Articles and Features
Max Schwartz on bass
Emilee Morrison singing Crawdad Song
KIDS ON BLUEGRASS
FATHERS DAY FESTIVAL 2007
I think it was Forrest Gump’s mama that said “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get!” Well, I think that says a lot about the Kids on Bluegrass too, because every year it’s a guessing game about who will be returning, who will take the weekend off and who we might meet for the first time, who’s playing a second or third instrument and who’s now started to sing! Most years the majority of the Kids on Bluegrass are kids who have been with us for many years with always a sprinkling of new kids but this year was different. This year, the vast majority of kids turned out to be new to the KOB and many came from outside California. It’s a wonderful thing to see so many new kids join the Kids on Bluegrass but it’s really hard to say goodbye when they turn 18. Such was the case this year when our dear sweet Angelica Grim performed as a “Kid on Bluegrass” for the last time. For the last twelve years, Angelica has performed and delighted audiences and has literally grown up with Frank Solivan’s Kids on Bluegrass Program and the bond between these two people is clearly seen and felt especially when they performed together last year and this year.
We arrived on Wednesday and had barely a day to get ready for the first rehearsal that took place on Thursday morning. Normally Frank Solivan always sets his camp up inside the taped off area that is known as the Kids on Bluegrass rehearsal area and everyone knows just exactly where to find him, but this year (“life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get!”) Frank is no longer in the back of his truck or a tent, he now has a trailer and can no longer be in the tent area so he camps on the other side of the ditch and NO ONE can find him! So off I go to the front gate and to the CBA Headquarters trailer to leave maps to his camp so that the kids could check in with him to audition.
As 10:00 AM draws near on Thursday morning, I slip under the yellow tape to see that Frank, Mike Schwartz and Jennifer Kitchen, Frank’s two new additions to the staff, are already gathered with about 6 kids eager to get started. Jennifer and Mike have worked with Frank many times before at a Kids Music Camp in Cordova, Alaska. Steve Elliott and Harold Rogers work at setting up a tarp for shade and I sit at the table and get ready to take down the names of each of the kids that will be part of the Kids on Bluegrass. Betty LeBlanc, also new to the KOB staff sits patiently waiting for instructions. Just a small group has shown up by this time most of them, like Marty Varner and Nate & Max Schwartz, are kids that have been with us before. But there are three new kids waiting quietly to the side and Frank calls them near. He asks them what song they can play and when they reply “The Crawdad Song” Frank asks them to play it for him. This is one of those “box of chocolate” things again because once they start singing we are treated to the most delightful renditions of “Crawdad Song” that I think any of us has ever seen! Houstin Morrison-13-banjo & vocals, Garrett Morrison-11-fiddle, and their little sister Emilee Morrison-8-homemade gut bass & vocals, begin to sing with Houstin and Emilee doing the call and response vocals. Within seconds these kids have us completely eating out of their hand as we watch and listen to Houstin’s calls and Emilee’s priceless responses. Her “sing it brother” and “yahoo’s” and her “I don’t know’s” and her duck sounds are all done with the most wonderfully expressive physical and facial movements, clearly she loves to sing with her brothers. Houstin has a great lead voice and Emilee just really plays it up and we, the staff, can’t wipe the grins off our faces or stop the giggles. These kids are just priceless! For a science project, Houstin took a tub, made a long wooden neck and front for the tub, sanded the wood and added the strings. This was the “bass” that Emilee played adding another dimension to this great act. On Friday, at performance time, Garrett, Houstin and Emily just grab the audience up and put ‘em in their pockets!
