Not My Monkey New Recording by Fiddle Whamdiddle

Vi and I have been hard at work and have finally sent our newest recording off to the manufacturer this week!

Not My Monkey features our original tune (by the same name), John Denver's Matthew, Aura Lea (written in 1861 by a relative of Vi's Grandmother, George R. Poulton) and several other old-time favorites.

Recorded over 3 years, by two very gifted engineers (Latin-Grammy-winning Oscar Autie, of El Cerrito Studio, in El Cerrito, California) and Darren Radach, of Stout Studios in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Darren also served as the mixing engineer and the recording was mastered by Randy LeRoy of Airshow Mastering, Tacoma Park, Maryland.

Cover art was photographed and designed by Christina Gressianu, Loveland, Colorado.

We expect delivery by the first of February with a projected release date of March 1, 2017.

Pre-Order today and get your copy as soon as it arrives...with free postage!  (use the code: iwantmymonkey at checkout)

"Shaped Wind, Breath, Spirit, the Animating Force..."

...is how I began my multi-cultural educational presentation at the Peninsula Multi-Faith Coalition meeting this past Monday evening.

Starting with Native American flute and then moving to Australian Didjeridoo, I demonstrated this animating force and commented on the connections it has with all of the various faith traditions gathered in the room.

Then moving to djembe, a drum that was designed for healing (like a chalice) in Mali, I recalled that some people believe that our first religion, as humans, was dance, right after we started drumming.

(As a parent of two, and a current preschool music teacher in Peninsula Music Together, I can attest to the truth that we are all percussionists First!)

Another characteristic of African drummers is the awareness or belief that the rhythms are eternal and that what we are seeking to do is to create the conditions for them to come and inhabit us for a time, flowing through us for the good of the community.

After this I demonstrated how the music of Chinese, Arabic and African-American people can be played on the Hammered Dulcimer without retuning, simply by starting in a different place and playing the scales native to each.

Contradicting scholar Stephen Pinker, who once declared that music was "auditory cheesecake," I shared what the rest of the scholarly community knows about the power of music:

It helps us get together to find partners to keep the species going.
It helps us build group identity and cohesion.
It can soothe infants (and perhaps keep them safe in times of danger).  [The brain waves and heart rates of both mother and child have been documented to settle into very calm rhythms with the singing of a lullabye, a condition which lasts for more than 30 minutes after the singing has ended.]

I related a story from my own parenting:  When my son, Zach, had night terrors, the only song that would calm him was the African-American spiritual, Wade in the Water (which we had just gotten done singing as a group.)

I shared Pete Seeger's Preface in the new Rise Again Songbook, which I just received as a gift for Christmas.

"The older I get, the more I am convinced that if there's a human rase in a hundred years, one of the main reasons will be that we found ways we can sing together.  Different religions, different languages—the act of singing together makes us realize we're human beings.  We can't put it in words.  To a certain extent all the arts are important—the dancing arts!  Cooking arts! Humor arts! Sports!

But if we're still here I believe singing will be a main reason why.  Not solo singing, singing together.  Families can sing together.  Strangers can sing together.  People who think they hate each other can sing together.  

And perhaps if we find the right songs, even people who are so filled with hate they are ready to pull the trigger on somebody—we can reach them too.  Who knows?"

I then sang a snippet from a Russian lullabye:  (phonetically spelled here)

Poost veg dah, bood yet solhnsay
Poost veg dah, bood yet nyaybah
Poost veg dah, bood yet mama
Poost veg dah, bood do yah.

May there always be sunshine,
May there always be blue skies,
May there always be Mama,
May there always be me.

It was been said that when the soldiers were called to the Kremlin at the end of the USSR, their mothers and babushkas lined the roads and sang this to them, and they didn't fire upon the crowds.

Music is powerful.  They found a song that kept them from pulling the trigger.

Then my wonderful spouse, Connie, joined me in singing Santa Cruz songwriter, Jon Fromer's amazing song:  Gonna Take Us All

It IS gonna take us all, and we CAN do it.

The Nursery for New Dulcimers at Dusty Strings!

This was my joy in the lobby of Dusty Strings when I first met my new BUNDLE of joy (the largest hammered dulcimer they produce!)

They had it all set up with hammers for me to play it and it was ready to come home with me!

With all those notes in the lower register that I've been hungering for...look out!

And you know what, as soon as I took it out for a spin, I began playing an improvised piece in Bm (with two lower octaves of B than I've ever had) and I played with vigor and passion that left me standing there panting!

