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I wanted to take my first departure from the solo set to introduce my friends in Piper’s Request – Terry, Fred and Rick – to the audience. Also up on stage was my good friend Tom Druckenmiller on vocals. I had asked the four of them to record the CD vocals on a couple of tunes, along with Mike Beaky who was in the studio for banjo. There are several tunes on the CD that harken to this part of my repertoire: Don’t Call Me Early (opens up the CD), The Crawl and Giant. 

Don’t Call Me is a great opener and the lads know it well from several jams at Godfrey’s. This was the first time for  them to be playing with Kevin on drums and Kris on bass, so it was a kick in the ass for them. It did kick some ass with the audience, as well.

We followed with The Crawl, another tune that has been in my repertoire with several bands, including Pavlov’ Dawgs, a bluegrass band Kris and I were in last century. AGain, it is built to be a British Isles folk-rocker (shades of Fairport Convention, an early influence) and it was delivered nicely. I still couldn’t hear if the audience was singing, but I have faith they were. The Drunken Lads proved great vocal support.

Terry Hartzell on Uilleann pipes

I asked them to do an instrumental medley, giving them the spotlight and giving me some time off stage. Their set of tunes was really fine and sounded great in this venue with this sound stage. The audience ate it up. They turned out to be a great addition to the show.

I came back on, along with Moe and Nyke, for Stan Rogers’ Giant for the final tune of this set. We had talked about the arrangement hours before the show, and it was one that I had on my mind for years. We did a great version of it on the CD, but now was the time to stretch it out.

GD Martin prototype GDMG 000-16R

I brought my GD Martin out for the first time in years, in the strange D tuning I use for this particular song. It was kinda cool to have two guitars on stage, just like the big boys. When the sound guys turned it on, it literally roared. I said, “Ohhh, I like that!”

Moe Jerant

I’ve been able to play this one quite strongly, so I was able to kick it from the get-go. Nyke did a great improve for a couple of sections, the lads (pipes, mandolin and octave mandolin) and Moe (bodhran) set the rich tone. We then set up the final improvisation against a simple chord pattern, Terry added tin whistle, Nyke violin and, as the band did a slow fade, the spotlight fell on Moe’s lone drum. Bang! The improv section could have been more deliberate (a new experience for the lads and the second time we tried it) but the effect was pretty much what I wanted. Damn.

I thanked the boys and they exited stage right to well-deserved applause.

Since I was done performing for the day (12 noon) I was able to cruise the conference for the rest of the day, seeking out friends and other surprises as they presented themselves. No longer booking Godfrey’s has made this endeavor much more enjoyable these day. (I used to have a ‘booking’ target on my back for years… )

I was able to find some great face time with my old friends Ansel Barnum, Sam Steffen, Michael Jerling, Ed Snodderly (40 years), several old GD booking folks, various familiar faces and other chance meet-ups. That’s the charm of these conventions; sometimes incredibly deep and sometimes pretty superfluous. Nature of the game, but always engaging today.

I had time to check out Ed Snodderly’s hidden treasure set in a hotel room in the afternoon. Ed has traveled a parallel life tour with his establishment of The Down Home. a club in Johnson City, TN. We both play, we record, we promote folk. I am glad to play his music on my radio shows. A fellow traveller. Very cool, and made my day.

I cruised the space and handed out Playground (kids) and Troubadour (adult) CDs to folks. I’m certainly not going to sell them, but I’m particularly proud to spread the music around to folk who care. I got some very nice feedback from folks I had put my Troubadour CD in their hands. Radio folks, fellow players and folks whom I really respect. That was a nice perk for the day

I planned to stay for the dinner and seek out folks I hadn’t hooked up with – Claudia, in particular,  but ended up chatting with a woman in the atrium who was at the kids’ showcase. We proceeded to talk about what we do and struck up a very nice conversation about folk music, arts and taking risks. It was powerful stuff and a wonderful escape from the relative chaos of the scene. I think I fell in love.

I wrapped up my gear, said a few goodbyes and slinked out to the parking lot and headed back to Bethlehem in a driving rain. It’s been a very long day, but, somehow, I am energized, even after midnight. A great day on the planet.

 

Today, my second day with the J-boys and Taniya at Marvine’s afterschool program, was a challenge, for sure. The three boys want to jump around, do the floss and explore the classroom while Taniya is incredibly hip, often ahead of me. So, it’s a constant search for balance among the needs of each kid. Often, at a K level, they haven’t absorbed standard behavior in such a public space, seeing how it’s transition from daycare and home to school.

My teenage proctor Anna didn’t show today… so much for that experiment. I could use someone like her to bounce things off of and give the kids some perspective.

