Bingo!

Kody Norris and Aspen Run Bluegrass at Darlington, Maryland on 17 December 2011

17 December 2011 - Darlington, Maryland

Herb Martin thinks I'm heading up north to do some work for him. Take some pictures, schmooze with the band, maybe write something. I'm really just slumming on a late Saturday afternoon. Odd thing is, I'm listening to Puccini's Madama Butterfly live from the Met on WETA-FM while on my way to listen to a whole evening of Beer-drinking music at a VFW Post I've never been to in my life. I love Puccini. I love these roads to nowhere, somewhere in central Maryland. It's all Herb's fault. He gets me into these things. "You oughta come up to so-and-so on such-and-such a date" he tells me. I immediately get on Google and try to figure out where these places are. Us slummers are lost five miles outside the Beltway. I knew I'd made a wrong turn somewhere going through Belair. Eight miles later I found a country road which would take me directly north to Darlington, which isn't even on any of the printed or internet mapping systems. All I had to go by was a print-out of an intersection and the VFW Post was supposed to be near the intersection. It was getting really dark around 5:00 pm.

It's all part of the adventure of being in new surroundings. I don't even know if people use the word "slumming" anymore. It means having a snob attitude about yourself, and leaning away from the finer pursuits of life and going lower than your status to enjoy something more "common." I really like Opera, but you're not allowed to get up and dance during any part of it. There's little in Opera that makes you want to get drunk and leave your wife, or else kill your wife's sweetheart. For that you need to listen to Jimmy Martin. That's why I'm on this latest quest to spend an evening in what is basically a country Beer-Joint with Herb Martin and his boys Herb Martin III, Aaron Martin, and Clayton Martin. Let me mention two other important people who are key to this: Steve Unkart and Kody Norris. I'm not about to kill my wife or shoot the guy who's fooling around with her. I'm just escaping Puccini for a little while to listen to something a hell of a lot more relevent than some rat of a U.S. Navy Officer who dumps his girlfriend in feudal Japan. Steve Unkart, who has to be a Jimmy Martin clone can handle my sense of entertainment for the evening.

I got there early even if I went out of my way. My cheap compass got me there, right where I was supposed to be. The Darlington Post was definitely in nowhere. I went inside and made sure everyone in the bar knew I was a veteran and also a member of the VFW. I might like Opera and the finer things in life, but damn it, I also served my country. I hate bars. Everyone gives you "The Look" when you open the door. I made sure I had my Third Marine Division pin on too, in case there were any Marines in the place who wanted to come up and slap me on the back and shake hands. The Army guys don't do this when they meet. The whole thing is kind of creepy the way they don't acknowledge each other. They won't even buy you a drink. So I don't trust Army guys in places like this. Dean Ashley did walk up and welcomed me to the Post and he introduced himself. I told him I liked bluegrass and was here to see the band. His eyes lit up. He launched into a monologue about the Post's music program, the crowd that hangs out there, and some of the name-bands that have played there. OK, I thought, I'm beginning to be impressed.

Near six-o'clock others started coming through the door to enjoy the early dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans and corn bread. A nice bunch of people. Salt of the Earth-types out for a Saturday night of music and dancing. A few people came in that I'd met previously in Stewartstown, Pennsylvania. Another couple grabbed me and told me all about the bluegrass scene that is alive and well up here in the middle of nowhere, and who was playing where, and are you going to this-and-that festival? It was all a prelude to a night of experiencing Aspen Run Bluegrass. And pretty soon they were coming through the door like the opening scene in Act III, Scene 5, of der Meistersinger. Kody Norris was supposed to be with them but I didn't see him immediately. I thought maybe there had been a change in the plans. Aspen Run was just a tad bit late arriving, but that was OK because the audience was still filing in too, and asking if there was any meatloaf left. They looked outstanding in their red coats, trade-mark cowboy hats, and white boots. Herb Martin, the patriarch of the Martin Clan nodded a hello and got to work setting up the equipment. I had set my cameras and gear up long before they arrived and thought I was in perfect proximity for what I wanted to do. I was in for a surprise.

