Letters Needed for Dave Evans
BILL ELLIS
the bluegrass banjo-player and lead singer for River Bend. Dave
made a reputation for himself doing a lot of old-time songs in a
soulful, intense style. Some of you probably have some of his
albums and know his versions of "99 Years," "Barbara Allen,"
"Henry Lee" (or "Young Hunting"), "Wild Bill Jones," and so on.
Dave has been in the Chillicothe Correctional Institution since 1990,
the result of a messy confrontation with a Waverly, Ohio, neighbor who
threatened Dave and his son with a loaded gun. In retaliation, Dave
shot up the neighbor's mobile home while he was gone, was convicted of
felonious assault, and got the maximum penalty of 18 years. Lots of
his supporters think this sentence was out of line, since Dave was
provoked and had no previous police record. I've never met him, but
bluegrass musicians who have say he's a courteous, gentle figure, not
at all the stereotypical drinkin' feudin' mountaineer.
Thanks to political pressure brought by his Ohio supporters, he's now
been allowed to apply for furlough to a halfway house, which would be
far more appropriate than keeping him locked in a cell. A hearing on
this application will be held on May 20, or the end of next week.
Letters have been solicited supporting this move. If you know Dave's
music, and think he deserves a chance to make some more of it, please
let the parole board know it.
The address to write:
William David Evans #219-725
Dept. of Rehabilitation and Correction
1050 Freeway Drive N.
Columbus, OH 43229
ATTN: Parole Board
The point to make is that Dave is not just an average troublemaker but an
artist of some reputation and solid achievement. The more the board knows
that his music means something to a lot of people, the more likely they
will be to approve the move. It's not much, but it's at least what he
deserves for his recordings. Hey, remember John Lomax getting a furlough
for Leadbelly? Are all the Lomaxes dead and gone today?
"Eighteen years
is not ninety-nine
But it's still
a whole lot of my time."
Gconklin
>Many people will be aware of the painful situation of Dave Evans,
>the bluegrass banjo-player and lead singer for River Bend. Dave
Unfortunately many people are probably NOT aware
of what happened to Dave Evans. While the fact he
is in jail has circulated around the audience at
bluegrass festivals, none of the usual magazines has
mentioned what happened to Dave and why he got such a
long sentence for a relatively minor crime.
Perhaps you can tell us why? Every year
on the IBMA questionnaire form I write that the
newsletter should stop the 'official' news and
tell us about things like the fact that Dave
Evans is in jail and why.
Rumor has it that Dave wanted to be his own
defense lawyer, and cussed out the judge. Is
that what happened? Did his courtroom behavior
merely 'confirm' what he was accused of? That is
what some of his fans are saying.
BILL ELLIS
Breakdown_ and reprinted in _Banjo Newsletter_) says of the trial:
Patti Evans [Dave's wife] advised that they had lived in Pike County, Ohio,
for only ten years, and that the neighbor is apparently from an old, well-
connected local family. Dave could not afford a lawyer to defend him, and
when the judge tried to appoint one for him, Dave declined the offer
because he did not believe he would be provided with competent and impartial
counsel. He defended himself and the extreme sentence was the result.
That's all I've heard, and I'm reluctant to go beyond that to speculate about
whether Dave (like Stagolee) got up on the stand and began to cuss. I know he
does candidly concede his fault in the matter, and he and his supporters
question only the harshness of the sentence, given his stature as a musician
and his lack of any previous criminal record.
Having spent some time in S. Ohio during the late 50s and early 60s, I can
attest to a strong prejudice against "hillbillies." Kids used to corner us
and demand that we say words like "sky" to see if we said them the "right"
(i.e., Midwestern) way. The suggestion that Dave felt he was being "set up"
by the court-appointed attorney might not be as paranoid as one might think.
You might be able to get more details on the matter from John Wright (author
of the Ralph Stanley bio. _Travelling the Highway Home_) who's corresponded
more frequently with Dave and his family. His address is jhwright at nwu.edu.
