Read no. 5

Greetings!

Was that a quick summer or what? I blinked, it was gone, and now the kids are back in school. I was talking to Claire Lynch about her interview (see below and inside) and before I could complain to her about having to get up at 6:30 to get my kids off, she told me she had to get up at 5:30 to get her kids off! That's hard, especially when you get in late from a gig the night before! I’m back in school, too, taking U.S. Women’s History. I am excited about it. The first book we’re reading is about witchcraft in New England. (Most of the people accused as witches were women.) When we were asked to introduce ourselves in class, I said I was a banjo player and was interested in writing about women in bluegrass. I guess we’ve come a long way because nobody snickered and there were several encouraging nods.

Claire Lynch Interview Inside

Claire Lynch and I have known each other for almost twenty years. Her card in our Rolodex, filed under “F” for Front Porch String Band (FPSB), has remained unchanged and unmarked all these long years. Our friendship grew through shared experiences playing the bluegrass festival circuit in Florida, South Georgia, and Alabama during the ’70s and ’80s. The FPSB was one of the star bands on that circuit. I never felt any jealousy toward them, though, I don't know that anyone did, but perhaps Claire would tell you different. (Naw, I doubt it. She’s too nice.) One of the highlights of my career was filling in on banjo with the FPSB at a South Georgia festival and singing harmony on “Jordan.” Bragging about it was even better! Claire and I have shared meals, housing, maternity clothes, and bass players. We also both continue to do the balancing act of being equal partners with our husbands (of twenty years) in bluegrass bands while raising two children. As Larry Lynch said (from the stage) when we saw them perform in July, “It’s good to see Red and Murphy again. We go way back. Just like Claire and me, they are still together, even if they don’t sit beside each other any more.” Thank you, Larry! May your bouzouki develop a buzz!

We have seen the FPSB in many configurations over the years, always with Claire and Larry at the helm. The band we saw in July was one of their best. Since that time, their guitar player has left but Keith Little is stepping in for him. Michael McLain remains on

banjo and, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition, Missy Raines has joined them full-time on acoustic bass. She was fantastic when we saw them. She absolutely interacts with her bass! I talked to Claire after their first set. They had brought their kids along on this trip (from Alabama to West Virginia!) and Larry was kindly minding them. Interview on pages 3-7.

Who is This "Little Lady?"

Marty Godbey (bluegrass writer, photographer, and charter member of the club for women with androgynous names) sent this old photograph, taken at Berryville, Va., in August 1968. Marty calls this woman a “gutsy lady” because she was picking and singing all by herself, “obviously not limited or intimidated by sex or circumstance.” She was not one of the stage performers. (In 1968 there were few women performing on stage.) If any of you know this woman, please let us know who she is!

Early Woman Dobro Player Located

And speaking of identifying women, when I read Ivan Tribes’s wonderful book The Stonemans, I was excited to find a reference to a woman who had played dobro with the Stonemans around 1957. This woman was identified as Peggy Brain, who married Oscar James “Jimmy” Stoneman. I asked around but no one seemed to know what had happened to her. Then when I was doing General Store for Bluegrass Unlimited, I saw a reference to a Peggy Peterson, formerly with the Stonemans, who was playing now with the Tylers from Arizona. Well, I fired off a letter to her in care of them, and soon we were talking on the phone! I felt as if I had made a wonderful discovery!

Peggy told me a little about herself. She and her sister Dolly had played music in a band in Pennsylvania when they were just kids (Peggy only 11 or 12), playing at square dances and Moose Clubs. Peggy actually started out on the steel; Dolly played mandolin and bass. Peggy moved to D C. after high school and met the Stonemans who wanted her to switch to dobro to fit their music. She did so and says she got to stand on stage by Scotty who helped her a lot and “filled me full of praise.” After the Stonemans, she played dobro as a studio musician for Rural Rhythm, recording with J.W. Mainer, Jim Eanes, Tater Tate, and Mac Wiseman. A woman studio musician back then? I was amazed. I hope to report more about Peggy later. After all, I’m into U.S. Women’s History!

—Murphy Henry

Letters...

Hi, Murphy!

