Volume 10 Issue 4 October 2016 *new feature* Six Month Festival Preview RADIO MEDIA ISSUE PLUS MUSIC THEORY Wrap-up meeting at Tottenham WWW.BLUEGRASSCANADA.ORGBluegrass Canada october 2016 - 3 V o l u m e 10 I s s u e 4 Publisher - The Bluegrass Music Association of Canada Editor - Mike Kirley Design/Production - Gord DeVries The Bluegrass Canada magazine is published quarterly in January, April, July and October. Copies are distribut- ed to members of the organization. Individual membership fees are $25 for one year, $48 for two years or $71 for three years. Organizational memberships are $50 for one year, $98 for two years or $146 for three years. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without the written per- mission from the Publisher. PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT NO.42167060.RETURN UNDELIV- ERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO BMAC, c/o Gord DeVries, 22790 Amiens Road, KOMOKA ON N0L 1R0, 519-719-2501, membership@bluegrasscanada.org. Please send articles, calendar infor- mation, photos and letters to : Bluegrass Canada Mike Kirley 831 Rose Street, Cambridge ON N3H-2G2 Email: mikekirley@gmail.com Telephone: 519-653-4975 Deadline for submissions is 45 days preceding the month of pub- lication. Advertising- Contact Barb Duncan at 705-499-7656 Email barbieduncan@gmail.com for rates and information. CD Reviews: Pat Moore 612 Cortenay Ave Ottawa ON K2A 3B5 patmoore@patmoore.net Bluegrass Music Association of Canada BMAC is a non-profit organization devoted to the preservation and pro- motion of bluegrass and old-time music in Canada, and supported by the volunteer efforts of its members. BMAC Mission Statement The BMAC mission statement as enacted in the by-laws: a) Dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Bluegrass and Old-time music throughout Canada. Goals: b) To support individuals, groups and organizations involved in bluegrass and old-time music. c) To provide leadership and promote education among fans, clubs, bands and artists. BMAC Board of Directors President - Position currently unoccupied Vice-President - David Porter porterd@blackburnlodge.com Secretary /Treasurer - Roland Aucoin raucoin@cogeco.ca - 905-635-1818 Membership/Website - Gord DeVries gord.devries@rogers.com - 519-719-2501 Magazine Editor - Mike Kirley mikekirley@gmail.com - 519-653-4975 Advertising - Barb Duncan barbieduncan@gmail.com - 705-499-7656 General - Murray Hale murrayhale@hotmail.com - 705-474-2217 General - Wilson Moore jwmoore@ns.sympatico.ca General - Denis Chadbourn lea@thot.net - 705-776-7754 Ongoing Volunteers Gary Hubbard - (ON - Regular Column contributer) Joe Rohrer - (ON - Regular column contributer) Bryon Thompson - (BC - Regular column contributer) Ralph Gray (ON - Column contributer) Sue Malcolm (BC - Event Calendar) - sue@suemalcolm.com Jerry Murphy (NS - Event calendar Admin) - jerry@jerrysnews.com Nancy Tellier - (ON - Event Calendar Admin) - nancy.tellier069@sympatico.ca Nellie Holmes (ON - Event Calendar Admin) - thepieplates@gmail.com Pat Moore (ON - CD Reviews) - patmoore@patmoore.net Printing- A N B Print Inc. - 519-621-0321 4026 Meadowbrook Dr. #135 London ON N6L 1C8 Distribution- Strictly Addressing - 519-433-424 4-1025 Hargrieve Rd. London ON N6E 1P7 WHAT’S BEHIND THE CURTAIN? Regular Features Editor’s Message5Mike Kirley Letters6Staff Bachin’ it7Joe Rohrer Theory8Bryon Thompson New Members this Quarter 10Staff 6 Month Festival Guide11Staff Dan Joseph, DJ12Mike Kirley Brother John, DJ13Brother John David Blakney, DJ14David Blakney Arthur Berman, DJ15Arthur Berman Recipe-Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake 15Sue Draper Wilson Moore, DJ16Wilson Moore Recipe-Sweet Potatoes & Carrots Casserole 16Audrey DeVries The Doctor Says So17Staff Focus on Sue Malcolm17Staff Radio On The Air Listing18Staff Billy The Banjo Bird19Mike Kirley Music ‘BIZ’20Gary Hubbard The Birth of Bluegrass in Tottenham 21Staff Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice. 22Don Kissil CD Review: Grasstic Measures Square Dance Town 25Pat Moore CD Review - Spitzee Post Band - Legalized Blues Grass 26Pat Moore An Introduction to BandHelper 27Gord DeVries BandHelper - Part 130Arlo Leach An Intoduction to the Nashville Numbering System 33Sue Malcolm BMAC Organizations 34Staff Mike O’Reilly Bluegrass on Both Sides of the Border 36Larry Delaney • MORE INTERVIEWS - NEWS ITEMS - REGULAR COLUMNS ARTICLE SUBMISSION - THE DEADLINE IS THE 15TH OF NOVEMBER 2016 NEXT ISSUE (JANUARY 2017) 10 6 month Festival Guide 8 Music *Theory* Bryon Thompson In t er vie w s WithD Js Dan Joseph 12 Brother John 13 David Blakney 14 Arthur Berman 15 Wilson Moore 16 4 - Bluegrass Canada october 2016Bluegrass Canada october 2016 - 5 EDITOR’S MESSAGE by Mike Kirley I’ve got a burr under my saddle right now and I might as well get