Interviews with: Melissa Sherman Lynn Russwurm Mike O’Reilly, Are You A Bluegrass Songwriter? Volume 8 Issue 3 July 2014 www.bluegrasscanada.ca TABLE OF CONTENTS BMAC EXECUTIVE President’s Message 1 President Denis 705-776-7754 Chadbourn Editor’s Message 2 Vice Dave Porter 613-721-0535 Canadian Songwriters/US Bands 3 President Interview with Lynn Russworm 13 Secretary Leann Music on the East Coast by Jerry Murphy 16 Chadbourn Ode To Bill Monroe 17 Treasurer Rolly Aucoin 905-635-1818 Open Mike 18 Interview with Mike O’Reilly 19 Interview with Melissa Sherman 21 Songwriting Rant 24 Music “Biz” by Gary Hubbard 25 DIRECTORS Political Correctness Rant - Bob Cherry 26 R.I.P. John Renne 27 Elaine Bouchard (MOBS) Organizational Member Listing 29 Gord Devries 519-668-0418 Advertising Rates 30 Murray Hale 705-472-2217 Mike Kirley 519-613-4975 Sue Malcom 604-215-276 Wilson Moore 902-667-9629 Jerry Murphy 902-883-7189 Advertising Manager: BMAC has an immediate requirement for a volunteer to help us to contact and present advertising op- portunities to potential clients. The job would entail approximately 5 hours per month and would consist of compiling a list of potential clients from among the bluegrass community, such as event-producers, bluegrass businesses, music stores, radio stations, bluegrass bands, music manufacturers and other interested parties. You would then set up a systematic and organized methodology for making contact and presenting the BMAC program. Please contact Mike Kirley or Gord Devries if you are interested in becoming part of the team. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Call us or visit our website Martha white brand is due to the www.bluegrassmusic.ca. exposure received in front of live audiences, at concerts, on the ra- Check out the bands. Call them up dio, and later, on tv. What business and hire them for your next could not use the type of success function. The value, the buzz it Martha has enjoyed for nearly a creates, and the long-term effect century? it will have on people’s memories, In Canada, the opportunity for cor- will pay off! porate partnership remains largely under-utillized. As evidenced by the Martha model, there is huge Denis Chadbourn potential for using bluegrass music to brand a company and to grow a customer base. Some festivals Martha White got it right! enjoy a mutually beneficial rela- tionship with business, for example The name, Martha White, has been the Valley Festival in Renfrew. But a synonymous with bluegrass music sign at a festival is merely one fret for generations. Why? In 1899 on a long neck. Tour sponsorship, Richard Lindsey founded Nashville’s corporate diddys, and heck, who Royal Flour Mill. He named his among us would not want to tour finest flour, Martha White, after his around on the Martha White tour daughter. With an advertising bud- bus. get of $25 per week, the Martha White brand sponsored live radio But baby steps. broadcasts from the Grand ole Opry. Thence in 1953, the compa- Although the list is limitless, many ny hired the then unknown band types of businesses are natural- of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, ly situated, to use bluegrass as a to barnstorm the South with the branding tool. Among them are ag- Martha White Bluegrass Express—a ricultural feed and seed companies, music show that toured local pet supplies, etc. For a century, festivals, while promoting Martha Martha White has been synony- White flour and corn meal. The mous with bluegrass. Perhaps your corn meal, Hot Rize, became the company may not enjoy the same inspiration for a bluegrass band of success as the Martha White brand, that name featuring Tim O’Brien, but wouldn’t it be fabulous if peo- Pete Wernick, Charles Sawtelle, and ple thought of your company, when Nick Forster. they heard a bluegrass song? You can get your name out in front of Martha White’s phenomenal socio- new audiences very inexpensively, logical success is directly attributed and be hailed as a good corporate to their early support for bluegrass citizen. Would you like to support music. It has built generations and arts and culture, while deriving generations of loyal customers... benefit as a sponsor? Would you because the company had the fore- like to advertise on a bluegrass sight to tap into, what remains, a radio show? We can help you with very affordable grassroots advertis- all these and more. ing medium. The longevity of the 1 EDITOR’S MESSAGE Feel free to comment by dropping us a line or email. [email protected] Their opinions are not necessarily those of the editor.! Back to songwriting. Here’s my two cents. First, go