out some of the goings on with f.a.m.e. we are really glad...
TRANSCRIPT
Membership Renewal/App 14
From the President 2
Open Mics 2
Songwriters’ Songfest 4
Songwriters’ Showcase 4
Traditional Folk Song Circle 5
The Songs We Sing 5
Comfortable Concerts 6
Inside this issue:
F.A.M.E. Goals 14
Board of Directors 14
Hill Chapel Concerts 7
Gear of the Month 8
Pull up a Chair 9
Summer Camp Info 10
Scholarship Info 11
Spotlight: Todd Coyle 12
Workshop News 13
March 2015
In the Spotlight…Todd Coyle by Caryl Velisek
“I hope you will take a few moments to look through this and check out some of the goings on with F.A.M.E. We are really glad you are a part of our group!” — Rick Hill, March 2012, in our first newsletter.
Todd Coyle is a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and fund-raiser; he is an advisor to the Charleston Parks and Recreations Board. He has been a band leader and band member; he has written hundreds of songs, and has recorded a number of CDs. All this, and he has a day job, too. Find out more about what drives the man on page 12.
Photo Courtesy of Todd Coyle
The Epicure Café, 11104 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA. Music Variety Showcase: Second and fourth Wednesdays at 8 pm, hosted by Ron Goad. Open Mic: Show up, sign up, perform one to three songs. Epicure is an independently-owned and family-run café with tasty food, including appetizers, Greek specialties, salads, sandwiches, subs, pasta, desserts, coffee drinks, wine and beer. Epicure features various creative events that fill every night of the week, including wonderful musical acts, local art exhibitions, open mics, poetry readings, comedy, and now—storytelling! All this and an outdoor hookah!
Keep listening, keep playing, keep living!
From the President Page 2
Peace,
Rick Hill Rick’s photo and image courtesy of http://www.ricksfolk.com/
Michael Schirf Kim Perseghin Jim Rose Dave Koronet Tom Bockoven
Photos courtesy of Todd C Walker
Frederick Coffee Company & Café, 100 N. East Street, Frederick: Every Tuesday night 7-10 pm, Todd C Walker hosts. This open
mic welcomes all “family-friendly” talent. Generally, performers receive the equivalent of time for two songs each. Enjoy good food from the
enhanced menu in a welcoming and warm, inclusive atmosphere. The sign-up list fills quickly, so come early if you can.
In the midst of freezing temperatures and threats (idle?) of snow catastrophes, one’s mind wanders towards things warmer. I have begun looking through the websites for summer music camps and trying to figure out where I want to go and what classes I want to focus on. I go to music camps because they give me a deeper understanding of and appreciation for a wide diversity of music. I grew up pretty much in the solid singer/songwriter category having no idea of where some of the music I was playing actually originated. I found that my mentor group, Peter, Paul, and Mary were not just singing songs they and their friends had written. They were singing songs that had journeyed down through history dating back sometimes hundreds of years. Their roots were in Celtic, jazz, blues, African, Eastern European, South American, Asian. Summer camp has helped me hone my musical skills, introduced me to new
genres (swing) and new instruments (knyckelharpa), nurtured friendships across divergent musical landscapes, and given me time to relax in the soft couch of music. If you would like to go to a music camp but cannot afford it, F.A.M.E. is offering scholarships up to $500 to help you. We would really like to get a few youth attending. You would be surprised how many high school and college folks attend these camps. Even younger ones are welcomed (with their parent(s), of course). Let’s go to summer camp! (For more on summer camps, see page 10; more on scholarships, page 11 .
Open Mics
Beans in the Belfry Meeting Place and Café, 122 W. Potomac Street, Brunswick, Maryland. Third Thursday of each month 7-9 pm, Tomy “One M” Wright hosts this cozy venue with great acoustics, as it is an old church reclaimed as a coffeehouse with a friendly, relax-ing atmosphere. This is a SAW- and FAME-endorsed open mic which draws per-formers from both groups, as well as the local area. Format is a first-come, first-served sign-up list with usually two or three songs each. Percussion available upon request.
