americana rhythm magazine issue #55
DESCRIPTION
Top rated bluegrass duo; brother/sister act, The Roys is our cover artist - along with all the usual exciting feature. Plus, ArtistWorks, and new feature, Inside Track!TRANSCRIPT
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As we put the finishing touches on the final issue for 2014, I amthoughtful of these words by famous music icon Billy Joel, “I thinkmusic in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity.It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’refrom, everyone loves music.”
I witness the power of music every day here in the AR office–from theCDs that come across my desk; to the countless press releases and an-nouncements that fill my in box every week, which tell the tales andstories of talented musicians pursuing and living their dream and shar-ing a message—their message—with the world.
There are too many of you to thank individually for your efforts; nev-ertheless, we honor you, all of you, for your passion and your determi-nation. With a new year dawning, we are grateful to the friends who’vejoined us on this journey, and we’re excited to continue on with you in2015. See you next year!
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Americana Rhythm is published six times a year. All correspon-dence should be sent to PO Box 45, Bridgewater VA, 22812 oremail to [email protected]. Copies of AmericanaRhythm are made available free at various pick up locations withinthe publication’s region. Subscriptions are available inside the UnitedStates (only) for $16 US currency made payable by check or moneyorder sent to, Subscriptions at PO Box 45, Bridgewater, VA, 22812.Foreign subscrip t ion requests should be sent [email protected]. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.Reproduction of any content, artwork or photographs is strictlyprohibited without permission of the publisher or original owner. Alladvertising material subject to approval.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEFGreg E. Tutwiler
Associate EditorEd Tutwiler
MARKETING & PROMOTIONMark Barreres (GrassRootsNetworking.com)
ADVERTISINGBusiness office 540-433-0360
CONTRIBUTORSEd Tutwiler
Wayne ErbsenDonna Ulisse
Don and Martha DePoyAndrew McKnightDonna Marie Miller
DISTRIBUTIONEd TutwilerZebra Media
Associated Dist.Downtown BooksThe Purple Fiddle
Floyd Country StoreShen. Valley Farmers Mkt.
Heritage Farmers Mkt.... many more!
Letters, Comments, [email protected]
PUBLISHER
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By Edward Tutwiler
As a reader of AmericanaRhythm Music Magazine, youknow that we have positivefeelings for live-music venuesand cheer for their successevery time we get theopportunity. You also knowthat we share your sense of lossevery time one of these venuesis forced to close. While it is arare occurrence when one ofthese closings gets reversed, itis a joy when it happens. Suchis the case for the PrismCoffeehouse in Charlottesville,VA.
Prior to its 2006 closing, thePrism Coffeehouse enjoyed a40-year run at the corner ofGordon Avenue and RugbyRoad in a 100 seat room thatalways seemed smaller thanwhat it really was. While it wasknown as a coffeehouse, the
Prism was not the typicalclattering environment thename causes one to picture.Rather, the Prism was morelistening room thanroadhouse; and even thoughfolks were sometimes packedto standing room onlynumbers, the mood was quietand attentive. This quietreverence for the performersand their music was such thata local radio station, WTJU,produced live broadcasts ofsome of the performances. Therange of talented performersthat graced the Prism withtheir presence is legendary asthe Prism showcased all kindsof music—jazz, blues, folk,rock and just about everythingin between.
A Friendly RefugeA group of Charlottesville areaministers started the PrismCoffeehouse in 1966 as a placeof friendly refuge forUniversity of Virginia studentswho were opposed to theVietnam War. From thisbeginning as a gathering placefor like-minded folks, musicwas a natural outgrowth. Overtime, the Prism evolved tobecome a gathering place forfans of folk and mountainstring-music; and as an outletfor local and regional singer/songwriters to showcase theirtalent. Sometime around 1990,the board members whooversaw Prism operationshired a capable artisticdirector who was able to bookworld-renowned artists of allstyles to the Prism stage. With
that quantum step, the PrismC o f f e e h o u s e b e c a m elegendary.
As with all good things, thePrism Coffeehouse came to anend in 2006. A number offactors led to this closingincluding a loss of the lease forthe venue that the Prism calledhome. This closurerepresented a sad time forfollowers of the type of livemusic that had graced thePrism stage for so long.
Recently, the folk musicdirector for radio stationWTJU, Mr. Peter Jones,spearheaded an effort to revivethe Prism experience. Herecruited some original Prismboard members from the1990’s and added newmembers to join him in thiseffort. All of the boardmembers are fans ofAmericana music and areexcited about the possibilitiesof continuing the legacy ofstaging great traditional,acoustic folk music inCharlottesville and hope to
Turning The Lights Back On
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Image credit https://trueblueridge.files.wordpress.com
recreate the listening roomexperience of the originalPrism Coffeehouse.
New LeadershipThis newly formed board ofdirectors for the revivedPrism Coffeehouse (that isthe legal name, by the way)determined that there wasenough local interest in sucha revival to make the effortworthwhile but that thereneeded to be money availableto make the effort viable. Tolearn how that effort went for-ward, I contacted Mr. PeteMarshall who is one of the newboard members. He told methat they decided to raisemoney through an onlinecrowd funding campaignthrough the indiegogo crowdfunding website(www.indiegogo.com).How did thatfund raising turnout you mightask. Here in Mr.Marshall’s wordsis the answer tothat question,“The campaignhandily met itsoriginal goal ofraising $5000, and then metand surpassed a stretch goal of$8000, which was gratifying inand of its self, but i t alsoproved to the Prism’s boardthat there was significant inter-est in a revival of the Prism.”
A good portion of the fundsplus a generous in-kind dona-tion from the CrutchfieldCompany helped the Prism’sboard to acquire a high qual-ity digital sound system. Thisnew sound system will providegreat live sound, but also pro-vide the means to record someof the future concert presenta-tions directly into a computervia multiple channels, as in arecording studio. As Mr.Marshall put it, “We hope tocontinue the legacy of live con-cert recordings for which theprevious incarnation of thePrism gained a well-deservedreputation.”
Looking For New DigsThe Prism does not yet have itsown permanent physical loca-
tion. It is somewhat of a mov-able feast as it starts out on thisrevival quest and will presentconcerts in various venues forthe time being. (Editor note, Isuggest that this portability
might be positive asit gives the Prism asort of traveling va-riety show vibe.)Among the variousvenues being usedfor this Prism re-vival, is a formerchurch buildingthat is located at 112West Market St. ind o w n t o w n
Charlottesville and is knownas The Haven. This facility is aresource center and day shel-ter for Charlottesville’s home-less people and it makes itssanctuary room available forcommunity gatherings andconcerts. Mr. Marshall told usthat not every act the Prism willbook would fill the Haven’ssanctuary so they will also turnto alternate venues, such asCharlottesville Coffee.
