We've had some great shows on Ocracoke at Deepwater Theater these past two weeks! Wonderful audiences at the Ocrafolk Opry and Molasses Creek concerts. Although we are in the midst of summer, the weather has not hit dogs-days hot yet. And in spite of all the rain we have had this season the mosquitoes are remarkable tame (Fiddler Dave's son, Lachlan, managed to harness some this week and they pulled him around the beach on a sand sled!)
This last week, Molasses Creek began working in Gary's Soundside Studio on a song that Louie found called Choo Choo Ch'boogie by Louis Jordan. Here is an old black and white version of the song!
With that we are putting another old song that we found being done by the Boswell Sisters and Cab Calloway called Old Yazoo.
We hope to have the new arrangement live and on stage this next week.
Over the weekend, Gary is off to the Raleigh area to start work on tweaking the Festival Release 2013 to prepare it for national release later this year!
The most exciting new news is that Ocracoke figs are beginning to come in. Everyone is busy scurrying around gathering the quickly ripening fruit. The trees have to be checked every day, or the birds will claim the best of the crop! If it rains, then figs must be picked extra quick or they will go sour. There are around 7 different types of fig trees on Ocracoke Island. In our environment, the trees require very little care . . . they practically grow wild!
The fig tree at the Ocracoke Preservation Society
If you have ever picked figs, you will notice that the tree secretes a milky fluid that will give the picker a slight itchy rash . . . easily washed off and well worth the effort. Fiddler Dave and Lachlan have been checking the tree at the Ocracoke Preservation Society daily for Amy Howard (wife and the administrator for OPS). Today they took home between 5 & 10 pounds! They ferry the fruit back to Amy's mom, Julie Howard, who cooks them down with sugar to make preserves and cans them for keeping.
Not quite ripe yet!
These preserves then return to OPS for events and for sale at the store. Check the OPS website if you are headed to Ocracoke to find out what porch talks are being offered (there is one on figs and fig trees).
If you have picked up some fig preserves (or ordered a jar through the OPS gift shop), one of our favorite ways to use them is to make a traditional Ocracoke Island Fig Cake. Here is a recipe courtesy of the Ocrafolk Festival (this recipe was adapted by Debbie Wells and featured on the 2011 Ocrafolk Festival T-shirt). Fig Cake Recipe 3 large eggs 1 1/2 c sugar 1 c vegetable oil 2 c plain flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ground allspice 1/2 c buttermilk 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 c walnuts coarsely chopped 2 c preserved figs cut up
Grease and flour one large tube or bundt pan Preheat oven to 350 In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs until light and foamy. Add sugar and beat until pale, add oil slowly and beat another minute. Sift together flour, spices, salt and soda. Add to eggs alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Stir in figs, nuts and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan and place in a preheated oven. Bake for 45 minutes or until cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in pan for 20 minutes then invert onto a rack and cool completely. Transfer to a serving plate and enjoy!
Fish Printing Fun!
Also this week at the OPS Museum, David Scott and Melinda Esham directed a fantastic fish printing session. Here are some photos.
That's about all we have for this post. If you are traveling to Ocracoke Island, come by for a show at Deepwater Theater. Wednesday nights are the Ocrafolk Opry and Thursday nights, Molasses Creek. Our next shows off the island are on August 18th in Washington & Greenville, NC. Here are the details!
This last week was a busy one with 4th of July activities here at home on Ocracoke Island, and a Sunday opening for Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys at the Lost Colony Waterside Theatre on Roanoke Island.
Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys
The Waterside Theatre is a beautiful and fascinating place to perform. The set for the world famous Lost Colony outdoor drama, we fully expected colonists and natives to come surging out on to the stage during a fiddle breakdown. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green, The Lost Colony outdoor drama is celebrating its 76th season this year! You can read more about it at http://thelostcolony.org.
