J u n e 2 0 0 6 VOLUME 25 - NUMBER 6 w w w . n c b s . u s M a y b e l l e W i l d f l o w e r I r i s h - M a y 3 , 2 0 0 6 N O R T H E R N C A L I F O R N I A B L U E G R A S S S O C I E T Y i i f o r a r u n d o w n o f f e s t i v a l s s e e F i n g e r o n F e s t e r s - p a g e 6 NCBS Election Set For Good Old Fashioned Fesitval, July 7-9 July 8 at GOF Festival by Michael Hall by Michael Hall The 13th Annual Good Old Fashioned Wi-Fi hotspot for all attendees with wire- The 2006 Northern California Bluegrass Bluegrass Festival will be held July 7-9, less computer access, sound on both Society annual meeting and election will 2006 at Bolado Park, the San Benito stages by Paul Knight, 100% flushy rest- take place at the Good Old Fashioned County Fairgrounds, in Hollister, CA. The rooms, hot showers, food and craft ven- Bluegrass Festival on Saturday, July 8, three day weekend event features 100% dors, childrens activities, Kids On Stage, between 10:00am and 5:00pm. NCBS top California bluegrass talent and is a shade trees and grass for tent camping, members will vote for candidates for the benefit for the Northern California limited reservable electric and water 9-member NCBS Board of Directors, Bluegrass Society. The advance ticket hook-ups and an onsite dump station for which elects the officers and manages the deadline is June 25. RVers, ice service, a raffle, and pleasant affairs of the Society. Directors serve one evening weather for jamming late into the year terms. Candidate statements and bal- This small, friendly festival has a long tra- nighttime. lots will appear in the July issue of dition of high-end features and services. Bluegrass By The Bay magazine and bal- This year, the GOF will offer a shaded This year's line-up features: Barefoot lots will also be available at the NCBS audience area, a low-power FM radio Nellies, Bean Creek, Birch Lake ....continued on page 3 broadcast of the stage to the camp, a free ....continued on page 6 Varner out! Kennedy in! After a period that can only be described as Prize winning author and well respected jour- far too long Mark Varner has been replaced as nalist Mary Kennedy has announced her editor of Bluegrass By the Bay. “He was kind departure from the position of editor of the of a cross between Lou Grant and the Big Paris Review. Kennedy is best known for her Lebowsky”, said former co-worker Chad role in the post-modern neo-Algonquin move- Hackney. “I don’t know what he did around ment of young writers in late 1990s Prague. here, but it sure wasn’t cleaning up after him- The Rhode Scholar and perennial Nobel nom- self”. “When he wasn’t eating our food out of inee has accepted the job of editor of the lunch room fridge he was a pretty good Bluegrass By the Bay, a music industry trade mentor”, said employee Constance Wong. publication. Mark Varner Mary Kennedy -iÀÛ} >` *ÀÌiVÌ} i Õi}À>Ãà ÃÌÀÕiÌà -Vi £È ,i«ÀiÃiÌ}\ °°Ê>ÀÌÊπ }ÃÊπÊ->Ì>Ê ÀÕâÊπÊÕÃÃÊEÊ >ÌÊ iiÀ}ÊπÊ Àii`ÛiÊπÊ`>ÊπÊ/>ÞÀÊπÊ >ÃÌ> *>ÕÊ i>À`ÊπÊ`Ê-Ì>ÀÊπÊ ÕiÀ`}iÊπÊ>`Ê>ÞÊÌ iÀà 6WULQJHG ,QVWUXPHQWV Ó££Ê>LiÀÌÊÛiÕi π*>ÊÌ]Ê >vÀ> ÈxäÊ{ÎӣΣ ÜÜÜ°}ÀÞ« ÃÌÀ}ðV Editin’ by Mark Varner Bluegrass By The Bay is published monthly by the Northern California Friends, this will be my last issue as Bluegrass Society, a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. The Northern California editor of the BBB. What a fun ride Bluegrass Society was founded in 1982 as the Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society and it’s been! I’m grateful for the oppor- continues to be known by that name in the greater Santa Cruz County area. The tunity to have been entrusted to name was changed in 1999 to reflect the expanded scope of the Society’s activities. bring you all the Bay Area bluegrass The Society brings people together for the preservation, enjoyment and advance- news and keep you informed about ment of bluegrass and related acoustic music through jams, instructional work- NCBS activities. I will continue to shops, concerts, community festivals and this monthly newsletter. be involved in this paper. I will also Bluegrass By the Bay staff and contributors be working in a journalistic capacity Thanks to writers Brenda Hough, Larry Carlin, Chuck Poling, Don Cooper, Mary for California bluegrass. Kennedy, George Martin, Michael Hall Photographs, graphics by Veronica and Mark Varner I’m leaving you in the hands of my good friend and col- NCBS Board of Directors league Mary