea, KentSun 23 Nov Rusthall, Kent


WHERE CAN I FINDSOME CLOGGING?

If there are no contact details, [email protected]

Note that the locations are based on contactaddresses and may not provide an exact location.

AVON Bristol - ApplejacksCHESHIRE Altrincham-Mind The Stepwww.mindthestep.co.ukCORNWALL Saltash -Kickin’ Chickenwww.kc.hey42.co.ukCUMBRIA Levens, Kendal - Legs [email protected] Chris Tel. 01539 560534DERBYSHIRE Chesterfield - Feet Firstwww.feetfirstdance.co.ukDerby - Soled Out www.soledout.org.ukBuxton - Wicked SolesBakewell-WellHeeled, web.ukonline.co.uk/whdtDEVON Totnes - Shuffle the DeckExeter - Alive And Kickingwww.alive-and-kicking.org.ukAxminster - Rough DiamondsDORSET Christchurch - Spank The Plankswww.spanktheplanks.org.ukDorchester - StampedeESSEX Colchester - Platypus AppalachianBenfleet - Scrambled Leggswww.scrambledleggs.flyer.co.ukGLAMORGAN Cardiff - Tiger Feetwww.tigerfeet.4ever.org.ukGLOUCESTERSHIRE Woodmancote - First Class StampGWENT Newport - Brandywine Cloggerswww.brandywine-cloggers.co.ukNewport - ShoostringHAMPSHIREAlton-Knickerbocker Glory kbgdance.org.ukPortsmouth - Chequered Flagwww.members.aol.com/CheqFlag/index.htmNew Milton - AppalTappers(contemporary 'line' clogging)HEREFORDSHIRE/SHROPSHIREBridgnorth -Kickin’ Alice www.kickinalice.co.ukHERTFORDSHIRESt Albans - Tappalachiantappalachian.co.uk [email protected]: 07957 614064Hitchin: Regular workshopsMaggie Tel: 01908 582 757Bricket Wood - Junction9 www.junction9.org.ukKENT Ash - Tanglefootmysite.freeserve.com/tanglefootRainham - TapRoots www.roots.ik.comLANCASHIRE Bolton - Leap To Your Feetwebsite www.leaptoyourfeet.co.ukLINCOLNSHIRE Scunthorpe - Bootleggerswww.bootleggersappalachian.co.ukSpalding - SlapdashLONDON (SW) - Reilly's CloggersMIDLOTHIAN Edinburgh - Kick The Catwww.users.waitrose.com/~app-cloggingNORFOLK Norwich - Ebekneezer SteppersNORTHAMPTONSHIREOundle - Rockingham Rapper (with some Clog)NOTTINGHAMSHIRECastle Donington -Touchwood (no taps)www.earwicker.org/touchwood.htmOXFORDSHIREHaddenham - Haddenham HoofersWantage - Cornucopiawww.cornucopia-dance.org.ukPOWYSLudlow - Raise The Dust www.raisethedust.org.ukLlandrindod Wells - Something's AfootREDCAR AND CLEVELANDSaltburn by the Sea - Jump Back GeorgiaSOMERSETWest Chinnock - No Mean Feetwww.nomeanfeet.org.ukSUSSEX Crawley - Hi Jinxfreespace.virgin.net/michael.bird/hijinx/hijinxs.htmTYNE & WEAR Washington - Washington DowntownCloggers Newcastle - Pass The BuckDurham, Nettlesworth - Step This [email protected]. Tel. 0191 3880971WARWICKSHIREHarbury/Leamington - Kick Start

WEST MIDLANDSStourbridge - Itchy Feetwww.itchyfeetappalachian.co.ukWEST YORKSHIRE Saltaire - Roll Back the Carpetwww.rbc.binless.co.ukShipley - Fiddle n' FeetOtley - Kitchen Tapsww.kitchentaps.org.uk Claire Tel. 01943 467848Janet Tel. 01943465342Ripponden - Ryburn Three-Stepwww.ryburn3step.org.ukTue. flatfooting classes. Tel: 01422 822569WILTSHIRE Chippenham - Footnoteswww.communigate.co.uk/wilts/footnotesSwindon - Off The RailsWORCESTERSHIRE Worcester - Soft Optionmembers.aol.com/woodlandjdChipping Campden - Kick The BucketRedditch - One Step Beyondwww.onestepbeyond.fsnet.co.uk

WHERE CAN I FIND ANOLDTIME BAND?

Where there is no web contact or for furtherdetails, please email: [email protected]

BERKSHIREThe Illbillies Tel: 01189 677408email: [email protected] Boardbeaters Tel: 07817 [email protected] Trodden String Band Tel: 01629 [email protected] Marshall and Andy Imms Tel: 01252 [email protected] Marble String Band Tel: 01462 [email protected] (EIRE)Rough Deal String Band Tel: 00 353 1 8331920email: [email protected] www.roughdeal.comKENTRattle On The Stovepipe Tel: 07765 [email protected] www.davearthur.netTYNE & WEAROld Fiddley String Band Tel: 07817 [email protected] MIDLANDSNew Corona String BandTel: 01902 340844 [email protected]/AVONBuffalo Gals 01373 [email protected] www.buffalogals.co.ukSUSSEXOld Faded Glory String BandTel: 01323 832388 [email protected]

WHERE CAN I FINDA TEACHER

DERBYSHIRE - Helmut Rheingans,teacher of the 5-string Banjo in old time frailing style.Contact: www.orbmusic.co.uk Tel: 01433 631907HANTS/BERKS BORDER - Andy ImmsGuitar (Old Time, acoustic country blues, slide, country,fingerpicking, flatpicking, alternative tunings) Tel:01189 701202

EAST SUSSEX - Barry M. MurphyOldtime banjo basics to advanced and basic flatpick gui-tar for Oldtime. Email: [email protected]: 01 323 83 2388EAST SUSSEX - Colin MeadowsOldtime banjo Tel: 01424 714065 E: [email protected] - Graham AnsteeRainham ME8 0DBBanjo (frailing/clawhammer) beginners/intermediateTel: 01634 260281e-mail: [email protected]

TENBURY WELLS,WORCS. - Jim AllenGuitar and banjo tuition, beginners welcome.Tel: 01568 750546.WEST MIDLANDS - Y.Parkes. Banjo lessons. Old-time,Bluegrass and Tenor contact Yvonne, Tel: 01902570285CAITHNESS - Stuart TodClawhammer banjo Tel: 01847 821602

Members AdsMaximum of 50 words plus contact

details, FREE to members. We drop

older ads to make way for new

UNLESS YOU RENEW YOURREQUEST

OLD-TIME RECORDINGS - major andobscure American label CDs. Also, videosand tune books. SAE to: Eve Morris: 67Greenway, Bishops Lydeard, Taunton TA43DA. Download a full catalogue of all itemsby clicking on Eve’s advert at the bottom ofthe www.foaotmad.org.uk page

RECORDS, TAPES AND CDS for sale - old-time, early country music, early bluegrassand a couple of contemporary bluegrassitems. With only a couple of exceptions, allitems £5 each. Send SAE for a list to: AndyImms, 19 Springfield Road, Pamber Heath,Tadley, Hampshire RG26 3DL or email:[email protected]

12-STRING GUITAR WANTED, preferablyold and cheap-ish but playable! Around£150? Chris Taylor 01227 750392email: [email protected]

NYLGUT STRINGS A big improvement -having the density and feel of real gut withmore stability than metal strings. Excellenttone, good volume and easy on your nails!Standard Banjo: £6.50,Minstrel Banjo,heavy gauge for open E or D tunings: £7.00Banjo-Uke: £5.30 all inc. P&P Cheque orcash to Barry M. Murphy, DormersFarmhouse,Windmill Hill, Nr Herstmonceux,East Sussex BN 27 4RYE-mail [email protected]

STRING BAND MUSICIANSWANTED for Shropshire based 'KickinAlice' Appalachian dancers interestedin playing Old Time and Bluegrassmusic. Contact Merrion Wood on01743 354423 or [email protected]

WANTED: "GOODBYE BABYLON" 6 CDBox set by Dust to Digital, US 2004.Contact Mike Feist Tel: 01943 464647.

YEW PINEY MOUNTAIN by Dwight Diller.The book and CD bundle is available fromhttp://www.morningstarfolkarts.com for$30 plus $10 postage, from Dwight himselfat one of his workshops, or from David Dryat 4, Gill Lane, Startforth, Barnard Castle,DL12 9AS for £20 plus £2 postage. Makecheques payable to D.S.Dry

STEWART WOULD LIKE TO JOINOR FORM A BANDStewart who lives north of Sheffield wouldlike to join or form an Old Time String orCountry band. He plays mandolin,banjo/uke, rock steady guitar, keyboardsand sings as well !Anyone interested please ring 07964192538or email [email protected]


In 1924, Samantha Bumgarnertravelled to New York City, her

banjo in tow. She was forty-fouryears old when she found herselfin the studios of the ColumbiaPhonograph Company, the firstbanjo player to cut a commercialrecord. And it was in Samantha’shands that the young PeteSeeger, who was to be such akey figure in the folk revival, firstheard clawhammer banjo.

