FolkMADS May - June 2009 Newsletter

New Mexico Folk Music & Dance Society

FolkMADS Newsletter

May - June 2009 Volume 12, Issue 3

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

The FolkMADS Calendar and Newsletter 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, admission is $7 for members, $8 for nonmembers. Students with ID receive half price admission and children up to 12 years of age are free. You need not come with a partner. Free instruction for beginners half an hour before the dance starts. Dances are smoke-free and alcohol-free. Children and teens are encouraged to participate if supervised by an adult.

Albuquerque Dances: 1st and 3rd Saturday contra dances, 7:30-10.30 p.m. Second Sunday Dance (English and Contra), 7:00-9:30 p.m. Heights Community Center, 823 Buena Vista SE (south of Lead/Coal).

Santa Fe Dances: 2nd and 4th Saturday contra dances, 7:30-10:30 p.m. Odd Fellows Hall, 1125 Cerrillos Road (south of Cordova Drive on the west side of Cerrillos). Take the train! Here's how.

Taos Dances: 3rd Saturdays, call for details, 776-1580.

ABQ Megaband: Albuquerque Megaband practice is held the Tuesday before the 3rd Saturday dance, at various locations. All acoustic musicians are welcome. Visit the Megaband page for more info and to add your email address to the listserv. Contact Bruce Thomson, 268-6003, or email Jane. We've been meeting at O'Niell's Pub lately , but it's always wise to check the current calendar for this month's location.

Santa Fe Community Band: Santa Fe Community Band holds practice at the ODD Fellows Hall on ODD (1^st and 3^rd) Wednesdays at 7 p.m. (contact Gary Papenhagen, 242-1104). Slow jam on the 2nd Thursday at 7 p.m. at Katherine Bueler & Gary Schiffmiller's house (995-1125). Beginning and experienced musicians all welcome.

2009 Officers/Directors

Ongoing Events

Quick Links

To email entire Board: folkmadsboardATyahoogroupsDOTcom	Membership: Rob Campbell 243-2225	Newsletter: Jane Phillips 898-2565
Contact information for all board members and committee chairs can be found via the "officers/directors" link above.

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It's a minor pain to take this extra step, but this has been the most successful spam prevention option we've tried. Thanks for your understanding!

About this newsletter: Additions are made to the online version of our newsletter as information becomes available to us, and so may be different in content from the print version. The format and look of this version will differ, as well. To cover all of our bases, we offer the option of printing the mailed paper version for those who prefer that. Click here for the printable PDF.

Heights Floor Reminders

Please remember to keep water bottles and other containers off the dance floor at the Heights Community Center. Also, when moving benches or chairs in the dance hall, be sure to lift and carry (get a buddy to help!). No dragging across the wood floor, please!

Our thanks to everyone for all your help in protecting the dance floor!

Help Wanted: Membership Coordinator

Rob Campbell has been handling our membership duties for the past couple of years (thanks Rob!!) and is now looking for someone to take over. The job requires approximately 2 hours a month, basic knowledge of Excel, good attention to detail, and the ability to organize little pieces of paper into meaningful data. If you’ve been dreaming of a volunteer position in FolkMADS that’s exciting, rewarding, and much appreciated, this one’s for YOU!! To express your interest or learn more about the job, please contact Rob, Jane, or the board, using the contact info above.

Did you know that you can now renew your membership for three years at a time?
It’s super convenient, and a little cheaper that way, too! See membership form.

FolkMADS in Cyberspace
You can find FolkMADS connections all over the internet. See the “Links” page to find YouTube videos of dance camps by Jim Boros, compilations of camp photos by Neil Glass, and music performances from NM and elsewhere posted by Judy Muldawer. You’ll also find links to FolkMADS on MySpace and Facebook. If you have related web media we should know about, send the info to Jane and she’ll add a link.

Be sure to check the “Special Events” page for information about and links to events in New Mexico and beyond.

Early Warning: No Heights Dance on July 4th
Watch for announcements about an event in Old Town that evening,
featuring Doc Litchman and the Megaband!

See "Upcoming Events" below for more info about Old Town performances that are part of the
ABQ Folk Festival & city of Albuquerque partnership.

Have you moved?
Changed phone numbers? Changed your e-mail address?
Keep FolkMADS up to date so you'll continue to receive the newsletter and we can contact you.
Contact Rob Campbell with your current info.

NOTE: Due to busy schedules, we're reprinting a past Tune of the Month article here. The following article about our own Wayne Shrubsall first appeared in 2006.

