Valentines to Rapid City

We arrived in Kansas City, Missouri the day before Valentine's Day.  The next morning . . . well
what a nice way to get our first morning in Kansas City underway.  A handmade valentine with a couple of Tootsie Pops were on the kitchen table when we got upstairs from our basement lair.  I have to say right here that I have had a bad cold for awhile now that severely impacted the entire stay in Kansas City.  I had laryngitis for a couple of days.  I was running on cold medication.

We were volunteers for the conference.  For that we were able to attend the conference without fees.  On the other hand we were busy being volunteers when other people were out listening to whatever music they wanted to hear.  We renewed old contacts, and made new contacts, which was good.  We were out of the house fairly early every morning, and we were back at the house late at night.  We were running the entire time.  That is the nature of the Folk Alliance International Conference.

Our friend Elmo

Our host and hostess in KC were Don and Laura who graciously gave us a space in their house for the duration.  We can't thank them enough.  It was warm, or should I say "relatively" warm in KC while we were there.  The trip across Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota was pretty much in the teens and lower in temperature.  We had been spoiled by earlier trips where the weather was mild in February and right up into March and our arrival home.  Right now I've seen weather reports of snow in the PNW, and it is below zero here in Rapid City at night.

It has been awhile since we have had the time to write at all.  We have been driving, driving, driving, or doing the conference.  I think it also has impacted me a great deal to be ill (more than usual).  I guess the last time I posted was on Face book, not a blog, and it was about the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD.  That was the last tourist fun that we had, and it was brief.  It was cold in Mitchell.  The night before we had gone out for just a little while and like Gillette, went running back to our motel room as fast as our little feet would carry us to escape from that deep freeze cold.

The Corn Palace (front on top, side on bottom)

The Corn Palace is, I suppose, just another tourist trap.  It is, however, more interesting to me in that it actually incorporates it's own unique art form into the tourist trap.  Also, it is an art form that has been ongoing in Mitchell since 1892.  Every year the collage art pieces on the building are redone.  There is a local farmer who grows the special colors of corn needed for the collages, and for quite awhile I think it has been the same artist who draws the initial images and supervises their conversion into corn collages and places the murals on the building (both inside and out).   The Corn Palace is a basketball court inside, and there are murals over the basketball court.  The sheer effort involved is admirable.

Original Corn Palace Art

I was amazed to see that they even make political statements sometimes in the art.  The pictures actually cover a wide range of subjects.  Truthfully, I didn't look closely enough at all of them to absorb what they have done through all of the years.

The drive to KC was uplifting as the snow  disappeared,  and at gas stops I didn't feel the need to wear gloves and have myself all buttoned up against the bitter cold as I had been.  When we walked outside our host's house to leave the warmth hit us in the face even though there were dark clouds on the horizon and thunderstorms were forecast.  I almost could believe that we were free of the cold for the rest of our journey, but truthfully, I knew better.

It is cold enough here in Rapid City to take the fun out of any journey outside as the cold hits you hard the moment you step out the door.  It is sunny, however, but that only reinforces the staying power of the icy cold.

Cold Outside

The cold here is so intense that it stretches from here to next November.  It becomes a creature and you are sure that it is stalking you, not out of a desire to feed on you but simply to watch you dry up cold and shrink down into a tiny ball of forgotten flesh.  It is sadistic, or would be if it were indeed a creature.  It is not, and this is only a figment of my imagination.  No doubt though that I feel nice and warm now and intend to continue in this state for awhile.  You can see from looking at the outside doors to the motel rooms that most guests use the inner doors to the motel most often.  Then you look at our door (the closest one) and you see that our reality shifts to a different dimension.

From Mitchell, SD - A short inspiration.  I am one of these people whether I like it or not.  Nonetheless I put this short rhyme in the second person.

You killed all the buffalo
You killed the natives
You killed the native grasses too
Don't be surprised
When old mother nature
Decides to kill killers like you

I guess by now George Custer isn't the icon he once was.  I certainly hope not, but there are plenty of references to him and the Battle of the Little Bighorn in museums, plaques, and roadside signs directing you to the scene of the battle.  Did I mention that when I looked for NPR on the radio that there you can find three to five Christian broadcasters in the vicinity of the radio dial that I usually look for NPR?  Well, no I didn't, but that's the facts folks.  Maybe it's the cold, or memories of the flood of 1972?

