$12.00 The official magazine of the Bluegrass Music Association of Canada Keep in touch with Bluegrass in Canada with our news, lessons, and more! Volume 16 Issue 1 January 2022 PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 42167060 bluegrasscanada.org RUSSELL SAWLERRUSSELL SAWLER JACKSON HOLLOWJACKSON HOLLOWTable of Contents No Hollow Sound 12 16 22 26 On the cover Jackson Hollow looking their finest. Columns 5 President Murray Hale’s Message 6 In the Groove with Tom McCreight 51 Editor Mike Kirley’s Message Lessons 8 Mandolin with Emory Lester 10 Banjo with Denis LePage News 36 What’s Going On 40 Ottawa Club Newsletter Listings 33 BMAC Organization Listings 50 Radio on the Air Canada V o l u m e 16 I s s u e 1 $12.00 The official magazine of the Bluegrass Music Association of Canada Keep in touch with Bluegrass in Canada with our news, lessons, and more! Volume 16 Issue 1 January 2021 PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 42167060 bluegrasscanada.org RUSSEL SAWLERRUSSEL SAWLER JACKSON HOLLOWJACKSON HOLLOW JANUARY 2022 BLUEGRASS CANADA MAGAZINE 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS The pandemic has had a silver lining for the young and talent rising bluegrass band Jackson Hollow. Hope for Festivals? Just what we all need - the PEI Bluegrass and Old Time Music Society presents a brand new winter festival. When Bluegrass Felt Blue Lina Thorburn reminisces about the summer that saw no festivals, and how bluegrass can cope. Russell Up a Banjo We captured the banjo player’s idol Russel Sawler for an in-depth interview about his influences and more. 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 16 I s s u e 1 Email: membership@ bluegrasscanada.org Website: bluegrasscanada.org Publisher Murray Hale & Mike Kirley Editor Mike Kirley SUBSCRIPTION One Year $45 / includes Free Grass Roots 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. MEMBERSHIP • Grass Roots Membership: $20/y includes all members of a household up to age 18. Access to online magazine plus all other BMAC online services. • Organizational memberships: See bluegrasscanada.org or contact Gord DeVries at 519-719-2501 or membership@bluegrasscanada.org. SUBMISSIONS Send change of addresses and undeliverable notices of Canadian addresses to BMAC, c/o Gord DeVries, 22790 Amiens Road, Komoka ON NOL-1RO. 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. PRINTED IN CANADA. CANADA POST CANADIAN PUBLICATIONS MAIL SALES PRODUCT AGREEMENT No. 42167060. 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 & Website Gord DeVries gord.devries@rogers.com Advertising Director Arlene Jamieson arlene@venture-interiors.com Advertising Director David Featherstone davidfeatherstone58@gmail.com Director Denis LePage dlepage99@gmail.com Director Eric Holt erich@foothillsbluegrass.com Media Director: Dennis Casey roxden@sympatico.ca Social Media Carol Boyer carol.boyer@sympatico.ca Contributors David Featherstone Gloria Jean Hansen Denis LePage Emory Lester Tom McCreight Linda Thorburn Advertising Rates & Specs Dave Featherstone 705-624-1155 Arlene Jamieson 613-433-0900 Layout James Kerr 705-927-0994 Printing & Distribution Innovative Kaitlyn Gerber 1-888-698-3883 kaitlyn@innovative.ink Millbank, ON Canada 4 BLUEGRASS MUSIC ASSOCIATION OF CANADA BLUEGRASSCANADA.ORG MASTHEADPresident’s Report By Murray HaleThe executive has been busy “Ain’t It Funny How Time Slips Away?” Oh ! I love the Glen Campbell version of that song. They say he had perfect pitch! Yes, Halloween is over and November has sprung upon us. A lot has happened since our October issue. Many “jams” have resumed and “River Valley Wind up Weekend “ festival in Ontario, to name just one, was a success. It was sooooo… good to get back to business as usual (with a few changes. Oh, I know many of us were looking forward to the Central Canadian Bluegrass awards concert again in Huntsville Ontario, but the Deboer Family decided reluctantly to play it safe (healthy) instead of hosting an indoor event at this time. They are looking forward to hosting all their usual festivals in the future . Other promotors in Canada are likewise keen as restrictions ease and vaccination percentages increase. Jams everywhere are resuming as well as we all look forward to the new year. Kudos to the Blueberry Bluegrass Festival committee for once again winning an IBMA award for their winter workshop series. That is an impressive record winning two awards in two successive years. BMAC has been actively seeking news and information from all areas and clubs involved in Bluegrass throughout Canada. If you can help please contact us at bluegrasscanada.org Even in this time of Covid your executive has been very busy planning, networking, gaining insight into digital music, and