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Tune of the Month

Bruce Thomson

Wayne Shrubsall Though I've written brief profiles about many fiddlers, I haven't written much about banjo players in this column except for an occasional reference to their general personal characteristics that form the underpinnings of so many banjo jokes (Google gave me 300,000 hits on a search of "banjo" and "jokes"). Whether the jokes are justified or not, one of the best banjo players around is Wayne Shrubsall.

Wayne's been in Albuquerque for over 30 years, arriving here from Indiana after wandering around for a while through places like Wyoming. He's best known for picking with bluegrass bands such as the Big River Boys and Elliott's Ramblers, but he's playing more and more old timey music in the frailing style, mostly with the Adobe Brothers. He's been teaching banjo for decades, and there aren't many banjo players around who haven't taken a few lessons from him. In contrast to some of us, Wayne's actually got academic credentials in folk music and banjology having written a Ph.D. dissertation titled "The 5-String Banjo in American Popular Culture" (not "The Banjo as Sexual Icon" as claimed by some).

Wayne's recently been featured on two nationally released CDs, a compilation of bluegrass-clawhammer duets with the legendary Alan Munde (Old Friends, CD-OF), and Peter Feldman's CD tribute to Uncle Dave Macon titled Grey Cat on the Tennessee Farm (HC-504). The latter has a full band with some of the genre's top pickers and was named by the Chicago Tribune as one of the top 10 bluegrass albums of the year. Byron Berline plays fiddle on this CD which has a great version of Rye Straw. Some versions of this tune are pretty crooked, but this rendition isn't and would make a great dance tune.

ABC Notation

X:48
T:Rye Straw
M:C
L:1/8
S:Peter Feldman - Grey Cat on the Tennessee Farm
N:Hen Cackle Records HC-504
N:Transcribed by Bruce Thomson
K:D

|:"A"e3fe2ee|"D"defg edcd|"A"e3ee2ef|"D"gfed (3cdc Ac|"A"e3ee4|
"D"defd edef|gbfa edBd|"A"ceBd "D"cA3:||:"A"[E2A2][EA][EA]"D"[F2A2][FA][FA]|
"A"EFEC "D"B,C[E2A2]|"A"[E2A2][EA][EA]"D"[F2A2][FA][FA]|"A"EFAc (3BcB A2|
"A"[E2A2][EA][EA]"D"[F2A2][FA][FA]|"A"EFAc BcAF|"A"EFAB cdef|"D"gfed cBA2:|

Archive of featured ABC tunes can be found here.

If you don't already have an ABC player, here's a great site with lots of information about ABC notation
and links to freeware and shareware software you can download.

The Albuquerque Megaband is an open, all-volunteer, rockin' wall of sound
that plays every month at the 3rd Saturday dance in ABQ.

A big thank you to all the Megaband musicians!!

The ABQ Megaband currently meets on the Tuesday before the 3rd Saturday dances.
Check monthly calendars to verify location.

Visit the Megaband page for more info or to sign up for the Megaband listserv
for e-mail reminders of practice dates and dances.

Contacts: Bruce Thomson, 277-4729 or Jane Phillips, 898-2565

Upcoming FolkMADS Events
FolkMADness 2009 is coming right up! Featuring Two Fabulous Bands: Bag o’Tricks and The Privy Tippers Callers Kathy Anderson and Scott Higgs Song Leader Nils Fredland Roger Landes, Paige Grant, and Sean Etigson Memorial Day Weekend – May 22 - 25, 2009 at ‘New Mexico Tech,’ in Socorro, New Mexico Click here for the schedule and registration info.

Other Events of Interest

Friday evening, June 19, and all day Saturday, June 20 at the State Fairgrounds!
-- including our 3rd Saturday Megaband contra dance!

Click on the watermelon to go to the AAF website.

As part of the city's sponsorship of the ABQ Folk Festival, there will once again be performances by festival-affiliated bands and musicians - many FolkMADS members, as well - throughout the summer in Old Town Plaza and other venues around Old Town.

Check the schedule of performances and plan some fun evenings listening (and dancing!) to our local bands!

Lark in the Morning's World Music and Dance Celebration

July 31 - August 8, 2009
Mendocino Woodlands State Park, near Mendocino, California

Every kind of music imaginable! 17 dance teachers!! More than 80 instrumental and vocal instructors!!

See all the details at the camp's website.

FolkMADS Main Page

Newsletter archive

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Tune of the Month

FolkMADness 2009 is coming right up!