Fountain AfterDark vol 4, no 23 June 4, 2008 Mike Hamer's 60th Birthday Commemorative Issue published weekly by R.A. Fountain, General Store & Internet Cafe Boys from Carolina Bluegrass Band Headlines 3-Day Weekend of Live Music - @ Risk Rocks the House Friday - Double Shot of Shows Free-at-3 on Sunday - Banjo Buddy Zincone Profiled in Daily Reflector [Fountain, NC] The Boys from Carolina, boasting over 140 years of picking experience amongst its members, plays original and classic bluegrass at Fountain General Store on Saturday night. At Risk plays classic rock on Friday night, and two acts on Sunday afternoon perform country, gospel, folk, and bluegrass music. The Boys from Carolina include Wright Young of Durham on mandolin; Chuck Schutte of Raleigh on dobro; Lindy Brown of Raleigh on bass; Larry Nunnery of Benson on guitar; and Bob Wilkerson on banjo. They specialize in expert picking and 4-part harmonies, including several a capella tunes that are perfect Southern gospel. Their debut CD, "Train Ride Home," was released last year. Most of its tracks are covers of traditional bluegrass classics by artists like the Louvin Brothers and Flatt and Scruggs, but it also includes four original songs by Schutte and Young. The Boys from Carolina's June 7 concert begins at 7:30. General admission is $7.50; reserved seats are $10. At Risk is a quintet of ECU professors who have re-kindled the garage-band interests of their youth. They perform classic rock and on Friday night will present a concert of British invasion covers of hits by the Kinks, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and others. ""It's a fun band," said Alex Albright, Fountain General proprietor. "Knowing that they're all college profs gives their cover of Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick in the Wall' an ironic kind of edge, too." Although the band members have all adopted stage names, they are easily recognizable in concert as professors of history and psychology. Don P plays guitar and sings; Dr. K plays keyboards and harmonica; Aaron the Baron plays guitar and sings; the Sexdoctor plays drums and sings; the Magic Christian plays bass and percussion and sings. The band books itself as "@Risk." Their June 6 show begins at 8 p.m.; general admission is $5. Sunday's Free-at-3:00 features two separate acts. Opening will be Linda Ripke with Ronnie King. Barefoot Movement will close out the show. Ripke is a talented multi-instrumentalist who in this performance will play dulcimer and piano. Ronnie King, ace guitarist with the Country Roads band, will accompany her on guitar in a concert of country and gospel music. Barefoot Movement is a quintet of young bluegrassers from Granville County. The band was created from a duet that formed after fiddler Noah Kelce met guitarist Andrew Marlin in a college classroom. Kelce, who also plays guitar and sings, has since become so taken with bluegrass that she is now transferring to East Tennessee State University, whose bluegrass studies program she will enter this fall. Others performing with Barefoot Movement at its RAF show are Tommy Norris on mandolin and guitar; Frank McCurry on bass; and Molly Miller, a lead singer who also composes some of the band's original material. R.A. Fountain, General Store and Internet Cafe, is located in historic downtown Fountain, at the intersection of US 258 and NC 222. Its family atmosphere is smoke- and alcohol-free. For further information, visit www.rafountain.com or call 252-749-3228. -30- PHOTOS Photo of Boys from Carolina at RAF: http://rafountain.com/pictures/BoysFromCarolina/Boys_at_RAf.jpg At Risk Rock Fountain Friday Night http://rafountain.com/pictures/AtRisk/AtRisk2_lg.jpg - - - Mike Hamer Turns 60 on 06-06! [Greenville, NC] Local singer-songwriter and band leader Mike Hamer celebrates his 60th birthday on Friday. A mainstay on the Greenville music scene since the 1970s, Hamer performs throughout the region as a solo artist and also as a member of numerous duos and bands. Hamer has recently released his fourth CD, "Finally Coming Home," which features a dozen of his newest original compositions. Copies will be available at RAF, both in-store and e-store, by Friday. "It seems like just a couple of years ago we were