international bluegrass january 2014
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The newsletter that brings you the freshest, ripest bluegrass industry news on the planet has now gone digital, with a beautiful full-color interactive magazine that looks and behaves like a print magazine!TRANSCRIPT
Also in this issue ■ Welcome new members ■ IBMA brings home the bacon!
“Mountain Twerker”Get to know the brothers behind the boom
Grammys 2014 : Who Will Win?
IBInternational BluegrassVol 29 , No 1 , Jan. 2014
International BluegrassInternational Bluegrass Music Association
Vol. 29 | No. 1 | January 2014
FeatureS
Departments
IBMA StaffNancy Cardwell ErdosExecutive DirectorJoe LurgioMember/Convention Services DirectorTaylor CoughlinSpecial Projects Director/Publications EditorEddie HuffmanTechnology & Office Systems Manager
IB | International BluegrassEditor: Taylor [email protected]: Erin Erdos [email protected]
INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS(ISSN #1095-0605)IBMA: IBMA is the trade association that connects and educates bluegrass professionals, empowers the bluegrass community, and encourages worldwide appreciation of bluegrass music of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
The monthly emailed publication of the International Bluegrass Music Association 608 W. Iris Drive, Nashville, TN 37204 USA615-256-3222 | 888-GET-IBMA | Fax: 615-256-0450 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.ibma.org
Statement of fact and opinion are made on the responsibility of the writers alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of the officers, directors, staff or members of IBMA. Portions of International Bluegrass may be reprinted provided that explicit citation of the source is made: “Reprinted with permission from International Bluegrass, the publication of the International Bluegrass Music Association, www.ibma.org.”
| Your minute for membership
News
| Behind the Scenes at IBMA 3
| World of Bluegrass Showcase Deadline
| 2014 Grammy nominees announced
| Meet the darrell brothers
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6
8
|IBMA receives donation from NC Pork Council12
| IBMA Board Meeting Minutes: November14
| January Webinar: How to Make Your Voice
Last a Lifetime
16
15
| Welcome New Members
| Heard ‘round the world
| Bluegrass Music Industry News
21
20
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I don’t know what it is about New Year’s Resolutions, but it’s strange: They al-ways come back after 365 days (or 366, depending on the year). Instead of ignoring this recurring theme, I’ve chosen to embrace it and share with you, the bluegrass community, my own list of New Year’s Resolutions as Editor and Spe-cial Projects Director for IBMA.
1. Offer more exciting, hard-hitting, and worthwhile educational material in the form of webinars, articles, workshops and articles. Our industry is pow-erful, and what makes it even more powerful is education. As Special Projects Director, my duty to you is provide material that can help you succeed in your career in bluegrass. But I need your help! What would you like to see covered in webinars, articles, workshops and seminars? To truly tune our educational offerings to your needs, I need your input. I welcome your suggestions for topics and experts, and I look forward to getting to work. Email me at [email protected], or ring me at the office: (615)256-3222.
2. Learn how to play a standard bluegrass tune. Yes, I saw you wince as you read that. No, I have not yet learned, down-pat, a solid bluegrass tune. After a few years of teaching myself guitar, I haven’t gotten very far, but being professionally surrounded by some of the best musicians on the planet has really nagged at me for not even knowing a simple tune. I welcome your suggestions for said tune, and will not turn down any offers for help.
3. Attend at least three bluegrass festivals outside of World of Bluegrass (Sept. 30-Oct. 4 in Ra-leigh! See you there!). This is another one that you probably read and ‘tsk-tsked.’ Yes, I realize I’m green in the bluegrass world when attending just three is a goal. But hear me out: Once we kick in planning for World of Bluegrass, getting out of the office and onto festival grounds becomes more of a challenging task. What’s most challenging, however, is choosing which ones to go to! No doubt: Bluegrass throws the best festivals of any genre in the world, so it goes without saying that choosing a festival to go to takes some serious decision making.
4. Learn more about an aspect of the industry I’m not familiar with. This one is simple: I would love to go into a studio and watch artists, engineers, and producers at work. I would be excited to shadow a sound guy and learn how his ear is so specially tuned for the bluegrass sound. Put me in a workshop to learn how a mandolin is crafted, and I’ll be amazed. The more I learn, the better I can help understand and respond to the needs of our IBMA members.
5. Help grow the love for bluegrass worldwide. This one isn’t really new, but I can’t leave it off, can I? As an IBMA staff member, I’m always working to spread the love for and appreciation of blue-grass music. Aren’t we all?
So there you have it: My Bluegrass New Year’s Resolutions. Along with my personal goals, these ones will hang on my mental refrigerator door as helpful reminders of what to work toward each day. I hope to come back to you in December 2014 having made those resolutions habits (save number five, of course, which already is).
Until then, I’ll be taking suggestions for bluegrass festivals to attend, and bluegrass tunes to learn on guitar.
-Taylor Coughlin
Behind the Scenes of IBMA: Bluegrass New Year’s Resolutions
by Taylor Coughlin
4 International Bluegrass
The premiere opportunity to introduce talent and new music at IBMA’s annual World of Bluegrass Business Conference comes in the form of “official” showcase performances which help the music industry assembled discover emerging new bands, as well as established bands with new music or new personnel.
In Raleigh, N.C. this year each showcase band will perform at least twice during World of Bluegrass Week—once on a convention center stage and once on a local “Bluegrass Ramble” town venue stage.
