Another New Year

"Where do we go now?" - Guns 'N' Roses

2011 was the biggest year that I've ever had and that's largely due to the many of you who read this blog, buy my merchandise, come out to concerts and take lessons/workshops with me. Thank you. It's an honor, a privilege and a real joy. Happy New Year!

So, now what?

As you might've noticed, there was no huge rolling out of intent OR content on January 1st, 2012 from this camp and I'm just now getting around to posting the first blog of the new year. Going back in time to read past posts from the flipping of the calendar pages revealed the typical plans going forward, like here, here and here.

This time around, during the first week of the year, it's all about a little less talk and a lot more action: namely, those projects that have been brewing for awhile and some new ones that suddenly got ushered to the front of the velvet rope line. More than anything, this low-key approach to the beginning of 2012 is all about scoring precious time simply sitting with my instruments and working on the basics. If there's one thing I learned while on The RV Project Tour (besides how much people hate driving behind Winnebagos) it's that, despite all best intentions, not a whole lot gets done on the road. Practicing, writing, creating - it's all there in fits and spurts, enough to keep the plane leveled out and soaring, but most of my downtime in the spring, summer and fall last year was spent doing a whole lot of nothing. No thing.

That's not exactly true. There was visiting with folks in RV parks, campgrounds and festival parking lots. Many hours spent relaxing under the green canopy and red/orange sandstone and granite cliffs of our nation's state sanctuaries. Quite a lot of time madly pedaling my mountain bike on actual mountains. Soaking in the beauty of the United States of America and resting up before the next event. And sure - some recordings were made and some light administrative business was conducted but, for the most part, I came home in November to not only a huge glut of unfinished business but also to some tough choices that I had to make regarding activities in other areas of my career. Something like a total of two hours of video was shot on tour and that was by design. I wanted to live life as it happened. Not later while editing together Dulcimerica episodes. I had to pick and choose my battles last year in order to get through without imploding.

As the economy continues to take its nose dive, there has been a lot of evaluating going on here - looking at ways to work smarter and faster. Knowing when to step in and when to step out - sort of like a cosmic Hokey-Pokey because, you know, that is what it's really all about.

That's why no books were published and only a handful of videos were produced in 2011. I had to make some choices in order to move forward. Upon returning home from tour to find a deficit of registrations for the Key West Dulcimer Fest, there was a decision to make there too; not a popular decision in the least.

And after enjoying the holidays with Mrs. Futch, puttering around the house, getting caught up, re-oriented and blowing out my vice-ridden ya-ya's, I'm emerging, blinking, into the sunlight of a new year with some better plans. I'll let you in on a few of them before I get back to it.

Music

I've been producing "Dive!" now for almost four years and it's going to drop this year; period. If the Mayans are correct, then I've got 12 months before we're all turned to sheet rock or something. I will be a happier piece of sheet rock having birthed this bad boy, so it's priority number one.

Though "Storm's Sigh" and "Live At Old Songs!" have been available since the end of last year, the official release dates of both projects will be accomplished this month. (Mainly for digital distribution to pipelines such as iTunes, Spotify, Napster and more.)

As for Mohave, the trio (along with Roger Zimish and Tom Sharp) has been dead in the water since drummer Gil Oliver left town for the northeast. I've been busy on the road and with solo performances even as the guys have wondered aloud when we would get together next. Really, the next time needs to be magic in order for us all to pour the time and energy into it. It would take the right drummer and the right environment to make it work. That time may come this year and it mayn't. I know better than to make promises where there's more personality than just me involved, so stay tuned on that one.

I don't have as many festivals booked this year, but am still going to quite a few places for the first time including the Colorado Dulcimer Festival next month, Palestine Old Time Music and Dulcimer Festival in March, Augusta Spring Music Week in April and in May, the NGFDA Spring Thing and the Lone Star State Dulcimer Festival. Of course, I'll be back at Folkcraft headquarters for the Indiana Dulcimer Festival in July (with a return trip to teach ukulele in August at a brand new fest - stay tuned for details.) I haven't even begun to plan the in-between concerts and workshops but the idea is already to travel less across the country and more right here in my (now) home state of Florida.