I introduced the rain stick and the mandolin today, both productive and exciting explorations. The rain stick continues to be a magical instrument for kids (and adults) and it stops people in their tracks. We get to talk about wood, trees, cacti, beads, water, ocean, and cover a lot of creative thought. And then they get to learn how to control the sound with their own brains and bodies. Powerful.

The mandolin is a more intellectual endeavor with these kids in that we talk about strings, wood, size, number of strings, color, so it’s a different kind of exploration, especially when I have to control the hands-on nature of these kids. I give them a chance to do it after a while but controlling the initial urge to touch the instruments is a work in progress. I played A Place in the Choir on the mandolin as an example.

Movement is where it’s at with these kids so I have to do that as much as I can. Jason has absolutely no control and he drives the other boys with his energy. But, he’s a good kid.

I broke out the puppets for a session with Old MacDonald’s Farm. I tried to get them to animate their puppets, get them to ‘sing’ the song but it was a foreign concept at this age (except for Taniya, of course). But, with only four kids, I can deal with each one on a personal level, and that will be the strength of this residency.

The time goes by quickly and, as usual, got me out of a Monday funk.

I was able to celebrate the life of Barbara Pearson this morning at a wonderful event at Packard Chapel up at Lehigh this morning. Barbara passed on a few months ago but her family and friends put together this more formal gathering. Barbara was a dancer, arts advocate, mom, grandmom and more, filled with life. She was involved with the beginnings of Touchstone Theater and was privileged to work with her on Bearly Lovable, a Teddy Bear celebration with music, dance and storytelling that we put together back in the day.

Barbara Pearson and Dave Fry – Bearly Lovable.

The event brought together many common friends and mixed in renaissance dance, classical quartet music, some sing-alongs and that mighty church organ. The final Bach piece brought me closer to religion than I’ve been in years. I had to close my eyes in order to concentrate on the music.

The luncheon afterwards was on the top of South Mountain, overlooking Bethlehem and I had to pause in order to take it all in. Again, there were many of my good friends, especially from my Touchstone days, including Lorraine, Bill, Bridgett and others. Good for the soul to step away from my Southside existence to celebrate the arts.

Godfrey’s Open Mike tonight.

I got back into the Lehigh Valley in the morning and had a little down time before heading off to Macungie Park to the second annual Fiber Festival. Last year’s inaugural was at Poole Wildlife Sanctuary and now it was moved to a larger town park, good for parking and shelter for the artisans. The organizers gave me the freedom to find a place among the many pavilions of weavers, spinners, tie-dyers, etc. and I parked myself under a big ole tree near some picnic tables and one of the pavilions.

I set off into two hours of tunes, appreciated by the artisans, tapping their feet and smiling. It was a gorgeous afternoon and lots of folks roaming the grounds, digging the wool, colors, etc. I particularly enjoyed chatting with various women who knew me, playing with some kids who stopped by to play instruments and generally de-compressing from the alumni weekend. It was a good way to land on my feet.

Godfrey’s Open Mike this evening. I’m on a roll.

It looked to be a gray, rainy day but, thankfully it turned out to be only gray. That did affect the number of folks out, though. This time I was set up with the arts day crowd so that put me in with the jewelry and boutique ladies (for the most part) so I got a few foot taps and random applause as feedback. That’s okay. I’m playing for myself, trying to get these songs down in preparation for my 50th HS Reunion on the weekend.

As always, I had a great time banging on my Martin for two hours.

There were few kids passing by but my number one fan Kimi stopped by with her Chinese grandmother who speaks little English. This is the third monthly market she’s stopped by and each visit is special. Today, I was singing A Place in the Choir and I noticed she was singing along with the chorus and the verses. Kimi had been doing some serious homework on the songs on my Peanut Butter CD. So, I asked her to come up next to me and sing along. I eventually stopped my vocals and let her sing by herself, which she did with great confidence. I was pretty surprised for a young girl to do that.

Kimi’s artwork from August, 2018

As her grandmother hovered in great delight, Kimi asked for Nursery Rhyme Rock, one that I haven’t kept up on, but I did my best to do some of the song.  Her grandmom bought my Playground CD for her to give her some fresh material. I look forward to my FM gig here in October.

Valley troubadour Dave Fry, with a new CD, to play Musikfest shows for kids and adults

That feeling helped to inspire his fourth CD, “Troubadour.” Highly refined in production, the album retains Fry’s warmth and humor throughout its many genres, which include country, Celtic, folk and blues.

”I wanted songs that reflected my diversity of musical styles,” says Fry, speaking at the counter of Godfrey Daniels, the renowned south Bethlehem listening club he co-founded 42 years ago. “There aren’t any repetitive beats. We used a metronome for each song early on so that we didn’t fall into a rut rhythmically. There is a different feel to each song, but they all have continuity and integrity to the album as a whole.”