Up to 30 showcase artists will be invited for World of Bluegrass 2014, depending on the number of applicants and the qualifications of groups that apply. IBMA showcase artists are chosen in a juried selection process that takes into consideration every applicant’s entertainment value, level of professionalism, potential appeal and quality of work. There are generally more than 100 acts who apply every year, and the Selection Committee is appointed by the IBMA board chairperson.
In addition to the two showcase opportunities, official IBMA showcase bands receive a number of benefits and complimentary services, including:
World of Bluegrass: Showcase Artist Submission deadline
Deadline to Apply: February 28, 2014
• Featured profile in conference program and on the WOB smart phone app
• Distribution of one mp3 per band on our Air-Play Direct account, providing radio DJ access to showcase band music
• Inclusion of one mp3 on the 2014 Noisetrade/ IBMA Bluegrass Ramble Showcase Compilation
• Inclusion in the Bluegrass Ramble Spotify play list, promoted on social media by IBMA
• Priority access to “Gig Fair” appointments (new & improved in 2014—more info coming soon!)
• Scheduled consultation in advance of events on maximizing showcase opportunities
• Complimentary booth space during business conference (value $600+)
• Full conference registration package for per-forming members of group (value $1000+)
• One organizational membership for group (value $205)
• And other exclusive services available to of-ficial showcase performers.
The value of booth space, conference registrations and IBMA membership alone adds up to more than $1,800 for a band.
SAVE THE DATE: World of Bluegrass returns to Raleigh, NC, Sept. 30 through Oct. 4.
Look for more information on registration and lodging info in our next issue.
International Bluegrass 5
APPLICATION PROCESS:
IBMA’s World of Bluegrass is scheduled for Sept. 30-Oct. 4, 2014 in Raleigh, N.C. Artists are not required to be IBMA members to apply for the showcase opportunity, but are required to submit a $25 fee to help defray selection process costs. If invited to participate as an official showcase art-ist, there is an additional fee of $500 to offset costs of services and showcase production.
To apply for an official WOB showcase opportunity (deadline Feb. 28, 2014), please do one of the following:
1. Click here to submit your application online OR
2. Mail to the IBMA office: 5 copies of a representative recording of the act’s work. (The re-cording can be a full CD, demo of new cuts not yet released, demo of highlighted material, or other, but should be representative of the act’s most recent work.) We also need com-plete contact information for the group, and a $25 check made out to IBMA/application fee. Address: IBMA Showcase Selection Committee, 608 W. Iris Drive, Nashville, TN 37204.
We’re encouraging as many bands as possible to apply online in 2014.
Questions? Give Joe Lurgio a call at 615-256-3222 or email him at [email protected].
Your band here!
6 International Bluegrass
Best Bluegrass Album
It’s Just a Road - The Boxcars (Mountain Home Music Company)
Brothers of the Highway - Dailey & Vincent (Rounder Records)
This World Oft Can Be - Della Mae (Rounder Records)
Three Chords and The Truth - James King (Rounder Records)
The Streets of Baltimore - Del McCoury Band (McCoury Music)
2014 Grammy Nominees for Bluegrass, American Roots and Americana Announced
The Recording Academy first recognized bluegrass music 31 years into its annual awards with a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Recording, awarded to Bill Monroe in 1989. Since then, the award has
changed to Best Bluegrass Album and has honored many of the genre’s legendary talents. In recent years new categories for Best American Roots Song and Best Americana Album have been added.
On Friday, December 6, nominees for the 2014 Grammy Awards were announced. The Nominees are:
Congratulations also to bluegrass-related artists and labels in the following categories:
Best American Roots Song
“Build Me Up from Bones” - Sarah Jarosz (Sugar Hill Records)
“Invisible” - Steve Earle & The Dukes (& Duchesses), New West Records
“Keep Your Dirty Lights On” - Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott (Full Skies Records, publishers: LA Films Music/Brick Elephant Music)
“Love Has Come for You” - Steve Martin & Edie Brickell (Rounder Records)
“Shrimp Po-Boy, Dressed” - Allen Toussaint (Rounder, publishers: Screen Gems-Emi Music Inc/Monsaint Music, Inc.)
Best Americana AlbumOld Yellow Moon - Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell (Nonesuch Records)
Love Has Come For You - Steve Martin & Edie Brickell (Rounder)
Buddy and Jim - Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale (New West Records)
One True Vine - Mavis Staples (Anti Records)
Songbook - Allen Toussaint (Rounder)
Best Folk Album:
The Greencards, Sweetheart of the Sun (Darling Street Records); Sarah Jarosz, Build Me Up from Bones (Sugar Hill Records); Various Artists,
Arhoolie Records 50th Anniversary Celebration (Arhoolie Records)
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package: Ross Stirling, art director; Mumford & Sons (Glassnote Records)
Best Music Video: The Road to Red Rocks; Mumford & Sons; Nicolas Jack Davies
& Frederick Scott, video directors; Dan Bowen, video producer (Glassnote Records)
The 56th Annual Grammy Awards will air live on January 26th on CBS. Check your local listings for times.
International Bluegrass 7
v
Past winners for Best Bluegrass Album
1989 Bill Monroe, Southern Flavor
1990 Bruce Hornsby and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Valley Road
1991 Alison Krauss, I’ve Got That Old Feeling
1992 Carl Jackson and John Starling, Spring Training
1993 Alison Krauss and Union Station, Every Time You Say Goodbye
1994 Nashville Bluegrass Band, Waitin’ for the Hard Times to Go
1995 Various Artists, The Great Dobro Sessions
1996 Nashville Bluegrass Band, Unleashed
1997 Various Artists, True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe
1998 Alison Krauss and Union Station, So Long So Wrong
1999 Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Bluegrass Rules!
