Back from Springfield & a video

We (the rest of the Mound City Slickers and I) made it back from our road trip to Springfield, MO in the heart of the Ozarks, where we played a dance last night. Had a real good time having Chinese food for dinner and playing for a small, but enthusiastic crowd. Of course, having Debi Harp call the figures for us was a treat! Debi's called for us a couple of times before and we always enjoy working with her.

With as much good fiddling as they have in that part of the state, I can't imagine that the Slickers would be anything special. But they all seemed to enjoy the tunes and the playing. One of the nicest parts of the evening was that they asked for a polka. We don't get a chance to play polkas often at dances, but love to do. So, we gave them "John Short's"

Can't wait to go back in October to play for them again.

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The band has a regular practice on Thursday evenings. Though, to be honest it's never as formal as a "practice" and usually winds up being more like an open session where friends stop by to play a few tunes and have a beer or two. This last Thursday, Jessie Evans and his wife Connie stopped by with Connie's new toy; a little digital flip camera and shot the footage I'm including below. It turned out pretty well, I think.

The players are Lindell Blackford, Mike Banvard, and Bill Stewart on fiddles, Bob Clark on banjo, me on the banjo uke, Roy Farwell on guitar, and Jessie Evans on button accordian. The tunes are an odd version of "Little Sadie" that Lindell got from the late, great Steve Mote, and "Setauket", which we think is an East coast tune that folks around here learned from either Mark Rennard or Mike Banvard. Hope you enjoy!

Slickers in Springfield & St. Louis, MO

This coming Saturday night, June 20th, I'll be playing with the Mound City Slickers for a contra dance in Springfield, MO for the Traditional Music and Dance Society. The dance will be held at the Franciscan Villa, 620 W. Scott off Main St. in Springfield. They'll be dancing and we'll be playing from 7:30-10:30 pm. Should be a great time. Come on out and shake a tail feather.

And don't forget that next month, July 10th, we'll be playing at the the Focal Point in St. Louis for a benefit barn dance for the beloved Folk School of St. Louis. A small $10 donation will get you a whole evening of hot contras and squares called by Deborah Hyland and played by the Slickers. Mark it in your calendar.

Folk School on TV

Here's a video clip that ran on our local St. Louis news station about the Folk School where I teach. Enjoy!