Mike Compton leads a mandolin workshop at the 2022 CBA Music Camp
The California Bluegrass AssociationMusic Camp that immediately proceeds the Fathers Day Festival calls Wednesday transition day, which is a very applicable theme for life and this short column. Change can be hard for many but if a person or organization identifies the goals and maps out a transition plan with the right leaders, it doesn’t have to be painful.
Of course, CBA is no stranger to change and transition having moved the organization to engage youth, diversity, old-time music, and now geography judging by the ever-increasing presence of southern California events and participants. So it is no surprise that transition day is smooth sailing as the Nevada County fairgrounds location in Grass Valley expands nearly tenfold from a mellow and highly engaging camp to a full-on world-class music festival. I’m not going to list a lot of names for fear of leaving someone out but I must say that under the stewardship of board member, Karen Celia Heil, the camp transitioned in two new coordinators this year, Janet Peterson and Adam “Rosco” Roszkiewicz who did a bang-up job. I had the privilege of supporting them in the office for the camp and transition, and even though the slotted transition coordinator was unable to attend, it couldn’t have been smoother.
Campers registration kicks off Sunday with most people checked in before the first meal Sunday evening. The schedule for the three days of instruction starts with breakfast then intensive morning classes before gathering again for lunch. The afternoon is made up of a wide range of electives, hosted jams, and the like before the very popular ice cream break followed by more electives. After dinner, there are various events including meet the instructors, Contra and Square Dances, Bluegrass Karaoke, more hosted jams, plus a staff concert and of course camp jamming that generally doesn’t go too late before starting all over the next day. The last day of camp concludes with student concerts, volunteer bands on Vern’s Stage, and a finale show this year featuring the band Grasswood. Special thanks must go out to the sound crew of Paul Knight & Colleen Conley for these shows which gives students a chance to experience playing on stage with the best sound in the business.
This year’s stellar list of instructors included Brandon Godman, Cary Black, Celia Woodsmith, Greg Blake, Greg Cahill, Jack Tuttle, John Reischman, Kathleen Rushing, Laurie Lewis, Leo Shannon, Mike Compton, Patrick Sauber, Riley Calcagno, Sally Van Meter, Sami Braman, Steve Pottier, Vickie Vaughn, and Vivian Leva. Lastly, as reported here in 2019, the Director of the CBA Youth Academy and co-founder of Della Mae, Kimber Ludiker put together a parallel camp just for kids featuring classes, concerts, jamming, and other surprises.
One of the traditions of the Fathers day Festival is for artists to sing or play the national anthem just before the music begins on the main stage at 10 AM. The following video with Brandon Godman and Miles Quale captures the Thursday morning beginning of the festival and ending of the camp transition.
Video by Dave Berry and Mariaelena Quale
Photos by Dave Berry, Alan Bond, and John Woodworth
California Bluegrass Association member Ida Winfree is a former CBA Youth Ambassador. She plays mandolin and guitar in two bands—North Country Blue and West 45. She’s currently based in the California Central Valley town of Turlock, and when not playing or listening to music, she’s with her friends or beloved dogs, Martin, Bernie, and Stanley.
Hello Ida. Let’s start at the beginning. What are your earliest musical memories?
Hi Dave! My earliest musical memories involve sitting in my living room and listening to my dad play his guitar. He’d be making up songs to make me laugh, playing with local friends, or playing with his bluegrass band, Red Dog Ash. There was always music in the house when I was growing up. As far as festivals, I began attending the Father’s Day Festival around age four, and RockyGrass when I was two. I grew up at these festivals listening to the main stages and hula-hooping.
Does your family play, and if so what instruments and styles?
Yeah! Both of my parents play. My dad plays the guitar really well, and my mom just started playing the bass over the past couple of months. She’s picking it up really quick!
What was your first instrument and song/tune you remember learning?
My first instrument was the guitar, because that’s what my dad played. I remember sitting in the living room and he was showing me how to play Salt Creek. He had to show me note by note, so it was a very laborious process. He was very patient.
How did you settle on the mandolin?
That’s a good question! I’m not entirely sure how I ended up choosing the mandolin. I think it was the sounds you can get out of it, and because it was the instrument my favorite singer, AJ Lee, played. Also, it was a smaller instrument so it fit my smaller hands better.
Who were your instructors and role models?
I haven’t had many instructors—two to be exact. My dad taught me most of what I know on guitar, and Sharon Gilchrist taught me most of what I know on the mandolin. As far as role models go, the first vocalist I ever felt drawn to was AJ Lee. She’s certainly been my biggest inspiration. Other inspirations/role models include Sharon Gilchrist, Della Mae, Sierra Hull, Rhonda Vincent, and the group Flatt Lonesome.
