Mæander

Songs Released in the Listening Room!

2011-05-01T18:32:00.005-04:00

Posted by Jenny
In honor of the 25^th Annual Pickle Festival which took place over the weekend in Mount Olive, North Carolina, we are releasing two of our original songs. The first, entitled “Kosher Dill Love”, is a folk ballad with a jug-band feel chronicling the romance of two pickle-lovers who meet at the New Year’s Eve Pickle Drop.

The second is a simple children’s song written about God’s glorious creation entitled “God Made Me and You.” Jenny came up with this one while walking to campus one beautiful spring day while she was still in grad school.

A third song, a cover of Melanie Safka’s “Look What They’ve Done to My Song, Ma” will be released via Jenny’s Facebook page. All teched-out, this song features a cameo appearance by David’s father, Charlie, and illustrates what happens when studios distort an artist’s original musical intentions. Be sure to check out Melanie’s original version of the song, too!

Visit our Listening Room to hear our original songs.

45th Annual Spring Suzuki Festival Concert

2011-04-30T21:22:00.002-04:00

Posted by Jenny

On Saturday, April 30th, the Greenville Suzuki Association held its 45^th Annual Spring Suzuki Festival Concert in Fletcher Recital Hall at East Carolina University. I had the pleasure of leading the group in the folk song Go Tell Aunt Rhody. The final piece was led by my Suzuki Pedagogy professor, Mrs. Joanne Bath. Accompanied by her husband, pianist Dr. Charles Bath, she led everyone from the high school seniors to the three year old Pre-Twinklers in Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, so that everyone could enjoy the final applause. Check out the video below!

63rd Annual Merritt Reunion

2011-04-18T14:07:00.004-04:00

Posted by Jenny

We are thankful that our friends and families were not touched by the historic tornado outbreak that wreaked havoc across North Carolina on Saturday, April 16, 2011. David and I were in church celebrating the Palm Sunday vigil service when the storms hit our area. Torrential rain poured down over the church before shifting to hail and almost drowning out Deacon’s homily. But the worst soon passed and we thank God that we didn’t experience worse than we did. Many in the old north state were not so fortunate and our hearts go out to them.

So needless to say, we were especially happy to see friends and family at the 63^rd Annual Merritt Reunion at Trinity United Methodist Church on Sunday, April 17^th. We are not kinfolk of the Merritt family, but we love them just the same! I have played for their reunion service several times in the past, although I haven’t been able to go in quite some time. I’m happy that I was able to make it down and see everyone, play a little while, and of course, partake of a delicious pot-luck picnic.

Listed in the program as the Clear Run Pickers because we all jam together at Clear Run Grocery, we entertained the family with old time and bluegrass gospel tunes House of Gold, They’re Holdin’ Up the Ladder, The Old Cross Road, and Will the Circle Be Unbroken.

Wahl-Coates Violin Recital

2011-04-11T19:24:00.007-04:00

Posted by Jenny

I recently had the pleasure of helping my very first violin students perform in their very first recital. The group, which I co-taught with other ECU Suzuki Pedagogy students, demonstrated for their parents and schoolmates the various exercises they have learned: clapping and singing rhythmic variations; standing in rest position and moving to playing position; bow control exercises; and playing two rhythmic variations on the open E string. I’m quite proud of all that these dear preschoolers have accomplished since October 2010! (I think their parents were, too!) You can watch an excerpt from the program below!

Gillian’s Winter Recital

2011-01-23T20:56:00.005-05:00

Posted by Jenny

Our niece, Gillian, played her first solo pieces on violin at her recent Winter Recital. She played a piece called Rigaudon and a French traditional song. Bravo!

April Verch Concert and Canadian Fiddle Workshop

2011-01-16T19:54:00.004-05:00

Posted by Jenny

After hammering away together for two solid weeks on a multimedia project, David and I knew we wanted to do a little something extra special for our nice, long, 3-day weekend as a way to reward all the extra effort we exerted. I checked around online, especially with Our State magazine and discovered that the April Verch Band would be in Oriental, NC on Saturday the 15^th. We put that on our list of ideas, thinking it could include a stopover in New Bern.

Then, on my way to Suzuki class, I saw a beautiful, lush green poster that caught my eye on a bulletin board in the music building. Lo and behold, April and her band were scheduled to play at the Turnage Theatre in Washington on Friday night, which made it convenient for us to go there after we got off of work; And, to make things even more special, they advertised that she would be presenting a Canadian fiddle workshop the next morning. Right then I knew what our plans for the weekend would entail and I ordered tickets as soon as I had the chance.

It was a great show, and we both highly recommend that you see them if you ever have the opportunity. April is a super nice person with a sugary sweet voice and she’s very enthusiastic about sharing her music, dancing, and culture; she’s a fantastic fiddler, and the guys playing with her, Cody Walters on bass and Clay Ross on guitar, are awesome, too.

The guitarist brought out a curious percussion instrument- a set of kosikas- which look like two egg shakers connected by a rope. I think some of the folks in the audience weren’t quite sure what to think of those- but I think they were quickly won over by his skill and intricate rhythms. Even David had never seen those before and he’s seen some really strange instruments given his Latin percussion background. Needless to say he’s got a new item on his wish list.

Here’s a brief clip of April’s Ottawa Valley Step Dancing combined with Clay’s kosikas set to Cody’s claw-hammer banjo.

After the show we got autographs on our poster as well as the CD and songbook we bought and headed out on our long journey home. Our late night was followed by an early morning so we could get back to Washington on time for the fiddle workshop. I wondered how many people would attend since I don’t always see a lot of fiddlers around at jams, but there actually were several fiddlers and violinists there of various skill levels.

During the first part of the workshop, April talked a bit about the regional styles of Canadian fiddling. Having been introduced to Natalie MacMaster’s music by David’s uncle Duane, I was pretty familiar with the Cape Breton style (which sounds much like Scottish music because the area was settled primarily by Scottish immigrants) but I knew nothing of French-Canadian or Métis style fiddling. And, interestingly enough, the Old Time music of Canada is not quite as old as the American Old Time music. It was all really quite interesting. I found an article in The Canadian Encyclopedia which explains a bit about Canadian regional fiddle styles if you’re interested in further reading. (I’m not going to spoil it for anyone else who wants to go to one of her workshops).

After that, she taught us all a tune called Jonah’s First Change. I learned that in dancing, the first change (or set of steps) is always a jig, so the tune could also be called Jonah’s Jig. I really enjoyed the workshop because I learned a bit of history, I learned a new tune, and April was a very kind, positive, and knowledgeable person to learn from. I highly recommend it to anyone else interested in fiddling!

Ringing in the New Year

2011-01-02T16:34:00.031-05:00

Posted by Jenny

We rang in the 2011 in a very special way this year. It all started with surprising my Dad with an unexpected visit from my sister Trish a few days after Christmas. Immediately after The Great Elvis Sing-Along, David and I arranged to meet my parents at a local restaurant for dinner on the spur of the moment since we were “out driving around to look at all the beautiful snow” which we got about a foot of the day after Christmas and lingered around for several days. He and I were to entertain Mom and Dad until Trish and my other sister Sherri could arrive at the restaurant.

Just as we see Trish’s van pull up in the parking lot and the two of them get out, Dad suddenly stands up and turns around. Worried that the whole thing is about to be botched, suddenly a car alarm goes off adding to the melee. Dad fumbled in his pocket, turned off his car alarm which had gone off as he stood up, and then reached for the ketchup on the adjacent table. Meanwhile Trish and Sherri are already in the restaurant trying not to laugh as they waited for him to turn around. Trish walked up to him and the shock was all over his face. It was one of those priceless moments as the shock turned to joy and I think he might’ve even got a little teary-eyed.

Trish, being from Florida and never seeing something so ridiculous, was excited about going to the Mount Olive Pickle Drop for New Year’s Eve so the whole family went out and enjoyed free pickles, cocoa, and music by Samantha Casey and the Bluegrass Jam. At the dropping of the pickle at 7pm (Midnight, Greenwich Mean Time), a bagpiper piped Auld Lang Syne. After sharing dinner together, we parted ways as Trish had to “return to Florida” early the next morning.