celebrating my 50th," Hamer said. That event, staged at RAF's twin building, the Smith-Yelverton, was "a wild, wonderful party--a classic," he recalled. Friday's covered dish will start out at least as a more sedate, family-oriented affair. "But it doesn't have to stay that way," said Hamer. "You never know what's going to happen, do you?" Well-wishers can send their cards and cash to Hamer at 100 Park Avenue, Greenville, NC 27858. - - - Banjo Maestro Buddy Zincone Profiled in Daily Reflector [Greenville, NC] Buddy Zincone finally got the star treatment he deserves from the Daily Reflector in last Sunday's edition. "Growing Grass: Retired ECU Dean Has Spent Decades Sowing Bleugrass Seeds in Greenville" was the main feature in the Reflector's "Look" section for June 1. It took up most of F-1 and about half of F-1, and included photos of Zincone and his band at work in the Zincone living room. Zincone, whose main band is Greenville Grass, is one of the primary reasons bluegrass is so strong in this region, said Alex Albright, RAF proprietor. "He's kept it alive for years on a weekly basis at his home, and on stages all over the area. He always brings a good crowd out to Fountain, too." The profile, written by Mark Rutledge, is accompanied by an excellent and highly entertaining video that features some fine Greenville Grass picking as well as a terrific photo of Buddy and Maria Zincone from early in their marriage: http://www.reflector.com/news/content/multimedia/players/brightcove.html?bcpid=1459192578&bclid=1460777335&bctid=1583041538 The print version of Sunday's profile is also on the Reflector's website: http://www.reflector.com/featr/content/features/stories/2008/06/01/bluegrass.html Buddy Zincone and Greenville Grass will be performing at RAF again in the fall, at a date yet to be determined. -30- What You're Reading Each week, RAF sends out a news release to 28 area newspapers and radio stations. The primary contents of each issue of Fountain AfterDark is that news release. The FAD distributed via e.mail never contains attachments. To add friends to our e.mail subscription list, send their e.mail address to fountainexpress@rafountain.com. To remove yourself from this list, reply to this e.mail with "unsubscribe" as either text or subject of your e.mail. Our e.mail list is not sold or traded or otherwise shared with anyone. Please let us know of any suspected abuses of the Fountain AfterDark/Fountain Express distribution list. -30- On Jun 12, 2008, at 9:47 PM, fountainexpress@rafountain.com wrote: Fountain AfterDark vol 4, no 24 June 12, 2008 published weekly by R.A. Fountain, General Store & Internet Cafe Big Bluegrass and Jazz Shows at Fountain General this Weekend with Carolina Yellowhammers, Steve Creech, and Jimmy Aycock [Fountain, NC] The Carolina Yellowhammers perform classic bluegrass on Friday night at Fountain General Store. The Steve Creech Septet features vocalist Pat Tutino in a concert of jazz, Broadway, pop, and gospel standards on Saturday. And pianist Jimmy Aycock closes out the spring '08 Free-at-3:00 series on Sunday. The Carolina Yellowhammers are a new bluegrass band comprised of four of the region's best veteran pickers. Frank Harrison plays mandolin; Lane Hollis, banjo and fiddle; Lightnin' Wells, guitar; and John Booker, bass. All share in vocals. The band takes its name as an homage both to the Georgia Yellow Hammers an old-time string band that made several successful recordings in the 1920s for the Brunswick, Victor and Okeh labels, and the passenger train that used to run from Tarboro through Fountain on down to Hookerton. Both were named to honor the distinctive sound of the northern flicker. The Carolina Yellowhammers debuted their act for the May Museum in Farmville earlier this year. Harrison, who lives in Williamston, has performed in Fountain with Les Sandy's band, with his old pal Alan Thompson, and others. Wells , the Goldsboro native who re-settled to Fountain last year, is an internationally renowned bluesman whose concerts always include a variety of old-time tunes. Hollis plays regularly with Greenville Grass and the Hollis Family Band. Booker is bassist for Clyde Mattocks' Highway 58 and another new regional bluegrass band,the Jam Busters. "This is really