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HTMA President’s Notes

July 2019

Dear Friends,

We have been a very active organization. So

let me take a few minutes to tell you about a

few things we have been up to: our new PA

system, volunteering around town, and how

we invested in youth through the Dan Charles

Memorial. Also, a few items that are coming

up: time for members to sign up to play at the

Burritt Gazebo Music Festival and a heads up

about Mary Flower our guest performer in

October.

(Continued on Page 3)

The third quarter HTMA Membership meetings will be held at 1:30-4:30:

July 21st August 18th September - No meeting

(preempted by Gazebo Festival)

Please check the HTMA website to verify meeting locations, as they may vary

HTMA Coffeehouses are scheduled for

7:00 at Burritt Museum’s Old Church.

Tuesday July 23rd

Chapman James Tuesday August 27th

Black Market Haggis Sunday September 8th

Annual Gazebo Member Concert

Volume 53 – Issue 3 www.huntsvillefolk.org Summer 2019

CONTENTS Page 1 – President’s Notes

Page 2 – Upcoming Events

Page 3 – Planning for September Burritt Gazebo

Page 4 – July 23rd Coffeehouse

Page 5 – August 28th Coffeehouse

Page 6 – HTMA Gear Update

Page 7 – Member Performance Opportunities

Page 8 – Upcoming Coffeehouse Openers

Page 9 – Cowboys in Bluegrass Music

Page 13 – Special Concert Announcement

Page 14 - Classifieds

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HTMA Executive Board

President -

LYNNE EDMONDSON dr.l.edmondson@gmail.com

Vice President & Public Service Chairman

JIM ENGLAND

256-852-5740 harpatune@yahoo.com

Secretary/Treasurer

PAT LONG plong@hiwaay.net

Publicity Chairman

BOB HICKS publicity@huntsvillefolk.org

Performance Chairwoman

KAREN NEWSUM karen.newsum@comcast.net

Operations Chairmen

GEORGE WILLIAMS

george.p.williams@pobox.com LARRY HALTERMAN (co-chair)

vincenthalterman@yahoo.com Webmaster/

CHRIS KIDD chris@lawcall.com

Acting Newsletter Editor

Jerry LeCroy (Position open!)

The leadership of HTMA invites YOU to be an active part of our great organization, whether you play an instrument, or want to share in any other way, we welcome you and thank you for your support!

Schedule of Upcoming Events Please see following pages for more details on

upcoming meeting, coffeehouse, and retirement

home gig dates.

The second quarter HTMA Membership

meetings will be held at 1:30-4:30:

July 21stth Main Huntsville Library

August 18th Main Huntsville Library

September – NO meeting

(Check the website for the latest meeting locations)

Second Quarter Coffeehouses will be at

the Burritt Museum Old Church, 7:00-9:00

Tuesday July 23rd

Tuesday August 27th

Annual Members Gazebo concert at Burritt

Museum – 1:00-4:30 September 8th

Please contact Jim England if you would like to

be notified of upcoming retirement home gigs.

For more information about HTMA or current

events, you can visit our website at

www.huntsvillefolk.org

You can join up or renew membership using PayPal

at

http://www.huntsvillefolk.org/paypal.htm

1 Jerry and Brandy Cobb opening the January 2019 coffeehouse Photo courtesy J. LeCroy)

mailto:george.p.williams@pobox.commailto:vincenthalterman@yahoo.comhttp://www.huntsvillefolk.org/http://www.huntsvillefolk.org/paypal.htm

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[President’s Notes, Continued from Page 1]

New PA System. HTMA was very excited

about rolling out our new and improved

PA system at the June Coffeehouse. We

had several comments about the great

sound. We replaced our 20-year-old

Mackie 1604 with a new Mackie digital

mixer, controlled wirelessly from behind

the audience. We also added two small

(mike-stand-mounted) stage monitors.

Your membership dollars add up and

allow us to better fulfill our mission of

preserving folk and traditional acoustic

music in Northern Alabama.