2000 Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Ancient Tones
2001 Dolly Parton, The Grass Is Blue
2002 Alison Krauss and Union Station, New Favorite
2003 Clinch Mountain Boys, Jim Lauderdale, and Ralph Stanley, Lost in the Lonesome Pines
2004 Alison Krauss and Union Station, Live
2005 Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Brand New Strings
2006 Del McCoury Band, The Company We Keep
2007 Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Instrumentals
2008 Jim Lauderdale, The Bluegrass Diaries
2009 Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 and 1947
2010 Steve Martin, The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo
2011 Patty Loveless, Mountain Soul II
2012 Alison Krauss and Union Station, Paper Airplane
2013 Steep Canyon Rangers, Nobody Knows You
8 International Bluegrass
Their debut arrived just weeks ago, in the form of a revealing video about the true origins of the international dance craze known as “twerking.”
Twerking, the Darrells insisted in their new tune, was born in the brawny buttocks of their beloved Granny. When Granny got to doin’ her thing, they sang, it was a sight to behold: just “like two rabid coons fightin’ over a biscuit.”
Within days of its release on YouTube, the Darrells’ video had amassed thousands of views. And just over one month later, as this article goes to press, “Mountain Twerker” has been seen by more than 425,000 people.
“Mountain Twerker” came right on the heels of Miley Cyrus’ infamous summer appearance on the 2013 MTV
Video Music Awards, in which she was accessorized by a giant foam finger, a small army of leotarded dancers wearing giant stuffed bears, her own distended tongue, and Robin Thicke in a Beetlejuice suit.
In contrast, the video made by the Darrells and their Granny, while similar in spirit to Miley’s video for “We Can’t Stop,” features wholesome props and elements like chickens, a Rambler’s Choice ball cap, pitchforks, hay bales, and a fine split mando/fiddle break.
We caught up with the Darrell Brothers at Fran’s East Side in Nashville, where they were drinking lukewarm PBR out of cans and hanging out with some interesting and somewhat disreputable company. Granny, unfortunately, was nowhere in sight.
Meet the Darrell Brothers by Caroline Wright
Say howdy to The Darrell Brothers!
International Bluegrass 9
International Bluegrass: How do you guys know each other?Daryl: Well, we’re BROTHERS.Darrell: We’re brothers from the mountains of Bitter End in East Tennessee, and our last name is Brothers. Daryl’s got the Armany glasses he bought off a feller at the Stock Sale and wears the high-dollar suit jackets.
Daryl: And Darrell’s the one in the Overalls with the gym body.
IB: And how do you know about Fran’s East End? It’s a little obscure for a couple guys from out of town.
Darrell: This was our mama’s most favorite place in Nashville. We always come here.
Daryl (staring mournfully at the menu): The hogs ate our mama.
Darrell (also staring mournfully at the menu): They have pickled eggs but they misspelled “pickled.”
IB: Your record label is Eddie’s Tapes & Tanning. Who are your label mates?
Darrell: Eddie’s been real tied up with his Alpaca business and mass marketing of his new brand of Pickled Guinea Bird Eggs, but for a while there, he had put out tapes on bands like Drac Sutton and his Transylvania County Suck-ups and Melvin Mitchell Murphy and his Backwards Riding Cowpokes. Daryl: The next release he’s
planning on is a bootleg tape he owns the master for: The Queen of Bluegrass, Ms. Rhoda Vincent, singing into her hairbrush backstage at the Down Home in Johnson City.
Darrell: We sure do love that Ms. Rhoda Vincent.
IB: You guys list Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Curly Ray Cyrus, Ralph Stanley, Eminem, Michael Bolton, Jerry Clower, and Punch Brothers as your favorite artists on your Facebook page. Who else inspires you?
Daryl: We’re big fans of all kinds of music. Darrell spent last summer follerin’ around the band “Fun” on tour.
Darrell: Daryl used to be the Fan Club President for the big-time bluegrass band Balsam Range, but he had to step down because it was interfering with his World of Warcraft game. He’s built up a Level 83 character that looks just like another Bluegrass Celebrity, Uncle Phil Leadbetter.
IB: How did “Mountain Twerker” come about? What fueled it?
Darrell: We’re just trying to preserve the legacy of our Granny who invented “Twerking,” the dance craze sweeping the world. Daryl: Of course, when we do pretty much anything, it’s fueled by a little white liquor, but we prefer the RealTree Energy
drinks because they come in the camouflage can.
IB: When and where did you shoot the “Mountain Twerker” video?
Darrell: We shot it in Kingston Springs, TN in early November at the Lyles’ farm. It took about seven hours and five cases of cold beer.
IB: Who were the other musi-cians and vocalists on the cut?
Daryl: Our cousins Austin Ward and Deanie Richardson lended their musicianer talent to the recording. We think they did a real good job. Everything else was done by us. Cousin Marcia Camp-bell of WSM Radio led the choir in the video.
Darrell: Another cousin of ours from East Tennessee, Clint Keller, is a professional video man that goes to Carson-Newman College. He filmed and edited the video.
IB: How much did it cost to pro-duce?
Darrell: That’s hard to say. A lot of good friends and volunteers participated, but we bought snacks and drinks for everyone, paid Cousin Clint his normal fee, and spent our own time arrang-ing the shoot. It all fell into place without us spending a ton of money, but we were very lucky.
IB: What were your expecta-tions and hopes when you first thought about making the video?
Darrell: We really didn’t know what to expect. We had such a great response just from the Internet release of the song and from radio play on The Big Show with John Boy and Billy that we felt like we had to make the video. We didn’t know it would turn out as well as it did.
