1 15 44 http://archive.aftm.us/files/original/10/326/ReelT531.pdf 1ff0b7ee544641373651289b828b4ebf PDF Text Text ���������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 53 Number 1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times - Volume 53, Number 1 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Aaron and Adam Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available AFTM Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2026-02 http://archive.aftm.us/files/original/10/324/NewReelTimesV52N01.pdf 7c92807acdfb27f532f30302e75eb2d7 PDF Text Text OTAF REEL TIMES SUMMER 2025 drop thumbs not bombs �REEL TIMES SUMMER 2025 EDITED AND WRITTEN BY ADAM BRODKIN AND AARON ZISCHKALE AFTM CALENDAR FRESH SHELLAC.............................................................3 THE DUCK RIVER DISPATCH.....................................4 STARGAZERS WHO CALL THE SHOTS....................5 MAYDAY AT THE WOOTEN'S......................................6 THE GREAT DRONE MYSTAGOGUE........................9 BATCH STRING BAND SHOW CASE.........................11 EMAIL US AT REEL.TIMES.AFTM@GMAIL.COM 1 14 �guitar for an unusually sweet Dock Boggs tune, the wistful old ballad "Papa Build Me a Boat." Rose Griffith completes the group, lending lovely harmonies to Carter Family tunes and bringing a powerful holler to Hazel Dickens' hard-luck number, "Busted." A mainstay of the Show Case has been BYK, a power trio consisting of Joslyn Boyer (upright bass), Zephyr Yellman (fiddle), and Tim Keough (fiddle and guitar). They forged their sound from summer morning jams (I'll never forget hearing a phone recording of their twin-fiddle harmonizing on the old PT Bell tune "Mace Bell's Civil War March." The audience thrills every time Joslyn draws her bass bow from a h on the instrument and bellows a melody. The three of them have curated a fantastic set, and I'm still blown away at how deftly Zephyr twists the pegs of his fiddle in and out of rich open tunings to lend each piece a unique sound. The highlight this set was the twisty, BYK serenade at Batch (L to R, Joslyn Boyer, Zephyr Yellman, Tim Keough) winding "Dusty Miller" from Missouri's Gene Goforth, a tune Tim heard a few years back at CROMA from Steam Machine's AJ Srubas. Zephyr wound up winning a ribbon at Clifftop with the tune, and it wowed again at Batch. By this time of the night the place was packed, and I squeezed through the line at the counter for my instruments for the last set. Near the front door, Los Fandangeros played an impromptu happy birthday for a beaming girl, with the crowded room stomping their feet behind the semi-circle of musicians. As the Slaughter Creek Drought Busters, Adam and I atttempted to end with a nightcap, soothing the room with a meditative acoustic drone, bathed in violet light he had rented for the show. Using unique open tunings for fiddle and banjo, we conjured a long take on a West Virginia tune learned from Dwight Diller, "Piney Woods." The tune unwound over a sonic texture of bowed banjo (on loop from a guitar pedal), and a shruti box operated in turns by Lindsey Zischkale and Heather Brodkin. Another great night at Batch - huge thanks to Darrel Mayers with AFTM, and Adam and Henry Brodkin for doing the hectic job of running sound, and Gabriel Lit for giving us the space to share our music! 13 REEL TIMES SUMMER 2025 Howdy all you pickers and bowers, singers and shouters, clawhammerers, dulcimer hammerers, you noisemakers of all kinds! Reel Times is under new management, with Adam Brodkin and myself filling the big shoes Gary Mortensen left. So we're gonna bring you the Old-Time word, wherever banjos, ballads, yeah even bodhrans, sound off. From Austin, Texas, around the world, and back again. We'll print big events, new tunes, voices from the community: all about homemade acoustic roots music and the folks who make it. This issue we'll kick things off with a few great albums we've been spinning all summer, check in with our festival correspondents, get a peek at the twenty-sixth year of a great shindig out in Hill Country, hear from one of our regular pickers at the Tuesday night jam, lose oureslves to the drone, and finish with a report on the latest String Band Showcase at Batch out off of Airport. And don't forget that This October is our big Austin String Band Festival, so SAVE THE DATE and come on out to Camp Ben McCulloch in Driftwood, October 17 - 19. Bring your jam tunes and get ready for a great lineup: we've got Guy Forsyth's 78 Special, Brandi WallerPace, the Here & Now Band, Spencer & Rains, and the Lost Keys, Missy Beth & the Morning Afters, Mariachi Las Altenas, Luke Moody, Everett Wren, BYK, Corey McCauley, Steel Grassy, and the Austin City Quicksteppers! There'll also be a SILENT AUCTION!! Please donate items (musical instruments, books, artwork, etc.)! Contact Lee Thomas (817-480-5561) for pick-up or bring items to the festival kitchen on Saturday morning, Oct 18. SEE Y'ALL THERE! 2 �FRESH SHELLAC Rhiannon Gidden's staccato old-time banjo pierces the warm summer drone of 17-year cicadas, alongside the driving bow of her old Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Justin Robinson. They bring us the impromptu energy of a back porch jam with eighteen tunes begging to be learned and shared. From killer takes on chestnuts (“Ebenezer”) to intriguingly titled obscurities (“Duck’s Eyeball”), this record is packed with energy and will have your fingers itching to pick. Not a ton of blockbuster films reference Charley Patton, Geechie Wiley, and Rocky Road to Dublin, so hopefully old-time fans caught Sinners in theaters, a story of Black resistance and joy in the Jim Crow-era South that director Ryan Coogler spins into a universal statement about a deeply human relationship to music, pleasure, and spiritual danger. The album isn’t your usual oldtime fare but is well worth a listen for actor Miles Caton’s gorgeous rendering of delta blues (he impressively learned slide guitar for the role), and an exclusive cut from Rhiannon and Justin. 3 West Virginia and Pennsylvania natives The Wild Shoats released their first proper album, full of both original fiddle tunes that would fit nicely in a jam, and achingly emotional songwriting. Just tuck into the opening strains of “Clara” and be taken away as the band applies the pulse of traditional fiddle to sorrowful bury-me-not lyrics inspired by Lonesome Dove. When singer and fiddler Mary Linschield brings the last refrain up an octave, it has me breaking out in goosebumps. Gorgeous version of "Moonshiner" (and great imagery about his breath) with buzzy baritone harmonies from bandmate Augustus Tristch. This was a huge help as I took to the board to double-chug some flatfoot steps during the Dog Day String Band's set, to a certain possum-themed tune that just happened to be mentioned in our Duck River Dispatch section. The Dogs include myself (fiddle and mandolin) and Adam (upright bass and banjo), with Britt Irick fiddling and whacking out rhythms on a banjo uke (the shrink-dried version of the banjo). He also picked up 12 �BATCH CRAFT BEER AND KOLACHES STRING BAND SHOW CASE MAY 10, 2025 This past May marked the third String Band Show Case at Batch, an AFTM-hosted event in which Austin old-time players take to the indoor stage in various string band incarnations for an evening of raucous acoustic tunes. Frosty pints of beer flow and kolaches sweet and savory are devoured to melodies from Appalachia and beyond. THE DUCK RIVER DISPATCH Intrepid correspondents journey from Austin's cozy jam scene to the wide world of festivals. They bring back tunes and stories from the road. This issue we check in with Britt Irick and Rose Griffith, who back in April drove 7 hours up the 35 corridor to the The Greenleaf Old Time Music Festival in Braggs, Oklahoma. The clear weather was perfection, befitting of the state park's name, and the jam circles formed easily throughout the day. The attendance is still fairly small, around 320 people this year. "Everybody knows everybody," Britt remarks, "cause a lot of people are CROMA refugees." With the Colorado festival now defunct, Greenleaf has become a new meeting spot. "Jams are pretty magnetic there," he says, "start a jam, people see you and join in." Of course the first question you've gotta ask the weary travelers is, "new tunes?" And they certainly brought back a keeper, learning "The Old She Possum Skating on the Ice" from Tricia Spencer, a great cut from a Jimmy Triplett CD. Los Fandangeros de Austin (L to R): Joanna Saucedo, Chris Ledesma, Rodrigo Leal, Carlos Salazar, Marino Miranda, Erik Salinas, Jerónimo James Sexton Macias The energy out of the gate was propulsive as Los Fandangeros de Austin took the stage. Six string-slingers strummed jaranas of various sizes and types, with Joanna Saucedo seated at the marimbol, thumping out bass lines. Their music hails from Veracruz and features a powerful call-and-response structure, a social call to dance and sing ("made for convivio"). When not at the marimbol Joanna tapped out dance steps on a wooden platform (a humble cube of 2x4s that I patched together during the height of the pandemic, when learning some flatfooting steps). Quick-thinking Joanna slid a yoga mat under the box to keep it from sliding across Batch's tile floor! 11 Rose, as a trusty backup guitarist, focuses less on tune names and more on the company and song. "I don't necessarily learn the names of the tunes. But I will say I was pretty blissed out for the entire week." One morning she joined Marge Mullaney and Bob Atchinson and sang a "dynamite" version of Long Journey Home, "one of the saddest songs in country music." There were workshops and vendors aplenty, and Britt stopped by the Beautiful Music Violin Shop booth, in from Kansas. "I was trying to avoid it, because I knew if I went over there I would walk away with something." He picked up a Hopf violin and "it played itself", so he didn't leave without it. So get out next year to Greenleaf for tunes, friends and fiddles, April 12-18, 2026 4 �STARGAZERS WHO CALL THE SHOTS The Tuesday night jam at Stargazer, Springdale Station, attracts folks from all over Austin. Let's get to know em! This issue we catch up with Tristan Walling. Q: Hey Tristan! Tell us how you found the jam A: I met Britt at my drawing meetup and he had a tattoo of a banjo, and I was just starting to play banjo. He invited me out to the jam. Q: What are your strings of choice? A: I have a Deering Goodtime that I usually bring [that night he also brought an old Gibson L3, on which he’s learning an old Bo Carter tune, "The Lead's All Gone"] Q: Best tune to play at a jam? A: John Brown's f*****' Dream, man. Q: What's the most old-time thing you do outside of a jam? A: I grow my mustache. That’s for music too. I’m currently working on a project called The Chronicles of Cowboy Buck Q: At Genuine Joe’s, you noticed that the standup bass was vibrating through the old hardwood floors, that it turned the place into a musical instrument. You took it upon yourself to learn how to say that in Japanese mind throwing that our way? A: Q: What does the jam mean to you? 5 A: I feel absolutely freed as a musician. Came as an absolute beginner and you guys never kicked me out, y'know what I mean? I feel welcome in this whole group, man, and y’all feel like a family to me! 10 �THE GREAT DRONE MYSTAGOGUE by Adam Brodkin You can’t escape it. It’s ever present. Ubiquitous. Whether you’re out in the boondocks or in the middle of a sprawling industrial urban center. It’s there whether you hear it or not. It affects you whether you want it to or not. Sometimes subtly and sometimes overtly. Every culture, on every continent, from the very beginning, has an indigenous form of it. It can simultaneously separate your spirit from your body and drive you insane. I’m not an ethnomusicologist, or an academic, and I have no formal training in music. I have followed the drone as a guiding force in the music I have played over the years. Heavy psychedelic rock and roll, experimental music, and for the last few decades old time and other traditional folk music. It has been the mainstay of the music I play with my partner Aaron Zischkale in the Slaughter Creek Drought Busters. I’ve communed with the drone and found it to be a good thing. This small corner of Reel Times will be dedicated to the drone, wherever I can find it. Some drones I’ve been obsessed with and would like to explore more in 2026 are Dwight Diller’s low G banjo playing, the work of La Monte Young, Isaan music of Northern Thailand, Tuvan throat singing, and the music of Sunn O))). Give in to the drone and scan the QR code at left to meet The Mystagogue and experience a sampling of the music mentioned in this article 9 MAYDAY IN HILL COUNTRY This May marked the 26th anniversary of a party held by Angie and Tim Wooten at their place out in Hill Country. It's a bit of a trek from Austin, with a couple low-water crossings that threaten to make the journey treacherous if there's been rain. But at the end of a winding road atop a hill a host of partygoers gather. The centerpiece of the evening is the maypole, where folks dance in two concentric circles, wrapping multicolored ribbons in a criss-cross around the center. On the outer orbit, a tall fiddle player skips in the opposite direction of the nearest line of dancers. He's Everett Wren, and has amassed years of experience. "If I move counter to them, it almost seems like it's moving faster. Little psychological thing", he grins. In clusters outside the spinning wheel a motley musical procession forms to churn out a marching step for the dancers: "St Anne's Reel", "Old Molly Hare", "La Bastringue. " Folk music circles collide as splashy Irish guitar (David Rabinowicz) plays alongside fiddles, trilling flute, clacking bones (Rich MacMath) and a six-string clawhammer banjo (Bernard Mollberg). "It’s a happy feeling that you get when everybody’s smiling outside, moving around, instead of the way we usually are, in our heads," Angie Wooten muses. "And [the dance] puts people in their bodies and you feel you’re interconnected. Kinda like when we’re playing a tune in a circle, we’re all playing the same tune so we’re connected. In the Maypole everybody’s kind of got the same goal and they’re not thinking about anything except 'up, down, over, under…'" 6 �Tim and Angie inherited the maypole from the Lady Bird Johnson Wilflower Center, where they'd been providing music for the annual event. It was first hoisted up on their new property for a groundbreaking project, and by the time the house was built, it was May again. The tradition carries on to this day, though a bit like the Ship of Theseus. Tim recalls parts being replaced over time. "Now, one year Seth, when it was time to take it up (Seth's big and strong) so when he was wobbling it to get it out of the ground he broke it in two." Every year when the pole comes down Angie irons the ribbons, until they get too ragged to keep. "It's the same maypole, we've just had the pole and the ribbons replaced," Tim smiles with a shrug. After the dance is done the night goes late with Everett playing a square dance on a homemade floor and little groups splitting off, playing around warm crackling campfires. Now one of the big selling points that was made to me when I first attended a few years back was the breakfast. You play tunes until late, Britt said, and you wake up and there's crepes. Sure enough on Sunday morning there's Everett again, sharing a skill he'd picked up from French friends while living in Germany. "Our get-togethers, the focal point, almost the whole reason we got together was for a crepe specatular." His way of giving back then is this big social breakfast. What's more, Jeanne DeFriese follows this up with a huge cast iron skillet of migas with nopales (and by eleven o' clock she'd refilled the huge coffee maker seven times). While folks gorge themselves on breakfast, the front porch is singing with gospel, country and bluegrass. Nancy Griffith thumps out bass lines with her husband Robert singing crisp harmonies alongside daughter Rose, as it has been since she was a kid. Others join the jam,or just sit in rocking chairs watching a half-dozen flitting hummingbirds chase each other around the array of feeders off the porch, set against an open blue sky. "We wouldn't miss it for the world," Robert says. When prompted the trio each choose different favorites from the weekend. For Robert, "Standing Room Only" from the Stanleys, for Rose it's the Louvin Brothers' "My Baby's Gone," and Nancy picks "Stormy Waters", the one popularized by Jimmy Martin. Inside the adobe house is a buzz of activity, and Vanessa Gordon taps out bouncy fiddle tunes from the living room's piano. Austin newcomer and banjo player Janet Turley reflects on her first Mayday. "Just enchanting, magical, all those words." There were two competing oldtime jam circles the night prior, and when one would pause the silence would bring the soft call of the Chuck-wills'-widow, and a wafting of music from the other circle. Janet's favorite moment was the jam shifting to cowboy songs, to Old Paint. Anther year with melodies and laughter on the air, with many more to come. Other choice tunes: "Callahan" in cross tuning (with that sliding high note), and one the Woots learned from youtube, "Laughing Gravy" Make sure to check out Everett's band Big Love Car Wash, who play a blend of roots music they call "erstwhile bluegrass" and by now have had an album release show at the 04 Center on June 4th 7 8 �Tim and Angie inherited the maypole from the Lady Bird Johnson Wilflower Center, where they'd been providing music for the annual event. It was first hoisted up on their new property for a groundbreaking project, and by the time the house was built, it was May again. The tradition carries on to this day, though a bit like the Ship of Theseus. Tim recalls parts being replaced over time. "Now, one year Seth, when it was time to take it up (Seth's big and strong) so when he was wobbling it to get it out of the ground he broke it in two." Every year when the pole comes down Angie irons the ribbons, until they get too ragged to keep. "It's the same maypole, we've just had the pole and the ribbons replaced," Tim smiles with a shrug. After the dance is done the night goes late with Everett playing a square dance on a homemade floor and little groups splitting off, playing around warm crackling campfires. Now one of the big selling points that was made to me when I first attended a few years back was the breakfast. You play tunes until late, Britt said, and you wake up and there's crepes. Sure enough on Sunday morning there's Everett again, sharing a skill he'd picked up from French friends while living in Germany. "Our get-togethers, the focal point, almost the whole reason we got together was for a crepe specatular." His way of giving back then is this big social breakfast. What's more, Jeanne DeFriese follows this up with a huge cast iron skillet of migas with nopales (and by eleven o' clock she'd refilled the huge coffee maker seven times). While folks gorge themselves on breakfast, the front porch is singing with gospel, country and bluegrass. Nancy Griffith thumps out bass lines with her husband Robert singing crisp harmonies alongside daughter Rose, as it has been since she was a kid. Others join the jam,or just sit in rocking chairs watching a half-dozen flitting hummingbirds chase each other around the array of feeders off the porch, set against an open blue sky. "We wouldn't miss it for the world," Robert says. When prompted the trio each choose different favorites from the weekend. For Robert, "Standing Room Only" from the Stanleys, for Rose it's the Louvin Brothers' "My Baby's Gone," and Nancy picks "Stormy Waters", the one popularized by Jimmy Martin. Inside the adobe house is a buzz of activity, and Vanessa Gordon taps out bouncy fiddle tunes from the living room's piano. Austin newcomer and banjo player Janet Turley reflects on her first Mayday. "Just enchanting, magical, all those words." There were two competing oldtime jam circles the night prior, and when one would pause the silence would bring the soft call of the Chuck-wills'-widow, and a wafting of music from the other circle. Janet's favorite moment was the jam shifting to cowboy songs, to Old Paint. Anther year with melodies and laughter on the air, with many more to come. Other choice tunes: "Callahan" in cross tuning (with that sliding high note), and one the Woots learned from youtube, "Laughing Gravy" Make sure to check out Everett's band Big Love Car Wash, who play a blend of roots music they call "erstwhile bluegrass" and by now have had an album release show at the 04 Center on June 4th 7 8 �THE GREAT DRONE MYSTAGOGUE by Adam Brodkin You can’t escape it. It’s ever present. Ubiquitous. Whether you’re out in the boondocks or in the middle of a sprawling industrial urban center. It’s there whether you hear it or not. It affects you whether you want it to or not. Sometimes subtly and sometimes overtly. Every culture, on every continent, from the very beginning, has an indigenous form of it. It can simultaneously separate your spirit from your body and drive you insane. I’m not an ethnomusicologist, or an academic, and I have no formal training in music. I have followed the drone as a guiding force in the music I have played over the years. Heavy psychedelic rock and roll, experimental music, and for the last few decades old time and other traditional folk music. It has been the mainstay of the music I play with my partner Aaron Zischkale in the Slaughter Creek Drought Busters. I’ve communed with the drone and found it to be a good thing. This small corner of Reel Times will be dedicated to the drone, wherever I can find it. Some drones I’ve been obsessed with and would like to explore more in 2026 are Dwight Diller’s low G banjo playing, the work of La Monte Young, Isaan music of Northern Thailand, Tuvan throat singing, and the music of Sunn O))). Give in to the drone and scan the QR code at left to meet The Mystagogue and experience a sampling of the music mentioned in this article 9 MAYDAY IN HILL COUNTRY This May marked the 26th anniversary of a party held by Angie and Tim Wooten at their place out in Hill Country. It's a bit of a trek from Austin, with a couple low-water crossings that threaten to make the journey treacherous if there's been rain. But at the end of a winding road atop a hill a host of partygoers gather. The centerpiece of the evening is the maypole, where folks dance in two concentric circles, wrapping multicolored ribbons in a criss-cross around the center. On the outer orbit, a tall fiddle player skips in the opposite direction of the nearest line of dancers. He's Everett Wren, and has amassed years of experience. "If I move counter to them, it almost seems like it's moving faster. Little psychological thing", he grins. In clusters outside the spinning wheel a motley musical procession forms to churn out a marching step for the dancers: "St Anne's Reel", "Old Molly Hare", "La Bastringue. " Folk music circles collide as splashy Irish guitar (David Rabinowicz) plays alongside fiddles, trilling flute, clacking bones (Rich MacMath) and a six-string clawhammer banjo (Bernard Mollberg). "It’s a happy feeling that you get when everybody’s smiling outside, moving around, instead of the way we usually are, in our heads," Angie Wooten muses. "And [the dance] puts people in their bodies and you feel you’re interconnected. Kinda like when we’re playing a tune in a circle, we’re all playing the same tune so we’re connected. In the Maypole everybody’s kind of got the same goal and they’re not thinking about anything except 'up, down, over, under…'" 6 �STARGAZERS WHO CALL THE SHOTS The Tuesday night jam at Stargazer, Springdale Station, attracts folks from all over Austin. Let's get to know em! This issue we catch up with Tristan Walling. Q: Hey Tristan! Tell us how you found the jam A: I met Britt at my drawing meetup and he had a tattoo of a banjo, and I was just starting to play banjo. He invited me out to the jam. Q: What are your strings of choice? A: I have a Deering Goodtime that I usually bring [that night he also brought an old Gibson L3, on which he’s learning an old Bo Carter tune, "The Lead's All Gone"] Q: Best tune to play at a jam? A: John Brown's f*****' Dream, man. Q: What's the most old-time thing you do outside of a jam? A: I grow my mustache. That’s for music too. I’m currently working on a project called The Chronicles of Cowboy Buck Q: At Genuine Joe’s, you noticed that the standup bass was vibrating through the old hardwood floors, that it turned the place into a musical instrument. You took it upon yourself to learn how to say that in Japanese mind throwing that our way? A: Q: What does the jam mean to you? 5 A: I feel absolutely freed as a musician. Came as an absolute beginner and you guys never kicked me out, y'know what I mean? I feel welcome in this whole group, man, and y’all feel like a family to me! 10 �BATCH CRAFT BEER AND KOLACHES STRING BAND SHOW CASE MAY 10, 2025 This past May marked the third String Band Show Case at Batch, an AFTM-hosted event in which Austin old-time players take to the indoor stage in various string band incarnations for an evening of raucous acoustic tunes. Frosty pints of beer flow and kolaches sweet and savory are devoured to melodies from Appalachia and beyond. THE DUCK RIVER DISPATCH Intrepid correspondents journey from Austin's cozy jam scene to the wide world of festivals. They bring back tunes and stories from the road. This issue we check in with Britt Irick and Rose Griffith, who back in April drove 7 hours up the 35 corridor to the The Greenleaf Old Time Music Festival in Braggs, Oklahoma. The clear weather was perfection, befitting of the state park's name, and the jam circles formed easily throughout the day. The attendance is still fairly small, around 320 people this year. "Everybody knows everybody," Britt remarks, "cause a lot of people are CROMA refugees." With the Colorado festival now defunct, Greenleaf has become a new meeting spot. "Jams are pretty magnetic there," he says, "start a jam, people see you and join in." Of course the first question you've gotta ask the weary travelers is, "new tunes?" And they certainly brought back a keeper, learning "The Old She Possum Skating on the Ice" from Tricia Spencer, a great cut from a Jimmy Triplett CD. Los Fandangeros de Austin (L to R): Joanna Saucedo, Chris Ledesma, Rodrigo Leal, Carlos Salazar, Marino Miranda, Erik Salinas, Jerónimo James Sexton Macias The energy out of the gate was propulsive as Los Fandangeros de Austin took the stage. Six string-slingers strummed jaranas of various sizes and types, with Joanna Saucedo seated at the marimbol, thumping out bass lines. Their music hails from Veracruz and features a powerful call-and-response structure, a social call to dance and sing ("made for convivio"). When not at the marimbol Joanna tapped out dance steps on a wooden platform (a humble cube of 2x4s that I patched together during the height of the pandemic, when learning some flatfooting steps). Quick-thinking Joanna slid a yoga mat under the box to keep it from sliding across Batch's tile floor! 11 Rose, as a trusty backup guitarist, focuses less on tune names and more on the company and song. "I don't necessarily learn the names of the tunes. But I will say I was pretty blissed out for the entire week." One morning she joined Marge Mullaney and Bob Atchinson and sang a "dynamite" version of Long Journey Home, "one of the saddest songs in country music." There were workshops and vendors aplenty, and Britt stopped by the Beautiful Music Violin Shop booth, in from Kansas. "I was trying to avoid it, because I knew if I went over there I would walk away with something." He picked up a Hopf violin and "it played itself", so he didn't leave without it. So get out next year to Greenleaf for tunes, friends and fiddles, April 12-18, 2026 4 �FRESH SHELLAC Rhiannon Gidden's staccato old-time banjo pierces the warm summer drone of 17-year cicadas, alongside the driving bow of her old Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Justin Robinson. They bring us the impromptu energy of a back porch jam with eighteen tunes begging to be learned and shared. From killer takes on chestnuts (“Ebenezer”) to intriguingly titled obscurities (“Duck’s Eyeball”), this record is packed with energy and will have your fingers itching to pick. Not a ton of blockbuster films reference Charley Patton, Geechie Wiley, and Rocky Road to Dublin, so hopefully old-time fans caught Sinners in theaters, a story of Black resistance and joy in the Jim Crow-era South that director Ryan Coogler spins into a universal statement about a deeply human relationship to music, pleasure, and spiritual danger. The album isn’t your usual oldtime fare but is well worth a listen for actor Miles Caton’s gorgeous rendering of delta blues (he impressively learned slide guitar for the role), and an exclusive cut from Rhiannon and Justin. 