BMACC Notes—August 2009 Page 1 BMACC Notes The Bluegrass Music Association of Central Canada Newsletter—Volume 3 Issue 3—August 2009 www.bmacc.ca HARD RYDE tearin’ it up at BEAN BLOSSOM 2009 BMACC Notes—August 2009 Page 2 BOARD OF DIRECTORS President – Denis Chadbourn Home: 705-776-7754 Work: 705-474-2271 Vice-president – Donald Tarte 888-876-3369 Secretary – Wes Lowe 519-539-8967 Treasurer – Roland Aucoin 905-635-1818 Directors at Large Gord deVries 519-668-0418 Cindy deBoer-Winterbottom 905-331-9915 Karen May 705-788-4362 Steve Pritchard 416-696-1241 Bernie Melosh Larry Johnston 519-576-9768 Brother Brian Powley 613-374-3888 WHAT”S INSIDE From the President—Page 3 River Valley 25th Anniversary—Page 4 Out Among the Stars—Pages 5/8 Bean Blossom 2009—Page 9 Orono Festival—Page 10 Ottawa and Seaway Valleys—Page 11 Organizational Memberships – Pages 12/13 Bluegrass on the Radio—Pages 13/14 Bluegrass Bands & Helping Hands—Page 14 Quinte’s Isle Festival—Page 14 Sally Creek Festival—Page 17 Letter to the Editor—Page 18 Editorial Comment—Page 18 Board Meeting Dates—2009 September 19th The meeting dates below are provided to allow members to make their concerns and issues known to a Board Member in advance of the meetings. ADVERTISING RATES Publicize your event, band or organization in “NOTES” or on our website. BMACC NOTES Single Issue Annual 1/8 Page (Business Card) $26.67 $ 96.01 1/4 Page 33.33 119.99 1/2 Page 53.33 191.99 Full Page 80.00 288.00 Envelope stuffing is 10¢ per insert WEBSITE Quarterly Annual 100 px X 250 pixels $20.00 $ 72.00 200 px X 250 pixels 26.67 96.00 400 px X 250 pixels 46.67 168.00 Annual General Meeting November 21st OBITUARY DOYLE, Garret "Dude" Garret Doyle passed away peacefully on July 19, 2009, with his loving wife Sandy and family at his side in Hamilton. He is sadly missed by family, friends and fans. Survived by: his mother Mabel, siblings Douglas, Charmaine Smith (Kenny), and Darren, children Garret Jr. and Amie, grandchildren Carly and Haley and godchildren Tracy and Kimberlyn. He was predeceased by his father John. Garret was an inspiration and mentor to many in the Bluegrass Community, entertaining throughout the years with many bands, most recently Level Crossing. One of the highlights of his career was playing on the Ryman stage with Blue Mule. Friends and family gathered at DODSWORTH & BROWN Funeral Home in Kitchener to reminisce. Please consider becoming a Board Member. You only need to be a member in good standing and share a passion for this music that we all love and want to preserve and promote. We will make you welcome at the Annual Meeting in Huntsville. BMACC Notes—August 2009 Page 3 I would like to start out by recognizing Eleanor Bell, for getting bluegrass included on the bill, at one of Northern Ontario’s largest music festivals, the Mattawa Voyageur Days. Bringing bluegrass before new markets, is integral to its’ survival. We need more go- getters, like Eleanor, who are actively promoting bluegrass, and who verily believe that more people need to be exposed to it. I’ll say it again…we, who practice the craft of bluegrass, need to realize that the best way to grow our fan-base, is to expose more people to it. It sounds simple enough, but it’s actually a very difficult thing to do. Sometimes it means travelling long distances just to play for free, or, if you are lucky enough, just to break even. (Actually, playing for free can be profitable at the right venue, for bands with merchandise for sale.) Sometimes it means stepping outside of our comfort zone, and playing in front of audiences with non-bluegrass interests, despite the risk of rejection. Let’s face it, playing bluegrass festivals is easy; the audiences there expect to hear bluegrass music; however, exposing a non-traditional audience, (a rock audience for example), to bluegrass…takes guts. I’m sure some of you are shaking your heads, thinking…bluegrass at a rock festival? That’s just not right! Well, respectfully, I beg to differ. Listen-up! Without going into are lengthy dissertation on the influence of bluegrass on rock, (we will save that for another day), who among us hasn’t heard cross-over tunes played at a bluegrass festival? Who has not heard “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” a Beatles’ classic, performed on a bluegrass stage? Or have a listen to “Hot Dog,” by Led Zepplin; the beat falls squarely on 4/4 timing, and it is quintessentially a bluegrass song. One of my favorite bands of all time, The Eagles, started out as a country-roots-rock band, regularly featuring banjo and four- part harmony, especially on their earlier stuff. More recently, and closer to home, the Abrams Brothers have had huge success with the Cold Play hit “Viva la Vida.” Breaking through genre barriers is a tough and sometimes painful thing to do. Attempts to do so, frequently result in disappointment. Hey, not everyone likes bluegrass the first A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT time they hear it...but at the