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Our Bay Area correspondent Mike Hall sends "Public radio station KGNU
- Boulder, CO. will raffle the 1978 Cadillac Sedan DeVille that belonged
to the late, great Hot Rize guitarist Charles Sawtelle as part of a fund-raiser
for the station's new building. Slade and other members of Red Knuckles &
The Trailblazers sometimes rode in this classic vehicle. Sawtelle often appeared
on KGNU and was the music director for the station's "GNU Mountain Jam."
Mollie O'Brien is the event's new music director and the July 22 annual gathering
has been renamed "The Charles."
"The station will sell 500 tickets for $20 each. Make checks
payable to: "KGNU Cadillac Raffle" and mail to 4700 Walnut Street, Boulder,
CO. 80301-2548. You need not be present to win at "The Charles" show at the
Gold Hill Inn. For more information, call (303) 449-4885.
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John Hartford dies. Keith Dudding
reports:
Read the report |
John Hartford's Bill Monroe #1 Memorial
Concert
At about 4:00 p.m. (Central), Monday 4th June, 2001, after a long struggle,
John Hartford passed away in a Nashville hospital late yesterday from
complications from pneumonia and lymphoma.
Click
here for some good John Hartford photos
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Mike Hall reports "The Strawberry Spring Festival was sold out Tuesday
23rd May: The festival tickets are all gone. The only way to get one now
is to find a fellow festivarian with one to sell. Best bet is The Strawberry
Message Board under "Tickets." http://www.strawberrymusic.com . Plan
ahead for Fall!
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Jerry Douglas (Dobro) and Mark O'Connor (fiddle) were among those honored
at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Los Angeles on May 9
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Nashville's New Country Music Museum Opens Thursday, May 17
Silicon Valley's Tech Museum started in a faux "garage," then moved into
a Taj Mahal; Nashville's Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum started
in a faux "barn." This Thursday, it reopens in a glittering new downtown
landmark building, visible evidence of the city's claim on the "Music City"
title. On opening day, Thursday, May 17, the new museum will be open until
10:00pm, admission free. In addition to the public displays like the "Hee
Haw" TV show cornfield, the building houses a huge collection of historical
materials 222 Fifth Avenue South, downtown Nashville.
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John Hartford - the end is nigh. Click for
Mark O'Connor report
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Boones Mill, Virginia. Doobie Shea recording artist Dan Tyminski recently
won the AFIM (Association for Independent Music) Bluegrass Album of the Year
award for Carry Me Across the Mountain. The AFIM awards show was held at
the Regal Biltmore in Los Angeles, California on May 5th, 2001. Brad Meinerding,
of Doobie Shea Records was present to accept the award for Dan who was busy
recording with Alison Krauss in Nashville.
Dan Tyminski has become better known as the "singing voice of
George Clooney" in the last year for his part in the movie O Brother, Where
Art Thou. Currently the Mercury Records soundtrack for the movie is #4 on
Billboard's country album chart. The song Man of Constant Sorrow featuring
Dan Tyminski on lead vocal was the #1 video on CMT last week. Dan's solo
project Carry Me Across the Mountain (DS-2002) on Doobie Shea Records, continues
to stay at the top of the charts on Bluegrass Unlimited's national bluegrass
survey.
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Bill Craig <wa.craig@home.com> reports
"For those interested in the design, development and banjo history of the
banjo, I have created a new website called the Banjo Patent Archive -
http://banjopatents.com. The Banjo Patent Archive provides indexed access
to U.S. patent documents related to the banjo. Currently, the site includes
a searchable database indexing 191 patents issued to 162 inventors. These
patents were issued between October 18, 1859 and December 05, 2000. In addition,
the site provides access to image files for 192 patent page images associated
with 55 of the indexed patents. More pages are being added as time
permits."
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Tom Rozum did a wonderful illustration for the cover of the Dry Branch
Fire Squad's latest CD, Hand Hewn, just out on Rounder Records. It's a
woodcut-style rendering of a guy working on an enormous felled mandolin.
