Meetings for Spring and Summer 2011

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Paul Tyler

All events happen at the Atlantic Bar & Grill (5062 Lincoln)

Good news. You can now join Fiddle Club of the World for $60 yearly dues. This allows you to 1) support our effort to bring notable fiddlers to the Old Town School for friendly and up close interactions with our local players, 2) save up to 50% off of single meeting dues, and 3) get a cool Fiddle Club card with your name and renewal date inscribed.

Kathleen Keane
Sunday, May 15, 6:30p – Irish

Kathleen Keane
A star of stage and screen–really–Kathleen once taught Irish step-dancing at the Old Town School and was a featured dancer in the Green Fields of America tour. She played tinwhistle in The Drovers (with whom she appeared in the film Backdraft as well as in the Tom Hanks movie, Road to Perdition. More recently, Kathleen has made her mark as a fine Irish fiddler. She toured for three years with Gaelic Storm, with whom she earned a #2 spot on the Billboard World Music chart, earned a #1 spot on the same chart with a song composed for the Windham Hill Celtic Christmas album, and recently released her first solo CD–Where the Wind Meets the Water–with a sell-out concert at the Mayne Stage. Fiddle Club offers a chance for an up close and friendly musical experience with our own Kathleen Keane.

Sule Greg Wilson
Sunday, May 29, 6:30 – Black Old-Time
Sule is the first non-fiddler to be a featured guest at Fiddle Club of the World. During a long career as a dancer, drummer and educator, he took up the banjo as he became enthralled with the instruments historical and musical connections to the African diaspora. An organizer of the historic Black Banjo Then & Now conference held in 2005, Sule was a founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. He is currently working with the Drops and our own Reggio “The Hoofer” McLaughlin on a new production being sponsored by the Old Town School. He’ll take a break from their rehearsal gathering in May, to give us a program of African-American banjo tunes and open us up to the rhythmic potential of old-time music. Sule is a fabulous teacher, so don’t miss this one.

Single dues for a meeting with a featured fiddler are $15. Register here by date.
Or you may choose the yearly dues option for $60.

Square & Ceilidh Dance workshop
Sunday, June 19, 6:30 – a dry run for Fiddle Club players,* dancers welcome

Square & Ceilidh Dance
Sunday, July 17, 6:30 – the real thing
Admission for dancers: $5

* To be a Fiddle Club player, come to a Fiddle Club event. There are no single dues for meetings at which we just play tunes, watch films or dance. Come and join us, even if you don’t have a Fiddle Club card. If you decide to register for one, we appreciate your support.

A Friday Night Fiddle Club this week!

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Paul Tyler

Bruce Greene
April 15, 8:30p
The Atlantic (5062 Lincoln)

Bruce Greene

Some tunes from Bruce on an earlier post below were played slow. These, played fast, are from Bruce’s last visit to the Old Town School in 1996.

Steppin’ in the Parlor (Bruce taught this tune to the Old Time Ensemble)

Wolf Creek
(This one is a variant of one my favorites that I learned from Lotus Dickey: ie, Dickey’s Discovery.)

Go here to register for this meeting – $15. Be aware the new yearly dues option may appear on this page any day now.

Also, Bruce will be giving a workshop on Eastern Kentucky fiddle tunes on Saturday at the Old Town School. Click here to register.

Paul Tyler, convener

PS. There are more of Bruce’s tunes on my website–drdosido.net–that you might enjoy. Some were recorded at informal sessions; others from the annual Fiddlers Reunion held at the Adler Cultural Center in Libertyville in the 1990s.

Ain’t this a time

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Paul Tyler

Lots o’ fun coming our way. And beginning this week (say April 12), you should be able to sign up for a year’s worth of Fiddle Club meetings for a mere $60. Single meeting dues are $15, when there is a featured guest. Here is the link to register for a meeting. They are listed by date. Scroll through the workshop listings for descriptions.

Bruce Greene
Friday, April 15, 8:30 – Old-Time
An earlier post has a couple of tunes to learn for the jam session.

dance band practice
Sunday, April 17, 6:30 – all members welcome *
(I will soon post some tunes for the dance.)

Kathleen Keane
Sunday, May 15, 6:30 – Irish

Sule Greg Wilson
Sunday, May 29, 6:30 – Black Old-Time

Square & Ceilidh Dance workshop
Sunday, June 19, 6:30 – a dry run for musicians, dancers welcome

Square & Ceilidh Dance
Sunday, July 17, 6:30 – the real thing
Admission for dancers: $5

All events happen at the Atlantic Bar & Grill (5062 Lincoln)

* To be a member, come to a Fiddle Club event. Yearly dues are $60. Single meeting dues are $15 when we have a special guest. There are no dues for other meetings at which we just play tunes or watch films. We appreciate your support.

