Kerrville Day 18

Yup, it’s the last one! I stopped by Threadgill on the way to Camp on This and listened to the Jitterbug Vipers. They play some very cool 20’s to 50’s jazz. Slim Richey is on guitar and probably leads the group.  He’s very smooth and quite good.

Slim Richey and the Jitterbug Vipers

I eventually wandered back to the trailer and spent some time next door with Andy and the gang. I snapped a couple of pics of people that I hadn’t gotten yet.

Bill Bernard (2 doors down in the big rig)

Robert (of Robert and Ann Mary - never got a pic of her though)

Miller again, this time without the shades!

I missed most of the Fire Ants who opened the evening. I had seen them last year, and I guess they’re just not my cup of tea. Dana Cooper was on next and did a laid back set.

Dana Cooper - a little blurry, but it's the only one I got where he's smiling, has his eyes open, and is not behind either the harmonica or the mic!

I wandered during Two High Strings set. Very good bluegrass, but I needed to go shopping. I ran into Steve Brooks by the crafts booths and chatted for a bit. I congratulated him on having his name mentioned on main stage as either the writer or co-writer twice on Saturday night. He said that Albert and Gage were going to play another co-write during their set (Wings of War). We talked about how ironic it is that he submitted songs to new folk for 20 consecutive years and was never selected as a finalist. Go figure!! Some things just don’t make sense!

Steve Brooks in his Kamp Kantigree T-shirt and frog hat... long story about the frog reference... perhaps some other time.

Stonehoney was next and I didn’t know what to expect. I started out sitting pretty far back with Andy and the gang, but the first time I heard a riff from the lead guitar, I had to move down front. They play what probably could be called as mainstream country or country rock, but seeing and hearing Phil Hurley was all I wanted to do… This cat can play!!!

Stonehoney with Phil Hurley on the right

Phil Hurley

Thought I’d get a pic of Vern and Lenore, but they stay pretty busy and it’s not easy to find them together so I just caught them in the act of working.

Vern working security on the aisle stage right... actually he's dancing! 😉

Lenore - working security stage right

Albert & Gage (Christine and Chris) closed out the night with a fine set! Chris is a tremendous talent on guitar, keyboards, accordion and who knows what else. He appears to be a man among boys, as Scott likes to say. He also produces records for a lot of Texas Artists.

Chris Gage and Christine Lambert

Chris and Christine were joined by a cast of hundreds singing Heal in the Wisdom and then it was time to go. I didn’t get a picture cuz I was captured on my way back to my chair by Tom and Carol so I was holding hands and swaying like we always do…  no really, we always do that!!!  Some of us try to leave the theater to avoid it… just kidding! 😉

I made the rounds yesterday and today to say my goodbyes and get and give my kerrhugs. I guess this is my last post until I get home. I plan on being in bed early tonite and getting an early start so I may not even check my email before I leave. When I get home I will gather up all the blog-posted photos and slap them up on Facebook, I’ll also send emails to all the people who I’ve talked about and taken their pictures while I documented another wonderful year at the greatest little folk festival in the world! I hope I’ve brought some of the magic to you.

Peace!

Kerrville Day 17

Day 17

Welcome Home and the rock garden at the front gate

I suppose this should have been the first picture on day zero, but yesterday was a day to take a sentimental walk around the ranch and snap some pictures of some landmarks. The rock garden is nowhere near as complex as it usually is. I dunno if it got knocked down and is in a state of reconstruction or what.

Things are winding down, people are talking about their plans to leave and I feel a familiar sadness about our little village of musicians disbanding for another year (I don’t count little folk, since I’m never able to be here for it). Scotty left before I got out of the trailer about 10am this morning. Maybe he didn’t want to see me cry…. 😉 There are other people that have already gone home that I didn’t get to spend near enough time with, but that’s how it goes when you’re having fun.

I’m still thinking I’ll spend Monday packing up and resting for an early departure Tuesday morning. The prospect of driving nearly 12 hours without some recuperation does not make me feel optimistic and I don’t want to have to spend the night in a Wallyworld parking lot in the summer with no air conditioning. There’ll be a few people leaving at various times Monday so I’ll be able to go around and get some departing kerrhugs.

Okay… now on with the walkabout pix –

This sign is just inside the front gate. I don't know how long it's been there, but it seems like quite a while.

Staff Rekerrds - Anyone on staff can put their CDs here. Kinda nice - it's faces the Kerrtry Store and there's always a crowd gathered near here. Lotsa impromptu performances occur on the little stage out in front of it.