What’s your process for learning a tune?
It’s pretty simple. I just listen to the tune on repeat until I’m able to hum it on my own, and then I’m able to play it pretty quick.
What bands are you active in?
I’m currently playing in three bands. I formed my first-ever band, North Country Blue, in 2017 with Megan January and Tessa Schwartz. And I recently formed another bluegrass band, West 45, with my dad, Mei Lin Heirendt, Hal Horn, and Bruce Lacey. And last November I began playing with a local rock/blues band called Jake and the Party Hamsters.
Ida with North Country Blue in 2019 Rockygrass Band competition
Have you and your bands ever played at your school?
Unfortunately, my bands have never played at my school, but I’ve thought about how fun that would be!
What shows do you have coming up in 2022?
I don’t have too many shows booked in 2022, but North Country Blue is playing the Father’s Day Festival this year as a showcase band. I’m super excited to get back to playing with those folks. I haven’t seen them all together since September! They’re always fun to pick with and hang out with.
Do you enjoy working on recording or prefer live and why?
I definitely prefer live because the energy is unmatched.
Tell us about your role with the CBA Youth programs.
I first attended the CBA Youth Academy at the age of eight or nine. I continued to participate for a few years, and then I switched to Kids on Bluegrass for a year or two. After Kids on Bluegrass, I went back to the CBA Youth Academy as a teacher’s assistant for a few years. This year will be my first year as an official Youth Academy instructor. I’ll be teaching guitar!
What were your duties as CBA Teen ambassador?
My role as was to try and recruit more teenagers into the scene. One thing that kept me interested in playing bluegrass was seeing all the other young people enjoying it. So the way I went about trying to engage more teenagers into the scene was by playing with and supporting the new musicians I saw coming in.
Are there any other things you might like to do for CBA?
The CBA has been so supportive ever since I can remember. I’ll always be interested in helping the youth programs. I want to give back in every way possible to keep young kids playing bluegrass.
I’m sure you have some great CBA memories. Are there any that really stand out?
My favorite CBA memories are the ones when I’m with my friends. I cherish the memories of learning new songs with my friends during the day, and jamming late at night (sometimes up to 6:00 a.m.).
Ida and NCB singing Pick Me Up on Your Way Down
I imagine you’re looking beyond high school. Do you have any ideas about what you want to do?
My current plan is to attend Modesto Junior College, so I can get my general education out of the way while staying at home and thinking about what my next move will be. I’ve been working at an elementary school since August as an after-school kids program rec leader, and I think I want to do something with elementary education.
What would be your ideal career musically or otherwise?
For a long time I was only able to see myself playing music as a career. I was so enamored with the idea that I auditioned for the Berklee College of Music over the winter. I was accepted, but I decided that I want to keep music as something for myself, something fun and relaxing. I’m proud to say I got in, but it’s not the right move for me. I always want to play music whenever possible and continue getting as good as possible. I love kids, so I can see myself as an elementary teacher—ideally second to fourth grade.
What hobbies do you have outside of music?
I don’t have too many hobbies outside of music, but I’m always down to hang out with my dog or my friends, and shopping, or taking care of my plants!
What current tunes are stuck in your head these days?
I went to a Bonnie Raitt show last week, and I’ve had her songs Thing Called Love and Bluebird playing in the car nonstop. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Jim Croce, and I have had his songs Working at the Car Wash Blues and Top Hat Bar and Grille on repeat.
What styles of music do or might you play other than bluegrass?
I’ve always loved old country; Keith Whitley has been my most-listened-to artist on Spotify for a few years running. I also listen to a lot of Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, and George Jones. Recently I’ve been listening to and playing a lot more rock n’ roll and blues.
What advice would you have for someone just starting out playing music?
My advice is to play and learn songs you like! Music is so fun, it just needs to be the genre and songs you enjoy.
Thanks again, Ida. Hope to see you soon at a festival or campout.
This past weekend the California Bluegrass Association held their 2022 edition of the normally annual Great 48 festival, an all jamming event held in Bakersfield, CA. CBA chose the site because it is located almost exactly in between San Diego and San Francisco, so that pickers and music lovers from the north and south can both make the trip.
Given COVID restrictions in California, jammers needed to be masked and observe some social distancing in the Marriott hotel where the festival was held, but Patrick Campbell, Chair of the CBA Communications Strategy Committee, found plenty of sessions to capture for this gallery of photos.
Those who made it out were delighted to be a part of the Great 48 after COVID forced cancellation last year.