3 West Virginia and Pennsylvania natives The Wild Shoats released their first proper album, full of both original fiddle tunes that would fit nicely in a jam, and achingly emotional songwriting. Just tuck into the opening strains of “Clara” and be taken away as the band applies the pulse of traditional fiddle to sorrowful bury-me-not lyrics inspired by Lonesome Dove. When singer and fiddler Mary Linschield brings the last refrain up an octave, it has me breaking out in goosebumps. Gorgeous version of "Moonshiner" (and great imagery about his breath) with buzzy baritone harmonies from bandmate Augustus Tristch. This was a huge help as I took to the board to double-chug some flatfoot steps during the Dog Day String Band's set, to a certain possum-themed tune that just happened to be mentioned in our Duck River Dispatch section. The Dogs include myself (fiddle and mandolin) and Adam (upright bass and banjo), with Britt Irick fiddling and whacking out rhythms on a banjo uke (the shrink-dried version of the banjo). He also picked up 12 �guitar for an unusually sweet Dock Boggs tune, the wistful old ballad "Papa Build Me a Boat." Rose Griffith completes the group, lending lovely harmonies to Carter Family tunes and bringing a powerful holler to Hazel Dickens' hard-luck number, "Busted." A mainstay of the Show Case has been BYK, a power trio consisting of Joslyn Boyer (upright bass), Zephyr Yellman (fiddle), and Tim Keough (fiddle and guitar). They forged their sound from summer morning jams (I'll never forget hearing a phone recording of their twin-fiddle harmonizing on the old PT Bell tune "Mace Bell's Civil War March." The audience thrills every time Joslyn draws her bass bow from a h on the instrument and bellows a melody. The three of them have curated a fantastic set, and I'm still blown away at how deftly Zephyr twists the pegs of his fiddle in and out of rich open tunings to lend each piece a unique sound. The highlight this set was the twisty, BYK serenade at Batch (L to R, Joslyn Boyer, Zephyr Yellman, Tim Keough) winding "Dusty Miller" from Missouri's Gene Goforth, a tune Tim heard a few years back at CROMA from Steam Machine's AJ Srubas. Zephyr wound up winning a ribbon at Clifftop with the tune, and it wowed again at Batch. By this time of the night the place was packed, and I squeezed through the line at the counter for my instruments for the last set. Near the front door, Los Fandangeros played an impromptu happy birthday for a beaming girl, with the crowded room stomping their feet behind the semi-circle of musicians. As the Slaughter Creek Drought Busters, Adam and I atttempted to end with a nightcap, soothing the room with a meditative acoustic drone, bathed in violet light he had rented for the show. Using unique open tunings for fiddle and banjo, we conjured a long take on a West Virginia tune learned from Dwight Diller, "Piney Woods." The tune unwound over a sonic texture of bowed banjo (on loop from a guitar pedal), and a shruti box operated in turns by Lindsey Zischkale and Heather Brodkin. Another great night at Batch - huge thanks to Darrel Mayers with AFTM, and Adam and Henry Brodkin for doing the hectic job of running sound, and Gabriel Lit for giving us the space to share our music! 13 REEL TIMES SUMMER 2025 Howdy all you pickers and bowers, singers and shouters, clawhammerers, dulcimer hammerers, you noisemakers of all kinds! Reel Times is under new management, with Adam Brodkin and myself filling the big shoes Gary Mortensen left. So we're gonna bring you the Old-Time word, wherever banjos, ballads, yeah even bodhrans, sound off. From Austin, Texas, around the world, and back again. We'll print big events, new tunes, voices from the community: all about homemade acoustic roots music and the folks who make it. This issue we'll kick things off with a few great albums we've been spinning all summer, check in with our festival correspondents, get a peek at the twenty-sixth year of a great shindig out in Hill Country, hear from one of our regular pickers at the Tuesday night jam, lose oureslves to the drone, and finish with a report on the latest String Band Showcase at Batch out off of Airport. And don't forget that This October is our big Austin String Band Festival, so SAVE THE DATE and come on out to Camp Ben McCulloch in Driftwood, October 17 - 19. Bring your jam tunes and get ready for a great lineup: we've got Guy Forsyth's 78 Special, Brandi WallerPace, the Here & Now Band, Spencer & Rains, and the Lost Keys, Missy Beth & the Morning Afters, Mariachi Las Altenas, Luke Moody, Everett Wren, BYK, Corey McCauley, Steel Grassy, and the Austin City Quicksteppers! There'll also be a SILENT AUCTION!! Please donate items (musical instruments, books, artwork, etc.)! Contact Lee Thomas (817-480-5561) for pick-up or bring items to the festival kitchen on Saturday morning, Oct 18. SEE Y'ALL THERE! 2 �REEL TIMES SUMMER 2025 EDITED AND WRITTEN BY ADAM BRODKIN AND AARON ZISCHKALE AFTM CALENDAR FRESH SHELLAC.............................................................3 THE DUCK RIVER DISPATCH.....................................4 STARGAZERS WHO CALL THE SHOTS....................5 MAYDAY AT THE WOOTEN'S......................................6 THE GREAT DRONE MYSTAGOGUE........................9 BATCH STRING BAND SHOW CASE.........................11 EMAIL US AT REEL.TIMES.AFTM@GMAIL.COM 1 14 �OTAF REEL TIMES SUMMER 2025 drop thumbs not bombs � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 52 Number 1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times - Volume 52, Number 1 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Aaron and Adam Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available AFTM Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2025-09 http://archive.aftm.us/files/original/10/307/ReelTimes-v51-n01.pdf fa89352c89cdc614538b4da0cdcccb57 PDF Text Text Reel Times Newsletter of The Austin Friends of Traditional Music Vol. 51, Number 1, January 2025 2024 Austin String Band Festival! Photograph by Darcie Westerlund �Table of Contents Page 3 The 2024 Austin String Band Festival Page 9 AFTM World Music Night #3 Page 13 Upcoming events at Batch Page 14 Old Time Jam at the French Legation Page 18 The 2025 AFTM Camp Jam Page 19 Message from the outgoing editor Page 2 �2024 Austin String Band Festival The Joymakers performed on Saturday night Recipe for a great acoustic music festival: • Perfect weather • Fantastic lineup • Large, enthusiastic audience The 2025 Austin String Band Festival had all these elements and more, and many in attendance said it was the best String Band Festival yet! There’s not enough room to list all the great performers at this year’s ASBF – follow this link to check out the performance schedule, workshop schedule, and festival details. 2024 Austin String Band Festival We’re deeply indebted to Darcie Westerlund for photographing this year’s festival! All the festival photos in this issue were taken by Darcie, and here’s a link to hundreds more! Darcie Westerlund ASBF photos It’s not too early to save the date for next year’s Austin String Band Festival = October 17 through October 19 at beautiful Camp Ben McCulloch! Page 3 �Dancing on Saturday afternoon Cast Iron Shoes performed on Friday evening Page 4 �Jerron Paxton came from New York City to perform on Saturday evening The Out of the Blue trio played a great mini-set Page 5 �Energetic Cajun tunes from So & So and the Swamp Sizzlers Tom Duplissey assembled a stalwart group of pickers on Saturday night Page 6 �Ayleen Pérez Cordeiro & Family The Founders Duo, David Polacheck and Bernard Mollberg Page 7 �Joey McKenzie and Ridge Roberts gave a western swing workshop Two fiddlers in the crowd! Page 8 �AFTM World Music Night #3 Magical Journeys at AFTM's World Music Night by Darrel Mayers Who needs to loaf around in airports, suffering cancelled flights and delays, when you can travel around our planet in comfort at one of AFTM's World Music Nights at Batch ; - ) ) Our first ticket for the evening was to Cuba and Mexico. Ayleen Perez-Cordeiro filled the room with her passionate, melancholy vocals. Beginning with “Guántanamera,” Ayleen went on to perform tunes by Trío Los Panchos, Silvio Rodríguez and Rogelio Martínez. Our AFTM friends the Bright Leaf Warblers (Aaron Zischkale and Cody Campbell) then took us into sun-dappled, Appalachian woodlands with their introspective, old time melodies in the tradition of the Magic Tuber Stringband. Originals “Goldust” and “Salt Maiden’s Hornpipe” were a special delight. Page 9 �Our next ticket was to Eastern Europe, and the high energy klezmer quartet Go Yotai. The klezmer sound is known for its odd pairing of joy and sadness, found in the distinct Freygish scale — flattened 2nd, major 3rd. Gabriel Lit (clarinet), Wen Chang Lit (violin), Constantine Caramanis (accordion), and Bruno Vinezof (percussion) delivered heaps of both in “Odessa Bulgarish,” “Down with the King,” and “Lalabassa,” an original by Gabriel. It was a close call, but joy - in the end - swept to victory. Mali was our final destination, and to get there we flew Bamako Airlines ; - ) This local Afro-pop group creates a vibrant, inclusive energy, and soon they were taking the whole room with them as they offered up beautiful tunes by Miriam Makeba, Tinariwen, and originals such as the infectious “Continental Soukous.” Guitarist Chris Vestre seemed to spend the whole set above the 15th fret of his guitar, as he spun tapestries of golden melodies, while singer Meera Chandrasekaran bopped and sang to the bountiful grooves of drummer Doug Marcis. Sincere thanks to Adam Brodkin for running the soundboard, and to KOOP’s Kim Simpson (“International Folk Bazaar”) for his support. Ayleen Pérez Cordeiro sang exquisite Cuban and Mexican songs Page 10 �Aaron Zischkale and Cody Campbell supplied great Old Time tunes David Myers joined Ayleen Pérez Cordeiro for a few songs Page 11 �The Go Yotai Klezmer quartet An enthusistic audience filled Batch Craft beer & Kolaches Page 12 �Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches, 3220 Manor Road, Austin, TX Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches is one of Austin's premier destinations for live music, with delicious beverages and food! The AFTM is excited to be able to present traditional music showcases at this wonderful venue. Upcoming AFTM events at Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches: Feb. 27: AFTM World Music Night March 8: AFTM Texas Stringband showcase #1 May 10: AFTM Texas String Band showcase #2 Page 13 �November AFTM Old Time Jam The monthly AFTM Old Time Jam normally takes place at Lazarus Brewing Company in Austin but, for the month of November, we were invited to bring our music to the beautiful French Legation in east Austin. This AFTM Old Time Jam was part of the French Legation's Homestead History Day. The weather was idyllic, the music sublime, and a great time was had by all! The January AFTM Old Time Jam will be back at its usual location, Lazarus Brewing Company, 4803 Airport Blvd, in Austin. The jam will run from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm on January 18, 2025. Page 14 �Britt Irick on banjo, Rose Griffith on guitar Sharon Isaac led the group in a spirited fiddle tune Page 15 �David Polacheck on banjo (7 string!), Preston Satchwell on guitar Ben Hayes on guitar, Molly Johnson on mandolin Page 16 �Betsy Hamblen - banjo, James Seppi - fiddle, Chip Bach - mandolin What a wonderful day at the French Legation! Page 17 �2025 AFTM Camp Jam The very popular AFTM Camp Jam will be happening again this coming spring! This year's dates are April 25 through April 27, 2025 - the location as always will be beautiful Camp Ben McCulloch in Driftwood, TX. The Camp Jam formula is a simple one: come out to Camp Ben, hang with your friends, make new friends, and pick some tunes! The Camp Jam is a free event sponsored by the AFTM. There's no admission charge, though overnight campers will need to pay Camp Ben the usual camping fees. Page 18 �A message from our outgoing editor Back in the spring of 2017, AFTM president Tim Wooten sent out an email to all members asking, among other things, if anyone would consider reviving the Reel Times newsletter, which had lay dormant for several years. For better or worse, I replied and volunteered to take on the job. My only qualification was being willing to work hard, though I had no editorial or graphic arts experience. Before long, I became a member of the AFTM board and, for the past two years the director of the Austin String Band Festival, as well! It's been a rewarding if sometimes draining experience, and I’ve decided that after this edition of Reel Times, I will be retiring from my various AFTM positions - Reel Times Editor, ASBF Director, staff photographer, and AFTM board member. I know the Reel Times newsletter will be in good hands going on – AFTM board members Darrel Myers and Dan Foster have volunteered to take over the editorial duties! Regarding the Austin String Band Festival (everyone’s favorite festival!) – for 2025, AFTM president Tim Wooten has crafted a leadership structure that spreads the various festival planning responsibilities among several individuals, an approach I enthusiastically endorse! ASBF planning is an enormous job, and we need some motivated individuals willing to help with preparation for this wonderful event! My New Year’s wish for the AFTM is for more participation from our younger members. The AFTM board has several openings and there are some board members who are ready to retire after many years of loyal service. We really need the involvement of your younger members. So, thanks to all who have made my years with the AFTM so enjoyable and meaningful. You’ll still see me at AFTM events, I hope to be able to pick some tunes with you! Gary Mortensen Page 19 �The Reel Times is published quarterly by the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational donations. AFTM Board of Directors Tim Wooten, President Lee Thomas, Vice President Angie Wooten, Secretary Rich MacMath, Treasurer James Seppi, Volunteer Coordinator Jeanne DeFriese, At Large Dan Foster, Reel Times Co-Editor Darrel Mayers, Reel Times Co-Editor David Polacheck, At Large Austin Friends of Traditional Music P.O. Box 49608 Austin, TX 78765 Click here for Membership info Click here for AFTM website https://www.flickr.com/photos/aftm/albums/72157680161933664 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 51 Number 01 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times - Volume 51, Number 1 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Gary Mortenson Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2025-01 http://archive.aftm.us/files/original/10/293/newsletter-50-04-2024-10.pdf 81399f852e829ce92c6298e33401949a PDF Text Text Reel Times Newsletter of The Austin Friends of Traditional Music Vol. 50, Number 4, October 2024 �Table of Contents Page 3 Austin String Band Festival! Page 4 ASBF Performance Schedule Page 5 Jerron Paxton Page 6 Steamboat Page 7 Skillet Licorice Page 8 The Western Flyers Page 9 The Joymakers Page 10 Guy Forsyth & 78 Special Page 11 Lloyd & April Page 12 Hot Pickin 57s Page 13 So & So and the Swamp Sizzle Page 14 Up Around the Sun, with Bosco Page 15 Funyan Creek Page 16 ASBF Organized Jam Schedule Page 17 ASBF Merchandise Page 19 Silent Auction Page 20 ASBF Policies Page 21 AFTM 50th Anniversary Square Dance Page 24 AFTM Monthly Jam Page 25 The AFTM Needs You! Page 26 AFTM Texas String Band Showcase Page 27 Festival of Texas Fiddling Page 31 About the AFTM Page 2 �October 18 & 19, 2024 Camp Ben McCulloch, Driftwood, TX Believe it or not, the Austin String Band Festival is only a few weeks away! Musical performances are the heart of our festival and we'll be featuring performers in several genres: two fine Old Time bands, a hot Bluegrass band, a killer Western Swing trio, a traditional blues artist, an excellent Cajun band, as well as a 1920’s Jazz band! This issue of Reel Times contains photos and listings of many of the performers - do check them out! To make this festival a success, we need volunteers to manage several important areas and, if you’re willing to devote a few hours to helping make the ASBF a success, we would love to hear from you! Send an email to gary@aftm.us for more details! Page 3 �2024 Austin String Band Festival Performance Schedule Main stage performers in bold type Mini-set performers in italics Friday, October 18 6:00 pm 6:45 pm 7:00 pm 7:45 pm 8:00 pm 8:45 pm 9:00 pm 9:45 pm 10:00 pm Funyun Creek w/ dance caller Silver Alert Ramblers Hot Pickin 57s Preston Satchwell & Friends So & So and the Swamp Sizzle Cast Iron Shoes Steamboat The Everett Wren Band Skillet Licorice, with Robin Fischer, caller Saturday, October 19 2:00 pm 2:45 pm 3:00 pm 3:45 pm 4:00 pm 4:45 pm 5:00 pm 5:45 pm 6:00 pm 6:45 pm 7:00 pm 7:45 pm 8:00 pm 8:45 pm 9:00 pm 9:45 pm 10:00 pm Lloyd & April Shinbone Alley 3 The Western Flyers Caroline Sears Guy Forsyth Presents 78 Special Ayleen Pérez Cordeiro & Family Up Around the Sun, with Bosco The Austin Balkan Singers Skillet Licorice Founders Duo: David and Bernard Jerron Paxton Out of the Blue Steamboat, with dance caller Tallwood The Joymakers Mortensen & Duplissey Grand Dance Finale Page 4 �Jerron Paxton Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton has earned a reputation for transporting audiences back to the 1920's and making them wish they could stay there for good. Jerron Paxton may be one of the greatest multi-instrumentalists that you have not heard of. Yet. And time is getting short, fast. This young musician sings and plays banjo, guitar, piano, fiddle, harmonica, Cajun accordion, and the bones (percussion). Paxton has an eerie ability to transform traditional jazz, blues, folk, and country into the here and now, and make it real. In addition, he mesmerizes audiences with his humor and storytelling. He's a world-class talent and a uniquely colorful character that has been on the cover of Living Blues Magazine and the Village Voice, and has been interviewed on FOX News. Paxton's sound is influenced by the likes of Fats Waller and Blind Lemon Jefferson. According to Will Friedwald in the Wall Street Journal, Paxton is "virtually the only music-maker of his generation— playing guitar, banjo, piano and violin, among other implements—to fully assimilate the blues idiom of the 1920s and '30s." Page 5 �Steamboat Libby Weitnauer, Sami Braman, and Emily Mann are Steamboat, a new old-time stringband based in Nashville, TN. Their driving music breathes new life into old tunes and songs, mostly collected from recordings of unheralded female fiddlers, singers, and banjo players. Page 6 �Skillet Licorice Skillet Licorice is the latest project from San Francisco Bay Area roots-music luminaries Elise Engelberg and Matt Knoth. Essentially a musical consortium, Matt & Elise are the core of an All-Star lineup featuring many of California's hottest old-time musicians. The result is a full fledged proto-swing orchestra capable of expert musicianship in a dizzying array of folk genres. Whether they’re playing hot fiddle breakdowns, slinky blues, sparkling banjo breaks, ragtime or dreamy waltzes, Skillet Licorice displays an impressive command of styles and techniques that comes from deep study and loving dedication to America’s folk traditions. With the help of their talented friends they’ve put together an incredible repertoire that is essentially traditional, yet with a modern approach that is anything but stale. Skillet Licorice is hot, sweet, and just a bit greasy! Page 7 �Western Flyers Powerhouse Western Swing band The Western Flyers serve up an irresistibly hot, unmistakably Texas-style sound popularized by Bob Wills in the 1940s with an electrifying energy all their own. Featuring a fresh, all-star lineup led by guitar slinger Joey McKenzie on archtop guitar & vocal, 2024 National Grand Champion fiddler Ridge Roberts on fiddle & vocal, and upright bassist Matthew Mefford, the award winning Flyers are guaranteed to have even the shyest of wallflowers tappin' their toes or swinging on the dance floor. Page 8 �Joymakers Texas jazz, blues, ragtime and old time roots will be on full display when this powerhouse of traditional musicians arrives on the String Band Festival stage. The aptly-named Joymakers came together two years ago when two groups - Hancock’s Jazz Serenaders, and The Revelators - joined forces. With an album already underway for New York label Turtle Bay Records, and talk of a post-release midwestern tour, the Joymakers are off to a roaring start to their career. “Texas style jazz, or jazz from the territories (i.e. not NYC, Chicago, or New Orleans),” is bandleader Colin Hancock’s favorite description of their sound. They are not to be missed! Page 9 �Guy Forsyth & 78 Special Guy Forsyth photo edited Guy Forsyth grew up in KC but has been a denizen of Austin, TX for the past couple of decades. He’s a true renaissance man musically, and is very difficult to pigeon-hole. He was a cofounder of the Asylum Street Spankers, has released adrenalinefueled rock ‘n’ roll records, and is probably best classified as a performer with very deep rootsy/bluesy musical roots. Guy’s music is eclectic – in the best sense of the word. He’s also a multi-instrumentalist, being a fantastic slide guitar and harmonica player, and also playing guitar, baritone guitar, ukulele, and saw (yes, musical saw!) There are messages in the lyrics of most of Guy’s songs, or if not outright messages, then deeper meanings of life as he sees it playing out around him. Page 10 �Lloyd & April “Foot stomping, caterwauling, family fun!” is how the Wrights describe their music. April grew up singing shaped-note songs from “The Heavenly Highway” in a backwoods East Texas church. Lloyd shared April’s interest in shaped note music, along with a curiosity about stringband music from western North Carolina. Together they blend family harmony, country gospel, raucous fiddle tunes, and sweet renditions of old country ballads. They even started their own festival - the flourishing Old Mill Music Festival in their East Texas home town of Kennard - a highlight of their careers! Old Mill Festival Page 11 �Hot Pickin 57s The Hot Pickin 57s offer an energetic and thoroughly enjoyable mix of Bluegrass, Classic Country, and Americana music. The band members have deep roots in the Austin music scene, reuniting in 2016 after their musical educations at Berklee, South Plains College, and Texas State. They’ve played in well-known bands like the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, Whit Smith's Hot Jazz Caravan, and Rosie and the Ramblers and have had the privilege of performing alongside notable artists like Sierra Hull, Kym Warner, Alun Munde, Billy Bright (Wood & Wire), and Mark Cosgrove (David Bromberg). Page 12 �So & So and the Swamp Sizzle Austin Cajun music stalwart Michael Perron has formed a great new Cajun band, including members of Gumbo Ce Soir, The Red Stick Ramblers, Chansons et Soûlards, featuring Josh Huval on accordion! Page 13 �Up Around the Sun with Bosco! Austin old time music innovators, Tim Kerr and Jerry Hagins, are joined by Bosco Takaki, the Japanese fiddler they met and performed with on their recent tour of Japan. Bosco is well-steeped in the old time tradition, having learned directly from Tommy Jarrell and the Hammons family back in the day. They'll have their new record, recorded in Osaka in 2023, available on CD and vinyl. Page 14 �Funyun Creek This powerhouse old time dance band will kick off the Friday stage shows. The band is named afer a small tributary that runs from Alaska to Austin, by way of Terlingua! Members are Jerry Hagins-banjo, Beth Chrisman-guitar, Joe Dobbs-Guitar, Amanda Chisholm-bass and, all the way from Japan, the legendary Bosco on fiddle! Page 15 �We be jammin'! Just about anywhere you go in the campground night or day, you'll hear the sounds of live music being spontaneously performed. Well, this year at the the String Band Festival, we've scheduled some organized jams for those interested in specific genres of traditional music. These jams are open to all, so join right in! At press time, specific locations have yet to be determined. The AFTM Info booth will have the lastest information! Saturday, October 19 10:00 am Old Time Slow Jam, led by Tim Keogh 1:00 pm Bluegrass jam, led by Simon Waxman and Chelsea Burns 2:00 pm Cajun jam, led by the Ramsey Park Rounders 3:00 pm Old Time jam, led by Tim Wooten Sunday, October 20 10:00 am Gospel Jam, led by Georgia Canfield & Sharon Sandomirsky Page 16 �Festival Merchandise Of course, no one attends the Austin String Band Festival just to acquire merchandise, but we're quite proud of our new t-shirt design by Howard Rains, which is available in a unisex and a women's version! Also, we'll have a new batch of the very popular ASBF caps, which sold out the first day last year! The quantity of t-shirts and caps we'll have for sale will be limited, so as to ensure that we don't have leftover inventory. So, If you'd like the prestige of owning the new t-shirt or cap, better head to the Merch Booth as early as you can; it opens at 10:00 am on Friday, October 18! Page 17 �Page 18 �ASBF Silent Auction Our Silent Auction proved to be quite a success last year, and we're planning on doing it again! If you'd like to donate a musical item to the Silent Auction, bring it to the String Band Festival and items will be collected and displayed on Saturday! The two guitars below have been donated to the ASBF by our friends at Strait Music and Fiddlers' Green, and will be part of the Silent Auction! Page 19 �Complaints, we've had a few... It's always gratifying to hear the nice things festival-goers have to say about the String Band Festival and our Camp Jam, but we've received a couple of complaints recently and we'll be addressing them at this year's ASBF. By far, the most complained about issue at the festival is that of children cavorting on the dance floor during performances. This behavior is a major distraction to those who have come to listen to the music, and our performers have let us know that they don't care for it one bit either. This year, kids will not be allowed on the dance floor unless they're participating in organized dancing and accompanied by an adult. The other problem behavior that has generated many complaints is the playing of electric instruments in the campground. We've come to the conclusion that electric and acoustic instruments just don't mix well, and the String Band Festival and the Camp Jam are acoustic music events! So, please, don't bring your electric guitars, pedal steel guitars, or other amplified instruments. Your campground neighbors will appreciate it! Page 20 �AFTM 50th Anniversary Square Dance AFTM 50TH ANNIVERSARY SQUARE DANCE A Caller’s Observations On Saturday, September 28, about 90 folks packed a picnic and picked a partner for the AFTM 50Th Anniversary Square Dance at the French Legation State Historic Site in east Austin. The venue was beautiful, the program included a variety of dances, and the people were Austin-friendly. Two oldtime string bands – Rusty Nail and Two Goat - played on the grand old front porch of the historic 1841 home and diplomatic outpost for France’s ambassador to the Republic of Texas. The level green grass lawn in front of the home with generous shade provided by several majestic live oak trees made a cool and comfortable outdoor dance floor. To that setting add four enthusiastic dance callers and dozens of smiling dancers and you have socializing, exercising, and maximizing fun all at the same time. The photographs tell the story. See you again next