T h e r e v i v e d P r i s mCoffeehouse’s first concert washeld at The Haven in October,2014. Mr. Marshall said this re-vival concert featured three lo-cal acts and was a great success.He further stated that the num-ber of folks who attended thisfirst concert reinforced theboard’s belief that there isroom in the local music scenefor a listening-room type ofpublic performance by artistsof the style and type thatplayed the old Prism but whon o w o f t e n b y p a s sCharlottesville for lack of sucha venue.
To ring out the old year andring in the new one, the Prismwill participate in First NightVirginia with a Prism Coffee-house Stage at the First Meth-o d i s t C h u r c h i nCharlottesville. This concertwill feature the well respectedlocal bluegrass gospel band,The Deanes, and the nationaltouring act, The Honey Dew-drops. The Charlottesville Cof-fee venue will be the location
for the January 11, 2015 presen-tation of the award-winningCanadian songwriter Old ManLuedecke; however, The Havenwill be the location for The DryBranch Fire Squad, concert onFriday March 6, 2015. Also, thePrism has promised each oneof the three acts from theirkick-off concert their ownstand-alone gigs in the future.Marshall summed all of thiswith this comment, “As you cansee, our schedule includes areal mixture of old and new,local, regional, national and in-ternational acts.”
It’s All GoodIt is always good news whena fledgling live-music venueturns on its lights for the firsttime but I believe it is muchgreater news when an old, re-spected, and sorely missedvenue from the past can turntheir lights back on after theyhad to go dark no matterwhat the reason. Such is thecase for the new Prism Cof-feehouse in Charlottesville,VA. We here at the magazineoffice certainly wish themevery bit of good wishes onthe future of this revival. If
you wish to follow this devel-oping story, point yourcomputer’s browser to http://prismcoffeehouse.org/. This isalso the place to check out theperformance schedule for thecoming year. I know I certainlywant to be there for that Marchperformance of The Dry BranchFire Squad—how about you?Plus, Mr. Marshall said, “Yes,coffee is likely to be part of theequation!”
“We’re not reallyrising from thedead,We’re justsort of coming outof the shadows.”
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The lines dividing the different genres of string based music become moreblurred everyday. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; however for the lis-tener it can make it more difficult to discern what exactly is your favoritekind of music. Thankfully, somewhere along the way the term Ameri-cana Music grew to encompass it all. What began as a radio format inthe early 1990s has become viewed by many as the hottest growing musicformat out there today.
The Americana Music Association describes it this way; “Americana iscontemporary music that incorporates elements of various American rootsmusic styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, R&B and blues,resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound that lives in a world apartfrom the pure forms of the genres upon which it may draw. While acousticinstruments are often present and vital, Americana also often uses a fullelectric band.”
So, who was the best Americana act this past year? The Americana MusicAssociation recently released its Top 100 Albums of the Year. The list wasbased on the records reported to the Americana Airplay Chart during theperiod of December 2, 2013 through December 1, 2014.
1. Rosanne Cash - The River & The Thread
2. Nickel Creek - A Dotted Line
3. Rodney Crowell - Tarpaper Sky
4. Hard Working Americans - Hard Working Americans
5. Old Crow Medicine - Show Remedy
6. Nikki Lane - All Or Nothin’
7. Lake Street Dive - Bad Self Portraits
8. Shovels And Rope - Swimmin’ Time
9. John Hiatt - Terms Of My Surrender
10. Sturgill Simpson Metamodern - Sounds In Country Music
11. Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin - Common Ground
12. St. Paul & The Broken - Bones Half The City
13. Parker Millsap - Parker Millsap
14. Willie Nelson - Band Of Brothers
15. Paul Thorn - Too Blessed To Be Stressed
16. Lucinda Williams - Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone
17. Trampled By Turtles - Wild Animals
18. Various - A Tribute To Jackson Browne Looking Into You
19. Keb Mo - BLUESAmericana
20. Secret Sisters - Put Your Needle Down
21. John Fullbright - Songs
22. Amos Lee - Mountains Of Sorrow, Rivers Of Song
23. Jamestown Revival - Utah
24. Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison - Our Year
25. Jason Eady - Daylight & Dark
Also appearing on the list were the remaining 75 entries; InfamousStringdusters, Johnny Cash, Red Molly, Duhks, Drive By Truckers, LeeAnn Womack, Ruthie Foster, Marty Stuart, Avett Brothers, and obviouslymany others. To see the complete Top 100, go to http://americanamusic.org/americana-music-association-announces-top-10-top-100-albums-2014.
2014’s Best Revealed
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Donna Ulisse has been a two timenominee for IBMA Songwriter of theYear, a signed songwriter to UncleHadley Music (ASCAP) in Nashville,for 15 years, and has released sevenbluegrass albums on the Hadley Mu-sic Group label. Her songs have beenrecorded by Claire Lynch, Nu-Blu,The Bankesters, Darin & BrookeAldridge, Louise Mosrie, DianaJones. One of her songs appearedon the 2014 Grammy winning albumStreets of Baltimore by the DelMcCoury Band. She has just pub-lished her first book The SongwriterIn Me: Snapshots of My Creative Pro-cess, available on Amazon.com.
As the days grow colder and thesuppers that I prepare grow morecomforting, I always feel a bitcloser to my sweet grandmother,Martha Marie Nichols Butler.Though she is residing somewherebeyond the clouds, it seems that sheis just around the corner from me.With the approach of Christmas, Iam reminded of her childlikeexcitement as she readied herselffor the holidays. I can see her asthough it were happening right infront of me today. With each stageof Martha’s decorating, cooking,and shopping; a song would burstforth in her fine, strong alto voice.She lived with a constant song, andit is still one of the loudest voicesin my head.
Christmas to me is still somethingin eye-catching red, somethingsavory on the stove, and (to
complete the memory of mygrandmother) badly wrappedpackages. I long to see themcrowding the space under my treefilled with five and dime gifts;socks, soaps, bubble baths,baubles, off-brand toys, all thethings I would love to open up justone more time in her presence. Infact, I carry on her tradition ofboxes filled with white socks forall of my loved ones on Christmasday. And guess what? I forgot tobuy them last year and I am stillhearing about it today. I won’tforget that trick this year.
