Kinky Friedman signing a book for someone on a table that just happens to have a Happenstance Sticker on it!!!

Kinky Friedman and Scott McCarley

Kinky and Me - eat your heart out Brooks! - can you tell I am trying to hide my missing tooth?

Dalis Allen observing the action from the sidelines

Louise Mosrie opening on Friday nite 6/4 Day 9 - a little blurry, but it is the only one I got with her smiling...

Jim Dirden waiting for the right moment to snap a great picture!

k

Ronny Cox with Freebo, Rad, Jack Williams and Karen Mal on Friday June 4 - Day 9

Karen Mal with Ronn Cox

Eric Schwartz with Rod Kennedy seated in the VIP Box and Dalis looking on from backstage. Maybe she's wondering what Eric might do?

Ray Benson also on Friday nite

Amy Speace closing out Friday nite (wow!!) - I was in the Club 7 Song Circle with her on Friday nite.

I’ve got pix from Wednesday and Thursday as well as from last nite (Saturday) to post maybe tomorrow. I need to edit, crop and shrink ‘em first…

Was up til a little after 3AM at Camp on This. Good circle with Hamp and Janet, Klyma for a while, Matt, and Jack Motley, me and Dan and one or two others. It was hard to leave it.  Took a couple of Advil PMs since I’m trying to wearing an athletic tooth protector while I sleep and I was afraid it might make it hard. Had no problems though… slept over 7 hours. Here’s Day 10… Looks like I missed the Music To Life concert at Threadgill, but I’m sorta getting a late start.

Pix to follow… I hope…

Be sure and check out my friend Scotty’s blog – He’s building something at Camp On This and he’s posting pictures of the progress. (Scott’s Blog)

later…

John Inmon and the Burns Sisters

Almost everyone including Rad, Jimmy, Inmon, and the Burns Sisters (I forgot the drummer and bass players names - no slight intended)

okay Patty, there’s a short one!

I was really looking forward to the New Folk in the Round at Threadgill, and I was not disappointed. Ernest Troost, KC Clifford (and hubby David), Joe Jencks and Louise Mosrie. I’d heard them all at New Folk and on stage either at Woodyfest or SERFA and their performance in the round featured a few new songs as well as some that were their New Folk entries.

Ernest Troon, KC Clifford, David, Joe Jencks and Laura Mosrie

I took some great individual pics with my new camera, but the internet speed is really slow right now so I’ll maybe post more when I get home.

After Threadgill, I sat in at the Club 7 gathering at Camp Cuisine. It’s an annual 2nd Thursday event where anyone who has ever been a New Folk Finalist and not won (i.e. tied for 7th) is invited to a song circle. Lots of very good music as you might suppose. I stayed a couple or three  rounds and did a few of my “losers” and then headed out to Camp Stupid where Dan was sitting and as usual Ken Gaines was there. Always great to play with Ken! It was a very good song circle with Joe Spears, Brian Kalinec and others so we stayed til about 2:15 or so. I was in bed by 2:30.

FLASH! Mobile RV is here replacing the bent axle as I’m typing this!! YAY!!!

I went to a seminar at Threadgill from 1pm to 3pm on Music Law. Pretty interesting and I guess I learned a few things, but not what I had hoped to learn about publishing. Maybe I can dig for what I need to know on my own.

Okay, now for the personal stuff that made the last coupla days a little less than just great. Thursday morning while I was eating breakfast a tooth fell out! No pain and I don’t think I broke it on what I was eating (soft breakfast taco) so I began, with Patty’s help, a search for a dentist that was on our dental plan. Found one and went in only to find there was nothing temporary (or permanent within the time frame of the festival) that could be done, and I wasn’t having any pain so it was resolved to wait til I got home to fix it. It broke even with the gum line. I was a little worried about the tooth next to it since without that #7 tooth, The #8 front tooth would be getting a little more pressure on it. During the night (about 4:30am) I woke up with about half that tooth in my mouth. I got up and put it somewhere where I could find it and finally went back to sleep. This morning I discovered that the dentist I found yesterday was not open on Friday, but I was in luck and found one, who turned out to be quite good. This tooth was a porcelain crown and it broke diagonally in just about half. He was able to clean it up and cement it in with what he said was a high degree of certainty, (after grinding down the bite so it didn’t get so much pressure) that it would last until well after I got home. You can’t even see or feel where the break was. So, the net of it is that I’m going around with a gap where a tooth should be, but it only shows when I smile big…. oh yeah… I do that a lot, don’t I? An appointment has been made with Terry Fiddler DDS etc. at home so we’ll just deal with it till it can be fixed. Maybe I’ll post a picture of me without the tooth for your amusement… or maybe not….

Looking forward to a great lineup tonite and more campfires… especially the dark ones where I can smile without thinking about that damned tooth that isn’t there!

That’s all for now. Patty says I make these things too long… but I can’t help it.

Not much else to say, except I’m learning to use the new camera and am excited about the 14x zoom… It works great!

I wanted to post some pictures, but the connection is just too slow right now to upload them…. maybe later or tomorrow…

Looking forward to tonite’s New Folk in the Round Sundown Concert followed by the traditional Club 7 show at Camp Cuisine. Afterward Dan and I will hit the streets!

First here are some pics from Day 2 and Day 3:

Sara Hickman at her best!

Chris Rosser

Thomas and Scott holding down the CD Booth Steps

BettySoo and her band (Will Sexton and Jeff Plankenhorn) from Day 3

The Burns Sisters with Jon Inman and Andrew Hardin - Day 3

Kim Richardson from Day 4 (New Folk Day 2 Winner!!)

