Saturday, November 28, 2009

RIP, "Folk on WGBH" & "Blues on WGBH"




Rest in Peace, WGBH's canceled folk and blues programs.

Information ~
http://notlobmusic.blogspot.com/2009/11/wgbh-drops-folk-and-blues-programs.html

Discussion group ~
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=201481030324&ref=ts

Cause ~
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/395481/34485837

Attend the board of directors meeting December 2, 4pm ~
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=174621907156&ref=ts

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

notloB folk concerts presents the Jeremy Kittel World Band

National Award-Winning Performer of Scottish, Irish, Jazz, & American Music
Jeremy Kittel ~ fiddle
Tristan Clarridge ~ cello
Simon Chrisman ~ hammered dulcimer
Bodek Janke ~ drums/percussion

Unity Church, 6 Williams Street (Davis Square), Somerville

Doors 7:45, Concert 8:00




Jeremy Kittel is rapidly earning a reputation as one of the nation’s most creative young musicians. Classically trained, he grew up in the Irish, folk and jazz music scenes of Ann Arbor and Detroit. As a youth he often traveled to Ireland and Scotland to further his studies of traditional music. In addition to performing with his own band and as a soloist with orchestras, Jeremy tours worldwide as the newest member of the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet.

The 24-year-old fiddler/violinist/composer has earned an impressive list of accolades including multiple U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Championships, Alternative Styles Awards from the American String Teachers Association, and six Detroit Music Awards for Outstanding Folk Artist, Jazz Recording, and Jazz Composer. Jeremy graduated at twenty from the University Of Michigan School Of Music and was awarded the Stanley Medal, their highest musical honor. He was the first recipient of the Daniel Pearl Memorial Violin, and he recorded as a soloist on the multiple Grammy Award-winning CD “Songs of Innocence and Experience” by William Bolcom. At twenty-three he earned a masters degree in Jazz Violin from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music.

Jeremy has performed at over a thousand concerts and festivals including the Kennedy Center, “A Prairie Home Companion,” the Ryder Cup Opening Ceremony, and Carnegie Hall. He has been guest artist with the Vancouver Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and Rochester Philharmonic Orchestras; Mark O’Connor, and Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings. Jeremy has taught at many camps and schools including the International Music Academy in the Czech Republic, Swannanoa Gathering and Mark O’Connor Fiddle Camps. He also works with school orchestras nationwide in workshops and performances, focusing on developing students’ fiddling, jazz, and improvisation skills.

Jeremy’s first CD, “Celtic Fiddle,” was named “one of the top 20 Celtic albums of 2000” by the radio show Celtic Connections. His second, “Roaming,” took second place for Best Celtic Instrumental Album in an international competition. His most recent recording, “Jazz Violin,” won the 2006 Detroit Music Award for Outstanding Jazz Recording. His fourth CD, soon to be released, features special guests including Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile.

As one reviewer said, “It’s a much over-used cliché, but I really believe this is what genius sounds like. Highly recommended!”

Minimum suggested donation $15 at the door, $12 in advance.


notloB Folk Concerts are volunteer run and not for profit.
Mailing list ~ http://groups.google.com/group/notlobmusic
Facebook ~ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38565709718&ref=ts

notfarG House Concerts ~ 100% of the donations go to the artists.
Mailing list ~ http://www.reverbnation.com/venue/431454
Facebook ~ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=147864099159&ref=ts

Folk News and Information
Blog ~ http://notlobmusic.blogspot.com
Yahoo ~ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NorthEastFolknRoots


Upcoming notloB Folk Concerts


Saturday, December 12: Folk ~ David Massengill @ the Jackson Homestead, Newton

Sunday, December 13: David Massengill @ notfarG House Concerts, Grafton




"In this era of pop-driven acoustic music, notloB is keeping the folk tradition alive." ~ Jack Hardy

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Benefit For the Minuteman Music School



Tim Rowell
had a disastrous flood at his school, Minuteman Music in Lexington. He lost many many thousands of dollars in instruments, equipment and materials. Alan Kauffman has organized a benefit, for him and the school, with 4 hours of amazing entertainment booked.

Benefit For the Minuteman Music School
December 6th
1-5pm
The Skellig Pub
Waltham Massachusetts

Four Jam Packed Hours of Incredible Traditional Music Entertainment!

Performances by Geoff Bartley, Martin Grosswendt, Lorraine & Bennett Hammond, Rich Stillman, Dan Fram, Eric Levenson, Red Hot Black Top, Jubilee Mule, Davis Street, Jerry Dallal, Linda Henry, Tim Fitzpatrick, Cathy Mason & Steve Arkin, Marjo Cremieux, Alan Kaufman Trio, The Bluegrass Kidjammers, Minuteman Teacher Band, and other special guests.

$15 suggested donation. Age 15 and under free.

Help spread the word via facebook and by using this bolg's forwarding feature (at top).

