The term “Barbershop Quartet” evokes Norman Rockwell’s famous 1936 painting that captured a barber, his patron and two others holding what must have been a lovely moment of four-part harmony. This enduring bit of Americana is as charming as it is incomplete. More problematic is that the image implies a deeply flawed understanding of the origins of barbershop singing.
Click here to visit a podcasting site dedicated exclusively to barbershop singing.
The music samples in this podcast were taken from the websites of the following barbershop groups. You will find their CDs and individual tracks for sale at these sites:
Boston Common
Barbershop Strut 
If There Never was an Ireland
You Must have Been A Beautiful Baby
St. Louis Harmony Chorus
Winter Wonderland
Capri
Start of Something
Spice Quartet
Two Tickets to Georgia
My Buddy
Host and Producer: Bill Troxler
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Listen to Snow Owl, emcee of the Native American Festival explain the tradition of the Grass Dance and other forms of dances typically performed during pow wows. After Snow Owl speaks, White Buffalo sings and drums the Grass Dance while one performer demonstrates this Native American dance.
Host: Snow Owl
Producer: Bill Troxler
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Posted in Music on Nov 20th, 2008 No Comments »
Listen to Jon Richstein Interview Singer-Songwriter Greg Trooper. Greg performed in the CCA Acoustic Music Series on November 1, 2008. Jon interviewed Greg following the concert.
To visit Greg Trooper’s website, click here
Host: Jon Richstein
Producer: Bill Troxler
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The next CCA Acoustic Music Concert is March 28, 2009. Award winning Bryan Bowers returns to the CCA stage. Tickets available online at www.chincoteagueculturalallinace.org
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The thigh bone of the extinct cave bear, a harp of ninth century Wales, itinerant noblemen singing in twelfth century France and performers entertaining an audience on Chincoteague Island. The connection among all these obscure dots in history defines a profound human tradition that survives in spite of the modern ambush of technology and weapons of mass marketing.
The song Bristle Cone Pine that appears at the end of this podcast was performed by Bryan Bowers. This song and seventeen others can be found on the CD of the same name. Visit Bryan’s website for purchasing information. Come hear Bryan Bowers in person on Saturday, March 28, 2009 when he performs as part of the Chincoteague Cultural Alliance’s Acoustic Music Series. For more information and to purchase tickets visit the CCA website.
Host and Producer: Bill Troxler
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CCA Sponsored the 2nd Native American Festival in Robert Reed Park on November 8, 2008. The event included drumming, dancing, signing, demonstrations of various Native American crafts and a ceremony honoring veterans. The Festival was held on 2nd Saturday. Many of the Native Americans who attended the Festival also demonstrated their crafts in shops and galleries throughout the Island.
Listen to Bill Troxler interview Native American potter and flute maker Jeremy Wright.
Host and Producer: Bill Troxler
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Few cultural alloys are better documented but more poorly understood than bluegrass music. Most listeners have a vague notion that bluegrass music originated in the Appalachian region of the United States. But the music’s path from the wind blown heather of the British Isles to the high lonesome sound of the Appalachians remains unknown to many listeners.
The tale of bluegrass music involves an English music publisher, immigrants, a king from Holland, kidnapped Africans, a French dance craze, a Broadway star, and a handful of hot musicians from the 1940s.
The music in this podcast was sampled
from the following recordings.
Foggy Mountain Breakdown. Played by Earl Scruggs. This tune appears on the CD titled The Essential Earl Scruggs produced by Sony Music and Columbia Records 1948. www.legacyrecordings.com
Black Nag [from the Playford Collection] Played by Bill Spence. This tune appears on the CD titled The Hammered Dulcimer. Front Hall Records, 1975. FHR 05. www.andysfronthall.com
John Greer’s Two-Step Played by Hobart Smith. Recorded by David Flemming Brown in 1963. This tune appears on the CD titled Hobart Smith in Sacred Trust the 1963 Fleming Brown Tapes. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings SFW CD 40141 www.folkways.si.edu/
Salty Dog Played by Earl Scruggs. This tune appears on the CD titled The Essential Earl Scruggs produced by Sony Music and Columbia Records, 1948. www.legacyrecordings.com
Bonaparte’s Retreat Played by Hobart Smith. Recorded by David Flemming Brown in 1963. This tune appears on the CD titled Hobart Smith in Sacred Trust the 1963 Fleming Brown Tapes. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings SFW CD 40141 www.folkways.si.edu/
Host and Producer: Bill Troxler
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The heart beat of the 2nd Native American Festival 
in Robert Reed Park was provided by White Buffalo Drum Group. Led by Lakota Tribe member David White Buffalo, the six drummers and singers performed four hours of music for dancers and listeners. At the close of the Festival, Bill Troxler and David White Buffalo discussed Native American music.
Note that the audio of this podcast was heavily processed to screen out the worst effects of wind, crowd noise and a nearby roaring generator.
Host and Producer: Bill Troxler
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