Date: January 18th 2009

(You have received this message as you have previously joined or requested to join our mailing list. Information, including unsubscription instructions and our physical mailing address and phone number are located at the bottom of this message) ITINERARY 2009 DILLER OLD TIME MUSIC CLASSES W/ BANJO, SMALL AMOUNT OF FIDDLE & VOCAL This is the approximate itinerary for this year. In the past couple of years I have started having classes that run 4 full days – that is Monday thru Thursday. Students arrive late afternoon on Sunday and leave Friday morning. Here in the past 4 years, since I had the auto accident, the classes have been kept small - from a couple of students up to about four. I tire easily anymore, but all the years of teaching experience is still there. Consequently the student gets more of a one on one instruction. AND the setting is out in the rural highlands of West Virginia where the old music was born and/or nurtured. There was one of my “English” students who made the trip over one year, and his comment was “Just being in these mountains was worth the trip alone”. Over the years, we have provided the board and room as well as the instruction. The student has a small single room in the new building erected a few years back specifically for the purpose of teaching. It has a small kitchen, two bathrooms, and large area for teaching is the layout of the building. One thing to keep in mind: it is not some fancy motel or Swiss chalet, so do not come expecting the ritz. It is plain with good mattresses on the beds and some pictures of the old people I learned the music from on the walls. [QUICK NOTE: until a student gets the basics, s/he will never play the music: IE rhythm.] As you go out the front door you can look at the Monongahela National Forest which starts 40 feet from the back side of my building. That part of the Forest contains tens of thousands of acres, free of “improvement”; just federal forest. The lodge sits at the mouth of two hollows which are pleasant to hike in. There are other back roads which meander through more open countryside. If you should want to know more about this area, go to www.pocahontascountywv.com and they will fix you right up. It is best to bring shoes that are at least 6” high. This land is east of the local Greenbriar River which sometimes has a rattlesnake or copperhead. West of the Greenbriar, there is almost never a poisonous snake. I had an uncle whose answer for most everything, like poisonous snakes east of the Greenbriar river, was, “they probably don’t pay their preacher good enough”. Since I was ordained some 25 years ago, I have wondered about that. We generally take an afternoon to go out to the high ground –IE the Back Allegheny Mountain area. Where we always go is part of the Yew Pine Mountains – to the Highland Scenic Highway that runs across the top of Black Mountain @ about 4500 feet elevation. It is up there at 4000 feet and above that the red spruce, or “yew pine” as the old people called it, grows. At that height, my WVU college professor back in the ‘60s made the statement that the “climate up there is like 400-500 miles into Canada” This was the area where the old folks, one branch of the Hammons’, settled back in about 1860, moving away from the storm clouds which were rising in Kentucky just before that “war”. The land was still a pure wilderness which, except for the danger from Indians, was what Daniel Boone et al encountered when they first went into the “Kentucky” region in the mid-1700s. It was a complete and total wilderness. Old stories which were passed down tell of events which happened during ‘the war’, but for the most part, there were just a few troops coming through that isolated region during the war. Plus after the Civil War, Maggie, Burl and Sherman’s grandfather, Jesse Hammons, said there was a period of “13 YEARS” that “a stranger never darkened my door”. That is a lot of isolation in those Yew Pine Mountains in eastern U.S. by the late 1800s. Sounds more like back in the really isolated areas of the Rocky Mountains. My neighbors, this family of Hammons, were different from even the other “mountain people” in this region. Their threads were connected directly to the mid to late 18th century “frontier”; whereas, these valleys were being settled were “somewhat” civilized/safe by the late 18th century. I mean a complete change from “hunter/gatherer” to “farmer”. The “frontier” was passing it by sometime in the 1770-80s. So the Hammons and their isolation was being carried on until AFTER the turn of the 20th century and the coming of the “timber boom”. I could go on and on expanding on the regional history but will stop. However, most importantly is for the student to try to get a grasp of the context which is absolutely impossible to get anywhere else besides the literal Appalachian Mountains. And only a few places here are left to catch a grisly sense of what might have been. this place is, in its own way, still a harsh land. Outsiders come here and build big fancy homes but they are unable to take the 4 months in winter when they close in. For sure this music cannot be picked up on college campus’ or some flatland setting whether in a city or more rural area. Therefore