tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41864296748126361512024-03-21T09:57:54.602-07:00Minnesota Fiddle Tunes Project clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-37960714949218367442021-05-12T11:07:00.006-07:002021-05-12T11:10:15.149-07:00Upper Midwest Folk Fiddlers Tunebook Now On Sale!<p><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-size: 13px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDrx-OyNBeyqCoH3oOk0x1yhfXEHWvqpwDRCOUTp2O-eA_5YuIb0Jw6Gdql2dB6hadcd1hDN_gF9Z8KGU2nrnsTDcndv8w6YG4DiKgRO1Ykw23onY-Vi0M_4FfWbezrlUmnaduefU8wTM/s2048/Cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1583" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDrx-OyNBeyqCoH3oOk0x1yhfXEHWvqpwDRCOUTp2O-eA_5YuIb0Jw6Gdql2dB6hadcd1hDN_gF9Z8KGU2nrnsTDcndv8w6YG4DiKgRO1Ykw23onY-Vi0M_4FfWbezrlUmnaduefU8wTM/s320/Cover.jpg" /></a></span></div><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <a class="payhip-buy-button" data-product="QTDb" data-theme="green" href="https://payhip.com/b/QTDb">Buy Now</a></span><br /><br /><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;">This book is the culmination of Clawhammer Mike’s years of research into the schottisches, polkas and waltzes of the Upper Midwest. </span><i style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">The Upper Midwest Folk Fiddlers Tunebook</i><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"> includes 137 tunes that were mostly played by Scandinavian immigrants who came to the Upper Midwest. Most of these tunes were passed down generationally over the past 150 years. Along with the digital download of the book that includes standard notations, chords and tabs, you will receive midi-based MP3 files for each tune to facilitate your learning. These tunes are jam-friendly and in standard keys. You’ll be playing these old barn-dance tunes in no time!</span></span></p><script src="https://payhip.com/payhip.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br />clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-88533852595882780492021-03-16T17:57:00.002-07:002021-03-16T17:57:55.994-07:00Elmo Wick Tape!<div>Going through three big boxes of Minnesota fiddle tapes, I found this great one that I did not know existed. We already had a tape of Elmo playing standard, American, old-time tunes, but it was great to find one that concentrates on the Scandinavian immigrant music that he had done such a great job transcribing to paper. For more info on Elmo and his transcriptions you can go to <a href="http://fiddlemn.com">fiddlemn.com</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>These aren't the best recordings of Elmo, but they do give life to some of the tunes we only had transcriptions for. On Phil Nusbaum's field recordings, Elmo plays strong dance fiddling. On this tape it seems like Elmo and Stan aren't always on the same page,, and Elmo is doing more 3rd position backup. Although this provides some context for this tape, it doesn't diminish its importance to us who study the history of Upper Midwest fiddle music.</div><div><br /></div><div>This recording is made available free for education purposes. If you want to support me and the work that I do getting stuff like this out, you can Venmo: @clawhammermike</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZIppvUiLYAD9r37ofeRkGJM-pLdXgJD4nRTCFC0Enf_DraHgH5IwjRx2-2fMiaBlalZCUISZu1VM_bEirLxKKrE5lDYBCvQaoCnBAkClC3cgDpSBa3Cbyh0TvWv41DRPabTCNkoASqLo/s2048/Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1566" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZIppvUiLYAD9r37ofeRkGJM-pLdXgJD4nRTCFC0Enf_DraHgH5IwjRx2-2fMiaBlalZCUISZu1VM_bEirLxKKrE5lDYBCvQaoCnBAkClC3cgDpSBa3Cbyh0TvWv41DRPabTCNkoASqLo/s320/Cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/helse-dem-der-hjema-waltz&playlist=1" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="500"></iframe>clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-30661756377406163142020-05-01T13:35:00.001-07:002020-05-01T13:35:12.503-07:00<div style="caret-color: rgb(28, 30, 33); color: #1c1e21; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Finally done with a project three years in the making!!! I attempt to take a good look at the lives and repertoire of one Upper Midwest father and son fiddling story. Hopefully, all kinds of folks in the Upper Midwest and across the country can relearn these old tunes and pass them on.</div>
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You get:</div>
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- 60 tune transcriptions with tabs and chords.<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"><br />- .Wav based midi files to play along with. Up to tempo and slowed down.<br />- Newspaper clippings, family photos, stories, and linocuts in a 76 page electronic book.</span></div>
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Purchase <a href="https://minnesotafiddletunesproject.bandcamp.com/album/the-stoltman-tunebook-fiddle-tunes-played-in-northwestern-minnesota">here</a>!<br />
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clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-14148857577060028432018-10-31T14:38:00.000-07:002018-10-31T14:40:43.928-07:00Upper Midwest Folk Fiddlers at MBOTMA's Fall Jam.Last Saturday, The Upper Midwest Folk Fiddlers were invited to lead an Upper Midwest Tune Jam at the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association's Fall Jam Weekend. It was great to have a bunch of new faces learning these tunes! Some even said they might become regulars at our biweekly jam in Saint Paul, Mn! Click on the UMFF link to find or schedule.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: MaryPat Kleven</td></tr>
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clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-49713659100170708032018-09-28T08:22:00.003-07:002018-09-28T08:22:33.389-07:00Big Lake Dancers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Upper Midwest Folk Fiddlers playing Ellingson's Schottische for the folks at the Big Lake Farmers Market last week.clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-31343785042348408692018-09-22T14:57:00.002-07:002018-09-22T15:00:58.041-07:00Upper Midwest Folk Fiddlers Play a Barn Raising<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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About 6 months ago I started a learners group called Upper Midwest Folk Fiddlers. To have a group that actively plays this music I have been archiving has long been part of the mission. I don't want my projects to become boring archives that have no life to them. Our group gets together twice a month in Saint Paul and plays Upper Midwest Tunes. I doubt that many of these tunes have been played by a group in decades. <br />
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The Norwegians have groups like this called Spellmanslags. In general these groups have one keeper of the tunes and tradition and many players of all skill levels. That is what we are trying to do here. We are a welcoming group who seek out new-comers and provide tools for learning the tunes.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our band for the barn raising ( minus me taking picture )</td></tr>
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The evening was lovely. Folks attentively listened to the tunes and some dance along. I decided at one point to ask for questions for which their were many thoughtful ones. The question and answer session was great.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dancing to a waltz</td></tr>
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I could not do any of this without all the work my others in the group have shared. They not only learn the tunes, but correct my transcriptions and help with all the details to keep a group like this moving forward. Such enthusiasm is not lost on me and has really given a great push to the next phase of this project. To see our schedule or for booking click <a href="https://minnesotafiddle.blogspot.com/p/upper-midwest-folk-fiddlers_22.html">here</a><br />