I’ve been meaning to officially subscribe—thanks for the sticker-reminder... I am going into the studio to do a vocal duet album with Katy Moffatt (a wonderful singer and songwriter from Texas). We met at the Folk Alliance Conference in Tucson in 1992 and ended up singing till 5 a m. It was so much fun. Ken Irwin from Rounder was there. He’d introduced us and stayed up listening. An album for Rounder is finally in the works. Hope to have it out by January ’96. Jody is producing it and playing lead guitar and mandolin. I’m nervous but also thrilled. Wish us luck!

—Kate Brislin, of Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin,

San Francisco

Dear Murphy Henry,

Saw two great bluegrass bands with talented singer/musician female-girl type bluegrassers. One was the Issacs—powerful voices, soul-satisfying harmony. One gal played a hot mandolin, one rhythm guitar, and Mom sang. Wonderful family band. The other was the Larkin Family. Dad on guitar, Mom [Barbara] on banjo, 15-year-old daughter [Rachel] on bass, and the two youngsters did most of the singing. 13-year-old [Shauna “Babe”] played fiddle, 11-year-old [Kristina] played mandolin. They were amazing...I’m still trying to learn mandolin but do “jam with the guys” around here. Lots of bluegrass playing going on in Western New York. A veritable hotbed! I enjoy your newsletter. Great idea!

—Sarah Cushing, Back Porch Pickers, Hamburg, NY

Dear Murphy,

You did right when you started this newsletter. No man has a right to tell a woman she is not important, especially if she’s got an instrument in her hand and a tune in her head. —Shelly Marie Crouse, Davis, CA

And another horror story from the Questionnaire:

Yes, I have been pushed out of the circle. One time I was in a jam with some world-wide pickers. I was playing bass and holding my own quite well. They decided to change the key to B-flat and one of the guys said to me, “Darlin’, why don’t you let ole so-and-so play this one,” like I was an alien to the world of flats. I was deeply hurt, not to mention extremely P.O.’ed!

—Rose Nickell, New Rendition, Houston, OH

“We Had a Ball Putting it Together!”

A Note from Noteworthy

This time last year found Patty Clayton from Denver, Col., and Linda Erickson and Carol Martin from Seattle, Wash., all planning and practicing via cassette and telephone in preparation for their debut recording project, Next Stop Weiser. All three women are involved in other bands in their hometowns. Patty (guitar), who fronted Ladies’ Choice from 1990-1994, now plays with In Cahoots and Cowtown Boogie. Carol (mandolin) and Linda (dobro) play in Lonesome Doves. When these women get together they are known collectively as Noteworthy.

In February 1995, after nearly eight months of long distance practicing and organizing, they gathered at Ironwood Studios in Seattle to record thirteen songs, including seven originals. Guest musicians included Nancy Katz from Ranch Romance on acoustic bass. Nick Hornbuckle from City Limits on banjo, and Pete Martin, Carol’s husband, also from Lonesome Doves, on fiddle.

For many years now, these three women have left behind their professional careers to spend one whole week in June at the National Old Time Fiddlers’ Contest in Weiser. Idaho. For the last four years they have gathered extra musicians and taken to the stage to entertain between contest rounds.

The trio celebrates their years of jamming at Weiser with the title Next Stop Weiser. Noteworthy plans to perform, with guest musicians, when in the Northwest or western states. They also have backup players from the Colorado area.

For band info or to obtain a copy of this recording write to Patty Clayton, 2557 Depew, Edgewater, CO 80214.

Spotlight on... Claire Lynch

“I live for the music. I burn for it in my soul.”

(This interview took place July 1, 1995, at Buffalo Gap Camp, Capon Bridge, WV.) Murphy-Claire, tell the tape what you just told me about taking your kids on the road with the TV.

Claire-Well, we broke down and bought one of those TVs that plugs into the lighter and it also has a VCR built in. Then instead of listening to them squirm for eight hours, they just kinda sit with a little daze on their faces...It works great! They’re so nice to each other.

M-I think it's brilliant.

C-Well, it’s expensive, too, but we didn't care because we want them to be with us and actually when you add up the cost of a sitter for all those weekends...

M-If you can find one. [Claire laughs and agrees.] Tell us how old the kids are and what their names are.

