Hippies and old-time music
Paul M. Gifford
role of old-time music in the counterculture of the late '60s and 70s.
I wasn't a full participant in those doings and didn't consider myself one at
the time, but I did take part in a lot of political demonstrations, drug use,
and commune visitations, etc., so maybe I was. From my perspective in Detroit
and Ann Arbor in the late '60s and early '70s, I didn't see much connection
between "old-time music" and the counterculture, however.
That doesn't mean there weren't hippies involved. Certainly the Highwoods
Stringband were. I was at the Galax Convention in '71 and I think they took
first prize. The hippie contingent was minimal at Galax that year, but there
was a fair amount a marijuana use. Same in '72.
At the Union Grove (NC) convention in '75, a Hells' Angels contingent provided
"security"; a Hare Krishna bus provided vegetarian Indian food; and there was
streaking and pot smoking and probably bad trips. Certainly a lot of
attendees were arrested and spent the night in the Iredell County jail. This
was definitely a hippie thing and there was very little music. I went there
mainly because I had a free ride with someone who went there mainly to sell
some instruments.
Unless you consider "Country Joe and the Fish" to be "old-time," or maybe the
"Holy Modal Rounders" or the "Fugs" to be old-time, I don't think there was
any broad-based hippie connection to traditional music. If there was any, it
was mostly coincidental----college-educated Baby Boomers generally had hippie
trappings in the early '70s and that demographic bulge was also the one
learning clawhammer banjo and fiddle, etc. Possibly that had something to do
with the Kingston Trio-style "folk music" boom on college campuses in the
early '60s, which eventually led certain individuals to become interested in
more authentic folk music.
Paul Gifford
tele...@nando.net
I was ( still am ) an old-time picker/hippie way back in the '60s and '70s. I've jammed with Highwoods
( haven't heard them mentioned lately........ what a band!!! ) along with many fine musicians. My then old,
now vintage, Martin D-18 could tell of some fantastic sessions we had the pleasure of partaking.
As I recall, the fiddler conventions I attended was a wonderful mix of folks. Everybody tolerated all the
various lifestyles, some wierd even to me. It is a fond chapter in my life.
Playing guitar and mandolin in the "Lonesome Cowboy String Band" put me thru college. We toured the
east coast from '70-'75. Many, many festivals and fiddler conventions.
I am happy to report to all that Old-Time Music is alive and well in the Research Triangle area of North
Carolina. I hope it thrives where you are as well.
All the best,
Bob D.
Peter Shenkin
Paul M. Gifford <giff...@lib.flint.umich.edu> wrote:
>I lost the original post concerning this topic, which was something like the
>role of old-time music in the counterculture of the late '60s and 70s.
Actually, that's not what the posting was about, but your response is
welcome.
>At the Union Grove (NC) convention in '75, a Hells' Angels contingent provided
>"security"; a Hare Krishna bus provided vegetarian Indian food; and there was
>streaking and pot smoking and probably bad trips. ...
Raise your hand if you smoked dope at Carlton Haney's bluerass festival
in Fincastle, VA in 1965. (I see at least one hand raised....)
>Unless you consider "Country Joe and the Fish" to be "old-time," or maybe the
>"Holy Modal Rounders" or the "Fugs" to be old-time...
The HMR, definitely. The others, definitely not.
-P.
--
* It's not the road, not the journey, it's the shock absorbers. (H.T.Deane)*
*** Peter S. Shenkin, Box 768 Havemeyer Hall, Chemistry, Columbia Univ., ***
*** NY, NY 10027; she...@columbia.edu; (212)854-5143; FAX: 678-9039 ***
*** MacroModel home page: www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/chemistry/mmod/mmod.html***
ghost
>>Unless you consider... the "Holy Modal Rounders" or the "Fugs" to be old-time, I don't think there was any broad-based hippie conne=
>ction to traditional music.
>Well, you'll have no argument from me about the Fugs,
The Fugs managed to cannabalize at least one ancient Hebrew prayer chant
into a vehicle for lotsa-dirty-words ("Nothing" is the song), which I'll
admit some of us who knew the original thought was moderately funny at the
time, in a very in-joke kind of way, of course. I don't think this is the
kind of old-time you mean, though.
