Hi Folks,

It was a gloomy day here in NY this morning, so I decided to do a little project.

I contacted longtime friend Byron Berline (doublestop.com) and asked him a favor.

Now thanks to Byron, I'm very happy to make available the Country Gazette Reunion recording from the 2007 Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival in Guthrie, OK. (oibf.com) You'll hear some great music and great stories.

Please see the NEW entry on my Picking Page at frobbi.org/picking.html
(I'd put the links here, but there are 8 separate tracks.)

As always, enjoy!

========================================

Photos by Don Shorock

Alan Munde



Roland White



Byron Berline



Roger Bush



Kenny Wertz

I'm thrilled to tell you that my article, "Memories of a 1969 Louisiana Bluegrass Weekend", is in the June 2010 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited. I hope you'll check it out.

The 1969 recordings have been on my Picking Page for a long time.

On May 26, just a few days after Mac Wiseman's 85th birthday, Buddy Merriam and Ernie Sykes Jr. presented 2 hours of Mac's music and a live interview with the icon lasting over 45 minutes on Buddy's weekly Blue Grass Time show on WUSB 90.1 FM, the non-commercial radio station of Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, NY. wusb.fm/

Thanks to Buddy, I'm thrilled to add these historic recordings to my Picking Page, in a new section called From My Friends.

Please help yourself at frobbi.org/picking.html

Steve Ide has created a cool new video.

quote:

---

Various scenes from the 2009 Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, on the Walsh Farm, Oak Hill, N.Y.
Video clips from Fred Robbins, Dean Loomis, Dan Spinner and Steve Ide.
Production by Stephen Ide, thirstylizards.com"

greyfoxbluegrass.com/gfblog/20...fox-2009/

---

Hi Folks,

I have another treat for you.

Dennis Stewart, Travis Stewart's son, transferred some 1960s film to video of the Country Cut-Ups doing some TV commercials in the Dallas area.

At the time, the Country Cut-Ups were:
Eddie Shelton - banjo
Bill Pogue - mandolin
Travis Stewart - guitar

Thanks to Dennis, I'm able to make them available on my website at frobbi.org/cutups.html and on my Picking Page at frobbi.org/picking.html (in the new "From My Friends" section).

As always, please help yourself and enjoy!

Recently, Byron Berline came here to Poughkeepsie, NY, to give a fiddle workshop and concert, both sponsored by the Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association. While I sat back and enjoyed seeing Byron for the first time in 20 years, Steve Jacobi was good enough to videotape the entire concert. Thanks, Steve! The group of great local musicians (just ask Byron) appropriately called themselves Gold Rush.

I'm happy to have the video on my website at frobbi.org/goldrush

You can also find the link on my Picking Page frobbi.org/picking.html in the From My Friends section.

Enjoy!

Byron Berline & Gold Rush

Byron's great I got my new banjo from him.

I was a video staff volunteer at Grey Fox again this year. Had a ball...and a couple blisters.

Grey Fox will be releasing my videos, mostly from the Masters Stage, one at a time over the next few weeks.

You can find them on the Grey Fox blog at greyfoxbluegrass.com/gfblog/ca...y/videos/
and on my page at frobbi.org/greyfox2010video.html

Hi Folks,

On this quiet New Year's Eve (so far, anyway), I remembered a second jam recording from Culpeper-Warrenton 1973. It was actually the first one I did, so I'm calling it Jam 1, to distinguish it from the other one that's been out there for a a while, which I'm now oddly enough calling Jam 2. I dusted off the cassette and did a little work.

This one stars Byron Berline-fiddle, Alan Munde-banjo, Roger Bush-bass, Buck White-mandolin, and Jerry McCoury-guitar.

You can find it at frobbi.org/culpeper1.html as well as on my usual Picking Page at frobbi.org/picking.html (The other jam is at frobbi.org/culpeper.html).

Please enjoy and have a Happy New Year!

Hi again Folks,

I hope you're all feeling well (I'll try to type softly...). I haven't posted since last year.

I "discovered" one more short recording from Culpeper-Warrenton 1973.

It's the Lilly Bros., Don Stover, and Tex Logan.

As with many of my other recordings from that festival, the quality is lousy due to a booming PA system and
one of those cheap piano-key Sony mono cassette recorders of the day. That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.

Anyway, it's at frobbi.org/audio/LillyBros-Sto...r1973.mp3 and as always on my
Picking Page at frobbi.org/picking.html

Happy New Year!

I just saw your post and started to check the recordings out, wow, some gems! I am a big live music fan, I enjoy the life and rough edges (and stage banter) from the live stuff. These are really great and I appreciate you sharing them.
Glenn C.

Here we go again...

This one is just because I don't keep track of my own work.
I've had this one sitting around for several years!

With special apologies to Nancy Talbott and Dennis Satterlee if I never told them,
here are the Allen Brothers from Berkshire Mtns. Festival in 1979...

frobbi.org/audio/Berkshire79-AllenBros.mp3

It's also available at the usual frobbi.org/picking.html

With a very big thank you to Dave Snyder, I'm now able to share a lot more of the late Al Osteen's music at

frobbi.org/alosteen.html

I had forgot about this thread, great material, thanks for sharing again!

Terrific stuff and much thanks to you. Being a Eddie Shelton fan, the recordings of him are pure gold to me. He was a nice guy and a great banjo player that I miss.