Page 3
Photos courtesy of Tomy Wright
UUCF Coffeehouse, Saturday, March 28, 2015, 4880
Elmer Derr Road, Frederick, MD 21703. 7 - 9:30 pm. Roy Greene and Brad Calhoun, hosts. If you've got a musical (or poetical!) talent you've been dying to share, now is your chance! Performers can expect to share two or three pieces, depending on the number of participants. Performance times are first come, first served. Not ready to take a turn in the spotlight? Never fear—every performer loves an audience! Come out and enjoy a variety of music and poetry as well as desserts, coffee, and other beverages. Admission is free, but free will donations are gratefully accepted; and, donations in the form of desserts are welcome, too! For more information or to be added to the UUCF
Coffeehouse mailing list, please send an email to
[email protected]. If you use Twitter, be sure to
follow us @UUCFcoffee.
March 8 Steve Warner
Jesse Christiansen
March 22 Chloe Antulov
Raven Jackson
Sunday Songwriters’ Songfest Frederick Coffee Company and Café, 100 N. East Street, Frederick, MD, 4 pm
Todd C Walker puts together an afternoon of local, regional, and sometimes national talent. Songwriters perform 30 to 40 minute sets. Performers are not paid, so please tip generously.
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Jessica Smucker
Date Featured Artist Cameos _ Pianist 3/2 Alex Culbreth Michelle Lockey Tom Fabinski Pete Farnham
3/9 Melissa Greener Cygne (Laura Meyer ) Colette Rohan Eli Staples
3/16 Jeff Miller Mauro Giacchetti Jimbow Kristen Rebecca
3/23 Tony Denikos Wally Worsley Rockin’ Ray Jozwiak Jeff Smith
3/30 Mary Battiata Chris Anderson Jim Moon
Come upstairs at Brewer’s Alley in beautiful, historic, downtown Frederick, Maryland, any Monday evening from 7:15 pm until 10:15 pm or so. The singer-songwriters you will hear are a mix of national and re-gional touring performers with many award-winners from all genres. The featured songwriter for the evening plays for around 45 minutes; a number of other songwriters make cameo appearances singing three songs. Every show also includes a piano prelude to start the evening, our two resident poets read two poems each somewhere in the program, and we have three MC’s, so it’s impossible to get bored – it’s an acoustic vari-ety show. All of the performers are invited to play; this enables us to maintain
high standards of musicianship and songwriting – and makes for excellent shows. We have conse-quently gained a national reputation for being a great place to perform and be heard. Note: there is no sign-up on the night, although we sometimes pull songwriters we know from the audience and make ‘em play. There is no door charge, but we have “tip buckets” for the featured songwriter. Come out and support LIVE ORIGINAL music. If you would like a calendar for 2015, please e-mail Rod ([email protected] ). For information about playing a three-song spot, contact (1) Ron Goad: [email protected], (2) Rod Deacey: [email protected] or (3) Todd C. Walker: [email protected]. For info on featuring (the 45-minute money spot), contact Rod Deacey: [email protected].
Brewer’s Alley Monday Songwriters’ Showcase Brewer’s Alley, 2nd Floor, 124 N. Market Street, Frederick, MD, Shows begin at 7:15 pm
We had another great group at Dublin Roasters for our February Song Circle. Tomy started us off with “You Are My Sunshine” and we sang many that we've done before – some not so familiar – and four we haven't done before. “Careless Love” is a traditional song of rather obscure origins that usually speaks of heartbreak brought on by careless love. Often the singer threatens to kill his (or her) wayward lover and there are several versions with varying lyrics. It was one of the best known songs in the repertory of the Buddy Bolden Band in New Orleans, La., at the start of the 20th century, and has remained a jazz and blues standard. Hundred of recordings have been made in folk, blues, country and jazz and even pop, and it's one I
often sing at gigs. Pete Seeger and Bessie Smith are two of the well known artists that have done it along with Fats Domino, Lead Belly, Janis Joplin, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Bill Monroe, Johnny Cash, Frankie Laine and Harry Connick, Jr. “Sweet And Low” is another one we hadn't done before and one I have sung for years. It was originally written as a poem by English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson and set to music by English composer Joseph Barnby. Tennyson is, of course, one of the best-loved Victorian poets and was Poet Laureate of Great Briton and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria's reign. “Plaisir d'Amour” means “the pleasure of love.” (I took French in high school and (continued on page 13)
The Songs We Sing by Caryl Velisek
Photos above and left courtesy of Karen Fetters
Traditional Folk Song Circle by Karen Fetters and Tomy Wright
Dublin Roasters Coffee, 1780 N. Market Street, Frederick Second Saturday of each month, 2-4 p.m.