Books

From no books in 2011 to at least three to be published this year, I'm right now working on some method books. Two of them concerning diatonic mountain dulcimer and one in support of the chromatic dulcimer. Before I get a load of ball-busting e-mails, yes - the oft-mentioned diatonic blues book will finally land. There may be more, but I kind of doubt it. I haven't knocked out more than four books in a year since 2010, I think, and I had a lot more time on my hands then.

Video

I officially got out of the video production biz (for hire) some time ago and realized last year that the state of the art was beginning to change without me. You know how it is with technology, right? First you need to upgrade the software. Then you've got to upgrade the hardware. Then you have to search for patches for the software because someone went "oops" at the hardware design phase. When it comes to media tech, especially video, which accounts for so much of our entertainment medium these days, it can be a full-time job just keeping the equipment happy and in working order so you can do what you do. The shift has slowly been tilting towards getting rid of tape altogether in favor of a fully digital format and I am very excited to embrace that. Once you shoot - you just move it onto the hard drive and you're in like Kevin Flynn. No more real time encoding and logging. It was largely the sheer amount of time that it took to produce individual episodes of Dulcimerica that kept me from doing more last year; just prohibitive in terms of actual hours in pre and post-production, especially during 19,000 miles on the road with only occasional whiffs of wi-fi. With a staff, I could make that work no problem. As the only elf in the shop, well - there I am picking and choosing battles again.

Sometime this month, I'll be taking delivery on a fully digital means of recording HD video. It's an experiment and I hope it works, greatly reducing the amount of production time so that I can shoot, cut and post as quickly as possible. In the immortal words of Dr. Walter Gibbs (Barnard Hughes) from "Tron", "Won't that be grand?" He said something else, eerily predicting the future, right after that but I'll leave it to you to find that chestnut.

So, new Dulcimerica. Soon.

Back To It

Many of you came up to me last year while on the road, or e-mailed, saying that I sounded a little off my game in this post from April of 2011 and you couldn't have been kinder or more on the money. Everyone has their breaking point and something, many things, had brought me to the brink of it back then. Thankfully, the cri de coeur was a brief one, partially soothed by the outpouring of love that was The RV Project. Then, as now, I plan to be less visible (as opposed to Les Visible, for there can be only one) so I can get to work on all of this cool stuff that's brewing. My headspace is 180° from almost a year ago. If indeed this is the last year of civilization, then I'm going to continue living the dream, making the music and loving the life. Honestly, I think we're about to enter another age of enlightenment and this is no time to be cowering under hollowed-out spaces for fear of what "might get us." If there ever was a time to be alive, alert, awake and thrilled for each second we are blessed to live - this is it.

It.

And on that note. Thanks for reading. I appreciate you and hope that you are receiving something of value from me. If not: be kind enough to tell me so and I'll do my best to deliver.

Wishing you peace, joy and, most of all, love, in this new year. Let's all win together!

Sho na bish,

Bing

Retrointrospection: In Brief

Just exactly who reads this stuff, anyway? If you're reading this, please leave a comment. Want to see if this thing is working. You've got plenty of interesting stops on the Information Superhighway to make, so I'm chuffed to bits that you've chosen to stop and have a scone or two here in my own little ghetto of the grid.

"Let There Be Peace On Earth" was released this month after missing the opportunity to release it during last year's holiday season. It features the incredible pipes of Benjamin Dehart: The Cracker Tenor and you can check it out here, if you haven't already.

Also, if you missed the album that flew under the radar, check it out here.
A project for the good people at Folkcraft Instruments.

Christmas is over. New Year's Eve is never a big deal around this household. A couple of movies. A bottle (or three) of bubbly. Kiss. Snuggle. Chill.

What this means is: time to dig in.

There's lots of exciting new stuff that's been developing over the past month or so and it's all been kept very under the hat. I'm looking forward to the Key West Dulcimer Fest in January, of course hoping that our good weather isn't on back-order come that third week.

Looking back on the past year, I see a lot of those days spent planning were put to good use. That just reinforces the time that I spend studying. Researching, working through test books and memorizing elements of music theory. Practicing scales, bouncing improvisations off of the wall. Sitting at the computer for infinite stretches of time putting it out into the universe; data salvo!

