South Shore - Hee Haw - Be There

You know spring is here when the good folks of South Shore, SD put on their annual Hee Haw show.  That's right, a take off on TV's Hee Haw show with some hilarious South Dakota twists and lots of local involvement.  If you have never been there you need to go.  Cornfield jokes galore, skits, music, singing and of course the occasional comedic mishap.  And lunch, they have lunch, great lunch. 

It's held on Saturday, April 6th at 7:00 pm and Sunday, April 7th at 2:00 pm at the old South Shore School - now renamed "Comet Place".  Reserve tickets are 12 bucks. General admission tickets are $10 and can be purchased at:

All South Shore Businesses
McFleeg Seeds/Midwest Medical
Linda’s in Milbank
Rufer’s General Store
1st Bank and Trust of Milbank
and Stockholm
LaBolt Mini-Mall
Coffee Cup/Waverly Steakhouse

All the proceeds go toward community projects in the South Shore area.  If you have questions or want more information call them at 605-756-4247.

SD Old Time Fiddlers Jam

The SD Old Time Fiddlers will be having a Jam at the Royal Fork in Sioux Falls, SD on April 6th at noon.  Bring your instruments and lets have some fun, shall we.  Always a good time with this group of musicians.  They must be about to kick off the 2013 musical season.  I wonder what tunes  they have been working on over the winter?  If you need some great music at your next event, make sure you contact this fine organization - you'll love 'em.

Wyoming Friends

Our good friends Terry and Elsie Peters (They are on the far right and left in the picture above.)  from Sheridan, Wyoming stopped in on their way to Wisconsin.    Since they brought along their instruments, we invited over a couple other musicians and we all played some mighty fine music.  Jerry Anderson (fiddle) came up from Volga, SD along with his wife Nancy and Harold Tribitt (guitar and vocals) from Revillo, SD and his wife Pat filled out the group. Penny even provided some rhythm for us on the piano.
Terry has been working on his mandolin chording and also working on playing some chords to his singing. This session gave him a good chance to put his new found skills to the test in a friendly environment.  He did a great job.
Elsie has picked up the guitar again after letting it collect dust for a few years and she too did an excellent job.  However, she did have to remind Terry that she can't play the guitar and the fiddle simultaneously.
Jerry's fiddling is really coming along nicely.  The more he plays, the more confident he gets.  The more confident he gets, the more he plays.  Practice/playing will do that to you.  Now I have to get down the harmony parts to a couple of tunes he does so that we can trot them out in public this summer.
Harold just loves playing his guitar(s).  There is just no other way to put it.  He has some great old songs that he sings and plays well.  And to top it off, he's game to dive right into some of those wild fiddle tunes that we throw out where the chords just fly by.
As usual, the afternoon went by way too fast.  Since the weather was deteriorating, we ate quickly and then the Tribitts' and Andersons' headed home.  And those of us that were left played some more music.

Jam at the Corner Bar

Terry O'Keefe called to invite me to play some music down at the corner bar on Saturday.  He said it was time to dust off the guitars and exercise the vocal chords a bit in preparation for some summer picking out on the deck. He said that Scott Johanson and Kevin Owen were going to stop on in and play a bit too.
I brought my mandolin down and away we went.  I had to work to stay with Kevin and Scott on some of their stuff.  Only got lost here and there.  Scott knows and uses way too many chords for a simple guy like me, but it turned out pretty good.  If nothing else it is always a good thing to get moved out of your comfort zone and stretch out a little.  And playing music with friends is always a good time.
Looking forward to doing some more playing with them this summer.

Kaylor, SD Opry 2013 Kickoff

"Well of course I'll go." I told George Mallory.  He had called up to ask if I would be willing to travel to Kaylor, SD for a performance of the SD Old Time Fiddlers on the 1st of March.  It turned into quite the adventure.

Loaded up the van with a guitar, fiddle and a mandolin.  Left home at 2:00 in the afternoon. Traveled south on Interstate 29, made a quick stop to pick up Helen & Arnold Johnson, a second guitar,another fiddle and a picnic lunch.  Back on the road. Next stop was in Madison, SD to pick up Lyle Johnson, Joel Brick, two more fiddles and a harmonica.  

Back on the road, the picnic lunch was soon devoured and the spam sandwiches, cookies and Mountain Dew are pronounced to be quite good - as are the stories floating around the van.  Especially the stories.

We turned west near the "Turkey Ridge" radio towers went through a few nice little towns, over the James River, found the turn to Kaylor and we were at the old church which is now the Germans from Russia Heritage Hall by 6:30.  George and company had just finished setting up the equipment when we got there - talk about good timing.

Wilber Foss, the guest of honor, arrived soon afterward and the party got started.

The audience numbered just under 100 enthusiastic folks of all ages who joined in by singing, clapping, cheering and even doing a bit of dancing.  All too soon the evening of music with our new friends came to an end.

Thanks to the good folks of Kaylor for hosting a wonderful party and to all the musicians who made it memorable.

 Earling, Lyle, George, Kathryn, Joel, Gene, Ken, Ron, Jerry 

Arnold, Helen, Wilber

Bluegrass Music in Vermillion, SD

It's a long name to be sure - but don't let that scare you off.   The folks are friendly, the music is good.  But leave the amps, accordions and drums home - it's Bluegrass.

It was just a little 200 mile drive down to Vermillion, so why not.  There was also a fiddle that Ron G. had brought back from Montana that I needed to pick up.  It would make for a wonderful Sunday afternoon drive.

There were two different jams going when I arrived at the Washington Street Arts Center so I wandered around and checked it out.  The jam upstairs had plenty of pickers and singers so I opted to join the slow jam downstairs - I need all the help I can get since bluegrass is not my native language by any means.  Ron was down there playing bass with some of his friends and playing with him is always a good time.

Fiddled for a bit and everyone helped some younger players work through the chords to some songs.   As usual, folks drifted in and out and an entertaining afternoon was had by all.  As the beginners were leaving, we kicked up our heels for a few tunes.  Ron and his group handed me a mandolin and invited me to join them for a little practice session, which was quite nice.

Then we headed upstairs to see what was happening there.  Took a few breaks, listened to a few stories, found a passable version of "The Gold Rush" hiding in my fingers, collected my other fiddle and happily headed for home.

Thanks Ron for inviting me and thanks to Jon Hittle (JB) and Alan for hosting a great jam.  Second Sunday of the month 1-6 at the Washington Street Arts Center in Vermillion, SD.

Groundhog Day 2013

Groundhog Day 2013 will be here soon!


Make your plans soon to come to the SD Old TIme Fiddlers Groundhog Day celebration at the Royal Fork in Sioux Falls, SD on February 2nd.  No, we won't have Phil of Gobbler's Knob in attendance ( unless he's on the buffet menu ). What we will have are some mighty fine musicians fiddling, picking and singing many of your favorite Old Time Tunes.  As always, it promises to be a gala affair. Grab your ACOUSTIC instruments, bring some friends and join in the fun.  Suit, tie and top hat are optional.

While Punxsutawney Phil will leave his burrow at 7:20am Eastern Time, we won't be getting together quite that early.  We plan on gathering about noon to eat, and eat, and..., but we should be jamming by 1:00.