... out there somewhere, making music.
Although there is no Generic Folk now, there are memories, and this page is full of them. Read at the right to see where we were, what we did, and how things went for us as a band. We had some great shows and fantastic audiences, and we love all of you for coming and for listening. We're still out there playing music, and we'll look for you all in the future ...
Whatever is out there next, and whichever way it all turns, it's sure to not be boring!
The band officially decided to call it quits in February of 2011. It's been a good six year run, and we've had a lot of fun as a group. It's time to move on to other things, and we will. As of this writing, in May of 2011, Ken and Alli are still playing together as a duet. Corey is doing solo gigs and running sound for other bands. Paul is playing with Minus John, and Heather is back to teaching violin and occasionally playing out. Ken and Corey are doing Celtic music in Lynchburg once a month or so, and there are flickers of interest in starting some other bands in the area. At the very end, the band was branching out into some new areas, different types of folk music, and you'll probably see that continue in the efforts of the individual members. All of us are still playing, and we'll welcome all those projects and bands and we hope you will, too. Keep track of the band members through their contact info (front page, or WAY at the bottom of this one) and know that wherever we go, we'll take a little of Generic Folk, and you, our fans, with us. Peace.
After Paul left, we had some gigs lined up that we needed to play. Our strategy was to put the best show we could together using the material we had, and worry about re-shaping the group later. Turns out, that was successful! We played the Artists' Colony up near Gross' Orchards on 11 September (a cold-ish, rainy day) and later at the orchard store itself. We enjoyed it and will return to do that again ... hopefully when the weather's better! For Centerfest, we played inside the Clam, doing a mini-benefit for the folks at All American Mutt Rescue, who do such great work with finding homes for dogs who otherwise might wind up on death row. Finally, in October, we played once again for the Lynchburg chapter of Meals on Wheels, to a packed house. We love working with groups like that and always enjoy playing for them. They fed us well, too!
In all of these shows, we omitted songs Paul played on exclusively, or Heather picked up on fiddle what used to be the electric guitar part (interesting in some cases!), or worked in more songs that we'd done before that Paul just didn't play on. They were very good shows, and audience reaction was excellent every time. No complaints from the band, but we knew this was just a transition period. Going forward, we're going to have to re-invent Generic Folk a little, and bring out some entirely new stuff to fit our new instrumentation.
Which brings us to the end of 2010. The whole band went out caroling on 17 December for the town merchants and would up hanging out in the bar at the Clam at the end of the evening. Heather's husband Jon even joined in! Heather is working on her guitar licks, Corey is working on improving on the mandolin, and Ken is experimenting with open tunings and slide guitar. We haven't taken any gigs for the winter, aside from our regular 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at the Clam, and plan to spend the rest of the winter practising new material (we've already got almost a dozen new songs in the pipleline!). We'll start booking in January for the 2011 season, and by spring we should have an entirely new show and a new sound. We're looking forward to it ... see you then!
What a long, strange trip it's been!
After April, we decided to switch Clam Diggers up to every first and third Tuesday, rather than every Tuesday. We thought would be a good break for us, and give some other musicians a shot at "The Clam". We've continued that all summer, and it's worked really well for everyone.
During the "Second Friday" event in May, we were going to go down and jam in the Centertown Park ... Second Friday is getting some good steam up, with merchants open late and lots of music going on in town. The Folk wanted to be part of it! However, as it turned out, there was almost too much music in town, and all of it amplified in some way. No way for an acoustic folk band to be heard above all that, and it would have been just a distraction. So, we packed up our instruments and went down to the Bedford Social Club to hear Minus John play. Great evening after all ... Minus John (including Paul) rocked the house!
We did a lot of practising in May, re-arranging some tunes and incorporating a couple of new ones, and generally setting up to fit Heather permanently into our mix. On the 5th of June, we all trooped up into the hills in Amherst County to play at the Kiwanis International dinner. We didn't know what to expect, but turns out there's a retreat up there with gorgeous views of the mountains all around. Terrific outdoor gig, and Ken even did a song in French for the visitors from that country. Nice mix of people; hope we can do that again. The Europeans really seemed to love it; the goal of the sponsors was to let them hear some authentic American folk music, and that's exactly what they got!
During the summer, Corey & Alli had a lot of the lower part of the Ruin torn up, creating the new library & Alli's office. Construction (and its consequences) got in the way of lots of social activities, and Corey had sprained his back in early June moving some logs. That didn't stop the Folk from playing Hickory Hill on 19 June, a great show and as always we love playing down there. Donald & Wendy are the best! We had to pack up pretty quickly, though, as a huge thunderstorm started moving in during the second set. We had our backs to it, but we could see from the audience that it was an impressive light show. And speaking of light shows, we played down at Hickory Hill again on 3rd July, with the Lake's fireworks going off during the latter part of the show. Great fun, and the audiences were great both times.
Later during July, Corey & Alli played for Tom Perriello and the Democratic Party at their summer picnic and rally. Corey, Alli & Heather did one Clam Tuesday as a trio ... that was an interesting night! Paul and Minus John had a couple of gigs later in the summer, and Ken played a wedding with his Celtic pick-up band. Lots of different directions for all of the members of the Folk. One of Paul's uncles passed away in July, and Corey, Alli & Paul played for the memorial service.
Things got quiet for a while after that; we didn't have any other gigs scheduled until 14th August at Hickory Hill's Sunset Saturday. Paul couldn't make the show on the 14th, as Minus John had a gig at the same time. We had a band meeting and decided that of the two groups, Minus John needed him more that day. We took some time to regroup and practise and sort out what our show would look like without Paul, and we pulled together a good show for the HH crowd. Our good friend Dave McNew was free that weekend, and agreed to come up and sit in with us for the show. It turned out to be a spectacular folk show! Dave is always a welcome addition to any band, and since we've played with him so much in the past, it was a natural fit. Everyone loved the show, and it was a good transition for us, as time would tell.
Early in September, we had a band meeting and Paul officially left the group. It was a very amicable parting, no hard feelings at all (lots of sadness though!) and everyone thought it would be for the best. Paul simply wanted to grow as a guitarist in ways that he couldn't playing with a folk band, and the whole band understood. He's continuing to play with Minus John, and growing in that role, and we're still huge fans. The door, of course, is always open (and he's jammed with us a few times since then). We briefly thought of renaming the band "Minus Paul" but decided against it.
While we're welcoming in the Merry Month of May (Beltane), let's look back at April just a bit & see what went on ...
On the music front, it was relatively quiet. We had a couple of really good practise sessions, and we've done every Tuesday evening at the Clam Diggers Seafood. That's a nice mid-week show and we usually have a good crowd. We get to try out new stuff and practise the old, and occasionally we get other musicians sitting-in, which is always a treat. We've had a guy on djembe sitting in a few Tuesdays, and that's been pretty cool. Corey started working seriously with the mandolin, and Heather has been joining in more and more. Ken & Heather were out one week, so it was just Corey, Alli and Paul - the GenX Folk show! All has gone well! Paul's work with Minus John has been great for him, and they had a gig towards the end of April. Go Paul! We've been integrating new material into the setlist, and that's been really exciting. We seem to be doing more jam shows and less set events ... an interesting turn.
Going into May, Ken, Alli, Corey and Heather showed up at the 4th Annual New London Day (New London was the original British county seat for Bedford County) 1 May and jammed for a few hours in the "Tavern Tent" with our dear friend "Dulcimer" Dave McNew (from whom Corey learnt the bódhran in the first place). Very pleasant, warm afternoon, with all of us decked out in 18th-Century clothing and playing for the tourists. There was a bateau (18th-19th Century James River freight boat) and its crew, a surveyor showing off how land was surveyed in George Washington's time, and a variety of living history folks wandering around doing interpretations. Fun stuff!