Bill Ellis
PSU-Hazleton
Hazleton PA 18201-1291
John Wright
>
>In article <95129.14...@psuvm.psu.edu> BILL ELLIS <WC...@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:
>>Many people will be aware of the painful situation of Dave Evans,
>>the bluegrass banjo-player and lead singer for River Bend. Dave
>
>
> Unfortunately many people are probably NOT aware
>of what happened to Dave Evans. While the fact he
>is in jail has circulated around the audience at
>bluegrass festivals, none of the usual magazines has
>mentioned what happened to Dave and why he got such a
>long sentence for a relatively minor crime.
>
> Perhaps you can tell us why?
I think the reason is that the people who write for the usual
bluegrass magazines are not professional journalists and thus
are wary about commenting on cases of this sort. I myself have
no direct knowledge of the facts of the Evans case: that is, I
did not attend the trial, I have not read the transcript, I
have not interviewed the people involved, etc. All this makes
me reluctant to comment in writing on the case. >
John Wright
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. USA
jhwr...@merle.acns.nwu.edu
conklin
I guess I find most of what is written about old-time
and bluegrass musicians to be a total bore, kind of like
reading the latest issue of the Clinch Mountain Tribute,
which arrived today. It does list show dates. I was
listening to the Cabin Creek Stanley reissue today in
the car, having grown tired to 1 month of playing the
Blue Sky Boys. Last summer I managed to keep my
Benton Flippen tape running 6 weeks until I got tired
of it. Now there is some fiddle player....!!
As for Dave Evans, I checked with one of the law
professors today about how parole actually works.
He told me general letters do little or no good.
Parole would be based on those who knew Dave
closely and could say that '5 years ago he
just had a bad day, and has been good since....'
I knew jails are full of really bad characters, so
it does surprise me Dave got so much time in an
incident where no one was killed. However,
the professor did tell me that shooting into
a house, even if no one was hurt, is right up
there with arson in seriousness. I had about half
an hour to discuss the issue with the gentlement
since I was a at a meeting to select a program
chairman and the provost forgot to show up......
--
# George Conklin; Geo...@NCCU.EDU | Edison did not have a fancy #
# N. C. Central University | internet signature. #
# Durham, North Carolina USA | Support Cygnet Horns for Edison #
# Support Medicare for All Ages | Firesides. #
BILL ELLIS
half-way house with ongoing detention but a more comfortable
setting and more opportunities for supervised furloughs.
One positive side-effect would be that Dave would be able to
get back into practice. His parole date, as I understand from
Dave himself, isn't up until November of this year.
BE
John Wright
>
[much deleted]
> I guess I find most of what is written about old-time
>and bluegrass musicians to be a total bore
I agree. I think the reason for this is that the bluegrass
world is a tiny, close-knit community with very old-fashioned
beliefs about privacy. The most interesting stuff is almost
suppressed, or told off the record.
Oldtime1
Dave. I sent a letter off to the parole board and said I'd try to help
Dave with some music jobs whenever that becomes appropriate. I believe
parole boards are interested in employment opportunities. When I last saw
Dave in the late 80s he was seriously diabetic, but still drinking beer
and not taking care of his diabetes at all. I'm diabetic and know how
close he was dancing to the edge. I hear he's lost a lot of weight and
that his health may be better. So perhaps there's a silver lining in this
dark cloud that has hung over this great player. Also told the parole
board in a PS that they had my distant relative, one William Sidney
Porter, locked up as an embezzler in Columbus in the last century and that
he got himself some good writing jobs as O. Henry after they turned him
loose. Joe Wilson, NCTA
dst...@future.atlcom.net
>Also told the parole
>board in a PS that they had my distant relative, one William Sidney
>Porter, locked up as an embezzler in Columbus in the last century and that
>he got himself some good writing jobs as O. Henry after they turned him
>loose.
Though William Sidney Porter was considered a suspect in the embezzlement of
$5,000.00, he was never tried for it. Wrote great stories, though.
//Don E. Stephens (404) 772-0463
//E-mail: dst...@future.atlcom.net