Well let’s see, where did I leave off? Oh yeah!
Day 4: or the 2nd day of New Folk. It’s been sort of a blur since then. The 2nd batch of New Folkers was quite good, in fact, 5 of the winners came from the 2nd day. I picked 4 winners, but I can’t argue with the judges selections. Lots of songwriting talent marched across that stage!! I was particularly glad to see our Arkansas girl (from Mountain Home) Kim Richardson win, as well as Michael Troy, Dan Colehour, Kate Klim, Andy Gullahorn, and Jon Brooks. I’ll post pictures from the winners concert next Sunday.

The Indigo Girls closed Sunday night. It was huge! Probably the most people we’ve had in the main theater since the Peter Paul and Mary Reunion and it may have been bigger. Caroline Aiken, and Terri Hendrix with Lloyd Maines preceded the Indigo Girls and it turns out there is a connection there. It’s a long story though and I’m not sure I remember it well enough to tell it right. Caroline, Terri and Lloyd came out and played with them for a goodly portion of their set. It was pretty damned good!!

The downer of the night was that my camera broke… The lens got stuck in the out position and would not close. I worked on it Monday and searched all the potential solutions I could find on the net to no avail. If it can be repaired in the shop, it would cost what the camera is worth so yesterday (Tuesday) I started shopping for a camera. With the competent advice of my friend Jim Dirden, I was pretty happy with another Canon I found at Wallyworld… I had been investigating getting a better camera anyway so I guess it’s not all bad. This one has 14x optical zoom compared to 3x on my old one so I should be able to get better performance pictures. We’ll see.

Day 5: Sorta missed everything early except for a bit of Ellis Paul, but I got settled in to get a good look at the Waymores and Brave Combo. Both of them were great! Tom Kimmel is in the Waymores along with Don Henry and Sally Barris. Great three part harmonies and lotsa good songs including this one which is available as a free download (All Kinds of Kinds) – It was my first time ever to see Brave Combo and let me tell you this is the rockingest polka band you will ever hear or see, and you really need to see them to appreciate them. I tried to find a good youtube video, but I really couldn’t find any that do them justice. Just don’t miss a chance to see them when you can.

Yesterday mid-day and afternoon was a trip to town. Picked up a few needed items, shopped for a camera and met Dan and his friend Terri for lunch at Schlotzky’s. Wound up going back to town to buy the camera after talking to Dirden. I did have a bit of trouble at W-M credit card wise. I failed to notify either card company I was traveling and the purchase locked me out. I had to open an W-M account to get my camera. I hope it’s squared away now. Patty had trouble this morning (Wednesday) buying gas. She called them and they said they fixed it, but then again that’s what they told me too. We’ll see.

Last night was Woodyfest nite at Threadgill. Just barely got back from town after my credit card ordeal to catch the start of the show. I put the battery on the charger so it wasn’t ready in time to take any pictures. Quite a few main stage performers from Woodyfest made the scene (they didn’t invite Dan, myself or Greg Klyma up, although they did get Johnsmith to come up for the big finale (This Land Is Your Land). After that they showed the movie, “Bound For Glory” But I didn’t stay for it. I went ahead and grabbed my guitar and headed to Camp On This before heading on up to the SkyHigh Lounge where we had been invited to play for a benefit for Sky’s friend Super Villain. Dan and I had to follow Green Mountain Grass so we really had to do a high energy set of 5 songs to not let the mood swing low… I think we did pretty well. Got quite a few compliments. Hit the sack right afterwards… and wouldn’t you know it, I got exactly the right amount of sleep ( whatever that is )

Well I guess that’s enough for now. I’ll have more tomorrow.

Day 2 : I Spent a good part of the afternoon over near the Energy Tree in a circle with Matt Meigan and others. It was a good one and wound up not attending the University Songwriter Finalists concert, but you just can’t do everything.

I caught the last half of Joe Crookston’s set, ditto for John Flynn. Joe was edgy and if you didn’t know it was just part of his persona, you’d think he was nervous. John had a lot of new songs, but really I sorta wanted to hear his old ones. Sara Hickman was great. by the end of the set she had kicked off her high heels and pulled the fake ponytail out of her hair, and had a dozen or so friends and fellow artists out on the stage in a vocal jam session that had to be seen and heard to be appreciated. She’s really something else!! (and that means in a very good way)

Chris Rosser only did about 20 minutes since he was part of Tom Prasada-Rao’s band in the following somewhat extended set. For me, those 20 minutes were probably the highlight of the night. I’m not sure I remember why, but I was must have been making the rounds or shooting the breeze with folks and I didn’t really see TPR’s set.  Randy Rogers is a pretty big draw down here in Texas, but I think his fans may have been disappointed that he didn’t have his full band and do a raucous party set that he normally would be doing. He did a lot of slow country songs and I sat on the steps of the Hospitality Booth shooting the breeze with Scotty and Thomas and others who stopped by.

I bought the live CD of the “Big Wide Grin” set. Haven’t listened to it yet, but probably will sometime before the weekend passes by. I also picked up a requested 2XL T-shirt for Dylan… geez… 2XL!!! The “D” is more a man than a boy these days..

Dan and I played after closing over at Jim and Deanne Dirden’s where Jeff and Rena (Jeff’s an old friend of Thomas’s  here for the first time) were hanging out. Dana Swift and his lady walked up behind us and said hello. Always great to see Dana! He’s a great guitar player and luthier as well as a dear friend. After that we were bushed and turned in.