Kennedy. Mary has been serving as NCBS Brenda Hough, [email protected], Mary Kennedy, Treasurer, [email protected], 408 241-5920 - Lora Hicks, [email protected], 831 623-9401, Gary Mansperger, [email protected], 408 272 9579, Michael Hall, [email protected], treasurer and now moves to the editor position. She’s got 650-596-9332, Mark Varner, [email protected], 831-338-0618, Susy Varian, [email protected] what it takes to do a fine job on the BBB. She’s a great 650-328-1125, Mike McKinley, president, mike@harmony grits.com, Mike Fisher, [email protected], 831-336- writer, she’s very involved in the community and has 2185 plenty of good humor and energy to take the BBB for- Committee Chairs ward. Please help keep this paper Susy Varian, Membership Chair, 650-328-1125, [email protected] Rich Evans, Volunteers - [email protected] lively and informative by contribut- Mark Varner, BBB Editor, 831-338-0618, [email protected] ing to the BBB. Support the NCBS Gary Mansperger, Webmeister, [email protected] - it’s a great club that has done a lot Deadlines: The 15th of the month preceding the desired publication date. for Bay Area bluegrass! Digital Format: To [email protected] - Written submissions must be either ASCII text or Microsoft Word docu- ments. We accept *.tiff, *.jpeg, *.gif, or *.pdf format artwork. Paper format: To Mark Varner, P.O. Box 1245, Note: In last month’s article on the Boulder Creek, CA 95006. We accept manuscript, original photos and camera-ready artwork. Display Ad Rates: Size 1 issue 6 issues retirement of Wild Oats and Honey Full Page: $200.00 $650.00 the BBB ran a photo of the band. Half Page: $80.00 $360.00 Don Cooper was left out of that Quarter Page: $50.00 $225.00 Business Card: $30.00 $135.00 photo. Our apologies to our friend Classified Ad Rates: Non-members: $.15/word; 10-word minimum. Member’s ads are free. Classifieds run in 4 con- Don! Don Cooper secutive issues. Please submit payment with ad copy. NCBS Web Site: http://ncbs.us Maintained by: Gary Mansperger. Send web calendar updates to:[email protected] 2 BLUEGRASS BY THE BAY Bluegrass By The Bay, hard copy & electronic form, © 2006 Northern California Bluegrass Society. CD Reviews by Brenda Hough Celebration of Shenandoah, the music never fails to Mississippi Bound, Ashland Breakdown, Life: Musicians enchant, amaze or simply get the mind, Every Humble Knee Must Bow, Old Against Childhood heart and rhythm centers synchronized. Mountaineer, Big Indian Blues, The Old Cancer Ark’s A Movin’, January Nightmare, Skaggs Family Records The Seldom Scene sing “Wait A Minute” Stomp, How You Want It Done?, PO Box 2478 with its achingly sad story of departures, Vicksburg Stomp, Centipede Hop, Hendersonville, TN while Rhonda Vincent and the Rage puts Standing on Jesus, Black’s Run, Sweet c.2006 the pedal to the metal in Dolly Parton’s Lizzie, Prison Blues, Tanyards. www.skaggsfami- “Jolene.” Paul Simon’s “Leaves That Are lyrecords.com Green” is covered by J.D. Crowe and the Acoustic Disc has prided itself on releas- New South and James King tells the pow- ing cutting edge music with unique Song list: The Star Spangled Banner, erful story of the “Bed by The Window.” sounds and blends of rhythms that pulse Some Old Side Road, Raleigh and Other vocal highlights include Doyle with creative energy. As David Grisman Spencer, Wait a Minute, Jolene, Tillery Lawson’s “John the Revelator,” and mentions in the liner notes, this album is Cove, He Goes To Church, The Leaves Cherryholmes’ “He Goes to Church.” “a refreshing alternative to the usual pro- That Are Green, Side by Side, Milk Cow gressive direction that most old time/blue- Blues, Bed by the Window, You Don’t The top instrumentalists shine here too. grass musicians are taking these days.” Know My Mind, A Brand New Wayne Bensen’s mandolin fronts “Tillery David Long and Mike Compton are both Heartache, Summertime, Church on the Cove” while Bryan Sutton flatpicks mandolin players who have explored the Cumberland Road, Your Love Is Like A through a melodic “Summertime.” Other playing of Bill Monroe and in the process, Flower, BF05, Healing they have rediscovered music from the Kind, I’m In Love All deep South regions of Texas, Lousiana, Over Again, I Hung My Mississipi and Georgia. This retrospective Head, Just When I look at the songs of the past gives a Needed You, Prisoner’s glimpse at the music that influenced the Tears, Louisville young musician Bill Monroe.