Old-Time Times
October 2003
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A Publication from your Nashville Old-Time String Band Association and Stratford Community Education.
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UPCOMING
ASSOCIATION EVENTS
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October 2
SLOW JAM
STRATFORD
6:30-8:30 PM
October 9
REGULAR JAM
STRATFORD
6:30-8:30 PM
October 26
4TH SUNDAY JAM
2-5 PM
HOST-Phil and Kitty Sparks
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Carl Myers
Office-262-6732
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Dr. James D. Bowman, a retired educator, was TAMHA’s first president. He is the son of the late Elbert Bowman and a nephew of
the late Fiddlin’ Charlie Bowman, both of whom were members of the HillBillies, of traditional old-time fame.
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We would like to thank Martin and Beth Fisher for opening their home to our group for last months jam.
4th Sunday Jams are now being scheduled by Darlyne Kent.
. Please call her and schedule your home for a month, 868-9951.
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If you have any recent club photos that would be good for the website please forward them one at a time to
My email clogs easily with too many photos.
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Please take the time to look at the website and offer suggestions.
The Nashville Old Time String Band Association Email List is active again. If you aren't on the list, go to our Web site and click the Email List link for more information. The email list is a great way to keep up with changes in jam session dates, locations, or upcoming events of interest to Old Time musicians and fans.
Tennessee Events
10/9-12 Fall Homecoming Museum of Appalachia 865.494.7680
Kentucky Events
10/25-26 29th Annual Celebration of Traditional Music 859.985.3140 www.berea.edu/apcenter
West Virginia Events
10/19-26 Augusta Heritage October Old-Time Week 1.800.624.3157 www.augustaheritage.com
10/24-26 Old-Time Fiddler’s Reunion-Contact above at Augusta Heritage
Alabama Events
10/3-4 Tennessee Valley Fiddlers Assn. Festival in Athens, AL www.athens.edu/fiddlers 256.233.8100
Georgia Events
10/11-20 Georgia Mountain Fall Festival 706.896.4191
Florida Events
October 17-19, 2003 23rd ANNUAL FLORIDA STATE FIDDLERS CONVENTION
"Fall Harvest & Fiddle
Festival"
O'LENO STATE PARK - HIGH SPRINGS, FLORIDA
http://www.nettally.com/fiddler/conventionschedule.htm
October 24-26, 2003 - Suwannee Valley Old-Time Banjo Camp http://www.floridastateparks.org/banjocamp/default.asp
2nd Annual Old-Time Music Camp North
10/17-19 Groton, Massachusetts www.mugwumps.com/otm.html
Why TAMHA Came to Be
James D. Bowman, Ph.D.
The rich musical heritage of southern Appalachia has produced its share of great music. It was in the city of Bristol, which straddles the Tennessee-Virginia state line, where Victor Records producer Ralph Peer discovered and recorded the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers in 1927. Now, three quarters of a century later and a few miles away, a nonprofit organization has been formed to perpetuate the kind of music similar to what was recorded in those historic Bristol sessions.
It is long-bow fiddler Ralph Blizard who had the initial foresight to set in motion the work that created what is now called TAMHA (the Traditional Appalachian Musical Heritage Association). An active citizen in his local community, an advisor to the Tennessee Arts Commission, and a regular visitor in schools, the octogenarian musician also helped bring the All-America Cities Award to his region, from Morristown, Tennessee, to Abingdon, Virginia. Although the organization maintains headquarters in Ralph’s hometown of Blountville, Tennessee, it is international in scope, with members presently in seven states and one foreign country. In addition, several local chapters of TAMHA are pending. is to preserve, present, and promote only one genre of music -- traditional old-time, the rare kind brought over to the southern Appalachian region.
TAMHA’s prime objective is to preserve, present, and promote only one genre of music—traditional old-time, the kind brought over to the southern Appalachian region from Ireland and Scotland. Hence, it is not surprising that Blizard and his band have performed in these two countries. They encourage others of like mind to do the same.