Cleoma
album called Berkeley Farms. Mike Seeger recorded a bunch of Bay Area
hippies in I guess the late 60's (I wasn't around here then, still in jr.
high at that point). There's an interesting booklet which goes with the
album. Some of the folks on this album include Walt Koken, Bob Potts and
Mac Benford, Holly Tannen, Hank Bradley, Jody Stecher, Eric Thompson, Sue
Draheim, Will Spires, and many many others.
Jack Wheeler
>Unless you consider "Country Joe and the Fish" to be "old-time," or maybe the
>"Holy Modal Rounders" or the "Fugs" to be old-time, I don't think there was
>any broad-based hippie connection to traditional music. If there was any, it
>was mostly coincidental----
We cant really be forgetting the greatful dead this soon after jerry's
death can we?
James Rymsza
Paul M. Gifford <giff...@lib.flint.umich.edu> wrote:
>I lost the original post concerning this topic, which was something like the
>role of old-time music in the counterculture of the late '60s and 70s.
>
>the time, but I did take part in a lot of political demonstrations, drug use,
Interesting question. When I think of my introduction to old time music,
square dancing, etc. in Philadelphia (Brandywine, Tuesday night dances,
parties in Montgomery and Chester counties) in the early to mid 70's, I
think the thing that was so appealing about the scene was that there was a
lot of "hippy" energy wrapped up in it. Most of us were in our 20's, full
of piss and vinegar, and very incestuous. It was very dynamic time.
The music and dance was a wonderful alternative to rock, disco and the
rest of what popular media was pushing. We used to call it "caveman
music". When I get into conversations with others about the 70's, I am
amused that I can recall very little of the popular culture of the time
(radio, tv, etc) 'cause I was so caught up in the old-time scene.
The bands that passed through (Highwoods, Greengrassers, Plank Road, Red
Clay) all seemed to be politically and culturally very similar...you
know, products of the 60's. I don't recall to many Republicans among us.
(As a matter of fact, I guess you could say the same for most of the folks
today who still play.)
-Jim
73770.1500@compuserve.com@compuserve.com
Counter-counter-culture, really. It's grossly oversimplified, but probably fair
to say that the folk revival/hootenanny bunch eventually metamorphosed into
hippies/rock fans etc., while some branch of the same found itself following
the pasteurized pop folk material back to the likes of the New Lost City
Ramblers and thence to Charlie Poole reissues etc. Later, the discovery
of dope led folks back to rock; but there are still a bunch of musicians
around (urban college backgrounds) who have never entirely escaped from
the hard-core traditional music, temporary aberrations notwithstanding. Not
a simple history, but interesting in retrospect (which is what makes it
history in the first place, of course)....
Peter Laberge
I recall seeing him busking in New Orleans and San Francisco
around the mid-70's. He had a wild-eyed look, long hair and
sported a portable pignose amplifier to help draw a crowd.
He played for hours and seemed to rake in plenty of cash.
Seemed as if he was the prototype hippie in old-time music.
Anyone remember him or know what he's doing now?
Pete LaBerge
David Lynch
Laberge) wrote:
I think he's still around, living out of a camper (at least for
festivals), and still fiddling away. He was featured on the "Fiddler's
Grove" video, which was made in 1994. I'll have to take another look at
the video, I'm not sure whether his hair is still as long as it was, but I
seem to recall it's a tad shorter.
--Namaste',
--David Lynch
--web: http://www.primenet.com/~dsl/
Check out the Old-Time Music Home Page:
http://www.primenet.com/~dsl/oldtime.html
"Go for the 1 and strive for tone!"
JoeSCline
> Reading this thread reminded me of a guy known as Henry the Fiddler.
> I recall seeing him busking in New Orleans and San Francisco
> around the mid-70's. He had a wild-eyed look, long hair and
> sported a portable pignose amplifier to help draw a crowd.
> He played for hours and seemed to rake in plenty of cash.
> Seemed as if he was the prototype hippie in old-time music.
> Anyone remember him or know what he's doing now?
>
Saw him at Mt Airy last spring; looks pretty clean-cut these days.
