Desert Bluegrass Association GRASS CLIPPINGS Volume 15 Issue 2 June/July 2010 State of the Grass by President "Doc" Simpson State of the shop. The workshops their last performance for Grass will continue during this school year at Ft Lowell “Doc” Simp- the summer months. Elementary school. This son, June 2) Under Mike Headrick group provides exposure to 2010 great leadership, this music to any school that re- year’s festival at the quests their presence with- AVA Amphitheater is out charge. All participants shaping up quite well. come in costume. Bonnie We even have a face- Lohman came as “Nurse Greetings Bluegrass Aficio- book page telling folks Bonnie” and played an auto- nados. Well, the desert sum- about the festival. harp. Joe Yellowhawk mer is upon us. Many of our 3) We continue to need brought his washhtub bass. members have escaped to experienced players A favorite visitor is Chicken northern climates, while come to the Monday Fiddle, a large, yellow those of us who have stayed night Beginners’ Work- chicken who makes an ap- behind seek refuge in shop at Christ Commu- pearance playing a fiddle patches of shade. But re- nity Church from 6:30 and squawking, no mean gardless of location, the to 8:30 pm. A bunch feat when you consider beauty of bluegrass contin- of us from the Work- Chicken Fiddle wears large ues to beckon us. shop are signing up to rubber gloves. In summer attend Camp Bluegrass time, it can get mighty hot rd Some brief notes: July 18-23 in South being Chicken Fiddle, so she 1) Marshall Vest’s 17 th Plains College in Lev- doesn't stay around for the Street Market work- elland, Texas. Think entire performance. shops continue to be a about joining us for the great success. On caravan. www. The MITS group is always April 17 th Andy campbluegrass.com. looking for participants. No McCune did an inter- need to be an advanced mu- mediate banjo work- On May 18, the Music in the sician. It's great fun and you shop and on May 15 th , Schools group headed up by are encouraged to contact Tim Weed did an ad- DBA members Roger Miku- Roger and Kathy at knhar- vanced banjo work- las and Kathy Harris had CONTINUED PAGE 7 PAGE 2 GRASS CLIPPINGS VOLUME 15 ISSUE 2 -OFFICERS- President: "Doc" Simpson (520) 298-9746 [email protected] Vice President: Charlie Sides (520)579-5918 [email protected] Secretary: Mike Headrick (520) 760-0745 [email protected] Treasurer: Barbara Van Hoesen (520) 290-6615 [email protected] -TRUSTEES- Geoff Fox (520) 731-3601 [email protected] Bonnie Lohman (520) 296-1231 [email protected] Andy MacLeod (520) 237-9832 [email protected] Jim (Doc) Reifschneider (520)290-6615 [email protected] How to Contact the DBA Newsletter Editor--Bonnie Lohman : For information concerning Letters to the Editor, Reviews, contributing newsletter articles, submitting Concert & Band Listing information Webmaster--Bill Trapp: For information concerning the DBA website www.desertbluegrass.org contact the webmaster at [email protected] Membership Secretary--Fran Riggs : To join the DBA, renew a membership or submit an address change, contact Fran via phone at (520) 490-4560, email [email protected] or snail mail 17247 E. Peach Tree Road, Mayer, Arizona 86333-4146 Publicity--Mike Headrick : Contact Mike at (520) 760-0745 or [email protected] Booking Bands--Bonnie Lohman : To book a DBA band for an event, phone 520-296-1231 or email [email protected] Advertising--Bonnie Lohman : To purchase advertising in our newsletter, contact by phone or email MEMBERSHIP DISPLAY ADS PRICES 1/4 PAGE--$25 PER ISSUE, $100 ANNUAL 1/2 PAGE--$40 PER ISSUE, $160 ANNUAL FULL PAGE--$60 PER ISSUE $240 ANNUAL CLASSIFIED ADS $5 FOR 5 LINES OR LESS DBA members free space permitting The opinions expressed in the DBA newsletter are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the views of the Desert Bluegrass Association, is staff or members. Reviews, concert listings, band announcements and advertising are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement by the Desert Bluegrass Association. In the event of an error, our liability is limited to printing a correction. Copyright 2010,. All Rights Reserved. VOLUME 15 ISSUE 2 GRASS CLIPPINGS PAGE 3 TUCSON ' 11 TH A NNUAL D ESERT B LUEGRASS F ESTIVAL Hi Bluegrass Fans Plans for our 11 th festival are coming together - thanks to our festival committee. As reported in the last issue of Grass Clippings, the festival will be October 29-31, 2010 at the AVA Amphitheater. Since then we have signed our bands (insert drum roll here). They are: Russell More & IIIrd Tyme Out: This band has walked away with IBMA's "Vocal Group of the