I believe that is a first for me.

Daughter, Kaitlin, Playing Joni Mitchell Tunes!

I then played it in my sets at Luther's Table  in Renton, WA that night, and at Our Saviour's Lutheran in Bremerton, WA on Sunday Morning, and then up in Port Townsend for a Labor Day jam with my good friend, Robert Force in the best ever room for a house concert that over looks the Puget Sound!

Then back down for a house concert at Anderson Island, sponsored by the Community Center.

I got to have the first spot on the Anderson Island Ferry on the way to the island, which was a treat on this beautiful September afternoon!

The Space Needle and Mt. Ranier.  Wow. Just Wow.

Following the rest of the visit with our daughter, I headed south through Oregon and the smoky wilds of Northern California to bring this baby home!

Another Project Released with Steve as Session Musician!

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/andyz13

Being a musician has another way of offering awesome experiences:

One can be contracted to work as a Guest Artist, or Session Musician on another musician's project.

My supervisor at Peninsula Music Together, Pam Donkin, referred me to Andy Zamenes, who needed some traditional instrumentation for his upcoming project.

Andy (aka Andy Z) and I settled on hammered dulcimer as what he needed for a couple of tracks on his new project, Classic Songs & Tunes.

After consultation and working with the tracks we sent, I met him at the studio last November in Livermore where he was recording and mixing the tracks.  

Here are a couple of views from my corner in the middle of the sound baffles:

A short while later the tracks were completed, and today Andy gave me my copy of the CD so I finally got to hear the completed project.

It is a sincere joy to collaborate with fine musicians and help them bring their vision to fruition!

Fiddle Whamdiddle Summer 2014

Vi and I have had some great gigs playing together this summer so far!

We had a fun night at Avogadro's number at the end of May, and then a terrific time at the Avery House for July 4th Independence Day Celebration.

Some different friends captured these moments as images to evoke that fun:

The tent was provided by Streetmosphere, Beet Street's summer music program. [Photo by Franklin Taggart]

This looks way too cheerful to be Blacktail Weasel and the Ground Squirrel Clan!  [Jim Frye Photo] Listen to that tune here.

Here are some nice close-ups while we play (which is musician for "work"!) [Pics by Pabo]

Steve Eulberg at North Bay Children's Center

Steve Eulberg:  North Bay Children’ CenterDate: 8/2/12
Host: Aidan Nelson

Essence Story by Aidan Nelson

As Steve Eulberg and I walked into the North Bay Children’s Center in Novato, the kids were already eager. Peeking behind chairs and cabinets, they were very intrigued as to who we were and what we were doing there. When they were told that Steve would be playing music for them, their eyes widened with enthusiasm. As we set up for the performance kids continued to peek and smile and giggle. They were anxious to hear some music.

He began with a fill in the blank song, “I Celebrate Life By…” where the children would yell out how they celebrated life. Once he heard a good idea he would do an impromptu verse including their proposal.

“Smiling!”
                  “Sleeping on the couch eating pizza!”
                                                                        “Snoring!”

After just the first song, the kids were already enthralled by his music. The energy with which he performed and the connectivity he created with the audience were astounding. He kept the listeners involved and active for the entire time, and with a group of young children, that’s something special. Frequently children, after some time, get bored or anxious to leave. However, this was not the case at North Bay Children’s Center. These kids were into it.

Towards the end of his set he would call for the children to do certain actions or jump up and down and dance. They did this with such immense enthusiasm that the ground almost shook.

When his show was over everyone was left with new energy and excitement. The show was an apparent success. I even heard one boy say, “Ah! That was so fun!”

And it was. It was so fun.

===
www.breadandroses.org 

 

Dutch Hop Dulcimer

Local bass player, Marty Rein, whose father loves Dutch Hop Dulcimer, was playing across the street from me for a Streetmosphere gig in Fort Collins this summer.  During his break he video-ed me playing his request: "The Windsor Special".

I wrote an article about dulcimers in the Dutch Hop Tradition some years ago for DulcimerSessions.com.  You can read it here.

Pickin' Porch 2011

For 12 years Mike and Connie Clemmer have hosted a weekly concert on their Pickin' Porch, behind their Wood-N-Strings Dulcimer Shop in Townsend, Tennessee.

Located near the entrance to Smoky Mountain National Park, this is one of my favorite places to play--the background is the rushing river behind the stage, the backdrop is the rich green leaves of the trees, sometimes there is cicada accompaniment, and last night some geese honked their appreciation for the duet that Mike and I played with the instruments that he built!  What better setting for traditional music can be found?