it out in the open. I’m mad…good and mad. What is it with these half or partial bands at Bluegrass Festi- vals? I am not going to mention any names, but I sat at a festival this summer where there were three acts without any banjo. What is happening? I consider the banjo the lead instrument in Bluegrass. If I don’t hear it, I start to discon- nect. Furthermore, if there is no bass, there is no drive, period. I must admit I can stomach The Kruger Brothers, even if there is no mandolin. They have a champion banjo player. But it is still a partial Bluegrass band to me. What do you think? The first Bluegrass Band I ever listened to live at a festival was Cross Country Grass. I was not yet a passionate fan. The instruments that riveted my ear were the man- dolin and the banjo. Buddy Weston was on banjo. He was great. I had been in Folk and Rock Bands where the guitar ruled; and the sounds of the mandolin and banjo tak- ing complex breaks in songs with three, sometimes four part vocal harmonies had my total attention. This was unique. This was definitely a new genre for me. I went right to the record store and bought some Bluegrass recordings. All the recordings had banjo and mando- lin. Over the next year I listened to groups at festivals and analyzed bands’ different styles. Bands like Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, Grassworks, The Seldom Scene, The Johnson Mountain Boys, Larry Sparks, Lost and Found, The Country Gentlemen, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Dan Paisley and the Southern Grass, Streets and Hills, Blue Mule, Bluegrass Connection, The MacDonald Brothers…and on and on….. Never did I see a “band” on stage with two people, or even three. And they all had a banjo player and a mandolin player. I went to eleven festivals in a row at River Valley, and never did I see a “half” or “partial” bluegrass band. What is going on? If I buy a ticket for 70 or more dollars for a week- end of bluegrass, I expect to see at least four people on stage playing that combination of sounds that define the genre of Bluegrass. If I want to see “roots” bands or duets or trios, I will go to a Folk Festival like The Mill Race or Mariposa…and I love all genres of music. For Pete’s sake people…you are alienating Bluegrass fans. I am not the only fan who thinks this way. I heard lots of comments like mine. What if you were at a Rock Concert and the band had no lead guitar? Or a Jazz Festival with no pianos? Bluegrass with no banjo? Really?? That’s like a banana split with no banana. There. I said it in public. Rant over. On to something else. Boy oh boy. This issue is our “related topics” issue. Once a year we get to zero in on areas that are not festival, band, or awards centered. Topics like musicians’ health, Bluegrass radio DJ’s, and music theory. It was fun researching these topics, and our columnists enjoyed the different subject matter. Hope you enjoy it too. It’s good to see Gary Hubbard back. I am still sizzling over sitting for over two hours in the hot sun at a festival and not hearing one banjo! I ended up playing Solitaire on my cell phone. Good Lord! I can’t be- lieve it. The nerve of some people. I want my money back. Time to go to an American Festival and hear some good banjo. Flamin’ Mike Kirley -- Mike Kirley Bill Monroe’s Mandolin6 - Bluegrass Canada october 2016 LETTERS Hi Gord I read with interest your article in Bluegrass Canada and looked up your source. As you said , copied verbatim from Durrell’s article. I thought you would be interested in the update I just sent him on his listings. As a bluegrass musician , active in bands in Montreal in 1964-1967 , along with Cody , and Toronto for many years , I hoped to find a credit somewhere in his notes , wherever he obtained them. In the event you ever run a supple- mentary , I think the people I have mentioned in my message to him would be pleased for the recog- nition , albeit you did get Denis LePage , Buddy Weston and Roly LaPierre in the context of stand alone musicians. And they are among the very best. I worked with all three and mighty proud of it. Keep up your great work for the magazine. I enjoy reading all about the current players although my heady days of performing are long gone. email to The Canadian Encyclope- dia - editor. I imagine it was difficult for the ed- itor , Durrell Bowman , to list every active Canadian band in his article, but several bands of note from the 1970’s – 2000s were overlooked. If Durrell could have used the pro- grams from the Bluegrass Canada Festivals held at Carlisle , Ontario , he would have seen most of these bands listed as performing at many of the events. I happen to still have most of those programs. Among the Cdn. Bluegrass pioneer bands in the Toronto area missed : ”Bluegrass Revival”, very active and influential for 11 years from 