Daryl: The result has been ab-solutely amazing. CMT, VH1, and MTV helped us by letting us de-but the video on their websites. Over 5,000 people watched us on those sites before it even got big on YouTube.
IB: Why did you decide that it would be a good idea to mon-etize your video with ads?
Darrell: In this day and age, that’s just what you do. We think if people watch our vid-eos, we should have some kind of revenue from it, even if it’s an extremely modest stream of revenue.
IB: How did you go about find-ing advertisers? What are you doing to promote this video?
Daryl: YouTube automatically matches your video with adver-tisers based on the tags in your video. That’s one of the most im-portant things about setting up your video on YouTube. You have to “tag” it with the best keywords to get your video noticed.
Darrell: Having hot subject mat-ter like our Granny’s dance was a big plus.
Daryl: Most of our views have come from sharing on Facebook,
but once you start “trending,” your tags really matter, too. At one point, our video was the 4th most trending music video in the world, just below Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus!
Darrell: We have not made a ton of money off having ads on there, but we want to keep growing our audience and hopefully our revenues.
Daryl: We’ve actually just started an online promotional campaign using YouTube and AdWords to help spread the word about our Granny, and have been using so-cial media to promote the video.
Darrell: Also, several of our big-time friends (Lee Ann Womack, Joe Bonsall, Dierks Bentley, and Sammy Shelor, to name a few) have promoted our video on Twitter, Facebook, and regular old radio since it came out.
IB: Is there anything you wish you’d done differently?
Darrell: Not really. We kinda wish that we would have hired a massage therapist for the down-time between shots.
Daryl: The washboard is taxing on a body.
IB: How has the video changed your life?
Daryl: We’ve had every cousin we know of and a couple hun-dred that we didn’t know of call us and tell us that we’re famous and that they’re coming to eat.
Darrell: We’re weighing all our options.
IB: Anything else you’d like to add? What’s next?
Darrell: This has been an amaz-ing experience for us and we’re so grateful to our friends and family that helped in the video and recording, especially Granny, Clint, Austin, Deanie, and Cousin Melonie Cannon who helped us line up the video location. Also,
(Darrell Brothers cont.)
International Bluegrass 11
we’re extremely appreciative of our friends and fans on Facebook and Twitter who have shared our material. We couldn’t do it without them!Daryl: We knew the song and video would be a big success, but we’ll soon be approaching half a million views on the Internets. We can’t thank everyone enough for helping to spread the word about our Granny.
Darrell: People have been so nice, and asking for more. There’s only so much two Bluegrass Music celebrities can do at a time, but we’re hoping to continue releasing new music and a full album, and taking our show on the road! Look out for us!
EPILOGUEOur efforts to interview Granny, the legendary founder of the twerking dance craze herself, were ultimately unsuccessful. But a few days after the interview with the Brothers boys at Fran’s East Side, we received this message…
DEAR YOU-ALL, My electronic pages on this here computer have been so clogged up with new friends and fans I ain’t had time to kill the hogs this season. Folks is a-wantin’ to buy me some new house coats and a-wantin’ me to write my name down on paper. I just got back from the Save-A-Lot where they was a-havin’ a can goods sale and all them folks had their telephones without no wires on ‘em out, a-looking at my dancing. I reckon I am a star. Heck, I got Wrestlers and some country music sangers wantin’ to know when I’m a-gonna start a class. I just told ‘em, either you got it or you ain’t… SIGNED GRANNY.
Darrell Brothers (click to purchase)“Healthcare.gov”“Christmas Time In the Country”
Darrell Brothers on YouTube“Mountain Twerker”“Healthcare.gov”“Christmas Time In the Country”
Darrell Brothers on Airplay Directhttp://www.airplaydirect.com/music/thedarrellbrothers/
YouTube for Fun and Profit: How to Monetize Your YouTube Channel: http://ibma.org/node/534
12 International Bluegrass
Due to September’s highly successful N.C. Whole Hog Barbecue State Championship, the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) received a gift of $10,000 from the N.C. Pork Council (NCPC), the state’s pork industry association.
In a presentation today attended by Raleigh city officials, the N.C. Pork Council (NCPC) announced the gift of $10,000 to the IBMA. The NCPC sponsors and sanctions the state championship cook-off and is headquartered in Raleigh, where it supports the state’s pork-producing industry.
International Bluegrass Music Association ReceivesDonation from N.C. Pork Council
Gift of $10,000 comes “in spirit of thanks” as a result of the success of the N.C. Whole Hog Barbecue State Championship, held in conjunction with
IBMA’s Wide Open Bluegrass Festival in September 2013
Pictured at today’s presentation (l to r): Ann Edmondson of N.C. Pork Council, William Lewis of PineCone: Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, Deborah Johnson of N.C. Pork Council, Cindy Baucom (Vice-Chairperson) of IBMA Board, Elizabeth Wightman
(Treasurer) of IBMA Board, Nancy Cardwell of IBMA and Jon Weisberger (Chairperson) of IBMA Board.
International Bluegrass 13
The state championship cook-off was held in downtown Raleigh in conjunction with the IBMA’s Wide Open Bluegrass Festival on September 28, 2013. The festival, part of IBMA’s five day World of Bluegrass event and held in Raleigh for the first time, drew an estimated 140,000 visitors to Raleigh’s city center and is believed to have contributed as much as $10 million into cash registers around the Triangle.
The NCPC estimates that thousands witnessed the state’s best hog cooking teams compete for the state title and awaited the chance on the afternoon of Sept. 28 to sample the results. More than 4,000 servings of chopped pork barbecue were sold.