Fred

Fred/banjer5,

Me too. One of the nicest guys I've met. The story is at frobbi.org/bujun2010/

I hope you've seen my treasured photos of Eddie, such as...



and




from my series at frobbi.org/slides/La1969

and this one



thanks to Dennis Stewart for the video at frobbi.org/cutups.html
and stills at frobbi.org/slides/cutups

I'm very happy to announce that, with a big thanks to Ken Landreth, we now have 2 more full sets of Al Osteen with Curtis Blackwell, Randall Collins & the Dixie Bluegrass Boys, this time at the 1969 Camp Springs (Reidsville) Bluegrass Festival.

Curtis Blackwell-guitar
Randall Collins-fiddle
Al Osteen-banjo
Larry Jefferson-mandolin
Sam Cobb-bass

Stay tuned for a 3rd set, hopefully in a few days. Ken's having computer problems.

Hear all the recordings at frobbi.org/alosteen.html

Hi Folks,

I'm just taking a second to remind you to help yourself to my recordings at

frobbi.org/picking.html

Please enjoy!

Hi Folks,

Last October I attended an intimate house concert at Dan Marcus' house in NJ.
Earlier in the day Alan Munde had held a banjo workshop there.

The concert starred Alan Munde (banjo), Kenny Kosek (fiddle & vocals), and Gene Yellin (guitar & vocals).

As if that weren't thrill enough, during the second set, Dan's neighbor walked in - Tony Trischka!

I recorded the entire concert standing up with a sprained back, but it was sure worth it.

And now, with thanks to, and permission from, Dan, Alan, Kenny, Gene, and Tony, I've made the video
available on YouTube.

I apologize for the video and audio quality from my small consumer camcorder and my location on the left
side of the "stage". But the content is just fantastic!

Set 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJmDJoWPsHo

Set 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rlga_SxumY

The links are also available on my Picking Page at  frobbi.org/picking.html

Please enjoy!
Fred 

Hi Folks,

I just "discovered" (read "finally got around to digging out") a 7½ inch tape reel that I thought I should capture while my 40-year-old
Revox deck is still working.

I found a 28-minute stereo set of Bill Monroe and Doc Watson. There's more mono stuff on the other side that I hope to eventually
clean up and make available.

Meanwhile, the 1st set is at http://frobbi.org/audio/Monroe-Watson-BeanBlossom1969-1.mp3
and also available on my Picking Page at http://frobbi.org/picking.html in the "From My Friends" section.

I'm not completely sure who gave me the tape, but when I do I'll add a thanks on the Picking Page.

As always, please enjoy!
Fred

quote:

---

Originally posted by robbif

Hi Folks,

I just "discovered" (read "finally got around to digging out") a 7½ inch tape reel that I thought I should capture while my 40-year-old
Revox deck is still working.

I found a 28-minute stereo set of Bill Monroe and Doc Watson. There's more mono stuff on the other side that I hope to eventually
clean up and make available.

Meanwhile, the 1st set is at http://frobbi.org/audio/Monroe-Watson-BeanBlossom1969-1.mp3
and also available on my Picking Page at http://frobbi.org/picking.html in the "From My Friends" section.

I'm not completely sure who gave me the tape, but when I do I'll add a thanks on the Picking Page.

As always, please enjoy!
Fred

---

 Hey Fred...the Watson-Monroe set you have is a recording I did at Bean Blossom on June 21, 1969.  This was from the Saturday morning workshops and I have all of the other workshop sets recorded from 1969 Beanblossom as well.  It was recorded using a Sony 4-track reel-to-reel deck with 2 Sure SM 58 microphones on gooseneck stands (that's the creaking sound you hear when someone moves them closer to an instrument).  The tape has been circulated a lot after I gave a few people copies, so I'm not sure where you got yours...but that's where it came from.  The copy you have has a good bit of hiss that is not on the original tape...I assume from multi-generation copying on tape.   If you want a first generation digital copy with out the hiss...let me know. 

Ken Landreth

Ken,

WOW! I emailed you offline.

Fred

quote:

---

Originally posted by robbif

I'm very happy to announce that, with a big thanks to Ken Landreth, we now have 2 more full sets of Al Osteen with Curtis Blackwell, Randall Collins & the Dixie Bluegrass Boys, this time at the 1969 Camp Springs (Reidsville) Bluegrass Festival.

Curtis Blackwell-guitar
Randall Collins-fiddle
Al Osteen-banjo
Larry Jefferson-mandolin
Sam Cobb-bass

Stay tuned for a 3rd set, hopefully in a few days. Ken's having computer problems.

Hear all the recordings at frobbi.org/alosteen.html

---

Thanks so much to you and to Ken for making this available to us!!
I just love the Dixie Bluegrass Boys!
Matt.

Stay tuned for more!! Ken The Fantastic will be sending me more recordings to post. I'm so thrilled to ba able to share them with everybody.

Hi Folks,

You want more music? I've got more music.

Ken Landreth ( http://www.oldfive.com ) has graciously offered to digitize and send
me even more of his collection.

In the past, Ken provided me the Union Grove 1966 program scans ( http://frobbi.org/ug66/ )
and some of the music of Al Osteen ( http://frobbi.org/alosteen.html ).

Since I "discovered" a copy of some 1969 Bean Blossom workshops only a few days ago,
Ken not only pointed out  that he made the originals, but offered them to me for posting. So already,
in addition  to the Bill Monroe/Doc Watson workshop, Ken has given me two more:
Don Reno/Doc Watson and Don Reno! You can now find all 3 at http://frobbi.org/kenbeanblossom.html
as well as on my Picking Page ( http://frobbi.org/picking.html ) in the "From My Friends"
section under "The Ken Landreth Collection"...where there's going to be even more festivals and
misc. recordings very soon!

So stay tuned!

I have to repeat my thanks to Ken. I'm very happy and proud to be involved in sharing his collection
alongside my amateur stuff.

As always, ENJOY!

Fred