Year" award 7 consecutive years. Their a capella renditions cannot be matched and their superb instrumentation suppliments their rich vocal blend. This "supergroup" is one of bluegrass music's most recognized and in-demand bands and we are please to welcome them to our stage. Special Consensus, led by our friend Greg Cahill, is celebrating their 35 th anniversary of playing great bluegrass music by making a return apearance to our festival. They approach our hallowed music with boundless energy and an aesthetic reverence that tickles the ribs, tugs at the heart, and puts a restless two-step in boots and bare feet. Palmer Divide is coming from Colorado. Their well crafted lyrics, rock solid instrumentation, and tight 3 part harmonies reflect their deep respect of traditional bluegrass music and well as their desire to create a modern acoustic sound that is all their own. X Train, a band of Arizona superstars, will delight you. OK you don’t recognize the name but you will recognize the performers. Our own National Flatpicking Champ, Peter McLaughlin, is teaming up with banjo wizard, Ross Nickerson - and they will be joined by Mark Miracle, Thomas Porter and Bob Denoncourt. How great is that? Tangled Strings , our friends from up the road in Phoenix, won our band contest last year and won the right to entertain us this year as one of our featured bands. Jam Pak Blues ‘N’ Grass Band, led by the amazing Anni Beach. will delight us for the 10 th year. What else can I say – you got to see them. The band contest will be the best ever – guaranteed or we will gladly refund your price of admission. Staged Friday evening on the beautiful AVA Amphitheater stage with spotlights, Old Blue Sound and a large, enthusiastic audience, this is the perfect place to showcase your band. $1.000 in prize money and bragging rights are at stake. Plus the top four bands get to perform during prime time. If you have a band, submit you application ASAP, start practicing and invite your friends. If not, just show up and invite your friends anyway. Bring your instruments and sign up for the “Drop of the Hat” band scramble, which we hold while our judges figure out who won. As always, audience admission to the band contest is free. So mark your calendars and make your plans. You may follow our progress on our brand new Facebook page – “Tucson’s Annual Desert Bluegrass Festival”. Check it out, give a “thumbs-up” and share with your friends. This is a great way to help spread the news. This festival is shaping up to be our best yet and that is saying a lot. Mike Headrick PAGE 4 GRASS CLIPPINGS VOLUME 15 ISSUE 2 A benefit for Craig Tinney. Great Websites Long-time supporter of traditional music and a fine musician to Desert Bluegrass boot, Craig Tinney, was involved in a catastrophic motor Associatiom vehicle accident this past November. To help defray the www/desertbluegrass/org overwhelming amount of uncovered medical expenses, a group of friends is sponsoring this benefit to celebrate the Bluegrass Arizona Blog: power of music and friends. www.bluegrassarizona. When: Sunday, June 13, 2010, 2:00 - 8:00 p.m. blogspot.com Where: Temple of Music & Art, Tucson. Banjo: www. There will be 8 local and regional bands in concert in the main banjohangout.org theater. There will be contra and square dancing in the Cabaret Theater. There will be a silent auction, raffle, special t- Fiddle: shirts, food and more! Come for an hour or stay all day. It's a wwwlfiddlehangout.com party of friends who wish to help "one of our own" in this time of need. Dobro: www.reso-nation. Questions? Contact Jerry Weinert (520) 731-6001 or Beth org or Judd (520) 6096167. www.resohangout.com Bass: www. Borders Bookstore Open Mic's - Acoustic Music bluegrassbassplace.com Oracle just S of Wetmore 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month from 6:30 to 10:00 Daily Dose of Bluegrass; This month's music will be held on June 5th and 19th. Each www. night will have a feature act at 8:00. June 5, Gabriel Ayala will bluegrassonthetube.com be the featured performer. June 19th to be announced Radio The Bluegrass Radio Tucson Botanical Gardens Twilight Third Thursdays Show with Milo July 15, 2010 Saturday 10 am - 12 Desert Bluegrass Band 6:30-8:30 noon Info: 520-326-9686 x 10 KXCI 91.3 FM 520-622-5924 requests Instruction Bill Breen Scruggs style banjo by ear. 520-544-2418 www.banjohangout.org/myhangout/music.asp Corrine Cortese Fiddle lessons 520-235-3199 Rudy Cortese Banjo lessons 520-954-2103 Peter McLaughlin Flatpick & bluegrass guitar: Beginner & advanced 520-529-2992 Mike Purdy Guitar & mandolin 520-318-0659 J.P.