with my background of living most of my life here where my ancestors lived, teaching the old banjo and the history for 37+ years now to hundreds of students, plus having accommodations for a few students at a time, this is a real opportunity that cannot be found anywhere else. Note, I didn’t imply or say everything was perfect; I would be a fool to make promises about what will happen. However, I can guarantee the student will be challenged; it will be hard work to learn this alien music since it is almost never ever “natural” for a student whether s/he has been working at it for two months, two years, two decades. But the “enjoyment and sense of accomplishment is in the journey, not the arrival”. I personally KNOW from my own experience. For the butterfly, it must fight, beat, pound, clobber before it can take flight. To “REALLY PLAY THE TRUE OLD MOUNTAIN MUSIC, IT TAKES MUCH DISCIPLINE, STRUGGLE, AND LIGHT HEARTEDNESS. NO TAKING YOURSELF SERIOUSLY”. THESE ARE THE DATES I AM PROPOSING; NOTHING IS CAST IN CONTRETE AT THIS TIME EXCEPT MY TRIP TO MICHIGAN. I WILL BE CUTTING BACK ON THE NUMBER OF CLASSES TO ABOUT A TOTAL OF THREE BANJO CLASSES. I WILL PLAN A WEEK IN LATE JUNE? OR MID JULY? AND VERY EARLY AUGUST PLUS ONE INCLUDING THE FIRST OF OCTOBER THAT I HAVE BEEN RUNNING FOR MANY YEARS. NOTE: it is of up most importance for you to have ordered my “JUST RHYTHM” dvd from Elaine at ediller@gmail.com to study deeply. APRIL 9-12: ?Grand Rapids Michigan. This plan just hit the ground the first week of Jan 09. If enough students sign up, we will go forward with the class. I have been traveling to Michigan every year since the late ‘80s except for ‘06. If you are interested, please email and I will give you the email address to contact the person, Pat Harkins, who hosts this class in her home. She can then give the particulars. Since I have to fly up, the sooner there is enough folks signed up, the less expensive my plane ticket will be. The plane ticket last November to England was so expensive that it made the trip touch and go to come out ahead. It’s just the times. So plans have to be made asap. Unlike other outfits, when you come here to Knave Run- Brown's Creek, you will not be charged for linens or towels. And for a small charge they might even be clean. MAY 22-24: FYI “Vandelia Gathering at WVa State Capital in Charleston” every Memorial Day weekend. Free and open to the public w/ lots of music on the grounds as well as concerts inside. I am scheduled to play at the Saturday Night concert inside. The music starts Friday afternoon and runs until Sunday evening. There is also food stands, some right good craftsmen there selling their wares. So the cost is the price of a room unless you 1. have a camper 2. someone to stay with. Tiz a good learning experience; many of the best true old time musicians in the world are still left in WVa. Don’t forget to bring machinery for to make recordings. I have been told they are handy years down the road. Though I have a “tab book” with my name on it and it includes all WVa tunes, many of which are from this region especially the Hammons, I cannot read tab, cannot teach tab, cannot encourage tab except to the person who wants to try to get ahold of a skeleton framework. As far as exact notes in each tune each time, that does not happen with me nor did it happen with the old musicians. They were playing their “heart” and not some dots on a page; thus each time the tune was played, their heart/spirit was in a different “mode”. It just takes a long time to know which is correct groups of notes and which are not part of the tradition. Wilson Douglas said “It takes about 10 years ‘just to start to learn’ about the old music”. And he grew up smack dab in the middle of the tradition. JUNE 19-20-21: FYI WVa State Folk Festival @ Glenville St College, Glenville, WVa. This festival has been on going since the late 1940s and I am told it is the longest running of it’s kind. I don’t know, but I do know for sure, it has had some of the world’s absolute very best Appalachian old time musicians pass through it’s doors. This was a region where the “old music” and culture was kept alive when the old music was being rejected like a ugly mongrel dog most everywhere else. I highly recommend for people to attend. The main folks who really attend are the local people who enjoy the yearly Friday and Saturday night square dance by blocking off part of main street and building a dance platform. Also people turn out for the yearly parade. It’s THEIR festival. Aint no big deal except it has never been artificial. There are music contests but only little ribbons are given out. The concerts have real people with real music. And generally the student dormitory rooms are open for a small fee and bring your own bed clothes and fan. JULY 12-17: Knave Run of Brown’s Creek [my facility which can be seen on my website –www.dwightdiller.com]. This week will be geared more for some of the most important "basic" which is rhythm as well as some tunes. Obviously I am cutting back on the number of classes. I am planning on three classes this year. There are some folks who have assisted me over the years. Perhaps they can make it; i dont know. Class size will depend on how many students