Web posted
April 5, 2007
33rd Alaska Folk Festival survival guide
Watch for jam spots to pop up at various Juneau social scenes
By Scott Burton
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 Scott Burton |
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Squaller holler: Rants and raves from a blugrass, folk, old-time and irish-music dude
Off stage and on, the Alaska Folk Fest attracts one of the finest accumulations of music and people anywhere.
Like a musical theme park, Juneau's streets and venues swell with instrument-toting people of all ages. People gather around music as if it were a campfire and catch up with friends, share stories, and sing songs for a week where the outside world ceases to exist.
With a solid guest artist like the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and with a look at the week's performance schedule, this 33rd year promises to be a gooder.
Unofficially, jams spontaneously ignite at bars, hotels, the Centennial Hall lobby, and places too unusual to foresee. Official venues include the Alaska State Museum, St. Ann's Parish Hall on Fifth Street downtown and Centennial Hall.
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The word on Folk Fest
• "Get a good two hours of sleep every night, no drinking before 10 a.m., and don't play your spoons or drums within 10 feet of me."
- Joe Karson, acoustic string musician, writer and AFF veteran.
• "Two beers, one pint of water. Two beers, one pint of water. Two beers..."
- C. Scott Fry, AKA mayor of downtown Juneau.
• "Don't peak early."
- Bob Banghart, musician and a founder of AFF.
• "Be nice to the bar staff. It is a stressful time. Tip them well. Use your manners. You are an ambassador for your community. Have fun. We need some punk rock at Folk Fest."
- Patrice Helmar, musician and bartender at the Alaskan.
• "Don't wake up before noon. Eat a hot dog at the Triangle. Take a nap before you go on stage that night because you can't drink when you are sleeping."
- Joe Page, musician and AFF veteran.
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Look out for "jam spots" at the Silverbow, Costa's Diner, Zephyr and the downtown Heritage Coffee. For more information on events and services such as free child care, the AFF annual meeting and board elections, the family concert, performance schedules and more, check out www.akfolkfest.org.
Jason Norris of Alaska's own Barefoot Bluegrass hung out with the Chocolate Drops in North Carolina and reports that the band is, in a word, "awesome." They play banjo and fiddle music in the tradition of the Piedmont, a plateau that stretches along the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains.
The AFF board appears to have closely followed their selection criteria for the guest artist. The guidelines include: source-people steeped in tradition, non-commercialized, and an act that provides something Alaskans want to learn.
Whether the Chocolate Drops fulfill the guideline of music being a way of life and whether they are willing to interact with festival-goers remains to be seen.
Check out their sound, one that is sure to stomp feet, at myspace.com/carolinachocolatedrops.
Squaller Holler signs out with advice from various AFF enthusiasts on how one can make the best of next week's festival. In the meantime, put new wires on the instruments, stock up on sleep, and get ready to pick.
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