April was the month of restoring the yard & garden at the Functional Ruin, of getting Ken settled back into his own home again after a long winter as a refugee, and of construction & more construction at the Ruin (library, office). Mary Boone has taken up running and did her first 5k; we're very excited for her! All the dogs & grand-kids seem to be doing well, so a quiet month overall for the band. Quiet is good sometimes.
Ken, Corey, Alli and Heather appeared as a quartet acoustic version of G-Folk for St Pat's Day in Lynchburg. The show was supposed to run from 7 - 10 PM, featuring mostly Irish music. Paul had previously headed into the 18th Century to camp, so couldn't make this one. Standing room only that night - wow! The White Hart is a nice little (seats maybe 70) bistro/coffeehouse in downtown. We had crowd from set-up until well into the night, and at one point had to give up the "band table" so that more folks could cram in. Turns out all of the town was like that; between the weather and the recession, I think folks just wanted to get OUT. They got a good show, too, with a lot of crowd-pleasers and some tunes they'd probably never heard before. The audience really got into it on familiar things like "No, Nay, Never" and "Finnegan's Wake", but also seemed to really tune into "Bottle of the Best", "The Sick Note", and "Town I Loved So Well". We used the house sound system (never again!) which caused some technical difficulties early on, but those smoothed out as the night wore on. The girls bowed out at 9 (it was a school night after all) and Ken & Corey soldiered on until nearly a quarter of 11, when we finally called a halt. There was a core of 30 folks or so near the end who were just so into the music that we couldn't stop. Anytime the barman is smiling, you know things are going well. We're calling it good!
We threw a party for the end of Winter at Clam Diggers and half the bloody town came. It was a 2-hour show and the place was slam full of people from when we got there to set up until well past 9. Wow. We were scrunched into a corner because the owners needed all the floor space for tables that they could get. Palm trees, lei's, flowered shirts ... the entire deal. And, we want to go on record as saying that it worked! A week after the party, Spring arrived, and with the exception of a couple of cool, rainy days, it hasn't left yet (touch wood). We tried out a couple of new things for the sound using condenser mics; some of that worked, some didn't work very well. It's all a learning experience that will make for better shows later on. This was our first official show with Heather in the band, also ... nice job!
OK, this winter can end just anytime now. Really.
We've had 4 major snowstorms, feet of snow that just won't go away, and cold, cold weather. Between storms, the Functional Ruin got a new chimney ... which cost some fence, the entire back garden (it looks like someone fought a particularly nasty war there), a 60-foot tree, and a small fortune. Thanks to the mighty Boom Lift (which was required because the damn thing couldn't be scaffolded), there are now enormous wheel-ruts everywhere and while it was parked (for two long weeks), Jacques used it as a platform to get out over and over. Plus, Ken flushed his toilet the wrong way one night, which flooded the entire lower floor of his house, forcing him to spend the winter at John McMullen's 900 sq ft cottage (with his mother- in-law) while his house was being fixed. He might - just might - be able to move back in mid-March. What a mess!
But, it's almost over and we're booking gigs for the upcoming season. Paul is practising with Minus John and we've continued to do our Tuesday night gigs at Clam Diggers. We've also practised a lot of new material, and we've added Heather Southard to the regular line-up on both fiddle and voice! Going to be a good year, and now that the "Thinking Season" (now renamed the "Construction Season") is almost over, we're ready to get back out and play. See you soon!
New Year's Eve was a cool, fun night for all of the Folk. Ken spent the evening hibernating in his Cave. Alli & Corey spent the evening at Clam Diggers where Don & Ann Hutchinson played to a great crowd, and Corey & Alli played in the breaks. Lots of fun and friends out that night! Paul meanwhile went to Salem, VA where he played with some old friends in TK-IV II I, a metal band in the Roanoke area. If the pics are any indication, it was an awesome evening.
Oh, and I was wrong about the weather. If we're really lucky, we might get up to freezing this week. BRRRRRR!
We're setting up gigs for the upcoming season and continuing our Tuesday night gig at the Clam, so come on by and see what we're working on. This is gonna be an awesome year and we look forward to warmer weather and more Folk gigs!
The Folk just keep rolling on. In October after Paul got back from Minnesota, he and Ken headed off to their Fall Rendezvous (25th Anniversary, no less), then off to Rockbridge County for some deer hunting. Meanwhile, Alli & Corey kept renovating the Ruin and playing music.
Beginning on 20th October, we started doing an "open mic without the mic" at Clam Diggers in Bridge Street in Bedford. Corey kicked the whole thing off with a solo show that night; Allison joined in on the 27th, and on the 3rd November Charlie Exley jumped in on saxophone. This is turning into a very cool thing: no amps or mics, no wires or sound rigs ... just music, and whoever stops by, play on! We've had several musicians show up, do their own thing, jam with Corey & Alli, and have fun. Crowd has been excellent (especially for a Tuesday night gig!) and the hosts, Hal & Tina Gurley of Clam Diggers, have been super. By the middle of November, Ken & Paul started showing up as well, and we could do some Folk tunes as well as let each individual member do their own stuff. Heather Southard has begun showing up with her fiddle and we've got some really cool things coming out of this. I think this will be the incubator for the next season of Folk tunes as well as some solo and duet material. We're going to keep at this all Winter so stop by!
On 14 November we did a gig at the Bower Center for the Arts in Bedford for the employees of the Olde Liberty Station. Opening up was Savanah Graham showcasing her new CD "Reckless", followed by Danny McBroom on guitar, Generic Folk and finally Minus John to wind the whole evening up. We raised something over $4,000 for the employee fund and it was a fantastic show. Jeff Hair from Minus John and Corey ran the sound (mostly Jeff!) and everyone who came by had a super time. Great crowd, tremendous acoustics in the old church that houses the Bower Center, food provided by local restaurants and of course a bar. The show ran from 3:00 PM til 10:00 PM, and Minus John kept playing well past that. If you weren't there, you really missed something. This is Bedford at its best. We hope to work with these bands in future; Danny McBroom did a spectacular job (he covers a lot of Dave Matthews-style jam stuff) and hopefully we'll gig with him some down the road. He runs an open mic at the Fork in the Alley in Roanoke and we'd like to show up there one night and do some tunes. Splendid concert!
December rolled around (is it Christmas season already?) and we discovered some collapsed masonry in the chimneys at the Functional Ruin. Ken and family spent some time during Thanksgiving down on the South Carolina coast, Corey & Alli joined the Boone clan for their annual Thanksgiving dinner (great time at the Wyoming farm), and everyone started gearing up for the Holidaze. On the 11th we were joined by friend Lyn Nolan for some f r e e z i n g caroling in centertown Bedford. Heather showed up for that as well (she has a great voice!) and we wandered around to the shops and the folks in the carriage rides singing until we were blue. We topped the evening off by stopping in at Clam Diggers to hear Terry Day's show (and give him a 15-minute break whilst we caroled for the patrons) and get some much-needed chowder. We may do this again on the 18th - it can't be very much colder!
And so the year comes to a close, and another one begins. We're looking forward to 2010 but it doesn't look as though we'll get our usual Winter Break. This year, it just keeps rolling! Happy Holidays to all and we'll catch up with you after the first of the year (oh, it it looks like Clam Diggers for New Year's Eve ... so be there!).
Wow, where to start with all of the doings.
We only thought we were done for the season back in August. As it turns out, it was just heating up. In quick
succession we picked up three new gigs. All were good shows, and we're truly enjoying what we're doing now. Here we go ...
