Hot Times at Old Town

Appearing below are selections from the hard copy Hot Times. The objective is to highlight activities at the School and in the larger community, especially those featuring or of special interest to teachers and staff. Your suggestions are welcome. Enter a comment (under any item); it will come to me rather than automatically appearing.

A taste of the new Dylan album

Hard core Dylan fans know this already, but in case you’re more an appreciator — he’s produced yet another album, Together Through Life, now in the pre-release hype stage. It’s his 33rd studio release (46th album overall!) and is being praised by initial reviewers. We learned about it from a new-to-us feature on NPR, their All Songs Considered.

Want a free taste of this new offering? One fine track, Beyond Here Lies Nothing, can be heard at

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102785158

Josh Hathaway of Blogcritics Magazine writes: “‘Beyond” has just a hint of Eric Clapton’s cover of Otis Rush’s classic “All Your Love (I Miss Loving)” from Clapton’s time with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. It’s a blues joint with some mariachi trumpet, organ, and accordion. From a production standpoint, “Beyond” is a little edgier than anything on Dylan’s previous record (Modern Times).”

(Want to play along? it’s in A minor!)

Filed under: Music by Skip | April 7, 2009 | Comments (0)

Chicago music in danger

Yes, it’s hard to believe but free music in Chicago is threatened.

The cause: an ordinance pending with the Chicago City Council that would require musicians to be licensed and to carry liability insurance — it’s another bizarre law, poorly conceived, yet could shut down the kind of music we hear in coffee shops, restaurants, bars, and other establishments.

The documentary ‘The Chicago Promoter’s Ordinance Kills Independent Music’ can be seen at therecordindustry.com. Defenders of the ordinance note that it was developed to target Raves and similar large scale activities and that it would not be enforced against small venues. But once on the books, when and where it would be enforced would depend upon the discretion of the authorities.

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | February 28, 2009 | Comments (0)

Antiques you can taste!

Ever wonder what apple pies tasted like 100 years ago? That was before designer products, crossbred for characteristics such as shelf life. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were over 7000 different varieties of apples. Now there are less then 2000 varieties available.

It’s too late for this year, but next early in spring 2010 you can learn how to grow an antique apple tree or three in your own backyard, courtesy of Garfield Farm, that wonderful, old-time, working farm out in the burbs. On a Sunday in early March, the Garfield Farm folks are had their annual tree grafting seminar. « Read more »

Filed under: Interesting elsewhere by Skip | February 18, 2009 | Comments (0)

Stop by for the Wednesday Noon Jam

If you’re of an old-timey, barndance frame of mind — or if you just like to sit around and sing — stop by the school Wednesdays around noon. We open up the stage and have a banjo/fiddle/ guitar/whatever jam.

There’s usually eight or ten people and a wonderful mix of instruments: guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, harmonica, melodica, and (when our prayers are answered) bass!

The jam goes until about 2 pm.

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | February 14, 2009 | Comments (0)

U. of C. Folk Festival, be sorry you missed it!

The University of Chicago is home to Chicago’s unique folk festival, which just completed its 49th year. This celebrated weekend festival came from the same folk-conscious era that produced the Old Town School, and is similarly one-of-a-kind. If you missed it this year, put the Festival on your calendar for 2010 — it’s always at the end of January or the first week of February.

The University of Chicago Folk Festival began in 1960, initiated by UC students. While the first festival featured Joan Baez, she was an anomaly: from that year onward, the UCFF tradition has been to highlight lesser known performers. « Read more »

Filed under: Interesting outside the Old Town School by Skip | January 25, 2009 | Comments (0)

Jams! The School goes jam-crazy!

Jamming is perhaps the best way to strengthen your skills — and to have fun. You bring your instrument (whatever it is) and have the pleasure of informal, no-one-is-listening-carefully-because-they’re-having-too-much-fun music.

Opportunities for jamming occur daily at the school, with special jams on First Fridays. Not taking a class? That’s ok — this is a free community event.