I was so happy to see Kenny Ludlow-16 who for the past several years has been our faithful and great bass player but who gets very little mention. Last year and this year, Kenny and her family have divided their weekend up into two separate places with the first two days at Grass Valley. When Kenny walked into the rehearsal area on Thursday, she told Frank that she would not be participating in the KOB because her family would be leaving early Saturday morning and she didn’t think it would be fair to the other kids for her to leave right in the middle. She told Frank though, that she would like to help with the kids this year and asked if there was anything she could do. As disappointed as we were that she was not going to play, we were delighted that she would still be a part of the Kids on Bluegrass, and was a great help with the very young and inexperienced kids. By the end of Thursday, however, we found that we were without a bass player and Kenny offered to step in and play bass for the rest of the rehearsals and then the Friday performance. Another one of those “box of chocolate” things here. Each year we work with these kids for just a few days a few times a year and although we see them grow and watch their personalities bloom and we connect with each other in the KOB venue it’s always an amazing moment when you cross over from just working with these kids to really making a connection on a more personal basis. Working with Kenny this weekend with her working as part of the “staff” we really talked a little more and to me, we seemed to meet on a new basis. During that time I had told her about a jam in Castro Valley and she said she doesn’t get enough bluegrass jamming so we made plans to get together during this next year. By the time she rolled out on Saturday morning, I had already begun to feel the crossover from KOB student to friend. As Kenny rolled out of the camp area she almost climbed out of her car window hollering “Bye, Sharon, see you soon. Call me for those jams, See you next year too. Bye!!! Later, Frank too, would mention what a great girl Kenny has always been and that she was a real help.
As Frank listened to Marty and then Nate and Max Schwartz play a few songs that they might want to do for the show, I looked over to the road and watched in amazement as this long line of kids with parents in tow, walked towards the rehearsal area. I hardly recognized any of them! Suddenly we were surrounded with kids and as Frank listened to their auditions he began to separate them into different groups and I scrambled to get everyone’s names and addresses and other info. The kids that sang went to Jennifer and the kids that mostly were instrumentalists went to Mike. Then there were the kids that were in the more beginning area that went to Kenny and Jessica Evans, mother of one of our littlest fiddle players. Jessica offered to help with these little ones and she and Kenny were able to guide this group into some songs.
The process of finding out what songs might be in the show begins with Frank or his music directors, in this case Mike and Jennifer, asking each of the kids what songs they know. Then Frank will ask how many kids know each of these songs and we begin to filter out songs that only one child can do. The music directors will then go to different area and work with the separate groups until they have a list to work with. By Thursday afternoon we have the list and then the real work begins! All year these kids practice many songs but they practice the songs generally solo, so when they get the KOB rehearsal Frank and his staff will figure out who can play as a backup band for each of these kids. Sometimes it’s really a juggling act of moving kids in and out and we have just 1 ½ days to put this show together, with 35 or more kids. When you really stop to think about it, every group of professional performers that perform on the Fathers Day Stage has worked all year and for many years to put their 50 minute set together. With the Kids on Bluegrass, Frank and his staff take all the individual acts that these kids bring us, whittle the possibilities down to approximately 13 to 15 songs that we will stick with and then create different bands for backup and put an entire show together in just 1 ½ days! And then, on Saturday morning, shift the whole thing around, take some songs out and put some new kids and songs in within one more rehearsal! It is an amazing feat that I really wish more people could watch. Aside from the staff’s skill and Franks’ incredible intuition (you can literally watch the wheels turning in Franks head) it is the skill, knowledge and professionalism that so many of our Kids on Bluegrass have from past years of taking part in this program, as well as performing on their own throughout the year, so that they too become part of this wheel and they now intuitively know what works, when to fill in, when to step back and how to help each other. If you watch closely you will see Marty take the guiding lead to make sure that each kid gets his or her break during someone else’s performance and although most of these kids don’t miss a beat, when someone does, many of these kids are so professional that they can just jump in and “wing it” and they may be only 9 or 10 or 11 years old!
By late Thursday we had our set list. During the day little Dana Frankel-7 ½ - fiddle, came up to me a few times and said “Sharon, am I going to play any songs?” Last year she had wanted to play “Cherokee Shuffle” but there simply were no kids that played the song so she ended up playing a couple songs with Veronica Varner. This year once again she wanted to play “Cherokee Shuffle” and we had the same problem so Frank asked her what else she had learned during the year. At only 7 ½ years old, kids that age don’t learn bunches of songs during the year so she told us she had learned to play “Cuckoos Nest”. Once again, no one new this song. As Frank studied the set list thinking about what to do, he finally stood up looking around for Dana, pointed at her and said “Dana’s opening the show with “Cuckoos Nest”! She’s going to open the show as a solo act, no one else on stage.” Dana, now a veteran of the Kids on Bluegrass, did open the show standing out there all be herself, playing her “Cuckoos Nest” with a confidence that belies her age, and not only did she introduce herself, when she was done she remembered to say thank you to her audience and bowed! You did good, Dana! You did good!