liaising with Canada Council of the Arts . We are initiating new strategies to move bluegrass forward into the public sector of the Arts. Please check out our website (above) so you can sign up as members of this association and give us your full support. We are a team and with your support we can not only move forward but flourish. We look forward to seeing you all in 2022. Happy New Year!! Cheers, Murray Hale Become a member of the BMAC Email: membership@ bluegrasscanada.org Website: bluegrasscanada.org Start gettin’ picky about Your music... JANUARY 2022 BLUEGRASS CANADA MAGAZINE 5 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Murry Hale, president of the BMAC.The band Cody was formed in the early seventies, and this was their first recording. It was recorded live with a studio audience of about 25 to 30 friends and family, in March of 1978, at Marc Productions, in Ottawa. The title reflects the fact that three of the band members lived in Toronto, two in Montreal, and one in Ottawa. Cody and especially Mike O’Reilly always entertained the audience. They played great music and also embraced the idea that it was “show business.” That’s why they wanted to record live, so they could capture the audience response as well as the music. For those of you who miss Mike’s entertaining style as a performer and as an MC, this LP gives you the opportunity to continue enjoying his wit and off the wall sense of humour. Not everything that they played that day made it to the final LP, but there was a minimal amount of dubbing and retakes subsequent to the studio session. The band consisted of: Mike O’Reilly - lead, tenor vocal, mandolin: Larry Miller – banjo, mandolin, lead and tenor vocals: Brian Riseborough - guitar, lead and baritone vocal: Guy Carpenter – dobro, bass vocal: John Partridge - guitar, lead and baritone vocal: Paul Menard –fiddle: Dick Miller - bass Side 1: Northern Moon (Mike O’Reilly) Reunion: (Mike O’Reilly) Out on the Ocean (Pete Kuykendall) Walk On Willie (Mike O’Reilly) More Often Than Once in a While (Dougal Trineer) Side 2: Jud Burroughs (Mike O’Reilly) Streets of London (Ralph MacTell) Bill Monroe and the Belmonts (Mike O’Reilly) Madawaska: (Instrumental – Mike O’Reilly) Nine Pound Hammer (Merle Travis) Lonesome Valley (A. P. Carter) As you can see, Mike wrote six of the eleven songs on the LP. There is a very informative one-page included with the LP which gives biographic information for each musician, the lyrics to Mike’s four original vocals, and also Dougal Trineer’s song. Side one, cut one, Northern Moon is a fast number that starts with a driving banjo kick-off. There is a very nice and creative fiddle break by Paul Menard. After the song Mike introduces the band members with his usual comedic wit. You can tell at this point that he has the audience in the palm of his hand, as they buy into his applause routine – normal, thunderous, and stop. Cut two is Reunion, a soulful tale about a man returning to his hometown, after serving ten years in prison. He expects/hopes his sweetheart is waiting for him. However, he arrives only to discover that it is her wedding day. Not the reunion he had been anticipating. Out On The Ocean comes next. Pete Kuykendall, a banjo player and longtime editor and general manager of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine, wrote this fast, driving song. No harmony, as this is a vocal solo by Mike. Once again we get to enjoy his incredible vocal range. The fourth cut is another Mike original story song – Walk On Willie. The Civil War has ended and Willie, a southern soldier, is making his way home, and suffering from the trauma of war. There is a very tasty four-way break – banjo/dobro/fiddle/banjo. In last verse we hear a touch of the ghostly supernatural that Mike was fond of incorporating into his songs: A reflection on one of the most entertaining bands of the seventies and early eighties. Mike O’Reilly had people rolling in the aisles in this live performance. A Tale of 3 Cities – Cody 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. 