somewhere new, like a local park you have never been before. Take your guitar. Sit somewhere where you are alone. Just came back from the Totten- Pick a word phrase you like. i.e. “I ham Festival. I was two trailers just thought you should know…” from bass player, John Renne. John Play a chord in a key you like and crossed over Jordan after a picking repeat this phrase over and over session late Thursday night. The last until another thought comes. When Mando Art? tune he picked was “Grandfather’s you get four lines, write them Clock”, which has a bass solo. I had down and put the chords over just seen him and Bill White put the words. Now for the chorus; it on a great show at the Legion. All should go up higher on the scale, I can say is he was a quiet smiling rising out of the verse as it were. gentleman for all the years I knew And it should have a “hook” that him. And he passed in the midst of people will remember. It is nice to friends playing the music he loved use certain vowels, like the sound so dearly. We will miss you John. “o”. I think that is the best vowel Rest in Peace. to sing. “Let It Go”, by Disney has This issue is about songwriting. I just received 265,000,000 hits on managed to interview Lynn Russ- Youtube as of June 26. “Rain and worm, Mike O’Reilly, and Melissa Snow”, by Del McCoury has a great Sherman, all accomplished Cana- chorus on the “o” vowel. “Georgia dian songwriters. They were most Rose” is another one…”go…snow… generous of their time with me, rose….” These words work for sing- and had lots of hints to give aspir- ing long and loud and with tone. Early Bluegrass Enthusiast? ing musicians. Consider their ideas How about Jimmy Martin on “Now and learn how it is done. They have dooooooooo’nt lots of experience. forget me little darlin’ while I’m Something new this issue for growin’ old and grey”? you: I managed to find some rants. Have a good one. I have been following Bob Cherry and “The Boman” for years on the Mike net. I subscribe to “The List” that comes out of The University of Kentucky almost on a daily basis. These fellows tell it like it is, and I’m sure you will find their views stimulating for thought, even if you do not agree. Anyone recognize the little guy? 2 CANADIAN SONGWRITERS RECORDED BY U.S. BLUEGRASS BANDS The following article was published in the November 2009 Issue of Country Music News, P.O. Box 7323, Ottawa, ON K1L 8E4. Ph: 613-745-6006. Research and compilation by Larry Delaney, Publisher and Editor of the monthly magazine. A CMT SPECIAL FEATURE Canadian-born songwriters are renowned internationally for penning some of the most popular songs recorded by Nashville artists. In fact, CMN annually (January issue) publishes a listing of songs recorded during the year by Nashville artists.Typically, that annual CMN feature makes reference to “country” recordings, but it should be noted that many Canadian songwriters have also contributed to the American “Bluegrass” scene.In order to provide an accurate overview of the depth of Canadian songwriter’s involvement in the American bluegrass recording scene, CMN has compiled this extensive listing of songwriter’s credits in Bluegrass music. Unlike the ‘country’ side of things where numerous songs written by Canadian songwriters are ‘charted’ on the Billboard Country charts, seldom does a Canadian bluegrass songwriter get to see his/her song reach the ‘charts’ in the USA. Bluegrass Unlimited the bible of bluegrass music for the past four decades publishes a monthly Top 30 ‘National Bluegrass Survey’ hit chart, the only one of its kind, and seldom does a song written by a Canadian song- writer find its way to that chart ... however, there have been exceptions. LIMITED CHART ACTION NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF SONGS RECORDED. Likely the only Canadian-written song ever to top the Blue- grass Unlimited hit chart came in modern times when James King scored with the #1 hit 30 Years Of Farming, a tune penned byFred Eaglesmith (b. Hamilton, Ontario). Just recently there was a surprise entry on that chart when the bluegrass group The Circuit Riders made it on to the B.U. charts with a bluegrass version of the Neil Young penned song Powderfinger. While Canadian songwriter action on the U.S. bluegrass charts is somewhat of a rarity, it is not because of a lack of songs recorded, as is attested to in the following list. Fred Eaglesmith 3 CANADIAN SONGWRITERS RECORDED BY U.S. BLUEGRASS BANDS, CON’T GORDON LIGHTFOOT SONGS FAVORITES WITH U.S. BLUEGRASS BANDS It is not surprising to find the songs of Gordon Lightfoot (b. Orillia, Ontario) being the most prominent of this list.