Link back.

Monday, November 23, 2009

An open letter to WUMB - reinstate Jack Hardy to the play list





No true folk radio station would have a play list, rather it would trust its hosts to be knowledgeable of their genre and artists and allow them to produce their own shows. AAA / "music mix" WUMB (the "community" radio station of UMass, Boston), and whose Google search page makes this outrageous claim

WUMB Radio

The only all folk music radio station in the USA

... takes a different approach.

The letter under the === below was sent to its general manager and music director today, almost two years after a promise to investigate why a "playlist task force" had purged Jack Hardy (and as a consequence, due to its artist censorship policy, caused its events calendar listing for the 11/08 notloB Folk Concert production of the Folk Brothers concert announcement to be printed as "David Massengill and More" when in actuality submitted as "The Folk Brothers, Jack Hardy and David Massengill". If an answer is ever received it will be appended here.

By the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JACK!

I am sorry this lingering issue detracts from the celebration of your birthday, but WUMB's stupid and unresolved action has angered me for nearly two years. Perhaps the sharing of "adult beverages" in high camp next year will help.


==========

With the reissue of Jack's first 10 albums and the 2009 release of "Rye Grass" I urge you, your music director and the other members of your "playlist task force" (ref our Winter 2008 telephone conversation when I discovered the WUMB calendar changed my submitted "The Folk Brothers (Jack Hardy and David Massengill" had been edited to "The Folk Brothers, featuring David Massengill) reconsider its decision to purge Jack from the WUMB play list. At that time you promised to look into the matter and correct the purge, but I never received a follow-up report of your findings nor confirmation that Jack had been be reinstated.

For staff members with a AAA rather than a folk background, I suggest they read:
Jack Hardy -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hardy_%28singer-songwriter%29

Fast Folk -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Folk

"Fast Folk: A Community of Singers & Songwriters" -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Folk:_A_Community_of_Singers_%26_Songwriters

Perhaps this Boston Globe review will give you additional reason to reconsider:

"With the reissuing of Hardy's first 10 albums, the full range of his talents is showcased for the first time. [...] With his songs set firmly in the centuries-old tradition of Celtic balladry, Hardy shapes his metaphors in a vision that successfully blends history, mythology, romanticism, and politics."







- Boston Globe review of new boxed sets, The Collected Works of Jack Hardy

==============
3/11/11 UPDATE: Up until the day of Jack's passing, no response was received.  WUMB's Jay Moburg further added insult to injury, read the announcement of Jack's passing and subsequent posts in the tread.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Claudia Nygaard, Newton & Grafton, 11/21-22

0


notloB's Fall Newton "kitchen" and norfarG house concerts series continue

CLAUDIA NYGAARD

http://www.claudianygaard.com/

Saturday, November 21, 7:30pm (doors 7:15),
at the historic Jackson Homestead, 527 Washington Street, Newton, MA 02458
$10 Suggested Donation, $5 well-behaved children w/ a $30 immediate family max.

Sunday, November 22, at a private residence in Grafton.
Noon potluck, 1pm concert, 3pm pickin' party.
$10 suggested donation, bring a covered dish or desert, BYOB. Coffee and tea provided.

email notlobreservations@comcast.net for reservations and directions to the house concert.

Claudia Nygaard's long legs hang over both sides of that same fence between country and folk music that Guy Clark and John Prine have straddled. Her sound is acoustic, and while her songs find their roots and rhythms in the Americana storytelling tradition, the melodies are passionate and emotional and the lyrics are vivid and descriptive.

A former staff songwriter for Greenwood Music on Nashville's Music Row, Nygaard found that writing formulaic "radio friendly" love songs for the country music industry was not for her. Instead she chose to buy back her contract and songs, and write what was in her heart. She writes about real people and real life. "J.C.," the song that won Claudia the 2004 Kerrville Music Festival "New Folk" songwriting competition, explores racisim through the eyes of a child. In "Edna" the listener feels a protective tenderness for the mentally challenged woman with "hugs that don't let go". The steamy lyric of "What Her Girlfriends Say" paints a picture of the sensual desire a young woman feels for a working class man her girlfriends don't approve of. The title cut of her CD, "Somewhere Else To Go", pulls the listener into that aching loneliness created by a love gone bad. Her music is also rampant with irreverent humor. In "I Don't Need A Man (I Just Want One)" and "Dumped By A Dweeb", Claudia delightfully pokes fun at the gender gap. She crafts songs that range from heartfelt to humorous, and she does so with a quick wit, and an articulate point of view.

"The real strength of the material lies in the lyrics. Each song is a distinct and individual story..." Paul Moser, Music Connection Magazine, Los Angeles, CA

"There is a womanly warmth in her tone that suggests some sentiments are based on experience... what comes over is a refreshing individuality..." Richard Kirk, Country Music Round-Up, UK


Thank you for supporting live music.