Kerrtry Store - Beer Ice and soft drinks mostly

Mo's Cafe - Next door to the Kerrtry Store. Great food here! Wraps, breakfast tacos etc. - They do catering all over the country and also do the backstage food at Woodyfest. They have a booth in the main stage area too. I had a Santa Fe wrap Friday nite. It was great!

Other than my lunch in town with Dan and Terri, and the breakfast tacos I bought and brought out here to freeze and eat for 3 days, the Santa Fe wrap Friday night was the only time I “ate out”.

Kidsville - Lots of activities going on here for the kids.

Green Room at Threadgill - I think they finished it up before the festival this year. I haven't been in it since they finished it, but it's probably a lot nicer than the main stage green room which Happenstance stayed at on the work weekend we played here.

Coffee Shop near Threadgill - I've never patronized it, but it's here every year.

I pretty much missed the staff concert. I got down there too late to get a seat in the shade. I went down and found a place to sit long enough to see Raina Krause’s new group, The Love Leighs, perform and then headed for someplace cool.

The Love Leighs with Raina in the middle. If I heard correctly, the guitarist is not a regular part of this double ukelele group. It's Wilson Marks filling in for Jimmie Dreams. (Thanks Bob for the info - I've played with Wilson on the street, but it was dark and I didn't recognize him in the daylight... quite the player, isn't he!!)

Last nite was good if only for the opportunity to see Anthony daCosta and Danny Schmidt. Danny sang his song about the church with the broken and replaced “Stained Glass”… it’s a six or seven minute saga and one of the best songs I’ve ever heard out here. It was one of his two songs when he was a New Folk winner in 2007. What can I say about Anthony? You would think that there’s no way to stuff this much talent into this young man and from all indications it has not gone to his head. I still feel remorse that I missed his set two years ago when I was still on staff and unable to see him because of my working in the CD Booth. Getting to see him at Brick Street last year sorta made up for it. He broke a string on his guitar and borrowed my Taylor to play his set. We (Happenstance) were playing that afternoon and were doing the MCing so my guitar was handy.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Red Molly opened and Abby (who shared the stage with Anthony here two years ago), Laurie and Carolann were very good. Nice three part harmony and Abby’s Dobro work was quite nice. I didn’t know anything about them, and maybe what I heard from a few friends who had seen them had me expecting too much, but don’t get me wrong, they’re mighty fine performers!

Red Molly - Abby, Laurie and Carolann

Anthony DaCosta

Anthony and the Fragrant Vagabonds (or was it Flagrant Vagabonds)

Colin Brooks should have been in the picture above, but he was way off to the right, sitting down, had his hat on and his head down, so I cropped him out… sorry Colin… That’s Pickles on the far left and Raina Rose 2nd from the right. I don’t have the other names. It seems like Raina Rose is the backup singer of choice for this year’s mainstage performers.

Kinky was here and read a chapter from his book in between sets... I'm not sure why... OH YEAH! maybe to try to sell some books back there by the Hospitality Booth? 😉

After Anthony’s set and the Kinky appearance, the Flying A’s took the set. Stuart and Hillary Claire Adamson have some nice harmonies and good tunes. They’re Austin folks and an obvious crowd favorite. I met Hillary at Camp on This a couple of days ago when she had just arrived on the ranch and came by to visit Jack and Lura Fay.

Hillary and Stu - The Flying A's

Danny Schmidt followed with Carrie Elkin sitting beside him. Beautiful harmonies and I’m just not going to try and describe Danny other to say that he plays sitting down and you’d think that works against him, but if you’re up close and can watch him, you sort of get transported in his images and delivery. Great Set!! “Stained Glass” brought an awesome round of applause.

Danny Schmidt and Carrie Elkin

Danny, Carrie and Anthony

I still love Slaid Cleaves and I’m glad he’s writing again, but although he had two very talented sidemen (fiddle and mandolin) they just didn’t seem to click. I think I would have enjoyed him more with a full band. He did a few of his old songs that were still my favorites, but all in all, I could have missed the set and been okay with it.

Slaid with his accomplices

Slaid shows a touch of gray nowadays, but he still makes the ladies swoon. I overheard a few of them talking on the way out to the campgrounds after the show.

Kerrville Day 16

Okay… time for a quick review of the past 24 hours or so…

First, this the 3rd post of the day so be sure and check the previous two posts which contain links to a couple of videos (Jack Motley’s ailments and Chuck Pyle’s bumper stickers).

Day 16 My neighbor and friend Andy discovered during a morning thunder shower yesterday that there was a hole in his roof…. right over the bed!!! Talk about a rude awakening.

Andy doing roof repair - evidently the skylight / roof vent blew off- What would we do without duct tape?!?!?!?