There was some crowd noise towards the back and I turned to see Kody Norris appear as if he was stepping into Akhnaten, by Philip Glass. The coronation scene in Act I came to mind. Kody, young, baby-faced, and cock-sure of himself, marched in with his signature blue, Porter Wagoner-knock off, embroidered cowboy outfit with flame-red neckerchief. You have to ask yourself "What the hell is this?" until you see him do his thing. I've seen him before so I knew what to expect. He puts on a show and deserves to wear whatever he wants. The outfit is half-joke, all seriousness, as a tribute to all those great practitioners who taught him the tricks of putting on a good show for the paying customers. If you read his resume you'll be shocked at what this punk-kid has already accomplished in the Nashville circles. After some minor adjustments, Aspen Run and Kody Norris took off like a jet plane with their whole canon of Jimmy Martin, Stanley Brothers, and Bill Monroe numbers. The audience responded in kind with dancing all night and a lot of hooting and hollering and appreciative shouting.

There is a dynamic working here that becomes very apparent: Pretty Boy musician plays up against the locals and sometimes wins. Sometimes the locals win. The contest isn't really about competition but about how well they all sound together and the intricate statements they can make with a few stringed instruments and their individualized voices. Having seen their act before I knew what to expect. I knew their individual strengths. I was surprised on this particular evening by young Clayton Martin (mandolin) who's really got a beautiful voice that needs to be honed to perfection. Age and experience will do that. I was also pleasantly surprised that the group just seemed better than I've ever seen them in a performance. The proof was in the fact that they had the audience in the palms of their hands. There were so many requests coming in (shouted!) for Aspen Run favorites, that the band seemed a little overwhelmed by the appreciation. You can't play them all. You eventually have to quit and pack up your instruments and wipe the sweat off your brow. The finale was an 11-minute medley of favorites. Bingo!

My filming and photo work was useless. A huge glaring Bingo Board was in every shot. Every time the band got hot the dance floor got hotter and in my way. And then, I don't know why, but a continually flashing, glaring disco spotlight that flashed red, green, and blue ruined my camera lighting. I wanted Dean Ashley to turn the thing off. But I wasn't getting it. The audience was there to have fun on Saturday night and listen to their favorite music, drink some beers, and think back upon better times when we listened to this stuff on an old Philco Radio. It was great to see the crowd having a good time. They were having more fun than I've ever had at the Opera - and I have to dress up in Black Tie for that! I said the heck with it and joined the audience. There will be other opportunities to get the photo shots. A performance by Aspen Run is about having fun and appreciating the music.

Where the Concrete Meets the Grass

Danny Paisley and Southern Grass included the talents of Aaron Martin on Bass.

12 November 2011: Leonardtown, Maryland

That crazy Herb Martin - always leading me down back roads. I'm heading south on Maryland Rt. 5 on my way to Leonardtown on a beautiful Autumn day on a whim. If you live around here, you're probably like me, and realize that any trip around the Beltway, especially on the Maryland side may include a packed bag, a pocket full of money and a fully charged cell phone in case your stuck for a couple of days. I'm tired of it. It's really time to move away from here where people lead decent lives and make it home in time for dinner. Well, by God I made it to the exit for Rt. 5 and now I'm traveling through the concrete jungle toward Waldorf. Past Waldorf you enter real country - suburbia ends around here - the bedroom communities, strip malls, the mile after mile of townhouse complexes. I even saw a few farms. Signs with the name Surratt on them reminded me that I was in some seriously historic territory. Thirty miles beyond Waldorf I reached my destination and beautiful Maryland countryside it was. Flat farmland, a few little towns with only one or two stoplights, and here and there Amish stores that advertised hand-made goods and fresh Amish food products. Crab stands were appearing too, which reminded me that I wasn't that far away from the water. It was a good day to get away from suburbia and enjoy some down-home music.

The event was a benefit fundraiser for Richard Tippett at the Back Road Inn a few miles east of Leonardtown. After a serious illness and thousands of dollars in medical bills, the Tippett family was trying to raise money. Daughter-in-law Linda Tippett was the driving force and seemed to be the main point of contact for the event. Linda also plays bass and sings with Joey Tippett and the California Ramblers. Notable was the line-up of entertainment for the afternoon - the Tippetts had included Junior Sisk and Ramblers' Choice, Danny Paisley and Southern Grass, Aspen Run, The Jack Tippett Band, Joey Tippett and the California Ramblers, and Highway 249.