As the sun set, the light on the sound waters behind the theater palisade faded and the starry night sky formed a seamless backdrop, joining with the canopy of live oak trees that border the audience and the stage. We couldn't think of a more beautiful place to enjoy a concert by one of the cultural treasures of our country. At 86, Ralph Stanley stood on stage for the entire concert, gracing the audience with sounds and songs from the mountain communities of old.
Here are some more pictures around the stage of the Waterside Theatre.
Costumes from the Lost Colony production
Louie, Marcy, and Gerald in the costume greenroom (Marcy had to be dragged away!)
4th of July Fun on Ocracoke Island
Blackbeard getting a picture with a young fan
While we are talking about famous historic places and characters of the Outer Banks, we will give you a shot of Emmet Temple as Blackbeard the pirate. Blackbeard met his fate off of Ocracoke Island in November of 1718 when he was hunted down by Lt. Robert Maynard. Ever since then, his ghost has reappeared (with head) at holiday events around the island . . . and 4th of July is no exception.
Blackbeard being interviewed Ocracoke Radio personality, Daphne Bennink
The 4th kicked off with a flag raising, a sandcastle contest, and a fig cake bakeoff. Fiddler Dave joined Captain Rob Temple for two pirate shows during the afternoon, the Ocracoke parade wound its way through the village, and the evening rounded off with Molasses Creek playing for a traditional Ocracoke squaredance, hosted by local caller and island historian Philip Howard. Unfortunately a quick storm popped up right as Martin Garrish and the Ocracoke Rockers were set to perform . . . but other than that weather event, the day went perfectly.
A stunning beach day for the 4th!
Here are some sandcastle contest entries . . .
Alice in Wondersand and the Mad Hatteras
Sea Serpent
Fat Tub
SPF Infinity
A model of Ocracoke Island (looking on Silver Lake Harbor)
Octopus
Sandgloo
The parade is always an audience favorite!
Showering with a friend . . . an Ocracoke tradition.
The Holy Mackerals barbershop (with Donald Davis, Bill Jones, David Senseney, and Gary Mitchell of Molasses Creek)
That's about all for now. If you are heading to Ocracoke Island, come and visit us at our weekly shows at our Deepwater Theater. Wednesday nights are the Ocrafolk Opry and Thursday nights, Molasses Creek. For tickets and more information visit http://www.molassescreek.com/deepwatertheater.cfm. Our next off island performance is on August 18 for Greenville, NC Sunday in the Park. Visit our calendar for more information.
Don't forget, our new "Festival Release 2013" album is now available at our online store, along with T-shirts, hand-through pottery mugs and more!
Thanks!
Your Molasses Creek crew
Gary, Fiddler Dave, Marcy, Lou, & Gerald.
Molasses Creek soundchecking up at the OBX Community Forum
Hello there fans!
Molasses Creek will be giving two performances this weekend! Friday, March 15, between 2 & 6 PM ~ Molasses Creek at OBX Taste of the Beach BBQ Showdown, at the Southern Shores Marketplace, Kitty Hawk, NC. For tickets and more information about the weekend festival, visit http://www.obxtasteofthebeach.com/home.htm
Saturday, March 16, 6:30 PM ~ Faces of Compassion Gala and Auction for the Hospice of Jacksonville. Event is at the Infant of Prague Parish Hall, 214 Marine Blvd., Jacksonville, NC. For more information visithttp://thefoundationforhospice.org/.
Also if you traveling to Ocracoke for Easter weekend, Friday, March 29, Ocracoke Alive will be hosting Philip Howard with an OcracokeSquaredance at the Ocracoke Community Center. On Saturday, March 30, Molasses Creek will be in concert at Deepwater Theater on Ocracoke.