Or so Dad thought. In reality, she was heading to the VFW hall in Mount Olive to get ready for Dad’s 75^th Birthday Surprise Party. It was the plan all along, and even amid several near-misses, somehow the secret managed to stay secret and Dad didn’t have a clue about the party. In fact, that became quite obvious as all the guests were gathered for the party and the guest of honor didn’t arrive on time. Finally I called Mom after they were several minutes late and here is how the conversation went:

Ring, Ring, Ring.
Mom: A scratchy voice whispers “Hello?”
Jenny: “Mom, what’s wrong with your voice? Are you sick?”
Mom: “No, it does that of a morning.”
Jenny: “Huh? Are you still in bed? You need to get out here, everybody’s waiting. You were supposed to get Dad here at 12:30!”
Mom: “Oh God I set the alarm and it didn’t go off! Barney, get up and get dressed, we’ve got to go to that luncheon!”
Click.

See, Dad was under the impression he was going to a free New Year’s Day luncheon for veterans at the VFW and had to provide proof of his veteran status. Mom had to figure a way to get him inside first- he’s such a gentleman that he always opens the door for her. She said, “You go first, I might not know any of those people.” It ended up being quite a joke later on since every one there was a dear friend. And when he finally arrived, wearing his VFW cap, boy was he surprised when everyone there started singing, “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow!” as he walked in the door.

He was in such a state of shock that he went around shaking hands with all the guests, including Trish who he shook hands with and didn’t even recognize. It wasn’t until he met up with his cousin and sister that he finally realized the party must actually be for him. After he had greeted everyone, I walked up to him to give him a hug and ask if he was surprised. He said, “Yeah. Boy it’s too bad Trish had to leave this morning, it would have been nice if she could have stayed.” I was so startled that he had missed her and I exclaimed, “Dad, she’s right over there! This is the whole reason she came up here at all!” Once it dawned on him and he saw her across the room he went right over for a hug.

After that, we had a delicious traditional New Year’s Day meal of ham, collards, and black eyed peas (made by my fantastic mother in law who can cook anything well even if she’s never done it before) and after lunch, all the friends gathered in a circle to play bluegrass and gospel tunes.

Above: The Infamous Davids

Above: The Lovely Mandolin Section: Wanda Tatum and Deborah Owen

Above: Millard Owen- Bass Player, Singer, and Comic Relief :)

The Great Elvis Sing Along

2010-12-29T15:49:00.004-05:00

Posted by Jenny

It all began as a simple joke gift to David’s father, Charlie. We couldn’t resist the humor in giving the long-time Elvis fan a plug-and-play Karaoke set complete with a sing-along DVD of Elvis’ Christmas hits. It became an even bigger hit with our nieces after Christmas as they sang their little hearts out to Blue Christmas.

Cinnamon Apple Sauce Christmas Ornaments

2010-12-26T13:59:00.000-05:00

Posted by Jenny

Remember I told you about making ornaments from cinnamon and apple sauce? Well, I spent Christmas Eve day relaxing by making a few of my own!

The Barnes Bluegrass Christmas Party: Bizzarro Edition

2010-12-21T15:28:00.002-05:00

Posted by Jenny

It’s an annual tradition dating back to the time I was in middle school and, though the crowd of musicians has changed over time, it has always been the highlight of my holiday season, filled with fond memories: The Barnes Bluegrass Christmas Party.

This year included the attack of the Bizzarro Glasses courtesy of Archie McPhee. They were a joke gift to our family members last Christmas and my mom has used them all year to play jokes on all of her doctors, physical therapists, favorite waitresses and cashiers. Now was the time to trick all of her friends!

As each couple arrived for the party, she greeted them at the door wearing her beautiful optical wear. Results ranged from blushes of embarrassment to shouts of “Oh, my goodness!” Needless to say, she got the reaction she hoped for. The goal from that point on was to convince as many friends as possible to wear the hideous things. It was a happy evening!

The Malpass Brothers live at R.A. Fountain

2010-12-19T16:33:00.009-05:00

Posted by Jenny
We had the delight of experiencing the Malpass Brothers live at R. A. Fountain. Things almost got out of hand when the brothers sang “If you’ve got the money, honey, I’ve got the time.” An older woman from the audience ran up to them waving dollar bills and stuffing them into their beautifully embroidered western shirts. Needless to say, it was a fun and eventful evening!

While we were at R.A. Fountain, a book caught our friend Libby’s attention and I got a chuckle out of watching Libby reading a book written about someone named Zibby. I couldn’t resist, so here’s a photo.

On a side note, he probably won’t remember, but Chris Malpass and I were in the same banjo class at our local community college when I was 14 or so and he was 11 or so. On the first day of class I got in trouble; someone from admissions came to class to ask me to leave because I was too young to be enrolled. My mom, feisty as she is, put up a fight; “I paid the money, she isn’t disrupting anything, and there’s a boy over there younger than my daughter.” Apparently the Malpass family had the foresight to register Chris under his father’s name because their situation was more easily overlooked. Exasperated, the woman looked at me and asked how old I was. I don’t like to lie and am sometimes naïve, so I said, “I’m 14.” “No, honey, how old are you? I finally caught her drift and shifted my feet nervously. Sighing, she scribbled something on my admissions form and said as she turned to walk out the door, “If anyone asks, you were born in 1978.”

Moonlighting… or more aptly, Noonlighting

2010-12-17T17:11:00.001-05:00

Posted by Jenny

Just as I’ve begun to feel that I’ve stretched myself much too thin, a busy fall semester has come to a close just in time for a much-needed and quite longed-for Christmas vacation. What’s been keeping me so busy this fall? I am happily enrolled in the Suzuki Pedagogy Graduate Certificate program in the School of Music, which trains violinists to be violin teachers in the Suzuki Method.

This style of teaching focuses on starting young (as early as age 3), learning by ear before learning to read music (using our innate learning skills known as the “mother tongue” method), and creating a positive environment in which the parent, student, and teacher are all equally important in order for the young musician to blossom. It’s also the method by which I began studying violin with Joanne Melvin when I was 8 years old.

It’s been a great semester; I’ve met wonderfully kind and wonderfully talented new people, I’ve had the delight of learning from Joanne Bath, who is one of the first few teachers using the Suzuki Method in the United States, and it’s given me a welcome respite from the worries of the current economic climate. Classes are held twice a week so I’ve been going during my lunch break, hence the “noonlighting”. I am also now a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas- complete with membership card!

I soon learned of an opportunity to teach violin on a volunteer basis barely a hop and a skip away from my office. A program for pre-kindergarten children at a nearby elementary school allows ECU students the opportunity to practice their teaching skills while providing free violin lessons to 3 and 4 year olds three days a week. So there went the lunch breaks for my other 3 days. But it has been worth it. I’ve learned what it’s like to work with 3 and 4 year olds, and they’ve learned a lot about violin and showed tremendous progress since they began.

Working with other ECU students, we split the class into three smaller groups so there were fewer children per teacher. I have been working with four delightful little girls. At first, I had a bit of trouble with one little girl. Often I would try to show her how to do something and she would jerk away and say, “Let me do it.” After much thought, I realized that she’s just a very independent girl and wants to do things on her own. Realizing this, I changed things up and said, “let me help you one time, and then you can do it by yourself,” or in activities where we would clap hands, and I would want to help her clap by clapping her hands, I would let her clap my hands (as long as she was doing it correctly) so she felt that she had a little more control. That minor adjustment has made a world of difference and we now work much better together; at times she will even say, “You can help me.”

We Suzuki student teachers got quite a treat one day. During the time normally scheduled for violin lessons, the children performed a nursery rhyme play for their family, schoolmates, and other teachers. It was fun watching the children dress up and act out the various nursery rhymes which they had rehearsed so thoroughly, such as Little Miss Muffett, This Little Piggy, and Hey Diddle, Diddle. Since it was an open event and people were taking photos, I took a few myself. You can see a snapshot of them performing the Itsy Bitsy Spider below. They did a great job and I was quite proud of them.

As if all of this wasn’t enough to keep me busy this semester, I decided to play with the choir at St. Mary’s for the Christmas Eve mass. The pieces we will play are all quite beautiful and it has been a wonderful exercise for getting back into the practice of reading music, given as I have played primarily by ear for the last several years.

As a side note, I learned from the Pre-K teachers that you can make aromatic Christmas ornaments from dough composed of equal parts of cinnamon and apple sauce. Simply mix it, roll it flat, and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Be sure to cut a little hole for a string or ribbon and let the shapes dry out. They’ll stay hard for years and smell of cinnamon. I bought the materials last night and plan to try that project sometime during my break.

