Thursday, November 29, 2012

Woe to him who questions UMass Boston policy!

Ten hours ago I observed on its Facebook post about the refurbished Clark Center Gymnasium
 that UMass Boston athletics are not covered by the university's radio station, WUMB.


From its Facebook page earlier today:

The Beacons basketball teams will play their first doubleheader of the season in the newly renovated Clark Center Gymnasium tonight!

The men’s basketball team (3-2) will tip off at 5:30 p.m. against Suffolk University. The women’s team (3-0) will host Suffolk at 7:30 p.m. Come cheer them on!
The Beacons basketball teams will play their first doubleheader of the season in the newly renovated Clark Center Gymnasium tonight!

The men’s basketball team (3-2) will tip off at 5:30 p.m. against Suffolk University. The women’s team (3-0) will host Suffolk at 7:30 p.m.  Come cheer them on!
Like ·  ·  · 27 minutes ago ·

Apparently a Massachusetts taxpayer is not allowed to express an opinion of UMass Boston policy, my comment was removed and I am not blocked from making new ones.

From same page 10 hours later:


The Beacons basketball teams will play their first doubleheader of the season in the newly renovated Clark Center Gymnasium tonight!

The men’s basketball team (3-2) will tip off at 5:30 p.m. against Suffolk University. The women’s team (3-0) will host Suffolk at 7:30 p.m. Come cheer them on!
The Beacons basketball teams will play their first doubleheader of the season in the newly renovated Clark Center Gymnasium tonight!

The men’s basketball team (3-2) will tip off at 5:30 p.m. against Suffolk University. The women’s team (3-0) will host Suffolk at 7:30 p.m.  Come cheer them on!
 · 10 hours ago · 


So I put it out to the blogosphere, "Will this and future UMass Boston basketball games be broadcast via WUMB, which advertises itself as "a community service of UMass Boston?""

Ask University of Massachusetts Boston

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Back from the Bogs

It appears the announcement of the demise of the Bluegrass on the Bogs festival was premature. Probably more accurately, it is back from the other side. I have word from its former organizer another has stepped up to lead the effort and it will be back in May. Details to follow when more has been authorized.

For background information, read "Bluegrass on the Bogs Goes Dry" 11/18/12


9pm update: Posted to the Bluegrass on the Bogs' Facebook page


We are all very excited and would like to welcome Mike Foster to the BOTB family. Actually he has been among us as a band member with Railroad House Band for some time now. However, now he has acceptedanother role as the new manager for Bluegrass On the Bogs. The following is a message from Mike. Very shortly, I will be adding Mike as another admin for this page and you may never know who's behind the curtain here on fb. 

From Mike:

"The festival is on!


Thanks to Kristin Taylor and Peter Nelson for making this festival happen for the past 7 years and thanks to Kristin in particular for her help with the transition.

The festival will remain at the campground (Maple Park in Wareham) for next year at the same weekend as planned (May 17-19, I believe).

I'm working on the lineup now and will be in touch with all the bands.

We plan on adding a second stage down by the Lake, so bands may have the opportunity of playing more than one set. Sets for bands will be extended to 1 hour 15 minutes to give musicians more time to set up and play.

In order to avoid conflicts with other campers that weekend, we are working on new arrangement whereby folks who wish to pick music late will be able to reserve a spot in a specific section of the campground. This has not been finalized, but the campground is aware and open to the idea. More to follow.

I'll need all the help I can get!

If anyone has any questions, feel free to contact me at mfoster@curry.edu or via Facebook.

"The festival is on!


Mike Foster

Thanks to Kristin Taylor and Peter Nelson for making this festival happen for the past 7 years and thanks to Kristin in particular for her help with the transition.


The festival will remain at the campground (Maple Park in Wareham) for next year at the same weekend as planned (May 17-19, I believe).


I'm working on the lineup now and will be in touch with all the bands.


We plan on adding a second stage down by the Lake, so bands may have the opportunity of playing more than one set. Sets for bands will be extended to 1 hour 15 minutes to give musicians more time to set up and play.


In order to avoid conflicts with other campers that weekend, we are working on new arrangement whereby folks who wish to pick music late will be able to reserve a spot in a specific section of the campground. This has not been finalized, but the campground is aware and open to the idea. More to follow.


I'll need all the help I can get!


If anyone has any questions, feel free to contact me at mfoster@curry.edu or via Facebook.