It has been a blustery February on Ocracoke Island, NC, as to be expected. Islanders have also been a wee bit more isolated than usual. Early in the year, the ferry channel in the Hatteras-Ocracoke inlet filled in enough that that route was shut down for almost a month while a new/temporary channel was dredged. The temporary route is a little bit longer, so the northern ferries have been running every 1.5 hours instead of the usual on-the-hour plan. Recently, a noreaster came through and took out dunes in Hatteras and flooded the S-curves (even Manteo had quite a bit of flooding). The route heading north of Buxton has been treacherous for the past week as a result.
All this means more traveling to the mainland via the Swan Quarter and Cedar Island ferries, even to go to appointments up the Outer Banks. The third week in January, Molasses Creek zipped around to to play at the Outer Banks Forum for the Lively Arts, at the grand auditorium at First Flight High School in Kitty Hawk. The packed out concert hall and enthusiastic audience really got our blood pumping. We were able to take that excitement and energy back home to plug into our new recording! Thanks so much to all of our fans up there for joining us, and to the Kastens and all of the great friends at the Outer Banks Forum. They put on quite a season! Here are some pictures
Gary
Gerald
Louie!
Marcy
What is this? Musical ninja?
Back on Ocracoke, Fiddler Dave had the rare treat of a tour of the Ocracoke lighthouse while assisting the administrator of the Ocracoke Preservation Society (his wife, Amy Howard) and Clayton Gaskill in a film project. Here are some pictures.
From the outside. A beautiful day!
For holding the fuel
Up the stairs!
Up into the top
A shot of the lens
And the source of light (the bulbs are designed to rotate automatically if one burns out).
From the top!
Any now, back down!
Behind the Scenes at Work on the New Molasses Creek Album at Soundside Studios!
Marcy lays down a vocal track while Gary mans the command center.
Usually, it takes us 6-8 months of studio work to put together a new recording. We start with a long list of songs that we are considering for an album, and gradually shave these selections down as we see how they develop.
Sometimes we record pieces that came from past seasons' repertoire. This has a couple of advantage in that everyone has generally worked out their parts (we hope) and the arrangement has settled organically. The disadvantage is that it can be harder to think fresh about a song with a predetermined arrangement. Also when releasing a new project, the artist wants the audience to be excited about taking a CD home with them. . . meaning that the ensemble must be committed to playing CD pieces live for a couple of seasons. If you like to change the songlist each year, as Molasses Creek does, then you have to be careful how many past season's pieces you are putting on a new project, if you are not planning to include them in future live shows.
Many bands create a recording with completely new material and then do an "album release tour" to support the new project. The advantage of this scenario is that the material will have a fresh spark, and you will be excited about performing it. The disadvantage is that this process can take more studio time (and cost) because you are developing ideas as you go. Also, a lot of arrangements mature and settle as a result of playing pieces live for a season. At the end of this trial time in front of a audience, we have distilled the essence of a piece and usually play it a little different from when we first start.
In spite of all these heady decisions, time marches on and the new album is due in May at the beginning our Ocracoke season whether we like it or not!
Here is a list of the potential songs for Molasses Creek's 13th CD! We'll tell you more about them in later blogs.
Nevertheless
Tico Creeko
Ehringhaus Blues
Something Worth Having
Joe Bell Flowers
Roseville Fair
My Window Faces the South
Five Minutes
King’s Shilling
Tennessee Stud
Galway Girl
Oh Death My Friend
Waterman
Fiddler Dave and son, Lachlan, after some intense recording sessions. Time for a vacation?
February is Traveling Time if you live on Ocracoke Island
Every community has it own particular rhythm. If you live in a seasonal beach destination, then chances are that summertime is your period of most intensive work. The Ocracoke season runs from Easter to Thanksgiving. December brings a lot of community holiday events, which leaves January and February as your best options for family vacations and traveling.
Last month Fiddler Dave, Amy Howard, and son, Lachlan traveled to the Pacific Northwest to visit Amy's mother Julie and husband Gary in beautiful Bellingham, WA. On the way to the airport in Raleigh, the family visited the NC Museums of History and Natural Sciences in Raleigh, and caught a performance by the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Philip Howard as a WWI soldier at the Museum of History
Lachlan Howard feeling slothful
Tigers & lions at the circus. Not quite as amazing as the trained housecats in ring #1.
