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The Strzelecki Stringbusters launch new website.

The Strzelecki Stringbusters (the stringbusters) is a 14 piece string band  featuring guitar, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, fiddle, double bass and harmonica. This group plays many styles of music from bluegrass and western swing to country and the blues.

The band members live, work and play in the hills around the Strzelecki Ranges in Victoria’s West Gippsland. The group spend a great deal of their time playing to raise funds to assist in local community events which support the wider Gippsland community.

They have three CD under their belt, all of which are now available from their new website, thanks to the services of Comstar Internet Services one of our own sponsors who have assisted with the e-commerce side of the web-development.

Take a look at the new Strzelecki Stringbusters site, they are now receiving visitors.

Submitted by John Werner – Victoria

David Long and his entourage have finished up their east coast tour of Australia at one of the country’s newest and emerging bluegrass and acoustic music venues – the Yinnar Hotel.

The band were engaged to play the Redlands Bluegrass Convention earlier in July this year, and thanks to the work of Ruth Hazelton from Across The Boarders Touring in Melbourne, the group went on to play several other gigs down the east coast.

One of those events was the Yinnar Hotel last Wednesday night which saw a packed audience. Midnight From Memphis took to the stage, as part of the monthly presentations organised by local legends, The Strzelecki Stringbusters.

The final gig of their month-long Australian tour was a sold-out affair to a packed house, showcasing the individual and collective talents of these fine musicians who played Bluegrass, Western Swing and well-crafted ‘Americana’ original songs throughout their two 45 minute sets. Their vocal harmony was a particular highlight, along with the intricate weaving in and out of the single condenser mic’s range as each took turns to solo.

David Long, on his 3rd visit to the area in 5 years, demonstrated why he is considered to be one of the new masters of traditional music with a skilful display of Monroe-style mandolin playing. Preston Schmidt on fiddle caused a few jaws to hit the deck within his first few bars, wowing the crowd with his precise and fiery style. Scott Simotachhi on guitar provided solid rhythm playing and delivered his original tunes with great vocal clarity, whilst Eric Thorin on bass impressed all with his perfect timing and some wonderful solo’s that tapped into his diverse musical background.

The boys also entertained the audience between tunes with witty stories of their Australian experiences, and some of the inspirations behind their original offerings.

The large and thirsty crowd stayed on until stumps. As is now customary for all acts coming through Yinnar, the night concluded with all performers from both bands crowding onto the stage for the final 3 tunes, ending well past the usual 11pm finish time. The MFM boys were last seen heading back to Arnie’s farmhouse to kick on into the early hours with the locals.

The Strzelecki Stringbusters. have several outstanding national acts lined up for the rest of the year on their last Wednesday of the month shows.  Coming up in August is Gerry Hale’s Uncle Bill, so jump in quickly and secure your spot by contacting the Yinnar Hotel on Ph 51631263.

Submitted by John Werner – Victoria.

John Werner and Garry Roberts continue their journey in search of music. Here they are in Virginia taking in more of that famous southern hospitality and hot picking.

On Sunday afternoon, we headed back up to the Grayson Highlands National Park for a ‘cookout’ and jam organised by Martha Spencer (Whitetop Mountain Band). Around 15 pickers, young and old, spent the afternoon under the shade of surrounding trees jamming, swapping tunes and generally having a laid-back afternoon.

On Monday evening, along with our hosts, Jim & Gert, we attended the Smyth County jam in Chilhowie VA, hopping up on stage for a few tunes.

This weekly jam is held at the local Lions Club, and has been running for around 10 years. The stalwart organisers, Larry & Ersel and their partners, never miss a week, and are there each Monday to help organise the many pickers and large audiences who turn up every week. At times, there may be as many as 6-7 ensembles on show, and the crowd can purchase soft drink and hot dogs while supporting their favorite locals.

Each act is put together in the back picking rooms, minutes before taking to a well-equipped stage complete with 3 condenser mics and a hook-on bass mic. Many pickers opt to hang out the back, catching up with each other, passing on knowledge, calling tunes and joking around. There is a great vibe there, with some genuinely funny banter going on, and a very high standard of playing. On this night, there were around 6 jams happening out the back, with each room’s sound washing over into the next.