Ken picked us up an afternoon show for four hours at the first "The Horse & U" fall equestrian festival at the Reba Farm Inn in the hills above Bedford. The weather was beautiful that day, the turnout was nice, the crowd loved our music (more on that in a second), and we made some new friends amongst the staff there. Thanks to Bedford Main Street, who loaned us some pop-up tents, we didn't melt in the sunshine! Some dear friends came out to sit in the shade next to the farmhouse where we were set up; most of the crowd was at the other end of a long barn building ... behind us! They could hear us, but not really see us. We could hear them applaud every once in a while, and when we went over there during breaks they seemed to be really enjoying it. If we get invited to do this next year (and we hope we do!) we'll try to set up in the middle of things more. We had a great time and really enjoyed the folks there, and from what we saw, people who came to the festival had a blast. Beautiful horses, too (my fav was Coco) and the staff did great with the trail rides, pony rides, steeplechase ... just well-done.
That was on Saturday, 19 September, the day after the Station fire. This was a real tragedy, personally and for the community as a whole. On a personal level, Olde Liberty Station is our local, and now we have no bar! That's minor though compared to its impact on the whole community. The folks who work down there are our friends and neighbours, and now roughly 50 of them are out of work until the Station is re-built. To an outsider, it might seem like overblown melodrama to get so upset because a restaurant caught fire, but in Bedford, the Station is more like our community centre. It's the place where everyone celebrates weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, retirements ... any significant event. It's a big local industry and a big part of everyone's lives. The day of the fire was dreadful, but our fire department did an outstanding job, most of the really valuable antiques and memorobilia were saved (OLS was our 1907 train station), no one was seriously injured, and they're rebuilding even now.
The very next day, 20 September, we went out to Madison Heights to their community centre to play for the 35th anniversary of the Lynchburg Meals-on-Wheels. We called this a non-weekend ... working back-to-back gigs is tiring and a lot of effort. But, the cause was very good - the folks there are serious local heroes, making sure our elderly residents always have a way to get a good meal. Hard to find a nicer, more dedicated group. We enjoyed playing for them, and they seemed to really like the show. The community centre's acoustics presented us with a real sound-system challenge, but after fiddling with the system for a while, we got it dialed in pretty well. We were all beat at the end of it!
We didn't really participate in Centerfest this year (it poured rain, of course), but we did head down to Clam Diggers in Bridge St. and play for a couple of hours as a mini-benefit for the Station employees. People were very generous! The crowd enjoyed the seafood (as did we!) and being in from the rain, and they really seemed to enjoy the impromptu show. It was all-acoustic and we had some good technical take-aways from doing that show. We'll see where that goes. Thanks to everyone who came out and donated, and to our friends Cindy and Danny Torrence of All American Mutt Rescue who were set up just outside in the downpour, trying to find a home for all the pound puppies out there!
We wrapped up on 3 October with a private party for the Centra Health Volunteers from Lynchburg General Hospital. Great crowd & great food, the show went off well, and it felt good winding up the season playing for folks who volunteer their time for others. Toward the end of the show, someone tried to get a conga line going ... that may be a first for a G-Folk show! Everyone had a good time. I have a feeling we'll do a couple more of these next year.
Paul missed that last show because he was already off in Minnesota hunting the wiley grouse. He'll return in mid-October just in time to head off into the woods with Ken for a few weeks hunting deer. Corey & Alli took some time off to visit the Farm in TN, and to put in the floor in the back porch of the Ruin (yes, renovations continue!). All of the critters are doing well (Jacques is adapting to his new home at the Ruin ... maybe too well!) and we're all starting to sort through what new songs we want to learn, instruments to add, etc. Ken's still playing with Jim Robertson and Paul is starting to tune up with Minus John, and we're still trying to get Heather to come play fiddle with us sometime. So, the Folks are busy as usual and we're waiting for the next page of the adventure. See you then!
Well, the Summer is half over (mid Summer is actually 6 August!) and most of the booked gigs are over with for now. Ken is playing a gig down at Chippokes Plantation & State Park with our old friend "Dulcimer" Dave McNew (Update: it went very well, Dave's son Chris was there as well, a talented singer/songwriter in the Richmond area, and it generated a lot of stories). Ken will also be performing with Jim Robertson at a couple of upcoming gigs ... more info as we have it. Paul is starting to sit in with and practise with some friends of ours, Mike McKinney and his band Minus John, and if all works out well he may well be playing some gigs with them. We've got our fingers crossed ... that is a kickin' blues/rock band here in the Lynchburg/Roanoke area. Go Paul! We're going to try to play at least one more Tasty Tuesday this season (the all-acoustic one last time was cool). Alli & Corey played out at the Bower Center open mic and will probably do that again, and we've got some plans to do impromptu jams at the Centertown Park. We'll just have to see how the rest of the Summer progresses!
Knockout show. Again, wonderful audience ... if you haven't been to one of the Sunset Saturdays at Hickory Hill Vineyards, you've missed one of the best venues this area has to offer. Donald and Wendy really line up some first class bands over the Summer and the atmosphere just cannot be beat. Last one is 8/15, make it if you can. Again, sound and energy were great, show was really good, we mixed up the tunes and the set list again, and Heather did join us as a guest musician on two songs. That was way fun! Added a lot of variety and some surprise punch to the show. She played on "This Old Road" and "The Orchard Wall" and it added a lot of depth to the tunes. More of this to come, we hope! We really enjoyed ourselves this time out, and we went into extra innings again ... almost 20 minutes over this time, and nobody really minded. It was just that fun a show. We're looking forward to doing this again next year.
Crazy Summer. July has been COLD, and not just cold for July. Downright chilly! And did we mention the rain? Actually, July has been the coldest on record in lots of eastern/southeastern states this summer. Nevertheless, we plow on. 4 July was nice; quiet family supper at the Ruin, Ken had all the grandbabies around his house, Boones were off with family. In the middle of July, just after the last Hickory Hill gig, Corey and Ken went down to the Farm in Tennessee and thence to Atlanta to see the Braves/Giants matchup with Alli's cousin Biff. Great game, great time. Did a little practising down there as well; Ken is working up some new tunes, some for the band and some for his solo act. Paul and Corey have tried rebuilding Paul's computer a couple of times, Ken has been working hard getting ready for the inevitable moving in of the mother-in-law, and Corey & Alli have been working around the Ruin getting things ready for the next step in renovation, and did one of the Tasty Tuesdays as a duet. That was pretty cool too ... a lot of music that just the two of them do. Busy Summer, despite the rain!
Aside from the Tasty Tuesdays, we've been doing some other musical things. Along about the middle of the month, we started working with a violin/fiddle player ... Heather Southard. We'll have to see where that goes; a lot of our music would benefit from a fiddle, and she's a great fit for the band personality-wise. There may be some surprises at the next gig if all this works out. We'll see!
Wow, another straight-up success. This was one of the best gigs we've had. Lots of fun to do, the crowd was good, large, and really into the music. We went 15 minutes or so over and no one seemed to mind. The band was stoked, sound worked well, mechanics worked well, and we were smoking from the first song. Hard to top. Weather was perfect (not too hot, either!), the vineyard did well, everyone in the crowd had a good time ... couldn't ask for better. Poor Donald was in the tasting room the whole time, watching us on "Butt Cam" (the webcam was placed low and behind us ...) but I think he enjoyed it anyway. Tura made this one (she was sick last time, poor thing) and we did a special song for Wendy's upcoming b-day. Not a song we normally do, but we managed to pull it off without too many disasters. You just had to be there to hear it. And no, we're not going to say what it was. Just a super evening, and if you haven't caught one of the Sunset Saturdays at Hickory Hill Vineyards, you're really missing something. Lots of bands are itching to play there, and it's easy to see why. The Sunset Saturdays are just the best crowd, and the atmosphere is sooooo relaxing. We love it and are looking forward to the next one!