Volunteering around town. HTMA

members have performed at Constitution

Village this spring and summer. We played

a number of traditional and old time

songs. It was a great opportunity to

provide a musical background for this

downtown Old Time public space on Gates

Ave. This summer Constitution Village is

actively open and free on Saturdays from

4-7pm; a great family outing.

Lynne Edmondson

info@huntsvillefolk.org

2 Ben Davis at the January 2019 Coffeehouse (Photo courtesy J. LeCroy)

Lynne Edmondson

3 Dennis Parker at the January 2019 HTMA Coffeehouse (Photo courtesy J. LeCroy) Sign Up Now for the September 8th HTMA Gazebo Music Festival

For over twenty years HTMA has produced

an annual outdoor concert at the Burritt

Museum Gazebo. This is a fine

opportunity for members to play for an

appreciative audience. If you are

interested in playing this gig, please

contact HTMA President Lynne

Edmondson.

Please include the stage accommodations

you expect to need when you write Lynne

– how many vocal microphones,

instrument mikes, plug-ins, or chairs you

think you might need. Also please provide

a list naming any people playing in your

set, along with their instruments. Having

the stage accommodations and players

defined will help us on the production side

to make the stage changes as smooth as

possible, and will allow Bob Hicks to put

out accurate publicity.

Slots for this program fill up pretty

quickly, so if you think you want to play,

please contact Lynne promptly.

mailto:info@huntsvillefolk.org

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4 Chapman James (Photo courtesy the artist)

The July 23rdh HTMA Coffeehouse will

feature Chapman James

Born James Chapman Polhemus in Stuttgart

Germany and brought up in the deep south

(now residing in Hoover, AL), Chapman’s

insights into the development of a Folk

Songwriter are unique. Whether it's the

journey of a human trotting across the

prairie, the epic life of a tree, the loneliness

one needs to combat garden gnomes or a

view of war through the eyes of a 4 year old

boy; Chapman's songs are honest and

simple.

Three things stand out when he describes

his music

1. His Inspiration for the Song: "A writer

is not necessarily the one that shouts 'Hear

Me!' (that's the performer talking) , but the

one that listens and seems to whisper 'I

heard you'."

2. His Responsibility for the Song: "Just

write what haunts you. If the song is good,

the genre doesn't matter! Choosing among

frames for artwork has never been my

passion, that's for the talented producers &

cover artists"

3. His Reason for Writing the Song:

"After having written my first song at the

age of 12, I have finally found so many

decades later the exact reasons I write

songs. I write to remember. Once I have

learned either a complex idea that I think is

important to answer back to life, or a

humorous perspective I want to recall to

bring some levity to the insanity, I make a

song out of it... selfish as it may seem I do it

for me so this is why I share it and welcome

everyone to the therapy session I call a 'Live

Performance'. I write so the things I've

learned become personal mantras instead

of ending up lost like so many raindrops in

an ocean. And, just maybe they'll shed a

little light on what is to be expected from

this seemingly insignificant species called

human"...

5 Former HTMA president Jerry LeCroy at a 2019 coffeehouse (photo courtesy R. Heinisch)

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6 HTMA Members playing at the Elmcroft Assisted Living facility in May 2019 (photo courtesy B. Cassels)

7 HTMA members playing at the Regency Assisted Living facility in May 2019 (Photo courtesy B. Cassels)

8 Back Market Haggis. (photo courtesy BMH)

Our August 27th HTMA

Coffeehouse will feature

Black Market Haggis

Mike Clem, Andy Kruspe, and Garrett Smith have

been playing Celtic music together in one form or

another since 2010. During this time, they kept a

running tab of cool band names and even better

album names. When it came time to form a trio,

"Black Market Haggis" became the clear choice for

a band name. So they did what every new band

should do when starting out- they searched their

band name on the internet to see if it had already

been taken. Predictably, no band has ever used that

moniker. However, they did find that there is a

demand for such a product since the USDA will not

allow real haggis in the United States.