As in so many families I've met on similar roads around here, bluegrass seems to be in the DNA. Younger grand daughters Megan and Heather joined in for vocal solos early on. Megan was especially proficient on a rendition of "Blue Moon of Kentucky." As promised, the music started about a minute after 12 noon and continued non-stop long after I finally left at 6:30.

Jack Tippett served as a warm-up to Joey Tippett and the Ramblers, who served as warm-up to Junior Sisk, and when Danny Paisley came on it was Katy-bar-the-door wildness of high-energy music for six solid hours. The crowd grew too as the day wore on and it got chillier. The Back Road Inn is a crazy patchwork of temporary add-on structures and tents that are open-air, but with a nice stage and dance area. Food was provided along with plenty of baked goods for sale. Word spread that the event was now going to go three more hours beyond the allotted time. I would have liked to stay, but it was getting too cold. Any warmth was provided by the propane heaters and the body heat of all the dancers who energized the scene when Aspen Run came on.

It's just too bad I got spoiled throughout the afternoon. Let me explain. My point of entertainment observation is usually from the vantage of an auditorium or a concert venue. There's a big difference in being stuck in a chair for one or two hours as opposed to a free-for-all space like the Back Road Inn. It was more like a barn with a stage stuck in the middle. The outdoor bar was noisy and wafts of cigar smoke drifted among the mixture of musicians and local patrons. It all made for the musicians to work a lot harder to entertain this free-flow bunch of people. Herb Martin once told me that his band Aspen Run actually sounds better and has more fun in this kind of setting. Herb proved his point at this show and the one I witnessed a week ago in Stewartstown, Pennsylvania. If you want to hoot and holler and get up and dance there's nothing to stop you. Steve Unkart and Herb Martin, III of Aspen Run worked their high-energy magic to get the patrons up on their feet and moving. Beyond the grass, in the middle of the world of concrete we would have politely applauded and got up to stretch at break-time. And it's a blessing to see younger people doing all the dancing and getting into this music which is so ancient by the standards of the younger generation! There's hope that grass will live long beyond the life of my grand daughter.

Consider that I paid a whopping $10 to enjoy all this and would never have known about it if I hadn't heard about it from Herb Martin. Yeah, we've got a lot of great music in our area. It gets better when you find the line between the concrete and the grass.

(Thanks to the Herb Martin Family and Aspen Run Band for the hot tip on this unique event!)

Aspen Run - Way Back in Time

Kody Norris appeared with Aspen Run in Stewartstown, Pa.

Stewartstown, Pa. 5 November 2011:

Never tell a Singing Cowboy he has to take off his hat. You might have a firestorm on your hands. This is what happened tonight when the Westminster, Maryland band Aspen Run tore apart the American Legion in Stewartstown. Maybe it was the pent-up rage at such an affront. Maybe it worked to make the song "Free-born Man" come across as a good anthem for the evening. For some strange reason, the Legion up there has rule that anyone entering the building has to un-cover (that's what we used to call any kind of a hat in the Fleet Marine Force - a 'Cover'). I'm not a Legion member but I am a card-carrying VFW member. I never heard of such a crazy rule. I guess they don't understand that you never tell a Marlboro Man to take his damned hat off. He'll take it off when he feels it's the respectable time to do so. Sans hats, but still wearing their trade mark white boots (only Aspen Run has the guts to wear them in public) the band joined up with Kody Norris of Tennessee to perform for an amazing four hours.

I have to admit I'd never heard Kody perform or knew very little about him, except for what I had read on the available sources. I knew he had an impressive resume and was making a name for his young self in some not-too-shabby bluegrass circles. But mostly I came out to Stewartstown at the invitation of Herb Martin to experience some unique talent. Oh what a night as the old song-line goes. Aspen Run and Kody Norris first started a riot, then wore down all the customers with a grueling four-hour pummeling of excellent, tight, music and finally set fire to the roof to finish the job. As far as I know they went pretty much through their whole repertoire, but according to Herb, "Oh no. They have a lot more songs in their package!" They had to come back for two extended encores. The audience wouldn't let them out of the building.