I received this email from CBA Youth Coordinator/Honorary President Emerita and Darby Brandi which describes Tessa better than I can.
“Dave, a great interview subject would be the young fiddle phenom, Tessa Schwartz, who is stepping down as Youth Ambassador in October, and now applying for colleges. Not only is she raised in the CBA but she has been in the Schwartz Family Band and North Country Blue, is on the IBMA Youth Council, teaches at Manning Music School, leads many jam classes, is a Teaching Assistant for the CBA Academy, runs a middle school bluegrass program, and is a key player in the CBA TurnYourRadio.Online and Jam-a-thon programs. All pretty impressive in her very short life.”
Hi Tessa, thanks for taking the time for this. Before we get started, can you explain why the North Country Blue website lists you as “lead raconteur?”
I think my dad came up with that one, back when we started the band and were writing our little bios. I’m sort of the frontman of the band, but I do it in a way that’s almost the antithesis of a typical frontman in a bluegrass band. I have this awkward, almost painfully self-aware persona when I’m onstage. I’m very into stand-up and sketch comedy. When I introduce the band members and songs, I really think of everything I say like I’m performing stand-up. It’s a very involved process and I pay attention to each word I say onstage.
Your stage presence comes off as genuine and not overly rehearsed. Have you considered doing stand-up comedy?
Aw, thank you! I’ve definitely considered it. Back in middle school I really wanted to be on Saturday Night Live. That was my big dream. That and being a TV writer. But it’s just too impractical for me to consider. I’m perfectly happy just trying to be a funny person in my everyday life. For a while, I ran a meme page called Bluegrass Memes and I had about five thousand followers. That was actually a really big part of my life for a few years that I was proud of it. I was posting every day for about two years. It was totally anonymous. (And everyone thought I was a dude.)
I loved those memes. Your family has quite the California Bluegrass pedigree. How did that impact your joining the bluegrass fold as a youth?
Being the youngest Schwartz child definitely had an impact on me. Everyone knew my family, or at least my brothers. Growing up, everyone reaches a point where they have to try and define who they are out of the context of being so-and-so’s kid or so-and-so’s sibling. For me, that came when I started jamming with other people. I was maybe twelve or thirteen and I’d gained enough confidence to sit in a jam without my dad around. I could make friends with people on my own.
You’ve been involved in so many projects and bands. How on earth do you find the time for it all?
Haha… I’m just a very busy person! I’m notorious among my friends for never being free to hang out. I’ve always got something going on. But these are all things that I do because I love them. If I didn’t love getting up early on Monday mornings to teach middle schoolers about bluegrass I wouldn’t do it. I’ve had to let go of some things because I just don’t have the time. And I ask for a lot of extensions on homework assignments. My teachers know about all the things I’m involved with and they’ve all been very understanding.
Do you know where you are going to college and are you considering music as a career?
I’m a senior, so I’m doing my applications this year. I’m applying to around ten liberal arts schools in the Pacific Northwest and New England. I’m not considering music as a major or as a career. I saw both of my brothers do that and it’s just not for me. Music will always be a part of my life—part of why I’d love to be in the PNW is because of its old-time scene—and I want it to always be a fun, relaxing hobby rather than something I have to rely on to live.
Tell us about composing. Do you plan to keep at it?
I sort of got into composing accidentally. I don’t consciously try to write songs or to be a songwriter. If I think of something that I want to write a song about, I’ll try, but I won’t try too hard. I give up writing songs very easily and I’m okay with that. Know thyself.
North Country Blue playing a fiddle tune written by Tessa
Do you listen to any non-bluegrass or old-time music?
All the time. I’d say the majority of what I listen to is sort of bluegrass-adjacent. Three of my most favorite artists are Aoife O’Donovan, John Hartford, and Anais Mitchell. Circling the drain, you could say. But I step out of folk music a fair amount. Just to name a few more artists: Emily King, Rapsody, Gabriel Kahane, the Roches. And I’ve been on Joni Mitchell and Queen Latifah kicks lately.
What interests you when you’re not playing music?
Anyone who’s talked to me knows that I’m a big bird nerd. I feel a little self-conscious calling myself a Birdwatcher with a capital B since I know very little about birds in a scientific sense, but I do watch birds. I absolutely love birds and Dungeons & Dragons, Pokémon, really nerdy stuff.
As a bird nerd, what are your favorite bird songs?
