Author: Keith Blaney

From the ever popular tune “Even Squeeky Fromm Loves Christmas,” I’d like to borrow a line. ‘Though there’s not much left of her mind, her memories are festive.’ Squeaky, you are not alone…

Melinda Brazzale once again hosted us on Zoom, while the Covid pandemic ravages the country. She changed some settings, and the sound quality was noticeably better this month. Thanks Melinda!

There are some things that can be counted on with our Zoom meetings. Some folks are good with the technology, adding interesting backgrounds and such, while others struggle just to get on line. For instance, Rick started out on a glacier somewhere, then moved to the warmer climate of Florence, Italy. Some folks can sit very still, while others seem to have ants in their pants. Usually, the information provided is very thin; thank goodness for the internet and Wikipedia for filling in the gaps.

One of the Zoom ‘perks’ is Rich Ryan’s cue cards. After someone completes a tune, Rich will hold up a card. ‘Rock Star’, ‘Did you write that?’ and ‘You Sleighed It!’ were a few of his Christmas cue card comments.

The Rock Star of the evening, I think, was Russ Williams playing and singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’. He only sings about once a year for us, and it’s always a treat. The chords he can play while singing at the same time is mind boggling; for him it is easy compared to the classical pieces he can put together. Speaking of which, he spit out the name and composer of his first piece so fast (and only once) I didn’t even get close. When I tried looking it up later; I was directed to the Hyundai website… You’ll have to ask Russ what he played; I don’t have time, I’m shopping for Hyundai’s now.

We ended on what has become a Christmas CGS tradition, Robert Earl Keene’s “Merry Christmas From the Family”. I could almost hear you all singing along!

It was a fun meeting! And did much to boost our holiday spirits in these (socially) difficult times. Here’s hoping you and yours have a happy and healthy holiday!

December 2020 Playlist

Keith Blaney & Nancy McKenzie started off with ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,’ a traditional English carol.

Roland Peterson, ‘Opus 133’, Mauro Juliani.

Gary Krause, ‘Coventry Carol’, 16th century English carol.

Rich Ryan, ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’, J.S. Bach (1723)

Ken Frederick, ‘Dust in the Wind’, Kansas.

Steve Gilmore, ‘What Child is This’, (Greensleeves) traditional tune with lyrics by William Chatterton Dix.

Ed Heffern, ‘The Skye Boat Song’, Sir Harold Bolton added lyrics to the Scottish air collected by Anne Campbelle MacLeod.

Edith Cook, ‘Etude in B minor’, Fernando Sor.

Russ Williams, ‘Recardos es Elandra’, buy a Hyundai.

Ernie Brazzale, ‘Quarantine’, parody of ‘Misty’.

Rick Memmel, ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’, on bass.

Nancy & Keith, ‘Silver Bells’, Ray Evans & Jay Livingston.

Roland Peterson, ‘Study in A minor’, Juliani.

Gary Krause, ‘Angels’, original.

Rich Ryan, ‘Sweet Baby James’, James Taylor.

Ken Frederick, ‘Kissing in the Rain’, original.

Steve Gilmore, ‘Mary’s Boy Child’, Carribean tune.

Ed Heffern, ‘Oh Come Oh Come Emanuel’, 13th century Christian hymn.

Edith Cook, ‘Minuet in C’, Fernando Sor.

Russ Williams, ‘Auld Lang Syne’, Robert Burns poem set to traditional folk song.

Ernie Brazzale, ‘Fly Me to the Moon’, Bart Howard.

Keith & Nancy, ‘Go Tell It on the Mountain’, African-American spiritual.

Gary Krause, ‘It’s Christmas’, original.

Ken Frederick, ‘Oh So Beautiful’ (wedding song), original.

Keith Blaney, ‘Merry Christmas from the Family’, Robert Earl Keene.

With a spike in Covid cases, nearly one million nationwide and over 3000 here in Wyoming this week, we decided it would be best to move this meeting back online. Thanks to Melinda Brazzale, once again, for hosting us on her Zoom account. We tried for something more music friendly called jamkazam, but were unable to jump through all the hoops in time for tonight’s meeting.