a band of super-pickers," said Alex Albright, Fountain General proprietor. "It'll be a fantastic show." The Carolina Yellowhammers perform June 13 at 8 p.m.; general admission is $8. The Steve Creech Septet features vocalist Pat Tutino on Saturday night. Creech, the Greenville-based guitarist and bandleader, has been bringing a stellar jazz show to RAF about once a month for over a year. "Steve's always got a group of exceptionally talented musicians with him," said Albright, "and every show features a different guest singer." Tutino and pianist Jimmy Aycock are tonight's featured performers. Aycock, who is from Freemont, recently retired from a long career in music education. Also performing Saturday night will be George Broussard on trombone; Fred Moye on tenor sax; Earle Abernethey on drums; and Keith Dobbins on bass. Broussard teaches jazz at ECU's School of Music and leads the school's Jazz Bones. Moye retired home to Kinston after a long career as a professional jazzman in New York. Abernethey and Dobbins are both regulars with Creech's band as well as with other ensembles throughout the region. The Steve Creech Septet, with Pat Tutino, performs June 14 at 7:30. General admission is $8. Aycock will return to town on Sunday, June 15, to present his own solo concert of jazz, Broadway, and Americana classics in what will be the last Free-at-3:00 concert until fall. Sunday's show also features half-price Jones Fruit Farm homemade ice cream. R.A. Fountain, General Store and Internet Cafe, is located in historic downtown Fountain, at the intersection of US 258 and NC 222. Its family atmosphere is smoke- and alcohol-free. For further information, visit www.rafountain.com or call 252-749-3228. -30- PHOTOS Jimmy Aycock (left) and Steve Creech return to RAF for a Saturday night jazz concert that begins at 7:30 p.m. http://rafountain.com/pictures/Creech/aycock&creech.jpg Jimmy Aycock (left) joins Steve Creech (right) in a big jazz show in Fountain Saturday night http://rafountain.com/pictures/Creech/CreechSext2.jpg - - - What You're Reading Each week, RAF sends out a news release to 28 area newspapers and radio stations. The primary contents of each issue of Fountain AfterDark is that news release. The FAD distributed via e.mail never contains attachments. To add friends to our e.mail subscription list, send their e.mail address to fountainexpress@rafountain.com. To remove yourself from this list, reply to this e.mail with "unsubscribe" as either text or subject of your e.mail. Our e.mail list is not sold or traded or otherwise shared with anyone. Please let us know of any suspected abuses of the Fountain AfterDark/Fountain Express distribution list. -30- Fountain AfterDark vol 4, no 25 June 18, 2008 published weekly by R.A. Fountain, General Store & Internet Cafe Avery County Plays Baltimore Barroom Bluegrass Saturday, Donald Thompson Blues Band Friday - July, August, September Music Schedules Announced - RAF's T-Ball Team Commences Summer Season [Fountain, NC] Travers Chandler and Avery County perform a concert of original and classic Baltimore barroom bluegrass on Saturday night at Fountain General Store. Donald Underwood Thomnpson, a Fountain favorite as a solo performer, debuts his new blues band comprised of Lenoir County natives and veterans of a dozen other regional bands on Friday night. Thompson plays rhythm guitar and does most of the band's lead vocals. Others in his band include Jackie "Sonny Boy" Holland, resonator guitar and harmonica; Chris Jenkins, lead guitar; Carol Wade, bass; and Jason Smith, drums. Wade is also bassist for the Super Grit Cowboy Band. Thompson, a Kinston native and resident, has been performing as a solo artist and in ensembles in the region since the early 1960s. He has shared billing on shows with David Holt and Molasses Creek. He has played with the Heartbeats and Pride 'n Joy. Holland, who grew up on a farm near Deep Run, lives in Woodington. He has played with Almost Legal, a band of law enforcement officers, and Blue English. Smith, from Deep Run, has played with Sagebrush, Slow Children Playing, the Charlie Albertson Show, and Sundown. Jenkins, of Sandy Bottom, has played with Category 6, Double Tap, and Entermission. Wade, from LaGrange, still performs with