Interestingly, out of the 37 kids that took part in the KOB this year, 23 of them were new, 9 of which came from Utah, Idaho and Montana!
Four of these new kids were David Thiessen-12-mandolin and his brother Marshall Theissen-12-banjo, Adrian Shader-12-fiddle and Jesse Fichman-12-guitar. All four of them sing too! I first met Jesse and his mother Karen when they came to our house with Ed Neff to borrow a guitar for Jesse from the Darrell Johnston Kids Instrument Lending Library. I told Karen about the Kids on Bluegrass program and said I hoped she would come to the Fathers Day Festival. Although she didn’t have plans to go at that time, it turned out that not only did she and her son make it, they also brought three of Jesse’s friends and they just so happen to all play music together. And they are good! Not just on their instruments, but they also sing 4-part harmony very well! Marshalls banjo was giving him some trouble so for the weekend we loaned him a banjo from the D.J. Kids Instrument Lending Library. On stage these four boys did a magnificent job singing and playing “Going Back to Old Kentucky”.
Every year there are certain kids that like to play really fast songs and no doubt you already know that one of those kids is our indomitable Marty Varner-11-mandolin & guitar! Well, this year Max-9-guitar-bass & his brother Nate Schwartz-12-mandolin, seem to be able to keep right up with Marty and they tell Frank that they want to do Bluegrass Stomp. Sam Olsen-13-banjo and Katalyn Jenkins-13-fiddle also take the leads in this fast rollicking song. Each one of these kids give each other a run for their money and the rest of the kids on stage keep right up. Some of the new kids that are playing backup are Christian Schafffer-9-banjo, Joshua Martin-11-guitar, Chance Olsen-10-fiddle, Hannah Goe-10-fiddle, Cales Dostal 13-banjo, Emily Miller 11-fiddle (Emily has been with us once before I believe), Frank Schmek-10-fiddle and many of these kids take great breaks on many of the songs throughout the show. Another one of those “little bits of chocolate here” is that Max usually plays guitar. Just two months before the Fathers Day Weekend Max’s dad called me and asked if we had a banjo that Max could borrow from the Lending Library. We did and within a week Max was playing a few songs. So I really thought he might bring the banjo to Grass Valley. But when we got to camp we saw Max, across the road, with his brother and Sam & Chance Olsen from Boise playing together, but now Max was playing a bass! I believe he had just started playing the bass while at music camp that weekend. So here he was now playing the bass on Bluegrass Stomp with the biggest smile on his face and when he took a bass break the audience loved it! These kids are just amazing and you just never know what you’re going to get! On Saturday, Marty Varner, Nate and Max Schwartz put their own special speed and magic into “Rawhide” and just bedazzled the crowd.
Savanna Agardy-11-banjo & vocals has been part of the Kids on Bluegrass now for three years and this year she sang and played a song called “Catfish John”. It’s a great song that I haven’t gotten out of my head since we got home! Savanna is a wonderful little banjo player and has just started taking fiddle lessons to. Just a few weeks before the festival, I had a conversation with Christy Anderson who told me that the Anderson kids had a song they wanted to do but that it needed a banjo. I suggested that she talk with Savanna’s dad to see if Savanna could learn the song in a week or two so that the Anderson’s could have the banjo backup they needed. They sent Savanna the music and then they got together after music camp to practice a few times and by performance Savanna was able to play with the Andersons!
Bethany McHenry-15-guitar played and sang “Just a Little Walk with Thee” and “Where the Corn Don’t Grow”. Bethany’s voice just keeps getting stronger. I love listening to her remembering how timid she was when she first started. There’s nothing more beautiful than watching a flower bloom. Bethany is strong and confident on her guitar and she is always so professional on stage stepping back to make sure that the others get their breaks. Bethany is the lead in a youth band called “The Biggest Little Bluegrass Band” and they will be performing in Virginia City Festival and Bowers Mansion Bluegrass Festival this year.