Website ~ http://notlobmusic.googlepages.com

notloB Folk Concerts are volunteer run and not for profit.
Mailing list ~ http://groups.google.com/group/notlobmusic
Facebook ~ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38565709718&ref=ts

notfarG House Concerts ~ 100% of the donations go to the artists.
Mailing list ~ http://www.reverbnation.com/venue/431454
Facebook ~ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=147864099159&ref=ts

Folk News and Information
Blog ~ http://notlobmusic.blogspot.com
Yahoo ~ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NorthEastFolknRoots

Concerts ~ see website for more information
Friday, December 04: National Award-Winning Performer of Scottish, Irish, Jazz, & American Music ~ Jeremy Kittel Band (featuring Tristan Clarridge, Simon Chrisman & Bodek Janke) @ UCG
Saturday, December 12: David Massengill @ Jackson Homestead
Sunday, December 13: David Massengill @ notfarG House Concerts

Monday, November 16, 2009

Kill Nashville Pop

KILL NASHVILLE POP


In Facebook I have come across an interesting organization named "Kill Nashville Pop". From what I can tell it is just one person, Larry Shell, a.k.a. "The Rev", of Brentwood, Tennessee. I feel for him and his effort. Another a kindred spirit who feels strongly about what I call the "popification" and commercialization of the music genres we loves (Larry, country, me American folk).

Billing himself "King of the Hillbilly Nation" Larry has a website , mostly filled with ads for "kill country pop" merchandise such as bumper stickers (with one pictured stuck to the inside of a toilet lid) and tee shirts.

I've become Facebook friends with Larry. I am grateful for his daily and prolific posts of scores of classic country videos such as

Willie Nelson - Touch Me (1962)
Johnny Bush - What A Way To Live
Johnny Rodriguez "You Always Come Back (To Hurting Me)"
Dolly Parton - Making Believe
Dolly Parton Song's of The 1960's
The New Lost City Ramblers - Man of Constant Sorrow
Them Old Love Songs (Waylon Jennings)
Ed Bruce - My First Taste of Texas
Brenda Lee - Always on my mind.
Hawkshaw Hawkins - Sunny Side Of The Mountain

Larry also posts videos of current country, bluegrass and traditional musicians

Bela Fleck & Jerry Douglas - Cincinnati Rag
Blackberry Blossom

These are just a few of the many which were posted within the past 24 hours.

Larry runs a Facebook cause, with 1676 members as of this writing.

"WE HOPE BY IGNORING AND NOT SUPPORTING THE NASHVILLE POP INDUSTRY WE ERADICATE FAUX POP OUT OF NASHVILLE "

Positions

  1. We believe Nashville should be the home of Country Music
  2. Our theme song is " Murder On Music Row"
  3. We also believe if you can't sing in tune you should not be allowed to record


A Google search for "Kill Country Pop" turned up an article by Dr. Tom Bibey in is blog "Dr. Tom Bibey: Stories of the Bluegrass Music Road Physician Bluegrass Fiction".

Kill Nashville Pop/Mr. Larry Shell

I started a FaceBook page a couple months ago, and it has been a bunch of fun. I’ve found old friends I used to pick with that I haven’t seen in years.

There have been a number of new folks, too. One of them is a gentleman named Larry Shell. I knew of Mr. Shell before FaceBook; he has a list of songwriter credits longer than my leg, and I’m a right lanky fellow. I became his FaceBook friend through my young country music friend Megan Peeler. She’s a wonderful singer who won the National Colgate Country Showdown. Mr. Shell is introducing her to Nashville, and they have written some songs together.

Folks, Mr. Shell is the real McCoy, and might well know more about traditional country music than anyone on the planet. Just get on FaceBook and check out his video collection of country music performances. It’s more fun than going to the picture show on a summer day when it’s the only place in town with air-conditioning.

Mr. Shell started a movement called ‘Kill Nashville Pop.’ The tag line to it might well be ’and save real Country Music.’ He has bumper stickers with the ‘Kill Nashville Pop’ logo, and I ordered several. I put one on my work briefcase right next to the ‘I Love my Martin Guitar’ sticker. (Docs carry briefcases with a lot of important papers like band set lists, so it gets a lot of exposure) One went on my banjo case, and the third one is displayed on my Calton mandolin case I carry when I travel. It’s beside the one that says, “What if the hokey pokey is really what it’s all about?”

I want you to know I have no personal animosity towards the folks who sing pop country. It’s just to me it isn’t real country music. A record executive once told me, (paraphrased) “Doc, you’re too hung up on this art thing. You gotta realize the real purpose of a country song is to keep someone on the radio until the commercial comes on.” I am sure I am hopelessly old fashioned but to me the real purpose of of country song is to touch me and help me carry my burdens. When one of my favorite patients turns up with some God awful cancer no one in the Tobacco Triangle can fix, sometimes all that gets me by is my God and my music. Maybe I’m just old, but fluff doesn’t cut my gig, and a daily minefield of pain and suffering is a tough one at times.