The 12 tracks, mostly covers, include many lighthearted ones, including the Celtic flavored “Don’t Call Me Early in the Morning” and “The Crawl,” and “The Baby Smokers,” which explains that smoking helps to calm infants. There is also the heartfelt “How Legends Were Made,” John Gorka’s tribute to the late Stan Rogers; Fry’s own “Lessons from Pete,” about how he met Pete Seeger, and a blazing blues version of Seeger’s “False From True.”

Fry loves doing children’s performances and educational work, but he does not want people to forget his other music. “With this CD I wanted to re-establish myself as a viable adult performer in the Lehigh Valley and the folk scene at large.” It is still family-friendly, of course, and includes the kids favorite “Giants.”

Fry’s vocal approaches differ depending on the song, for which he credits a $15,000 microphone in Kevin Soffera’s Hybrid Studios in Nazareth. Soffera plays drums on the CD and co-produced with Fry.

There are 19 musicians and singers on “Troubadour,” varied according to the type of music, except for the consistent trio of Fry, Soffera and bassist Kjell Benner. “We took time to let in as much personality as possible. There is a conversation among the musicians as they play off each other. All these voices bubble up to the top through the mix,” Fry says.

Fry and polka musician Walt Groller are the only performers who have appeared at all 35 Musikfests. Fry will appear twice at the Bethlehem festival this year, with his group from the 1970s, called Steppin’ Out! and with his Dave Fry Trio. He’ll also perform as part of TeleBear’s Summer Jam, a free series of children’s performers at PBS 39 at SteelStacks during Musikfest.

Steppin’ Out! will play music from “Troubadour” as well as its own lively mix of Texas swing, rock ’n’ roll, country, and novelty songs. Fry calls the group a “rock and roll art band.” “They formed in the late ’70s, and became one of the better bands on the bar scene that also participated in the country rock scare of the ’70s,” Fry says. He recalls the group helping to close down the first Musikfest, with fireworks going off behind them.

After personnel changes over the years, Fry says, “In 2013 we got together for a reunion at Godfrey’s, and have done it annually the Thursday after Thanksgiving. We realized we were a functional band, not just a reunion one, and are also great friends. We were surprised at how good we were after 30 years.”

The Dave Fry Trio plays what he calls “aggressive folk music, stripped down to bass [Kris Kehr], acoustic guitar [Fry] and electric guitar [Ed McKendry].”

“The journal is important for me. It is what keeps me in touch with my creative self. For me it is perform/reflect, perform/reflect. That’s something learned from my work as a teaching artist.”

Fry is putting together a book about Godfrey Daniels, having done 90 percent of the writing. He hopes to have it come out next year. It will include his reflections and year-by-year retrospectives, as well as interviews, photos and reviews.

Last month, as part of the children’s education part of his career, Fry performed as part of Allentown’s “Summer Slide” program, sponsored by United Way. It involved all 14 Allentown schools and three Bethlehem magnet schools, focusing on low-income students. He played music, engaged the students in games and conversation, and got them to dance.

“Summer Slide” refers to the two or three months of learning kids lose during summer vacation. “Schools are realizing the importance of having arts and academics available to kids in the summer,” he says. “They lose 30 percent of their academic ability then, and teachers have to reinvent the wheel for the first month after classes start in the fall.”

Another project for the past four years has been “Dave’s Night Out” at Godfrey Daniels, usually on the last Wednesday of the month and usually having a theme. Fry interviews artists on stage. The September show will feature singer/songwriter Sam Steffen with a theme of political songs.

“It is chat and music, a talk with professional musicians where we encourage the audience to join the spirited conversation. It is totally different for us as well as for the audience, often with personal philosophy and/or a history lesson. Things happen there that don’t happen in any other form in the Lehigh Valley.”

Fry also shares hosting duties on WDIY Public Radio for the “Live From Godfrey Daniels” archived shows 7-9 p.m. Tuesdays and “Sunday Folk” 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays.

Fry, with many other performers, finds it regrettable that it is difficult to get people, particularly younger ones, out to see live music when Musikfest is not running. “Today’s music consumers are niche consumers. It’s a Spotify world. People only hear what they are familiar with. They only listen to their devices or back and forth from work.”

The extensive variety at Musikfest does not seem to carry over to expand people’s musical horizons the rest of the year.

“Godfreys has been trying to do that for years, having an audience take a leap of faith,” Fry says.

Dave Howell is a freelance writer.

