Dispatches from the Road: Fleetwood, PA

Not sure what to expect but putting our faith in our Philadelphia friends, we  headed North to Pennsylvania for the second time this month–four of us, two cars, aimed toward a festival in the woods. An easy trip– we made it there in five hours with a short stop for some road food and washing up. Antonia and I listened to the latest Phosphorescent record which made me want a motorcycle.

Joshua and Me–eats off US 29.

Before we knew it we were driving down a dirt road just off Memorial Highway. Raph guided us to  some primo parking close to the host’s house–the homebase of the main event. The host’s name was Skrappy and he had a sweet spread, a beautiful old house, friendly dogs and a custom recording studio in his basement.

The first order of business was to hug Raph, unload our instruments and pitch our tents in the woods. Antonia and I chose a patch of land far enough from the stage so that late night jams wouldn’t keep us awake, but close enough to the road so that a trek through uncharted woods at night wasn’t necessary. I have a profound fear of poison ivy.

Beach Wolf

To everyone’s surprise, Josh’s tent ended up being a beach cabana made for shade from the summer sun. Despite protestations,  he chose to go it alone–brave the mid-October weather in his cabana rather than bedding down with other members of the band–a  lone wolf, to be sure, though Antonia attacked him later that evening with a hug (see photos below).

We were able to fit in a practice on Skrappy’s front porch before the first scheduled band got on stage. While we leisurely played through out set we met a new groupie: Missoula–a canine sweetheart. Missoula made me want a dog.

The festival was an inspiration of organization: stage, tent, omni mic, all-night barbecue,  all-night bonfire, merch table/information center, a stage manager who kept the sets a good length and made changeovers as smooth as possible. All the while Raph went from spot to spot making sure everything was going smooth, straightening mics, directing firewood deliveries, and somehow, at the same time, managing to make everyone feel happy and welcome. The dogs did a good job of that too.

Antonia not sharing with Chris Kasper’s dog

All of the bands were top notch, some of which we played with a couple of weeks ago at the Fermentation Festival. Michigan guests definitely made an impression on us: Chris Bathgate and Small Houses. In true Philadelphia style, updates on the Phillies game were announced in between each set.

The Walking Tour on stage

It was great to see our friends: Raph, Kiley, Chris Kasper, Maureen and Phil (who recently got married). One great moment of the evening was when Raph, ” Hezekiah Jones,” got on stage with Wissahickon Chicken Shack and performed “Albert Hash.” It made me want to perform with Wissahickon Chicken Shack.

Our set went over well, and along with the other early fest blazers, we were invited back on stage later in the evening. Our second set was between Skrappy’s band The Manatawny Creek Ramblers and the star of the evening: Johnny Miles, whose song, “Rise & Fall,” the fest was named after, and whose album, “When Saints Sleep,” just came out.
Luckily we were able to practice for a second set in Scrappy’s basement.

Basement Prep

Although we turned in before the night was over, we could hear Johnny’s set from our tents (in a good way), and it was fantastic.
We woke at 7:30 in the morning, had some french press coffee at the cars (courtesy of Chris), ate some eggs (courtesy of our chickens), and made an unexpected new friend.

Our new unexpected friend: “The Last Man Standing”

We headed out after convincing our new friend not to drink two bottles of whiskey. Leaving our accordion behind, oops, we hit the road. On the drive back, Antonia and I stopped in at Ellicott City for some coffee and sandwiches (“Pro-Bat”); refueling for the last leg home, and Antonia’s Silent Music Revival performance that same evening.

An all-round kick-ass weekend. It made me want to play more out-of-town shows.

Thanks Raph! Thanks Skrappy! Thanks Philadelphia!
(and thanks to Jeremy of Small Houses for returning our accordion)

Speckled Friends

Photographs by Chris Edwards

So Long (not Goodbye), a slow song for swifts

Last evening we had the opportunity to collaborate with artist Michael Lease in his event: ‘So Long (not Goodbye).’
The music piece was conceived in four parts:

1. “Sound Piece” by Joshua Quarles –an interpretation of swift flight activity. Originally composed for Hope Ginsburg’s Sponge  HQ opening as an interpretation of bee activity.
2. “The Sky and Country” by Joshua Quarles and Jonathan Vassar” –a meditation on nature.
3.  ”Turn” by Joshua Quarles and Jonathan Vassar –a meditation on twilight. Theme taken from “The Heron and The Hummingbird.”
4. “A Slow Song for Swifts” by Chris Edwards –a lullaby and so long.

