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From the President 2
Open Mics 2
Songwriters’ Songfest 4
Songwriters’ Showcase 4
Traditional Folk Song Circle 5
The Songs We Sing 5
Comfortable Concerts 6
Inside this issue:
Membership Renewal/App 14
F.A.M.E. Goals 14
Hill Chapel Concerts 7
Gear of the Month 8
Pull up a chair 9
Other Acoustically Sound Orgs 10
Spotlight: Doug May 12
New Song Circle Start-up! 13
Board of Directors 14
December 2014
In the Spotlight…Doug May by Caryl Velisek
What were your most memorable events of 2014? Send us photos of your new baby, wedding, etc. for a nostalgic look at
2014 for the January 2015 newsletter! Details page 3.
A few years ago Doug May
started playing at the open
mic at Frederick Coffee
Company and Café on East
and Church Streets in
Frederick. “I met Sam
Biskin and upgraded to a
better guitar,” he said. His
favorite is an Epiphone
339 and Doug is
inspired to play
the blues. Story
on page 12.
Epiphone 339 image from Google
Keep listening, keep playing, keep living!
From the President
Cover photo of Doug May courtesy of Todd C Walker
Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukkah, and assorted other holidays at the
end of the year all call us to be thankful and appreciative and loving. We are re-
minded that we are part of a larger family. There are some members of that family
who have greater needs than others, so we are called to act as family and care for
those who are in need. If you are a performer, it is my hope that you will work some
of those ideas into your seasonal repertoire. We can play a helpful role in reminding
others that we are all in this together. There are any number of times when someone
has come up to me after a show and said, “Thank you, I really needed to hear that.”
For all of you, I wish you a joy-filled holiday season. I hope that you will have time
to spend with those whom you love and who love you. I hope that you will see all
sorts of gifts around you and recognize how truly valuable the gifts that cost nothing
are. I hope that you will be a gift to someone who is in desperate need.
There are gifts from the heavens; there are gifts from the ground.
There are gifts we receive all the year around.
And when we bow our heads, open hearts and minds
We become a gift to all humankind.
Page 2
Open Mics
Michael Schirf Kim Perseghin Jim Rose Dave Koronet Tom Bockoven
Photos courtesy of Todd C Walker
Peace,
Rick’s photo and image here and photo on page 5 courtesy of http://www.ricksfolk.com/
Frederick Coffee Company & Café, 100 N. East Street,
Frederick: Every Tuesday night 7-10 pm, Todd C
Walker hosts. This open mic welcomes all “family-
friendly” talent. Generally, performers receive the
equivalent of time for two songs each. Enjoy good food
from the enhanced menu in a welcoming and warm,
inclusive atmosphere. The sign-up list fills quickly, so
come early if you can.
Beans in the Belfry Meeting Place and Café, 122 W. Potomac Street, Brunswick, Maryland. Third
Thursday of each month 7-9 pm, Tomy “One M” Wright hosts this cozy venue with great acoustics, as it
is an old church reclaimed as a coffeehouse with a friendly, relaxing atmosphere. This is a SAW- and FAME-
endorsed open mic which draws performers from both groups, as well as the local area. Format is a first-
come, first-served sign-up list with usually two or three songs each. Percussion available upon request.
Epicure open mic photos courtesy of Ron Goad
The Epicure Café, 11104 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA. Music Variety Showcase: Second and fourth
Wednesdays at 8 pm, hosted by Ron Goad. Open Mic: Show up, sign up, perform one to three songs.
Epicure is an independently-owned and family-run café with tasty food, including appetizers, Greek
specialties, salads, sandwiches, subs, pasta, desserts, coffee drinks, wine and beer. Epicure features various
creative events that fill every night of the week, including wonderful musical acts, local art exhibitions, open
mics, poetry readings, comedy, and now—storytelling! All this and an outdoor hookah!
Page 3
Photo credit: Karen Fetters
Ony Maybe
photo by
Tomy Wright
Photos Wanted!