Then in the fall of 2015, the band lucked out. The

band had been looking for vocalist, and Chenoa

Clark's schedule was finally able to accommodate

their musical shenanigans. She joined the band, and

the boys have had to watch their language ever

since.

9 HTMA Members playing at University Baptist Senior Group in May 2019 (photo courtesy B. Cassels)

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10 Cindy Mussellwhite at the January 2019 Coffeehouse (photo courtesy J. LeCroy)

HTMA Gear Update By George Williams

HTMA is upgrading to some of the

sound system that we use for our

coffeehouses and other live

performances. As a non-profit

organization, making major investments

in equipment is something we can’t

afford to do very often. But we’ve saved

our pennies, most of which have come

from member dues and donations

(thanks!), and from the small admission

fees we charge for our monthly

coffeehouse concerts, and the

occasional other concerts where we

bring more widely known artists from

across the south, and sometimes even

farther afield. As members, and

interested non-members, I thought you

might like to hear what we're doing with

your money.

So what kind of equipment are we

getting? For one thing, we want to

replace our 20+ year-old mixer. Our

mixer already has one channel that we

can't use because it doesn't work

properly, so before the mixer degrades

any more, we think it's time to retire it.

Most people probably won’t notice any

difference in the quality of sound from

our new mixer, but it will also give us

some capabilities that we haven’t had

before. For example, our sound

engineers will be able to wirelessly

control the sound system from

anywhere in the room using an iPad,

which we hope will make it easier for us

to get the best quality sound in all parts

of the venue.

Another change will be the addition of

two small stage monitors — speakers

that are aimed at the performers to allow

them to better hear what they sound like

in the sound system. Since our main

speakers are aimed at the audience,

and away from the performers, it's

sometimes very hard for the artists to

know what they sound like. It may

surprise people who never perform on

stage, but if you can’t hear your sound it

can have quite an impact on the quality

of your performance. For this reason,

stage monitors are something that many

of our artists have asked for and HTMA

has been unable to provide. We are

really looking forward to being able to

provide this new capability.

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11 May 2019 HTMA membership meeting (photo courtesy B. Cassels)

12 HTMA Members Playing at Harbor Chase in May 2019. (Photo courtesy B. Casells

HTMA Membership

Your membership dues serve an excellent

purpose, and are much appreciated. You

can renew on-line at:

http://www.huntsvillefolk.org/paypal.htm

or by sending a check made out to “HTMA”

to Treasurer Pat Long, 414 McClung

Avenue, Huntsville, AL 35801.

HTMA Member Performance

Opportunities

Jim England schedules several

performances each month for members.

However, we seldom are able to book more

than a month in advance. Here are the

events scheduled for July. Please contact

Jim if you plan to attend:

Greene Street Market

Downtown Huntsville

Thursday July 4 4:30 to 7:30 PM

Elmcroft Assisted Living

8020 Benaroya Ln

Saturday July 6 at 3:00 PM

Harborchase Retirement Home

4801 Whitesports Circle

Saturday July 13 at 10:30 AM

Regency Retirement Village

2004 Max Luther Dr.

Saturday July 27 at 3:00 PM

HTMA collected $1,600 for the Dan Charles

Memorial fund. Huntsville Youth Orchestra

has seven orchestras and about 200

students each year with playing level ranges

from beginning string players to very

advanced full orchestras. Many students

desperately want to participate but have

very little in the way of financial resources.

No student is ever turned away due to lack

of financial resources. All collected Dan

Charles Memorial funds will sponsor HYO

students in need for the 2019-2020 year.

http://www.huntsvillefolk.org/paypal.htm

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Upcoming HTMA

Coffeehouse Openers

By Jerry LeCroy

The HTMA Coffeehouse continues to

feature members and member bands

opening for most shows.

The July coffeehouse will open with

former HTMA president Jack Ellis. Jack

grew up in Texas and learned a lot of

the hill country style of music before

emigrating first to Delaware and then

Huntsville, where he chaired the history

department at UAH. Jack has backed up

many HTMA members with his fine

finger-style guitar, but really shines

when he is performing classic Woody

Guthrie or Tom Paxton tunes.