C-Kegan [pronounced Kay-gun] is thirteen and Christie is six. She’ll be starting public school this year, first grade.

M-Are you and Larry still both working day jobs?

C-Larry’s an accountant. He has different clients that he works with. So, it affords him some flexibility to travel on weekends. He basically makes his own hours but there are certain restraints even on that. There’s a lot of pressure, still, to juggle it with music. And then I worked at the University of Alabama at Huntsville for about five years up until Christie was born. I was assistant to the department head of the EMT training program at the Medical School there. We train paramedics. It was very interesting work...It was a lot of pressure. And then we started going out playing, plus a day job, plus kids, plus day care and you know, whoo! I got sick from it, actually. I had physical problems. It was too stressful with a full-time job and music on the weekends...But now I'm writing for a publisher so that’s like a monthly salary. They give you a draw which you have to recoup if you ever get a cut. But, in the meantime you have something to live on. I’ve been

doing that for three years. I go to Nashville once or twice a week to write and so that’s a whole day.

M-Can we fill in some of the gaps? Y'all were pretty much a road band until Kegan was born?

C-Yes, I was about six months pregnant with him when we quit the road.

M-That's always fun, being pregnant on the road.

C-[Laughing.] It’s real bad. It’s real hard on the road when you’re pregnant. We were still all in one van back then and they would smoke in the car...that was before it was rude to smoke with non-smokers so I used to ride with my head out the window...

M-So, then you had Kegan and you came off the mad. Was there a time when you didn’t play or were y'all always playing locally?

C-We didn’t play for the first six months of his life and then John Starling asked us to form a band with him because he was recording his Waiting on a Southern Train album and he needed a road band living in Alabama.

M-What did y'all do with Kegan at the time?

C-Larry’s mom...If it wasn’t for Larry’s mother and dad we wouldn't have done half of what we’ve done. She kept him quite a bit. We didn't go out very much, we played locally a lot, and then we took up with Herb Trotman and Andy [Meginniss] out of Birmingham. Herb, he just called us and said, "I got some gigs. You wanna do 'em?” You know, the Country Club, local parties and things. And we certainly needed the money back then, so we said, ’Well. O.K.” It was only a two-hour drive. We went and did that. We started getting booked on festivals and Herb started booking us more and more in the public eye.

M-But y'all were playing as Front Porch String Band?

C-Herb Trotman and the Front Porch String Band. And then, after a while we said, "Herb, we really need to be just the Front Porch String Band.”

M-And that was O.K. with him?

C-That was fine. He accepted it. It was a little difficult but, you know, we were starting to draw fans from the older road days...So we just kind of evolved back into the Front Porch String Band. And then we started getting calls from people out of state, to come to festivals and play...So we said. "I guess we need a record.” So we called Rebel and they said, “Sure.” So we put that record together. [Lines and Traces.] It was real hard because everybody in the band had jobs, including me. But we got through it. M-So, y'all were playing with Herb and Andy and you'd done this album and then that kind of went away and y'all got this other band...

C-Well, what happened is I got the call to do a solo album. Bil VornDick, the engineer/producer called me, and said he had me a record deal and he talked me into it. Larry and I both, he talked us into doing it. But it was a solo...I wasn’t being offered a band deal, which was not the first time that had happened but the first time I’d taken it. M-But we remember your other album. Don't you have another solo album out? [Breakin’ It.]

C-Oh, yeah, yeah! [Laughing.] That was also one with the Leather people, a division of their label, Ambush Records. Actually, that album got me a lot of attention for sessions in Nashville. It got passed around so it helped. Anyway, this solo album [Friends For A Lifetime, a gospel album on Brentwood] was really without consideration of the band or our sound or what we were capable of doing. It was a beautiful album and I’ll never regret doing that album but all of a sudden we were having to do quartets and we had a four-piece band and one of the guys didn’t sing. And Larry and I had decided that we were going to go and try to promote the album and we would be out for more dates. And both of those fellows had careers...so we were really kind of bad guys...we told them that we had decided to form a different band and work with people who could play more and do four-part harmony.

M-But how could you be considered bad guys? They couldn't do it.