The history of Appalachia has alwaysbeen determined by the actions of men;with the female history of the regiononly just beginning to be written.Women in the past laboured under theconstraints of stringent dress codes,curfews, and transportation restrictions.This male domination appears at first tobe reflected in the music of the region.Yet Ralph Stanley learned to playclawhammer style from his mother, LucySmith Stanley. “Grandpa” Louis Jonestook his first frailing lessons fromCynthia May Carver, a.k.a. Cousin Emmy.North Carolina banjoist Clarence “Tom”Ashley learned to play clawhammerbanjo in 1905, at the age of eight, fromhis Aunts Ary and Daisy. And thehistorical balance is being redressed:more and more people are expressing aninterest in the female musical artists ofAppalachia, with a documentary film onthe subject, and evena Women’s Old TimeAppalachian MusicFestival hosted by theAppalachian StateUniversity, featuringworkshops, concertsand lectures.

So what role havewomen played in thedevelopment of old-time music, and why?What sort of barriers did they face onthe way?

It is often assumed that Appalachianwomen sang ballads, while the menplayed old-time dance tunes on banjoand fiddle. And this is true, to an extent.Women were certainly the guardians ofthe ballad tradition, with the songsbeing handed down through thegenerations and the songs changinglittle from the time their ancestorsarrived from Britain. Seventh-generationballad singer Sheila Kay Adams learnedsongs from her aunt, repeating them

Old-Time Belles by Christine Cooperback a verse at a time until she hadthem memorized. She points out thatwhile the men were out at work,desperately trying to keep their familyalive, the women stayed at home, oftena cramped cabin of only one room, witheight or more children.“So what couldbe more entertaining than to sing?”she asks. “What could transport themout of that situation, to a place wherethere was knights and ladies and spiritsand sprites, better than to sing a songthat tells a story?” Women certainlydidn’t have it easy staying at home:they cooked and wove and span andgardened, and if you were stringingbeans, you couldn’t be strumming abanjo or guitar. So they sang. This goessome way toward explaining thegender divide between ballad singersand players of old-time dance tunes. Italso explains the sensitivity of manyballads to the female condition. “TheWagoner’s Lad” is a case in point:

The heart is the fortune of allwomankind,

They're always controlled,they're always confined,

Controlled by their parentsuntil they are are wives,

Then slaves to their husbandsthe rest of their lives.

Despite all this, several women didleave an indelible mark on thetraditionally male old-time dancetradition, and they were amazingly

strong characters.Cousin Emmy grewup one of eightchildren in a two-room log cabinwhich “had cracksbetween the wallsso big that youcould a-throwed acat betwix themwithout tetching ahair,” she told Timemagazine in 1946.

The day she first heard a radio in thegeneral store, she knew her destiny: “Iset right down there in the store and Icried, and I told the folks that I was a-goin' to git on the radio. My mothershe upped and whopped me.”

Sure enough, she became the host ofher own very popular radio show foryears, on which she sang, danced,yodelled and played numerousinstruments, including banjo, fiddle,guitar, French harp, tenor guitar,ukulele, trumpet, accordion, piano,Jew’s-harp, dulcimer, saw, “and a tune I

makes by just slopping against mycheeks with my hands.” Cousin Emmywas a teetotal Baptist, who remainedunmarried because, in her words, “Iain't got time to do no courtin'.” Thismeant more time to devote to hermusic, and in 1936 she became the firstwoman to win the National Old Fiddlerscontest in Louisville, Kentucky.

Many modern old-time performers citeOla Belle Reed as a major influence. Shecame from a musical family; both herfather and grandfather played fiddle,and her mother sang ballads, fitting innicely with the old stereotypes. But OlaBelle was to mix things up a bit; shelearned banjo and guitar, and sang old-time dance tunes as well as balladslearned from her mother. Not only that,but she wrote more than two hundrednew songs with her musical partnerAlex Campbell, which have becomefirmly integrated into the tradition. OlaBelle Reed was awarded an honorarydoctorate from University of Marylandin 1978 in recognition of her services tomusic. “I’ve Endured” is perhaps one ofher best-known songs, and it sums upthe hard-working life of many old-timewomen:

I've worked for the rich,I've lived with the poor,

I've seen many heartachesand I'll see many more,

I've lived, loved and sorrowed,been to success's door,

I've endured, I've endured,how long must one endure.

Lily May Ledford was another talentedyoung lady who didn’t respect anydivide between the music of men andthat of women; she and her ten siblingslearned fiddle tunes like “Old Joe Clark”from their father, and ballads like“Pretty Polly” from their mother. Shefronted the Coon Creek Girls, playing

“I set right down there inthe store and I cried, and Itold the folks that I was a-goin' to git on the radio.

My mother she upped andwhopped me.”


Iam often asked why I, an Englishwoman, am so involved with

American Old Time Music, whoand what are my sources and whywomen tend to play the bass,Autoharp or dance. For me it isjust the way the cookie hascrumbled. Old Time Music is onlypart of my musical life but themusical influences, instrumentsand opportunities life brought tome have made it the central part.It is the music that I most identifywith and that holds bothmemories and ghosts. It hassustained me well. It is the musicthat I share most with family andfriends.

Maybelle Carter is one of my heroines, herachievements as a singer and herinventiveness as musician have been asource of inspiration for millions includingme. As I play and sing the songs madefamous by the Carter Family I get a senseof home, I feel a strong connection withmy own family of music makers becausethey were of the same generation.

My Mother, Nora was born in 1909 thesame year as Maybelle Carter. She was theyoungest of eight children born inWoolton a small village about seven milesoutside of Liverpool. Singing andwhistling could always be heard aroundthe house as the accompaniment to dailylife. On birthdays, Christmases, high daysand holidays, songs were sung andinstruments played in a more formal way,each person having their own party pieceand singing along with gusto the oldfamiliar favourites and parlour ballads.Her father played the concertina, herMother and sisters Letty and Emmy couldvamp on the piano, some of the brothersplayed mouth organ, her brother in lawBobby played button accordion, cousinGertie played the mandolin and everyonesang.

Here in Britain, the First World Warchanged our musical heritage and brokethe continuum. Every family, village andtown lost musicians, just at the time whenit was becoming easier to record andbroadcast music for the world to share.People put what they saw as oldfashioned behind them as best they couldand looked for the new - 78 rpm recordsfor the wind up player, songs from films,film stars, shorter skirts, trousers, the BBC,

nostalgianeeded to becarefullymanaged. Verylittle of whatwas availablethrough thesemedia hadanything to dowith ordinarypeople andalthough theyenjoyed the radio they had no input. Londonand Broadcasting House could have been onthe moon. With no local, live, or commercialradio stations the output was tightlycontrolled from the centre. The BBC was noplace for local accents, in fact they were seenas comic or scorned, there was no flavour ofthe people and the rich seams of local musicwere ignored. This of course was not so inthe States, many artists were able to get astart on their local radio stations as so muchmaterial was needed to feed the livecommercial broadcasts.

Arthur and Bobby went off to France, Arthurwas killed, Letty drove supply wagons andEmmy went to do war work ending up inLondon. The young children Jack, Nora andAlec together with May who was blind,stayed home serving home made ice creamand teas in the garden to the woundedsoldiers from the Hospital up the road.

When the war ended in 1918 village life hadchanged, there was a generation of menmissing - killed or silent, and a generation ofwomen facing life without their men folk.There was a vacuum, sucking in the modernworld, gradually everyone was thrust into afaster more modern life. There were stillregular dances, or rather Church Socials,dancing to records rather than the villageband. A picture house had been built in thevillage.

Mum and Letty chopped off their long hairand had it shingled and danced theCharleston.

Mum met my Dad at violin class, they gotengaged, and together they joined thegroups of hikers and cyclists enjoying thenew freedoms that the war had brought,staying in youth hostels, and havingsingsongs in the evenings. Dad always carriedhis mouth organ in his top pocket alwaysready for a tune. Out came the old songsmixed in with the new, it didn’t matter, if thesongs were good to sing they got sung. Ithink that this was probably a newexperience for my Mum and Dad since theyhad never gone into the pubs singing in suchmixed company must have been great fun.

fiddle, banjo, guitar, bass and singing.At a time when traditional music wasbeing brushed aside by many in favourof bluegrass, swing, and countrycrooning, the Coon Creek Girls broughta fresh, energetic approach to tunes,songs, and instrumental styles thatwere as old as the hills. The fact thatthey were all women in a musical fieldpredominated by men makes themeven more exceptional; as Lily Mayremembered: “We startled theaudience by being all girls!” In 1939the band was invited to entertainPresident Roosevelt and King GeorgeVI of England in the White House.

The Coon Creek Girls

Despite the pioneering work of thesewomen, Sara Grey says that the old-time scene still felt very maledominated when she was touring inthe US back in the sixties. “The idea ofa woman going out on the road… myneighbours would say to me, ‘You’regoing out on the road again, Sara?’ If Iwas a young man they wouldn’t saythat to me!”

She recalls an incident over here in theUK when several male musicianswalked out of a workshop at abluegrass festival when they realised itwas to be taught by her, a woman.That was back in the eighties, and Sarais delighted with the way things havechanged since then. “It’s wonderful tosee all kinds of women coming alongto FOAOTMAD, and forming all kindsof groups,” she says. “There’s a lotmore integration now, and there’s a lotof women attending music camps,especially in the US, maybe even morethan men!”

Some of these “Old-Time Belles” haveinspired The KittyHawks’ song of thatname; an offering from songwritersLucy Ray and Mo Jackson to theirsisters in music. Perhaps the onlynoticeable barrier left is that womenrarely tour as solo professionalperformers. This is sure to changebefore long though, thanks to pioneerslike Sara Grey, supported by all thosegreat women who have given theirlives to music.

continued over...