The August coffeehouse will open with

HTMA president Lynne Edmondson and

her husband Steve Edmondson.

14 A group of HTMA players at Magnolia Trace in June 2019 ((photo courtesy B. Cassels)

15 Bob And Patti Heinisch playing the June 2019 HTMA Coffeehouse (Photo courtesy J. LeCroy)

16 Charelle Hudgins with Milltowne at the June 2019 Coffeehouse (photo courtesy J. LeCroy)

13 Kay and Don Corder at the February 2019 Coffeehouse (photo courtesy J. LeCroy)

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Cowboys in Bluegrass

Music by Wayne Erbsen 2016

As a kid, I desperately wanted to be a

cowboy. I dreamed of owning a horse,

riding the range, and doing what cowboys

did. And why wouldn’t I? Every night I

slept under a cowboy blanket and my lunch

box was fully decorated with a decal of a

handsome cowboy twirling his lariat.

Growing up at the dawn of the age of

television, all my heroes were cowboys:

Hopalong Cassidy, Shane, Roy Rogers,

Gene Autry and John Wayne. I watched

“Gunsmoke,” “Have Gun Will Travel,”

“The Rifleman” and “Bonanza” while eating

my TV dinner. My favorite actor was Gary

Cooper, whose riveting role in the movie

“High Noon” knocked my socks off.

Of course, back then the entire country

seemed to be smitten with everything

cowboy. But we can’t just blame Hollywood

and the Marlborough man for the popularity

of the cowboy as a cultural icon. As early as

1893, noted historian Frederick Jackson

Turner wrote an influential paper entitled

“The Significance of the Frontier in

American History.” Turner convincingly

argued that the idea of the frontier was

crucial in helping to define the American

character. Since then, historians have been

hotly debating the merits of Turner’s claims

of the importance of the West in American

history.

For now, we’ll leave that argument to the

historians. What I’m interested in knowing

is how the idea of the cowboy influenced

country music in general, and bluegrass

music in particular. Stick with me here as I

outline some of the ways the idea of

cowboys and the wild west snuck into our

national consciousness.

Theodore Roosevelt - In 1884, New Yorker

Roosevelt decided he wanted to live the life

of a cowboy, so he bought a cattle ranch in

the Badlands of the Dakota Territory and

fashioned himself into a cowboy. While

having a friendly drink at a local saloon,

Roosevelt was bullied by a man who

thought the newcomer was a city-slicking

sissy. In the fist fight that followed,

Roosevelt proved his mettle, and beat the

man into believing that Teddy was as tough

as the Rough Rider he soon became. When

Roosevelt eventually became President,

politician Mark Hannah is said to have

snorted, “Now look! That damned cowboy

is President of the United States.”

Dime Novels - As early as 1860, the

publishers Erastus and Irwin Beadle released

a series of cheap paperback books called

“Beadle's Dime Novels.” These and other

publications flooded the market with hair-

raising stories of brave cowboys and

frontiersmen fighting off wild Indians to

save beautiful maidens.

Buffalo Bill Cody, a hero of many Dime

Novels, started his own Wild West shows

beginning in around 1883. These wildly

popular Western extravaganzas helped to

popularize the idea of the cowboy and the

Page | 10

wild west both in America, England and

even in Europe.

Books - Owen Wister became known as the

father of western fiction with his many

books, including “The Virginian” (1902).

Zane Gray followed suit with a series of

immensely popular books including “Riders

of the Purple Sage” (1912). His success

helped fuel an entire industry of western

books.

Movies - The first feature movie was a

western, “The Great Train Robbery” (1903).

Westerns were popular throughout the silent

film era. From 1915-1925 William S. Hart

dominated western films. Then came Tom

Mix, who appeared in 291 western films

between 1909 and 1935.