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Thursday, 04/26/01: The Bill Monroe Foundation in Kentucky has won the
bidding for the Bill Monroe's worn mandolin that changed his style and inspired
him to greater heights. Craig Havighurst, writing in The Tennessean
local paper,reports that Campbell Mercer, executive director of the Bill
Monroe Foundation, gave a 10% down payment to Monroe's son, James, with a
promise to pay the rest within 18 months. Mercer said 16 donors had contributed
to the purchase but would not name them.
The 1923 Gibson F-5 mandolin came out of its vault yesterday
and changed hands for the first time since Monroe died nearly five years
ago. A newly endowed foundation in Rosine, Ky., paid $1.125 million for the
prize, which had been sought by private collectors, the Smithsonian Institution
and Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame.
Read
the article
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The Americana Music Association will hold its second annual convention
September 14-15, 2001 at the Hilton Suites Hotel, Nashville. To be considered
for a showcase opportunity, bands must apply by July 1.
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Tennessee is the latest state to be honored with a quarter coin. The design
honors the state's "Musical Heritage" with a fiddle (old-time & bluegrass),
guitar (country), and trumpet (blues). Despite the bluegrass-related design,
it is still worth (only!) 25 cents. Look for the new coin this fall.
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The CBA has moved its Spring Weekend Campout (Friday-Sunday, April 27-29)
from Grass Valley to Sonora, to be held at lovely Mother Lode Fairgrounds
in the middle of the historic Gold Country town.
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Ron Thomason of Dry Branch Fire Squad broke his hip on Friday 13th (!!!)
while working a "difficult" stallion belonging to a friend. He received three
pins during surgery at a Denver on Saturday, is doing right well under the
circumstances, and hopes to be released from the hospital today or tomorrow.
He will, however, be on crutches for the next 6-8 weeks.
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Larry McPeak is recovering well in hospital after a liver transplant.
His doctor said that the surgery was a great success and that things were
looking even better than they anticipated and today (15th April) he is in
fine spirits.
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The Next CD from Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Charley Pride is
set to be the first commercial release encoded to prevent tracks from being
copied to PCs or uploaded to the internet. Pride's 'A Tribute to Jim Reeves',
due out on April 17, is playable in all standard CD players but its "cloaking
technology" will block "ripping" software. CD Buyers will be offered free
downloadable Windows Media versions of Pride's songs, which can also be copied
to portable players that support the copy protection standards
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Jim Moss announces his "Sleeping Lady" CD Project featuring Frank Wakefield
& Bob Black, Pictures of The Frank Wakefield Band Live., Plus Recording
Of Sleeping Lady with Jim Moss, Frank Wakefield and Bob Black with Photo
Links at http://www.candlewater.com/sleep/
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There will be a benefit concert for fiddler Art Stamper at Wilson's Music
Barn, Shepardsville, KY. on April 22. Proceeds will help pay for Art's costly
onging throat cancer treatments. Info: http://www.brewgrass.com .
Amongst the performers will be:
Gary Brewer & The Kentucky Ramblers;
Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mtn. Boys
Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mtn. Boys;
Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers
Melvin Goins & Windy Mountain;
J.D. Crowe; Nancy Moore; Vince Combs; Hog Operation
Get well, Art!
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MP3.com Inc. has been ordered by a jury to pay $300,000 in damages
to TVT Records, an independent record label for copyright infringement. The
TVT Records' lawsuit claimed that MP3's Listening service violated TVT copyrights
making TVT songs available to listen to online. The court ruling follows
a group of major record label's legal victory over file-swapping service
Napster. A number of recording labels are investigating online
distribution of music following their victory over Napster. Yahoo Inc. recently
announced it was teaming up with Duet, an online music distribution company
backed by Sony Corp. and French media conglomerate Vivendi Universal, to
offer paid music download services.