6 BLUEGRASS MUSIC ASSOCIATION OF CANADA BLUEGRASSCANADA.ORG IN THE GROOVEThis is followed by a commercial for Dr. Ballard’s dog food, where the band members join in with barking and meowing sound effects. To conclude side one Cody plays a hurtin’ country tune, More Than Once In a While, written by Dougal Trineer, who was a Montreal based singer/songwriter, and a friend of the band. He and Paul Menard were members of The Hackamores, a popular band in the Montreal/Quebec country music scene. Another Mike song opens side two – Jed Burroughs. It tells the story of Jed taking in and raising a young man, who has fond memories of his time with him. It ends with a ghostly inference: Sometimes on a summer’s night I hear his fiddle play. Another comedic insert follows, where Mike employs one of his many “voices” to tell the story of a guy who gets hooked on drugs and becomes “a jelly head – not good for anything – works for the government.” The second cut showcases the lead vocals of John Partridge as he gives a sterling rendition of a Ralph MacTell song – Streets of London. The band provides very sensitive and appropriate backup support. Dion and The Belmonts recorded Teenager In Love in May of 1959. This was written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. Doc wrote over 1500 songs and is considered one of the greatest songwriters of American popular music. His song list includes: Save The Last Dance For Me, This Magic Moment, Viva Las Vegas, Little Sister, and Teenager In Love. Mike gives a hilarious intro telling about young teenagers at their first dance. He calls Cody’s rendition: Bill Monroe and The Belmonts. Again we are in awe of Mike’s vocal range and abilities. A monologue about drive-in movies is between cuts three and four. Mike was such a strong personality on stage that other band members were often forgotten, However, with Larry on banjo, Guy on dobro, John and Brian on lead and rhythm guitar, and Paul on fiddle, this band could hold their own instrumentally in any situation. Cut four, Madawaska, is the only instrumental number included on A Tale of Three Cities. Mike is the composer and plays a very fine mandolin on it. It has a “moody” beginning and ending, and you can almost feel the energy of the mighty Madawaska as the band digs into this fine tune. The last two cuts are old standards. Brian sings lead and Mike sings tenor on the classic Merle Travis song Nine Pound Hammer. Nice to have a vocal duet featured, along with the band’s usual strong instrumental contributions. The last track is an A. P. Carter song, Lonesome Valley. Several features stand out here … there is no banjo, dobro, or fiddle. Larry Miller sings the tenor part and picks excellent mandolin turn-arounds between the verses. Guy Carpenter sings a bass harmony line to make this a quartet number, and a pleasant ending to a fine LP. Brian and Larry are playing together in The New General Store. John is playing banjo with Sweetgrass. Dick lives on Salt Spring Island and plays in two, non- bluegrass, bands. Guy Carpenter still lives in Montreal, but is not performing. Paul and Mike have both passed on. Three more points worth mentioning: Jerry Douglas produced A Tale of Three Cities; Guy Carpenter, a very talented commercial artist, created the stylized CODY logo; the LP can be found on Youtube, in case it is not in your vinyl collection. And only the old folks remember The tale of Willie long ago But in the cold winds of each November Softly Willie comes and goes. JANUARY 2022 BLUEGRASS CANADA MAGAZINE 7 IN THE GROOVEHere’s a really fun tune to spend some time with, the old ‘Cattle in the Cane’, in the key of A, with the first half of the tune based in the key of A major, and the second half of the tune based in the mysterious key of A minor, which has long been a favorite key of mandolin players far and wide. The structure of this tune is similar in both parts, with the first part featuring A and G, and the second part featuring A minor and C. I’ve heard many of my favorite musicians play this, and add their style and ideas to it, which has influ- enced my version here. The version shown here is in ‘2 octaves’, which allows us to explore the fretboard with this melody in several ways…. and a great way to cover more fretboard ‘ground’ and learn the lan- guage of the mandolin even more. Have fun with ‘Cattle in the Cane’, and hope the improv- ing times will inspire more music and more playing with others! Emory Lester is an icon in the Canadian bluegrass scene. Although he is a Virginia native, Emory now calls Ontario home. His mandolin playing is revered worldwide. By Emory Lester Emory continues two octave concept for more interesting playing CATTLE IN THE CANE When you advertise in Bluegrass Canada, you: Target a niche demographic Get seen in digital and print Support Canadian Bluegrass To learn more, contact: Arlene Jamieson arlene@venture.interiors.com David Featherstone davidfeatherstone58@gmail.com Introduce yourselves to our readers 8 BLUEGRASS MUSIC ASSOCIATION OF CANADA BLUEGRASSCANADA.ORG MANDOLINWhen you advertise in Bluegrass Canada, you: Target a niche demographic Get seen in digital and print Support Canadian Bluegrass To learn more, contact: Arlene Jamieson arlene@venture.interiors.com David Featherstone davidfeatherstone58@gmail.com Introduce yourselves to our readers CATTLE IN THE CANE (Key of A) (2 octave version) JANUARY 2022 BLUEGRASS CANADA MAGAZINE 9 MANDOLINNext >