Here are some pictures, courtesy of Murphy’s friend Jane, of The Dixie Bee-Liners’ gig Friday night at Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley, Mass.
Casey Henry, tuning.
Casey Henry, Buddy Woodward, Brandi Hart, Rachel Johnson, and Sav Sankaran.
The Dixie Bee-Liners in action.
Red, Jan. 13th
Well, folks, this doesn’t have a lot to do with banjo playing, but I wanted to make a personal posting. This Wednesday, January 13th, 2010, I soloed in a small plane. This is the first (and biggest) hurdle every pilot has to achieve on their way to earning a pilot’s license.
In the last few days I’ve found that there are quite a few professional pilots and instructors, active or retired, who play banjo. To them, newbie students are a known quantity because they have done it all before, but even the most seasoned pilot remembers his or her first solo.
Yes, I did this once before. And more. You may remember my old USAF photo that I somewhat ostentatiously posted a few days ago. But that was about a hundred years ago, and this is new. And it counts.
Some details: I made three takeoffs and three landings (a convenient ratio) in a slightly rusty Cessna 172P, N51056, here at Winchester Regional Airport in Virginia. The three landings were all different (as every landing is) and they improved as I went along. The third landing was pretty smooth, if I say so myself.
There’s a lot more work and flying to do before earn my Private license, but I’ve gotten past Step One! More later as I go along–
Red
Day Three of the American Revival Tour was Halloween. I think the pictures will speak for themselves in this case.
Zombie Jeremy Darrow
Zombie Robin Davis
Zombie Rachel Johnson
Zombie Buddy Woodward (who we thank profusely for the awesome makeup!)
Zombie Casey Henry
Zombie Brandi Hart
Zom-Bee-Liners
Witchy Uncle Earl
Here is a post from over on the Bluegrass Blog about the video shoot. It’s over by now, so the call for extras is out of date, but there are a couple pictures…
http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/dixie-bee-liners-video-shoot/
Casey Henry
Marshall Wilborn, 2009 Bass Player of the Year
We are so proud we’re just about to bust. At LONG LAST our very own Marhsall Wilborn (who teaches our bass DVDs) won Bass Player of the Year last night at the IBMA awards. When Chris and Sally Jones read out the name both Murphy and I leapt to our feet, screaming in celebration. It is much deserved and we couldn’t be happier. Actually Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper cleaned up, winning Instrumental Group of the Year, in addition to Fiddle Player (Michael) and Mandolin Player (Jesse Brock).
Here are some pictures from last night. First, Murphy and me in all our finery:
Casey and Murphy Henry
This year the Dillards were inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame. At the pre-awards reception we ran into one of our banjo heros Doug Dillard, who wrote our Murphy Method stand-by “Banjo in the Hollow.” Murphy grabbed him for a picture:
Doug Dillard and Casey Henry
Also before the show we ran into Murphy’s longtime friend Claire Lynch, who was nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year, and Claire’s daughter Christie:
Murphy Henry, Claire Lynch, Christie Lynch
And last, but not least, here are the Dillards, with Hot Rize, closing out the show singing “Old Home Place”:
Mitch Jayne, Dean Webb, Doug Dillard, Tim O'Brien, Rodney Dillard (Nick Forester in the rear.)
Kristin Scott Benson once again won Banjo Player of the Year, the the Daughters of Bluegrass won Recorded Event of the Year.
Here are a couple of shots from Kaufman Kamp.
Casey Henry and Bill Evans. Great minds think alike!
Casey Henry on stage at Kaufman Kamp Week 1. (L-R Adam Masters, Casey, Mark Cosgrove, Cindy Studdard)
There will be more to come, I’m sure!
