Deke,
I think you've still got a chance. The rules have a little room for maneouvre- it's the first five WITH the best reason.
I've a feeling that Shuie's Law of Inverse Logic may favour those who are delayed in posting because they're making full use of their opposable thumbs, instead of those ineptly typing with two fingers. Pro has software. He KNOWS these things.
CAAS People #3: Elaine Frizzell
One of the best things about CAAS has been learning about great players I hadn't known before, like Elaine.
She was part of the Southern California country scene in the 50s and 60s, was greatly influenced by Merle Travis and Joe Maphis, and is close to the Maphis and Moseley families.
Since she doesn't appear to have a website, I ferreted out this bio from the dark depths of the webbernet:
Elaine...Started playing guitar at the age of nine. First professional appearance in 1955 with Smokey Rogers at the Bostonia Ballroom in Calif. Played on the Monty Hall Show, USO Tours. Appeared at the Foothill Club in Long Beach Calif, KFOX The Squeekin Deacon radio show and the Town Hall Party on Sunday Mornings. Started recording as a session guitarist in 1959. Worked on shows with performers Molly Bee, Jimmy Boyd, Beverly Wilson, etc. Worked 1950’s radio and TV shows on KFMB, KFDS, KCBQ, and KFOX. Also worked personal appearances with artists at the Palamino club, George's Roundup, Fred Maddox playhouse, Harmony Park Ballroom, Cal’s Corral and many others in the LA Area.
Biggest thrill was playing on the stage at Town Hall Party and at the Grand Old Opry as a guest side musician. Attended college 1961-1968 and returned to playing in 1980. I never sang and was always a guest musician or solo player. Took up Banjo and mandolin, but guitar is my stongest point. Learned to play with a “Flat Pick” first. By the second year of playing I learned to “Travis Pick”. Watching Joe Maphis do with a flat pick both single note pickin' and finger picking I started young enough to learn both, kind of like learning two different languages.
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So what's with the double-neck Moserite? Joe Maphis' famous original, built around 1954-55, is now in parts. Elaine's was built for her, with Joe Maphis' blessing, by Semie Moseley, and given to her in 1985.
Elaine had one neck from the original with her, as shown.
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Elaine appears often at CAAS, doing instructional sessions in Travis picking. Her latest recording project is a tribute album on Moserite records dedicated to Travis and Maphis.
Find the story of the album by scrolling down the page here at Nokie Edwards' site. Good stuff!
Lindsey-the-TV-girl had a great visit with Elaine, and thanks to her for these pics.
Lanyard winners...
Y'all said sincere and funny things like :I would like a lanyard because I would have loved to be at the convention but I live quite far away and could not afford to make the trip.
and I would like a lanyard because I have a bunch of keys that need a proper home to be hanging around on that way i don't lose them and for the fact that CAAS is my home away from home :)
and I couldn't make it but experienced enough in this thread to realize I really need to work on my fingerpicking; and this would be a good reminder as I take my keys out of my pocket before I play (I can't play with anything big in the pocket on the side the guitar body sits. Just bothers me.)
and I need the larnyard to declare to the world I'm a Chet disciple, even if it takes me a hundred lifetimes to be a certified CGP. A Chet fan since 5 years old.
and I lost all my old lanyards and AAA passes, including one for Le Mans 24hrs when I played for MG. My Law of Inverse Logic states that I really ought to have a lanyard from an event I haven't attended, instead of the ones that I have.
And the plaintive I'm in the UK and never awake when the call goes up. I would've beaten Shuie had I not spent the last 20 minutes watching Jerry Reed videos - oh, maybe that counts too..
How can I deny any of those requests?
Gretschmaster, drjoe, Adam, jetbunny, Shuie, and Deke all get lanyards. If I don't have your address, get it to me.
Historic 6121 early Filtertron Jet
Here's an amazing guitar.