All these Yuletide memories that Iam sharing are to give you anexample of the pictures I can pluckout of my writers mind and put tosong. This particular holiday canbe many things to many folks. It canbring on nostalgia, sadness,
depression, incredible joy, longing,anger, laughter, family drama, happyfamily gatherings, well; you get it -a roller coaster of emotions, allthings good for a writer. If you area writer needing inspiration, thistime of year is loaded with it. Iencourage you to take a look downthrough your past, present, and eveninto your future, to see theinspiration and then write about it.Sad or happy, it doesn’t matter. Getthe image out of your head and onthe paper.
I will give you a song example thatI have written, about the images Ijust revealed to you, and let you seehow my imagination rolls. [See“Miss Martha’s Christmas Eve” tothe right of this page.]
Though you will not have thereference to melody, maybe your
eye can pick up the rhythm andallow it to play in your imagination.It is upbeat, just like miss Martha.
Until we gather on these pages thenext time take, a look at your oldmemories with a writer’s eye andsee what you can come up with.They are the things songs are madeof!
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MISS MARTHA’S CHRISTMAS EVEwritten by Donna Ulisse (c) 2006Uncle Hadley Songs(ASCAP)
THE HOLIDAYS COULD ALWAYS MAKE MISS MARTHA SING HER CLEAR, BLUE EYES WOULD SPARKLE LIKE A CHILDSHE’D HAVE SOMETHING RED HANGING OFF OF EVERYTHINGAND EIGHTY YEARS OF MAGIC IN HER SMILE
SHE STARTED COUNTING DOWN FIRST OF SEPTEMBER SHOPPING AND FRUIT CAKES FILLED HER DAYSAND ON EVERY TWENTY FOURTH OF DECEMBERWE’D ALL CROWD INTO HER CHEERFUL LITTLE PLACE
I STILL SEE HER LAUGHING UNDER MISTLETOEOH MISS MARTHA, I DO MISS YOU SO...
NOW I CAN’T WATCH THE FALLING SNOW ON CHRISTMAS EVEAND NOT THINK SOMEHOW SHE HELPED TO START IT JUST FOR METHAT’S SO LIKE HER TO SET THE MOOD JUST RIGHTAND SEND ME CHRISTMAS WISHES ON THIS NIGHT
I ALWAYS LOVED HER PINE SPRAYED, PLASTIC EVERGREENCRAMMED WITH ORNAMENTS AND SINGIN’, BLINKIN’ LIGHTSEACH TRINKET HAD IT’S PLACE AND IT’S OWN STORYTHAT MARKED EACH PASSING CHRISTMAS OF HER LIFE
I TRIM MY OWN TREE NOW WITH HER SWEET MEMORYAND I CAN’T HELP BUT LAUGH INSTEAD OF CRY‘CAUSE I CAN HEAR HER SINGING LOUD, JUST OFF KEY I CAN SEE HER SMILING FACE AND DANCING EYES
I DON’T GET SAD THINKIN’ ‘BOUT HER BEING GONE ‘CAUSE SHE LEFT ME HER SWEET JOY WHEN SHE PASSED ON
NOW I CAN’T WATCH THE FALLING SNOW ON CHRISTMAS EVEAND NOT THINK SOMEHOW SHE HELPED TO START IT JUST FOR METHAT’S SO LIKE HER TO SET THE MOOD JUST RIGHTAND SEND ME CHRISTMAS WISHES ON THIS NIGHT
Not long ago, much to the chagrinof his loyal fans, Dr. Ralph Stanleyannounced at a festival that hewould be retiring. After all, thedecorated legendary pioneer ofBluegrass music is nearly 90 yearsold. Mid-way through his farewelltour he decided to … well maybenot. He told the Chicago-SunTimes last January, “I had plannedto retire after this year and Ireconsidered ... I didn’t know howmy health would be. And I didn’tknow if I would be able. So Idecided that I would just wait untilit happened.”
Almost a year later, he’s still goingstrong, and a new CD on the way,January, 19th, 2015, on the CrackerBarrel Old Country Store® label.
Stanley, a three-time GRAMMYAward winner and InternationalBluegrass Hall of Honor inducteewill be joined on the CD, RalphStanley & Friends: Man OfConstant Sorrow, by guests such asDierks Bentley, Elvis Costello, DelMcCoury, Buddy Miller & JimLauderdale, Old Crow MedicineShow, Robert Plant, Ricky Skaggs,
Nathan Stanley, Josh Turner,Gillian Welch & David Rawlings,and Lee Ann Womack.
“I have always enjoyed performingwith other musicians ever since myolder brother Carter and I firststarted playing music togetherwhen we were kids,” said Stanley.“So many of my fans are regularvisitors to Cracker Barrel, so I’mhappy to have my project availableexclusively there in one of theirfavorite locations.”
Cracker Barrel Marketing ManagerJulie Craig said, “Cracker Barrel ishonored to offer this album featur-ing the legendary Ralph Stanley,and a variety of talented artiststhrough our exclusive music pro-gram. I know they will enjoy thisonce-in-a-lifetime album.”
One More
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By Greg Tutwiler
Lee, and his big sis, Elaine Roy,know as The Roys, are fast becom-ing a festival staple these days anda fan favorite. Their immaculateharmonies, outstanding musician-ship, and talented songwritingcombine traditional bluegrass/country and a progressive Ameri-cana instrumental approach to cre-ate a sound that’s all their own.
Since making the decision to moveto Nashville eight years ago, there’sbeen no looking back. Here are justa few of the accolades bestowed onthe siblings; They have won the In-spirational Country Music (ICM)Duo of the Year four years in a row.Their debut album with RuralRhythm Records, LonesomeWhistle, landed on Billboard’s Top50 Bluegrass Albums of 2011 chart.The CD’s success earned them a2011 award for the ICM BluegrassArtist of the Year, and a No. 1single, “Coal Minin’ Man.” Theirsecond CD for the label, New DayDawning, debuted at #2 on theBillboard’s Bluegrass AlbumsChart, reached #1 on Amazon’sBluegrass Best-Sellers list.
Their 2013 release, Runaway Train,earned a Top 5 on Billboard’s Blue-grass Album Chart and hit #1 onSirius XM Bluegrass Junction’sMost-Played Albums chart (Oct.2013). In 2014 they were named the#1 Bluegrass Artist of the 2014 In-ternational Acoustic Music Awards(IAMA).