During rehearsal, Max-9-guitar & vocals and Nate Schwartz 12-mandolin & vocals told Frank that they wanted to do two songs. The first song “Day to Day” was a song that Frank Solivan II did on his first CD called Selfish Tears so naturally Frank was real proud and happy that these boys wanted to do his son’s song. It’s amazing how fast some kids come along for it was just two years ago that these two first came to the Kids on Bluegrass and were mainly in the background but now they have jumped to the forefront with both singing harmony and leads and fast action so reminiscent of Marty! Their second song, “In the Pines” brought these two into that high lonesome sound that seems to often come from brothers. Last year, it seemed to be Max who took the leads but this year it was Nate.
Connor Patrick-16- banjo & vocals joined us a little late on Thursday but it didn’t take him long to fit right in. Connor comes from Santa Barbara and this was his first time with the Kids on Bluegrass, in fact, I think this was his first time at the Fathers Day Festival. Connor plays a great banjo and within minutes it seemed that he was just rolling along with the rest of the group. When Frank asked what songs he had, he was ready with “Wagon Wheel” and “Love Please Come Home”. It’s really fun to see just how these kids, who have only just met, are suddenly playing together like they’ve been playing together for a long time. Suddenly Max, Nate, Marty, Savanna, A.J. and so many were just ripping it up with Connor. Connor does a great job singing on these songs too. In rehearsal, we are working so fast that I don’t always see how something begins, but as I looked up during his song “Love Please Come Home” I suddenly saw Courtney Christensen-11-mandolin & vocals, singing along with Connor. Courtney from Montana and Connor from Santa Barbara, one tall, one small, having met only moments ago and here they are singing together! On stage they were perfect!
Taylor Cogdill-12-vocals took part in the Kids on Bluegrass for the first time also. She wanted to sing “Blueridge Cabin Home”. Jennifer Kitchens job was working with the singers so she paired Holly McClean-16-fiddle & vocals, up with Taylor and together they did a beautiful job with Taylor singing a strong lead and Holly harmonizing and playing her fiddle with the rest of the group on backup. Holly has been with the Kids on Bluegrass a number of times, although not every year and we were glad to have her back again.
Rehearsal takes a long time and it gets hot. All day we move our chairs and the rehearsal areas around to keep out of the sun. As we do our final rehearsal on Friday, the kids are bunched together in one corner trying to pretend they are back stage. Frank tells them they have to be quiet and shows them from which direction they enter and exit the stage. As they gather on the “stage” they keep creeping forward and slightly sideways until finally Steven runs to get a music stand minus the music holder at the top and puts it in front of the kids and then suddenly they begin to work as if they are really on stage. Now, we begin to really see what Fridays show will be.
Friday afternoon and it’s 4:00 PM. The Kids on Bluegrass tee shirts are handed out, some last minute instructions and then it’s the Kids on Bluegrass Stroll through the campground to the stage with Frank in the lead. We line the kids up outside of the back of the stage in the order that they will go on and we wait for Rhonda Vincent to finish her set. Within minutes Rhonda comes down the back steps and sees all the kids that she has joined on stage in previous years and when she see’s Dana Frankel she stops to give her a hug. As we walk quietly up the steps it’s a struggle to get all the kids in and then keep so many little ones not only quiet but still. As Frank introduces his Kids on Bluegrass Dana walks to the front of the stage and starts the show. Jennifer Kitchen, Mike Schwartz and I stay with the kids backstage. It doesn’t take long to hear the cheers, screams and applause as each of the kids sing and play their songs. I try to peek out to see the reactions of our audience to see the expressions on their faces and find joy! While standing back stage, waiting for the finale, I stand with Jennifer Kitchen and there is a sudden glee between us as we grow close to the end of the show. The culmination of all the work between Frank, his staff and these incredible kids just gives us a shiver of joy and satisfaction. There is a young girl by the name of Courtney Christensen 11, from Montana. While waiting for her and her sister, brother and friend to go on stage to sing the final song, Courtney and I dance behind the curtain to A.J.’s songs, all the pent up energy held in check, now just draining away.