After playing the White Hart, vacation season started. Ken & Corey were going to go to watch the SF Giants (Corey's team) beat the Washington Nationals in Washington, but monsoon-like rain deterred them. Although they did play the game, Ken & Corey decided that sitting in rain-filled seats with soggy hotdogs didn't sound like that much fun, and stayed home to listen to the rain, and the game, on the back porch of the Functional Ruin. The following weekend, Corey & Alli headed down to the beach with all three dogs (yes, they rescued another one ... Jacques [pronounced "jaxx"] ... in March at the "You Lucky Dog" event at the Blue Ridge Winery sponsored by our friends Cindy and Danny Torrence of All American Mutt Rescue) and had a splendid time. No vaccuum cleaner incidents, the water was cold but the beach was fantastic. They celebrated their 7th Annabirthaversary at The Black Pelican in Kitty Hawk, NC (hey! those folks who took a pic of us ... where are you?) and otherwise didn't ever wish to come back. Corey played guitar in Mother Ocean (we may have a pic someday) and we tore up a lot of seafood and sun. One day, we might decide to simply move there. Ahhh.
But back to reality. Paul and Mary had a bumper crop (with all the rain) from their gardens, did a lot of work on the greenhouse at the Boone Mahal, and we did a lot of inter-gig practising. Paul & Mary visited Gloucester again where Mary did NOT get an awful sunburn this time, Ken did some preparations on his new "man cave" in advance of his mother-in- law coming to stay with him, and all-in-all we had a splendid June. More gigging and cool stuff to come!
Just before heading off to the beach for vacation, Corey & Alli joined Ken and Jim Robertson for a Celtic Jam at the White Hart in Lynchburg. Pretty interesting (and interested) crowd for a Monday night. The sound at the White Hart is a little "bright", and since this was all-acoustic, it made it a bit hard to hear what we were doing sometimes. But, it worked out well and we had a good time. Lot of folks sitting in, and we played everything from instrumentals to classic Irish folk ballads. We may get a chance to do this again, and we just might! Ken is playing regularly at this jam every first and third Monday ... check out the venue at the White Hart and a some reviews at Yelp!
Wet, cold May! But just at the end of the month, things began to perk up a bit and it started to (really) look like Spring. FINALLY! Show started off a little slow, but picked up steam by the second set and we were really cooking. Audience was great ... we had a really nice-sized crowd out for this one, I think partially because everyone wanted to get out a little bit after all the rainy weather. We made some real fans this time around, sold some CD's, and had a fun time. Donald and Wendy were great to work with, as always, and we got someone in the audience who asked if we'd play on 1 August (we were only scheduled for this gig and one in July). We checked our calendars, and agreed to it. We never turn down a gig at Hickory Hill ... their Sunset Saturdays are SO much fun, really laid-back family things and the scenery at the winery can't be beat. Sound came together better than ever; I think we've really got the hang of the whole sound-gear thing now. We got to use our new speaker stands for the first time also. We mixed the set list up a bit and included some new tunes that we've been working on and some new arrangements as well. We were stoked and are ready for the next one!
Well, it was a nasty, rainy day the day after the Kentucky Derby, and some 300 or more runners came out to the Old City Cemetery (gravegarden.org) for a charity 5k run to benefit a community centre in Lynchburg. Despite the rain, they seemed to have a good time and the winners got...well, roses! supplied by Jane White and the other organisers of the event. And there at the finish line were Ken, Corey, and Alli, playing for them in the rain under the shelter of the Hearse House. (No, not named for some fella called Hearse ... it's where they kept and maintained the hearses in the old days.) We played all-acoustic and vocal harmony pieces, and the crowd really seemed to enjoy it ... great reviews. Good time! Jane White was an absolute dear to work with on this. We're glad we did the event and would do it again if asked.
This was kind of our "season opener", and it was a very good one. We played up at Johnson's Orchard for their Spring party; beautiful setting way up in the hills between Bedford and Roanoke. Pretty evening for it, and a 3-set show. As a result of all the practise with the equipment over the winter, we had the tricks on the sound system much more dialed- in this time round, and set-up and sound check went much smoother! The audience was fun, although we were kind of background music at times. Met lots of folks, had some good noshies, and played a good, solid opening show. After a sort of slow Winter, this was a good pick-up for the band and got us looking forward to the upcoming gigging season. We'd enjoy playing there again!
Ken has taken to playing with Jim Robertson and sitting in on the Monday Celtic jams at the White Hart in downtown Lynchburg. So, Ken & Jim worked up a decent set and on March 17th, played to a great crowd (full house, really) at the White Hart (right next to Inklings bookstore ... they also do decent fish & chips by the bye). Everyone had a good time, and Corey & Alli sat in on two songs ("Athenry" and "The Orchard Wall"). Corey lent bodhrán to a few other tunes as well, but Ken & Jim were the show. Nicely done, all-acoustic sets featuring guitar, fiddle, bouzouki, and mandolin. Bravo and watch out, Ken will probably be doing some other sets with Jim in future!
The Folk played the Bedford Central Library Friends Room on 5th December to a packed house and a warm welcome. We had a good show, a great audience, and a fantastic time. Things went pretty smoothly, technically, and everyone seemed to enjoy the show. After the show (around 10) we all repaired to the local, where we were enticed into singing Christmas carols a capella for the bar patrons until nearly midnight.(I think the overall sentiment of the band was, "are we off yet?"). Fun night. A week later, after Ken recovered from a bout with the galloping gotchas, we played a private party at the Bedford Social Club (a more posh establishment than the meagre wages of public servants normally allows). Good show, mostly ... the acoustics in the old building are really odd (such that we often couldn't hear ourselves playing) and we had some technical difficulties with the equipment (translation: Corey turned the wrong knobs a couple of times, effectively muting Paul whilst turning up his guitar to the point of pain) but overall it went well. The folks at the party seemed to enjoy the music, but there was, I think, a bit of a mis-match in expectations. As anyone who's been to a GFolk show will attest, we're not precisely "background music". Ah, well. Just prior to Christmas, Ken, Alli & Corey spent a frigid night leading carols in the town pàark on the last Friday before Santa set off on his rounds. The Centertown Park is fun at Christmas; they do carriage rides around town (tickets sold by an elf), there's hot cider and chocolate on offer, and Santa sets up to talk with the children amongst the dozen or so Christmas trees brought in for the season. All the local merchants are open late, and in addition to leading carols in the park itself, we walk up and down the street doing drive-by carols at various shops. After a couple of hours of this, it's time to find a bar and a fire; we're tired, frozen, and have spent our last jot of Christmas cheer. We have a good time with it, and the folks out to see Santa and on the carriage rides (this is a big thing: there are lines, and at least four open carriages are involved) really get a kick out of it.
And so closes 2008. We're on Winter Break now, and will eventually come out of hibernation when things get a bit warmer and friendlier. The Thinking Season has started, here after New Year's, and we'll spend the Winter ruminating, dunking ourselves in the hot tub, practising new songs and setting up gigs for 2009. Keep checking back ... you never know where the Folk will turn up next.
October turned out to be (predictably) pretty quiet for the Folk. The gig at the Garlic Festival didn't quite work out, which, given how tired we all were, is probably a good thing. Alli & Corey spent a lot of time working on the Functional Ruin (major interior renovations in progress), the Boones visiting friends and getting ready for hunting season, and Ken with his grandkids.
Towards the end of the month, we stopped in at the Days of Wine and Wet Noses do down near Huddleston to benefit the All-American Mutt Rescue. Fun day! All those puppies need good homes. The day-long event showcased some of the abandoned dogs and let people sign up to foster or take one home, and it was held at the Savoy-Lee winery in southern Bedford County. The folks in charge of the All-American Mutt Rescue, Cindy and Danny Torrence, showed a lot of fun, beautiful dogs that day (one of whom Allison wanted to take home, but that's a loooong story); if you're looking for a dog, please get in touch with them. We have two mutt rescues, and they make the very best dogs, really. That winery is quite pretty, with a lovely chalet. Worth a visit if you're down that way.