I suppose one could say “Well, Doc. That’s all nice, but what do you know about the music business? You’re just a Doctor.” That is true. And I am not so naive that I don’t realize the bills have to be paid. I ran a small Doctor’s office for many years. Some months were tight, and I understand the phrase ’no margin no mission.’ I do know this though. To me the purpose of a country song is not to satisfy the quarterly earnings report of an executive, but to satisfy the souls of folks like me in the work a day world. To speak to me, it has to be honest words sung by honest people with real everyday human problems. To me if it ain’t that it ain’t country.

I’m the same way in the Doctor gig. I am what they call a ‘low end provider,’ ie in the 25th percentile as an earner. One time one of those hard bitten consultants said, “Doctor, your problem is you spend too much time talking to your patients. You need to spend more time ordering tests.” Privately he admitted if he got in jam he’d want me to try to help him out, though. I took it as a high compliment. Who’d want a Doc who saw his patient as a financial opportunity? I’m prouder of my good board scores and even more of the fact I care about my patients and most of them seem to like me O.K. Call me a Pollyanna if you want, but I say the definition of a good Doctor is one who tries to help his people, not one who wants a bonus and an award for being a ‘high end provider.’ And most of the Docs I know see it the same way.

And a good song is one that sells well because it touches people and is a good song, and is not a good song because of careful marketing and the commercial success it shows on the balance sheet for the last quarter. The good ones will stand the test of time and still are relevant years later, because they speak to human truths that have not changed. That is sure true for the material Mr. Shell posts every day on FaceBook.

One time I went to a song writer seminar and a fellow named Paul Craft was on the panel. Someone asked him how he knew when he’d written a good song. He said something like when he got to where he could sleep because he believed he had reached deep down inside and got the best out of himself he could do, then he felt it was a good song. I like that definition. For my money, I want someone to tell me a story about Clayton Delaney. There is a reason a legend like Tom T. Hall and his wife Dixie write bluegrass tunes these days, and I guarantee you it has nothing to do with money.

Oh, one last thing. Mr. Shell is working on a book. Mine is due out in 2010. Some old day me and Megan are gonna play a song at a book store gig and my wife and I are gonna take her out for a plate of chicken that reminds her of home. I hope Mr. Shell will join us. I’d love to trade books with him professional courtesy, and get him to sign his. I believe if country music is saved, Mr. Shell will go down in the history books as one of the folks who threw out the life preserver. I’d pass the book on down to my kids as a reminder that their people knew the cat who helped saved it.

Well enough preaching from old Doc. Y’all can get preached at from the pulpit on Sunday, so I better get off my high horse and go to work. Good luck Mr. Shell, and keep on pushing the real country music.

Dr. B


Keep up the good work, Larry, and stay true to your beliefs!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

1000 supporters of folk and blues on WGBH can't be wrong!


On Saturday, November 6, WGBH announced it was canceling "Folk on WGBH" and "Blues on WGBH", starting it down the road to being a "single format" news/talk station.

The Facebook group, "supporters of folk and blues on WGBH", on its seventh day, reached 1000 members.

It seems WGBH management and its media consultants, are out of touch with the "folk". Or in the words of Jim Kweskin,

I can only assume this has something to do with the almighty dollar. Isn't this supposed to be public radio and aren't we the public. Folk music has been a mainstay on WGBH for as long as I can remember. Acoustic artists are as popular as ever and in some ways even more popular then in days gone by. I don't get it. WGBH should be ashamed of itself. Well, as Ma Joad said, "We're the people and you can't stop us and you can't lick us. We just keep coming, 'cause we're the people"



Cause ~ http://apps.facebook.com/causes/395481/34485837

Discussion group ~ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=201481030324&ref=ts

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Brian Quinn, WUMB program director, "laid off"

This past Saturday we learned that WGBH was dropping its "Folk on WGBH" and "Blues on WGBH" programs.

This past Tuesday, Brian Quinn, WUMB program director for 20 years, posted to NortheastFolknRoots he had been "laid off".

I have extracted several press releases going back over the years relevant to Brian's work at WUMB, mostly before it turned from folk to "music mix". Read them here, in an unpublished area of the notloB Folk Music website. This area also contains biographies of Naomi Arenberg, Brad Paul and Brendan Hogan, all late of WGBH.
that he had been laid off.

Where's the outrage, people?


