Ctba Newsletter 1504
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Volume 37, No. 4 Copyright © Central Texas Bluegrass Association April, 2015 It’s Spring, and the Bluegrass is Coming Up at Salmon Lake he spring bluegrass season kicks off in Grapeland with a “battle of the bands” on T Friday, April 24 with an open stage at the Sunshine Inn at Salmon Lake (that’s the white building down at the west end of the grounds, west of the small pond), followed by a band competition on Saturday afternoon. It’s really just an excuse for bluegrass pickers from all over Texas and Louisiana to descend on Grapeland and jam for a whole weekend. Check the display ad on page 4 of this issue. And all of this just serves Red Molly at Strange Brew Coffeehouse, Austin; March 5, 2015. Left to right, Abbie Gardner, do- bro; Laurie McAllister, bass; Molly Venter, guitar. Photo by K. Brown. Check out Red Molly at www.redmolly.com April birthdays: Darin Aldridge, Junior Barber, Delia Bell, Wayne Benson, Gena Britt, Hylo Brown, Vassar Clements, Stuart Duncan, Pat Enright, Lamar Grier, Jody Rainwater, Doyle Law- son, Kate McKenzie, Todd Phillips, Missy Raines, Larry Rice, Mark Schatz, George Shuffler, Ro- land White, Bill Yates. R.I.P. Elly Mae Clampitt, January 2, 2015. The Central Texas Bluegrass Bulletin is published by the Central Texas Bluegrass Association, a 501(c)(3) tax- exempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational donations. Work published in this Bulletin is used by permission of the writers, artists, and photographers, who retain all copy- rights. Jamie Stubblefield, president Central Texas Bluegrass Association Jason Pratt, vice president Box 9816 Katherine Isgren, treasurer Austin, Texas 78766 Chuck Middleton, membership chair Alice Moore, secretary www.centraltexasbluegrass.org/ Duane Calvin, board member Rob Lifford, board member Jeff White, webmaster Lenny Nichols, board member Ken Brown, newsletter editor 2 to whet your appetite for the Memorial Day weekend festival on May 21-24. The Me- morial Day festival has an especially good lineup this year. Some of the highlights in- clude Dylan Hall and Pure Tradition (one of the headliners for the CTBA’s own festi- val at Hallettsville last summer), Robertson County Line (Jeff Robertson, Adam and Jacob Roberts, Matt Downing; a well-known CTBA member band), and Catahoula Drive. If you go for the Memorial Day weekend, don’t miss Catahoula Drive (Greg Stew- art, banjo; Dennis Stewart, man- do; Jamey Alwell, guitar, and Tres Nugent, bass). I heard these guys at the Labor Day festival last year, and they are absolutely outstand- ing. Superb vocals, powerhouse picking, and a very canny knack for selecting material. And they’re hilarious, too. They put on a great stage show, and will probably have you falling out of your lawn chair. Keep your eye on this band — they’re destined for great things. Another band that’s drawn atten- tion is Volume Five, nominated in 2014 for IBMA Emerging Artists of the Year and Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year. The band members are from Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Mis- sissippi. The band was founded in Catahoula Drive at the Labor Day festival, Salmon Lake, 2008 by fiddler Glen Harrell and September 2014. This is the real hardcore stuff, and these includes Colby Laney (guitar), guys take no prisoners. Photo by K. Brown. Harry Clark (mandolin), Patton Wages (banjo) and Chris Williamson (bass). They have five CDs out now, the latest of which is entitled Voices. The Bordertown Ramblers are yet another band that bears watching, and if they seem to resemble another band you may have seen recently, Making Tyme, it’s not an illu- sion. It’s the same band, but with a different banjo picker. Jordan Kishbaugh has teamed up with Bobby Nichols (guitar), Kenny Snow (mandolin) and Ben Sims (bass) for this version. I haven’t heard this particular configuration yet, but I know these guys well enough to know that the bluegrass will be as good as it gets. It’s probably not too early to start thinking about tickets and lodging for Memorial Day in Grapeland. You can order them online at www.TXBluegrassMusic.com, or send in a mail order with a check (see the ad on page 12). 3 4 Robertson County Line winds up another stellar set at Salmon Lake during the Labor Day festival, September, 2014. Photo by K. Brown. Print Version of the Newsletter he print version of the Central Texas Bluegrass Bulletin has been in existence since 1987 T (and before that, there was the Bluegrass Newsletter, a privately produced publication that began in 1977, even before the founding of the CTBA. If anyone’s interested in the history of the Bulletin, go to the online archive and check Volume 32, No. 2, pages 5-6. At the March board meeting, the CTBA board of directors voted to discontinue the print ver- sion. The last edition of this 28-year press run will be next month, for May. After that, only the online edition in PDF form will be supplied. 