So here is a sampling from last night's concert:  hammered dulcimer (part of the Irish set), Soaring (my PBS Roadtrip Nation hit!), a fiddle tune duet with Mike and Boil Them "Eucalyptus" Down The International Mountain Dulcimer National Anthem (a duet for Appalachian dulcimer and "Australian Dulcimer"--> didjeridoo.)

The audience is a responsive and enthusiastic gathering of locals, people camping in the area and folks just passing through.

And there is a new surprise this year--Mike has added a roof over the Pickin' Porch (at this rate, pretty soon this will be a "soft-seater" venue!)  He says, "At least if it rains, YOU and your instruments won't get wet."   (After a week of steady rains and 40-50° days that IS comforting.)

So here are my recommendations:

If you are in the neighborhood, stop on any Saturday night of the season and savor the music in its perfect environment.

If you are not in the neighborhood, ask yourself "Why Not?" and then make plans to be!

Back for Baccalaureate

Capital Alumni beneath the gate

Capital University, Mees Hall Auditorium, was the site of the Baccalaureate Service for my daughter, Kaitlin's, Graduation in early May.

The "new" permanent thrust in front
of the stage in Mees Hall.

I was honored when Pastor Amy Oehlschlager invited me to play music for the prelude of the service.

I played both mountain and hammered dulcimers on the stage where I used to work when I was a student back in the 1980s.

"First Snow"

In those days, I was part of the Theater Production Staff and the Mees Hall Stage Crew.  I told those stories to Joe, the sophomore who is currently a member of the stage crew, commenting on all the improvements in the facility.

As one might expect, walking through campus several times brought several treasured memories to the surface.



These are now overlaid with Kaitlin's freshly minted memories as this place has become an important part of her growth.  When I attended, I never imagined having a child follow me in the places I walked, worried, studied, grew and played.

This wasn't my first visit since my commencement in 1981, but it was significant for marking a point in our family's history.

...And because I was without a pick to play my mountain dulcimer.

Throughout the tour I'd been wearing pants that have a "pick" pocket, in which I carry my flatpicks, in order to be ready to play at a moment's notice.

This day, however, I was dressed up and the picks with were still in my jeans!

What to do?  (They were actually only just a couple of blocks away at my sisters's house, but...)

Joe with the Joe Walsh Pick

Stagehand Joe had an excellent solution:

Pulling out his wallet, he produced a pick,
given to his Columbus radio DJ father by Joe Walsh.

That's the one I played the tunes with.  And then got him to hold for this photo.

Lesson:  Always remember to thank your stage crew, because they can help save your bacon at any time!

None of us gets through any challenges in our life alone.  We don't get here by our own effort, we can't survive our vulnerability by ourselves, we're always standing on the shoulders of those who went before, those who point the way, pave the path and give us nudges and fervent pushes along the road.  Sometimes they are calling to us from the future as well as pushing from the past.

We are all an Answer to Prayer.  (Kaitlin sang on this recording with me in 2005.)

Visiting the new Dusty Strings Dulcimer Factory

When I left my parish ministry position in 1997 and we moved to Fort Collins, Jim Brandt gave a parting blessing to me:  

"I hope you can find a way to focus on your music in the next chapter of your life."

Music had been a key organizing tool throughout my call as a parish pastor in a multi-cultural, innercity setting in Kansas City.  But it kept nagging at me, pulling my pants-leg and whispering to get more of my attention.

When we came to Fort Collins, my spouse and traded roles and I became the primary parent for our elementary and pre-school children.  Because I needed to make some income in a flexible occupation, and because I was finally free to focus on music, I dedicated my time to throwing every musical line (no pun intended) into the water and then reeling in whatever bit.  Among other things, I began teaching private lessons on guitar and the "weird" instruments.

Dusty Strings D-260 B (in back)

In Feb 1984 I built my first hammered dulcimer from a Hughes Dulcimer kit, and in the following years I rebuilt it 6 times.  I'm grateful for the kit because without it, I might never have starting playing, thinking that I was not worth having a nice insrument.   But I had such a hard time trying to advance in my playing because I could hardly keep the thing in playing condition!  

Thanks to farewell gifts from colleagues and friends in Kansas City, I was able to order my first "built-by-somebody-else" dulcimer the day we moved into our house in Fort Collins.  

My dulci-mentor, Esther Kreek, had provided both the spark and the avenue of acquiring the instrument.  