A T T E N T I O N M E M B E R S
Do you have a photo of that new baby,
a wedding, bar/bah mitzvah, CD release,
or other milestones of 2014 that you’d like
to share? We would love to see them! Please email your
highlights of 2014 (photos with descriptions) to
r o y. g r e e n e @ y a h o o . c o m b y
December 21, 2014. Then, watch for
the pictorial feature in next month’s
newsletter. This is all about YOU!
Monday, December 1:
7:15 Piano and voice prelude Colette Rohan
7:30 3 Songs Mike Kelly, Jerry Bresee, Teporah
with: Tomy Wright, Ron Goad (percussionists)
8 (or so) Poetry Rod Deacey, John Holly
8:30 Featured Artist Bob Sima_________
Sound by Todd C Walker
December 14 Andrew McKnight TBD
December 28 T Edwin Doss
Josh Gray (Fred. Coffee open mic regular)
Cal Ashli (Fred. Coffee baristas)
Sunday Songwriters’ Songfest Frederick Coffee Company and Café, 100 N. East Street, Frederick, MD, 4 pm
Todd C Walker puts together an afternoon of local, regional, and sometimes national talent.
Songwriters perform 30 to 40 minute sets. Performers are not paid, so please tip generously.
Page 4
Brewer’s Alley Monday Songwriters’ Showcase Brewer’s Alley, 2nd Floor, 124 N. Market Street, Frederick, MD, Shows begin at 7:15 pm
Come upstairs at Brewer’s Alley in beautiful, historic, downtown Frederick, Maryland, any Monday evening
from 7:15 pm until 10:15 pm or so… The singer-songwriters you will hear are a mix of national and regional
touring performers with many award-winners from all genres; no beginners.
The featured songwriter for the evening plays for around 45 minutes; a number of other songwriters make
cameo appearances singing three songs. Every show also includes a piano prelude to start the evening, our two
resident poets read two poems each somewhere in the program, and we have three MC’s, so it’s impossible to
get bored – it’s an acoustic variety show.
All of the performers are invited to play; this enables us to maintain high standards of musicianship and song-
writing – and makes for excellent shows. We have consequently gained a national reputation for being a great
place to perform and be heard.
Note: there is no sign-up on the night, although we sometimes pull songwriters we know from the audience
and make ‘em play. There is no door charge, but we have “tip buckets” for the featured songwriter. Come out
and support LIVE ORIGINAL music.
If you would like a calendar for 2015, please e-mail Rod ([email protected] ). For information about playing a
three-song spot, contact (1) Ron Goad: [email protected], (2) Rod Deacey: [email protected] or (3) Todd
C. Walker: [email protected]. For info on featuring (the 45-minute money spot), contact Rod Deacey:
Photos courtesy of Karen Fetters
Traditional Folk Song Circle by Karen Fetters
Dublin Roasters Coffee, 1780 N. Market Street, Frederick
Second Saturday of each month, 2-4 pm
Page 5
The Songs We Sing by Caryl Velisek
Thirty-three folks attended the November 8th Song Circle
held at Dublin Roasters Coffee. The 200th Song Circle atten-
dee, Odetta Brown, walked in the door and F.A.M.E. cele-
brated by awarding her with a $25 Dublin Roasters gift cer-
tificate. A total of twenty-nine songs were sung, eight of
which were sung for the first time by the group. To date, the
group has sung 384 (32%) of the 1,200 songs found in the
Rise Up Singing songbook.