want to sign up, and whether my friends who have assisted can attend. But a large class will be 4 or 5 students. BTW, this class could be the week before which includes the 4th of July holiday. It will be set up for people who would be interested in either one of these 2 week time periods. Re: the holiday weekend, students would still arrive late Sunday afternoon. AUGUST 9 - 14: Knave Run on Brown’s Creek. This class is one of a total of three for 2009. Class size will depend on whether any of my friends who have helped so much can make it also. As always over the decades, I zero in "how well a few tunes can be played" and not this feeding into "tune-aholicism that has been running rampant for a long time now". Either the student learns how to handle the banjo and the proper rhythm, lest s/he insult the 'Music', OR it is just a mish-mash travisity. Through much discipline and joy, the student learns to really properly play 25-30 tunes or s/he does not. Tuition, room and board w/ 4 full days of morning and afternoon classes and what ever can be stirred up in the evening. Students arrive late Sunday afternoon and leave just after breakfast Friday morning. The total both weeks is $520 since these two classes will be small so you dont get lost in the rush. Either/Or. And it is not about lots of "technique" or "speed" or "exact proper notes"; it is about "heart/spirit and soul". That is always the goal in my classes. Always has been; always will be for this "old homemade traditional mountain music". It is my heritage which I try to pass along. Not "round peak" heritage or "kentucky" heritage or etc. It is about Central and East Central WVa's Heritage and Culture. It was not born on a sidewalk in the "flatlands". Much to many folks chagrin, this is the heritage i have always tried to share and pass along; this is why i have been so serious about it. SEPTEMBER 4 MORNING: FYI - THOSE WHO WANT TO ATTEND THE STONEWALL JACKSON JUBILEE @ NOON FRIDAY THRU LABOR DAY MONDAY; THE SETTING IS AT THE WVa STATE 4-H CAMP NEAR WESTON, WVa [JUST OFF I-79]: I have been attending this festival since 1977 and been blessed with not having missed a year. There is generally between 100-150 WVa musicians who are in attendance and there are NO CONTESTS AND THE MUSIC RUNS FROM THE AM UNTIL ABOUT 11PM AT NIGHT. There is a large parking area with tractors and covered hay wagons with benches running day and night. Some of the tractors have been “souped up” by the young men driving them, but there is no danger. The large parking area is a great field where a tent can also be pitched or a trailer parked for no extra charge. It is also a brief walk over to the field from the grounds. There is a huge number of “juried craft booths”, glass blowing, quilt contests, photography contests. BBQ chicken or pork meals stands, Civil War reenactments; rendezvous gatherings, etc. I’ll shut up. Its just that I get more out of this than any other music gathering. Clifftop has no old time music compared to this. I dont know of any person/student of mine who attended and did not have a good time. if you plan to go, better get you a motel room right soon; the ones near by fill up right quick. OCTOBER 4-10: 5 DAYS OF CLASS AND 6 NIGHTS SLEEPING: Over the years this was a larger class and was attended by some of the students previously here. However, last October I don’t remember any of my older students being able to make the trip. But the lodge was full if I remember correctly. I have tried to time the class when the leaf color is at it’s peak and have almost always been close to correct. Last fall we had no killing frost by that time so the leaves hung on. Once again, this class will be geared for those who want to attend whatever their level. Contrary to old wives legends, students will not be bodily thrown out of class. This week, being one extra day of instruction, will be $70 more = $599 total. NOVEMBER IN ENGLAND: The trip to England has generally been the first Tuesday after November 1st because of plane ticket rates and that seemed a convenient time for everyone all around. I am still planning to make the trip if possible. It will mostly depend on expenses and whether folks decide to sign up. The economy of course has made many changes in England as well as the U.S. But as fuel prices have gone down, it will be interesting to see if the airlines reduce their rates. If I do come it will possibly be from the 2nd of November until the 16th of November or Tuesday until Tuesday. This will allow for the usual 2 weekend classes. When I travel over to England, I have extra good friends over there just as i do here. There is a bunch of them that have a sense of humor to what we have here in the blue collar group. There is a lot of laughing and joking mixed in with the seriousness. My first year was 1998 and last year was 2008. Because of the auto wreck, I had to miss 2005, so that was a total of 10 teaching trips. Going to England is like going to the Jubilee each year - a peaceful and fun family reunion. DECEMBER 4-6: For quite a few years I have been coming to Pittsburgh to teach a weekend class – Friday evening until Sunday afternoon. Cindy Harris has been hosting the class in her home for many years now. This date is not cast in