Paul Tyler, convener
Fiddle Club of the World (Chicago Chapter)

Future Meetings

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Paul Tyler

April 17 dance band practice
May 15 (tentative)
May 29 Sule Greg Wilson
June 19 Square & Ceilidh Dance workshop
July 17 Square & Ceilidh Dance

I am trying to line up an Irish fiddler to be the featured guest at our May 15 meeting. Banjoist Sule Greg Wilson will be our first featured non-fiddling guest. A founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, he will lead us on an exploration of old-time music in the African-American tradition. He can also help us free and feed our inner drummers. In June, we’ll have our first Fiddle Club of the World ceilidh, with easy to learn and fun to do “square dances” from around the world. The band will be fiddle club members. Come to the April 17th meeting and work on the tunes we’ll need to know.

Paul Tyler, convener

Fiddle Club Movie Night

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Paul Tyler

Sunday, March 20 at 6:30
No meeting at the Atlantic this month.
Instead, go to 4544 Lincoln to the Resource Center (downstairs at the Old Town School of Folk Music) for Movie Night. We’ll watch some fiddle films from 1970 and 1990. Note: there is a concert that night. But you can go straight to the basement.)

Earl Collins

Say Old Man Can, You Play the Fiddle
by Bess Lomax Hawes
about Earl Collins, born to a fiddling family in Missouri a hundred years ago this year. As an adult, Earl moved to southern California. His family tradition is the source of our

Little Dutch Girl.

New England Fiddles

New England Fiddles
by John Bishop & Nicholas Hawes
about Joe Cormier (Cape Breton), Paddy Cronin (Irish), Harold Luce (Anglo-American), Willfred Guillette (French Canadian) & others. Lots of great tunes come from the Northeast, like this medley of

Petronella & Green Mountain Petronella by Rodney & Randy Miller.

Plus some other goodies.

After the films, head next door to the Grafton for the
Fiddle and Banjo Showcase!
from 9 to midnight, featuring, among others . . .

Paul Tyler, convener
Fiddle Club of the World

Fiddlers for Winter Nights

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Paul Tyler

The Chicago Chapter of the Fiddle Club of the World will meet every third Sunday of the month at 6:30 pm at the Atlantic Bar & Grill, 5062 Lincoln

The January 16 meeting is on us. Come on out and try something new.
Dues for the February meeting are $15. You can register for both by clicking here.

Jan. 16: Mary Allsopp with Tim Anderson, Swedish
Mary and Tim delight in sharing the music of Sweden. These expressive tunes carry overtones of Baroque and Irish music and have a heart of their own.

Mary Allsopp started playing Scandinavian tunes following a trip to Norway, and the music and associated dances quickly became a passion. She’s been performing for over 20 years and and passing the music on in the aural tradition to fiddlers of all ages for nearly that long. She’s played with several Chicago-based groups, including Chicago Spelmanslag, The South Side Swedes and Pickled Herring.

Tim Anderson

Tim Anderson became interested in playing Swedish folk music after buying a tin whistle at A Different Strummer in 1992, and finding a CD of Swedish folk-rock. He realized that the tunes on the CD could be played on the whistle, and then thought to try it on guitar. It worked! Tim has played with Chicago Spelmanslag since 2003. He enjoys finding new (and old) artists, tunes and instruments in the genre. Most of the time he plays a guitar tuned to ADADAD.

Mary and Tim are leading members of Chicago Spelmanslag.

Click here for some tunes from Mary Allsopp.

Feb. 20: Patt & Possum, Missouri hoedowns & hokum
Charlie Walden aka Possum
Charlie Walden began playing fiddle at age 11 when inspired by players in a fiddler’s contest at the Boone County Fair in his native Missouri. With the generous help and encouragement of older master fiddlers he went on to be recognized as one the best Missouri old-time fiddlers of his day. He has won dozens of local fiddle contests as well as major championships in Missouri, Illinois and West Virginia, and has taught fiddle and guitar to dozens of aspiring players. Intent on preserving and passing on the unique Missouri style and repertoire, Charlie organized the Bethel Youth Fiddle Camp in Bethel, Missouri, and directed camp operations and funding for a decade. He is currently a staff instructor at the Old Town School of Folk Music teaching Western Swing Instrumentals.

Click here for some tunes from Charlie Walden.

Fiddle Club Jam Session

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Paul Tyler

Sunday, December 12, 6:30p
Atlantic Bar & Gallery (5062 N. Lincoln)

We’ll be in the front of the bar this month. (The movies of Quebecois fiddling promised earlier are postponed to a later meeting.) Still, there will be tunes aplenty.

Here’s an abridged list of Fiddle Club tunes that have been and should be played. Even if you don’t know any of these tunes, come join us anyway. We’ll work them into shape gradually. Plus, we always play a lot of favorites and standards.

Chopique Two-Step – Will & Holly Whedbee – May ’08
Dad’s Reel – Pete Sutherland – October ’09
Who’ll Cut the Britches – Genevieve & Smith Koester – April ’10
Fire on the Mountain – Matt Brown – May ’10
Sugar in the Gourd – Paul Brown (Mostly Mountain Boys) – June ’10
Daylight in the Morning – Jim & Kim Lansford – July ’10
Kerry Slides (Irish) – Paddy Jones – March ’08
Gone for His Tea (Irish) – Liz Knowles – February ’10
Viktor’s vals (Finnish) – Kukka Lehto (Polka Chicks) – June ’10
Koputus polkka from Arto Järvelä’s month long residency in 2009.
She Oughta Been a Lady – Vesta Johnson – October ’10
Buckley Barndance – Kenny Stone – November ’10

A longer list of the Fiddle Club’s repertory can be found here.