Saturday, November 7, 2009

WGBH drops folk and blues programs

"...blues and folk fans have other ways to find their genres of choice in Boston..."
~ WGBH spokeswoman Jeanne Hopkins, in the Boston Globe, 11/6/09

From Jim Kweskin, in Supporters of Folk and Blues on WGBH


"I can only assume this has something to do with the almighty dollar. Isn't this supposed to be public radio and aren't we the public. Folk music has been a mainstay on WGBH for as long as I can remember. Acoustic artists are as popular as ever and in some ways even more popular then in days gone by. I don't get it. WGBH should be ashamed of itself. Well, as Ma Joad said, "We're the people and you can't stop us and you can't lick us. We just keep coming, 'cause we're the people."

-Jim Kweskin, November 7, 2009.


Brad PaulNaomi ArenbergBrendan Hogan

Brad Paul (folk), Naomi Arenberg (folk) and Brendan Hogan (blues)

Over the past two years "Folk on WGBH" has been very good to notloB Folk Concerts, hosting its artists during the afternoon prior to their performances:

Saturday, August 18, 2007
Geoff Bartley
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Mike & Ruthy Merenda & Lyn Hardy
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Dave Carter Tribute - Chris Thompson, Beth DeSombre & Ryan FitzSimmons
Saturday, November 01, 2008
The Folk Brothers - Jack Hardy and David Massengill
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Mary McCaslin
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Sacred Shakers
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Bob Franke
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Jim Hurst



"Blues on WGBH" host Brendan Hogan has performed at two notloB concerts.

On Friday, November 6, the Boston Globe made mention in passing in an arts and entertainment article titled "WGBH changes tune about keeping folk and blues" that was posted to the NEFolknRoots group.

Blues and folk radio programs may be dropped

Blues fans may get the blues when they hear WGBH's plans for programming changes. 'GBH spokeswoman Jeanne Hopkins confirmed to us yesterday that if the FCC approves the station's purchase of WCRB-FM, a classical station based in Waltham, the station will cancel "Folk on WGBH'' and "Blues on WGBH,'' which air on Saturday afternoon and Saturday night, respectively. The blues show is hosted by Brendan Hogan, while folk is hosted by Naomi Arenberg and Brad Paul. Hopkins explained that WGBH wants to carry classical music on one station (WCRB's 99.5) and news and information on the other (WGBH's 89.7). She said that blues and folk fans have other ways to find their genres of choice in Boston, and that 'GBH wants to keep its programming unique. "We've carried both of these for many years and we've been proud do it. We're very proud of the contributions,'' she said. Hopkins said there will be no programming changes until the deal goes through.




Today WGBH has announced it is canceling "Folk on WGBH" and "Blues on WGBH" (this means bluegrass, old time, Cajun and zydeco, too).

now confirmed on the WGBH website:"

http://www.wgbh.org/listen/goodbyefolkandblues.cfm


Schedule changes on 89.7

In December, WGBH is bringing WCRB 99.5 into our family of noncommercial, listener-supported public broadcasting stations, a move that preserves full-time classical radio in Boston.

With the acquisition of 99.5, we are revising 89.7's schedule to develop a new service for our listeners that focuses on news, information, and analysis. And our classical music will move exclusively to 99.5, where we will continue the tradition of an all-classical format.

We are proud of the folk and blues programs we have offered and of the many contributions that WGBH and our hosts have made to these genres, so it was a difficult decision to discontinue Blues on WGBH and Folk on WGBH. As we refocus the 89.7 schedule on news and information, it became apparent that it would not be possible to retain all of the nonnews elements of our schedule. We have chosen to keep a select group of programs, like A Celtic Sojourn and A Prairie Home Companion, that serve our audiences well and attract support for WGBH’s work.

We are grateful to folk hosts Naomi Arenberg and Brad Paul, and blues host Brendan Hogan for sharing their passion, knowledge, and experience with listeners over the years.

Folk music fans can continue to find options on WUMB 91.9FM Boston, WNEF 91.7 FM Newburyport, WFPB 1170AM Orleans, WICN 90.5FM Worcester, WOMR 92.1FM Provincetown, or New Hampshire Public Radio. Blues fans can tune in to WUMB 91.9FM, WHRB 95.3FM, WZLX 100.7 FM, and WUML 91.5 FM.

We appreciate your support of our work and hope that you will enjoy the new offerings on 89.7 WGBH and 99.5 All Classical. For the latest information about what’s on our air, please visit wgbh.org/listen.



"Folk on WGBH" was broadcast Saturday afternoons, noon to 3pm.

"Blues on WGBH was broadcast Saturday nights, 9pm-1am.


Two Facebook groups have been created for blues and folk supporters to communicate and organize:

Cause ~ http://apps.facebook.com/causes/395481/34485837

Discussion group ~ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=201481030324&ref=ts


=======================

Source

Schedule changes on 89.7

In December, WGBH is bringing WCRB 99.5 into our family of noncommercial, listener-supported public broadcasting stations, a move that preserves full-time classical radio in Boston.

With the acquisition of 99.5, we are revising 89.7's schedule todevelop a new service for our listeners that focuses on news,information, and analysis. And our classical music will moveexclusively to 99.5, where we will continue the tradition of anall-classical format.

