Things Are Not Always As They Appear

Me, Kenny Innis, Clay Johnson and the Bluegrass Widow (Helen) made a trip to North Lake to visit Ed & Becky Betts at their cottage for a Bluegrass weekend. Thank you very much Ed and Becky for your hospitality; as usual, first rate. Two nicer people I've never met.

Helen and I very much enjoyed our visit and I know Clay did as well. Unfortunately, our good friend Kenny Innis had to leave the jam early Saturday evening, but I know he enjoyed the time he was able to spend with us.

Bob and Inez Jones as well as Ed's Friend and Side Effects band mate, Dr. Gary Beatty joined the jam Saturday afternoon and evening. On Sunday afternoon Ed, Clay and I had a fine jam indeed while Helen and Becky endured the noise we were making. What I mean to say is "enjoyed." These words, endured and enjoyed are so easy to confuse in the context of jamming, plus they kind of sound the same. Yes, while Helen and Becky enjoyed the noise we were making is what I meant to say.

The photo at the top of this post was taken just before we left Ed and Becky's cottage at 3:00 PM Sunday afternoon. From left to right, that's Ed Betts, Helen Floyd on upright bass, Becky Betts and Clay Johnson. And that's where the title of this post comes in - Things Are Not Always As They Appear.

I know many of you are thinking - "Oh, isn't that nice? The Bluegrass Widow plays bass". Some of you are saying, "I didn't know Helen played bass." Well, things are not always as they appear are they? She doesn't play bass - yet! But doesn't she look like a natural the way she clutches that thing?

In fact, Harvey Arbo and I are planning to pick up the Bluegrass Widow's new bass this Saturday morning in Bedford, Nova Scotia. Actually it's not a new bass; it's an old 1940 something Kay bass with a brand new neck, new ebony fingerboard, new strings, 100 year old tuners and completely set up by George Barkhouse. From what I'm told, it's a beauty, just like the Bluegrass Widow - so hopefully, they'll be a good match for each other.

Hey, I told Hunny way back in August, "Merry Christmas," and then I ordered me up that fine bass. Of course if I recall, when I got my first banjo (the Deering Deluxe) I told her "happy birthday." When I ordered the second banjo (the Huber Jim Mills model) I think I told her "happy birthday" again. I'll let you come to your own conclusions about how all of that works but, if seeing me happy makes her happy, I'm very much looking forward to her next birthday!

I'm really looking forward to having the Widow, or should I say the wife (she hates it when a man refers to his spouse as "the wife"), take a stab at joining in with all of the Bluegrass fun we have. Who would ever have thought such a day would be upon us? I bet when she was growing up she never thought she would ever be listening to "hillbilly" music, let alone playing it. But, then she met me; hard-core Bluegrass hillbilly deluxe. Well Hunny, when we took our vows and said "for better or worse," I guess you got the "better."

I'm sure the Bluegrass Widow will have her own account of our visit with the Betts' shortly, so check her blog out if you're interested in some of her antics.

County Bluegrass Festival

Ed & Becky Betts, along with Kenny Innis and I took in the County Bluegrass Festival in Fort Fairfield, Maine on Saturday, July 28, 2007. My first question as we were entering the site was "where are all the vehicles parked?" I was very surprised at how few people were in attendance at this festival, and I doubt very much if there were 400 people there - a very small festival indeed for the 5th year of its existence.

The headline act was the Lonesome River Band. This would be my first time to see Sammy Shelor pick on the old (actually, a fairly new Huber) 5-string banjo and of course, I got his signature on my banjo head of fame. Other bands included the Blistered Fingers Bluegrass Band, White Mountain Bluegrass, The Eddy Poirier Family and Friend, The Muellers, Borderline Bluegrass, The Adrians, James Delnero and Lost Mountain and The LaClaires.

I've got to give my honest opinion on the performances at this year's festival. I'm not complaining, just stating what I witnessed. Maybe I am complaining a little bit. While I truly did enjoy my weekend away, the festival was the least entertaining part of it and the jamming at Ed & Becky's cottage was the most fun. I never thought I would ever say something like that, but it's true. But don't get me wrong, I did enjoy my day on the festival grounds as well.