A picture from life’s other sideRosie Davis


Of course the Second World War changedeverything again, bringing more devastationand upheaval mixing up the social order andopening up opportunities by bringing peopletogether in grief and struggle. The localAmerican service base at Burtonwood alsobrought Americans and glamour. The needfor a sense of home and hearth was tangible,music; song and dance helped breach the gapand ease the pain of separation.

By 1940, my parents had started their ownfamily and my brothers and I grew uphearing stories about the old times. We couldalways hear Mum singing as she did thingsabout the house, I am sure she timed boilingeggs with a song. Any arguments would besound tracked with “Bless this House” muchto everyone’s annoyance and the end ofjourneys heralded by “Home Sweet Home”.Christmases, high days and holidays, we allhad a party piece - mine was a very sadVictorian parlour ballad about a doll calledJerushie. We sang on car journeys and hikedup mountains to Dad playing “Cock o’ theNorth” on his mouth organ. We went to hearconcerts by the local Banjo Mandolin andGuitar Orchestra in Calderstones Park. Mumwas in the village concert party “TheWoolton Follies” singing the old songs, uschildren did a turn when called on. My Dad’sfriend Clem Glaviski would call round and askfor the fiddle and make me dance till Idropped.

Popular music was on the radio, Skiffle,Lonnie Donegan, everyone wanted to playSkiffle. Every secondary school in the areaheld a dance once a year and so everyonehad to learn ballroom dancing, they werevery polite affairs. As the Skiffle craze tookhold schoolboy bands started to form andmanaged to get to perform at the dances.The most famous of these bands turned outto be the Quarry Bank group “The QuarryMen” with lead singer John Lennon singingsongs such as “Dixie Darling”, “Worried ManBlues”, “The Wreck of the Old 97”, all CarterFamily songs, together with “The Rock IslandLine” and other Leadbelly songs. These theycopied from the recordings of LonnieDonegan. Donegan had, according to his sonPeter, delved deep into the blues and hadresearched and gathered songs to sing. Hechose songs regardless of them being fromthe black or white American musicaltraditions. He had listened to the originalsource recordings by the Lomaxes at theLibrary of Congress and had tried to copywhat he had heard but injecting more pace.

My Dad’s brother, Uncle George played fiddleand musical saw in a Swing Band in NorthWales and one of the band members had aguitar and banjo for sale. My elder brotherRod wanted a guitar so that he could play ina Skiffle group, unfortunately the guitar wassold by the time we heard about it, but heoffered to sell him his Windsor five-stringbanjo. Bernard, my other brother was given aguitar for his thirteenth birthday and I wasgiven my Aunty Gertie’s mandolin for my

eighth birthday - we were starting to haveour own musical lives. We had the wind upgramophone from my Grandma’s house, anda few records, I remember “The Yellow Roseof Texas” and Burl Ives “Blue Tailed Fly”, “BigRock Candy Mountain”, “There was an OldLady Who Swallowed a Fly” plus a songabout a girl who wore glasses, some FrankCrummett, Jimmy Shand with “The BluebellPolka”, “The Skaters’ Waltz” and variousother Music Hall songs and parlour ballads.

In 1956 aged fourteen my brother Rod andsome friends formed “The Quarry Men” tea-chest bass - Len Garry, drummer-ColinHanton, guitars - Eric Griffiths and JohnLennon, banjo - Rod Davis and washboard -Pete Shotton), they played for parties, schooldances and youth clubs, often playinginterval spots between jazz or dance bands inthe South Liverpool area. The grouprehearsed at our house, well actually in theback garden (the living room was too small toget them all in), so we all got to know thesongs well. Our neighbours seemed to like itwhen they played, on one occasion theythrew pennies over the fence and requested asong.

Village life continued with Church Socials andConcert Parties but now there wereTeenagers! The culture of youth was kickingover the traces of the past and getting in to amore anonymous urban culture. The Burl IvesSong Book became available, music shops hadguitars for sale, record shops had listeningbooths, wind up gramophones were a thingof the past and 78 records were graduallyreplaced by the more affordable singles.

Donegan riding high on the Skiffle crazewanted to get people to set up Skiffle Clubsthroughout the country. In Liverpool The GinMill Skiffle group was formed and sported aclarinet player.

In 1960 Rod went off to university taking hisBurl Ives Song book with him but leaving uswith the songs. He met up with banjo playerDick Quinnell who introduced him to therecordings of Flatt and Scruggs, he also metPete Sayers and the Bluegrass Cut-Ups whowere playing around the Cambridge area atthat time, and had the privilege of being ableto listen to the university’s St. LawrenceSociety’s record collection. He was asked if hehad heard of the Spinners, being as he camefrom Liverpool - he hadn’t, but decided tolook them up as soon as college broke for theholidays.

By 1960 The Folk Music revival had hitLiverpool. The Gin Mill Skiffle group had nowbecome the Spinners Folk Group, the clarinetswapped for a penny whistle and instead ofstarting a Skiffle Club they had started a FolkClub, they had a magazine and a bigfollowing.

The music scene in Liverpool was gatheringmomentum. Some of the Skiffle groups hadbecome folk groups whilst others becamebeat groups, using electric instruments and

big drum kits. Soon there were bands andgroups and clubs springing up everywhere inthe town. The Spinners put on a concert at thePhilharmonic Hall in Hope Street and sold out.The Beatles played the Cavern Club; folk musicwas regularly featured on Television.

Rod came home for the Christmas holidaysbringing with him Bluegrass Music, more newsongs from the Carter Family and the NewLost City Ramblers to share. We were allinterested in the songs and we started to playthem together. He found the Spinners’ FolkClub and the newly emerging scene. He haddiscovered a way that we could make andshare music in the old way but be in the swimof things and have fun with it. When Rodfinished university he answered an advert inthe Spinners’ Club Magazine for someone tojoin a Bluegrass band and so met Dave Gould,Dave was the first person I had ever seen playScruggs style, I was blown away.

In 1964 Bern was now away from home atcollege in Exeter playing music and singing, hewas playing Granddad’s concertina as well asOld Time American music on guitar, banjo andmandolin. Hearing that the New Lost CityRamblers were to be in the country hemanaged to arrange to have them play aconcert in Exeter.

Back in Liverpool I was doing sterling worklearning to play back- up chords and singingchoruses so that Rod could get a handle onsinging harmonies and playing the fiddle.

1965 saw the first Cambridge Folk Festivalwith Bill Clifton singing Carter Family Songs inhis wonderful charismatic way. A band fromSevenoaks School in Kent - The Echo MountainBand, won the Bluegrass Band competition.There was also the first National Folk Day heldat Keele University.

In 1966 Doc Watson visited Jackie and Bridie’sFolk Club in Liverpool through the efforts ofRalph Rinzler and The New Lost City Ramblersgave concerts in Manchester and Exeter

I was too young to go to the Folk Clubs asthey were all in pubs so Mum and Dad tookme to see the Spinners’ concert at the Phil. Itwas very exhilarating everyone singing at thetops of their voices, the whole place sang, itwas fantastic. I had to be content with storiesof Cambridge Folk Festival and of the fun tobe had picking in the parking lot, Doc Watsonand the New Lost City Ramblers, it sounded soexciting. Rod had taught me to finger- pickthe guitar and I could sing and play“Rosewood Casket”, “The Storms are on theOcean” and “I Never Will Marry”. I knew loadsof choruses and at last when I was about 17 hewas allowed to take me to hear him play withthe Bluegrass Band.

Once I turned 18, I got to go more often butby then Rod had gone down to London andBernard was back at home. He encouraged meto learn to Lancashire Clog Dance and to dofloor spots at the folk club singing EnglishTraditional Songs and the Carter Family songswe’d been singing at home. He was a regular



CD REVIEWSCD Review by Ray Banks

RED CLAY COUNTRYby Paul Brown

5-String Productions, West Chester, PA

At Clifftop inAugust I washanded this CD byguitarist JohnSchwab who playson several of thetracks. I’d seenPaul Brownaround thefestival, and was aware that he was a wellknown Old Time musician as well as aproducer of radio programs for NPR, but Ihadn’t really heard much of his music. In thepast he learned a lot of banjo from TommyJarrell and played it with Benton Flippen aspart of the Smokey Valley Boys; Paul alsoplayed with Andy Cahan and Mike Seeger inthe Bent Mountain Band.

This CD is apparently the first to feature Paulas the main performer, and when it wasdistributed in 2006 it was long overdue. Heplays fiddle, banjo and gourd banjo usingmany tunings in both finger picking andclawhammer styles. The instrument tunings aredetailed in the excellent full sleeve notes,. Aswell as John Schwab he is beautifullyaccompanied by Mike Seeger and Matt Brown(no relation) on guitar, and by his wife TerriMcMurray on splendid ukulele banjo.

Many of the songs on the CD were learnedfrom the singing of his mother Louise, whopicked them up as a child from Harry and JohnCalloway in Bedford County, Virginia. Thesesongs are unique versions with unusual wordsand tunes. The fiddle tunes are from a varietyof sources such as the Hillbillies, Luther Davis,Benton Flippen and Norman Edmonds, whilethe banjo tunes are from Fields Ward, HobartSmith, Matokie Slaughter and Burl Hammons.Two of the tracks (Dancing In The Sunny Southand Garrell Hunter’s Tune) are his owncompositions, with a good Old Time feel.

A mixture of string band and soloarrangements, for an Old Time fan this CD,with its driving banjo or fiddle, is a real musicalpleasure.

