Howdy to you all out there on Harmony Road.
Are you feeling the end of Summer? Are you preparing for the next round of festivals and campouts coming? Have you gone back to school or started a new job?
I am writing today about my blessings big and small but especially those little everyday miracles of life that just sort of happen but really are gifts from the Almighty.
I would not be writing this column or be the musician I have become were it not for Elena Corey. She went out of her way to include as a member of the California Bluegrass Association and kept at me to share my gifts of teaching and writing. I also have to thank Suzanne Dennison who also became a great encouraging friend that told me to say what I have to say and to not be afraid to do it.
Next up for me will be the Strawberry Music Festival at the Nevada County Fairgrounds at Grass Valley, Bluegrassin in the Foothills, at Plymouth and IBMA in Raleigh, NC.
Perhaps I’ll see you at one of these great events.
Through the Strawberry Music Festival, I became friends with Cyrus Clark, one of the early members of the Cache Valley Drifters. Today, out of the blue he sent me 4 of his cds and now I’m listening to them and feeling like I have an old friend visiting and sitting in the kitchen picking tunes with me. Wow…
What about the Kids on Stage:
Everyone of the kids gave a great performance. With each rehearsal we would end it saying: All for one and one for all! And that’s how it was! We had 15 songs and 3 jokes an original song by Maybelle and her friend Emily, the Bluegrass Dancer. John Gooding and Amaya Rose Dempsey performed a very hot duet of Blue Moon of Kentucky. They are headed off to Raleigh, NC to the IBMA’s Kids on Bluegrass directed by Kim Fox. Both John and Amaya have grown musically for many years through the CBA’s Kids on Bluegrass directed by Frank Solivan. They’ll make us proud.
Kids on Stage at the Good Old Fashioned Festival:
Tessa Schwartz,
Maxwell Evans
Griffin Evans,
Ethan Daniel,
John Gooding,
Amaya Rose Dempsey,
Carter & Teddy Mather,
Helen Lude,
Maybelle Wildflower Irish,
Emily the Dancer
Teresa, Isabel and Michael Pilatti.
My tie to Marcos Alvira:
Hey Regina Bartlett…making its debut today.
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I knew that I was to give it my friend Marcos as soon as I found it. I gave it to him at Grass Valley. Sure makes me happy to see you wearing it so well!
Give him a hand:
I met Dominic Leslie at a gas station off Carmel Valley when he was doing hand exercises while I was pumping gas. We later met again in Big Sur when he played mandolin for the Bee Eaters and became friends. He then became a Deadly Gentleman and I have seen him play with Missy Raines and in Nashville. We always stretch out our hands and arms when we see each other!
Hands of Time:
If you’re a musician and a picker or luthier – then you need to wear gloves when you work with your hands. We must care for our hands that serve us. I came down with a hang nail at the GOF…kept on picking and playing and even though I cleaned it and used band aids, it still got infected! As a diabetic I have to really care for my hands and feet. I love to garde and always think I do a better job without gloves. There’s lots of bacteria and germs to deal with and especially with camping and gardening. My garden loves me and my hard work, but I must love my hands more if I want to continue using them to create music. Notes and plants get my attention these days. It’s my therapy. I pray when I garden or I‘ll think about things, and sing and make up songs, and I’ll play my favorite cds and then there’s KPIG radio. “Just a tip” as my old friend Steven, the SurfDawg would say.
I’m working on a song called, “Noche Negro.” Great name huh? In English it’s the Black Knight! It’s a Hollyhock flower that is a very dark red that is almost black. It glows in the sunlight.
Last year, I remember Pete Hicks, Michael Cleveland and Patrick Sauber playing Bluegrass Music outside my door night at the Marriott Hotel, all night long at IBMA Raleigh, NC …Greatest Music ever! I’m looking forward to representing the CBA at IBMA and working for Lucy Smith with my good friend, Kay Wilkes.
Life is good in Santa Cruz. One of our favorite sons is going off to college…
Good luck to you “Marty the Magnificent” Varner. I look forward to your next installment/column! Thanks for teaching me some Tony Rice songs too!
Until next time, I’ll see you out there on Harmony Road.