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Clawhammer Mikeclawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-49468864146867930802017-04-25T13:19:00.000-07:002017-04-25T13:19:31.660-07:00"fiddling" Ole Hanson. Austin, MN"Fiddling" Ole started off learning the Norwegian tunes of his father and grandfather. When he wasn't working at the Hormel plant, he was traveling with an orchestra, playing tunes at a contest or repairing old fiddles. He won the senior division of the MN State Fiddle Association contest. After he died, his family recorded an <a href="http://m.austindailyherald.com/2008/07/local-fiddling-legend-resurrected-on-cd/">album</a> with some of his influences on it. The article below was originally posted in the Rochester Post-Bulletin.<br />
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clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-53826233009654308522017-04-24T20:10:00.000-07:002017-04-24T20:10:36.660-07:00Gynther Flattum. Lanesboro, MN.Gynther lived from 1907-2003. in 1995 the Winona paper reported that he came in second at a Mankato fiddle fest. They also reported in 1968 he played Decorah's Nordic fest, stating that he represented SE Minnesota and NE Iowa's traditional nordic fiddling.<br />
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Bob Bovee told me that he was a nice man and a frequent visitor at the fiddling bee that Bob and Gail used to run in Lanesboro for 20 years. The article below has great tales of Gynther playing his father's fiddle when his father wasn't looking. Article originally in the Rochester Post-Bulletin:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8pXrwajdFd0gpOsZYQv3n5Z7xO9mti7rEwjWJiOGnH93zs52KqAg1e9UF2roW2I9agKMXKntRWELaAhdWHjhgGtjiPBKS3Q8vlDHlZHv4wBRuw3uzHLuUFY36fkveUFAjgOb0ip0dS00/s1600/Gynther.tiff" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8pXrwajdFd0gpOsZYQv3n5Z7xO9mti7rEwjWJiOGnH93zs52KqAg1e9UF2roW2I9agKMXKntRWELaAhdWHjhgGtjiPBKS3Q8vlDHlZHv4wBRuw3uzHLuUFY36fkveUFAjgOb0ip0dS00/s640/Gynther.tiff" width="494" /></a>clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-30405996344808086642017-03-22T09:50:00.000-07:002017-03-22T09:51:58.744-07:00More Stories Of Ed Selvaag<iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="400" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fdave.simpkins.12%2Fvideos%2F10151214084886251%2F&show_text=0&width=400" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="400"></iframe><br />
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Dave Simpkins had a few stories to share about Ed Selvaag, who was one of the sources for tunes from the first Minnesota Fiddle Tunes Project CD. The video above was taken when Ed was 101 and playing at church-</div>
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" Ed said he got into music when he went over to the Lindrud farm with his brother to help milk cows.</div>
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His brother was using the best part of a beaten up guitar. He asked if he could have it, took it home, fixed it up and learned how to play.</div>
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He once said he went to a wedding dance in a small house. It was so crowded that he had to get a ladder and climb through a second story window. He had to set up on the stairs. While he played, he saw a nice looking gal sitting in the corner who he said he was going to marry. He did and I think they were together some 60 plus years.</div>
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He was milking cows near Vining on a cold, storming winter night. A friend who he played with from time to time drove up the driveway to ask if he would fill in at a wedding dance in Pelican Rapids some 60 miles away. Ed said he would if he would help him finish the milking. They drove in a Model T with canvas sides. They had to sneak out of the dance at each break to start the car again and again. They got home in time for the morning milking. "</div>
clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-45645567667150601702017-03-20T00:41:00.000-07:002017-03-20T22:45:58.810-07:00"My Great Grandfather was a Minnesota Fiddler"<div class="yiv4350228924" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1489994252973_5523" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
I was playing a show the other night and was told by someone that their great grandfather was a Minnesota fiddler- A hardanger player to boot! This led to a conversation about the old man back in the day. Eric Simpkins was kind enough to set me up with his father, Dave, who shared some stories and a wonderful picture-</div>
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" Here is a picture of my grandfather Clarence Olson taken when he was 18 year old living on the family farm near Vining, Mn. His uncle Little Knute was a traveling fiddler. He told my grandfather he would give him a very nice fiddle if he would play with him. Grandpa jumped at the chance. BUT, they would go into a town setting up gigs at local churches and saloons. The uncle would get drunk playing in the saloon and grandpa had to play in the churches. That wouldn’t have been too bad but they also had to share a bed and the guy had fleas. Grandpa said “da heck with dat” the uncle could play by himself.</div>
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When grandpa was learning how to play the fiddle he would climb up the windmill to practice so everyone in the valley could hear him play.</div>
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Grandpa’s farm was one of the favorite stops for the music salmon. He had what he called a combo of him and three of his daughters that played in churches and at weddings. My mother remembers them practicing in the living room on cold winter nights or under an oak tree in the summer.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif;">Grandpa’s favorite tunes to play were waltzes. We would listen to the Lawrence Welk Show in the 1960 and he would wave hand or roll his figures or tap his foot to the music. When he was feeling good he’d sing, “Tee yunka tee, yunka tee, yunka tee."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif;">Grandpa played at the Sons of Norway in Vining. He was playing on the edge of the stage when it collapsed and he fell to the floor without loosing the beat. The Vining Sons of Norway Hall is gone now but I know there is one in Lanesboro where there were many dances. "</span><br />
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clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-57164388453097006242016-11-06T17:48:00.000-08:002016-11-06T23:37:28.201-08:00Interview with Walter Sigtermans About "Crow River Country" Fiddlers<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> Walter Sigtermans was the main researcher for the Minnesota State Fiddle Association’s "Crow River Country" fiddler’s project that was just completed. This was the culmination of grant work spearheaded by the association’s president, MaryPat Kleven. Walter gave presentations at each of the three concerts and tune workshops. I wanted to make sure I caught up with Walter and asked him questions about his research while it was fresh in his mind. It is a lengthy interview, but has been left intact as this is a under researched subject.</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">1) What led you to help out with the Elmo Wick project and go to "Crow River Country" to do more research?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Well, first off, you (interviewer) did. Four years ago you and Annabelle taught a piece called "Old Red Barn" and talked about heirloom fiddle tunes which were passed down from father to son. That was the first time I had attended a Minnesota State Fiddlers Association meeting. I had learned to play "Old Red Barn" on the fiddle from my grandfather (pictured below). So, you immediately had my attention. Heirloom fiddle tunes are something I can easily relate to. You were talking about what I had experienced, but had never recognized.