My vacation officially starts now, and I plan to keep busy with relaxing, visiting with family and friends, and trying out new projects like those cinnamon-apple sauce ornaments.

We wish you the Merriest of Christmases and the Happiest of New Years!

God bless us, every one!

III Century Singers Christmas Concert

2010-12-07T20:57:00.004-05:00

Posted by Jenny

We had the good fortune of attending the III Century Singers concert again this year, this time at the First Baptist Church in Mt. Olive. The pieces were beautiful and for the first half of the performance, the group was accompanied by a string quartet. The harmonious voices of the singers combined with the acoustics of the church sanctuary created a phenomenal sound. It was such a full and round sound, that when I tried to put into words what I was hearing, all I could come up with was the mental image of a giant golden sphere hovering in the air above me, shining brightly. You could say what I envisioned was much like Harry Potter’s golden snitch, without the wings and not remotely so frantic.

Dancing by Starlight

2010-12-03T22:47:00.008-05:00

Posted by Jenny

He was dressed in a sophisticated black suit and a blue shirt, wearing the tie she gave him for Christmas last year. She was wearing a beautiful new blue dress and the lovely sapphire jewelry he gave her a few Christmases ago. The handsome young gentleman escorted his loving wife to the dance floor, and together they swayed with the music.

Then he twirled her under his arm. Her golden hair caught on the buttons of his jacket sleeve. She followed through, hoping to come disentangled, but it was not to be. Wondering why she was not standing upright, the dashing young man felt a tug at his sleeve and, seeing his young wife bent over connected at his arm, he untangled her hair from his buttons quickly as possible, which naturally must have felt like an eternity to the young couple in the midst of a dance floor beneath the sparkling glitter ball.

They regained their composure and finished the rest of the song, but as it ended and they retreated red-faced to their seats to sit out the next song, an elderly gentleman pointed to them and said, “That’s what happens when you try to get fancy!”

Other than that little episode, we had a wonderful time at the Starlight Christmas Dance. We especially appreciated the local businesses who donated decorations, food and beverages for the evening. Thanks to: Excel Linde, Uncle Yammy’s Rib Shack, Pepsi Co., Wilbur’s Barbecue, and all the other sponsors for making the evening delightful- and delicious!

Downtown Lights Up and the NC Symphony Holiday Pops

2010-11-23T22:36:00.009-05:00

Posted by Jenny

After watching as Goldsboro Mayor Al King flipped the switch to turn on the Christmas lights, and making our special requests to old St. Nick at Downtown Lights Up, we had the wonderful experience of enjoying the North Carolina Symphony’s Holiday Pops concert at Paramount Theatre with our parents.

It was a wonderful concert, complete with sing-along. We even spied a certain someone singing along whom I shall not embarrass by writing about here, but suffice it to say he is usually not ever caught singing. He must have been caught up in the Christmas spirit! Dad left his baton at home, but did a fair amount of light conducting to several of the pieces. Some folks tap their feet, my dad gently conducts the music.

For an encore, they played the rousing rendition of Sleigh Ride which I adore. Mom wanted to know what was making the whip sound and I pointed to the percussionist in the back corner holding an instrument which looked like two boards connected by a hinge. Mom laughed and said, “Hey, I think I found an instrument I could play!”

Essay: Our Summer Vacation

2010-08-03T13:02:00.043-04:00

Posted by Jenny

Hey Friends!
Autumn doesn’t begin until September 23rd but when Independence Day passes and August comes on, we can’t get help but get that “back-to-school” feeling; especially since we both work in higher education! But of course when we were kids and school still started in September, back-to-school did mean fall was here; or fast approaching anyway. So even though autumn is still more than a month off, and school still doesn’t start for a couple weeks, we hope you are enjoying the last of the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer before the night chill sets in and thoughts turn to spiced cider, candy corn, and Christmas lists.

That being said, we haven’t written to you nearly as much as we would have liked to this summer. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t been busy! Like you, we’ve been enjoying our fun in the sun and we even squeezed in a family vacation to the mountains.

We kicked off our vacation with the annual fireworks display at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. This year’s entertainment featured Gator Allmond and the Spice of Life. I really enjoyed their performance. They had a tight and polished sound and I love any music with funk done right. I couldn’t find a website for Gator and his crew, but here’s an article where you can learn more about them.

Above: Gator Allmond and the Spice of Life.

The next morning we set out for beautiful, quaint Maggie Valley, North Carolina. My parents used to take my siblings and I there almost every summer and with my sister Trish and nephew Sean visiting, we all made the trek together. It sure was refreshing to breathe cool mountain air in early July!

Above: Sean, Trish, Jenny, Trudy, Barney, and Sherri wait for their train.

One of the highlights of the trip was our family excursion on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. The trip from Bryson City to Nantahala Outdoor Center offered beautiful views of the mountains and Fontana Lake. At the depot, before the train departed, a bluegrass band from Bryson City who call themselves the Barn Cats performed high-powered train tunes and lively old-time songs for the waiting passengers. They were good. If only I had my fiddle with me!

After the train returned to Bryson City we visited the Smoky Mountain Trains toy train museum which, next to wading in the Oconoluftee River in Cherokee, was probably the highlight of my trip. Trains of every scale filled the museum, and a huge model train layout with dozens of trains and tracks filled an entire room. And no toy train museum would be complete without a hobo encampment. When I look at this scene, I can almost hear the hobo with the guitar in the boxcar singing “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues” by Chris Thomas King off of the Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack.
When vacation ended, that by no means put an end to our musical meanderings. Pickin’ in the Park was soon to follow. If you recall from last year, I was almost disappointed not to have the 9 o’clock train roll through as is customary. Well, it more than made up for it this time. The engine came through early as we were just getting started about 6:30. Apparently it was on its way to hitch up the cars because around 8:30 it rolled by again… and kept rolling… and rolling… I’m not sure how many cars were on that train. (Enough, I reckon, to take two hours to hitch up). But after a little break, we were right back to the banjo breakdowns.

Above: "Look a yonder comin', comin' down that railroad track. It's the Orange Blossom Special bringin' my baby back."

Last weekend, Mom’s cousins were visiting from Tennessee and we wanted to give them a grand night out. It just so happened that they timed their trip perfectly- they were here for the last Saturday of the month. And you know what that means. Yup, I got to go jam at Clear Run. For those who don’t recall, Clear Run is an old grocery on the Black River in Sampson County and is my favorite bluegrass jam. I don’t go as often as I like because it’s about an hour and a half drive from home. It was a great night, too. David brought his guitar and we had a great time jamming with friends both old and new. And of course we had to play Rocky Top for our Tennessee crew.

Above: The Little Wharvey Gals. Just kidding! Cousins Linda, Trudy, and Novella.

Orange Blossom Special: Round 2 (Amos missed it the first time!)

Well, time marches on and I must be off. Happy trails to you, until we meet again!

Aloha!

2010-04-23T09:51:00.009-04:00

Posted by Jenny

Aloha! I’m tickled hibiscus pink about the sweet gift my pilikua gave me for my la hanau!

I saw this ukulele in a pawn shop while buying a metal detector for my dad’s birthday and was smitten with the mother-of-pearl inlay (just like Emmett and the guitar in Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas.) In polite persistence I frequently reminded David (for four months) of what a pretty ukulele it is, not like a cheap toy but a real instrument- complete with, yes, of course, mother-of-pearl inlay. : )

He surprised me a day or two early by saying, “You know how I keep one guitar in this room and the other guitar in that room? Well, I put them in the same room and they had a baby!” And out he pulls my darling little ukulele. He sure knows how to make me smile.

Now I just need to learn Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole style.

Singing the Blues and Telling Tall Tales

2010-04-17T14:42:00.013-04:00

Posted by Jenny

Hi friends, thanks for visiting. One of the wettest and dreariest winters we’ve experienced in North Carolina has finally blown out with the March winds. And what better way to lift out of the winter doldrums than with some good ol’ blues music? That might sound like nonsense until you realize we had the pleasure of enjoying Doc Watson and David Holt together live in concert at Edgecombe Community College on 3/19/2010. Both men are incredible singers and pickers; Doc with his influential flat-picking style and David with his finger picking on guitar, banjo, and steel guitar. With these two picking and singing songs like “Ready for Times to Get Better,” “Railroad Bill,” and “Sittin’ on Top of the World,” you can help but smile.