Songs from 12 categories were sung. Seven songs were re-
quested from the Times & Changes category making it the
most requested category of the day. Out of the Rise Up
Singing Songbook, seven songs were sung by the group for
the first time including three from the Play category:
“Aikendrum,” “Sodeo,” and “Ten Little Frogs.” Other
songs sung for the first time included: “Everybody Loves
Saturday Night,” “Leaning On The Everlasting Arms,”
“Thanksgiving Eve,” and “Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve
Seen.” Rick Hill introduced a song not in the Rise Up Sing-
ing songbook, “Over The River And Through The Woods.” This song was written by Lydia Maria Child in
1844 as a Thanksgiving poem and originally had six verses. Lydia was born in Medford, Massachusetts in
1802 and was a women’s rights, Indian, and anti-slavery activist. She authored An Appeal in Favor of that
class of Americans Called Africans and several other smaller works on anti-slavery.
Attendees at the November event included Dori Balin, Margie Barber, Lawrence Brand, Ginny Brace, Odetta
Brown, Barbara Collins, John Cooper, Jerry and Cheryl Crebazzi, Karen Fetters, Craig Gillespie, James Gilles-
pie, Marilyn Gillespie, David Koronet, Margie Lance, Jeannie Lloyd, Steve Lloyd, Beverly Maygar, Norma
Martin, Gloria McCracken, Chris McLaughlin, Julie Merchant, Wes Merchant, Jay Oden, Lynn Purdum, Ber-
nadette Roche, Jennifer Stanko, Robin Turner, Betsy Van Ness, Caryl Velisek, George Waxter, Joyce Wendt
and our Song Circle Host, Rick Hill. We hope to see you at the December 13th Song Circle. ♪♪♪
We had some new participants at our Traditional Folk Song Circle at Dublin Roasters
Coffee on November 8th and we sang a number of songs we haven’t done before. The
Song Circle was led by our illustrious president, Rick Hill, on guitar.
We started with the old familiar favorite, “You Are My Sunshine,” and a seasonal
ditty, “Over The River And Through The Wood,” which was introduced by Rick. The
song started out as a Thanksgiving poem written by Lydia (continued on page 11)
Comfortable Concerts December 12 Buzz Cason www.buzzcason.com
Page 6
Date: December 12, 2014 Time: 7:30 p.m. (door opens)
Location: Damascus/Gaithersburg area (RSVP for address)
Donation: $10-$20/person (solely for artists)
RSVP to Robin ([email protected]) by November 19
(Please refer to FAME newsletter)
Hungry? A wide variety of food and beverages are provided
Comfortable Concerts Coming up
January 16 Carey Murdock www.careymurdock.com
February 13 Dave Turner www.daveturnermusic.com
I have the great pleasure and honor to host this multi-dimensional music talent on December 12th!
Buzz has written some wonderful hits recorded by The Beatles, Oak Ridge Boys, Plácido Domingo, and
Martina McBride (just to name a few). He co-published, “If It Ain’t Dixie” (Alabama), “Little Green
Apples” (Glen Campbell), and many others. Buzz has been a back-up singer to John Denver, Julie Andrews,
George Jones, Waylon Jennings, ELVIS, Roy Orbison, Kenny Rogers, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson.
Buzz was introduced to music singing in a youth choir and learning harmonies from his mom. He was
influenced by rhythm and blues and early Elvis. In 1956, he appeared on a local talent show in Tennessee, lip
synching “White Christmas” – from that point he fell in love with the world of music.
He soon formed The Casuals, which was dubbed Nashville’s first rock ‘n’ roll band. By 1957, The Casuals
had become a touring act, replacing The Everly Brothers on a tour of 60 fair dates. The Casuals eventually
became Brenda Lee’s backing band. Buzz paired with song writer Bobby Russell and wrote/recorded,
“Tennessee,” which was covered by Jan and Dean in 1958. This was their first song to land
on Billboard magazine’s Hot 100.
In 1966, Buzz and Bobby started a record company, Rising Songs, with Fred Foster of
Monument Records. From this team, came the hit, “Everlasting Love,” co-written by
Mac Gayden and recorded in 1967 by Robert Knight. This song would go on to be
recorded by Carl Carlton and Gloria Estefan as well. In 1967, Buzz and Bobby formed
their own publishing company. They would write and publish, “The Joker Went Wild,”
and “Little Green Apples.” In 1974, feeling it was time to move on, they sold the
publishing company to Welk Music.