It was our third anniversary and 26 folks attended the February 14th Traditional Folk Song Circle. Twenty-six songs covering fourteen of the categories from the Rise Up Singing songbook were sung. The most requested category of the day (six songs) was Love; of course February 14th was Valentine’s Day! The group introduced five songs not previously sung: “Nowhere Man,” “Plaisir d’Amor,” “Sweet and Low,” “Careless Love” and “Rocky Mountain High.” This brings the total to 403 or 34% of the songs in the book that we’ve sung. Attendees included Dori Bailin, Margie Barber, Richard Broadbrent, George Carroll, Andy Celmar, Barbara Collins, John Cooper, Dan Frasier, Craig Gillespie, Mary Ann Gearinger, Craig Gillespie, James Gillespie, Marilyn Gillespie, Roy Greene, Rick Hill, David Koronet, Beverly Magyar, Gloria McCracken, Nancy Pace, Ruthie Rye, Mike Sodos, Jean Vantassell, Caryl Velisek, Mark Vitek, Melissa Howes-Vitek, Joyce Wendt, and our Song Circle host, Tomy Wright.
Photo by Roy Greene
Tomy Wright, Traditional Folk Song Circle host, and
Rick Hill, F.A.M.E. president, present the Third
Anniversary Cake replete with logos of F.A.M.E.
partners Sing Out! magazine, publishers of the Rise Up
Singing songbook, and Dublin Roasters, our gracious
host for the past three years. Another milestone was
reached Saturday, the 400th new song was sung!
Page 5
Comfortable Concerts March 13 Andrew McKnight www.andrewmcknight.net
Comfortable Concerts Coming up
April 26 Ruthie Lodgson/Suzanne Brindamour/Barbara Martin
May 15 Craig Bickhardt www.craigbickhardt.com
June 5 Josh Harty www.joshharty.com
June 26 Ali Sperry www.alisperry.com
July 17 Ken Yates/Brian Dunne www.kenyates.com
www.briandunnemusic.net
August 7 Matt Bednarsky www.mattbednarsky.com
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Andrew McKnight Performs at “Comfortable Concerts” in March On March 13, Andrew McKnight will capti-vate audiences with his superb story telling from his love of passion for community and causes and real life experiences. He will en-tertain us with his uplifting melodies and en-gage us with the background stories of his lyr-ics through his wit and humor. After leaving his environmental engineering job in 1996 for a more creative calling, An-drew embarked on a musical journey that has spanned several hundred thousands of miles and a critically acclaimed reputation. Andrew performs all across the country participating in festivals and stages from The Kennedy Center, 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the U.S. Capitol, The Rocky Mountain, Boston, and South Florida Folk Festivals. Andrew also performs and fronts the group, Beyond Borders with original Nitty Gritty Dirt band member, Les Thompson, Stephanie Thompson, and Lisa Taylor. His song, “Good Things Matter” was a Winner of the Great American Song Contest (Acoustic/Folk) Andrew also shares his music to help his fellow community and causes by contributing his music/time to help elder care, mental health, at-risk youth, and food bank programs. His music can be heard worldwide on syndicated radio shows,” River City Folk” and “Art of the Song” on NPR/PRI. Come for a stellar performance and entertaining evening with whom I call, a “contemporary” John Denver. www.andrewmcknight.net
When: March 13 Location: Damascus/Gaithersburg area
Suggested donation: $10-$20/person (Solely for the artist) RSVP: March 11 to: (Robin) [email protected] (refer to F.A.M.E. newsletter)
After work?? PLENTY of food/beverages are provided
Doors open 7:00 pm ~~ Shows 7:30 to 9:30 pm ~~ Arrive early to ensure seating
Concerts are held at Hill Chapel Concert Hall, 6 East Main Street, New Market, MD
Suggested donation $15 for most shows
Please call the Hill Chapel for more information (301) 882-7172
More Hill Chapel Concerts Coming Up
April 30 Randy “Windtalker” Motz May 14 Maggie Sansone May 28 Ronny Smith