Music - In 1925 Carl T. Sprague recorded an

authentic cowboy song entitled “When the

Work’s All Done This Fall.” It sold a

staggering 900,000 copies at a time when

most people didn’t even own a record

player. Jimmy Rodgers, known as “the

father of country music,” recorded at least

seven cowboy songs in his short career and

frequently performed in cowboy garb. His

hits included “T For Texas,” and he even

built a home in Kerrville, Texas.

Gene Autry. Anyone looking for the single

biggest reason why country music embraced

the image of the cowboy needs to look no

further than the career of Gene Autry. He

singlehandedly changed the look of country

music from the hillbilly in overalls to the

cowboy in a white hat. As one of the most

influential entertainers of all time, he

virtually created and popularized the singing

cowboy that took Hollywood and the nation

by storm.

Here, in brief, is how this transformation

took place. Sears Roebuck wanted to

enhance its national audience, so it

purchased the WLS National Barn Dance in

Chicago. During the Great Depression, the

country was in sore need of heroes, so the

marketing department at Sears hit on the

idea of promoting the image of a clean, right

living cowboy hero to sell their products.

With the stage set for a western hero, in

walks Gene Autry in 1931. A likeable

performer who was born in Texas, he started

dressing like a cowboy for personal

appearances shortly after he joined the WLS

Barn Dance. Interestingly enough, he bought

his first cowboy outfit from Sears Roebuck.

Ironically, his first big hit, “Silver Haired

Daddy of Mine,” was not a cowboy song,

but a mountain song.

Jumping on the band wagon, Sears soon

produced a plethora of cowboy products,

including the “Roundup Guitar.” In 1935,

Patsy Montana became the first female

performer to have a million-selling record

with her “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s

Sweetheart.” In 1934, Gene Autry left the

WLS Barn Dance for Hollywood to star in

“In Old Santa Fe.” This began the era when

the singing cowboy dominated the big

screen.

Bill Monroe. In October1939, Bill Monroe

and the Bluegrass Boys joined the Grand

Ole Opry. In his first recording for RCA

Victor in1940, Monroe recorded Jimmy

Rodgers’ “Mule Skinner” Blues.” In a 1980

interview with the author, Bluegrass Boy

Cleo Davis remembered that Bill Monroe

and the Bluegrass Boys were the first

performers to play the Opry dressed in white

shirts, ties, and Stetson hats. Monroe’s

choice of attire for his Bluegrass Boys

Page | 11

wasn’t exactly the full-on “cowboy look,”

but it was close.

*******************************

Wayne Erbsen is a performer, author, radio

host and publisher. He has written two

books on cowboy songs including “Cowboy

Songs, Jokes, Lingo ‘n Lore” and “Outlaw

Ballads, Legends and Lore.” His cowboy

recordings include “Cowboy Songs of the

Wild Frontier” and “Authentic Outlaw

Ballads.” Check out his instruction books

for bluegrass banjo, clawhammer banjo,

mandolin, fiddle and guitar at

www.nativeground.com. If you would like

to receive a free Native Ground Books &

Music monthly enewsletter containing

articles, tips, tabs and discount coupons send

your name and email address to

info@nativeground.com.

17 Don Corder at the February 2019 Coffeehouse (Photo Courtesy J. LeCroy)

18 Mike Sheppard playing with Bob and Patti Heinisch at the June 2019 Coffeehouse (photo courtesy J. LeCroy)

19 Honeysuckle Blue at the February 2019 Coffeehouse (Photo Courtesy J. LeCroy)

20 Bob Heinisch is a fine old time fiddler

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21 George Williams running sound at one of the last coffeehouses before we upgraded to a digital mixer. (Photo Courtesy J. LeCroy)

22 Keating Johns was a featured vocalist with Milltowne at teh June 2019 coffeehouse (photo courtesy J. LeCroy)

23 Milltowne played to a packed house. (photo courtesy J. LeCroy)

24 Charelle Hudgins is always a star, wherever she performs

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Special Concert Coming up in October by Jerry LeCroy

In past years HTMA often produced a concert with

a nationally known artists as an annual project. It’s

been several years since the last big show – due

largely to the absence of volunteers to be the

executive producer, or “Concert Mommy”. We used

that title partly in jest, but also because producing a

successful concert seems to take about as much

effort as birthing a baby (though I expect some

Mom’s would disagree).