Once out in the Northwest, they took care of priorities!
Donuts and a Rocket?!! Awesome combination!
A rockslide last year uncovered the first footprint ever found of a Diatryma
A mammoth molar (you should have seen the size of the dental pliers!)
Around Bellingham Bay . . . very different from the sandy shores of Ocracoke, NC
Amy shows off a sweatered tree outside a Bellingham Quilt shop.
A visit to the Taylor Shellfish Farm south of Bellingham
While in the area, Fiddler Dave, Amy and Lachlan traveled to the Taylor Shellfish Farms and were given a tour and shown one of the critters being farmed in the area. The clam is called a geoduck (pronounced "gooey-duck") which translates from the native Washington people to mean "dig deep." Burrowed deep in the mud, the shell at the base only protects the vital innards, while the tip of the siphon or "neck"is just above the sea-bottom so that it can suck in plankton and get rid of wastes. The neck is the edible part. Some of these geoducks have been recorded as living in excess of 100 years! For more details visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoduck.
A farm raised geoduck at the Taylor Shellfish Farms
The family also traveled to Vancouver, BC for sightseeing. Vancouver has the second largest Chinatown in North America. During their visit, they happened upon a huge New Year's celebration with dancing dragons, martial artists, and . . . bagpipes?!
Peaceful Sun Yat-Sen Garden in Chinatown, Vancouver, BC.
Amazing where they will plant trees nowadays . . .must be long roots!
Skiing at Mt Seymore near Vancouver
Amy, David, & Lachlan also traveled to the Vancouver Aquarium, where they were able to see couple of Beluga whales and brilliant jellyfish.
While Dave and family were in the Pacific Northwest, Gary was working on the new recording, and Gerald was repairing instruments, Marcy attended a quilt retreat at Rosemary’s Quilt Shop in Highland, IL (http://rosemarysfabricnquilts.weebly.com/index.html)
She made this connection when three Molasses Creek fans who have been visiting Ocracoke and the Deepwater Theater for years found out that Marcy is a quilter. They (Margie and Jim Allen and Margie’s sister Diane Dalton), too, are quilters and invited Marcy to join them for their annual pilgrimage to Rosemary’s Fabric and Quilt shop and she did this February! It was a long weekend filled with quilting, shopping for fabric, eating and pajama-wearing fun!
Marcy has also been awarded a Writing Fellowship Residency at the Hambidge Center in the mountains of Georgia! She’ll be working on her book-in-progress for the last two weeks of March. An exciting honor! Go Marcy! www.hambidge.org.
That's about all for now. Here is a link to a Youtube video we just received of a performance/residency that we did at the Towson High School in Baltimore, MD last year. What fun!
If you are traveling to Ocracoke for Easter weekend, Molasses Creek will be doing a show on Saturday, March 30 at Deepwater Theater at 8 PM. Hope to see you out on the road!
Gary, Fiddler Dave, Marcy, Lou & Gerald
Molasses Creek
UPCOMING SHOWS
Friday, March 15, between 2 & 6 PM ~ Molasses Creek at OBX Taste of the Beach BBQ Showdown, at the Southern Shores Marketplace, Kitty Hawk, NC. For tickets and more information about the weekend festival, visit http://www.obxtasteofthebeach.com/home.htm
Saturday, March 16, 6:30 PM ~ Faces of Compassion Gala and Auction for the Hospice of Jacksonville. Event is at the Infant of Prague Parish Hall, 214 Marine Blvd., Jacksonville, NC. For more information visithttp://thefoundationforhospice.org/.
April 6, Saturday ~ James City County Rotary Club concert series presents Molasses Creek at the Kimball Theater, Williamsburg, VA. http://www.jccrotary.org/