What makes the band such a good package is the fact that they're an anachronism. The music stands still in a freeze-frame on the music landscape. Before there was country music there was this. Raw, gut-wrenching beer-drinking music with songs about lost love and she-done-me-wrong. It was the style of music that parents warned us about (but secretly listened to after the kids were in bed). It gave rise to the Salvation Army and birthed many a Sunday sermon. It'll never become a subject of study at the Juilliard. WCKY in Cincinnati and WWVA are long-gone but there is still a public that wants to hear The Real Thing, the real deal that was at the heart of all that became the watered down, overly produced 3-chord fluff that is today's country music. There aren't that many bands out there today who even want to practice this style of music. Maybe because it's too difficult to stay away from unnecessary embellishment. Maybe because this music requires teamwork and ultimate purpose and a lot of deeply held conviction that each musician is staying on the right path. By anyone's performance standards Aspen Run is a young band and relatively new to the bluegrass scene here in the Piedmont and Bay area. The rough edges only add to their authenticity. Kody Norris pushed them this evening, pushed them hard to tighten up and the boys reacted with big smiles and a lot of very funny on-stage banter. Poor old Steve Unkart (guitar, vocals) took the brunt of it and responded by sounding better than I've ever heard him on such numbers as "Wild Bill Jones" and his suitcase full of Jimmy Martin favorites. The house (the American Legion Post in Stewartstown) wasn't the greatest venue for lighting and sound but the assembled audience of Aspen Run fans and family members and the curious from the surrounding area got a rare treat - a four-hour free event that had all the trappings of a private party - and one that included the likes of Kody Norris? How do you beat that?

Meeting Up with Aspen Run

Lucketts, Virginia - 8 October 2011: Two very different bands shared the stage at the Lucketts Elementary School tonight. The Old School House is still under renovation so performances are scheduled at the Elementary school next door until further notice. The "Old School House" has a certain charm and is known as a famous bluegrass venue, but oddly the performances sound a lot better in the temporary space and there is more room for seating and better parking. The one thing that drove me nuts about the old stage is missing - the bright red stage lights. Why they've never gotten rid of them or at least changed the Gels is beyond me - but that has nothing to do with the continual good entertainment that is offered up every Saturday night while the bluegrass season is in full-bore. 2011/2012 promises to be a good one, while up in Brunswick, Maryland the Brunswick Roundhouse Concert Promotions people (Darren Beachley and Team) are lining up a whizz-bang list of top bluegrass talent. We'll be burning a lot of petrol up and down Route 15 in the coming weeks.

The Timmons Family came on first followed by Aspen Run Band. It was unfortunate for the Timmons Family that their set was marred by frequent sound check interruptions. The sound people struggled to fine-tune a new sound system, and it was hard to concentrate on the performance itself. The band also called for frequent checks which caused even more interruptions. It was all just too bad for everyone concerned. In the end, everything was just louder than it should have been. Aspen Run had a luckier time of it, came on hell-bent-for-leather, and let's have a good time. Most of the exuberence is provided by Steve Unkart on guitar and vocals, but teamwork prevails among an unusual family of musicians from Westminster, Maryland.

According to the story found on the band's website, Herb Martin Jr. (the father) introduced his three sons to bluegrass just five years ago, each picked an instrument they wanted to play and then started practicing. It's a great story, call it an urban legend or a folk-tale, call it what you will, it doesn't really matter when the band is experienced in performance for the first time. This style of bluegrass transports you back to bluegrass and hillbilly roots - a lot of Jimmy Martin and Stanley Brothers and it's done with total unpretention. The sound and style you've heard a million times, but the Martin Family is going for their own brand of authenticity. Steve Unkart and Herb Martin, III (the oldest son) have the lion's share of the vocal work. They're a great combo. Aaron Martin on stand-up bass and Clayton Martin on mandolin are the other sons, and Dad stands in on some of the stuff. On this night he mainly stood in the background with a big, proud, fatherly grin on his face as his progeny won over the audience. Guy Herbert deserves attention also (banjo) not only for his excellent banjo-work but also as a mentor to everyone in the group, and someone who's put together a fine CD of their work in the recording studio. How can you come up with a version of "Mule Skinner Blues" that isn't over-worn or hackneyed?