C-I know but you just hate to do that. They’re family, you know, they really are. We were together like eight years with Herb and six years with Andy.

M-We kinda lost track of Kegan and Christie in all this. Christie was born when y'all were working with Herb.

C-Yes. I was pregnant a second time. I mean I played right up until with them.

M-Kept playing your guitar and everything? That's hard.

C-Yeah, up on top. Or, to the side, actually. [M-I did that too.] Yeah, I remember. The only problem is my feet would hurt if we stood up for more than 45 minutes. It was really hard. You get tired.

M-So, now you had two kids and you were playing and Larry's mom was still good to help out?

C-Yeah, I stayed home for three months with her. Well, I mean, we were still doing local gigs. So, we weren’t gone for more than two days. And we really did stay around home for a long time with her. [Larry’s folks] don’t do all of our sitting now. They’ve retired and it’s not as easy for them as it used to be. And they’re further away. So I have like a network of sitters.

M-So, when did y'all start taking them on the road?

C-Well, we don’t really. They stay home all through the school year and if it’s ball season they have to stay home because Kegan can’t miss a game. So that leaves basically July and August. So we have a month and a half for them to do some gigs with us. Or, if it’s on the weekend where we can leave after school and get home before school and it’s not [playing in] a club or something we take them. But, you know, it’s hard on the road. You know how hard it is on you and me. It’s twice as hard on the babies. It really is. It’s hard on kids. They like their home. They stay home a lot. M-I think that's really smart. [Leaving them at home.] You want to be with them but when there's nothing to do...It's more draining for me when the kids...

C-Absolutely. It’s draining for me, too.

M-So, this new album [Moonlighter] is the second one of the Brentwood series? C-Yes, but they sold my record to Rounder so I’m signed for two more to Rounder. I’ve got two more to do—Claire Lynch albums. So, my immediate fate is sealed for now. Still going to be doing solo albums. But I really, really hope that this band can do the next album with me.

M-So, it would still be marketed as a Claire Lynch album but the band would be on the album ? [C-Yes.] How much say will you have on who plays on the album and the arrangements?

C-l will have a lot more say this time. Bil VornDick produced it, [Friends For A Lifetime] he brought in all those Nashville greats, and I needed them at the time. And I was not opposed to it. Larry was able to play on a lot of that album. And he played on a good amount of the next one, this one that’s out now, but it was very difficult because we were juggling not only Larry’s and my schedules, in the middle of tax season, but also Bil’s. He was very booked...

M-And y’all were going to Nashville to do that? [C-Yeah.] And how long a drive was that?

C-Two hours, one way. Not too bad but still you get up there in the morning and work all day and get home at two in the morning and get up and get back up there at ten in the morning. And do that for a few days in a row...

M-And do you farm your kids out for these things so you don't have to deal with that? C-My folks came from South Carolina and kept them for several days.

M-Is it O.K. with Larry that you seem to be more out front now than you were? You're frequently being billed as Claire Lynch and the Front Porch String Band now. C-Yeah, that’s our bill. It’s difficult. I can’t say that it’s been an easy transition. It’s been hard for him to see that. For the most part he’s been a real gentleman about it. I mean you really have to show a lot of graciousness when that happens. Especially when it’s your wife for heaven’s sake. It’s hard.

M-Was that Brentwood's idea?

C-The record company offered me a deal. And I guess if they had wanted to offer the band a deal, they would have, but they didn’t. I mean, it’s not untypical, singers being offered record deals. That’s the way it’s done in a lot of other forms of music, not necessarily bluegrass. And it’s not been easy to do. I haven’t been really comfortable with it either. But as time goes on, you get used to it.

M [stumbling]-But you're the most… about the most marketable... I mean you're the most... I don't want to say...

C [dryly]-It’s marketable. [M (throwing in the towel): It's marketable] Let’s face it. What can you do? It’s not like I said, “I want to be a star. The heck with you guys.” Although you still feel like you’re acting like that when people call you out front. You still have all this guilt. I do, anyway.

M-I think it's almost a women thing. I think most women do. Especially working with a husband.