On the drive from KC to South Sioux City, NE we had a bit of freezing rain.  We were fortunate in that it was a piddling little rain, more of a mist than a rain.  I understand that sometimes in these parts the rain falls an inch at a time and is more like a waterfall from the sky than rain.  This was a very fine rain.  The kind that sells at auction for millions if you get it just in the right context.  It was only annoying but we had a bad windshield wiper blade.  Just like the rain it wasn't enough to seriously derail our plans, just annoying.  If you didn't run the wiper blades the rain became a collage of ice on the windshield.  You could have Rorschached the thing if you'd been creative enough.  I could have found out about my recurring dream with someone with whom I am acquainted but don't recognize by name in the dream.  I could have found out a lot of things.  I still could.  Maybe.

Here we are in Rapid City, SD.  We've been here a number of times.  It is somewhat irrelevant where we have been because if you really were to look at the situation closely you would realize that in actuality we have been at a Safeway Store in Rapid City, and another grocery store whose name I cannot remember.  We have been in one Air B&B, and one Howard Johnson's, and now we are having the experience of the Econo Lodge in Rapid City, SD.  We went to The Journey Museum today.  A lot of it is for kids, but not too bad.  A lot better than the Spokane museum we went to.

We will play at a couple of institutional places tomorrow.  On Friday we play the Firehouse Wine Cellar.  On Saturday we will be footloose, and fancy free for a few days.  There is bad weather coming according to the weather channel.  I think we can avoid the floods.  I don't think we are going to get around the snow.  We'll try to keep you posted.  Steve N.

PS - One nice thing about today is it is the first day that I've actually been able to act like I'm ill.  I had a nice long nap and now all I have to worry about is being able to sleep tonight.  The Firehouse has these billboards up all along the highway, each one with a vintage fire truck.

In the Journey Museum in Rapid City Steve tickles the chin of a dinosaur.

(from Kristi)

Here we are on our twenty-first day of our tour and we’ve made the turn back in the gradual direction towards home.  We left Kansas City this morning with a farewell token of shared folk music love from our wonderful host Don.  He gave us a copy of a curated collection of 85 songs from the famed folk music magazine, Broadside.  These classics from the past 80 years or more should give us plenty of entertainment in our travels and make the miles of driving fly by.

What a difference a day makes.  We walked from Don’s house to his driveway and were met by a blast of warm air.  Then a couple of hours later a freezing mist kept adhering to our windshield as we drove north and the temperature dropped forty-five degrees.

We settled restfully into the South Sioux City Iowa “Best Family Values Inn”.   I’m tried not to over-think that name.  Hey, it was cheap, quiet, clean and comfortable and I got my dirty clothes laundered. 

But I am trying to think through our experiences at Folk Alliance International.  At this level of the game many of the acts are sent by their management to be seen by what are called “anchor” venues bookers; that is to say bigger theatres pay thousands for acts they expect to be attended by hundreds of fans.  As well there were some house concert hosts who likewise book acts with nationally known names who expect big guarantees.  But in looking at the bios of attending artists, most were unsigned and unknown.  Again this year we were in the company of old friends Jim Page and Rick Ruskin of Seattle.

We found for our own purposes several panels with information and contacts that were helpful.  I went to three.   The first was called “De-colonizing Folk”.  For anyone wondering about the term “colonizing”, it may have been a little puzzling.  The definition was not explained in the panel.  I can explain from my understanding that it refers to any group that for economic reasons takes over another culture and attempts to eradicate or overpower it with an end gains that last for many years.  In this sense it also refers to the long-term damaging economic effects over generations on the oppressed culture.  And it doesn’t necessarily refer to race.  For example, Mexico was re-colonized by Americans after it was colonized by Spaniards.

It’s far from a secret that folk music performances, venues, conferences, and festivals in America have been sorely lacking in attendance and involvement by minorities.  As a result this year Folk Alliance International did an improved job of attempting to remedy the situation by offering three panels addressing this issue.  It also offered the coveted positions of showcases to a greater number of Latino as well as African American acts.  In the panel I attended, the host, Karmina Daoudi, mentioned that this subject is being discussed and addressed increasingly at conferences and meetings she attends while representing the Old Town School of Folk Music.   She remarked that it is multi-leveled and complex.  Her parting words indicated that those who are involved at all levels in folk music need to share the power commonly called “colonial” by thinking creatively about how to put efforts into long-term relationships with minority groups and individuals.  The subject of music appropriation was discussed by the panel.  Guy Davis, a black folk musician, illustrated with a great story from his dad, how he believes it’s fine for white people to play blues music but they should never forget the hardships and pain from which it came.  Julian Zugazagoitia, CEO and Chair of the Nelson Atkins Museum, explained from the perspective of visual art, the legal definition of appropriation as related to their current Picasso exhibition which directly utilizes African art.  He says that the art must be transformative as well as be attributed to its original source from which it is appropriated.  Pablo Sanhueza, a Latino musician, posited the opinion that colonization occurs when cultural representation lacks the necessary depth of immersion, such as when Latin-based groups are led by Euro-centric American bandleaders.   From my perspective, having booked a Tacoma ethnic festival a few years ago, it can be nearly impossible to find ethnic groups led by an individual from the country of origin of the music performed by the band.  So this conversation can lead to no end of argument and controversy.

