$7.00 The official magazine of the Bluegrass Music Association of Canada Keep in touch with Bluegrass in Canada with our news, lessons, and more! Volume 14 Issue 2 April 2020 PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 42167060 bluegrasscanada.org BanjoBanjo Chris Chris QuinnQuinn Canada GuruGuru isToronto'sisToronto'sTable of Contents Chris Quinn Picks Banjos Well 19 WWEESSTTEERRNN CCAANNAADDIIAANN BBLLUUEEGGRRAASSSS TTOOUURR KLUANE MOUNTAIN BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL June 12 – 14, Haines Junction, Yukon COWICHAN VALLEY BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL June 19 – 21, Lake Cowichan, British Columbia SHADY GROVE BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL August 13 – 16, Sundre, Alberta NIMBLEFINGERS FESTIVAL August 22, Sorrento, British Columbia BLUEBERRY BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL July 31 – August 2, Stony Plain, Alberta NORTHERN LIGHTS BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL August 14 – 16, Ness Creek, Saskatchewan 202 4222 20 2 6 G 6 05 2 A 0 62 4 2 52 4 E 230 2 A 03 2 240402 5 430 4432 0 4 00 2 422 0 2 55 4545 020 2 0000 043 2 3 2 0 5 2 4 5 20 4 0 53 5 3 20 5 0 25 7 5 440 0 4 2 20 4 5 2323 5 020 424 0240 0 0 5 4 2 A GAEAA GEA F#m DAEAA GAEAA GAEAA DUSTY MILLER (Key of A) 202 4222 20 2 66 05 20 62 4 2 52 4 430 4432 000 2 2 4 5 20 4 0 53 5 3 20 5 0 25 7 5 440 0 4 IIMRM IIMRM 24 27 12 On the cover Chris Quinn Columns 7 President Murray Hale's Message 9 In the Groove with Tom McCreight 10 Out West with Linda Thorburn 12 East Coast Bluegrass with Nancy Keddy 50 Editor Mike Kirley's Message Lessons 11 Banjo with Dennis LePage 12 Mandolin with Emory Lester Listings 31 Bluegrass Festival Guide 2020 37 Radio on the Air 45 BMAC Organization Listings Canada V o l u m e 14 I s s u e 2 $7.00 The official magazine of the Bluegrass Music Association of Canada Keep in touch with Bluegrass in Canada with our news, lessons, and more! Volume 14 Issue 2 April 2020 PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 42167060 bluegrasscanada.org BanjoBanjo Chris Chris QuinnQuinn Canada GuruGuru isToronto'sisToronto's APRIL 2020 BLUEGRASS CANADA MAGAZINE 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Our own Denis LePage and his in-depth interview with the Toronto Banjo virtuoso. The Peach Pickers Remembering a bluegrass band from yesteryear that perhaps passed you by at the time. A Better Mandolin Our Emory Lester takes you through an old Dusty Miller classic By Association The world of bluegrass in Canada is ever-expanding, as another association joins the ranks of bluegras.Bluegrass Music Association of Canada BMAC is a non-profit organization devoted to the preservation and promotion 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. Specifically: 1) The establishment of bluegrass categories in the Juno Awards; 2) Lobbying with other musical genres for changes in US laws to allow easier access to the US by Canadian musicians; 3) Establishing a national bluegrass awards program not in conflict with the two existing regional awards events; 4) Sponsoring Canadian Bands to Showcase at IBMA; 5) Supporting Canadian bands efforts to play in other parts of the country; 6) Seeking grant funding to achieve these goals. V o l u m e 14 I s s u e 2 Email: membership@ bluegrasscanada.org Website: bluegrasscanada.org Publisher Gord DeVries Editor Mike Kirley SUBSCRIPTION One Year $25 / Free with Membership The Bluegrass Canada magazine is digitally published quarterly in January, April, July and October, online in the 'Members Only' section of the Bluegrass Canada website. For more information email membership@bluegrasscanada.org. • Individual BMAC memberships: $25/y (Includes printed / mailed copy of each issue in grayscale.) • Individual Online membership: $18/y with access to digital online colour version. • Organizational memberships: $50/y All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without the written permission from the Publisher. PRINTED IN CANADA. CANADA POST CANADIAN PUBLICATIONS MAIL SALES PRODUCT AGREEMENT No. 42167060. Send change of addresses and undeliverable notices of Canadian addresses to BMAC, c/o Roland Aucoin, Unit 84, 205 Plains Road West, Burlington ON L7T 4H3 Please send articles, calendar