Track list:

1. Black Annie2. John Hardy3. Singing Birds4. Sugar Babe5. Summer’s Almost Gone6. Dancing In TheSunny South7. Red Clay Country8. Shortenin’ Bread9. Lazy John10. Old Man’s and OldWoman’s Quarrel

11. Buck Eyed Rabbits12. Railroad Bill13. Darlin’ Child14. Jesse James15. Big Eyed Rabbit16. Johnny Get YourHair Cut17. John Henry18. Garrell Hunter’s Tune

CD Review by Colin Meadows

WON’T GET TROUBLEIN MIND

The Buffalo GalsBig Scioty, Squirrel Hunters, Daddy’s LittleLulu, Crawdad, Farewell Trion, GreatAtomic Power, Cindy, Cattle in the Cane,Jealous Hearted Me, Peg and Awl, OldGrey Mare, John Henry, Trouble On MyMind, Hell Up Coal Holler, Save It

The latest Buffalo Gals CD arrived justin time to be reviewed in this issue.Whenever you hear it you’ll recall allthe various times you’ve seen theband live. The energy, enthusiasm andsheer skill of all concerned isimmediately obvious. Great playingand singing and a wide range ofmaterial make this an album to returnto time and again.

I particularly enjoyed ‘Farewell Trion’,a very different take on this tunefrom the approach by Red MountainWhite Trash. ‘Great Atomic Power’ isone I’d not heard before. It comesfrom the Louvin Brothers fromAlabama. Recently a number of bandsseem to be exploring the repertoirefrom there and it makes a refreshingchange from West Virginia styles,though there are severalrepresentatives of material from thereon the album too. You will also findsome blues, a touch of bluegrass andeven a new song, all transformed intothe old time spirit and of course anumber of old favourites.

The playing is tight and the singing isespecially noteworthy. The soundquality of the recording lets you hearclearly what each performer is doingin the harmonies that are such astrong point of the album. The CDcomes with an eight page bookletwith sharp photos of the performersand clear notes on the origins of eachpiece.

Highly recommended.

‘Won’t Get Trouble..’ is available fromEve Morris (see members ads.) orKate Lissauer 5 Christchurch StreetWest, Frome Somerset, BA11 1EH for£13.00 incl. p&p.

guest at folk clubs throughout the Northperforming solo and as a member of severalbands, running Folk Clubs and playing for BarnDances.

Radio Merseyside started to broadcast withStan Ambrose hosting the weekly folk musicprogramme “Folk Scene” he invited localmusicians to record for his show. All overBritain local radio stations were trying to reachout and find local talent to fill the airwaves.

I was so excited to be asked to clog dance atthe Radio Merseyside Christmas party, Bernardperformed too, and loads of people werethere, doing their party pieces on the radio. Idid wonder who would tune in to hear it,other than friends and relatives. Everyone inthe neighbourhood seemed to have beenlistening, and wanted to know if it was reallyus on the radio. I suppose that this might havebeen how the Carter Family felt in thenineteen-twenties, excited at being able toshare their music and wondering who wouldwant to listen.

It is at this point that I must stop myreminiscing because with the advent of localradio and domestic recording you can see howthe gap was beginning to be bridged and howa musical family in America in the 20s hadunknowingly inspired my family in Liverpool.The music of the Carter Family is intertwinedwith so many peoples lives, personally it hasled me into finding out about British FolkMusic, American and British Step Dancing,song writing, learning to play instruments andmeeting many wonderful players. Whenpeople find it strange that I am fascinated byAmerican Old Time music and dance, I havehad difficulty in answering; it has been somuch a part of my life and that of my familythat it just feels right.

In October 2002 when I had the great privilegeof meeting Janette Carter in London shetalked about how amazed and proud she wasthat her family’s music had reached out to somany people. She found it hard to believe butwas proud that people in Britain knew thesongs that she and her family had sung andhad taken them into their own families’repertoires. Obviously she was well aware ofthe historical importance of her family and thehuge contribution they have made to musicworldwide. I was very moved by the way shespoke about how their music seemed toreached out to people and bring themtogether in a simple neighbourly way. Thissentiment was epitomised when she thankedLady Thatcher for attending the reception atthe American Ambassador’s House in Londoncelebrating the Carter Family contribution toAmerican music. Janette shook her hand,holding on to it and very genuinely said “Thank you so much for coming over, it’s beenlovely meeting with you, honey.”I am sure that my experiences echo those ofmany of the people involved with Old TimeMusic in Britain today. It is a continuingdelight for me to see new players, singers anddancers discovering the music and taking it upfor themselves.

My B.P(Banjoplayer for the uninitiated)

Christine Bell(with a bit of help from her BP) - Banjofeet.

A light hearted look at theadvantages and disadvantagesbeing a dancer with your ownbanjo player...

I have been dancing withAppalachian Clog sides for someyears now and apart fromthroughly enjoying the dancing,I have also enjoyed theexperience of working within ateam and having like-mindedpeople to chat to about all sortsof things, not always dancerelated. One of the highlights ofmy dancing has been a trip toKentucky some years ago withTanglefoot, a Kentish side I wasdancing with at that time. Wehad a wonderful time in thehomeland of Appalachianclogging.

Certainly, within the team environmentyou either all have to agree on anymatter concerning a dance, venue oranything else that the team does[democracy] or you opt for the dictatorsystem where one person arrangeseverything and decides on all dancematters regardless of opinions ofothers. There is ofcourse a middle roadwith this, namely ameeting between adictatorship anddemocracy which is adifficult tightrope towalk as you arebound to offendsomeone sometimewhereas with eithera democratic ordictatorial systemyou usually are ableto offend everyoneall of the time!

The immediately obvious advantage ofbeing in a duo (use this term so BPthinks he has some equality, it makeshim feel empowered at times) is thatwith a bit of female guile and cunningyou can get your own way most of thetime. In fact this can be all of the time ifyou include the times that you let himthink something was his idea when in

fact it was what you wanted him to doall of the time. There is of course a pay-off to achieve this harmonious state ofaffairs and with my BP it is ensuringthat his consumption of WhitbreadMasterbrew bitter never falls below acertain blood/alcohol level, otherwisehe is either tetchy or lethargic which isnot a state where he is much good asan accompanying banjo player. Butwith a little thought, forward planningand a stash of Masterbrew, a pleasantand productive dance/banjoplayerrelationship can be achieved.

There are of course a few other mattersto be considered and obstacles to becountered before you have him fullytrained. Banjo players are a rather

strange breedwho seem toevolve in a waysomewhatdifferent toother musicians,this is particularlytrue about 'OldTime' banjoplayers. Theyusually take upthe banjo afterhaving triedsome otherinstrument andthen recognizeda latent desire to

play the banjo. They have oftenmanaged to keep quiet about this foryears as it is sometimes considered aperverse desire to do things such asfrailing, which for some time my BPthought was some sort of deviantpractice until he discovered it was aterm used to describe the way theinstrument was being played! He

apparently bought his first banjo fromAndy Perkins' emporium of banjodelights under the cover of darkness incase he was recognized.

After trying to master various types ofroles in an attempt to play Bluegrass [hehad seen 'Deliverence' a few times] hefound himself at Rick Townend's club ona dark winters night, just after oneChristmas, when Rick put on a banjonight. It was then he heard frailing orclawhammer for the first time and hadan epiphany (this usually happensbetween the 4th and 5th pint). Hedecided that he would tell the world hewas a banjo player and he would play'Old Time banjo'. Apparently this is thebanjo equivalent of 'coming out' aswould be described in other sections ofsociety!

Since then he has worshipped at the feetof such greats as the Bings, Bill Whelan,Riley Baugus, Ken Perlman and otherstoo many to mention (althoughapparently he has never been Dilleredwhatever that is).

I have included this brief description ofmy view of banjo players to assist otherdancers who may be consideringfollowing my path and attempting tohouse-train one for dance purposes.

They are usually fairly laid back (very laidback after too many Masterbrews) anddo not demand much as they seemparticularly content at just picking abanjo and sometimes even manage toplay the thing at the speed you wantthem to rather than too slow or too fastfor the dance you are doing(I suspect he knows this at times as Ihave notice a mischevious glint in hiseyes part way through a fast renditionof Old Joe Clark).

In conclusion, there are as alwaysadvantages and disadvantages in eitherteam, or duo approach to dance, butnow I am getting rather used to havingmy BP around at clubs and festivals I willprobably hang on to him for a while,well at least until George Clooneybecomes a banjo player, then I will justhave to re-consider my options,although I am not altogether sure thatGeorge will actually carry a wire brush inhis truck just to clean off my danceboard when it becomes clogged with thesteel from my shoes.

So for the time being girls (or boys ifappropriate) if you manage to get holdof one who is reasonably docile, it canbe worth the effort to train them butmake sure you keep sufficient quantitiesof their favorite ale close by and pourthem one occasionally.

DANCE NEWS... 10 Oldtime News Autumn issue no 55 2008

Banjo players are

a rather strange

breed who seem

to evolve in a way

somewhat different

to other musicians...


One of the highlights forme at Ely was theAppalachian Workshop runon Sunday morning byRockingham Rapper andStep from Oundle,Northamptonshire.