Then of course it was time for Ken & Paul to head off to the Surrey Rendezvous near Bacon's Castle, Virginia for a week or so of trading music and stories for adult beverages. Alli & Corey used to go as well (and may again) but that's another really loooong story. They always head from the Rendezvous straight into the woods for a couple of weeks of black-powder hunting, and that usually kills any music for the last of October and the first part of November (and the occasional large antlered rodent). Meanwhile, at the Functional Ruin, renovations continued. And continued. And ... well, you get the idea. It's a hobby you can live in. At the end of the month, the usual motorised brigades of children showed up at the Ruin (it's an old scary house ... it's like a trick-or-treat magnet) to attempt to bankrupt us by demanding sweets at the door. I think we had 300 or so this year.
November was bittersweet. We bade farewell to our friend Lynda Nolan, who's headed back to Old Blighty; a good deal of time was spent with mutual friends, sorting out Lyn's garden and "stuff", moving bulbs and shrubs and beds and ... well, many a glass raised and a good time had, but at the end of it, Lyn was back across the pond. We'll keep in touch! Towards the end of the month, on a cold, windy day, Corey & Alli ran sound and stage for the Bedford Wine Festival. A terrific little jazz trio, Square Peg, ruled the stage for the first half of the day, and they were troopers ... all of our hands were frozen by the time Corey finally turned off the sound system. Big crowd though, and the ensemble was a hit (wine helps just a wee bit with the cold) and everyone had a good time. The band spent a lot of time trying to organise practises for the upcoming Library gig; this was a challenge because of our disparate schedules (hunting, visiting mothers-in-law, renovations, family visits, etc.) as well as the class Corey & Allison had agreed to take together. It was a planning & zoning class, run out of Virginia Tech (the Williamsburg campus), and took far more time than either of them had anticipated. Learnt a lot though! Dreadful hotel. One of those 80's sealed-up bastions that now advertises itself as a "non-smoking facility" even though the entire establishment smells as though someone recently held a cigar afficianados' convention there. The bar was full of footballers, wide-screen televisons blasting the latest game, and beige. The layout of the place was so byzantine that trying to navigate to one's room was like playing a live game of Dungeons and Dragons (sans dragons). But I digress. We made some new friends at a local watering hole we discovered (hi, Victoria!) and were duly certified at the end of the whole thing. The band spent a great deal of time polishing the show for the Library, Obama and Periello were elected, Thanksgiving didn't hurt much, and noone suffered permanent injuries.
A couple of those things are out of strict chronological order ... the class actually ended in the middle of December (as classes do) ... and I've left out the campaigning (which most of us participated in), the bizarre collection of events around Thanksgiving, the Boone's trip to Gloucester, the dry, odd hunting season, and a few other sundries. All-in-all, it was an eventful Fall, with the band strung out in ten directions on both musical and mundane projects. Coming back together to do the Library gig was more of a challenge than I'm accurately representing. Given enough time, we all revert into our own musical specialities, and the first couple of practises were just like starting over again. It's always fun though.
What a busy month! We had a good month, but beJayzus it tired us out. On the 20th, we got to a friend's house in Salem (Greg Trafidloe) for a special concert from Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen in his living room. WHAT a treat. Afterwards, we got to jam along with the local songwriter's group and rub elbows with Steve & Cindy. Brilliant night. The very next week, astoundingly enough, the Tannahill Weavers showed up at the Bedford Library for a simply awesome concert. Truly, standing room only. It was both fun and inspiring ... and reminds us that we need to keep tracking on the Celtic music in our shows. It really has an audience hereabouts.
THEN came Centerfest on the 29th.
For starters, Corey got tapped to be the music coordinator for the whole festival. That meant calling, cajoling, and working with musicians nearly every night and weekend of the whole month. We had 5 stages, over 30 acts (not all of which were music ... there were also dancers, K-9 demonstrations, a puppet show and a trained monkey). Plus, at the last minute the organisers wanted to set up a karaoke stage for festival-goers. He got a team of volunteers together, organised the whole thing (plus sound engineers, equipment, lists, radios, etc) and planned everything down to the finest detail. Except for the weather. For the first time in six years or so, it rained. Not the sort of "fine soft weather" type of rain, either. The downpour we experienced caused a great deal of scrambling and last-minute adjustments that are a nightmare for this sort of event (last year's Centerfest was 25,000 people). Despite the weather, all went well after the first couple of hours, and we entertained roughly 14,000 visitors including the leading Senate and House candidates. Quite a day.
Corey's participation as music guy kept him from performing, but it didn't stop The Folk. Ken and Alli did a duet show for roughly an hour and it was brilliant. All during the nights Corey spent on the phone, they rehearsed the numbers they have and some new material as well, and the practise paid off. It was a wonderful (if soggy) show and got some good reviews, and we later incorporated a couple of their new tunes into the larger show. Silver linings and all that. But, the whole thing was exhausting, and all of us were ready to rest for a bit after it was all over. Next year? Well, there's got to be someone out there willing to do this next year ...
Well, we've closed out another season of Tasty Tuesdays at the Farmer's Market in Bedford. Quite a season, too! It started out with a bluster (yeah, go ahead and try to play acoustic instruments during a thunderstorm in an open-sided tin-roofed building ... we could have been lip-synching "Milli Vanilli" and nobody would have known the difference!) on the first day and wound up with a whimper (cold, grey September day with nobody but the poor merchants showing up) on the last. Great times in between, though! Lots of fun, new material, practising our "GenX Folk" thing whilst Ken was on vacation, learning new and exciting things about the sound system. All good. We always have a take-away from TT ... whether previewing new material (hmmm ... no clapping. Let's not do that one again) or learning to do new things with stage presence, the sound system, or just the mechanics of setup/strike for a show, we always have fun and learn from the experience. We're not paid for it, precisely, unless you count the occasional bottle of wine, bags of fresh shellfish, home-made bread, fruits, nuts, fresh meat, honey, goat's cheese, and other delectibles that occasionally get set in our guitar cases. Next season may be quite different ... we may do some all-acoustic, or solo or duet practises, or jam with a couple of other local bands to see if there's anything interesting to mine there. We'll see ... and so will you, if you stop by! See you then!
Nice comeback. Beautiful afternoon, not too terribly hot, great crowd (and everyone had a good time). We were beat by the end of it (we played for roughly 4 hours) but everyone was happy. Really a perfect August afternoon ... the fields are all golden and everything ripening, soft warm summer breeze. A long gig like this one enables you to play some stuff deeper in your setlist ... and we did. We really enjoyed the crowd and the energy, and as always, Donald's hospitality. We hope to play there a couple of times next year ... look for us!
Oh, a follow-on to the Hometown Heroes gig back on 26th July ... apparently it worked quite well overall, and the City rec department (who was co-sponsoring it) gathered several thousand dollars for the Police, Fire, and Rescue departments. We got a very nice thank-you note from them ... no, thank you! We're proud to be involved!
The gardens at the Ruin are coming along nicely ... Spring flowers have given way to the wild profusion of Summer plants (Bee Balm, Coneflowers, Cardinal Flowers, Zebra Mallows, Thyme, et-bloody-cetera) and the hummingbirds have returned along with forty species of butterfly. The Morning Glories are twining up the lattice (and the porch) and evenings are spent watering everything and remarking on the exact shade of khaki that the grass has turned. At the Boone's Palace (for what else can we call it with the serious house envy we have?) we spent a couple of weeks helping put up the new greenhouse for Mary (and we can call it a success now!). Seriously, the whole band focus has shifted from the music room of the Functional Ruin to the band room at the Boone Mahal ... their porch is fantastic, they have more than one functioning loo, and they have a mysterious thing called "central air conditioning" which we're still trying to sort out. Nice, though.
