Bluegrass Music

Updated: May 6, 2008

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SCROLL DOWN for upcoming concerts, pickin' jams
and festivals!
(Listed after links for bands and additional information)

We enjoy almost all types of music, but Bluegrass is one of our favorites
to enjoy with a group. We have hosted acoustic music jam-session in our
home on a regular basis, no drinking, no smoking, just pickin', grinnin', and
good fellowship for many years.

In August 2008 these weekly jams will had been on-going for more than
25 years here in Arizona, plus 6 years before that in Virginia, for a total of
31 years that we have been hosting Bluegrass jam sessions in our home.

I am a former Vice-President, Secretary, and board member of The
Arizona Bluegrass Association (ABA).

Pioneer Living History Village presented us with an award for our dedication and devotion to Bluegrass music in Arizona, on April 2, 2005. We had no idea this was
going to happen. We appreciate the certificate and all of our wonderful Bluegrass friends very much! See photo of the certificate far below on this page.

The ABMA presented us their Recognition Award April 20, 2002 -- quite
an honor! See the text of presentation further down this page.

The ABA voted us the 1994 Bluegrassers of the year -- quite an honor!

There are currently two groups that promote Bluegrass music in Arizona,
that I know of, they are: The Arizona Bluegrass Association (ABA), and
The Desert Bluegrass Association.

Bluegrass music evolved from traditional folk music in southern Appalachia
through immigrants from the British Isles. It is strictly acoustical, with no
electrified or amplified instruments. The basic bluegrass band always has a
five-string banjo, a mandolin, a fiddle, a guitar, an upright bass and occasionally
a dobro. Bill Monroe is considered the "father of Bluegrass music" with The
Stanley Brothers (Ralph and Carter) not far behind.

Randy Cordova of The Arizona Republic did a superb article about our jams,
with photographs by Emmanuel Loranzo, that was the front page story in the
Smart Living section on Friday, 23 Nov. 2001. "Bluegrass jams: Tempe couple
open their home for weekly gatherings".

Bluegrass music is performed typically by singing a verse, a chorus, and then
an instrument break. A break is when an instrument or a vocalist solos and
the other musicians fade into the background to let the soloist show off his
or her licks. The chorus is often sung in three- or four-part harmony, and each
break is usually done by a different instrument. Bluegrass with its high,
lonesome sound, has often been called folk music in overdrive.

NEW - I "Sunny Susan" was invited to write a Blog - NEW
on the web site of the Arizona Republic
newspaper as they have liked letters I have
written to the editors over the years.
March 26, 2008 was my first Blog.
I have written additional articles, but not
on a set schedule. Among the Blogs I have written are:

Please do not copy this list without saying that Susan Anderson contributed it,
thank you. Susan

EVERY Wednesday evening from 7 to 10 p.m. TRADITIONAL Acoustic BLUEGRASS Jam Sessions in the home of Howard and Susan Anderson, Tempe, AZ (since Aug. 1983 in AZ and six years in VA before that).
Email SunnySusan@Cox.Net or phone: 480-897-7425.
Next jam session dates are: May 7, 14, 21, 28, June 4, 18, 25,
July 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 and EVERY Wed. evening thereafter from 7 to 10 p.m. The musicians stand in a circle (so people need to bring an instrument strap), unless
they have a real physical reason to be seated (everyone is tired after work, but....)
and that is well understood. When standing it is easier to move to let new arrivals
into the circle than if everyone is seated. The jams are democratic; everyone has
the opportunity to "shine" playing and/or singing their Bluegrass song of choice.