I set up this gig with my friend Kris Kehr on bass at Godfrey’s, looking for some sort of presence this summer, especially with a new CD coming out. I, of course, had no product in hand (…next week for sure, Rocky) but perhaps spurred some interest for tonight’s show.  I notoriously have a poor turnout for my sets at Godfrey’s but was glad to see folks come in off the streets before we went on at 8 pm, each a warm surprise.

Kris and I have a long time respect for each other and having his support on stage as a musician and friend means alot to me. Even with just two players, we are able to deliver a remarkably full sound to go along with my esoteric repertoire. He has a chance to improvise and play “lead” on bass, and still sink back into his support position, so he has a chance to express his creativity while supporting my music. Win/win. And the audience digs it.

The first set was well over an hour, which surprised me and seemed to fly by. I played some new and some old tunes, while having the chance to chat about the songs, my kids’ music, my travels and recent gigs over the last few days. The banter among the audience, Kris and myself is worth the price of admission.

By the way, tonight’s door charge was part of Ramona’s summer pricing: $10. I joked that they (the audience) were sitting in the $10 seats.

In spite of blowing the initial song’s (Ireland) intro, I was able to pick up the pieces and deliver some strong music. This Martin still focuses my guitar play, Kris is there to give me space to explore my guitar work, and there is a friendly and appreciative audience for me to react with. This is why Godfrey’s exists on this planet. Welcome to my living room.

We did well, got a prolonged ‘ovation’ at the end and finished with a very raucous Giants to send the mob back onto 4th Street satisfied, if not foaming at the mouth.

This was my first session for SouthSide Children’s Festival with a fifth grade class. I’ve tried an earlier version that was really scattered (6 young rambunctious boys), and the teacher warned me that these kids were particularly “chatty”.

We are supposed to do an opening set for the school’s Lion King production at the end of the month so I landed on the idea to write our version of We Gave Names to the Animals with animals from the show. It turned out to be quite a good idea in the moment.

I warmed them up with my usual tools – Peanut Butter, Tutti Tah, etc. and we launched into writing some verses.

I saw an animal in the rain forest canopy,

Juggling bananas, swinging from tree to tree.

He likes to breakdance, moonwalk real funky. 

I think I’ll call this animal a monkey. (not too bad…)

 

I saw a wild dog loose in the savanna, 

A savage predator with a gangsta bandana.

It likes to hula and do the macarena, 

I think I’ll call this animal an hyena. 

We figured out that we still have Lion, Red Baboon, Meerkat, Warthog, Wildebeest left over so I have the project set up for the next few meetings.

These kids were great to work with, and, though chatty, quite easy to work with from the get-go. A great session.

 

 

 

 

I was asked to promote Peeps Fest at Arts Quest on December 30th by appearing on the local TV-69’s morning news show. I did this gig last year and I always enjoy the challenge of micro-performing, especially for three minutes of TV coverage. I got there at 7:20 while they were doing a segment on making a Peeps wreath (gack!) and settled in, tuned my guitar for my bit at 7:40.

The woman did a quick interview with me about my sets at Peeps and a mention of my upcoming CD project. She said that they’d love to promote it when in comes out. I then launched into my 2 minutes of music.

 

I decided to do Zat You, Santa Claus, a good choice in a small spot with clever lyrics, guitar-rapping, some mouth trombone and a tune that could be faded out back in the studio. While I was playing, camera man zoomed in on the guitar, my flatpicking, an occasional sweep of me singing and I think it turned out nice, due to his professional video work (and at 7:40 in the morning!). The crew said the folks back at the station said it came out nicely.

So, I was done by 7:45 and back to my apartment by 7:50. When I got back, there was an email from the YWCA’s Adult Day Services folks for a potential gig. Bang! It worked!

We had a rare afternoon assembly in central Jersey, and thought the drive in was smooth, we hit afternoon drive traffic back. It’s one or the other – early traffic for morning gigs on the way or late traffic coming back in the afternoon.

There was substantial security at this school, with three or four no-nonsense guards, stiff vetting at the entrance (Wayne had trouble getting in – I guess the name Smith causes problems), all a product of the times. So it goes.

The audience was somewhat rammy today and I felt, though we played well, we didn’t connect as well as usual with the kids and the teachers. I also broke an A string during the second song so I managed to get in tune quickly but played the set with only 5 strings, something that tends to provide a distraction from my presentation.

The principal and the PTO woman thanked us for a good job but something was missing in connecting like we usually do. I can’t put a finger on it. Sometimes it’s not a sure thing. It was good to get out and do the show, though. We don’t play as many RR gigs as we used to.

Our next two gigs are the Friday before Christmas vacation, and I’m sure the ‘rammy’ quotient will be pretty high then.