year at the Second Annual 50th Anniversary Square Dance! Page 21 �Page 22 �Page 23 �AFTM Monthly Old Time Jam The Monthly AFTM Old Time Jam will not take place in October, so as not to detract from the Austin String Band Festival, which happens on October 18 & October 19! Our website, AFTM.US will have information about the November Jam! Page 24 �We need you! In this year of 2024, it’s both exciting and gratifying to realize that our small organization, the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, has been in existence for fifty years! We owe a sincere debt of gratitude to those individuals who had the initiative and energy to create this organization and who have kept it going through the decades! But those AFTM founders back in 1974 were mostly in their twenties then; they’re now in their seventies. In fact, the average age of our current AFTM board members is about seventy, and that’s not by design. Many of us are ready and willing to transfer the leadership of the AFTM to a younger generation. The board’s efforts to recruit younger members to its ranks has so far not been successful. The last Reel Times newsletter contained a message specifically aimed at recruiting new board members, and the response was minimal. I know that we all have time-consuming responsibilites that make it difficult to commit to volunteering for a small non-profit like ours but, if the AFTM and the String Band Festival are to continue, a younger generation of traditional music enthusiasts needs to step up, get involved, and provide the energy and leadership we need to keep this organization growing and thriving. If you'd like to learn about joining our board or volunteering for the String Band Festival, email me at: gary@aftm.us Gary Mortensen Reel Times Editor ASBF Director Page 25 �Texas String Band Showcase Review by Darrel Mayers, photo by James Seppi A packed house greeted four stellar acts at the Texas String Band Showcase at Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches in Austin last month. The Slaughter Creek Droughtbusters opened— with Aaron Zischkale initially plucking a Japanese sanshin (ancestor of the shamisen) next to Adam Brodkin on the banjo. It was a cool East-meets-West moment. There is deep chemistry between these two fine players, and it soon felt like we were all on a slow train to deepest Appalachia. The Bright Leaf Warblers blends old time fiddle music with American primitive guitar, in the tradition of John Fahey, Jack Rose and North Carolina’s Magic Tuber Stringband. And within this framework, the duo creates enchanting original tunes such as "Goldust," and "Salt Maiden's Hornpipe." Somehow gifted guitarist Cody Campbell and Aaron Z sounded old and new at the same time, with some parts reminiscent of the circular trance melodies of north Africa’s Gnawa tribes. Touchingly, Aaron’s dad Robert sat in on harmonica for a couple of tunes. The old-time power trio of Boyer, Yellman & Keough (better known to many as Joslyn, Zephyr and Tim) showcased the sparkling talent of ace fiddler Zephyr on tunes tried-and-true, and what a joy to hear Joslyn sing lead on one of the songs of their set. The Dog Day String Band rounded out the evening with a selection of classics such as “Cluck Old Hen,” and "Singing Waterfall,” featuring the plaintive lead vocals of Rose Griffith, with Britt Irick in support. Thanks to Aaron and Cody for creating this showcase, and to all at Batch for making us so welcome in their cozy venue. Page 26 �10th Annual Festival of Texas Fiddling Article by Dan Foster Fiddling from the Big State is a big deal. Drawing from the unique and ever-changing character of our state, where the sound of the fiddle & bow encompasses an exciting array of musical styles and historic traditions, it all comes together in the annual Festival of Texas Fiddling. Treat yourself to three days of the best there is when it comes to real Texas music. The fun is definitely big at the historic old Twin Sisters Dancehall near beautiful Blanco, Texas, and the fiddling seriously good. Whether it's out on the dance floor, out under the shade of majestic oaks, or under the starry Texas sky the gift of music will be traded back and forth among musicians, dancers, and fiddle fans from all over. Now in its 10th year, the Festival of Texas Fiddling celebrates a shared heritage that includes not only the iconic and independently joyful sound of Western Swing dance music, traditional polkas, waltzes and huapangos inherited from Polish, Czech, Tejano, and Ranchera traditions, but brilliant breakdowns and tunes-of-choice in the true Texas Style, the irresistible groove of Gulf Coast Acadian sound, and much more. Page 27 �There will be music on three stages simultaneously all day Saturday. All day dancing on the well worn wooden floor of Twin Sisters dance hall, including workshops on Texas 2-step, waltz, polka, swing, and huapango, and more. All workshops are free for festival goers. For musicians there will be instrument workshops on different Texas fiddle styles, along with interesting talks and demonstrations about the history and ever-changing nature of Texas fiddling. Performances by legends of Texas Style fiddling including Wes Westmoreland, Carl Hopkins, Larry Franklin, Jason Andrews, Dennis Ludiker and Luke Bulla, along with renowned swing fiddler Paul Anastasio and others. No Fiddle Fest would be complete without the indestructible Texas-Polish impresario from Tomball – Brian Marshall. Mark Halata, along with the Josh Baca Duo will be there bringing the sounds of Czech Texas to the fiddle and bow along with festival favorite, Mark Rubin. Of course, the one and only Belen Escobado and the true Tejas sound of her band Panfilo's Güera will be a delight to see and hear again, bringing to life the music of the South Texas ranchlands. The deep tradition of Trio Hupangueros Elegidos, Felipe Perez y Sus Polkeros, and Epi Cruz Martinez and featuring son huasteco musicians from Texas and from Veracruz in a cross cultural exchange. You won't be able to sit still when the real Creole sound of Ed Poullard's fiddle and accordion bring the sounds of old Beaumont to the Hill Country. Saturday night in the main hall, you can look forward to a big dance with the legendary flatland sound of Jody Nix and his band. We'll will see the return of an old time square dance for the first time in 8 years - sponsored by the Austin Friends of Traditional Music. Dan Foster (that’s me!) will be telling more tales of Texas fiddling, with the help of Christy Palumbo and the great Will "Ragtime Willie" Webster, concerning the story of fiddling in and around Austin, Texas since about 1870. I also have it on good authority there will also be a talk from one of the greats of Texas fiddling, Wes Westmorland, about the rise of the modern Texas Style. Not to be missed. On Sunday the Festival is hosting the Texas Old Time Fiddle Association (TOTFA) as they bring a genuine and official Texas fiddle contest for the first time at the Festival. Not only that, but there will be a bajo sexto contest sponsored by H. Jimenez with Mac Baca. All that and endless chances to jam, meet new friends and enjoy the best Texas has to offer. For more information, visit http://texasfiddle.org Page 28 �Trio Paseador Ridge Roberts Jason Andrew Page 29 �Christy Palumbo Foster Brian Marshall Belen Escobedo Page 30 �The Reel Times is published quarterly by the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational donations. AFTM Board of Directors Tim Wooten, President Lee Thomas, Vice President Angie Wooten, Secretary Rich MacMath, Treasurer James Seppi, Volunteer Coordinator Gary Mortensen, Reel Times Editor, Festival Director Jeanne DeFriese, At Large Dan Foster, At Large Darrel Mayers, At Large David Polacheck, At Large Austin Friends of Traditional Music P.O. Box 49608 Austin, TX 78765 Click here for Membership info Click here for AFTM website https://www.flickr.com/photos/aftm/albums/72157680161933664 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 50 Number 4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024-10 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Title A name given to the resource Reel Times - Volume 50, Number 4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Gary Mortenson http://archive.aftm.us/files/original/10/292/newsletter-50-03-2024-07.pdf b1fc8420cffd72a31ed72e3a0048ff33 PDF Text Text Reel Times Newsletter of The Austin Friends of Traditional Music Vol. 50, Number 3, July 2024 Jerron Paxton One of our featured performers at The Austin String Band Festival October 18 & 19, 2024 Camp Ben McCulloch, Driftwood, TX �Table of Contents Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 22 Page 23 Upcoming Events Austin String Band Festival Jerron Paxton Steamboat Skillet Licorice Western Flyers Lloyd & April Joymakers Guy Forsyth Hot Pickin 57s So & So and the Swamp Sizzle Up Around the Sun with Bosco Funyun Creek Mini-Stage Performers Issues we're addressing AFTM Old Time Jam at Lazarus Brewing Austin Balkan Singers Review of World Music Night at Batch Upcoming World Music Night at Batch Page 2 �Upcoming AFTM Events Saturday, July 20 AFTM Monthly Old Time Jam - 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Lazarus Brewing, 4803 Airport Blvd, Austin, TX Friday, August 2 AFTM World Music Night - 8:00 pm Batch, 3220 Manor Road, Austin, TX September 19 AFTM Night at Batch - 7:30 pm featuring: Slaughter Creek Drought Busters Dog Day String Band Bright Leaf Warblers Boyer, Yellman, & Keough All day, October 18 & 19 Austin String Band Festival Camp Ben McCulloch, Driftwood, TX Page 3 �October 18 & 19, 2024 Camp Ben McCulloch, Driftwood, TX Though the Austin String Band Festival is more than three months away, planning has been underway for some time, and things are coming together! Musical performances are the heart of our festival and we'll be featuring performers in several genres: two fine Old Time bands, a hot Bluegrass band, a killer Western Swing trio, a traditional blues artist, an excellent Cajun band, as well as a 1920’s Jazz band! Here's the full performance schedule This issue of Reel Times contains photos and listings of all of our performers - do check them out! To make this festival a success, we need volunteers to manage several important areas and, if you’re willing to devote a few hours to helping make the ASBF a success, we would love to hear from you! Send an email to gary@aftm.us for more details! Page 4 �Jerron Paxton Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton has earned a reputation for transporting audiences back to the 1920's and making them wish they could stay there for good. Jerron Paxton may be one of the greatest multi-instrumentalists that you have not heard of. Yet. And time is getting short, fast. This young musician sings and plays banjo, guitar, piano, fiddle, harmonica, Cajun accordion, and the bones (percussion). Paxton has an eerie ability to transform traditional jazz, blues, folk, and country into the here and now, and make it real. In addition, he mesmerizes audiences with his humor and storytelling. He's a world-class talent and a uniquely colorful character that has been on the cover of Living Blues Magazine and the Village Voice, and has been interviewed on FOX News. Paxton's sound is influenced by the likes of Fats Waller and Blind Lemon Jefferson. According to Will Friedwald in the Wall Street Journal, Paxton is "virtually the only music-maker of his generation— playing guitar, banjo, piano and violin, among other implements—to fully assimilate the blues idiom of the 1920s and '30s." Page 5 �Steamboat Libby Weitnauer, Sami Braman, and Emily Mann are Steamboat, a new old-time stringband based in Nashville, TN. Their driving music breathes new life into old tunes and songs, mostly collected from recordings of unheralded female fiddlers, singers, and banjo players. Page 6 �Skillet Licorice Skillet Licorice is the latest project from San Francisco Bay Area roots-music luminaries Elise Engelberg and Matt Knoth. Essentially a musical consortium, Matt & Elise are the core of an All-Star lineup featuring many of California's hottest old-time musicians. The result is a full fledged proto-swing orchestra capable of expert musicianship in a dizzying array of folk genres. Whether they’re playing hot fiddle breakdowns, slinky blues, sparkling banjo breaks, ragtime or dreamy waltzes, Skillet Licorice displays an impressive command of styles and techniques that comes from deep study and loving dedication to America’s folk traditions. With the help of their talented friends they’ve put together an incredible repertoire that is essentially traditional, yet with a modern approach that is anything but stale. Skillet Licorice is hot, sweet, and just a bit greasy! Page 7 �Western Flyers Powerhouse Western Swing band The Western Flyers serve up an irresistibly hot, unmistakably Texas-style sound popularized by Bob Wills in the 1940s with an electrifying energy all their own. Featuring a fresh, all-star lineup led by guitar slinger Joey McKenzie on archtop guitar & vocal, 2024 National Grand Champion fiddler Ridge Roberts on fiddle & vocal, and upright bassist Matthew Mefford, the award winning Flyers are guaranteed to have even the shyest of wallflowers tappin' their toes or swinging on the dance floor. Page 8 �Lloyd & April Lloyd and April Wright hail from Kennard, TX, in the heart of the Davy Crockett National Forest. Their duet singing of traditional music is stunningly beautiful, and their gospel music performances are among the finest anywhere! April plays guitar and Lloyd is an award winning multiinstrumentalist. In addition to their performing schedule, they produce the Old Mill Music Festival every year in November! https://oldmillmusicfestival.com/ Page 9 �Joymakers Texas jazz, blues, ragtime and old time roots will be on full display when this powerhouse of traditional musicians arrives on the String Band Festival stage. The aptly-named Joymakers came together two years ago when two groups - Hancock’s Jazz Serenaders, and The Revelators - joined forces. With an album already underway for New York label Turtle Bay Records, and talk of a post-release midwestern tour, the Joymakers are off to a roaring start to their career. “Texas style jazz, or jazz from the territories (i.e. not NYC, Chicago, or New Orleans),” is bandleader Colin Hancock’s favorite description of their sound. They are not to be missed! Page 10 �Guy Forsyth Guy Forsyth photo edited Guy Forsyth grew up in KC but has been a denizen of Austin, TX for the past couple of decades. He’s a true renaissance man musically, and is very difficult to pigeon-hole. He was a cofounder of the Asylum Street Spankers, has released adrenalinefueled rock ‘n’ roll records, and is probably best classified as a performer with very deep rootsy/bluesy musical roots. Guy’s music is eclectic – in the best sense of the word. He’s also a multi-instrumentalist, being a fantastic slide guitar and harmonica player, and also playing guitar, baritone guitar, ukulele, and saw (yes, musical saw!) There are messages in the lyrics of most of Guy’s songs, or if not outright messages, then deeper meanings of life as he sees it playing out around him. Page 11 �Hot Pickin 57s The Hot Pickin 57s offer an energetic and thoroughly enjoyable mix of Bluegrass, Classic Country, and Americana music. The band members have deep roots in the Austin music scene, reuniting in 2016 after their musical educations at Berklee, South Plains College, and Texas State. They’ve played in well-known bands like the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, Whit Smith's Hot Jazz Caravan, and Rosie and the Ramblers and have had the privilege of performing alongside notable artists like Sierra Hull, Kym Warner, Alun Munde, Billy Bright (Wood & Wire), and Mark Cosgrove (David Bromberg). Page 12 �So & So and the Swamp Sizzle Austin Cajun music stalwart Michael Perron has formed a great new Cajun band, including members of Gumbo Ce Soir, The Red Stick Ramblers, Chansons et Soûlards, featuring Josh Huval on accordion! Page 13 �Up Around the Sun with Bosco! Austin old time music innovators, Tim Kerr and Jerry Hagins, are joined by the talented old time fiddler from Kyoto, Japan - Bosco! Page 14 �Funyun Creek This powerhouse old time dance band will kick off the Friday stage shows. The band is named afer a small tributary that runs from Alaska to Austin, by way of Terlingua! Members are Jerry Hagins-banjo, Beth Chrisman-fiddle, Joe Dobbs-Guitar, Amanda Chisholm-bass and, all the way from Japan, the legendary Bosco on fiddle! Page 15 �Mini-Stage Performers It's a tradition at the String Band Festival to feature short sets of music at our Mini-Stage, while the Main Stage is being prepared for the next performance. This year's slate of perfomers looks to be most excellent! The Mini-Stage is located next to the Merchandise Booth. FRIDAY 6:45 7:45 8:45 9:45 Silver Alert Ramblers Preston Satchwell & Friends Cast Iron Shoes The Everett Wren Band ________________________________ SATURDAY 2:45 Shinbone Trio 3:45 Caroline Sears 4:45 Ayleen Pérez Cordero & Family 5:45 The Austin Balkan Singers 6;45 Founders Duo: David & Bernard 7:45 Out of the Blue 8:45 Zephyr & Friends 9:45 Mortensen & Duplissey ____________________________________ Page 16 �Complaints, we've had a few... It's always gratifying to hear the nice things festival-goers have to say about the String Band Festival and our Camp Jam, but we've received a couple of complaints recently and we'll be addressing them at this year's ASBF. By far, the most complained about issue at the festival is that of children cavorting on the dance floor during performances. This behavior is a major distraction to those who have come to listen to the music, and our performers have let us know that they don't care for it one bit either. This year, kids will not be allowed on the dance floor unless they're participating in organized dancing and accompanied by an adult. The other problem behavior that has generated many complaints is the playing of electric instruments in the campground. We've come to the conclusion that electric and acoustic instruments just don't mix well, and the String Band Festival and the Camp Jam are acoustic music events! So, please, don't bring your electric guitars, pedal steel guitars, or other amplified instruments. Your campground neighbors will appreciate it! Page 17 �AFTM Monthly Old Time Jam Again in July, the AFTM Monthly Old Time Jam will be held at the Lazarus Brewing Company, 4803 Airport Blvd, in Austin. The July Old Time Jam will take place on Saturday, July 20, from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm. The monthly Old Time Jam at Lazarus Brewing has proven to be very popular, with a consistently strong turnout at a wonderful venue! Don't forget, Lazarus Brewing has full coffee service and serves delicious breakfasts and lunches! Page 18 �The Austin Balkan Singers The Austin Balkan Singers in 1995: Back row l - r: Gilda Ginsel, Cynthia Mull, Shirley Middleton, CB Stephenson. Front row l - r: Susan Hovorka, Jane Lindsey, Harriet Dinerstein, Olga Popova. THE AUSTIN BALKAN SINGERS CELEBRATE 50 YEARS OF HARMONY It seems that 1974 was a seminal year for folk music in Austin, Texas. Joining AFTM in celebrating its golden anniversary is this extraordinarily beautiful eastern-European choir. An interview with founder/ director Susan D. Hovorka. — by Darrel Mayers ________________________________________________ Hi Susan. Can you take Reel Times readers back to 1974, and the formation of the Austin Balkan Singers? In the sixties and seventies, when folk music became very popular, some of us were enjoying dancing to music from around the world at international folk dancing, and we started craving to learn music from the Balkans, with those exotic rhythms and killer harmonies. Our group started at the University of Texas under sponsorship of Dr. John Kolsti, and then became a community group after we graduated. We started swapping lyrics and hunting in bins for remnant records written in Cyrillic letters. It used to be hard to find a recording and the lyrics for the same tune; they were like rare treasures from afar washed up on our shores. Now we can just Google and get a dozen or more historic and modern versions of a song, run the text through Google translate, and refine the tune with a Zoom call to a distant expert. But we keep recruiting new people who want to sing. ________________________________________________ Page 19 �So let’s talk about the geography of this region. “The Balkans'' iare a dozen countries that jostle against each other on the Balkan Peninsula in eastern Europe. There’s Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia, part of Turkey, Serbia, Croatia and Romania. Do you choose your material evenly between all the countries… or do you favor one country over another? Each region or even each district has its own musical tradition, and we love the diversity. Christy Foster does a great oom-pah version to a Czech tune, and we know some obscure table songs from Albania where we take turns singing aaaj-ooo against each. Some of our favorites are Bulgarian tunes with single note “drone” harmonies. But we also love the 3 and 4-part close harmonies from Croatia and the funto-sing parallel thirds harmonies in pop tunes (from 1910) from Macedonia. ________________________________________________ What is your personal connection to the Balkans? Did you grow up in one of the dozen countries? Most of us have only visited via music and have never been there in person. Just like here, Balkan folk music is not nearly as popular now as it was in the past, so you have to find the equivalent of AFTM there to hear this music now. ________________________________________________ How do you go about learning a song? There’s such complex polyphony going on! We love the harmony. However it is not so complex, just a bit exotic. We know many songs that are a melody against a single or two-note lower part. Of course some of those archaic scales like hijaz make some intense harmonies against a single note. You can feel the harmonies vibrating inside you when you sing them. ________________________________________________ What is the strangest time signature that you’ve ever played? And, for people who rarely stray from those good ol’ workhorse signatures of’ 4/4 and 3/4, what advice can you offer on how to count, say, 11/16? Here is one in 11/16: 12-12-123-12-12, called kopanica. Fun. Macedonians call tunes in 7/16 lesnoto which means easy rhythm, because it is easier than 12/16 I guess. I like pajduško, in 5/8, which you can synchronize with your heart, lub-dubb lub-dubb . To make crazy long meters you just string the basics together. Balkan music enthusiasts compete to get the biggest collection of specialty rhythms, each one with nuances that merit a special name and have a regional significance. Page 20 �________________________________________________ There is something thrilling and primal about the “open throat” singing that you practice - offering such a wondrous array of overtones. Can you give readers a quick primer on how to sing in this style? I read somewhere that it begins with a yawn. . . I think it starts with howling! To do some styles you energize your whole body from your ribs to the top of your head. We don’t do those precise pitches that break glass, more like loud enough to . . . rattle windows? Suitable for singing at traditional settings like harvesting in the fields, but also useful at bars. ________________________________________________ During your 50 years together, there must have been countless highlights. Can you share a few? Have you toured, and visited the Balkans as a group? We would consider south Austin being on tour! Many good times. We did one of our first performances at AFTM’s open mic at the old Armadillo World Headquarters. And there was a memorable time when we were sort of misplaced at Pioneer Farms, and our main and enthusiastic audience was several sows and piglets. We have our best times every week just doing those harmonies at someone’s house. So if anyone wants to come over and try it, we like visitors. ________________________________________________ Have there been difficult times too? COVID-19 was hard for choirs because group singing was on the high hazard list. We kept going via Zoom by arranging ourselves in a complex scheme of taking turns singing different parts and muting ourselves, so you could at least sing duets with all the parts. But it sure was good to get back together vibrating the same air again. ________________________________________________ In AFTM we face some challenges with succession — passing the torch to younger, upcoming generations. For your choir, do you have a junior choir, or some younger members ready to join? We have multi-age women, even some singing girls sometimes. Folk traditions are not having as high popularity just now, but AFTM’s work in making traditions live is valuable. People don’t know how much pleasure making music yourself gives you, even without an audience. ________________________________________________ Thank you very much Susan. . . and hearty congratulations from AFTM to you, and to the rest of the choir: Christy Foster, Harriet Dinerstein, Robin Butter, Jane Lindsey, Mary Fero, and Irina Marinova. Page 21 �REVIEW OF WORLD MUSIC NIGHT AT BATCH By Darrel Mayers The first AFTM World Music Night at Batch early in May brought together a rich diversity of talent from our international city! The evening began with Kis Kis Maca, a trio led by Neri Osmanovic from Serbia. They focussed tightly on the rich melodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, featuring the fleet-fingered accordion legend Don Weeda, and trumpeter David Gilden (Mazel Tov Kocktail Hour), while Neri filled in tastefully on electric guitar. Half way through their 11-tune set, the dancing began, much to the delight and surprise of the musicians! Set list: Maca Hora (Kitty Hora) - Kis Kis Maca original, Hora Veche, Hora ca la Caval, Corman's Bulgar, Boogich Bulgar, Odessa Bulgar, Kishinever Bulgar, Heisser Zib, Geamparala, Serb. Cocek, and Bosansko Kolo. The May 2nd String Band brought together many talented musicians well-known in the AFTM community: Tim Keough, Britt Irick, Cody Campbell and Adam Brodkin. Together they crafted a beautiful, blended sound that was a treat for all at Batch. Setlist: Chadwell’s Station; Redican's Trip to Appalachia; Billy in the Lowground; Kash Kersey; Creek's all Muddy and the Pond's all Dry; Gunboat; and Sweet Marie. Indrajit Banerjee transported us to his home country of India with incredible displays of virtuosity on his sitar. He was on fire, as was his accompanying tabla player Sai Kiran. Setlist: Jhinjhoti Raga set to a Teen Tala (a rhythmic cycle of 16 beats): Happy Shakti; (based on Raga Bhopali) The Austin Balkan Singers completed the circle, taking us back to the lands of Kis Kis Maca. This group, founded 50 years ago (see Reel Times article in this issue) took us on a thrilling trip through Croatian, Dalmatian, Macedonian and Bulgarian choral music. Deep gratitude to all in this talented choir. The setlist: Pusta mladost; Aj Lipo tilo; Cresnica; Junak Jodi; Sto si goro; Prsten mi padna; Vrlicko; and Od granka Many thanks to all at Batch for making this happen, and for being so welcoming of this new venture! __________________________________________________________________________ ____ Page 22 �Coming soon: August 2nd at 7:30 p.m. AFTM’s Second World Music Night. At Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches: 3220 Manor Road, Austin, TX Suggested donation: $7.00 7:30 p.m. Kiko Villamizar plays the folk music of Colombia 8:00 p.m. Mortensen & Duplissey; our AFTM friends perform big band numbers, western swing and early jazz in a bluesy, rootsy style on guitar and dobro. 