1971. Personnel included long time Canadian Bluegrass performers Mike Higgins , Chuck Crawford , Tom McCreight , Don Hinde. And among their banjo men : Larry Good , Bob Forrest and Buddy Weston. Tom “ The Old Coot “ McCreight also headed “Silverbirch”. A big miss in your article is “ Limited Edition “ , headed by Denis LePage , active nationally from 1982 – 1986. Personnel were Denis and Mitch LePage , Roly LaPierre , Mike Higgins and Larry Brisbois. And what about the still active and ever popular : ” The Good Brothers” ? I hope you can update your article to give credit where credit is due. Many thanks Mike Higgins Mississauga JOIN NOW! Becoming a member of BMAC couldn’t be easier (or less expen- sive.) If you are able to access the internet on your desktop, laptop or Mobile device, you have all you need! Simply navigate to www.bluegrasscanada.org and click on the “Register” button at the top right of the website. You’ll be taken to a simple regis- tration form which will first ask you to select the Membership Type. Let’s assume for the sake of this discussion, you wish to be an “Individual Member”. Click in that box. The next choice is whether you wish to pay by Credit Card, or ‘Offline’, which means you’ll send in a cheque. Next, you’ll need to fill in a ‘security code’ simply by copying a few distorted looking characters into an input box. (That’s for BMAC’s security, to verify that we’re dealing with a person, not a machine.) We need your Name and Address info and also ask you to select your own username and password. Note that the info fields that are identified with a red asterisk are mandatory. The next sections of the form are optional and the purpose is fully explained on the form. Once you’re done this, just Click on “Submit” at the bottom. Be assured that BMAC does not share your information with third parties. Once you’re a member, you will have access on the website (using your username/ password) for private member’s information such as magazine back issues and minutes of Direc- tor’s meetings. That’s it. Call Gord DeVries if you need help. 519-719-2501 Editor’s Note: We received a number of critical comments regarding the “A Brief History of Canadian Bluegrass Bands” article in the July issue. There were a huge number of important bands which were overlooked.. As stated, the artlcle came from an online source which was the history as viewed from the perspective of one person, and not a well-researched document. We apologize to all the bands and individuals who were not men- tioned.Bluegrass Canada october 2016 - 7 JOE ROHRER - BACHIN’ IT To Serve You Better As a BMAC member, you can expect prompt, courteous and comprehensive service. And that’s exactly what you’ll get each and every time you need help with your membership. That’s our promise to you. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Visit our online membership services - www.bluegrasscanada.org/ Members Services to fill out a membership registration form, renew your membership, or make changes to your current member- ship profile. Changes in address, email, phone number, etc. are im- portant for us to be able to contin- ue delivering services to you. Membership Expiry You will find the membership expiration date included on your Bluegrass Canada magazine mail- ing label. Please use the enclosed expiry notice letter to mail in your renewal cheque, or simply log in to your account online and pay by credit card or Paypal. You can mail a renewal cheque at any time to: Membership Co-ordinator Gord DeVries 22790 Amiens Road Komoka ON N0L 1R0 Help Us grow our membership Each magazine includes a mem- bership application form. If you like the magazine, pass the form on to a friend. Our only revenue source is through the annual membership fees and advertising. More members = more services. Bluegrass Canada is produced and managed 100% with unpaid volunteer labour, so your money will directly affect our ability to improve. oh how peaceful !!!!!!!!!! ol’ wusername is on a week long journey somewhere beyond the edge of the swamp. NEW HOUSE RULES APPLY ! toilet seat up . ice cream for breakfast. t v past 11:00 pm toilet seat up . pie and ice cream for lunch. toilet seat up. pop cicles and beer all day . toilet seat up . buy new dinner ware the day be- fore she gets back . ( easier than washin the mess I got in the kitchen ! ) toilet seat ~ stuck in the UP position ~~~~~oh oh 2nd full day of “BACHIN IT “. situation becoming desperate ! popcicles and beer have now been rationed. nothing in the fridge to eat (no clean plate to eat it off anyhow !) found a two week old chicken wing in the couch , the only thing be- tween me and starvation ! last night I went next door to beg for food , my neighbour lady siced her 22 year old Pomeranian on me. total collapse of society im- minent ~~~~I need a hug !