This year we are trying to re-start the concert

tradition, by bringing in West Coast blues artist and

teacher Mary Flowers. We are doing the larger-

scale concert in baby steps this time. The Mary

Flowers show will be at Burritt Museum, scheduled

like just another coffeehouse. However, there WILL

be noticeable differences.

To cover the cost of bringing in Mary from her

home town in Oregon, we will increase the door

charge to $20 instead of the usual $5 for adults, and

$10 for kids instead of free. We expect a sellout, so

we will allow fans to buy tickets in advance on the

website via PayPal.

Dave Gallaher (Microwave Dave) has generously

offered to support this project by opening for Mary

Flowers. The October gig will be a real treat!

HTMA will also sponsor a blues guitar workshop

with Mary Flowers the afternoon before the show.

A limited number of tickets for the combined

workshop and concert will be available $50.

Workshop seating will be limited to no more than

twenty.

Mary Flower Concert October 22nd

Save the date, October 22, for a very special guest,

Mary Flower. Mary will teach Blues and Ragtime

Guitar (Levels Adv. Beginning and up) from 1-3pm.

Then will take to the stage for our October Coffeehouse,

7-9 pm along with opener Microwave Dave. Watch our

website for advance tickets online. Mary has 40 years of

teaching, recording and touring under her belt and is the

artistic director for her own annual guitar intensive,

"Blues in the Gorge" near Portland, OR. Twice a Blues

Music Award nominee and a finalist at the International

Finger Picking Competition, find out more at:

www.maryflower.com There are few musicians in the

genre bringing as much creative spark and low-key mojo

to this century-old music… (Acoustic Guitar Magazine).

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGibsongal/videos

https://www.facebook.com/ragtimegal/?fref=ts

https://menucha.org/programs/blues

http://www.maryflower.com/https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGibsongal/videoshttps://www.facebook.com/ragtimegal/?fref=tshttps://menucha.org/programs/blues

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Do you have an item for sale? Are you looking for an instrument? Are you wanting to acquire, trade or sell musical gear, recordings, books,

get something repaired.... Do you need music lessons? Are you wanting to join or find a new group or band member? This section of our

newsletter is for members to place ads for services or instruments or anything related to music. It will be updated for each newsletter. If

you have an item or advertisement you would like to be published, please send an EMAIL (preferably before the fifteenth of the month) to

jelecroy@knology.net (Jerry) to have your listing included in the upcoming newsletter. In your email, fully describe what your offering or

looking for, and how you want users to contact YOU, via email, phone or both, etc. Once your listing or item is no longer active, please also

email webmaster@huntsvillefolk.org for removal of your listing. Please note that HTMA makes this service available to aid our users in

finding, trading or selling music items and services only - and we are not responsible for the completion or non-compliance of any

transactions between members.

Free to a good home – HTMA is retiring a couple old microphone stands. The stands are Hercules

and work okay, but the plastic is getting a bit sticky. Call or email Jerry if you’d like these items.

Page | 15

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Vance Sheffield has a number of copies of two LPs that HTMA [then the Huntsville Association of Folk

Musicians or HAFM] recorded in the early 1970s. Vance also has some records produced by TennVale in the

same time period, with collections of tunes by a number of country fiddlers of that era, and other LPs recorded

at the Galax convention. All of the albums came from the estate of Doug Crosswhite, owner of Tennvale

records and the engineer of the 1 & 2 HAFM albums.

The price for the HAFM albums is $15 per set for the AL 1 & 2 albums, free shipping, and $10 each for any

other albums, free shipping. Payment can be made through Paypal at helenhsheffield@aol.com or they can send

a check to:

Helen Sheffield,

PO Box 1342

Killen, AL 35645.

Phone #256-757-8370, Vance or Helen.