Tom Diamant was kind enough to let me be a guest host on his show, Panhandle Country, on KPFA and I just played an hour’s worth of bird songs. One of my favorites is Gillian Welch’s Winter’s Come And Gone, which isn’t really about birds but it does mention them. It doesn’t take much for me to hear a song and go “BIRD!” I’m like a little dog smelling a treat. I don’t know what it is about them that I’m just obsessed with. There’s a wonderful book called Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald, one of my favorite authors, in which she describes birds as “like precious stones, but alive.” I just love that.
I notice some bird related tracks on NCB’s EP titled Flight. Can you talk about that release?
Sure. We recorded that album in early March of 2020 — literally the last possible moment before the, well, you know. We got the chance to work with Sharon Gilchrist, who produced our first album and is just one of our favorite people ever. The title of the album was kind of serendipitous. I had written Birdsong, Ida had written Birdwatching Stanley. Suddenly we had all these bird things going on. And it was sort of “taking flight” for us as a band, too. We were growing up. We were a lot more independent than we had been when we recorded the first album.
Who have you studied with?
I’ve studied with various teachers over the years, but three of my most influential teachers have been Chad Manning, Megan Lynch Chowning, and Kimber Ludiker, who I’m currently taking lessons with. My very first teacher back in 2009 was Catherine Manning.
Are your students generally peers or across all ages?
My students at this point are all younger than me. When I started teaching my middle school band class, I was only a freshman, and all my students were in seventh and eighth grade. But now that I’m a senior I can feel a little more like an authority figure. I love little kids. I worked at a science camp this summer with preschoolers and they’re just the most fun to be around. I find them so much less stressful to be around than teens. Same with adults. I think teenagers are very scary to be around even when you’re a teen.
What shows, events, or venues are most memorable for you?
For me, the most memorable events are the ones in my hometown. Whenever I have a gig in Berkeley I invite all my friends and family. And it’s just this wonderful thing to be sharing this very important part of my life, of my heart, with them. We played a show recently at the Back Room in Berkeley, and three of my friends from school came. I’d just look out into the audience and see them smiling at me. It’s such a warm, supportive feeling. That’s actually what Rowboat Lullaby, one of the songs I wrote on the new album, is about. It’s about sharing the music I love with the people I love, and hoping they’ll love it too.
Can you talk some about your work with the CBA Youth Academy?
The last time I worked at the Youth Academy was in 2019. I was an assistant to the fiddle teachers there, Tatiana Hargreaves and Emily Mann, and I was helping them out with the band and fiddle classes. It’s just such a wonderful experience. Not only are you teaching alongside these incredible musicians, but you’re interacting with young musicians from all over California and beyond. It’s a little weird to think of them as the next generation of California bluegrass since they’re only a few years younger than me, but that’s what they are.
North Country Blue has quite a Bay Area following. Can you talk about the band and plans for the future?
I don’t know that we know what’s going to happen when Ida and I graduate. I’m going out of state, and Ida might too. We’re not thinking too hard about the future right now — there’s just too many unknowns. It also just makes us too sad. We just played our last gig with Megan before she goes to UC Irvine. It was a really emotional affair. I’ve been playing with her since I was in fifth or sixth grade. That’s the thing no one tells you about being in a kid band — eventually you all grow up and leave each other. It’s tragic.
But you’ll always have those memories and relationships. Do you have any upcoming shows?
We only have a few more shows before Christine Wilhoyte moves to Nashville! We’re playing the Lodi Grape Festival on September 19 — which will probably be long gone by the time this comes out. After Christine leaves, we’re playing at the West Side Theater in Newman, which is a really beautiful theater that we played a show at a few years ago. We’re hoping also to get down to Southern California at some point this year to play some gigs down there with Megan.
What aspect of teaching is the most rewarding for you?
One of my favorite things to teach is improvisation. Most of my students have never improvised before, whether because they’re too young or they’ve only ever played classical music, and it can be nerve-wracking to make up a melody on the fly. I have this exercise I do with my students: first, they play only quarter notes on an open D string, experimenting with tone and volume. Then, they can play any rhythm on the open D. Then, any rhythm on any note on the D string. I continue removing constraints until they can play any note, string, and rhythm. Suddenly, they’re improvising! It brings me so much pride to hear them go from being so shy and nervous to just filling the room with raucous joy.
What challenges have you had that were hard to work through and how did you approach it?
This is sometimes surprising to others, but I’ve never been really good around people. I’m a very awkward person, a very anxious person by nature, even if that doesn’t come across in my interactions with people. So coming out of the pandemic and being back at school, going from almost total isolation to being around three or four thousand people every day was really hard for me. I struggled with a lot of anxiety and felt overwhelmed. But I’ve got my little coping strategies. I listen to music, I go for walks, I journal.