I’m always interested to seewhat other Appalachian sideshave to offer - new steps, newmoves, new formats. Theparticipants were a mixedgroup consisting of fourwomen who hadn’t done any

Devonshire Arms inBaslow Sara Marshall

Some of you may have visited theDevonshire Arms after theGainsborough festival to see KateLissauer and Piney Woods.The pub has now become home to a newregular Old Time session. It has a friendlyand welcoming atmosphere and I havebeen told the food is worth trying too.

I ventured up to the session on the firstMonday in August and found a smallselection of musicians playing in thecorner. Amongst them were members ofthe Down Trodden String Band and DaveProctor and Rita Beard. I was made to feelvery welcome and asked if I would dance.Rita joined me too and we had great fundancing for most of the evening, certainmusicians (you know who you are!) tookgreat delight in playing fast tunes for usto dance along to.

I battled against the elements to return inSeptember, and took my sister, mum andpartner with me. My sister and partnerare learning Old Time music on fiddle andmandolin respectively (mum came alongto listen).They were all made verywelcome. I was really touched by theinclusiveness of the session when moreexperienced musicians there were morethan happy to play tunes that Fi and Philknew and at a comfortable speed forthem to join in.

Again I couldn’t resist getting on myboard and having a dance (I really don’tknow how Dave puts up with my racket inhis earole!)

This is a small friendly session, it takesplace the first Monday of the month. Iwould recommend it if you happen to bevisiting in the Derbyshire area.

Dance experiences!I had a new experience thissummer. Dancing on my board, onuneven grass, in the dark arounda camp fire with a beer.

The weirdest sensation I think I have everhad whilst dancing, not being able to seethe faces of the musicians very well in theflickering fire light and I really struggledto stay on my board, it was out of myperipheral vision. Welcome to Summercamp.

Have you danced in any weird andwonderful places? Please write in and tellus all about them. We would love to hearfrom you.

Appalachian before, a few whohad done ‘a bit’ and a few of uswho had done ‘quite a lot!’plus the members ofRockingham Rapper. They onlyhad an hour but in that timethey taught a simple circulardance where the dancersworked in pairs. The dance hada chorus, which when all elsefails you know you’ll come backto some steps you canremember! It worked well andeverybody managed some, orall of it by the end of theworkshop.

Stop Press!New Appalachian team starting in Derby.

Weds nights from 8pm.

If you live in the Derby area and fancy having a go atsome Appalachian stepping and meeting new people as

well is keeping fit, then get in touch with Sara Marshall on07803 137354

or e-mail me at: [email protected](note 2 m’s!) for further information.

Dancers and musicians at any level are welcome.So please come a long and give it a try.

Ely Folk Festival - July 2008 Christine Bell


Although ‘Going tothe West Fest’ did

not officially start untilFriday, Thursday nightsaw a gathering of bothlocal musicians andvisitors from far andwide in the Hibernia inAngle for an eveningsession full of fun andenjoyment, the perfectpre-festival party.

The festival proper opened onFriday night to a packed hall atAngle School in the heart of thevillage. Many had already put tentsup at the campsite and were readyfor a fun-filled evening.

The concert started with the localorganisers ‘Grumpy Bush StringBand’, who got the evening off toan enthusiastic start with ‘Going tothe West’, the song after which thefestival was named.

Next up were Jock Tyldesley andVera van Heeringen, (who had alsokindly provided and set up the PAsystem for the weekend). Theaudience was treated to a mixtureof both instrumental and sungoriginal and traditional material,and astounded everyone with theirvirtuosic musicality.

This was followed by the verycapable duo, Sara Grey and BenPaley who rose to the challenge ofentertaining the audience withquite a different blend of magicalballads from both sides of theAtlantic Ocean. Ben’s fiddlingperfectly complemented Sara’sdistinctive voice and banjo playing,and they left the audience in arelaxed, contemplative mood.

Moonshine were enthusiasticallywelcomed for their first ever UKperformance! A beautifullybalanced set of songs and tunes

were played, featuring a widevariety of instruments. Murderballads were sung alongside squaredance tunes, as they introducedtheir unique sound to the audiencefrom West Wales and beyond!

The evening wound up with asquare dance expertly called byFrank Hall and Jo Cooper, whilst ahardcore of old-time musiciansprovided the music! However, theevening was far from over as musiccontinued in the local pubs TheHibernia and the Point House aswell as a session in the Dovecotfield at Castle Farm that ran wellinto the early hours of the morning.Saturday’s events opened with 2workshops, banjo (led by LenaUllman of Moonshine) and dance(led by Paul Sheridan). Tom Paley,the legendary figure of old-timemusic who was attending thefestival as a guest, kindly providedthe music for the dancing, andlocals and visitors were introducedto steps of what for some, was acompletely new style of dance.

Tea and cake was availablethroughout the day thanks to thehard working volunteers in thekitchen and Mary Cooper’s baking,and it was greatly appreciated byall!

The beautiful weather enabledsessions to take place outside allaround the village, allowing thesunshine to be enjoyed by all, someof the braver folk even went off tohave a swim, as the village issurrounded by clean and beautifulbeaches.

The workshops were well attended,and everybody learnt somethingnew for their repertoire and/ortechniques on their instruments.There were two fiddle workshops

Going to the West Fest

Grumpy Bush String Band

Jock Tyldesley and Vera van Heeringen

The Kittyhawks

Moonshine

Ben Paley and Sara Grey

Organisers Jo Cooper and Jackie Kempton


(with Ben Paley and Frank Hall ofMoonshine) showing very differentstyles of old-time fiddle playing, asinging workshop (with Sara Grey)and guitar (with Vera vanHeeringen, who had wowed theaudience on Friday night).

A break on Saturday afternoonprovided an opportunity for a beerand a tune, down at the PointHouse, the garden echoed with thesounds of banjo’s, guitars andfiddles, as a range of songs fromOldtime and Bluegrass classics tomore modern compositions wereplayed alongside dance tunes fromvarious ages.

Saturday night’s concert started inthe village hall with ‘TheKittyhawks’, who were without adoubt the best dressed band of thefestival! They were joined for onesong by local fiddler ChristineCooper, and the harmony singing ofLucy Ray and Mo Jackson waswonderful. Mel on sound did agreat job of making sure everyonecould be heard (both on Friday andSaturday).

They were followed by anotherexcellent set from Jock Tyldesley andVera van Heeringen. They had thewhole hall stomping their feet totwin fiddle Cajun tunes, and Vera’sself-penned songs brought a uniqueatmosphere to the hall.

Sara Grey and Ben Paley got thewhole room singing - especiallynotable was Sara’s accapellarendition of one of Bessie Smith’ssongs as the sun was going downand before the lights in the hall hadbeen put on. (It took quite a bit oflooking to find that switch!) It wasalso nice to hear Ben sing and playguitar, a rare treat!

Moonshine followed, who againproduced a unique sound withJohnny Moynihan playing themelodeon, which is not usuallyheard in old-time music. Both Lenaand Johnny sang poignant songssuch as ‘Chilly Winds’ and themurder ballad ‘Johnson’.

Pub session

The evening in the hall againfinished up with square dancingcalled by Frank and Jo with musicprovided by the scratch band, andof course there was a last waltz forthe couples! Lively music continuedin the Hibernia and at Castle Farmwell into the night - it waspredominantly old-time, but someEuropean and Welsh tunes alsomade appearances!

Sunday was a lovely chilled out dayto end the festival on. The morningbegan with a relaxed sing-around(lead by Lucy Ray, Mo Jackson andJohnny Moynihan) at which singershad the opportunity to singtogether and share songs. The bellsof St Mary’s church ringing outinspired some group gospel songs(in the same key as the bells!). Thiswas followed by a discussion onperformance skills (led by John andMoira Wirtz of the Kittyhawks) atwhich some interesting opinionswere shared by people with a widevariety of performance experiences.

The festival was rounded off in theafternoon with a very warm

Afternoon picking session

welcome at the Speculation Inn, inHundleton, where there was anamaaazing session! LandlordGerry Wilson kindly providedsome drinks and chip butties forthe hard playing musicians! Thesession ended at about 8.30pm -whereby some of the festivalitesleft to go home, and others stayedfor a few days to see more ofPembrokeshire’s beauty.

All in all, it was a highly successfulevent with lots positive feedbackreceived from local folk andvisitors alike. Hopefully it willhappen again next year, Jo is awayin Japan working so if anyone canhelp please contact Jackie on01646 661363 or email her [email protected]

Finally a Big thankyou to all oursponsors: the Night Out Scheme,Chevron, Talbot Timber,FOAOTMAD, and the FiddleFestival of Wales - we couldn’thave done it without them. And ofcourse to everybody who cameand supported the festival!


Chairman RayClifftopThis summer I got to Clifftop AppalachianString Band Festival for the first time since2002, and discovered very little hadchanged, except that many people nowtreat it as a week long camp.

The widely predicted dense throng ofhumanity didn’t really happen - largely, Isuppose due to the current price of gas -the Americans think that $3-60 a US gallonis a lot of money - they go very quiet whenI tell them that in the UK it’s nearer $11.Around 3500 people (mostly musicians)bought Clifftop tickets this year, whichmakes our Summer Camp look a bitsmall. John Kimble and I found asecluded camping spot hidden behind thewater tower, where we were able to sleepwell away from the music playing eachnight in the small hours. The standard was,as usual, first class. John and I met manyold friends from Gainsborough Festivalsand got into some great late jams, whilebeing plied with Mason jars full ofinteresting liquid that could probably beused as paint stripper. It did seem to makeyou play better, though.