5 6 Concert Window by Lenny Nichols hat would you be willing to pay for a live bluegrass concert, cybercast right into your W home? Find out from the folk at Concert Window who regularly schedule bluegrass and other genres of music on a donation-based, pay-what-you-want basis. From February 20-28, they held Bluegrass Roundup, their first ever multi-day bluegrass festival online. Fifty different acts from across the US performed back-to-back sets, festival style, using the Concert Window performance application. Some acts were beamed from concert stages, others from a performer's home, and a hotel room. All were available on digital devices, computer, or television set (depending on software and connections) in high definition video and sound. I could pick and choose the sets I wanted to watch or sit and watch them all, end-to-end. There was traditional bluegrass from artists like Roland White, Mountain Faith, and Circa Blue; more contemporary bluegrass from Jim Lauderdale, Sierra Hull, Lonely Heartstring, Railsplitters, Front Country, Town Mountain, and Barefoot Movement; and new sounds from Mr. Sun, Bryan Sutton, Mike Marshall and Caterina Lichtenberg. Instrument workshops from Ned Luberecki (banjo), Lauren Rioux (fiddle), and Sierra Hull and Casey Campbell (mandolin) were also on the bill. Concert Window's Artist Relations Manager, Emma Beaton, herself a contemporary bluegrass artist, says that bluegrass is the perfect match for an online festival. “A lot of people don’t think that bluegrass fits with new technology. But bluegrass artists have really embraced new technol- ogy, especially online. We’re very proud to be the first company to ever run an online bluegrass festival, welcoming these artists to the Concert Window Community and the online stage. We’re huge bluegrass fans and are excited to have folks doing shows online.” During the Bluegrass Roundup Festival, I saw Bryan Sutton, Town Mountain, the Railsplitters and Austin's own Carper Family. I've also seen fiddler Rayna Gellert and cellist Rushad Eg- gleston on non-festival Concert Window performances. I sat in the audience for a performance of Austin's Lost Pines from Violins Etc., a few months ago. Internet delivery of performances is pretty good, but can vary depending on your internet con- nection, the quality of the performer's microphone and web camera, and the performance of the internet. Most of the concerts I've watched had no problems. A couple had issues that caused them to halt momentarily. I think this is an interesting way to see live performances. Musicians of many musical genres perform every night. Check out the schedule at www.concertwindow.com. The app works on both Windows and Mac computers. You can pay as little as $1, or as much as you like. Some performers include premiums for tips. I've seen personal postcards, CDs, vinyl LPs and signed photographs offered for fixed-amount “tips”. These live performances are interactive. You can make comments or song requests and ask questions. Performers can respond immediately. Concert Window is also a good way for bands to promote themselves and make a little money. Artists don't pay to participate in Concert Window. The app is free, but you do have to provide your own computer, connection, camera and microphone. Artists get paid 70% of the revenue 7 the next day via Paypal or check. Over a recent week one performer made $1,292. Most made a lot less, but there is a lot of potential here. You can also make a highlight video and download a recording of your performance. Check it out at www.concertwindow.com. Old Settlers Fest Please join us at the 29th Old Settlers Music Festival on April 16-19, 2015, just minutes from Austin at the Salt Lick Pavilion and Camp Ben McCulloch. The music continues nonstop for four straight days, with concerts, workshops, and impromptu jam sessions all day and through- out the night. This year’s bluegrass offerings include local favorites Milk Drive and Wood and Wire, in addition to icons Hot Rize, Sam Bush and Dailey and Vincent. Check out www.oldsettlersmusicfest.org for all of the details. CTBA Scholarship We want to once again notify everyone that we are accepting applications for the Willa Porter Music Scholarship Program. The scholarship is awarded to assist the recipient in covering the tuition and room and board at any bluegrass camp or workshop. So please get your applications in soon because the deadline is May 1, 2015. Go here for an application: www.centraltexasbluegrass.org/scholarship.html RayFest 2015 Last year we staged a tribute to Ray Cargo at Hill’s Café, and the turnout was immense, so we’re going to do it all over again.