leastbest - but still one of the best
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In Search of Roy Book Binder: part 2
posted Thursday, 13 October 2005
My friend Tom called and invited me to the Philadelphia Folk Festival. Being raised by an agorapho
bic gives me an altered sense of distance and going to Philadelphia seemed equivalent to going to Afganistan. He explained that since it was the fortieth anniversary there were going to be a lot of folk legends there. As soon as he said Dave Van Ronk I knew I had to go. I had all of Dave's cds and figured this would probably be my last chance. The rest of the list would make it even better, Tom Paxton, Tom Rush, Janis Ian, Nickel Creek, Chris Smither, Utah Phillips, The Tarbox Ramblers, Roy Book Binder, Michael Cooney, Judy Collins, David Bromberg, Arlo Guthrie and more!
The ride there was fine since Tom was driving and he only went through two stop signs. I discovered the festival isn't in Philadelphia but in Schwenksville. During the ride down I amused myself by saying Schwenksville over and over. I think it amused me a lot more than Tom.
Once we got to the festival we needed to find a campsite. To enter the camp area you went up a slight incline that opened up into a giant field. There were people and tents everywhere. I wasn't sure if we would find a spot for our small tent but Tom was eagle-eyed and found a great place.
We pitched the tent and brought our supplies up. I decided last minute not to bring my guitar. I have an old Martin 00-16 and wasn't sure about its safety. I shouldn't have worried as they had a special trailer where you could store your instruments.
After we were settled in I wandered around the campsites and saw a wide variety of sites. Some were extremely elaborate and it was obvious that the people who came every years spent a lot of time preparing for it.
During the day there were workshops and small concerts. Workshops were held in a small area called Dulcimer Hollow. The first full day Roy Book Binder was giving a workshop so I went over. Since I didn't have my real guitar I used my Martin Backpacker. It's not much of a guitar but it served it's purpose. Roy taught a group of about forty the basics of Black Dog
Blues. It was great learning the song 
and as I was only two feet from Roy I caught a few licks that the others missed. The group was having a great time and I took a few pictures of the participants.
In many ways I found the festival was what I had always assumed the sixti
es had been like. There was lots of music, lots of beer and even a little marijuana floating around. I wandered around the campsites and found a lot of jamming going on. Unfortunately my backpacker guitar just didn't cut it in a jam session. Everywhere I went I was greeted warmly and handed a cold beer.
The music ran into the night and so did the drinking. The guys in the tent next to us drank heavily and sang loudly until the wee hours.
The next day there was a great one hour show with The Tarbox Ramblers and Nickel Creek. I am in awe of Nickel Creek. They are so young and so talented. The weather was perfect and I had a great seat.
I didn't get a picture of The Tarbox Ramblers but they did some old time songs that I loved.
After this show I grabbed Chris Thile and had my picture taken with him. Unfortunately the yahoo that took the picture had never used a digital camera before and handed the camera back with no picture taken. Oh well.
The next day Tom and I were checking out the cds and merchandise for sale. Martin had a special anniversary guitar on display. If I had $10,000 laying around I would have bought it right then and there. While the Martin
representative was telling us about the guitar a man asked about a guitar Martin was reparing for him. The representative told him in a harsh tone that he was busy with us. I looked over and it was Tom Paxton! Tom Paxton, an icon of the folk movement who wrote such folk standards as I Can't Help But Wonder, Ramblin' Boy, Bottle of Wine, and Last Thing on My Mind. It was his and Phil Ochs protest songs that started my love of folk music years ago.
We talked for a minute about his music and then he gratiously had his picture taken with both Tom and me.
One day they had a mini-concert with Tom Rush, Utah Phillips and Michael Cooney. I kne
w Tom Rush's music very well but had never heard of Utah Phillip or Cooney. Utah spoke eloquently about labor songs and struggles from the old days and sang some great songs. Michael Cooney did a beautiful song that I'd never heard called Weeping Willow. I love the line, "Sometimes I think you're too good to die, Other times I think you should be buried alive."
The main concerts at night were incredible. I found out that Dave Van Ronk was sick so Roy Book Binder took his place and did a full night time set. In order to get great seats at the main show you had to sit in line for at least an hour. Once you did you staked a place and guarded it. While waiting for one show I made friends with a bunch of women from Philly and we drank wine and watched Chocolat on their portable DVD player.
There was a lot of down time in between shows and I spent a lot of it watching the people. I was surprised by the sheer diversity.
One of the best shows was an hour blues show with Roy Book Binder and Chris Smither. Roy explained that Dave Van Ronk was supposed to be there but since he was sick they would just play more. Roy played some great songs including a fine version of St. Pete Blues. I had never seen Chris Smither before and was blown away with his version of Lightnin' Hopkins Jailhouse Blues. Then he did an energetic version of Link of Chain. He capped it off with No More Cane on the Brazos/Mail Order Mystic. This was a showstopper and turned me into a real Chris Smither fan.
There were a lot more shows that were fantastic. I loved hearing Janis Ian do These Boots Are Made For Walking. I loved hearing Richie Havens live. I had no idea he was so dynamic.