I was helping her to set up for what she told me was her 4th gig of the day and she said, "well, I guess I better tune this one string that always goes out of tune when I move the instrument."  I was dumb-founded...tune, yes, but ONE string?  Mine always went completely out of tune if I looked at it, turned away...or tuned it!

I had to know about this instrument!  She was a Dusty Strings dealer and told me she could help me by ordering an instrument for me.

When I did some examination into this tuning-stable instrument, I discovered that the vertical treble bridge construction also appealed to me, so I called her and placed my order.

It took a few months for it to arrive and I was surprised to know that they were building it...just for ME.  I'd never had anything made for me that I hadn't built myself!

The daily and weekly waiting and watching for the brown truck to bring me the instrument (one of their finishers had broken her hand and that slowed the completion process down) turned up in the song I wrote with Jim Pierce:  (6-String) Mail Order Bride.  Listen Here.

It finally arrived on the big brown truck....and it was IN TUNE!

Ray & Sue Mooers in the entry to the new office

I've had wonderful adventures with this instrument and eventually became a dealer to help provide others with the joy I've had in making music with these skillfully and reliably produced instruments.

I had visited their store on Fremont St. in Seattle back in 2000 while on tour with Russ Hopkins as Blind Monks.  Sue and Ray Mooers gave me a great tour.  

The door of the retail store & music school

This time, so much had changed!  

Connie and I started at the old store, which has MORE space for instruments, and is also home to the music school that the Mooers had envisioned for so many years. 

They've purchased a new warehouse, construction/office facility south of the river and a few minutes away which is serving them wonderfully.

Sue and Ray gave us an in-depth tour of the harp and hammered dulcimer production facility: we saw the cache of beautiful woods, the milling room, computer-aided machine that keeps production humming, the assembly and sanding rooms, the paint booths and as we turned the corner from the stringing room into the tune-up room there stands Mike, an employee who is also a local sculptor, who is hammering away on a new instrument, stopping to tweak tuning every now and then, but just caressing these new instruments to find their voices.  That's not all he does, Sue assures me, but playing dulcimers all day might not be a bad job, huh?

Ray and I compared notes from building our first instruments and there, in the showroom is #1..."You win the crude-est instrument contest!" I conceded as we all laughed. 

Also on display is this historical "piano harp" which reminds me of the square grand piano that I grew up taking piano lessons on in my home in Pemberville, Ohio. 

Piano Harp by A&W H. Kenzies, Nov 11, 1890

If you are in the area, be sure to stop in and see the place where all these beautiful, sweet-sounding instruments are made.  

They'll be glad to see you, and you'll be glad you came.

Streetmosphere: 30 Dulcimer-Filled Years Summer Music Begins at Home

Diary of a new gig in a unique venue:  
My Own Town!

March 2010:  A call goes out recruiting local artists to audition for an Inaugural Program that will pay musicians, actors, jugglers and more to perform on Old Town street corners throughout the summer.

April 6:  I am the last on the schedule to audition at Bas Bleu Theatre for this evening's session; double-booking of the venue means we have to sit quietly backstage until the Reader's Theater performance is completed.  Then I play both kinds of dulcimers and coax the auditioners to sing along with me to "Celebrate Life!"

mid-May:  Notified that I've been chosen as one of 57 acts for performance this summer.  Dates that are compatible with my summer touring schedule are agreed to.  Contracts are signed.  Add to my gig calendar and Facebook notifications.

May 26:  Answer questions for a bio form that will be posted on the BeetStreet.org website.

May 27:  Film an email Invitation, edit, render send to the Beet Street Office.  When it is posted make links from my calendar and Facebook pages.        
                                                               
June 1:  I open this summer's Noontime Notes Concert Series at Old Town Square and once again discover the excitement that bubbles through the crowd when I offer the invitation to come downtown for live entertainment on weekends throughout this summer.

Friday, June 4:  Send a final email blast to my local list to remind them about Streetmosphere and let everyone know that I'll be on one corner, rather than packing up and moving around (like I previously thought)

3:30 pm call at the Warehouse on Linden Street to check in (in order to be paid!) and to connect with the volunteer (Chris) who will pull the wagon with all the Streetmosphere Gear to our corner at Olive and College (in front of Mugs).  Bryan the juggler is warming up and other volunteers and Brenna from OpenStage arrives.  The excitement is building.
                       