A.J. Lee steps up to the mic and the audience goes wild! I can hear people from the audience calling her name, something that also happens a great deal to Marty Varner. For years the audience has watched these kids from the ages of 4, 5 or 6 and seen them grow similar to the way they watched Angelica through the years. A.J., at only 9, has one of the most powerfully stunning voices that just isn’t childlike at all! A.J. plays mandolin, fiddle, guitar, bluegrass banjo and clawhammer banjo. The mandolin she plays now is a mandolin donated to the D.J. Kids Instrument Lending Library by Harwood Mandolins, a real step up from her previous mandolin. As A.J. steps up to the mic, the audience quiets in anticipation of this small child with the big voice and she doesn’t let them down. A.J. sings “What Love Can’t Do” and “When Someone Wants to Leave”. Angelica who has only taken part in the background this year sings harmony to A.J. and Max, Nate, Marty and others back her up. A.J.’s voice never ceases to stir you deep within.
The Grand Finale is here and all the children walk on stage. Brandy Linde-13-vocals, Courtney Christensen-11-mandolin-vocals, Tanner Christensen-8 guitar-vocals and Tori Christensen-10-guitar-vocals are with the Kids on Bluegrass for the first time. All four kids are from Montana and lead the entire group in a rousing “Rocky Top”. These kids have great energy and no doubt got a special thrill when Rhonda Vincent, Wayne Taylor and Jere Cherryholmes walked on stage and right up behind them to sing this finale with them and the rest of the Kids on Bluegrass. A treat, bringing one or more of the headliners, that Frank Solivan always tries to do for the kids.
Only one more show to go and one more rehearsal on Saturday morning. That night, after the show, young Veronica Varner had come to me and told me that on Thursday night, after Rhonda Vincent’s show, Rhonda had invited everyone to join her to jam as she has so many times before. While at the jam, young Veronica-8 told Rhonda that she sings one of her songs, “All American Bluegrass Girl”. Rhonda asked Veronica to sing it for her and was so touched. Veronica told her that she was going to sing it on Saturday in the Kids on Bluegrass show. Later, after returning home from the festival, I went to Rhonda’s web site and on her message board she talked about the little California girl that had sung her song to her and what it meant to her.
Saturday we gathered for rehearsal for the Saturday show. Much of the show would be the same although there were some kids that did not participate in the Saturday show and some new kids that hadn’t been in the Friday show.
Veronica Varner-8-fiddle & vocals starts the Saturday show with Rhonda Vincent’s “All American Bluegrass Girl”. When we all first heard Veronica do this song in rehearsal all we could do was smile. Veronica has this big, rich, low voice that just makes you chuckle and shake your head. Her brother Marty-11-guitar-mandolin plays backup for her and it’s always fun to watch him when she is singing as he gets this look on his face that shows concern and brotherly guidance that is really neat to see. For her part, she is not playing her fiddle on this song. The first phrase of this song is a’ccapella and every time Veronica sang this song she just simply started with no one giving her the note to start on and everytime she did this she got it absolutely right. Just picked the note out of the air! When it came to the performance, I was standing behind the curtain with her and Marty and I suggested to Marty that he play her first note for her before she goes on stage, “Just in case” I said. Marty replied, “She doesn’t need it, it’s in her head.” And it was, she just nailed it!
Katalyn Jankins-13-fiddle & vocals was also with the Kids on Bluegrass for the first time. She came here from Utah and although she was with us on Thursday and Friday she had mainly played backup for the Friday show. On Saturday she came forward with a song called “Marry Me” in which she not only played her fiddle but also sang. Katalyn is a wonderful fiddle player but it was absolutely great to hear her sing. She has a beautiful, full voice. She also plays mandolin and guitar. She really added a lot to our group and ended up meeting Savanna, who also comes from Utah, and they had a great time singing together!
The Anderson kids were only able to join us for the Saturday show but boy did they give us a treat! They do a LOT of performing as a family band with their parents and have become a very polished, professional group. Paige-13-guitar & vocals, Aimee 11-fiddle & vocals, Ethan-8-mandolin & vocals, and Daisy-6-vocals-sometimes fiddle, have the most amazing family harmony! Paige’s voice has this great old time sound and her guitar picking is unbelievable! In this past year I have listened to her voice begin to mature and change from that little girl sound to a rich beautiful voice. During the show, I ran down a few times to see bits and pieces of the show. I did this during the Andersons songs and I stood between Jason Carter of the Del McCoury band and Mark Anderson the bass player for Monroe Crossing. During an instrumental part of the song when Paige was playing the guitar, Mark looked at Jason and Jason said “Do you see that girl pick? That’s astounding!” Moments later, when the kids were singing their four part harmony on “Green Pastures” Mark and Jason just looked at each other and just shook their heads in disbelief.
