|
Excerpted
from Acoustic Guitar
magazine, April
2002, No. 112.
|
News
RETURN
TO TOP
|
The Country Music Hall of Fame recently added some rare Bill
Monroe memorabilia to its collection. The items were donated
by Monroe’s son, James, and include a 1985 tour log that includes
mileage and playlists, a family Bible, and a black-and-white suit,
circa 1970. The remainder of the more than 600-piece collection
was sold at auction last December.
Singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist Steve Tannen’s "Picture
of You" won the overall grand prize in the 2001 Mid-Atlantic
Song Contest sponsored by the Songwriters’ Association of Washington.
Entries for the 2002 contest will be accepted until May 31. For
more information, call (954) 776-1577 or visit www.songwriting.net.
Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Brien
has been appointed president of the IBMA (International Bluegrass
Music Association). O’Brien replaces banjoist and former Hot Rize
bandmate Pete Wernick, who has wrapped up his 16-year tenure.
|
|
Events
RETURN
TO TOP
|
Gene Bertoncini, Eduardo Fernández, and the Becker-Bianculli
guitar duo will be performing and giving master classes and workshops
at the Long Island Guitar Festival, April 5–7 at Long Island University,
C.W. Post campus. For information, call (516) 299-2475 or go to
www.liu.edu/gfest.
The Old Settlers Music Festival (www.oldsettlersmusicfest.com),
held April 19–21 in Driftwood, Texas, will feature performances
by Michelle Shocked, Del McCoury, Monte Montgomery, and
Peter Rowan.
Sharon Isbin will teach classical guitar master classes
at the Aspen Music Festival, July 19–August 18. Classes will concentrate
on technique, sound production, interpretation, and Baroque performance
practices. For more information, call (970) 925-3254 or visit www.aspenmusicfestival.com.
|
|
New
Releases
RETURN
TO TOP
|
Columbia/Legacy is celebrating country legend Johnny Cash’s
70th birthday with a yearlong schedule of releases, beginning with
The Essential Johnny Cash and expanded editions of five Cash
albums that have never before been available in the U.S. on CD.
Banjo and guitar picker Alison Brown has two new albums
out this year. In January, Compass Records released Replay,
which features new versions of fan favorites. Some of the original
versions of those tunes appear on Best of the Vanguard Years,
compiled from Brown’s four Vanguard recordings released between
1990 and 1996.
|
|
In
Memory
RETURN
TO TOP
|
Bluegrass Dobro player Gene Wooten died November 7, 2001,
at age 49 from complications from colon cancer. Wooten’s powerful,
Josh Graves–style playing was featured in bands such as Country
Gazette, the Osborne Brothers, and Wilma Lee Cooper and the Clinch
Mountain Clan as well as on countless recordings. His solo album,
Don’t Look Now, was released by Pinecastle Records in 1994.
Celtic guitar, harp, and whistle player Tony Cuffe died
from complications due to cancer on December 18, 2001. Cuffe was
a member of the popular Scottish folk band Jock Tamson’s Bairns
in the ’70s and was best known in the U.S. as lead singer with the
Celtic folk band Ossian. His solo album When First I Went to
Caledonia, released by Iona Records in 1988, featured distinctive
fingerstyle versions of traditional Celtic tunes.
Bluegrass picker Dick Fegy passed away on December 21, 2001,
at his home in southern California. Fegy lent his guitar, fiddle,
banjo, and mandolin skills to such groups as the David Bromberg
Band and the Grateful Dudes and played on recordings by such diverse
artists as Joan Baez, Ringo Starr, and Frank Zappa. Fegy was 51.
Blues and ragtime fingerstyle legend Dave Van Ronk died
in New York City on February 10. Van Ronk was dubbed the "the mayor
of Greenwich Village" during the '60s because of his encyclopedic
knowledge of jazz and blues, and he became an important mentor for
the young Bob Dylan and the burgeoning New York folk-music scene.
Mainstream success eluded him, but Van Ronk he remained influential
and active in the folk community. He performed and recorded until
the end of last year, when surgery for colon cancer forced him off
the road. His most recent album was the jazz-influenced Sweet
and Lowdown, which was released last year via Santa Monica-based
Folklore. He received a traditional folk Grammy nomination in 1996
for From . . . Another Time & Place.
Waylon Jennings, one of the great Texas "outlaws"
of country music died of complications from diabetes on February
13. He was 64. The popular artist sold more than 40 million records
worldwide and had 89 singles that entered the Billboard singles
charts, including 53 that reached the top ten and 16 number-one
hits. Among his best-known songs are "Good Heated Woman,"
"Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys,"
and the theme from the Dukes of Hazzard, "Good Ol' Boys."
|
|
Contests
RETURN
TO TOP
|
Amateur songwriters wishing to submit their original songs to the
annual Chris Austin Songwriting Contest—held at MerleFest
in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, on April 26—should do so by
March 18. For more information, go to www.merlefest.org
or call (800) 799-3838.
The International Michele Pittaluga Composition Competition
for Classical Guitar, created to expand the contemporary repertoire,
is accepting unpublished, unperformed pieces arranged for guitar
and selected instruments. Entries must arrive by March 31, and winners
will be announced on June 5. For more information, visit www.pittaluga.org.
|
|
Cyber
Notes
RETURN
TO TOP
|
Listen.com
recently launched Rhapsody, an interactive digital music service
that combines Internet radio, music reviews and recommendations,
and, for a monthly fee, licensed music-on-demand in a single application.
Music librarian, author, and Deadhead David Dodd combines his passions
in the Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics Web site. Dead-icated
fans can peruse lyrical analysis, background information, and critical
essays for more than 125 songs at http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl.
|
|
Meet
A.G.
RETURN
TO TOP
|
If you’re attending the Folk Alliance Conference in Jacksonville,
Florida, February 21–24, stop by the Acoustic Guitar booth
to meet A.G. editor Simone Solondz and other staff
and pick up a free copy of the magazine. For more information on
Folk Alliance, visit www.folk.org.
Click
here to meet the Acoustic Guitar team at a wide variety upcoming
music events and trade shows. Listed below are some things happening
in the next few weeks.
|
Got some news? Send it to Happenings,
Acoustic Guitar, PO Box 767, San Anselmo, CA 94979-0767; email
happenings.ag@stringletter.com;
or fax (415) 485-0831.
|