In the years after, Buzz did backup vocals and continued writing songs. He started a state-of-the-art recording
studio, Creative Workshop, where Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, The Judds, Doobie Brothers, and Emmylou
Harris have recorded. He produced Jimmy Buffett’s first album, Down to Earth, and his sophomore release.
Buzz's biggest copyright release came in the 70's with the Kenny Roger's hit, "She Believes in Me". It sold 20
million units and had a Grammy nomination for, Song of the Year. Several of his hits would get re-released by
various artists, like "Love on a Mountain Top" (R. Knight), later released by Selena in 1990.
Currently, Buzz is president and owner of Southern Writers Group USA (a collection of writer-owned
publishing catalogs) and Creative Workshop recording studio. He is on the Board of Governors of National
Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and National Trustee of NARAS, East Coast Advisory Committee of
ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), and a member of CMA (Country Music
Association).
Won’t you join me for an exquisite night of music history and entertainment? You may even go home with a
complimentary CD as a door prize. RSVP early!
Buzz Cason photo and Troubadour Heart graphic courtesy of http://www.buzzcason.com/barndance_2012.htm
Doors open 7:00 pm ~~ Shows 7:30 to 9:30 pm ~~ Arrive early to ensure seating
Concerts are held at Hill Chapel Concert Hall, 6 East Main Street, New Market, MD
Hill Chapel Concert Hall & Venue
Hill Chapel Concerts Coming Up
January 22 Annie Stokes
February 12 The Rolling Coyotes
February 26 Brian Keith Wallen
Page 7
Suggested donation $15 for most shows.
Please call the Hill Chapel for more information (301) 882-7172
December 4 – Hiroya Tsukamoto is a one-of-a-kind composer, guitarist, and
singer-songwriter from Kyoto, Japan. He began playing the five-string banjo
when he was thirteen, and took up the guitar shortly after. In 1994, Hiroya
entered The Osaka University and while at college in Japan, Hiroya was
introduced to a musical and social movement in South America called Nueva
Cancion headed by musical legends such as Victor Jara and Violeta Parra.
Hiroya has been leading concerts with his group including several
appearances at Blue Note in New York and he performed with Esperanza
Spalding, Marta Gomez, Kendrick Scott(The Crusadors), Pete Kennedy(The
Kennedys) and Dave Maxwell(Muddy Waters Band). Hiroya Tsukamoto image courtesy of http://www.hiroyatsukamoto.com/
January 8 – The 2nd Annual FAME Member Concert 7:00 to 9:30
p.m. Proceeds* go toward the Hill Chapel bathroom project fund. This year
we are again having a short song circle, then a FAME member open mic
(each member performing two songs). We will finish off the evening with two
FAME member feature acts.
Please let Todd Walker ([email protected]) know if you would like to
contribute music. * $10-$20 donation.
December 11 – Alexander Mitchell, is an acoustic multi-instrumentalist who
plays fiddle, mandolin, guitar and has an amazing singing voice! Alexander
started playing fiddle in 1978 after hearing bluegrass music. Since then he has
been cultivating such diverse styles as Appalachian, bluegrass, Celtic,
Klezmer, traditional roots dance music, ballroom, sizzling hot swing, and
jazz. Alex does booking for weddings, corporate events, private parties, house
concerts, and concerts.