Every Sunday night 7:00 to 9:30 p.m., Arcadia Bluegrass Jam at Mama Java’s Coffeehouse, in Gaslight Square, 3619 East Indian School Rd., Phoenix, hosted
by Doug Fletcher. http://www.mamajavascoffeehouse.com

3^rd Sunday of each month: “The Dove Mountain Bluegrass Jam”, from 3 to 6 PM, sponsored by the DBA. These are open Jams for acoustical instrument players of all levels. Grinners are welcome as well. Questions can be directed to: Charlie Sides
@ 520-579-5918, E-mail: sides7@juno.com

June 13 – 15, 2008 – 32^nd Annual Huck Finn Jubilee, Victorville, CA, Father’s Day week-end. Featuring: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Dan Tyminski Band, Blue Highway, Dry Branch Fire Squad, Gibson Brothers, Randy Waller & The Country Gentlemen, Berline, Crary & Hickman, California “Reunion”, Copper River Band, Chris Stuart & Backcountry, Julie Wingfield, Riley’s Mountaineers, Bon Family Cloggers, KC Douglas and The National Bluegrass Playoffs. Adults $15 @ day, $20 on Sat. & Sun. Parking and fishing free. Mojave Narrows Regional Park, south of Victorville, CA, exit I-15 at Bear Valley Road. Tickets on sale now call: 951=341-8080, additional information web web site http://www.huckfinn.com

June 21 – 22, 2008 -- 27th Annual Prescott Bluegrass Festival, Courthouse Plaza, downtown Prescott. Featuring The Gibson Brothers, Heidi Clare and At A Gallop with Ron Thomasson, Sons and Brothers, Sawmill Road, and Fire Ridge. The Gibson Brothers will do the Saturday night show, 7-9 p.m. Hours are Sat. 10:30-9 and Sun. 11-3. Admission is free. Dry camping is available at $15 per night. For further information see the website www.prescottbluegrassfestival.com or call 928-445-2000, ext. 120.

Aug. 9 & 10, 2008 – White Mountain Bluegrass Festival, Hon-Dah Resort & Casino, 777 State Highway 260, Pinetop, AZ, featuring: IIIrd Generation, Bost Family Traditions, Red Mountain Bluegrass, Shasta Daylight, Tangled Strings, Flint Hill Special and Fiddlemania. www.pinetoplakesidechamber.com, 928-367-4290 or www.bluegrassfestival.biz

Sept. 12 - 14, 2008 -- 3rd annual Pickin' in the Pines near Flagstaff. Featuring:
The Del McCoury Band, Nashville Bluegrass Band, Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Steve Smith & Hard Road, Burnett Family Bluegrass, Sawmill Road, Spring Creek Bluegrass, the Bill Pilgrims and others. Web site: http://pickininthepines.org/

Oct. 25 – 26, 2008 -- 9th Annual Tucson Bluegrass Festival Desert Diamond Casino
I-10 & Pima Mine Road Exit. For additional info check the Desert Bluegrass Assoc. Featuring: Dale Ann Bradley, Kirby Knob Boys, Sawmill Road, Chris Stuart and Backcountry, The Burnett Family, and Jam Pak Blues ‘N Grass Band. Web site: http://www.desertbluegrass.org/

UPDATE - Nov. 14, 15, 16, 2008 -- 29th Annual Four Corner States BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL & Fiddle Championship, rodeo grounds. The host bands will be: Flint Hill Special, High Plains Tradition (Colo.) and Midnight Flight from Missouri. A special Saturday afternoon set will be performed by Rhonda Vincent & the Rage. Rhonda will also be doing a Friday & Saturday night concert at the Del Webb Performing Arts Center in Wickenburg. WICKENBURG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, (928) 684-5479 Website: www.wickenburgchamber.com, email: events@wickenburgchamber.com or info@wickenburgchamber.com

- Four Corner States BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL & Fiddle Championship,
Website: www.wickenburgchamber.com

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Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of Anderson’s Weekly, Open-To-All,
Traditional, Acoustic, Bluegrass Jam Sessions
By Susan L. Anderson