The daily jams are “Second Half,” a long-time, Old Town School tradition. These mildly structured gatherings, led by teachers,
are scheduled before or after classes. Every day of the week you can join with other students to play songs, some from the School’s songbook and others brought in by a different teacher each week. A new feature, on Thursdays, is having two evening teacher-coordinated jams. The Second Half and jam schedule is below:

Mondays: 11:30 am, 9:30 pm (Lincoln and Armitage SH)
Tuesdays: 9:30 pm (Lincoln and Armitage SH)
Wednesdays: 12-2 pm jam (Lincoln), 7:30 pm (Lincoln and Armitage SH)
Thursdays: NEW! 7 pm and 8:30 jams
Fridays: 11:30 am (Lincoln SH)
Saturdays: 11:30 am (Lincoln SH), 12:30 am (Armitage SH)
Sundays:1:30 pm (Lincoln and Armitage SH) « Read more »

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | January 24, 2009 | Comments (0)

Dvorak, Holstein, and Craig — Oh my!

The Concert Hall had a full house on January 11th when these three folk troubadors came together for a wonderful show celebrating Ed Holstein’s first-ever CD.

Ed Holstein, brother of the late Fred Holstein, is himself a Chicago legend. As the major domo, promoter, and presiding presence at Holstein’s on Lincoln Avenue, he was a central figure in the Chicago folk scene. Now as a member of the faculty at the Old Town School, Ed’s music, stories, and humor have made him a popular, engaging guitar teacher. He was at his best on Sunday, both with his political quips AND his music.
Bonnie Koloc joined him for one number.

Joining Ed were Mark Dvorak, one of the Midwest’s most loved and respected folk singers, and Jim Craig — the folk performer with the unforgettable, deep bass voice (and proprietor of Hogeye Music in Evanston). Adding to these long-time performers were Peggy and Maura (the Pickin Bubs) and other guests.

This was another show many of us will remember for a long time — and should be a reminder for you: if you haven’t seen Eddie, keep watching for the next time he performs. He doesn’t play out that often but when he does, it’s always great.

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | December 24, 2008 | Comments (0)

Playing by Ear: More Fun Than You Thought Possible

The idea is subversive: eliminating the middleman, playing music without the notes or chords! But think about it. This is the way most of your teachers play. Yet they weren’t born with this skill; they learned it. If you can “carry a tune,” you can learn to play by ear. For guitar/banjo/mandolin/uke etc. an easy way to begin is with songs that have three chords; songs you already sing, with chords you already know. Bill Brickey’s tip: start by remembering the beginning chord, then try singing and playing without tab. When the chord sounds wrong, try one of the other two.

For playing melody, Here’s a site primarily focused on playing melodies on other instruments: www.treelight.com/music/playByEar.html.

Need song suggestions? For a searchable index of the Old Town School Songbook – for example, songs that use only D and A7 – sign up free for oldtownfolks.org (a wonderful student/teacher resource!)

Filed under: Practice tips by Skip | September 6, 2008 | Comments (0)

Develop your storytelling

Passing along on our stories to future generations involves practicing an age-old, sustainable skill. If you’re a story-teller or interested in story-telling, think about getting involved in the North Park Nature Center North Shore Storytelling Guild. They meet the third Wednesday of the month at the Nature Center of North Park Village, 5801 N. Pulaski.

The evening begins by getting-acquainted at 7:30, with stories from 8 to 10 pm. Meetings are open to all, with no experience necessary, i.e., you can come to tell a story of just to listen. (It’s a down home gathering , not a performance). Stories include adult-themed material). Info: Mark Kater, 847-673-5786.

The Nature Center is in the midst of a wonderful, natural area of Peterson Park — a place to enjoy the passing seasons, far away from the invisible city surrounding it. Any opportunity for a visit is worth the time, and what better excuse for a visit than to enjoy this ancient art?

Filed under: Interesting elsewhere by Skip | September 5, 2008 | Comments (0)

New, old, wonderful Mark Dvorak Album

Neat idea!

What a Wonderful World: A Family Folk Sampler brings together some of Mark’s best tracks, plus four new ones. In one place you’ll find eleven songs from Mark’s 1995 award-winning CD Old Songs & New People, three from the 1996 Just Something My Grandma Used to Sing, three more from 2000’s Weavermania! LIVE and one track from Use It Up, Wear It Out released in 1992 — plus four new tracks recorded with The Sons of the Never Wrong. Other musicians on the tracks include Michael Smith, Tom Dundee and Barbara Barrow, Rick Sherry from Devil in a Woodpile, old-time fiddle master Steve Rosen and John Williams on whistle and accordion.

In July, Mark was recognized for his broad, long-term contribution to the local and national folk community with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Woodstock Folk Festival. « Read more »

Filed under: Interesting at Old Town by Skip | August 27, 2008 | Comments (0)


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