Just another sign of how Bluegrass music is changing into country music played with what we consider typical Bluegrass instruments, I'd have to say it would have been more accurate to call the festival a country music festival with the odd Bluegrass tune. I wouldn't blame the festival organizers as much as I would the performers for this troubled trend in Bluegrass music. It's not a specific problem of the County Bluegrass festival, but a more widespread problem at all Bluegrass festivals. To set the record straight, what I'm saying is that while most of the music wasn't all that bad, there was more country than Bluegrass. Sorry, when I go to a Bluegrass festival I want to hear Bluegrass music. I don't mind the odd country tune thrown in the mix, but I don't want to hear country music dominating the festival. This trend finds me staying away from more and more festivals. I'm just not going to continue to spend hundreds of dollars each year to hear country songs at so-called Bluegrass festivals. Now, if the country songs are suitably grassed up, I'm okay with that.

Of all the groups I heard, two stood out above all - the Eddy Poirier Family and Friend (yes, it's friend - not friends) and the Muellers. Based in new England, the Muellers are a true family band comprised of six children ages 5 to 19, plus Mom and Dad. I really found the group to be highly entertaining and the talent of the children reminds me of the Cherryholmes family, although maybe not quite at that level yet. For me, they were the high point of the festival.

I've seen Eddy Poirier a few times now, but I've always seen him playing accordian or fiddle and up to this point, I had never heard him sing. I'd say the Eddy Poirer Family and Friend played more traditional Bluegrass tunes than any other group by far, and to boot, they can sing! I was reasonably impressed. As for the rest of the groups, including the Lonesome River Band, I'd like to hear a little more grass. I cant't say anything about James Delnero and Lost Mountain or the LaClaires because we didn't arrive in time to catch James Delnero and the LaClaires were not going to be playing until the following day.

During the supper break at the festival, Kenny, Ed and I had a short jam at the tailgate of Ed's vehicle. That's where I think I lost my $65.00 Frank Neat banjo capo that I purchased from Little Roy Lewis at last year's Thomas Point Beach festival, probably never to be seen again. Oh well, what can I do about it? Not a thing! Purchase another one and get over it!

I missed the performance of the Blistered Fingers band. I was visiting Eddy Poirier at this time, getting a few pointers. Eddy played my Huber Jim Mills banjo and said it was "top notch." That's a good thing, right?

At the conclusion of the festival for the day we drove back to Ed & Becky's cottage where Kenny and I stayed for the night. I think we arrived at the cottage somewhere between 2:00 and 2:30 in the morning. Man, was I ever tired. I had only gotten a couple hours sleep the night before. I was so tired that I was fully prepared to sleep in Kenny's car with the seat reclined but Ed and Becky made me come in to the cottage which of course was the only sensible thing to do.

On Sunday morning Ed, Kenny and I jammed while as usual, Becky listened in. Becky, are you really enjoying this or do you just put up with it? This is where I had my first attempt at playing the upright bass. It was a lot of fun, even though I didn't really know what I was doing. I have been wanting an upright bass for some time now, but that day at the cottage has firmly planted the idea in my head that I MUST HAVE ONE SOON. I have been researching upright basses ever since. Sorry Hunny, maybe we can get rid of the sofa to make room for it!

Kenny and I departed Ed & Becky's place at about 2:30 PM and arrived home shortly after 4:30 PM. All in all, we had a good time. Thank you again Ed, Becky and Kenny for another nice weekend with music and friends.

Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys Concert

Helen (aka the Bluegrass Widow) and I booked a short getaway package with our friends Ed & Becky Betts to go see Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys in a little town called Brownfield, Maine on Sunday, July 8, 2007. The concert was held at the Stone Mountain Arts Center, a humble 200 seat timber frame music hall nestled in the foothills of the White Mountains. We stayed at a quaint little place called Inn at Crystal Lake in Eaton, New Hamshire, about 15 minutes from the Stone Mountain Arts Center. It was a good 6 hour or better drive from our starting point of Saint John, New Brunswick - Canada.

I figured if I was ever going to have an opportunity to see Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, this might very well be as close as they would ever get to my part of the world, so a few months earlier I asked Ed and Becky if they might be interested in going as well and they said yes.

Ralph Stanley is a living legend and a pioneer of Bluegrass music - mountain style. Among the many awards that have been bestowed upon him, he did actually receive the Living Legend Award, two years ago if memory serves. I had never seen Ralph Stanley in a live performance so I jumped at the opportunity when it came along. I'm real happy Ed & Becky decided to go as well, for Helen and I might not have made the trip on our own. Thank you Ed and Becky.

We checked in at the Inn at Crystal Lake. It was a real old place with tons of "old stuff." Everyting seemed old. The building was old, the pictures on the walls were old, all of the ornaments and decorations were old. The owners were not old however, but everything else was definitely old or old fashioned. Actually, it was very nice and I would stay there again without hesitation, although I must admit I didn't care for the separate cold and hot water faucets in the bathroom.

