More news from our Memphis Folk Alliance Adventure . . .
We got to visit with Ocrafolk Festival favorites, Trent Wagler & the Steel Wheels and the Honey Dewdrops, as well as Eileen Carson Schatz of the original Green Grass Cloggers (she was up for a Grammy this year), who sent a message out to her Eastern Carolina compatriots . . . “Tell the home team I love them!” Everyone at the Folk Alliance was completely accessible, sharing music, stories, and great advice.
Marcy attended the do-it yourself agent/management seminars along with every songwriting seminar she could get her hands on. “I loved being around other songwriters that look at the world like I do,” she said.
Lou took dobro, harmonica, and pedal steel workshops and built a ukelele in his spare time. He met the originators of the Sacred Steel guitar style and also attended a workshop on using partial Capos, which allow children and handicapped people to easily play guitar.
Fiddler Dave attended music management workshops, a John Hartford fiddling seminar, and a non-profit management class (highly useful for the Ocrafolk Festival).
Gary attended workshops on international touring, hand drumming, and sound engineering, and enjoyed talking shop with legendary sound engineers Bill Vorndick, Charlie Pilser, and Miles Wilkenson. He also chatted with folk legends Rodney Dillard (of the Darling Family fame from the Andy Griffith Show), musician and activist Si Khan, and the Kruger Brothers (and their soundman Philip).
Gerald held his own at the exhibit booth, roping in DJs from across the country to take a listen to Molasses Creek tunes.
Over the weekend Molasses Creek gave two performances. . . the last one was on the top floor of the Marriott Convention Center. Floors 17, 18, and 19 were completely reserved for Folk Alliance Showcases. When we extracted ourselves from the elevator-instrument/musician compactor, our ears began ringing with the beauteous sounds of an Ocrafolk Festival-sized celebration packed into the halls and rooms of a single hotel level. Finishing at 1:00 AM Sunday morning, we wearily headed out and returned to the Kelly’s to sleep a few winks and get ready for a 9:00 AM departure for Burlington, NC.
Whew! What a week!
Now we return home to prepare for the upcoming Northeast Tour . . . and to complete recording our new album. More news on these next week!
Take care!
Gary, Fiddler Dave, Marcy, Lou, and Gerald
Molasses Creek