Day 3: First day of New Folk so my plans revolved around that, but you know, at Kerrville plans can change. After breakfast Scotty and me took our chairs down to Threadgill for New Folk and then went on over to Camp on This since Jack Motley had arrived and I hadn’t seen him yet. Steve Fisher was there and made my day. He was a 1989 New Folk Finalist and a 1990 winner and I had heard about how good he was for years and never met him. He just sat around and played about 4 songs. The last 2 were the opening and closing tracks of his new CD and all 4 songs were just magic. I WILL HAVE THAT CD BEFORE I LEAVE!! After that he passed the guitar around and I heard Jack’s dying song which he wrote when he was facing the definite possibility that he would not survive the cancer he had been fighting and it was one of his best ever songs… He’s still cancer free now and returning to his normal strength and we’re all rejoicing in that! Scotty and I sang one too. Steve really liked “Hard On Me” and might want to do the song so I gave him a CD. New Folk had been going for about 15 or 20 minutes when me and Scotty left Camp On This so I missed all of the first artist and half of the second, but it was really okay… my day was already made!

First half of New Folk seemed sort standard issue with nobody except Chris O’Brien (Woodyfest regular and a really nice guy) catching my ear, but it was probably because the rest of the day’s songs would be compared to Steve’s. By the second half maybe that wore off because there were two or three that and one in particular that I thought might be winners, but you know, I’m quite often wrong about that.

Had to catch all of BettySoo’s set cuz she is going to be a star!! She had one hell of band (Jeff Plankenhorn and Will Sexton on guitar!!! That’s right, Kerst, I said Will Sexton!!) Her new record was produced by Gurf Morlix so I’d say me and Scotty are not the only people who believe she’s gonna make it. She’s a new folk winner from a couple of years ago and her sense of humor, great songs and beautiful voice will take her a long way. I won’t say much about porterdavis, but they were good at what they do. I guess I like my roots music not quite so loud and a little more rootsy. The Burns Sisters had a great set in spite of the fact that one of the girls mics was not up in the mains. I thought to myself their three part harmonies weren’t quite as good as they usually are. Once that was fixed the rest of the set was a winner. They had Andrew Hardin and Jon Inman on guitar as well as Rad (Radoslav Yorkovic) on keys and accordian so that was one hell of a band too! Eclectica was good, but not to my taste so I didn’t really see them. I came back in time to catch LaFave’s closing set and, well, you know, it was Jimmy LaFave!! it was definitely up to standard. I’m never disappointed in Jimmy’s sets. He had his regular band (as of late) with him including Rad and Jon Inman. He closed out the night in style!!!

Dan and I played at Joe’s (from Georgia) place just down RV road and renewed a few acquaintance and caved in about 2:15 – So I got about 6 hours of good solid sleep last night…

I better close it out, finish breakfast and haul a chair down to Threadgill for New Folk. Maybe will post pics and more about day 2 & 3 later…

Happy Kamper

Things are so much better today! I hit the sack right after the show to get some much needed rest and slept 7 hours so I really feel chipper. It’ll be a lengthy post with lotsa pictures today. I don’t know if I’ll continue with this much intensity, but there’s simply a lot to say about last night! btw – It was about 63 degrees outside this morning and I considered going into town to run, but by the time I’d finished considering it, it was already 70 so I decided that could wait. I hooked up the sewer line instead… I haven’t put out the awning yet… I may not, but I did lay out the rope lights to help find the trailer when it’s late and dark… Last night was a very good opening Thursday. Almost everyone I talked to commented that this was one of the best attendances for an opening night they could remember.

My buddy Scott

Dalis Allen welcoming the crowd on opening night

Standing in the wings is Ana Egge (say ‘eggy’), who first came to Kerrville when she was 15. I didn’t get the whole story, but she wasn’t a new folk finalist. Not bad, but the lyrics were hard to pick out… maybe her voice was a little thin, or they just had the guitars up a little too much in the mains. The lead player played a B-Bender (if you need me to explain that, let me know) and he used a little more than I thought was necessary. He’s a very good player and was probably the thing I enjoyed most in the set.

George Ensle

George had the 2nd slot and did a great set. I’ve met George and talked to him on the phone and he’s a really nice guy with some GREAT songs. The picture above is a bit blurred cuz I zoomed in to get a good shot of his mustache for Scotty, who also knows him and evidently rags him a bit about his mustache… One of George’s best is a song called “Cantos con tu Corazon” (Sing With Your Heart). I might have to find it and learn it. It’s a beaut!

George’s guitar man was simply one of the best acoustic lead players I’ve ever seen on the stage at Kerrville!! As you might imagine that’s out of quite a few.

Greg Whitfield and George Ensle

Greg was super clean, fast and quite tasteful on slower stuff too… Here’s his MySpace page: Greg Whitfield – I plan to spend some time there to hear some more when the pace slows.

Next was Big Wide Grin and they sure put a smile on my face. Three part harmony is the name of their game and the songs they did were widely varied in style and genre.  I’m definitely picking up a copy of their live set which should be available tonight or tomorrow. I think there are at least two or three songs that cry out to be “Happenstanced” – Dalis said that all the artists on opening night consented to the release. I might get George’s set too.  Big Wide Grin on MySpace

No pix for the Austin Lounge Lizards… I watched the last part of their set just out of nothing else to do. I’ve seen them so many times before and to be blunt, they aren’t what they used to be. Still Enjoyed their closing number though (Jesus Loves Me But He Can’t Stand You)

Micky and the Motorcars

Micky and the Motorcars is really the two guys on the left. They are Micky and Gary, the two younger brothers of Willy and Cody Braun (Reckless Kelly). According to Scott they predictably sound a lot like Reckless Kelly, but since I didn’t know that, I thought Micky sang a lot like Steve Earle. They were very good and their lead player was solid (I would have liked him a little better if he didn’t consider distortion as a major part of his sound), as was the bass and drums, but toward the last I started getting that feeling that the songs all sounded a little too much alike…

How 'bout a Bud, Bud!

I was a little surprised to see an open container on stage. Probably not the first time, but it’s the first time I noticed. Backstage Hospitality usually supply them with cups. A few years back I saw Charlie Robison smoking on stage and I thought that was verboten…. these rebels… you just never know what they’re gonna do! As I was making my way out, they did a unique cover of “Mrs. Robinson” and I sorta wished I would have turned around and gone back in, but I was ready to lay my body down.