Times are tough all over and they're going to get tougher before they get better. That, coupled together with the ongoing studio improvements here at Casa de Milagro has seen a sort of bittersweet decision to sell a lot of my dulcimer collection to raise funds for equipment upgrades. To be fair, these were instruments that were not being played on a regular basis and would probably only be engaged on special occasions in the foreseeable future, though they'd all seen their share of stage-time. They each went to good homes where they'll be loved and played as a primary instrument, meanwhile leaving me with enough cash to do some shopping.

What I got (and what's on the table) will be the focus of the next couple of blog posts as we begin a brand new year of renewed production.

For everybody who reads this blog, watches "Dulcimerica", listens to my music or attends my workshops; if you've paid any attention to me this year: thank you. Somewhere between time wasted and a worthwhile time spent is a place where everyone is grooving to the same beat. Happy New Year and many blessings to you for a great 2011! The beat goes on.


If this year was any kind of forecast, then 2011 is going to be a great one for everybody (keep putting that good mojo out into the universe.)

Catching Up With Dulcimerica

Dulcimerica 168 - "Key West Dulcimer Fest Pt. 10"

Dulcimerica 167 - "Key West Dulcimer Fest Pt. 9"

Dulcimerica Updates!

Dulcimerica 161 - "Key West Dulcimer Fest Pt. 3"

Dulcimerica 160 - "Key West Dulcimer Fest Pt. 2"

Dulcimerica 159 - "Key West Dulcimer Fest Pt. 1"

Festival Action - Low Action - High Action

It's been awhile since I've posted here, mainly due to keeping up information on the Key West Dulcimer Fest website.

What a blast and what a joy! The festival ran smoothly, the weather was amazing and we're looking at 2011 for our next time around.

There are lots of little details that have been floating in and out of focus since the final day; moments of music, leaps forward in ability, all of the minute things that combine to create a wonderfully eye-opening experience.

Huge thanks to Folkcraft Instruments for their sponsorship of the festival and the hard work of Richard Ash on-site, connecting with instructors and working on dulcimers. Stephen Seifert and I have been talking about low action vs. high action (we've both been huge fans of low action) and finally decided that a higher action was necessary for the styles of playing that we both employ. Richard raised the action on three of our instruments and the difference is incredible. Sure, you have to work a little harder, not much, but enough to win great results. The dynamic range of the instruments have opened up and, dare I say it, has made them just a touch louder. We went with low action to make fretting easier - but I offer that anything totally easy won't yield the best results. It's like working out - the harder it is, the greater the reward (or something like that.)

There will be video coming along in a little while, some more recollections and announcements of dates and instructors for the next festival - soon!

Happy New Year!

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. "

- Edith Lovejoy Pierce

First off, a deeply heartfelt wish for all of you who read this; have a very Happy New Year full of the blessings of life.

Last night was different and, God knows, I like it like that. Spent most of the evening working on the poster for the Key West Dulcimer Fest and grilling steaks for Jae and I. At some point, we began watching the first episode of "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates" starring Patricia Rutledge from "Keeping Up Appearances." I got the entire four seasons on DVD for Jae and we were both curious how this newer show would compare to the comedy that we both enjoyed so much (it was quite good.)

Somewhere towards the end of the episode, the cracking and banging and booming outside the windows escalated and we surmised that midnight had arrived, so I popped the cork, poured us two stiff quaffs, we kissed and toasted the new year quietly, then finished watching the episode. When it was through, we did switch over to see how old Dick Clark was getting along (remarkably well for a man of his age and condition, in fact, it appears he's getting better) but the music ended up chasing both of us into bed an hour later. As we don't watch t.v. or listen to radio, the new shows and music often end up surprising us as we turn around odd corners from time to time. I try to stay abreast of current creative events and so it was no surprise to hear names like Colbie Caillat and Selena Gomez headlining events. What did surprise me was the sheer proliferation of auto-tune songs, lip-syncing and the overall sameness of the material. Seriously, The Go-Go's did bubble-gum pop much better in the 80's!

While sitting there watching the current state of mainstream music, I began getting itchy about the new year and my own career. Plans have already been laid for some new directions and I'm anxious to get hoppin'. One of my self-prescribed Christmas gifts just arrived last week; a Yamaha RBX 250 bass guitar. I began my professional musician life as a bassist back in 1984 and haven't owned one since falling in love with the mountain dulcimer. It'll come in handy when working in the studio, since I've really not enjoyed working with synth-bass for most of the releases over the past couple of years. Sounds so....synthy.

