35th Annual Stratford Bluegrass Festival

Now that I am on the computer at home will post some photos from the Thursday evening through Sunday morning activity at Stratford, IA.  I will insert here a link to Lee Greenwood - The Story of "God Bless the USA" that I got from LaRhoda Neher - enjoy.

This is Tuesday afternoon - the festival doesn't start until
Thursday.  There were people sitting out jamming almost
around the clock until Sunday afternoon.

Tuesday afternoon, a bit later.

  Here are the schedules of performers.

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The Kenesston Family from Nebraska

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Special Concessions - from The Carolinas

That Dalton Gang, from Lockwood, MO

Casey and the Attaboys from Springfield, MO

The Baker Family, from southern Missouri

We visited with Betty Schneider and her daughter in Fort Dodge

Betty had a lot of flowers out back of the house.

I forget what Betty called these, but she has one for each grand-kid

These triplets had a lot of fun listening to the bluegrass, for a while

These triplets had a lot of fun listening to the bluegrass, for a while

Steve Cabbage from New Market must have a twin -
this guy was with one of the bands and played the big bass

This is attributed to Yogi Berra. I don't know if he actually said these things, but it's great .

Interviewer: What do you expect is in store for the future of jazz trumpet?

Yogi: I'm thinkin' there'll be a group of guys who've never met talkin' about it all the time...

Interviewer: Can you explain jazz?

Yogi: I can't, but I will. 90% of all jazz is half improvisation. The other half is the part people play while others are playing something they never played with anyone who played that part. So if you play the wrong part, its right. If you play the right part, it might be right if you play it wrong enough. But if you play it too right, it's wrong.

Interviewer: I don't understand.

Yogi: Anyone who understands jazz knows that you can't understand it. It's too complicated. That's what's so simple about it.

Interviewer: Do you understand it?

Yogi: No. That's why I can explain it. If I understood it, I wouldn't know anything about it.

Interviewer: Are there any great jazz players alive today?

Yogi: No. All the great jazz players alive today are dead. Except for the ones that are still alive. But so many of them are dead, that the ones that are still alive are dying to be like the ones that are dead. Some would kill for it.

Interviewer: What is syncopation?

Yogi: That's when the note that you should hear now happens either before or after you hear it. In jazz, you don't hear notes when they happen because that would be some other type of music. Other types of music can be jazz, but only if they're the same as something different from those other kinds.

Interviewer: Now I really don't understand.

Yogi: I haven't taught you enough for you to not understand jazz that well.

Later, Lynn