I’m expecting a phone call from the RV repair guy today. Looking forward to having that issue completely resolved, but I’ve got a couple of weeks to take care of it so… What? Me Worry?

More later… I’ll probably try to make it up to the ballad tree today and find some folks I haven’t run into yet…

I woke up at 3AM this morning and at that time calculated that I had three solid hours of good sleep… unfortunately that’s all I would get… I guess I couldn’t stop thinking about the axle and whether or not I had overloaded or something. Albert (from Mobile RV) said he definitely did not think that was it. He said it was probably one of the two significant potholes I hit after I got off the freeway. He said it’s fairly common. I made a sincere effort to get a nap this afternoon, but I think I’m gonna have to keep going til I hit the wall. Dan should be pulling in pretty soon and we need to meet with our Artist Rep Charlie Stewart sometime tonite.

Here you can plainly see the bow in the axle

The 2nd picture shows the wear on the inner tread… Scott and Thomas both think I can move both tires to the front axle and not have a problem so I can get some more wear out of the tires… I’ll just need to keep an eye on them.

I’ll post something tomorrow about tonite’s show – maybe take some pix… maybe go to bed early too…

If you want to see it in motion, page down to Map Controls and push the animate slider all the way to the right. You can zoom in and see the trailers and the meadow and the stages and buildings….

So I’m here! I got the trailer parked pretty easily and then Thomas and Scott noticed one of the wheels on the trailer looked like it was leaning in a little bit. At least two of the tires are worn pretty bad and I’m just glad I made it here before they gave out. It looks like one of the axles is bent. I’m not gonna let it get me down though. I’ll deal with it.  The first thought I had was I was overloaded but I always make sure and put the heavy stuff in the truck… of course that may not matter if there’s enough light stuff to add up to a few pounds too many…  Answers will come soon enough.

After getting the trailer parked, and water hooked up (sewer can wait til tomorrow) I hung around with Scott, Thomas and Janie, and Bill for a bit before Scott and I took a walk around to renew old acquaintances and see who was here. Wound up at Bill Nash’s place and a song circle soon ensued. After a round or two I started yawning and since I was still in shorts and it was starting to get chilly I made a run to the trailer. Once I got here I figured out that 1) I never got around to eating lunch/supper 2) I needed to get the inside of the trailer squared away at least enough to get through the night, and 3) that yawning thing probably had something to do with being up since around 3 AM this morning….

so… I finished my sandwich and the beer is almost gone so good night!!

more tomorrow.

The first recording I made that I was actually happy with (and excited about the outcome of) was when I recorded Green Mountain Grass at the Kerrville Folk Festival earlier this year. They played in the campground at a wedding reception, on a flatbed trailer.  I got right up beside the band and was in the middle of everything. As a result, to me the recording sounds like a party (in a good way). It’s a fun recording and if I close my eyes I am back at Kerrville watching a great band play about 30 feet from my tent. You never have to wander far to find something special at Kerrville.

My only complaint about this recording is that during one particular song (Doggymouth) the band started stomping their feet on the trailer and with my limited knowledge of recording I had no idea how to keep the sound from going bonkers. So there is a point in the recording when the band is stomping and the recorder’s limiter kicks in.

There’s another point in the recording that I still love after hearing it many, many times. Inbetween “Doggymouth” and another song I don’t know (I’ll call it “Every Dog Has His Day”) the band plays their instruments in such a way that sounds like the song is falling apart, the timing’s going out the window and maybe they’re too drunk. Right when your eyebrows raise they bring it back, change it, and roll into a wonderful fiddle part to transition into the new song. I saw Tom Waits do something similar last year when he was on tour, and he had absolute control over his band. I think it’s a statement about these guys’ musical abilities that they can pull something like that off. Granted, I don’t know anything about writing music so this might be some easy elementary stuff but it sure seems like you have to know your craft to pull that off right. These guys know their stuff.

So, the recording. The first three minutes or so are them warming up. About 20 minutes in they take a break and during the break you hear conversations within the audience while the musicians pick on their instruments killing time. I think these sort of things add to making you feel like you’re right there in the crowd. The recording sounds great. Hope you’ll enjoy it. You can download or stream it for free here: http://www.kaosradioaustin.org/node/13996

Deadline: Feb 1, 2010

Genres: ALL, including: Alternative, Blues, Country, Electronic/Dance/DJ, Folk, Hip-Hop/Rap, Pop, Rock, Urban/R, World, Reggae, Acoustic, Americana, Avant-garde, Jam Band, Punk, Funk, Adult Contemporary, Bluegrass, Singer/Songwriter, Soul, A Capella.
This year’s contest review panelists include: Tom Paxton, Kathy Mattea, Judy Collins, Josh White, Jr., Buffy Sainte Marie, Christine Lavin, Baby Jay, Amy Carol Webb, Peter Yarrow, and Paul Winter.

It was the night after the wedding of my beautiful daughter Elizabeth and the equally beautiful Emmet at the Kerrville Folk Festival.  The Festival is a surreal thing in and of itself  – the hill country of Texas, 18 days of amazing music, grace-full people, and a loving glow that just kind of settles on you the moment you walk through the front gate.

I’m sure there were many wonderful performers that particular night but I only remember Judy Collins (the Joan Baez connection) because, what with my baby getting married and all, I was kinda nostalgic for the years I spent lying on my bedroom floor with my head under the stereo and the base turned up.

Now Judy was not my absolute favorite folk singer – Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Marianne Faithful all had a little more edge to them – but Judy was at the festival and they weren’t.