Saturday, November 24, 2012

"A Fiddler's Holiday", Jay Ungar and Molly Mason Family Band Holiday TV Special



"A Fiddler's Holiday", Jay Ungar and Molly Mason Family Band Holiday TV Special 

The Jay Ungar and Molly Mason Family Band, who performed in a notloB concert 7/10/09, will be in a nationally televised holiday special. Mike and Ruthy have been presented by notloB on several other occasions.

What is it they say about the family that plays together?
Well, even if they don't all live under the same roof, this family makes terrific music and has a rip-roarin' good time while they're at it. The Jay Ungar & Molly Mason Family Band features Jay, Molly, Jay's daughter Ruth Ungar, and her husband Mike Merenda. And Mike & Ruthy's two children Will, born January 2008, and Opal born June 2012 also join them on the road, though rarely onstage.
With exceptional musicianship and a vast knowledge of numerous musical styles, Jay & Molly are one of the most celebrated duos in American acoustic music. They achieved international acclaim in 1990 when their performance of Jay's composition Ashokan Farewell became the musical hallmark of Ken Burns' The Civil War on PBS.
You may know Mike & Ruthy from The Mammals. Ruthy cut her teeth on traditional music, and grew up to be a top-flight performer. She brings fiddle, ukulele, guitar and deeply moving vocal performances to the Family Band. Mike Merenda favored rock and ska before being drawn into the world of acoustic music and brings those sensibilities to his playing on old-time banjo, guitar, percussion and his own compelling vocals.
Four terrific musicians. Put them together and the sum really is greater than its parts. Double fiddles, sweet vocal harmonies and rhythmic energy abound as two generations collaborate to entertain you with music from the heart and soul of America.

Sourced from notloB  Folk Concerts' facebook page

height: 32px;notloB Folk Concerts shared Jay Ungar and Molly Mason's photo.
From Jay Ungar and Molly Mason
Announcing "A Fiddler's Holiday" our Family Band Holiday Special on PBS-TV. Check local listings.
http://ymlp.com/zmZBBg

Friday, November 23, 2012

History will judge us either stupid or complicit, RIP, Jack Hardy

Today Jack Hardy would have turned 65. Jack passed away on March 11, 2011, after a short battle with cancer. We all mourn his loss and send our most heartfelt condolences to his family and others close to him.




Today I reflect on Jack's words, HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE!

Ask Questions

The dust bowl is flooded the northwest is dry

Someone strike a match to shed us some light
But all that is burned is a cross in the yard
And a flood in the ninth parish ward
Climb up the hill to the capitol
Dare to hold them accountable

Ask questions

Jefferson the patriot fearless and bold
Takes Sally Hemmings when she's fourteen year old
Who cannot resist who cannot deny
The way his descendants now have to try
Climb up the hill to the capitol
Dare to hold them accountable

Ask questions

(chorus:)
And history has eyes history has ears
History finds secrets that are buried for years
Exploded explained exposed and explicit
History will judge us either stupid or complicit
And we know we are not stupid

Ask questions

Remember the Maine, Lusitania too
The Gulf of Tonkin and Peal Harbor Two
Where there's a will there's a way to go to war
And a profit without honor no more
Climb up the hill to the capitol
Dare to hold them accountable

Ask questions

Joshua believes in heaven and in hell
Polishes his trumpet in a dessert motel
Gambling and whoring till his time comes around
And the towers come tumbling down
Climb up the hill to the capitol
Dare to hold them accountable

Ask questions

(repeat chorus)


source


Thursday, November 22, 2012

Turn Your (Internet) Radio On

Turn Your (Internet) Radio On*, an offering of internet and broadcast radio alternatives for your listening pleasure as you go about your holiday routine.

Victor Robert Venckus presents his Annual WZBC Pow WowIf you are a member of NEFolk you will have already received the reminder. Today's listening gem comes from independent college/community radio station WZBC (Boston College, Newtown, MA). On Thanksgiving Day (a.k.a. the Native Americans' National Day Of Mourning), Victor Robert Venckus presents his Annual WZBC Pow Wow. He's been doing this, well, forever over 20 years now. From noon until midnight, Victor plays Native American and Native American-inspired music in all possible genres, including rock, folk, country, traditional, new age, and spoken word. He also has live reports from the demonstrations in Plymouth and possibly interviews regarding Native American spirituality and politics. Tune in to WZBC 90.3 FM, or listen online, for the perfect soundtrack for your Thanksgiving dinner or whatever you happen to be doing that day.






