Celebrating the Life and Music of Billy Constable at Isis on Thurs, Oct 8

Photo 1 is by Scott Woody, photo 2 is by Simply Pickin’ & the 3rd one is by Debbie Ryder

Celebrating the Life and Music of Billy Constable at Isis
Thursday, Oct 8, 2015
7:30pm – 1:00am
743 Haywood Rd, West Asheville, North Carolina 28806
http://isisasheville.com/events/celebrating-the-life-and-times-of-billy-constable-2/

RSVP on Facebook here

Billy Constable was a well-known and much loved bluegrass musician from WNC who had been battling terminal brain cancer for the better part of a year. He lost his battle on Saturday, August 22nd, 2015.

His friends have organized a memorial event, The Billy Constable Memorial Jam, to honor this kind-hearted, talented man and the great contribution he has made to the music community of WNC and beyond. It will take place at Isis Restaurant and Music Hall in West Asheville on Thursday, October 8th from 7:30pm-1am.

“The outpouring of stories and memories online about Constable give an idea of the scope of a life dedicated to musical passion, and they tell the story of a kind, gentle soul, always willing to teach to anyone who wanted to learn,” writes Brian Swenk in Boone’s Mountain Times.

Included will be a memorial slideshow and a celebration of his life in a night of live music with Billy’s longtime musical compadres. We hope you will join us as we celebrate the rich legacy he has left us. Suggested donation is $10 at the door. Proceeds to benefit the Constable family. If you cannot make the show, but would like to donate, please do so at http://www.gofundme.com/nuj8ks

The lineup so far includes:
Sassagrass
Butch Robins
Steve McMurry (of Acoustic Syndicate)
Jon Stickley & Lyndsay Pruett (of Jon Stickley Trio)
Bearwallow (2015 MerleFest Band Competition Winners)
Amanda Platt (of The Honeycutters)
Taylor Martin
Sam Wharton
Darren Nicholson Band (of Balsam Range)
Blue Wheel Drive
Robert Greer (with members of Town Mountain)
Jim Rollins
Adam Masters
Billy Cardine
Bobby Miller
Jason and Jacob Burleson
Mary Lucey

more to be announced

More about Billy Constable:

Born March 23, 1959, Billy Constable was a well known and much loved musician from WNC.

Growing up in Avery county, he came from a rich lineage of musicians including; Lulu Belle and Scotty Wiseman, Lawrence Wiseman, David Wiseman, Fiddling Jimmy Wiseman, banjo picker Kent Wiseman, and Billy’s mother, Lois.

Billy formed his first band Leather Britches, and at the age of 14 he hit the road professionally joining Charlie Moore’s band in the early 1970’s. He went on to play with Doug Dillard and in the 80’s his family band The Constables was formed. They also appeared with the late great Rose Maddox in that band. In addition he played with Dick Tyner and Train 45, Ray Parks, and toured with Kenny Baker and Josh Graves.

In recent years he recorded with the Big Daddy Bluegrass Band with Steve McMurry, and Curtis Burch, Larry Keel, String Cheese Incident, Acoustic Forum, Hypnotic Clambake, and formed his own band Sassagrass.

He has shared the stage picking with; Vassar Clements, John Hartford, Butch Robins, Mac Wiseman, Leftover Salmon, Byron Berline, Sam Bush, Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, Jim and Jesse, and the Osborne Brothers, to name a few.

Steeped in the rich knowledge of traditional bluegrass and Appalachian music, but reaching far beyond into gypsy jazz and other eclectic forms of music, he is well known as a musician’s musician.

A master of guitar, banjo, and mandolin, Billy has often been credited with teaching his musical compadres how to play and “play it right,” and we have all become better musicians and better people for knowing him.

