maintained by Dan Easley
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Annual Corporate Meeting and Free Members’ Concert. Election of Board Members Included
As a 501( c )(3) corporation FARS is required to hold an annual corporate meeting, including election of new board members. Yuk! Sounds awful! But, if you tuck that meeting into the intermission of a free concert it becomes much more palatable. And that is exactly what FARS has been doing since its inception. This year the performers are Jimbo and Kim Carey who will present a deliciously eclectic mixture of musical styles Sunday, January 17 at the Sanctuary UCC in Harrisonburg (see details on following pages). As noted this concert is free to members (and provides an excellent opportunity to renew your membership for 1998!).Board members are needed to fill coming vacancies on the board as current members rotate off. If you are interested in serving, or would like to nominate someone, there will an opportunities for nomination at the meeting. A slate of nominees will be presented, but there is always room for more. Be forewarned: the FARS board is a working board, planning, organizing, and doing the grunt labor of putting on our shows. It is a great bunch of people to work with.
The Dayton Learning Center on Sunday. Feb. 22, at 7:00 is surely the place to be for our annual Mardi Gras fest. Two popular local groups, the St. Claire St. Band and the Buzzard Rock Bayou Boys band will provide the music for what promises to be an exciting evening.
Sixth Annual Irish Ceili! As has been its tradition, FARS will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a concert and ceili. The hot New York band Whirligig will be in concert with some fine Irish music and also traditionally, Frosty Morning will be on hand to play the tunes while the JMU Folk Dance Ensemble demonstrates and teaches dances from the ould sod. Also as traditional` if you bring a loaf of soda bread to share for refreshments you get in free!
FARS will also be presenting our annual Friend of the Folk Arts award. The winner this year is folk artist John Heatwold.
FARS Welcomes Dry Branch Fire Squad on April 3! The Aggressively Traditional Bluegrass Music and Incomparably Entertaining Humor of Dry Branch is coming to Harrisonburg.Known as “the most entertaining band in bluegrass music,” Dry Branch Fire Squad celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1996. The stories and humor of band leader and mandolinist Ron Thompson, a native of southwest Virginia who began his career with Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mt. Boys, combined with the traditional bluegrass, gospel and old-time sound of the band, result in a total package entertaining to all audiences.
Dry Branch Fire Squad will appear April 3 at the Thomas Harrison Middle School on Route 33 west of Harrisonburg Virginia. Admission will be $11.
Andy McCaskey is a veteran broadcaster from WSVA from the days when it was the only radio station in the valley. His life-long interest in music has been expressed not only through radio, but as a member of big band orchestras, and through song-writing. Andy continues to actively sing and play music from his wide-ranging repertoire.
I have witnessed many changes in the basic nature of "folk music" here in the Shenandoah Valley area.
Some of the changes have come about, perhaps, through a shifting of definitions. Some of those changes were occurring in other areas at the same time.
In my earlier recollections, growing up as I did in Southwest Virginia, the term "folk music" was generally associated with those people who, as a phase of their college work, ferreted out remnants of old English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish music by visiting "secluded" mountain areas. In the 1920's and '30's I knew only a few people who played and sang songs in those old traditional forms. Those found were, generally speaking, not adept as musicians. They were walking and working repositories of a melodic heritage of indigenous poetry - often fragmentary - and more often than not, lacked means of or any ability for instrumental backing.
Much of this collection of old ballads and other songs was repetitive. Song collector Arthur Kyle Davis, for instance, listed ninety-two versions, in Virginia's listings alone, of "Barbara Allen" by a dozen or so titles. These versions were, at times, sung to a set of twelve tunes. This was, to a segment of the academic community, "folk music." It was heard only occasionally by the general public.
The advent of gramophone recordings and of the phonograph, had a marked effect. And then, a totally new world of communication called radio changed all of that. Some of the academic discoveries found their way onto the new phonograph recordings. We made one record at a time in those day (until 1925) and "folk music" talent came "cheap." Thick, one-sided disks featured a banjo player after an opening announcement of who was going to play what. The reproduction was "tinny" at best, but some small groups successfully moved into the new medium and many such recordings were made. When commercial radio became feasible there was a steadily growing need for all such material.