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Walter's grandfather, Louis Curtis, of Manitoba.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">My fiddle-playing grandfather operated an organic wheat farm in Alonsa, Manitoba. My dad was a mechanic for Northwest Airlines and we could get airline passes for dirt cheap. I grew up in Hastings, Minnesota but when I was 14 - 17 years old, I flew up to Winnipeg one weekend a month to take violin lessons from Grandpa, and listen to stories from my great grandmother. During the summer I would spend the month of August on the old homestead in Alonsa doing chores and getting violin lessons in the evening.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">So, I got an early appreciation of history - through stories and songs. I also had the experience of living and working on a farm during the summers (I was the seasonal labor from south of the border). My great grandmother's quarter section had an old log cabin (built 1902) which still had a wood burning stove, and the farm was like a museum of old farm implements.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I have spent most of my life living and working in Minnesota, yet there are parts of this place, which I call home, that I am completely unfamiliar with. This project gave me an opportunity to learn what it means to be a "Minnesotan."</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">For me it was really hard. I am an introvert, so the conversation process does not come naturally. There is a certain skill set required to be a good interviewer - and I don't feel that proficient at it. You need to have an objective, yet be willing to explore the unexpected topics - preferably without long periods of silence.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The hardest part was making that first contact. In this political season I didn't want to be dismissed or ignored before I could ask my (very specific) questions. I settled on sending a copy of their ancestor's tunes along with a hand written letter a few days before I tried calling them by phone.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Gordon Jorgenson was great. He knew a lot of family history, and he had really loved his grandfather. I think it tickled him that someone was interested in Olaus, and it tickled him even more that Olaus had his own fiddle tune. Gordon had so much Jorgenson family information I had to keep myself disciplined about what my objectives were.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Both interviews were with non-musical people who had inherited handmade family heirloom instruments. Gordon owns a fiddle his grandfather had made in 1942. Joan owns a hardanger that her great grandfather, Elling Sagedahl, made in the 1890s. It was a thrill to handle and photograph such treasured works of art.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"> Yes, if you have enough time and know where to look. I saw Ole Flolo's house, Olaus Jorgenson's house, the Sagedahl homestead. The granite and timber structures built in Sibley State Park by the VCC in the 1930’s were really impressive.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">You can still see the outline of the Broberg log cabin (site of the 1862 massacre) in Monson Lake State Park.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">I found the site of the Henschien homestead (and a marker where the farmhouse once stood).</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinthUGJ96pOhCltD1jQAS9XmCjxNAlMEK1U-M5T3dJS8fn_PjvKWiDjWjvY4SpFCFKvqzX31-lkhHDhc3TcXWRPzpMQNQfQ2TFo7h5VkIcgj5seI5MnixziDwwvlrn2O9aUNXA5tj361Q/s1600/Walter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Oliver Sagedahl's daughter, Joan, was a different experience. She apologized for not having more pictures of her father's family. She did not need any forgiveness, least of all from me. The key information from Joan was the correct spelling of "Morris Chargo." Elmo had written "Morris Cargo" so I could not find anything about that very colorful character until I talked with Joan. She also provided some much appreciated photographs of her father.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> Ken Amundson was also fun and challenging in his own way. I had so much to ask that I didn't know where to begin. I saw him on a weekend where I had already learned so much that I was already at or near capacity. He was also planning to go on a trip as soon as we finished talking. He had cassette tapes, but no tape player so we sat in his van and listened to them there while it rained. I also liked seeing one of Elmo Wick's fiddles in his shop.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">One thing I found helpful after all those interviews was to stop, sit, and write everything down while it was still fresh in my mind. Later I kept going back to those notes as I tried to piece everything together.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">3) Did all the fiddlers hang out together and play at joint gatherings?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yeah, but I have two answers to this, because I have been looking at two timeframes.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">There was the period of 1890 - 1940 which was the age of Elmo's youth and the heyday of his mentors. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Second, there was the period of 1970 - 2009 which was the era of nostalgia and old-time music revival.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I have been more interested in that first time-period and in those mentors who taught Elmo their craft. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">During that 1890 - 1940 time frame we are talking about house parties and dances. Music was not an end in itself - it was there so people could dance.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Young Elmo was, first and foremost, a dance fiddler. The fiddle music of that time was much more public. People were not "specialized" players. At that time fiddling was not about performance, it was just something everyone did. Look at that neighborhood map and see how many farmers played these fiddle tunes. So, yeah, there was that colored pencil sketch from the MNHS of an 1890 Norwegian house dance (see below). There was also a newspaper clipping which Elmo had amongst his music of a dance at Norway Lake in 1901 (see below).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I got a much better appreciation of dances and dance music. During the most recent August MBOTMA festival I spent a fair amount of time in the dance tent, stepping and moving to the beat.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I think it is pretty cool that the Hardanger Fiddle Association of America</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">teaches both hardanger fiddle AND Norwegian folk dance. I may spend more time at the Nisswa Stammen festival next year picking up dance steps.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">During that second time-period (1970-2009) it was mostly jams. By that time radio, television and the internet had changed music. Music was now everywhere... in elevators, dentist offices and on your telephone when you have to wait. Playing music was now something that was for specialists (professionals). </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">There were jam sessions like "Little Joe’s Barbershop" in Fargo, ND or "Cliff Hanson's Brooten Barbershop" in Minneapolis, but live amateur music became a private thing, which was not good enough for general consumption.