We are proud of the folk and blues programs we have offered and of themany contributions that WGBH and our hosts have made to these genres,so it was a difficult decision to discontinue Blues on WGBH and Folk on WGBH.As we refocus the 89.7 schedule on news and information, it becameapparent that it would not be possible to retain all of the nonnewselements of our schedule. We have chosen to keep a select group of programs, like A Celtic Sojourn and A Prairie Home Companion, that serve our audiences well and attract support for WGBH's work.

We are grateful to folk hosts Naomi Arenberg and Brad Paul, and blues host Brendan Hogan for sharing their passion, knowledge, and experience with listeners over the years.

Folk music fans can continue to find options on WUMB 91.9FM Boston, WNEF 91.7 FM Newburyport, WFPB 1170AM Orleans, WICN 90.5FM Worcester, WOMR 92.1FM Provincetown, or New Hampshire Public Radio. Blues fans can tune in to WUMB 91.9FM, WHRB 95.3FM, WZLX 100.7 FM, and WUML 91.5 FM.

We appreciate your support of our work and hope that you will enjoy the new offerings on 89.7 WGBH and 99.5 All Classical. For the latestinformation about what's on our air, please visit wgbh.org/listen.
===========

I am a loss for words. All I can do at this moment is create a Facebook "Folk and Blues on WGBH" supporters group.

Join

==========

http://wgbh.org/listen/arenberg_naomi.cfm

Naomi Arenberg |

Folk on WGBH

Naomi Arenberg
"Room for dancing is important!"

Background: At age 13, I discovered the power of radio while recovering from a car accident at home in rural southeastern Massachusetts. I was not allowed to read or watch television for a month, and pretty soon a small, portable radio — and the music it brought — seemed like my best friends. Forever grateful to Ellington for reminding us that there’s only “good music and bad music.” It’s a privilege to listen to lots of good folk and international music and to share some of it with listeners.
Nickname(s): Nao, Big Hair.
First album I ever owned: Peter, Paul & Mary’s 10 Years Together and Joan Baez’s David’s Album, both gifts for my 15th birthday.
Five desert island albums: Joan Baez, Vol. 1; the soundtrack to Ken Burns’s The Civil War; Sweet Honey in the Rock, Live at Carnegie Hall; the Beatles, The White Album; Beethoven: Trio for Piano and Strings No. 7 in B flat, Op. 97, "Archduke," with Pablo Casals (cello), Sándor Végh (violin), and Mieczyslaw Horszowski (piano) in a live performance.
Favorite podcast: PRI’s The World
Greatest place to see live music: Any comfortable living room or favorite outdoor festival, provided there’s a skilled engineer assisting. And room for dancing is important!
Most memorable concert: Pete Seeger at Town Hall in New York, April 1981. As he sang out, Pete gazed upward, seeming to find inspiration from above. After the show, mesmerized by the power of Pete’s songs, I looked up in the same direction and discovered that he’d been gazing at the second balcony.
Favorite movie about music/musician: Gumboots, a wonderful documentary about South African musicians and dancers
Favorite book about music/musician: Deep Community, by Scott Alarik, with terrific photos of musicians
When not listening to folk music, I listen to The World, the NPR news programs, BBC News, A Prairie Home Companion, Splendid Table
Finest moment on the air: Talking with Joseph Shabala, founder and director of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Most embarassing moment on the air: That story might be a bit too racy for this website.
If I weren't a radio host, I'd be singing with a band (which I still sometimes do in public) or work in some area of international diplomacy.
The best part of my job is weaving together all kinds of music from many parts of the world to share with listeners. Hosting festivals and concerts, where I can see how deeply the music impacts all of us.
======================
http://wgbh.org/listen/hogan_brendan.cfm

Brendan Hogan |

Blues on WGBH


Brendan Hogan
"I listen to anything honest."

Background: I've been in radio since 2000. I worked at WERS before coming to WGBH 89.7. When not on air, I'm a Cambridge-based songwriter/performer.
Greatest place to see live music: Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts
When not listening to the blues, I listen to anything honest.
The best part of my job is that I actually get to do this.
=================
http://wgbh.org/listen/paul_brad.cfm

Brad Paul |

Folk on WGBH



Brad Paul
"The best part of my job is when someone calls me while I’m on the air and asks, 'What was that song you just played? I loved it!'"