On-the air quality was not a major concern in those halcyon days of radio, but live performers were, as a rule, better than noisy records. Radio stations had a piano as standard equipment and a staff pianist who was ex-pected to play all types of music, often on short notice. Those stations started welcoming "mountain music" which was soon tagged with a term which came to be derogatory in the mind-set of many “ hillbillies."
When I first arrived in Harrisonburg, WSVA was the only radio station in the area and there were as many as five different "hillbilly" singers or groups there at one time to meet the needs of the broadcast day. "Hillbilly" music was, by that time, well established at various centers in Virginia, West Virginia and into the Midwest, notably at Shenandoah, Iowa.
Each morning at six WSVA signed on with 78 r.p.m. records by The Delmore Brothers and other favorites of that time. There was five minutes of news from the teletype machine, a comment on the weather, a feature concerning markets, farming and a religious program. It was all "live" because we had no network association. The first "live studio" program of each week-day featured whatever singing couple or group was in town at the time and scheduled for that slot.
The major live show of the day was at 1 P.M. a full hour from Studio "A". It was intended to prepare that evening's stage show audience for a visit to their community and to publicize the upcoming dates of group performances. This was the main source of revenue for such groups; a percentage of the gate for each night's performance. Daily shows with regular sponsorships also proved to be profitable for both the performer and the station. The individual’s skill in handling what were called "P.I.s" ("Payment on Inquiry") could well decide if he or she was to remain with us for an extended time.
Gradually, the early folk music singer became more competent in a vaudeville sense. Their instrumental skills developed and matured until many were exceptionally well-fitted to survive in the musical field. Audi-ences, too, here in the Valley advanced remarkably over this period, and came to expect and demand talent to put on a worthwhile display of skill and attainment. The old days of knowing three chords on the guitar and having the nerve to sing out loud, were past and gone forever. The one-time folk singer then ceased to be a "hillbilly" and became a "Country and Western" entertainer and, then, gradually moved into a pop music status with vast numbers of people who disdained jazz, big band or other forms of popular music.
Today's stars resemble the old-timers only in a general way. They share a common inheritance but are far advanced in skills and abilities to entertain. Many have no difficulty in standing as equals with others ac-cepted by the public as starring musicians.
We've come a long way.
Andy McCaskey
January 10 Valley Country Dancers* - Mando Mafia, caller Paul Rosen.
January 28 JMU Social Dance - International influences on American Social Dance with the JMU Folk Dance Ensemble and Frosty Morning at JMU’s Godwin Hall, Room 356, 7:30-9:30pm, dances taught.
February 12 JMU Social Dance - Vintage Valentine Ball, at JMU’s Godwin Hall 356, 7:30-10:30pm, formal dress, dances taught.
February 14 Valley Country Dancers* - The Galax Way, caller Paul Ackerman.
February 22 FARS Mardi Gras - Buzzard Rock Bayou Boys, St. Claire Street Band at Dayton Learning Center 7pm, $7/6. $1 off if in costume.
March 14 Valley Country Dancers* - Rattlesnake Chili, caller Becky MacKenzie.
March 15 FARS Ceili - Whirligig Frosty Morning, The JMU Folk Dance Ensemble. At Dayton Learning Center 7pm. $10/8. Free, if you bring Irish soda bread.
March 28 JMU Social Dance - German Folk Dance Evening, at JMU’s Godwin Hall 356, 7-10pm, dances taught.
April 9 Valley Country Dancers* - Laura Light & Tom Hines, caller Denise Lair.
* All Valley Country Dancers events are held at the Dayton Learning Center, workshop 7:30pm, dance 8-11pm, $5
January 17 Shenandoah Valley Quilters’ Guild meeting every 3rd Saturday 9:30am at the Highlands Room, Sunnyside. Speaker or workshop after business meeting.
February 21 Shenandoah Valley Quilters’ Guild meeting. March 21 Shenandoah Valley Quilters’ Guild meeting.
January 9 Shenandoah Valley Banjo & Fiddle Club, Weekly Friday Jam, New Market Community Center.
January 17 FARS - Jimbo & Kim Carey at UCC Sanctuary Church, Harrisonburg 8pm, $6/free to members.
January 24 Corner Coffeehouse*** - Two Acts! Linda Rees & the Lucky Four. David Landes
January 31 Corner Coffeehouse** - Two Acts! New Town Trio-Jim Harrington, Buddy Thomas, and Ross Brooks with Joe Dockery on handdrums. Bob Driver.