Founded in 2001 by Blizard, with help from a retired journalist and a few other close friends, TAMHA has big plans for the future. A museum is being contemplated in conjunction with the Sullivan County Historical Society. According to David Burrell, an active member of both organizations, such a structure will house original recordings and similar archival materials of both living and deceased traditional musicians. Additionally, scholarships and fellowships will be awarded to young persons who aspire to play traditional music. Performances and educational sessions by traditional musicians will expose youth to the type of music embraced by TAMHA. Blizard envisions a school of its own to “…teach folks about stringed instrument playing and the Scottish, Irish, and English tunes that helped shape traditional Appalachian music.”
TAMHA’s current publicity chair, Liesa Jenkins, is hopeful that the organization will develop a resource database of “musicians and artisans, instrument makers, dancers ….” Charter member Bob Cox, who lives in South Carolina, is excited over TAMHA’s receiving a small grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission for accomplishing just that “…archiving, documenting, recording, videotaping …” some present-day performers. Obviously, TAMHA is not just interested in preserving those legendary figures that are already gone, such as Cox’s relative, famed fiddler Charlie Bowman.
Exemplars from the past who performed the genre of music endeared by TAMHA include Al Hopkins and the HillBillies (of which Charlie Bowman and his younger brother, Elbert, were members), Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith, and the Delmore Brothers. On the current scene is Ralph Blizard himself and his band, the New Southern Rambers, a popular touring group, and a younger set of musicians, the Reel Time Travelers, who recently appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. In recognition of his superb level of musicianship and his unselfish support of traditional old-time music, Blizard was awarded the prestigious 2002 National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts. He was also inducted into the North American Fiddlers Hall of Fame recently in New York and most recently received the Governor’s Award from the Tennessee Arts Commission.
The advent of a free event (the Friday Night Jam, also founded by Blizard) has been a breath of fresh air to its local community as well as an opportunity for some of TAMHA’s members to showcase and model its preferred genre of music. Frankie Odiorne, a music teacher in Sullivan County and a frequent Friday night attendee, praises traditional old-time music, describing it as “ … the most wonderful thing you’ll ever listen to …you don’t have to be a musician to appreciate it.” While Odiorne regards this music as wonderful, Jenkins considers the difficulty in accomplishing it “…you have to be a really good musician to play this kind.” In emphasizing that musicians around the world understand and appreciate the complexity of traditional old-time music, she recalls Bruce Hornsby ‘s commenting about the musicality and versatility of these musicians …”
Joe McKenzie, the group’s initial vice-president and co-founder, adds that you don’t have to be a musician to join TAMHA. “We’ve probably got more nonmusicians than musicians. I’m in that majority,” he is quick to admit. However, partially because membership is not restricted to musicians, some “outsiders” confuse the music TAMHA embraces with bluegrass. Thus, helping differentiate these two genres is one of the necessary goals of the organization; a task usually assigned to Chip Bailey, a musician himself -- as well as a musicologist -- and a professor at Virginia Intermont College. He uses a time line to explain that traditional old-time music was composed and performed before 1940. He continues, “Bluegrass is still developing. Traditional music is not evolving anymore. It stopped.” Professor Bailey and his fellow musicians try to talk to older folks and learn the old tunes from recordings and then faithfully preserve what they find.
A further source of confusion between bluegrass and “TAMHA’s kind” was advanced by the movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou? Although thankful for the film’s attempt to popularize old-time music, TAMHA’s members view it as a mixed blessing. In some locales it has added to the confusion that TAMHA’s officers claim already existed. McKenzie informs that, although the music of that film should have been traditional, it was in reality a form of bluegrass. “That whole movie was set in the early 30s. Bluegrass would not be around yet,” Bailey adds.
On the other hand, the professor is encouraged by the number of youngsters “who’ve shown an interest [in old-time music] at the Friday Night Jams” (a free event also founded by Blizard). Nevertheless, the professor cannot help but worry about the lucrative career opportunities that will eventually lure them away from traditional old-time music. … kids may start out with old-time, but as they progress, … they’ll migrate toward bluegrass because they know that’s where they can … make a living …” TAMHA’s recording secretary and a connoisseur in both genres, David Rotenberry, agrees, “the money’s in bluegrass.” He and Bailey contend that it would be difficult to find traditional old-time music being played in Nashville nowadays (Mike Snyder’s group might well be the lone exception), although most original stars of the Grand Ole Opry did just that.