We did one gig down at the Hickory Hill Vineyards (we love them!) and had an ... interesting afternoon. I can honestly say that the Englishman and the Dog loved the show (you had to be there, enough said!). We also played the Pub at Lake Haven Marina and really had a great time. The interplay with the Orioles and Red Sox fans in the audience was fun (yes, there were Cubs fans there too). We've started using one of the songs that Ken and Corey developed at the Penn Station in Baltimore (playing as buskers for an indifferent audience of thousands) in the show ("Nobody's Business"). Strange where you get your material. The trip to Baltimore was the stuff legends are made from ... schlepping the guitars and stuff through the crowds at the various Maryland rail hubs, almost missing at least 3 trains, hiking through the back streets and underpasses of Baltimore to see the Sox ultimately beaten by the Orioles, wandering around the Inner Harbour trying to find an Irish pub, and ending the trip by dealing with the rude-but-efficient MARC officials (Well if you do these five things maybe ... maybe! ... I'll let you buy a ticket and not have you arrested!) and eating some godawful trainstation food whilst playing and singing for the passers-by. Something to remember.
Tasty Tuesdays have gone well. We have some dedicated fans that show up just to hear us practise (!) and the Farmer's Market is really taking off. They have Thai cooking demonstrations every other Tuesday and the number of vendors is growing in both number and quality. Other bands and musicians are starting to show up as well, so this really has some promise. The first show was during a thunderstorm, so it was totally acoustic. Since the acoustics in the market area are really ... well, unique ... most of the band packed up and left Ken and Corey wandering around with guitars doing improv and r&b bits with the vendors and the dedicated hangers-on. Again, one for the books.
Ken has officially retired from the Society of St. Andrew (which he founded). The retirement party at Sedalia was a blowout with friends, family, staff, and musicians from all over the state showing up. Dave McNew and Corey drummed Ken into the festivities (we'd carefully misdirected him to think noone would be there) and ... we're off! There wasn't a dry eye in the house when, at the end of the evening, surrounded by grandkids, staff, and hundreds of friends, Ken did Kristofferson's "This Old Road". You don't get two of these in this life. As a retirement gift, Ken was given a week's sailing in Maine in late July ... where he is as this is written.
In Ken's absence, Corey, Alli, and Paul played the "Hometown Heroes" concert (since we're all genX-ers, we called it "GenXfolk" for the day) and, although beastly hot, was a good show. Very different material ... without Ken, we sound more like acoustic punk rock meets Irish folk. The audience really liked it, though, and we had requests for some tunes we'll work up in future. That show was sort of an odd breakthrough ... we've never done a live show without Ken, so it was a real struggle to come up with enough music to fill the time slot as a threesome. It was a good cause ... firefighters, EMS, and police all benefitted, there were seven (I think) bands involved, rides, dunking booth, Canada Geese (they summer here), activities for kids & adults, loads of volunteers ... a good community fling. You don't get to experience this sort of thing until you live in a small town and everyone pulls together like a family. Really a neat thing to be a part of.
As "High Summer" rolls along, we'll keep on keeping on, as the saying goes. The renovations at the Ruin continue (we'll have a second bath again, by God!) We're looking forward to a return gig at the Hickory Hill Vineyards in August, another cabin party at the Agee's, we have a "maybe" at the Garlic Festival in Amherst, the Library, and CenterFest. As the Prophet Buffett said so eloquently, we're growing older but not up. Look for more music from the Folk and keep checking back!
As noted below, we really enjoyed this show. It was laid-back, there were lots of folks both in our immediate audience and (as we discovered) in the new gallery above us. We couldn't see them, but they could hear us and really seemed to enjoy the show. It felt like we were doing a show in our own parlour, really. The Library has come a long way (see their website), they've added hot online book reviews, and in the Central Library they've added this whole coffee-house thing that's just brilliant. The Friends of the Bedford Public Library ( Friends) hold a spectacular concert series that we hope to be a part of soon. Keep checking back, and by all means check them both out. In an amusing aside, just as we were wrapping up the concert, my good friend Jonathan Harris (who is the Library's IT Administrator) came up to me and said he'd spent the whole concert working on a switch that had gone bad and could I help? So it was surreal, doing strike in the whole band-mode thing and trying to get my head around troubleshooting a Cisco switch at the same time. Happy ending ... I think Jonathan got everything up and running that night. Life in a small town!
Yeah, wow. What a busy season. We've sold a ton of CD's and been gigging hard since the middle of April. We kicked off with the Bower Center for the Arts in April (nice show, not as much turnout as we'd hoped but ...) & then Ken got a call from the folks at the Bedford Central Library asking us to do a show there for their grand opening ... which we did to great reviews and a wonderful crowd! Man, what an energiser! We really enjoyed that show and hope we can play the library's Bedford Room some Friday evening at a Friends Concert (that's their premier concert series). On 16th May we played at the Relay for Life (American Cancer Society) benefit ... we were one of several bands, and it was nice to see all the folks out raising money for cancer research and an honour to play for them. It was COLD though (whatever happened to global warming?) and, like so many multiple-band things, the set-up, break-down and sound checks were very, very fast and furious. The next week, Paul went to practise the pescatorial arts in Gloucester with our mutual friend Captain Ed, while Ken, Corey & Allison went to play the 3rd St. Coffee House in Roanoke. Nice gig! We got some great reviews and enjoyed doing the rare all-acoustic show; we broke out some new material which will likely stay in the regular lineup and had a nice relaxed time. Meanwhile, the Boone Palace is looking better than ever, the Crompton/Johnson Ruin is still ... well, a ruin, and Ken, having retired, is now busily making himself a pain in the butt for all of us still working (hey, it's Tuesday ... wouldn't you like to go sailing?) but we still love him. In the middle of May, Ken & Corey made a trek to Baltimore to see the Red Sox play ... what a great fun time! After a late night solving most of the world's problems (with the help of the nice folks at the Bushmill's distillery) they trundled safely back to Bedford. Upcoming are gigs at the Lake, vacations, More Fun with Renovation, and did we forget to say GO CUBS GO! More later ...
Ken & Corey broke out their kilts on 17th March, of course ... and baseball season
is upon us. Mary & Allison are visiting flower shows, pruning, planting, weeding ...
ugh! Paul has stalked the local grouse & is preparing for Gobbler season.
It must be Spring!
The Boone establishment is once again a house, no longer a tarpaper shack. With the
addition of porch furniture & a wood stove, it's getting downright comfy. Meanwhile,
the Crompton/Johnson Ruin is down to 1 bath and all rafters and studs upstairs. Dale, the
carpenter in charge, suffered a heart attack 3 weeks into the work (he's OK!) so things
have been at a standstill for a bit. If you ever get a choice between an all-expenses-paid
trip to the bottom of the Labrea Tar Pits or living in an old house whilst renovating it ...
we urge you to choose the former.
Ken has been busy polishing up his solo act, which he'll break out and take on the road
shortly after his Freedom From Work Day in May. Sounds like a good show ... you can check
it out at Tasty Tuesdays in June (when Corey & Allison will be blissfully at the beach).
Meantime, we're busy lining up the Spring & Summer schedule - and it's a busy one! Lake Haven
Marina, Hickory Hill Winery, the Bower Center for the Arts, Tasty Tuesdays, benefit concerts
for the Rescue Squad and the Cancer Society ... we're gonna be some busy little Folk. Keep
checking back for more details...
We kicked off the Christmas season by doing a concert at the Bower Center for the Arts in Bridge Street, Bedford ... good show, light attendance (it wasn't well-promoted and it's hard getting folks out for secular music during the Holidaze) but we had a nice crowd, very attentive. The show went well, lots of good by-play and no technical errors. No complaints there. Amy (of the Bower Center) really enjoyed what we did and vows to have us back in January/February of 2008. She's just taken over as director and really wants to make things happen there. Good on her! It's a super venue, good stage and the acoustics are excellent. We'll be back!