Photo credits this month go to Nancy McKenzie. It reminded me of when we’d take our cassette player and put it close to the radio speaker to record songs. Nancy was taking pictures of the computer screen on a camera, then transferring them back to the computer to send it for publication. Ed Heffern also joined us at some point, but the above screen shot is the only one that didn’t feature the top of someone’s head, someone with their eyes closed, someone yawning, etc. The clever among us can alter their background image, like Rick and Steve have here. But to get everyone paying attention and smiling for the camera is more like herding cats.

November 2020 playlist

Keith Blaney & Nancy McKenzie, ‘In Spite of Ourselves’, John Prine.

Rich Ryan, ‘Don’t Let Me Down’, Lennon/McCartney.

Gary Krause, ‘Speak to the Sky’, Bruce Springsteen.

Ernie Brazzale, (not so) ‘Amazing Grace’, Christian hymn John Newton lyrics.

Steve Gilmore, ‘I’ll Break Out Again Tonight’, Leonard Nimoy.

Keith Blaney, ‘The Navajo Trail’, D. Charles/L. Markes/E. DeLange.

Rich Ryan, ‘Country Road’, James Taylor.

Ernie Brazzale, ‘Bolero’, Ravel.

Steve Gilmore, ‘Twelve Disciples’, Mike Cross.

Ed Heffern, ‘De Colores’, Mexican folk song.

Nancy & Keith, ‘Good Old Mountain Dew’, Lundsford/Wiseman.

Rich Ryan, ‘Still…You Turn Me On’, Emerson Lake & Palmer.

Steve Gilmore, ‘White Summer’, Jimmy Page.

Ernie Brazzale played us out with a 14 bar blues on his accordion.

Also with us tonight were Melinda Brazzale, Rick Memmel, and Izabel the Cat.

Before diving in to the October newsletter, let’s give a round of applause to Maria Means and Ken Frederick, who got married on September 26th at the Botanic Gardens. They were such a hot couple, the air filled with smoke! OK-maybe the Mullens Fire up in Medicine Bow may have contributed to the air quality as well. No matter, congrats! you crazy kids!

This month we met at the First United Methodist Church downtown. It was a very nice space with ample parking. The trick, however, was getting into that parking lot. As the facility is surrounded by one way streets, I think I circled the wagons three times before stumbling on to the entrance to the parking lot. I was not alone. It will be easier to find next time.

Sue Frerich brought our friend Marvin. So good to see you, Marv! (and thanks, Sue!)

A little different this month, Rich played a medley of opening riffs for at least a half dozen tunes we all recognized. Our utility player this month was Nancy McKenzie. First she joined Ben and Margene on their tune,

Then she played and sang a tune with Gary.

Finally, she joined yours truly while we butchered Roger Miller’s ‘You Can’t Roller-skate in a Buffalo Herd’.

So where will we be next month? Hard to say. With the Covid epidemic ramping up, places that will have us are dwindling. We may have to return to an online format-we’ll see…

October 2020 Playlist

Marvin Frerich started us off with a traditional folk song, ‘Jamaican Farewell’.

Steve Gilmore, ‘The Fisherman’, Leo Kottke.

Ben & Margene Zavorka, with Nancy McKenzie, ‘Singin’ the Blues’, Marvin Ensley (by Marty Robbins).

Gary Krause/Nancy McKenzie, ‘Guardian Angel, Guiding Light’, by the Seekers.

Keith Blaney/Nancy McKenzie, ‘You Can’t Roller-skate in a Buffalo Herd’, Roger Miller.

Edith Cook, La Rossigual, from the Renaissance.

Jeannie White, ‘Fields of Gold’, Sting.

Ernie Brazzale, ‘Smoke Rings’, Gifford and Washington.

Rich Ryan, ‘Medley of Intros’, by various artists.

Steve Gilmore, ‘Licks Off of Records’, Martin Mull.

Ben Zavorka, ‘Folsom Prison Blues’, Johnny Cash

Gary Krause, ‘Free Candy’, original.

Keith Blaney, ‘Write Myself a Letter’, Fats Waller.

Edith Cook, ‘Study for Two Lutes’, Renaissance piece.

Ernie Brazzale, ‘If’, David Gates (of Bread).

Rich Ryan, ‘Kodachrome’, Paul Simon.

Marvin Frerich, ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’, Harold Arlen/Yip Harburg.

Steve Gilmore, ‘Safroni’, Jimmy Martin.

Keith Blaney, ‘The Beautiful Shape for ’65’, Chevrolet commercial jingle.

