New Mexico Folk Music & Dance Society Calendar and Notes

July - August 2002 Volume 5, Issue 4

P.O. Box 40421, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87196-0421

The FolkMADS Calendar and Notes are published bimonthly by the New Mexico Folk Music and Dance Society, a nonprofit organization.

 

FolkMADS sponsors Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos contra dances, concerts, camps, and other special events. "Contra" dances include contras, squares, mixers, and couple dances. Unless noted on the calendar otherwise, admission is $5 for members, $6 for nonmembers, $3 for children. You need not come with a partner. Free instruction for beginners starts at 7:30 p.m. Most dances begin at 8 p.m. and are smoke-free and alcohol-free. Children and teens are encouraged to participate if supervised by an adult.

Albuquerque Dances 1st and 3rd Saturdays.
Heights Community Center, 823 Buena Vista SE, Albuquerque.

Occasionally dances are held at the Lloyd Shaw Dance Center; watch the calendar for details.
The Lloyd Shaw Dance Center is located at 5506 Coal SE in Albuquerque (2 blocks south of Central and 2 blocks east of San Mateo).

Santa Fe Dances 2nd and 4th Saturdays. Odd Fellows Hall, 1125 Cerrillos Road (south of Cordova Drive on the western side of Cerrillos).

Megaband Practices All musicians welcome.

Albuquerque: Albuquerque Megaband practice is held at the Blue Dragon Coffee House, 1517 Girard NE,Albuquerque, the Tuesday before the 3rd Saturday dance. Bruce Thomson, 268-6003.

Santa Fe: See calendar.

Acoustic Jam 7 p.m. before the Albuquerque dances. All acoustic musicians are welcome and all types of music are played. Call Jay Cutts for more information, 281-0684.

James Leva is a superb musician (fiddle, guitar, and banjo) who not only performs many classic tunes from the mountains of Virginia, North Carolina, and West Virginia, but also writes material which thoroughly captures the spirit of the old-time genre. Leva learned his material from musicians such as Tommy Jarrell, Edden Hammons, and Roscoe Holcomb.

Leva also grapples with the way in which he relates to traditional music as a player and composer. "Anybody that plays a traditionally based music constantly runs into questions about genre, purpose, and authenticity, because the current questions about what traditional music is are huge and wide open."

A home-made meal has the flavor of a loving touch. FolkMADS contra dances are home-made entertainment and that loving touch is a familiar taste with familiar faces on the stage making music. The fun is a little more fun because we are doing this in a circle of friends.

Most of the bands that perform at the dances are composed of local musicians and are in a regular rotation playing once or twice a year. But once a month in Albuquerque and somewhat less regularly in Santa Fe the music is by Megaband. Megaband is open to everyone, and musicians of all skill levels can enjoy playing for dances in an informal and sometimes rowdy atmosphere. The Megaband always plays dances for free, and much of this cost savings has been applied towards purchasing and maintaining high quality sound equipment for the dances.

When FolkMADS began sponsoring once-a-month contra dances in 1986, the Megaband was formed to provide music. The goal then was to save money for a sound system. The sound equipment they used was borrowed and to hear them tell it they struggled through something of a learning curve about how to play for dances. In the early 90s a second monthly dance was added in Albuquerque with the Megaband still playing for one of the monthly dances.

The core of the Albuquerque Megaband consists of musicians with a strong preference for old-time fiddle tunes. The musical common denominator leans towards Appalachian and southern fiddle tunes, however, tunes from other parts of the country are occasionally played. Once in a great while, some of the more adventurous fiddlers will even override the veto of the banjo players and the Megaband will play a jig. Perhaps half of the tunes are old-time standards and can be found in compilations of fiddle music such as the Fiddler's Fake Book, while the others are more recently composed. Bruce Thompson passes some of these tunes around in this newsletter.

The Albuquerque Megaband is nominally led by David Margolin with assistance from Bruce Thomson, however, the group really is mostly anarchistic, according to Bruce. The band practices on the Tuesday before the third Saturday dance, usually (but check the calendar) at the Blue Dragon coffee shop (1517 Girard NE). This is a fun venue for pickers and listeners alike.

About ten years ago, a Santa Fe Megaband came together with support from a number of Albuquerque musicians. This group drew from the spirit of fun and openness of the Albuquerque Megaband, but the musical flavor includes Northern varieties of Celtic, French Canadian and New England tunes along with the Appalachian styles reflecting the tastes of the local scene. Many of these tunes are found in the Portland Collection, a book of tunes that grew out of the contra dance community in Portland, Oregon.