Alexander Mitchell played in a national tour of Woody Guthrie’s American
Song with the Missouri Repertory Theatre; he played for and appeared in Ted
Turner’s movie, Gettysburg; he has appeared at the Kennedy Center
Millennium Stage, Lisner Auditorium for the Washington Revels, the
Birchmere, the Weinberg Center, and Strathmore. Alexander Mitchell image courtesy of http://alexandermitchell.net/
Gear of the Month by Todd C Walker Page 8
It’s the Christmas Holiday season and a terrific time to put lots of musical gear on
your wish list. Here are a couple suggestions:
KORG Rimpitch and Rimpitch-C soundhole guitar tuners:
The relatively new sound-hole tuners from KORG, the Rimpitch (standard tuning)
and the Rimpitch-C (chromatic tuning) seem to be the answer for many guitarists
who don’t like the look of clip-on tuners that attach to the headstock. These stealthy
tuners slip onto the treble side of the soundhole so that they are in the player’s line
of sight as he/she looks down at the strings and the sound-hole. With little showing
from the outside, they are somewhat hidden from the audience’s view (I like this).
According to KORG’s press, these interesting tuners are easily read regardless of how brightly the stage area
is lit. Unfortunately I was not able to take delivery of either tuner before press time, so I do not know firsthand
if they work well in daylight, which is a common problem with most tuners.
As I mentioned, what I like about this design is that the Rimpitch tuners will be almost invisible to the
audience. Typical clip-on tuners (like the Snark) look like Martian antennae. As helpful as they are, they
disrupt the beautiful lines of the guitar (in my humble opinion).
Battery life is stated as approximately 12 hours if continuously run, so battery changes should be few and far
between. Just the same, I would highly recommend that players turn off the tuner when not in use, to save
battery life. How precise are the Rimpitch tuners? KORG says +/- 1%, which is similar to most other clip-on
tuners.
Since a tuner allows
a player to accurately tune
one string at a time, it is important to tune the guitar to itself after setting each string’s tune (think the pesky B-
string which most times plays sharp and needs to be tempered, especially when playing a D-chord).
Online suggested retail price seems to be right at $24.99. Although I haven’t had the pleasure of using one of
the Rimpitch tuners yet, based on what I see in photos and on-line reviews, I give both the Rimpitch and the
Rimpitch-C a “thumbs up.” I’ll be purchasing a chromatic version as soon as they become available, so I’ll do
a follow-up once I’ve had a chance to test it.
Gear follow-up: Last month I gave a disappointing review of the Son-of-Snark mini headstock tuner, and
after using it on my blue Wechter Pathmaker guitar several times, the best I can say about it is that the blue
color of the Son-of-Snark and the Wechter match well.
Guitar Humidifiers:
‘Tis the season of “warm and cozy,” which means the furnace is hopefully working well. It’s also the season
for paying attention to your wooden instrument’s moisture meter. If you don’t already own one, purchase a
Hygrometer so you’ll be able to determine the relative humidity of your home during the heating months.
Acoustic instruments like to live in an environment with a 45-50% relative humidity. Your heating system
lowers the relative humidity of your
house. During severe cold spells, the
relative humidity could reach as low as
18-25%, which is dangerously low for
a wooden instrument (your furniture
and hardwood floors as well), not to
mention the human body.
(Continued on page 10.)
Pull up a Chair…
Christmas in the Trenches by Frederick Folklorist
Page 9
The Brotherhood of Thieves restaurant on Nantucket Island, ever heard of it? No,
you say? Well, that’s where I first heard the story of peace invading the trenches of
WW1. Brotherhood of Thieves was a small restaurant in the basement of an old house
just up the street from the whaling museum on Nantucket. I used to go there every
New Year’s Eve in the 90s until it caught fire in 1999. It was small and could only
seat 50 really skinny people, but it was truly a special place for me. Every New Year’s
Eve a local folk singer, Linda Worster, would come and play. It was there that I first
heard the song “Christmas In The Trenches” and learned of the wonderful story
behind it.
The song was written by John McCutcheon in 1984. He would always talk and trade stories with the janitor
who cleaned up the club where John would often perform. One night the janitor told him this great story about
a Christmas Eve night during WWI, when the Germans and British troops stopped fighting and came out to
shake hands and sing Christmas songs. John couldn’t believe it, but after doing some research and talking to
some people he not only found out it
was true, he knew it had the makings of
a great song.