Thank you Billy, for sharing your gift with us.  ~ written by Deb Ryder

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Bluegrass Documentary Podcast: Interviews with Sam Bush, Larry Keel and Tim White

Myke Scaffidi put this wonderful audio documentary together about Bluegrass Music for Appalachian State College in Boone, NC. He interviews Sam Bush, Larry Keel and Tim White. Below is a brief description of the 10 minute podcast. You can listen to it here: http://www.mykescaffidi.com/myke/media/hillbilly_jazz_bluegrass_mixdown.wav

Bill Monroe

Larry Keel

Myke Scaffidi writes: “Today’s bluegrass musicians are pushing the boundaries of the genre by incorporating increasingly new influences. In addition to the many innovative artists working today, the traditional sound of bluegrass embodied by Bill Monroe still flourishes.  Just as foreign influences and rural southern music blended with elements of African American blues and gospel to form early bluegrass, new styles and techniques are evolving thanks to the continuing tradition of band-hopping musicians.

Sam Bush

The music represents an often-overlooked American art form and I feel privileged to have worked on this project to broaden the public’s understanding. I was fortunate to have the participation of great interviewees including Sam Bush, Larry Keel and Tim White; and it would have been impossible to tell the story without their perspective and acknowledgement of the early pioneers as well.”

Click here to listen and/ or download:http://www.mykescaffidi.com/myke/media/hillbilly_jazz_bluegrass_mixdown.wav

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Archive: 5 Questions with Larry Keel

Larry Keel and Natural Bridge just played a show at Ft Ashby in WV at the RoadHouse Pub. Jeff Henry from the Appalachian Independent got to sit down with Larry and ask a few questions.  Click here for the original post and a couple photos.

 

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What was it like working at Tokyo Disneyland?

It was really cool. I learned a lot. A friend was living down in Florida, he sent me word up to Virginia that they were doing auditions for a bluegrass band to go to Tokyo Disneyland. It was something different, I was a mountain boy – had never been out of the mountains before so going to Tokyo was extremely exciting. We got our chops down – playing six shows a day. Each show was a half hour. We’d have a half hour off, then a half hour on. We did this for about six months.

Folks were intrigued by bluegrass and I was intrigued by the Japanese music. I like music (genres) of all flavors everywhere. With a lot of the soldiers being there during WWII there was a pretty big bluegrass following and interest in Tokyo. I met a lot of great musicians there.

What do you like to do while on tour?

I like to do a lot of stuff while on the road – like to sample the great food out there, visit friends all over the country, take in all of the sights like national parks. I like to fish as much as I can, if I have my fishing pole with me and there’s a mudhole somewhere, I’m liable to cast in it.

You’ve played festivals, theaters, pubs, and bars – what do you like about these venues and what brings you back to small towns?

I like all sorts of venues. I like to get a crowd in and get ’em focused in what we’re doing, take their minds off their troubles for a little while… and just have some fun and get the energy level up. No matter where you’re at, if you’re doing your job right (the crowd will love you). As far as coming back to small towns – I just love small town America. That’s what America is – it’s all the people you meet at these places, it’s a beautiful thing.

When will you be back in the area?

We’ll be up in Morgantown in the beginning of December (author note: December 11, 2010 at 123 Pleasant St). We’ll be back in Frostburg in February. I always advise everybody to check out our website (larrykeel.com). That’s what I do… I don’t know where I’m going to be half the time (laughs).

If you could jam with one musician, dead or alive, who would it be?

I’d probably want to play with Miles Davis. He had a whole lot of things figured out in a very simplistic and complicated way. I’m a big admirer of his music.
There are so many of them who have come and passed – Bill Monroe and Django Reignhardt. I try to pay my respects to them while I do my thing.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ORIGINAL POST AND VIEW PHOTOS: http://www.appindie.org/index.php/arts/84-arts-and-leisure/1799-five-questions-with-larry-keel?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+AppIndie-AllSections+(All+Articles+on+The+Appalachian+Independent)

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Archive: Flatpicker, Larry Keel, Remains at the Forefront of Progressive Bluegrass

Great preview in the Fredericksburg Freelance Star about Larry Keel and Natural Bridge’s upcoming show at the Otterhouse this Saturday, September 11th.

FLAT-PICKERS WITH LOCAL ROOTS REMAIN AT THE FOREFRONT OF PROGRESSIVE BLUEGRASS

Keel’s local bluegrass roots branch out in many directions

Date published: 9/9/2010

BY RYAN GREEN

FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Most area residents are aware of the numerous national claims to fame our local bluegrass musicians have made. Yet, some may be unaware that perhaps the most prolific and progressive flat-picker performing today spent many nights picking away in and around Fredericksburg.