We’ve performed for this annual gathering on the Friday after Thanksgiving for about 4 or 5 years now, and I relish this opportunity to play with these friends, for the music and the camaraderie. The band played quite a bit back 35 years ago, back when the local music scene could support bar gigs during the week, weddings on the weekends and we developed a strong reputation as a country band that could rock and roll and swing while entertaining the folks with our humor on stage. 

Well, we still do that. The Texas Swing material still kicks, Reid’s guitar is still nasty and he can still belt out the vocals. Chris Jones still plays steel regularly with a local country band, but Jeff (drums) and Hub (piano) only play occasionally. They alway rise to the occasion. Kris Kehr has done a great job taking over the bass duties when Denny kind of rusted out on the instrument, and Kris really does his homework on a lot of material we take for granted. I still play a lot so I’m primed and ready to go. 

It has fallen to me to produce the show, writing setlists, gathering folks for rehearsals, etc. and take the responsibility for divvying up the material among all of us. The older material is solid and folks come out to hear the tunes, but it’s up to me to provide some new stuff on the menu and keep things fresh for us and the audience. The combination makes for a really good show.

 

Peggy Salvatore has joined us for a few songs at the beginning of the second set and tonight we worked up Rickie Lee Jones’ Chuck E’s in Love and Bonnie Raitt’s Give It Up or Let Me Go. I’ve been wanting to do Chuck E’s for a long time, and I’ve been working on my version of it. This was the perfect opportunity for me to really get it down. I almost nailed it, blew the last chord but caught it off my shoe strings. Give It Up rocked nicely. Peggy is singing more and it shows. She had fun.

We have some solid tunes to start out with and help us establish our cred from the get go, which is no small thing when we only do this once a year. Choo Choo, Zombie Jamboree and I’m Walking do just fine and we roll from there. Walking Stick (sans tango), Reid’s Dehlia was particularly manic with his Buzzy vocal conniptions, Hub’s solo Song for You, Jeff’s Old Cow Hand, and another raucous Red Neck Mother were highlights.

I’ve added False From True, Rosie is a Friend of Mine, Louise and Lessons from Pete to the roster this year and we did each one well, playing with our antennae up, looking for cues from me and listening hard. The audience appreciates the effort. Lessons came out very nicely. My friend Bill Hall did a multitrack tape and it should have some fine cuts on it.

The stage raps and comments were, as always, fresh, spontaneous and surprisingly funny. Part of the magic of the band has always been our repartee with the audience, finding places for asides without getting in each other’s way. Lots of chuckles tonight. 

Though we were not as tight as we were back then (and we were extremely well rehearsed), we cover for each other and trust that we will pull the songs off well. We did, for the most part, and the audience was none the wiser for the small fluffs. Most of the comments after the show were, “That was fun.” That’s pretty good in my book.

I am still amazed how tight we are as friends and we naturally fall into our grooves and roles on stage. We remain brothers and it shows on and off stage.

I was a little trepidatious to perform today, after my cosmetically challenged eye surgery ten days ago, but it turned out fine. Low lighting.  

The Brookside folks know how to put on a party. The place was decked out Harry Potter, to the max, down to the floating candles on the ceiling.  One server was the spitting image of Harry. Well done!

I did two hours of music while folks dined on the fine buffet (I made sure to indulge..). The kids came up to play from the bag, while other small kids came up and danced with grandmom or mom. It is really special to see these very young kids experience dancing with close relatives, and how much the elders appreciate the chance to do so. The family connections are what makes this a wonderful gig.

I get paid very well, but the staff and the families also respect what I do for this community. That’s okay in my book.

This is the second big CMN conference I’ve been to, and I was looking forward to the adventure: some old friends, lots of new folks and a congregation of like-minded arts/educators. I also wanted to see where I fit in this particular niche. My past experience has been that there are some pros, some semi-pros and some new folk just exploring this field for the first time. It held to form and it was a nice experience. 

The drive up from PA was easy for a Friday on I-95, and got there about 4 pm in time for registration. I checked in, and after a brief room snafu, I plunked down my stuff in a nice room overlooking a small golf course (it’s a resort facility in Hyannis, MA). The opening session was a group meeting and I started to see a few familiar faces from PA (David and Jenny and David) and Sally Rogers, soon to be feted on Sunday for the Magic Penny Award. The dinner was a good opportunity to meet folks from the NY and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Friday night featured the first Round Robin (open mike) and I signed up and got a middle of the pack slot. I was glad for that. The rules were: come up, introduce yourself and the song and play it, no longer than 3 minutes. Again, I was glad that I could do it because I’ve done it before at showcases and some TV and radio gigs.

Here’s where it gets curious. Not everyone at this conference is a professional stage player. Lots of folks here write songs, play libraries, teach in schools, etc. So it was nice to see the “players” in action, and then abide the others in their efforts. The sound crew was fairly scattered, though, and didn’t help the new folks settle in comfortably. When it came my time, I said, “Give me two mikes and let’s go.”