Newcomers are made to feel very welcome, with every effort made to accommodate everyone who wants to perform. The night nearly always runs past its programmed 10pm finish time, and on this particular evening Martha Spencer & her mother Emily turned up, providing the dancers with a great show to close out the night.

Checkout The Smyth County Jam thorough their website for pics, video and further info, and make sure you call by if you’re ever in the region. You’ll be made to feel most welcome by this lovely community.

As they near their last few days in the USA our intrepid travelers John Werner and Garry Roberts head of to the Wayne Henderson Festival in Virginia. Their story continues:

Friday evening saw us attending the Blue Ridge Music Centre, located outside Galax on the famous Blue Ridge Parkway, for an outdoor concert headed up by local super-picker Wayne Henderson. Wayne’s ability as an acoustic finger picker is almost surpassed by his reputation as one of the world’s finest luthiers, with his hand built instruments highly sort after by guitarists around the world. A well known story has Eric Clapton waiting nearly 10 years for his turn.

Wayne and his friends further displayed why this area is a must-visit region for any musical traveler, with a variety of lineups entertaining the large crowd for an hour before Texas fiddlers extraordinaire, The Quebe Sisters, knocked everyone out with a show best described as The Andrews Sisters meets Bob Willis & The Texas Playboys. Get on line and check out the astonishing skills of these young fiddlers. I’m not sure if they sing better than they play or visa-versa!

The following day we headed to the annual Wayne Henderson Festival & Guitar Competition held at the Grayson Highlands National park at Virginia’s Mt Rogers. Each year a pre-selected group of 20 guitar pickers vie for the title, with the winner walking away with a Henderson Guitar, never to compete there again. A young fella with what sounded like 7 fingers on each hand was the lucky winner. Interspersed between the contest’s two sections were a fine selection of top Bluegrass & Old Time bands from near and far.

That evening, we ventured over to Hiltons VA to attend The Carter Fold with Jackson Cunningham (Whitetop Mountaineers) to see he and Martha perform with the family band, The Whitetop Mountain Band. Jackson and Martha, no strangers to Australian readers, play with her parents and two others in this band, continuing its 40 year tradition as one of the region’s premier Old Time ensembles.

The Carter Fold is an institution in country music circles, and every Saturday evening dancers from afar congregate with locals to tear up the dance floor to whichever live band is appearing on the night. A large venue built into the side of hill next to AP Carters original store, it has been running a variety of country music styles every Saturday night since 1974.

The Whitetop Mountain Band proved their worth, keeping the floor packed over 2 energetic sets, and I was fortunate to be asked up for couple of tunes.

In keeping with the tradition set by her mother Janette Carter (daughter of A.P), Rita Forrester wraps things up at 10pm, allowing plenty of time for folks to get home, have a good night’s sleep, and be up early for the church the next morning.

Checkout the Carter Fold’s website for further info on its origins and continuing legacy.

Submitted by John Werner – Victoria.

Here is the fifth report from John Werner and Garry Roberts as they continue their musical journey through the Southern USA.

The jam options for Thursday evening were numerous. We had been planning on heading back towards Roanoke and attending the weekly session in nearby Christiansburg, however, an invitation received the previous night at Independence from the organiser of the local Peachbottom Music Camp proved too tempting.

Held on a private farm located 3 ½ miles outside the town of Independence in peacefully lush valley, the camp has been running 4-5 times per year for some time now, and on this evening, we were invited along to attend their end of camp barbeque, concert and jam.

Having run into the participants on the previous 2 nights at local jams, we were aware of the high standard of students and tutors. Headed up by internationally renowned Canadian fiddlers April Verch & Shane Cook, the camp leaned more towards fiddle players, and had a fine supporting cast of musicians to assist in the practical sessions.

We’ve learned through past weeks that Americans love their bbq’s, and we were impressed by not only the quality of food at this gathering but also the size of the actual bbq vessel, absolutely huge.

The concert after the meal was an intimate affair. We were treated to world class performances by Shane, April, and the other tutors, covering Irish, Bluegrass, acoustic finger picking and Old Time. Several student bands displayed their skills and a number of local supporting musicians, whose skills were equal to the visitors’, showed the great depth of talent living within the region.