Come check out the Atlantic. It sports a comfy seating area up front and a fabulous back room. (Also, good beer and food menus.) The owner and manager like having us there. With a good showing, we’ll be able to consistently reserve the back room.

Coming up in 2011
January 16: Mary Allsopp from Chicago Spelmanslag (Swedish)
February 20: Patt & Possum, aka Charlie Walden & Patt Plunkett (hoedowns & hokum)

Plus, a new way to support the Fiddle Club through several dues options will be announced in this space very soon.

Kenny Stone: Bluegrass Fiddler

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Paul Tyler

Kenny Stone
Sunday, November 21, 5:30 pm
Atlantic Bar & Grill (5062 N. Lincoln)
Click here to register. Dues for this meeting are $15.

Kenny Stone is veteran bluegrass fiddler, with a performing career that started when he was nine. He released his first album in 1989, at the age of nineteen, and followed that up with series of recordings and tours with a variety of bands, including his own, the Kenny Stone Unit and Midwest Wind. Family life and work has taken him off the road. But he continues to perform with the Chicago Bluegrass Band and to teach select students at his home in Dyer, Indiana.

The Fiddle Club of the World is pleased to present Kenny Stone to a new audience of fiddlers. He’s looking forward to playing through a potpourri of standard old-time and bluegrass tunes. He’s also offered us several of his own originals.

Buckley Barndance

Grangers Farewell

Beginning January 1, it will be possible to pay yearly dues and be able to enjoy all Fiddle Club of the World events at a significantly reduced rate. Also, enrolling in a “Fiddleship” allows you to support regular presentations of traditional fiddle music.

Upcoming Fiddle Club of the World meetings:
Dec. 12 – jam session and film viewing
Jan. 16 – Mary Allsopp of Chicago Spelmanslag (Swedish musicians club)
Feb. 20 – Charlie “Possum” Walden

Paul Tyler, convener
Chicago Chapter

Vesta Johnson featured guest for October

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Paul Tyler

The Fiddle Club of the World will try out a new meeting space on Sunday, October 24 at 6:30 pm when we gather in the back room of the Atlantic Bar & Grill, 5062 N. Lincoln Avenue. There’s a wooden floor and ample space to run a few squares in a square dance. What a great coincidence that our featured guest for October is Vesta Johnson, who in her 80 plus years has played for hundreds of dances in her home state of Missouri.

Vesta Johnson

Vesta played her first dance at age 9 in Linn County, Missouri. She moved to the St. Louis area to raise her family, and in the 1960s, after her kids were grown, she started playing again for contests, dances and fiddle socials. A lot of younger players give credit to Vesta’s patient support and tutelage. One of those younger players, her grandson Steve Hall, will accompany her in Chicago.

Vesta appeared on two seminal anthologies of Missiouri fiddle music, I’m Old But I’m Awfully Tough (from the early 1970s) and Now That’s a Good Tune (from 1989). In the ’90s, she recorded two albums for the Marimac label of Crown Point, Indiana, Down Home Rag and Blue Flame. At a recent appearance at the University of Chicago Folk Festival, she was able to hawk two CDs produced by her grandson, Steve Hall.

Here are some samples of her playing over the years . . .

She Oughta Been a Lady

Old Parnell

Hog House Rag

Click here to register. Dues for this meeting are $15.

Beginning January 1, it will be possible to pay yearly dues and be able to enjoy all Fiddle Club of the World events at a significantly reduced rate. Also, enrolling in a “Fiddleship” allows you to support regular presentations of traditional fiddle music.

Upcoming Fiddle Club of the World meetings:
Nov. 21 – Kenny Stone is the featured guest (meeting to start at 5:30)
Dec. 12 – jam session
Jan. 16 – featured guest to be announced soon
Feb. 20 – featured guest to be announced soon

Paul Tyler, convener
Chicago Chapter

Fiddle Club session this Sunday

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Paul Tyler

Sept. 19 at 6:30 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen).
We’re going to play tunes. Any tunes you want. I plan to start some from this list.

This session is open to all fiddlers, players of kindred instruments, and appreciative listeners. No dues to pay for this meeting. No need to register.

Looking ahead, our next three meetings will be held in the back room at the Atlantic Bar & Grill (5062 N Lincoln Ave). The meeting time will be 6:30 on a Sunday evening. The dates are October 24, November 21 and December 12.

Vesta Johnson, a fine Missouri fiddler, along with her grandson Steve Hall, will be our featured guest. There’s a wood floor at the Atlantic. We might dance a few old-time Missouri squares. That will make Vesta feel at home.

Come join us.

Paul Tyler, convener