THE COLUMBUS FOLK MUSIC SOCIETY, INC. – a 501(C)(3) NOT FOR PROFIT ORGANIZATION DECEMBER, 2018 A Different Strummer newsletter Illustration by Jenny Alberti RJ COWDERy – local WHAT’S INSIDE: RJ COWDERY - LOCAL ARTIST ARTIST WITH NATIONAL WITH NATIONAL ACCLAIM - JAN 26 CONCERT PG. 1 ACCLAIM FEATURED JAN 26 DEC 15 BENEFIT FEATURES RJ COWDERY has solidified her DON NEWTON & FRIENDS Interview by Bill Cohen place in the world of performing WITH PAISHA THOMAs pG. 1 singer-songwriters, garnering Bill Cohen: You are from accolades at Mountain Stage CFMS MEMBER HIGHLIGHT small-town Ohio Appalachia, NewSong, Kerrville, Falcon Ridge, – MICHAEL HALE PG. 4 right? Tell us about that and Rocky Mountain Folk Festival, JAN 20 SHOW AT BYRNe’S and Sisters Folk Festival. She tell us if that has influenced plays a clean guitar, flat picking your music. PUB - WHINESTOPPER pG. 5 or strumming, stringing chords R.J. Cowdery: Yes, I am from YEAR END MATCHING together to develop melodies built Belpre, a small town along FUND CHALLENGE ! PG. 6 like a proverbial brick house and the Ohio river, across the river pours over it all with a voice like from Parkersburg, WV. There ANNOUNCING NEW CFMS butter. Her lyrics are sincere and was certainly a lot of Bluegrass NEWSLETTER EDITOR plainspoken, inviting you to lean influence, but most of the early BEGINNING IN FEb pG. 6 in hard and come out the other side changed. RJ Cowdery is the CALENDAR OF EVENTS PG. 7 See RJ Cowdery – page 2 featured act at Jan 26 coffeehouse. DEC 15 BENEFIT FEATURES DON NEWTON & FRIENDS WITH SPECIAL GUEST PAISHA THOMAS Enjoy some good Americana/folk Don Newton and Friends will be music with some seasonal tunes performing. Who are the friends? thrown in the mix on Dec 15 – Two of them are talented sideman 5:30-7:30pm at La Chatelaine in Brian Szuch (who plays about Worthington. Food & bar service available. See Dec 15 Benefit – page 5 CONTACT US AT: VOICEMAIL 614-470-3963 PAGE 1 A DIFFERENT STRUMMER DECEMBER, 2018 RJ Cowdery – from page 1 influence was from my family. “finger tip” with medical tape and own. Early on I played covers in We would gather for holidays various trial and error methods. a pub/restaurant in Marietta, OH. and special occasions and there I became an over achiever and I’d sprinkle in an original here and was always singing. Hymns and started my path to making songs there and no one complained so old songs from Hank it kinda grew from there. Williams, The Carter Music has always been a Family, and The Everly calming force for me so Brothers, to name a I think it was only natural few. I spent a lot of time for me to continue to grow in the summer with my as a player and writer. I grandparents, we would went to the Kerrville Folk spend many an evening Festival in 2008 and it was in the porch swing - there where I really made a singing Roy Accuff and connection and I thought old country songs. As I that really I had something got older, I was definitely to offer that was my own. I influenced by the 70’s continue to work really hard singer songwriters - John to be a better listener and Denver, Carole King… writer. Bill: What are your “I’m fortunate to have Bill: Who are the earliest memories of made many friends musician heroes and music, and how did heroines that have you wind up becoming with so many singer- influenced your music? a performer and R.J.: Early on – definitely, songwriter? songwriter peers all of the music from my R.J.: Most of the family. As a teenager memories are from the that inspire and – John Denver, Carole collection of records we King, James Taylor, Cat had. It varied from 50’s, influence me every Stevens, Karen Carpenter, 60’s and 70’s pop and day. Being a part of and many others. As a country to Broadway young adult, Nanci Griffith, musicals. I can remember the folk community is Indigo Girls, Mary Chapin playing the records and Carpenter, and John singing the songs for something that I hold Gorka, These are just hours - usually by myself some of the folks that have in our basement. very dear.” made a huge impact on me as an adult. Today, I’m I started having some – R.J. Cowdery fortunate to have made interest in the guitar as many friends with so many a result of singing and singer-songwriter peers learned to play a little. My guitar that inspire and influence me interest peaked as a result of up and playing them to friends. I every day. Being a part of the folk injuring the