Nancy Cardwell, executive director of IBMA, participated in the presentation announcement. “Our experience in Raleigh was spectacular and we are grateful to all the organizations and individuals who supported us so well,” Cardwell said. “The pork barbecue cooking championship was a valuable addition, and the generous donation from the state’s pork industry will be put to good use by our organization.”
The North Carolina Pork Council (NCPC) is the statewide organization chartered in 1962 to support producers and allied industry partners within the North Carolina pork industry. Today, the pork industry in the state includes more than 2,300 farms, about 46,000 full-time jobs and adds $9 billion to North Carolina’s economy. Deborah Johnson, chief executive officer of the NCPC, said, “We were very pleased that our state championship added to the excitement and success of the IBMA’s bluegrass festival. The donation helps preserve the bluegrass tradition and is an investment we are proud to make.”
Johnson added, “Our donation to the IBMA was offered in the spirit of thanks and a reward for the group’s decision to bring its annual meeting and celebration to North Carolina, home of the nation’s best pork barbecue.”
Ann Edmondson, director of communications & marketing for the NCPC, said, “Being part of the IBMA’s first festival in Raleigh gave the pork industry a big role in a great weekend. We had excellent teams cooking their hogs and the fabulous music was a fine complement to the barbecue.”The IBMA is a non-profit organization that connects and educates bluegrass professionals, empowers the bluegrass community, and encourages worldwide appreciation of bluegrass music of yesterday, today and tomorrow. The group, consisting of 2,700 members in all 50 states and 30 countries around the world, works together for the future of bluegrass music, providing professional development, leadership, showcase and leadership opportunities, as well as promoting the bluegrass genre.
The Wide Open Bluegrass Festival brought more than 60 of the nation’s leading bluegrass acts to perform in downtown Raleigh at the Convention Center, Red Hat Amphitheater, Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts and on various stages scattered throughout downtown.
IBMA’s World of Bluegrass event will return to Raleigh September 30-October 4, 2014, and again in 2015.
14 International Bluegrass
Nov. 25, 2013
Secretary: Craig Havighurst The meeting was called to order by Board Chair Jon Weisberger and began in executive session to consider the status of the Executive Director’s performance review.
Following that discussion, the Board heard a brief report from Treasurer Elizabeth Wight-man that focused on the financial outcome of the World of Bluegrass events. All three com-ponents of the week—festival, business conference and awards show—reported profits, but the business conference’s financial performance was less than projected, due largely to fewer full conference registrations than anticipated.
A general discussion of World of Bluegrass 2013 and prospects for 2014 then followed, which concluded with the authorization of a small Board task force to examine options for reconfiguring the Bluegrass Ramble in 2014 and make recommendations to the Executive Committee prior to its meeting with Raleigh partners in early December.
Elizabeth presented a recommendation from the Finance Committee for a new method to calculate the IBMA’s contribution to the Bluegrass Trust Fund. Discussion followed, concluding with the recommendation being tabled and the Board authorizing Jon, Vice-Chair Cindy Baucom and at least one member of the Finance Committee to confer with the Fund’s Trustees on options for ensuring that the IBMA continue to support the Trust Fund while maintaining sufficient funds for the IBMA to improve its financial health and carry out its programs.
Cindy, who chairs the Nominations Committee, gave a brief report on vacancies on the Board. A new member must be appointed by the Board to fill the remainder of her term in the Broadcasters constituency seat (term ends in the fall of 2014), and an empty Board-appointed at-large seat needs to be filled. The Committee will meet and recommend can-didates for both positions.
The meeting adjourned after 2 hours and 19 minutes.
IBMA Board Meeting Minutes
International Bluegrass 15
Your Minute for Membership by Joe Lurgio
In last month’s editorial, I introduced a new monthly ar-ticle focusing on the value of your IBMA membership. It’s a new year and we are excited to announce the new Mem-bership Services committee chair, Charles Humphrey III, of The Steep Canyon Rangers. Charles, the committee, and I are fortunate to have a solid foundation built by past com-mittee members and the last chair, Dwight Worden. Work-ing off this historical founda-tion, we feel like we can have a great 2014 with new value-added benefits, discounts, and strengthen existing benefits.
Sound Healthcare was cre-ated to provide healthcare solutions and advocacy for the creative community. In 2006, founder and CEO RJ Stillwell—himself a musician, producer and songwriter—recognized that individuals in the creative community often had difficulty when navigating the process of obtaining coverage and the security that adequately ad-dressed the needs of their unique lifestyles. Frequent travel, non-status quo work-ing arrangements, and other characteristics of the creative lifestyle just didn’t figure into the cookie cutter approach of-fered by traditional insurance brokerages.
In 2008, Sound Healthcare formed an alliance with IBMA under the leadership of then-executive director, Dan Hays. This partnership is extremely gratifying to RJ, as he grew up in the world of bluegrass; his uncle was “Cousin Jake Tullock” of Flatt and Scruggs’ Foggy Mountain Boys!
As we all know, healthcare is rapidly evolving under the Affordable Care Act (aka
“Obama Care”). We recently hosted a free webinar for members to help them un-derstand how IBMA’s Sound Healthcare is changing to meet the needs of our mem-bers. Stillwell says: “At Sound Healthcare, we don’t push policies; we educate, advo-cate, and advise. We’re able to customize unique solutions for each individuals based on their lifestyle and circum-stances—including navigat-ing the confusing waters of The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.”
Our partners at Sound Health-care are available at any time to answer all of your ques-tions about healthcare.