C-But he’s been good about it and we’ve had major adjustments to make. He’s been the one to be sensible, because it’s exciting when you’re put in the spotlight. One person’s yelling “do this” in your ear and your conscience is saying “oh, my children need me.” You’re pulled in different directions. And Larry has really been the voice that says be realistic, be sensible, put your family first, come down to earth, and get your head out of the clouds. These kinds of things happen to you. They can happen to you one great afternoon at somebody’s office and you’re clicked into this other frame of mind and you have to come back to reality. Anyway, he’s been that voice. It’s not always been a popular place for Larry to be. Sometimes walking the line is not the easiest thing to do. He’s very realistic and I’m extremely idealistic. So we have that contrast with one another. I’m melancholy and idealistic and like to dream. [M-That’s why you're a songwriter.] Yeah, that’s right.

M-You know, there are very few bluegrass couples that have kids that are still playing together. That shows a lot of commitment to family, to marriage.

C-It also shows my commitment to those ideals, too. You see, I’m idealistic about family, and God, and all of those other things; the stability of a husband and wife. I think that it’s important to be idealistic in that area, too, ’cause reality can shoot you down. M-Were you raised religious?

C-I was raised in a Christian home. My parents were not just churchgoers, but very serious about the scriptures and a personal relationship with God. You know, lots of prayer life and, of course, music was a big part of it, too. So, I was raised in that. I wouldn’t really call it strict religion but more of a getting-to-know-God kind of a relationship. But it was always real strong in our family. Which I rebelled from when I was nineteen. I completely turned my back on it.

M-Oh! That’s when you started bluegrass music!

C-That’s right! [Laughs.] Yeah, but see. I felt, in the midst of all that guilt about what you call backsliding, or whatever you call it... [M-That’s what we call it. Backsliding.] Backslidin’. In the middle of that I thought, well, here's my outlet...[Giggles.] I can play this music and not feel guilty about it because, you know, bluegrassers are so wholesome and they do incorporate gospel into it and I felt comfortable with that. Plus, I loved folk and acoustic music anyway. I just jumped right in.

M-Do you think your kids are going to play ? How do you feel about that? C-I usually tell people that, if they don't want to play music, we don’t push them. Which is true in a sense but another thing is that we haven’t put the time into them like you have done your kids. You’ve put time into teaching them and we didn’t. We tried. But we didn’t push. But we didn’t work with them. Like give them a disciplined... M-We didn't do that either.

C [surprised]-You didn’t? Well, your kids were meant to play and mine weren't. M-Well, I don't know if this gives you heart or anything but our kids showed absolutely no interest in the music until they were about thirteen. None whatsoever. C-O.K. Well, that makes me feel a little better.

M-They would go to gigs with us and Casey would sit and read a book and Christopher would watch TV. Then, all of a sudden, it was like a light bulb went on in their heads. C-Well, that’s how I feel about Kegan because he does have an ear for music. He’s discovered pop radio so he’s into that. And he will talk to me about the artists ’cause he knows I know a lot about the music business. So, we do relate on that level. And since he was about ten, you can hear him going up and down the hall of the house singing scales, different kinds of scales with patterns in them. (She scat sings a scale.) That sounds very musical. But I just leave him alone.

M-I think that's the best thing in the world you could do. I really do. 'Cause we never did anything systematic with our kids. We tried piano lessons and they both hated it. Iz hated taking them. I hated making them practice. So, we dropped that. [C-Well, that makes me feel better.] The only thing we ever did was anytime they ever showed a little

interest in it themselves, we’d stop whatever we were doing and deal with that interest right then.

C-We’ve done that. He [Kegan] can do a G, C, and D [on the guitar], and he shows a little interest. So, I figure when he’s about seventeen or eighteen he’ll discover guitar and go “rock and roll!” [Laughs.]

M-l’m trying to think of anything else we can touch on.

C-l can tell you that we’re playing at the Ryman this year on the bluegrass series. [That was August 8.] That will be a big first. And I’ve been asked to appear on Music City Tonight August 2nd.

M-So, that will just be you?

C-We’ll, see. There it is. Here’s more of it. We begged and pleaded for me to appear with the band and I don’t have enough clout. Their final say was just me or nobody. And I figured I need the exposure. It will help the band.