information, 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 60 days preceding the month of publication. BMAC BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Murray Hale mhale@green-vision.ca 705-845-8112 Vice-President Mike Kirley mikekirley@gmail.com 519-653-4975 Secretary-Treasurer Roland Aucoin raucoin72@gmail.com Membership Roland Aucoin raucoin72@gmail.com 905-572-0116 Social Media Carol Boyer carol.boyer@sympatico.ca General Wilson Moore wmoore@ns.sympatico.ca General Dave Featherstone davefeatherstone58@gmail.com General Lisa Pigeau blue-grass_jam@hotmail.com Website Gord DeVries gord.devries@rogers.com Contributors Denis LePage Emory Lester Nancy Keddy Linda Thorburn Tom Mccreight Gloria Jean Hansen Joe Rohrer Advertising Rates & Specs Gord DeVries 519-719-2501 Layout Mother Invention motherinvention.ca James Kerr 705-927-0994 Printing A & B Print Inc., 519-685-0321 45 Meg Drive London ON N6E 2V2 Distribution Strictly Addressing, 519-433-4242 4-1025 Hargrieve Rd. London ON N6E 1P7 Canada 4 BLUEGRASS MUSIC ASSOCIATION OF CANADA BLUEGRASSCANADA.ORG MASTHEADPresident's Report Hello, Canadian Bluegrass community. Mid winter, a time to reflect and direct our energies to 2020 in Bluegrass. Firstly. let me say that the Canadian bluegrass scene is expanding and becoming involved south of the border. Two highlights I would like to mention are that "the Blueberry Bluegrass Festival at Stoney Plain, near Edmonton, won the oscars of our industry last year" by taking home the Event of the Year honours from the IBMA awards and that the Western Canada Bluegrass Association also organized a hospitality suite at "Wintergrass" which attracts up to 5000 fans and showcases many A-list artists at the Hyatt Regency and Conference centre in Bellevue WA. Cudos to WCBA. This is the time of year when our producers are busy organizing winter concerts and finalizing their lineups for summer festivals. Good luck to all of you who are industriously activating and honing this well oiled machine. Lets get out and support their efforts folks. Band members and musicians are working tirelessly at creating and rehearsing hourly, daily, weekly, monthly etc. Lets appreciate this. Promoters lets hire all that we can of our own Canadian bands. This issue is our popular FESTIVAL issue so file it safely. Personally I'm looking forward to see what's new and current this year so that I can mark my calendar. Please note that the Central Canadian Bluegrass Awards in November will have some positive and encouraging changes thanks to Tony Deboer's perseverance in matters with Deerhurst Resort Managers. It will be a much friendlier venue for jammers and have some incredible showcases again this year. Lets give this extraordinary and exciting event in 2020 our FULL support. Members should see more BMAC presence at festivals this year as we continue to work towards our many goals in support of bluegrass in Canada. By Murray HaleA Bluegrass Summer Mother Invention is passionate about art; that's why we provide our clients with designs as unique as they are. We offer various solutions for musicians, including: logo and brand development album covers posters packaging and apparel design social media marketing BMAC members get 10% off Email us to learn more: info@motherinvention.ca www.motherinvention.ca APRIL 2020 BLUEGRASS CANADA MAGAZINE 7 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Murry Hale, president of the BMAC.Sideline Mile Twelve THE Slocan Ramblers Seth Mulder & Midnight Run AND more ACTS to be announced FEATURING in 2020... TICKETS: YUKONBLUEGRASS.COM JUNE 12-14, 2020 | HAINES JUNCTION, YUKONLadies Choice was a five-piece bluegrass band based in Nova Scotia, with Gordon Stobbe on vocals, mandolin, and fiddle; Bill Doucette - vocals and guitar; Trish Yorke - vocals and fiddle; Skip Holmes - banjo; and Walter Jakeman on bass. You may have heard them at the Carlyle Bluegrass Canada Festival in the late seventies. The leader, Gordon Stobbe, was born in Saskatchewan. He moved to Ontario in the mid seventies and then to the East Coast in 1977. More about the individual band members later. Ladies Choice recorded First Choice in 1980, at Audio Atlantic in Halifax. There are twelve cuts on this LP: six of them are originals – five by Stobbe and