The story goes something like this: On
Christmas Eve on the Western front in
1914, some German soldiers started
singing Christmas songs and putting
candles around a little bush they found.
A kind of makeshift Charlie Brown
Christmas tree, if you will. Their
British enemies on the other side, not to
be outdone, decided to sing Christmas
carols as well. Soon they started to
make their way, under the protection of
a white flag, into the middle of the field
known as “no-man’s-land.” One thing
lead to another and before you knew it,
they were exchanging small mementos,
showing each other their pictures of
their families, patting each other on the back, and saying Merry Christmas. There was even a soccer game that,
according to a British soldier, was won by the Germans 3-2. At some point the generals on both sides from
their command headquarters heard what was going on and ordered the men back to their trenches for the night.
However, something happened in the morning that would change each man for the rest of his life.
Once a stranger is a stranger no longer, when he becomes a friend, it becomes harder to wrong him. When
ordered to continue the bombing and shooting both sides froze. As John McCutcheon says, “The question
haunted every man who lived that wondrous night, whose family have I fixed within my sight?” Even after
being given direct orders to open fire again, no man on either side could press the trigger. Finally left with no
choice, the generals from both sides had to replace all the men who had been there that Christmas night. Can
you imagine that? The generals succeeded in restarting the war in that area. No word of what happened to
those soldiers who refused to kill the man who had just shown him his family pictures only hours before is
recorded. No word, that is, until one night just a couple of years ago. Listen to John McCutcheon tell what
happened and enjoy the song “Christmas In The Trenches.” (Click the link, or copy and paste: http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9coPzDx6tA in your Web browser.)
Merry Christmas to all who read my articles and a peaceful New Year. Next Month: Tracy Chapman. ♪♪♪
Photo by Todd C Walker
Graphic courtesy of http://www.brotherhoodofthieves.com/
Now go make some music.
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! ♪♪♪
Folk Alliance International exists to foster and
promote traditional, contemporary, and multicultural
folk music and dance and related performing arts.
Todd
There are several inexpensive ways to humidify your home. Low-cost steamers (vaporizers) are easy to use
and work extremely well. CVS, Rite-Aid, and Wal-Mart usually keep several styles in stock. Prices typically
range between $15-$30.
Guitar humidifiers (many different styles and brands) that keep your instrument and
case from drying out are a must have, especially if you transport your instrument to &
from gigs, or travel. F.A.M.E. member Chris McLaughlin makes his own by using a
small sponge and a small plastic container with pinholes.
Symptoms of low humidity:
Gear of the Month by Todd C Walker (Continued from page 8) Page 10
Gear photos by
Todd C Walker
1. The fret ends begin to feel pronounced, prickling fingers while sliding up and down
the fret board.
2. A change in string height. As the wood shrinks, the action gets higher.
3. Guitar top cracking along the center seam below the bridge. If this happens, you’ve
neglected your instrument to the point of danger and you need to humidify to save
your instrument from further damage.
4. Static electricity when touching someone’s arm or a kitchen appliance after walking
across the floor (especially carpeted flooring). Raising the relative humidity of the
living space will minimize static electricity.
5. Dry throat and dry nose.
Some organizations in the area you may want to check out
Maria Child in 1844, and gradually became a Christmas song. It
was originally called “The New-England Boy’s Song About
Thanksgiving Day” and first appeared in Lydia Child’s Flowers
for Children, Volume 2 in 1844. It celebrates her childhood
memories of visiting her grandmother’s house. Child was a
novelist, journalist, and teacher; she wrote extensively about the
need to eliminate slavery. Her Thanksgiving poem was
eventually set to music by an unknown composer. These days it
is often sung as a Christmas song rather than a Thanksgiving
one; the line, “Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day” becomes “Hurrah
for Christmas Day.” It has been recorded also as “A Merry
Christmas At Grandmother’s.” And, just as a footnote, a
children’s book, written by Derek Anderson and published by
Simon & Schuster in 2005, recasts the poem as a humorous tale
of a family of turkeys on their way to a vegetarian Thanksgiving
meal.
