Following Larryfest last year, I think a lot of folks were a bit hesitant to return after the rain, floods, and mud. This year turned out to be a great weekend of good music, free sweet corn, late night pickin’, and beautiful sunshine in the Kickapoo Valley.

We headed up to Larryfest on Friday afternoon having no clue who was even playing because the line up was never posted. All we knew was that we were smart/lucky enough to send in for tickets two days before they sold out. However, if you have been to Larryfest before, you know that half of the fun is the music. The other half is being in the woods, drinking beer with all the barefooted folks from all over the Midwest, eating sweet corn, and playing baggo a.k.a. cornhole in the afternoon sun. We realized when we got to Richland Center (halfway there), that we had forgotten our tickets. Luckily, our dear friend Paul Kienitz was kind enough to buy a cell phone recently and learn how to use it, so we didn’t have to drive all the way back to Madison.

There was a lot of great music throughout the weekend including the New Bad Habits and the Foghorn Trio (Dear Santa, please bring me a tripod for Christmas!), both which are always great to hear. Saturday night was headlined by the Dan Tyminski Band. To put it lightly, these guys totally kicked butt! The music and singing were awesome. The fiddler, Justin Moses, was exceptional. Dan actually broke a string on his guitar while singing lead and didn’t miss a single note while he changed his string during the song. It was a phenomenal show and I hope they make it back to the Midwest soon. Another fine year at Larryfest had by all. I am already looking forward to Larryfest 2009!

Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum will be teaching a harmony-singing workshop on Monday evening, July 21st, following the Gandy Dancer Fest. The workshop will be from 6:30-8:30 pm at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Monona (300 Femrite Drive) and will cost $30/person.

Advance registration is strongly recommended. Please email Karen Sonnenblick or call 786-417-9339 to register or with questions. This workshop will be excellent!

Laurie is known in bluegrass not only for her excellent musicianship, but also for her great teaching abilities. She and Tom instruct every year at music camps across the country. In fact, Laurie is the coordinator of the instructional Bluegrass at the Beach camp in Oregon state every year. IBMA executive director Dan Hays says “Laurie is one of the pre-eminent bluegrass and Americana artists of our time. She spreads her talent over several genres – bluegrass, folk, country – and with the recognition she has within all those fields, I would certainly say she’s one of the top five female artists of the last 30 years. And she continues to make great music.”

As it happens, SWBMAI Member Patti Graham’s birthday was celebrated the same day folks celebrate something called St. Patrick’s Day. Patti was kind enough to share the celebration of her 60th birthday with folks dowsed in green at the Dry Bean Saloon Jam this past Monday night. ‘Twas a fine time… but don’t take our word for it, feel free to see for yourself!

My Bears did not make it as far as I’d have liked (though there were at least two glorious games this season). But when they’re not playing the Bears, I am a Pac fan… and we all hate the Vikings :) So with that, I say GO PAC! and pass on this fine Packers/Bears joke…

A man goes to the Chicago Bear ticket office and inquires about purchasing play-off tickets. The ticket teller replies that there weren’t any tickets for sale because the Bears did not make it to the play-offs.

The following day the same man goes to the Chicago Bear ticket office and inquires about purchasing Bear play-off tickets. The ticket teller politely replies that there weren’t any tickets for sale because the Bears did not make it to the play-offs.

This goes on for an entire week. The man goes to the Bear ticket office inquiring about play-off tickets and the teller says none are for sale because the Bears did not make it to the play-offs.

Another week of this goes by and the man still is asking the ticket teller about Bear play-off tickets. Finally the ticket teller in a loud voice says, I’VE TOLD YOU FOR THE LAST 2 WEEKS THERE WERE NOT ANY TICKETS
AVAILABLE BECAUSE THE THE BEARS DID NOT MAKE THE PLAY-OFFS!

The man replied, ‘I know.’ I drive all the way from Green Bay just to hear you say that!

A regular on a music forum I frequent wrote this nice web app and encouraged people to use it. It is theory that I am sure some of you know but might be helpful to somebody else, a web link, or teaching tool you might wish to use. Hal Leonard has published a cardboard and plastic booklet for decades that sort of does this but it is presented here in online, interactive form. Enjoy!

http://randscullard.com/CircleOfFifths
http://randscullard.com/CircleOfFifths/UserGuide.htm

In thinking about bringing in the New Year, I thought it might be fun to come up with a list of what you can do to indulge bluegrass in our region:

1. Despite feeling lazy after that heavy winter supper, throw on the old coat and gloves and go out and see some local bluegrass. SWBMAI currently has 16 member bands who have shows many nights of the week. You can find their shows on our SWBMAI member bands page.
2. Do some research. Pick a classic bluegrass musicians and learn something new by or about them. Maybe it’s a new song you always liked, or maybe it’s how they got their first instrument.
3. Head out to own of the winter bluegrass festivals. There are many festivals in the Midwest, from the MBOTMA Winter Bluegrass Weekend in Minnesota to the Greater Downstate Indoor Bluegrass Festival in Illinois.
4. Add 30 more minutes of practice time on your instrument every week. I know, I know. There is only so much time in the week and most of us seem to lie down at night and wonder what happened to it all. But there are 10,080 minutes in a week, so 30 minutes of additional practice isn’t really that large a chunk of time…..
5. Take an opportunity to share music with someone in need. Whether it’s your pickin’ buddy who really needs to hear that new fiddle tune, or the neighbor who just loves the sound of backyard pickin’, take an extra minute to share music with someone in your life.
6. Let the folks who you play with or listen to know how much you appreciate their music. Let them know what a great break they took or what a nice harmony they say. Even the most seasoned musicians love hearing compliments. And as for those of us who haven’t been playing that long, well, we need our encouragement sometimes.

I stopped in to see an old friend today, but he wasn’t there. His car was parked next to his little log cabin. The snow on the roof and the drifts on the ground were almost touching as we struggled with the storm door to get in out of the wind. Walking inside – the same fiddles, pictures, and mandolins were hanging on the walls, but he wasn’t there.

There were stacks of Bluegrass Magazines, Banjo’s and guitars lined up in cases along the walls and wonderful remembrances of years gone by but he wasn’t there. The fireplace proudly displayed his member of Americas Old Time Music Association Plaque and pictures of his daughter Jenni and grandchildren Amberlee, Ashley and Tegan but he wasn’t there.

CD’s, Records, VHS and Cassette Tapes were piled on the furniture and letters and drawings from the children were displayed through out the cozy cabin. The huge world map on the wall proudly displayed 29 colored pegs, all places where his CD’s had been requested and played. The phone had messages from across the country Canada and beyond but he wasn’t there.
Read more…

By John Moran

1. Thou shalt tune thy instrument.
2. Thou shalt listen.
3. Thou shalt communicate who has the next solo.
4. Thou shalt welcome others.
5. Thou shalt share in the selection.
6. Thou shalt try new stuff.
7. Thou shalt let others know when you are not jamming but rehearsing.
8. Thou shalt not raid (calling out favorite musicians from an active jam to make another).
9. Thou shalt keepth thy rhythm steadyeth.
10. Thou shalt not speed.

From Fireball Mail, Sep-Oct 1998

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