Super Grit. He has also played with Southern Vision, the Killette Brothers and the Country Showmen, and Cold Sweat. The Donald Thompson Blues Band will perform a show of classic blues from the 1920s as well as several Thompson original blues compositions like "Lenoir County Chile" and "I Don't Do It No More," which are also included on Thompson's debut CD, "The Ocracoke Sessions." Their June 20 show begins at 8 p.m.; general admission is $5. Travers Chandler is one of the best known proponents and performers of Baltimore barroom bluegrass. He and his band play at festivals and clubs throughout the east coast region. Chandler currently lives in Roxboro; his bandmates assemble from Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky for their shows. Avery County's style of bluegrass takes its name from the rough situations sung about by bluegrass legends such as Buzz Busby, Red Allen, and Charlie Moore, whose 1977 classic song provides the band with its name. "It's excellent bluegrass," said Alex Albright, Fountain General Store proprietor. "They'll do some fine takes on Bill Monroe and other more traditional artists, too. Travers is one of the hottest mandolin pickers we've seen in Fountain--and we've had our share of fine ones." "It's the best bluegrass I've seen there," said Fountain resident and globetrotting bluesman Lightnin' Wells. "High energy and great material that you don't hear these days. I wouldn't miss it." Travers Chandler and Avery County play June 21 at 8 p.m.; general admission is $7.50. R.A. Fountain, General Store and Internet Cafe, is located in historic downtown Fountain, at the intersection of US 258 and NC 222. Its family atmosphere is smoke- and alcohol-free. For further information, visit www.rafountain.com or call 252-749-3228. -30- Publicity photo of Donald Thompson Blues Band http://rafountain.com/pictures/dThompson/DonUnTomBand.JPG - - - RAF's Tee-Ball Team Begins Play Next Week [Farmville, NC] R.A. Fountain's Tee-ball team, which plays in the Farmville Tee-Ball League, begins play next Tuesday, June 24, when they take on Moore Marketing. Game time is 6:30 at the field behind Sam D. Bundy Elementary School in Farmville. RAF's team is coached this year by Lee Cash. This year's team roster: Tyler Cash Harlee Beamon Brad Butts Jacob Sugg Harry Albritton III Paul Jones Cross Lauderdale Leah Neely Jack Flanagan Cole Reason Cole Wainwright Jacob Haddock Other teams in the Farmville league are sponsored by Reflections, Farrior & Sons, B's Barbecue, Mestek, Police Cadets, and C.L. Walters. Jeff Polaski, Farmville's recreation director, reports this year's tee-ball league has twice as many teams as last year. Games are played on most Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays through August 1. - - - July, August, September Music Schedule Released [Fountain, NC] The Swedish jazz band Big Street, m.p., the New York-based Homegrown String Band, and Florida-based the Mayhaws headline a sparse music schedule at RAF for July and August. Shows in September get rolling during Fountain's first Peanut Festival, with a free bluegrass jam on Friday night, Sept. 12, and a great lineup of free shows all afternoon and evening on Saturday, September 13. July 2008 18 7:30 $8 Steve Creech Septet, featuring Jerry Jolley 19 8:00 $7.50 Homegrown String Band http://www.homegrownstringband.com/ Their third annual trip to Fountain! 24 7:30 $8 [Note: This is a Thursday night show] Big Street m.p. http://www.bigstreet.se/ This Swedish jazz band is touring the U.S., for most members, for the first time. Because several of them also perform in a traditional Swedish folk band, they've agreed to open their show with a set of classic Swedish folk music. August 2008 2 8:00 $8 The Mayhaws http://www.themayhaws.com/ 22 7:30 $8 Richard Hood and the Licking County Hot Lix On their last trip her, in May 08, they stopped by the Carter Family Fold, where they auditioned for a future date. They passed the audition with standiing ovations and as a result will be the featured act at the Fold on Saturday, August 23. We're grateful that Richard's extending their trip to include RAF again--an excellent band of young pickers who all study bluegrass at Dennison University in Ohio, where Richard's co-director of their Bluegrass Studies program. September 2008 6 8:00 $5 Jennifer Shelton Licko http://www.jenniferlicko.com/ 12 7:00 FREE Bluegrass jam Open to all levels of pickers and singers. 