Two songs that I was not familiar with included a couple of
children’s songs, “Sodeo” and “Ten Little Frogs.”
We sang “Everybody Loves Saturday Night,” which is
originally from Nigeria and was sung well before the fifties. It
was popularized in Great Britain by the calypso singer, Aldwyn Roberts, in the late 1940s and is also known as
“The Saturday Night Song.” It repeats the title phrase over and over in a number of languages.
“Aikendrum,” or “Aiken Drum,” is a Scottish folk song we sang that
is also a nursery rhyme and probably has its origins in a Jacobite song
about the Battle of Sheriffmuir in 1715.
“Leaning On The Everlasting Arms” is a hymn that was published
in 1887. The music is by Anthony Showalter and the lyrics are by
Showalter and Elisha Hoffman. Showalter said he was inspired by the
Book of Deuteronomy 33:27, “Thy eternal God is thy refuge, and
underneath are the everlasting arms.” The song has been used in
several movies, including The Human Comedy and Night of the
Hunter.
“Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen” is an American spiritual
song that has been done by many artists including Louis Armstrong,
Paul Robeson, Lena Horne, Sam Cooke, and Marian Anderson. In
fact, Anderson had her first successful recording with a version of it
in 1925.
We sang “Day is Done,” by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul
and Mary fame, and “Thanksgiving Eve” by Bob Franke.
We also sang a good number of songs that we’ve done
before at the Song Circle, including “Oklahoma,” “The
Band Played On,” “Shine On Harvest Moon,” “Will The
Circle Be Unbroken,” “Blowin’ In The Wind,” “Mountain
Dew,” “If I Only Had a Brain,” “Swing Low, Sweet
Chariot,” “September Song,” “Those Were The Days,”
“The Wabash Cannonball,” “The Rose,” and a number of
others we were familiar with.
I’ll have more about The Songs We Sing next month in
our F.A.M.E. newsletter. ♪♪♪
Book cover illustration courtesy of Librarian’s Quest
The Songs We Sing by Caryl Velisek (Continued from page 5) Page 11
In the spotlight...Doug May by Caryl Velisek Page 12
Doug May has been working the
electronic sound system at
Reunion, on Patrick Street in
Frederick, since he and Sam
Biskin, started hosting the open
mic there. He gives Sam credit for
the success of the Reunion open
m i c , e v e n t h o u g h t h e
establishment recently closed
down. “Sam [gave] everyone an
opportunity.” The equipment
Doug worked with at Reunion is
some of Biskin’s older sound
system. “I have to work with what
we have and make everything
sound the best I can. I like being
around music. It has inspired me
to do more with my [own]
music,” he said. Doug has also
been taking guitar lessons from
Biskin, of whom he said Sam “sometimes has to push me to keep in touch with
the day-to-day process of learning.” He gives Biskin a lot of credit for his own
success as a musician.
Doug’s relationship with the guitar began when he was 25 years old, but didn’t
last too long due mainly to a rather uninspiring teacher. “I took a couple of
lessons and then quit and sold my inexpensive acoustic guitar and didn’t play for four or five years,” he said.
But Doug couldn’t stay away for long. He got another guitar and did some gigs in Pennsylvania with a band,
The Wanabees, for a while. “We did private parties and other events,” he said.
But Doug actually began his “career as a sound engineer” when he was much, much younger. Doug recalls,
“My dad was pastor at a small church in Brunswick that had a very small congregation of 13 members at the
time. They had an old Hammond organ and a very old sound system.” They bought a whole new PA (public
address) system and Doug learned how to run it when he was about nine or ten years old, he said. Besides
being a pastor, Doug’s dad was at one time a bull rider and a tractor trailer driver. His mom worked with
handicapped children and was a school teacher.