8:30 p.m. Go Yotai Klezmer Trio features Gabriel Lit (clarinet) Wen Chang Lit (violin); and Constantine Caramanis (accordion) 9:00 p.m. Ibrahim Aminou will cast a magical spell with this 21-stringed African Kora (harp) 9:30 p.m. Open Mike ______________________________________________________________________________ Page 23 �We need you! In this year of 2024, it’s both exciting and gratifying to realize that our small organization, the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, has been in existence for fifty years! We owe a sincere debt of gratitude to those individuals who had the initiative and energy to create this organization and who have kept it going through the decades! But those AFTM founders back in 1974 were mostly in their twenties then; they’re now in their seventies. In fact, the average age of our current AFTM board members is about seventy, and that’s not by design. Many of us are ready and willing to transfer the leadership of the AFTM to a younger generation. The board’s efforts to recruit younger members to its ranks has so far not been successful. The last Reel Times newsletter contained a message specifically aimed at recruiting new board members, and the response was minimal. I know that we all have time-consuming responsibilites that make it difficult to commit to volunteering for a small non-profit like ours but, if the AFTM and the String Band Festival are to continue, a younger generation of traditional music enthusiasts needs to step up, get involved, and provide the energy and leadership we need to keep this organization growing and thriving. If you'd like to learn about joining our board or volunteering for the String Band Festival, email me at: gary@aftm.us Gary Mortensen Reel Times Editor ASBF Director Page 24 �The Reel Times is published quarterly by the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational donations. AFTM Board of Directors Tim Wooten, President Lee Thomas, Vice President Angie Wooten, Secretary Rich MacMath, Treasurer James Seppi, Volunteer Coordinator Gary Mortensen, Reel Times Editor, Festival Director Jeanne DeFriese, At Large Dan Foster, At Large Darrel Mayers, At Large David Polacheck, At Large Austin Friends of Traditional Music P.O. Box 49608 Austin, TX 78765 Click here for Membership info Click here for AFTM website https://www.flickr.com/photos/aftm/albums/72157680161933664 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 50 Number 3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024-07 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Title A name given to the resource Reel Times - Volume 50, Number 3 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Gary Mortenson http://archive.aftm.us/files/original/10/291/newsletter-50-02-2024-04.pdf 800771c898ecca7d40d155edd224dbeb PDF Text Text Reel Times Newsletter of The Austin Friends of Traditional Music Vol. 50, Number 2, April 2024 Tim Wooten's fiddling grandfather Thomas Jefferson Wootan (1882-1964) �Table of Contents Page 3 Upcoming Events Page 4 Steven Dao interview Page 5 AFTM Camp Jam 2024 Page 6 AFTM Monthly Old Time Jam Page 7 Join the AFTM Board! Page 8 Nokosee Fields Trio House Concert Page 9 ASBF Update Page 10 Alasdair Fraser / Natalie Haas Concert Page 11 Tim Wooten's AFTM Memories Page 13 About the AFTM Cover painting by Tim Kerr Page 2 �Upcoming AFTM Events Saturday, April 20 The monthly AFTM Old Time Jam takes place at the wonderful Lazarus Brewing Company at 4803 Airport Boulevard in Austin from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm! April 26 through 28 This year's edition of the very popular AFTM Camp Jam will be held at Camp Ben McCulloch, as usual. There's no admission fee whatsoever, the only cost is the camping fees that Camp Ben charges. Thursday, May 2 World music night at Batch, 3220 Manor Rd, Austin featuring the Austin Balkan Singers, Kis Kis Maca (Serbian folk), Indrajit Banerjee (sitar), Tim Keough and Britt Irick October 18 through 20 The seventeenth Austin String Band Festival! Camp Ben McCulloch, Driftrwood, TX Page 3 �Steven Dao, 2024 AFTM Scholarship recipient! The AFTM is excited to announce that the recipient of its 2024 Scholarship is Austin area fiddler, Steven Dao! Steven has a background in classical music, and has been attending the AFTM Old-Time jam for some time. Steven will use the scholarship to attend the Old-Time Week of the Swannanoa Gathering, in Asheville, NC this summer. Learn more about Steven in this video interview, conducted before the March AFTM Old-Time Jam at the Lazarus Brewing Company on Airport Boulevard in Austin. Steven Dao interview Page 4 �AFTM Camp Jam 2024 “This is the best thing the AFTM has ever done!”, a direct quote from a seasoned Austin area musician. What’s he talking about, you ask? Well, he’s talking about the AFTM Camp Jam, the fourth edition of which will take place on April 26 – April 28 at Camp Ben McCulloch in Driftwood, TX. The Camp Jam was conceived back in 2021, when the pandemic was still creating uncertainty about public events everywhere, and it didn’t seem responsible for the AFTM to proceed with our beloved October event, the Austin String Band Festival. So, the AFTM rented Camp Ben McCulloch for the entire weekend as usual, but we didn’t produce much of a festival stage show, or anything else. The Camp Jam was simply an opportunity to get together with musical friends, camp for the weekend, if desired, and spend a few days with no schedule and no duties. The admission charge for the Camp Jam is the same as always – it’s free! That’s correct, there’s no charge for participating in the Camp Jam, other than Camp Ben’s usual camping fees, if you choose to camp overnight. We will have a message center (writeboard, corkboard) in a central area where you can check for notices of organized jams or other community events. So, mark your calendars for the last weekend in April, and make plans to join us at Camp Ben for a relaxed and joyful weekend! Page 5 �AFTM Old Time Jam For April's jam, we'll again be at Lazarus Brewing at 4803 Airport Boulevard. They've got an inside space for us ("the casita") if needed. Bring a jam chair just in case. Lazarus has wonderful breakfast and lunch food, coffee, tea, and -- of course -- beer. The jam will take place on Saturday, April 20, 2024, from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm! Page 6 �Join the AFTM Board! We are excited to announce that there are currently three openings on our board of directors, and we are looking for passionate and committed individuals to join us in shaping the future of the AFTM. As active members of our traditional music community, we believe that your unique perspective and experience would be a valuable addition to our leadership team. Joining the AFTM board is a wonderful opportunity to contribute your ideas and energy towards furthering our mission of encouraging performance and appreciation of traditional music in our community. Board members play a crucial role in setting the direction of the organization, making important decisions, and ensuring the success of our programs and initiatives. We are seeking individuals who are dedicated to our cause, have excellent communication and leadership skills, and are willing to actively participate in board meetings and committee work. If you have a strong passion for traditional music and a desire to make a difference, we encourage you to consider applying to join our board of directors. Together, we can work towards a more vibrant and thriving music community. If you are interested in joining our board, please submit your application as soon as possible. We look forward to hearing from you and welcoming new members to our leadership team. Gary Mortensen Gary is our Festival Director and Newsletter Editor and is a fine example of the kind of person that serves AFTM. But don’t worry, you don’t have to do near as much as he does to really help us out! Tim Wooten, President Page 7 �Nokosee Fields Trio performing at the Hillside House Concert Photo by John C. Kelly, review by Tim Wooten The Hillside House Concert audience was thrilled with the silken, slippery fiddle of Nokosee Fields and the other members of his trio Ryan Nickerson on guitar and Reed Stutz on banjo. The trio played old-time tunes, and Carter family favorites along with some original tunes. Nokosee occasionally switched to autoharp on some songs for a different and very fitting accompaniment. The trio only recently came together as a band, but the interplay of finger style banjo, guitar and fiddle was a charm to hear! This trio performed to an enthusiastic audience at the Austin String Band Festival last October, and the Hillside House Concert venue provided a very personal and intimate unamplified listening experience. Page 8 �October 18 & 19, 2024 Camp Ben McCulloch, Driftwood, TX Though the Austin String Band Festival is more than six months away, planning has been underway for some time, and things are slowly but surely coming together! Musical performances are the heart of our festival and, so far, we have commitments from performers in several genres: two fine Old Time bands, a hot Bluegrass band, a killer Western Swing trio, an excellent Cajun band, as well as a traditional 1920’s Jazz band! Over the next weeks and months, we’ll be releasing more information about this year’s performers so check in with our website at www.aftm.org for the latest updates! To make this festival a success, we need volunteers to manage several important areas and, if you’re willing to devote a few hours to helping make the ASBF a success, we would love to hear from you! Send an email to gary@aftm.us for more details! Page 9 �Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas performing at the Austin Acoustical Café Photo by James Seppi, review by Tim Wooten The Austin Acoustical Cafe at the Lamar Senior Activity Center was a perfect venue for the Scottish music duo of Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas. Alasdair is one of the premier Scottish fiddlers of his generation and Natalie is a fantastic cellist. The duo reprises an old Scottish fiddle/cello tradition with virtuosic aplomb. The first set consisted mainly of traditional jigs, reels, airs and the like while the second set added some more modern pieces written by Alasdair and Natalie loosely in the Scottish tradition. The fiddle soared while the cello alternately played rhythmic accompaniment and transporting harmony. The cello occasionally took the lead while the fiddle played harmony. This was really a great show and a treat for the ears! Page 10 �My history with the Austin Friends of Traditional Music Tim Wooten, AFTM president This organization was founded 50 years ago, and I became a member in the mid 1980s, having moved to Austin in the fall of 1979. I have always had a great interest in traditional music, because I was exposed to the fiddling of my grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Wootan (1882-1964) , when I was a little boy, and really loved it. Whenever we visited my grandparents he played the fiddle, and my cousins and I danced. At home my father would occasionally play a tape of my grandfather for us to enjoy. We called him Papa Wootan, but his long-time friends called him Duck. He got that name when he was little, by competing with the family ducks to eat their food at feeding time. When I was 21 my father pulled Papa Wootan’s old fiddle down from the high shelf in the coat closet. It was broken into a bunch of pieces. He had traded a horse for it around the turn of the last century and called it “Old Squealer.” My dad said, “I’ll pay to get this fiddle repaired if you’ll learn to play it.” Of course I eagerly accepted and my fiddle-playing avocation began. I already knew how to play harmonica and began learning fiddle tunes on it also. Page 11 �It was around 1995 when Chris Kelly, a dancer at the Hancock Recreation Center that I played for, asked if I would consider joining the AFTM board. AFTM had become just a shell. It had no money, was hosting no events, and the board was made up of dancers who were using our non-profit status to obtain group insurance at a reasonable price. I soon became president of the board and Angie, my beloved wife, joined me on the board. We knew we needed to raise some money if we wanted to do anything, so we revived the Midwinter Festival at the Dougherty Arts Center as a fundraiser. The bands volunteered to play for free to support AFTM. We were usually able to book them an appreciation gig at Central Market or Cactus Café. We charged admission, sold food and started putting money in the bank. We also sold memberships and promoted our organization. We started holding jam sessions, having occasional events and workshops, and resurrected this newsletter, Reel Times, to provide value for our members. At that time, there were only four board members. Elizabeth Pittman suggested that we expand the board to twelve members, which we accomplished by revising our bylaws. The AFTM board is a working board. We have no staff, so all the work is done by board members and whatever volunteers we can round up. Our thinking was that a larger board could get more done, and provide more ideas, and better ideas. One of our good ideas was to create an annual Austin String Band Festival, because we now had the money to hire bands, rent a venue, and pay for all the necessary items to put on a good festival. We hosted our first festival in 2006, and have held it every year since, except for the two years of COVID. We decided to set a reasonable admission price to try to just break even and make the festival accessible to as many people as possible. We have actually lost money on the festival more often than not, but with sponsorships, gifts and member dues we have been able to keep the festival going, and still host other special events, dances, workshops, jam sessions and concerts from time to time throughout the years. We are always looking for new board members and volunteers with fresh ideas and a willingness to work. We have a lot of fun and the satisfaction of ensuring that traditional music and dance stays alive in central Texas. I hope you will join us! Page 12 �The Reel Times is published quarterly by the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational donations. AFTM Board of Directors Tim Wooten, President Lee Thomas, Vice President Angie Wooten, Secretary Rich MacMath, Treasurer James Seppi, Volunteer Coordinator Gary Mortensen, Reel Times Editor, Festival Director Jeanne DeFriese, At Large Dan Foster, At Large Darrel Mayers, At Large Austin Friends of Traditional Music P.O. Box 49608 Austin, TX 78765 Click here for Membership info Click here for AFTM website https://www.flickr.com/photos/aftm/albums/72157680161933664 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 50 Number 2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024-04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Title A name given to the resource Reel Times - Volume 50, Number 2 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Gary Mortenson http://archive.aftm.us/files/original/10/290/newsletter-50-01-2024-01.pdf 27f1b03f8bad690153b118035c958cb1 PDF Text Text Reel Times Newsletter of The Austin Friends of Traditional Music Vol. 50, Number 1, January 2024 The 2023 Austin String Band Festival was a great success! �Table of Contents Page 3 Upcoming AFTM events Page 4 The 2023 Austin String Band Festival Page 15 Aaron Zischcale, interviewed by Darrel Mayers Page 19 The AFTM at Lonesome Nights at the Sahara Lounge Page 21 Lost Patterns CD, reviewed by Tim Wooten Page 23 2024 AFTM Camp Jam Page 24 Another Way to Create Songs, by David Polacheck Page 26 AFTM Old Time Jam at Lazarus Brewing Page 27 2023 Festival of Texas Fiddling Page 31 About the AFTM Page 2 �Upcoming AFTM Events January 20, 2024 The monthly AFTM Old Time Jam will be held at a new location in January, Lazarus Brewing, 4803 Airport Blvd in Austin, TX from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm January 31, 2024 Lonesome NIghts at the Sahara, founded by our friends at KOOP radio, will feature an AFTM band in January, Everett Wren and the Bird Calls! Doors open at 7:00 pm, music starts at 8:00 pm The Sahara Lounge 1413 Webberville Road Austin, TX April 26 - 28, 2024 This year's edition of the very popular AFTM Camp Jam will be held at Camp Ben McCulloch. There's no admission fee whatsoever, the only cost is the camping fees that Camp Ben Charges. Page 3 �2023 The Joymakers cutting loose on Saturday night! AFTM members and others enjoyed a beautiful, warm weekend for the 16th Austin String Band Festival, and the event was a great success! Festival campers started arriving as early as Wednesday, and the sound of picking in the campground continued throughout the weekend. Page 4 �Starting Friday night, two fine food vendors, Texas Street Crepes and Big Frank’s Tacos, offered their delicious fare to the assembled festival-goers! Friday’s main stage activities included two square dances called by Rich MacMath, and great old time music from Last Shot Got Him, the Two Goat String Band, and the Nokosee Fields trio. In between sets, we were entertained by Two Fosters; One Price, and the Slaughter Creek Draught Busters! For the first time ever, Saturday morning at the ASBF featured a yoga class from Lucy Weberling, who brings her Festival Yoga to events across the country! Our musical workshops followed the yoga class, and twelve different workshops were offered, featuring several types of fiddle music, Cajun dance, accordion, banjo, singing, and guitar to name just a few. Young festival attendees were delighted on Saturday afternoon by the Texas Juggling Society, crafts with Natasha La Gitana, and face painting by Doodle Bug! Saturday’s main stage performances included the Old Time duo of Lloyd and April Wright, the phenomenal bluegrass fiddling of Luke Bulla, and the traditional Tejano fiddling of Belen Escobedo. Alley Grass from Lockhart, TX played, you guessed it, hot bluegrass tunes and were followed by the brilliant Austin area duo, Lost Patterns - Beth Chrisman and Silas Lowe. The Lost Pines bluegrass band, who last played at the ASBF in 2008, played a fantastic set of original and traditional bluegrass, and “The Most Laughable Band in Show Business”, the Austin Lounge Lizards, played original material from their over thirty years of performing together. The Nokosee Fields Trio, from Lafayette, LA, played an exquisite set of Old Time tunes, and The Joymakers blew the roof off the stage with their traditional jazz from the 1920’s. The festival’s headliners, the Dacquiri Queens, finished the evening with a powerful set of Cajun tunes, which captivated the assembled crowd! In between the main stage performances, we were treated to great mini-sets from Stubble In Mind, Creekbed Carter Hogan, Don’t Messa With Vanessa, Rusty Nut and the Wheel Ruts, the Dog Days String Band, George Rios and Friends, and Everett Wren and Bird Calls! The 2023 Austin String Band Festival was, as always, a wonderful experience for all who attended. Mark your calendars now for the 2024 ASBF which will take place on October 18 & 19, at beautiful Camp Ben McCulloch! On the following pages, John Stansell's photographs capture the spirit of the Austin String Band Festival, 2023! Page 5 �The Lost Pines band played a hot bluegrass set on Saturday night! Rich MacMath called a dance on Saturday afternoon! Page 6 �Belen Escobedo played beautiful Tejano fiddle music with her husband, Ramón Gutiérrez Lloyd and April Wright, from Kennard, TX, got Saturday's program off to a great start Page 7 �Saturday we heard mini-sets from The Dog Days String Band, and... Creekbed Carter Hogan, like many others, played a fine mini-set! Page 8 �The Nokosee Fields Trio gave an excellent workshop on Saturday, as did... Belen Escobedo and Ramón Gutierrez Page 9 �Luke Bulla's set on Saturday was a master class in Bluegrass fiddling On Saturday night, the Lost Pines Bluegrass band cut loose! Page 10 �The Texas Juggling Society entertained on Saturday afternoon Todd Sloan from the Westbank String Shop was on hand all weekend for repairs and setup Page 11 �A fine mini-set was performed by Rusty Nut and the Wheel Ruts Adam Brodkin and Aaron Zischkale accompanied Sharon Sandomirsky in her workshop Page 12 �The Silent Auction found new homes for some lovely instruments, boots, records, etc. Working at the Merchandise Booth was non-stop fun! Page 13 �The Green Room was a magical place after dark Georgia, Sharon, and Angie led the Sunday morning Gospel Jam Page 14 �Local musician Aaron Zischkale recently published a heartfelt and beautiful ‘zine celebrating the life and work of Sharon Sandomirsky. She was the driving guitar force behind The Fuzzy Mountain String Band back in the day — early 70s to be more precise — and has lived in Austin since the early 90s. Sharon is also one of the hosts of the excellent "Strictly Bluegrass" show on KOOP radio (91.7 FM) that brightens Austin’s airwaves on Sunday mornings at ten. I got a copy of the ‘zine, “Six Strings and a Nagra,” at our recent String Band Festival at Camp Ben, and was immediately charmed by the warmth and dedication of the project. Evocative illustrations by Britt Irick, and the detailed notes for guitarists on Sharon’s unique walking bass style made this a publication that deserves readership and lots of attention. — Darrel Mayers ______________________________________________________ Can you tell readers about your musical background, Aaron. Where are you from, and how did old-time music arrive in your life? I can trace my love of music back to my nine-fingered dad. When I was a kid he lost his left ring-finger climbing the ladder of a power plant boiler (he was an engineer at the Dallas utility company that became TXU), but that didn't deter him from picking acoustic guitar at home. Mostly it'd be the melody from "Needle and the Damage Done," or a little rock shuffle in A, but he also wrote a couple instrumental lullabies he'd play for me, picked in a simple twofinger style. He's the reason I'd eventually pick up the instrument, and passed down an appreciation for the guitar-driven music from his time: Creedence Clearwater Revival, Zeppelin, a little Frank Zappa. I grew up in a pretty insular Southern Baptist culture in Sherman, TX, so my musical tastes didn't really get to blossom until I was a college student with a high-speed internetconnection. Page 15 �Some time in grad school I bought a dirt-cheap resonator banjo from a maintenance guy at UNT Denton (inspired by hearing a three-finger part in a Raging Slab song). When my uncle found out he admonished me for it, saying everybody plays Scruggs. I should be playing something called "clawhammer"! So I picked up an arrangement of "Under the Double Eagle'' to play for my grandmother (a relative used to flat-pick it on guitar for her), and went down the rabbit hole from there. Started taking the banjo to the Dallas Heritage Village (big thanks to Dean Barber and Eric Clum), and after moving to Austin met all my great musician buddies at the Sixth Street Rio Rita jam that Britt Irick was keeping alive in 2015. ______________________________________________________ When did you first hear the Fuzzy Mountain String Band? And when did you notice Sharon’s unique style of playing? BanjoHangout was full of lovable cranks and a ton of fantastic music recommendations. I'm sure that's how I wound up buying that Rounder reissue of the Fuzzies. One of the resident experts was Tony Spadaro (aka the Old Woodchuck), who had this great detailed post delineating the "Old Dead Guys" from the second generation of counter-culture academics like the Hollow Rocks, Highwoods, Indian Creek Delta Boys. As I relay in the zine, it was JT Harechmak who switched me onto Sharon's driving guitar work on that second Rounder LP. His taste in music is pretty impeccable. You tend to listen when he points out a detail like that. ______________________________________________________ It must have been quite a surprise when you learned that Sharon was living in a house just off MoPac! Yeah, I remember being very impressed by the connection. But it wasn't shocking in a place where there is such a rich legacy of old-time music. We've been really blessed getting to spend time and hear stories from folks like Tim and Angie Wooten, Gene and Marynell Young (Marynell's always been such an inclusive presence in a jam, and she's got a great story about Clyde Davenport choosing to watch wrestling on TV instead of play, when she was all geared up to record him), Nancy and Robert Griffith, Dan and Christy Foster, and Jeanne DeFriese. There's all this opportunity to learn from folks who have lived this music. I just hadn't gotten the chance to meet Sharon yet. It's been a huge honor to pick her brain about her life, and a delight getting to know her. ______________________________________________________ Apart from being with “the Fuzzies,” Sharon has been in many other groups since, such as the Decibelles with Elizabeth Pittman and Christie Foster, and Friends of Big Ernie with Jerry Hagins. Do you have a favorite? I mean, that Herald Angels tape really does need a reissue. Hearing her sing with Alice Gerrard and backup that fantastic banjo song "Drunkard's Dream" is really wonderful. Page 16 �My favorite has to be Friends of Big Ernie, having gotten to watch them play a reunion show a few weeks back under the big purple stage lights at Sagebrush. She really made us proud. Despite all the trouble with that picking hand she just dove headfirst into those killer backup runs, and did some great harmonizing along with Wolf's rendition of "Ragged But Right." String Band Heaven. Let's see her link up again with Elizabeth and Christy some time soon! At the end of the zine you go into some detail about Sharon’s playing style. Can you talk about that for Reel TImes’s guitar playing readers out there? What is the key to being an effective guitarist in an old-time music setting? You describe Sharon as being “in-thepocket but unpredictable.” If you find a good fiddler like our buddy Tim Keough, who can call out chord changes while he plays, you're in great hands! A budding guitar player needs a tasteful fiddler who can give feedback while letting them develop their own style. You can tell Sharon did a ton of listening in those early days, but once she was comfortable she took off. “Peter Francisco” really is the hallmark for me. Listen to how much character her part lends to that tune! What's fun about old-time is so many of the rules are unwritten. But there's a balance. Start with what supports the tune (be "in-the-pocket") and once you've got that, get wild with it (be "unpredictable"). If the kid from Carter Brothers and Son can do it, you can too. If all else fails just play those angry grinding runs on the Lewis Brothers "Sally Johnson" and hope you aren't kicked out the back door. Also, go read "Guitars Have Feelings Too" by Cameron Knowler ______________________________________________________ What musical projects are you working on right now? Also, are you working with Britt on any other ‘zines? Looking forward to making a lot of music in '24. Britt, Rose Griffith, Adam Brodkin and I have been working up a repertoire as the Dog Day String Band (very glad I'm not the only one obsessed with cicadas), I've got my duo with Adam as the Slaughter Creek Drought Busters (I'm always overly proud of elaborate names, would love to see this on a t-shirt at some point), and got a couple other projects in the back of my head that I'd love to see the light of day. Can't stress this enough, there's no “Six Strings and a Nagra” without Britt's fantastic watercolor art throughout. I also had a great time figuring out the cover layout with him. We went pretty over the top on this zine (both on color artwork and content), so my next project would probably be a little lower-key and smaller in scope, but we'll see. Exhibiting our work at Austin's Lone Star Zine Fest was a lot of fun though. As an aside, go buy a copy (or several) of San Antonio-resident Shelby Criswell's Lazy Mr. Poole Had the pleasure of meeting them at Zine Fest, and their minicomic tribute to Charlie Poole is a wonderful bit of old-time memorabilia that you need in your collection. Page 17 �______________________________________________________ Where can readers of Reel Times get a copy of "Six Strings and a Nagra" for themselves? Eventually I'd like to have copies for sale online. But for now, please feel free to reach me at zischkale@gmail.com and I'll get ya taken care of. We're planning on printing another run soon. Thanks for the time, y’all! Thank you very much Aaron! I can’t wait to see, and hear, what you come up with next! Aaron Zischkale and Sharon Sandomirsky give a workshop at the 2023 ASBF Page 18 �"Bird Calls" at the Sahara