We lived in northern Virginia in a suburb of Washington, D.C. for nine years (1974 - 1983).
At that time Washington, D.C. was known as the "Bluegrass Capital of the world", with
Bluegrass being performed at The Birchmere, Wolf Trap Farm National Park for the
Performing Arts, even the Kennedy Center, and other venues. American University,
was broadcasting 48 hours of Bluegrass music every week on their radio station WAMU.
Many bands worked out of the Washington, D.C. area: The Country Gentlemen, Bill
Harrell, The Seldom Scene, Ricky Skaggs and Boone Creek, and many others. We belonged
to The Capitol Area Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association (CABOMA), and the
Tri-State Bluegrass Association (Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia). Over the years
we attended many Bluegrass Festivals in Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
We started once a week open jam sessions in our Virginia home in 1977 and continued
until we moved to Arizona in the spring of 1983.

With our move to Arizona we were concerned about the amount of Bluegrass music we
would find. We immediately joined the only two organizations (at that time 1983)
The Arizona Bluegrass Association (ABA) and the Arizona Pickers and Grinners Society
(AP&GS), and attended jams of both organizations. Compared to the east coast there
was very little Bluegrass music available here in Arizona, although it has gotten better over
the years. Later, after they were formed, we joined the Arizona Bluegrass & Old
Time Musicians Associations (ABMA) and the Desert Bluegrass Association (DBA).

In order to have a dependable, open-to-all, regularly scheduled place for Bluegrass musicians
to play traditional acoustic music we opened our home in Arizona starting in August 1983 for
a jam session every week, and have continued since then. In August 2008 these weekly jams
will have been on-going for more than 25 years here in Arizona, plus 6 years before that in Virginia,
for a total of 31 years that we have been hosting Bluegrass jam sessions in our home. We plan
to continue hosting weekly jam sessions as long as people are willing to come, which appears
to be decades! We rarely cancel a jam, but do not meet the night before Thanksgiving, or the
week of Christmas and just before New Years.

In Dec. 1983 I started keeping attendance of the pickers and later started counting how many
grinners (listeners) were in attendance. I have a notebook with these sheets only, and another
large bulging notebook with information (name, address, phone and now e-mail address) of
the pickers who attend, or have attended, our jam sessions. The average number of pickers
each week: 1985, 7; in 1987, 12; in 1995, 10; and in 2002, 16.

We are always glad to have new people attend our Wednesday evening Bluegrass
jam sessions, either as pickers or as grinners (listeners), because people move (due to work),
retire and move, die, or their situation changes and they move on to something else. Some
of the pickers from the very early years were: Jack Bernath, Robert Beene, Keith Olds,
Harold Dilley, Dennis Howe, Karl Maerz, Tom Kruck, Mark Miner, Dave Lawrence, Bill Breen,
Paul Wilson, Tim Pillow and too many others to name.

We start at 7 p.m. every Wednesday and end at 10 p.m. as it is a work night. The flavor of
the jam changes a bit over the evening depending on who is here. Some people come at 7 p.m.
and leave about 8:30 p.m.; others do not arrive until 8 p.m. or later and stay until 10. Therefore
I tell new people, if they do not like the songs being played early in the evening, or if they feel
there are too many musicians, stick around because by 9 p.m. it will be a totally different jam
session. They are all good, but each one is a bit different due to the make‑up of the participants.

The musicians stand in a circle (so people need to bring an instrument strap), unless they have
a real physical reason to be seated (everyone is tired after work, but....) and that is well understood. When standing it is easier to move to let new arrivals into the circle than if everyone is seated.
The jams are democratic; everyone has the opportunity to "shine" playing and/or singing
their Bluegrass song of choice.

Traditional Acoustic Bluegrass instruments: Guitar, Fiddle, Mandolin, 5-String Banjo,
Upright Bass and Dobro.

The jams are held in our living room and dining room. I (Susan) place ice, plastic cups, soft
drinks, plus some nibble candy and information sheets on the dining room table -- it is
self-service. We do not serve food at the weekly jams as musicians cannot play well if
they have sticky or greasy fingers. The music instrument cases are placed in the family room.