Jeannie White, ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, Lynard Skynard.

Ernie Brazzale, ‘Someone To Watch Over Me’, George Gershwin.

Rich Ryan, ‘Joy to the World’, Hoyt Axton, (Three Dog Night).

Also joining us tonight were Sue Frerich and Brian Andreas. Photo credits to Rich Ryan and Nancy McKenzie.

As they used to say on Monty Python’s Flying Circus, “And now for something completely different”…

We met on September 1st at the North Pavilon in Lion’s Park. Rich figured since there was a grill just outside the shelter, why not Shanghai someone to fry up some burgers and brats? So that’s what Steve and Rich put together, a very nice picnic on a most pleasant night.

There was electricity at one end of the enclosure, and we were told, lights! A few chairs and stools were hauled in, but most everyone was happy just to sit at the picnic tables to play their tunes. It was a very relaxed atmosphere with people milling around, getting food and such. It didn’t seem quite as ‘formal’ as one of our normal meetings, where we try to get around the circle twice. There was no circle, no order to speak of, and for some folks this made playing much easier.

Welcome to Hailey Ellingham, joining us for the first time, and Ron Labrecque, who hasn’t visited us in quite some time. Remy brought a big box of music books once owned by Don Williams, inviting everyone to help themselves. Free food, free literature, good music, all on a most pleasant evening. Almost perfect.

The sun slipped away on us. We looked high and low for a light switch, no luck. They must be on a sensor! Nope, it got dark. Turns out they were on a timer, set for earlier in the summer when the days were longer. The lights finally winked on just as we were making our last pass through the pavilion for lost cords and a final trash round up. Oh well, it was still a very pleasant evening, and with the extras we enjoyed, a real treat.

Playlist for September 2020

David Norby, Ernie Brazzale, and Keith Blaney provided some dinner music while everyone was chowing down but before the playlist came out.

Remy Abeyta, ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’, Harold Arlen.

Gary Krause, ‘Smile A Little Smile’, Tony Macaulay, Jeff Stephens

Rick Memmel, ‘Run For Your Life’, the Beatles.

Edith Cook, ‘Etude in B Minor’, F. Noad.

Russ Williams, ‘Study #6’, Carcassi.

David Norby, ‘Love Train’, The O’Jays.

Ken Frederick, ‘420’, original.

Edith Cook, ‘Muss i denn’, German folksong.

Steve Gilmore, ‘Paint the Town’, Carter Stanley.

Rich Ryan, ‘Sweet Baby James’, James Taylor.

Remy Abeyta, ‘How Great Thou Art’, Carl Boberg.

Nancy McKenzie/Keith Blaney, ‘Dooley’, M.Jayne/R.Dillard.

Ernie Brazzale, ‘Minnie the Moocher’, Cab Calloway.

Keith Blaney, ‘Seymour and Irmagard’, original.

Gary Krause, ‘Change’, original.

David Norby, ‘Walking In Memphis’, Marc Cohn

Russ Williams, ‘Prelude from Suite No. 2’, Brouwer.

Ken Frederick, ‘Holiday #19’, original.

Steve Gilmore, ‘Sweet Allis Chalmers’, Jimmie Hadley.

Nancy McKenzie/Keith Blaney, ‘Whiskey ‘Fore Breakfast’, Canadian fiddle tune.

Rich Ryan, ‘Love the One You’re With’, Steven Stills.

Edith Cook, ‘Laquime’, F. Tarnya. (it got too dark to write, so this might be erroneous)

Also joining us; Ron Labrecque, Hailey Ellingham, Barb Williams, and Brian Andreas.

August 4th was a beautiful night, with a light breeze and cloud cover in the back yard of Kristy and Justin. The low turn-out actually worked to our advantage; with the clouds it got dark shortly after 8pm, but we had already made two laps and goofed off a bit as well.

‘Happy Birthday’ was sung to both Kristy and Nico, both born on this day. Then Kristy returned the favor in spades, singing one of her own and harmonizing with Justin on several tunes. That was worth the price of admission right there!

Nice to see Maria and Ken, and David Norby as well. David always brings something that you probably haven’t heard in quite a few years, so that’s always another treat to enjoy at our CGS soirees.

The ‘group’ song (of sorts) was ‘Fifty Cents’. No music, no sing along, but simple chords that most could play along, and a nice fill by Steve. Next month we might need to move back indoors, with shorter nights and cooler temps. We’ll have to figure it out between now and then, as the library isn’t going to have meeting rooms available any time soon.