David Holt and Doc Watson

What’s funny is that since David works with librarians, he knows David Holt not from his music but his story-telling. Holt didn’t tell too many stories that night but Doc told a few. He said to the audience, “I don’t rehearse performances. I just get up here and play. I’m just as informal here as I would be if you were at my home in my living room.” And he is. Someone let out a whoop of excitement in the middle of one song and Doc politely scolded them saying, “Shh, you want to hear it don’t you?” Later he playfully joked in the middle of flat-picking a lead from a Carter Family tune, “Bet Maybelle can’t pick it like that!”

We had a great night enjoying the concert and we were tickled to take home an autographed poster to add to our growing collection. We’ve got lots of great visual reminders of our favorite performers and concerts. Little did we know we’d be seeing David Holt again so soon.

A month later we saw a billboard on highway 70 in Goldsboro advertising a performance by David Holt and Josh Goforth at the Paramount Theater. We couldn’t resist going since it was so close to home and we were lucky enough to get seats right in the front row. This show was just as exceptionally good as the last, but had a very different format. Holt would hold up large pictures of elderly musicians who taught him new tunes and styles of music and tell the stories of how they met and what he learned from them. Interestingly enough, many of them lived beyond their 90’s and their music still lives on in Holt’s vibrant performances. We even heard lots of instruments we’d never heard played before- like the stump fiddle, and even the paper bag. And of course, Holt delighted the audience with his tales, both tall and true.

Backstage with David Holt and Josh Goforth

Before this night, we honestly hadn’t heard of Josh Goforth- but we’re glad now that we have. He has just as much charm and talent as David Holt and is yet another musician fluent in several instruments. Seeing the two of them perform together was definitely a treat. We waited patiently in line after the show and had the pleasure of meeting them both- and getting another one of those autographed posters! It’s always nice to meet musicians who are as kind and gracious as they are talented.

Clear Run Expose

2010-02-25T14:27:00.002-05:00

Posted by: David
Our State is a popular magazine that highlights interesting events and unusual places in North Carolina. It is always a treat to pick up this magazine each month and see what North Carolina potter, musician or artist is being showcased ---or what hiking trail, BBQ restaurant or local landmark is being rediscovered.

What a delight it was to flip through the pages of the newest issue of Our State (Feb 2010 issue) and see some very familiar faces. The magazine did a multipage ‘expose’ on Clear Run Grocery complete with photographs of many of the bluegrass pickin’ friends you’ve read about in this very journal. The article discusses how Clear Run got its start as a country store by the river and how it developed into the monthly bluegrass jamming spot it is now.

I was even more thrilled to see that the Our State website contains a video segment on Clear Run as an extra bonus feature to compliment the article. Included below is a link to this video. Unfortunately Jennifer and I were not jamming at Clear Run when this video or the article was written so we missed out on the fun that night --but we try to head out to Clear Run as often as we can for some good ole bluegrass pickin’ fun on the last Saturday of each month. If you have never had the opportunity to visit Clear Run or if you were not aware of it this video provides a peak at what you have been missing. Enjoy!

Snow Day Sessions

2010-02-04T06:52:00.001-05:00

Posted by David

Being snowed-in this past weekend has been a great opportunity for us as we were able to spend lots of time in the studio working on the album. We were able to complete the recording part of several songs. There is still some mixing to do on these songs but the performing part is done.

Jennifer was having so much fun playing saxophone on Wayfaring Stranger that she actually broke her instrument. Nothing that isn’t repairable fortunately. Things were much safer when she was playing the penny whistle on God Made Me and You. She also sang her lead and backing vocals on several songs. When backing vocals were needed by both of us, we decided to sing them live together rather than on separate tracks. By doing this, the backing vocals sound more natural to us.

So far we have been able to capture just the right sound that we wanted. Wayfaring Stranger has a nice sparse jazzy feel to it, the recording of God Mad Me and You has the classic folk children’s song sound we wanted, and Cordelia’s Waltz is---well---creepy. Hopefully when the strings are added to Cordelia’s Waltz during our next recording session it will be even spookier.

A Dazzling Christmas

2009-12-26T15:55:00.004-05:00

Posted by Jennifer

Disco may be dead, but I don’t care. I can’t resist the funky brass, schmaltzy strings, and driving rhythms that make you wanna dance, dance dance.

I don’t even try to hide this embarrassing infatuation. In high school I drove around in my powder blue Ford Tempo to the tunes of K.C. and the Sunshine Band on a mixed tape I dubbed from one of my mom’s records. In fact, I was the one who requested “Get Down Tonight” at my senior prom. (Well, actually I requested “I’m Your Boogie Man” but the D.J. didn’t have it- go figure!)

Maybe I was born too late- not only did I miss Disco, I missed out on Roller Disco. I love to roller skate and got a beautiful pair of skates from David last Christmas- but it’s just not the same to skate under a glitter ball to hip hop or country music at the local rink.

Piecing my interests together in the insightful way only he can, David suggested one day, “You know, you’d probably like to read Dazzler.” Having read a lot of comic books when he was younger, David knew about this rather obscure character and hit the nail on the head when he said I’d like to read about her adventures. We picked up a few issues from comic book stores and antiques stores and I was instantly hooked by all the 70’s kitsch.

Dazzler, aka Alison Blaire, is a Marvel mutant who can transduce sound into light. Her lifelong dream is to be a singing star and she uses her super power as special effects for her stage act. If that wasn’t enough, she also roller skates across the stage in a silver outfit complete with disco ball necklace and beautiful blue face paint. She doesn’t want to fight super villains but invariably ends up engaged in battle one way or another, even if it's only a night club brawl with a team of mean Roller Derby gals. Of course, this is all much to the chagrin of her father, Judge Carter Blaire, who envisioned his daughter following his footsteps toward a prestigious law career.

Reading Dazzler is one of those silly little joys in my life, but it takes time to collect all the issues from a series which ended long ago. My sweet husband found the Essential Dazzler collection and gave it to me for Christmas. All of the Dazzler issues are reprinted in these two volumes. Needless to say, I was excited!

But the surprise factor there hardly compares to the surprise I got from the next gift. When I first pulled back the wrapping paper I was scared. It looked like the sort of enormous character bust that only obsessed comic fans or extreme collectors would have- and have 100 of. But I bravely forged onward and was pleasantly surprised to find that the sculpture was modestly sized, about like the top half of a Barbie doll, complete with disco ball necklace and swirling light super power in action. So now I am the proud owner of a resin bust of Dazzler even with a certificate of authenticity. Look out, world; we’re two Disco Divas who never say die!

Mæander Television Debut?

2009-12-11T15:05:00.003-05:00

Posted by Jennifer

You may recall that back in the summer we were lucky enough to get tickets to attend Antiques Roadshow in Raleigh, NC. Well, programming for Season 14 of Antiques Roadshow has been scheduled, so mark your calendars, dog-ear the pages of your TV guide, do what you must to remember to tune in!

We have no guarantee that we’ll be on the show at all, but you may see us in the background with our instruments or, if we’re lucky, they’ll air our quick remarks from their feedback booth at the end of one of the episodes.

Tune into PBS on Monday nights at 8:00pm EST on the following dates for your opportunity to see Maeander on TV!

Monday, January 4, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010

Remember, even if we don’t make it on the air, there are lots of good surprises in store. Antiques Roadshow’s visit to Raleigh was a record-breaker, both in terms of attendance, and in featuring the most valuable item ever appraised on the show!

Riders in the Sky

2009-12-11T14:11:00.007-05:00

Posted by David

It’s the end of the year and you’re very much in need of some good ole western tunes with some Christmas cheer sprinkled throughout. Who do you turn to now that Gene Autry and Roy Rogers have moved on to greener pastures? Why, you call Riders in the Sky that’s who! For over thirty years the two-time Grammy Award winners Riders in the Sky have continued to carry the flame passed on by great western cowboys, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. All these years of performing, recording movie soundtracks, staring in their own Saturday morning television show, hosting their own XM radio show, and winning Grammy Awards have finally lead them to Washington, North Carolina.