very least…the seed gets planted. (It will not grow otherwise). Some listeners in the audience will already have heard bluegrass in the past, at a family gathering or something, and it will strike a nostalgic chord with them. It can be extremely rewarding when someone you’ve just won over, approaches you back stage after your performance, and wants to buy your CD. For some people, the hillbilly-deliverance stigma that haunts bluegrass, is still out there. We must do our best to dispel it. Right now, bluegrass is caught somewhere between, being on the fringe, and being mainstream. All of us who love bluegrass must work together to tip the scales in our favor. So, to all you bands and fans out there… YOU are bluegrass salesmen, looking for new markets for your product. Image is everything. You are the machinery that sows the seeds, and reaps the harvest. The rewards are commensurate with the risks you take. You are limited, only by your imagination. Look for new opportunities to play gigs, outside of obvious ones. But most importantly, the real key to succeeding is PERSEVERENCE!!!. If you knock on enough doors, some new ones will open, just like they did for Eleanor Bell. It need not be a rock festival that you solicit an appearance at… bluegrass, by its inherent make-up, includes gospel, old time country, folk, fiddle, and the list goes on. It is up to you to make the venue owners and the music festival directors see, that bluegrass must be heard. Warm regards, Denis Chadbourn BMACC President FINDING NEW MARKETS FOR BLUEGRASS Eleanor Bell BMACC Notes—August 2009 Page 4 The Bluegrass Music Association of Central Canada, would like to congratulate Mr.Tony Deboer, and the Rivervalley Festival crew, for celebrating their landmark 25 th anniversary this year. This 2009 milestone event ran from July 29 th to Aug. 2 nd, for 5 days consecutively. This is rumored to make it the longest Canadian festival, playing live music on consecutive days. Tony, and his family of volunteers, work so very hard each and every year, to bring this longstanding gathering to fruition, and each mem- ber of the team deserves credit. Headliners for this year’s event included the silky sounds of Russell Moore & III Rd Tyme Out, the blistering guitar mastery of Josh Williams, and the award winning vocals of Dale Ann Bradley. The anniversary also included a reunion of the Grassworks bluegrass band, and an especially endearing original song, written to commemorate the event, performed by Scotia Junction. The Rivervalley festival has now been officially recognized by our federal government, vide Can- ada Post, by virtue of the local post office adopting the festival’s Bucky Beaver logo as it’s emblem, which shall be affixed to outgoing mail. From my perspective, there were record numbers of attendees, and the music was some of the best I have ever heard. But you can bet, that Tony will not rest on his laurels, and that next year’s event will be one you won’t want to miss. “Col. Tony Deboer, I salute you sir!” (Tony is a Kentucky Colonel) Denis Chadbourn President BMACC HAPPY 25TH ANNIVERSARY RIVER VALLEY FESTIVAL DEBOER FAMILY Tony taking a break BMACC Notes—August 2009 Page 5 OUT AMONG THE STARS Random Bits of news from the world of Bluegrass By Tom McCreight David Davis and the Warrior River Boys have a new CD entitled "Two Dimes and a Nickel". You can listen to some of his music from his last Rebel recording on myspace Folding Bass For the traveling up-right bass player: no more bulky road cases for “Bringing Mary Home” - Tom Gray tells the story: "I was there in 1963 for the Bill Clifton recording sessions in which Bringing Mary Home was first recorded. The song, written by Kingston and Mank, with a totally different melody, was sent to Bill by Don Pierce of Starday records with a suggestion for Bill to record it. No one liked the melody of the demo, but the words told a great story of the ghost girl who reappears every year on the anniversary of her death, asking for a ride. So Bill asked John Duffey to write a new melody for it. John sensed this could be a hit. The melody John wrote is the one we bluegrassers always hear for the song. We recorded it in September of 1963 in Pete Kuykendall's basement studio in Falls Church VA, shortly before Clifton moved to England. It was released the following year on Starday's subsidiary, Nashville Records #2018. The musicians in the session were the John Duffey, Eddie Adcock, Charlie Waller, Tom Gray, Roy Justice, Paul Justice, and Mike Seeger. Immediately, we (The Country Gentlemen) began performing the song on all live shows we did. However, we felt we should not record it ourselves until Bill Clifton's record was released. Tony Hazzard Now here's a sales pitch: Ability to play the banjo soon places one in a social position to pick and choose from scores of social invitations. Everywhere, the banjoist is assured of a hearty welcome. From THE BANJO, a pamphlet published by Gibson, 1927. East Tennessee State University to possibly