Outstanding moments:The great JP Fraley was brought to thefestival for a visit, and sat listening andremembering while Betty Vornbrock,Barbara Kuhns and Paul David Smithplayed him some of his favourite tunes.JP suffered a stroke three years ago,and is no longer able to play his fiddle.Jimmy Costa and Mark Campbell sat onthe porch of the Chestnut Lodge andplayed and sang many of Uncle DaveMacon’s great songs, being eagerlywatched and accompanied by young SilasAkers of Chapel Hill NC who’d done reallywell in the junior banjo competition.

Lester McCumbers (age 87) gave a masterclass in fiddling accompanied by his sonTim on Guitar and Kim Johnson on banjo –I could have sat there all day, listening totunes like Yew Piney Mountain.Tim Bing of Piney Woods winning thebanjo competition (his first entry for years)by a mile and a half in front of aformidable bunch of people like Cathy Finkand Bob Smakula. Uncle Henry’s Favoritescoming a much too low fourth in theString Band competition, with somebeautiful twin fiddle stuff. Two of them,Pete and Ellen Vigour from Virginia, will betouring with Debby McClatchy in February,with the addition of Arnie Naiman fromToronto, a fine fiddler and banjo player.The show will be called A Night ofAppalachian Music and Dance. As usual, I’llbe driving (sigh).

Someone at the festival described Clifftopas the Old Time mother lode, and he’sprobably right.

AugustaWe left Clifftop in a torrentialthunderstorm on Sunday and headed Northto Elkins, West Virginia, where the AugustaHeritage Centre Old Time Week was basedat Davis and Elkins College. Ably run byGandydancer fiddler Gerry Milnes, itprovided a week of instruction in all theOld Time instruments as well as in song anddance. Dave Marshall and friends wroteabout Augusta in this magazine two yearsago, and I thoroughly endorse theirfavourable comments about the course. Itook advanced banjo with JoeNewberry,

whileJohn didintermediatefiddle withJimmy Triplett.The standardof each coursedependedsolely on theaverage levelof thestudents,rather thansome pre-determinedcriteria, so you don’t really know whatyou’re going to get till you’re there, butour courses were excellent. Joe showed ushis approach to the Round Peak style ofplaying banjo, while Jimmy’s dealt with theWest Virginia fiddle tune repertoire andplaying styles. Joe will be tutoring Old Timebanjo at Sore Fingers next Easter, and Ithoroughly recommend him. The afternoondrop-in classes were equally brilliant, withstyle and repertoire sessions frominstructors like Bruce Molsky, try-outsessions on borrowed instruments, films ofold players, lectures and concerts fromvisiting musicians.

The nightly jams on the Halliehurst Porchand all over the campus were excellent –with everyone welcome. John Kimble,British guitar player Paul Hammerton and Igot to play “Icehouse” in the Icehouse, acampus pub so good it should have been inBritain. By the fourth repeat, dancer EileenCarson came rushing in saying she couldhear us 300 yards away. She’s beenteaching dance at Augusta for 34 years andhad been in the Icehouse when the tuneevolved. Needless to say, all the visitingBrits spent a lot of time in the Icehouse,where the acoustics and the beer are bothsuperb.

Summer Camp 08I got to Sacrewell thoroughly jetlaggedaround teatime on the Thursday, havinglanded at Gatwick at 8am. People hadmade the most of the new location at thetop of the field - apparently Gary Andrewshad only been there twenty minutes whenhe managed to get the concrete wallaround the fireplace removed, with thepermission and help of the campsite staff. Ibrought some American weather with me,and we had some very good campfiresessions.

We were told that Peter, the Manager ofthe site will be leaving shortly and will havebeen replaced by next year. It now seemsthere is insufficient money to carry out theproposed redevelopment work on thebottom part of the field, so it looks as if wemay get our old part of the campsite backnext spring. This will depend on thereplacement manager, and we’ll discuss thiswith him/her early next year after he’s

settled in to his new job.

Old Time Heraldand GainsboroughFestivalThe latest Old TimeHerald had a verypleasant surprise - anextremely favourable fullpage article on ourGainsborough Festival,by David Prat Duràn,whom some of you mayremember as the guy

from Barcelona who came over specially forthe festival. Quote: The GainsboroughFestival is a must for old-time fans allaround the UK and Europe. The music, theorganisation and the attendees are secondto none. Hear, hear!

Next years festival line-up has not yet beenfinalised, but will include a sensationalband from the Galax/Fries area of South-West Virginia called the New Ballard’sBranch Bogtrotters, with fiddler and singerEddie Bond. I got to see them playing asquare dance just before Clifftop, and theyalmost succeeded in getting me on thefloor - no mean feat!

Walt Koken and Ray Banks

Betty Vornbrock and JP Fraley

Mark Campbell and Jimmy Costa


By Hugh Connor (on behalfof the Killington crew)

Following arecommendation by DaveBing to visit the GlenvilleFestival, five FOAOTMADmembers from theKillington Session decidedto cross the pond to get ataste of real old time musicin June 2008.We rented a cabin on the Blue Ridgefor our first week. There is plenty to doand the Blue Ridge Parkway gives goodaccess to lots of venues. We visited theBlue Ridge Music Centre, where wewere invited to play, County Recordsmusic shop in Floyd, Buffalo Mountain,Meadows of Dan and Mayberry Mill,where we joined in the freestyleclogging.

We visited the Mt Airy Festival onThursday - Saturday, where we weresurprised to find no booked acts. All ofthe entertainment is provided by thecompetitions and informal sessions. Theband competition is spread over Fridayand Saturday and is a great way to seea lot of bands, although they only playone number on each night. On theSaturday night, we bumped into PeteBudd, who correctly predicted that theSlate Mountain Ramblers rendition ofReuben’s Train was a winningperformance. The dance competitionwas won by Phil Jamison, who beat offstrong competition from Ira Bernsteinand Rodney Sutton. The informalsessions were a bit exclusive, butfortunately we were with Keith andBrenda Johnson who introduced us toLo Gordon and friends. They invited usinto their session for a very convivialevening. There is also a large dancefloor in the middle of the arena, whereChris danced the night away with awhole crowd of freestyle cloggers.

For the second week, we booked ahouse in Lansing, in Ashe County, NC.This had been advertised by the owner,James (Dawg) Wood, throughFOAOTMAD. We had no idea what toexpect, and prior to us going, no oneseemed to know anything aboutLansing. However, the week farexceeded our expectations. James andRita were great hosts and were amazedthat we knew so many of their local

tunes played in their local style. Theyare both old time fiddlers and theyorganise sessions at their Phipps Storewhere we had three nights of playing,dancing and generally getting to knowthe locals. James also arranged for usto join music sessions every night atvarious venues around Ashe County.On Tuesday we went to the Mt RogersSchool session, where we werewelcomed in by the WhitetopMountain Band. Playing with an oldtimer like Thornton Spencer was a rareprivilege. On Wednesday Bill and Gillwent to a private party while Chris andHugh picked up Suzanne fromGreensboro Airport. On Thursday wehad a wild night at Helton CommunityCentre. We arrived to discover that wewere to be the main entertainment forthe evening. We provided the nucleusof the square dance band for the restof the locals to dance the night away.This was a “dry” event, but the coffeewas something else!

On Saturday 14 June, we visited theGalax Leaf and String Festival. This isonly one hour’s drive from Lansing,through the pleasant countryside ofGrayson County. Downtown Galax wasclosed to traffic so that music stagesand dance floors could be set up onthe streets. We were entertained bythe White Top Mountain Band and alocal clogging team in the main street.Various other dance bands were alsoplaying in the square where a largedance floor was set up for freestyling.Finally, we took shelter from the stormunder the picking marquee, where wemet Mt Airy Autoharp champion,JoAnn Redd and another musician witha large moustache Stuart Shank knownlocally as Not Wayne Erbsen. OnSunday, we visited GrandfatherMountain (an International BiosphereReserve) where the Mile High Bridgeconnects two peaks and providesstunning views of the Blue Ridge.

We should have travelled North onMonday but were persuaded to stayanother night by the irrepressibleDawg, and had another great sessionat Phipps Store. Ashe County iscertainly worth a visit and McFarlandshave published various fascinatingbooks about the area and its musicians.

We travelled North towards Glenvilleand stopped off to visit SummersvilleLake and the New River Gorge. Viewsover the gorge and up to the bridgeare stunning. If you have time, you cango white water rafting down the river.

The set up at Glenville was similar toGalax, with the whole town closed totraffic for the weekend.

Accommodation at the college wasplentiful, if a bit basic. For a bit morecomfort, you can stay at the GlenvilleInn, which provides a shuttle bus serviceto the festival. The centrepiece of thefestival is a large dance floor usedmainly for evening square dances. Wewere treated to three great dancebands, fronted by Jerry Milnes, JesseMilnes and Tracy Schwartz on Thusday,Friday and Saturday respectively. Wehad a go at square dancing and foundthe locals very friendly andencouraging. The big differencebetween English and American SquareDancing is that no instructions aregiven. You just have to listen to thecaller and try to understand his patterand his accent. This is made even moredifficult when the caller changes forevery dance!