Truth be told I loved rocker Neil Diamond more than all of them but Neil’s never gonna play on the side of a hill in Texas when he can sell out 50,000 seat stadiums in Australia.

So here I was under the stars surrounded by my daughters, my new son-in-law, his family and lots of hippies swaying to the music when Judy Collins walks out with her guitar and all that hair.

My god, she’s like 70 and she still has all that glorious hair, which now that I think about it makes me feel better about not getting mine cut this summer -  although I’m thinking I might look more like Loretta Lynn than Judy Collins.

Now Kerrville is a really laid back kind of place with benches in front of the stage – no assigned seating and absolutely no security that would even think of keeping you from moving up closer to the stage.  So I’m inching closer and closer until I’m having a group hug & sway with about 10 other fans right next to the stage when I thought, I bet I could just sit on the stage!

What the hell was I thinking?  I mean I would never even think of sitting on any stage that Neil was occupying, but I don’t know it just kinda seemed like it was okay – not just okay – it seemed right, like I was supposed to be on that stage.

I’m not quite sure but I think I walked up the stairs on the side of the stage and took about 10 steps toward Judy and sat down. I mean I know that’s where I wound up, I’m just not completely sure how I got there!

So I sat there for her whole set and two encores – you do know that encores are planned out ahead of time don’t you?  I worked on the stage crew at another festival and was devastated to find out that all the clapping and glowing lighters don’t mean shit.  If the stage director and the lighting person and the sound person don’t know it’s coming it ain’t happening no matter how much you clap.

After Judy’s set I couldn’t wait to get to my daughters and tell them about how I got to literally sit at her feet – I mean I was almost breathless with the absolute wonder of it.

You know what?  They didn’t even know who she was!  I mean they knew who she was but they didn’t know who she was to me and every other woman who bought Wildflowers and laid on the floor with her head under the stereo – and even when I told them they were like, Yeah . . . that’s nice mom.

I guess every generation knows thing that the generations that came before and will come after just simply don’t know.  I mean I still don’t understand what the big deal was about Kurt Cobain other than he committed suicide.

Then there’s my mama, who when Pete Seeger walked on stage during his birthday bash, turned to me and asked, Well who is that old man?

Ho preso la patente due mesi fa, e ho un po’ di tempo da recuperare.

Autostrada – check. Benzinaio – check. Parcheggio in batteria – check. Coda in autostrada al ritorno dal mare – check. Guidare col braccio sinistro appoggiato al finestrino – check. Cantare e battere le mani sul volante – check. Cercare parcheggio per venti minuti – check. Farsi aiutare a parcheggiare da un maschio alfa – check. Scegliere la musica “perché va bene per la macchina” – check.

Stamattina ho accompagnato Misha e i suoi figli alla stazione delle corriere di Huelva, e al ritorno mi sono goduta i 20 minuti di autostrada ascoltando a tutto volume le Texas Campfire Tapes di Michelle Shocked. E siccome in venti minuti non riuscivo ad ascoltarlo tutto, ho allungato la strada del ritorno passando per le pinete.

Potrei fare un po’ la storia di Michelle Shocked, ma la verità è che dopo il suo secondo album (Short Sharp Shocked, del 1988) ho smesso di ascoltarla – a parte qualche canzone dal disco più folk che ha fatto, Arkansas Traveler. Non vuol dire che non valga la pena ascoltarla, che non sia brava: ma per me, quel primo disco vale oro.

Cercando in giro la storia delle Texas Campfire Tapes, trovo un commento su Amazon che dice esattamente quel che ho appena scritto:

“Like so many other artists (see Tracy Chapman), Michelle Shocked’s early music is consistently impressive, and consequently eclipses her more recent work. That’s not to say her recent albums are rubbish – it’s just that ‘The Texas campfire tapes’ and ‘Short sharp shocked’ were so so good.” (Ben Elliss)

L’ho scoperta intorno al 1988, anno più anno meno; me l’ha fatta conoscere Andrea [Fisico #1] o gliel’ho fatta conoscere io, poco importa. Ricordo l’estate ascoltando queste canzoni acustiche che più acustiche non si può. La storia infatti è che nel 1986 Michelle Shocked avesse partecipato al Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas; Pete Lawrence, un giornalista inglese, gironzolando per i prati, la sentì suonare e le chiese di poterla registrare. Con un Walkman Sony.

(Poi tornò in Inghilterra e pubblicò il disco, sembra senza dirle niente. Michelle Shocked non riconobbe il disco, ma prese l’occasione al balzo e approfittò la fama che le era arrivata dall’Europa per cominciare la sua carriera discografica.)

Voglio dire, un walkman. A pile. Questo disco è stato registrato su una cassetta, un nastro (e nemmeno aveva le batterie cariche, per cui pare che l’abbia registrato un po’ lento, e all’ascoltarlo poi si sentiva più veloce). Un incubo per gli audiofili, ma che meraviglia di disco. In sottofondo si sentono i grilli, il vociare di gente che passa, e a volte il rumore dei tir dall’autostrada vicina.

(Dopo anni di rifiuto ufficiale, Michelle Shocked ottenne la versione originale delle registrazioni, senza tagli, la ascoltò aggiustando la velocità, le piacque – chiaro! – e ripubblicò il disco, intero, chiamandolo The Texas Campfire Takes. Qui tutta la storia).

Non è facile da trovare in rete, né da scaricare, né sui vari blip o spotify (che comunque ancora non si sente in Italia), e su last.fm si vede solo qualche informazione.  Cioè, farvela ascoltare, impossibile. Per dare un’idea, su YouTube ho trovato la mia canzone preferita (tra le preferite), The Ballad of Patch Eye and Meg suonata decentemente da qualcun altro.

Da Short Sharp Shocked, invece, la bellissima Anchorage, che a me ancora mi fa tremare quando la sento.