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Charley Pride's next CD, due out on April 17, is to be the first commercial
release encoded to prevent tracks from being copied to PCs or uploaded to
the internet. Pride's A Tribute to Jim Reeves is playable in all standard
CD players but its 'cloaking technology' will block 'ripping' software. CD
Buyers will be offered free downloadable Windows Media versions of Pride's
songs, which can also be copied to portable players that support the copy
protection standards.
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Upcoming Doobie Shea releases:
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Dale Ann Bradley & Coon Creek, Cumberland River Dreams DS-4005,
April 24, 2001
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Rickie Simpkins, Don't Fret It DS-2006, May 8, 2001
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Ernie Thacker, The Chill of Lonesome DS-2004, July 10, 2001
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Plans are in hand to try to take advantage of the success of the bluegrass
soundtrack of O Brother, Where Art Thou?. With over 700,000 copies
already sold, the album of Bluegrass folk, country & blues songs has
become a very good seller and both Carnegie Hall in New York and the Hollywood
Bowl in Los Angeles had planned performances for this year. Plans are to
feature Gillian Welch, Chris Thomas King, Alison Krauss and Union Station
and the Fairfield Four. However assembling all these artists for a tour is
proving difficult. King is touring with the Muddy Waters Allstars, Krauss
is recording a new album, and Stanley is well booked out. It may yet happen
in 2002.
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Reunion In The Ozarks" --Many of the former Bluegrass Boys will gather
at Cross Country Trail Ride to perform and reminisce about Bill Monroe and
their time spent with him. Some of the Bluegrass Boys planning to perform
include; Sonny Osborne, Melvin Goins, Kenny Baker, Charlie Cline, Gary Thurman,
Tom Ewing, Art Stamper(?), Lonnie Hoppers, Guy Stevenson, Billy Joe Foster,
Wayne Jerrolds, Blake Williams, Tater Tate, and Billy Rose.
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Allen Lukes, White Mountain Publications, writes
"After listening to your requests for a more comprehensive online introduction
to finger picking banjo, Pat Cloud has updated his web site
http://wmpub.com/PC.html to feature beginning and bluegrass banjo instruction.
(Jazz and chord soloing sections are in construction to be showcased by early
May.)
Features of the beginning and bluegrass banjo sections include:
Over 40 downloadable MP3 sound files; Extensive illustrations and photos;
All tab is in html - no tab software needed to view; Three unbelievably easy
well-known songs for banjo beginners; Bluegrass left hand techniques &
drills, to get you started fast!
And the topics include:
The parts of the banjo; How to tune your banjo; Listening as practice; Using
a metronome; Great Right and Left hand habits with photos; A simple and direct
concept for bluegrass banjo in the first 5 frets; Left hand "sound consciousness"
philosophy for accelerated learning. And it's all Free!"
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Dan Tyminski recently received and AFIM (Association for Independent Music)
nomination for Best Bluegrass Album! The awards will be presented in Los
Angeles, CA next month at the AFIM's annual convention. If you missed Dan's
recent appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, it will be re-aired
on April 20th.
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Gary Brewer's Strictly Bluegrass" Festival, which moved from Iroquois
Amphitheater in Louisville across the Ohio to the Riverfront in New Albany,
IN. last year will again be held at the Riverfront site, on September 7 &
8. He has already signed up The Osborne Brothers & Ralph Stanley for
this event. Camping facilities will be available at this site this year.
Interested performing acts may contact Gary Brewer at 502- 448-9107.
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Gary Brewer has been selected to book the talent and host the Bardstown
(KY) Bluegrass Festival, held at the White Acres Campground, on June 21-23,
2001. Brewer, who also books and hosts the Strictly Bluegrass (New
Albany, IN), has already lined up several acts for the venerable Bardstown
Festival, including James Monroe, J. D. Crowe and Larry Sparks. The event,
held at the White Acres Campground just outside Bardstown, will run from
8 p.m. - 11 p.m. Thursday and Friday, June 21 & 22 and from Noon until
11 p.m. on Saturday, June 23.