Background: I am originally from Belmont, Massachusetts, where I started my radio career as a high school intern at WGBH FM in 1975. I graduated from Emerson College, where I started the popular program The Coffeehouse, in 1980. I have since produced and hosted folk shows on WUMB-Boston and WEVO, New Hampshire Public Radio, and now back to where it all began for me, WGBH 89.7.
Nickname(s): None that I can share.
First album I ever owned: Something New by the Beatles
Five desert island albums: I don’t think I would want to take five records on a desert Island for fear that I would soon get tired of my favorite albums.If I could take my iPod, I’d be all set with 10,000 songs!
Favorite podcast: I don’t do podcasts. I don’t Twitter or text, either. I know I should be doing these things, but I don’t have time to figure it all out. I recently tried to hire my teenage son to create and maintain a Facebook page for me, but he said he was too busy. Honestly, I don’t know where people find time for all this Internet activity. Between two jobs, two teenage boys, and a small farm to maintain, I’m lucky to still remember my name at the end of the day, never mind all those user names and passwords you have to keep track of!
Greatest place to see live music: Locally I would have to go with Johnny D’s in Davis Square, Somerville. It’s run by some really great people, and I prefer the intimacy of a small club vs. a theater or arena. That said, there’s nothing like a great festival location such as the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado or the Vancouver Folk Festival in British Columbia. They book great music, and the locations are stunning.
Most memorable concert: It’s a tie. I saw Mario Bauza at the Blue Note in NYC. Mario was the original Mambo King. Seeing him with his orchestra was like being transported back in time to Havana in prerevolutionary Cuba. I don’t recall the date, but it was only a year or two before he passed away. The other would have to be Charles Brown at a Public Radio Convention party, hosted by Felix Hernandez of the NPR program Blues Stage. Charles played with his trio in the Queen Anne Suite at the Westin Saint Francis Hotel in Union Square in San Francisco. It was the combination of the grand view of the San Francisco Bay and the intimacy of hearing one of the great R&B legends in a small setting, no sound system, just the musicians and their instruments up close and personal.
Favorite movie about music/musician: A tie again. It’s between Almost Famous and This Is Spinal Tap. Both films are based on fictitious bands, but there is more truth in them than anyone in the music business would care to admit.
Favorite book about music/musician: Mansion on the Hill. It’s an intriguing history of the music business from the early '60s through the mid '90s. A lot of the landscape covered is the early folk and rock scene in Cambridge and Boston and the radio, print publications, and concert promoters that drove them.
When not listening to folk music, I listen to: One of my favorite sayings is; “Life is too short to listen to one kind of music.” So I listen to almost everything. Jazz, salsa, classical, world music, all manner of rock 'n' roll, R&B, blues, you name it.
Finest moment on the air: I’d say my finest moment on air came when I was host of The Coffeehouse on WERS, Emerson’s FM radio station. It was early in the life of the program, probably 1981, and I had no idea if people were listening to the show or not. One day, I was musing on air that we had no thermometer at the studio to tell what the outside temperature was. I said, "If anyone is listening, send in a nickel or a dime, and we will see if we can raise enough money to buy a thermometer for the station." The next day, nickels and dimes and quarters and even dollar bills began flooding into the station. I realized then that I was onto something.
Most embarrassing moment on the air: I was interviewing Norman Blake, a guitarist and songwriter from Georgia. Norman had brought his band to the station for a live studio performance. When I asked him to introduce one of the band members, Norman said, “The gentleman to my right is a melon picker from southern Georgia.” I asked what kind of melons does he pick, at which point Norman and the rest of the band broke up laughing. It was hard for this Northerner to discern the Southerner’s accent. When Norman said, "mandolin picker," I heard "melon picker."
If I weren’t a radio host, I’d be an investment banker or a ski bum. More likely the latter because I don’t know the first thing about investment banking.
The best part of my job is when someone calls me while I’m on the air and asks; “What was that song you just played? I loved it!”




Thursday, November 5, 2009

In memory of Dr. Hugh M. Hill


I will hold a special place in my heart for "Brother Blue", the fondest memories being sharing many Club Passim campfires at table 9 with him and dear Sister Ruth. Indicative of their respect for performing artists, they would write notes to each other. I wonder what those notes said!

Source

Brother Blue dead at 88, was storyteller to generations in Harvard Square, beyond

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Kat Powers

Dr. Hill, known to most as the beret-clad storyteller Brother Blue, has died.

My remembrance of him was not at one of the many events I covered in Somerville and Cambridge where he was supporting another up-and-coming storyteller, but of Brother Blue out in Harvard Square.

Dr. Hill will be missed. ...

It was maybe 15, 20 years ago in Harvard Square, and Brother Blue had group of tiny kids and skate punks wrapped up in this story which was a retelling of Hamlet. He was covered in butterfly pins which kept the 1-year-olds enraptured. He was talking about this guy named Shakespeare in just a slightly off color way, describing him to the skate punks as a guy who “you know, the man was important, he was shaking his spear. And the story was in part about this guy with the name of Yorick, who had enough going on that the 6-year-0lds and the parents were breathless. It could be that day that the sentences were punctuated by a harmonica, but I could be wrapping several of his appearances together, I've seen him tell so many stories.