Thanks for sharing that, You’re not alone in that anxiety. Separately, what old-time fiddle tunes do you love?
Old-time is something I’m not as familiar with as bluegrass, but every time I play it I just love it. Forked Deer and Duck River are two of my favorites. Do those count as old-time?
Those are great tunes, works for me.
Really anything in D, especially if I can cross-tune. I love cross-tuning with my five-string fiddle — it sounds so rich and lovely. I just bought new strings for my five-string, the Kaplan Vivos, and I’m excited to try cross-tuning with those. They are so loud it’s kind of scary.
Mark Varner – photo by Snap Jackson/Mark with his son, Marty
Mark Varner, prominent California bluegrass musician and active volunteer with state bluegrass associations, died unexpectedly in his sleep on September 4. He was at his long-awaited retirement home in Dangriga, Belize. Mark was 64 years of age when he passed.
Born in Everett, WA, Mark spent many years in Boulder Creek, CA where he played with a number of bluegrass bands. He served on the Board of the Northern California Bluegrass Society where he helped organize the Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival, and several others. Varner was also editor of the Society’s monthly magazine, Bluegrass by the Bay.
Eventually he moved to serve on the Board of the California Bluegrass Association, the largest such organization in the country. There he became editor of their monthly publication, Bluegrass Breakdown, where he remained until COVID shutdowns required them to move to an online version last year. Mark was also active with the CBA Talent Acquisition Group, which hires acts to perform on the Association’s annual Father’s Day Festival in Grass Valley.
But his activity in bluegrass was not limited to an administrative role. He played both mandolin and guitar, and was a visible attendee at many regional bluegrass events and jam sessions.
In his day job, Varner was a consulting engineer, specializing in testing air and fluid systems for diving equipment.
Mark is fondly remembered by many in the California bluegrass scene as a fun, hardworking, diligent individual who always had time and a hand when anyone needed it. He was also a tireless advocate for the CBA, for bluegrass in general, and California bluegrass in particular. He will be severely missed.
The California Bluegrass Association has announced a new event, to be held at the close of the festival season in November. Billed as the South State 48, it will be held at the Carlsbad By The Sea Hotel in Carlsbad, CA, just north of San Diego.
The theme of this inaugural festival, and its name, is take from another CBA event, held annually in Bakersfield, called The Great 48. The number refers to 48 hours of jamming during the winter dry spell for bluegrass, held in a safe, welcoming spot where all day and all night jamming is not only allowed, it is encouraged! There is no charge to attend, other than hotel costs for those who choose to stay on site, and everyone is invited whether you come to pick and sing, or just hang out and enjoy the music.
South State 48 comes following a CBA committee which was given the task to identify areas in southernmost California to host a jamming weekend. They had found that The Great 48 offered grassers in the central part of the state a respite from the winter blues, and in addition, generated very positive local press coverage and drew a good number of curious onlookers out to see what bluegrass was all about.
Neither 48 event is truly a bluegrass festival as there are no traditional stage shows, but with jams every few feet in the hotel, it is what Nashvillians have come to expect at the Sheraton during the SPBGMA convention each year.
Full details about the debut South State 48, November 5-7, can be found online. If it follows the lead of its big brother in Bakersfield, you can expect them to add workshops and perhaps showcases as time goes on, should 2021 prove successful.
In truth, if every state in the US had an association as organized and effective as CBA, bluegrass music would see a tremendous growth in popularity. If there is a statewide or regional bluegrass club near you, seek them out and join. The strength of CBA is in its numbers, which typically boasts multiples of the membership of the IBMA.
One aspect of the current pandemic on which almost all parties agree, is the fact that young people are faring very badly away from school. Deprived of in-person teaching as well as social interaction, research shows that many students have fallen behind badly in their lessons, with most school systems passing them all into the next grade, often with suspended grading or testing.
Of course the same is occurring within music education. Private lessons can not be held in person in many areas, and ensembles are forbidden even in most colleges and universities. Adults can step away from certain activities for a period of time and then resume without much effect, but children and young people generally have a limited time for learning, and interruptions can have a devastating impact.
We are seeing this within the bluegrass community as well. Though the universities who offer studies and degrees in bluegrass are continuing to operate, students are commonly off campus and taking their classes and private lessons remotely. And younger students don’t do as well with online learning unless they are highly motivated.
Most prominently, the youth academies held at many major festivals, which serve to introduce bluegrass music to hundreds of young musicians every year, are not able to be held. Being together with other young people learning to play bluegrass is a powerful tool to build and maintain interest, and it appears that these will be lost for the second year in a row.