He legally changed his name to Henry the Fiddler several years back, as I
understand it. Still makes a living as a musician, I think in Seattle (?).
I first met him at Union Grove about 73 or so; he's on one of Jim
Scancarelli's U.G. LPs, doing a killer version of Mason's Apron with Rob
Henson backing him up on jazzy guitar martini chords.
Joe Cline
Charlotte
Oldtime1
actually rednecks in disguise. I was undercover for the Iredell County
Sheriff's Department and took pictures of them with a brownie box camera.
Had to quit, though. They were all addicted to the frequent use of Ban
Roll On and went around all day smiling and smelling good -- kind of thing
that drives a fully consecrated undercover man nuts. They're easy to
identify even now. They've named their kids Jason, Kristin, Adam and
Heather and frequent health food stores. They often cluster around the
herb tea display. Downwind of them there's still a whiff of Ban Roll On.
Joe Wilson
Paul J. Stamler
: There were no hippies in oldtime music in the 60s and 70s. Those were
Ah, I remember those days so well. The love-ins, the fiddlers in the
park, the picket lines. Those in the anti-deodorant faction used to carry
signs around reading "BOMB THE BAN".
Peace.
Paul
Susan Sterngold
plays anything. seems to have a bit of a different attitude from most OT
musicians..:)
Peter Laberge
[ Author was Peter Laberge ]
[ Posted on 13 Jan 1996 01:05:28 GMT ]
Reading this thread reminded me of a guy known as Henry the Fiddler.
I recall seeing him busking in New Orleans and San Francisco
around the mid-70's. He had a wild-eyed look, long hair and
sported a portable pignose amplifier to help draw a crowd.
He played for hours and seemed to rake in plenty of cash.
Seemed as if he was the prototype hippie in old-time music.
Anyone remember him or know what he's doing now?
Pete LaBerge
Sherman, Michael E. - Fiddlin' round.
>In article <4d70go$d...@guava.epix.net>, plab...@news.epix.net (Peter
>Laberge) wrote:
>
>> I recall seeing him busking in New Orleans and San Francisco
>> around the mid-70's. He had a wild-eyed look, long hair and
>> sported a portable pignose amplifier to help draw a crowd.
>> He played for hours and seemed to rake in plenty of cash.
>> Seemed as if he was the prototype hippie in old-time music.
>> Anyone remember him or know what he's doing now?
>>
>> Pete LaBerge
>
>festivals), and still fiddling away. He was featured on the "Fiddler's
>Grove" video, which was made in 1994. I'll have to take another look at
>the video, I'm not sure whether his hair is still as long as it was, but I
>seem to recall it's a tad shorter.
>
>--Namaste',
>--David Lynch
>
Mike Sherman <sher...@ct.picker.com>
Susan Sterngold
any oldtime musicians to look up there? I remember going in 1987 or 88 and
saw a few people but there didn't seem to be much of an oldtime musical
community that I could see--perhaps things are different??
thanks
Steve Goldfield
JoeSCline <joes...@aol.com> wrote:
#>Peter Laberge sez:
#>
#>> Reading this thread reminded me of a guy known as Henry the Fiddler.
#>> I recall seeing him busking in New Orleans and San Francisco
#>> around the mid-70's. He had a wild-eyed look, long hair and
#>> sported a portable pignose amplifier to help draw a crowd.
#>> He played for hours and seemed to rake in plenty of cash.
#>> Seemed as if he was the prototype hippie in old-time music.
#>> Anyone remember him or know what he's doing now?
#>>
#>Saw him at Mt Airy last spring; looks pretty clean-cut these days.
#>
#>He legally changed his name to Henry the Fiddler several years back, as I
#>understand it. Still makes a living as a musician, I think in Seattle (?).
I met Henry at Union Grove and Mt. Airy in 1994; actually I
set my tent next to his camper at Fiddler's Grove (Union Grove).
