Fiddlers and folklorists alike

Howdy, friends and neighbors! Pardon my reprinting much of this, with updated information, from our Facebook page, but I thought I'd like to answer a few questions before cooking buffalo burgers.

Response to this little film idea has exceeded my wildest dreams. Along with a fantastic lineup of musicians, a fine group of experts have agreed to take part in our celebration of traditional music, a group that includes a fair sprinkling of pickers and fiddlers. We've been invited to next October's North Georgia Mountain Fair, a week of traditional arts and crafts in Hiawassee, Georgia. Will we go? Did I tell you about the traditional moonshine still?

In early March, Alan Jabbour will be fiddling at the Breaking Up Winter festival outside Nashville, and Kevin and I will be headed up to film him. Many of you probably know who he is, but for those who don't, the following is distilled from his website.

Mr. Jabbour was a violinist by early training, and he put himself through college at the University of Miami playing classical music. While a graduate student at Duke University in the 1960s, he began documenting oldtime fiddlers in the Upper South. Documentation turned to apprenticeship, and he relearned the fiddle in the style of the Upper South from musicians like Henry Reed of Glen Lyn, Virginia, and Tommy Jarrell of Toast, North Carolina. He taught a repertory of oldtime fiddle tunes to his band, the Hollow Rock String Band, which was an important link in the instrumental music revival in the 1960s. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1968, he taught English, folklore, and ethnomusicology at UCLA in 1968-69. He then moved to Washington, D.C., for over thirty years of service with Federal cultural agencies. He was head of the Archive of Folk Song at the Library of Congress 1969-74, director of the folk arts program at the National Endowment for the Arts 1974-76, and director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress 1976-99. Since his retirement, he has turned enthusiastically to a life of writing, consulting, lecturing, and playing the fiddle. Now he's going to play for us, and we couldn't be more delighted.You can find out more about Alan, including a schedule of appearances and lectures, at www.alanjabbour.com.

Patrick Huber is associate professor of history at Missouri University of Science and Technology. He is coauthor of a few books on pop culture and country music, including The 1920s: American Popular Culture through History and his latest, Linthead Stomp. A linthead is a textile worker, and heck, everyone knows what a stomp is. Considered a bit of a contrarian in the field, Huber's latest book asserts that, “Contrary to popular belief, the roots of American country music do not lie solely on southern farms or in mountain hollows. Rather, much of this music recorded before World War II emerged from the bustling cities and towns of the Piedmont South. No group contributed more to the commercialization of early country music than southern factory workers.” Finally, all my millhand uncles and cousins get their due. You can read more about his book at the University of North Carolina Press, and here's a direct link: http://www.uncpress.unc.edu/browse/book_detail?title_id=1544

Mick Kinney is an accomplished, multi-talented musician, and he's also an expert on the Old-Time Georgia fiddlers. Mick “plays everything, fiddle, piano, banjo, guitar, accordion, lap steel, and anything else he can get his hands on”. He plays “zydeco on Buford Highway, straight folk in Decatur, torch atbluegreass at festivals, torch at the DeFoor Center, and rock on tour with his brother Kevin.” Check out his music on his MySpace page: www.myspace.com/mickkinney

Did you know Georgia's Poet Laureate is a picker? Dr. David Bottoms is a lifelong musician and admirer of the late Fonzy Kennemur. Although he never actually made a living from it, Fonzy was a well-known and widely-respected fiddler in his time, a man passionate about his art, a perfect subject for the memories of a poet. You can find a listing of David Bottoms' published works at the Library of Congress: http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&CMD=NALL+%22bottoms+david%22&CNT=25+records+per+page

Of course, the biggest news around here in the past two weeks has been word that Norman Blake has agreed to appear, as well. I wrote a brief synopsis of his career for a Facebook page, but I'm sure the folks here are familiar with his work. If you're interested in his bio,it's available here: http://westernjubilee.com/Plectrafone/Biography.htm Norman and his wife Nancy, along with their friend and neighbor-across-the way James Bryan, will perform for the film as the Rising Fawn Ensemble. We are honored beyond belief, and we are indebted to his manager, Scott O'Malley. Scott specializes in what he calls “hillbilly and cowboy music”. You can check out his complete catalog at: http://westernjubilee.com .

And this just in: Beverly Smith, who performs with Carl Jones as Smith & Jones (natch), has also expressed interest, the first woman fiddler to sign on. There are more, lots more people to mention, but it's time to make dinner, so I'll just have to "blog" again soon.

Kevin and I extend our deepest gratitude to all those who have agreed to take part in this celebration on film. Tell all your friends, and if you're an old-time Georgia fiddler with a story to tell of someone who taught you a old song-- preferably written before 1922--, let me know, and you could meet the filmmakers in person. Okay, bison burgers call.

David

Calling all Georgia fiddlers!