Northern GrassChildren of French-Canadian par-ents, Lee and Elaine were born inFitchburg, Massachusetts, but thepassing of their grandmother drewthe family back to New Brunswickwhere they would find music asone of the few available pastimes.“Just about everyone on my mom’sside of the family played an instru-ment of some kind,” Lee told me.“It was a very small town andthere wasn’t a lot to do. But I tellyou, there was a lot of musicaround us growing up.”
“Our Grandma LeBlanc playedAcadian tunes on her fiddle while
my aunts and uncles joined in,”Elaine recalls. “It was truly ‘Roots’music. We fell in love with that‘honest’ sound, and our harmoniesseemed to fit that style of music,”added Lee. They were keenlyaware of each other’s musical abili-ties, but it took a while for them torealize they shared a common vi-sion for the future. “I had alwaysdreamed about going to Nashville,”stated Elaine. “I was amazed whenI learned my brother shared thatvision as well.” “It was somethingthat we both wanted – and it justseemed natural to pursue it,” Leesaid.
Young ProdigiesBy the time he was 10 (in the mid-80s), Lee was playing in a bluegrassband with his cousins. Elaine wasplaying too, in a bluegrass/countryband around the same time, butas Lee recalls, “we always got askedto do things together. They woundnever ask for her band or my
band. I think deep down even thenwe knew that is what we wouldeventually end up doing. We werevery much influenced by the samekind of music and really did likeperforming together.” So they did.
The siblings toured as a two-piecelounge act for a while, and thenspent some time touring with thelate George Jones, before taking abrake from the road. “Countrymusic started to really go in a di-rection that we didn’t want to go,”Lee said. “When we started goingto places and people would say,‘wow, you guys still have a fiddleplayer?’ we knew country musicwas changing. Less and less peoplewanted us to cover Merle Haggardand wanted to know if we knewthe latest Shania Twain song orwhatever was popular at the time.We both really just needed to getjobs and move forward with ourlives for a while.” So they put the
touring on hold and settled into anine-to-five lifestyle for a season.
Back Around AgainBut the music continued to stir intheir hearts. “We had been doingstraight hard core country at thattime – but we still always had aflair for bluegrass. We just stuck toour guns.” Lee remembered. Oneday, good friend/now manager,Kurt Webster took them into hisoffice and said, ‘you guys have areal rootsy feel; why don’t you cutanother album that’s more to yourroots. Let’s just do it like you weremaking a gift for mom and dad,and see what happens.’ I said, ‘doyou want us to do bluegrass?’ Andhe said, ‘do whatever you feel thesong needs and let’s see what wecome up with.’ And we came upwith pretty much a straight for-ward bluegrass album.” Webstersaid after hearing the finished CD,“this is your heart; this is what youneed to do.”
Oh Brother, Oh Sister
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That was the Lonesome Whistlealbum. They shopped it around alittle bit, until the Rural Rhythmlabel eventually picked it up – andas they say, the rest is history. “Eversince then we’ve been blessed tojust go out everyday and play mu-sic for a living. We didn’t have toworry about, where does this fit –its bluegrass, and it’s our heart –our heritage.”
So eight years ago they made themove to Nashville to make a go atfull time music. “We’ve eaten bo-logna like everyone else,” Lee said,“and every once in a while we getto have a steak, but we’ve beenvery blessed and fortunate to beable to call this our career.”
Timing Is Everything“Bluegrass is really becoming thenew hip thing right now. Whenthe movie Oh Brother, Where ArtThou? came out, bluegrass artistsenjoyed this huge wave for awhile,” Lee observed.“But it started to diedown a bit. And it’s re-ally coming back to theforefront again underthis new term Ameri-cana. What it reallyneeded was a shot ofmodernism, I think.People started to say,‘don’t pigeon hole itand say it has to soundlike … (blank). Nowstring based music isbeing influenced bymodern music – beingplayed by artists thatlisten to all kinds ofother things. And thisnew bend in the music hasemerged. It’s not that walls havecrumbled because you don’t wantto lose that heritage. But I thinkartists have been able to experimentmore with the sounds and bring afresh perspective to an old stan-dard, and they’re not gettingshunned for it anymore.”
The Roys, like many other newbluegrass groups, have been ableto carve their own niche’ withinthis ever growing genre’. It’s re-freshing to see artists starting tomake it in an industry that is morefriendly and approachable thanjust about any other format avail-able today.
Authentic And OriginalLike many roots/bluegrass/Ameri-cana groups, The Roys write themajority of their songs. It’s theiroriginal music that adds to thecharacter of the band and authen-ticity of their sound. “Our musicis rooted in life – it’s the stories wehear when people come up to talkto us – if you really listen, there’sinspiration everywhere,” Lee said.
“At the end of the day, we approachevery record as if it’s going to beour last,” he said, “and ask thequestion; what do we want to sayon that record? What’s the messagewe want to send to the listener, tothe audience? We’ll have songs thatcould easily include a steel guitaror maybe drums. For us, growingup, it was Merle Haggard andConway Twitty; and Bill Monroe,and the Osborne Brothers. That’sour foundation and the roots of oursound.”
The ViewFor their fourth CD on RuralRhythm, the duo continues theirsignature roots sound with possi-bly their best effort to date. Someconsider this the truest represen-tation of The Roys sound so far.
Backed by current band matesClint White (fiddle), DanielPatrick (banjo) and Erik Alvar(bass), the siblings say they arequite proud of this project.“Elaine and I have poured ourhearts into this project,” Lee said.“We really wanted to promote oursound and tell our story with thisrecord.”
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Better Than Just On Line LessonsSo, you’re finally ready to mas-ter that banjo, or mandolin, or gui-tar that’s been sitting around inyour living room staring at youevery evening when you gethome from work. Or, maybe youare looking to hone your skills bylearning some new chords or per-fecting a new lick. Wouldn’t it becool if you could take a few les-sons from one of your favoritemusicians like Tony Trischka, orAndy Hall, (Dobro player withthe Infamous Stringdusters)? Youcan! And it’s way more cool thanyou imagine. Enter ArtistWorksInc.
Can’t Find It, Create ItThe story goes; In 2008, formerAOL executive David Butler setout to finally master jazz guitar.With no acceptable teachers in hisarea, he and co-Founder PatriciaButler built a revolutionary onlinesystem to enable anyone to getdirect feedback from a masterteacher anywhere in the world.
ArtistWorks is not just an onlinetutorial. They offer unique, onlinelessons for not just first time play-ers, but seasoned performers aswell. It’s interactive, with world-class musicians watching, andpersonally responding to practicevideos submitted by you, the stu-dent.