The "only-been-playing-five-years" story is a good one. What matters is where this band is headed in the next 10 years. These guys are talented and very entertaining and play a lot in our own local environs. Their latest CD is Aspen Run Wanted and if you like your bluegrass very old, unpretentious, served up like a piece of raw meat on a broken china plate, then order your own copy soon. I can't believe these kids are so young!

www.aspenrunbluegrass.com

The Death of Cyril J. O'Brien, U.S. Marine

I've led such a fortunate, privileged life. I attended a funeral of a friend yesterday. Yes, it was a sad occasion, funerals always are, but if you knew or had known the man who died you would have also known that the last thing this person ever would've wanted was a sad departure ceremony. There were lots of Marines there, old and young and in-between. There were lots of people who represented other interesting areas and regions of Cy's life. He was always the historical observer, the writer, the inveterate traveller. He was a pugnacious little man who possessed this spark that lit up any room he walked into. You know the type. He never really seemed to age. If he hadn't spoken with such accurate historical authority you would've classified him as a 'character' upon first meeting him. Cy may have been the last of his kind of character - the man who could actually handle and participate in the fine art of repartee. His mind was bright and quick right up to the end, even though over the past ten years the body had taken its toll. Cy was one of a kind. A true original.

I met Cy O'Brien sometime in the 90's. He would show up at any and all Marine Corps functions here in the Washington, D.C. area. You don't often actually get to meet a walking history book, or more sadly, we fail to fully appreciate the people we're meeting in our daily lives. I knew there was something special about Cy - his own personal history and the life he had encountered during World War II and the many luminaries he had met and written about in the many decades since that terrible period. He was never the critic but always the observer and recorder. Objectivity was his journalistic watch-word. Cy and I shared some great times at historical meetings, Marine Corps Divisional Reunions, and fancy events with lots of Marine Corps Dinner Dress uniforms on full parade. He was always in his own element with a ring of younger people surrounding him. The stories would begin at a dinner table. The tales would ensue. All of them true, witnessed by the correspondent. It was his job to record them for posterity. The Marine Corps lives and feeds on history - the Lore, the Legends, the Heroes, the good ones and the bad ones. The Army can't claim it and neither can any of the other branches of our military. Cy had fulfilled his Marine Corps duty right up to the end.

Some Images from the Brunswick Concert

Waiting for the crowd to show - Jill and Sherri

The "Chili Guys" The chili was a Big Hit!

The Product

For a Great Cause

Lost and Found CD Table

Early-Birds at Brunswick Concert

I shocked a few local residents from Brunswick when I told them "I only come for the Food!" I got an advanced notice to definitely try the Chili. Sorry I didn't catch the guy's name who was responsible for concocting it. He and a full force of Brunswick Railroader Band volunteers were on hand to serve the crowd with baked goods, free coffee, sandwiches, snacks and of course, the home-made chili. (They sold a lot of it at intermission - I watched, I counted, while I downed a second bowl.) www.brunswickbluegrass.org

Event No. 4 in Brunswick: The Momentum Builds

The Lost and Found at Brunswick, 30 January 2011

30 January 2011: Brunswick Roundhouse Concert Productions presented its Fourth Event up in Brunswick, Maryland yesterday. Offer something unique and the customers will show - they'll lay down their money to have a good time. There is nothing more appreciative than a rousing audience of bluegrass die-hards. Snow be damned. Weird highway detours showing up out of nowhere be damned. Somebody among the Brunswick Boosters had the foresight to put up plenty of hand-painted directional signs so concert-attendees could find their way to the Brunswick High School. We had to go the back way from our normal route and I wasn't real happy to find out that the Maryland Department of Highways detour signs took me eight miles out of the way! God bless whoever it was who put up the "Bluegrass" signs. But that's the kind of planning and assistance you can expect from the good people up in Brunswick. The BRCP team and Brunswick Boosters have now established a well-oiled machine that is cranking out wonderful entertainment for Frederick County and Northern Virginia bluegrass fans.