M-What are you going to do if things break wide open for you like they have for Alison? C-Well, I don’t know that that will happen. I tell you why. She has a fantastic manager and I have no manager. Again, we have this. I don’t know if you call it a problem, but it is our situation and that is the children. And so we’re not as aggressive as Alison has been. So, if it breaks wide open, it will be one of God’s miracles. Because I will not have pushed it. Any of my other breaks, I never pushed. They were always phone calls that came in. Things just happened. And the gospel album, too. The call for that which has really boosted the band.

M-That was like starting a new phase of your career, wasn’t it?

C-Oh, yeah. And the “V” word, we call it. The video word. It’s being passed around. So, if that happens, it could help. So, I have to take it as it comes. And really what I want to do most is keep my focus on reality…I live for the music. I love the music, I enjoy the music and I feel like I’ve got something to offer. But, I burn for it in my soul but not in my actions? I don’t know how to say that...But I’m trying to keep a constant balance between family and career.

M-So, you can't really let your soul go.

C-I can’t let my soul go. I gotta control it. But, I still think I’m making great strides despite all that. So, I’m happy. I feel like I’ve done more than I’ve ever expected to do. When I was nineteen I wanted to hit the bluegrass big time. And I feel like I’m basically where I wanted to be now.

M-We should say a little about your singing. Is this a natural gift you have? Do you work at it?

C-I’ve just sung for twenty years. That has a lot to do with it. You just pick up things from other people. I’ve had two vocal lessons from Kathy Chiavola, who is my dear friend, and they helped me a lot. Breathing. Control. Air placement. Getting my range higher. And also controlling the low notes. She did all that for me in two lessons. Not that I've mastered it or anything. But, it's been a tool I can work with. And I think all the good things happening have inspired me. Of course. I feel like it’s a gift. too. M-lt seems to me. with all the incarnations of the band you've had, that your sound has stayed remarkably the same.

C-It didn’t really dawn on me until about fifteen years into it that Larry and I were setting up a groove between the mandolin and the guitar. [M-Exactly.] And we didn't know it. It was just a thing that happened. But, now we realize that we’ve got a groove that’s indigenous to us...

M-I noticed that particularly today when you started off Kennasaw Line on the guitar. I mean, people lose sight of your guitar playing because you’re the singer but you started that off by yourself and I’m going, "That's where that sound’s coming from! [Claire giggles.] That's from Claire's guitar!" And then Larry's mandolin chop.

C-I know. I love Larry’s chop. I don’t think I would be happy with anybody else on the mandolin.

M-It’s the Front Porch sound. After you've worked with somebody for twenty years, you finally hit a groove. [Claire laughs in agreement.] Let’s close this interview out with a question I've asked all the women I've interviewed. Do you have any advice to offer women coming up in the business? How would you address that?

C-Well, I would address it like I approach everything else in life. And that is work at it and perfect it. Work to improve it. And don't stop at one level. Notice what other people

are doing and see if you can incorporate that into your own learning process—from all facets of music...work at your strengths to perfect them and develop them. M-When we were coming along in the business there weren't many other women playing. It's got to make you feel good to see more women playing.

C-It makes me feel great. I'm really glad that it changed.

M-To me, it’s brought new life into bluegrass. New song selection, new harmonies, a lot of new things. I think it’s opened it wide up.

C-New record sales. Alison just went platinum, let’s don’t forget. The other piece of advice I would offer is play out live and if you don’t have a band situation that you can develop yourself in, get a band together, even if it’s local. Play on a regular basis ’cause that’s how you really develop, I think, playing live.

M-Good advice! And I think we’ll quit on that. Thank you very much.

Radio Daze

By Nancy Pate

I gave up on the radio years ago. I would listen in the car, but I never expected to hear anything I really liked, and I never turned it on at home. When I moved to Atlanta, WRFG had a bluegrass show for a couple of hours every day, but as their audience changed, bluegrass began getting axed from their format. And soon I moved out to the suburbs and couldn’t pick up the signal anyway.