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> I guess I saw that played out with my own grandfather. Grandpa learned to play fiddle on an instrument that his father sent him from England during WWI. My great-grandfather had been in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and died in Amiens, France in 1918. So, my grandfather taught himself how to play. When he moved into the big city of Winnipeg in the 1930s he was viewed as a country hick. His playing-by-ear anything-goes fiddling was not good enough, so he unlearned everything he had taught himself and started all over again. He eventually got good enough to play in the Winnipeg orchestra, and could drive his son-in-law (my father) out of the house each time he started playing one of Paganini's caprices, but Grandpa still enjoyed listening to Don Messer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">4) Is there any remnants of the scene left today?</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">I drove past Ole Rime's homestead. The house has since been torn down and replaced with a new home. The barn might still be original though. I climbed up Mount Tom and later that evening stood on the dock on Lake Andrew, watched the fireflies, and listened to the loons.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> But, I have a full time job, so... I did not visit the island on Norway Lake where settlers spent the night during the 1862 Dakota Wars. I never did check out the Wick and Wiig farmhouses. There were a lot of little old Lutheran churches. I photographed the outside of a few of them, but I would have liked to look a bit longer. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I never stopped into the café in downtown Sunburg.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">There are probably a dozen other places which I still don't know about.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">5) Who seemed to be the most significant fiddlers and why?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> I was most interested in the older fiddlers who originally mentored young Elmo: Andrew Wick; Edward Wick; Olaus Jorgenson; Gilbert Rime; Otto & Vernie Henschien; Ole Flolo; Haaval Wiig; Elling, Ole, Henry, Edward, Clarence & Oliver Sagedahl; Ole Erickson. That doesn't mean they were any more significant than: Cliff Gandrud; Carl, Harris & Ken Amundson; Herbert & Arlan Erickson; Henry Gafkjen; Reuben Pederson; Ole & Viola Kjeldahl; Cliff Hanson. These are the people Elmo befriended, or learned about later in life. The point is that they all played a role in his life's work. When you drop a pebble into water you never know how far the ripples will extend and what their effects will be.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walter Sigtermans</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> I learned a lot about a place I have called home for many years. I finally got to see the Kensington Runestone at the Runestone museum in Alexandria, visited the Olaf Ohman farm in Kensington, saw the Acton Monument where the Dakota War started, climbed up Inspiration Peak of which Sinclair Lewis wrote (and guilted a few Minnesota governors for not having visited it themselves). I played fiddle in Fort Alexandria during History Live weekend. But the coolest thing was playing a hardanger fiddle at the HFAA workshop in Dodgeville, WI, whereby I carried out my role in helping to keep an old art form alive.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> So, everybody keep practicing and playing your music because some day, a century or two from now, someone might be researching us.</span></div>
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clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-10987321501025243532016-10-31T23:22:00.000-07:002016-11-06T23:28:13.429-08:00Elmo Wick Presentation by Minnesota State Fiddle Association<div style="color: #454545; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">On October 16, the Minnesota State Fiddle Association presented a concert and workshop on the great Minnesota tune collector and fiddler, Elmo Wick. MaryPat Klevin has been steering the association towards learning the tunes of our home state for many years. MSFA used to be mostly a competitive fiddling organization, but in recent years has shifted the focus to teaching tunes and preserving our state's music.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning tunes<br />
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<span style="color: #454545; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: 0px;">Under the tutelage of MaryPat, the MSFA “slojammers” have learned the repertoire from the first MN Fiddle Tunes Project CD. Now MaryPat and friends have done research and learned the tunes of the great Elmo Wick from " Crow River Country", MN. Elmo was kind enough to leave MSFA a huge vault of his own transcriptions of tunes he learned from this region. That enabled MSFA to publish a book of more than 30 tunes they thought were most representative of the fiddlers from that area of Minnesota.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MaryPat teaching tunes.</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">MaryPat has received a grant to do this work from the MN State Arts Board. As part of this work, she has set up three workshop and concert series at various places in MN. One session was on October 16</span><span style="font-size: 11.3px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> in Bloomington, MN. MaryPat and others taught 14 fiddlers tunes from this collection. The youngest participant was in his early teens and the oldest was in his nineties. MaryPat is a great teacher of tunes to large groups, and participants were quick to pick up the tunes as she repeated passages, slowly building up speed and confidence. Folks were eager to learn these tunes, many of which were first played on hardanger before Elmo transferred them to regular fiddle. They taught a schottische and two waltzes. The tune book is a great introduction into all of the fiddlers Elmo hung out with in the Crow River Country area. MaryPat had good suggestions about 1</span><span style="font-size: 11.3px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>st</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> position alternatives for the tunes that have harder 3</span><span style="font-size: 11.3px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><sup>rd</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> position parts. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Since there are no recordings or living players who play these tunes, MaryPat talked about the challenges of making the notes come alive off the page. Elmo’s notes don’t specify the style or bowing patterns for the tunes. There was some discussion about how to bow the tunes, but without Elmo here to instruct, this will have to be left up to interpretation.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Of course, because it was a Minnesota event, there had to be cake and coffee during the intermission. The event was at a senior citizen home for the ease of long time MSFA member and leader Dan Radford who can’t get around too much anymore.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walter giving his presentation</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> After the workshops were done, Walter Sigtermans did a presentation on his research into the Crow county fiddlers with whom Elmo played. He had personal tales gleaned from family members and historical societies. He spoke about how the Norwegians in that county stayed together and kept their tunes alive. A lot of the tunes in the collection originally came from the Hallingdal area of Norway.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poster board with Elmo and other Crow County fiddlers.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: 0px;"> The concert covered a bunch of tunes from Elmo’s collection. MaryPat and others from MSFA played the tunes they learned with guitar and bass backup. Other students from the workshops were invited up to play during the appropriate tunes. Dan Radford closed out the show by playing a few tunes with the band backing him. Even though slowed down by a walker, it was great to see that this did not deter his enthusiasm for the music. This was the perfect close to a great day of tune preservation in Minnesota.</span><br />