The teacher’s response is “pairedwith the corresponding studentsubmission and both sides of theinteraction are available to allmembers.” This unique learningmodel has established an evergrowing library of invaluableknowledge, along with an enthu-siastic and interactive global com-munity.
According to CEO Patricia Butler,“This new generation Video Ex-change® Learning Platform en-ables world-renowned artists andmusicians to teach the world bypresenting their artistic legacy inthe form of HD video lessons anddirect feedback to subscribing stu-dents. Using simple web cams,smart-phones, tablets and videocameras, students are able to sub-mit practice videos and receive in-dividualized video feedback andinstruction – creating a constantly
evolving two-way, online learn-ing experience.”
Thumbs UpBanjo student Chris Ragaisis said,“I can’t say enough good thingsabout the School of Banjo. Thebanjo lessons already up on thesite take you from raw beginnerup through some advanced con-cepts. Then there are the specialguest interviews/lessons withpeople like Noam Pikelny andSteve Martin teaching you. Butthe icing on the cake is the videoexchanges. If you’re a student,you submit whatever you’reworking on – whether it is one ofthe banjo lessons from the site orjust a tune you like. Tony checksout your version, makes tech-nique suggestions, and generallyoffers a couple of variations foryou to try.”
Butler pointed out that theArtistWorks lessons are not justfor Bluegrass or Folk musicianseither. “We welcome all levels ofplayers, regardless of their expe-rience and offer a wide range ofinstruments and styles,” she said.“So whether they play jazz,blues, rock, pop, classical or blue-grass, there’s literally somethingfor everyone.”
Mandolin School student DustyMiller said, “I live in a state witha shortage of mandolin teachersso I think it’s invaluable …To beable to darn near have one-on-one teaching from a pro can helpanybody’s playing.” Carey, a
Flatpick Guitar School stu-dent said, “I love havingpretty much every bit ofinstructional material Ineed in one place, and be-ing able to converse di-rectly with the teacher,Bryan Sutton, via the fo-rums, etc., that’s prettydanged priceless.”
Not JustAny Teacher
When choosing a new in-structor for the school, theselection process is prettyrigorous. “Our under-standing of what is neededin a good quality onlineteacher has become fine
tuned over the years,” Butler said.“We start our process looking atstellar players who have a solidhistory of teaching, either in per-son, perhaps in a college or pub-lic workshops. Great players arenot always the best teachers andvice versa. Teachers that have re-corded DVDs or video instructiontend to be more comfortable with
the lesson recording, so we takethat history in to consideration.Our teachers must also have akeen interest in leading an onlinecommunity of engaged playersand we often refer to them asonline mayors.”
As far as the future goes forArtistWorks, Sutton said thatthere have been many requeststo expand the offering, and theyplan to oblige. Folks have re-quested material for the ukulele,jazz piano, jazz saxophone andsinger songwriter acoustic guitar.“Those sites will launch in thefirst half of 2015 and there’s muchmore to come in music,” she said.“We expect to expand to othervisually taught subjects in 2015like personal fitness, dance andphotography. We just became aSignature Partner in the PartnerCloud at Blackboard so in 2015,our music lesson libraries will bemade available to a thousand uni-versities and higher education in-stitutions around the UnitedStates.”
For more info. visit www.ArtistWorks.com
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Terry andhisDerringBanjo.
Chatam County Line
Why is it that when you drop a sliceof bread that you’ve just slatheredwith peanut butter, it always landspeanut butter down? Maybe it’s thesame cosmic forces at work thatcause the best apples to be at the verytop of the tree. That’s the predica-ment I found myself inyesterday as I contem-plated how I was going toget some juicy applesdown from thirty five feetup in the air of a tree thatwas too skinny to climb.
But wait! I’m gettingahead of myself. It allstarted this fall weekendwhen I was up at our re-mote off-the-grid log cabinon the back side of theBlue Ridge Mountains in MadisonCounty, North Carolina. For the lastmonth or so, I’d been eying a forlornold-timey apple tree that was just onthe edge of our mountain property.The house that once stood nearbywas long gone, but the tree stubbornly
By Wayne Erbsen
June Apple lived on. It had fallen down years be-fore, but that hardly slowed it down.Instead, the tree produced hundredsof sprouts that yielded apples that werefirm, tart, and lasted through the falland winter. Other than imagining thatthe apples were some old-time vari-ety, I had no idea what kind they were.All I knew is that I had to have some.
After I’dcleaned thetree of thelow hangingfruit, I spiedthe best,plump applesat the tip topof the tree.Without aladder, I de-cided to usemy noggin.
What could I use to grab those ap-plies? I went rummaging around mytool shed and finally found somethingI thought would work. It was an oldtin water ladle with the handle brokenoff. I was glad I hadn’t thrown it away.
With a bit of ingenuity, I managed toscrew the cup of the ladle to a stick,and hose clamped the stick to the endof a long extension pole. I was thenable to snake my new apple grabberthrough the tangled mass of treebranches. One by one, I got thosebeautiful apples down. I have to say, Idon’t remember when I’ve had somuch fun. Getting anapple with my grabberproduced the same thrillas catching a big trout. Ifyou’re a fisherman, youknow that feeling. I wasgiddy as a schoolboy onthe first day of summervacation.
Having the time of mylife, of course, I startedto sing. The first tune thatthat came to mind was“June Apple.” It’s reallya great tune with thatbouncy happy feeling youget on a cool, clear morning in the Fallwhen the apples are ripe and ready topick.
Note to banjo pickers: You can playthis song using either or bothfingerpicking or clawhammer style. Anote with a single stem is a quarternote and two notes tied together areeighth notes. The tab gives you only
Wayne Erbsen has been deeply im-mersed in old-time and bluegrassmusic for fifty years. He has writtenover thirty instruction and songbooksand he claims to be able to teach any-one to play a musical instrument. Getin touch with Wayne for a free cata-log from his company, Native GroundBooks & Music, or visitwww.nativeground.com.
the melody, so you can decorate itany way you like.
“June Apple” is written out in banjotab in regular G tuning, gDGBD. Mostfiddle players play it in the key of A,so you’ll need to capo up your banjoto the second fret and adjust yourfifth string accordingly.
12 www.AmericanaRhythm.com
February 2015
FEATUREARTISTS
Thanks to our partnership with ReverbNation (www.reverbnation.com) we are honored to give you apeak at a few of the nation’s hardest working indie artists. Each month we select one entry to showcasefor you here. Enjoy!