Our front door is unlocked as we are unable to hear the door bell while the music is being
played and sung. I sit where I can see if someone has come to the front door, and try to
welcome everyone as they come in, plus make first time people feel welcome. Many beginners
have come over the years and stood in the background watching the fingering until
they had practiced enough to feel comfortable to join in.

Do not be mistaken this is not a beginner jam session, all are welcome, but the level of music
skill is normally high. Most of the regular attendees have a great deal of tolerance and are
willing to assist others, if the person is agreeable to instruction.

NO drinking, NO smoking, just pickin', grinnin', and good fellowship with traditional Bluegrass music!

The jams are democratic; everyone has the opportunity to "shine" playing and/or
signing their Bluegrass song of choice. Bluegrass music is performed typically by
singing a verse, a chorus, and then an instrument break. A break is when an instrument
or a vocalist solos and the other musicians fade into the background to let the soloist
show off his or her licks. The chorus is often sung in three‑ or four‑part harmony, and
each break is usually done by a different instrument. Bluegrass with its high, lonesome
sound has often been called folk music in overdrive.

Many of us enjoy classical, jazz and many kinds of music, but it must be acoustic
and traditional Bluegrass ONLY on Wednesday evenings. Therefore no country and
western, no Texas swing, no old time. If Ralph Stanley or Ralph and Carter Stanley
did it, then it is Traditional Bluegrass, as is most (but not all) of Bill Monroe's, and the
most recent of Ricky Skaggs. The attendees are always helpful to someone who knows
another kind of music, but wants to learn to play Bluegrass.

We appreciate and are proud of the three plaques hanging in our dining room. The ABA
membership voted us (Howard and Susan Anderson) the 1994 "Bluegrassers of the year".
The ABMA presented each of us their “Recognition Awards“ in April 2002. All of these
are quite an honor!

I prepare a schedule of our jams and basic information, one year in advance. I then mail
it to regular attendees, and pay to have the schedule/flyer printed in the newsletters
of the Arizona Bluegrass Association (ABA). This schedule/flyer is also in the booths of
the ABA and Jam Pak Blues "N" Grass Neighborhood Band and they give it to
interested people attending Bluegrass festivals in Arizona and California.

A large computer mailing-list is maintained of those people who have an interest in Bluegrass
music. I send emails with information about jam sessions (in the Phoenix, Tucson and
Flagstaff areas), festivals (in AZ and CA), concerts, camp-outs, newspaper and magazine
articles, notice when someone special is scheduled to appear on T-V, sad news when
someone dies, and other information of interest to those who are involved with Bluegrass
music. I also maintain my web page and the very large amount of email generated by the page.

I, Susan, am a former Vice‑President, Secretary, and board member of The Arizona
Bluegrass Association (ABA), and one section on my web page is devoted to Bluegrass.

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Traditional Acoustic Bluegrass instruments: Guitar, Fiddle, Mandolin, 5-String Banjo, Upright Bass and Dobro.

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If you are not already on my emailing list or shall be in the area and would like to jam with other Bluegrass musicians send me a email for the location and more information.
To email me SunnySusan@Cox.Net

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Two Bluegrass Associations (ABA and ABMA) have honored us for support of traditional acoustic Bluegrass music. Both awards and the citation from the ABMA are shown below. (ABMA in 2002 and ABA in 1994). Pioneer Living History Village honored us in 2005, copy of certificate is also below.

Due to being in FL, I missed the annual meeting on 20 April 2002 of the ABMA (Arizona Bluegrass Musicians Association). My husband attended and we had a major surprise -- the AMBA presented plaques to both of us (both accepted by Howard), we had no clue that something this special was in the works. Most of us in my age group were raised NOT to blow our own horns, but I shall be brash and copy the words that Monique D. read when the two plaques were presented to Howard for himself and for me.

ABMA RECOGNITION AWARD

Each year the ABMA Board and officers recognize one or more members who have been instrumental in furthering our mission of promoting and preserving bluegrass in this community.