one by Skip Holmes. Stobbe also gets credit for the arrangement of two Traditional tunes. As was the accepted custom at the time, the publishing arm of BOOT, Morning Music Limited, has the publishing rights to these originals. The publishing revenue was shared 50/50. The record gets off to a flying start with a hot version of I Couldn't Believe It Was True, a tune recorded by various groups but I'd wager never faster. Eddy Arnold and W. Fowler wrote this song. The listener is immediately aware that this recording will satisfy anyone's longing for fast dexterous mandolin and banjo playing. Next up is a Stobbe original Are You Tired of Me Little Darling, which showcases a clear and distinct lead vocal, and excellent mandolin picking. Next we have the first of four instrumentals: Indian Point Breakdown. This original fiddle tune (G. Stobbe) clearly demonstrates how closely and successfully Gordon and Skip work together as they toss the tune back and forth between the fiddle and banjo, and complement each other's playing. A nice arrangement of I'll Be No Stranger There is the third cut. There is a strong a cappella segment and excellent harmony. Two more cuts finishes off side one: a Herb Campbell composition, Don't Call My Name, which has a fine banjo break, and Stobbe's original instrumental called G Dm D Melody: Ranger's Ramble, Jackman's Reel, Head By The Bay. Gordon and Trish demonstrate some very nice twin fiddling on this cut. Side two kicks off with Silence and Tears, a song made popular by The Country Gentlemen. Tom Gray wrote the tune and Jerry Stuart adapted the words of Lord Byron's poem, When We Two Parted, which was first published in 1816. Tom and Jerry were band mates at that time and still in high school. Next we have a traditional number, Will The Roses Bloom. Excellent split breaks here featuring banjo and fiddle. Another original Stobbe instrumental, Night Flight, follows. This is a catchy tune with an interesting chord structure, and features Gordon on both mandolin and fiddle, as well as Holmes on banjo. The band does a good version of Rank Strangers, an Albert E. Brumley song. The back up work and fills by both banjo and mandolin are a joy to hear. Stolen Moments, a Stobbe original, has well crafted lyrics and some very tasty mandolin and banjo licks. The final cut, Flying Dutchman, is an original instrumental by banjoist Skip Holmes. This is a very enjoyable, fast driving tune, featuring lots of banjo and fiddle and a very soulful fiddle ending. For eight years Gordon Stobbe hosted "Up Home Tonight" – an ATV show in Halifax. The Ladies Choice Bluegrass Band was the house band for the first three years. You can watch several episodes on youtube. For twelve years he hosted a weekly bluegrass radio show, "Bluegrass Express" on CHFX in Halifax. Gordon plays fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and claw hammer banjo. He has written many fiddle instruction books and published tune collections of traditional and original music. He tours and teaches all across Canada. On September 6, 2018 he was presented with the Order of Canada. He was also inducted into the North American Fiddlers' Hall of Fame in recognition of his contribution "to the preservation, perpetuation and promotion of the tradition of old tyme fiddling." Skip Holmes is very involved in music and has ben teaching banjo, mandolin, and guitar over the past twenty some years. Trish Yorke lives near Peterborough, ON and is involved in choir music. Bill Doucette moved to Calgary for quite a while but is back in Halifax now. He is not currently in a performing band. Unfortunately, Walter Jackman passed away in September 2019. As you can tell, I like this LP a lot and have a great deal of respect for the musicianship of the members of The Ladies Choice Bluegrass Band. First Choice – The Ladies Choice Bluegrass Band (BOOT Records # 6008) In the Groove Tom "the Old Coot" McCreight, a renound Toronto bassplayer of "Bluegrass Revival", festival volunteer, merchant, newsletter publisher, promoter, emcee, author, active member of the Toronto Area Bluegrass Committee (TABC), winner of the Central Canadian Bluegrass Awards for Bass Player and also Entertainer of the Year, and a song writer. APRIL 2020 BLUEGRASS CANADA MAGAZINE 9 IN THE GROOVENext >