THIS MONTH’S FEATURE: By Greg Tutwiler
The Muddy Crows
Washington D.C. based Ameri-cana/Roots-Rock band, TheMuddy Crows are quickly be-coming know for thrilling theD.C. crowds, and have beengrowing steadily throughout theMid-Atlantic region. Their 2014debut album, The Muddy Crows,(all original material) is quicklyearning them attention; confer-ences, festivals, markets, and anyvenue that appreciates livemusic.
Lead singer/guitar player Dangave Profiles some insight intothe origins of The Muddy Crows.“In late 2010, I was looking foraccompaniment to help promotethe release of my solo album OldFashioned Love,” He recalled.“Through a series of Craigslistads, I met Steve Mead and EricGrabow, two local musicianswho were playing for a bandcalled “The List,” which was inthe process of dis-banding (punintended).”
A Fresh StartThe three began working to-gether, and shortly thereafteradded a drummer. The fourmusiciansimmediately beganperforming as a band in localvenues. “We had a number ofline-up changes, but have beenrelatively stable since the addi-tion of drummer Justin Thomasin 2013. Shortly after we met
Justin, we decided to rebrand
ourselves.
The guys were originally goingto call themselves the DirtyBirds but thought that it seemedtoo generic. “It lacked a certainamount of edge. So we thought,‘What’s dirtier than dirt? What’sbirdier than birds?” Dan said.And thus they became TheMuddy Crows. “This is not thetrue story, but it is way moreinteresting than the truth,” hechuckled.
Dan said that the band writes alltheir songs. “Actually, it’s whatThe Muddy Crows are knownfor,” he said, “but that does notmean that we are too proud toplay cover songs as well. In fact,some shows, especially longersets for holiday parties, requireus to play quite a number ofpopular covers. But, we are not acover band, and we try to keepthe perspective that our coverselection should complementthe core of our originals.”
Growing Up In CroceAs a child, Dan listened to thevinyl records of Jim Croce and
James Taylor. “These men areundoubtedly two of the largerinfluences on my songwriting.But, I also have to credit a lot ofmy more upbeat guitar tech-niques to modern talents such asJohn Mayer and Jason Mraz. Bothshare a highly percussive-playingstyle and the more dynamicvocal melodies that I strive tointegrate into our current mu-sic.”
As a songwriter, Dan says hetends to be more of a storytellerand gravitate toward melodiesand chord progressions that havemore of a folk vibe. “But oftentimes, the original draft is muchdifferent than the final product,”he muses.
Unique AdditionThe band all hails from a uniquemusical background allowingthem to bring their own stylisticflavor to the sound. “As eachperson adds a new layer ofsound, based on their owninfluences, the potential of thesong grows,” Dan said. “Theadded instrumentation, each
with its own vision, grows thefinal product into something thathas so much more depth than thesimple vocal/guitar song that Ihad written at the start.”
“The result of this collaborationis often a unique sound thatdoesn’t fit into the standardgenres such as Bluegrass, Coun-try, Pop, Rock etc. While we arenot offended by terms like RootsRock or Folk Rock, I think thatour blend fits nicely into theWikipedia definition of Ameri-cana.”
What Suits BestDan feels like the band gets themost out of their festival appear-ances: outdoor events with freshair, large stages, and enthusiasticcrowds. “These are shows whereI feel that we can best promoteour original music to themasses,” he said. “To make it tothe next level, artists like usneed to find large numbers ofsupportive fans. But, people,these days, are so oversaturatedwith calls for attention fromsocial media sites such asFacebook, Twitter, Instagram,and even YouTube. So, we seethe festival circuit as a sort ofgrass roots movement of support.Plus while you have their atten-tion you can always remindthem to follow you on Facebookand Twitter.”
For more information, seewww.themuddycrows.com, orfind their latest CD on iTunes.
13www.AmericanaRhythm.com
February 2015
In this new series, we get a little deeper into the inside track with some of our featured artists. These stories are just asnapshot of a longer interview that you can hear in it’s entirety by clicking the link on our web page;www.AmericanaRhythm.com.
Clark lives in Berryville, Virginia where hefronts the band, The Bitter Liberals. His mostrecent CD, Dream Of A Good Death, is con-sidered a folk opera of sorts. The CD was in-spired by Drew Gilpin Faust’s book, This Re-public Of Suffering. It features original songspenned by Clark, and follows the trials, hopes,
fears, and sac-rifices of theConfederatesoldiers as theytoil throughthe Union con-quest of PortRoyal, the firesin the Wilder-ness, and theKilling Fieldsof Gettysburg
and Cold Harbor, and along the siege lines ofVicksburg and Petersburg.
When asked how this subject matter came tothe surface, Clark said, “I think it’s probablya middle age crisis of sorts, when men reachthis certain age in American culture we startreading about the Civil War. I’ve been a mu-sician since I was 16 and a long time educa-tor. After reading about the Civil War quite abit, it seemed like a great fit.” As Clark waswriting songs for his band’s previous CD, atrip to Buford, South Carolina sparked a songcalled, “Fall Of The Rice Kingdom.”
“It was a fun and interesting song,” Clarkrecalled, “so I brought that song to the band,and we recorded it.” “Then over the next sixmonths I set down regularly and worked ona series of songs to go with it. I attempted ineach song to tell a personal story about someactual event. As I wrote, each story started tocome together, and I saw them more as a chro-nological story.” He eventually wrote 12 to15 songs that were pared down to the 10 songsthat are now on the CD.
When playing live, Clark and the band notonly present the music as recordedon the CD but also present a slidepresentation in between songs thatoffers the Union point of view. “Bythe end of the evening you get bothperspectives,” Clark said.
Clark HansbargerJohnny Williams is a busy guy – he currentlysings and plays guitar with Johnny Williams andFriends, The Jeanette Williams Band, Freemanand Williams Trio, and selected dates with LouisaBranscomb, and selected dates with AdamMcPeak & Mountain Thunder. “Well, I’m notas busy as it sounds, I’m just lucky enough toget to play a lot, and with a lot of different andtalented people,” he mused. “You know, in themusic business, if you’re sitting still, you’re notgetting anywhere.”
In addition to allthis, Johnny stillfills in occasionallywith a band heplayed with for 4 ½years, Big CountryBluegrass, and hejust recently co-founded an organi-zation called BlueRidge Acoustic Up-rising. Oh, his new solo project Going My Wayhas just been released on Mountain Roads Re-cordings.