Then, his grandmother gave him money to buy
his own PA system. After that, he hosted an open
mic in the Scranton, Pennsylvania area. Being a
college town, there were always a lot of
musicians, lots of bands, and a lot of music. “My
open mic usually lasted from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. and
there were usually 10 to 15 people on the
schedule,” Doug said.
For the past three years Doug has been
employed at Target in Frederick and he has had
other jobs including managing a thoroughbred
horse farm. But it’s obvious his main interest is
music: playing his guitar and working the sound
system wherever he can. ♪♪♪
Photos of Doug this page courtesy of Sam Biskin
NEW! Another Song Circle is coming by Lawrence Brand Page 13
Do you enjoy singing your favorite songs? Do you love singing harmonies and background parts while
others take the lead? Do you love having a hand clapping, foot stomping good time? If you do, join us at The
Sing Along Celebration 7 - 11 pm each 3rd Saturday of the month, beginning in January 17th, 2015, in
downtown Leesburg, VA. Plenty of parking is available.
Life is not a spectator sport! At The Sing Along Celebration, you, the audience, are the stars of the show. We
particularly welcome uninhibited singers with loud voices and singers who can harmonize. We gather in a
circle and each member in turn selects a song for the group to sing. To make it easy to join in, Lawrence Brand
leads the singing. He has been leading sing-alongs for 20 years.
You already know and love the songs. They include pop, rock, blues and folk hit songs from the 1950s to
today. Songs made famous by the Beatles, Beach Boys, the Birds, Willy, Hank, Arlo, Otis, Elvis, Jerry Lee,
Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly, and the Everly Brothers to name a few. Songbooks with the words and chords are
provided as well as background music by one or more musicians. Other acoustic instruments are welcome. If
you want to share a song, bring 30 sheets containing lyrics and chords and hand out copies so everyone can
sing along.
Date: Saturday January 17, 2015 Time: 7:00 to 11:00 pm. Location: Leesburg, VA (RSVP for address)
Munchies are pot luck. Suggested donation: $2.00 (to cover ice, cups, plates and utensils.) RSVP to Lawrence
F.A.M.E. Board of Directors
Rick Hill, President
Todd C Walker, Vice President
TBD, Treasurer
TBD, Secretary
Max Honn
Roy Greene, Newsletter Editor
F.A.M.E. Newsletter welcomes your photos
and stories about local acoustic music and musicians.
Please email submissions to the editor at
[email protected] by the 15th preceding the
month of publication. Submissions subject to editing.
F.A.M.E. Goals: To nurture, promote and preserve original
and traditional acoustic music of all genres in Frederick
and Frederick County through live music, education
and community outreach.
To educate aspiring musicians and the general
public about all aspects of original and traditional
acoustic music of all genres via workshops, open
mics, showcases and concerts.
To reach out to the community via workshops and
concerts, especially through schools and youth
organizations and the setting up of mentoring
opportunities for young and aspiring acoustic musicians.
Page 14
Membership Categories
Benefits
Single $25 Newsletter, Sticker, T-Shirt (at initial sign-up), Annual Picnic
Family $50 Newsletter, (2) Stickers, (2) T-Shirts (at initial sign-up), Annual Picnic (for two)
Corporate $100 Newsletter, Window Sticker, T-Shirt (at initial sign-up), Annual Picnic, Website Link
Lifetime $200 Newsletter, Sticker, T-Shirt (at initial sign-up), Annual Picnic, FREE Workshops
Senior (65+) $10 Newsletter (e-edition only), Annual Picnic (at cost)
Membership runs from January 1 thru December 31
Name: __________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________
City: ____________________________________________
State: ________ ZIP Code: __________________________
Phone: __________________________________________
Email: ___________________________________________
Please mail to: F.A.M.E. Membership, 6509 Springwater Court, #6404, Frederick, MD 21701
Questions: (301) 639-1050
Membership Category
______________________
Amount Enclosed:
$ ___________ . OO
Date: __________________