13 Noon - 9 FREE Scheduled acts include Flat Mountain Dulcimers, Linda & Shelby Stephenson, Wilberville, the Jam Busters [a new regional act], and the Smith Brothers Bluegrass Band. 20 7:30 $7.50 Nu-Blu http://www.nu-blu.com/ 26 7:30 $8 Marshall Stephenson and the Bluegrass Train 27 8:00 $8 Russ Varnell & Too Country - - - What You're Reading Each week, RAF sends out a news release to 28 area newspapers and radio stations. The primary contents of each issue of Fountain AfterDark is that news release. The FAD distributed via e.mail never contains attachments. To add friends to our e.mail subscription list, send their e.mail address to fountainexpress@rafountain.com. To remove yourself from this list, reply to this e.mail with "unsubscribe" as either text or subject of your e.mail. Our e.mail list is not sold or traded or otherwise shared with anyone. Please let us know of any suspected abuses of the Fountain AfterDark/Fountain Express distribution list. -30- Fountain AfterDark vol 4, no 25 - EXTRA! June 20, 2008 published weekly by R.A. Fountain, General Store & Internet Cafe Avery County Bluegrass Cancelled for Saturday, RAF Closed [Fountain, NC] Travers Chandler and Avery County's Saturday night show has been cancelled due to health issues in Chandler's family. We wish Travers and his family a quick return to good health, and we're sorry for any convenience this late cancellation might cause. Check out the Tobs in Wilson instead! Gametime vs the Fayetteville Swampdogs is 7:05. Free hair cuts, too, in historic Fleming Stadium, which is also home of the NC Baseball Museum http://www.wilsontobs.com/ RAF will be closed Saturday. -30- Fountain AfterDark vol 4, no 26 June 26, 2008 published weekly by R.A. Fountain, General Store & Internet Cafe Honky Tonk Country Friday with Reno Station, Lawson Creek Bluegrass Band Saturday - Peanut Fest Lineup Revised - Craven County's Bluegrass Legend Gets Historic Marker this Saturday [Fountain, NC] Reno Station plays honky tonk country music at Fountain General Store on Friday night. The Lawson Creek Bluegrass Band plays original and classic bluegrass and bluegrass gospel on Saturday night. Reno Station http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=289027025 is based out of Clayton and bills itself as "one of the last true honky tonk bands. Fronted by lead guitarist Kelly Allen, the Station covers songs by artists like Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings. Also in the band: Adam Barbour, rhythm guitar, keyboards, and vocals; Brian Allen, bass and vocals; and Greg Troehler, drums and vocals. Reno Station's June 27 concert begins at 8 p.m.; general admission is $5. Lawson Creek is a quintet of fine pickers out of the New Bern area. Led by guitarist and lead singer James Walker, they play "stringed bluegrass and gospel music." Mac McRoy plays banjo and sings tenor; Phillip Legget plays fiddle and sings baritone; Mike Oliver plays and sings bass; and Ralph Lilley plays mandolin. The Lawson Creek Bluegrass Band's June 28 concert begins at 7:30; general admission is $5. This weekend is the last of regularly scheduled concerts at Fountain General until September. The next regularly scheduled show is with the Steve Creech Sextet on Friday, July 18. R..A. Fountain, General Store and Internet Cafe, is located in historic downtown Fountain, at the intersection of US 258 and NC 222. Its family atmosphere is smoke- and alcohol-free. For further information, visit www.rafountain.com or call 252-749-3228. -30- High rez publicity photo of Lawson Creek Bluegrass Band http://rafountain.com/pictures/lawsons%20creek%20b.g./lawsonCreekJPG.JPG - - - Free Ice Cream if You Showed up Last Saturday Night! RAF apologizes again to any patrons who traveled to Fountain last Saturday night for our Travers Chandler and Avery County Show. The late cancellation, which came after 3 p.m. on Friday, made it unlikely that any of our notices to our media contacts were effective. If you made the trip out here, please let us know next time you're back--this weekend, we hope--and we'll