On the way also are a set of Piedmont Blues harmonicas. With Mohave I've wanted to spice up the musical mix a bit with a fifth member who would be a multi-instrumentalist. Until that perfect person shows up, I've decided to add a few more instruments to my own bag of tricks including the aforementioned bass and harmonica. Down the road, as I continue developing on the chromatic dulcimer, I'm looking at getting into ukulele and fireside bagpipes.

This doesn't mean that the dulcimer is getting pushed aside, by any means. Like a painter who favors a certain palette, I'm simply expanding the range of colors with which I use to paint. There are always primary colors involved in the mixing of paints, and I consider the mountain dulcimer to be one of the most important shades I use. There are developments this year that will even expand how those particular hues are perceived and it's going to be a very interesting year for recording, that's for sure.

Watch this space for more music theory and, of course, the fourth season of "Dulcimerica" for resources pertaining strictly to the mountain dulcimer. A new year has begun, in some ways a new song for us all to sing. I hope you sing yours loudly, proudly and without fear. It's your song after all and no-one can sing it but you.

Key West Dulcimer Fest 2010

Pre-Order Key West CD!

The Official CD of the First Annual Key West Dulcimer Fest is now available for pre-order! Buying now will put you first on the list for this tropical collection of 15 tracks by the teaching/performing staff of the fest. Tracks include:


Margaritaville - Bing Futch | Birdland - Karen Mueller

Jamaica Farewell - Tull Glazener

Rivers Of Babylon - Lois Hornbostel | Fragile - Butch Ross

John B Sails - Robert Force

Pupu A `O `Ewa - Gary Sager | Sing A Song - David Beede

Sun Lotion 99 - Susan Trump

Kokomo - Jeff Hames | Three Little Birds - Rick Thum

Swingin' 7's - The Aaron O'Rourke Trio

Mode For Dulcimer - Stephen Seifert | Samantha's Smile - Guy George

By Land & Sea - Dan Landrum

You can hear samples of each tune in the store.

Key West Dulcimer Fest 2010

Aloha!

Registration for the Key West Dulcimer Fest is now open! Our pre-registered folks have reserved their place in line and are guaranteed a spot. Only 200 slots are available, so be sure to act quickly or you may miss out on the first tropical dulcimer festival in America!

Some information you'll want to know:

• Temperatures should be around the low 70's during all four warm and wonderful days.

• Link for the registration form is located to the left and you can print out as many copies as you need; one for each person attending. The form has info on instructor concert tickets for non-attendees and an area to order the official festival t-shirt.

• We have an accommodations coordinator; Sheri Cabanas. She's secured us fantastic festival rates at places within walking distance of Hurricane Hole Marina, where workshops, meals and concerts are taking place. If you're planning on camping, you'll want to call her straight away, as there are only so many slots available during high season. Give her a call at 305-294-6019.

• For the best experience, plan on arriving Wednesday afternoon/evening and staying through till Sunday afternoon. Thursday the 28th will be a laid-back day of informal jams, meet-n-greet, sightseeing and planned activities. Some of the instructors will be presenting masters classes on this day as well. Friday and Saturday, the 29th and 30th will be full curriculum days:

Breakfast - 7:30-8:45 a.m.
1st Period - 9-10 a.m.
2nd Period - 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Lunch - 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
3rd Period - 1-2 p.m.
4th Period - 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Dinner will be from 5-6:30 p.m. with the instructor concerts scheduled from 7-9 p.m.
Times may change slightly. Meals will be catered by Hurricane Hole Restaurant and will be available for a nominal price.

Sunday, the 31st, we'll have some more masters classes, gospel jam, informal jamming, sightseeing and winding down, leading up to a glorious sunset cruise upon a sailboat in the Gulf of Mexico at 6 p.m.

We'll have more details on some of these events and we've got a lot more planned. You'll not only have plenty of time to soak in the island atmosphere, see the sights and enjoy the warm weather; you'll also get a good solid stream of instruction and jamming for mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, autoharp, pennywhistle, steel drums, guitar and more!

Conveniently located at the Hurricane Hole Marina are charters for fishing, scuba-diving, para-sailing, kayaking, long-boarding, wave-runner rentals and more. The venue is located across the highway from the Key West Golf Club and Resort. Island AeroPlane Tours offer old-fashioned biplane rides high above Key West or, for those who wish to keep their feet close to earth, the Conch Train gives great tours of "Bone Island."