We had the privilege of watching the Riders in the Sky at the newly renovated Turnage Theater in downtown Washington. The air was crisp and cool on the waterfront, but a slice of pizza from La Bella helped warm us up as we sat at one of the outside tables in front of the restaurant. Even an hour before the show, the streets were busy with cowboys and cowgirls of every age. Little saddle pals dressed in their best western digs accompanied by older cow hands lined the sidewalks of the cozy waterfront town. We haven’t seen that many handlebar mustaches and five gallon hats together in one place before. The Riders gave us many western and Christmas standards to enjoy along with their wacky humor and Western wit. The concert was even educational; we learned what Santa does during the summer, what kind of shirt looks best with a ‘cac-tie’, and now we know who really started the rumor that ‘Paul is Dead’.

After the show, the audience had the opportunity to chat with the Riders and have their pictures taken. As you can see by these photos, we left feeling like true saddle pals with the Riders in the Sky.

III Century Singers

2009-12-06T19:43:00.003-05:00

Posted by Jenny

This year we finally got to enjoy a performance by the III Century Singers. And enjoy it we did! Our colleague and friend, Dr. Diane Kester, has invited us many times to hear the group of which she is a part to perform, but other social engagements had always gotten in the way. We were determined not to miss out on their Christmas concert this year and so it was with great joy we were able to attend the performance on Sunday, December 6 at First Baptist Church in downtown Goldsboro.

When we walked in and saw the crowd gathered inside to hear the singers, we knew we must be in for a treat. As the orchestra came out to tune and warm up we were delighted to see that Querida Thompson, a member of our church and the clarinetist at our wedding, was performing as well. After the orchestra was settled, out came the singers. We didn’t realize how many people were involved; it was a large group full of baritones and tenors and altos and sopranos all dressed elegantly in black amid the warm glow of the church.

The group performed a variety of Christmas carols and religious songs before the orchestra departed at intermission. During the second half, the singers performed with piano accompaniment and violin on one song which merged Pachelbel’s Cannon in D with a familiar Christmas tune. They finished off with lively songs about St. Nick and fully deserved the encore the crowd demanded. It was truly a treat to be there and to be filled with the Christmas spirit through song!

Happy Halloween From Mæander!

2009-10-31T23:59:00.000-04:00

Halloween can be creepy...but not as creepy as this picture. After all, only one of us seems to have both our arms in this photo---and we're not sure which one of us it is!??

Mæander Performs at East Carolina University

2009-10-09T14:33:00.007-04:00

Posted by David

Mæander was asked to perform for the Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education’s 25th Anniversary Celebration at East Carolina University on October 8th, 2009. We had a lot of fun at this event. Guests got to ‘play’ with various science objects including water clocks, globes that turned using the power of Earth’s magnetic field, Bucky balls (small magnetically charged spheres), wands that levitated objects using static electricity, magnetic sphere puzzles and various other science related items. There was a Van de Graaf generator which we stayed away from for fear of being electrocuted.

Even before we performed, Jennifer unintentionally attracted quiet a lot of attention. It was one of the magnetically charged spheres called the X-Ball that was her undoing. This particular puzzle is put together using lots of tiny magnetically charged pieces that when placed together creates a three-dimensional sphere. Last thing I remember before the ‘big bang’ was Jennifer finishing construction of the puzzle and holding it in her hand talking with the wife of Dr. Mattheis about how much the two of them thought it cost --- SMASH!
Jenny dropped the sphere---Pieces everywhere---Rolled off her hand

silence.

everyone staring.

It was quite enjoyable watching a dozen scientists putting the sphere back together again. Fortunately since it was held together magnetically it wasn’t truly breakable---Just really loud when dropped on the floor.
The event was videotaped so here is a quick video of one of the songs we performed. Enjoy!

Custom Instrument VI

2009-09-10T10:42:00.001-04:00

Posted by David

The Bass Walkabout Dulcimer from Olympia Dulcimer Company is complete. Here is a photo of the finished instrument. I’ll post some sound files of it in the future.

Custom Instrument V

2009-09-03T14:15:00.004-04:00

Posted by David
I’ve just received 2 more pictures from Kevin W. Jones at Olympia Dulcimer Company. The Chromatically tuned Walkabout Dulcimer is almost complete. In the below images you will see the neck fit to body and the bridge being glued to the top. The closeness of the images depicts the beauty of the wood and the different wood grains are visible. The diatonic fret markers can be seen in the bottom image. Working with Kevin has been a wonderful experience. It was his idea to send images of the dulcimer as it is being built and he has been availble via phone and e-mail for any questions I've had. Thanks to all of you for letting us know how much you have enjoyed watching the building process of this instrument.

Interesting Discoveries

2009-09-02T12:15:00.004-04:00

Posted by David
We told you all about the entertainment we saw the last time we were at R. A. Fountain. What we didn't tell you is that we found a couple of interesting items there. Now that all of you know the names of our songs, you will appreciate this first item. While we were looking at all of the fun and unsual items in R. A. Fountain for sale, Jennifer stumbled across a book entitled Cordelia and Other Stories. Now this book has nothing to do with the Cordelia's Waltz song that Jennifer wrote, but since we said the song has a story behind it we found it ironic that we found a story called Cordelia.

Another item of interest was a poster we found on the wall in front of the rest rooms. On that wall are various posters from past acts. Can you find us up there? (hint - look to the top right)

Track List

2009-09-01T13:43:00.005-04:00

Posted by David

Coming up with the list of tracks to put on our album has been a fun yet difficult process. There are many songs we would like to include. In order to decide which songs to keep we needed to break down our list of songs into some criteria to help us decide.

Our first goal was to select songs that would stay true to our name. Since Mæander means ‘to wander’, we wanted the album to wander from one genre of music to the next. We didn’t want to choose all Celtic songs and produce a Celtic album or all bluegrass songs and produce a bluegrass album, but rather have a mix of several music types. This, of course, means that everybody may not enjoy all the songs on the album, but hopefully there will be a little something for everyone.

Our next challenge was to look at copyright restrictions on the songs. Each copyright tune we would put on the album would cost us extra money in licensing fees, so we ended up limiting our number of songs under copyright to just one. All other songs are either original or songs that reside in the public domain.

The third concern we had to consider was available studio time. Although we are recording our album ourselves, we still had to be mindful of how much time we would be able to spend in the studio. With our goal of producing one album a year, time is limited- so we decided to limit our number of tracks to ten.

Here is what we think will be the final track list, but things could still change. The order of the tracks has not been determined yet so here they are in alphabetical order:

The Cliffs – The first song Jennifer and I wrote together. We were jamming at the Cliffs of the Neuse when this song took form. (Instrumental)

Cordelia’s Waltz – There is a story that goes with this song.

Down in the Hallows – Here is an original fiddle tune with a little surprise in it. (Instrumental)

God Made Me And You – This song makes me picture a traditional classroom of children singing around a black piano being played by Miss Jones from the Norman Rockwell Painting.

Kosher Dill Love – The "Big Apple" drops a big apple on New Year's Eve – Mt. Olive drops a big pickle. This song was inspired by the New Year's pickle drop as well as the Pickle Festival in Mt. Olive, NC.

KR-66 – On a trip to the laundromat a few years back, Jennifer and I stumbled across something quite interesting which inspired this song.

Sharing Sunset – A poem Jennifer wrote for David in 2000 which was published in Renaissance literary magazine at Wayne Community College.

Wayfaring Stranger – Traditional tune

Look What They’ve Done To My Song, Ma – This cover of the Melanie Safka song illustrates what recording studios can sometimes do to beautiful songs. And yes ---the rumors are true---that’s my father you’re hearing on this song.

When the Pigs Begin To Fly! – This is an old (circa 1840’s) tune that we updated a bit.

Custom Instrument IV

2009-09-01T13:14:00.005-04:00

Posted by David

The last coat of finish went on this morning.
The following pictures show the front and back of the body and the front and back of the neck.

Custom Instrument III

2009-08-26T14:50:00.000-04:00

Posted by David

I have just received some more pictures from Kevin W. Jones, the luthier creating this instrument. Jones specializes in building Walkabout Dulcimers. Some people refer to similar instruments as long neck dulcimers. They are shaped and played like guitars, but they are diatonically fretted with pairs of strings like mountain dulcimers. Jennifer and I have a mountain dulcimer at the house that we enjoy playing, but for me, coming from a guitar background, the instrument is backwards. So we decided to tune my tenor guitar similar to the dulcimer since it has four strings as well. This sounded interesting, but since the strings were not in pairs, it didn't quite have the sound we were looking for. One benefit of the tenor guitar tuned this way, over the dulcimer is that it is chromatically fretted. Being chromatically fretted allows for easy transistion between keys, something needed during jams.