We've done some jamming at Clam Diggers, and then moved on to 18th-Century Caroling in the Centertown Park and streets of Bedford during the Holidaze shopping period. Paul begged off (see Tarpaper Shack, below) but Ken, Alli and Corey went out and braved the cold and the stares of bemused onlookers to sing traditional Christmas Carols, a capella, in 18th Century garb. No, we're not kidding. Best of all, Ken had just recently gotten over the season's Best Lung Munge, Corey was two days off of having the first cold he's had in a decade, and Allison was coming down with what later turned out to be a combination of both along with the Flu. I'm not entirely sure that we didn't sound like the Budweiser Frogs Do Christmas, but the audiences (man, was it crowded down there ... especially for the carriage rides!) really seemed to enjoy it (no one threw things) and the shop owners loved the extra atmosphere. We'll do it again next year but someone is going to have to spring for booze and Vitamin C.
We're settling in for the Holidaze and will just play with new music and toys until after New Year's. Hope everyone has a safe, happy, and HEALTHY holiday.
Well, it's been a busy Fall! Paul went hunting up in Minnesoder for the wily Grouse ... and then Paul & Ken took a couple of weeks to stalk deer at Ben Coleman's farm in the hills in Bedford County. Meanwhile, Corey and Allison tore apart their upstairs bath, closed in (temporarily) their back porch, and spent some time re-arranging their rain barrels, garden stuff, etc. They're fierce gardeners, the two of them. Mary meanwhile held things together at the Boone household (the Tarpaper Shack ... forgive me, Mary!) (OK, I should explain ... the Boones are renovating the *outside* of their house and as of this writing only have the tarpaper left on the outside ... I'm really quite sure that's not the finished product ...) and spent a lot of time canning and setting her own garden to rights for Winter. Ken has, this Fall, added (well, not personally per se) three grandchildren to his Clan, and although he claims that grandfatherhood (is that a word?) and his upcoming retirement won't change a thing, band-wise, we're not 100% sure we believe him (although we're sure he's sincere). Trinity, Angus, and Putty-Put (of the Boone Clan) and Chase and Target (of the Crompton/Johnson Clan) are all well if not entirely sane, our houses are more-or-less decorated for the Holidaze, and we're settling in for the Winter. Corey plans to watch baseball movies until Spring Training starts, Allison plans to totally ignore him doing that and re-read Jane Austen until her eyes bleed, Paul and Mary are planning to laugh uproariously at them in this dance and re-do their house, and Ken is taking a Zen approach to all of us and planning for Freedom from Work in the Spring. In the meantime, we're experimenting with a wide variety of music (blues, Linkin Park, Anna Nalick, Heart, Willie Nelson, others ...) and plan to add 10 - 15 new songs by next year's season. More later!
5 - 7 PM, Wharton Gardens, Bedford, Virginia
At the whiskey appreciation evening sponsored by our friend John McMullen in Wheat's
Valley (no, it is NOT an excuse to get drunk, it is a judged affair for rating Irish
whiskeys and it's all very civilised, thank you) we met the legendary Dr. John Bower, who
has been a pioneer in kidney dialysis in America for 30+ years. Aside from being a
talented and dedicated nephrologist and a sponsor of affordable medical care throughout
his career, he is also a patron of the arts, and has funded the Bower Center for the
Arts in Bedford and the Wharton Gardens, where by chance we were playing on this Sunday.
Dr. Bower lives in Mississippi, and brings up a company that does a real Mississippi
catfish fry, complete with hush puppies, fried pickles, the best daggone catfish you
EVER had and southern Sweet Tea to benefit the extraordinary gardens surrounding the
Wharton House, the Bedford Central Library and the Bower Center. And what an event it
is ... we had 600+ in attendance, and the Folk played outside of the gazebo in the
centre of the gardens. Our show went especially well! We enjoyed ourselves (and I think the audience really
enjoyed our gig) and were very well-fed. Successes all around. We packed up a little
after dark (why are all sound cables black?) and had a chance to chat with some of the
folks who make this all happen. We've got a wonderful community here in Bedford and this
event is a real Fall highlight of the Arts. We hope we can play this again and again.
3 - 5:30 PM Hickory Hill Winery, Moneta, Virginia
Donald called us up with a last-minute gig: his musicians for his last big October
Sunset at the Lake (Smith Mountain Lake) had cancelled ... could we come play? Well,
for Donald, anything. He's been a huge fan of the Folk all summer at Tasty Tuesdays and
we're hoping to play there a lot next summer ... so yeah. Paul was still in Minnesota
hunting grouse and Ken was in Iowa at a hunger summit, but we agreed to it. And it was
great! Worked out fine. They've got a gorgeous winery out there, just above the Lake,
a sweet old 19th century winery building, nice Virginia wines on offer. Their Sunsets are
a neat affair ... come have some wine, sit in the spectacular Virginia countryside,
enjoy the sunshine and snacks and whatever, and listen to some folk music. Their reds are
really nice (some of us prefer red wines ...) and it was so relaxed. Their daughter Tura
(about to be F - O - U - R) joined us onstage, we had a good crowd and lots of folks were
very attentive to the music. A good show, and we look forward to playing there next
summer. Thanks for the opportunity and we had a grand time. Just after the winery, most of
us had an Irish whiskey tasting to go to in Wheat's Valley, and we did a couple of tunes
there as well. Full weekend! It's good to be musicians, but tiring ...
Saturday, during the day, North Bridge St. Stage
Lot of changes from last year. No Sat nite concert, so we played just during
the day, but it was a 2 hour show. Big crowd! We probably had more folks this year
than last ... over 25,000. For a small town like Bedford, Centerfest has gotten HUGE.
We had a kids' group before us ... they ran long, and everything was off schedule-wise
from then through the rest of the day. A Las Vegas show followed us, and I know we saw
them waiting offstage for nearly an hour before they could get on. We cut the set down
to 1:45 to try to make room. Hot! We nearly baked to death in the sun, as there was
no shade on the N. Bridge St. stage. This part of VA hasn't had any real rain for weeks and
weeks, and it was nearly 90 degrees during the middle of our show. The crowd was very
responsive, lots of folks stopped to listen (especially when Allison and
Paul did "Landslide"!) and we gave a good show and had a great time. After the show it was
drinks all round at the Functional Ruin and then supper for some of us at Liberty Station
and so to bed. Long day but we always look forward to CF. Next year ...
Kind of a late, out of date note ...
Paul got invited to play electric guitar for Tory Bailey (a local C&W songwriter
who's a rising star in Nashville) Thursday before our gig at the coffee house. Made
it an extra long music week(end) for Paul as we'd played Tasty Tuesdays on Tuesday
of that week too! The event was the last Hillcats game of the season (the Hillcats
are a single-A MLB affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates in Lynchburg, VA) and Tory
Bailey played just prior to the game and then sang the national anthem. Paul (and some
of the band!) got to hang out in a real Nashville tour bus, and Paul played some
spectacular lead electric guitar for Tory during the hour-long show. Tory debuted
one of his new songs, and put on a great show. Paul, despite only practising 3 - 4 times
with Tory's band, did some fantastic electric work and showed himself as the talented
and versatile professional musician that he is. The Folk were there to cheer him on and
he disappointed noone.
Man, what a weekend.
We came off of the 3rd St gig and immediately turned around and played at the Agees'
Cabin in Wheat's Valley the next night. Big difference. Very laid back, very local
crowd, and the weather turned bizarre. After weeks of no rain, we played a porch gig
and we got a thunderstorm. We wound up packing up the sound system and just playing acoustic after
the first 45 minutes or so. The food was excellent (fried turkey, chili salad ... no
rattlesnake this year though) and the company was great. This is a relaxed sort of home
game for us, no pressures. We first played (well, Corey & Allison) at Kevin and Jesse
Agee's wedding, and we've been invited to their cabin parties ever since as a band. Kevin
and Jesse had just gotten back from Jamaica where they missed the first hurricane of the
season by hours (LaAsskicka? Beetlejuice? I'm not really sure ...) and showed up just in
time to have a party. Paul and Corey enjoyed the spirit(s) of the party a little too much
and wound up staying in the cabin overnight. We played about five hours with lots of
breaks for spirit(s) and socialising, and a good time was had by all as far as we
remember. Hopefully we'll do this again next year ...