March 19 — Corina Marti, Swiss international pianist and flautist, plays early flutes (medieval, renaissance, and baroque) and keyboard instruments (clavicimbalum and clavicytherium). She enjoys performing baroque and contemporary music and has appeared both as a soloist and with various ensembles (including Jordi Savall's Hesperion XXI) all over Europe and the Middle East. Apart from the CDs with LA MORRA, she has recorded seventeenth-century music from Lombardy and J. S. Bach’s flute sonatas, as well as music from fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century German keyboard and lute sources (with Michal Gondko). The year 2011 saw the CD release of I dilettosi fiori, her solo recital on the early flutes and clavisimbalum.
March 14 (Saturday) — Honest, sincere, and often humorous, Steve Gellman has been performing his slice-of-life lyrics to audiences across the United States since the mid-90s. Described by Billboard Magazine as “intensely sensitive and impressively intelligent,” Steven’s songwriting captures the simple moments of everyday life and wraps them in notes that will have you humming along – long after the song is over. On stage, Steven combines friendly banter with a sonorous, tenor voice that critics have compared to the late John Denver.
April 11 — Patsy Godley had the honor of performing for Patsy
Cline’s mother and sister at an awards show in Fredericksburg
VA several years ago and received a standing ovation. It is a
cherished memory she will never forget. She does not attempt to
sound like Patsy Cline, nor could she. Patsy Cline was one of
kind. But what she does hope to do is show you some of Patsy
Cline’s heart in her interpretation of Patsy’s songs. She truly pays
tribute to the great Patsy Cline and she is blessed to have some of
the best musicians in the area as part of the band.
Hill Chapel Concert Hall & Venue Page 7
Tune your guitar!! How often have I heard that? Well, it seems that many of the open mic performers either haven’t heard it before, or they don’t think it’s necessary. I’m constantly amazed how many casual performers play guitars that are out of tune. I hear comments like “close enough” or “I tuned it at home”... or “what do you mean it’s not in tune?” Often times it’s “the battery in my tuner died.” Well, if that’s the case, I’ve got the answer – the Tascam TC-1S Solar Tuner! Yep, that’s right Ellie, a tuner that needs no battery. No, it’s not a tuning fork. Hmm...come to think of it, a tuning fork is the original no-battery tuner, but I digress.
The Tascam Solar Tuner (it’s chromatic) is a handy item to have in your arsenal of music gadgets. For you tree huggers, it’s the portable tuner for the planet-conscious musician. And the marketing is 100% accurate – there is not changeable battery. Now obviously the tuner has a battery or it couldn’t be powered up, but at least it’s a battery that will not regularly go in the trash. It works on good old sunlight, and it will charge from artificial lighting, but sunlight works best, and it’s faster. In today’s world of mini-tuners, it’s fairly big (4” long by 1 1/2” wide). And, it’s conveniently attached to a short nylon strap with a clip for attaching to your gig bag (so that it is always catching chargeable rays). Being chromatic, it will work for just about any stringed instrument. It has a calibration adjustment button and a mode button. It also comes with a handy 1/4” input for plugging your guitar in, but there is no 1/4” out, so it cannot be used in-line with your amp or PA. The on/off button is easy to use (hold down for several seconds to turn on, then a quick push to turn off). Maybe if I read the directions I’ll figure out if it turns itself off after several minutes of non-use, but since light recharges the battery, what’s the point. Fool-proof it is. I purchased one on a whim after researching
handy gadgets for this article. Then I noticed that one retailer had them on sale, so I purchased a box full. If you want one, let me know. Suggested retail is just under $30, but I can get you one for $10. Accuracy? Just fine. Maybe a touch more accurate than some of the popular clip-on tuners. When playing guitar at home, it has become my go-to tuner. I give it “two thumbs up!!”
