... at Liberty Lake Park,
Centertown Bedford, Hickory Hill Winery, the Pub at Lake Haven Marina,
and the Bedford Library ... check back here often! You never know where the
Folk will strike next!
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!
Give us a ring on 540.586.1098 or Email us at
folks@genericfolk.com
We'd love to come play for you.
You'll discover that though we're Generic Folk, the music is anything but ordinary.