Wow, what a cool gig.
The 3rd St Coffee House is in the basement (well, half above ground) of a church in
Roanoke, and I think at one time it was a Boy Scouts' den. They serve coffee, cheesecake,
lemonade and such ... big trestle tables and a great stage. Acoustics are really good.
Several solo acts opened up before we did, and that was cool to see. The sound system
was good, and we had one of the earlier performers work the head for us (THAT helped!)
during the show. The audience really, really listened ... good crowd and they came out
to hear folk music (as opposed to a lot of audiences who just want "music", and are happy
with folk or jazz or whatever). This was a true folk crowd ... they commented on arrangements,
sang along with songs they knew, and joked with the band between tunes. Perfect! One of
Corey's high school friends he hasn't seen in 15 years showed up with his daughter ... it
was really a special night. Ken broke a string in the first song (he's been busting strings
all summer ... G-strings, mostly [keep your mind out of the gutter]) and was helped out
by Greg Trefidloe who changed it for him while Ken played Corey's guitar. Talk about a
musician's crowd! We're looking to play there again in the spring of '08. Come by!
5:00 - 7:00 PM Every other Tuesday (1 & 3) starting 5 June 2007
What a different year! The Folk were at it again at the Bedford Farmer's Market
on Tuesday evenings this year, but what a difference from last year. First, we had
our own sound system this year (and a nice one too), and we've been
learning the ins and outs of being our own sound people. They had great vendors down
there this year, btw, including a fresh fish company that's opening up in Bedford now,
Ben Coleman with home-grown fresh farm raised meat and the Hickory Hill Winery folks
(who sort of became our biggest fans over the summer!). Beyond that, and the incredibly
dry, hot weather, we couldn't all be there all the time (busy little Folks!) and this
led to some interesting innovations. We had to learn to do duos and trios (whaddaya sing
when there's no Allison? Ack!) and Corey even had to do a solo gig for an hour one night.
That may all sound odd, but it led us to develop a neat show ... a two hour gig where
we don't ever take a band break. We had to develop so many trio sets that we discovered
we could work in arrangements with the four of us, then Paul could take a break for three
songs, then move back to the whole band, then Ken could take a break for 4 songs ...
you get the idea. By the end of two hours, everyone's taken a 10 minute break and we've
never left the stage. Neat! We added about eight new songs to our regular rotation too
thanks to our "live practise" sessions. Tasty Tuesdays are the best! See you next year!
What an unbelievably beautiful set of gardens! Trees, shrubs, old roses ... history
til you couldn't stand it. There's a restored C&O Railroad standard station from
the 1880's, an adorable little chapel made from one here locally, a railroad runs
through it, an amazing staff of horticulturalists who maintain the place (led by the
legendary Jane White) ... and did we mention the goats? They keep a flock (or herd
or whatever a goat club is called) of goats around the place to keep the vegetation
on the banks down. Just astounding. Nice weather, a good crowd, acoustics you can
only get from an 1880's chapel, just the nicest folks. We had a fine time, it was
a good show and a good start to the Old City
Cemetery summer concert series. We hope to play there again ... maybe by the
little ampitheatre next time! If you're in Lynchburg and get a chance, go visit the
Cemetery (we're not kidding!). It will blow your mind.
Old Sedalia School, Sedalia VA
Excellent authentic Celtic festival featuring live music all day, a Ceolidh at night, food, whisky tastings, art - the works!
The Folk played this as the pub band inside the venue for lunch - nice renovation, great Irish food! The weather
was really breezy (bad for guys in skirts!) but pleasant, and there was a good-sized crowd. This sort of reminded
us more of a renaissance faire than a strict Celtic festival. There were swordfights and folks in tabards and tights as
well as the kilted crowd you'd expect. A lot of CD sales went on here ... the bands on the mainstage had a booth set up
to do just that. Food was excellent ... the Boy Scouts had set up a (much-welcomed) soft drink stand and also had a mini-
recycling centre going. Nice touch! In addition to the standard burgers/fries you find at any festival, there were authentic
Scottish and Irish foods on offer. The folks in the kitchen at the pub went all out and produced an entire Irish menu. Really
nicely done, it tasted authentic and smelled wonderful (none of us had so much as had breakfast, and we were forced to play for
two hours smelling the amazing aromas from the kitchen and watching folks eat ... it was torture!)
We had a fine time, so did the audience, and there were some fantastic bands there. Don't miss this next year!
We took off for the Holidays, hunting season, and the Winter Blahs. BUT we've had a busy 2007 so far, working up new material, polishing some arrangements, and producing our first CD. Man, what a lot of work! If we charged by the hour they'd be $50 apiece (we won't, though!) It's been fun, a challenge, and now IT'S HERE. Now we're lining up new gigs and working on CD promotions. Keep checking back for schedule!
This was a super event that we hope to do next year! Best catfish dinner EVER.
PLUS the works Mississippi Style + Flowers, Bevvies, & Folk in the Gazebo.
The Wharton Gardens are a gorgeously landscaped set of walking paths and informal
beds surrounding the restored Wharton House and the grounds of the Bedford County
Library. Amazing work by the volunteers there ... it's truly a fantasy-like setting.
The gazebo's acoustics were interesting ... we had some challenges getting set up
and playing in an octagon, but all went well. We were right across from the boxwood
maze, and all afternoon we'd get bewildered folks wandering out into the seating
from the maze itself. Fun! The folks they had doing the catfish dinner, all the way
from Mississippi, were amazing. The food was unbelievable and they had tons
of it, all from one little covered-wagon like kitchen. Talk about your loaves and
fishes! Crowd was 4-500 or so, and everyone enjoyed themselves. The weather couldn't
have been better (especially for late October).
Centerfest Folk Stage 12:00 - 1:00 PM, Center Stage (Beer Garden) 6:30 - 8:00 PM
Great show, great crowd (20,000+) and some fun Folk antics. Ask Corey about
rolling his drum down Bridge Street. We played the folk stage first, followed by
a great southern rock group. Later we took mainstage in the beer garden for a couple of
hours until dark. We had a good crowd there, and some improvisation on the part of the
band when Ken blew a string in the middle of a set ... since he's our lead guitarist,
we had to break into some alternate material quickly! All went well and we'll play
again next year I think. Eric Hollandsworth from our friends in South 29
ran sound for us and did a super job.
Wheat's Valley, Virginia (private party)
Great fun, a cabin party up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
We had a fine time, some wonderful food, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves,
and at one point, the host's grandmother got up and played guitar (fingerpicking
style no less!) for half an hour. THAT was a special moment. We played until
well after dark, ran through songs we know (and some we don't!) and kept at it
until we just couldn't see anymore. I think there's another one of these in our
future ... we'll see in 2007.
Art Gallery above Bedford Hardware
This was an interesting show. We played during an art gallery opening for the
graduates of Liberty High School (that's local); they weren't really recent
graduates, I don't think, but all had gotten their start in this area and had
gone on to much larger things. Great crowd ... interesting venue with lots of
sculptures, paintings, photography, oriental rugs ... it was wild. We'd love to
do another show at the hardware store ... the acoustics are perfect!
Every other Tuesday (2 & 4) 5:30 - 7:00 PM
Bedford Farmer's Market
Fun, relaxed early evenings ... wonderful vendors. Flowers, local produce, local meats. We'll do this again in '07!