Be sure to bookmark, subscribe and otherwise stay connected with the official website at:

http://KeyWestDulcimerFest.com

for pictures, video, links, updates and the latest info on the festival. We also have a YouTube page featuring performances by our staff of instructors:

http://YouTube.com/KeyWestDulcimerFest

and finally, we're on Twitter! Not only is it a great way to stay informed (updates can be sent right to your phone) but it is also a neat way to communicate with other festival-goers, and we'll be using the Twitter service in some fun and exciting ways once we're headed down to the island:

http://twitter.com/KeyWestDulcimer

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at: jobentertainment@yahoo.com - we've got a staff of people working on making this an extraordinary experience for everyone who attends!

Mahalo, and hope to see you on the beach in Key West!

Bing Futch
Key West Dulcimer Fest

Catching Up

Just got back from Key West and it was heavenly. Nice to escape all of the rain, sirens, minibikes, screaming neighbor children and howling dogs for awhile. Most of the time was spent sitting on patios, boat decks and in comfy chairs strumming my dulcimer and simply enjoying the music with no agenda.

Now, back home, there's plenty of agenda, including the continuing production of "Dive!", which resumed this week. The album is beginning to take a definite shape and theme, with the inclusion of a couple of tunes that I didn't think would end up here ("Artist", "Nine One One".)

A good portion of today was spent printing out lead sheets for "Drinking Out Loud", "Icarus" and "April Fools", all of which will go into rehearsal mode for inclusion in my live set. A new tune, "Big Fish, Little Pond", has been actually cooking for a few years and now's the perfect time to bring it out into the open.

Lots of stuff happening over the next few weeks, starting with a solo show tonight at the St. Cloud Hotel and Spa from 7-11 pm. Next week begins a four-state tour as I visit Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.

The temporary sunshine that gloriously warmed central Florida is now giving way to black clouds and distant rumbling - better put a cap on this post before the power gets knocked out by one of those many lightning bolts that have been hitting the ground, fence posts, telephone poles and power lines around here. Have a great weekend if I don't see you tonight in the Easy Street Lounge!

Cross-pollinating...

Key West Dulcimer Fest

I know it's a year away, but did you see how fast last year went slipping by?  January 28th-31st, 2010 is the date for the 1st Annual Key West Dulcimer Fest and I'm very, very stoked.  Take one of my favorite places in the world and combine it with my favorite instrument in the world, some of my favorite performers/instructors in the world and a whole bunch of my favorite people in the world - I just don't know if I'm gonna be able to contain my joy over the next year.

Thankfully, I get to skip down to Key West a few times this year, including our annual May stopover, which will be a big fifth wedding anniversary and vow renewal blow-out for Jae and I.  We were married in Key West and so it really does hold a special significance for us.  And even if it didn't, the place just simply rocks.

4-Year Anniversary

Today marks four years of matrimony for Jae and I, begun here in Key West where we have a number of traditions, including karaoke at Two Friends. On this trip, however, we've decided to do some things that we've never done before, which has been a real blast as we sort of "rediscover" the island.

Usually, at Two Friends, I go up and sing "Rock Lobster" with Sheri, my sister-in-law, and also "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool." We went "down, down" with the B-52's as usual last night, but for the first time in our marriage, Jae and I performed together at karaoke. Check this duo out!

http://www.keyslive.com/pages/jaebing52908.html

Too much fun! There were quite a few tunes in the mongo-sized karaoke book that weren't there last year, including one that is part of my solo sets, "Texas In My Rearview Mirror":

http://www.keyslive.com/pages/bing52908.html

All of this came just after I spent two hours performing as part of the Mallory Square Sunset Celebration for the first time. I'm willing to bet that mountain dulcimers don't get a fair amount of action there, as even the other performers were intrigued when I was given my first-timers slot, right in between Warren the magician and Reid, the fire juggler. Viva Key West!

We're at the Duval Beach Cafe currently, having just taken an exciting ride in my brother-in-law's open cockpit Stearman bi-plane. Tonight, who knows? Sheri has something planned for us, which she'll divulge after lunch. More pictures and video to come!

Thank you for all of the anniversary wishes - we are having a blast!

Aloha,

Bing and Jae