Lounge Lounge As the latest edition of the AFTM's ongoing joint venture with KOOP Radio, the AFTM is proud to present Bird Calls: Everett Wren on fiddle, David Rabinowicz on guitar, & Taylor Turner on upright bass at Lonesome Nights at the Sahara on January 31, 2024. We had the opportunity to hear the Bird Calls at the Austin String Band Festival in October, where the band closed out the mini-set program on Saturday night. KOOP Radio created the monthly Lonesome Nights at the Sahara event, and offered to the AFTM the opportunity to "curate" two programs each year. In past months at Lonesome Nights at the Sahara, the AFTM has presented such local artists as Lost Patterns, Two Fosters, One Price, the Joymakers, and the Two Goat String Band. The Sahara Lounge, "Austin's East Side Gem", is located at 1413 Webberville Rd, Austin, TX Page 19 �More Info about "Bird Calls" Photo by Chris de la Rosa, at the 04 Center Bird Calls hail from Austin, Texas, with Everett Wren on fiddle, mandolin, percussion, and vocals, David Rabinowicz on guitars and vocals, and Taylor Turner on bass and vocals. They play high energy bluegrass and fiddle tunes, with a bit of jazz and vocal harmonies. Everett began performing at age four in his family's band, took home an Arkansas state fiddling championship in his teens, toured the USA with an Americana band, and co-founded the Austin bands Lost & Nameless and Chalkboard Poets, before focusing on releasing his own solo record called Porchlight in 2022. David was born into a multi-cultural family, and the different languages and traditions that surrounded him helped shape his guitar-playing, singing, and writing. Taylor is a native Austinite and has been playing professionally for 15 years, touring internationally with rock, folk, and bluegrass bands. He graduated from UT Austin with a degree in Jazz Performance and since then has continued to explore every kind of music. They love the Sahara Lounge and have performed there several times over the years. Bring your dancing feet and join the fun 8 pm Wed. Jan. 31st, 2024! instagram.com/wearebirdcalls Page 20 �Lost Patterns A CD Review by Tim Wooten, AFTM President Beth Chrisman and Silas Lowe are a twosome that has been been described as playing roots music, which is true but doesn’t begin to describe the variety of songs on their album with the same name as their duo - Lost Patterns. Classic country, folk, bluegrass, blues, and traditional mountain music are all represented. Silas and Beth wrote some of the songs, while others are from great songwriters hailing from Texas and parts beyond. Anyone wanting a tutorial on duet singing should listen to this album. Silas and Beth have been singing together off and on since 1976 and you can hear and feel it in the tightness of the harmonies. Silas plays mandolin and guitar, while Beth plays fiddle, banjo and guitar. Jerry Hagins on banjo and Lindsay Greene on bass join them on certain tracks. Page 21 �Dry My Eyes, written by Silas, has a pure classic country sound and feel – “if you’re saying that you’re leaving, don’t try to dry my eyes”. This is contrasted by Fall on My Knees, a traditional mountain appeal to a girl that has told so many lies that she’ll never get to heaven, and by the sad and haunting Sorrow Bound waltz, written by Beth and Silas. They cover the iconic John Deere Tractor Song by Austin favorite Don Walser, and the traditional Rabbit in a Log, a fast bluegrass tune with great fiddling and picking. Butch Hancock fans will love When Nights Are Cold with its stirring lyrics and visual imagery. Beth’s smooth fiddle and Silas’ liquid mandolin are perfect on this one. Beth and Silas offer one of the best examples of duet singing you’ll ever hear on Only the Lonely by the revered Hazel Dickens played with only an elegant guitar accompaniment that ends before the last line of the song to showcase the singing. These are just some of the highlights of Lost Patterns, an album well worth listening to! Lost Patterns, Silas Lowe and Beth Chrisman, performing at Lonesome Nights at the Sahara, at the Sahara Lounge in East Austin Page 22 �AFTM Camp Jam 2024 A few years ago, the AFTM came up with a new kind of event, and called it the Camp Jam. It's much like a festival, but there are no stage shows, no schedule, and no admission charge! The whole purpose of the Camp Jam is to give acoustic music fans a chance to get together and play the old tunes, meet up with old friends and make new ones, set up their tents and RVs, cook meals, stay up late, and have a great time! The only cost will be the camping fees that Camp Ben charges. This year's Camp Jam will be held on April 26 - 28, 2024 As usual, the site is beautiful Camp Ben McCulloch in Driftwood, TX. Page 23 �Another Way to Create Songs by David Polacheck I have been a singer of folk songs for more years than I care to remember. During that time, I have loved and learned hundreds of folk songs. There is much disagreement over the question of what is or is not a folk song. The definition I have arrived at over the years is simple: folk music and folk song can be performed well by people who are in no way professional musicians and who don't need a professional to direct them. I think you will find that this definition includes everything that we would want to include and excludes everything that we would want to exclude, which, I feel is the point of a definition of anything. Now, the reason I don't call myself a folksinger as such, is that I grew up an urban, middle class intellectual and the origin of the songs and tunes I love is quite different from the environment I was raised in. One thing that resulted from this is that I always felt a certain exotic flavor in the pieces I loved and learned. Since they arose in a setting where they were part of the daily life of the original performers, it is clear to me that this aura of the exotic was more about my perceptions and less about the songs themselves. This is one example of how the difference between a folksinger from a tradition matrix and a singer of folk songs can be profound. After so many years of learning traditional music and learning about tradition, I felt the urge to create new songs that worked within the context of the music I had immersed myself in. There are several approaches to this goal that have been put into play. The first, very frequently used, is to write new lyrics to traditional tunes. Many songwriters, known and unknown, have taken this route. Many traditional tunes have three, four or more sets of texts associated with them. For example, the Scottish tune for the song "Come All Ye Tramps and Hawkers" has been used for at least two other texts: "The Ballad of Peter Amberley" and Bob Dylan's "I Pity the Poor Immigrant". Woody Guthrie was well known for writing new lyrics to traditional tunes: "Union Maid" used the tune to "Pretty Redwing" and "The Ruben James" used the tune to "Wildwood Flower" to mention just two examples of his work. Page 24 �The second approach is to compose new words and music in the folk style. This approach started to be widely used from the 1920's on, expanded greatly starting in the 1960's and continues today. One reason for the popularity of this is undoubtedly economic, as such compositions qualify for writer and composer royalty payments, should they become commercially popular. Noteworthy songwriters in this mode are numerous, among them Joe Hill, Hank Williams, Willie Dixon, Cindy Walker, Carol King, Joni Mitchell, Phil Ochs, Janis Ian, Leonard Cohen, and John Prine. The third approach is to compose music for previously "stand alone" poetry. This way overlaps with the province of the classical composer and has been done many times. A modern "folk music like" example is "The Golden Apples of the Sun" aka "The Song of Wandering Aengus" by William Butler Yeats, which was set to original music by Bud Dashiell and Travis Edmonson. Another is "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service, set to music by Kirk Kempter. For various reasons, I have largely taken a fourth approach, which is to match "stand alone" poems, mostly old, by known poets, with traditional tunes of the European American tradition. I have also used tunes from the Early Music repertoire, since I find many of them to be close in style to the traditional folk music I love. This has been done much less often, but it is not unprecedented. Yeats' poem "Down by the Salley Gardens" was set to an Irish traditional tune "The Mourne Shore" by Herbert Hughes, after the poem's original publication. It is still sung this way today. The reasons I liked this method of song creation over the others are: first, because it allows me to sing the poems I love to tunes I love, second, because I didn't think I could come up with lyrics any better than those of Shakespeare, Yeats. John Keats, Emily Dickenson, William Blake or John Masefield, among others and third, because matching this great poetry with a great tune that makes the poem singable is a very satisfying endeavor to me. Having played this music for as long as I have, I have accumulated a large number of tunes I can choose from for this process. For instance, for "The Song of Wandering Aengus" (Yeats' original title for his poem), in place of the Dashiell/Edmonson melody, I used Carolan's great harp tune "Colonel John Irwin", which I like much better for this poetry. One of the factors that helps me decide on the tune matches, is that the poetry itself has its own music when read aloud. The cadences, the rhythms, and the intonation of the words suggest melodies, and the tune I choose must work with, and not against, these. Of course, the notes of the tune have to fit the syllables of the lines of verse, and sometimes a part of the tune can be used to match part of the verse that may have fewer lines. For example, when I did some of Shakespeare's sonnets, I had to use the last two lines of the tune to go with the final couplet of the poem, since the sonnets consist of three quatrains followed by a couplet. Another example is Robert Frost's "Acquainted with the Night", which has mostly three-line stanzas. I discovered it went perfectly with the tune for "Pretty Polly" which also has three-line stanzas. The final couplet of the poem was accommodated by the last two lines of the tune. In addition to the "serious" poems, I have also made singable poems by Ogden Nash, Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Christopher Morley and Eugene Field. Try Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky" to the tune of "Reynardine". My hope is that at least some of my creations will be sung by others and maybe pass into the folk music tradition. Why not, after all? You can view some more of my poem/tune pairings on YouTube under my channel "David Polacheck". Page 25 �AFTM Old Time Jam For January's jam, we'll be trying out a new location: Lazarus Brewing at 4803 Airport Boulevard. They've got an inside space for us ("the casita") if needed. Bring a jam chair just in case. Lazarus has breakfast and lunch food, coffee, tea, and -- of course -- beer. The jam will take place on January 20, 2024, from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm Page 26 �The 9th Annual Festival of Texas Fiddling Felipe Perez and his band performed on the main stage at the Twin Sistes Dance Hall On the first weekend of December, many AFTM members made the trek to Blanco,TX to enjoy and participate in the 9th Annual Festival of Texas Fiddling. This great yearly event brings fiddlers from all over Texas and beyond to the beautiful Twin Sisters Dance Hall. The Festival features all day and night dancing to bands playing a variety of styles of Texas fiddle music inside the hall, as well as showcase concerts, instrument and dance workshops, jamming, and a symposium on Texas fiddling. The following pages display photos of this year's event - somehow, he weather is always great! Page 27 �Fiddles galore in the Hill Country! Howard Rains, Tricia Spencer, Brian Marshall, and Frank Motley give a workshop Page 28 �Heidi Labensart and her son, Mason, perform Britt Irick, Tim Keough, and Dan Thompson make beautiful music! Page 29 �Bird's eye view of a hot jam! Notice this isn't a Louisiana license plate! Page 30 �The Reel Times is published quarterly by the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational donations. AFTM Board of Directors Tim Wooten, President Lee Thomas, Vice President Angie Wooten, Secretary Rich MacMath, Treasurer James Seppi, Volunteer Coordinator Gary Mortensen, Reel Times Editor, Festival Director Nana Lopez, Dance Liaison Jeanne DeFriese, At Large Dan Foster, At Large Matt Welch, At Large Tom Duplissey, At Large Darrel Mayers, At Large Austin Friends of Traditional Music P.O. Box 49608 Austin, TX 78765 Click here for Membership info Click here for AFTM website https://www.flickr.com/photos/aftm/albums/72157680161933664 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 50 Number 1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024-01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Title A name given to the resource Reel Times - Volume 50, Number 1 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Gary Mortenson http://archive.aftm.us/files/original/10/289/newsletter-49-04-2023-10.pdf 7d914067fdd2f9aa35247ef55810187f PDF Text Text Reel Times Newsletter of The Austin Friends of Traditional Music Vol. 49, Number 4, October 2023 �Table of Contents Page 3 Austin String Band Festval Page 5 Festival Schedule Page 6 Workshop schedule Page 7 The Daiquiri Queens Page 8 The Nokosee Fields Trio Page 9 The Joymakers Page 10 Belen Escobedo Page 11 Luke Bulla Page 12 The Austin Lounge Lizards Page 13 The Lost Pines Page 14 Lloyd & April Page 15 Lost Patterns Page 16 Last Shot Got Him Page 17 Alley Grass Page 18 Festival yoga Page 20 Westbank String Shop Page 21 Food at the String Band Festival Page 22 Our new hats! Page 23 About the Austin Friends of Traditional Music Page 2 �Austin, TX. (Sept. 21, 2023) — The hamlet of Driftwood, Texas (population: 106) will be alive with the sounds of fiddles, banjos and mandolins on the weekend of October 20th and 21st, when hundreds of traditional musicians and fans gather for a weekend of pickin’ and partyin’ at Camp Ben McCulloch, 24 miles southwest of Austin (across the road from the Salt Lick). “It’s like our own little ACL Fest, except it’s for old-time, bluegrass, and other traditional musicians. . . and at a fraction of the cost!” jokes Tim Wooten, president of host organization Austin Friends of Traditional Music. Tickets on Friday: $30; Saturday: $45; Weekend pass: $55. (By comparison, an ACL Festival day pass is $170.) So, the price may be right, but does the festival have the stars? The award-winning Daiquiri Queens from Lafayette, Louisiana will be rocking the main stage with their Cajun grooves on Friday night. Headlining on Saturday, comedy bluegrass act the Austin Lounge Lizards, known for such goofball hits as “Jesus Loves Me (But He Can’t Stand You),” and “Shallow End of the Gene Pool.” Page 3 �Other dynamic performers include expert fiddlers Luke Bulla (formerly of Lyle Lovett’s Large Band) and gifted Cherokee musician Nokosee Fields. The Joymakers will undoubtedly live up to their name as they delve into the early history of jazz, and Belen Escobedo will present a rare example of Tejano conjunto music played on the fiddle. So, yes. . . this family-friendly festival has the stars. But it also has workshops, food trucks, jugglers, face painting, yoga, and a host of other activities. Campsites are available - $20 a night. Festival-goers can bring food and drink with them. No glass containers, and all dogs and animals of any kind must be left at home (except for service animals). There is a burn-ban in effect in Hays County - so campfires are not allowed. The Austin Friends of Traditional Music (AFTM) is an all-volunteer nonprofit that has been hard at work promoting and nurturing music and talent in the central Texas area for almost 50 years. Wimberley’s Sarah Jarosz - now a major Americana artist on Rounder Records - is among the many musicians who have benefited from AFTM’s support. Camp Ben McCulloch is located at 18301 FM 1826 in Driftwood, 24 miles southwest of Austin. https://aftm.us/events/festivals/2023-austin-string-band-festival Page 4 �2023 Austin String Band Festival Schedule Main stage performers in bold type Mini-set performers in italics Friday, October 20 6:45 PM Silver Alert Ramblers (Mini-Set) 7:00 PM Last Shot Got Him - Square Dance, caller Sharon Isaac 7:45 PM Two Fosters; One Price (Mini-Set) 8:00 PM Nokosee Fields Trio 8:45 PM The Slaughter Creek Drought Busters (Mini-Set) 9:00 PM Daiquiri Queens 10:00 PM Two Goat String Band - Square Dance, caller Sharon Isaac Saturday, October 21 2:00 PM Lloyd & April 2:45 PM Stubble in Mind (Mini-Set) 3:00 PM Luke Bulla 3:45 PM Creekbed Carter Hogan (Mini-Set) 4:00 PM Belen Escobedo 4:45 PM Gordon & Hagins (Mini-Set) 5:00 PM Alley Grass 5:45 PM Rusty Nut and the Wheel Ruts (Mini-Set) 6:00 PM Lost Patterns 6:45 PM Dog Days String Band (Mini-Set) 7:00 PM Lost Pines 7:45 PM George Rios & Friends (Mini-Set) 8:00 PM Austin Lounge Lizards 8:45 PM Everett Wren and Bird Calls (Mini-Set) 9:00 PM Nokosee Fields Trio 10:00 PM The Joymakers 11:00 PM Daiquiri Queens Page 5 �Austin String Band Festival Workshop Schedule All workshops take place on Saturday, October 21, at 11:00am, 12:00pm, and 1:00pm For various reasons, workshop times may change so check the website for up to date info 11:00am Rich MacMath - square-dance workshop - Square dance rule number one is to have fun! Reel, allemande, dosi-do, swing and promenade - learn five figures and you’re ready to dance. We’ll have a caller and live music. All ages invited and no partner needed. Lloyd Wright - beginning clawhammer banjo - learn the basics of everyone's favorite instrument from a master picker Lindsay Haisley - Autoharp - Lindsay Haisley has been playing autoharp for audiences for about 40 years and was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame in 2004. The subjects covered in this workshop will largely depend on what the workshop attendees would like to learn, so questions and feedback will be welcome. Please bring your autoharp, tuned as well as you can get it tuned. A handout will be provided. Daiquiri Queens - Louisiana twin fiddling/seconding - learn the techniques and principles behind the great twin fiddle sound of the Daiquiri Queens 12:00pm Jacqui Woolley - Cajun dance - waltz, two-step, and jitterbug taught with live Cajun backup music Nokosee Fields Trio - the art of playing and singing together in a string band Belen Escobedo - Tejano fiddle traditions, taught by a master fiddler Daiquiri Queens - Cajun French singing - you don't need to be a native French speaker to sing in French! 1:00pm Luke Bulla - bluegrass fiddle - Luke will talk about and demonstrate melody and harmony fiddle parts to the classic Bluegrass tunes, such as Wheelhoss and Roanoke, as taught to him by the great Bobby Hicks during Luke’s time playing in Ricky Skaggs’ band, Kentucky Thunder. Sharon Sandomirsky - with Aaron Zischkale and Adam Brodkin Oldtime backup guitar, with stories about Sharon's history, including her work with the Fuzzy Mountain String Band Daiquiri Queens - How to play proper Cajun rhythm, with triangles, guitar Blake Miller of the Daiquiri Queens - Cajun accordion techniques 10:00 am Sunday Sunday morning gospel jam - led by Sharon Sandomirsky and Georgia Canfield, in the pavilion Page 6 �The Daiquiri Queens Expect a crowded dance floor the minute this lively Cajun quintet takes the stage on Friday night. Over pumping accordion, bass and drums float the Cajun French harmonies of Jamie Lynn Fontenot and Miriam McCracken lamenting the heartbreak and the joy of everyday life. The ‘Queens won Offbeat Magazine’s 2022 Best Cajun Artist Award, and are regulars on the festival circuit. https://thedaiquiriqueens.com/bio https://www.facebook.com/OldtoneMusicFestival/ videos/925480084466329/ Page 7 �The Nokosee Fields Trio After a childhood of classical violin in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Nokosee Fields shifted his focus towards the old-time musical sounds of his great uncle, the celebrated Cherokee fiddler Sam O’Field. Nokosee is now himself a celebrated young, old-time fiddler, known for his precision, tone and extensive repertoire. All of this impressed the 2019 Clifftop Fiddle Contest judges. . . who awarded him first place. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PznS-9p7XQ Page 8 �The Joymakers Texas jazz, blues, ragtime and old time roots will be on full display when this powerhouse of traditional musicians arrives on the String Band stage. The aptly-named Joymakers came together earlier this year when two groups - Hancock’s Jazz Serenaders, and The Revelators - joined forces. With an album already underway for New York label Turtle Bay Records, and talk of a post-release midwestern tour, the Joymakers are off to a roaring start to their career. “Texas style jazz, or jazz from the territories (i.e. not NYC, Chicago, or New Orleans),” is bandleader Colin Hancock’s favorite description of their sound. And not to be missed! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak0su5OOTnA Page 9 �Belen Escobedo Belen Escobedo plays traditional Tejano conjunto music on a fiddle (rather than an accordion), and might be the only living person doing that. Early on, during her childhood in San Antonio’s south side, Belen was given a fiddle by her school, and it quickly became the center of her life. For 30 years she lit the spark of music in the children of her city, running school band and orchestra programs. Belen’s musical achievements were officially recognized in 2017 when she received theTexas Master Fiddler award. https://youtu.be/nl2b10ckiDg Page 10 �Luke Bulla Luke Bulla Luke grew up performing in his family’s band, and by the time he reached 16 he had become something of a hotshot fiddling prodigy, and proved it by winning the “Grand Champion” title at the National Fiddle Championship! Since then, Luke has shared stages and studios with Earl Scruggs, Alison Krauss, Lyle Lovett and Bela Fleck and a host of other luminaries - as well as having a career as a solo artist - which is how he will perform at the festival. https://lukebulla.bandcamp.com/track/temperance-reel https://lukebulla.com/music/ Page 11 �The Austin Lounge Lizards For 43 years "the most laughable band in show business" has been serving up its wondrous blend of hot bluegrass and stinging parody, in songs such as “Jesus Loves Me (But He Can’t Stand You.)” and “Shallow End of the Gene Pool.” Commented critic Ned Raggett, “As a band, they're able to take in everything from Bob WIlls style western swing to straight country. . . from start to finish, a perfect delight.” https://youtu.be/NucVQO0t92o Page 12 �The Lost Pines Formed in 2007 as a partnership between Talia Bryce and Christian Ward, this charming bluegrass/Texas country treasure has been delighting audiences ever since. “Great singing, great musicianship, and great songwriting,” was the assessment of one Bluegrass Unlimited critic. More simply, Lloyd Maines (producer of their album “Sweet Honey”) put it this way: “Lost Pines music is the good stuff.” https://www.reverbnation.com/thelostpines Page 13 �Lloyd and April “Foot stomping, caterwauling, family fun!” is how the Wrights describe their music. April grew up singing shaped-note songs from “The Heavenly Highway” in a backwoods East Texas church. Lloyd shared April’s interest in shaped note music, along with a curiosity about stringband music from western North Carolina. Together they blend family harmony, country gospel, raucous fiddle tunes, and sweet renditions of old country ballads. They even started their own festival - the flourishing Old Mill Music Festival in their East Texas home town of Kennard - a highlight of their careers. https://youtu.be/o2WBnLr4OLE Page 14 �Lost Patterns Over fiddles, banjos, mandolins, and guitars, Beth Chrisman and Silas Lowe’s voices bring earthy grit to the lonesome, lowdown backroads of acoustic Americana. 2023 has been a busy one for the duo.They took their show on the road to Norway this summer, and upon their return, released their debut album in August. “Laidback, front porch picking perfect for a summer night,” was Austin Chronicle critic Doug Freeman’s assessment of the Patterns sound. https://www.lostpatternsmusic.com/bio https://lostpatterns.bandcamp.com/album/lost-patterns Page 15 �Last Shot Got Him Jerry Hagins, banjo master This string band of locals think of themselves as “old friends playing new tunes in an old way.” Many were written by celebrated fiddler Garry Harrison (1954 - 2012). This instrumental quartet took its name from a 1920s fiddle tune, written as a humorous response to Mississippi John Hurt’s “First Shot Missed Him.” Featuring Tim Keough on fiddle; Jerry Hagins, banjo; Ethan Azarian, guitar; and Brink Melton on bass. Page 16 �Alley Grass Alley Grass This family band describes itself as “a celebration of bluegrass and old country.” From their home in Lockhart, Texas, Ben and Jenn Hodges (of Fiddler’s Green Music Shop) and Amanda Jo Chisholm decided one day to combine their musical passions and talents, and created the band Alley Grass. Since then they have played far and wide “for audiences from west of the Frio River to downtown Austin and back home again.