I grilli, ma vi rendete conto?

Kerrville, we’ll be back next year and we miss you already!

The 38th Annual Kerrville Folk Festival

May 21 – June 7

Held at the Quiet Valley Ranch

9 miles south of Kerrville on Texas Hwy 16

Daily Evening Concerts

More Info: Festival Homepage

-kevin-

This year’s talent-packed festival lineup includes Kerrville Folk Festival newcomers such as Norton Buffalo & Friends (May 21), Rich DelGrosso (May 29), Butch Morgan (May 31), Jaime Michaels (May 24), and David Llewellyn (May 25). There’s also an impressive list of artists returning after a hiatus including, among others, Tish Hinojosa (June 5), The Folk Brothers: Jack Hardy & David Massengill (May 22), The Limeliters (May 29), Kevin Connolly (June 6), Berkley Hart (May 24), Michael Hearne & SXSW (June 5), and Cliff Eberhardt (May 25).

Of course the talent doesn’t stop there… the Kerrville Folk Festival will once again present diverse audience favorites such as Ruthie Foster (June 7), Terri Hendrix (May 30), Guy Forsyth (May 23), the Austin Lounge Lizards (May 22), Trout Fishing in America (May 29), Ray Wylie Hubbard (May 31), Johnsmith (May 30), Shake Russell Trio (June 5), Band of Heathens (May 24), Ellis Paul (May 29), Kevin Welch (May 21), Jimmy LaFave (May 23), Peter Yarrow (May 23), Susan Gibson (May 21), Bruce Robison (May 30),  Shelley King (May 25), and Walt & Tina Wilkins (May 24) along with dozens of other renowned artists.

The 2009 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for emerging songwriters will be held on the first Saturday and Sunday of the festival (May 23rd and 24th), from noon to 3:00 p.m.  From the 800 entries, 32 finalists will be selected to perform in this prestigious annual competition, hosted by Steve Gillette and Rod Kennedy.   This year’s festival has several former New Folk finalists and winners on the line-up including BettySoo, KC Clifford, Karen Mal, Chris O’Brien, Hans York, Joe Jencks, Tom Prasada-Rao, RJ Cowdery, Drew Nelson, Devon Sproule, and Jonathan Byrd just to name a few.

Held each year since 1972, the Kerrville Folk Festival is the longest continuously running festival of its kind in North America.  Over the years it has become known internationally as a Mecca for singer songwriters of varying musical styles… a place where those just beginning to develop their skills have the opportunity to play their music along side those who are masters. Emerging songwriters as well as teachers are drawn to the festival’s many learning opportunities, such as the 29th Annual Songwriters School, the Roots / Blues Guitar Workshop, Harmonica Workshop and the 8th Annual Professional Development Program for Teachers.

There’s truly something for everyone at this festival, camping, campfire jam sessions, concerts and activities for kids, “Ballad Tree” song sharing sessions, Hill Country bike rides, canoe trips on the Guadalupe, Sunday Folk Song Services, Saturday Shabbat Services and much more. This is one musical celebration that must not be missed! A complete festival schedule, information and tickets can be found at www.kerrvillefolkfestival.com or by calling the festival office at (830) 257-3600. Ticket prices range from $20 to $35 depending on the particular day, although you can save from 20% to 30% by purchasing your tickets in advance. Parking fees are $3 per day per vehicle.

The Kerrville Folk Festival is owned by the Texas Folk Music Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization that is dedicated to the support of emerging songwriters and folk music in all its forms.

Submitted by Cash Edwards Music Services

AUSTIN, Texas – Dec. 15, 2008 – In a move to preserve, celebrate and educate the public about the original and eclectic fabric of American music, the Texas Folk Music Foundation (TFMF), a 501(c)3 Texas Non-profit Corporation, today announced it has acquired the assets of Kerrville Folk Festival, Inc., including the Kerrville Folk Festival and the Kerrville Wine & Music Festival, two of the premier folk and singer/songwriter festivals in the country. The “Kerrville Folk Festival,” will now benefit from the tax-free donation of private and public monies to support and promote songwriters, songwriting, folk music education and live performances of traditional folk, bluegrass, acoustic rock, blues, country, jazz and Americana music. Donations from Foundation and Festival supporters made this transition possible.

Since 1972, the Kerrville Folk Festival (KFF) has been known internationally as a mecca for singer songwriters of various musical styles. For 18 straight days and nights each May and June, over 30,000 guests come from around the world to experience the magic of what they simply call “Kerrville”. More than just a folk music festival, the event is intended to promote emerging artists as well as recognized, seasoned talent, the likes of which have included musicians such as Peter, Paul and & Mary, Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Michelle Shocked, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Robert Earl Keen, Lucinda Williams, and Nanci Griffith, among others.

“The Kerrville Folk Festival is a miracle of plain ole’ goodness of spirit, welcoming community and stunningly beautiful hand-made music,” said renowned folk singer Peter Yarrow. “The old pros like me are honored and respected in ways that make us feel we are truly coming home when we return, year after year. Thank goodness for those that have kept the faith so that Kerrville not only survived, but remained true to its roots, spiritually and musically. I am personally beyond grateful.”

“The Kerrville Folk Festival has always been a major part of our Folk Alliance Community and provides a connection between the legendary songwriters of the past and the generations of songwriters to come,” said Louis Jay Meyers, executive director of the Folk Alliance. “The art of songwriting should be cherished, respected and celebrated. The Kerrville family makes this a reality every year.”

The Kerrville Wine & Music Festival has the same musical format as the Folk festival, but with an additional focus on Texas Wines. Held each year over Labor Day weekend, this annual three-day event combines camping, music, and the best wines Texas winemakers have to offer. In addition to afternoon and evening concerts, there are Saturday and Sunday wine seminars which pair food morsels with the vintners’ choice of wine.

