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Notes from the Road – Gamble Rogers 2008

Sunday, May 4th –

Another good night’s sleep and another beautiful clear day. A bit warmer today and it promises to get down right hot as the sun climbs overhead. But with no hint of rain in the forecast and the comfortable evenings we’ve had it’s hard to complain. The breeze is still blowing so in the shade it’s still really nice. But I can tell the stages are going to get warm. I don’t play until late afternoon so I can afford to be lazy.

After finishing up my post for yesterday while I had my coffee and sending it out to all you anxious readers (ok, a wide range from the semi- mildly anxious to couldn’t care less), I cleaned up a little and headed over to the hospitality building for an early lunch. Ran into John William Davis who was busying himself restringing a 1930 Regal slot head parlor guitar. Poor John, not a happy camper. To say that he detests restringing that slot head (which is apparently a little tricky) would be a vast understatement. He finally resolve to replace only every other string thereby cutting his work in half while, hopefully improving the sound – not sure how that worked out, but I wouldn’t have dared suggest any scenario that would have put him in a position to change all six strings!

Also spent some time talking to Chuck Hardwicke – like most all of us, Chuck was particularly impressed with the Carolina Chocolate Drops Friday night. But we also agreed that all of the talent booked for the festival was truly first rate top to bottom (including each other, of course!!). Magda Hiller danced through sporting a new short hairdo, very becoming. The food and company were great and before long I looked down and realized that I had to go shower, warm up and get ready to play.

The last day, even more than others, don’t leave much opportunity to catch anyone else’s shows, but I did see a little of each of Jamie Defrates & Susan Brown, Frank Thomas, Roadside Revue and The Larry Mangum Trio – all excellent. My show was on the Florida Stage and, unfortunately it faced so that he tent walls blocked all possible air flow so that it was going to be sweltering behind the mic. The good news was that I realized it in time to return to my camper to retrieve my handy, dandy industrial squirrel fan. Recommended to me by my bud Mark Harris (Peters Road Swamp Band) this little jewel creates a silent hurricane of cool refreshing air flow. Saved my life today! I stayed cool and comfy throughout my show. An expectedly small crowd for a late, last day show, but very enthusiastic and appreciative. Plus, with sound by Tom Ellis it was a treat to get to finish up on this Stage – great job Tom, Thanks! I played a couple of new tunes mixed in with some of my familiar material and included, in honor of Gamble, my version of “The Dutchman.” Fun set.

I went over, collected my remaining CD’s from the product sales area (pretty good CD sales, particularly with everyone adjusting to the new layout) and headed to the camper saying my goodbyes as I went. As I was breaking down the camper I could hear Bob Patterson’s wrap up show wafting from the main stage. We were on the road by about 5:45 p.m.

So, it’s another Gamblefest come and gone. For my money, the new venue is a good fit. I don’t know what the attendance numbers were, but I thought the whole event was particularly well run and came off very smoothly. The volunteer corps was outstanding, taking care of everyone’s needs and keeping everything moving forward and on schedule. I wish I knew all the folks to thank, but I know that Paul Linser, Bob Patterson and Lis Williamson deserve a good portion of the credit – muchas gracias my friends. Can’t wait until next year.

Notes from the Road – Gamble Rogers 2008

Saturday, May 3rd –

First, thanks to Norm and Mary on the Folkme list for adding the YouTube clips of all the performers I described yesterday – nice touch!

Another gorgeous day – a little bit warmer with less breeze, but still so much more comfortable than Gamblefest’s in the past have been. I was able to sleep in a little after being up late around the campfire. Felt good!

The performers’ hospitality area here is excellent – food is wonderful and the folks manning it are just terrific. I’m sure it make it more pleasant for the staff as well since it’s in its own little building complete with kitchen, etc. We’ve got table cloths on the tables, even candles! Very up town!

I admit that I was focused on getting ready for my own set yesterday and did not venture out to the stages until after I played. I did, however, get a scouting report from Judy and Jessi who said they particularly enjoyed Grant Peeples, Magda Hiller, Chelsea Sadler and Mindy Simmons. No surprises there, always great performances. Obviously, everyone knows Magda and Mindy. For those who aren’t familiar, Grant is a Tallahassee area songwriter with a wonderful style and a riveting growl to his voice (see Ron Johnson’s review of Grant’s new CD in his last Strings and Things column). Chelsea is a young singer – songwriter from Jacksonville whose voice I find really compelling. She was a finalist at the Suwannee Springfest competition this year.

I was on the Bean Creek Stage at 2:20 following Bob Patterson. Bob is just one of the best there is. An impeccable musician and a storyteller in the Gamble style – I know his old pickin’ pal is always grinnin’ when Bob is on stage. Bob had ‘em eatin’ out of the palm of his hand and the crowd continued to grow as I took the stage (probably folks getting’ there early for Red Henry who followed me!). I really enjoyed the set throwing in a couple of songs I hadn’t played in a while. Saw a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, including the incomparable Raven (what would you compare him to?) on the arm of his new lady love, Tisa Noble (that’s Tisa of Willfest campfire fame, the one that has the huge area with lights, flowing drapes, etc. with the assistance of her daughter Cassaundra and Ally Smith) – Way to go RAVEN! A very fun set with good sound, etc. And I got to chat for a minute or with Gabe Valla and show off my Collings OMH to him – forget it Gabe, not for sale!