One that is trying to find a way around this dilemma is the California Bluegrass Association’s Youth Academy. They are in the process of building a new website to offer educational content, online classes, and jams for kids in 2021. To further that goal, they are hosting a marathon online concert this weekend, with music provided by over 100 bluegrass artists, running live for 48 hours straight online.
Billed as the CBA Jam-A-Thon, it will run as a livestream from Friday, January 8 at 8:00 p.m. (EST) until 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 10. That’s right… 48 hours of non-stop live bluegrass, available free of charge on Facebook and YouTube.
A partial list of performers includes Laurie Lewis, Kathy Kallick, Abigail Washburn, Béla Fleck, Danny Paisley, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Alan Bibey, Missy Raines, Deanie Richardson, Tina Adair, Becky Buller, Sierra Hull, Front Country, Joe Walsh & Grant Gordy, and members of Sister Sadie, Della Mae, and Wood & Wire. Wes Corbett of the Sam Bush Band will host a star-studded banjo workshop, and Missy Raines will lead one for bass with Mike Bub, Marshall Wilborn, and Vickie Vaughn. Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer will lead an all-ages singalong, and Tristan Scroggins will moderate a mandolin workshop with Maddie Witler and Casey Campbell.
CBA will solicit donations throughout the Jam-A-Thon to build a new interactive web site for the Youth Academy, which they plan to launch this spring. It will feature a wealth of musical activities for youngsters, with input and participation from professional players and educators.
All are invited to enjoy the music this weekend, and if you feel inclined and are able, CBA would be greatly appreciative if you could contribute to the fundraising for the new Youth Academy web site. See full details online.
The three-day event (June 18th – 20th) was staged at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, Grass Valley, north-east of Sacramento, California, and the performers were Josh Graves, Good Ol’ Persons, Vern Williams Band, Ray Park & Herb Pedersen, High Country, The Caffrey Family, Bear Creek Boys from the greater Bay Area, Long Valley Boys, New Depression String Band, harmonica player Bill White, the quartet A Touch Of Grass, Country Butter, and South Loomis Quickstep.
The Good Ol’ Persons had been involved with fundraising for the California Bluegrass Association from its first event, and that coincided nearly perfectly with the launch of the band in early 1975. So, it was natural that we would be performing at their first festival the following year.
I had never been to a bluegrass festival, at least not a proper one, so didn’t really know what to expect. I remember arriving, finding the campsite where friends had already moved in, and parking my car next to a big tree. I didn’t have camping gear; my station wagon seemed good enough. But somebody pointed out to me that it would get hot in the car very early, so I laid my sleeping bag out between two trees on a pile of pine needles, in the shade, and that was delightful.
The stage was makeshift — it had actually been made that day by a bunch of volunteers — and the seating was “bring your own,” which in my case was on the ground. There was a gentle, friendly vibe. I was excited to play music, and equally excited to see the other bands. Even though the Good Ol’ Persons were a newish band, there was a buzz on about us, what with the novelty aspect, and somehow we were one of the headliner bands. We performed in jeans and tee shirts; it was casual and homey, incredibly cute.
It’s funny to look back and then think about the huge deal that festival has become. It has grown to be an internationally renowned, major event with top-tier bands from everywhere. People come from all over the world to attend this festival, and, while it’s not as grand in scale as say, MerleFest, it is a big festival with a certain undeniable prestige. Even at that first one, when Ray Park and Herb Pederson took the stage, it was a big deal! Everybody at the campgrounds came to the audience area; nobody wanted to miss the local heroes gone big time. I remember Ray singing On My Mind, and it being the best thing I’d ever heard. And then they got Vern Williams up for a Vern & Ray reunion, and it was electric.
I also remember sitting on some bleachers eating a cantaloupe with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it that was fantastically delicious and refreshing. I went home dirty, dusty, sunburned, and happy.
The California Bluegrass Association (CBA) is a California Non-Profit Corporation that was founded in 1975 in the San Francisco Bay Area by Carl Pagter, Jake Quesenberry, and Jack Sadler.
The CBA is dedicated to the furtherance of bluegrass, old-time, and Gospel music in California. The Articles of Incorporation further state that the organization is formed to promote, encourage, foster, and cultivate the preservation, appreciation, understanding, enjoyment, support, and performance of traditional instrumental and vocal music of the United States.
The CBA has sponsored dozens of bluegrass festivals since its inception. Its main festival, held every Father’s Day Weekend in June (COVID-19 restrictions excepted), is a four-day event at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley, California. This festival features a line-up of national and regional acts in the bluegrass and old-time country music field. It is preceded by a four-day music camp. The organization also sponsors events in Bakersfield and Sebastopol.