Playlist for August 2020

Gary Krause started us off with ‘Rhythm of the Rain’ by John Gummoe.

Nancy McKenzie, Keith Blaney. ‘Red Haired Boy'(traditional) and ‘Margaret’s Waltz’ by Pat Shaw.

Keith & Nancy, ‘Rabbit Run’, original with Bob Davis.

Ken Frederick, ‘Sauvid-20’, original.

David Norby, ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’, by Brian Wilson, Mike Love, and Tony Asher.

Rich Ryan, ‘Closer to Home’, by Grand Funk.

Justin & Kristy Johnson, ‘Already Gone’, by Wild River.

Justin & Kristy, ‘More Love’, by Tim O’Brien.

Gary Krause, ‘Is It Wise’, original.

Keith Blaney, ‘Wonderful World’, by Weisse/Thiele.

Ken Frederick, ‘A July Song From 2017’, original tune.

David Norby, ‘Sweet Home Chicago’, Robert Johnson.

Rich Ryan, ‘We Just Disagree’, Dave Mason.

Steve Gilmore, ‘A Hole in the Day’, by Leo Kottke.

Steve, ‘Highway of Sorrow’, Bill Monroe.

Justin & Kristy, ‘If We Were Vampires’, by Jason Isbell.

Group song, ‘Fifty Cents’, anonymous.

Kristy Johnson, ‘Forever Young’, by Audra Mae.

Justin & Kristy, ‘Wildflowers’, by Dolly Parton.

Also joining us tonight, Maria Means, Nico, Coen, and Nora Johnson.

We made history on July 7th, with our first OUTDOOR meeting of the Cheyenne Guitar Society. Justin and Kristy played host to us in their back yard. Centrally located with plenty of parking, it worked out really well. The cool grass felt wonderful on your tootsies; those of you that managed to keep your shoes on will just have to take my word for it.

Welcome to Julie and Kevin Calcote, up from Texas on a visit with their friend Jeanie White. Kevin certainly knows his way around a guitar neck, and has a good voice to go with it. Come back any time, it was a great pleasure hearing you play.

We were going to, then we weren’t, then (oh what the heck) we did it anyway, a group song of the traditional folk song ‘Cripple Creek’. Thanks to Ben Zavorka and his lovely entourage for bringing that for us.

It’s hard to believe this was the first time in 25 years we held a meeting outdoors, it was just so pleasant. With the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears we’ll have to be creative about where and/or how we meet for the next few months. Personally, I hope the Johnson’s will consider having us again. For me, the highlight of the meeting was getting the chance to hear Kristy play and sing. Her harmonizing is spot on, and her voice is clear and bright. They can’t get away together very often, so hearing them together was a real treat.

Playlist for July 2020

Ernie Brazzale started us out with ‘Sleepy Time Down South’, by Rene, Rene, and Muse.

Remy Abeyta, Television Westerns Medley, Livingston, Koury, and Young.

Justin and Kristy Johnson, ‘Chaos and Clothes’, Jason Isbell.

Steve Gilmore, ‘Let Me Love You One More Time’, the Carter Brothers.

Nancy McKenzie, Margene and Ben Zavorka, ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ aka ‘Gilgarie Mountain’, Chieftans/Irish Rovers.

Keith Blaney, ‘Cheyoming Front Rear Daze’, original.

Rich Ryan, ‘Blackbird’, Paul McCartney

Jeanie White, ‘Crazy Love’, Van Morrison.

Russ Williams, ‘Sarabanda from Suite in A’, Ponce.

Paul Robertson, ‘La Caterdral – Preludio’, Agustin Barrios Mangore.

Ernie Brazzale, ‘Hide My Blues’ (revisited), Dougherty.

Remy Abeyta, ‘Jamaican Farewell’, Irving Burie. for Marvin…

Justin and Kristy, ‘Cover Me Up’, Jason Isbell.

Steve Gilmore, ‘Fergus County Jail’, John Lowell.

Keith Blaney, ‘Dream a Little Dream’, Andre/Kahn.

Kevin Calcote, ‘Red Headed Stranger’, Willie Nelson.

Jeanie White, ‘Desperado’, The Eagles.