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clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-60423121345602120862016-06-05T06:13:00.001-07:002016-11-06T23:38:30.846-08:00Upper Midwest Tunes Placing Again At State Fiddle ContestMaryPat Kleven ( president of the MN State Fiddle Association ) finished in second place at the 2015 state fiddle contest in the heritage division. The heritage division is devoted to equal parts telling stories about a tune and playing a tune.<br />
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Mary Pat chose to play a fiddle tune from Leonard Finseth that was featured on the last CD. She told a great story about Leonard and how she relates to his tunes. It is wonderful to see Upper Midwest tunes get back into circulation at these events.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Pat playing at the 2015 MN State Fiddle Contest</td></tr>
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clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-15843638423569768672014-08-06T22:38:00.002-07:002014-08-06T22:38:58.475-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-82899488492489174042014-02-21T14:27:00.001-08:002014-02-23T21:49:03.227-08:00Minnesota Fiddle Tunes Workshop at Winter Bluegrass WeekendAs you may already know, the Minnesota State Fiddle Association has taken to transcribing, learning, and teaching the songs off of the last CD. They have a free workshop planned for all those who are coming to the <a href="http://minnesotabluegrass.org/as_WBW">Winter Bluegrass Weekend</a>, which runs from Feb. 28th-March 2nd.<br />
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Here is the description-<br />
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<b>Saturday</b><br />
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<strong>9:30 AM Minnesota Fiddle Tunes Project Workshop</strong>. The Minnesota State Fiddlers Association has taken on the project of learning and transcribing all of the fiddle tunes from the Minnesota Fiddle Tune Project CD. We will teach some of the more basic tunes and jam on the others.
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I hear that afterwords they plan on jamming on some of the tunes. This should be a good time.
clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-91201995565089540652013-11-14T09:53:00.003-08:002017-08-09T02:25:12.216-07:00The next Minnesota Fiddle Tunes CD and a new band!Exciting news here at Minnesota Fiddle Tunes HQ! We are announcing a Kickstarter campaign for the next phase of our project. See the campaign <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/257097823/minnesota-fiddle-tunes-project-the-tunes-of-leonar">here</a>. The band is already together and working on tunes! Right now we are moving forward with the love for the tunes and the concept of the project, but pretty soon we are going to have to deal with the finances of recording and putting out a CD.<br />
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Last year I successfully put out the Minnesota Fiddle Tunes Project CD, which was a culmination of my first efforts to preserve, promote and learn Minnesota fiddle tunes. A lot of my early work involved research into the significant fiddlers of the area, most of whom have been forgotten. The next logical step is to dive into these fiddlers' repertoires and immerse ourselves in the tunes they were playing long ago.
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Leonard Finseth stuck out to me right away. He lived on the same farm his whole life, but seemed to be everywhere in the region playing with many of the great old-time musicians of the Upper-Midwest. That he recorded much of these musical wanderings in home recordings is a real treasure. The problem is that the recordings have been stuck degrading in dusty archives and family attics until now.
By putting a band together to pay tribute to not only the tunes, but the fiddlers themselves, we can make this lost music become alive again. The excitement that musicians have for this project is already apparent. This is going to be a real labor of love.<br />
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Now that the band is assembled, we have to learn how Leonard played all the songs and come up with arrangements that stay true to tradition, but at the same time feel modern. We will then have to take this big band into a recording studio, and some engineer is going to have a fun time mixing fiddle, accordion, banjo, nycelharpa, pump organ, guitar and bass. By the time spring comes we should be putting the finishing touches on the CD and setting up shows to support it here in the Upper-Midwest ( imagine, if you will, a VFW club in Bemidji, MN).<br />
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This is the kind of historical work that has a hard time paying for itself. Two years ago I was awarded a grant to cover the costs of the Minnesota Fiddle tunes CD. The energy and enthusiasm that that project created has brought us to this point. In order to get to the next level we need another infusion of funds, and what better way to do it than on this grassroots level!
Thank you for helping us preserve and spread this great Upper Midwest fiddle music that has been tucked away in attics for so long.
clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-26809149184802156072013-04-12T20:07:00.000-07:002013-04-12T20:07:22.188-07:00Lawrence Westad<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture courtesy of the Westad family.</td></tr>
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One of the biggest regrets I have in doing the Minnesota Fiddle Tunes Project CD is that I didn't have more information on two of the old fiddlers who I got source material from: Lawrence Westad and Ed Selvaag. Recently a letter came to me from Karen Obermiller who knew the families of these two. With help from her and Lawrence's family, we were able to track down this old article from a Minnesota State Fiddlers' Association newsletter that sheds a lot of light onto the life of Lawrence-<br />
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I would like to tell you about our friend and fellow MSFA member, Lawrence Westad. Lawrence is a very kind and happy person who has done much for the preservation of fiddling. As you enter his farm driveway located a half dozen miles northwest of Parkers Prairie, you are greeted by a square pillar of split rock with the words "Velkommen til Vesta". This translates- Welcome to Westad- and that is exactly what they mean. This is where the good old-fashioned sincere hospitality is served in heaping proportions!<br />
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Lawrence's father, Palmer Mathais Kristenson came from Loten, Norway, where his parents were living on a fourteen acre farm. There wasn't much future for him on that size of a farm. In 1893, Palmer at age 23 came to America on a freight ship via Quebec, Canada. He then changed his name to Westad, which was the farm name in Norway. Palmer worked in the pine forestes and iron mines of Minnesota and eventually became an established farmer in the Henning-Vining area. Lawrence's mother Christine Nelson Bradley was born in Elmo township in Ottertail County. <br />
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Lawrence was born the third of February 1915 in a little log cabin, being the eighth child of eleven. He attended rural school, having both men and women teachers. They did a lot of singing in that little country school- he remembers when they turned to page 50 and sang "When You and I Were Young Maggie."