This is why I contacted Kevin W. Jones of the Olympia Dulcimer Company. I saw that he had designed and was building exactly what I was looking for. He builds many variations of the walkabout dulcimer, including a bass version and an electric version. I personally liked the sound of his bass walkabouts, and the size of them, but I wanted one chromatically tuned with diatonic markers on the side. He has built similar instruments in the past, including an eight string chromatically tuned bass dulcimer, so I knew I was in great hands. I went with the six stringed bass walkabout dulcimer rather than an eight stringed one.

Please check out the Olympia Dulcimer Company's website to learn more about the walkabout dulcimer and to see video clips and hear what these instruments sound like. http://www.walkaboutdulcimer.com/

Here are the newest pictures as promised. Oh...and congratulation Trudy, you were the only one to guess correctly right off the bat that it was some sort of dulcimer!

Pickin' in the Park

2009-08-22T11:37:00.010-04:00

Posted by Jennifer

On the third Friday night of the summer months, the Warsaw Chamber of Commerce holds “Pickin’ in the Park” in Veteran’s Park, downtown Warsaw, North Carolina. We don’t get to go terribly often as we work so far away from Warsaw, and since last month was a rain-out we weren’t sure we’d get to make it at all this summer. But as luck would have it, we had lovely weather for an outdoor jam. Pickers gather under the porch and spectators bring their lawn chairs to watch from the grass. Mr. and Mrs. Martin sell hot dogs and drinks for the Chamber and we usually make those our dinner for the evening.

The crowd of pickers was a small group this night. Football season has started for the schools so Pat Mathis was unfortunately unable to make it there. We sure missed hearing him sing the “Pickin’ in the Park National Anthem”- otherwise known as “Just a Bowl of Butterbeans” sung to the tune of the gospel song, “Just a Closer Walk with Thee.” But J. B. Herring was there with his harmonica, good friends Ray Carter and Tom Evans with their guitars, and trusty David Merritt with his banjo. Lou Gagliano was also there fiddling and… well, what does one call fiddling on a viola? Faddling? (Hmm, maybe that’s where Fiddle Faddle came from? Yum…) William Best and the Bullards were also there to enjoy the festivities.

One fellow from the Duplin Times was there taking photos for the paper. He said a good photo might also be used in a free community calendar next year. As he came around asking for pickers’ names, he said to me, “I hear you’re a championship fiddler, is that right?” I was a little surprised by this, wondering who would’ve told him such a thing. I replied, “No, I’ve never competed.” Only after this did I think of a hundred wittier things I might’ve said- but being quick-witted is David’s forte, not mine.

The jam went on and the cicadas sang along but we couldn’t help but be disappointed when the train didn’t come through town in the middle of our jam. It seems that every Pickin’ in the Park I’ve been to was interrupted by the 9:00pm train whistling and chugging along. Over time, the train’s grand entrance lent a certain charm to the event- particularly when you consider that some of the crowd’s favorite tunes are train songs such as the “Orange Blossom Special” and the “Wabash Cannonball.” But no amount of train-tune-picking could bring on the train that night.
We ended, of course, with Pickin’ in the Park’s second signature tune, “Goodnight, Irene.”

Here's the short article that was in the Duplin Times:

Custom Instrument II

2009-08-17T12:31:00.004-04:00

Posted by David

It's been about a week now and we have some more images. The below pictures show the top glue up, the top bracing pattern, and spruce brace and mahogany blocks. Here you can see more clearly the teardrop shape of the body.

Custom Instrument

2009-08-07T08:58:00.009-04:00

Posted by David

Jennifer and I have been working steadily on our album. She has penned a song which we both really enjoy, but for the recording it needs something special to really make it shine. We wanted the song to have a sound that you wouldn't normally hear today, it needed to have a 'ghost from the past' sort of sound. We knew what we wanted, but did not know of an instrument that could produce the sound. After mixing aspects from three different instruments, we knew the exact sound we wanted and how we wanted the instrument to be played, but this instrument would have to be custom built.

The search was on to see if a similar instrument was being made. After a bit of research, we found a luthier that was creating instruments with the exact sound and shape we wanted. I called him up and we discussed the specifics of what we wanted and if it was possible. After a brief discussion of the types of wood that would be used and the scale type, he began building the instrument.

Can you guess what type of instrument this will be? I will be providing updates and photos of this instrument as it is being built. These two photos show the front body and the fret board.

Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players

2009-07-17T10:22:00.010-04:00

Posted by David
What goes along perfectly with watching family slides of people you don’t know and speculating on what their lives are like? You guessed it, a free onion. That’s right, when we arrived at R.A. Fountain on Thursday to watch The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players we were promptly given each a free onion. If that doesn’t sound a bit odd to you, then maybe the Trachetenburg Family Slideshow Players won’t either. The Trachtenburg family consists of a mother (Tina), father (Jason), and daughter (Rachael). The family acquires slides from yard sales and uses a slide projector to project these family slides (of people they don’t know) and make up songs about them, speculating on what the people might be like and how their lives might have been. Curious on how this plays out? Watch this video of when they performed on the Conan O’ Brian Show a few years back.

The Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players performed “Look At Me” (the song seen in the above video) at R.A. Fountain on Thursday, however, there were a few more…um…revealing slides included however, that the audience was not expecting.

The group was entertaining and we had a lot of fun. The daughter has her own children’s television show and she performed a few solo songs on Ukulele while her mother animates felt figures on a felt board, creating a music video of sorts. This video shows an example of what one of these felt board songs are like.

Lady Blanche an acoustic folk singer, opened up for the group. The audience enjoyed her song about a friend that wishes for the universe to bring her the perfect man. The song lists all the qualities a perfect man should have. This was the longest song of her entire set. A lady that sat behind us bought a copy of Lady Blanche’s newest album, and I might be mistaken, but it looks like each album comes wrapped in a free pair of men’s briefs??

If you ever get an opportunity to see the Trachtenburg Family Slide Show Players I guarantee it will be a show you won’t soon forget. I will not guarantee however, that you will receive a free onion upon entering the venue. The occasional free onion is just one of those little things that make R. A. Fountain first-rate.

Happy 2nd of July! (Or, Celebrating Independence Day Early)

2009-07-03T11:42:00.013-04:00

Posted by Jenny

Every year we celebrate Independence Day with our families at the fireworks display held at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. This year the event was held a little early, on July 2nd.

The pin on my collar says, "Kiss Me, I'm American"

Before nightfall, the festivities begin around 6:00 with games for the kids, yummy hot dogs and ice cream, delicious free popcorn from the Boy Scouts, and live entertainment.

The kid in me couldn't resist getting a glow necklace!
(And a grape sno-cone, which is why you don't see my teeth in this picture!)

This year’s entertainment featured Stephen Cochran. As a former Marine, he was proud to help his fellow armed forces celebrate independence, and man did he rock out with his awesome band.

Happy Independence Day! God Bless America!

Antiques Roadshow comes to Raleigh, NC

2009-06-28T12:22:00.009-04:00

Posted by Jenny
One of our favorite television programs is Antiques Roadshow which airs on our local PBS station. It’s so much fun to see the unusual items people bring on the show to learn their worth. Plus, I admit to having a strange fascination with the furniture-appraising-twin-wonders, Leigh and Leslie Keno.

For the longest time I didn’t pick up on the fact that they are twins. I would resolve to remember “that furniture guy’s” name only to be confounded when on the next episode his name suddenly was “Leslie” instead of “Leigh.” Then we happened to watch an episode where both twins appraised the same piece of furniture at once. As the dynamic duos cavorted across the screen flipping over tea tables,my brain seized up and the gears had a hard time getting back up to speed. After making sense of the chaos we were witnessing, David and I made the connection that the Keno twins reminded us of Xamot and Tomax, the dashing and debonaire gymnast/business executive twins from the G.I. Joe cartoon.

Except, of course, the Keno twins are really nice guys who would never be part of an evil underground terrorist organization designed to take over the world.

Needless to say, when we found out Antiques Roadshow was coming to Raleigh, we knew we’d be there. We applied for tickets as did many of our friends and relatives, but we’re the only lucky ones we know of who actually received tickets from the random drawing. What can we say? It was meant to be!