Laurie George and Randy watching Andy doing roof repair

Andy and Laurie's Robbie grew up!

Miller - Robbie's cousin - sat down front with Scotty and me for the last 2 sets last nite

At any Camp on This song circle, an excuse will cost you a dollar!

At any Camp on This song circle, an excuse will cost you a dollar!

Lisa, Scott and Laurie under the big tree at Camp On This

I finished the rough edits of the Happenstance live CD yesterday so I was able to dismantle the PC and stow it out of the way. When I get back home Brooks and I will begin the final edits prior to mastering in earnest!

I talked to Bruce Chapman last night and he told me he would give me a copy of Rod Kennedy’s New Folk history presentation, which he made prior to the New Folk Winner’s concert. I was hoping it would be on the Winner’s Concert CD, but I checked and it wasn’t. When I get it I’m going to post it on my New Folk History site. That reminds me, I haven’t posted this year’s winners yet!!!

Krista Detor was better than I thought she was gonna be… sorta low key, but a beautiful voice, nice piano and accordian playing and some pretty good songs!
Chuck Pyle is just the only guy in the world that writes Zen Cowboy Music, but it’s great no matter what you wanna call it.

Krista Detor hubby Dave Weber

Chuck Pyle never fails to amuse, entertain, enlighten and amaze me. What else can I say…

Chuck Pyle - The Zen Cowboy

Susan Gibson has written some great songs, but I didn’t sit still for much of her set… I did some visiting!

Susan Gibson

Walt Wilkins and the Mystiqueros and then the Band Of Heathens closed out a great night with back to back powerful sets.

Walt Wilkins

Walt and the boys

Band of Heathens

Well, I gotta get rolling down to Threadgill… The Staff Concert is underway!!!

later…

Jack Motley’s Ailments

This video is from a coupla days ago. I’d heard Jack telling this stuff about all his recent ailments so I took my camera over to Camp on This and had him do the routine so I could record it. I honestly tried not to laugh and so did Jack, but I just couldn’t help it…

more pix and stuff later, I just had to get this posted this morning!

Kerrville Day 16 partial

I just wanted to post this little video of Chuck Pyle closing out his set with his “Bumper Stickers I’ve seen on the road” routine at the tail end of “Keeping Time By The River” Excuse the jerky motion but it’s hard to keep the camera still when you’re laughing!!! 😉

I’ll post pix and stuff later…

Kerrville Day 15

Day 16 started with a little pop up t-shower left over from what we thought we’d get last nite I guess… No real wind, but a few close lightning strikes and a pretty good dust settling rain.

Turned in around midnite last nite. Did a walkabout without my guitar and found a big party up at sky-high, a loosely knit circle at Camp on This where Jack and Frankie Meyer (just got here yesterday – great to see Frankie!) and a guy named Ted were swapping snake stories, and not much else. I found out Bill Nash indeed had gone home. He had some pretty tough days on the ranch and in town, where someone ran into his van. He’d been running a fever and with other various things he’s had to contend with related to his MS, he just thought it best if he packed it in. Sorry I missed getting down to see him again.

Good day yesterday with the afternoon spent mostly at Camp on This just shooting the breeze and enjoying the company of several of my philosophizing friends.

Mel - so glad I got to know Mel better this year.

Mike good player - gotta get his last name

Bob Tom talking about El Jimador tequila

George and Randy got here yesterday. Andy and Laurie on the day before but I didn't get a snapshot of them yet. Miller and Robbie are here too... just about grown up now. I'll try to get a pic today.

George and Randy gave us this flamingo. It’s very thoughtful of them and I wasted no time in finding a place to put it back by the fence where the ground is a bit softer. It’s a weather vane built out of a single piece of fiberglass. Pretty nice! He need’s a name since all his predecessors have pretty much died off…. 😉

George and Randy's Flamingo needs a name!

And then comes the evening and the Sundown Concert…

Barbara Cope guarding the CD booth at Threadgill - She's a very sweet lady and also happens to be the "Old Fart's" ex and Skyman's step mom.

Raina like a deer caught in the headlights, or was this a pose?

Raina again, this time a bit more posed and poised... 😉

The Sundown Concert featured Poor David’s B. W. Stevenson Memorial Songwriting Contest Winners, and I gather they were not necessarily this year’s winners. Mark Wayne Glasmire opened, but I didn’t get any good pics of him. Then it was Owen Temple, who I thought was the highlite of the evening until Zane Williams came on. Elizabeth Willis was probably better than I thought, but she kept letting her bass string ring on a lot of chords that didn’t sound like the string was part of the chord. That made it hard for me to concentrate on the lyrics. I didn’t care much for Zane’s first couple of songs. They sounded just a little too commercial country for my taste, and I almost got up and walked, but I hung in there and was glad I did cuz his last few songs were just great!