Photo by Bright Life Photography

For the versed and unversed alike, on Saturday night Larry Keel and his band, Natural Bridge, will rock The Otter House and demonstrate why his act is consistently touted as the hottest, most provocative and most entertaining bluegrass band of this decade.

Growing up in Warrenton, Keel frequently played the open-mic nights at the Irish Brigade (located in the same spot that The Otter House now calls home). As he made connections with other local musicians, he spearheaded a healthy progressive-bluegrass scene in the Fredericksburg area with his band Magraw Gap and later the Larry Keel Experience.

Becoming increasingly more renowned for his flat-picking virtuosity, Keel claimed several first-place prizes during the mid-’90s at Telluride competitions, which for all intents and purposes are the World Cup of bluegrass.

In 2005, Keel formed his much lauded band Natural Bridge with his wife, Jenny Keel, on string bass and Mark Schimick on mandolin. Their latest release, “Backwoods” (2009) is a course in the direction the Keels are leading the bluegrass scene, which is to say they are taking the scene somewhere new. It is a must listen for anyone claiming to be tuned to the motions of country/bluegrass music. Within, you find the complexity and virtuosic instrumentation of traditional bluegrass in the vein of Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs–but the comparisons need not go much further.

In a recent phone interview, Jenny Keel remarked on the band’s determination to go beyond traditional bluegrass.

“We put a lot of energy into honoring the forefathers of bluegrass. They were the original alternative music makers of their time,” said Jenny Keel. “But bluegrass has to grow, it has to evolve. None of the greats in the last three generations have stayed true to the Monroe-Scruggs way.”

Indeed, the Keels’ original tunes stand alone in a genre driven by the cover. The melodies, grounded by Larry Keel’s uniquely deep timbre, are backed in places by overhanging Tom Petty- esque harmonies and the pulse of Jenny Keel’s quiet-yet-strong bass playing. Meanwhile, both Larry Keel and Schimick set the standard for virtuosic picking throughout by melding classic bluegrass runs with elements of rock, gypsy jazz and the blues. In the end, progressive bluegrass may be an understatement, but it is clear that what the Keels are doing is progress.

The Keels also recently released their equally acclaimed second album as Keller and the Keels–a collaboration with hometown hero Keller Williams–titled “Thief.” This genre-bending album is a collection of covers (e.g., Amy Winehouse, Marcy Playground) that existed beyond the canon of bluegrass before Williams rearranged and captured them with the able hands of the Keels behind him. This album’s astounding success is an indication of how the branches of bluegrass are outgrowing its roots in our mountainous landscape and becoming, in some ways, a form of pop music.

While some traditionalists fear these changes, the Keels fully support them. For the most part, it is through this growth that the youth of today are learning about the wonderful music our area has produced for hundreds of years.

Larry’s attitude (in the words of Jenny Keel) is, “If I’m out there doing my thing and I throw in a Bob Marley tune, then I’ve got them listening. Then I lay on a full-on mountain song, like a Ralph Stanley song. Then I’ve got them to listen to Ralph Stanley when they might never have heard it.”

For this Saturday’s show, fans should arrive, as cliched as it is to say, expecting the unexpected.

“Larry grew up with a bunch of pickers, and there is likely to be some crazy hijinks beyond our Natural Bridge format,” said Jenny Keel.

Rumors have it that Will Lee (son of Ricky Lee, the Ralph Stanley-backing legend) and Gary Keel, Larry’s brother, will be in attendance, and likely onstage.

To be sure, the same creativity and cohesion that drive the constant evolution of this band will be present. Count in the virtuosic musicians and the feel-good atmosphere of the Otter House and this show becomes a bargain too sweet to pass up.

Ryan Green is a freelance writer and musician in Richmond. Reach him at
Email: ryugreen@yahoo.com.

Read original ==>> Fredericksburg.com – >> FLAT-PICKERS WITH LOCAL ROOTS REMAIN AT THE FOREFRONT OF PROGRESSIVE BLUEGRASS – page 2 FLS http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010/092010/09092010/573655/index_html?page=2#ixzz0z3SFWhbw

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