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Brother Blue dead at 88; Was storyteller to generations




Delia Marshall
Brother Blue, aided by West Somerville Neighborhood School third-grader Omar Drissi, tells a story at the school's Family Night in 2002.

More related photos
Brother Blue Brother Blue
Wicked Local Cambridge
Posted Nov 05, 2009 @ 09:51 AM
Last update Nov 05, 2009 @ 10:50 AM

Cambridge

Dr.Hugh Hill, storyteller and Cambridge personality known to generations as Brother Blue, has died.

Hill, 88, died at his home Nov. 3.

Brother Blue was born in Cleveland, Ohio on July 12, 1921. An exceptional student, he served in the US Military from 1943-1946 in both theaters during World War Two; he was honorably discharged as a First Lieutenant. He obtained an AB from Harvard College, an MFA from Yale School of Drama and his PhD from Union Graduate School.

By the late-1960s Hill, always accompanied by his wife Ruth, was telling stories on the streets, in prisons, in classrooms and more. His stories always allowed the listener to imagine bigger worlds, see themselves in the heart of the tale and believe that they, too, were storytellers. Brother Blue said that he told stories, "from the middle of the middle of me to the middle of the middle of you," and that if you heard another person's story you could never harm them, so stories could save the world.

"I promise to live the story of unconditional love," said Brother Blue in a Cambridge Chronicle story six years ago. "I promise to sing a song from the middle of the middle of Brother Blue to the middle of the middle of all creation."

In 2003, "Ahhhh! A Tribute to Brother Blue and Ruth Edmonds Hill" was released The book, published by Somerville's Yellow Moon Press, is a compilation of stories, poems and photos submitted by area poets, writers, artists and just plain fans. A committee from LANES, the League for the Advancement of New England Storytellers, also based in Somerville, assisted in the project.

Brother Blue ran a storytelling series in Cambridge for over 20 years, where many storytellers found their own voices. Brother Blue and his wife Ruth always listened with uncritical and loving ears, encouraging everyone. He received multiple international awards for his art and was the official storyteller of both Cambridge and Boston.

Brother Blue leaves his wife Ruth Edmonds Hill, his sister Beatrice Hill, his niece Lynda Hill, his nephew Thomas Hill and hundreds of storytellers. Visiting hours are on Sunday, November 8, 2009 from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at Keefe Funeral Home, 2175 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge. Internment will be on Monday, Nov. 9, 2009 at 1 p.m. at the Pittsfield Cemetery, Pittsfield.

In lieu of flowers send donations to the League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling and the National Association of Black Storytellers. For obituary, directions or to send a condolence visit www.keefefuneralhome.com

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Joy Kills Sorrow signs with Signature Sounds

notloB Folk Concerts presented Joy Kills Sorrow with the Boston Boys, May 9, 2009.

Congratulations, JKS!

Source


SIGNATURE SOUNDS ANNOUNCES THE SIGNING OF JOY KILLS SORROW

DEBUT ALBUM WITH NEW LINE-UP DARKNESS SURE BECOMES THIS CITY TO BE RELEASED FEBRUARY 23, 2010

With its bold new brand of acoustic music, Joy Kills Sorrow pushes right through the envelope and out the other side. The Boston-based string band brings a decidedly modern sensibility to an old-world sound, channeling the prodigious talents of its individual members into elegant arrangements and well-crafted songs. While the group pays due homage to its Bluegrass roots-its name refers to one of the first radio stations to broadcast the music of Bill Monroe-the band truly excels in its rich and textured treatment of more contemporary material. Boasting a full arsenal of original songs, Joy Kills Sorrow plumbs the entire spectrum of its spare instrumentation, effortlessly merging influences as diverse as folk, rock, pop, and jazz. The songs that emerge are dark and often funny, ruminating on modern life and love with eloquence and wit. The result is a radical new strain of folk music, one that bravely breaks with tradition even as it salutes the past. Welcome Joy Kills Sorrow!


Sunday, November 1, 2009

Lissa Schneckenburger & Bethany Waickman @ St. James Hall

Videos of Lissa and Bethany's recent concert at the St. James Hall in Kitsilano (Vancouver), produced by the Rogue Folk Club http://www.roguefolk.bc.ca/

Lissa Schneckenburger - New England Fiddler and Folk Singer
Bethany Waickman - Guitar

http://www.lissafiddle.com

Lamplighter's hornpipe (trad)
Suffer the Child (by Greg Boardman)
The Lady Walpole's Reel (trad)
The Mountain Ranger (trad)
Nancy King (by David Kaynor)
The Old Beggerman (trad)
The Ranch (by Lissa)
The Minstrel Show (by Bob Coltman)
The Lumberman in town (trad)
Go Ken Go (by Lissa)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GtqseMHmb8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WblV0ibhato
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GtqseMHmb8

Posted with permission from Lissa and Bethany.