Russ Williams, ‘Soledad’, Montes

Paul Robertson, ‘La Catedral – Religioso’, Augustin Barrios Mangore.

Group Song, ‘Cripple Creek’, traditional folk song.

Ernie Brazzale, ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’, Gershwin.

Remy Abeyta, ‘America the Beautiful’, Katherine Lee Bates.

Kristy Johnson, ‘July’, Noah Cyrus.

Justin Johnson, ‘Like You’, original

Kevin Calcote, ‘Sunshine On My Shoulders’, John Denver.

Also joining us were Julie Calcote and the Johnson children.

Photo credits go to Rich Ryan, Nancy McKenzie, and yours truly. And believe me, I was happy to have some photos to include this month!

We Zoomed once again for our June meeting, but it really gave us a run for our money this time.  Melinda B. once again played host, but the website wasn’t behaving so we got off to a late start. My best guess is that people saw this as a cancellation of the meeting, as attendance was low with only eight participants.

The added confusion this month was it was dropping the connection for participants, who would then either give up, or switch to another device.  Plus there is the basic problem that Zoom is designed for voice only; music out of that frequency range is considered noise and eliminated, so even the best connection for a performance is full of audio holes, frequency clipping, or total blackouts.

Rich had his cue cards, shouting encouragement, sometimes upside down sometimes backwards but enjoyable all the same.  Ernie told us all about St. George, Utah, where he and Melinda were visiting their son and his family.  Steve showed us his favorite t-shirt, both front and back, from the 19th annual Country Bluegrass Show in North Platte.  We also had a guest appearance by Little Red Riding Hood herself, and we thank her for the video.

It has been suggested that perhaps for our next meeting, we get together in a park somewhere.  We can practice social distancing, wear our masks when it isn’t our turn, and perhaps have a better outcome.  Worth a try, yes?  We’ll see what develops.

Playlist for June 2020

Nancy McKenzie/Keith Blaney, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.

Rich Ryan, ‘Morning Has Broken’, Cat Stevens.

Ed Heffern, ‘Cremation of Sam Magee’, poem by Robert Cervis, to the tune of ‘Star of the County Down, assembled by Ed hisself.

Gary Krause, ‘Smile a Little Smile For Me’, Tony McCally/ Jeff Stevens of The Sound Machine.

Steve Gilmore, ‘Blue Knight’, Kirk Magee.

Nancy and Keith, ‘Red Haired Boy’, Francis O’Neill.

Ernie Brazzale, ‘Green Acres’, Vic Mizzy, and ‘Beverly Hillbillies’, Flatt and Scruggs, done acappella.

Nancy and Keith, ‘Wayfarin’ Stranger’, folk tune.

Rich Ryan, ‘These Days’, Dan Fogelberg.

Ben & Margene Zavorka, ‘My Starbucks Song’, original.

Ed Heffern, ‘De Colores’, folk tune.

Steve Gilmore, ‘East Virginia Blues’, traditional.

Gary Krause, ‘Back to Work’, original.

Steve Gilmore, ‘Colleen Malone’, Pete Goebels.

Rich Ryan, ‘Drift Away’, Mentor Williams.

Also attending were Rick Memmel and Melinda Brazzale.

We were Zooming again in May, with the Covid lockdown still in place, thanks to Melinda Brazzale hosting us on her account. Some of us struggle with technology, while some of us eat it up. Turns out I am one of the former types. I joined the meeting as the Invisible Man (no video) then about twenty seconds into my first offering, my feed went quite dead and bounced me out all together. I felt like a contestant on the Gong Show.
Luckily, Rick picked up the ball, and the rest of the meeting was well documented. Also, we had more photos than usual, from many sources, which is pretty cool.

We also had a guest from back east (New York maybe), Rick’s brother Ray Memmel. Twins run in this family, and while this isn’t a recent photo, it’s a good one all the same…

Ernie tried to send us over to Facebook for a tune, but some of us non-technical types were afraid we’d get lost in cyberspace and wouldn’t be able to get back. I think his backing track was a big band from the 50’s.

Russ and Steve joined the meeting from the same location; they had been goofing off that day, getting their flies wet.

Rick was running the meeting, and took a break between ‘laps’ for a chat session. I heard that didn’t exactly go to plan, but I was long gone by then so it’s just hearsay… The other fun thing to mention is Rich’s audience comment cards. While one person is performing, it’s best that everyone else mute their audio feed. So instead of applause, Rich has made an assortment of cards; sometimes he even gets them right side up!