We also found the sessions verywelcoming. You know that they wantyou to join in when someone shouts toyou “That banjo sounds much betterout of the case than in!” Most of thesessions take place around the motelcarpark and keep going until earlyhours of the morning. Concerts andcompetitions take place at the collegetheatre. The Reed Island Rounders andFrank George were headline acts butthere were many other greatperformances. Betty Vornbrock andDiane Jones took first prize in Over 50Fiddle and Banjo respectively. Hughdecided to enter for the Englishcontingent and took 3rd place in theOver 50 banjo. Chris and Suzanne alsomet Thomas Maupin, 6 times nationalclogging/buckdancing champion, duringone of the sessions and received lots ofcompliments and advice about freestyleclogging. There is also a good range ofmusic and singing workshops like theShape Note singing one that Suzanneand Chris enjoyed. Apart from themusic, there are lots of other attractionsat the festival, quilt displays, a vintagecar rally, craft stalls and even somecountry and western!

On the way home we stopped off againin the Mt Airy area. Gill and Bill stayedon to see the New Ballard’s BranchBogtrotters, who will be headliningGainsborough 2009. Highlyrecommended.

Mt. Airy, Galax, Glenville and Lansing 2008


DerbyshireSteve Wise - Bakewell

Afew years ago, a groupof us were in a session at

Gainsborough whichincluded some of the visitingAmerican performers- MaryGordon of the CelestialRailroad String Band andAnnie Trimble of the Hippy-Billies to be precise. Thediscussion between thetunes turned to the questionof Brits singing Old-Timesongs (a topic on which oureditor expressed sometrenchant views in an earlierOTN). We asked our visitorswhether when we sang Old-Time with our best attemptat an authentic Appalachianaccent, it sounded OK or not.

They both agreed that it generallysounded fine, but that we did singwith a recognisable British accent.There was a pause and then one ofthem said ‘You know - you playwith a British accent too’. Since wewere mostly from Derbyshire weimmediately dubbed this the‘White Peak’ sound, as a jokeyreference to the name for thesouthern half of the Peak Districtand to the Round Peak style.

So. Is there a White Peak sound?Does Derbyshire Old-Time have adistinctive regional flavour? No -not really. I just like the story.However we are lucky in having athriving Old-Time community inand around Derbyshire. In thisreview I’ll cover what I know aboutit - apologies if I miss anything.

Let’s start with the sessions. Ialways think that a strong sessionscene is a sign of a strong musicscene. It’s where people meet andswap tunes. Beginners can beintroduced to the music. Many aband has been forged out ofplayers meeting in a session. Weare lucky in having two regularsessions devoted exclusively to Old-Time. The longest running one is inSheffield (NOT Derbyshire), hostedby fiddler Dave Young with ouresteemed chairman Ray Banks as aregular attendee. It has movedaround over the years (as sessionsdo) but is currently held in theKelham Tavern on the thirdMonday of every month.

Apart from having a nice backroom to play in (away from theracket of the pub quiz whichhappens in the main bar on thesame night) the pub is also a notedCAMRA pub, so the beer isexcellent. The new boy on theblock is the Baslow session, held onthe first Monday of the month inthe Devonshire Arms, Baslow. Thisis hosted by the Down Trodden

String Band (in which I play asmany of you will know) and hasbeen running for just a fewmonths. The room is also good forplaying and there is always a smallselection of good beers on offer.

Derbyshire and Sheffield both havevery active session scenes, and Old-Time will often be found mixing itup alongside other genres in moregeneral sessions. One of thelongest running of these is theBakewell session, held everyThursday in the Manners. After arecent refurbishment the room ispretty good for playing, and thefact that it has been a regularweekly session for several yearsmeans that quite a few peoplecome in to listen, which I alwaysthink helps. (I use the word listen inits loosest sense - most peopleactually come in to stand at the barand talk loudly, but some doactually listen).

This is the session which gave riseto the Down Trodden String Band,and we all attend most weeks.We’re very lucky to be joined byDave and Rita Proctor, AlanMcGavin and Paul ‘Woody’ Wood,so there is always plenty of Old-Time music played during theevening. The session scene inSheffield is dominated by Celticmusic but it is worth mentioningthe Wednesday night session atFagan’s on Broad Lane, which tendsto be more eclectic. Dave Young isa regular at this and most of theother regulars are familiar withvarious flavours of American music.

I’ve already mentioned one band -let’s look at the range. All thebands have myspace pages, so Iwould recommend that peoplecheck these out for samples of themusic and lists of appearances.There are three bands featuringmusicians who will be familiar toregulars at Gainsborough and theSacrewell camps. Dave Proctor hasa band called the Slow Down Boys,who have also played numerousfestivals as well as Gainsboroughwww.myspace.com/slowdownboys

Around the Regions...

Down Trodden String Band


Their music is actually a mix of old-time and bluegrass - they have oneCD out and a new one inpreparation. Secondly there is theDown Trodden String Bandwww.myspace.com/downtroddenstringband, who playedGainsborough this year and have anew CD out. We started out as themusicians for the Well Heeleddance team but over the years wehave become much more active as astring band in our own right.Thirdly, Jim and Annie Whitehill aremember of Wicked Strings,www.myspace.com/wickedsolesandwickedstrings who play for theWicked Soles dance team as well asperforming in their own right.Finally Alan McGavin and PaulWood have recently formedComing Up the Pikewww.myspace.com/comingupthepike who play old-time along withother material drawn from NorthAmerica, particularly from theFrench Canadian tradition.

Two other bands who may be newto FOAOTMAD members areBuckshot Soup (see photo below)www.myspace.com/buckshotsoupand the Bouviers

www.myspace.com/thebouviersboth of whom play music fromacross the spectrum of Americanacoustic music but who certainlyhave a nice down-home feel towhat they do. Check ‘em out.

I’ve mentioned dance teams so let’sturn our attention to them. Thehighest profile team and longest-running team in the area must beFeet First, based in Chesterfieldwww.feetfirstdance.co.uk. Formedin 1984 they were one of the firstgroups to bring Appalachian

clogging to the UK. They performwidely around the country, often atfolk festivals rather than Old-Timeor bluegrass events, and haveplayed some of the top festivalsincluding Sidmouth, Saltburn,Didmarton and even the UlsterAmerican Folk Park in Omagh.Wicked Soleswww.myspace.com/wickedsolesandwickedstrings have already been

mentioned and are based inLongnor. Bakewell is the home ofthe Well Heeled teamwww.whdt.org.uk who arebasically responsible for turning abunch of musicians from theManners session into the DownTrodden String Band - so if youneed someone to blame, now youknow!

You will gather from all this thatthere is a strong connectionbetween the sessions, the bandsand the dance teams, which is as itshould be and probably the sameas in other areas. In one respecthowever, the Peak District canmake one claim to being differentin that we are home to one of thefew makers of five string banjos inthe UK - Helmut Rheingans.Helmut will be well known to manyFOAOTMAD members, being a

founder member of theorganisation, and a regularattendee at festivals (with orwithout his trade stand!). Helmutalso makes fiddles, which is whathe trained to do in southernGermany and can undertakerepairs on all manner of acousticinstruments. He has recentlymoved his base away from theCraft Centre at Eyam, andcurrently works in a self-erectedworkshop set in the sylvansplendour of his back garden inGrindleford. He trades under thename Orb Music and can befound on the web atwww.stirrings.co.uk/orb/ or viahis MySpace pagewww.myspace.com/helmutrheingans

Which brings us finally to venuesfor old-time music performances.Like most parts of the country,most Old-Time concerts take placein a variety of venues, promotedby a wide variety of people. TopAmerican artists, such as theCarolina Chocolate Drops and TheCrooked Jades are often bookedin venues in major citiesbordering the region. BruceMolsky, Alan Jabbour, KateLissauer, the Bing Brothers, KenPerlman and Jeff Davis have allplayed at smaller venues withinthe area. However one otheradvantage of the area is that innearby Stockport, Tom Travis runsone of the few clubs devoted tobluegrass and Old-Time music.

Based in the Conservative Cub inHigh Lane (the name of the place- not a road name) the club isopen on the first Friday of everymonth, and Old-Time acts haveincluded the Slow Down Boys,Kate Lissauer, the New DealString Band, the Down TroddenString Band and DebbyMcClatchy.

No web details I’m afraid but Tomcan be contacted on 01457861789 and the concerts areusually included in theFOAOTMAD mailout.

Feet first

Wicked Soles


Old-Time Musicon the InternetPart TwoSteve Wise - Bakewell

A Guide to Searching theInternet or “Where HaveAll The Hours Gone (LongTime Passing)”

In the first of these articles Idescribed a range of internetsources for downloading old-timemusic to listen to. In this secondarticle I am going to considerthings like finding lyrics to songs,finding music in standard form ortab and researching thebackground of songs and tunes.

As before I’ll try and organise thecoverage in a moderately logical way,but many of the sites I’ll describeactually cover a number of thesethings, giving both lyrics, music andbackground to tunes or songs, so somesites will get covered more than once.

LyricsLet’s start with something produced bya FOAOTMAD member, and whichevery FOAOTMAD member shouldhave - Pete Budd’s collection of songlyrics. This is available from theFOAOTMAD web sitewww.foaotmad.org.uk

Look under resources. The lyrics areprovided in a PDF file, which requiresthe Adobe Acrobat Reader to read it -but if you don’t have this your internetbrowser software (Internet Explorer,Firefox or whatever you like to use)should detect this and help youdownload it. Pete has drawn togethermaterial from a range of sources, andpulled it together into a singledocument, comlete with alphabeticallist of the songs included.

Staying with lyrics, there are threeother excellent sites which are worth avisit.

Digital Tradition www.mudcat.org

This is an unrivalled collection of song

lyrics, hosted at the Mudcat Café site.In fact the site hosts two related things

The Digital Tradition collection of songlyrics.