A prolific songwriter most of his life, it was analbum his wife, Jeanette, had with a couple ofhis songs on it, produced by Dan Tyminski(Alison Krauss and Union Station) that got himnoticed. “It seemed like when everyone else sawthat he though these songs were good enoughto use, then everyone started calling.” Nowmany of his songs have been recorded by notedartists like Doyle Lawson, Jr. Sisk, and SpecialConsensus. Johnny won the Chris AustinSongwriting Contest’s bluegrass division atMerlefest in 1998, and 1999. And he has beenfortunate to co-write with Tom T. & Dixie Hall.
As a producer, Johnny has worked on more than40 projects in the past few years, with one of hislatest Close Kin, (Mountain Roads Recordings)being named the number three project of thetop 100 projects of 2012 by the Roots MusicCharts.
His latest venture, the Blue Ridge Acoustic Up-rising, began two years ago as a project to show-case the Blue Ridge music of Southwest Virginia.“We did this to try to help some folks that arereally talented but just haven’t quite made ityet,” he said.
Johnny Williams
To find out more about Johnny, visitwww.JohnnyWilliams.com
To find out more, visitwww.CivilWarSong.com
Known as the duo Carrington Kay,Rob and Kristen call Roanoke VA homethese days. There new CD, Carrington Kay,is showcase of sorts - featuring Rob’s accom-plished guitar skills and wife Kristen’s mes-merizing vocal talent.
A graduate of Virginia CommonwealthUniversity’s College of Music, Rob has per-formed in almost every major city in the U.S.,sharing the stage with some of the biggestnames in music, including Sugar Ray, Jewel,Huey Lewis and the News, Switchfoot,Vanessa Carlton and Pat Benatar.
Not to be out done by hubby Rob, Kristengraduated from Baylor University with aBachelor of Music Education in Choral/Clas-sical Voice with Piano and Religion Minors andfrom New York University Steinhardt with aMaster of Musicin Musical The-atre Performance.Born in Kerrville,TX, Kristen grewup singing, play-ing piano andviolin, and per-forming at theSmith/Ritch PointTheatre and Play-house 2000.
Rob’s traveling music career started when helanded a position in the Marine band after col-lege. “That was really nice,” he said. “You getto go to a lot of different cities and play a lot ofdifferent venues.” From there he settled backin Virginia where he picked up a gig playingin bands at Busch Gardens, in Williamsburg,VA. “I played country shows, Irish shows, bigband shows – basically whatever the gig calledfor, I played it.” That is where he met Kristen– When their stint there, and decided to carryon together after the job ended.
Rob says for their music now, “we do a lot ofdifferent genres, but I think the main focus ofour music is picking strong well crafted songs.We draw heavily on folk and Americana, witha little country and jazz in there too. But ourfoundation is acoustic guitar, violin, and voice.”
Rob & Kristen Kay Smith
To find out more, visitwww.CarringtonKAy.com
14
Doyle Lawson & QuicksilverIn Session
www.doylelawson.comWith nearly 40 albums to theircredit - Doyle Lawson &Quicksilver are widely consid-ered one of the industry’s topacts. A seven time IBMA Vo-cal Group Of The Year; whatcan you say about their lat-est but yes, it’s that good.
The Hello StrangersThe Hello Strangers
www.thehellostrangers.com
The AmigosDinner In The Sky
www.theamigosband.com
Female fronted Americanagroups are enjoying growingpopularity; including theseyoung sisters; BrechynChace and Larissa ChaceSmith. They’re hitting it bigwith their self-titled debut. It’sreal good stuff. Check it out.
Annie LouTried And Truewww.annielou.ca
Rob Ickes& Trey Hensley
Before The Sun Goes Downwww.robandtrey.com
New comer, Trey Hensley,teams up with instrumentalicon Rob Ickes to bring usanother new project rich intalent and tradition. It was re-corded mostly l ive withminumal overdubs,It’s a wellcrafted catalog of tunes.
Craig KinsleyAmerican Roots Machines
www.craigkinsley101.comThese four teenagers haven’tbeen together that long - butalready sound like an estab-lished old-time, mountainstring band. They’re one ofthose magical collaborationsthat seems to have all themakings of a great band - wesure hope they stick around.
Banana ExpressBanana Express
http://bananaexpressband.webs.com/
This former ascetic monkfrom a monastery in theOzark Mountains has lessthan a divine past as thegrandson of a moonshiner.But the unique blend showsup on his forth CD - with allthe elements you’d expect.
Billy Strings& Don Julin
Fiddle Tune Xwww.billystrings.comCanada produces many great
Americana/roots artists, in-cluding Anne Louie Genstfrom British Columbia. A sto-ryteller at heart, Annie’s ruralCanadian roots serve as theback drop for her latest, TriedAnd True. It’s a delightfulfolky, grass adventure.
The RoysBluegrass Kinda Christmas
www.theroysonline.com
The Judy ChopsMinor Sunshinewww.nu-blu.com
Dubbed “Original MountainSwing,” Virginia natives, TheJudy Chops have been work-ing hard to carve their ownniche into the Americanascene. Hats off for the latest,Minor Sunshine, ya did it.They are a bunch of fun.
Michael BowmanLyin’, Cheatin’, Stealin
www.michaelbowmanmusic.com
Brendan fuses Zimbabweanmbria and African rhythmswith his brand of Americanroots for this delightful collec-tion of New England folk froma land rich in heritage, andmusical influence. Nice.
Brendan Taaffe& The New Line
Can’t Hold The Wheelwww.brendantaaffe.com
Another VA native, singer/songwriter Michael Bowmancarries his folky/bluesy act toaudiences up and down theeast cost. The polished musi-cian shines on tunes like thetitle cut, “Lyin’, Cheatin’,Stealin,” and “Burn ThatTrestle Bridge.” Good stuff.
Larry RiceThe Best Of Larry Rice
www.rebelrecords.com
Older brother to the iconicTony Rice, Larry, equally tal-ented, but lesser known, wasa staple in the earlier days ofbluegrass with J. D. Crowand The Kentucky MountainBoys. This collection wascompiled from five earlierRebel Records. Well worth it.
What’s Christmas withoutnew Christmas music, right?This new collection from ourcover artists, The Roys, hasall the elements of a warm,cozy, bluegrass holiday.There versions of classicslike “Winter Wonder Land”really get you in the spirit .
You can send new Americana CD releases for consideration to PO Box 45, Bridgewater, VA, 22812
So you want a new variationon your Americana music?How about “foot-stomping,accordion-infused Americanablending folk-rock, zydeco/cajun, and jazz. Might soundcrazy, but it works! I Bet theseguys are great live too.