Aimee’s voice has developed into another beautiful full rich voice and although she usually sings harmony to Paige it too can stand alone as a solo voice and these girls do switch back and forth from lead to harmony at times. Her fiddle playing has become very adventurous and she seems to have this almost wild abandon feel to it playing strong and vibrantly! Ethan’s voice has changed a lot this year too developing a deeper more mature tone to it and his mandolin playing is growing right along with his sisters. Little Daisy can just charm the daylights out of you . Listening to these kids sing, you never hear a sour note, always just exactly right on. They sang “Fox on the Run” and “Green Pastures” the latter giving us goose bumps it was so stirring! Right after the show, I was standing with Daisy Anderson when Del McCoury walked through the fenced area that leads to the back stage area. Daisy said “Sharon, Del McCoury is my hero!” I looked at Daisy, then at Del then grabbed Daisy’s hand and said “Come on, Daisy, kids, come with me!” The four Anderson kids and I walked up to Del and I said, “Mr. McCoury, This is Daisy Anderson and you are her hero. These four kids sing a song of yours called “Sinner Man” and they have been wishing for a chance to sing it for you. Is there any way that you might have time to listen to them?” Well, Mr. McCoury said that he would be happy to but could they come back after his dinner? So later that evening, after his show, the Anderson kids with mom and dad in tow, myself, Steven, Tom Tworek and Ron Cotnam walked into the tent and the kids sang “Sinner Man” to Del McCoury! Others gathered around. At first it was Del listening to them alone. Within moments other members of the band came out to listen too! A dream came true that night for these kids.
Sadly, this was the last Kids on Bluegrass show for our beloved Angelica Grim for within just a couple weeks of the Fathers Day Festival she would turn 18, the final age to be eligible for the Kids on Bluegrass. I remember when I first saw Angelica. It was our first time at the Grass Valley festival and I knew nothing about the freedom of just roaming about singing and playing. We were absolutely new to bluegrass. As we walked around the campground late into the night with our 9 year old grandson firmly in tow, we kept seeing this young girl, also 9 at the time, in various camps just singing her lungs out with all these people around her playing. Camp after camp she went seemingly with no adult with her just singing all night long. We were amazed! Each year we watched her grow and then, when I started working with Frank Solivan, we were able to begin to get to know Angelica. As she matured, and blossomed she was a HUGE part of the Kids on Bluegrass. When we went to the I.B.M.A. as part of the CBA team I watched Angelica as she socialized with everyone, whether old or young famous or not, meeting and greeting and always being so gracious but absolutely natural and singing with everyone. What a wonderful Teen Ambassador she was then to the CBA and still is today. Her charm comes from not only her wonderful voice but the natural excitement she exudes on stage and off and the love she has for those around her. Let her sing and she’ll fill your soul. On this weekend, she had many other duties such as helping with the Teen event and announcer duties so it was not until the Saturday show that she really took part. In the beginning she had asked Frank to give her a few minutes at the end of Saturday’s show which he agreed to give her. She didn’t tell him why. But by the time the show grew near she did tell him. At the end of Saturdays show, Angelica Grim took the stage for the last time as a Kid on Bluegrass. Her future looks bright and during the past year she has participated in lending her voice to several CD’s such as the Dorfel Families newest CD and Frank Solivan II has taken her under his wing to produce her first CD. On this day she took the stage with Frank Solivan Sr, Frank Solivan II, Patrick J. White of Country Current, Alan Bartram of the Del McCoury Band and sang a song that she wrote.
I’ll always remember her on that final Kids on Bluegrass performance singing the words to her song with the two Franks that have meant so much to her all through these years and with her California Bluegrass family that loves her so in the audience.
The song starts with “There’s a dream you just keep chasin” and the chorus starts with “Just keep holdin’ on to your dreams” and the song ends with “Just look for me and I’ll be there for you”. Well, Angelica, You keep chasin’ your dream, and just keep holding on to your dreams and we’ll look for you and we’ll be there for you.
Yes, Life is like a box of chocolates and you never know what you’re gonna get. On this weekend our box of chocolates was filled to the brim with the best kids on earth, our Kids on Bluegrass!
Written by,
Sharon Elliott