Footnote from Darby Brandli, CBA President Emeritus and Youth Programme Coordinator ….
According to Peter Thompson this is the final of four webcasts with musicians who would have been part of this year’s Father’s Day Festival, as well as others affiliated with the CBA.
The first annual Grass Valley Bluegrass Festival flyer … courtesy of Ray Edlund.
We thank Bluegrass Signal presenter (KALW) Peter Thompson, band-leader Kathy Kallick, CBA Manager of Operations Rick Cornish and Darby Brandli for their assistance.
Outgoing CBA President Darby Brandli and new President Theresa Behr Gooding
It was good catching up recently with incoming CBA President Theresa Behr Gooding, and getting a status of what’s going on.
Hi Theresa, how are you and your family doing, and how many are at home?
We’re doing as well as most. The upside for me was having all three boys at home with school and live performances canceled. Josh is back in Tennessee now, but I’m grateful to have had a full house for the early weeks of the shelter at home.
Other than the coronavirus, how has the transition to CBA President been for you?
Well, I’ll say this…………very quickly my sons observed, “nice job mom, your first year as president and the festival is canceled.” Other than that, my approach is to not attempt to fill Darby’s shoes. That would be a fool’s errand. My hope is to connect on a personal level with as many of our members as possible; hearing ideas, encouraging participation, building community.
What is the state of CBA affairs after having to cancel/postpone the Father’s Day Festival?
I am so impressed with the hard work, dedication, skill, and creativity that our CBA board and volunteers are demonstrating. Equally impressive is the passion and generous spirit of our membership. It is very difficult for small, non-profit organizations like the CBA to weather significant financial impacts like the cancellation of our festival, but I’m confident that the hard work and hard decisions being made will not only see us through, but also allow us to support our impacted community.
Did you get any interesting messages from artists when the FDF was canceled?
We received many messages of genuine understanding and heartfelt support. This is a time of such great personal challenge for our artists; the words of encouragement sent from them were very touching.
Are there any alternative plans for special events later in the year?
Yes! I mentioned the dedication and creativity of our board, but that also extends into our membership community of remarkable volunteers. Hopefully, you’ve begun to see the promotional materials for Turn Your Radio Online (TYRO), a series of webcasts that will support a relief fund for California bluegrass and old-time artists impacted by COVID19 as well as allow our community an opportunity to gather virtually. Webcasts begin May 23 and run through June 20. Information is available on all our CBA online outlets including the CBA YouTube channel.
Note: The first of this series is Saturday May 23rd at 6:00 p.m. (PST) and features performances by Frank Solivan, Bill Evans, Crying Uncle, the BettyJacks, and Kathleen Rushing. More information is at www.turnyourradio.online.
What are some strategic long-term goals or directions you think are most important for CBA?
I would like to see the CBA continue its outreach and partnership efforts to expand and strengthen our community of artists and fans.
Thank you, Theresa, thank you for stepping up and we’re all behind you as we move through this challenging period.
Thank you too. We’ll all get through this together!
While everyone is hanging at home, here are a couple of videos from previous Fathers Day Festivals to sit back and enjoy.
Frank Solivan with Kids on Bluegrass at the 1992 Fathers Day Festival.
2015 Mando Madness – David Grisman, Mike Compton, Roland White, Ed Neff, Butch Waller, and Chris Henry
Suzanne Suwanda in quarantine with her guitar at Travis Air Force Base
We recently got word that California Bluegrass Association member, Father’s Day Festival MC, and Northern California Bluegrass Bass Player of the Year Suzanne Suwanda was a passenger on the Grand Princess cruise ship that was diverted from its trip to Hawaii when two passengers contracted the COVID-19 coronavirus. Suzanne sings, plays bass and fiddle. Below are some details of the ordeal that she shared with me for the bluegrass audience from quarantine at Travis Air Force Base.
Hi Suzanne, before we get started, please share your bluegrass background, bands you play in, etc.
Currently, I play bass and sing with the Wildcat Mountain Ramblers and the Black Eyed Susies. One of my most formative experiences was as bassist with John Murphy’s Carolina Special, a band that truly honored the pioneering bands of the genre.
Suzanne, you’ve had an interesting last few weeks! Can you give us the highlights?
A friend invited me to share her cabin on a two-week cruise aboard the Grand Princess. With the ship leaving out of San Francisco, it would mean being able to just drive to the cruise terminal without worrying about packing restrictions, so I brought along my guitar and my fiddle. Everything was going just fine until it wasn’t — cruising away from the Hawaiian Islands toward Ensenada we were advised by the captain that due to coronavirus concerns we would be skipping Ensenada and going straight to SF.
