To address a couple issues you mentioned, first with regard to the folkie/dulcimer issue. Here's my take on it. The members of Chilly Winds and Cripple Creek (the main two returning groups) are steeped in a tradition of folk music that is structured. Songs have arrangements that the groups learn and regurgitate on stage. OK, regurgitate is a bad word - let's say "recite." The same was true of the groups I sang with, The Brothers Four and The Kingston Trio. Granted, within the context of a particular arrangement there might be some latitude for a varied guitar or banjo solo from night to night, but it's never extended beyond the planned number of measures and the chord structure remains intact.
I suspect that this is the result of a couple of influences. One being the influence of pop music and the imposition of time restraints by radio stations who played the music of these groups on air. Three minutes was always a standard maximum time for any song back in the day, so arrangements were constructed and recorded to fit this parameter and get air play. These arrangements then went into the stage show and were seldom altered. Most popular music groups of all genres had to conform to this "rule."
The acts at MMF who follow this structure seldom stray from the formula. The individual members, by my evaluation, are mostly unstudied musicians who learn songs from records or books, which I think is the second factor that influences the structure phenomenon. Because of the level of musicianship (no disrespect intended!) there is rarely any deviation from the arrangement, and if there is it's by accident and it's called a mistake, usually throwing the rest of the group into turmoil.
On the other side of the coin is open jamming, a less-structured approach that's common to jazz musicians and jam bands like The Grateful Dead and String Cheese Incident. Generally, there is a basic guide to the chord progression that is followed, but the rest of it is about improvisation and interaction. This is what The Manitou Project does and they do it well. To a structure-oriented player it's easy to get lost in this process.
The first thing you need to know to participate in a jam is your instrument - inside and out. You need to be comfortable with chord progressions and the scales associated with them. When a jam band decides on a song there is often an underlying structured song that sets up the chord progression. From there it's up to the individual members of the group to read each other's thoughts as the music progresses. The magic of everybody coming together on the same page is what makes this type of playing so exciting.
The final jam of the festival approached this, but with a lot more structure than The Manitou Project uses in their sets. Selecting the material for that final gang-jam had to go to the lowest common denominator of musicianship, so the songs had to be familiar to all. The dulcimer guys have the ability to transcend structure, hear chord progressions and improvise, but the folkies for the most part are locked into what they know. The best we can hope for in those situations is allowing for individual solos within the confines of the chosen song. So we gave everybody who was comfortable with their playing ability the opportunity to step up and jam on a verse.
I have no idea how to go beyond that. There's a mind-set that inhibits some people from stepping out of the comfort zone and I suppose it goes back to familiarity with your instrument and knowledge of music theory. There's also the aspect of taking a chance. The jam at The Ancient Mariner was a really good example of that. Sometimes someone would name a song that most everybody knew, and that set up a chord progression that we followed, inserting our own color based on what else was going on around us. Other times someone would start a groove and we'd jam on an extended I - V or I - IV - V progression. The secret is listening to the other players and following or taking the lead at any particular moment. As you say, it's probably just a matter of doing it and getting comfortable with the process.
The odd thing for me, though, is the social separation that occurs off stage. Somehow the two groups of musicians just don't seem to mingle much. You see the dulcimer guys (including Judy Piazza, who defies categorization) going off together for a drink and then you see the folkies congregating separately. I don't understand it - there seems to be some sort of social barrier, but it's undefinable. Personally, I enjoy hanging with both groups. The conservative / liberal analogy I used was not meant in a political sense, but more in a life-style sense, and that's seems to be where I see the division. Look at the clothing choices between the two groups - I think you'll see the difference.
As to the issue of the third group of musicians, oh man - I'm afraid you've got me started. Do I dare name names? Probably better not, but I'll identify one of the groups by the term, "Headliner." This is a group that has developed a kind of cult following in Colorado and they bring their own crowd with them. They don't interact with any of us, although Meri and I have known them personally for years and we've even booked them in the past. In fact, Crescent Entertainment was probably somewhat instrumental in getting them established here in Colorado. Sadly, they don't see this festival for what it is - a communion of musical spirits.
Despite the aforementioned dulcimer/folkie separation, all of us festival "regulars" do get along well and we support each other by sticking around and listening to each other's sets. The "Headliners" show up with their fans, demand to go on stage on time, then extend their sets at the inconvenience of the following acts, sell CD's and split, taking their entire crowd with them. They don't stay to support the other acts, nor do they encourage their audience to stick around. In my opinion, they shouldn't be invited back unless they and their audience can participate in the essence of this festival.
I'll make another point about the "Headliners", and this really irks me. Our friend, Ron Fitz, comes every year to the festival and, despite that fact that he's not a musician, he's an integral part of the festival family, as is Andy and his sound crew. Ron mans the CD table from the opening note each day til after the stage is cleared for the evening. He kindly sells CD's for every act that appears. This year I sold less than $100 worth of product but I paid Ron 10% of my take. A sad pittance, I admit, but I think it's only right that Ron be compensated for his kindness in volunteering for this responsibility. Ron lives on a meager income and I'm sure any little bit helps him out.
The "Headliners" sold several hundred dollars worth of CD's to their adoring fans and I don't think they even thanked Ron for providing that service, which allowed them to mingle with their adoring fans and sign autographs. I think that's extremely rude on their part and they should each one have their pee-pee's slapped.
I would personally vote to not have them back again. They don't enhance the festival, except to swell the audience for the hour plus that they hog the stage. This year we had a rainstorm in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday. Bud Ford decided to shut down the festival for about an hour until the weather cleared. The "Headliners" hadn't arrive yet, but every other act was consulted and we all agreed to push back the schedule as a result of the weather. Robert and Judy abbreviated their set (originally scheduled for and hour and a half) to accommodate the delay. I followed them and we cut our set short as well. When the Blondheads (oops - I slipped) showed up at the time their idols were supposed to play, they were outraged at the delay and demanded that Bud get me off stage and put their group on at the scheduled time. Sadly, Bud got so upset over this that he became ill and had to go home.
The unique thing about The Mountain Music Festival is the camaraderie between all of the musicians as well as the audience. Everybody's there for a good time and to interact with each other, and we all (including many of the regular audience members) look forward to this weekend of community each year. Those who don't have that spirit should not be invited to participate. A new group this year was Jubilant Bridge and they fit right in with the spirit of this event. Despite their somewhat lackluster sets, I do hope Bud invites them back - they're nice folks.
OK - I've said my piece and I'll probably get bludgeoned for it. But it's been festering inside me for the past couple weeks and at least on this forum I get to say whatever I darned well please. Thanks for listening.
See you next year, Tom!
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