After several years of estab-lishing the trust of music pro-fessionals throughout Amer-ica, Sound Healthcare had many musicians, artists and songwriters ask for additional assistance with financial plan-ning matters and ancillary insurance products. Sound Healthcare is pleased to an-nounce its new partnership with New York Life, one of the top-rated and most respected financial services companies in the world.
In addition to assisting us in navigating the health-care world, Sound Financial can now provide our blue-grass music community new benefits that plan and protect
members’ financial futures. Many of you may feel uneasy or unsecure about talking to someone about money. I was this person, as I didn’t think that I had enough money for a financial professional to care about me. I have learned that by taking small steps now to build relationships and learn, you can begin building and planning your financial future no matter your financial status.
Sound Financial is available to help you grow your wealth by planting a small seed and answering questions like:
• What’s the best way for me to file my taxes?
• How can I create a budget without having a consistent income?
• Should I invest in infrastructure for my business now or invest my funds for retirement?
Sound Financial also offers assistance in helping to build your established wealth, for example:
• When was the last time you had a financial report done?
• How secure are you that you’ll have adequate
retirement funds in your future?
• If you’re a financial provider for your family, what would happen if you were not able to continue to support them?
We are looking forward to communicating more in-formation about services available to members from our evolving partnership with Sound Healthcare/Sound Financial partnership through IB articles, emails, web presentations, and social media. If you are a member of IBMA you can pick up the phone at any time and talk directly to a representative at 615-256-8667 or email RJ at [email protected]. You can always con-tact our office and an IBMA staff member can direct your inquiry to the correct person at 888-GET-IBMA.
If you have questions that you feel other members could also learn from, please email them to me at [email protected] and we may use it in a future article. As always, if you have issues or concerns about your membership or need to renew please call the office or better yet, stop by!
Till next time…
“Having the help of a healthcare advocate to help guide me through my own needs and benefits as regards ObamaCare is nothing but a luxury! I’m very grateful to IBMA for providing this benefit for me and all of its members. I now have my own plan of action and understand my standing and the deadlines required of me. The folks at Sound Healthcare have been most helpful and very re-sponsive.” - Claire Lynch, The Claire Lynch Band
16 International Bluegrass
January Webinar: How to Make Your Voice Last a Lifetime By Taylor Coughlin
Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 6:30pm CST | webex.com
How are singers able to achieve such amazing vocal gymnastics? How do they make such an in-credible variety of sounds, from bluegrass to rock to opera? In this webinar, you’ll learn about vocal anatomy and physiology, how the voice works and why different sing-ers sound so different. The semi-nar will also include information on typical voice injuries, how they are evaluated and treated, and tips for taking care of your voice so that it will last you a lifetime. The webi-nar instructor will be Leda Scearce, MM, MS, CCC-SLP, singer, voice teacher and clinical singing voice rehabilitation specialist from Duke Voice Care Center.
This webinar is $20 for IBMA mem-bers, and $40 for non-members. To register, email Taylor at [email protected]. Space is limited, so sign up early!
More about Leda Scearce: SopranoSinging Voice SpecialistClinical Associate Faculty, Director of Performing Voice Programs and DevelopmentDuke Voice Care CenterAdjunct Assistant Professor, Duke University Department of Music
Soprano Leda Scearce has been featured in leading roles with the National Opera Company, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Long Leaf Opera Festival, Triangle Opera, the Ohio Light Opera Company and White-
water Opera Company, and has appeared as concert soloist with orchestras including the North Carolina, Toledo and Honolulu Symphonies. An active propo-nent of new music, Ms. Scearce has given world premiere perfor-mances of works written for her with the Berkeley Contemporary Chamber Players, Nashville Cham-ber Orchestra, Orchestra Nashville, Mallarme Chamber Players, the American Chamber Music Festival and Chamber Music Hawaii. A winner of the Birmingham Opera Vocal Competition, Ms. Scearce has also been a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Ms. Scearce is a graduate of Indiana University with both bachelors and masters degrees in vocal performance.
A voice teacher for over 25 years, Ms. Scearce has served on the artist faculties of Bowling Green State University, Meredith Col-lege, Brigham Young University of Hawaii and the University of South-ern Maine. She currently holds an appointment as Adjunct Assistant
Professor of the Practice of Music in the Duke University Department of Music, where she acts as consul-tant in vocal health and wellness.
Ms. Scearce obtained the Master of Science degree in Speech-Lan-guage Pathology from Boston Uni-versity, where she completed an internship in voice disorders and voice rehabilitation for the per-forming voice at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. She is cur-rently Singing Voice Specialist, Clin-ical Associate Faculty and Director of Performing Voice Programs and Development at the Duke Voice Care Center, where she provides rehabilitation therapy to singers, actors and other vocal performers with voice injuries. Ms. Scearce is a frequent speaker on the topic of the singing voice at national and international voice conferences, including the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, the Voice Foundation, National Association of Teachers of Singing, the International Confer-ence on the Physiology and Acous-tics of Singing, The National Center for Voice and Speech, the McIver Lecture in Vocal Pedagogy and the North Carolina Regional Chapter of the Acoustical Society of America. She is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing As-sociation, the Voice Foundation, National Association of Teachers of Singing, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and serves as member at large for the North Carolina Re-gional Chapter of the Acoustical Society of America. Ms. Scearce maintains an active performance career.