Each summer, Chimney Swifts (Chaetura Pelagica), tiny insectivores that spends their entire day aloft, come to Richmond to eat, breed, and collectively roost in our city’s chimneys…. These little birds, affectionately referred to as “flying cigars,” are seen at sunset swooping and flitting, emitting high pitched chatters over their chosen stack, until twilight when they begin to drop one by one into the chimney for the night. A Slow Song for Swifts was written to coincide with one of the last evenings the Swifts will roost in Richmond before they migrate south for the winter.”

This even took place on Monday October 4, 2010 from 6:30pm – 7:30pm at Grace and Adams streets in downtown Richmond. A fond farewell was bid to the city’s Chimney Swifts before migration south for the winter.

Preceding the performance Mary Elfner, a local environmental scientist with the National Audubon Society, spoke about the habitat, nesting, and migration behaviors of Chimney Swifts.

Refer to The Richmond Scene page for photographs, video, etc.

Dispatches from the Road: Kennett Square, PA

After sending our new record off to get mastered (Carl Saff Mastering), we hopped in the car and headed up North. A loud report beside us on the highway almost sounded like a start gun–when in fact we narrowly missed getting nailed by a tire blown off a semi-truck. Eyes wide and adrenaline pumping, we ground our teeth and Antonia put the pedal to the metal. Despite some traffic delays and getting turned around in D.C. we managed to reach Kennett Square in ok time. Leslie and Jarrod’s mix along with some car games, courtesy of Chris, definitely helped our spirits.

Unfortunately the flooding of the Brandywine  closed roads, diverted traffic and kept many attendees of the Fermentation Festival stuck somewhere between Philadelphia and the lovely small borough of Kennett Square (Chester County)–which we were informed is the Mushroom Capital of the World. We arrived as the sun set and unloaded our instruments into Kennett Flash,  a venue that’s a project of the nonprofit organization: Historic Kennett Square–pretty cool.

Community Fermentation

Antonia was especially excited, as we were actually getting to play a Philly Folk Parade Concert. It’s been her goal for the past few months to create an unofficial sister city relationship between Philadelphia and Richmond–manifested primarily through a relationship between the Philly Folk Parade and The Richmond Foundry. This was her chance……

Antonia taking advantage of her chance while Jonathan does a Mickey Rourke pose?

There was much beer and cheese to be had as the event featured taste samples by Victory Brewing, McKenzie’s Brewhouse, Chester County Cheese Artisans, Art in the Age, Frecon Farms, and Chef Jason Ziglar of Once Upon a Palette. A Bacchanalian orgy.

The other acts on the bill played great sets: Wissahickon Chicken Shack, Ben Arnold, Sisters 3, and Zack Djanikian

Wissahickon Chicken Shack, and again, and Ben Arnold

Ross Bellenoit and Todd Henkin sat in on various sets and songs. The groups all shared a collaborative and supportive bent–really great to see. Todd sat in with us and lent some bluesy harmonica to “Hole in the Ground.”

Overall we went over well. The star of the set was Antonia’s vox saw, or faux saw, or mock saw–depending on your politics.

Hallway of luuuuv

The show ended on a collaborative concert of Philly Folk Paraders playing covers. Among them were our friends Kiley and Phil. It was great to see them again and meet Kiley’s mom. Next weekend the family is hosting Phil’s wedding on their farm. Sounds like a blast.

After the last note, we received word that Route 1 was clear, so we made our way up to the township of Havertown to crash at Raph and Maureen’s apartment–aloft a Beanie Baby eBay store (on our way we passed the Wawa headquarters). The moon was really big (see hard-to-see photo of really big moon)

Hard-to-see photo of really big moon

Raph and Maureen welcomed us with generous hospitality and smiles. We slept well on their comfy futons.

Hezekiah Homestead

We woke in the morning to the sights and sounds of Havertown Day–much like the ‘Viva Vienna’ festival in my hometown growin up.
There were street vendors, funnel cakes, a various array of automotive vehicles, kids in costume, adults in costume; a parade with marching bands, mummers and shriners clubs, committees and candidates, and at times random teenagers struttin their stuff.

Raph bought some golf balls; Maureen bought some frames; Antonia, Chris and I bought some Wawa. A good time was had by all.

After fond farewells and thanks, the three of us drove back down to Virginia with early 90′s rock blaring.

We look forward to The Rise & Fall Fest on October 16th. This time Josh will be along for the ride, and I think there might be a bonfire.

Photographs by Chris Edwards

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