This year we would like to recognize Howard and Susan Anderson individually for doing just that.

As most of you know, Howard and Susan have hosted a traditional jam in their home just about every week since 1983. This has been a mainstay in he Valley that is, unfortunately, sometimes taken for granted. These are people who truly enjoy bluegrass and enjoy sharing it with others. Many of us have come to count on this as we count on both Howard and Susan, individually, for many other things.

For instance, Susan has been invaluable in her commitment to getting the printed word out to members and to others in our community regarding bluegrass happenings. Susan's personal book of contacts and willingness to share them is the glue that keeps many of us together in our pursuit of this music we all enjoy. Many think of Susan as the "hub" for bluegrass and we can never thank her enough for what she does. Her commitment is unquestionable.

Howard has been a great help with our website and has come to the rescue more than once on other computer issues. Howard's dedication as a musician and contribution as a mentor to other musicians is hard to quantify. Over the years, Howard has taken many people under his wing and nurtures the traditional bluegrass in all of us. Time and again, we hear about grinners who become interested in playing an instrument after sitting at a jam with Howard Anderson.

Howard and Susan, in addition to what you give to the community everyday, we also want to thank you for your constancy in supporting the ABMA's programs and activities both in spirit and financially. You are both very important to the ABMA.

You can both be very proud that you are integral in preserving and promoting traditional bluegrass music in the Valley. Thank you from the ABMA.
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NOTE: Valley means Valley of the Sun, the Phoenix, AZ, metro area. Susan's e-mail lists cover the whole state of AZ for those who have an interest in Bluegrass music. The Anderson's held weekly jams for six (6) in VA before moving to AZ in spring of 1983.

Since 1996 --- when I first located others with Carcinoid --- I have answered
every email sent to me, although some replies were delayed longer than I liked.
I am NO longer able to reply to all e-mails due to the volume and other things
going on in my life (all good). I do love hearing from others, but an unable to
reply to all individually. This web site was 10 years old on April 27, 2007, and
my plan is to keep it updated for many many years to come.

Since my husband "retired" I am away from my computer for days, and
sometimes, weeks at a time. Yes, there is wireless internet and we have
tried that a number of places. But, if I deal with email when we are away
from home then it is not a "restful vacation" for me.

PLEASE use the SEARCH capability at the top my pages. You may search for
a word, a phrase, a drug, a treatment, a book title or anything you can think
of. You may search this site only, or search the complete World Wide Web.

To speak with a person please know you may call the “telephone information
and support line” of the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation, Inc. (CCF), Tuesday
through Thursday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time at 1-888-722-3132 (free)
or 1-914-693-1001. “The information and support line” is staffed
by medical professionals. Mondays and Fridays are research days, if you call
then and do not reach a person do leave a clear message. The Carcinoid
Cancer Foundation’s (CCF) superb web site is at http://www.carcinoid.org

CCF - Serving the carcinoid/NETs patient and medical community for close to forty years (chartered in 1968)
“Meets Extensive Standards of America’s Most Experienced Charity Evaluator”
Better Business Bureau

CARCINOID CANCER

A rare form of "slow-growing" neuroendocrine cancer

Susan Anderson - An advocate for Carcinoid and Neuroendocrine Tumor Awareness

Send mail to SunnySusan@cox.net with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 1997-2008 Susan L. Anderson. All Rights Reserved.
Last modified: 04/14/08

CARCINOID CANCER

A rare form of "slow-growing" neuroendocrine cancer

Susan Anderson - An advocate for Carcinoid and Neuroendocrine Tumor Awareness

Send mail to SunnySusan@cox.net with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright © 1997-2008 Susan L. Anderson. All Rights Reserved. Last modified: 04/14/08

Send mail to SunnySusan@cox.net with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 1997-2008 Susan L. Anderson. All Rights Reserved.
Last modified: 04/14/08