He had Washington plates on the camper. I asked him about that;
he said he'd been living in his camper for something like 17
years (I may have the number wrong) and had offices/mail drops
in Seattle and perhaps Austin (I've forgotten). He mentioned
that he makes a living in the winter playing at commercial
conventions and such, I think in the southwest. But though
Henry plays old-time tunes, I didn't perceive him as an old-time
fiddler since his sound is much different, more classical or jazzy
than old-time. (I only heard him play while jamming with him and
others, but that was my impression.)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Steve Goldfield :-{ {-: s...@coe.berkeley.edu
University of California at Berkeley Richmond Field Station
Brad Leftwich
> Reading this thread reminded me of a guy known as Henry the Fiddler.
> Anyone remember him or know what he's doing now?
He's been around some of the festivals within the last couple of years.
I saw him at the last Old-Time Music On the Radio conference. He looks
relatively conservative these days, and the contribution can on his belt
seems to be missing now, but other than that he's the same old Henry
the Fiddler.
--Brad Leftwich
left...@indiana.edu
Charlie Possum
in real traditional musicians--the kind that eat red meat, chew
tobacco, drink non-import beer and drive pickup trucks. They
learned and continue to learn from their own type, creating a sort
of in-bred music form which often bears little resemblence to
anything folks in the country are doing or ever did.
Charlie Walden
Paul M. Gifford
>From: Charlie "Possum" Walden <7625...@CompuServe.COM>
>Subject: Re: Hippies and old-time music
>Date: 16 Jan 1996 19:40:03 GMT
I agree with you, Charlie, although I smoke Chesterfields, rather than chew
Apple plug. And this applies both to hippie types and non-hippie, suburban
types. It seems today there are two self-propelled movements: "old-time"
(largely meaning fiddle and clawhammer banjo music derived from the VA/NC
Galax/Union Grove gambit) and "contra" (accompanying dances using notated
music, neo-Irish in orientation). Reading the various news groups makes this
pretty obvious. I monitor a lot of groups, and you don't see a lot of
cross-over with this group and rec.dancing.folk or
rec.music.polka, for example. You also hear styles turn into "Appalachian,
Irish, French-Canadian, New England," etc., each with their own stereotypes.
Then there's rec.music.folk, which is like taking a trip through time into the
late '50s and early '60s.
Neither of these movements (and maybe you could add more, but I'm not up to
date) are regional in nature. The "old-time" movement is more interested in
authenticity, but only within a narrow range of sources (78s, certain
recognized instrumentalists, etc.). This group seems to have little
interest, for example, in traditional music from outside the core source
area.
I was involved in organizing fiddler's get-togethers in Michigan in the '70s,
and used to get disgusted at the lack of interest by baby boomers/hippies in
them and in learning local tunes, styles, and dancing, etc. Not that there
was anything so special about Michigan (there was, of course, but every other
place and culture is also special in their own ways), just that there was a
lot of traditional music and square dancing and, like that of other places,
deserved to be revived a bit.
What I think needs to be cultivated is a kind of approach towards playing
music which should be grounded in a style based in a local tradition, without
being oriented towards commercialism, yet can incorporate a wide variety of
music. And just because the person has learned twenty tunes doesn't mean he
should make a record to sell.
Paul Gifford
Ted Samsel
some of my old band mates back there.)
--
Ted Samsel....tejas@infi.net *1996* Year of the Accordion~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Home of the brave, land of the free,
I don't want to be mistreated by no bourgoisie."
Huddie Ledbetter
Cleoma
"Curiously, most hippie-type old-time musicians seemed uninterested
in real traditional musicians--the kind that eat red meat, chew
tobacco, drink non-import beer and drive pickup trucks. They
learned and continue to learn from their own type, creating a sort
of in-bred music form which often bears little resemblence to
anything folks in the country are doing or ever did."
I don't know...this hippie fiddler was influenced by fellow hippie
fiddlers such as Hank Bradley (who learned a lot of his fiddling style by
hanging out with non-vegan Otis Burris while Hank was in the army and
stationed nearby) to go hang out with definitely non-vegans such as Wade
Fruge, Dennis McGee and Cheese Read (these guys probably didn't even EAT
vegetables). I agree that the style can get inbred but I think there may
have been more hippie-types learning directly from the source that Charlie
realizes. What about Tom Sauber with Earl Collins (in Los Angeles), and
the hordes of visitors to Tommy Jarrell?