Now go make some music. ♪♪♪
Todd
Gear of the Month by Todd C Walker Page 8
Photo by Roy Greene
Odetta photo attributed to Nick Nunnally
Pull up a Chair…Odetta by Frederick Folklorist Page 9
I’m not really sure why I never knew much about Odetta. She was one of those people who I would always see in the background of folk singer gatherings and knew she belonged, but never heard her on TV or on the radio. I guess I was watching and listening to the wrong stations. Odetta Holmes, later known simply as Odetta, was born New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 1930 in Birmingham, Alabama. Growing up in the deep south during the Great Depression, Odetta fell in love with the work songs she heard people singing to ease the pain of the times. “They were liberation songs,” she would say. “You’re walking down life’s road, society’s foot is on your throat, every which way you turn you can’t get from under that foot. And you reach a fork in the road and you can either lie down and die or insist upon your life...those people who made up the songs were the ones
who insisted upon life.” I always got the feeling that she really “felt” what the music was about. She would later graduate from Belmont HS in LA after moving there in 1937 when her father died. She continued her education at LA City College. Not a big fan of formal education she had this to say, “School taught me how to count and taught me how to put a sentence together. But as far as the human spirit goes, I learned that through folk music.” It was actually kind of interesting how she got into performing folk music. After graduation from college in 1950, with a degree in music, Odetta landed a role in the chorus of a traveling production of Finian’s Rainbow. Late one night after a performance in San Francisco she went to a Coffee house and experienced a late-night folk music session. “That night I heard hours and hours of songs that really touched where I live” she said. She borrowed a guitar and learned three chords, and started to sing at parties. Later that year she left the theater company so she could take a job singing in the San Francisco folk clubs. In 1953, she moved to NYC and really learned her trade there. “As I did those songs I could work on my hate and fury without being antisocial,” she said, “Through those songs I learned things about the history of black people in this country that the historians in school had not been willing to tell us about or had lied about.” In 1956, Odetta released her very first album, Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues, and it became an instant classic. In fact, Bob Dylan said this about the album, “The first thing that turned me on to folk singing was Odetta. I heard [an album] of hers, Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues, in a record store back when you could listen to records right there in the store. Right then and there I went out and traded my electric guitar and amplifier for an acoustical guitar, a flat-top Gibson. That album was just something vital and personal to me. I learned all the songs on that record.” It was the 1960’s when Odetta’s flame burned the brightest. She was often called the “soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement.” In 1963, at the March on Washington, Odetta gave the most iconic performance of her life when she sang at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial after an introduction by Martin Luther King. She recorded over a dozen albums during the 1960s in addition to touring and performing whenever needed at rallies, demonstrations, and benefits. Odetta’s popularity after the 60s went the same as folk music. It gave way to hair bands, boy bands and all the other bands. In her later years, Odetta made it her mission to share folk music’s potency with the new generation of youngsters. She would say, “The folk music repertoire is our inheritance. Don’t have to like it, but we need to hear it. I love getting to schools and telling kids there’s something else out there. It’s from their forefathers, and it’s an alternative to what they hear on the radio.” Odetta continued performing almost right up to the day she died on December 2, 2008. One of her last shows was late in 2008 at The Bitter End on Bleecker Street in New York City. It was for a Liam Clancy tribute concert. She rolled up on stage in her wheelchair and belted out some great ballads. A true performer even to the end. She wanted so much to be able to perform at the inauguration of President Obama, but passed away just weeks before he took office. Give a listen to that last performance at The Bitter End. That’s Liam Clancy giving the introduction. Next Month: Puff the magic dragon. ♪♪♪