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The O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack is now officially platinum
(over 1,000,000 copies) and is the #1 Country Album for the 7th week in a
row! It moves up to #5 from #6 on the CMT Top Video chart. The OBWAT film
is scheduled to be released on video and DVD on June 12, 2001.
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Bill Evans writes "I wanted to let everyone know about NashCamp, my favorite
bluegrass music camp held at the Drouillard House, a restored, 19th century
mansion just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Due to the fact that the camp
has usually sold out in advance each year, camp director Cindy Sinclair has
added a second week of instruction for 2001.This year, I'll be teaching banjo
during Week 1, June 17-22. Tom Adams will be teaching during Week 2, June
24-29. This will be the only East Coast camp that I will be teaching this
summer, by the way (I'm also teaching at the new California Bluegrass Association
Bluegrass Jam Camp at Grass Valley, CA, June 10-13).
Other instructors at NashCamp this year include Missy Raines (bass), Jim
Hurst (vocals), Chris Jones (guitar), Butch Baldassari (mandolin), Mike Compton
(mandolin), Fletcher Bright (fiddle) and Barbara Lamb (fiddle). It's a full
immersion in bluegrass - there's plenty of group and private instruction
and you also get to be part of band and work up tunes to play on stage at
Nashville's famous Station Inn on the last night of camp! In addition, the
classes are small - no more than eight to a class. This makes for a great
learning experience. Best of all is the atmosphere and the food - which is
unequalled in any camp experience I've ever had. There are still a few openings
left in most all of the classes, so if you're interested in raising your
playing to new levels, check out http://www.nashcamp.com for more information
or call 888-798-5012.
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Doug Bartlett, fiddle player for Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver will be
leaving to write a book. Hunter Berry, most recently playing with Melvin
Goins, took over as Doyle's fiddle player on March 23, 2001. Doyle has been
in and out of the studio working on his new gospel recording. No release
date has been set.
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Phil Leadbetter announces the completion of a new CD by his new band
"Wildfire" which will be released this year on Pinecastle Records. The CD
includes 12 tunes which are either originals or very different tunes, and
Scott Vestal and Sonya Isaacs were guests on the project. Wildfire comprises:
Phil Leadbetter (resonator guitar/baritone vocals), Robert Hale (guitar/lead
vocals), Darrell Webb (mandolin/tenor vocals) Curt Chapman (bass). Special
guests helping on the CD include Scott Vestal, banjo and Sonya Isaacs,
vocals.They also continue to work as members of JD Crowe and the New South
as well as playing Wildfire gigs.
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Lost Highway founder and guitarist/lead vocalist, Ken Orrick is recording
a 'solo' album, supported by Lost Highway bandmembers, Leroy Mack, Ron Spears,
Brittany Bailey and others. A May release is planned.
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Ralph Stanley's 31st Annual Memorial Festival May 24-25-26, 2001 at the
Stanley Brothers old homeplace- Hills of Home Park, Coeburn, Virginia.
features:
Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, Jimmy Martin & The Sunny
Mountain Boys, The Lewis Family, Lonesome River Band, IIrd Tyme Out, Gillian
Welch & David Rawlings, Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers, Doyle
Lawson & Quicksilver, Melvin Goins & Windy Mountain, George Shuffler,
Larkin Family, The Principles Quartet, Larry Sigmon & Barbara Poole,
Tim White & The VW Boys and many more!
For info Write to James A. Shelton jamesalanshelton@aol.com
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Laurie Lewis' latest album, Laurie Lewis and Her Bluegrass Pals, on Rounder
Records (#0461), highlights her bluegrass roots. It was Number One on both
the album and single BU bluegrass charts. The album's breadth is remarkable
and displays Lewis' knack for presenting traditional music in a contemporary
light.
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Nashville's Country Music Fan Fair moves from week to weekend and from
Fairgrounds to Downtown Nashville this year. New dates: June 14-17.
http://www.fanfair.com The new Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum, right
in the middle of things at the new Fan Fair location, should be open by
then.
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