Owen Temple

Owen and his guitar guy - I didn't get his name, but he played quite well!

Elizabeth Wills

Zane Williams

Well tonite should be a really good show. I don’t know anything about Krista Detor yet, but Chuck Pyle and Susan Gibson are next on the bill and the night should close out with the hills rocking and ringing with Walt Wilkins and the Mystiqueros followed by Band of Heathens. Both these bands are top notch and definitely two of my favorites. I got to meet Walt when he played a house concert near Conway a while back. He let me play his guitar.

Me and Walt Wilkin's guitar in June 2009 - Long story about how this one of a kind guitar came to be. Maybe I'll tell it some other time.

Forecast for today is possible t-storms, but the rest of the weekend is supposed to only be partly cloudy… I hope they’re right. Well, I guess that’s it for now. The rain has stopped and the day begins!!

Kerrville Day 14

Wow! Only 4 days left! Where did it go? Yesterday was a good day on the ranch. Woke this morning to a light drizzle. It wasn’t even showing up on the radar and sure enough it burned off and it looks like we’re in for another hot one.

I made what I hope to be my last town run this morning to do laundry and pick up a few items at the store. Got a call from Jim Green while in town and learned that he won’t be able to make it out for this last weekend, but is planning ahead to make it happen next year!

I wonder why you can find Jalapeno flavored bean dip all over Texas and not in Arkansas, and you can by Jalapeno cheese crackers in Arkansas and can’t find them in Texas? Just one of those marketing things that leave you scratching your head…. 😉

Spent a good part of yesterday afternoon at Camp on This. If this sounds like a persistent habit, it is. There’s a huge tree over there that offers a great place to sit around in a circle, plus the nicest folks seem to hang out over there. Jack and Lura Faye Motley seem to be magnets for nice people or something.

Bruce Boldt, Lura Faye in the background and Mary Martha (Jack's sister) at Camp on This

Scotty and Valerie

Mike Cooper and Scotty

Jenee and Bruce

Jack Motley

The Sundown Concert was another New Folk in the Round. Former winners Nels Andrews (2002), Rebecca Loebe (2009), and Robby Hecht (2008) along with Raina Rose who was a finalist in 2007 and pretty popular among the volunteers and younger contingent on the ranch. My favorite was Robby Hecht. I shouldn’t comment further, but I wasn’t there for the entire set so my judgement may not be accurate… anyway, I still like Robby.

Nels, Raina, Rebecca and Robby

After the Sundown Concert, Scotty and me took off to hit some camps we hadn’t been to and sad to say some folks have either gone home or are just not having circles. We wound up back up on the high road with Bruce, Gunn and Travis as well as the Intellitouch Tuner guy, Alan (Allen?) – Stayed there til we got sleepy around midnite and turned in.

I guess I’ll get out of the trailer and see what I can find – I’ll probably wind up over at Camp on This…

later…

Kerrville Day 13

Another great day on the ranch. Spent some time over at Camp on This in the afternoon. Scotty’s sculpture is complete, but people keep adding odd shaped rocks and miscellaneous items to it, and/or around it.

Scotty Valerie and the sculpture at Camp on This - Laura, this is the Valerie that sent you the running info - she asked about you.

Those are solar lights mounted in the bottles. Scotty built it at home, and reassembled it here on the ranch.

I got Jack Motley to record his “ailments” routine. I’m gonna let him review it before posting it on You-Tube, but I’ll post it somewhere for private consumption when I get it edited (maybe later today). Besides being one of my best friends on the ranch, Jack is a great singer/songwriter, and quite the comedian too (as well as being the undisputed ringmaster of Camp on This)

Jack Motley describing his "ailments"

The Sundown Concert was something else! Anne Feeney’s always good and inspiring with her take on social awareness and politics. Chris Chandler shone brightly with his Kerrville debut with his new stage partner Paul Benoit and he added Paul Pearcey and Freebo to the band for the occasion. He did a full set of all new material (at least as far as my memory goes back) and it was an inspiring performance. I think that’s gonna be another set I have to take home with me on CD!!

Anne Feeney

Chris performing a routine in which he is hitchhiking to Kerrville

Paul Benoit is quite a singer songwriter, but sorta remains in the background for Chandler's performances - If you don't know about Chris Chandler, what he does is recite original poetry interspersed with popular songs. Without someone like Paul, Chris couldn't do what he does so well.

The Anne Feeney - Chris Chandler Reunion - Anne used to do what Paul Benoit is now doing with Chris

Chris preachin! The ease with which he gets up on the chair is astounding.