I park in the city lot along Remington and schlep my gear to the destination corner.  The shade is perfect, the temperature  and breeze are gentle.                                                              

Chris works at HuHot (right next door) and, as he expects, is familiar with many of the people who walk by or hang around to listen.                                                                                                  

4- 8 pm is my shift.  The goal:  (8) 20 minute sets with a 10 minute break between each.    The alarms on my cell phone ring for the first time and I learn that I can't count!  I keep playing 30-minute sets instead of 20-minute ones.  And, since I'm not used to using the alarms, I keep wondering where that ringing sound is coming from?!

We are at the southern entrance of Old Town and at the 4 pm beginning, people are still a bit unsure about what is going on.  Folks take seats in the Mugs' outdoor seating, or on the benches beneath the shade along College Avenue to listen.  Tourists walk through, pulling their luggage as they prepare to check in at the Armstrong Hotel.  The diesel thrum of trucks and busses on the street provide a much more vigorous competition than capuccino machines that I'm used to at coffeehouse gigs.  But when the light changes, they move away.

Some pedestrians are nervous when Chris tries to hand them a schedule for the summer's events.  Another volunteer wonders if they think we are promoting "Dulcimer Church"  (Not a bad idea, I think!)   

A little girl starts dancing when she hears the music and brings her parents over to better see and hear.  When she asks I let her try the hammers.  Another young couple with little children is visiting from Minnesota, scouting the area as they plan to move to Fort Collins next year.  Another young family is drawn to the instrument because Dad is a drummer who just has to get his hands on the hammers to try this.  The infant, hanging in a front pack on his Mama's chest is smiling, kicking and waving his hands to the music!  One of my son's Poudre High School teachers stops by and commends my son (a 2010 grad) to me.  People passing in cars with windows down smile and nod their heads as they wave.  

When the music stops people applaud and ask "what IS that instrument?"  A trio of my-aged men stop to listen.  People with flourescent-dyed hair walk by and grin.  When people leave their tables at Mugs, others scramble from their bench to take the coveted seats.  Dogs' leashes are tied and untied, bicycles parked and re-ridden, people stop and tap their toes, nod their heads and smile.  Some hang back to observe, others walk right up and ask questions.  The bride, whose wedding I'll play for next week, and her mother come by and sit down to listen.  A Coloradoan photographer shoots from several angles and is drawn to the disarray of my many hammers as they lay in preparation for their turn to jump on the strings.

I've set a goal not to repeat ANY tunes during my shift, and when we begin to pack up 4 hours later--I am successful!  A couple arrives and sadly says, "Oh no, are you done already?  We've been looking all over for you."  I still have more tunes and play them a vigorous finish of Snowbow at Sky. 

"When will you be playing again?" they ask.  Since I'm on tour in June and July I give them my August schedule and they promise:  "We'll be back and we'll bring the kids!"

Now is the zen-like experience of packing up and returning this corner to its usual use and myself to home for some supper.  That is a very satisfying finish for a musician's gig, since often when it is over I'm not anywhere near home!  

This was a great start to an exciting summer of music at home and on the road.  Thanks BeetStreet, thanks Chippers (the sponsor of my corner), thanks Fort Collins!

(Photos by Scott, another Beet Street volunteer)

Meeting Sam Rizzetta and Nick Blanton (finally!) New Salterios (APRIL 15, 2010)

Driving through Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia to Shepherdstown, home of Nick and Joanie Blanton. Nick built my new dulcimer and I’ve shipped it to him for the 5,000 mile check-up.  When I arrive, he and Sam Rizzetta are in the shop, “talking shop” as Joanie and Carrie Rizzetta say.  I step in and meet them both for the first time. 

 ....

            It is always a wondrous thing to meet people in person that one has befriended from a distance. I’ve known of both Sam and Nick for years, first from hearing Esther Kreek tell her stories of her friendship with them.  The initial “introduction” has been broadened by reading years of Sam’s “Technical Dulcimer” column in Dulcimer Player’s News, deepened by mey ever-growing appreciation for the tone of Sam’s instruments and playing one of his licensed-designs built by Ray and Sue Mooers of Dusty Strings for over 13 years. This data has appended by my own direct email and telephone contact with both he and Nick as I’ve purchased hammers and dulcimer. 

          

Nick adjusts my treble bridge to address a minor tuning issue I’ve struggled a bit with, shows off his newly-built Mexican-style salterios for Alejandra in Mexico.

The staggered treble bridges go with the "re-entrant" tuning of the bass bridge. (I get the principle, but I'm going to have to study on what that actually means!)

 ....

            We are called in for a delicious dinner of home-grown salad greens, Alaskan cod chowder and whole grain bread with goat cheese.