"Juke Joint Hen" with Stephen Seifert at Suwannee Dulcimer Retreat!

Dulcimerica 179!

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!

Here we go....

I landed back in Florida today after a whirlwind trip to Anaheim, California for the NAMM Show and then a stopover in Stroudsburg, Pennsyvlvania for the Winter Dulcimer Fest. Now, the runway is pointing towards the next big event, which is The Key West Dulcimer Fest (but not before a quick couple of nights at Dicey Reilly's Irish Pub in St. Cloud, Florida.)

NAMM was amazing as usual - spent time at Downtown Disney on Wednesday, shopping and meeting up with a dear friend from my post-high school life, then a nice meal with Richard and Nick from Folkcraft Instruments before launching into the first full day on the convention floor on Thursday. When standing in the booth, playing dulcimer, the time seems to fly and during that time, a few breaks were taken to catch some of the sights and sounds, which included lots of new gear, a sighting of Bootsy Collins and Cowboy Troy, many visitations and encounters at the booth and a meet-up with the V-Picks gang, who laid yet another amazing pick on me.

Stephen Seifert was handling booth demos for the rest of the show and he came out about midday. After a dinner at El Torito, we repaired back to the hotel and jammed in the lobby, much to the delight of staff and some other folks who were staying there.

Friday morning came way too early (about 4 am PT) as I headed off to John Wayne airport and began the long journey to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the Winter Dulcimer Fest in the Poconos. Christie Burns picked me up from the airport along with her niece, Devin, and we enjoyed some teppanyaki before joining others for a jam at the festival site. Saturday brought a full day of workshops and an evening concert, where Christie and I jammed together for the first time. Afterwards, I hung out with my friend Kristy Sproul and stayed at the house she shares with her husband, Kevin and their two children Kyle and Katie. I awoke this morning to the smell of breakfast and had a lovely visit before heading out, once more, to the airport for the return trip home.

Needless to say, I'm flat sick of airports already for the year 2010 and am glad to be home and focused for the upcoming festival in Key West. There will be pics and videos from the past weekend, but right now, I'm just checking in, sitting in the backyard hammock, trying not to launch directly into frenzied work mode.

Life is good. Busy, hectic, crazy, but definitely good.

Trouble with a capital "T"

New Tune!

The first round of new tunes is beginning to surface and the first one is a traditional blues number that has been cruising around in my noggin for awhile. I may upload a light demo this week as I toy around with some elements. Using Band-In-A-Box for the backing tracks, though I'll record this with Mohave, more than likely:

"Uphill In A Headwind"
Music and Lyrics by Bing Futch
Copyright © 2009 J.O.B. Entertainment Inc.

I got troubles on my mind
lord where do I begin? (2x)
feels like I'm runnin' to stand still, up hill in a headwind

you know I broke these chains so long ago
now I'm wearing them again (2x)
feels like I'm runnin' to stand still, up hill in a headwind

solo

I used to make good money
but that was long ago (2x)
you know these days I'm clipping coupons
every time I go to the store

don't you remember me, baby
I was the one who let you in (2x)
now you act like you don't know me
well, I thought you was my friend

solo

I got troubles on my mind
lord where do I begin? (2x)
feels like I'm runnin' to stand still, up hill in a headwind

====

Been putting Annie through her paces and she really howls on this tune - so an upload of backing tracks and dulcimer will come first - then, as I've worked out the vox and arrangement better, there will come stage two.

Mountain Dulcimer Podcast

Last night's podcast with Stephen Seifert was great - thanks to all who "attended" and were present in the chat room. If you missed it, the archive of the show can be found here.

On The Road, Er, In The Air Again

This weekend, I'll be at the Mid-Winter Dulcimer Festival in Shelby, North Carolina along with Joe Collins, Alan Darveaux, Wayne Seymour, Nancy Galumbush, Margit Roberson and Flat Mountain Dulcimers. The concert on Saturday night is free, if you're in the area - come on out! Information on the workshops is in the link above.

More later this week - I'm going back to writing.

2 Online Dulcimer Thing-a-majobbers

One's a podcast and one's a real-time forum; both of which you should check out on a regular basis if you're a player of or are interested in mountain dulcimers.

First is Stephen Seifert's "Mountain Dulcimer Folk" podcast which is going into its third year. I'll be talking with Stephen live on Monday, February 2, 2009. The show starts at 8 PM CST / 9 PM EST.

Second is Jeff Hames' New and Young Dulcimer Players Forum, which is going into its second year - a discussion group that meets monthly in real-time with a panel of instructors where folks can post questions and get responses immediately. The topic for the next session is "Intro To Music Theory" and I'm one of the forum hosts - you know how much I love the music theory. That's on February 10th at 8 pm central time.

Both of these, you should frequent on a regular basis to get and stay plugged-in to the mountain dulcimer world.

Coming Up

Stephen Seifert is, in my opinion, the best mountain dulcimer player on the planet and it was through his helpful advice in 2005 that I finally got plugged into the festival scene. Since then, we've become friends and colleagues and really enjoy the times that we get to geek out over tech stuff and music.

Steve has a great show called "Mountain Dulcimer Folk Podcast" that is back after a hiatus; every Monday night at 8 pm CST/9 pm ET. I've called into the show a few times, but on February 2nd (Groundhog Day!), I'll be the main guest, talking with Steve and sharing about music, love, life and, probably, Waffle House. Check out his archives for many great shows featuring a literal who's who of the dulcimer world!