treat you to some Jones Fruit Farm homemade ice cream. - - - Historic Marker Unveiling Saturday at Buzzard's Corner for Ervin Rouse of Craven County A state historic marker commemorating Ervin Rouse will be dedicated at Buzzard's Corner on Saturday. Rouse's bluegrass standard "Orange Blossom Special" earned him so much money, one friend claimed, that he never cashed some of his large royalty checks. When he died in 1981, Rouse was an obscure and mostly forgotten musician whose primary claim to fame had been diluted by the persistent and erroneous notion that he had only co-written the tune. Born in Craven County, Rouse fiddled his way to Florida about 1957 and rarely returned to his home state. David Menconi reported in last Sunday's News & Observer (June 22, 2008: 14D) that he became a "renowned trick fiddler who traveled all over the Southeast, performing everywhere from theaters to street corners." He spent most of his career as a traveling musician, never fully settling down. Menconi's fine article is also a review of Randy Noles' "meticulously researched new book 'Fiddler's Curse,'" published by Centerstream Books. The marker to Rouse--at 7401 NC West, Cove City--joins the one erected to Charlie Poole of the North Carolina Ramblers, northwest of Eden, in 1990, as NC's bluegrass marker collection. More about the newest marker: http://www.ncmarkers.com/Results.aspx?k=Search&ct=btn Marker text: ERVIN T. ROUSE 1917-1981 Fiddler and songwriter. Penned widely-recorded "Orange Blossom Special," bluegrass standard (1938). He was born 1/4 mile S.E." July, August, September Music Schedule Released [Fountain, NC] The Swedish jazz band Big Street, m.p., the New York-based Homegrown String Band, and Florida-based the Mayhaws headline a sparse music schedule at RAF for July and August. Shows in September get rolling during Fountain's first Peanut Festival, with a free bluegrass jam on Friday night, Sept. 12, and a great lineup of free shows all afternoon and evening on Saturday, September 13. July 2008 18 7:30 $8 Steve Creech Septet, featuring Jerry Jolley 19 8:00 $7.50 Homegrown String Band http://www.homegrownstringband.com/ Their third annual trip to Fountain! 24 7:30 $8 [Note: This is a Thursday night show] Big Street m.p. http://www.bigstreet.se/ This Swedish jazz band is touring the U.S., for most members, for the first time. Because several of them also perform in a traditional Swedish folk band, they've agreed to open their show with a set of classic Swedish folk music. August 2008 2 8:00 $8 The Mayhaws http://www.themayhaws.com/ 22 7:30 $8 Richard Hood and the Licking County Hot Lix On their last trip her, in May 08, they stopped by the Carter Family Fold, where they auditioned for a future date. They passed the audition with standiing ovations and as a result will be the featured act at the Fold on Saturday, August 23. We're grateful that Richard's extending their trip to include RAF again--an excellent band of young pickers who all study bluegrass at Dennison University in Ohio, where Richard's co-director of their Bluegrass Studies program. September 2008 6 8:00 $5 Jennifer Shelton Licko http://www.jenniferlicko.com/ 12 7:00 FREE Bluegrass jam Open to all levels of pickers and singers. 13 Noon - 9 FREE Scheduled acts include Flat Mountain Dulcimers, Linda & Shelby Stephenson, Wilberville, Plan B, Brian and Mary Lewis, and the Smith Brothers Bluegrass Band. The Jam Busters, a new regional bluegrass act, has had to cancel. 20 7:30 $7.50 Nu-Blu http://www.nu-blu.com/ 26 7:30 $8 Marshall Stephenson and the Bluegrass Train 27 8:00 $8 Russ Varnell & Too Country - - - What You're Reading Each week, RAF sends out a news release to 28 area newspapers and radio stations. The primary contents of each issue of Fountain AfterDark is that news release. The FAD distributed via e.mail never contains attachments. To add friends to our e.mail subscription list, send their e.mail address to fountainexpress@rafountain.com. To remove yourself from this list, reply to this e.mail with "unsubscribe" as either text or subject of your e.mail. Our e.mail list is not sold or traded or otherwise shared with anyone. Please let us know of any suspected abuses of the Fountain AfterDark/Fountain Express distribution list. -30-