Suzy Thompson
Oldtime1
Cleoma, Cheese Reed WAS into veggies & fed Mark Savoy, Chris, Stelly and
me an awesome veggie dinner when we made that LP you cherish. Might have
been some meat on the table too, I'm bi on food, but the veggies are what
I recall. Tommy Jarrell was an 'ol hippy, no judgements about what kind
of britches or hair you wore and no britches and no hair was okay, too.
The big turtle was trying to deliver Tommy to the Wavy Gravy peace bus but
delivered early and to Round Peak. Our buddy the fiddling Possum is a
recent reincarnation of a bluegrass banjoist who was shot accidently in a
biker bar in 55; before that he had a better job as a pimp in Peoria. But
seriously, he is correct in saying there are walls that have little to do
with sound. A few ignore those walls, but much of the oldtime revival is
as socially exclusive as most other cults. It is ironic that many of the
gurus inside the revival are persons who ignored the walls and thus
enriched themselves with some great music and other learning. And I hope
y'all get to hear the Possum play the fiddle sometime. Joe Wilson
Neil Rossi
>> Reading this thread reminded me of a guy known as Henry the Fiddler.
>> I recall seeing him busking in New Orleans and San Francisco
>> around the mid-70's. He had a wild-eyed look, long hair and
>> sported a portable pignose amplifier to help draw a crowd.
>> He played for hours and seemed to rake in plenty of cash.
>> Seemed as if he was the prototype hippie in old-time music.
>> Anyone remember him or know what he's doing now?
Hmmm, this rings a bell. I do recall seeing a "Henry The
Fiddler" somewhere, but having never been in either SF or NO, it
must have been elsewhere. Cambridge, maybe, or New York.
--- Neil Rossi
Paul Tyler
>
>seriously, he is correct in saying there are walls that have little to do
>with sound. A few ignore those walls, but much of the oldtime revival is
>as socially exclusive as most other cults. It is ironic that many of the
>gurus inside the revival are persons who ignored the walls and thus
>enriched themselves with some great music and other learning. And I hope
>y'all get to hear the Possum play the fiddle sometime. Joe Wilson
If you read those old Folkways liner notes carefully, from John Cohen's
and Mike Seeger's field trips to visit Wade Ward and his peers, you can
get a few hints that the old time music we all cherish was not held in
such high esteem in the late '50s, right there on its home turf. Even
some of the finest practitioners were a little embarassed by their
old-fashioned music. The rapt attention of northern college kids
contributed to a re-estimation of their own traditions.
I would wildly hypothesize that without the interest of outsider folkie
types, that the southern contests would not have developed separate old
time and bluegrass categories. Further, I would argue that the latter
would have become the accepted standard. Mt. Airy and Clifftop, as we
know them, would not exist.
Whether I'm right or not, what happened did happen and the southern sound
(or sounds) became a magnet for young city and suburban-bred sawyers and
pickers from all over. The walls that Joe talks about kept a lot of young
old time aficianados from giving any attention to the traditional players
in their neck of the woods.
Those guys (and their offspring) were out there. Given a few strokes for
the unusual old tunes they knew might have changed the course of old time
history. Absent the kind of interest shown by the city-folkies, other
local traditions did not fare real well (the big exceptions are Missouri,
Irish, Cajun and possibly Cape Breton and other Canadian traditions).
In some cases, fiddlers & c. simply put their instruments away and turned
their tvs on. In other cases, old men spent their last years playing
their wonderful old tunes for the enjoyment of themselves and their
circle of peers. On occasion, a college-guy with a tape recorder would
drop by, but that led to little or no public recognition or community
appreciation. In still other cases, especially with the upcoming
generations (guys now in the 50s and 60s), dad's and grandad's repertories
seemed a bit old-fashioned. Those old tunes didn't swing. They didn't
win contests. The banjo player could never make them sound right with his
Scruggs' rolls.
In other words, in many parts of the country, we blew it. Though it's
still not too late. Up in Michigan, it looks like Les Raber (age 84, I
believe) is the about the last of his generation to play what he calls the
old time dance music. The generation succeeding him is much more tuned in
to more commercially successful sounds from Nashville and the polka world.