“ Fiddler Ian Stewart will join them on-stage at the festival, along with French banjo player Theo Lawrence. Page 17 �Two Goat String Band The Two Goat String Band is Austin's newest old time ensemble they made their debut at the Sahara Lounge in east Austin last December, as part of the KOOP-FM ongoing series, Lonesome NIghts at the Sahara! Page 18 �Festival Yoga at the String Band Festival! Lucy's Yoga Class this summer at the Grey Fox Festival in New York State! A new highlight at this year’s Austin String Band Festival will be a Saturday morning yoga class with Lucy Weberling, whose Festival Yoga is a valued part of music festivals around the country. Lucy regularly leads yoga classes at the MBOTMA festival in Minnesota and the Grey Fox Festival in New York State, and in past years, she has lead yoga classes at the Old Settlers Music Festival, when it was held right here at Camp Ben. Two great loves in Lucy’s live are acoustic music and yoga, and she has found a way to express them both through Festival Yoga! Lucy welcomes everyone to her Festival Yoga sessions, from beginners to seasoned practitioners of yoga. If you have a yoga mat, bring it. If not, a nice thick blanket will do. Wear comfortable clothing and be prepared for a wonderful experience! Festival Yoga will take place at the ASBF on Saturday morning, October 21, at 10:00 am in the main pavilion if front of the stage. See you there! Page 19 �Lucy Weberling, Yoga instructor and dedicated picker! Lucy in Action at the MBOTMA festival in Minnesota! Page 20 �Westbank String Shop at the String Band Festival! Again this year, the Austin String Band Festival is proud to announce that Todd Sloan from the Westbank String Shop will set up his fiddle repair facility at the festival! He'll be there both Friday and Saturday to do setup and minor repair work to fiddles in need of his experienced touch. He'll have a selection of musical accessories avallable for sale, also. The Westbank String Shop is a great friend of the String Band Festival, and having Todd's presence on the campground is a real plus! Page 21 �Food at the Austin String Band Festival Texas Street Crepes will return to the String Band Festival this year, with their delicious sweet and savory crepes, and more! We're pleased to welcome Big Frank's Tacos to the String Band Festival, really delicious Mexican fare! Page 22 �There Will Be Hats! For the first time ever, the Austin String Band Festival will have an official hat, available for purchase at the Merchandise Booth in four colors! Since this is our first attempt at a festival hat, we didn't order too many so, if you want one (and of course you do) you better make your selection early in the weekend! Of course, we'll have a new ASBF t-shirt this year, and some really dynamic t-shirts for the younger set! Page 23 �The Reel Times is published quarterly by the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational donations. AFTM Board of Directors Tim Wooten, President Lee Thomas, Vice President Angie Wooten, Secretary Rich MacMath, Treasurer James Seppi, Volunteer Coordinator Gary Mortensen, Reel Times Editor, Festival Director Nana Lopez, Dance Liaison Jeanne DeFriese, At Large Dan Foster, At Large Matt Welch, At Large Tom Duplissey, At Large Darrel Mayers, At Large Austin Friends of Traditional Music P.O. Box 49608 Austin, TX 78765 Click here for Membership info Click here for AFTM website https://www.flickr.com/photos/aftm/albums/72157680161933664 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 49 Number 4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023-10 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Title A name given to the resource Reel Times - Volume 49, Number 4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Gary Mortenson http://archive.aftm.us/files/original/10/288/newsletter-49-03-2023-07.pdf 5ca1def2f759e948596ed145a29a7977 PDF Text Text Reel Times Newsletter of The Austin Friends of Traditional Music Vol. 49, Number 3, July 2023 The Daiquiri Queens from Lafayette, Louisiana are coming to the Austin String Band Festival! October 20 & 21, 2023 Camp Ben McCulloch, Driftwood, Texas �Table of Contents Page 3 Save the date(s)! Page 4 16th Annual Austin String Band Festival Page 5 The Ken Waldman and Jerry Hagins Banjo Show Page 8 "Banjo Builder" - a poem by Ken Waldman Page 9 Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Then and Now Page 13 The AFTM at Lonesome Nights at the Sahara Page 14 Swedish MidSummer Festival in Austin Page 15 Mark Lewis - a remembrance, by Jerry Hagins Page 16 AFTM Scholarchip Page 17 About the AFTM Page 2 �Save the date(s)! The AFTM has three (can't miss 'em) events coming up in the next several months, so mark your calendars now! July 26, 2023 Lonesome Nights at the Sahara - see page 13 October 20 - 22, 2023 The Austin String Band Festival - see page 4 April 26 - 28, 2024 The AFTM Camp Jam at Camp Ben McCulloch Page 3 �16th Annual Austin String Band Festival! October 20 - 22, 2023 Mark you calendars! The 16th Annual Austin String Band Festival is coming up on the weekend of October 20 - 22, 2023, at Camp Ben McCulloch in nearby Driftwood, TX. Join us for a weekend of music, camping, jamming, dancing, and friends! This family-friendly festival brings together musicians and roots music enthusiasts from Central Texas and beyond. In addition to two stages of live string band performances, there'll be dances, workshops, kids' activities, tons of campsite jamming and, for the first time, Festival Yoga! This year, we're excited to welcome the Daiquiri Queens from Lafayette, LA to the String Band Festival! The Daiquiri Queens are fronted by guitarists Jamie Lynn Fontenot and Miriam McCracken, and they bring a fresh new take and style to traditional Louisiana French music! Their sibling-like harmonies, paired with the seasoned playing of accordionist John Dowden and fiddler Tysman Charpentier, infuse their music with a homespun and energizing feel. Chelsea Moosekian provides the drums in the rhythm section. If you've never attended the Austin String Band Festival, you're missing a real treat! The String Band Festival is a truly relaxed, uncrowded and joyful affair; the campground is bucolic, the stage shows are riveting, the workshops are fascinating, and campground picking is sublime! It's no wonder that many Austin area acoustic music fans and musicians consider the String Band Festival their favorite festival! Stay up to date on festival developments at our website: aftm.us Page 4 �Ken Waldman and Jerry Hagins Banjo Show Ken Waldman, Alaska’s Fiddling Poet, and local banjo guy Jerry Hagins put on a special show in April at Camp EZ in South Austin. It was a little different from most of their shows because Jerry arrived with a bunch of banjo parts but no playable banjo; this was on purpose! During Ken’s presentation of stories and poems about Alaska and beyond, Jerry put a neck on a banjo rim, added a bridge, tuned it up, and joined Ken on a couple of fiddle tunes. Ken wrote a special poem about the event, “Banjo Builder”; read it on page 7. Jerry then took the head off the banjo and put a different kind on, while Ken played fiddle and recited some of his string band poems. Jerry tuned up the second banjo incarnation and they concluded with a couple more tunes. Ken and Jerry have been performing and recording together for close to a quarter century now. They met after the poetry magazine Jerry co-edited, Nerve Cowboy, published some of Ken’s poems. You can see what they normally do here: https://youtu.be/Ew9okH59Ue8 A good overview of Ken’s music and writing activities can be found at www.kenwaldman.com Page 5 �Jerry Hagins, Austin's Favorite Banjo Player Page 6 �Ken Waldman, Alaska'a Fiddling Poet Page 7 �Banjo Builder for Jerry Hagins I Begin, but not with bench, tools, parts, uninterrupted time, a willingness to make something new, something so many others won't understand. Begin with gravity, yes, somewhere on earth, preferably a dry, level spot. Begin, and be ready to explore. II A short (and incomplete) list: screwdriver, wrench, capo, long ruler, brackets, rim, skin head (plastic?), bridge, tailpiece, strings, neck, curiosity, patience, obsession. Are we forgetting something? No matter, we'll figure it out as we go. III No joke, this is solo, but not lonely, work. Some days we'll be listening to string-band music made by a friend, or by a master, or by someone who has passed away (all those can be the same person). Some days we'll prefer silence, a steady rippling of notes from within. There are choices within choices within choices. There may be a deadline, but there is no rush. IV We recall experience, memory, our first teacher, others who have come along with a helpful word, an idea, a question. We recall places: a closet, a room, a shop, a tent, a shady place, a stage. Then we recall faces: dancers, listeners, the very old, the very young. We recall eating and not eating, drinking and not drinking, illness and health. We recall where this pot came from. That head. With every part, a story. Every finished instrument, we understand, is a book. V Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We've got work to do. We might first take one apart, loosening strings, brackets, careful as we go. Screwdriver. Wrench. Or maybe we're already set to go, a box or sack of parts. Every instrument is the same and different. Decisions. Don't misplace anything. If you do, don't fret. VI A reminder of an African heritage. Giraffe, elephant, lion. Rhino, hippo, cheetah, hyena, gorilla, chimpanzee. Ardvaark, zebra. VII Skin head? (Plastic?) Bridge? New strings? Such shininess! Modern. Ancient. Tighten strings. Play a few notes. Drop thumb. Tighten. Loosen. Adjust. Play a few more notes. Yes. Find a fiddler. Play. Page 8 �Ramblin' Jack Elliott, at the wheel of a Peterbilt! Minneapolis, 1974 see Ramblin’ Jack Elliott himself playing tunes “Ramblin’ Jack Elliott is coming to Austin!” in the normally staid museum registrar’s office! A local appearance from the folk music legend It seems that Jack was friends with a fellow is big news for all of us who have followed his who was designing installations in our museum music over the years but, for me, the news and Jack was in Minneapolis for a gig later that brought back special memories from nearly fifty night. years ago. I shot some photos during that impromptu In 1974 I was the photographer for a major art performance and had a chance to chat with the museum in Minnesota, and my days were very personable Mr. Elliott. He mentioned that normally spent photographing artworks of all another interest of his was trucks, especially kinds – paintings, sculpture, etc. the big semis travelled the highways of the One morning, though, a colleague suggested country. that I stick my head in the office next to mine; Well, it just so happened that on that day an art someone was playing the guitar! shipment was arriving at the Walker Art Center, I checked out this rumor and was stunned to the other museum across Minneapolis. Page 9 �Craig and Ellen listen attentively! Those of us who had gathered to hear Jack perform decided that a field trip was in order, and we happily abandoned our usual responsibilities and made the short trip across town! When we arrived, the big Peterbilt truck was already outside the loading dock, and the truck driver was happy to entertain an audience of interested museum workers. Jack asked if he could sit in the driver’s seat, and the truck driver gladly opened the door. I got in the other side of the cab and took a photo of the very happy Jack Elliott at the wheel. After a few minutes, though, we concluded that we all had played hooky long enough and that we ought to return to the less exciting reality of our daily tasks. Back to 2023, I decided I needed to ask Ramblin’ Jack to autograph an 8x10 print of the photograph I took of him in the cab of the Peterbilt back in 1974. The challenge would be finding the print! I spent a few evenings going through boxes and boxes of 8x10 photographs that I’ve accumulated in my decades as a photographer. It took three evenings to finally come across the photo I was looking for, but I found it, with a few others from that day! I hadn’t seen Jack Elliott since that day in 1974 and, when I heard that he would be appearing in Austin, I promptly ordered tickets for the event, a screening of the multiple awardwinning film, The Ballad Of Ramblin’ Jack, at the Austin Film Society. The film was directed by Jack’s daughter, Aiyana, and is a truly wonderful documentary film! The screening was most enjoyable and was followed with a Q & A session featuring Jack himself and his daughter, Aiyana. I decided to wait to show Jack the photo until he took his position at the merchandise table. I got in line and waited my turn. Now, Jack Elliott is in his early nineties and has had countless gigs and road trips since the photo was taken; I didn’t have high expectations that he would remember anything about that day in Minneapolis. But the instant Page 10 �he saw the photo of himself at the wheel of the truck, he recounted more details or that moment that I could remember myself! Jack remembered that the truck was a Peterbilt, and that the driver of the truck was making his last run due to a deteriorating back condition. Jack also remembered the name of the exhibition designer who brought him to the museum in the first place (a name I had completely forgotten) and even remembered the eccentric details of the that fellow’s beard (he had braided it into a watch fob!). We chatted for a few minutes about the events of a day almost fifty years ago, and Jack’s recall was as if it had been yesterday. I gave Jack a print of the photo of him in the truck and he was kind enough to sign the print that I kept. People were waiting in line to visit with Jack, so I didn’t keep him long, I was satisfied to get his autograph and to share memories from long ago! Gary Mortensen Jack sings a tune, to the delight of the museum registrar! Page 11 �The author and Ramblin' Jack, with the photo from 1974 Page 12 �The Two Goat String Band Our good friends at KOOP-FM have once again invited us to participate in their performance series, Lonesome Nights at the Sahara! Last December, the AFTM "curated" the show and featured the duo Lost Patterns (Beth Chrisman and Silas Lowe) and the talented trio, Two Fosters, One Price. A great time was had by all and we'll do it again on July 26, 2023 at the beautiful Sahara Lounge! The July show will feature the debut performance of the Two Goat String Band at 7:00pm, followed by The Joymakers at 8:30pm. The Sahara Lounge is located at 1413 Webberville Road in East Austin. Page 13 �Swedish MidSummer Festival in Austin! Swedish American heritage in Austin was celebrated in June, with a MidSummer Festival at the historic Old Bakery & Emporium near the state capitol. Mira Dickey and Ian Files played exquisite fiddle duets, and The Norrsken Three (Kim Simpson, Paul Klemperer, and Chris Jones) performed lively Swedish songs! Page 14 �Mark Lewis - a Rememberance by Jerry Hagins I met Mark Lewis at the Austin String Band Festival back in 2008 or 2009. For several years that was the only place I saw him; it was always a treat to see him there. Mark was always up for tunes. He loved the old ones and jumped in on the new ones. He was happy to switch to guitar when one was needed. He was a good singer too. At Camp Ben last year our group took a break from fiddle tunes and Mark and Beth Chrisman took turns singing sweet old country rock songs from our formative days. We put a little band together for the Friday night square dance at the festival. Mark came up with the band name, Funion Creek. It’s one of my favorite band names ever. It was a great dance. My friend Rick and I went to visit him in Terlingua last December. This was about six months after his near-death cardiac arrest in the summer 2022. He was living life every day, L-I-V-I-N. We played a lot of tunes, drank beers, watched stars, and told stories. He said he had one obligation while we were there – to sing Ripple at a memorial service for a friend who had passed. All of old Terlingua was there in that funky cemetery on the hill. Everyone joined in. It was incredibly moving. I mentioned to Mark that it could easily have been his ashes in the jar. He smiled and said he was all right with that. Beth sang Ripple at Mark’s memorial pick at Sagebrush in Austin. Mark loved all kinds of music, he loved building yurts, he loved the rivers (all of them), he loved the desert. He was a quiet expert in all of those areas, and a fine guide for enjoying every day. The next time we get together to pick, let’s play a tune for Mark. Page 15 �2023 AFTM Scholarships AFTM Scholarships Each year the Austin Friends of Traditional Music makes available a scholarship to promising musicians and dancers who wish to further their studies of old time music and dance. 2023 Scholarships The Austin Friends of Traditional Music (AFTM) is now offering to pay tuition, housing, and meals for attendance at the Swannanoa Gathering Old Time Week, This is a one-week training opportunity for traditional musicians. Alternatively, an applicant may select on-line musical training from the recommended list of providers on our website, or may propose an alternative training opportunity for board approval. The musical training may be for any instrument (or voice) but must be traditional in nature. Scholarship amount The amount of financial assistance is limited to $1,070 for the Swannanoa Gathering Old Time Week, or $200 per scholarship for on-line training. The board may decide to provide less than the maximum assistance. The scholarship will consist of a one-time tuition payment on behalf of the selected applicant (s). If the scholarship amount is insufficient to pay the total required tuition, any remainder of the tuition cost and any other costs associated with the training are the sole responsibility of the selected applicant. Scolarship requirements To be considered for a scholarship the applicant must be an AFTM member and provide: the name and address of the applicant, the training entity’s name and contact information, the amount of tuition requested, a brief written explanation of the applicant’s current musical skill level, why the applicant wants to take the on-line musical training, and how the training would benefit the applicant. AFTM memberships can be initiated or renewed online at the AFTM JoinIt page. Application information may be e-mailed to AFTMTexas@gmail.com. Page 16 �The Reel Times is published quarterly by the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational donations. AFTM Board of Directors Tim Wooten, President Lee Thomas, Vice President Angie Wooten, Secretary Rich MacMath, Treasurer James Seppi, Volunteer Coordinator Gary Mortensen, Reel Times Editor, Festival Director Nana Lopez, Dance Liaison Jeanne DeFriese, At Large Dan Foster, At Large Matt Welch, At Large Tom Duplissey, At Large Austin Friends of Traditional Music P.O. Box 49608 Austin, TX 78765 Click here for Membership info Click here for AFTM website https://www.flickr.com/photos/aftm/albums/72157680161933664 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 49 Number 3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023-07 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Title A name given to the resource Reel Times - Volume 49, Number 3 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Gary Mortenson http://archive.aftm.us/files/original/10/287/newsletter-49-02-2023-04.pdf c83ee30715e9dc338deda64c21aa5193 PDF Text Text Reel Times Newsletter of The Austin Friends of Traditional Music Vol. 49, Number 2, April 2023 �Table of Contents Page 3 2023 AFTM Camp Jam Page 6 Austin Contra Dance Page 9 Beth Chrisman at Sagebrush Page 12 Old Mill Music Festival Page 17 Save the date Page 18 AFTM Scholarships Page 19 About the AFTM Page 2 �AFTM Camp Jam 2023 Part of a hot country jam on Friday afternoon The AFTM Camp Jam, 2023 edition, took place on Saturday, March 18! A good time was had by all, though unseasonably cold temperatures kept attendance lower than had been expected. Austin area musicians found out that chilly weather can be overcome - with campfires, shelters, and hot picking! Many thanks to the weekend's jam leaders, including Marynell and Gene Young, Lee and Janita Thomas, Tim and Angie Wooten, Tom Duplissey, Matt Rogers and Ken Picou, and to board member James Seppi for putting it all together! Page 3 �The Cajun jam featured triangle and accordion, of course! Always a good turnout for the old time jam! Page 4 �AFTM board member, James Seppi (L) and a friend contribute fiddle licks Two pickers trade tunes in the sunny campgound at Camp Ben Page 5 �Contra Dance in Austin! A recent Austin Contra Dance at the beautiful Hancock Recreation Center Austin, TX enjoys a weekly contra dance event with a long, though not particularly well documented, history. It is believed that the tradition of dance at the Hancock Recreation Center goes back as far as the 1940’s, perhaps earlier! Presently, the Austin Contra Dancers gather every Wednesday at 7:30 pm at the Hancock Center for two hours of dance, featuring experienced dance callers and live music supplied by a string band! Beginners are welcome, and expert instruction is provided. The principal dance callers are Rich MacMath, Marc Airhart, and Dale Rempert. Reel Times recently visited the Contra Dance event at the Hancock Center and photographed the evening’s enthusiastic activities! The Hancock Recreation Center is located at 811 E 41st St, in Austin, TX Page 6 �Page 7 �Page 8 �Beth Chrisman and Friends at Sagebrush! Beth Chrisman, great friend of the AFTM, had a Tuesday residency in March at Sagebrush in South Austin, which culminated in a showcase of fine Austin area singers. Camille Lewis, Judy Painter, Rose Griffith, and Beth herself traded songs for two hours, and thoroughly entertained the sizable audience! Page 9 �Judy Painter described herself as the "Folkie" of the four women Camille Lewis performed some wonderful songs, composed by her and her husband! Page 10 �Beth sang some of her own compositions, including "Bad Attitude", a crowd favorite! No one enjoyed the evening more than Rose Griffith! Page 11 �The Old Mill Music Festival, 2022 An old time jam circle at Old Mill Written by Jeanne DeFriese, AFTM board member, old-time musician! On a recent November weekend in deep east Texas, nearby threats of severe weather failed to dampen the joy and high spirits of old time musicians playing music and square dancers dancing. The Old Mill Music Festival in Kennard carried on just fine, while storms and tornadoes swirled about several miles to the north on that Friday night. Festival founders and producers Lloyd and April Wright deftly rescheduled the planned concert programming to the next day, instead highlighting the fine jamming and exuberant square dancing and dance band music occurring under shelter, while the storms skirted the festival site and waited until late to crack open the skies and rain clouds. Page 12 �The next morning came clear and sunny as workshops, concerts, jamming and dancing continued all that day and into the night. All sorts of of workshops were scattered around the site, an old sawmill once owned by April’s grandfather, and the source of the festival’s name, Old Mill. Singing rang out from the Burner, a huge conical, open-topped metal structure once used to burn sawmill waste, and now holds the distinction of the best acoustics ever for shape note singing and jamming. The stage was packed all day with band after band of wonderful music that Lloyd and April find during their travels to festivals and music camps. Festival headliners Tricia Spencer and Howard Rains returned to the place of their meeting ten years prior to bring fine fiddling, guitar playing, singing, and old tunes of their Texas and Kansas roots, while Rachel Eddy brought her outstanding solo show with fiddle, banjo, and fine vocals to the stage. Austin-based Rosebud brought vintage country songs via the lovely voice of Rose Griffith, harmonizing with her dad Robert and accompanied by the fine musicianship of accompanying band members Nancy McClintock, Beth Chrisman, Tim Wilson, and Gary Mortensen. Country Willie brought another take on vintage and original country music with fiddling by Beth Chrisman, and The Hillsiders, another Austin-based band, returned to Old Mill Festival with impressive bluegrass tunes played with great drive and fine vocals and musicianship (Andi Huff, Hunter Hollingsworth, Devon Canady, Dom Fisher). As always, the fine family band of Lloyd, April, Margaret, and Hollis Wright never fail to endear themselves to the audience with fine old time tunes and songs, expertly played and sung. The Vanderveer Brothers wowed with precision, high speed hammered dulcimer and instrumental skills; Stephen Seibert demonstrated clearly how one person with a dulcimer and a fine voice can closely hold the attention of an audience. New this year was a foray into the world of Cajun music with the local Cajun Prairie Tri-eaux, complete with dance instruction. This author must confess though, that her favorite things throughout the weekend were the high energy dances and the outstanding square dance band. The calling of Dana Hamilton, the old time dance band of Rachel Eddy, Lloyd Wright, Tricia Spencer, Howard Rains, and Margaret Wright, and the enthusiasm of all the dancers all weekend was such a joyful thing to witness and experience. The Friday night dance kept the attention focused on music and fun and not the storms; the Saturday night dances were even better! The Cajun dance instruction and music by Cajun Prairie Try-eaux was a fun addition to the Old Mill dance floor, while the same square dance band described above was even more intense and tight than the night before! This band, and the exuberant caller, brought such energy and drive that the dances went late into the night. Commendation is expressed especially to all the young dancers for their enthusiasm and willingness to try all the dances, and for teaching each other.It was quite evident that a fine time was had by all. Page 13 �This wonderful weekend festival was rounded out with a sweet little merch booth, great food from 2 food trailers, and a very interesting array of items for a raffle. Margaret Wright’s renowned homemade pie auction won the most attention, and was a much-anticipated highlight and fundraiser for the festival. The Old Mill festival site is lovely and well-kept, plenty of room for camping, with a few RV sites, and nice bathroom facilities. The site is a fun place to explore; the woods have paths, and the old sawmill machinery remains, a prominent reminder of the logging and milling activities that supported the economy of this part of Texas. Past sawmill operations there, which ceased in the 1960s, provided lumber for Lloyd and April’s home, as well as for several small houses, which are available to rent on Air B&B during the festival. Lloyd and April attended the Austin String Band Festival about nine years ago, and loved it so much that they decided to pattern their own festival after it. It is very much a “sibling” in style and substance, but with the influence of its owners that targets well its east Texas setting and long-time dulcimer/old time music fans to make it distinctly their own. It’s a sweet, small festival that’s much beloved in their community, and is definitely an event that fans of the Austin String Band would enjoy very much. It’s very highly recommended!! The Old Mill Festival is usually held on the first full weekend of November, check out their fine website at https://oldmillmusicfestival.com; they also have a Facebook page. Margaret Wright led a spirited dulcimer workshop Page 14 �Dom Fisher, Andi Huff, and Devon Canady of the Hillsiders Howard Rains and Tricia Spencer Page 15 �Howard Rains and Tricia Spencer's workshop focused on guitar backup Jamming continued well into the night! Page 16 �Save the Date(s)! Back in December, 2022, the AFTM had the opportunity to program the evening's music at KOOP-FM's Lonsome nights at the Sahara, in East Austin. We'll do it again on July 26, 2023! And of course, the Austin String Band Festival will return in October this year's dates are October 20 through October 22, and we'll be at scenic Camp Ben McCulloch, as always!! Page 17 �2023 AFTM Scholarships AFTM Scholarships Each year the Austin Friends of Traditional Music makes available a scholarship to promising musicians and dancers who wish to further their studies of old time music and dance. 