offer Bluegrass major Marion Stiles writes in the East Tennessean: Although ETSU is already famous for bluegrass music, the school is taking it to the next level by creating the first ever Bachelor of Arts in bluegrass, old time and country music. By Spring 2010, the program is hoping to make the idea of a bluegrass major into a reality. The directors of the bluegrass, old time and country music program want to provide an extensive education for their students beyond what the minor in bluegrass can offer. "There is a lot of demand for the major among students," said Raymond McClain, the director of the program. "I think our industry is also ready for a pool of academically trained professionals." Jack Tottle started ETSU's bluegrass education in 1982 with little support from the community at the time. People felt that bluegrass and country music were not educational subjects. However, the students proved the many benefits of this education. Several have taken their talent and skills they learned and have won Grammy awards, honors from the International Bluegrass Music Awards (IBMA), the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. Vern Gosdin RIP Vern Gosdin died in Nashville at age 74, on Tuesday, April 28/09. His country catalogue is extensive and studded with hits, but he was also involved in a number of bluegrass projects. See “OATS” (Continued on page 6) Once Clifton's recording was released, it was recorded by The Country Gentlemen, but by then, I was no longer in the band. The Gents on that recording were John Duffey, Charlie Waller, Eddie Adcock, and Ed Ferris. Another historical note: on the album cover of the "Bringing Mary Home" album, is a photo, taken through the dashboard of a car of a girl dressed in white, representing Mary the ghost. The person who posed as the ghost girl was Ann Hill, ex-wife of Pete Kuykendall, and mother of Glen Kuykendall. She is the same Ann Hill who co-wrote several songs with John Duffey. In the years since then, I have on occasion, played with Bill Clifton on tour. He tells that in many countries where he sings that song, people come to him to claim that the story actually happened there in that country. Bill is saddened that the Gents left out one of the verses in the original lyrics." Tom Gray From Tony Hazzard, the author of "Fox On The Run": "Yes, 'twas I who wrote it. I won a BMI award from the Country Music Association for it. Last Christmas a friend gave me a CD of 23 different bluegrass versions. The lyrics on the internet aren't very accurate and there's another, unknown, verse which I wrote after the recorded versions came out. Middle (unknown) verse goes: It was many years ago, but it feels like yesterday When she led me through the corn on that fateful summer's day. I saw the sunlight in her hair; I saw the promise in her eyes; and I didn't even care that her words of love were lies. The original words of the last verse are: Come raise your glass of wine and fortify your soul. We'll talk about the world and the friends we used to know. I'll illustrate a girl who wandered through my past. She didn't care to stay; the picture cannot last." BMACC Notes—August 2009 Page 6 Lonesome River Band Nine videos from 1993 have been released to you tube. This is the original version of The Lonesome River Band a real treat to see and hear. Go to enjoy. The Lewis Famiy Retires. As reported by Ted Lehmann "Chatted at some length last night with Little Roy.” He was very sad that illness has forced the retirement of his sisters, but determined to stay positive and work with The Lizzy Long Band, (Lizzy is his protégé), and the rest of this quite good, new band. They will be performing a mixture of gospel and traditional bluegrass along with continuing to include Little Roy's clowning routines. He was very clear that he knew his sisters could no longer continue, but that there would always be a place on the bus for them if they thought they could travel." Ted Faris Family ..... Last time on the road...A message from Bob Faris: Faris Family will discontinue touring at the end of November 2009. Our final show will be SPBGMA Thanksgiving Weekend Festival in Newton, IA. Bluegrass music has certainly provided a road less traveled for our family. We have performed together for the past 15 years touring through 38 states in the U.S. and Ontario. Through it all we have loved our fans. We have always tried to play our music from our hearts. We are honoured that so many have listened with theirs. It has been a breathtaking, frustrating and exciting journey worth every step. We have truly been blessed by our experience together and through the friendships that have developed over the years with our many fans and industry peers. We will miss all of you. Many of you know that our son Eddie Faris began work with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder in January of this year. He sings baritone and plays arch-top and (Continued from page 5) OATS Cleveland A new recording from Butch Baldassari's