AMONG FRIENDS The Friends of the Southwest Virginia Museum Newsletter

JANUARY, 2009  VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1 

This photograph was taken at the Terrace Park Log Cabin where the Mountain Music Makers recently performed for the South-West Insurance Agency’s 2008 Christmas Party. Hoo-Wee! What a wonderful time every-one had!

Pictured from your far left is Ann McDavid, Stewart Scales, Bill New-man (with the Santa hat), behind him is Larry Mul-

lins, Dawn Bays, Mary Lou Carter, Anna Ruth Wells, and Joey O’Quinn. One mem-ber, Bobby O’Quinn is not pictured.

With a jaw-dropping performance delivered in an absolutely awesome way, their mountain music was as timeless as the majestic Appalachians themselves. With a blend of mountain favorites and some very beautiful Christmas melodies, this talented group captivated all of us, almost immediately.

During the performance, I realized that Dawn Bays, centered in the photograph, is not only a colleague as a Friend of the Museum, but she is a highly-skilled musician and vocalist. Exhibiting professional teamwork, she and all of this group orchestrated an afternoon of lively entertainment that left nothing to be desired. If you haven’t had an opportunity to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Mountain Music Makers, I rec-ommend that you visit their web site at www.mountainmusicmakrs.org (notice that there is no “e” in mountainmusicmakrs.org)as often as you can to stay abreast of their upcoming engagements/performances.

Other Mountain Music Makers members, Ann McDavid and Joey O'Quinn along with Dawn, are founding members of the Gathering In The Gap Music Festival. Re-cently band members Mary Lou Carter and Larry Mullins have also joined the festival committee. ~ Jettie Hess

Dawn Bays is not only a Friend, she is a Mountain Music Maker!

Happy New Year!

• Remember this: The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

• In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship, but never in want.

• Here's a toast to the future, A toast to the past, And a toast to

our friends. May the future be as your brightest dream and may the past bring you pleasant memo-ries.

• Cheers to you, Cheers to me, Have a

Inside this issue:

Dawn Bays and the Mountain Music Makers

1

Gathering in the Gap, 2009

2-5

All About Birds 5

Support Groups and State Parks

6

6

The Friends of the Southwest Virginia Museum is a non‐profit organization dedicated to the support of the Southwest Vir‐ginia Museum activities.  

   

Gathering in the Gap 2009 Learn more in this issue of 

Among Friends.  

Gatheringinthegapmusicfestival.com 

http://www.swvamuseum.org/FRIENDS/index.htm 

Gathering in the Gap, 2009

3 Fox Drive

Darrell Scott Frisell, and other musicians from many genres.

To learn more visit our web site at gatheringinthegapmu-sicfestival.com.

In 2003, Darrell launched his own label, Full Light Re-cords, and his first move as owner was to produce a tra-ditional, mountain country album for his father, This Weary Way, that finally showcased Wayne's original songs. For the past two years, Darrell has been the

"artist in residence" with Orchestra Nashville (members appear on Mod-ern Hymn’s "Joan of Arc"), creating what he calls "diverse musical happenings -- the odder the better," mix-ing the string section with such guests as Sam Bush, jazz guitarist Bill

Whether it's the elegant fiddle, the fierce banjo, the fluid mandolin, or the funky rhythms of the bass, 3 Fox Drive's music is full of perfect, in-sightful, yet emotionally compelling touches -- and the same is true for their heartfelt singing. Grass, coun-try, and a fiery show you have to see to believe, 3 Fox Drive blends it all into a unique, deeply satisfying ex-perience.

This story can fit 75-125 words.

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Think about your article and ask yourself if the picture supports or enhances the message you’re trying to convey. Avoid selecting images that appear to be out of context.

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Page 2 FRIENDS OF THE MUSEUM

“When you join

the Friends,

your support

not only

enhances the

Southwest

Virginia Museum,

but also

enriches the

culture of our

community ,

educates our

children and

preserves the

rich heritage of

our town.

Invite someone

to become a

member of this

vibrant group

today!”

The Whitetop Mountain String Band

done much to preserve the Whitetop regionʹs style of old time fiddling and banjo picking and are legendary musicians and teachers of the style.  

The Whitetop Mountain String Band is a family‐based band from the high‐est mountains of Virginia. Whitetop, Virginia is an area rich in the old time music tradition, and this band has deep roots in mountain music. The members have 

Porch, and the Carter Fam‐ily Fold, not to mention many other bluegrass fea‐tured radio broadcasts. Adam has been honored to be a featured performer in Nashville along side ac‐complished artists such as The Little River Band, Kim Karnes and Penny Gilley.  Now at 10 years old he plays old time and blue‐grass fiddle music as some‐one decades his senior.  He is influenced most by Bobby Hicks and of course Hunter Berry of Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, but being 10 he still loves to play basketball, baseball, playstation and has become somewhat of a WW2 histo‐rian.  Adam is a 5th grader and resides in East Tennes‐see with his Mom, Dad and little sister, Sarah Grace.  

