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Flash MountainFormed
in 2003, under the command of Brig. Gen. Eulberg, the Flash Mountain
Dulcimer Brigade mustered at the Walnut Valley Flatpicking Festival
in Winfield, KS.
Mission:
°to raise the level of awareness of the Mountain Dulcimer at the festival
°to gather mountain dulcimer players together and play a couple of tunes, then melt into the crowd
°to have fun!
WE ARE RE-MUSTERING AT THE
2006 WALNUT VALLEY FESTIVAL AT WINFIELD!
Brig General Eulberg's Call to Enlistment:
Soldiers! It is time to re-muster the Flash Mountain Dulcimer Brigade at Winfield (Sept 14-16).
The Mission:
To
help bring the MD to greater awareness at the festival in 2003
I (supported by my trusty Lieutenants JimJim & the FatBoys)
began posting diverse locales throughout the festival at fairly
random times and publish them to Mountain Dulcimer Players who
wish to enlist for the tour.
The Strategy:
We
show up at the agreed-upon time, at the posted location and play
2-3 tunes and then disappear into the crowds. We have had
a delightful time introducing people to the instrument and its
beauty, helping others remember an instrument they forgot, amazing
passers-by who have never seen musicians jamming --and without
paper! We've also celebrated the 2 mountain dulcimer vendors
at the festival by playing at their booths (Cripple Creek and
The Dulcimer Shoppe), we've played
music for the people in the long shower line, for the workers
at the distant entry booths who never get to hear the live music,
and for children and grandparents.
The Call:
If you wish to enlist for this year's tour (and earn a service pin) contact me off-list (steve@owlmntnmusic.com), --or check the schedule and just show up.
The Manuevers Schedule may be found here: 2006 Flash Mountain Dulcimer Manuevers
Hope
to see many of you there!
Brig. General Eulberg
Some tunes that might be chosen include:
1. Spotted Pony DAA
Spotted Pony DAd
2. Barlow Knife DAA
Barlow Knife DAd
3. Rakes of Mallow DAA
Rakes of Mallow DAd
4. Gray Cat on a Tennessee
Farm DAA
Gray Cat on a Tennessee Farm DAd
Several
additional tunes from which we might choose will be posted on
my website:
www.owlmntnmusic.com/dulcimertablature.htm
with more being added daily.
OTHER 2005 WINFIELD NEWS!
1. JimJim & the FatBoys will again be hosting
the 7th Annual 2nd Set Concert and Jam on Friday evening
at 8 pm in their camp in the Pecan Grove. Photos from
the 5th Annual (2003) are posted at: www.owlmntnmusic.com/2ndsetconcert.htm
2. Adie Grey, Mountain Dulcimer player & singer
from Nashville, will be a featured performer with several sets
throughout the festival, as well as offering a Pre-Festival Workshop
on Wednesday. Together, we'll offer a workshop on Stage
3 at 4:15 pm Thursday afternoon. (Please
note Stage change!)
3. Steve Eulberg will play a set on Stage 3 on Sunday
Morning (9 am!) so if you've been jamming all night--stay
up! Or just get up early and come by for some nice morning
music.
More information is available at: www.wvfest.com
2003 REPORT:
Brigadier General Eulberg reporting here on:
Flash Mountain Dulcimer Brigade at Winfield
The inaugural appearance of the Flash Mountain Dulcimer Brigade throughout the grounds of the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield last week generated a lot of enthusiasm and just plain fun!
We made 10 appearances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with between 6 and 19 brigadiers (aka Mountain Dulcimer Players) joining us each time. I want heartily to commend all enlistees for their joy, eagerness, tunes energy and music!
Bud Ford, of Cripple Creek Dulcimers, had made and provided special laser-cut insignia pins and our numbers were so numerous that we ran out on the morning of the second day! He thought 35 would be enough, but one can never underestimate the drive and interest among dulcimer players! (As he mentioned on the list, if you were a late enlistee, contact him with your address and he'll send you one.)
At our first appearance, Jim Woods, of McSpadden/Dulcimer Shoppe fame, grabbed one of their dulcimers off the wall and joined right in.
Some of the biggest excitement was generated in the Vendor's areas when we played "Cripple Creek" at their shop and after some jamming, we moved to McSpadden's shop and played "Arkansas Traveler" to kick off that "set."
The two gents working the east railroad re-entry booth on a vvvveeerrrryyy chilly Thursday afternoon appreciated hearing the music (they are usually left out of the music, being so far away from the stages), then one asked, "what are those things?" In each location, dulcimer players met and greeted each other and we drew crowds of interested and appreciative observers whenever we played.
In the misinterpretation department: Somebody wanted to know when we were going to protest the Funnel Cake Stand. (We laughed and wondered aloud about seeking only "free-range organic funnel cakes" from now on!)
For any Brigadiers, one of my buddies conspired with Prestige Monogram to create classy-looking Mountain Dulcimer Brigade Hats. I've got a couple of extra if you are interested...but the office will need to see your service pin, of course! (You know me, everything by the book!) Contact the Quartermaster (me) off-list and we'll get you equipped.
If anyone has any photos from the appearances, please email me a copy for the official webpage!
Until next year!
Brig. Gen. Steven B. Eulberg
Flash Mountain Dulcimer Brigade
(For those who might like to organize a similar Brigade at your music festival, I posted pre-printed signs with the schedule and pre-printed postcards with the schedule to hand out at each appearance.)
Comments from enlisted Brigadiers:
Great job Steve! The dulcimer
brigade certainly made themselves felt among
at Walnut Valley. We made 35 pins and the supply ran out so the
turn out
was excellent. Anyone that didn't get a Winfield Brigade pin drop
us a
line and we will send one out to you. No charge as this is a thank
you for
helping promote the dulcimer. Again kudos to Steve Eulberg for
being a
rabble rouser and agitator.
Bud and Donna Ford, Quartermasters
Cripple Creek Dulcimers
==================
From: "Dulcimer Shoppe"
Subject: RE: Winfield Dulcimer Brigade
I second the motion. This was
a lot of work by Steve but it also got lots
of people involved and attracted plenty of attention. Thanks.
Jim Woods
===================
I had *way* too much fun at my first Winfield. The music was great,
the
workshops on Wednesday were wonderful, the camping was fun, as
was wandering
around the campgrounds each evening (more of that next time) and
playing (or
attempting to keep up, at least) with the Flash Mountain Dulcimer
Brigade
was a blast -- Thanks especially to Steve Eulberg!
Steven Bennett
============
Hey Steve,
Thanks for leading the brigade that was great. Hope some noticed.
Appreciate you taking your time to do this, it was fun. Hated
missing Sat.
Linda Brockinton
==============
Thanks for the effort to bring
all the mountain dulcmer players together at Winfield this year
and for the dulcimer brigade pin. It was fun to be a part of this
effort.
Brenda Ramsey
to 7th Annual Second Set Concert
Back to Brig. Gen. Eulberg's Daily Routine (See bottom of page)