After the show I took a walk, a long walk around the ranch. I stopped at Camp Stupid for about 10 minutes. They were watching a movie, but not just any movie. I don’t know the name of it, but I gotta have it. It’s about Blaze Foley’s life and career.  Long story, but a good one… I finally climbed the hill up to where Bruce Boldt is camped with Travis and Gunn nearby. They were sitting around talking so we formed a song circle and that lasted til bedtime around midnite. The Sundown concerts allow for a bit of an earlier bedtime for those of us that require it…. 😉 Great songs and I had been looking forward to hearing Travis who writes and sings in the Sam Baker style… If you don’t know about Sam Baker that might not mean much to you, but believe me when I tell you, you SHOULD find out about Sam Baker if you’re not familiar with him.

I hope to get an early start again tonite… Nash Bill was dark as were a couple of other camps that I’ve been looking forward to visiting.

Let the day begin… The forecast calls for scattered t-showers. We had a few clouds yesterday, but no rain. We could probably stand a little rain (no wind) to settle the dust again. There’s rain out to the east of us around Austin, but I expect whatever we get will either just pop up or come in from the west.

more later…

Kerrville Day 12 and Day 11 pix

First the pix from Day 11:

Abi Tapia

Kevin Connolly

Warren Hood on fiddle

Greg Trooper

Chip Dolan on keys and squeeze (box)

Greg Trooper with Chip Dolan and Eric Schwartz shooting the breeze behind the CD Booth

Shake Russell

Day 12 It was a good day both on and off the ranch! cooked up one of those Jimmy Dean breakfast skillets where you just add eggs. Of course it’ll be breakfast for the next few days since I have plenty of leftovers. I’ve got some tortillas so they make a fair substitute for the breakfast taco I would rather have. That was around noon or so. I showered and then made a trip into town to pay the axle replacement bill and get my trailer brake connector checked out as well. It turns out it was way out of adjustment (my fault). There are two dials and evidently I got them mixed up and it was no problem and no charge to get them back where they should be. While in town I picked up a few more supplies and made it back to the ranch in plenty of time to catch the John Vandiver Tribute concert. It was good, but I couldn’t help but wish it was John up there singing those songs. The best things about it were the recollections and stories about how people met him and some of the things that John said and did. Afterwards I found out that Mel (who I really met for the first time this year, but had seen over at Camp on This a lot) knew John well so after the concert I enjoyed his recollections as well. He also filled in a little history concerning his last days and the subsequent arrest and conviction of the perp who killed John and his girlfriend.  Mel at that time was married to John’s ex-wife and was step-dad to his little girl.

John Vandiver Tribute

Gurf and Shake and the orginal drummer for the Ewing Street Times band (sorry - I forgot his name)

After the concert I went with Scott to Camp on This and I had forgotten that they were having a big fish fry. It was a great and unexpected treat and of course it evolved into a great song circle. I met a few new folks and finally got to hear Yuri play a couple of russian folk songs on his accordian. I was planning on leaving there and going up to Bruce Boldt’s to hear Travis and/or go down to Camp Nash Bill, but we got a little bit of a stop and go shower that lasted for over an hour so we just hung out under the big tarp and kept on playing. I headed home around 1:30 I guess and got a solid nights sleep… Bring on Day 13!! My how the time flies.

I guess I’ll walk down to the office and see if my absentee ballot arrived. If it does, I’ll need to make ANOTHER TOWN RUN to get it postmarked by today. Other than that, I think the next town run will be my last and that will be to wash clothes maybe Wednesday or Thursday.

Looking forward to seeing Anne Feeney and Chris Chandler this evening. That’ll be a reunion of the first time I ever saw Chris. Here lately, Chris has teamed up with a few different people, but for me, it was never better than when he was teamed up with Anne.

I’ve heard from some of you that you are enjoying the posts… even though some of them are a little longer than you might prefer, but I’m doing this for myself too. I’m just trying to preserve some of the magic and the memory of this wonderful time and place. I’d love it if some of you would like to make comments. It helps me feel a little more connected to all of you out there who wish you were here.

more later..

Kerrville Day 10 pix

Camp on This - Scotty's sculpture

Another view of the sculpture - Phil Danigan on the left Kimmie at the table

Noel Paul Stookey

Seth Glier - also plays guitar

Lizzie Jane and Thomas in the crowd

Chris Chandler with Trout Fishing in America

Ezra wishing his mom Happy Birthday

TFIA Teddy Bear's Picnic

Greg Trooper

Guy Forsyth

Day 11 pix later… I ran out of time…  😉