Photo by Todd C Walker
I never went to summer camp when I was a kid. Then, during college, I was a camp counselor for five summers. From zero to total immersion! I didn’t go to camp again until my wife gave me a week at Augusta for a birthday present. That restarted my love of summer camps. Since then I have been to four different music camps. All of them were great experiences. Each of them was different from the others. The thing that each had in common was that for a week I was surrounded by people who lived and breathed music. At music camps I have taken classes in guitar, performance, fiddle, banjo, upright bass, harp, hammered dulcimer, nyckelharpa, accordion and songwriting. I have taken classes with Tom Paxton, Bob Franke, Ken Kolodner, Robin Bullock and Paul Reisler – all of whom are outstanding musicians. I have taken beginners classes (from scratch) and intermediate levels. Many of the camps also offer classes in other folk arts like painting, ceramics, woodworking, dance and storytelling. I would encourage you to take some time and go to camp! But they are not cheap - camps run around $1,000 for a week – well worth it for the level of instructors each bring to the class rooms. F.A.M.E. is offering a few scholarships up to $500 for folks who need some help and especially for youth (yes, all the camps have a youth program and there are lots of high school and college folks who attend). If you would like to go to camp but feel you cannot swing the price tag, fill out the application that is on the FAME website. There are loads of music camps out there, but here is information about the four camps I have attended: Common Ground on the Hill (http://www.commongroundonthehill.org )
Common Ground on the Hill offers two consecutive but separate weeks of workshops in music and visual arts, concerts, dances, dramatic performances, lectures, art shows and more. These workshops and other events feature professional musicians, artists, dancers, actors, writers and thinkers from a wide variety of disciplines who hail from all over the United States and beyond, and who come to Common Ground on the Hill as instructors to teach and perform. Common Ground on the Hill also enrolls a body of students who come to participate in workshops, attend concerts, play music, dance, paint, weave, make pottery, write, engage in dialog, learn, share, and much, much more. Swannanoa Gathering (https://www.swangathering.com/ )
Founded in 1991 by Warren Wilson College President Emeritus Douglas M. Orr, Jr., The Swannanoa Gathering is an educational program of the college, consisting of a series of week-long workshops in various folk arts held in July and August on the campus of Warren Wilson College just east of Asheville in the heart of North Carolina’s beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. With a limited enrollment and an ‘open’ format which allows each student to select their own curriculum from a variety of courses, we offer an intimate, supportive community experience for students of all abilities, featuring a staff of some of the finest performers and teachers in the world.
Summer Camp! by Rick Hill Page 10
As part of our mission to nurture acoustic music in and around Frederick County, F.A.M.E. has set up a scholarship fund. Ten percent of your membership fees goes to support this fund as well as funds generated from workshops and other events. Our scholarship concept was designed to fund learning experiences. 1. Preference will be given to F.A.M.E members. Member activity level will also be part of the consideration.
2. The applicant must use the scholarship for an activity or project that meets the goals of F.A.M.E.
3. The applicant must provide the following:
The completed scholarship application.
An interview; audio, video or personal, explaining the project, how it will help the applicant in light of the goals of F.A.M.E. and how the applicant will use the skills/information learned to benefit the acoustic music community. 1. The recipient of the scholarship must return to give a workshop related to their project.
2. The recipient must give a report at the F.A.M.E. annual meeting (written or oral).
3. Deadline for filing is March 31st. The Scholarship Committee will make their decision by April 30th. Download the Scholarship Application, fill it out and mail it to: FAME, 5181 Holter Road, Jefferson, MD 21755. Scholarships will be awarded annually.
The deadline for submissions is March 31st of each year.