2023 Scholarships The Austin Friends of Traditional Music (AFTM) is now offering to pay tuition, housing, and meals for attendance at the Swannanoa Gathering Old Time Week, July 16-22, 2023 (Swannanoa will only allow fully vaccinated persons to attend). This is a one-week training opportunity for traditional musicians. Alternatively, an applicant may select on-line musical training from the recommended list of providers on our website, or may propose an alternative training opportunity for board approval. The musical training may be for any instrument (or voice) but must be traditional in nature. Scholarship amount The amount of financial assistance is limited to $1,070 for the Swannanoa Gathering Old Time Week, or $200 per scholarship for on-line training. The board may decide to provide less than the maximum assistance. The scholarship will consist of a one-time tuition payment on behalf of the selected applicant (s). If the scholarship amount is insufficient to pay the total required tuition, any remainder of the tuition cost and any other costs associated with the training are the sole responsibility of the selected applicant. Scolarship requirements To be considered for a scholarship the applicant must be an AFTM member and provide: the name and address of the applicant, the training entity’s name and contact information, the amount of tuition requested, a brief written explanation of the applicant’s current musical skill level, why the applicant wants to take the on-line musical training, and how the training would benefit the applicant. AFTM memberships can be initiated or renewed online at the AFTM JoinIt page. Application information may be e-mailed to AFTMTexas@gmail.com. Page 18 �The Reel Times is published quarterly by the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational donations. AFTM Board of Directors Tim Wooten, President Lee Thomas, Vice President Angie Wooten, Secretary Rachel Brown, Treasurer James Seppi, Volunteer Coordinator Gary Mortensen, Reel Times Editor, Events Coordinator Jeanne DeFriese, At Large Dan Foster, At Large Matt Welch, At Large Tom Duplissey, At Large Rich MacMath, At Large Austin Friends of Traditional Music P.O. Box 49608 Austin, TX 78765 Click here for Membership info Click here for AFTM website https://www.flickr.com/photos/aftm/albums/72157680161933664 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 49 Number 2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023-04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Title A name given to the resource Reel Times - Volume 49, Number 2 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Gary Mortenson http://archive.aftm.us/files/original/10/286/newsletter-49-01-2023-01.pdf 77e2b8aaad664d7106a77f8972668854 PDF Text Text Reel Times Newsletter of The Austin Friends of Traditional Music Vol. 49, Number 1, January 2023 Thanks, Jeanne! �Table of Contents Page 3 Jeanne DeFriese - An Appreciation Page 5 15th Annual Austin String Band Festival Page 12 The Festival of Texas Fiddling Page 15 Lonesome Nights at the Sahara Lounge Page 19 Hold the date! The 2023 AFTM Camp Jam Page 20 The Carper Family at Sagebrush Page 21 AFTM Scholarships for 2023 Page 22 About the AFTM Page 2 �Jeanne DeFriese - An Appreciation Thank you, Jeanne, for 15 years of fantastic Austin String Band Festivals! I want to take this opportunity to highlight some of the things that Jeanne DeFriese has done with love and passion as she headed up the Austin String Band Festival, and to thank her from my happy heart! Jeanne has served the Austin Friends of Traditional Music with much passion and devotion for many years as the Festival Director and Events Coordinator; now she is passing the baton to Gary Mortensen who will lead a team to plan and execute the Austin String Band Festival for the next 2 years. Jeanne gave this position her all, visiting traditional music festivals all over the country where she met with many musicians and dance callers. This personal presence gave her an ability to bring in a vast array of talent through friendship to the music festivals you have all enjoyed so much over the years. This has resulted in our Austin String Band Festival becoming a well respected and much loved event outside of Texas and in parts of the country where traditional string band music gets more audience. Performers from Louisiana, Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, New York, and New Mexico, to name a few, have been represented at AFTM events, sharing the stage with our very talented local bands and other bands from all parts of Texas. The musical connections our members have made through Jeanne have grown us all. We have had opportunities to jam with some fantastic musicians, learning new tunes and styles, and we have shared tunes and songs from our home with them. Much of this occurred at some well-planned workshops held at the Austin String Band Festival, led by our guest musicians. Jeanne arranged these workshops and they have been a big success! Page 3 �So much goes on behind the scenes to produce a music festival; it can be stressful as well as fun. There is the consideration of providing the best sound engineers (Pink Sound) to give the performers wonderful sound with short set up intervals. Jeanne cleverly set up mini-sets to occur during the stage changes; this feature introduced new performers to our audience. She considered travel arrangements and housing for participants from out of town, often offering her home and wonderful cooking. She spent hours arranging and providing transportation to and from airports and festival grounds. She juggled the schedule on short notice to fill gaps as needed. She set up audience participation events, like “dance ‘til you drop” on festival Fridays. She added activities for children to make the 2-day event family friendly and festive for all. Jeanne has had considerable help from the board members and a host of volunteers over the years. These special people deserve standing ovations. I could write on and on about all of them and never express enough gratitude. Thanks, Jeanne, for sticking with AFTM through everything, both the good and the difficult times. You gave your all for many years crafting a very fine and well-loved string band music festival right here in Central Texas! Angie Wooten, AFTM Board Member Page 4 �The Austin String Band Festival Fifteenth Edition! Mira Dickey and Northfolk performed on Saturday afternoon After taking a two-year hiatus courtesy of the COVID pandemic, the Austin String Band Festival was back in a big way in October, 2022! Beautiful warm, sunny days and balmy evenings made this year’s event particularly enjoyable, and the combination of wonderful performers, extensive campground jamming and socializing, and lots and lots of dancing made for a fabulous weekend at Camp Ben McCulloch, just outside Austin! in the next few pages, we look back on the wonderful 2022 edition of the Austin String Band Festival! Page 5 �Georgia Canfield, Angie Wooten, and Sharon Sandomirsky work on "Farther Along" The campground was filled with jamming! Page 6 �Reba and Chuck Middleton looking good in their ASBF T-shirts! The Women of Western Swing played on Saturday night! Page 7 �Plenty of kids' activities on Saturday afternoon The joy of dancing! Page 8 �Mark Lewis, Molly Johnson, and Ben Hayes played a great mini-set! Mark Pluta, Ginger Evans, and Jamie Stubblefield played before a roaring faux fire! Page 9 �Two dancers cut loose, to the tunes of the Women of Western Swing Howard Rains and Isaiah Sibi played "The Beaumont Rag" Page 10 �This year, as we did after the 2019 ASBF, the AFTM sent out a questionnaire about the festival to our mailing list, and we picked one of the responses at random to win a free admission to the next ASBF! In 2019 the winner was Will Grover, who happily cashed in his free admission this year. This year's winner was Steven Crow, who'll get a free admission to the 2023 ASBF! Will Grover Steven Crow Page 11 �The 8th Annual Festival of Texas Fiddling! Six time Grand Champion fiddler, Katrina Nicolayeff, played an exhilarating set! On the first Saturday in December, many AFTM members made the trek to the beautiful Twin Sisters Dance Hall outside of Blanco, TX. This year's festival was (again) blessed with excellent weather and phenomenal music! The next two pages feature some photos from this year's Festival of Texas Fiddling. Page 12 �Epi Martinez and his mother, Cruz, made spirited Conjunto music! Luke Bulla played a fantastic set of fiddle tunes and songs! Page 13 �Musicians take the stage at the wonderful Twin Sisters Dance Hall Austin Derryberry played a fine set of old time tunes! Page 14 �Lonesome Nights at the Sahara Silas Lowe and Beth Chrisman get things going at the Sahara Lounge! We at the AFTM were excited when our friends at KOOP, Austin's Community Radio, invited us to participate in their ongoing monthly event, Lonesome Nights at the Sahara! This event, sponsored by Thundercloud Subs, take place at east Austin's Sahara Lounge, and the AFTM was able to feature two of our members' groups on a balmy December evening, between Christmas and New Year's. The Two Goats String Band, originally scheduled to perform, had to cancel at the last moment due to illness and one of the members being stranded due to the airline crisis. On very short notice, the talented duo of Silas Lowe and Beth Chrisman agreed to take the spot, and played a great set of originals and cover tunes, all very country! Christy and the Plowboys played the second set, joined by the wonderful Maryann Price. Their performance included (somewhat) obscure fiddle tunes, and songs by the likes of the Georgia Wildcats and the Austin music legend, John Clay. The turnout was excellent, and a good time was had by all. Thanks, KOOP, for giving us the opportunity to share our traditional music with a wider audience! Page 15 �KOOP's Dennis Campa and Max Yancy get the DJ turntables up and running Silas Lowe and Beth Chrisman in action! Page 16 �Maryann Price's new pair of brushes got everyone's attention! Christy and the Plowboys were joined by Maryann Price Page 17 �Maryann Price seemed to enjoy being a Plowboy! Dan Foster, Lee Thomas, Christy Palumbo Foster, and Janita Thomas felt right at home at the Sahara Lounge! Page 18 �March 18, 2023 - Hold the date! Return of the AFTM Camp Jam! After the pandemic year of 2020, and the uncertainties about COVID rearing its ugly head once again, our regular 2021 Austin String Band Festival at Camp Ben McCulloch was "reimagined" into a different kind of event, without regular stage shows, merchandise, or admission fees! The result was a casual, comfortable gathering of like minded pickers, and jamming and socializing were the order of the day! We called it the AFTM Camp Jam and the response was so positive that we wanted to hold the event again in the spring of 2022. Alas, all the weekends in 2022 at Camp Ben had been reserved for other events, and there was no Camp Jam last year. Looking ahead to next year, the AFTM has reserved Camp Ben McCulloch for Saturday, March 18, 2023! As with the 2021 Camp Jam, there will be no admission charge, though Camp Ben will charge campers their usual fees. So, mark your calendars and plan to join Austin area pickers for a weekend of music and good times in the beautiful setting of Camp Ben McCulloch! Page 19 �The Carper Family performing at Sagebrush in Austin in October Since Melissa Carper, Jenn Miori-Hodges, and Beth Chrisman got together back in 2010, the Carper Family has been a great favorite of Austin area acoustic music fans. This wonderful trio played classic country tunes alongside brilliant original compositions, all three women sharing lead singing duties, and combining for exquisite three part harmonies! In the past few years, we haven't been able to see them perform often, due to the many individual projects the members have been working on. So, it was great news when it was announced that the Carper Family would hold a Tuesday night residency at the Sagebrush in south Austin. Many AFTM members attended these Tuesday performances in October, and the music was as wonderful as ever! Page 20 �2023 AFTM Scholarships AFTM Scholarships Each year the Austin Friends of Traditional Music makes available a scholarship to promising musicians and dancers who wish to further their studies of old time music and dance. 2023 Scholarships The Austin Friends of Traditional Music (AFTM) is now offering to pay tuition, housing, and meals for attendance at the Swannanoa Gathering Old Time Week, July 16-22, 2023 (Swannanoa will only allow fully vaccinated persons to attend). This is a one-week training opportunity for traditional musicians. Alternatively, an applicant may select on-line musical training from the recommended list of providers on our website, or may propose an alternative training opportunity for board approval. The musical training may be for any instrument (or voice) but must be traditional in nature. Scholarship amount The amount of financial assistance is limited to $1,070 for the Swannanoa Gathering Old Time Week, or $200 per scholarship for on-line training. The board may decide to provide less than the maximum assistance. The scholarship will consist of a one-time tuition payment on behalf of the selected applicant (s). If the scholarship amount is insufficient to pay the total required tuition, any remainder of the tuition cost and any other costs associated with the training are the sole responsibility of the selected applicant. Scolarship requirements To be considered for a scholarship the applicant must be an AFTM member and provide: the name and address of the applicant, the training entity’s name and contact information, the amount of tuition requested, a brief written explanation of the applicant’s current musical skill level, why the applicant wants to take the on-line musical training, and how the training would benefit the applicant. AFTM memberships can be initiated or renewed online at the AFTM JoinIt page. Application information may be e-mailed to AFTMTexas@gmail.com. Page 21 �The Reel Times is published quarterly by the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational donations. AFTM Board of Directors Tim Wooten, President Lee Thomas, Vice President Angie Wooten, Secretary Rachel Brown, Treasurer James Seppi, Volunteer Coordinator Gary Mortensen, Reel Times Editor, Events Coordinator Jeanne DeFriese, At Large Dan Foster, At Large Matt Welch, At Large Tom Duplissey, At Large Austin Friends of Traditional Music P.O. Box 49608 Austin, TX 78765 Click here for Membership info Click here for AFTM website https://www.flickr.com/photos/aftm/albums/72157680161933664 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 49 Number 1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023-01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Title A name given to the resource Reel Times - Volume 49, Number 1 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Gary Mortenson http://archive.aftm.us/files/original/10/285/newsletter-48-04-2022-10.pdf 1b524348e2c8aaf2fad0e08b49600165 PDF Text Text Reel Times Newsletter of The Austin Friends of Traditional Music Vol. 48, Number 4, October 2022 T h e 1 5 t h A n n u a l AUSTIN STRING BAND FESTIVAL Oct. 14-16, 2022, Camp Ben McCulloch, Driftwood, TX Women of Western SwinG • Spencer & Rains Belen Escobedo & Pan Filo’s Güera • The Hillsiders Charles Thibodeaux & Austin Cajun Aces Christy & The Plowboys • Chansons et Soûlards Northfolk • Rosebud • Mayday Mayday • Funion Creek CAMPING • JAMMING • WORKSHOPS • GOOD EATS AFTM.US �Table of Contents Page 2 Table of Contents Page 3 About our cover and festival poster Page 4 The Fifteenth Austin String Band Festival! Page 5 Spencer and Rains Page 6 Women of Western Swing Page 7 Belen Escobedo and Panfilo's Güera Page 8 Mira Dickey and NorthFolk Page 9 Christy and the Plowboys Page 10 Charles Thibodeaux and the Austin Cajun Aces Page 11 The Hillsiders Page 12 Rosebud Page 13 Chanson et Soûlards Page 14 Funyun and Mayday Mayday Page 15 Performance schedule Page 16 AFTM Merchandise Page 17 Hold the Date! AFTM Camp Jam 2023 Page 18 About the AFTM Page 2 �Our Cover and Poster The cover of Reel Times features the beautiful poster created by Howard Rains for this year's ASBF, and the design contains an image of the Texas old time fiddler, Teodar Jackson and his son T.J. AFTM board member Dan Foster has written an introduction to Mr. Jackson and his music. Teodar Jackson (1903-1966) was an old-time fiddler with deep roots in Texas. He was born in Gonzales County where his family had farmed since his grandfather emigrated from Mississippi sometime after 1850. African Americans numbered roughly a third of the county's population in the 1880s. Communities like Wesley Chapel, Monthalia and Canoe Creek were small rural sanctuaries where many musicians came of age to the sound of old-time fiddling at dances and country suppers. By the 1940s the family had moved north to the Austin area, settling in the St. John's community where Mr. Jackson remained a fiddler for many years eventually becoming known among young white music enthusiasts in the 1960s as ‘T-olee’, but always known to family as ‘Papa-T’. Familiar square-dance tunes, blues and rags made up a large part of his repertoire, but in addition he played a number of set-pieces, dance tunes that hint at something perhaps much, much older, otherwise lost to our ears, until his playing was recorded by Tary Owens in Austin, 1965. Coming out of retirement in 1965, Mr. Jackson was embraced by the young crowd at the heart of the nascent Austin music scene in the mid-1960s. Like his friend the Navasota songster Mance Lipscomb, he was idolized, playing for many rapt, if largely white, audiences in venues like the Id Coffee House and The Eleventh Door . He and his son, TJ, were featured at the 1965 KHFI-FM Summer Music Festival in Zilker Park. According to Jim Langdon's Nightbeat column in Austin American Statesman in 1966, Mr. Jackson was expected to be featured in the upcoming Newport Folk Festival up in Rhode Island. Unfortunately, a heart attack would intervene and send him off for a stay in the hospital instead. But for that lamentable setback, Teodar Jackson might now be as well-known and remembered among folk music fans today as Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, or Bukka White. Mr. Jackson's condition began to worsen and on March 12, 1966 the community came together for a benefit concert. The event was well publicized and reportedly a resounding success featuring Janis Joplin, John Clay, the 13th Floor Elevators, Bill Neeley, Kenneth Threadgill, Powell St John and others. Unfortunately his condition failed to improve and Teodar Jackson passed away on May 2nd 1966. Mr. Jackson is buried next to his wife, Ora Lee Jackson, in the historic Burditt Prairie Cemetery just south of the Colorado River in Austin, Texas. At this year's festival, a limited number of CDs of Teodar Jackson's music will be available for purchase at the merchandise booth! Page 3 �The Austin String Band Festival Fifteenth Edition! When beautiful October weather returns to central Texas, it’s time for the Austin String Band Festival, and this year’s festival will be the fifteenth annual! Come for the day or camp for the weekend at beautiful Camp Ben McCulloch just west of Austin, and listen to bluegrass, Tejano, old time, Cajun, and western swing music on stage, as well as dancing to live bands on Friday and Saturday nights, workshops all day Saturday, and campground picking all weekend! Linda, of Texas Street Crepes will bring her food trailer and will be serving delicious crepes, omelettes, and croissants in the morning and an extensive menu of sweet and savory crepes throughout the day! That’s October 14, 15, and 16, so mark your calendars if you haven't already! On the following pages, learn about the artists who'll be performing at the 2022 ASBF. Page 4 �Spencer and Rains Tricia Spencer & Howard Rains are both fiddlers, guitar-players, and singers who preserve and build upon the traditions of their home states of Texas and Kansas. The husband and wife duo are known for their distinct twin fiddling and close-knit vocal harmony. Both multi-instrumentalists, they are steeped in family musical tradition and are dedicated to the preservation, performance, and sharing of old time music. They are also both artists, Howard in watercolor and Tricia in pen and ink, and their artwork weaves in closely with their music. Page 5 �The Women Of Western Swing The Women of Western Swing is an all female western swing band based out of Austin, Texas. Keeping the traditional Texas dancehall style of music alive and thriving, they feature two and three part instrumental harmonies, tight arrangements, and rippin' solos! The Women of Western Swing are Sophia Johnson on guitar, Georgia Parker on upright bass, Katy Rose Cox on fiddle, Rose Sinclair on steel guitar, and Karen Biller on Drums. Page 6 �Belen Escobedo and Panfilo's Güera Belen Escobedo plays rare and beautiful fiddle tunes in the Tejano (TexasMexican) tradition. Growing up on the South side of San Antonio and working as a professional fiddler since she was a teenager, Belen has preserved a unique style of fiddling that has all but disappeared from the Texas borderlands. Belen has a vast and unique repertoire, including tunes she learned from her grandfather’s whistling and a huge range of borderlands tunes from both sides of the river. When Texas Folklife and the Festival of Texas Fiddling honored her with the 2017 Texas Master Fiddler Award, they praised her for “single handedly keeping alive” the tradition of conjunto fiddle, a style whose roots predate the arrival of the now dominant accordion in the region. Today Belen Escobedo is the foremost practitioner of this fiddle-led art form that expresses the deep roots of Tejano culture. Backing up Escobedo are her husband, Ramon Gutierrez, on tololoche, the Tejano upright bass, and Bradley Jaye Williams on bajo sexto, a Mexican type of low-pitched twelve-string guitar. Belen’s first album Panfilo’s Güera was released by Spring Fed Records in May 2018 to much acclaim. Page 7 �Mira Dickey and NorthFolk In NorthFolk, Mira Dickey brings together talented musicians specializing in various northern folk music traditions to take the audience on a journey from Scandinavia all the way back to North America, making stops in Shetland, Scotland, and Ireland on the way. The band is keen to share their love for traditional Northern folk music and will introduce the audience to some lesser known types of folk music as well as more common types. In addition to being informative, the dazzling talents of these musicians will make for an entertaining and lively show; we hope to have the audience tapping their feet by the end. The band features Mira Dickey (Norwegian Fiddle) as leader, with Ian Files (Swedish fiddle), Sarah Lynn (Scottish Fiddle), Kevin Kane (Irish guitar), and Evan Powell (Keyboard). Page 8 �Christy and the Plowboys From Texas' Violet Crown of the Hills to the banks of the rippling Yadkin River in Happy Valley, North Carolina, Christy & the Plowboys play music borrowed from old 78-rpm records or picked up brand new wherever oldtime fiddling and singing is allowed! Christy Palumbo on guitar is joined by Dan Foster on fiddle, Jerry Hagins on banjo, and Phil Spencer on doghouse bass to bring you a selection of choice tunes old and new, closeharmonies from the hills, songs from a lost Austin and assorted surprises all the way from back east to way out west. Raised on the banks of the old Mississippi, Christy Palumbo grew up charmed by the big Victrola down in the basement and the undiscovered joys of sweet music from distant times and places. Her partner, Dan Foster is a rabid tune collector influenced by Texas fiddlers like Bill Northcutt, Gordon Starrett, and others.Teaming up with Austin's trend-setting clawhammer banjo master, Jerry Hagins, and the incredibly versatile and adventurous bassist Phil Spencer, Christy & the Plowboys will serve up a set of vintage fun from a past that you might not have known you had! Page 9 �Charles Thibodeaux and The Austin Cajun Aces x Charles formed a traditional Cajun Band in the Spring of 2004 for a group of Mardi Gras enthusiasts and they have since thrilled audiences throughout the State of Texas. They continue to Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler —Let the Good Times Roll in Austin! Page 10 �The Hillsiders From the shade of Austin’s live oak trees, bustling coffee shops and sloping back yards, four musicians paved their creative path playing the music they love. Every string they played and note they sung as individual artists prepared them for the four-piece band they are now. The Hillsiders have brought their respective talents to form a quartet able to heartily portion dulcet melodies and harddriving breakdowns. Merging old-time and bluegrass genres, they hold firm in their esteem for songs longhanded-down and the artists that created them. Fans of Ralph Stanley, Doc Watson and Larry Sparks, The Hillsiders can’t help but put their own musical stamp on the classics. Page 11 �Rosebud Born out of a love for the traditional country music of the 40's, 50's, and 60's, Rosebud plays acoustic renditions of classic country tunes made famous by Hank, Loretta, Buck, Tammy and others. All the members of Rosebud come from old time and bluegrass backgrounds, and have applied their traditional sensibilities to the material they perform. The father-daughter vocal harmonies of Robert and Rose Griffith are not to be missed! Page 12 �Chansons et Soûlards Life in Cajun country is rewarding, but often hard. Cajuns frequently rely on family, friends, and music to make it through those tough times. Chansons et Soûlards plays the French dance hall music of South Louisiana. Music that you can drink to, cry to, and dance to! Page 13 �Funyun Creek Funyun Creek string band consists of Mark Lewis, fiddle; Beth Chrisman and Joe Dobbs, guitars; Jerry Hagins, banjo; and Amanda Jo Chisholm, upright bass. The band is named after a small tributary that runs from Alaska to Austin by way of Terlingua. Mayday, Mayday Mayday Mayday is made up of Everett Wren, fiddle; Jerry Hagins, banjo; Ethan Azarian, guitar; and Ginger Evans, bass. They’ve been playing together since May 1st, 2022 but separately since before the turn of the century! Page 14 �2022 ASBF Performance Schedule Friday 10/14 Main Stage 7 PM 8 PM 9 PM Funyun Creek Old Time square dance, caller Sharon Isaac Charles Thibodeaux and Austin Cajun Aces Lively authentic Cajun dance music Spencer & Rains Old Time square dance with old Texas tunes, caller Rich MacMath Saturday 10/15 Main Stage 2 PM 3 PM 4 PM 5 PM 6 PM 7 PM 8 PM 9 PM 10 PM 11 PM Rosebud Classic country singing of the '40s, '50s, '60s Christy & the Plowboys Music borrowed from old 78s and fiddlin’ picked up new Chansons et Soûlards French dancehall music of south Louisiana NorthFolk (Mira Dickey & Friends) Scandinavian and Celtic Folk Belen Escobedo & Panfilo’s Güera Pre-Accordion Fiddle-led Conjunto Mayday Mayday Old Time square dance, caller Rich MacMath & Friends The Hillsiders Hard-driving Bluegrass with old time influence Spencer & Rains Distinctive fiddling, guitar, & close-knit harmony Women of Western Swing Outstanding traditional Texas dancehall style Crazy Square Dance Come find out what kind of late-night fun this is! Page 15 �AFTM Merchandise We'll have a brand new 2022 ASBF t-shirt this year, featuring our cover poster design they're being printed as we go to press! We've also got timeless AFTM accessories, featuring a design by Britt Irick, Austin artist (and fiddler, and banjo player)! Page 16 �March 18, 2023 - Hold the date! Return of the AFTM Camp Jam! After the pandemic year of 2020, and the uncertainties about COVID rearing its ugly head once again, our regular 2021 Austin String Band Festival at Camp Ben McCulloch was "reimagined" into a different kind of event, without regular stage shows, merchandise, or admission fees! The result was a casual, comfortable gathering of like minded pickers, and jamming and socializing were the order of the day! We called it the AFTM Camp Jam and the response was so positive that we wanted to hold the event again in the spring of 2022. Alas, all the weekends in 2022 at Camp Ben had been reserved for other events, and there was no Camp Jam last year. Looking ahead to next year, the AFTM has reserved Camp Ben McCulloch for Saturday, March 18, 2023! As with the 2021 Camp Jam, there will be no admission charge, though Camp Ben will charge campers their usual fees. So, mark your calendars and plan to join Austin area pickers for a weekend of music and good times in the beautiful setting of Camp Ben McCulloch! Page 17 �The Reel Times is published quarterly by the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational donations. AFTM Board of Directors Tim Wooten, President Lee Thomas, Vice President Angie Wooten, Secretary Rachel Brown, Treasurer James Seppi, Volunteer Coordinator Jeanne DeFriese, Events Coordinator Gary Mortensen, Reel Times Editor Dan Foster, At Large Matt Welch, At Large Dan Thompson, At Large Austin Friends of Traditional Music P.O. Box 49608 Austin, TX 78765 Click here for Membership info Click here for AFTM website https://www.flickr.com/photos/aftm/albums/72157680161933664 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 48 Number 4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022-10 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Title A name given to the resource Reel Times - Volume 48, Number 4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Gary Mortenson http://archive.aftm.us/files/original/10/284/newsletter-48-03-2022-07.pdf f116e3a54e6703981bf91845b947003f PDF Text Text Reel Times Newsletter of The Austin Friends of Traditional Music Vol. 48, Number 3, July 2022 �Table of Contents Page 3 The 2022 Austin String Band Festival Page 4 2006 Reel Times cover Page 5 2006 ASBF poster Page 6 The Browning Hangar Old Time Jam Page 9 The 2022 ASBF Scholarship Page 12 The Live Oak Fiddle Camp Page 16 The 2023 AFTM Camp Jam Page 17 Shows we've seen Page 19 About the AFTM Page 2 �The Austin String Band Festival 2022 Last year would have been the fifteenth annual Austin String Band Festival, but the uncertainties caused by the pandemic prevented us from holding a proper ASBF. Instead, we held our first (and totally successful!) AFTM Camp Jam! This year, we plan to hold the fifteenth Austin String Band Festival planning is well underway for this event, and performers scheduled so far include - Spencer and Rains Women of Western Swing Belen Escobedo and Panfilo’s Güera The Hillsiders Rosebud Christy and the Plowboys Gee Dang Mira Dickey and Friends As in past years, there'll be dances, workshops, kids' activities, and tons of campsite jamming. The ASBF takes place at Camp Ben McCulloch, just a bit southwest of Austin proper. The ASBF is held on the third weekend in October, and