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Lawrence's youth was spent on the family farm working with his dad. The wages were low! They survived seven years of drought and very low livestock prices. But Lawrence has a strong vein of perseverance and his farm now numbers 270 acres. Through the years he operated a threshing machine, which he still keeps as a souvenir, operated a dairy herd and raised hogs, as well as many other farming ventures. Lawrence knows what hard work is like. He also knows what tough luck is like, because he lost a barn full of hay from fire which was started by a bolt of lightening. But, as Lawrence said, "It did result in a new and better barn!"
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Lawrence's wife, Ruby, was born near Eagle Bed, in Ottertail County. Her grandparents came from Sweden. Her parents farmed and had a herd of dairy cattle. Ruby's mother is now 99 years old and is living in a nursing home in Cold Spring, MN. Ruby has one brother and one sister. Ruby attended a small country school and then went to Parkers Prairie High School. She then went to Staples, MN and received her teaching certificate. She then found a job teaching school in District 273. And guess who she found at a dance in Miltona one night!<br />
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Ruby and Lawrence were married in Parkers Prairie at the First Lutheran Church in 1944. They started their life together on the same farm they live on today. Ruby raised gardens through the years and well remembers the struggle in keeping the hogs penned up. Hogs love gardens! Through these years Lawrence supplemented their income by working as a mason laying blocks. <br />
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When Lawrence was a lad, he had a neighbor who played a fiddle. Lawrence loved this kind of music and the neighbor enjoyed playing for the youngster. In 1929, another neighbor who had a fiddle was moving to California and had an auction. Lawrence was a happy 14 year old when the auctioneer declared his three dollar bid was the winner! It was a Sears Strad copy. A school teacher taught him how to tune it and helped him with a few basics. The first tune he learned from Olai Gronn, and so he calls it the Olai Gronn Waltz. But there was much farm work to be done and Lawrence more or less forgot about the fiddle. The fiddle has since disappeared and he speculates that his sister just may have burned it along with other trash and junk! "She was like that," he said.<br />
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Then in the mid 1950s, a new neighbor moved in from Iowa. This fellow could sing and this prompted Laurence to start fiddling again. They would get together once a week and things got to be as they should be. The fiddle he seems to use the most is a Strad copy by Roth. He bought this fiddle, along with two others from June Kimbler of Henning, whose father used to play. Nowadays Lawrence gets together with Ed Selvaag of Henning, who plays the fiddle, guitar and piano; and Maurice Strom who is a retired depot agent and loves to fiddle. Lawrence has played in many contests and has a piano top full of many beautiful trophies. Phil Nusbaum has recorded Lawrence and Ed Selvaag playing the old favorite "Greet the Folks at Home" for the Minnesota State Arts Board.<br />
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Lawrence loves to hunt deer. Sometime back he found himself in the woods near the Canadian border, in the Ash Lake area, waiting for a deer. A waltz was spawned in his mind and he called it the "Ash Lake Waltz." This has been recorded by Wilbur Foss' "Fiddles Had Fun in Yankton, SD in 1986." Many fiddlers refer to this tune as the Westad Waltz."clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-67359825426539394072012-10-16T22:19:00.001-07:002017-08-09T02:28:01.048-07:00Come learn a Minnesota fiddle tune this SundayFrom the Minnesota State Fiddle Association-<br />
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Can't wait until Sunday! This is going to be great fun -<br />
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On Sunday, October 21, from 2 - 4 at the Ridgedale Library, Minnetonka, MN fiddler Anabel Sanford Wirt will be teaching a tune from the new Minnesota Fiddle Tunes CD. She is one of the fiddlers who is on the recording and is also with the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers. ( More information on this project and the CD available at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fminnesotafiddle.blogspot.com%2F&h=fAQHS1AYx&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://minnesotafiddle.blogspot.com/</a> ). These workshops are sponsored by the Minnesota State Fiddlers Association; they are free and open to the public. Bring your fiddle (guitars, banjos and mandolins also welcome!!) and a recording device (for the lesson), or just come and listen. Artists will bring CDs for sale.<br />
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After each teaching session there will be an old time music jam; fiddlers of all ages and abilities are welcome.
clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-56721743099020606462012-09-21T20:08:00.001-07:002014-02-21T14:14:39.740-08:00Minnesota Fiddlers Archive- Kaye Brokaw <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tunes recorded by Dick Buschel. Used by permission.</span></i></div>
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<i><i>From Kaye's family-</i></i></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/87495468@N02/8010973330/">Kaye</a> was always full of mischief, an instigator and very inquisitive. He could make you laugh and he had the patience of a saint when teaching. He overcame many obstacles in his life but never, ever let self-pity consume him. He was raised by our Grandmother and was quite a challenge for her. Kaye was thought to be mentally retarded but in fact he was very intelligent, almost savant-like. He never finished school but read books about many, many different subjects and he was self taught in many different interests. He often said “Too many books, too little time”. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/87495468@N02/8010966531/">Kaye</a> learned to repair watches and clocks, made some musical instruments and also repaired them. He loved old cars and antiques and would go to flea markets and sell antiques and collectibles. While he was selling he would bring out his fiddle and play and people would stop and listen and drop money in can. He would also do this where he worked as a part time janitor at the Clearwater Truck Stop…he met many people this way. One time he collected over two hundred dollars and said “Not too bad for a retarded bald headed Irishman and a twelve dollar and fifty cent fiddle."<br />
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<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Tunes recorded by Kaye and family. Used by permission.</span></i><br />
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Kaye was very proud of his Irish heritage and learned a lot of Irish music. He learned to play around the age of fourteen or so. He learned a lot from his great uncles, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/87495468@N02/8010966951/">Hank</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/87495468@N02/8010973796/">Bob</a> Bodle…he spent a lot of time with them. He would play fiddle and Grandmother would play piano and they would play for family functions and get-to-gathers. He first started to play in public in Deerwood at Whitepine Inn with Bill Hanson and Gus Fletcher. Soon he was playing at many different little bars with some of his friends and he had lots of them. People who knew Kaye and became friends with him were his friends for life. Among them were Bud and Archie LaSart, Dick Kuschel, Lloyd LaPlant, Ben and Gene Marquette, Arne Johnson, Arne Wannebo and “Grandfather” Dahl of Dahl Violin Shop in Minneapolis. </div>
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Kaye also played in many fiddle contests in Minnesota and Iowa. He played with many different bands including the Range Ramblers and The Wagon Wheelers. He acquired many friends over the years and people who met him never forgot him. His quick wit, sense of humor and mischievous smile and of course his great talent made him unique and unforgettable. He would always say, “Everyone needs music in their lives, it makes you whole.”<br />
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Kaye was also a great story teller and whenever he wrote a letter it was as if he was right there talking to you…he made every letter a masterpiece of humor and he could spell any word you gave him. I think he had a photographic memory and could remember things from when he was two years old…that was also when he learned to read. Kaye also had a great love for dogs and said they were the only living thing that was capable of unconditional love and loyalty.<br />
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It’s hard to know what his favorite tunes were because he played so many but a few that come to mind are: Boil the Cabbage, Devil’s Dream, Foggy Mountain Breakdown, Golden Slippers, Diggi Liggi Li, and Orange Blossom Special. I think Kaye will always be remembered as a humble but very unique individual with a great talent, quick wit, fabulous sense of humor and not an ounce of self pity. No matter what life handed to him he took it with a smile, added some fiddle music to it and left us with wonderful memories of a little Irish imp who made this world a better place because he was here.<br />
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<br />clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-68831336542980172102012-09-18T05:23:00.002-07:002012-09-18T05:30:56.061-07:00Eric Christopher makes an album of Upper-Midwest music.This year Minnesota fiddler Eric Christopher put out an album of Upper Midwest fiddle music. I wanted to catch up with him about his project and research, so he came over to my house a few months back to talk and play some tunes.<br />
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<i>Eric playing one of his own compositions.</i></div>
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Eric has been a staple in the Twin Cities bluegrass scene for many years. He has played in the High 48's, Tangled Roots, and Minor Planets. Old-school bluegrass has always been his favorite, but he has dabbled in everything from punk rock to alt-country.<br />
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<i>Eric playing a tune from a Craig Ruble recording. Craig learned it</i></div>
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<i>from the playing of Selmer Ramsey.</i></div>
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For this latest project, and his first with only fiddle tunes, he decided to explore what music was closer to home for him by learning tunes from the Upper Midwest states. He wanted to see if he could connect to a more "Northern" sound. He has already integrated some of these tunes into his other bands' sets.<br />
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His sources are a great wealth of musical knowledge. <a href="http://www.oldtownschool.org/connect/fiddleclub/2008/04/11/some-tunes-from-chirps-smith/">Chirps Smith</a> is a walking encyclopedia of Illinios tunes who played and learned from the late <a href="http://newmules.net/about.html">Garry Harrison</a>. Eric studied some tunes of <a href="http://goldengriffonstringtet.blogspot.com/2012/04/fiddler-les-raber-michigan-treasure.html">Les Raber</a>, who was a Michigan dance fiddler for 80 years and left behind a wealth of tunes. Eric learned a tune from our own <a href="http://www.sarapajunen.com/home.cfm">Sara Pajunen</a>, whose Minnesota-Finnish style can also be heard on the Minnesota Fiddle Tunes Project CD. Although it didn't make the album, Eric learned Red River Jig, which is a staple of the North Dakota Metis fiddlers. He also picked up a <a href="http://minnesotafiddle.blogspot.com/2011/11/selmer-ramsey.html">Selmer Ramsey</a> tune from <a href="http://minnesotafiddle.blogspot.com/2011/12/craig-ruble-minnesota-fiddler-who.html">Craig Ruble </a>and the <a href="http://www.musicoutfitters.com/artists/larson.htm">Minnesota Scandinavian Ensemble</a>.<br />
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This project was a good excuse for him to break outside of his bluegrass box, and play with some his favorite musicians in a new context for him. I am glad that a good young fiddler has also decided to tackle this area's music. The result is a album that is very easy on the ears. I look forward to hearing more from Eric in the future as he continues to explore our region's music.<br />
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You can buy Eric's album <a href="http://ericonfiddle.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-quiet-night-fiddle-tunes-from-the-upper-midwest">here</a>.clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-5623322712958369012012-09-16T17:20:00.000-07:002017-08-09T02:31:09.927-07:00Visit with Beth Hoven RottoIn early spring, right after the Bluff Country Gathering, I made a trip to go meet Beth Hoven Rotto. Beth has been keeping the fiddling traditions of Southwest Minnesota and Northeast Iowa alive for the last couple of decades. I was particularly interested in her time with Bill Sherburne, who is one of Minnesota's most influential old-time fiddlers. Beth and her band, Foot-notes, have continued Bill's tradition of having old-time dances at church outside of Decorah, Iowa.<br />