But there are a handful of musicians from the next generation who Les
likes to play with. And those great old tunes are still causing dancers
feet to hit the floor.
As David Letterman (who plays a mean fiddle himself, I know, I saw a film
clip) might say: Try this at home, kids.
Roll on
Paul Tyler
P.S. This might be the second edition of this diatribe, but I think the
first one crashed.
Brad Leftwich
>Tommy Jarrell was an 'ol hippy, no judgements about what kind
>of britches or hair you wore and no britches and no hair was okay, too.
True, although if your "cods" were visible through a rip in the
crotch of your britches, and there were women present, as was the case
with the hippie visitor he called "Black Bart," Tommy might tactfully
offer to give you an old pair of his own britches -- whose seams were
all intact.
>seriously, he is correct in saying there are walls that have little to >do with sound.
Also true, and the real irony is that most of those walls are self-
imposed. Too many people didn't realize that "Deliverance" was just a
movie, not a documentary of Southern culture. The hospitality of most
traditional musicians I've known is overwhelming, particularly towards
those who respect and show genuine interest in their music. The old
masters are getting unfortunately scarce now, but there's still some
around. It's well worth it to get out there and learn something from
them while you still can. And if I can be allowed to preach a little
here, don't just learn the tunes; learn the *style*. There's a
difference.
>hope y'all get to hear the Possum play the fiddle sometime.
And watch out if you go up against him in a contest...
--Brad Leftwich
left...@indiana.edu
Cleoma
"Cheese Reed WAS into veggies & fed Mark Savoy, Chris, Stelly and
me an awesome veggie dinner when we made that LP you cherish. "
garden in which they grew lots of veggies, but I must admit that theirs
was the only home I can remember being fed a dinner which included
vegetables.
A few years ago I ate at Ruby's in Eunice. I ordered the pork roast
dinner, which came served with rice and "4 vegetables". Oh boy!! I
thought, maybe some greens or coleslaw...the pork roast and rice came with
the following 4 veggies: smothered potatoes, creamed corn, potato salad
and field peas. Starchorama!!! Love that Cajun cooking!!!
Suzy Thompson
Paul J. Stamler
: A few years ago I ate at Ruby's in Eunice. I ordered the pork roast
: dinner, which came served with rice and "4 vegetables". Oh boy!! I
: thought, maybe some greens or coleslaw...the pork roast and rice came with
: the following 4 veggies: smothered potatoes, creamed corn, potato salad
: and field peas. Starchorama!!! Love that Cajun cooking!!!
No no, they're not starches anymore, they're *complex carbohydrates* and
the new wisdom is that they're **really good for you**. Sorry to diminish
anyone's enthusiasm, but them of us prescient enough to have spent the
last 25 years being sneered at for our steady diet of pasta, rice and
spuds get to tootle a bit for a change.
In all seriousness, this idea that a diet heavy in complex carbs is
healthy has been hovering for quite a while among nutritional scientists
who were aware that the cardiovascular health of people who ate large
quantities of rice and pasta tended to be very good. Mediterranean diets,
in particular, along with good Asian food and other high-starch diets,
are turning out to be as good for us as they are delicious. Pass the red
beans and rice, and let's boogie!
Peace.
Paul
Tomfiddle
player of many styles. I learned my 1st Strathspey from him. He also
played old-time, bluegrass,gypsy etc. He played with a guitar player named
Fast Eddie. A great memory, this was around 1976. (Tom Schaefer)
Frank Dalton/Emily Fine
Well...
All this talk of Henry the Fiddler dredges up an old memory from some mid-70's
Galax where Henry told me and Jeff Claus (who were always Tommy this... and
Fred that...) that Jarrell & Cockerham didn't have a 'style', they just
couldn't play very well.
I also remember that I got really sick of hearing Henry's 48 part version of
The Mason's Apron that summer too.
Frank 'the spoil-sport' Dalton
********************************************
Frank Dalton Emily Fine Nate Dalton
dal...@mail.med.upenn.edu
********************************************
Charles J. Masenas
In article <dalton.33...@mail.med.upenn.edu>, dal...@mail.med.upenn.edu (Frank Dalton/Emily Fine) writes:
> Well...