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3rd FULL DAY OF “ BACHIN IT “ seem to be suffering from delirium. popcicles ~gone. beer long gone! last night I was forced to eat the cheese out of the mouse trap. neighbours have their pets locked inside after I was seen chasin a stray cat around the backyard. international red cross , unicef and the Girl Guides of Canada have all been contacted. yesterday I stood on the corner by the feed store with a tin cup begging for money for food. a kind gentleman dropped a loonie in my cup and smiled. a lady came out of the feed store , smiled at me , gave me a hug , picked my pockets, ( while huggin me ) drove off in MY truck with MY wallet , and the loonie from my tin cup ! tried crawlin into the dumpster behind the coffee shop , but was chased off by a snarlin racoon and a swarm of yellow jackets ! luckily the man who drives the gar- bage truck saw me starin at a chunk of granny’s meatloaf that was layin in the gravel on the side of the road gave me what was left of his lunch , and a ride home . I’m soooo hungry , and soooo lone- ly ,,,,, I think I’m gonna cry . 4th FULL DAY OF BACHIN IT ~~ finally got fed !!!!!!!!!!!!( well kinda) I snuck into the kitchen at the Odd- fellow’s Hall where they was havin a bridal shower and scarfed down a whole bunch of little egg salad sandwiches ,some fancy pastries and half a pot of tea. I was loadin my pockets with cook- ies when the mother and sister of the bride come a’runnin swingin a half full diaper bag and the handle off a string mop ! from somewhere deep inside me I heard a little voice that said , ~~~~~~~RUN FORREST ~~~~~~~~~~~~~RUN~~~~~~~~~ By Joe ‘Honest t’ Goodness’ Rohrer Joe Rohrer is the bass player for Rhyme N Reason8 - Bluegrass Canada october 2016 THEORY At the writing of this article, I am travelling out of province and can- not talk about the many talented bands who share their music with us out west to any just degree. I have decided instead to broach a topic so dangerous, so controver- sial, as to risk not only retribution, but downright nastiness from some readers. Yes. This is about that dirty word … “Theory”! I can’t count the number of mu- sicians I have met who can play wonderfully in a jam and know what “one, four, five” is in the key of ‘G’ but can’t live without a capo and don’t understand much more than the basics of this topic. Of course there are a lot of accom- plished musicians who know a lot more about music theory or who know very little music theory but If you were to play these notes on the piano you would notice a few interest- ing things. I know, I know, who plays piano in a blue- grass jam. Please bear with me and I promise to relate this to stringed instruments directly. C is the white key that has only two black keys to its right. (see above). You will notice that then there are two white keys without a black key in between. Then there are three white keys with black notes in between each and the last are two white keys side by each again. When you go from a white key to a black key it is the musical distance of a half step or a half tone, (It’s the same as moving up one fret on a stringed instrument). See I told you I’d get there! If you then move up from that black key to the next white key you go another half step. Remember that two halves make a whole, so if you just move from one white key, let’s say C, up to the next white key, D, you have moved a ‘whole’ tone higher; (Moving up two frets is equivalent to moving two halves or one whole). If you examine the white notes in the C scale you will find then that the arrangement of the white keys can play circles around most of us; present company included. But I have found that when it comes to music theory, a little can go a long way. It is far beyond the scope of one article to cover all of the topic of music theory, but fully possi- ble to touch on some of the most important relationships of scales and chords that are very useful to know when you are playing with other musicians. That is the focus of this article and if you readers are hungry for more, I would be happy to oblige. Everything re- lates to the scale. That being said, the scale could be Major, Minor, Whole tone, or some other more exotic sounding and quite frankly hard to pronounce thing that is too far down the the- ory rabbit hole for us to start with here. Let’s just stick with the Major Scale and see how it relates to the chords that are generally found in it. Often theory books use the “C” scale to draw examples from as the “C” scale has no sharps or flats and can be played on the piano on all the white keys. So the “C” scale is made up of the notes; C D E F G A B and C. by Bryon ThompsonBluegrass Canada october 2016 - 9 fourth note in the C scale starts on the F note. If you then count up from that F note 1,3, 5 you get the notes