I didn't know it at the time but I was being steered towards more traditional music. By the time we had packed up and on the way home I was transformed. I owe so much to Tom for the experience. On the way home I made a decision as to where my next step would be, The Fur Peace Ranch.
bic gives me an altered sense of distance and going to Philadelphia seemed equivalent to going to Afganistan. He explained that since it was the fortieth anniversary there were going to be a lot of folk legends there. As soon as he said Dave Van Ronk I knew I had to go. I had all of Dave's cds and figured this would probably be my last chance. The rest of the list would make it even better, Tom Paxton, Tom Rush, Janis Ian, Nickel Creek, Chris Smither, Utah Phillips, The Tarbox Ramblers, Roy Book Binder, Michael Cooney, Judy Collins, David Bromberg, Arlo Guthrie and more!The ride there was fine since Tom was driving and he only went through two stop signs. I discovered the festival isn't in Philadelphia but in Schwenksville. During the ride down I amused myself by saying Schwenksville over and over. I think it amused me a lot more than Tom.
Once we got to the festival we needed to find a campsite. To enter the camp area you went up a slight incline that opened up into a giant field. There were people and tents everywhere. I wasn't sure if we would find a spot for our small tent but Tom was eagle-eyed and found a great place.
We pitched the tent and brought our supplies up. I decided last minute not to bring my guitar. I have an old Martin 00-16 and wasn't sure about its safety. I shouldn't have worried as they had a special trailer where you could store your instruments.
After we were settled in I wandered around the campsites and saw a wide variety of sites. Some were extremely elaborate and it was obvious that the people who came every years spent a lot of time preparing for it.
During the day there were workshops and small concerts. Workshops were held in a small area called Dulcimer Hollow. The first full day Roy Book Binder was giving a workshop so I went over. Since I didn't have my real guitar I used my Martin Backpacker. It's not much of a guitar but it served it's purpose. Roy taught a group of about forty the basics of Black Dog
Blues. It was great learning the song and as I was only two feet from Roy I caught a few licks that the others missed. The group was having a great time and I took a few pictures of the participants.In many ways I found the festival was what I had always assumed the sixti
es had been like. There was lots of music, lots of beer and even a little marijuana floating around. I wandered around the campsites and found a lot of jamming going on. Unfortunately my backpacker guitar just didn't cut it in a jam session. Everywhere I went I was greeted warmly and handed a cold beer.The music ran into the night and so did the drinking. The guys in the tent next to us drank heavily and sang loudly until the wee hours.
The next day there was a great one hour show with The Tarbox Ramblers and Nickel Creek. I am in awe of Nickel Creek. They are so young and so talented. The weather was perfect and I had a great seat.
I didn't get a picture of The Tarbox Ramblers but they did some old time songs that I loved.
After this show I grabbed Chris Thile and had my picture taken with him. Unfortunately the yahoo that took the picture had never used a digital camera before and handed the camera back with no picture taken. Oh well.
The next day Tom and I were checking out the cds and merchandise for sale. Martin had a special anniversary guitar on display. If I had $10,000 laying around I would have bought it right then and there. While the Martin
representative was telling us about the guitar a man asked about a guitar Martin was reparing for him. The representative told him in a harsh tone that he was busy with us. I looked over and it was Tom Paxton! Tom Paxton, an icon of the folk movement who wrote such folk standards as I Can't Help But Wonder, Ramblin' Boy, Bottle of Wine, and Last Thing on My Mind. It was his and Phil Ochs protest songs that started my love of folk music years ago.We talked for a minute about his music and then he gratiously had his picture taken with both Tom and me.
One day they had a mini-concert with Tom Rush, Utah Phillips and Michael Cooney. I kne
w Tom Rush's music very well but had never heard of Utah Phillip or Cooney. Utah spoke eloquently about labor songs and struggles from the old days and sang some great songs. Michael Cooney did a beautiful song that I'd never heard called Weeping Willow. I love the line, "Sometimes I think you're too good to die, Other times I think you should be buried alive." The main concerts at night were incredible. I found out that Dave Van Ronk was sick so Roy Book Binder took his place and did a full night time set. In order to get great seats at the main show you had to sit in line for at least an hour. Once you did you staked a place and guarded it. While waiting for one show I made friends with a bunch of women from Philly and we drank wine and watched Chocolat on their portable DVD player.
There was a lot of down time in between shows and I spent a lot of it watching the people. I was surprised by the sheer diversity.
One of the best shows was an hour blues show with Roy Book Binder and Chris Smither. Roy explained that Dave Van Ronk was supposed to be there but since he was sick they would just play more. Roy played some great songs including a fine version of St. Pete Blues. I had never seen Chris Smither before and was blown away with his version of Lightnin' Hopkins Jailhouse Blues. Then he did an energetic version of Link of Chain. He capped it off with No More Cane on the Brazos/Mail Order Mystic. This was a showstopper and turned me into a real Chris Smither fan.
There were a lot more shows that were fantastic. I loved hearing Janis Ian do These Boots Are Made For Walking. I loved hearing Richie Havens live. I had no idea he was so dynamic.
I didn't know it at the time but I was being steered towards more traditional music. By the time we had packed up and on the way home I was transformed. I owe so much to Tom for the experience. On the way home I made a decision as to where my next step would be, The Fur Peace Ranch.
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