Are you, your travel mate and family all healthy and showing no symptoms of the virus?
No signs. They take our temperatures twice a day
How are things now that you are off the ship and in the Sacramento area?
We have more room but more frustration if that’s possible. It’s difficult to get information, and very frustrating that we are not allowed to receive packages dropped off at the base — mailed items are okay. Yesterday’s telephone conference call did not permit questions, but today’s did. I’ve been somewhat successful getting a Facebook page going so that we can share info across the three different quarantine stations, and with our fellow passengers abroad. I’m trying to get permission to quarantine at home, but only received the information on how to do that TODAY, six days into it. The questions of testing vs not testing, having accurate numbers vs not, are baffling at times. So far, less than two dozen people from the Grand Princess have tested positive for the virus, but as far as we know almost no one has been tested. Go figure.
Your social media posts and interview on ABC News have been very enlightening and somehow calming for many of us.
Thank you for that. You’re welcome. It’s fun and it saves me sending the same messages over and over to friends who write to offer their support. I need some new material though!!
Did you ever get your Sam’s barbecue and IPA growler delivered?
NO – for the reasons above. I have requested a change in that policy with my new best buddy, an attorney at HHS Office of the General Counsel, Public Health Division CDC/ATSDR Branch.
Have you been tested for the virus yet and if not, why is that?
Long story… essentially whoever is in charge doesn’t want us to test. Why? Tests are precious, tests are only good for a point in time — you can test negative but contract the infection between the time of the test and when you get results — we’ve been told if we test negative we WON’T be sent home —if the results aren’t back before it’s time to go we’ll have to wait (!!!!!) —it could take DAYS to get the results — it’s a mess. No one will say how many people from the ship have been tested since they started disembarking.
It’s good you’ve had your guitar and fiddle. Have you been able to get any good wood-shedding or songwriting in?
One song that had been in the works for YEARS almost finished, two new ones in progress.
What are your favorite fiddle tunes?
Big Sciota, St Anne’s Reel, Fisher’s Hornpipe, Salt Spring (OK, mandolin tune).
Do you keep your guitar in your room or play it out for others?
On the ship I played out, had a lot of fun with people singing and making music. Since quarantine, no, don’t want to involve people that might spread the virus or worse cause CDC to THINK we are spreading the virus
Do you have have any song(s) you feel capture the moment?
Dylan’s You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.
As you know, there have been a lot of event cancellations. What gigs do you look forward to getting back to?
I miss our regular gigs at Sam’s and Summit House Beer Garden & Grill. The Black Eyed Susies play for retirement communities; I’m sure they’ve had their outside guest programs curtailed, and that’s a very sad thing for them. They’re already somewhat isolated and now even more so.
What has been the biggest surprise in all of this?
Great question. I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed the cruise. I had done some cruising before — a Caribbean cruise years ago with my parents, some river cruises with my Mom in Europe and in China, but I had never really SAILED on a cruise ship for thousands of miles across the ocean. I just loved it. Once the bad news began, I was surprised that we ended up here. The whole quarantine process has no guarantees and seems to be in place to keep Californians calm (is it working?) at our expense. We just sit here and cost the government a bunch of money.
Did I see where you said you would get on another cruise, would you choose a different cruise line?
Not because of this.
There has been some negative press about the treatment that passengers have received. Are there any myths you would like to bust?
What bad press, the bad food story? That sounds like garbage. Did Princess know about the virus on board before we left SF? It sounds like it. In terms of misinformation/lack of information, I don’t think the captain was treated any better by CDC than we have been.
Is there anything the readers can do to support your cause?
There’s a Facebook group — Crew Lives — that people can join and follow and lend their support in numbers to the issue of crew care. The crew we met were amazingly caring and professional and they need help.
Thanks much, Suzanne, and we look forward to seeing you live and in person at Sam’s Barbecue or the CBA Father’s Day Festival.
If it’s not canceled.
Here are a few more notes that I got from Suzanne after the interview.
Ready to scream, just heard from another passenger who left the ship Wednesday for Dobbins Air Force Base. Released from quarantine THIS AFTERNOON w/no mandatory self-quarantine.
This squeaky wheel got a little bit of grease. I just got transferred to a private room.
Communication with a neighbor at Travis Air Force Base.
Suzanne: Hello – I am your neighbor. I’m a musician and would like to practice in my room – I hope it doesn’t disturb you.
Neighbor: Go ahead! We will let you know if it does. Thanks for asking.
