The Barnes Bluegrass Christmas Party: Bizzarro Edition

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!

Essay: Our Summer Vacation

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!

Singing the Blues and Telling Tall Tales

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.

Eastern North Carolina Bluegrass Association

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.