It’s hard to tell how the total crowd numbers are doing here at the new location. But, it does seem like the outlying stages are getting more attention and have better attendance than in past years. For me, this feels more like a grass roots, homespun folk festival than the amphitheatre did, at least since all the fancy renovations. Hopefully this is a more economical alternative and will give the festival a new home for years to come.

After I put my guitar away I got a beer (of course, priorities after all) and headed over to catch some of Stevie Coyle’s show (see yesterday’s post for the FYI on Stevie). Talk about impeccable musicianship – this guy really knows his way around the fret board and has a right hand technique that is absolutely fluid. Stevie is also a Collings man (wish I could play mine like he does), a 000 size slot head that really sings. He told me later that the guitar fit his tastes so perfectly it was as if it actually selected him. For my money (and they ain’t cheap) not a better guitar around.

Then another beer (priorities again) and over to catch my buds, The Roadside Revue, on the Old Town Stage. They’ve got a great new tune the name of which I haven’t gotten yet, but it’s about a fly that hitched a ride in the van all the way from Micanopy to Key Largo – funny, energetic stuff as always. They were followed by The Larry Magnum Trio who “wowed” them with Larry’s great songs and vocals and lead playing by a guy who I did not get to meet but who Larry always turned to at the instrumental break and hollered “PICK IT WHITE TRASH.” I’m guessin’ that guy’s available if anyone’s looking for a great lead player!

Back to home base to clean up a tiny before dinner. The Roadside Revue gang, Ron & Bari Litschauer, Dawn & Charles DeWitt, Stan and Kathy Geberer (Ok, not married, but deal with it Kathy), along with their families, etc. came, accoutrements in hand (i.e., potent libations and mixers from south of the border) for a little happy hour action before dinner – what a hoot! Dinner in the hospitality area was excellent, particularly the white bean / red pepper salsa that made a wonderful side dish to everything! Then back to the camper for a few more happy minutes with the Mexican libations before wandering on over to the main stage for the evening shows.
Wonderful line-up! Amy Carol Webb put on her typically great performance, joined on one tune by Mindy Simmons and Jeannie Fitchen. Gatorbone (Lis & Lon Williamson, Jason Thomas, Gabe Valla and Mickey Abramson) was exceptional. I think those guys rival the best in the business in the bluegrass / western swing genre. Lis’ vocals are to die for and her rock steady right hand technique has been my envy for quite some time.

Mike Cross was up next. I saw him for the first time out at Winfield (The Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas) in the mid 90’s and was really looking forward to his show here. I had to chuckle about his photo in the Gamblefest brochure though – Mike hasn’t looked like that since high school! Nevertheless, the pudgier, less haired, over-alled current incarnation does not disappoint on the stage. Whether its lightning fingerstyle, bottleneck blues or rousing fiddle work, it’s all magnificently done and with a homespun, side-splitting humor that, I’m sure, keeps Mike in high demand.

Last for the evening was Robin & Linda Williams and Their Fine Group. Another favorite of every folk fest and room in the country these guys are just top shelf. Linda opened the show with a classic, but introducing the band, including her “current husband” Robin (they’ve been married 35 years). These guys are full on fun from the first note. You can see a bit of them in the Garrison Keillor movie, A Prairie Home Companion, in which they play, well, themselves playing one of, well, their tunes – go figure!

I headed back to the camper at about 10:30 and got the fire going. Ron & Bari soon appeared and we started pickin’ a tune or two. I swear we’d only played part of one song when I looked up and there must have been 30+ folks pulling up chairs and settling in (man, we needed more Tequilla!). With Dawn on bass, Stan Geberer on harmonica , Bari on banjo and mandolin and Ron on guitar and mando, the tunes started to fly. In the circle (well, the part up next to the fire because folks were stacked three and four deep) were those I’ve mentioned already, plus Rod McDonald and a drum wielding pal, Larry Mangum, Kathy DeWitt (no relation – this is the Patchwork / radio one), another of Kathy’s band mates (I swear I’ve got to get better with names) who really belter out some great tunes, Chelsea Sadler (and her friend whose name I didn’t get either, but who was doing some great back up guitar and harmony work), Jamie Defrates and Susan Brown, Jeannie & Ned Fitchen and a fella I’ve known for years, tall, blonde haired guy, wielding a mini dulcimer and bearing some terrific brownies ---- ARGGGG!!! I gotta start takin’ some Ginko-Bubba to help this memory thing!!! I know I’m forgetting some folks and I apologize – this is your brain on tequila. Plus, a stellar group of listeners stacked all around including Mother FOFF, Jean Hewitt, Deb Watts and many, many more. Great campfire and it carried on until around 1:30 or so. And there were others still going after we subsided – Grant Peeples and Carrie Hamby were still at it and a really dedicated group of six or so were out in the middle of a field under a light pole – you could see them glowing yellow in the distance, sounds of rapid fire bluegrass of the booming bass carrying on the still night air.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ . . . . .

Friday, May 2, 2008 –

The weather is BEAUTIFUL!!! If you ain’t here, you’re messin’ up BIG TIME!

The new edition of the Gamble Rogers Folk Fest kicked off Friday at the St. Johns County Fairgrounds a bit west of St. Augustine on SR 207 just outside of Elkins, Fl. For years the fest has been held on Anistasia Island at the amphitheatre on A1A. But circumstances (cost and others) forced the festival to move to new quarters to survive and continue on. Frankly, it seems like a good move. The fairgrounds are spacious and in many ways more “Gamble-like” since the amphitheatre went Hollywood in the past couple of years. This feels like home and exudes the kind of down home warmth that typified Gambles music and stories.

We got on the road early today and it took less than two hours to get on site. Lis Williamson had helped me out with arrangement s for a campsite (thank ya mam!) and we were all set . Once we got the camper situated we strolled the grounds, located the stages, said hello’s to many, many friends and then kicked back to enjoy the afternoon. I was a little concerned that our campsite was completely unshaded and the sun was beating down, but the weather stayed in the mid 80’s and a consistent breeze kept everything wonderfully comfortable. So I sat under the awning, sipped a little libation and restrung guitars – even picked a tune or two.

At 6 p.m. we joined the throngs for the renewed Friday night fish fry. What a feed!! Exceptional food – fish with hush puppies, cole slaw, baked beans (with some jalopenas for a little kick). Excellent!! The volunteers working that duty really earned everyone’s thanks. The long line for the food moved at a trot – literally – as everyone hustled to get the loaded plates out to us all. Outstanding guys – really enjoyed it!

Then a great line-up on the Big Top Stage to kick things off. The Aaron O’Rourke Trio came on at 7 p.m. – WOW! You hear that the trio is centered around the mountain dulcimer and you think melodic, old time, plucky / strummy music – WRONG!! Aaron is to mountain dulcimer what Jimmy Hendricks was to electric guitar. You can sit right there and watch him and still not believe what you’re hearing. Unbelievable music. And lest you think Aaron is the only hot picker up there, Mickey Abraham on mandolin is world class as well. If you get a chance to see these guys do yourself a favor and get there.

Mary Flower was up next. This amazing musician who currently makes her home in Portland, OR. Is an incredibly uanassuming virtuoso in intricate syncopated Piedmont styled finger picking and bluesy lap-slide guitar. I had heard of Mary, but had not seen her perform. Another WOW!! She has such a great relaxed and familiar stage presence interlaced with personal humor – simply a treat! Mary will be in Orlando Monday night at Fodor’s in Orlando sponsored by CFFI. Check the Central Florida Folk, Inc. website (http://www.cffolk.org/ ) for more details.

Stevie Coyle then took the stage. A co-founder of the high energy California group The Waybacks, Stevie left the group to tour solo. Another amazing guitarist, Stevie’s show is a combination of immaculate guitar work and zany humor that hits everyone in the audience “right where they live” at some point in his non-stop banter and lyrics. Stevie puts out a newsletter that is as entertaining as his stage performance and you can subscribe for free at http://steviecoyle.com – highly recommended.

Wrapping up the formal stage shows for the night was the amazing Carolina Chocolate Drops – three kids (everyone less than 30 is a kid to me) from North Carolina who are adept students of traditional music heritage and bring those styles to the present with astounding energy, versatility and infectious vibe. Their show includes fiddles, banjo’s, guitars, resonator guitars, jugs, jars, drums, fifes, mouth harps, harmonicas, stomping feet, clapping hands, dancing, amazing vocals and huge smiles on every face in the crowd. I had the chance to see them in Memphis two years ago at Folk Alliance and their ability to create music even simply with rhythm and rudimentary instruments, some of which they make themselves, is inspirational. Another don’t miss act.

With the stage closing down we headed back to the camper, got out the fire pit and fied her up. I had no sooner sat down, evening libation in hand, than folks began to gather - Larry Mangum, Ray Lewis, Larry’s old rock n’ roll buddy Jack, Woody, Chris ____?, John William Davis, Tina ______(damn I’m bad at last names!!), Grant Peeples and others ended up circled round the fire swapping tunes, jokes and jibes. Incredibly talented people all. I was particularly blown away by John William Davis’ friend Tina whose voice, guitar work and songwriting were just awesome. And, as we passed midnight we went from Grant Peeples’ birthday to Tina and Larry Mangum’s birthdays – all around one small campfire – too cool!

Not a terribly late night – everyone started easing away around 1 a.m. or a little after. What a beautiful night. Nice and cool, not a cloud in the star heavy skies and the smell of wood smoke. Sure hated to call it a night.