Fiddle Binge

A brief few words of explanation, dearests: I have, admittedly, decided that fiddle music should be part of my balanced intellectual diet. Among the major elements that will make that achievement possible are these: Fiddler Magazine; the 75th Anniversary Old Fiddlers' Convention, in Galax, Virginia; the 39th Annual Smithville, Tennessee Fiddlers' Jamboree and Crafts Festival; the Fiddler's Grove Festival in Union Grove, North Carolina --- and, of course, the very epicenter of the fiddle multiverse itself, the National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest in Weiser, Idaho.

Of course, you can't have a good helping of fiddle music without a good bunch of fiddlers at your side, and one of the merriest such fiddlers is Del City, Oklahoma's beloved Flyin' Fiddler himself, Wayne Cantwell. Having seen photos of Wayne, I know that even his face just makes me feel like smiling. That, plus he has his own library of YouTube clips. Also having a YouTube presence are the members of the Nevada Oldtime Fiddlers Association, who clearly know a good fiddle jam session when they see one. As, of course, do Gerry Lagace and the Bristol, CT Old Tyme Fiddlers' Club, now sole sponsors of the annual New England Fiddle Contest, to whom we recently e-mailed the delicious photograph which introduces our post.

Austin, Texas, May 3rd, 2009, and the city's 31st Annual Old Pecan Street Music, Arts and Crafts Festival on Pecan and 6th Streets is in full swing. The Festival, which, yeah, has a YouTube presence all its own, had hosted many local musicians, and then there was this unusual gentleman:

"With rosin flyin' off of his bow like fire, the old man was playin' his fiddle like a man possessed. He was a-hootin' and a-hollerin and a-hillbilly dancin' outside of the saloon for both money and drinks. Clearly, he didn't need the drinks, inasmuch as he was fall-down drunk already....."

Perhaps, but I seem to remember that Uncle Jimmy Thompson, that hard-livin' raucous old fiddler who was the very first headliner of what we now know as the Grand Ole Opry, was himself quite fond of Wilson County, Tennessee white lightnin', and was frequently known to guzzle that particular beverage down while playing his trusty fiddle, Ol' Betsy. That's what in the end led to a falling-out between Uncle Jimmy and George Dewey Hay in late 1926; methinks you can figure the rest out on your own.

Anyway, the whole point of ol' Blackwolf's fiddle binge is that soon, Master Richard will launch a new Facebook presence that will serve as the new cabin of our dear fiddle-mad old coot, Old Man Fiddler. The New Old Man Fiddler's Cabin will have fiddle links, fiddle and country/bluegrass-related events, fiddle tall tales, fiddle news and info, and far too much to describe in a mere blog entry. Long point short, dearests, The New Old Man Fiddler's Cabin will be everything a Fiddler (and, for that matter, a Fiddle Lover) could want --- and much, much more! If I may, then: Y'all come!

Master Blackwolf