middle finger in my left still need my homemade “finger community is something that I hand. I cut the tip of my finger off tip” to play guitar. hold very dear. and was told that I would never I continued playing the guitar and be able to play guitar…. I learned learning other people’s songs Bill: You have won numerous to play by making up my own and eventually started writing my R.J. Cowdery – page 3 PAGE 2 WWW.COLUMBUSFOLKMUSICSOCIETY.ORG A DIFFERENT STRUMMER DECEMBER , 2018 RJ Cowdery – from page 2 “takeaway” or mood or to leave with, after they’ve song-writing awards. Tell us a message you want audiences heard you perform? little about the process you use to create your R.J.: The absolute best own songs. part of being a performing singer-songwriter is R.J.: For me, my writing “RJ Cowdery is sharing songs with people process is usually driven who have never heard me from living life and being one of the most before who, undoubtedly, an observer. Whatever the at every show, come up subject matter – whether compelling writers to me and say to me that I lived it or someone else I am telling their story and has, I try to incorporate I’ve run across so far somehow peeked inside a little piece of me in the their life for 4 minutes. It’s song. I have to be able this century...though an awesome realization to tell you this story that her songs bear her that we are all so much you believe is true no more alike than we are matter what. Getting there unmistakable stamp, different. Sometimes, takes various forms. I am people cry… It’s always noodling on the they are so well awesome to know that guitar, though, so that can I’ve made an emotional sometimes be the starting concieved that you connection with someone point and set the mood for and I then feel like I have the song. could swear you’ve done my job. Bill: For years, you’ve heard them before, Listen to some of R.J. toured across the country Cowdery here: https:// with your music. Do any sung by a folk legend www.rjcowdery.com/listen performances come to mind as being particularly in Kerrville or at a great . or awful ? R.J.: I really try not to writer’s circle at The dwell on the highs and - Don Dixon lows of playing music for Bluebird...” folks who most of the time don’t know me or SOME AWARDS . Rocky Mountain Folks what I do. Sometimes, the Festival Songwriter expectations might not be Sisters Folk Festival/ Dave Carter Memorial Showcase Finalist the same for me as the (runner up) HOPE TO SEE YOU audience, there’s a heckler, Songwriter Contest JANUARY 26! Winner Falcon Ridge Folk or the sound isn’t right, Held at: Columbus or I am not feeling well, Kerrville Folk Festival Festival Emerging Artist Showcase Mennonite Church, 35 I would call these lows. New Folk Winner Oakland Park Ave. The most fun is when I am Wildflower! Music Tucson Folk Festival Open Jam (all welcome) playing and the listeners and Arts Performing Finalist 6-7pm; Open Mic (free are connecting with what I Songwriter Winner Solar Fest Finalist sign up) 7-7:45pm; am doing. Those highs are Community sing 7:45pm; usually a blur. Mountain Stage Telluride Troubadour NewSong Winner Finalist R.J. Cowdery 8pm. Bill: Is there a particular WWW.COLUMBUSFOLKMUSICSOCIETY.ORG PAGE 3 A DIFFERENT STRUMMER DECEMBER, 2018 blues, bluegrass, rock but not strictly true to any of the genre. So CFMS MEMBER you can go anywhere with it. I like story songs, ballads, probably too highlight – much. Bill: When we first saw you Interview by Bill Cohen perform in a duo more than 15 MICHAEL HALE years ago, you were fairly stage- Bill Cohen: Tell us about your Mike: I love supporting the shy and didn’t have a whole lot journey that brought you to the performer. Trying to make the of confidence. Now, you’re a Columbus Folk Music Society. room, or tent sound the best I seasoned professional. How You weren’t always a folk singer, can. It was not a comfort level that did that change take place? so how did you get introduced came easy. My experience was Mike: You [Bill] and Randi were to our group and become so mostly running sound from the the first people from the society active? stage, while playing. to see me perform and I was Michael Hale: When I first I remember my first festival at the way south of shy, more fearful, heard of CFMS (2006), our [sound] board. Those 50 minute anxiety ridden but I wanted to do band (Halfway Home) was sets with 10 minutes to get last it anyway.