label, Sound Art. It is called, "The Road Home" A tribute to Butch Baldassari. This is a great collection of music. Some of the best acoustic performers pay homage to the late Butch Baldassari, mandolin master and friend. All proceeds from this CD go to a college fund set up on behalf of Butch's son, Blake Baldassari. Artists participating in this project: John Carlini; Tim O'Brien; Steve Kaufman; Beppe Gambetta & Carlo Aonzo; Tom Rozum; Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder; Ron Block; Chris Jones & The Night Drivers; Keith Little; Tony McManus; Sam Bush; Robin Bullock; John Reischman and The Jay Birds; David Grisman; Jim Richter and Will Kimble; Mike Compton; Scott Tichener; Don Stiernberg; Roland White; Nashville Mandolin Ensemble. Tyler Beckett Joins The Chapmans "We met Tyler last November in Huntsville, ON, where he was playing with a couple of Canadian bands, Hard Ryde, and Traditionally Wound Bluegrass. We got into a late night jam with him on our last night there, and told him if he ever wanted to relocate to the Ozarks to play fulltime, to give us a call. In April he made a trip down to Springfield to rehearse, and we all agreed it was a good fit. So July 11th Tyler will be joining The Chapmans on stage for the first time in St. Louis, New Brunswick, then relocating to Springfield to join the band full time. After twenty years playing together, we're all very excited about the new sound that a fiddle in the band is adding, which is forcing us to rethink the way we play the same old songs with a new instrument in the mix. It also expands our possibilities when writing and arranging new material." You know you're getting OLD when: It's more important to find a place on stage for your fan than your monitors. The waitress is your daughter. (Continued on page 8) flat-top guitar as well as mandolin for Mr. Ricky. He married his wife Jeana Martin-Faris of The Martin's in 2008. They are expecting their first child in November. We look forward to watching their family and careers blossom in the coming years. Our eldest son James has begun to pursue his political interests having been elected to city council in Oskaloosa, KS. He will be married in the Fall of 2009. Along with his fine mandolin and vocal work, our youngest son John will be taking time to pursue his interest in cinematography and film score composition. Our second son Rick - along with being twice named SPBGMA Midwest 'Guitar Performer of the Year' is an accomplished luthier and vintage instrument repairman. Browse his work and picking ability at Rick is a gifted vocalist. He is interested in pursuing a performance career as well. He is married and currently lives in Topeka, KS. You can email him at We want to especially thank the many promoters who have allowed us to grace their stage over the years and the many DJ and music programmers who have played our music. Mom and I have enjoyed our time together with our sons and the music we have shared - but it is time the boys start pursuing their own careers and seeing to their own families. Thanks and May God Bless! Bob Faris FARIS FAMILY The Earl Scruggs Centre and Museum The revered and esteemed Earl Scruggs was in Shelby, NC on June 19th for a concert to help raise funds for the Earl Scruggs Center and museum to be located in the 1907 historic Cleveland County Courthouse building. Here's a link to the Destination See “OATS” BMACC Notes—August 2009 Page 7 BMACC Notes—August 2009 Page 8 Most of your crowd just sways in their seats. Your gig stool has a back. All you want from groupies is a foot massage & back rub. You check the TV schedule before booking a gig. You're related to at least one band member. You stop the set because your ibuprofen was left backstage. You actually attended an original Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys performance. You buy instruments based on their weight instead of their tone. You remember six different festival names for the same location. During breaks, you now go to the van to...lay down! Bill Harrell RIP Bill Harrell died on Wednesday, June 24/09. Another great one is gone forever. Historic Photos Photos from the 1949 Kentucky Mountain Barn Dance Song Book can be found Scans of the entire booklet, along with many others, are on the bgcollector site set up by Tom Gamberzky: The site is full of photos, posters, flyers, song books, & other memorabilia. This gets you directly to the song book scans: Canadian Saw Players Association. The president and founder of the Canadian Saw Players Association is Gene Hardy at Good Home Grown Music Newsletter sign-up "There is now a link on the top of the Good Home Grown Music home page at (Continued from page 6) OATS talented musicians first thought of working together on a more permanent basis. After stints as bandmates with Rhonda Vincent & The Rage and Dale Ann Bradley, the two are now joining forces again to present the newest version of Flamekeeper."Mike's playing just knocks me out and when you're playing with him and you're a part of that groove, it's just one of the best things in the world", states Adams. "I am so excited to be working with him and his great band." The admiration and mutual respect between the two men is quite evident. "Tom Adams is one of the most incredible musicians I've ever had the opportunity to play with", remarks Cleveland. "He is the king of taste and timing in my opinion and it is going to be so awesome to work with him again after all these years." Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, fronted by IBMA's 6-time Fiddle Player Of The Year, also consists of Jesse Brock on mandolin, Marshall Wilborn on bass and Jessie Baker on banjo. Tom Adams will begin his tenure as guitarist and lead singer with the band on August 7th at Bluegrass In The Park in Henderson, Kentucky. James King Band - New Mandolin Player Effective July 27, 2009, Kevin Prater left the James King Band to pursue other avenues. Ron Spears will be joining the band, handling the mandolin/guitar and vocal duties. sign up for our newsletter. We are very excited to be on our third issue." Dixie Hall New CD Release by Herschel Sizemore "After months of hard work I am happy to announce the release of the new CD as of today. As stated earlier we had not named the CD, but decided on the title B- Natural. I'm excited about this CD. All the tunes I wrote myself and it's on my own label, Amandolena Records. Musicians with me on this new CD include: Mike Bub - bass, Alan Bibey- harmony mandolin and lead guitar, Jimmy Haley - rhythm guitar, Ron Stewart - fiddle, Terry Baucom - banjo. Some of the best. For more information: Bluegrass Videos An online catalogue of links to bluegrass videos....... 400 or so links. Tom Adams to join Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper. Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper have announced the addition of IBMA multi- award winner Tom Adams to the band. Adams will be taking on lead vocal and guitar duties in place of the recently departed Darrell Webb. Jeff White has been filling Darrell's spot on an interim basis. First gaining national recognition more than twenty years ago with the legendary Jimmy Martin, banjo master Tom Adams' debut recording, Right Hand Man, was hailed as the "heir apparent" to Earl Scruggs' Foggy Mountain Banjo. While banjo player extraordinaire has been his main role for most of his music career, Adams is equally proficient on guitar and has been performing for the past year as guitarist and lead singer with Bill Emerson and Sweet Dixie. Adams is a winner of many IBMA accolades. Perhaps it was in 2004 when Tom Adams and Michael Cleveland won IBMA's Instrumental Album of the Year for Live At The Ragged Edge that the two BMACC Notes—August 2009 Page 9 BEAN BLOSSOM 2009 My good buddy Joe Rohrer accompanied me to Bean Blossom this year. I must admit it is a treat travelling with Joe. His mind works in mysterious and funny (Ha Ha) ways. Kind of like mine. It rained almost constantly, I think eight days out of the eleven we were there, but we didn’t let that dampen our enjoyment of the festival. As always, the young people make the festival for me. The Bluegrass Youth Boot Camp was another success with some seventy kids participating. As well as the Boot Camp you can hear kids playing excellent music all over the park. One highlight for me was that Canada was more than ably represented by Hard Ryde. They put on one of the best shows I’ve ever seen them perform. They sounded fantastic, played with their usual high energy and looked great in dark suits and red shirts with Canadian flag stick pins in their ties. They blew the audience away. We heard a lot of people asking just who those guys were and we told them. Congratulations on a fantastic job guys. You did us proud. The other highlight was our favourite young folks, the New Old Timers, played the main stage. Two of these young men, Josh Coffey and Aaron Williams, are the boys that appeared at one our jams four years ago. The rest of the band has changed over the years. Josh and Aaron always make it a point to look us up each year. They did a fine job on the stage and we look forward to great things from this group in the future. As usual, the rest of the show comprised a first rate line up making for a week of unforgettable entertainment with perennial favourites Dr. Ralph, Bobby Osborne, Jesse McReynolds, J.D Crowe and James King. Other groups putting on great performances included Don Rigsby and Midnight Call, Lonesome River Band, Country Gentlemen, Longview and many, many more. The Bean Blossom Brown County Jamboree Preservation Foundation, Inc. is still working hard to gain members and gather donations to fund the purchase of the park from the Dillman family. The aim is to turn this lovely wooded park into a green space in perpetuity as a venue for musical events throughout the year. Wes Ann Smith and Dan Tyminski Little Roy & Lizzy Show Bluegrass Parkway (Australia) Little Roy & Lizzy Show HARD RYDE Next >