I came up to do Giants and one over-exuberant woman shouted out, “He’s famous!” I blew a few kisses, said, “Calm down” and launched into the song. I pretty much nailed it, the quick audience picked up on the spooky sounds and the call and response, I did a mouth trombone lead and let the audience do one themselves (marvelous) and I finished strong. I bowed and walked off stage. 3 minutes, baby!

I had made my statement early in the weekend, and over the course of the convention, got lots of compliments and respect from my peers. That opened up some doors with most of the folks I connected with. It also made my return appreciation of their sets mean something to them. I sought out those who were the pros who could deliver their material succinctly and in a timely fashion. I made some new friends.

I went to several of the workshops, though most were heavily into the “change the world” efforts, and though that laudable, it remains somewhat outside my philosophy.

The first session on Saturday was the Finger Play workshop, and I was looking forward to this one. I got to the room early with my guitar and had a chance to play some music and connect with myself in the quiet before the storm. As folks started to arrive I started to put my guitar away when the workshop leader came in and told me to put the guitar away, no guitars allowed and succinctly established her territory. I said that I knew that, but had wanted to play something before the session. As I put my guitar away, I mumbled a quiet “FU” which she may have picked up on…. Oh, well. I then asked if we could do ‘movement’ songs, and she quite firmly clamped down on that idea. Fingers only! Sheesh.

So, as we started out the round robin of finger tunes, I figured I would do Finger in the Air, a Woody Guthrie song from Playground, and I was a little rough in getting the verses straight, as the woman next to me was familiar with the song, singing along and giving me no space to do my version. It threw me off my game. As I hesitated before the last verse, the headmistress gave me a rattle shake she used to clamp down on folks going on too long. I quickly did the last verse. It silently pissed me off.  (I was the only one ‘rattled’ during the session.)

I eventually did Peanut Butter and Jelly later on during the circle and it was fine.

I realized that there are various factions here, including some children’s music purists. As in many musical circles, we differ in how we present our music. Welcome to the club.

The Saturday afternoon Keynote presentation featured Ken Whiteley, a Canadian performer, producer and one-time Godfrey’s act. His talk was based on crossroads, and being open to each other when we meet at them. He had produced Raffi before he was Raffi, as well as over 150 other folks acts on the circuit. He has a deft ear for the business, including getting the most out of a performer, the song and still be affordable. It was a fine philosophical jaunt through our folk music lives.

I came up during the Round Robin and reintroduced myself (my middle name is Whiteley) and connected to the time when he played Godfrey’s, the only gig he got from an early NERFA festival in Philly. I had booked him then. He actually asked me about my health (he had had some very serious problems a while ago). Somehow the word gets out on the circuit, proving the amount of caring that goes on among folkies.

The Saturday evening Round Robin had 40 folks signed up and eventually turned into a four hour event. I could only take so much, was glad to hear some of my new friends play and catch Bill Harley and some other pros.

There was a Sunday workshop on making a difference with kids. I got there late and sat in the back. Lots of anti- bullying songs, etc. I felt that I had little to offer. Eventually, one fellow offered a space to me and I tried to think of what I could play. I settled into to circle and admitted that I have no songs of redeeming social value but try to focus on empowerment.

I decided to do Rosalie, Where are You Going. I led it off and got two other fellows to demonstrate. It worked well, but I didn’t heed my own advice and did one too many verses. I got caught up in the performance. Lesson learned on my part.

The Magic Penny Award is given to folk who truly excel in Children’s Music. A couple of years ago it was given to Ruth Pelham, a woman I did not know but came to appreciate her work in my home town of Albany. We became friends back then. Other folk honored are Pete Seeger, Malvina Reynolds, Bill Harley., Tom Chapin, etc.

This year’s recipient is Sally Rogers, a woman I’ve known through her visits to Godfrey’s as a solo and with 

Claudia Schmidt as well as her living legend as an arts educator and children’s music studio artist. (When I applied for Young Audiences of CT in 2001, I found out that she was the “folkie” on the roster. Dead end for me, and quite understandable.)

The ceremony featured some great plaudits from other kids’ performers, school principals, etc, several nice You Tube cuts of kids singing her songs. A special moment for me came when my friend Claudia Schmidt came up to do some music with Sally. Sally then did some tunes with the audience, her family and the very responsive audience. A marvelous ending to a good weekend of friendships and the deep commonality of children’s music.

The ride home was good until I got into CT on I-95 through the GW Bridge. What was a 5.5 hour drive on Friday became a 7.5 drive to home. I got back for the Godfrey’s open mike but found myself exhausted.

