Bob Fivehouse, who has been our main director for about a decade, confided in me that he and his wife are moving to AZ in early November as all their older relatives who lived in this area have passed away and their children and grandchildren are all in AZ. October will be his last time directing with us. He is also a great joker who help make the tapings an enjoyable experience for everyone. We will miss Bob a great deal when he leaves.
Sandie is the only other volunteer with much directing experience. A few of our newer volunteers took the Comcast training about a year ago, which included instruction on directing so theoretically any one of them could do the job as well and they may want to try their hand at it.
But we have also seen some of our long-time volunteers seem to be phasing themselves out of the tapings, so we may need to get some new volunteers trained and involved if we don't want to find ourselves short-handed. It takes 6 technical voluteers plus me as host to tape a show with every position filled: 3 camera operators, director, sound engineer and graphics operator. We have managed to skimp by on as few as 4 volunteers by locking down one of the cameras and having the sound engineer do double duty as graphics operator, but this is not advisable for the best results.
We taped 4 very fine shows in June:
569) 6/12/13 Brother Sun - Joe Jencks, Greg Greenway, and Pat Wictor have formed a dynamic new male trio. Calling upon contemporary songwriting, and informed by the deep roots of gospel, blues, and folk, they weave a tapestry of harmony that is brilliantly fresh and yet familiar. Imagine Crosby, Stills, and Nash, with hints of the Dixie Hummingbirds. Kerrville and Falcon Ridge Folk Festivals put them on their main stages, to standing ovations. Their eponymous debut recording rose to the top of the Folk DJ chart. http://www.brothersunmusic.com
570) 6/12/13 Joe Jencks - international touring performer, songwriter, entertainer, and educator, based in Chicago. From venues like Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, to coffee houses, festivals, spiritual communities, and schools, Joe Jencks has spent the last 12 years touring full time. His songs have traveled to every continent via his own performances, radio, CDs, web casts, and other musicians. http://www.joejencks.com
571) 6/24/13 Sarah Donner – Westminster Choir College grad, she picked up a guitar, abandoned her classical roots, and became indie folk-pop star who works the stage with powerful vocals, punchy guitar, and a candid stage presence that is all her. Her music has been licensed for shows on Discovery network, Bravo, MTV, VH1, and Showtime. The "Sarah Donner and the Sleepy Kitten" video and "The Motherf**cking Pterodactyl Song” over a million views on YouTube alone. Her music has been featured on Conan O'Brien's blog, NPR, and CBS News www.SarahDonnor.com
572) 6/24/13 Son Lewis - work as a modern day exponent of the Blues has led him to recognition as a teacher, performer and recording artist; his own particular guitar style developed under the guidance of Blues guitarist Danny Kalb (founder of the Blues Project, a seminal Blues band of the 1960's). 1997 Best Retro Blues Artist of the Year (Delta Snake Magazine); 1996 Winner Skyland Blues Society Talent Competition; 1996 Finalist International Blues Talent Competition; 1995 Award National Endowment for the Arts (Audio Recording)
Upcoming:
573) 7/17/13 6:45 Walt Koken - started playing banjo in 1959. He joined the Busted Toe Mudthumpers in the late 1960's. In 1972 he formed the widely acclaimed Highwoods Stringband. They toured the U.S. as well as Latin America and Europe, and recorded three LP's on Rounder Records. In the 1990's he began producing CD's of his own banjo playing, both traditional and original tunes and songs, two on Rounder and one on his own Mudthumper label. http://www.mudthumper.com
574) 7/17/13 8:00 Steve Kunzman - is always searching for truth: truth in study of world religions, truth in his work as a lawyer, truth in songwriting. In his new CD, Back Home, Steve explores his truth through the essence of home as restorative power, as light in the distance & light in the heart, through his music. Steve’s music presents deep, soul-stirring Americana with moods ranging from rollicking to whisper-soft and twang to mist-dripping melodies. Steve lives in New Jersey and has traveled the world with guitar in hand. www.SteveKunzman.com
575) 8/29/13 6:45 Don Slepian - Original Classical Keyboard Concert Soloist, combines unique skills in music and electronics with a lifetime of improvised keyboard music performance. Working in Renaissance, Baroque, and Romantic genres, he performs original classically-styled music on computer instruments of his own design. He also presents interactive video webcasts and mentors other electronic keyboardists. www.DonSlepian.com
576) 8/29/13 8:00 Gordon Ward - writer, presenter, musician & educator; currently divides his professional time between writing, lecturing, and being the Family and Youth Minister at a Presbyterian church; has worked as a group transformation facilitator in the experiential education field where he designed and facilitated teambuilding programs for twenty-two years. www.gtwservices.com
last week of October or first week of November 2013 - Mark Mandeville & Raianne Richards
1/2/14 - tenative Mark Brine