Saturday, August 20, 2005
HEAD FOR THE HILLS
Aug 17: Splendiferous musical soirée down at the waterfront park with the driving hillbilly sound of Head for the HillsI was meant to meet Julie et co but it didn't work out so I bopped to the great sounds and went without ice cream.
Another day
I'll say it once and leave it there: these guys totally rock and *why* didn't I learn banjo instead of all that Segovian Fernando Sor stuff?Think of the untold wealth I could have amassed as a busker if I'd done a Dave Martin (H4H's banjo wizard)
Line-up: David Allan Martin on banjo; Phil Post, bass; Dirk Ronneburg, guitar; Mme. Emily Salisbury Keene fiddling (but, I read, no slouch on harmonica, mandolin, old time claw hammer banjo, and on occasion, square dance calling for the band.
Alas, no idea who the ace mandolinist is.
The early stage, as people gathered and rolled out their picnics and settle back to enjoy the music.
The great Eddie Williams at the controls.
We take so much for granted that the sound is sharp and the balance is right but it's skilled technicians like Eddie who mastermind these delicacies.
I wish this pic had sound.
Dave Martin is the band's resident banjo picker and vocalist. He began performing at 13 with the Ascension Church Choir in Baltimore, MD. Naturally, he squandered many tenor sectionals learning old tunes like Nine Pound Hammer, Been All Around This World, and Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms.
THE BAND
Dave's many years retired from the Choir now, but still caught up in the same old tunes.
He's also performed solo and organized many groups including Quagmire, Pea Ball Sains, and The Cushers,
Pity I can't find the mandoline player's details on their site because he had that cool Sam Bush sound and rapid-fire tremolo.
Madam Emily Salisbury Keene on fiddle attended a fiddle contest as a teen, from which it was down all the way to Hell.
She began skipping high school classes to in favor of her many instruments.
She's played with (among others) the Tennesseans, Sockeye, Tommy Priese's Country Deputies, and Donna Daye Honey and the Cowpokers. As the band's surrogate crazy aunt, Emily lends her musical versatility, offbeat humor, and red hair to the group, and she brings new meaning to the old saying - and I quote - "She's a crone, not a clone." (Ack ptui! The "cr*** word! Not good.)In Emily's spare time she converses with cats, and dresses all in black.In fact, it was just the best angle I could snap these guys at
The sun was so bright my piddling camera couldn't handle the bright spots, but darn that looks like Emily is having a good time.
Dirk Ronneburg on guitar played violin and sang in chorus when he was a child, and got his first professional gig while in high school, playing for the Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra in Mobile, AL.
During college he discovered acoustic blues guitar music and spent the next ten years -neglecting the violin to hunch over the 6-string.
What's better than being master of your instrument in a hot band?
Playing to free-spirited children who feel the beat and just launch into dancing.
Say what?
Even our ultra-cool local teens jived and thrived.
Look at that orange blur. Does it not conjure up all the joy and action of the evening?