International Bluegrass 17
The Earl Scruggs Center: Music and Stories from the American
South in Shelby, NC, will celebrate its grand opening January 11, 2014. The event is billed as ‘Remembering Earl Scruggs: Music and Stories’ and will feature performances by Sam Bush, Vince Gill, Travis Tritt, Rob Ickes, Jim Mills, Gary Scruggs and Randy Scruggs. For more information on the event or the center, call (704)487-6233, or visit www.earlscruggscenter.org.
Progress Commercial Printing in Owens-boro, KY, is expanding their printing and advertising services which will help them be an even better source for marketing and branding needs. Call Progress Printing at (270)684-2324 for more information.
Danny Paisley is recovering at home after successful triple bypass surgery. His next performance is set for January 5 in Virginia.
Lisa Jacobi of Playing on the Planet has launched a new series: Artist2Artist which features interviews, videos, and podcasts done by Jacobi with another artist. Visit lisajacobi.com for interviews with Ron Block and Jamie Dailey, with more on the way!
GAT3 Studio in Charlotte, NC, is offer-ing a new program focused on recording. The GAT3 Recording Program is an in-depth, 11-week course held in classroom, lab and studio environments. Classes are held three days a week, and are limited to 8 stu-dents. More details about the GAT3 Record-ing Program can be found online. Those interested can start the process by filling in an application on their website.
MerleFest has announced the addition of “BanjoRama” – a one-time-only assembly of music’s top banjo players in performance together. The event will be part of Friday’s Watson Stage schedule. MerleFest happens April 24-27, 2014 in Wilkesboro, NC. Get more info on MerleFest here.
Dailey and Vincent will make their Carnegie Hall debut in June 2014. They will be joined by a 200 person choir for a performance of The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass by Carol Barnett.
Blue Highway announced their new album The Game will be released on January 21, 2014.
Ralph Stanley and Ralph Stanley II will release Side by Side from Rebel Records on February 18, 2014. Ralph Stanley will turn 87 one week after the album’s release. He is currently on tour. To check the dates, visit here.
Rhonda Vincent will release Only Me, from Upper Management Music, on January 28, 2014. The album will be a two-disc combo including six songs each of bluegrass and country.
Class Act Entertainment has signed Blue Moon Rising to their talent roster. The East Tennessee-based band is headed by singer/songwriter Chris West on guitar, with Tony Mowell on mandolin, Rusty Ferrell on banjo, and Brandon Bostic on bass.
Bluegrass Music Industry News | January 2014
On the Charts as ref lected at press time
For the Record
Youth NewsEighty Puget Sound-area orchestra students from Kenmore and
Canyon Park (Bothell) Junior Highs had a day-long bluegrass retreat at Warm Beach Campgrounds near Stanwood, Washington in October. As part of director Karen Cramer’s quest to teach kids to play by ear, have fun jamming, and learn the Americana canon, the students tried different instruments, put together bands, and by the evening were ready to play a concert.
Western Washington Bluegrass stalwarts Cliff Perry, Terry Enyeart, Tom Moran, and Barb Collins were the instructors, aided by KJH’s singin’ history teacher Tom Petersen. The students got “off the page” and braved banjos, mandolins, and guitars, or ventured into other parts of the fiddle family while experiencing the exhilaration of all-day pickin’ in a festival atmosphere.
The orchestras have also been busy practicing for their performance at the Wintergrass Music Festival (www.wintergrass.com) at the Bellevue Hyatt Regency in Bellevue, Washington on
Sunday March 2, 2014. There they will be performing with junior high students from four to six other schools in the Pacific Northwest, backing several of the Festival’s headlining acts.
Ms. Cramer is a leading proponent of getting bluegrass into school music programs. In addition to taking her students on retreats and to Wintergrass, she has made bluegrass presentations at the Washington Music Educators’ state conference and the American String Teachers Association national convention in recent years.
Billboard: The Bluegrass Album by Alan Jackson remains at number one; Love Has Come For You by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell at number two, and Live at First Avenue by Trampled by Turtles at number three.
Bluegrass Today Monthly Airplay: “That’s Kentucky” by Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road by Tom T. Hall, Dixie Hall, and Troy Engle at number one; “Big Blue Raindrops” by Del McCoury Band, written by Larry Corlde and Jenee Fleenor at number two, and “I Wish That I Could Have Met Carter” by Spinney Brothers, written by Dixie Hall at number three.
Bluegrass Unlimited songs: “The Mountain Doctor” by Don Rigsby, writ-ten by Larry Cordle and Don Rigsby at number one; “Grandpa’s Way of Life”
by Spinney Brothers, written by Brink Brinkman at number two, and “I’m Putting on my Leaving Shoes” by Big Country Bluegrass and written by Tom T. Hall, Dixie Hall, and Troy Engle at number three.
Bluegrass Unlimited albums: No Borders by Spinney Brothers (Moun-tain Fever Records) at number one; They Called it Music by Gibson Brothers (Compass) at number two, and Brothers of the Highway by Dailey & Vincent (Rounder) at number three.
Singing News Bluegrass chart: “It Could Happen in a Moment” by Moun-tain Faith at number one; “Revelation Song” by Chigger Hill Boys & Terri at number two, and “He Included Me” by Primitive Quartet at number three.
International Bluegrass 19
Association Assertions
Standing O!
Richard Bicknell has been announced as the new president of the Maine Bluegrass Association. Bicknell is a banjo player from Wind-ham, Maine. Congratulations, Richard!
The Walnut Valley Festival is well known for its eight instrumental championships held each year in Winfield, Kansas. Do you have what it takes to compete? The championships are open to anyone except those performing at the Festival as a billed or paid entertainer. Registration for the competitions opens up on January 9. The entry fee is $15 per person. Call (620)221-3250 to register, and to find out more information after January 9. The 43rd Walnut Valley Festival will take place Sept. 17-21, 2014 in Winfield, Kansas.