At the ripe old age of 6, Adam decided he wanted to play the fiddle. He began taking lessons from Scott Gould at the School of Music in Kings‐

port, TN. His dad, being a bluegrass musician himself, then started letting Adam play a few songs on stage with his band and from there he took off. Adam, born and raised in Abing‐don and Bristol Virginia, had a pretty normal child‐hood until the day his dad brought home an old fiddle to be repaired. He showed an instant interest in the old instrument.  Since then Adam has appeared on WCYBʹs Family Focus, CMT, BCMAʹs Pickin 

Page 3 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1

Now at 10

years old

he plays old

time and

bluegrass

fiddle music

as someone

decades his

senior.

Adam Larkey and Mountain Time

Doug and Telisha

Ron Short music imaginable into the mountains.  Short absorbed it all — the slide guitar phras‐ings of Mississippi blues; the power of a cappella Old Regular Baptist, lined‐out hymns; the spirit of the con‐junto sounds of Texas; the youthful energy of rock ‘n roll; and the timelessness of the Scots‐Irish fiddle tunes and frailed banjo styles of cen‐tral Appalachia. Short’s music features powerful vocal rendi‐tions of original songs—sometimes sung a cappella; sometimes accompanied by banjo, guitar, fiddle, mando‐lin, flute, or accordion; but always inspired by the Appa‐lachian Mountain traditions in which the author/composer was born and raised.   

Ron Short, singer, musician, songwriter, playwright, and actor, is from the Southern Appa‐lachian Moun‐tains of South‐western Vir‐ginia.  Born near Clintwood, Vir‐

ginia, Short, like many Appalachian people, has at times ventured far from his home looking for work but he has always been drawn back to his childhood home where he grew up listening to the hymns, ballads, traditional tunes, recitations, and stories of his large extended family and close neighbors in his rural mountain community.     Appalachian music isn’t as homogeneous as some would believe. Based on Scots‐Irish ballads and fiddle tunes, mountain music was changed and molded by gen‐erations of eastern and southern European immigrants and African Americans who came to the mountains in the 20th century looking for work in the coalmines. And in the second half of the century, radio brought every kind of 

Page 4 FRIENDS OF THE MUSEUM NEWSLETTER

Telisha's

crystal-clear

voice floats

like a butterfly

on a mountain

breeze or

thunders like a

freight train

coming down

the track.

Doug's guitar

playing

provides a

perfect

foundation for

either.

Honest grit mingled with a humble respect comes through in songs of redemption, struggle and sacrifice on their new record Rope Around my Heart. Doug and Telisha gathered a stellar group of musicians to lend their talents, including Darrell Scott, Dennis Crouch, Kenny Malone, Ea‐mon McLoughlin and Becki Wil‐liams. Doug and Telisha Williams have had an incredible year.  Not only have they seen continued success for their debut album, Rope Around Mu Neck,  but theyʹve shared stages with some real legends.  Lucinda Williams, Darrell Scott,  and Charlie Louvin have all had D & T kick off their shows. 

If you enjoy looking at and learning about birds, you might want to visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s web site at: 

www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/VideoGallery.html. 

Here you will not only learn many cool facts about  the various species of birds, but  you will learn about bird songs and sounds, feathers and plumges.  You will even find a selection of fascinating video clips of bird behav‐ior from their vast collection. 

Carl Martin.    The mem‐bers of the Mountain Blues Tribute Band have consid‐erable musical skill and a tremendous ability to communicate the larger historical and cultural themes and context of the music.  

The Mountain Blues Tribute Band brings together five veteran musician/performers to celebrate the blues traditions of the Blue Ridge Region and South‐west Virginia.  Several tra‐dition musicians will be honored, including Steve Tarter, Harry Gay, Lesley Riddle, Archie Edwards and Big Stone Gap native, 

Page 5 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1

“They have a

tremendous

ability to

communicate …”

Mountain Blues Tribute Band

PHOTO NOT AVAILABLE

Support groups continue to be organized around the world in  support of State Parks.   

 

          Many state parks have organized groups of interested citizens that actively support their park. These non‐profit organizations, sometimes referred to as ʺfriends groups,ʺ work on behalf of park sites to assist with daily programs, special events, fund raising, and public education. These groups serve as important links to local communities and park user groups as well. 

           The partnerships between the agency and support organizations provide a mechanism to utilize the skills, contacts, and resources of private citizens and businesses to enhance state parks and to pro‐vide services that may not otherwise be available. 

           Thank you “Friends of the Museum” for your yeoman efforts on behalf of the Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park!   

 

HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

AMONG FRIENDS, A NEWSLETTER ADOPTED BY THE FRIENDS OF THE MUSEUM, SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA MUSEUM HISTORICAL STATE PARK.