The getaway package included a meal at the inn before the concert. We had a small amount of time to pass before dinner so Ed and I decided to practice a few tunes in my room for about 45 minutes while the ladies suffered it out. Well, they should have known better!

Near the end of our little jam session as Ed was finishing up Banks of the Ohio, out of our window we saw a turquoise colored bus go by the inn. We noticed the letters "RS" on the back and concluded that it must be Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys on the way to the arts center. Quite the detectives aren't we?

The inn served up a beautiful meal. The menu was printed just for the occasion and read Ralph Stanley Menu at the top - a nice touch. Helen, Becky and I had salmon with some kind of "special rice" while Ed opted for some kind of pork dish. I do remember the meal being very satisfying, something I don't often experience in a restaurant setting.

Okay, a small mention about the photos in this post is in order. The first photo at the top is one of Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys on stage near the beginning of the performance. The next picture is Dr. Ralph Stanley putting his autograph on what I call the banjo head of fame. It's a banjo head that I purchased at the Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival two years ago especially for collecting the signatures of great banjo players. I was able to get two signatures on this trip - Dr. Ralph Stanley himself and Steve Sparkman, Ralph's current banjo player.

The third photo is one of Ed & Becky Betts standing in front of Ralph Stanley's tour bus, and the next photo is of my wife, Helen, in front of the same bus.

I took a few group pictures of Ed, Becky and Helen in front of the bus, but Helen decided to close her eyes for most of the pictures. In the one picture where Helen decided to keep her eyes open, Becky decided she would close hers. I just thought I'd explain that in case you were wondering why you don't see the three of them together. Now that I think about it, I'm feeling quite confident those thoughts never crossed your mind at all.

The next photo is Ed Betts posing with Ralph Stanley in what you might term "not the ideal lighting conditions" for taking a photo. Picture #6 is the great Steve Sparkman, a master of Stanley style banjo picking. Interestingly enough, Steve did not play a Stanleytone banjo at the concert, but instead was playing a Gibson archtop banjo with a neck made by Frank Neat.

The last picture is in fact a picture of Helen, Ed, and Becky standing on the stage after the concert was over. By the way, you can click on each image to view a larger version of the same.

Back to the subject at hand. The getaway package also included a shuttle service from the inn to the concert and back, but we decided to forgo the shuttle service. We had different plans for after the concert, like getting to know Dr. Ralph Stanley and Steve Sparkman a little better. We didn't want to be forced to leave early because of the shuttle service.

Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys put on a great performance. Dr. Ralph's voice was exactly like I've heard him on television several times before. He's got an old sounding, yet smooth voice that reminds you of the mountains themselves. One thing to note about Dr. Ralph Stanley is that even though he may be getting on in years, he is always on key when singing, at least that's what I've noticed.

Ralph's 14-year old grandson, Nathan Stanley filled in on guitar for the missing James Shelton whose mother had passed away the day before. Nathan did a great job and he's quite a singer and songwriter in his own right, and at a very young age.

Of course, one of my key interests was in Steve Sparkman, the banjo player. I was watching every move he made as he played all of the signature Stanley style licks on his archtop banjo. Like all other great players, he makes it look so easy.

Playing fiddle was Dewey Brown, a very good fiddler indeed and a good harmony singer as well. I was really impressed with the bass playing of Jack Cooke who has been with Ralph Stanley for an amazing 37 years! Jack really adds life to all of the tunes with his bass style and his onstage antics.

During the concert, Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys played several of the most popular tunes in the Ralph Stanley repertoire, of which there are many. I was very surprised when they ended the show with Orange Blossom Special, simply because I had never heard Ralph Stanley do a rendition of that tune before.

We were able to speak with the band members both before and after the show. I found Ralph Stanley to be very humble and obliging and Steve Sparkman was equally so. We didn't really spend much time with the other band members. I guess you have to be a banjo player to get any attention.

Before the show I had asked Steve Sparkman about a lick used in Pretty Polly and he said "come see me after the show and I'll be happy to show you how it's done." That's exactly what I did, and it's for reasons like that opportunity that we opted out of the shuttle service. I didn't realize it at the time, but Becky captured the Pretty Polly lesson on video with her digital camera. Becky sent a copy of the video to me and I have received permission from Becky and Steve to post the video. The Pretty Polly video (8 MB) is on the Bluegrass Friends web site.

The following morning we had a nice breakfast at the Inn at Crystal Lake before departing. We packed up our belongings and prepared for the 6 plus hour drive home, listening to the sweetest sounds on earth all the way home - Bluegrass music. We had a good time.