Ken Jeong (The Hangover) dances to the bluegrass music of
the Goodtime Stringband during the filming of "Furry Vengeance"
Goodtime Stringband members, Bob Sevigny and Andy Sicard perform every Thursday evening from 6-8pm at Life Alive in Lowell,MA. The acoustic duo, plays old time, bluegrass, fiddle tunes and some songbook standards.
It’s only a half hour drive from Boston, Massachusetts and fifteen minutes from Nashua, New Hampshire – Come down and hang out!
The Joe Val Bluegrass Festival will be held on February 17-19, 2012 at the Sheraton Framingham in Framingham, MA. Looks like a great line-up this year!
Tickets can be purchased here
The Tenth Annual March Mandolin Festival will be held March 2-4, 2012, at the Concord Community Music School.
The festival features Jesse Brock, Claudine Langille, Skip Gorman, and David Surette, with special guests Susie Burke and Baron Collins-Hill. This two-day event offers group lessons, workshops on a variety of topics, jam sessions, and an evening concert. Additionally, the festival will present a March 2, Friday night concert featuring the same performers at The Elysium Arts Folk Club, Rollinsford, NH (this is a separate ticket from the Concord events).
To register for the festival, send a check for $110 made out to:
Concord Community Music School
23 Wall St.
Concord, NH 03301
Lodging is available at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Concord, New Hampshire, with a special festival rate. A limited number of rooms have been set aside, so if you are interested, please contact the hotel directly at (603) 225-0303.
Festival sponsors include Sanborn, Head and Associates, the NH State Council on the Arts Traditional Arts program, and the Concord Courtyard by Marriott, where festival accommodations are available at a special rate. Support is also provided by mandolincafe.com.
Feb. 4 – Carol Compton, David Millstone / March 3 – Chris Ricciotti, Sylvia Miskoe
RSVP, ASAP to reserve a space.
info and reservations: [email protected], (603) 679-1915
PRICE: $25.00, includes admission to the evening dance where workshop leaders will be calling and playing. (Contact us at the above address to explore the possibility of a few limited scholarships if needed). Additional details will be sent to workshop participants.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4
(1) “Play in the Band”: with Carol Compton.
3:30 – 6:00 P.M.
*What makes a good dance tune? *How do we shape a tune set? * Creative and danceable intros, good transitions, fun endings, and cheap harmony tricks. *How do we shape an evening, *Tips on working with callers. This a 2 ½ hour afternoon workshop for musicians who want to learn to play for contra dancing – or who already do that and want to get even better at it than they are. The workshop will be tailored to the interests of the participants. The goal is to provide some useful tools for participants to use, and perhaps introduce some topics for possible later, more in depth workshops.
LEADER – Carol Compton – has led workshops for both Contra and English country dance musicians for many years. She coordinated the 30+ person pickup band in Philadelphia (SPUDS) in the 1990s, and has played piano, recorder, and accordion for dances from Ontario to West Virginia since the 1980’s. She has played at festivals and dances, and is a memberof, and the tune leader for Northern Spy, a large contra dance band in Norwich, Vermont. She currently also plays in ensembles as small as 2 (Trip to Norwich) and as large as 10 (Calliope). She can be heard on the Smithsonian recording “Choose your Partner” and in David Millstone’s “What’s Not to Like” video.
RESPOND IN TIME: You will get the most out of the workshop if you: have some proficiency on your instrument, and let us know you are coming so Carol can find out what tunes you might already know or suggest a couple to work on.
Come with a sense of adventure, and be prepared to leave with a bunch of things to try on your own.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4
(2) “Call Chestnuts” : With David Millstone AFTERNOON; TIME TBD
CALLERS – Money Musk, Chorus Jig, Hull’s Victory, Rory O’More, Sackett’s Harbor, British Sorrow – all Chestnuts, and caller David Millstone will be conducting a special Chestnuts Calling Workshop in Deerfield, NH, February 4th, for callers interested in learning how to call these traditional contra dances. Chestnuts are different from modern contras and from each other; different enough to be recognizable, and cherished. Many of these dances are hundreds of years old. Come call (and dance) with the ancestors. Participants will have the opportunity to call one or more of these for a group of appreciative colleagues – who are all in this together – under the friendly eye of one the most expert and supportive callers working today. We will become a community of callers, united in this common love.
DANCERS While this is a workshop, not a dance (the dance is that night) we still need dancers. If you’ve ever danced Chestnuts, you know how much fun they are! And it’s a great chance to support your fellow callers in this learning experience. Participants who are there only to dance and observe will not be charged for the workshop. Done it before? Do it again!!! Think how long it took for these dances to develop!
LEADER – David Millstone.
With David Smukler, David Millstone has literally written the book on dancing and teaching the classic American contras that we now call Chestnuts, and that book is Cracking Chestnuts published by CDSS. David has led the monthly dance in Norwich Vermont, since 1980 and has an American repertoire ranging from our traditional New England chestnuts to high-energy recent compositions. Known for his clear and supportive teaching style, the breadth of his repertoire and his sense of humour, David has called dances throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in seven countries in Europe.
EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: some experience calling contras
RESPOND IN TIME TO GET YOUR DANCE TO CALL IN ADVANCE.
SATURDAY, MARCH 3
(1) “CALLER’S WORKSHOP – A SOLID FOUNDATION” with Chris Ricciotti 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. LIMITED TO 12 CALLERS !!!!
This workshop is geared toward anyone who has never called before and has an interest in trying it out, as well as for people who have had limited calling experience, and would like a solid foundation to improve their skills. Practice material and caller guides will be handed out during the workshop for participants to use during the workshop, which they can keep. Experienced callers are welcome to help support newer callers. Dancers are welcome and encouraged to
attend to be a supportive audience and to give support to our budding callers as appreciative dancers. To ensure that all callers get the time they need in this workshop, this workshop will be limited to 12
(CONTRA DANCE MUSIC AND CALLING WORKSHOPS DEERFIELD, NH )
( Feb. 4 – Carol Compton, David Millstone / March 3 – Chris Ricciotti, Sylvia Miskoe )
callers. There are no limits on dancer participation. (Participants who are there only to dance and observe will not be charged for the workshop)
LEADER: Chris Ricciotti has been calling and organizing dances for the past 30 years. He also has a passion for teaching the art of calling to spread the joy of what has been a great community building activity in his life. Chris now calls all over New England and the U.S. He is very active in the gender-free dance community and helps organize and network a growing list of local gender-free dances across the US and overseas. Gender-free dancing lends itself easily to family dances as well as to adult dances; it is a fun way to learn both parts of the dance and a great way for kids and adults to dance together. Chris is skilled at calling and teaching using both gender-free and conventional gender language. He specializes in providing a rewarding and accessible dance program to new and mixed level dances where there are a lot of first time dancers in attendance by creating a strong foundation for dancers early in the dance program, and building on that experience with each successive dance until everyone is dancing together. He choreographs many of his own dances using figures that allow experienced dancers to have fun while providing a forgiving and enjoyable dance experience for newcomers.
SATURDAY, MARCH 3
(2) “Play Your Accordion for Dancing”. AFTERNOON: TIME TBD Accordion players unite and learn to play for dancing. While accordions have always been included in dance bands they are often overshadowed by fiddles. This workshop will cover ways to play the tunes and make them danceable, choice of tunes, and blending with other musicians. We will also cover basic techniques such as best fingering, pulsing with the bellows, and volume control. Some music will be provided.
LEADER: Sylvia Miskoe ,one of the masters, is the recipient of the 2011 Governors Arts New Hampshire Folk Heritage Award. Sylvia has been playing for contras since the 1970s. She also pla ys the accordion for Scottish music. She has traveled to Scotland to further her knowledge of traditional music. She was one of the musicians invited to represent New Hampshire at the 1999 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and at the Celebrate New Hampshire festival held in 2000 in Hopkinton. Sylvia is also a devoted teacher and has served as master artist for two NHSCA Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grants.
“I have had Sylvia playing for a contra dance I called in Nelson, NH and she lit up the room. Believe me she is all you really need.” Rickey Holt, caller and dance organizer.
RSVP, ASAP to reserve a space.
info and reservations: [email protected], (603) 679-1915
PRICE: $25.00, includes admission to the evening dance where workshop leaders will be calling and playing. (Contact us at the above address to explore the possibility of a few limited scholarships if needed). Additional details will be sent to workshop participants.
Goodtime Stringband members, Bob Sevigny and Andy Sicard perform every Thursday evening from 6-8pm at Life Alive in Lowell. The acoustic duo, plays old time, bluegrass, fiddle tunes and some songbook standards. Come down and hang out!
Just had my blond 3/4 upright bass fixed up by Kurt at Johnson Strings in Waltham. He did a fantastic job, and at a very reasonable price!
The problem: Kay and Engelhardt upright basses have a thinner neck profile, and it is not uncommon for them to twist or turn a little bit. My bass, had a slight warp which raised the action in lower positions, and raised it in the high register.
The solution: Kurt removed the fingerboard and created a wedge to beef up the neck profile. He them re-attached the fingerboard and dressed it so it plays effortlessly.
Raising the fingerboard also increased the projection and volume of the instrument! The bass sounds and plays great.
If you need some bass repair done, I’d recommend that you get in touch with Kurt!
Bob and Andy will be playing some Christmas tunes this Friday night at the Worthen in Lowell!
Great news from www.mandolincafe.com:
Mike Compton has completed his first solo mandolin recording, a compilation of original and traditional selections entitled Rotten Taters. The project was spontaneously conceived and recorded in Australia this past summer while on a solo tour.
Compton’s new recording will be a welcome gift to his fans. Accompanied only by mandolin, mandola and voice, Rotten Taters displays his considerable songwriting skills and the ability to interpret traditional American music as few can. Read more here…