F, A, C. That spells the F major chord or the ‘Four Chord’ in the Key of C. So far all the chords we have spelled are major triads. This is be- cause they spell a major chord and there are only three notes in them. More often than not, the V chord in music is a chord that includes the notes 1,3,5,7 from the root. That means that we have to count up 7 notes from the G to get to an F note. When we spell this chord we get G,B,D,F. To indicate that we have added a new degree to this chord and it is no longer a ‘triad’ we call it a G7 chord. The 7 tells us that it has the 7th degree from the G added to the chord. Any chord spelled with just a letter name and a number 7 operates as a V chord in some key. It has a special name. The ‘Dominant chord’! It is Domi- nant because it has the strongest sense of movement to another chord. It wants to move to the ‘one’ chord. In this case G7 to C. These ‘Five’ to ‘One’ progressions are found in all music, bluegrass or otherwise. Count up from this ‘five’ chord; 6, 7, 8 to find the ‘one’ chord in any key. If G is V, count up A, B, C and you will arrive at the “One” chord or Cmaj. If we add a 7th degree from the root to any other major or minor chords they become a Maj7 or a min7 respectively, and they act differently. The Maj7 sounds restful and does not want to move and the min7 has lots of colour and wants to move somewhat, but more about that in a minute. The numbers can get a little confus- ing here so let’s use Roman Numer- gives us an arrangement of tones. This arrangement is special because it gives us a Major Scale. They are C to D whole tone, D to E whole tone, E to F half tone, F to G whole, G to A whole, A to B whole and B to C half tone. The arrangement for any major scale then is whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. Try it on any stringed instrument and you will see it works just the same. Told you so … again! You can do this on any stringed instrument on just one string and start on any note you like. If you wanted to do a G scale, start on a G, move up a whole tone to A, whole to B, half to C, whole to D, and whole to E. But now in order to get a whole tone you have to go an F# (the black key above F) because you need to follow the formula of W W H W W W H. Then complete your scale by moving a half tone up to G. Your G scale then has the notes G A B C D E F# G. In other words the scale of “G” has one sharp in it, F#. If you use this formula you can spell any key in music. As a hint, remember that each letter has to have a different name; you can’t have two F’s etc. “So what”! You say. “How is this going to help me in a jam”? Be patient, it’s coming, it’s coming, I promise. To make a long sto- ry short, chords are made up of the notes from that parent scale. Chords are spelled by starting with the first note in them (the name of the chord) and counting up in thirds,1,3,5, or every other note. Let’s go back to C major. C becomes 1, D 2, E 3,F 4, G 5, etc. The “one” chord in the key of C (C major) is made of the 1,3,and 5 from the scale. Hence C major is spelled C, E, G. The chord that starts with the als to refer to the chords in a scale and the plain numbers to refer to the notes in that chord. If we want to spell the V chord (G), in the C scale, we start on the G note and count up 1, 3, 5 and end up with G, B, D or the G major chord. It might be useful to do a quick review of Roman Numerals. Major type chords use large case numerals and minor type chords use small case numerals. We often hear about the Nashville Numbering System. This whole article is I suppose filling in the blanks around that commonly used idea. For our purpose ‘I’ is a large case one, ‘ii’ is small case 2, ‘iii’ is small case 3, ‘IV’ is large case 4, ‘V’ is large case 5, ‘vi’ is small case 6, and ‘vii’ is small case 7. So far we have examined how to spell each major chord in a major key; the “One” the “Four”, and the “Five”. If we start on the D note; the second degree of the C scale and count up 1,3,5; we get another kind of triad. This chord is ‘D minor’ or the chord built on the 2nd de- gree of the C scale. We identify mi- nor chords with small case Roman Numerals, in this case a “ii”. If we look at all the other degrees of the C major scale we find that the mi- nor chord type occurs on the ii, the iii, and the vi. The chords built on the degrees of a major scale follow a specific pattern. The one chord is Major, the two is minor, the three is minor, the four is Major, the five is a Dominant 7, the six is minor, and the seventh is a special chord called diminished. The ‘order of chords’ in any major key is then: Maj, min, min, Maj, Dom7, min, dim. All the background ‘garbletigoop’ above has been written to explain how to find all the chords in any given major key. In our example of the ‘C’ major scale the chords then are: THEORYNext >