> All this talk of Henry the Fiddler dredges up an old memory from some mid-70's
> Galax where Henry told me and Jeff Claus (who were always Tommy this... and
> Fred that...) that Jarrell & Cockerham didn't have a 'style', they just
> couldn't play very well.
> I also remember that I got really sick of hearing Henry's 48 part version of
> The Mason's Apron that summer too.
I first saw Henry in New Orleans when he climbed up on stage out of the
audience in front of thousands of people during an unplanned delay in the
start of a Jazz and Heritage Festival event. Kept the crowd entertained
until the concert started. I later saw him at the world famous (now defunct)
Craftsbury Vermont Fiddler's Contest. At Craftsbury he blended with the
crowd.
--
-------
Regards,
Charles J. Masenas
Ted Samsel
: Curiously, most hippie-type old-time musicians seemed uninterested
: in real traditional musicians--the kind that eat red meat, chew
: tobacco, drink non-import beer and drive pickup trucks. They
: learned and continue to learn from their own type, creating a sort
: of in-bred music form which often bears little resemblence to
: anything folks in the country are doing or ever did.
My brother and I have noticed that this type of nuevo old-timer is often
humourless in a rather artsy-fartsy mode. But you don't have to share
your dip, likker, bbq or jokes with 'em. (;-)
LYoung9788
sponsored by Smithsonian in about 1972. Fat City String Band, later to
become Highwoods String Band, was also there. Henry was wearing a WW II
steel German helmet with a point on top and wearing a tin cup. I
suggested that he change his name from "Henry the Fiddler" to "Henry." He
later became a leader of the leaderless Rainbow Family. ly
Lynn Young
BShull1757
Missouri around
1977. He was an excellent violinist, and had a reasonable repertoire of
old-time tunes
(as well as some classical schlock) under his belt at that time. He was
slightly
denigrating of average fiddlers ("chicken-scratchers" he called them) but
was quite
willing to share his music and jam with the musically less fortunate
(namely, me.)
There is an article on Henry in The Devil's Box, 9(3) (Sept.1, 1975) 21.
He also put
out a vanity pressing, HTF 7701 "Henry the Fiddler ... and Friends - The
First Album"
in 1977 on the Fiddlededoo Records, Inc. label which contained 12
amazingly
eclectic selections of "fiddle" music. The back-up artist "Eddie" referred
to an
earlier message was, I believe, Eddie Horowitz.
Bill Shull
BSHUL...@aol.com
Charlie Possum
distribute a chord sheet to guitarist in a jam so they cold keep up
with his off-the-wall repertoire. Saw him at the Winfield Festival
in the late seventies. A real character.
Possum
GARELICK
call himself "the fiddler" since we were all fiddlers. A friend of mine
knew him before he was "the fiddler" back in Chicago in the 60s, but I
will not divulge his real name. Anyway, he was entertaining and very
proficient, though not much into the contest style or even the ubiquitous
Texas style that was so popular that year. I was busy learning from Benny
Thomasson, trying to steal his licks, etc. But I managed to get my name
on Henry's newsletter and received regular mailings from him as he
traveled all over the country. Then I met him when I was camping in
Wyoming in the summer of 1976. He and his infamous "can" were out busking
in small towns near Jackson Hole. (He always referred to his tip jar
/coffee can as "the can" as if it were another person).. I was camping
with a remarkable outdoorsman named George Renner, learning how to live
in the wilderness, keeping ourselves busy playing music at night, and
Henry the Fiddler just kind of breezed in, camped with us, jammed into the
wee hours up there under the Grand Teton sky. Henry moved on to the
contest at Winfield, Kansas, and I haven't really seen him since; seeing
his name here on the computer is the first time in 20 years I've even
thought about him. Haven't seen the old Mountain Man, George Renner,
either, but he's probably still trekking through Wyoming or Idaho, or
possibly Arizona where it's somewhat more temperate during the winter
months.
Henry, or George, if you're reading this, send me a line on my email.
And thanks for the great times in Wyoming!
David "Gus" Garelick
Santa Rosa, California
GARE...@aol.com