It was a good experience, I learned some new things, met some fellow children’s music travelers, knocked my one 3 minute song out of the park and saw the ocean briefly. It was worth the trip.

It’s been a good run of Rose Garden farmers’ markets this year, once a month this summer, and this year, they found some money to sponsor me. I play in the middle of a green area under a large tree, and, over the season, the shade has made for a very pleasant spot among the vendors. I’ve developed some nice relationships with them and today was particularly fine. I lent out my mandolin to a young sparkling tea vendor to play while things were slow for him. Another vendor is a blues harpist and it gave me the idea of a potential flash band, with music popping up among the vendors with me in the middle. A nice thought. It was nice to add some encouragement to a younger player.

As I started, I realized I hadn’t played much over the last week, and I was rusty. With a gig with John Christie coming up this afternoon, I was glad I had a chance to get my performance feet back on the ground. Gotta stay in shape. 

Towards the end, kids and families gathered for some good interaction, including Abigail Adams in costume. I mentioned that she was the first AA in American history. Another funny spot happened earlier on when two young twin boys finally stopped tormenting each other and played some tambourine with me, loudly and quite loosely. With some of the vendors looking on, I said how hard it was to play with white percussionists, and they all chuckled. Later on, while I was playing Pay Bo Diddley, those same folks were trying to find the groove with little luck and I repeated my comment. We all had a big laugh together. The connections with the vendors is as important as those with the kids.

I was able to chat with several good friends from my Bethlehem past and pass some nods, comments and conversations between us. A warm September Saturday at the Rose Garden. Several vendors and market organizers thanked me for doing these over the summer, making the time go quickly for everyone. I have had a good time doing it.

Ag Hall was buzzin’ on Monday and there was a good crowd on hand at the Centennial Stage. I set up, half expecting Kris Kehr to show up and saw quite a few kids in the audience with grandparents and parents in tow, so I know what I had to do. Several of the kids were fans and they made themselves at home with the instruments laid out on the table in front of me. Still, the general crowd was somewhat lethargic in singing along, and I tweaked them a little. I’m not sure audiences are used to the performer critiquing them.

Today, I had several opportunities to bring the kids up on stage for Tutti Tah, Keep a Knockin’ and Giants, all good opportunities for some performance art. It worked well, though, at the end, I only gathered about $6 in tips as the crowd gradually dispersed during the show. That’s how it goes these days. 

Nonetheless, I appreciate these opportunities to mix it up with a transient festival audience. I respect the challenge to play to the kids and the seniors, acknowledge those who participate and create on the fly. I’ll be back next year, for sure.

It was a fine Saturday morning, weather-wise, so I headed over to the North Side for two hours under a big ole tree. This FM is in it’s second year, and they found a community patron to pay me my fee, recognizing my efforts to make this a family-friendly event.

Not many folks in front of my, since I have my back to the main row of vendors and the generator going on there. So, I face out to the green grass of the park and bang away on my guitar and mandolin, try out new stuff, stuff that needs work and stuff I’m trying to remember.

There are some young families that stop by and hang out, and that’s great fun. A couple of older hippies like me stop and take in a few songs. One woman even asked for Smokin’ Babies!.

A few tips, a CD sale and a bag of lettuce and tomatoes from the vendor across from me. There ya go.

I was asked to return for a few songs with the kids in front of their parents and families, and, most importantly reconnect with the kids one more time. The kids were up on the stage in the gym and did a couple of songs before our set. We started off with Bear Hunt with their Dorney Park verse, followed with the Little Sally Walker circle dance, Magic Penny and then Jelly in the Dish with the scarves. Amazingly we pulled them off as if we were down in the classroom, with little self-consciousness and some fun moments. I was able to relate to the parents what I was trying to accomplish over the span of my residency, add a few humourous asides, let the kids’ voices be heard on their own.

I was pleased with the whole run of visits, finding new techniques, brushing up on old material, finding out what tunes lasted when I was gone and simply enjoying playing with the kids.

I offered my CDs for $5 and had only a few takers. One father came up and asked if the CDs were with the kids. I said no and he walked away since his kid wasn’t on them. I said that your kid will sing along with it in your home, live and in person. But, that’s not what he wanted. Nuts.

I hope to return next year. One teacher said that she had chatted with other teachers in other schools that I was doing this project with Third Street Alliance and they were quite jealous. Indeed, pretty deep early childhood education going on.

I have very few opportunities these days to poke my performing head above and into the larger folk circuit, and this was one of them. Spring Gulch is in its 31st year and I’ve been invited now three times. I am the sacrificial opening act on the Sunday, ostensibly as the family folk act. The last two times involved rain so I was looking forward to good weather today. I was also anticipating playing the set before my friend John Gorka. Simply being on this national bill was quite gratifying, and similar to opening for Tom Paxton at Musikfest Cafe and my many memorable gigs at the Philly Folk Fest.

