A special concert celebrating the life and music of founding mother and longtime FSGW member Helen Schneyer.Helen, who passed away last summer, was a moving force in the society for its first two decades, before moving to Vermont in the late 1980s. Her birthday, January 10, was always a festive occasion, so we felt that it would be appropriate to honor her with a concert by some of her old friends and relations.The concert will feature the Double Decker String Band, Martin Grosswendt, Alice Gerrard, Riki Schneyer with her relatives, and Andy Wallace, who will host the evening with Mary Cliff. A donation of $20.00 is requested to defray expenses for the artists. Double Decker Stringband has been playing old-time music since 1977. Members are Craig Johnson, Bill Schmidt, John Beam and Bruce Hutton. They have performed across the U.S., in Canada and Europe. Festival appearances include the Brandywine Mountain Music Convention, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, Old Songs Festival, The Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-time Music festival, and The Convenzione Di Musica Old-Time y Bluegrass in Italy.The band has recorded six albums, most recently "Chasing Rainbows" on Marimac Recordings and the soon to be released "The Rest is Yet to Come" on 5-String ProductionsDouble Decker mixes vintage material: turn-of-the-century rags. Hell-for?leather fiddle tunes, mountain ballads, country blues, a bit of Victorian popular. Good singers and fine performers on a variety of instruments, they know the roots of their music, credit even it?s most obscure creators, and bring a loving attention to detail to performance. Yet all is done with so much zest and self deprecating humor that one forgets that he might learn something.
--Joe Wilson, National Council for the Traditional Arts Martin Grosswendt, once described by U. Utah Phillips as "a rumor in his own time," began his career as a performer, session musician and teacher more than three decades ago. As a more recent writer has said, ?While his name is not a household word, among musicians and fans of country, blues and folk, he is sort of an underground legend, a musician of extraordinary talent.? A multi-instrumentalist and singer long known as an interpreter of 1920s and '30s blues, Martin is equally at home playing the old-time music of the Southern Appalachians or the Cajun and Creole music of Southwest Louisiana. He plays six- and twelve-string guitar, five-string banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bass, Cajun accordion, and Dobro. Martin is a veteran of countless recording sessions, has performed and taught at festivals and at WUMB?s Summer Acoustic Music Week and has been a Master Artist?s assistant at the Augusta Heritage Workshops. He also serves as music director for and teaches at Banjo Camp North, Old Time Music Camp North and Mandolin Camp North. His most recent recording, Call and Response, is a collection of pre-war acoustic blues. Martin, who lives in Rhode Island with his wife, Marie Malchodi, and their twin daughters, Sophia and Lydia, lived at Helen?s house during the early 70s while attending the Ethical Society school. Alice Gerrard is a legendary talent in the bluegrass and old-time music worlds. In a career spanning some 40 years, she has known, learned from, and performed with many of the old-time and bluegrass greats and has in turn earned worldwide respect for her own important contributions to the music. Alice is particularly known for her groundbreaking collaboration with Appalachian singer Hazel Dickens during the 1960s and '70s. Alice's first solo album, "Pieces of My Heart," was released on the Copper Creek label in 1995 to critical acclaim. As a musician, Alice has appeared on more than 20 recordings, including projects with many traditional musicians such as Tommy Jarrell, Enoch Rutherford, Otis Burris, and Matokie Slaughter; as an expert with in-depth knowledge of mountain music, she has produced or written liner notes for a dozen more. She also co-produced and appeared in two documentary films. In 1987 Alice founded the Old-Time Music Group, a non-profit organization that oversees publication of The Old-Time Herald. Alice served as editor-in-chief of The Old-Time Herald from 1987 till 2003. Riki Schneyer is a singer of remarkable power and emotional force. She began singing with her mother when she was very young, and appeared with Helen in concert and on recordings over several decades. In addition to her mother?s songs, Riki has her own repertoire of wonderful traditional songs. She will be joined by several of her relatives, since singing runs in the family. Andy Wallace, a founding FSGW member, first met Helen Schneyer in 1962, and shared a host of musical moments with her over the years, appearing on her first Folk Legacy recording. Andy has performed in hundreds of concerts and festivals over the past forty years. He was a member of the singing crew of the sloop Clearwater on her maiden voyage in 1969, played at the World?s Fair in Osaka, Japan with the Ringshouters (with Jonathan Eberhart and Mike Rivers) and toured Latin America for the U.S.I.A. He also served as Program Director and Associate Director of the National Council for the Traditional Arts for many years, as well as working with the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Mary Cliff is the host of Washinton?s longest-running folk radio show, "Traditions," which airs on Saturday nights on WETA-FM.