The after-concert jam was essentially Old Time, but as hard core as I’ve ever experienced. Headed up by two local shearers on twin fiddles, their fierce & masculine playing set a cracking pace, as they called out tune after tune in rapid fire trying to outplay each other in friendly competition. Watching these big blokes tear their fiddles apart with their deft left-hand fingers and sublime bow hands, I had the thought that if you punched them hard in the face while playing, they wouldn’t move an inch or miss a note. Very impressive and powerful playing. Anyone thinking that Old Time can be a bit tame should have witnessed this jam session and with Mark, a local bassist pumping things along, my new Martin received a fair workout that evening.

Submitted by John Werner – Victoria.

John Werner and Garry Roberts, our boys in the USA, have sent through their fifth post from  as they discover the musical delights of Galax Virginia.

After a lazy Wednsday morning hanging around our camp in Fries, we meandered over the State line to Sparta NC for lunch and look around, before settling into the New River RV park near the evening’s jam in Independence VA.

Held in the historic 1908 courthouse on Main St, this weekly get together can be a bit hit & miss (we were later told), however, we were fortunate be in attendance on this particular evening and it was a cracker.

We arrived at the 7:00pm start time to find the Courthouse gardens awash with pickers and on-lookers, with two large circles in the rear, and a wedding (which we nearly mistook for 3rd jam) in the front. It soon became obvious that attendees of the nearby Peachbottom Farm Music Camp, who we’d run into the previous evening in Galax, were having another field trip, and some of them were just about setting their instruments on fire.

I decided on the jam happening in the rotunda , which had an inner circle of around 15 pickers and an outer group of 10 or so people working their way in. There was already a bassist driving things along so I jumped on guitar, moving inwards as people departed the circle, and got an opportunity to cover for the bassist while she had a quick cigarette.

A day earlier than planned, we soon ran into Martha & Jackson from The Whitetop Mountaineers there and, along with their picking friends, formed another circle nearby and witnessed a spectacular sunset over the nearby Iron Mountains. This is a truly beautiful region, and their high lonesome mountain-style harmonies never sounded so haunting.

As has become the norm, local pickers of amazing standard floated in and out for tunes, some familiar and some unheard, and we finished the jam in the rotunda by a nearby street light after the Courthouse garden lights went off at 10.30pm. A fantastic night of high standard Bluegrass & Old Time music in perfect outdoor conditions.

Submitted by John Werner – Victoria

We return to this, the fourth missive from John Werner and Garry Roberts as they discover the musical delights of Galax Virginia.

Tuesday’s immediate agenda was getting our laundry done, and re-stock the RV’s ever diminishing pantry in nearby Dublin. While the washing was underway, I had a quick haircut next door from a lady who, as it turned out was guitar luthier and super-picker Wayne Henderson’s cousin. She was delighted to hear I’d met him on a previous trip, and planning to attend his Festival the coming Saturday at the Grayson Highlands National Park. For the un-initiated, Wayne is a one of the world’s most sought after guitar builders, a National Heritage award winner for his picking skills and all round nice guy.

After a slow meander through the hilly backroads, we pulled into a small RV park in Fries, in preparation for the evenings jam in nearby Galax at The Stringbean café. The weekly gathering has been an institution in there for many years.

We arrived at the advertised time of 6.30pm to a nearly empty venue, and help setup chairs in each section of the large two roomed café. Bluegrass to the left, Old Time to the right. When my bass was spotted by one of the locals, I was asked if I played Bluegrass or Old Time. “Both” was my answer and I was encouraged to go to the right to help hold things down.

The evening kicked off with around 12, mainly banjo & fiddle, players in the circle, all displaying – as has become normal to us – excellent skills and a wide variety of tune knowledge. We were gathered on a slightly raised wooden stage in the front of the room; our sound was huge, and easily drowned out the Bluegrass jam in the adjacent room.