I wanted to take a moment today for a tribute to a fine gentleman who is also one of the founding fathers of bluegrass music. I’m speaking of Joe Forrester, of Tennessee, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday in Nashville. Here’s a photo from a Nashville party a few years ago, of Joe swatting the guitar (he plays AMAZING rhythm) while I take a mandolin lead:
Joe played bass with Bill Monroe for about six months in 1945, and was in on the ground floor as what we call “bluegrass” was being invented. The band lineup was Bill Monroe on mandolin; Lester Flatt on guitar; Earl Scruggs on banjo; Joe’s brother Howdy Forrester on fiddle; and Joe on bass. Since this lineup of the band did not record with Bill (wartime restrictions greatly hampered recording in that era) they are little-remembered today, but they were a hot group. They immediately preceded the more-famous Monroe lineup with Chubby Wise and Jody Rainwater which is now regarded, since they recorded a LOT with Bill, as the “original” bluegrass band. But Joe and Howdy were there first!
Among the pictures which Jinx McCall sent us recently is one which brings back a lot of memories. It shows the great Florida folksinger Will McLean, relaxing and enjoying some music, attired as ever in his black stocking-cap and sitting with his old white van in the background:
We (Red and Murphy & Co.) recorded Will’s great song “Hold Back the Waters” on a 1977 album, and Casey & Chris & the Two-Stringers made a next-generation cut of it on their own CD a few years ago. Christopher and I put two of Will’s songs on our “Red and Chris” CD as well, showing our respect and love for Will and his music.
Will wore that stocking cap nearly all the time, and he must have needed it on what looks like a chilly festival morning. And he was rarely far from the old white van in the background, which after his wife Alice died was not only his transportation but also his home. A tremendously creative individual, Will no doubt was forming the words to some new original song in his head that morning, and his gentle Southern-gentleman personality seems to come right through the photo and a lapse of 30 years. We miss you, Will!
A friend from our Florida days, Jinx McCall, has just sent us some remarkable photos she took between about 1977 and 1980. Here’s a look at a short-lived group, the Florida Bicentennial Bluegrass Band:
The band was short-lived only because it existed just to commemorate the nation’s Bicentennial. We performed from about 1976 to 1979.
The leader of the group was our friend Dale Crider. In the picture he’s playing his fine old Gibson guitar, and no doubt singing one of his great original songs. On bass is Linda Crider, a good singer and musician, who was then married to Dale.
On mandolin and banjo you’ll no doubt recognize Murphy and myself, a few years younger than we are now. We were primarily performing full-time with our own group, Red and Murphy & Co., but we took time to play any gigs that Dale had to offer. The Florida Bicentennial Bluegrass Band (like the Bicentennial itself) didn’t last for many years, but we had a good time!
Folks who are interested in southeastern folk music may remember Will McLean, the ethnic genius who preceded almost everyone else in the region as a singer-songwriter. I recently came across this photo from 1978, taken at Stephen Foster State Park, in Florida, during a special program for Will:
Everybody was having a good time, and there’s a lot of nostalgia in this picture. Many inspiring folk characters are shown, some of whom are now gone forever: our hero Gamble Rogers is standing near the left of the photo; Will McLean himself is near the center; toward the right, in an elaborate old-fashioned dress is “Cousin Thelma” Boltin, the organizer and driving force for many years behind the Florida Folk Festival; and next to her is Don Grooms, the well-known Gainesville-area performer. These folks are all missed.
But speaking of people who are still around, take a look at the right edge of the photo. You’ll notice a young couple with their baby. Murphy is holding Casey, who was just 6 months old, and I’m holding my favorite drink, which was a big mason jar full of fresh iced tea. (As you can see from everyone’s appearance, it was a warm day.)
Memories abound from this event. Earlier in the afternoon, Murphy and I had had the pleasure of playing a set of music with the great Chubby Anthony playing fiddle. That was certainly a time to remember! And a little later Jim Fee and Bill Pruitt arrived, and Chubby played a set with his own band. That was some powerful music!
Red
(P.S. — A special note to Banjo Newsletter and Banjo Hangout fans, some of whom have discussed a certain mystery for years: the Flint Hill Flash is in this picture. No, I’m not going to tell you which one he—or she—is!)