Santa Fe Megaband has played once every other month in recent times. Robin Brown provided energetic leadership and cohesion for a number of years for the group. Now she is hosting a slow jam most Wednesdays to encourage novice players (call Robin 474.7751 for details) and she also still plays with the Megaband.

Anna Richards and I are sharing the reins of the group at the moment. Some upcoming practices are at Anna's on Tuesdays, July 2 and 9. Contact me for directions and details. The Santa Fe Megaband next appears on July 13 where we will celebrate the Stickneys' farewell. Longtime megabander Cary Stickney is departing for a year. He and the Stairwell Sisters will grace us with a few gospel favorites at the break and perhaps there will be a parting sermonette by Brother Cary.

Come to a Megaband practice and you'll find tunes are usually selected by somebody calling its name or just leading into it. Everyone gets a chance to share favorite tunes and ones that catch the group's fancy tend to get played at the dances. Tune selection during dances is accomplished in a similar manner, however, one of the leaders tries to make sure the tunes fit the dance being called.

I encourage all musicians and anyone who would like to learn to play traditional music for contra dancing to join a Megaband. There is no commitment required, no dues, and just a little homework. Experienced musicians enjoy the opportunity to play old tunes, learn new ones, and visit with friends. The regulars also receive a great deal of satisfaction in helping new players develop their skills, learn new tunes and techniques, and become tune junkies. For newcomers, the Megaband is a place to soak up musical ideas. Although there's no formal instruction, folk music is mostly learned by listening and doing, and the Megabands provide an easy going environment for doing both.

(a tip-o-the hat to Bruce Thompson who contributed to this article)

The Canote Brothers

The Canote Brothers (Greg & Jere) played a concert in Albuquerque last month on the Thursday just before dance camp which was terrific. Friday we took 'em to the Frontier for a breakfast burrito, then at noon a bunch of the local pickers gathered at the UNM Duck Pond for a couple hours of tunes. I had a tune sucker (i.e. tape recorder) and got a bunch of good ones. Here are a couple that really quacked the ducks up.

ABC Format

X:19

T:Big Footed Man in the Sandy Lot

R:Reel

M:4/4

L:1/8

N:From Greg Canote

K:G

|:gage gagf|edBcd4|e3gadBc|[f3d3][fd][f4d4]|gage

gagf|

edBcd4|BAGB AGED|[B3G3][BG][B4G4]::G2BG

AGBG|AGEFG4|

e3gedBc|d3dd4|gage gagf|edBcd4|BAGB

AGFD|[B3G3][BG][B4G4]:|

X:21

T:Hale's Rag

R:Reel

M:4/4

L:1/8

N:From Greg Canote

K:C

|z4z2ef|:geag egeg|agag eg-g2|cAdc AcAc|dcdc

Ac-c2|

G2BG AB-B2|G2BG AB-B2|cBcB cdef|g3gg2ef|geagegeg|

agageg-g2|cAdc AcAc|dcdc Ac-c2|G2BG AB-B2|G2BG

AB-B2|

cBcB ge3|[1c3cc2ef:|[2c3cc2AB|]|:cAdc AcAc|dcdc

Ac-c2|

C2EC DCA,C|ECDC

A,C3|G,A,B,2B,3A,|G,A,B,2B,2(3G,A,B,|[1C2C2DE3|G3GG2AB:|

[2G(3DEF G2AB|c3cc4|]c'2b2agcd|eg2e agcd|e2e3cd2|

c3cc4|c'2b2agcd|eg2e

agag|b2bb-bab2|d'8|c'2b2agcd|

eg2e agcd|e2e3cd2|c4c2B2|A,G,A,B,

CB,CD|EC2A,3cd|ee2e2cd2|c8|]

Some of the roughest dancing on the floor appears to be from misguided attempts to help those who are having difficulty. Helping others in the context of a dance is a skill, but the most important point is that less s more. Less talking so that the dancer can hear the caller, less pushing because it is stressful, and cheerfully ignoring mistakes so that those who make them can see that they are perfectly okay. Often dancers can help the most by simply dancing well. That means being in the right place and on time, being gentle with our neighbors, and greeting everyone with a smile.

(reprinted from Fort Collins Dance)