But preserving and promoting old-time music is not TAMHA’s sole objective. It is equally important to keep alive the rich heritage and culture of the region. As founder Blizard advises, “What we’re doing is more than recalling the music and promoting it. We’re recording the history of our ancestors.” In fact, Thomas Sneed, a graduate student at East Tennessee State University, has recently completed a project in which he interviewed and recorded five area musicians, including Blizard. In commenting on the evolution of traditional old-time music, he says, “…people today in their 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s … literally know things about how the music evolved that we’ll never know again because of the advent of recorded sound [and] all the modernization that has gone on since then.”
When asked what he most desired for TAMHA’s immediate future, Blizard reported, “… bolstering membership because new members can lend fresh perspectives on how to accomplish TAMHA’s goals.” Annual membership dues are currently $10 for individuals and $20 for families. Lifetime membership is currently $50 per person. Checks, made payable to TAMHA, should be sent to TAMHA’s Treasurer at P. O. Box 228, Blountville, Tennessee 37617.
Membership registration entitles you to these benefits:
- Voting privileges within the TAMHA organization
25th ANNUAL MOUNTAINEER FOLK FESTIVAL
Six or eight months ago, I called Bobby Fulcher (musicologist, writer, picker, park ranger) in search of old-time music events. He had lots of ideas, but most of the events he mentioned took place in East Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina. The two closest were Breakin’ Up Winter and the Mountaineer Folk Festival at Fall Creek Falls State Park. BUW is a given, of course, and Kitty and I decided to give the MFF a try as well.
The festival is scheduled every year for the weekend following Labor Day. We arrived around 6 PM on Friday. Just the drive into the beautiful park made the whole trip worthwhile. The employees at the Inn were friendly, the restaurant served good food, our room was comfortable, and our balcony looked out over a tranquil lake.
The festival took place in “The Village,” about 2.5 miles from the Inn. It kicked off at 7 Friday evening with a square dance. The bands occupied a roomy stage. In front of the stage was a fairly large dance area. Beyond that were lots of comfortable benches almost full of spectators.
The Blue Creek Ramblers opened, with Buddy Ingram sitting in on banjo for the missing Rebekah Weiler. Lots of dancers were on the floor, and the audience obviously loved the music. The next set was covered by Bob Townsend’s bluegrass band, Piney Ridge. They included several old-time numbers in their show. The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers closed out the evening with still more fine old-time string band music.
Saturday, at 10 AM, performances began at the smaller Anderson Wood stage about 150 yards up hill from the main stage. Kitty and I made it over by 10:30, just in time to take in old-time fiddler Tommy McCarroll and his wife. Mrs. McCarroll played the best back-up guitar I’ve heard in a long, long time.
At noon, the larger down-hill stage became active and began to compete with the up-hill stage. The acts on both stages were varied: old-time, bluegrass, country, Travis picking, harmonica, wood splitting--you name it. We started running up and down the hill, trying to optimize our old-time music experience.
We heard lots of good music, but our favorite acts were the old-time string bands: The Blue Creek Ramblers, The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers, Fiery Gizzard (Bob Townsend’s old-time string band), The Old-Time Serenaders (Matt Kinman and friends, based in Nashville), and The New Rock Creek Ramblers (featuring Bobby Fulcher on banjo). Folks, that’s FIVE highly competent old-time string bands in one weekend! I was in hog heaven.
I must also mention another personal favorite, Roy Harper, a singing brakeman (retired) who carries on the musical traditions of Jimmy Rogers. I had a nice visit with him and even talked him out of a CD. (Ah, “All around the water tank . . . .”)
Jamming: The program encouraged jamming, but we saw none. Perhaps we were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. We might have found some had we stayed at the campground near The Village. Perhaps the festival just needs some hardcore jamming instigators (like you all).
More events were scheduled for Sunday afternoon, but we had promises to keep in Nashville. As we checked out Sunday morning, we made reservations for next year’s festival. Maybe some of you will join us.
Phil Sparks