Ashokan Fiddle and Dance (http://ashokan.org/ ) Ashokan Music and Dance Camps were established in 1980 at the Ashokan Center, a 385 acre environmental education and nature retreat center in New York’s Catskill Mountains. Our camps are a learning vacation where you’ll meet like-minded people, have a ton of fun and enjoy in depth, hands-on classes led by our supportive staff. The programs are designed to be richly rewarding for complete beginners, as well as experienced musicians and dancers. You can create your own schedule and attend any classes or workshops that fit your skill level, or that pique your interest. Combine all this with great food, comfortable lodging, friendly people and a magical natural setting and you have a recipe for leaps of learning, good times and priceless memories. Augusta Heritage Arts (https://augustaheritagecenter.org/ ) Each summer Augusta Heritage Center of Davis & Elkins College offers music and dance classes from many traditions in the form of theme weeks: Cajun/Creole Week, Early Country Music Week, Blues & Swing Week, Irish Week, Bluegrass Week, Old-Time Week, Vocal Week, American Vernacular Dance Week. Each theme week is offered concurrently with Craft, Arts, & Folklore
classes. ♪♪♪
Scholarship Information
Page 11
In the spotlight…Todd Coyle by Caryl Velisek Page 12
“My aunt was a music teacher and I had my first lesson on a tenor, four string acoustic guitar when I was eight years old,” he said. “A couple of years later, I got a six string and started playing West Virginia 70’s country music. Then I saw B.B. King on TV and was taken with the blues.” He was also influenced by a lot of 70’s music by Steven Stills, Eric Clapton, Eagles, and James Taylor, with a 60’s influence also, he said. “My first paying gig was at age 15, at a wedding, for $5 and I began to realize I couldn’t get paid that and make a living,” he said, smiling. Mostly self-taught, Coyle said, he also taught himself to play the piano. He played in several high school bands, at parties, and just for fun. He took up the bass and had his first band in 1998 in college. “We played all over
the mid-Atlantic and I went from one band to another including Max and the Beaver Dugans,” he said. In the course of the next few years, he went to a guitar summer workshop and took a weeklong course in the business of music, then started his first production company, Flat Rabbit Music, a name he still uses. “’Flat Rabbit’ was inspired when riding back from a gig on Rt. 81. At 3 in the morning, they passed a rabbit flattened on the road and decided it was a great name for a blues club,” Coyle said. “We even practiced in a building in my aunt’s backyard that we named Flat Rabbit,” he added. “After the band broke up, I went with the name for my production company. We’ve had a lot of fun,” he added. Coyle was also part of another band, Renegade Radio Waves, for about eight years, he said “That was a trio with up to a nine piece band at times. “We had a large repertoire and played everything all over the mid-Atlantic until we broke up. At that time I pretty much went solo. [Renegade Radio] Waves was an extraordinary education. It taught me how to keep rhythms, explain the different genres, and made me learn all the parts on the acoustic guitar. It also taught me how to perform and deal with and talk to the audience,” he said. After Waves, Coyle teamed up with Steve Kemp and percussionist, Dave Hines; they were together for about two years. Coyle produced his first CD, I Told You This Would Happen, at the time and he often perfomed solo. “Now, I play a lot with Don Oehser as a duo, also. And, [we] do gigs mostly in a 50-mile radius of Charlestown.” “In between, I do a lot of studio sessions, put together “one-of” bands, have my day-job, and do a lot of fundraisers for a lot of organizations.” Coyle has worked for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy or 17 years. “I work in the warehouse and I call myself ‘the warehouse troll,’” he said, smiling. “It’s a fun place to work and they are very supportive of my music and other activities.” Coyle’s dad was a vocational agriculture teacher, and his interest in farming and agriculture is evident in his affiliation with the Panhandle Earth Day event and the Charlestown (West Virginia) Farmers Market, one of the fastest growing farmers markets in the state. “One of the goals of the Farmers Market is to bring farmers, artists, and musicians together to support the community,” Coyle said. “I believe 90 percent of the world’s music is made by local musicians. I like to use my music for the social good. Song writers are a natural reflection of the world and community around them. Together, we can make a difference. I’ve been extraordinarily lucky to have been able to pursue a lifelong passion for music and use my experiences to
