“Meet our Fall blogger and mandolin player, Dennis Chowenhill. He’ll be posting a blog once per week through the Workshop Showcase in December. We immediately connected around our pasts as closet musicians. Plus check out new TTS coach Lisa Burns’ note about the band pioneering our south bay program.” - Hilary
In September a work colleague, Clara, talked me into joining TTS. She and I have been playing bluegrass tunes and duets together for about six months, which has marked my return to performing, after several decades away from it. When Clara mentioned TTS, the idea appealed to me immediately, as an unusual opportunity to meet other musicians, and to work on playing in a band, with guidance. Yet chances were good that I would ignore Clara’s advice. Though I have desired to perform again and to play with others, somehow it has been difficult for me to drag myself out of the cocoon where I have been playing. In high school, forty-five years ago, I played guitar with several folk groups, but since I began work in my profession, I have played music only at home, studying bluegrass on my own, reading the standard books, listening to recorded music, and collecting over fifty LPs of Bill Monroe. I am still not sure how it is that I managed to break out of my cloister to join TTS. Clara is pretty convincing.
I arrived at the TTS Welcome Jam, August 29, almost too nervous to open my mandolin case. Despite studying Monroe style mandolin for more than a decade I was pretty sure that when I got the mandolin out of the case I would not be able to find my way to a G chord. Lisa Burns started us off with reassurances, and a lively spirit that was immediately inspiring. Trent, one of my TTS newbee cohorts, kicked us off with his enticing baritone singing voice, and I quickly overcame my initial anxieties about playing; nothing could have inhibited me from accompanying Trent’s music and venturing into a break. Rusty, ready to go on either guitar or mandolin, but politely deferring to me since I had only my mandolin, took the lead after Trent, and again I felt compelled by the music, having forgotten my earlier qualms.
When Hans struck up a tune on his fiddle, I had my first bout of self-consciousness, as I couldn’t find my way into or out of my break. I wasn’t listening well to Hans’s fiddle, and found myself quickly lost. Ouch. It was the moment for me to discover what happens when a TTSer chokes up. And what happened was comforting. Did anyone notice? Well, yes, since they are all musicians. When the tune was over, however, the discussion was about variations of that tune, advantages and disadvantages of performing well-known tunes, and how we might want to do it next time if we chose to work on it. Next time? There is a next time, even for the chokers?
Encouraged, I volunteered a tune, but without explaining the chord changes, so Lisa had to stop us in the first verse and explain the changes to everyone. We started the tune again and I felt inspired by having a band back up my singing. I blew my instrumental break, but by then I had figured out how this worked. Everyone was driven by two interests: having fun together, and finding out how we can complement each other in the music. A blown break was insignificant. Each of us had a few moments of missing a line or two, and each of us had a moment to mutter, internally, “Hmm . . . that didn’t work . . . let’s see . . ..” But those reflections had nothing to do with what we were doing together. And the “together,” I discovered, was what this afternoon was all about. Together we had a lot of fun, and together we became committed to working with each other in the program.
I was thrilled that I wound up in a band with Rusty, Trent, and Hans. Clara was also there, and I met a bassist, Lew. David Zimmerman led us by getting each of us to open up about what we wanted to do in the band. Each of us made a few suggestions, and we played through songs being suggested. David used each song as an opportunity to discuss with us some of the fundamentals: choices available to us for vocal and instrumental arrangements, some criteria for selecting material, and ensemble basics that we would be working on throughout this program—dynamics, blend, pacing.
The rapport that our group quickly established was conveyed by the next week of email flurries. David is good at posting pointed comments and questions that provoke the rest of us to thought and discussion. We sent each other tunes, keys for them, video and audio recordings that had arrangements we were interested in, and a myriad random comments about the music. It was clear that whether or not we were ready for any performing, we had a band.
At our second meeting as a band we met our banjo player, Emily. I had misgivings when I discovered that she does not play Scruggs style. A band without bluegrass banjo? Then Emily opened up during Clara’s rendition of a contemporary tune. OMG. I did all I could to keep my cool and not break out in tears of joy through that performance. Scruggs? Heck with that, we have Emily. We established our set that night and our keys. At the end of the session, Lew handed each of us a CD that he had created that has all the songs that we had identified as possibilities for our set, performed by great bands. And on our way out the door of the practice room, Trent handed me another CD: “Here’s a set of Bill Monroe from 1967. Thought you’d be interested.” I glanced at it, and commented, “Thanks! But, uhh . . . I have most of Bill’s stuff, and I have never heard of this.” Trent smiled, “Yeah, pirated.”
Next meeting: band name, photos, intense rehearsal. The tips of the fingers of my left hand ache when I touch the mandolin strings. Sweet.
From Lisa Burns:
This is my first time as a band coach for TTS. My band has had three rehearsals so far and they are doing very well indeed. We are lucky to have a six member band with all instruments represented: dobro, guitar, mando, banjo, fiddle, bass and several strong singers. The band members are dedicated enough that they had rehearsed together before even starting the TTS sessions, and had decided their repertoire prior to our first meeting. They continue to rehearse once a week in addition to the TTS coaching sessions. They have now arranged all five numbers they will be performing at the Freight on Dec. 6, and are now working to refine those arrangements. After only 3 sessions they are knocking my socks off! We will meet with Jack Tuttle at our next coaching session to tweak instrument parts, fills, backup and chopping. In addition, we have several more coaching sessions and a sound workshop prior to our performance.
I have really enjoyed this workshop so far. It is very exciting to watch six musicians come together, work hard, and become a real band. These folks have already exceeded my expectations and I know by December I will be even more amazed.
Take the Stage is proud to be in partnership with the California Bluegrass Association, which provides free tickets to Grass Valley for our Most Inspirational Player. For more information, visit
nellrobinsonmusic.com/tts.