Unfortunately there is no longer a crowd of kids to play for an aging folk audience, and I am hired to do my family show. The Sunday crowd is slow to make it down to the stage area, eating breakfast, breaking down camp sites, all for a “kids” show. I really do appreciate the folkies who do show up, and they are as good an audience as there can be, sans children. They join in singing, doing hand motions, etc., but my ‘show’ really is in about my interaction with the kids. I am somewhat handcuffed in these situations and I try to engage the adults while doing my kids material. I’m glad that I am comfortable enough with my asides and observations that it turns out to be an engaging overall show. But, it is hard, hard work.  I did get many compliments afterwards, so there was some gratification. And several folks who have heard me over the years reflected back on some of my gigs way back when. Good to reconnect with my other excursions in the past.

I actually owe this gig to Sophie, the daughter and granddaughter of the two presenters of the festival Andy and Michael Braunfeld. They both said that she insisted I return. She said, “Not just Trout Fishing or John Flynn, but Dave Fry.” Whatever it takes, I suppose. Sophie knows.

I did my good family set: Bear Hunt, Peanut Butter, Names to the Animals, Giants and more, all the time trying to encourage more kids to come down, grab an instrument in front of the stage and get involved, while balancing on this thin adult/kids edge in performance values.

What makes these occasions so special is the opportunity to for me to perform in front of my peers on the Folk Circuit. I feel I have the performance chops to play on main stages like this, and I certainly have played in front of large audiences, especially in my assembly work. I belong here.

Driving back, I regretted not doing Lessons from Pete at some point in the set, risk stepping aside from the kids material just so I could present my folk opus to this very particular audience. But I felt constrained by the task at hand assigned by the promoters. I would love to return with my trio for a real Dave Fry set, play to the hard-core folkies and deliver my good adult material. But, I am glad that I can set up avenues to the Philly Folk Fest, meet the good folks who know what I do, and, with my new CD, get back to that festival.

I particularly cherished my time back stage with my friend John Gorka. We were able to share some quality time as friends/brothers, talk about how lucky we are to be able to do this for a living (especially compared with those old blues guys…..). I was able to share some of my botherations about where I am on the folk food chain, but was able to provide for my young family over the last 25 years. And I found myself saying, “But, you know, nobody else on the circuit put together a folk club like Godfreys.” John chimed in, “and made it last.” We shared our family’s recent histories, heath issues, how our bodies are turning into our dad’s, talked about some recent passings of fellow performers, and shared great Godfreys stories and more. This was a precious time; I rarely have conversations like this but with only a handful of close friends. I felt flush with my kinship with my good friend. …and there was good hospitality food on hand.

John has become a consummate performer and I complimented his ‘show’. His patter in between songs is as finely scripted as his songs. His timing, his stories, his delivery all amplify his stage persona. His vulnerability and warmth is unlike others on stage – he realizes this and crafts his stage personality to that end. He know what he is doing, just like I know what I’m doing with kids. We are the only folks who feature scrapple in our songs, and I was mildly disappointed that John didn’t have time to work it in his show. Understood that he had a 45 minute set, which is short for him. Such interesting connections.

John and I were talking by the CD tent (I, of course, sold nada….) but we were waylaid by a talkative fan (one of many for John, and it’s nice to see him handle it with grace). As I found my out of the conversation (the one about his friend’s choice of visiting with a dieing mother or going to a JG concert…that brought some raucous laughter from myself and John), I headed back to the stage area. As I was passing out of earshot, the guy said, “Who’s that guy?” John said, “He’s my hero.”

That’s all I needed.

I had my annual gig at Holy Infancy School, the parochial school a block from my apartment this week. They don’t have the money and I don’t ask – it’s part of being a good neighbor. It was a warm but not oppressive 90 degrees and we were able to do it on the Greenway behind the building. The kids have their favorites so I did the Cat Came Back, Peanut Butter, Giants and others.

A special thing happened early on. I had written a song with some of the afterschool kids last spring and I thought I’d reprise it, but hadn’t done it for a year. It dawned on me that a bunch of the kids were in the audience so I asked if I could get some help. Several hands shot up and I invited them up with me. They knew the song cold, complete with the hand motions and taught it to the rest of the crowd. I was struck that they ‘got it’ so completely that they pulled it out on the spot.

The school has a new principal, and I think she was not quite ready for the Dave Fry Experience and gave me several curious looks during the show. I said ‘Butt’ which probably upset her. But, I have seniority with this school.

It was a good session with my peeps down the street.