Thanksgiving from Smithsonian Folkways. Thanksgiving from Smithsonian Folkways” explores themes of thanks, homecoming, and food. David and Billie Ray Johnson’s bluegra
ss rendition of “Kentucky Waltz” and Elizabeth’s Cotten’s blues, “Vastopol,” convey the feeling of contentment and peace in Thanksgiving, while Jim Nollman’s cover of “Froggy-Went-a-Courtin’ (300 Turkeys)” and Don Bryant and Pete Kuykendall’s version of “Turkey in the Straw” encapsulate the joy and fun of this time of year. The playlist features more, including Native American and Georgia church choirs, and Brian Mackness’ contribution titled, fittingly, “Family.”





For other listening ideas, view the suggestions in Community and Independent College Radio**, where you'll find a listing of special Thanksgiving/National Day of Mourning  programming.


---
* Apologies to Albert Edward Brumley.**Community and independent college are types of radio service that offer a third model of radio broadcasting  beyond commercial and public service. Community and independent college stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular to a local/specific audience but which may often be overlooked by commercial/mass-media and so-called "public" broadcasters. Community and independent radio stations are operated, owned, and driven by the communities they serve. Community radio is not-for profit and provides a mechanism for facilitating individuals, groups, and communities to tell their own diverse stories, to share experiences, and in a media rich world to become active creators and contributors of media. Click here for a guide to community and independent college stations located in the greater northeast US.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

A Thanksgiving Post that Ain't No Turkey

Back on April 12 notloB presented Darol Anger and Emy Phelps with very special guest Sharon Gilchrist at the historic Loring-Greenough House in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood. For background, read




Today our good friend "Second Cousin Curley" posted to NEFolk notice of a new article that looks back at the concert in context of one of the tunes played that night, “Cherokee Shuffle."


A Thanksgiving Post that Ain't No Turkey  
“Cherokee Shuffle” is one of the most popular fiddle tunes in bluegrass. This week at www.secondcousincurly.com we try to untangle its interesting musical lineage with help of a tasty rendition of the tune by Darol Anger, Sharon Gilchrist and Emy Phelps from their concert last spring at the Loring-Greeenough House. Coming on the cusp of Thanksgiving, you can view this post as 
a)    a maladroit tribute to the central role of Native Americans in the founding of the nation;
b)    a pathetic attempt to populate folksy listservs and online forums with 50 centime words like “maladroit;”
c)    an inspiration to play this and other old favorites as you gather with friends and family;
d)    a brief respite from all the cooking and socializing;
e)    all of the above.Happy Thanksgiving!Yer Pal-- Curly
Read On the Trail of the Lost Indian and enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving.

p.s. Here's the video for those who can't wait.



Tuesday, November 20, 2012

BBU Announces 2013 Joe Val Bluegrass Festival Graphic Design

The Boston Bluegrass Union (BBU) has announced the winning design for the 28th annual Joe Val Bluegrass Festival


Sheila Selby writes "On behalf of the BBU Board, I'm thrilled to debut the winning graphic for our 2013 Joe Val Bluegrass Festival. We received dozens of wonderful entries this year (as we did last year), making the judging difficult since we could only pick one winner.


"The creator of the fabulous winning design is David Grossi, a graphic artist and amateur musician from Georgetown, MA. David's dad, Vincent Grossi - an avid bluegrass fan, guitar and mando player, and who many of you know - has been David's major music influence and encouraged David to enter this year's graphic contest.


"I asked David to write a short bio, and he eloquently wrote about the power of music, which I think rings true for all of us.


"Growing up in a music-oriented family, I have always appreciated the power of music and the ability it has to heal the heart, expand one's mind and express deep feelings. More often than not music has a way of expressing our feelings and thoughts in such a manner that words could never do them justice. And let us not look past music's unique ability to bring wholly different people together to share a common, ancient and primal pleasure."

David's graphic is below. It's shown in grayscale, but will be in color on the festival t-shirts.


"Again, thanks to all who entered the contest. We truly appreciate your time, energy, and support."

The 28th annual Joe Val Bluegrass Festival will be presented over Presidents' Day weekend, February 15-17 in Framingham, Massachusetts at the Sheraton Hotel. 


The festival's main stage lineup announced includes
Seldom SceneSteep Canyon Rangers (Fri)Rambling Rooks (Sun)Dale Ann BradleySteeldriversAudie Blaylock and RedlineThe James King BandDonna UlisseJim Gaudet and the Railroad BoysThree Tall PinesBerklee Bluegrass All-Stars (Fri)
with more to be added.


A word to the wise wishing to stay at the host venue, watch the BBU's website for hotel reservation announcement, rooms sell out within minutes.

Links:
Joe Val Bluegrass Festival websiteJoe Val Bluegrass Festival Facebook groupBoston Bluegrass Union websiteBoston Bluegrass Union Facebook page