Derek Thomas& Skyline Drive
Beyond The Trestleswww.skylinedrivemusic.com
Folk-Americana musicsounds like this; Beyond TheTrestles, the latest fromsurfer Derek Thomas andband Skyline Drive. It’s mel-low and fresh, and makes myspeakers sound good too.
February 2015
Music From Your Neighbors Music From The National Scene
welcome to the latest edi-tion of SPINS! Feast yourears on these delicious NewYear musical morsals - Howcan these guys keep mak-ing such great music? Wow!Grab your iPad or SmartPhone and dial up some ofthese fine folks. We bet youlove them all - we do! Andthey’re just in time for lastminute Christmas stockingstuffers too.
www.AmericanaRhythm.com.
Uncle Woody,The Spin Doctor
They are just two guys, (Billyand Don) with two instruments(guitar and mandolin). Theirsound is grass roots on pur-pose - with the intention tocapture bluegrass in it’s“rough-and-tumble art form.”They’ve done it well.
15
February 2015
www.AmericanaRhythm.com
Music Trail
Along Shenandoahthe
By Don and Martha DePoy
Mail with your check or money order for only $16 payable toAmericana Rhythm, and send this to PO Box 45, Bridgewater,VA 22812. PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY! We’ll make sure aChristmas Card goes to the subscriber in your honor, evenif it’s after Christmas!
NAME: (subscriber, and name on the card)
MAILING ADDRESS:
CITY, STATE, ZIP:
Your Name: (From:)
1014
Makes A GreatNew Years Gift!
Did you forget someone this year ... Oh no! Well, why notgive them a gift that lasts all year - it’s never too late!
Happy New Year!
It’s Never Too Late!
JANUARY 2015SPBGMA Bluegrass Awards
January 9 - 11, 2015Jefferson City, MOwww.spbgma.com
FEBRUARY 2015ASU Old Time Fiddlers Conv.
February 6 - 7, 2015Boone, NC
fiddle.apstate.edu
Folk Alliance InternationalFebruary 18 - 22, 2015
Kansas City, MIwww.folk.org
Neuse River Music FestFebruary 20 - 21, 2015
Kinston, NCwww.neuserivermusicfest.com
Bluegrass First ClassFebruary 20 - 22 , 2015
Ashville, NCwww.bluegrassfirstclass.com
Richmond Bluegrass JamFebruary 21 , 2015
Richmond, VAwww.rvabluegrassjam.com
DC BluegrassFebruary 27 - 28 , 2015
Tysons Corner, VAwww.dcbluegrassfest.org
Gardner Winter Music FestivalFebruary 27 - 28 , 2015
Morgantown, WVwww.gwmf.org
South Carolina Guitar ShowFebruary 28 - March 1, 2015
Spartanburg, SCwww.bee3vintage.com
Don and Martha host the BluegrassMusic Jam at the Elkton CommunityCenter in Elkton, Virginia everyTuesday evening from 6 to 8:30 pm.It’s free and open to the public, andall levels of pickers and listeners arewelcome.
The Shenandoah Music Trail is spon-sored in part by Virginia Tourism Cor-poration, Virginia Commission for theArts, National Council for the Arts,and faithful sponsors and members.SMT is a Shenandoah Valley of Vir-ginia, all volunteer 501c3 non-profitcorporation. See more at:www.svmmma.org
What do these artists have incommon? Wayne Newton, BruceHornsby, The Statler Brothers,Pearl Bailey, Five Keys, KeelySmith, Polk Miller, The CarterFamily, Patsy Cline, Ruth Brown,Ralph Stanley, Gene Vincent, DockBoggs, Ernest Stoneman, KateSmith, Bill Jenkins, Ella Fitzgerald,Roy Clark, June Carter, Steve Earle,Jim & Jesse, Joe Maphis, MacWiseman, and Ricky Van Shelton.Answer: They are all from Vir-ginia, and are featured as part ofthe museum collection at the Vir-ginia Musical Museum inWilliamsburg.
Don and I had the opportunity tostumble upon the amazing mu-seum tucked away in a piano store.We met with the store owners andcurators, Buddy and Peggy Parker,and they spent some time with ussharing their passion and lifetimecommitment to preserve Virginia’smusical legacy. Their collection re-flects thoughtful and artful dis-plays you will not find anywhereelse.
Virginians played a big part in thedevelopment of today’s Americanand World music. Polk Miller re-corded some of Edison’s firstrecords. The first record to sell overa million copies, The Wreck of TheOld Southern 97, was written byVirginian, Henry Whitter. BlackPattie from Suffolk, Virginia wasthe first African American to singin Carnegie Hall. The Carter Fam-ily pioneered Country Music. Jazzcritics agree Ella Fitzgerald was thebest vocal improviser ever. PatsyCline was the first female solo art-ist inducted in the Country MusicHall of Fame. There’s so littleprinted space and so much moreto tell!
The museum features lots of pic-tures, memorabilia and exhibitsand brief histories of Virginia’smost famous music artists. You willsee personal items including WayneNewton’s roadster, Ralph Stanley’sbanjo, Patsy Cline’s handmadescarf and items from over twenty-five more Virginia music artists.
There is a collection of pianos anda gallery displaying keyboard in-struments dating from the 1700’sshowing the development of thepiano. The museum’s 1790 JoshuaShudi harpsichord is one of the twoknown to exist today. There’s a self-playing pipe organ from Norfolk,
Virginia that was used in GeneralMacArthur’s funeral.
There is a collection of music boxes,nickelodeons and amusement parkautomated instruments. There isa French desk music box fromPresident James Madison’s family.You’ll enjoy Laughing Sal and aWurlitzer Band Organ as well aswatching a violin play automati-cally and another nickelodeonplaying eight instruments at once.
There is also a great collection ofearly phonographs, and you canfollow the history of recorded mu-sic from Edison’s tin foil machineto one of his best opera phono-graphs. You’ll see the first talkingdoll, a phonograph lamp, Nipper(RCA’s faithful dog listening for hismaster’s voice) and many moreantique phonograph items.
The modest admission is wellworth the price: Adults $10, Chil-dren $5 (under 4- Free), Seniorsand Military $8.
Virginia Musical Museum (locatedin Parker Piano Outlet), 6316 Rich-mond Road, Williamsburg, VA23090, Phone: 757-303-5907, email:[email protected].
Preserving The Music Of Virginia