As we were playing, I was facing the shop-front window with a view of the outside street, and noticed a steady stream of people arriving with cases, many being under the age of 20. By the end of the evening, there were around 40 pickers, with a 3rd circle setup at the rear of the Old Time room. There were plenty of people there to dance and listen in to all 3 jams as well.

We eventually became aware of the reason why there were so many young fiddlers in the room. The nearby Peachbottom Music Camp was having a field trip for their students both young & mature and some of them were setting the room on fire.

We were fortunate to meet and play a little with one of the Camp’s tutors, Shane Cook, a Canadian & US fiddle champion. Another virtuistic tutor, April Verch, was also in attendance. All up, a great jam in a town that has so much musical heritage, with another group of fine group of local people who gladly opened there weekly gathering to jam-seeking travellers.

Submitted by John Werner – Victoria

Here is the third saga from John Werner and Garry Roberts as they unearth more musical pleasure on their road trip through the southern USA.

We ventured across North Carolina to southern Virginia, and a weekend stopover near Hillsville with friends. They took us out to a dance at Applewood Park in Cana where The New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters had the crowd on the floor all night, and to The Leaf & String Festival in Galax the next day. This region is over-flowing with Old Time & Bluegrass musicians and consequentially the standard of afternoon’s entertainment on Main St was very high. One young group, Mountain Thunder, comprising of 12 to 16 year old locals displayed an astonishing level of skill, which we were told was not uncommon. In the evening, we attended the famous Rex Theatre for a concert of regional Virginian folk artists.

On Sunday, we attended a rural Primitive Baptist Church with our hosts, and were graciously received by the congregation. Australian topics and Bluegrass music was discussed afterwards. The love of music runs deep here.

In the afternoon we drove over to Floyd for a weekly jam held at The Country Store where a circle of 15 pickers welcomed us, with around 30 people in attendance to listen in. A slightly less community feel than Polkville, it was an enjoyable afternoon of old country and bluegrass standards, with a fine banjo player and fiddler holding things down. The area has had a recent influx of ‘Northerners’ moving in, and this was reflected in the cosmopolitan feel of the session, however, everyone was very inclusive and encouraging of each other’s musical offerings. Again, it was mainly an older group of pickers.

Even though I’d bought along my loan bass, the bassist for session, Bob, gladly handed his Kay over to me and jumped on guitar (a Martin of course), and was equally adept on both instruments as we swapped over throughout the session.

The circle went around, calling tunes and sharing solo’s in the usual manner, with flat-footing dancing in the middle of the circle, and again there was great interest in Australian bluegrass activity afterwards. We were flooded with information of jams that night, the next and on through the week, all across the region and within 1-2 hour’s drive. Decisions, decisions.

Deciding upon a jam in Radford VA, we checked out the Roanoke Transportation Museum the next day, and marveled at the size of the J Class steam engine, before pulling into an RV campground at the Claytor Lake State Park.
We attended Radford’s River City Grill in the evening, a medium sized room with around, which had only just recently become the jam’s new venue, when the nearby coffee shop closed its doors after hosting the jam for 9 years. Initiated by Ralph, a multi-instrumentalist who spent the night on fiddle, the jam has become a mainstay and weekly meeting place for the region’s pickers, and the standard was very high. Around 12 pickers gathered in a rough rectangle at the front of the room against a large window, and we were introduced to each of them. There were over 40 on-lookers, eating meals and chatting, and the room was quite lively. Tunes went around the ‘cirlce’, with a variety of country and bluegrass standards mixed in with new ones (for me) by The Seldom Scene, Country Gentlemen and others I was not familiar with.

As the session evolved, more people squeezed into the room, and several jams kicked off on the footpath where it was less hot. Overall, around 25-30 pickers and singers showed up, and the various jams offered plenty of choices between styles and levels of ability. As we said our goodbyes and drove off, one last footpath session was still kicking on.

What’s been notable about attending these jams, is the ‘new’ tunes that keep coming up, and different versions of familiar ones, which is a reminder that there is always something to learn. Also, the warm welcomes have been heartfelt and interest in Australian Bluegrass activity is high. Very few people knew anything of Australia, apart from maybe Crocodile Dundee, Sydney and Keith Urban, and were chuffed to know that ‘their’ musical influence extends to so far away.