this year the dates are October 14 through 16, Mark your calendars and we'll see you at Camp Ben! Check out the next two pages and see how the Austin String Band Started! Page 3 �Here's Reel Times from 2006 Page 4 �Here's our poster for the first ASBF Page 5 �The AFTM Browning Hangar Old Time Jam! As the hot June sun beats down outside, the assembled musicians play old time tunes in the shade of the comfortable Browning Hangar, in Austin. What was the Patterson Park Old Time Jam has changed its name and moved (just across Airport Boulevard) to a new home! The jam is now known as the Browning Hangar Old Time Jam, and will offer a more comfortable setting for jamming, especially in the summer months. The Browning Hangar is located in Mueller Lake Park, and is one of the three remaining structures from the old Austin airport, which ceased operation in 1999. The Browning Hangar Old Time Jam will take place on the third Saturday of each month, from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm, the same schedule as the old Patterson Park Jam. Page 6 �Page 7 �Page 8 �An AFTM Scholarship story! Vanessa Gordon at left, in an intimate fiddle class with the great Scottish fiddler, Hanneke Cassel Each year the Austin Friends of Traditional Music offers scholarships to promising musicians and dancers who wish to further their studies of old-time music and dance. This year, Vanessa Gordon was awarded an AFTM scholarship, and she attended the Live Oak Fiddle Camp near Hallettsville, TX! Though she has lived in Texas since 1997, Vanessa grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, where she started playing the piano around age six, and violin at twelve. She really enjoyed the classical music she studied, but also became interested in traditional and improvised music styles. Vanessa moved to southern California in the early 1990’s, where she played in a jazz infused world music group. She continued to be interested in other genres of string band music and attended Follows Camp, a California bluegrass festival, where she met her husband! Page 9 �Hanneke Cassel's class of six students at the Live Oak Fiddle Camp, may, 2022 Since moving to central Texas, Vanessa has played Texas dance music with The Cornell Hurd Band, Americana roots music with Karen Abrahams, contra dance music, Scottish country dance music, and she enjoys fiddling or playing piano at Irish Sessions. It was through the AFTM that she discovered Appalachian Old Time Fiddling. Vanessa has enjoyed attending fiddle camps like Alasdair Fraser’s Valley of the Moon Fiddle Camp in California, and the O‘Flaherty Irish Music Retreat in North Texas. The Live Oak Fiddle Camp starts on Memorial Day each year and Vanessa attended this year, working with great fiddle instructors including Bruce Molsky, Hanneke Cassel, Tatiana Hargreaves, and Casey Driessen! Here is Vanessa’s report on her experience at the Live Oak Fiddle Camp Page 10 �Over Memorial Day weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Live Oak Fiddle Camp, near Hallettsville, Texas. It was more like a Fiddler’s retreat than a camp; the location is on a working ranch and the accommodation and meals far exceeded my expectations. Fiddle students came from as far as Washington State, Michigan, Rhode Island, and Canada! They were from a variety of musical backgrounds including bluegrass, Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, and Old Time Fiddling. Several students have been Texas Fiddle contest winners. All the fiddle instructors were not only top-level fiddlers, but also excellent teachers! As there were only six of us in my class, there was ample time to ask questions. As I have spent a lot of time learning Old Time Appalachian fiddling from Bruce Molsky online through Peghead Nation, his classes were of particular interest to me. With Bruce, we worked on bowing patterns for “Candy Girl” based on the playing of Uncle Bunt Stephens. We also worked on singing and fiddling, and specifically different bowing patterns / rhythms to play while singing a medium tempo tune. Hanneke Cassel taught us a Cape Breton reel and a strathspey, and showed us the type of bowings and ornaments we might use, plus we each found back-up chords to play on 2nd fiddle. Tatiana Hargreaves gave us feedback on playing 2nd fiddle on various tunes, and Casey Driessen taught us “ Gold Rush”, a standard bluegrass tune written by Byron Berline, and the basics of “chopping.” The evening concerts and jamming sessions were amazing! People were all nice, friendly and welcoming. I certainly hope to attend again. I’d like to give a big thank you to the AFTM for sponsoring my scholarship, I really appreciate it! Thank you also for getting my scholarship approved on such short notice! Vanessa Gordon Page 11 �The Live Oak Fiddle Camp Casey Driessen teaches the tune "Gold Rush" to a large, enthusiastic class! Nestled in rural Texas somewhere between Hallettsville and Schulenberg is the beautiful TR Ranch, home of the Live Oak Fiddle Camp. The fiddle camp is the brainchild of fiddlers Heidi Labensart, Roberta Rast Smith, and Tonya Rast Hopkins. Heidi Labensasrt is a talented fiddler who grew up in Colorado, and she met Idaho native Roberta Rast-Smith at the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest and Festival in Weiser, Idaho when they were teenagers. Heidi had attended fiddle camps such as the Mark O’Connor camp and the Ludiker Camp and, after moving to Austin in 2001, wondered if an advanced fiddle camp wouldn’t work in a Texas setting. Heidi, Roberta, and Roberta’s sister Tonya kept talking about the idea of a fiddle camp and presented their idea to Tom McDaniel at the annual Texas State Championship Fiddlers Frolic in Hallettsville. Tom is a great supporter of Texas fiddle music, as well as other kinds of Texas roots music, and owns a beautiful ranch in Lavaca County. Page 12 �Tom was very enthusiastic about hosting a fiddle camp on his property, the TR Ranch, and, after a couple years of planning, the first Live Oak Fiddle Camp took place in 2011. The amazing lineup of fiddle instructors that year included Darol Anger, Stuart Duncan, Wes Westmoreland, and Hanneke Cassel; the camp was off to a great start! The Live Oak Fiddle Camp has continued every year since then except for 2020, when the COVID pandemic interrupted so many musical activities. The 2021 edition of the camp was held virtually and this year, 2022, the camp was back in business at the TR Ranch! Instructors this year included Bruce Molsky, Hanneke Cassel, Casey Dreissen, and Tatiana Hargreaves, with Jordan Tice teaching guitar. Next year’s Live Oak Fiddle Camp will take place as the TR ranch from May 28 through June 1. Stay up to date on the 2023 event at https://www.liveoakfiddlecamp.com/ Tatiana Hargreaves teaches an intimate fiddle class Page 13 �Bruce Molsky talking fiddle, above - Jordan Tice with guitar student, below Page 14 �Brucel Molsky works with fiddle students Casey Driessen and Luke Bulla played a stunning concert finale! Page 15 �March 18, 2023 - Hold the date! Return of the AFTM Camp Jam! After the pandemic year of 2020, and the uncertainties about COVID rearing its ugly head once again, our regular 2021 Austin String Band Festival at Camp Ben McCulloch was "reimagined" into a different kind of event, without regular stage shows, merchandise, or admission fees! The result was a casual, comfortable gathering of like minded pickers, and jamming and socializing were the order of the day! We called it the AFTM Camp Jam and the response was so positive that we wanted to hold the event again in the spring of 2022. Alas, all the weekends at Camp Ben had been reserved for other events, and there was no Camp Jam in 2022. Looking ahead to next year, the AFTM has reserved Camp Ben McCulloch for Saturday, March 18, 2023! As with the 2021 Camp Jam, there will be no admission charge, though Camp Ben will charge campers their usual fees. So, mark your calendars and plan to join Austin area pickers for a weekend of music and good times in the beautiful setting of Camp Ben McCulloch! Page 16 �Shows we've seen... Ben Hodges and Jenn Miori Hodges are joined by Ben White on saw at Load Off Fanny's in Lockhart, TX. Ben H. and Jenn are the proprietors of the Fiddlers Green Music Shop in Lockhart, a great supporter of the AFTM! Page 17 �The Buffalo Gals, Melissa Carper and Rebecca Patek, were joined by the great master of the Telecaster, Bill Kirchen, for a show at Central Market Westgate, Austin Page 18 �The Reel Times is published quarterly by the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational donations. AFTM Board of Directors Tim Wooten, President Lee Thomas, Vice President Angie Wooten, Secretary Rachel Brown, Treasurer James Seppi, Volunteer Coordinator Jeanne DeFriese, Events Coordinator Gary Mortensen, Reel Times Editor Dan Foster, At Large Matt Welch, At Large Dan Thompson, At Large Austin Friends of Traditional Music P.O. Box 49608 Austin, TX 78765 Click here for Membership info Click here for AFTM website https://www.flickr.com/photos/aftm/albums/72157680161933664 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 48 Number 3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022-07 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Title A name given to the resource Reel Times - Volume 48, Number 3 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Gary Mortenson http://archive.aftm.us/files/original/10/283/newsletter-48-02-2022-04.pdf 3810d28a432da975469e30ea5296413e PDF Text Text Reel Times Newsletter of The Austin Friends of Traditional Music Vol. 48, Number 2, April 2022 Pickin' at Patterson! Monthly jam at Austin's Patterson Park resumes �Table of Contents Page 3 Pickin' at Patterson! Page 4 The Austin String Band Festival is back Page 5 The Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival Page 6 Palestine Old Time Music and Dulcimer Festival Page 9 The Double Eagle String Band in Bastrop Page 10 The AFTM Board Meeting in the Hill Country Page 11 About the AFTM Page 2 �Pickin' at Patterson! This "all ages" jam last year included Tim Keough, Tanner Robertson (and Sam), and Betsy Hamblen The Patterson Park Old Time Jam is sponsored by AFTM and happens on the third Saturday of each month from 10:00 am until about 2:00 pm. Look for updates at aftm.us and the AFTM FaceBook page. Patterson Park is located at 4200 Brookview Rd, Austin, TX. The jam normally takes place at the north end of the park, along Wilshire Boulevard. Everyone is welcome to come play, listen, comment, etc. If one was to "classify" the session, it would be Intermediate to Advanced level of Old Time group play. But, any experience level is accommodated and encouraged. Everyone is on a musical journey - some already for a while, some just starting. Page 3 �The AFTM was unable to hold its Camp Jam this May, due to Camp Ben being booked every weekend, but... The Austin String Band Festival is Back! Please save the date (October 14-16) for a full-blown string band festival at Camp Ben McCulloch. A wonderful weekend of camping, jamming, concerts and workshops held in a lovely setting with even more lovely people! Page 4 �The Fort Worth African American Music Festival Festival director, Brandi Waller-Pace plays the banjo, to the delight of her daughter, Sparrow! The Fort Worth African American Music Festival (FWAAM) was held March 19, 2022 at the historic Southside Preservation Hall in Ft. Worth. The festival website stated “FWAMM Fest is bringing together award-winning artists from around the country for a day of performance highlighting an under recognized piece of America’s musical history-blackness in American Roots Music.” The festival was the brainchild of Brandi Waller-Pace who is a music teacher and banjo player living in the Ft. Worth area. It grew out of a non-profit organization called “Decolonizing the Music Room”. Their website states that their focus, in part, is to “challenge the historical dominance of White Western European and American music to create a more equitable future.” The day included both education about the African roots of the music and the instruments, a bones workshop, and amazing performances of old time, early blues, jazz, bones, jug band and beyond performed by M.S.G Acoustic Blues Trio, Brandi Waller-Pace, Justin Robinson, Jake Blount, Benjamin Hunter, Kafari, Junious Brickhouse, and Nelson Williams and Kaia Kater, with their incredibly talented bandmates. The day included a filming for a podcast (Color Me and Country Radio) led by Rissi Palmer interviewing several of the performers. A big thank you goes out to Brandi Waller-Pace for her open invitation to all races to attend this festival that felt like a sacred event celebrating African American Roots music. The festival was more than the description given here. It was deeply moving, thought provoking and enlightening. The performers shared their candid personal feelings about many aspects of their music. They corrected some widely held misconceptions about the roots of the music, the origin of the instruments, and the very important place musical expression holds in the heart and soul of African American communities. Angie Wooten Page 5 �The 19th Annual Palestine Old Time Music and Dulcimer Festival Pete Peterson, Beverly Smith, and Kellie Allen in concert on Friday afternoon The Palestine Old Time Music and Dulcimer Festival moved to a new venue this year, the First Baptist Church in Palestine. The festival, the 19th annual, was a rousing success, with jams, workshops, and concerts all weekend long! Reel Times took some photos of the Friday afternoon concert. Page 6 �Erin Mae Lewis performed on Friday The First Baptist Church of Palestine proved to be an excellent festival venue! Page 7 �A spontaneous jam in a comfortable spot at the First Baptist Church Steve and Sheryl Hartz performed on Friday afternoon Page 8 �The Double Eagle String Band in Bastrop The Double Eagle String Band Tim Wooten, Elizabeth Pittman, Angie Wooten, Walter Winslett, Robert & Nancy Griffith It was an honor for Calvary Episcopal Church of Bastrop to have Double Eagle perform at our Concerts in the Court Yard series. Although we were unable to hold the event outside due to weather conditions, the band brought their music inside to our sanctuary! This event reminds us all that music is one of the ultimate gifts from God. Music is universal and brings all people together in a special way. At Calvary we are a place to call home. Liz Kinney, Calvary Episcopal Church Page 9 �AFTM Board Meeting ? Absolutely! The March, 2022 AFTM board meeting was held in a beautiful setting in the Texas Hill Country! L to R Dan Thompson, Angie Wooten, Jeanne DeFriese, Matt Welch, Lee Thomas, James Seppi, Tim Wooten, Gary Mortensen Page 10 �The Reel Times is published quarterly by the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational donations. AFTM Board of Directors Tim Wooten, President Lee Thomas, Vice President Angie Wooten, Secretary Rachel Brown, Treasurer James Seppi, Volunteer Coordinator Jeanne DeFriese, Events Coordinator Gary Mortensen, Reel Times Editor Dan Foster, At Large Matt Welch, At Large Dan Thompson, At Large Austin Friends of Traditional Music P.O. Box 49608 Austin, TX 78765 Click here for Membership info Click here for AFTM website https://www.flickr.com/photos/aftm/albums/72157680161933664 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 48 Number 2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022-04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Title A name given to the resource Reel Times - Volume 48, Number 2 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Gary Mortenson http://archive.aftm.us/files/original/10/282/newsletter-48-01-2022-01.pdf d1a26b206192dacdacea6182bf726868 PDF Text Text Reel Times Newsletter of The Austin Friends of Traditional Music Vol. 48, Number 1, January 2022 The AFTM Camp Jam was a rousing success! �Table of Contents Page 3 The AFTM Camp Jam Page 12 Old Time Music at The Little Darlin' Page 13 Reel Times visits the Fayetteville Picking Park Page 16 Dan Thompson, new AFTM board member Page 17 The Festival of Texas Fiddling, 2021 Page 22 AFTM Members' Buy and Sell Page 23 AFTM member videos After the COVID-19 Pandemic forced the cancellation of the Austin String Band Festival in 2020, the AFTM was anxious to come back strong with an event in October 2021. Unfortunately, ongoing COVID uncertainty throughout 2021 was such that it was impossible to do the advance planning for our usual Austin String Band Festival. The AFTM board devoted much thought to the issue of what kind of event we could offer the Austin acoustic music community, and a plan was hatched to have a new kind of event, one which would require little preparation, no volunteers, and would be free to attend! Thus, the AFTM Camp Jan was born, held on the third weekend of October at Camp Ben McCulloch, the same date and location as the previous Austin String Band Festivals. Since many String Band Festival attendees camp out and create their own music at their campsites, it was decided that for this occasion we could do without the normal two days of scheduled performances at the pavilion, the high-quality sound system, the Friday night dance, the Green Room, the Merchandise Booth, the staffing of the front gate, etc. Instead, the AFTM would rent Camp Ben for the weekend as usual, encourage jamming and even small performances at individual campsites, and let the event take its own form at beautiful Camp Ben! We even had delicious food available, courtesy of Linda's Texas Street Crepes! After a heavy downpour on Wednesday night, the weather cooperated beautifully, and the next three days were idyllic October days in the Texas Hill Country! Page 25 About the AFTM Many friends who hadn’t seen each other for a year or more gathered in their favorite campsites, and music was played all weekend long. The 2021 Camp Jam was so enjoyable that, with the usual COVID caveats, the AFTM board plans to hold another Austin String Band Camp Jam on May 14 & 15, 2022! The next few pages contain photos and observations from folks who attended the Camp Jam. in October. Page 2 Page 3 �Tracy Sloan and Chuck Middleton can't suppress the joy of playing the banjo! The legendary Rosebud band played a classic country set Matt Welch music fan The "camp jam" format, which was born of necessity in the covid era, in my estimation, turned out to be an improvement upon the more traditional festival stage setup. Maybe it's the informal, familial nature of traditional string music, or the pure joy I experience from having a front row view of talented and capable fingers sliding over strings, but something about the camp jam made it one of my favorite live music experiences to date. As exciting and spectacular as a stage show can be, the bigness of it comes at the cost of intimacy and informality, two qualities that are priceless in a string performance. I am no musician, and I am new to the traditional music world, so the camp jam in many ways was my introduction to the genre and its unique place on the giant continuum of ever-changing musical artistry. Tim Wooten rightly schooled me Saturday morning on the distinction between traditional music and bluegrass, a lesson that I'll never forget and that shifted the way I enjoyed the rest of the weekend. It's like he handed me a pair of 3D glasses. I realized that these little jam circles were more than performances, they were conversations, thematic but changing and improvised, where listening is as important as contributing. Mira Dickey played a Hardanger fiddle concert at sundown Page 4 Page 5 �Thomas Chapmond mandolin player It was such a joy to reunite with friends at AFTM’s Camp Jam in October, after a year and a half of very limited musical interaction with others. I enjoyed the mixture of playing those old familiar fiddle tunes and taking a break to wander around and listen to others. I always look forward to Stringband Festival and this year’s adaptation did not disappoint! Theresa Tod fiddler Always one of my musical highlights, String Band Camp Jam 2021 was especially gratifying this year! See (and cautiously hug) good friends - many after way too long, enjoy some tasty group camp meals, and most importantly - the hours of JAM time, which I had been sorely missing! As always, I enjoyed the variety of traditional music styles at the event, and the opportunities to hear and learn something new; the addition of performers and workshops was an unexpected plus. Thanks to the AFTM organizers for a thumbs-up event, once again! Tom Duplissey and John Downing work on guitar issues Will Grover, Tom Duplissey, Thomas Chapmond, a visiting fiddler and Theresa Tod Page 6 Mark Lewis, Marynell, and Gene Young play triple fiddles Page 7 �Britt Irick, Terri Lukačok, Dan Thompson, Lee and Janita Thomas play the old time music Tom Duplissey, Dave Seeman, and Kim Fagerstrom pick up a storm! Lee Thomas banjo player Great Camp Jam! Stormy Nite and Sunny Days. Fantastic Camaraderie! Tim Wooten fiddler Sitting around a campfire playing tunes I felt loose and happy. The chilly wind kept me feeling alive. Everyone I met was having fun and feeling free. Everywhere I went I heard tunes, songs, and laughter. There should be a law Dan Chrysler, Thomas Chapmond, and Sue Chrysler create some gourmet burgers! against how well I slept. Page 8 Page 9 �Shawn Spiars and friends play the bluegrass music A spirited Saturday morning old time jam! Chuck Middleton banjo player The AFTM Camp Jam was wonderful again this year. We arrived on Tuesday in our new 20-year-old RV. We survived the major rainstorm on Weds night, but some thought we'd be washed down Onion Creek! Thursday came along and the weather turned to perfect. We all played bluegrass and old-time tunes until the wee hours. On Friday, we wandered the campsites to see Mira Dickey playing gorgeous Norwegian tunes. We ended up at a camp with an accordion player doing Caribbean songs a la Harry Belafonte before wandering back to Camp Kaddiewhompus to end the day pickin' anything we could remember. I attended both the Old-time and Bluegrass banjo workshops and may have learned a few new tunes. Can't wait until next year! Page 10 Sue Chrysler, Thomas Chapmond, Tom Duplissey, Mike Hollern, & John Downing pick a tune Page 11 �Reel Times visits The Fayetteville Picking Park Hot bluegrass pickers congregate in the Fayetteville gazebo Old Time music in an Austin, Texas bar? Absolutely! Just a few days before the AFTM Camp Jam, Dan and Christy Foster and Jerry Hagins played to an appreciative audience at Lil' Darlin', a south Austin venue with a great outdoor stage! Page 12 For more than ten years, Austin area bluegrass pickers have made the trip to the Fayetteville Picking Park on the second Saturday of each month for a bluegrass jam that starts in the afternoon and continues into the evening! Fayetteville, TX is a charming community with a classic town square complete with a vintage courthouse and a gazebo. This bluegrass-oriented jam offers plenty of outdoor jamming areas as well as two different indoor locations when the weather doesn’t cooperate. Lou-Lou Barbour, a talented banjo player from nearby Brenham coordinates the event, having taken over from Tom Duplissey, a one-time Fayetteville resident who moved to Alabama a few years ago. Lou-Lou tells us that the jam officially begins around 3:00 in the afternoon, though the more ardent pickers often arrive a bit earlier. She mentioned that the event's attendance has been steady but that there's plenty of room for more pickers so, the next time you feel the need to pick, consider a trip to nearby Fayetteville! Page 13 �Some photos from the Fayetteville Picking Park More jamming at the Fayetteville Picking Park A group came from Corpus Christi for the November 13 jam! Our old pal, Tom Duplissey - once a Fayetteville resident! Page 14 Page 15 �7th Annual Festival of Texas Fiddling The Silver Alert String Band, new AFTM board member Dan Thompson at left The AFTM is excited to welcome Dan Thompson to its board! Dan Thompson grew up in western New York State, where he taught himself guitar while a senior in high school. He was exposed to frailing banjo by his geology professor while doing summer field work in Maine as an undergraduate at the State University of New York at Fredonia. When school started again in the fall, Dan had caught the banjo bug and built himself a banjo to practice on! He did post graduate work in New Orleans where he met Hazel Schlueter (Hazel the Delta Rambler) and played banjo in her band, which played at JazzFest through the 1980’s. Dan and his family moved to Houston around 2000. He didn’t find much music in Houston but heard about the monthly jams in Huntsville hosted by Marynell and Gene Young, where he met many musicians, and learned to play countless fiddle tunes! Dan first came to the Austin area when he discovered the Austin String Band Festival, which he has attended most years since its beginning in 2007. He joined a band with Gene and Marynell Young, who had relocated to Austin, called the Silver Alert String Band (see photo above). Dan moved from Houston to Round Rock when he retired from his work as a geologist in 2019. He’s been an active participant in Austin area old time jams ever since! Page 16 On December 3rd & 4th, the 7th Annual Festival of Texas Fiddling was held at its regular home, the Twin Sisters Dancehall outside Blanco, TX. The turnout was excellent, as was the weather(the weather's always great for this event)! The AFTM is a sponsor of the Festival of Texas Fiddling, and the AFTM had a table set up with t-shirts and info for visitors. Many AFTM members were in attendance, and some of them performed! The next four pages are photos from the 2021 Festival of Texas Fiddling! Page 17 �The Big Four - Pete Peterson, Keliie Allen, Marynell and Gene Young An all-ages jam circle Dan Thompson, Vanessa Gordon, and Angie Wooten at the official AFTM table Page 18 Page 19 �Christy and Dan Foster were joined onstage by AFTM board member, Angie Wooten Stewart Rose, Tim and Angie Wooten, and Dan Thompson jam under the trees Tim Wooten, Vanessa Gordon, and Stewart Rose warm up early in the day Page 20 Angie plays a sunset serenade, this photo by Vanessa Gordon Page 21 �As space permits, Reel Times will publish advertisements for musical instruments and music related items for sale by AFTM members. If you're interested , contact AFTMTexas@gmail.com Who are these fascinating folks? (see next page) Complete PA system 2 Yorkville 15" YV15 speakers 2 heavy duty speaker stands 2 100' speaker cables 2 Peavey monitor speakers Samson Mix Pad 12 Pyle Pro PT-2000 amplifier $500 for everything vanessagordonlenz@hotmail.com, 512 909 0337 Page 22 Page 23 �For the past several months, the AFTM has been hosting video interviews with Austin area members and musicians, and it's been great fun! Since we haven't been able to get together in person, these video conversations are a way of keeping up to date with friends in music. You can check out these video interviews at the AFTM TV page: https://www.aftm.us/sounds-and-pictures/video/aftm-tv Hear our lastest video interview with Dan and Christy Foster! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=honGAaCnffQ The Reel Times is published quarterly by the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Texas nonprofit corporation. Contributions are deductible as charitable and educational donations. AFTM Board of Directors Tim Wooten, President Lee Thomas, Vice President Angie Wooten, Secretary Rachel Brown, Treasurer James Seppi, Volunteer Coordinator Jeanne DeFriese, Events Coordinator Mike Savercool, Membership Coordinator Gary Mortensen, Reel Times Editor Dan Foster, At Large Matt Welch, At Large Dan Thompson, At Large Austin Friends of Traditional Music P.O. Box 49608 Austin, TX 78765 Click here for Click here for AFTM website https://www.flickr.com/photos/aftm/albums/72157680161933664 Membership info Page 24 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reel Times Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 48 Number 1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022-01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Mortenson Title A name given to the resource Reel Times - Volume 48, Number 1 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Gary Mortenson