President’s Letter
Folknotes 11/22/24
Hello Everyone,
Here’s the latest QCB news:
Sad news
Leo Coffeehouse, Sunday, November 24, 2024
Looking Ahead, Leo Coffeehouse, Sunday, December 1, 2024
WoodSongs Hurricane Helene Instrument Drive
Reference Information For New Subscribers (Below my sign off)
SAD NEWS
Yesterday I learned that after a brief illness, our friend Phil Case passed away on Tuesday, November 19, 2024.
We loved seeing Phil play his rare push button controlled banjo at our Leo Coffeehouse open mics the past couple of years. Phil and Ann played for us at Leo for many years. I have a bunch of their wonderful CDs. He was such a great musician. He will be greatly missed.
You will find Phil’s obituary and funeral arrangements here.
I especially like these lines from his obituary,
“Phil was intellectually curious, which is what drove him. He had a beautiful mind, with a special passion for the study of the history and origins of music and its many genres.”
That describes the Phil I knew perfectly.
Leo Coffeehouse
Sunday, November 24, 2024
5:00 PM: Song Writing Workshop
Led by Alan Rhody
5:15 PM: Old Time Jam
Join this song circle to lead and play along to old songs written before the folk revival.
5:15 PM: Open Jam
Anyone can bring songs to lead in the circle while others provide backup and harmony.
Performances: 6:40-9:00 PM
1st Set: Ryan Adcock
Ryan Adcock writes songs on a well-worn acoustic guitar in Cincinnati and sings them all over the country. He’s played more than 600 shows and his music has been featured on national television shows. He's been named the city's "Best Singer/Songwriter" by CityBeat Magazine's Cincinnati Entertainment Awards.
2nd Set: Alan Rhody
Alan Rhody is an American songwriter, singer, guitarist and harmonica player. With 40 years in professional music, Rhody has released ten independent solo albums and has several videos on Youtube. His original songs (including one "Million Airplay" Award from BMI). His original songs have earned the respect of his peers and fans alike (With 5 million sold in platinum and gold record awards).
Of his latest release, “Farther On” (2017-18), music author, historian, Robert K. Oermann said, “Music City troubadour Alan Rhody has a new CD titled 'Farther On'. It features co-writes with Guy Clark and others, as well as a feast of solo works. He is one of those rare individuals who can hold you completely spellbound with just his axe and his voice.”
Facebook: Alan Rhody
3rd Set: Woodnote
Marie Frondorf, on acoustic guitar percussion and vocals, Paul McCalmont, on acoustic guitar, bass, banjo mandolin and vocals and Bob Littmann, on acoustic guitar, mandolin, bass and vocals, play a mix of Americana, folk and bluegrass with rich harmonies. They have played together for many years around the Cincinnati area including many performances at the Leo Coffeehouse and Eden Fest. Their music includes the Beatles, Byrds, Bob Dylan, CSNY, Neil Young, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, The Band, Allison Krauss as well as originals. Visit their website here.
Looking Ahead:
Leo Coffeehouse
Sunday, December 1, 2024
3:00 PM: 1st Sunday Rise Up Singing
Tell all your friends and bring the kids! This will be our holiday singalong. Everyone picks holiday songs If you prefer a song outside of the usual Christmas songs, please lead it! The incredible Al Wauligman will accompany us on the piano.
5:15 PM: Patriots and Protesters led by John Fonner
Let’s unite and heal our communities through song! Protest songs point to injustice and challenge us to make things better. Patriotic songs celebrate the best in our communities and draw us together. We’ll create a list of 10-15 songs to practice together so that any of us can lead a group of others.
5:15 PM: Open Jam
Anyone can bring songs to lead in the circle while others provide backup and harmony.
6:40-9:00 PM: Performances
1st Set: Stan Boric
A storyteller. His many original songs will make you smile. Sit back and enjoy his beautifully crafted lyrics and distinctive finger-style guitar.
2nd Set: Whistlestop
WhistleStop is made up of the songs we love, and we have a hankering for harmonies, guitar pickin’, classic country, and songs ranging from Doc Watson tunes to Gillian Welch, with a few surprises thrown in there from time to time. Kelli Domke & Dean Kotchka are an ardently acoustic, harmony-seeking Americana duo, and together we are WhistleStop. We will be joined by Nora Denning and our dear friend, Dick Males, on upright bass. Facebook: Whistlestop Music
3rd Set: Ma Crow & Company
The legendary Ma Crow and Company is a 4-time Entertainment Award nominee featuring bluegrass, Americana and Old-time Mountain music. Ma won a CAMMY in 1999, and was a featured guest with Cincinnati MUSE Choir. Performances include the Ohio State Fair, Tall Stacks, the Appalachian Festival, the Wool Festival, Queen City Balladeers EdenSong, Taste of Cincinnati, Richwood Bluegrass Festival, and live radio shows. Ma is joined by Vicki Abbot, Mike Thompson, John Vennemeyer and Steve Johnston Visit their website.
WoodSongs Hurricane Helene Instrument Drive
Now along with dropping them off at Leo Coffeehouse on Sunday nights (see Neil Harrell or Janice Alvarado), anyone can drop playable, good condition instruments off at area music stores, including Willis Music stores and Buddy Roger’s. For more information and a list of stores accepting instruments for the WoodSongs Hurricane Helene instrument drive go here.
Instruments will be collected through December. All donated instruments will be delivered to Lexington. WoodSong volunteers will then deliver them, along with donated instruments from other areas, to Tennessee and North Carolina musicians.
From the WoodSongs website:
“The area around Asheville NC and east Tennessee is rich with musical heritage. With your help, WoodSongs will collect and deliver over 1000 FREE instruments to the musicians of the mountains who lost everything in the storms and help restore the music of the front porches of Western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.
“We were very successful organizing instrument drives for tornado victims in western Kentucky and again for the flood victims of the mountains. Nearly 2000 instruments were collected, restored and delivered absolutely FREE to the musicians who needed them.”
That’s all for this Folknotes, I hope to see you soon.
Neil Harrell
President, Queen City Balladeers/Leo Coffeehouse
Facebook:
QCB/Leo Coffeehouse Membership
We are keeping our standard annual QCB membership dues at $20.00 for a family, or for a single person plus a guest. Last year, knowing that the pandemic cut into our contingency funds, as we continued to pay overhead expenses with no income, some members donated larger amounts to QCB. We very much appreciate the support of all QCB members at all levels.
We are exploring setting up our website to allow the payment of different levels of dues support. For now, if you’d like to pay the standard dues, you can pay them online here or by a check at Leo. (We’ve discontinued our P.O. Box, I will have a mailing address in the next newsletter for those who wish to mail their membership dues.)
If you would like to donate more than the $20.00 standard dues, you can do so by check, or through our website. When you get to the page with the box to relay instructions, just note that you are paying a larger amount for your dues.
For visitors who prefer not to become a member, a donation of $5.00 (cash) per person helps us pay the rent for our non-profit organization. Donations can be slipped in the box at the welcome table outside our performance room, Founders Hall. If you can’t afford that, pay what you can afford or nothing at all. We will welcome you to join us either way.