Playlist for May 2020

Before I get rolling on this, let’s take a minute to thank Rick for the work he put into it. We’re lucky to get just the song title from the performers, but you’ll see the info presented is very complete this month. That took some serious effort on Rick’s part. Thanks buddy!

Nancy McKenzie started us off with ‘In the Pines’, a traditional tune.

Gary Krause, ‘Is It Wise’, an original tune.

Ernie Brazzale, ‘Sleepy Time Down South’, Clarence Muse, Otis Rene, Leon Rene (1930)

Tom Fuller, ‘Kansas City Blues’, by Ernest Tubb.

Jeanie White, ‘Oh Virus Leave Us Be’, parody of ‘Blues Stay Away From Me’, by Don Gibson

Ed Heffern, ‘Born Under a Wandering Star’, Lerner and Lowe, from Paint Your Wagon, sung by Lee Marvin

Ken Frederick, ‘Strawberry Moon’, original

Edith Cook, ‘Aria of Orpheus’, C.W. Gluck

Rich Ryan, ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright’, Bob Marley

Keith Blaney, ‘Wayfaring Stranger’, Isaac Niswander (1858)

Rick Memmel, ‘Honey Don’t’, The Beatles

Russ Williams, ‘Minuet in A’, Agustin Barrios

Steve Gilmore, ‘Good Morning, Mr. Time Clock’, Peter Rowan.

Nancy McKenzie, ‘Beneath the Willows’, Bradley Kincaid

Ernie Brazzale, ‘American Patrol’, F.W. Meacham (1885)

Gary Krause, ‘Sing It In’, original

Jeanie White, ‘This Town’, Niall Horan

Ken Frederick, ‘Dad Gum It’, original

Ed Heffern, ‘They Call the Wind Maria’, Lerner and Lowe, sung by Harve Presnel in Paint Your Wagon.

Edith Cook, ‘Spanish Folk Song’, traditional

Rich Ryan, ‘Blues Study’, Keb Mo

Steve Gilmore, ‘Them Hors D’doevrers’, Mason Williams (1964)

Also joining us were Steve Borin, Ray Memmel, Melinda Brazzale, Larry White, Judy Heffern, and Cathy Memmel.

Photo and screenshot credits this month go to Rich Ryan, Rick Memmel, and Steve Gilmore. Thanks to everyone that helped put this together!!!

For the record, let’s talk about the circumstances that lead to this rather unique meeting that took place on April 7th. This country, as well as the rest of the world, is trying to cope with a pandemic caused by the coronavirus, or COVID19. The rule of the day is to avoid contact with your fellow humans as much as possible. Just about everything is shut down while we all isolate ourselves from one another. The library shut down a couple weeks ago, and of course, has cancelled all meetings at least through May.

Not to name names, but our mandolin player (of questionable height and character) suggested we might be able to meet online.  Nancy (oops, it slipped out anyway)  wasn’t sure how to do it, so I put the question to our general membership when notifying them of the physical meeting’s cancellation. Up stepped Melinda Brazzale, offering to host the meeting on her Zoom account.  We held the meeting on our normal first Tuesday at the normal time.  Ironically, we finished exactly at the same time the library would have been throwing us out, at 8:50pm!

So what happened in between, you ask?  Let the lies begin!  I’ve gotta tell ya, I’m really pleased about this golden opportunity to gasbag about some new material, too.  It took us a bit to get used to the format, some of us never quite got there, either…  We had folks show up from Wheatland to Denver, tho’ it did take Martin a little longer to get here, Denver being so far and all.  We made him play an extra song as punishment, which delighted everybody.

As for Zoom, it left a lot to be desired as a music platform.  Mind you, this is coming from a man whose VCR would still be blinking 12:00 if I had a VCR, but the whole thing seemed rather primative for this day and age.  The video lagged, and the audio was horrid.  It is designed for meetings, for speech; anything else it deems as noise and tries to eliminate it.  So the sound was clipped, high notes were missing completely.  A couple of the people sounded like a weak radio station fading in and out.  In other words, they have much room for improvement, to say the least.