That only left us to decide what to bring along to have appraised. For me, a natural choice was to bring my violin. I knew it was old when my parents bought it for me around 1996 but the date wasn’t written inside as is customary. I also know it sounds good- as do a lot of people around here who frequently offer to buy it from me at jam sessions (sorry folks, it’s not for sale.) There’s also a bit of mystery to the violin’s value. My violin teacher had facilitated the purchase of the instrument between my parents and the seller who owns a local guitar shop. After talking with my parents and learning that I liked to play bluegrass music, the seller was more than happy to reduce the price by several hundred dollars. Which has always left me wondering- did he really give us a deal, or was he planning to over charge us to start with? What is the real value of the instrument? Of course to me, it’s priceless and I’ll never part with it- but as is usually the case on Antiques Roadshow with sentimental items, how much should I insure it for?

David’s natural choice, since we were already taking one musical instrument, was to take along his mandolin banjo, affectionately dubbed “the manjo,” which was given him by his- shall we say “unique”- Uncle Duane. We’ve had it hanging on the wall in our living room. The manjo needs a replacement bridge and there are some structural problems which makes playability difficult.

That left us each with one additional item we could bring. I brought a pair of lithographs belonging to my mother. The lithographs depict the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary and were found rolled up and hidden inside a chimney in Germany where they were hidden from Nazis and pillagers during World War II.

My mom was living in Germany in the early 1960’s and admired the lithographs in a friend’s apartment as the land-lady happened by. The land-lady offered them to my mom in exchange for 2 cartons of cigarettes and that’s how they came home with mom.

Since I was bringing something of my own as well as something of my mother’s, it seemed fitting that David do the same. He brought what we refer to as “the noodle cats.” They are two ceramic cats from Italy, the likes of which we have never seen elsewhere before. Their heads are painted with black stripes and green eyes and red mouths, and their bodies are covered with hundreds of small bits of clay pulled up to resemble fur- however they remind me more of hundreds of small pasta noodles the way the squiggle across the cat bodies.

So we had our items ready, we had our tickets- all we had to do next was…. wait. When June 27th finally arrived, we made the hour drive to Raleigh and arrived at the time according to the time on our tickets. There were roughly 5,000 people there to receive appraisals all day but the timed ticket system made things run very fluidly. As many people as there were around us, everything was exceptionally orderly and ran very smoothly.

After lining up according to the time on your ticket, when your time is up, your line then joins the main line flowing into the appraisal area. You make a stop to pick up tickets according to the categories your items fall under. So we had 2 musical instrument tickets, one posters & prints ticket, and one ceramics & pottery ticket. After that, you enter the appraisal area and join which ever line you wish to join first.

We started out in the musical instruments line and luckily it was pretty short. We only waited there approximately 15 minutes before receiving our appraisals. While we were waiting, one of the Keno twins entered the appraisal area and said “excuse me ma’am” to a woman waiting in one of the lines winding out that way. When she realized who he was she shouted “oh my God!” and grabbed his arm as she place her other hand on her chest as if to catch her heart before it ran away. You could tell they were both embarrassed after that- he strode away with a sheepish smile and she fluttered beet red for several minutes thereafter. When it was finally our turn for our appraisal I couldn’t help but find something either very British or very Keno about our appraiser. I later discovered that he is Mitchell, the older brother of the Keno twins. Apparently appraising is a family business for them.

We learned that David’s manjo dates from the 1920’s. Mitchell confirmed that it is unplayable due to warping over time. So, at least we can save money on buying that bridge! My violin is a good quality student violin worth about what was paid for it- so now I know the original price was a bit steep. It also wasn’t as old as we were originally lead to believe- it dates to about the 1920’s rather than the late 1890’s and is possibly American since “Made in France” was written in English. That doesn’t change how I feel about it, though!

According to the ceramics appraiser, the “noodle cats” “scream of the late 1940’s or early 1950’s” and aren’t particularly valuable. Neither are my mom’s lithographs- although they are older than we thought. They date to the late 1800’s, but since religious art is typically mass produced for churches that reduces the value.

So everything we took with us was worth about what we expected it to be valued at, but even though we didn’t come away millionaires like the lady who had four pieces of jade valued at over $1 million and broke the record for the highest valued item on Antiques Roadshow, we had a great time. It was a lot of fun seeing all the items other people brought, watching them as they taped the show and interviewed guests, and of course getting to see the Keno twins!

We did stop in the feedback booth at the end of the event, so there’s still a chance you might see us on TV one Monday evening at the end of the 8:00pm show. Look for us with the noodle cats! We were actually in line behind the woman in this video clip with the plantation bed, but you can barely see David’s head sticking up above another man’s head. http://www.news14.com/content/local_news/triangle/611266/antiques-roadshow-shatters-records-in-raleigh/Default.aspx

It was June and it was Hot

2009-06-21T12:15:00.005-04:00

Posted by Jenny

“It was June and it was hot.” That’s how our favorite pirate song begins. It also sets the stage for our latest trip to the hunting lodge. But even the sweltering heat didn’t stop us from making new friends- or keep us from playing music with old friends.

Dale's hog. Don't feed it chocolate cake.

Jammin'

The barbecue chicken was finger-lickin’ good to the bone as was the harmony of a traveling troupe of gospel singers who stopped by. We didn’t catch their names but they were friendly folks and a talented group.

Center Street Jam with the Coastline Band

2009-05-15T01:24:00.000-04:00

Posted by Jennifer
During the summer months, the Downton Goldsboro Development Corporation hosts a free concert every couple of weeks just off of Center Street. David's Aunt Mary and Uncle Danny happened to be in town visiting so it seemed only right to take them downtown for an evening of entertainment by Jim Quick and the Coastline Band. We hadn't heard Coastline before but we were impressed by their tight sound.

Jenny couldn't resist the festival atmosphere so she had her face painted. If only she could have talked David into getting his face painted like Spiderman...

Eastern North Carolina Bluegrass Association

2009-05-10T15:25:00.000-04:00

Posted by Jennifer
David and Jennifer left Greenville and ECU commencement traffic to meet Jennifer's parents for dinner before going to this month's installment of the ENCBA jam at Lenoir Community College. Between Golden Corral and LCC, a classic car show at the Right Way diner and gas station caught their eye and they couldn't resist stopping to admire the beautiful cars of days gone by.

They certainly weren't expecting this car, however. Having adored the '57 Chevy Bel Aire since childhood, Jennifer immediately knew something wasn't quite right here- and unique barely begins to describe it. What are your thoughts?

David and Jennifer eventually made their way to LCC where they jammed with friends and Jennifer's parents won the drawing for the anniversary cake.

Jam at Clear Run

2009-04-27T11:11:00.000-04:00

Posted by Jennifer

Clear Run is probably my favorite place to jam. Once a hub of commerce on the Black River, Clear Run is historic site where bluegrass musicians gather on the last Saturday night of every month to jam and have good, clean, family fun. The jam takes place in the general store and owner Amos McLamb or his son Josh McLamb will be more than happy to tell you the history of the store and their family connection to it, as well as the sunken steamship the A. J. Johnson a short way down river.

Above: A barrel of sap excavated from the A.J Johnson had turned to a massive block of rosin. Here's just a chip off that old block. Since I'm a fiddler, Amos let me take a chunk.

Filled with antique tools, assorted glass bottles and advertisements from days gone by, the general store comes to life with the people who share their talents with friends and strangers. Mind you, if you come as a stranger, you’ll leave as a friend.

Above: A few historical odds and ends.

Above: That's a snazzy old fashioned register.

We had the pleasure of going to Clear Run over the weekend, which is a rare treat for us now that we live a couple counties away. We don’t get to go as often was we like since it’s quite a drive, but when we do go it’s always worth the trip. Amos and Josh were at MerleFest this weekend so we didn’t have the pleasure of their company, but we did get to see old friend Bill Norris who we hadn’t seen in a while and good friend David Merritt was there picking banjo.

One guitar picker who I had jammed with only once before at Clear Run about 6 years ago was there again that night and was delighted to see I was there. Alec Bryan of Jacksonville, if I got that right, is quite the picker. He brought out a lot of good tunes I hadn’t played in a while, like Texas Swing Fiddler Bob Wills’ song San Antonio Rose (performed here by mellow Jim Reeves) and Under the Double Eagle, just to name a couple. It was a good mental exercise remembering tunes that had fallen out of my repertoire.

Above: Jennifer isn't afraid of this modernized outhouse complete with running water and electricity.
She's just swatting away the moths attracted to the light.