make a difference,” he concluded. ♪♪♪
Todd Coyle and Linda Nelson at Brewer’s Alley; photo by Todd C Walker
Cover of my third album, Chop Wood Carry Water — Todd Coyle
have sung many songs in French from opera to French folk songs, so even I knew that!) It's a classical French love song written by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini in the 1700s that took it's text from a poem by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian and appeared in his novel, “Celestine.” The other new song we sang was “Red Is The Rose,” a traditional Irish ballad that is sung to the tune of the Scottish song “Loch Lomond,” which has a similar theme and is perhaps better known. We sang “You've Got A Friend,” which was written and performed by Carole King. It was also performed as a solo by James Taylor and as a duet with King. We sang “The Frozen Logger,” which is about a logger who stirs his coffee with his thumb. But I told my (true) story of singing it as “The Frozen Cowboy,” because years ago, when my cowboy husband and I were at the National Western Livestock Show in Denver, Colorado, an old cowboy friend joined us at the local café, ordered a cup of coffee, poured about a half a pound of sugar into it, and proceeded to stir his coffee with his thumb. We sang quite a few others we have sung before including “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Worried Man Blues,” “Blowin' In the Wind,” and many others. It was the third birthday of the F.A.M.E. Song Circle and we enjoyed singing “Happy Birthday” and there was lots of cake and ice cream to top off the day. And, here's to many more years of F.A.M.E., the Song Circle,
and many, many more songs! ♪♪♪
Jean-Paul-Egide Martini was a composer of classical music. Sometimes known as Martini Il Tedesco, he is best known today for the vocal romance “Plaisir d’Amour,” on which the 1961 Elvis Presley pop standard “Can’t Help Falling In Love” is based. Wikipedia
The Songs We Sing (Continued from page 5) by Caryl Velisek
Workshop News Page 13
Rhythm and Strumming 201 Re-scheduled to march 28
Make N Music, 7540 North Market Street, Frederick
March 28, 2015 — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
1.Brief review of rhythm concepts 1 and konokol 2.Konokol Part II — making more complex rhythms 3.Adding dynamics to strumming 4.Strumming for fingerpickers 5.Percussive effects for strumming and finger picking 6.Adding arpeggios and fills to strumming 7.Performance lab and master class
Canceled last month due to weather, in this workshop Maurice will continue working on rhythm and strumming; he will also introduce new techniques for rhythm guitar. F.A.M.E. members will also have time to perform their music with Maurice coaching them the way a producer would approach their song and genre. Performance is not mandatory.
To sign up, click here or call Roy (240-357-8941)
F.A.M.E. Board of Directors
Rick Hill, President
Todd C Walker, Vice President
Sam Ott, Treasurer
Katherine Ott, Secretary
Max Honn
Dori Bailin
Roy Greene, Newsletter Editor
F.A.M.E. Newsletter welcomes your photos and stories about local acoustic music and musicians. Please email submissions to the editor at [email protected] by the 15th preceding the month of publication. Submissions subject to editing.
F.A.M.E. Goals:
To nurture, promote, and preserve original and traditional acoustic music of all genres in Frederick and
Frederick County through live music, education, and community outreach.
To educate aspiring musicians and the general
public about all aspects of original and traditional acoustic music of all genres via workshops, open mics,
showcases, and concerts. To reach out to the community via workshops and concerts, especially through schools and youth organizations and the setting up of mentoring opportunities for young and aspiring acoustic musicians.
Page 14
Please mail to: F.A.M.E. Membership, 5181 Holter Road, Jefferson, MD 21755
Questions: (301) 639-1050
Membership runs from January 1 thru December 31
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All active members receive a copy of the monthly newsletter via email. Non-members and members who do not use email may check out past
newsletters at www.frederickacoustic.org.
Membership levels for 2015:
Senior (65+) $10 Regular Membership $35 Lifetime Membership $200
All Regular and Lifetime members attend the annual F.A.M.E. picnic at no charge. Senior members and guests are welcome to attend at cost.