In the plus column, we had 17 participants.  Some of us took advantage of not having to haul heavy equipment.  We had tunes by Ernie on an 1860’s pump organ, Ed did a couple on his keyboard, and yours truly dragged out a bass guitar and ran it through a homemade amp.  Also joining us was Kenneth Thompson, from Ft. Collins.  He presides over the FoCo guitar group, and said he thinks he’ll give this a go for his cohorts.  Good luck, Kenneth, and you’re welcome back any time!

We also learned a bit more about our president, Rich Ryan, also known as GalaxyNote8.  His alter-ego showed up as well,  The Green Fone Icon.  Unlike Superman and Clark Kent, both of Rich’s identities were at the meeting at the same time.  It appears GFI’s super power was stealing the spotlight at random throughout the meeting .  Pretty scary stuff, Mr. Whoever You Are.

Welcome also to Jackie Smith, Steve Borin, Nancy McKenzie, Ben and Margene Zavorka (aka 13076) and of course, Melinda.  Thank you so much for inviting us into your cyberspace.

 

Playlist for April 2020

Note: Wherever you see (?) means the information was not provided, was not heard properly, or a best guess at what belongs there. Participants are encouraged to contact me (kdawg307@gmail.com) to erase those Q’s with the correct information.

Justin Johnson started us out with an original tune, ‘No One’ (?)

Ed Heffern (on keyboard), ‘I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover, by (?)

Keith Blaney (on bass) ‘Sunny’, by Bobby Hebb.

Ken Frederick, ‘Here Comes the Sun’, George Harrison.

Russ Williams, ‘Maria Maro’, Antonio Maso

Steve Gilmore, ‘The Village Road’, Matt Flinner

Ernie Brazzale (on pump organ) ‘Quarantine’, a parody of ‘Misty’.

Edith Cook, ‘Minuet in C’, Fernando Saur.

Rich Ryan, ‘Never Going Back Again’ (?) Lindsay Buckingham (?) Rich, our man of mystery…

Martin Gilmore, ‘Something he Wrote in Egypt’ (?), original.

Rick Memmel (on ukelele) ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow, (?)

Justin Johnson, ‘Cover Me Up’, Jason Ismal

Ed Heffern (on keyboard) ‘Your Song’, Elton John

Keith Blaney, ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’, Fats Waller

Ken Frederick, ‘Blackbird’, Paul McCartney

Russ Williams, ‘Soladad’, Alfonzo Montez

Steve Gilmore, ‘Irish Fiddle Tune’ (?) traditional (?)

Ernie Brazzale (on pump organ) (?) by (?)

Edith Cook, ‘Spanish Folk Song’ (?) traditional (?)

Rich Ryan, ‘COVID ONE NINE’ a parody of ‘Sweet Caroline’ by Neil Diamond. new words by GalaxyNote8.

Martin Gilmore, ‘Teenage Lover’ (?) by John Prine, who sadly passed away today from the virus.

Martin Gilmore, completing his penalty lap, with ‘Any Old Time’ (?) by Jimmy Rodgers.

Then Ernie played us out on the pump organ as we exited the meeting.

by Remy Abeyta

It was during the summer before starting my first year of high school. I had worked hard bucking bales ($1 an hour wages in those days) and had earned a little money. I shopped around and settled on what I could afford, a $13 Stella guitar. I purchased it at, of all places, a furniture store in downtown Fort Collins.

At home, I did my best to try to play but it probably wasn’t even in tune. One evening, we had invited a Mexican migrant worker who was here without his family to share supper with us. After suppertime, he saw ‘Stella’ sitting there and asked if he could play it. First, he showed me how to tune it, then showed me how to play a C chord and a G7th (have always been grateful for that). Then he played a few songs and some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard started flowing from that cheap Stella guitar.

In the following days I tirelessly played those two chords over and over again. I didn’t own a guitar pick, so I improvised. I would break a few teeth off hair combs searching for just the right ‘gauge’. A properly selected hair comb tooth provided a surprisingly good sound on the guitar strings. My mom wondered why the hair combs all suddenly started missing teeth…

I quickly outgrew that Stella guitar, it had a very high action and was rough on my tender fingers.  A nearby friend had a guitar for sale.  His folks had bought it for him but he had lost interest, offered to sell and I bought it for $10!

It was a beginner’s guitar with numbers imprinted on the fretboard and had slightly improved playability over the Stella. While many other guitars would follow during my lifetime, that Stella guitar will always remain in my memory.