February 7 Corner Coffeehouse*** - Civil Rights Tribute (if you want to perform, call Lily Allayne 432-6642.)
February 14 Corner Coffeehouse*** - Open Mic.
February 22 FARS Mardi Gras - Buzzard Rock Bayou Boys, St. Claire Street Band at Dayton Learning Center 7pm, $7/6. $1 off if in costume.
February 28 Corner Coffeehouse*** - Two Acts! JMU Percussion Improv. Lisa Moscatiello.
March 14 Corner Coffeehouse*** - Open Mic.
March 15 FARS Ceili & Concert - Whirligig, Frosty Morning, The JMU Folk Dance Ensemble. At Dayton Learning Center 7pm. $10/8. Free, if you bring Irish soda bread.
March 21 Corner Coffeehouse*** - Woman Song: Songs By & About Women, Sung by Women. (if you want to perform, call Lily Allayne, 432-6642)
March 28 Corner Coffeehouse*** - Two Acts! Bill Parsons. John Glick & Rose Stauffer.
April 3 FARS - Dry Branch Fire Squad , Thomas Harrison Middle School, Harrisonburg VA $11/10.
April 4 Corner Coffeehouse*** - Terri Allard (with harmonica player Gary Greene).
April 11 Corner Coffeehouse*** - Earth Songs. Songs dedicated to Mother Earth. (if you want to perform, call Vaunda Brown, 289-7050.)
April 18 FARS - Mike Mulvaney at UCC Santuary Church, Harrisonburg 8pm, $6/5.
*** Corner Coffeehouse events are at the UCC Sanctuary Church on Court Square in Harrisonburg, 8pm. It pays perform-ers via donations.
A review of Bob Dylan’s new CD release, “Time Out of Mind”, and other pertinent notes and observations.
Is “Time Out Of Mind” for Bob Dylan? He is once again “Knocking On Heaven’s Door,” This time “Tryin’ To Get To Heaven Before They Close The Door .” I believe Mr. Dylan experienced the “brush with death” that caused him to come face to face with his own mortality. I viewed the broadcast of the Kennedy Center Life-time Creative Arts Achievement awards on NBC. Mr. Dylan, seated beside President and Mrs. Clinton was transported back in musical time to Brownsville, Texas. It was there that he twice viewed a cowboy western , and wrote the song “Brownsville Girl” which contains several lines about Gregory Peck , the film’s star. Gregory Peck was now introducing Bob Dylan to the Kennedy Center gathering, recounting how honored he felt, when first listening to “Brownsville Girl,” to be included lyrically in the song.
Fortunately for Mr. Dylan and us, he remained on ‘”Lincoln County Road,” not taking the fork in the road to “Armegeddon.” He traveled a perilous , oftimes danger- frought road on an uncommon and uncertain voyage and , with each diversion, whether of heart, mind, body or spirit, Mr. Dylan has shared his songs of the journey with us. “Time Out Of Mind “ is no exception. Mr. Dylan’s songs tackle classic themes: abandonment in “Standing In The Doorway,” love gone wrong in “Love Sick,” Salvation and Redemption in “Tryin’ To Get To Heaven Before They Close The Door Crying.” “Make You Feel My Love” is a tune of abounding optimism, full of romance sprouts. Dylan once again recognizes “winds of change blowing across the sea,” in telling his new found love interest, confidently, tauntingly “you ain’t seen nothin’ like me yet.”
No acoustic, unplugged here! Within a rock music format Dylan shifts through each delivery with uncanny mastery. Dylan, the Poet Laureate of Folk and Folk Rock, spreads his landscape musically before us, having attained artistically again , his self constructed moral compass. The final track is a musical “tour de force.” With bow and arrow in hand, horses to ride and dogs as company, he envisions his own “Border Highlands Home.” His heart is there and he’s “already there in his head .“ Defining a destinition and visualizing it, “step by step” Dylan is on his way to the “Heartlands,” We you well ,we wish you Godspeed. Have a safe and fruitful journey ,Mr. Robert Zimmerman of Hibbing, Minnesota. And hey, Dude, write us a few tunes along the way!
Dave Nardi
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