Jammin' at Dale Merritt's Hunting Lodge

2009-02-16T08:41:00.000-05:00

Posted by Jennifer

We decided to spend our first Valentine's Day as a married couple out in the middle of nowhere. But we weren't alone. Nope. That's because it was time for the Jam at Dale Merritt's Hunting lodge somewhere in the pine thickets of Sampson County. (Jennifer's parents drove... their GPS said we had left the road and showed us plowing through a forest).

You can always expect to find good food, good friends, and good music at this event which takes place as often as Dale feels up to hosting it. The menu usually includes barbecue chicken and pork, chili made with bear meat, all sorts of salads and slaws, and a slew of delicious home-baked goods brought by the ladies.

After a filling meal and lively conversation, it's time to jam. The group varies each time, but the regulars include David Merritt on the banjo, Wallace Jones sining and picking the guitar and mandolin, Huey Ezzell on guitar and vocals, Jennifer on the fiddle, and Josh McLamb on bass, guitar, and vocals.

Everyone plays until they're tired and ready to go home... which unfortunately we all must be getting old because we tend to knock off around 10:00pm nowadays. But that doesn't matter as we always have a good time playing traditional tunes.

Fortunately, Dale has installed indoor plumbing in the hunting lodge. One of Jennifer's first visits to the hunting lodge involved a rather unpleasant incident with the outhouse. Being a bluegrass musician, she was no stranger to the little house out back with the half-moon window. No, it was the lack of a latch on the door which troubled her. Well, the lack of a latch on the INSIDE of the door to be particular. She entered the humble hut to do her duty and much to her chagrin she had no way to lock it to keep others from entering in. She jerked the door shut hard only to realize that a latch on the OUTSIDE of the door had fallen across- trapping her in the outhouse! "Well, I'm here. I may as well do what I came to do before I worry about getting out," she thought. Fortunately, by the time she finished her "business" she heard someone outside the door- her mother, in fact- and convinced her to set her free from the outhouse.

So why is there a latch on the OUTSIDE of the door, you ask? Well Jennifer definately wanted to know the answer to that most vexing question! It turns out that with only all men lodging there for hunting trips, they weren't embarassed at all by the lack of a lock on the door. But what did trouble them was the flapping of the door during they night as they tried to sleep. Hence, they added a latch on the outside so as not to disturb their slumber.

Some other points of interest to mention about Dale's hunting lodge is that he's got his own clay pigeon shooting range as well as a wild bore kept in a pen as a pet. Only in Sampson County...

-Jennifer

Carolina Yellowhammers

2009-02-09T15:45:00.004-05:00

Posted by David
On Saturday Jennifer and I, along with our friends Larry and Emily took another friend Karen out to celebrate her birthday. What better place to take a music lover in this area than to R.A. Fountain.

R.A. Fountain is a little general store out in the small town of Fountain, NC. It has just what any music lover needs. It is a small intimate setting where musicians and the audience can interact. The acts range from big name folk and bluegrass musicians to local musicians. Last year we met the Carolina Chocolate drops there a few weeks before they played Merlefest.

Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson (CCD) with David & Jennifer (1/19/07)

We performed a celtic show the next month at R.A Fountain with Jennifer Licko. Playing at Fountain is always a blast. The hardwood plank floors, high celing and intimate atmosphere adds a richness and natural tone to any acoustic set. Rather than feeling seperated or cut off from the audience, performers at Fountain can feel at one with the audience and everyone is able to interact with one another, something that is not a possibility at many venues. Another bonus is that everything in the store is for sale. Do you like the seat you are sitting on while watching a show? Then take it home, it is most likely for sale. An interesting note: each of the musicians gets to sign a part of a musical instrument hanging on the wall behind where the bands play. Next time you're there, check for our signatures! :)

David and Jennifer Vinciguerra and Jennifer Shelton Licko (2/16/07)

This blog entry isn't actually suppose to be about R.A. Fountain however, it is about the group of pickers we saw that night. The group calls themselves the Carolina Yellowhammers. The group was inspired to call themselves this after the 1920's band the Georgia Yellow Hammers and also as a nod to the train that used to run through these parts.

Performing as the Carolina Yellowhammers on Saturday was Frankie Harrison on mandolin, John Booker on bass, and Lightnin' Wells on guitar. Joining them on Banjo and Dobro was Clyde Maddux.

Frankie Harrison, Lightnin' Wells, John Booker and Clyde Maddux.

Karen, Emily and Larry had been to see the Yellowhammers in the past a few times, and seeing as though they were playing at Fountain around Karen's birthday, it was obvious how we would be celebrating the evening.

Lightnin' Wells is known for his bluesy sound and Frankie Harrison is known to burn it up on the mandolin. With the solid backing of on bass by John Booker this group has all the dynamics it takes to facinate audiences all night. With Clyde Maddux joining them for the evening, there was nobody going home early that night.

The evening was chock-full of tradtinal folk songs telling stories of days gone by, blues tunes that will bring a tear to any eye, and fast picking bluegrass numbers to rev you back up at full speed. One of the most memorable moments of the evening was when Wells told the humorious story about the first time he and Maddux met many years ago, a meeting that Maddux doesn't even remember--or at least claims not to.

Should you be searching the show times at R.A. Fountain at this address www.rafountain.com and run across a date in which the Carolina Yellowhammers are playing, pay for those reserved seats and gear up for a amazing show. Plus, you never know who else might be jamming with them that evening.

Snow Day

2009-01-22T16:14:00.000-05:00

Posted by David

10:00pm Monday night ---nothing
11:00pm---still clear

Midnight with not a snowflake in the air, the possibility of us having a snowstorm was looking grim. We had already had Monday off from work in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day, so a very rare snow-day would give us a four-day-weekend. But heading for bed with a clear sky we resigned ourselves to the fact that Tuesday would see us working and set our alarm for an early morning.

When I awoke at six am, what did my eyes happen to see outside—not much. There were snowflakes, but nothing to get too excited about. Nothing seemed to be accumulating yet, so I hopped in the shower and mentally began preparing for a day at the office.

As is naturally the case, now that I was completely awake and dressed and ready to go, our alert went off informing us that they had cancelled work for the day. Jennifer was giddy---especially since she hadn’t yet gotten out of the warm cozy bed. She finally got her snow day. In fact, as the day went on, the snow got thicker and the next day at work was cancelled as well. A five day weekend!

Free from work and our hour commute we slept in, played in the snow, and spent some time recording in the studio. We decided to work on an unusual song that allowed us to test out some interesting vocal recording techniques. Jennifer sang a variety of different ways until we got the right sound. Now it’s just a matter of recording some backwards violins for a bizarre interlude. We might release this song online in the future if people are curious enough to hear it. We actually recorded it just to test out some equipment and have fun.

Jennifer singing in the studio

After the recording session we enjoyed the cool air and snow. I must say though, Jennifer is a much better singer than she is snow ball thrower.

Jennifer and David enjoying the snow

Eastern North Carolina Bluegrass Association

2009-01-13T16:05:00.000-05:00

On the second Saturday of each month, the Eastern North Carolina Bluegrass Association (ENCBA) has a concert at Lenoir Community College in Kinston, North Carolina. On Saturday January 10th, Sourwood Mountain performed, followed by Samantha Casey and the Bluegrass Jammers. Concluding the evening was the Harmony Boys.

The Harmony Boys Performing at ENCBA 01/10/09

During the shows, other musicians gather throughout the hallways to “jam”. Below is a photograph of Jennifer performing with good friend Bobby Herring from the Harmony Boys. The ENCBA is a great place for musicians to gather together to jam and watch regional acts perform. Guests are free to walk the halls to listen to the many jams that occur simultaneously, as well as watch the concerts on the main stage.

Jennifer Vinciguerra and Bobby Herring with friends Jamming at ENCBA 1/10/09

Mæander

2009-01-07T14:20:00.001-05:00

Mæander:

A winding, crooked, or involved course; as, the meanders of an old river.
A tortuous or intricate movement.
To wind, turn, or twist; to make flexuous; to wander

What better way to describe our music---music that drifts in and out of different genres and classifications. In our blog we will be keeping a music journal to keep readers updated on what we are doing musically. These entries won't just be about us, but also about other bands we watch perform, music venues we go to, jams we partake in, and anything else music related. We hope you enjoy hearing about us and we would love to hear from you as well.

-David & Jennifer Vinciguerra