Bob Saturn, member of the Southeastern Bluegrass Association,
was honored with The Founders Award on Saturday, November 16th during the 29th annual meeting in Woodstock, Georgia. In receiving his award, Saturn said, “I got a lot of help from a lot of good folks.” Saturn is an active member of SEBA, and plays the banjo. He lives in Decatur, Georgia.
The Southeastern Bluegrass Association announced its new elected officials for 2014: Dan Daniel, Danette Kellner, Becky Lawson, Dickson Lester, Don Simons, Joe Suroweic, and Mike Wood. Congratulations!
James Reams, of James Reams & The Barnstormers, has been named to the Board of Directors for the Arizona Bluegrass Association in Glendale, AZ. Reams is excited about this opportunity and is look-ing forward to being even more involved in the bluegrass scene in Arizona.
The Willis Clan, a family 14 talented singers, players, dancers (and IBMA members!), won the Today Show ‘Sound of Music’ Family contest on December 5. The talented Tennessee family was chosen to be finalists by Today Show execs by submitting a video singing a song from The Sound of Music. After a nation-wide vote, the family found out they had won on live TV. They were flown out to New York City and performed on the Today Show on December 6.
Brenda Willis, the mother, said the timing was hectic, and they didn’t have much time to rehearse their new version of “My Favorite Things” before the in-studio performance. “It was a coordinated, creative effort with everyone,” Brenda said, adding, “with lots of kids there are lots
of ideas.” After battling weather and cancelled flights, they finally made it to NYC, (“Thanks to the generosity of American Airlines and their customers,” Brenda said). The family wowed viewers all over the world and performed at the Grand Ole Opry the next week before Carrie Underwood
who played Maria on Sound of Music: Live on NBC.
The Willis Clan said they are overwhelmed and excited by all the support, and are excited for more tour dates coming up. To keep up on The Willis Clan, click here. To watch a video of their in-studio performance click here.
Congratulations to Martha Moore of So Much MOORE Me-dia who is celebrating 25 years of business! So Much MOORE Media has worked with Ricky Skaggs, The Grascals, The Stetson Family, The Roys, Becky Schlegel, Big Smith, and others.
The Pittsburgh Banjo Club celebrated 25 years in Decem-ber. The non-profit organization is dedicated to preserving the sound of the banjo in its Golden Age (1920-1930), and welcomes
the public to their weekly prac-tices on Wednesday nights for free. Find out more about the Pittsburgh Banjo Club on their website.
Grammy nominated Della Mae made their Opry debut on Tues-day, December 10. Congratula-tions!
Chris Thile, mandolin player and lead singer for Punch Brothers, married actress Claire Coffee in an intimate ceremony in Eastern Tennessee on December 26. Congratulations to the happy couple!
Junior Sisk was honored in his hometown of Rocky Mount, VA, in December with the Town Council awarding him a plaque, a key to the city, and naming December 9-15, 2013, Junior Sisk Week.
20 International Bluegrass
HEARD ‘ROUND THE WORLD
Fragment celebrated their 30th anniversary by doing a reunion tour. Bass player and vocalist Jana Mougin chronicled their tour for Bluegrass Today, which you can read here.
Uri Kohen, organizer of the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival in Westport, Co. Mayo, in the west of Ireland, announced the dates and lineup for next year’s event - from Friday June 13, to Sunday June 15, 2014, with acts from the UK, mainland Europe, America, and Australia, as well as Irish acts from all over the island.
Performers at the multi-venue festival will include the Loose Moose String Band (GB), the Corn Potatos (USA), Battenkill Ramblers (D), the Down and Out Bluegrass Band (NI), Hat Fitz and Cora Robinson (AUS), and Irish acts Miriam Donohue, the Sullivan Brothers, the Rocky Top String Band, and Tim Rogers & Friends. More acts will be announced soon. A new feature in 2014 will be the combining of members from different bands to form ‘Super Groups’, together with the established programme of workshops and informal sessions.
The full press release is on the Bluegrass Ireland Blog.
Karel Waska has completed his doctoral thesis in the USA and will be going home to the Czech Republic later this month, after a year of playing bass for the Chicago area bluegrass band. Greg Heintz will be replacing him in the band. A farewell concert at the House Cafe, De Kalb, Illinois, followed by a jam session,
will be held on 19 December 2013, two days before Karel goes home.
On 6 January from 10pm CST, the largest radio station in Germany, will broadcast/stream almost two hours of music and interview recorded at the Dortmund show. Click here to listen.
Chicago-based Henhouse Prowlers are back in the United States from a trip to Central and Western Africa where they performed as part of the American Music Abroad program.
Read about all their adventures and see pictures on their website, www.henhouseprowlers.com.
International Bluegrass 21
New Members: December 2013
David Alewine
Stephany Anderson
Doug Armstrong
Ron Barfield
Patricia Barkley
Greg Barkley
Linne Black
Tammy Boland
David Brock
Jim Browder
Irma Clark
Landon Elmore
Benjamin Ferdon
Katrina Harper
Amy Herring
Kathy Jaeck
Angie Kimberlin
Kelley King
Marc Liles
Ellen Mason
Susan McCandless
Chris Muirhead
Suzanne Myers
Heather Slaughter
Matthew Songmaker
Robert Swain
John and Michelle Vickery
Jeffrey Walters
Thanks for joining IBMA!
IBInternational Bluegrass
Vol.29 No.1 Jan. 2014