TFMF was founded in 1999 to educate, preserve and promote public appreciation and support for songwriters, songwriting and folk music in all its forms. Since then, the Foundation has worked with KFF to deliver a range of music education programs and workshops that include:

• Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters – TFMF’s highest profile program has been the springboard for the careers of many well-known artists; 32 Finalists are selected from 800 entries, six of whom are chosen as Award Winners to perform on the second weekend of the Festival.
• Summer Youth Music Camp – over thirty children ages 11 to 18 from Texas and across the country participate in programs to “find your voice through music,” including song structure, rhyming, rhythm, writing lyric poetry, songwriting and canoeing with a twist.
• Songwriter School – accomplished, professional songwriters come from across the country to teach songwriting and share their unique talents with aspiring songwriters of all levels who come to hone their craft.
• Blues Guitar Workshop – started in 2000 as a valuable service provided to those interested in learning the art and technique of playing the blues. Steve James, writer, performer, teacher and blues historian, heads up a revolving faculty of master blues artists for this three-day program.
• Professional Development Program for Teachers – trains teachers to incorporate music into the classroom and to help at-risk students develop interests in music; teachers are eligible to receive continuing education credits for attending the course.
• Campus Songwriters Competitions – songwriters from university campuses across Texas compete for an opportunity to perform in a showcase event during the Festival (this program is currently available at the University of North Texas, Texas State University, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and the University of Texas in Austin).
• Memorial Day Blues Workshop – some of the finest acoustic blues musicians in the country gather to discuss their roots, influences and instruments in an educational and spontaneous forum; past performers have included Elizabeth Cotton, Sue Foley, Ernie Hawkins, and Spider John Koerner, among others.

“The Kerrville Folk Festival will still be the same ‘phenomenon’ our musicians, fans and supporters have come to know and love,” said Dalis Allen, KFF producer. “Combining forces with the TFMF gives us more opportunities to move forward with our mission of support for original music and the education of the world about the importance of music in our lives. It also ensures the continuation of these events and allows for fundraising to make additional improvements to them. As Festival founder Rod Kennedy always said, ‘We are saving the world one song at a time’.”

Both Kerrville Music Festivals, and many other TFMF programs are held on the Quiet Valley Ranch, nine miles south of Kerrville, Texas.

For more information on the Kerrville Folk Festival, please visit: www.kerrvillefolkfestival.com or contact the festival office at 830-257-3600.   For more information on the TFMF, please visit www.tfmf.org

Submitted by Cash Edwards Music Services

Jill Jack Performs at Lamb's Retreat in Harbor Springs. MI

There is an indelible picture of the ceiling of room 1 at the Birchwood Inn in Harbor Springs Michigan stamped in my brain…

Arrived Thursday afternoon after making GREAT TIME. Got settled into the aforementioned room 1 and headed into town to get some dinner at Turkey’s Pizzeria. No, it wasn’t turkey pizza! Right off the bat we had an open mic night and I got to do two songs (Help Me Be Good and Nothin’ All Day). It was a very loose evening of shaking hands and meeting all these new folks that would very soon become my friends.

Friday began with what would soon become a standard feature of the retreat… great FOOD! John made sure we had three square a day. Fuel for the work that was to come! Right after breakfast John let us know who was in charge. We had a meeting downstairs and finished up with our staff “singing for their supper”. These are some incredibly talented folks. The whole “low stress, loosey-goosey” theme was out the window at about 1pm. John gave us our assignments. We had our objective. “SIR, YES SIR!”

I spent the rest of the day attending as many of the seminars as I could, while retreating to my home to lay on my bed and think about my assignment. This would be a common thing for the next 48 hours or so. I’d strum… think. Think… strum. Then I’d lay down and stare at the ceiling for a bit. Who knew that there was so much inspiration in the ceiling of room 1??? Friday ended with me spending a lot of time in that room and finally coming up with a seed for the song that would come later. A verse that I didn’t use and a chorus came out before midnight.

Saturday was, again, spent judiciously using my time between attending seminars and writing (read: staring at the ceiling). After getting a bit more done on the song, I had a private conference with Michael Camp. I was so struck with him as a performer, writer and person that I thought any time spent with him would be like gold. I didn’t bring my guitar or even my song. I just wanted to listen to anything he had to say. And he didn’t disappoint. We even found a few minutes to talk about the song (which was good, because he gave me some very good advice that I needed to hear). John D got us a sweet deal on dinner at Lorenzo’s next door and I stuffed my face with way too much Italian food. Our table was labeled the “kid’s table”. Well, we were the ones that called it that, actually. After dinner we got a real treat! The staff did a concert for us and the townies. It was a packed house and the artists did not disappoint. Jill Jack, Rachael Davis/Brett Hartenback, Michael Camp, Joel Mabus and Karen Mal blew us all away. If JD was trying to inspire us and make us stretch to improve, he hit the nail right on the head. I was stoked. Got back to my room around 11 and continued working on the new song. Tension was building… and the ceiling was running out of ideas.

Got to sleep in a bit on Sunday morning. After another nutritional breakfast/brunch I bailed and played through the song one last time. After taking a moment to lay down and talk to the ceiling one last time, I made that last walk from my room to the Fireside Room (think: Green Mile)… guitar in hand and heart in throat. We started at 10am and I found my place in the rotation. Sitting on the sofa (on-deck circle) waiting to play is not unlike waiting to be executed, I would think. The terror was palpable. My hands went cold and sweaty. I wondered if I would remember ANYTHING! I did. And one of over 35 songs was born in that room today… most of them written by Michigan artists. We have a sound, my friends. It is a Michigan sound. And I am delighted to be a small part of that sound.