It all started on July 25th, 2009, with the first concert to raise funds for the Brunswick Junior Baseball League, with Darren Beachley (he's a 'local') offering up his talent. Kenny Ray Horton (of the U.S. Navy's Country Current) joined him. Everyone was pleasantly shocked at the public's response. Soon after, a team developed that decided to take it a few steps further. Other concerts were scheduled. Concert No. 2 happened on July 10th, 2010 and the word spread. The original team then formed a non-profit entity to promote musical performances in support of high school booster activities at the Brunswick High School.

Concert No. 3 took place on November 21st, 2010, Concert No. 4 happened yesterday, and Event No. 5 will take place on March 20th, 2011. The fan base is growing and so is the donor-support list for Brunswick Roundhouse Concert Productions, the non-profit 'parent operation' in charge.
Modestly staying in the background of all this activity are Jill and Roy Hossler and the extended Hossler Family, and also Darren and Sherri Beachley and all of their Family. The Hosslers and Beachleys will be the first to mention that none of this stuff happens without the support of the army of volunteers they've gathered around the concert events.

The Music: Yesterday's event featured Kenny Ray Horton and Washington Junction, and the legendary band Lost and Found. This was Kenny Ray's second appearance at the Brunswick concerts and he was joined by Country Current alumnus Pat White on fiddle and mandolin, Keith Arneson on banjo, and Jeremy Middleton on bass. Darren Beachley's got the task of lining up the entertainment and you can sense where he's going with the music. Both bands offered a broad range of bluegrass tastes. Maybe it's because of Kenny Ray's Navy background and the "having to please all" attitude of the different Navy Band configurations or maybe it's because sometimes he just sounds a little too 'country' for my taste in bluegrass, I always hold my classifications in reserve for Kenny Ray. You want to see what this guy is going to become in the future, because this guy is good, and thoroughly entertaining and proficient as an artist. Both Kenny Ray and Pat White are in classifications of their own. They're brilliant musicians - that's why they were chosen for duty in the Second-Best U.S. military Band. The First of course, is the U.S. Marine Corps Band. Yeah - you can quote me on that - and then try to shoot me.

The Lost and Found's performance is purely Old School traditional - it took me back to days of listening to hillbilly music on the radio when I was a kid. When you need your bluegrass fix and you want to go down into that dark hollow, these are the folks you listen to. You either love or hate this kind of music - and I love it - songs like "Wreck of the Old 97" "Shackles and Chains" "Down the Road" "My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountains." They threw in a medley from the Grand Ole Opry and some Red Foley - they brought down the house. You walk out smiling and saying to yourself, "I just experienced the Real Deal."

Two very different bands spanning different generations, but it's all about the acoustically performed music and the vocal connectivity. You have to appreciate the genius of how it all comes together and works to delight the senses. God knows I've listened to too much uninspired and bad, modern country music and rock-and-roll. The air waves are filled with it. I listen to it once and then turn it off. I keep going back to bluegrass again and again and again. My grand daughter thinks I'm a Virginia hillbilly (I'm not). Just me, that's who I am.

You can get schedules, ticket information, and information on how to contribute to Brunswick Roundhouse Concert productions at www.brunswickbluegrass.org

March 20th, 2011, at 3:00 (Doors open at 2:00) featuring The Little Roy and Lizzie Show and Bill Yates and the Country Gentlemen Tribute Band. Tickets are on sale now.

"The Que Sons" Bulletin No. One

Hello Fellow-Travelers! The holidays are over so it's time to get down to business. My week started with an extended conversation with J.D. Murray about the upcoming adventure in September, 2011. If you're on the Mike 3/5 commo net you know what I'm referring to. Right after the conversation my phone lines perked up, which surprised me in this age of no one using land-lines or snail-mail any more. The funny thing is, right after New Years one of my house phones went lame and I seriously thought of NOT replacing it because we just weren't using it that much in the months before it died. We certainly live in a new age of communication - no wonder the U.S. Postal Service is on its last leg. So this year I've decided to disburse most of my information to you via this blogsite - which I'll constantly reference in my forwarded messages to each and everyone of you interested in the September Adventure. Here's the gist of what I have to report:
1. Deposits are coming in.
2. A substantial 'interest' or 'yes-I'm-seriously-interested' list is developing at about the same rate as the last Trip.
3. At this rate, reservations will go quickly.

So that's pretty darn good news! Stay tuned.