Then one morning last May, my newspaper carried a short paragraph on WMLB in Cumming, Georgia. It described their new Americana format as country, but leaning toward singer/songwriters. I was intrigued, so I tuned in to AM 1170. In the first ten minutes I heard songs by Tim O’Brien and Claire Lynch–jump back, girl! Naturally I kept listening. I tried to turn the radio on at different times during the day, to see when the station ran the "bluegrass hour.” But all day long I heard bluegrass artists. Of course they were mixed in with vintage country, such as Merle Haggard, George Jones, and Patsy Cline, with alternative country like John Prine, Nancy Griffeth, and Junior Brown, and with bands I’d never heard of: Salamander Crossing, the Rankin Family. There was also some Top 40 country. But even the music new to me was interesting material; many of the alternative country cuts had banjo in the mix. Imagine hearing banjo on the

radio all through the day! The station even played instrumentals, mostly electric and slide guitar, but one morning I heard Bela Fleck’s Arkansas Traveler.

After a summer of listening I had heard Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, Alison Krauss and Union Station, the Cox Family, Doc Watson, and Peter Rowan, among others. I found myself in a radio daze, sometimes leaving the radio on all morning while I worked. I decided to find out more. So I called Chriss Marino, the station manager at WMLB and asked him about the Americana format. Marino said the station had always played a grassroots country, bluegrass, and gospel format, but that two years ago they began injecting some “Americana” cuts into the mix. This was before “Americana” was an official format with a Top 40 chart. Then, this past spring, they were invited to report their play list to the Gavin Report, a trade magazine for the format, out of San Francisco. Marino said the station benefited, because once they were “reporters,” record companies found out, and began inundating them with material. Asked about the response from his long-time listeners. Marino said. “They weren’t scared away. They loved it!” Interestingly enough, the station's demographic group is in the majority women, ages 25 to 55.

Marino said there are only about 70 Americana stations across the country, some in big cities like Ft. Worth, some attached to colleges and universities like the Fordham University station in New York, and some in rural areas such as his own WMLB. There are other stations such as the Calhoun. Ga., station that are mainstream country, but often play Americana listed songs. Not only did Marino claim the Americana format was bluegrass friendly, he encourages any solid bluegrass musician to send a copy of her latest disc and “we’ll give it a listen." If you are interested in information on a station near you, or in getting a list of stations to send your recordings to, you can write: The Gavin Report, 140 Second St., San Francisco, CA 94105. Rob Bleetstein is the editor. Bluegrass has made it to the top of the charts on Americana stations. Tim O’Brien was #1 for five weeks and was at #2 when I talked with Marino. Claire Lynch was at #11, and Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum were in the top twenty and climbing.

Americana stations are good for bluegrass. Unfortunately, you still won’t hear traditional bands like Bill Monroe, Lynn Morris, or Del McCoury. But it’s great exposure for the more progressive acts. New fans will buy their albums, and some of those fans will come out to bluegrass festivals and clubs to hear this music live. And that will benefit everyone in the industry. Of course, exposure works both ways. I ran out and bought a CD by the Rankin Family, a Nova Scotia folk group, based on one song I heard on the radio. Now I'm waiting for their first trip to Georgia.

Women in Bluegrass is a quarterly publication. Editor. Publisher, and HWICC. Murphy Henry. Layout and Computer Consultant, Red Henry. Address all correspondence to: Women in Bluegrass. POB 2498. Winchester, VA 22604.

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Ratifications

By Casey Henry

Recently, the Lynn Morris Band played in a local hot spot. Being the sweet person that she is, Lynn asked my brother and me to get up and play a song with her. This would have made me really nervous except that I had played there about a hundred times before. It was nerve racking though, because her mandolin player, Matt Mundy, is young and good-looking, and, besides the fact that all young good-looking guys make me nervous, he recently appeared on Bela Fleck’s Tales From the Acoustic Planet. Anyone who is so good that he impressed Bela enough to put him on an album makes me musically nervous. Lynn said whatever we wanted to play was fine so I naturally picked something that I could show off on, Shenandoah Breakdown. I practiced it for three solid days before and must say turned in a pretty admirable performance. One of my mom’s friends said that she was amazed that we could just get up there and play. She was nervous for us. But that, of course, is what we do. We practice all of those long hours just so we can get up there, and play.