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Beth received her first violin from her great uncle when she was a young girl and started playing when she was in the first grade. She played her violin through college, but says she was never really good at it. Then after college she heard some Norwegian music on a show on the radio. She started taping and learning the tunes from the show. She felt like she finally found music that she wanted to play. During this time she heard that the Iowa Arts Council was issuing grants to study with master artists. She applied to study with Bill Sherburne, who had been the fiddler at the Highlandville dance that she regularily attended. She ended up playing those dances with Bill for the few years until he died and then kept the tradition alive by playing them with her own band.<br />
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When Beth first started to talk to Bill about the project, he didn't seem that enthused, and she had a hard time reading him. She was wondering if her grant was even going to happen because she couldn't get an answer from him. It ended up being someone in his band that let her know he was excited about doing the project. Soon Beth and her husband were regulars at Bill's house soaking up his tunes. She thinks she learned about 50 of Bill's tunes. She remembers sitting right next to him and learning his bow style and the way he played the notes. People tell her that she sounds a lot like him.<br />
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There were others who thought Bill learned from local fiddler Gust Ellingson, but Bill told Beth that he learned a lot of tunes from his grandmother. Spring Grove was a hotbed of fiddling back in the day. Bill told her there was a bar in Spring Grove that always had a fiddle on top of the piano for people to play.<br />
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Beth has many things she still wants to work on. There are songbooks from the turn of last century that need to be transcribed, and there are reel to reel collections out there that are still sitting in storage and could be shared with the world. I look foward to our paths crossing in the future.clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-39269659558430969722012-09-11T10:45:00.000-07:002012-09-11T10:47:51.044-07:00Brian Miller and Friends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Brian Miller and Friends are another group I somehow left out of the liner notes on The Minnesota Fiddle Tunes Project CD. It is a shame, because there is no more stronger an advocate for the reclamation of songs played in Minnesota than Brian. His particular interest is in the songs of the old Irish lumber camps up north. Here is their bio (which I now don't have to edit for length to fit in a booklet.) -<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;">Milwaukee-based
tenor banjo player </span><b style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;">Randy Gosa</b><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;"> has
studied with several top Irish music masters including Liz Carroll,
SiléShigley, Andy Irvine and Tony Nother. He also studied music at the
University of Limerick, Ireland with Niall Keegan and Sandra Joyce. He tours
nationally with the innovative Celtic group Murzik. In addition to being a
string musician for over 15 years, Randy is a graduate of Visual Art and Celtic
Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is also an active céilí
and set dance musician in Milwaukee and teaches at the Irish Fest School of
Music.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;">Fiddler </span><b style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;">Nathan Gourley</b><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;">
hails from Madison, Wisconsin, where he grew up in a musical family that often
traveled to folk and fiddle festivals across the country. Now based in the Twin
Cities, Nathan puts his passion for Irish music into practice as a member of
several groups including The Two Tap Trio and The </span><span class="uiintentionalstorynames" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;">Máirtín de Cógáin</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;">Project. He also performs
frequently with Irish accordion legend Paddy O’Brien. These days, Nathan can
often be found at the MSP airport en
route to many yearly excursions to Ireland, New York, Chicago and other hotbeds
of traditional Irish music</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">“The backing of
<b>Brian</b> <b>Miller</b> on guitar flexes not just muscle but a fully
complementary style” writes esteemed Irish music critic Earle Hitchner. Brian’s guitar accompaniment is the
backbone of nationally touring Irish music group Bua.He has performed throughout the US and in Canada and Ireland. In Ireland
he has been featured on TG4, RTE television and RTE radio. In
2010, Brian received a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to fund <i>Minnesota
Lumberjack Songs</i>, a CD of Irish-style songs that were once sung in
Minnesotan lumber camps. He continues to energetically research the history of
Irish music in Great Lakes logging communities. He frequently performs “Irish
Music from the Lumber Camps” with Randy at venues around the Midwest.</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4186429674812636151" name="_GoBack"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Click <a href="http://www.evergreentrad.com/">here</a> to go to Brian and Randy's website. </span></div>
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clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-50631422364124682352012-07-14T20:05:00.000-07:002012-07-14T20:05:41.944-07:00Temporary Stringband, Gilmore Lee, Nick Rowse- Flop Eared MuleThis tune Gilmore learned up near the Canadian border. It was the first tune he learned. Nick rowse and his band, Eelpout Stringers, were kind enough to play this one on the disk. The rest of the 'pouts couldn't make it, so my Temporary Stringband hosted both of them up to play it. The extra bonus is that it was Gilmore's birthday. I am not going to give away how young he is. This was the last song of the night at the CD release show.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ycq7Qm2135k" width="560"></iframe>clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-29205166636770321052012-07-11T20:49:00.002-07:002012-07-11T20:49:15.913-07:00Tjarnbloms- Stoltman's Dad's WaltzThis was Aubrey Ottley's (The person who mastered the disk) favorite track on the disk. We put it last because it lulls you to sleep. A great tune and a great perfromance. Tjanbloms are left to right- Joe Alfano, mandolin; Mary Crimi, nycelharpa; Cheryl Paschke, nycelharpa; and Val Eng, Harmonium (off camera). Tune in progress.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u6vWk4498BI" width="560"></iframe>clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186429674812636151.post-89628140977977270582012-07-10T21:51:00.003-07:002012-07-10T21:52:50.814-07:00Tjarnbloms- Henry Grondahl's SchottischeTjarnbloms are a highly entertaining band that play mostly music from across the pond. They play a fun arrangement of instruments: octave mando, 2 nycelharpas, and a harmonium. Here they are playing a tune we learned from the playing of Hillary Stoltman. The soundman for the evening, <a href="http://sonoflars.bandcamp.com/album/the-ghost-cave-of-the-black-mountain">Matt Larson</a>, said they he could listen to them play all night. Tune in progress.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nVPimqpdiao" width="560"></iframe>clawhammer mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184926254391878224noreply@blogger.com0