concrete but has been the first weekend in December. The heavy weather usually has not set in yet. This year there was some, though. Her email address is cah@lonewolf.com when you are ready to contact her. She is right well organized. I am going to get around to that one of these days, I think. Actually I am doing good to get this out before June. Anyone with questions, please feel free to email dillerbanjo@yahoo.com. Sometimes I am available for a phone call but not as regular as email: 304-799-4965 As I said, if you have never been in one of my classes, I highly recommend you purchase my “JUST RHYTHM” dvd and if you can afford it, possibly a cd like “JUST BANJO 99” or “JERICHO ROAD” both of which are my solo banjo recordings. www.morningstarfolkmusic.com or ediller@gmail.com for questions I plan to send out something before long that is more personal. Its about a recent discovery which fit some pieces of my music-history walk – IE my personal influences from years past starting at least 55 years ago. It was a real whiz-bang for me. If you are not interested, just dump the thing for sure. It’s just one native West Virginian’s experience growing up as part of the underclass or blue collar class of the mountains, and having some sort of a professional career in the traditional native mountain music. The threads in people’s lives are generally not readily apparent on the surface. At the moment, there is a brand, spankin new DVD set to be released. When it is on the market, an announcement will be in my newsletter. It is a work that has been several years and probably tears of frustration as well as joy. Bates and Jody Littlehales have put all their decades of work at the National Geographic Society as highly acclaimed wildlife photographer as well as jaunts from under the seas to the mountains for Bates and Jody’s many years of work in layout and publishing. All that is left to do on this release is front cover and text. They have very generously produced my teaching videos/dvds over these past few years. This new dvd has animal life, plant life, bug life, bird life from here in Pendleton and Pocahontas counties, WVa. They own property up around 4000’ elevation, and the county line goes about through their house. Some animals were photographed right out the bedroom window. Some footage was from a few yards down over the hill, but other footage took time, travel, much patience to get what they wanted. However, with the books of birds in all kinds of positions, Bates said “I’m not patient; I’m just curious.” Or something like that. I think I be safe in saying "it is a work of art and you can hold me to that" TAKE NOTE: THIS IS NOT SOME HONKY TOURIST FLAP. It has a continual running theme set in a background of all four seasons in these mountains with flora and fauna in their appropriate setting. They used my solo banjo tunes as a thread to carry everything along. Jody has done an excellent job of putting chapters/tracks and closed captioning can be chosen also. This allows the names of all the birds, animals, bugs, insects, tadpoles, newts, etc to be identified. It is a real honor for me that my music was chosen to be the background music for this, again, “timely work of art”. I’m not one to use superlatives like this, spectacular and brilliant fit in the slot to describe this powerful addition to a world of artificial and imitation. I will notify you when they are ready and rarin to go. Actually, i am going to request some help here. This is going out to some 800 of you. It would really help if you sent word "IF" you would be interested in a copy. It is hard to judge how to order. If only a few of you would be interested, then decisions can go one way, but if a good many of you would be interested, the another route might need be taken. Now if you notify me and then decide "No thanks" later, you will not be held to that. i would not do some trick like that. so i am cousulting with you. as for price? i dont know yet, but i would think for the DVD in the case would be up close to $30. Anyway, i have never seen anything to compare with the footage, with how the tracks are divided up, how it is organized and close captioned, etc, etc. it is so hi-tech that i got confused working with it; but i am a DUD when it comes to complex work such as this. [I dont even own a cell phone.] There are just too many options for me dwight -- The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription: You are subscribed to the following: Yew Pine Mountain Music / Dwight Diller Email Newsletter Using the following email: example@example.com You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by clicking on the following link (URL): DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW UNLESS YOU WANT TO UNSUBSCRIBE http://www.dwightdiller.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi?f=u&l=newsletter&e=example@example.com&p=1234 DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE UNLESS YOU WANT TO UNSUBSCRIBE If the above link (URL) is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address. Some mail readers will wrap a long link (URL) and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism into two lines which may not work. 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