After the presentation of the songs, I said goodbye to my new friends. Then I walked back to my room, packed and laid down one last time on the bed and said “thank you” to the ceiling in room 1.

Thank you John, the staff, the food folks and my fellow campers. This was an experience I will never forget.
Hope to see you all again soon,
John

p.s. Thanks to Dalis Allen, producer of the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas for being a part of this weekend. She had some very inspiring words for us on Friday morning. Not to mention the fact that I won a trip to the festival this summer…

The impact of all the permaculture and natural building workshops that have been held at the Quiet Valley Ranch (the festival’s home) over the years is immediately felt upon entering the front gate. The first structure you come to is made out of cob and locally harvested cedar. It is just one of the many buildings on the ranch made out of natural materials. The headquarters for the staff is a small house made of straw bales. And my personal favorite, the gazebo atop Chapel Hill created by Sun Ray Kelley, was made of wood found on the property. It has a living roof that was quite green the last time I saw it. Here’s a photograph of one section of the roof:

All around the ranch, trees have been planted and swales dug to direct ran water to them. The greening of the property will take some time as this is classic Hill Country land, dry, dusty, and rocky. As it is, Quiet Valley Ranch is an oasis of forward thinking in a part of the world that is often quite content with the status quo. I look forward to my next visit to this famed spot (perhaps as soon as October when an intensive Permaculture Design Workshop is being held there. Stay tuned to the Kerrmaculture website for more details….

Almost every year for the last dozen or so I’ve made an annual pilgrimage to the Kerrville Folk Festival, an eighteen-day long music festival in Kerrville, Texas.  It’s holy ground for me.  Hot, dusty, chigger-ridden, sweaty, holy ground.  

There’s music on the stages each night and it’s wonderful, but the real magic happens in the middle of the night in the campground song circles.

It’s been said that New York City is less of a big city than a big pile of small towns.  It’s natural for people to create small communities within big ones, and the Kerrville campgrounds make an excellent example.

Over the years some camps have become quite established, setting up in the same place each year and welcoming back a gradually evolving but cohesive bunch of friends.  At night we sit in the centers of these camps and trade songs. Sometimes the songs are by beginners, sometimes by the performers who played on the main stage to thousands of people only a couple of hours before.

The camps have names and histories— Camp Calm, Camp Coho, Camp Cuisine, Camp Nashville. Many have horrible puns built in: Camp Bayou Love (say it out loud and listen for a Beatles song), Camp Decide, etc. My buddies Brian and Ellen have Camp Jews Don’t Camp (they’re Jewish, of course).

Our camp is called Camp SingKerrNicity.

We play music until the wee hours every night.  Sometimes we watch the sunrise then go to sleep for the few hours that remain before tents are magically converted into solar ovens and we burst out of them gasping for air and water.

It’s good just to be in the Texas Hill Country this time of year, too, living outside and feeling the evening cool off just before the sun sets, noticing every puff of breeze in the hot afternoons. The wildflowers are gorgeous and the rivers cool enough to wake up your spirit, but warm enough to stay in for a while.  The deer arc over the fences on our trips home from the river in the evenings, and the wildflowers are glorious.

And all of it is marinated in music. As I sit here in my tent writing this my friend Megan is playing a song in our camp a few feet away.  

Over the years I’ve had the privilege of teaching workshops a couple of times, sitting in as a guest on lots of main stage performances, and doing a couple of my own, most recently this past Friday night.

There are thousands of people listening during the main stage sets on the weekends, and the sound system is beautiful and beautifully piloted.  It’s pretty amazing to hit the low notes on Deadline and hear that bass kick out.  I can almost see the shock waves ripple out over the audience.  Good fun.

I try hard not to write music for critics, but for people. All the same, it’s affirming to get strong feedback from your peers, and that’s felt good these last few days.

(thanks to Neale Eckstein for this photo!)

I guess the sleep deprivation is good practice for my impending daddy-hood. I’ve been getting to spend some time with my friend Celia’s eight-month-old, too, and really enjoying that. He’s an incredibly sweet little guy, so he inspires only excitement.

I won’t get to come to Kerrville for at least the next two years, so I’m taking a long drink of it this year, staying for about ten days. This has been a nourishing and challenging community for me, both artistically and personally, and I’m deeply grateful for it. A few days of sleep-deprived song slinging remain, and I’m soaking it up for all I’m worth.

I left Asheville at 3:30 in the afternoon on the day before yesterday, and last night played a house concert near Dallas with my long-time friend Beth Wood. What a treat to see and hear her again.  She’s getting married this fall, and moving to Colorado, so you Coloradans keep an ear out for her.

Beth did me the honor of recording a song of mine for a CD that’s being put together by my friend Kenny Legendre in Germany of various musicians doing my songs.  Mostly they are Europeans, but a few Americans are going to be part of it as well.  Beth recorded a version of my song Stranger, from Corners, on piano, and it’s really lovely.  I got to hear it last night for the first time.  

Having someone record your song is metaphorically kind of like having someone marry your child, I guess.  It’s beautiful to see someone else put their heart and their spirit into your intimate creation.  It also helps you to see it in a new light.  I can listen to the song when Beth sings it in a way that I really can’t hear it if I’m listening to a recording of myself.  

I’ll let you know when the record comes out, of course.  It will be a European release, but I reckon we’ll get a few copies over here. 

Chris Rosser, by the way, is going to record my song Spirit, from Spin, and I can’t wait to hear that.  

I’ll be on the road for the next two and a half weeks, culminating with a set at the Kerrville Folk Festival.  It’s an honor to play there at all, of course, but I’m blown away that they gave me one of the top slots on the schedule.  The festival is eighteen days long, but the first weekend is the biggest, being Memorial Day and all. I’m playing on Friday night of that first weekend, at nine pm on the main stage.