The Mudcat forum, where peoplediscuss a whole range of topics relatedto traditional music - more on this in amoment.

The main searching interface looks likethis (as of August 2008)

The upper search box allows a freesearch within the Digital Tradtioncollection (DT) or the forum. Howeverif you know the title of the songyou’re interested in, try the lower box(labelled DT lyrics) where you simplyselect the first letter of the name,which takes you to an alphabetical listof song names.

The collection has grown over theyears, so is not always consistent. Forinstance, songs which start with ‘The’are sometimes listed under T andsometimes under the next word of thetitle - so to find ‘The Girl I Left BehindMe’ you’ll need to look under both‘The’ and ‘Girl’. One way around this isto use the Lyrics and KnowledgeSearch on the main menu and look fora phrase from the title (e.g. ‘leftbehind’)

The entries also differ in the extradetail they provide. Many (but not all)provide a link to a MIDI version of thetune. For those who are not familiarwith it, MIDI is a way of storing musicso that it can be played automaticallyby a machine - in most cases the resultis like hearing the tune played by acompetent but uninspired beginnerpianist - good enough to recognise thetune but a dull listen! Some entriescontain snippets of information aboutthe song and often there are links torelated discussions in the forum.

The Fiddler’s Companionwww.ibiblio.org/fiddlersThis has an alphabetic list of tunes and

songs and in the case of the songs,quite often contains lyrics. Its mainstrengthis the information it provideson song/tune origins.

The Bluegrass Messengerswww.bluegrassmessengers.com/fiddleDigital Tradtion and The FiddlersCompanion are broad in their coverage- the bluegrass messengers is limited tolyrics of bluegrass and related material,so contains a lot of stuff of interest tothe OT fan. It’s also particularly goodfor different versions of the same song- for instance there are no less than 19versions of Cotton-Eyed Joe listed. Thismay be 18 more than many peoplewant, but there you go.

MusicNext let’s look at some sources of musicin printed form i.e. in a form whichallows you to play the tune. This gets abit complicated because music cancome in standard notation, which isindependent of which instrument youplay but which not everyone can read,and in tablature (or tab for short)which is specific to an instrument, butwhich is easily read. To complicatematters further, both can come in theform of ready printed pages, in agraphics format such as PDF or GIF orcan come as a file which needs to beread by a piece of software before itbecomes readable as music or tab.

Let’s start with a site which contains alarge amount of music in various ofthese formats - the traditional musiclibrary www.traditionalmusic.co.ukThis has a separate section for americanmusic and includes some famouscollections of songs (Lomax, Sharp) anda large selection of Old-Time tunes.There is even a section on dance whichcontains instruction manuals anddescriptions of dances and relatedtunes. There’s probably enough here tokeep most people occupied for months.

The music on the Traditional MusicLibrary is mostly in standard notation.If you play the mandolin or banjo youmay be interested in sites whichcontain tab. This is particularly useful inthe case of banjo, where the way inhow a note is played (e.g. on the dronestring or a melody string) is key to howa piece is played. The banjo hangoutwww.banjohangout.org is a goodstarting place for banjo tab. Howevermost of this comes, not as a imagewhich can be viewed, but in the format


for one of the tablature editingprogrammes. The most popular ofthese is TabEdit, which is a commercialproduct. Fortunately they also providea free viewer which can be downloadedfromwww.tabledit.com/download/index.shtml This links to a site from where youcan download a programme calledTEFView. Download this and install iton your computer. Now go to the banjohangout and go to the Tablature page.Click on the letter O and find Old JoeClark. Click on the link labelledTablEdit. Your browser will offer youthe choice of saving the file or openingit. If you save the file, you will have afile called old_joe_clark-1461.tef savedon your computer. To read it you haveto run TEFView and open this file.Alternatively you can let the browserdo this for you. Whichever method youuse, you will see something like this -the tune in both standard notation andtab.

Quite a lot of the tabs on the banjohangout actually link through to MikeIverson’s page of clawhammer tabswww.bluesageband.com/Tabs.htmlThere are not as many of these but theyare all in PDF format, which we’vealready covered.

The equivalent site for the mandolinplayer is the Mandolin caféwww.mandolincafe.com/tabarc.htmlwhich contains a wealth of stuff relatedto the mandolin, including tab. Most ofthe tab on this site is provided in simpletext files which can just be printeddirectly. One word of warning - if yousave the file for printing later, heed thewarning which says that the font mustbe Courier. If you read the text in Wordfor example, it may change the font toTimes New Roman, and then theformatting will go all to pieces. It reallydoes have to be in Courier. (The reason,for the curious, is that most fonts areproportional which means thatdifferent letters have different widths,with m being wider than i for example.Courier is an old typewriter font inwhich all the letters are the samewidth, which makes laying out tabquite simple.)

Sheet MusicI’m going to consider sources ofinformation about the history of tunesand songs in a moment, but firstsomething which falls between this andprinted music - sheet music from thepast. Before the availability ofrecording technology and rightthrough into the early twentiethcentury, printed sheet music was animportant means for people to learntunes, and particularly songs. For thoseinterested in the history of old-timemusic, sheet music provides an insightinto early versions of songs and into thekinds of song being sung by people likeCharlie Poole or the Skillet Lickers.

Now a lot of this sheet music is beingscanned and made available via theweb. A good starting point for searchesis the Sheet Music Consortium whichgives links to four University libraries inAmerica with extensive collections.www.digital.library.ucla.edu/sheetmusic. A second major collection is theLibrary of Congress Music for theNation sitehttp://memory.loc.gov/ammem/smhtml/smhome.html

As an example, some people may knowthe song Faded Coat of Blue, which ison Kate Lissauer’s Walk Chalk ChickenCD and which we sang atGainsborough. Shown here is the coverof the original version, published in1865. Apart from the attractiveness ofthe cover (and early 20th century coversare often works of art) this reveals thatthe words are pretty much unchangedover time but that the original melodywas extremely dull!

Historical ResearchThe final topic I’m going to cover issomething which I personally findfascinating, but which may not be

everyone’s cup of tea - researching thebackground and origin of old-time songsand tunes.

Some of the sites I’ve already describedcontain relevant material . The FiddlersCompanion and the BluegrassMessenger sites both contain a wealthon information about many of the tunesand songs they list, including possibleorigins, variants, alternative names andlists of recordings. The Mudcat café alsocontains some of this material, and thediscussion groups in particular oftencontain long and detailed discussionsabout the background of the music andissues such as playing styles.

A site which I often use is Jane Keefer’sFolk Music Index to Recordingswww.ibiblio.org/keefer. This is a hugecollection which lists who has produced arecorded performance of a particularsong or tune. The database can besearched by performer or title and it isgreat for looking for alternative versionsof a tune or song.

The other major resource I’m going tocover is the American Library ofCongress which provides a wealth ofinformation through two sites - theAmerican Memory sitememory.loc.gov/ammem/index.htmland the Folklife Collectionwww.loc.gov/folklife/onlinecollectionsThese cover far more than just music anddocument the life and traditions ofAmerica in past times. For old-time fansthey contains gems such as AlanJabbour’s collection of tunes from HenryReedhttp://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/reed/index.html material from theLomax collecting expeditionshttp://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/lohtml/lohome.html and the Gordon collection offolk songswww.loc.gov/folklife/Gordon/index.html

A word of warningI hope there’s something of interest foryou here but I’ll end with a word ofwarning. The ‘net’ is well named - notonly is it a set of interconnected strands,like a fishing net - once you’re in it’s veryeasy to get trapped. Searching throughall these sites can be very seductive and iscertainly a lot easier than putting inthose much-needed hours practising thebanjo. One thing’s for sure - get startedon researching old-time tunes, and thatback bedroom is simply never going toget decorated. Happy hunting!


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Classic Era Model £1350elegant engraved pearl inlays in peghead and fingerboard• flamed maple neck with bound ebony fingerboard• two-way adjustable truss rod• laminated maple rim• the very best hardware selected from various suppliers• ‘Whyte Laydie’ tone ring for fantastic tone and volume.

Gainsborough Special Model £1050engraved ‘moon’ peghead inlay• pearl position markers• reinforced mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard• laminated maple rim, 11 or 12 inches diameter• Stacey ‘Free Energy’ tone ring.

OPTIONSAll models can be customised.• ebony or Grenadillo tone ring.• neck width to suit your preference.• left handed neck.• ‘frailers scoop’ in fingerboard.• fretless neck with brass or ebony fingerboard

I usually have a selection of top quality vintage rims instock for which a neck can be custom built

Call me on 01462 683 074

10 Year AnniversaryDiller-Bing November

Banjo-FiddleWorkshops

For the 10th Year Dwight Diller and Dave Bingare coming to Gainsborough to provide their

special tuition on Banjo and Fiddle.

These workshops provide opportunities forbeginners and advanced players alike to gettuition from West Virginia's finest teachers.

new venue at:Beckingham and Saundby Village Hall

(2 miles from Gainsborough)All new facilities, male and female showers

Central heating, large kitchen.

Nov 8th-9th Beginners fiddle and banjoNov 15th-16th Advanced fiddle and banjo

cost £110Indoor Camping and all food is included

• Please book early to save disappointment

Please contact Keith Johnson to give him notice ofyour wish to get more information

or to be included.

Email [email protected]: 01427 613643

THE ONLY UK PUBLICATION DEDICATED TO AMERICAN OLD · PDF fileTHE ONLY UK PUBLICATION DEDICATED...

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