   

Other panels included this year presented a commendable level of improvement over last year in addressing gender and ethnic issues of empowerment, engagement, oppression, and discrimination.  For example there was a ”Community Gathering Addressing Harrassment and Discrimination” with trained advocates to provide emotional support to people who have suffered gender problems in the music business.    Another panel, called “Diversifying the Approach”, delved into how to reach more diverse audiences with folk music.  And yet another, “Showing Up for Social Justice Training”, was hosted by a local chapter of a group of the same name that offered specific points of training to win a racial justice movement.

Steve and I found the hour devoted to “Meet the Folk DJs” most helpful.  This year it was improved in that each DJ had a table with a folded card identifying him or her.  This meant they were very much easier to access.  Next year hopefully a time limit will be imposed on each act so they won’t be monopolized by bands wanting all their exclusive attention.  The hour ran out before I was able to speak to a number of them due to this problem.  I should have come better prepared with a list of DJ’s who have played our music in the past as my memory is faulty.

Yet another panel we attended was “Exploring Performing Arts Centers”.  The panel included a varied set of administrators of college, large, and small local theatre venues.  One artist and one management booker also sat on the panel, as a means of showing how they were able to get into the roster of booked acts in these coveted stages.  They explained how these decisions are made at their respective and varied levels.  It would appear that even in the cases of publicly supported theatres and venues, attendance is key to decisions so if an act doesn’t have a predetermined draw, administrators can’t justify statistics to sponsors in a year-end summary.  But in some cases, lesser-known acts are hired, depending on policies of outreach as well as how well an act is presented and the size of the theatre.  For example, if an unknown artist can offer an educational school program to go along with the stage act, he may get the job.  Or he may get it because he joins efforts with a better-known artist in his act.  And if he can be inventive in making a personal contact with an administrator, his chances improve dramatically.  One of the panelists said something that stuck with me: “Everyone now knows that the music business is about the curation of personal experience”.  I found that phrase somehow encouraging in that it engages a creative approach to the business of music.  The presenters gave us artists a couple of useful tips for booking ourselves.  One point is that an artist needs to show up repeatedly at booking conferences in order to make and reinforce meaningful contacts with the bookers, which may result in a booking years after the first connection.  Another is that emails are frequently overlooked on Mondays and Fridays.  And in that vein, “pleasant persistence” is a key to getting attention, so don’t be put off by not getting a reply to an initial email.

We were thrilled to see Flaco Jimenez as one of the two biggest featured acts in the folk festival in the grand finale on the main stage of the festival.  His inclusion is an important aspect of the revival and maintenance of Tex-Mex Conjunto, a style of music Steve and I particularly love.  It is by definition as important as any form of North American music in that it evolved regionally, which according to Charles Seeger and John Lomax, puts it squarely into authenticity as true folk music.  I guess that means that sooner or later our very own local grunge music will be categorized as folk as it originated in the Pacific Northwest.  Flaco and his accompanying band Max Baca and Los Texmaniacs, played a couple of Tex-Mex Conjunto classic songs he learned from his father who was a premiere artist and pioneer recorder of this music in the 1930’s.  He also played some of the more contemporary tunes made popular in the recordings of Dwight Yoakum “and Ry Cooder.  He sounded as fired-up and impassioned as ever on his accordion.  He makes me want to play that kind of music every chance I can get.  Steve and I both swooned over his heart-wrenching masterpiece, “Across the Borderline”.

Getting closer to the Black Hills of South Dakota it gets a bit hilly.

We’ve made it to Rapid City, South Dakota now and spring doesn’t appear anywhere around the corner though I guess the days are longer now than when we left home twenty days ago.  Steve drove two hundred miles and then turned the wheel over to me.  I got into the driver’s seat at a rest stop in a snowstorm and drove the remaining three hours through intermittent patches of packed snow and ice though the pavement was mercifully mostly dry and bare. The Missouri River was frozen solid with a blanket of snow over it.  I think I heard a forecast of 17 degrees below zero Fahrenheit for tonight.  It’s currently  minus 11 degrees.  I haven’t experienced this kind of cold since we were in Dawson City, Yukon Territory in 1986, playing music in a lounge for the Yukon Quest Dogsled Race.