It's not enough that it's a beautiful Jet with case and lots of original candy. (The guitar looks as good as the reissue we had in the Gretsch display.)
It has to have these signatures scrawled all over it – and imagine the circumstances and memories just getting the autographs must represent. There's a rich concentration of Chet and CAAS history in this one. Feast your eyes!
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I'm sorry I don't have the owner's name; I'll get it.
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TV plays it:
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TV tweaks it:
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Yup, it's OK now.
Thanks again to Lindsey for the photography.
Thanks Proteus-----too cool by half!
Proteus - I've been off-and-on busy over the last week, so I've not been able to hunker down in this thread as much as I'd like to. But a quick read-through shows that your coverage of CAAS is right on with your previous trips - informative, insightful and endlessly entertaining - so thanks for bringing us all the Chet-related goodness we can handle!
Now to keep hitting refresh and win myself one of those pokes!
Oh, and out of curiosity, what happened to the Nokie Edwards stuff? I seem to remember it from last night, but when I went to plug in the headphones this afternoon it's nowhere to be found. Or are my eyes playing tricks on me?
Regardless, great stuff, and keep it coming!
Acoustic Concepts
Chet was well known to have loved acoustic guitars, and while he first came to prominence playing electrics, he started recording with acoustics early on. He recorded numerous all-acoustic albums through his career.
Gibson's promise to develop his concept for the solidbody nylon-string – to deliver acoustic classical tone at feedback-free concert volume – was one of the things that attracted him to that company. And that model, when it emerged, was a forerunner of many such guitars to follow.
So it should come as no surprise that among the generations of players Chet inspired to play and compose in his style there are many great acoustic players. Overall, we probably heard more acoustic than electric guitars in performances and jams at the convention.
A number of innovative builders cater to the market, and their wares were on display at CAAS. Now these aren't your usual suspects, the big names. These are largely specialty builders making beautiful and in some cases quite unorthodox instruments particularly suited to the response, warmth, articulation, and playability required by fingerstyle guitar.
Gorgeous stuff, and I'm not doing these builders justice. But for a taste, some pics.
Delgado Guitars were right across the room from Gretschland.
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In one of the smaller vendor/performance rooms, Kirk Sand displayed a wide selection of his offerings in nylon, steel, and electric. Kirk is deservedly a popular and prestigious builder among the Chet Set.
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Mermer Guitars, displaying in the same room as Kirk Sands, were showing some beauties, including a particularly graceful harp guitar.
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Some of the most unusual, innovative, and striking instruments came from Gadotti Guitars, displaying in the convention lobby. These are fully hollow enclosed "electrocoustic" guitars, beautifully built from a variety of woods with an artist's eye.
They ring uncannily from the body when strummed, particularly from behind the bridge. I would like to have heard one plugged in, but time and opportunity didn't come together.
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Other makers whose acoustics escaped my camera:
Gallagher
Larivee
Leach
Manea
Morris
Stonebridge
Travis
Wallace
Been busy also.. Thanks Pro, Excellent coverage as usual!
Ty, the Nokie stuff is in the first page of the Introducing the 6120CGP thread.
And there's more great Nokie stuff coming.
Oh yeah, and thanks to all who are thanking me, but truly the best is yet to come, believe it or not.
And the thanks are all due to the musicians, builders, and just plain folks who put this shindig on – as well as Joe and Gretsch who let me go. I'm just trying to tell part of the story.
Proteus, I spent quite a lot of time with you at the CAAS, and enjoyed every second of it; but even at that, I am still amazed at the coverage you are providing. Outstanding work my friend. Also kudos to Nobody for a little bit of behind the scenes work. You're doing a great job man.
Thanks,
Richard
Ahh... thanks for pointing me in the right direction! My brain and I have yet to meet this week, so I completely lost track of the other thread!
And I almost forgot...for those who've wondered what the Godin 5th Avenue sounds like, I have Larry Odham putting one through its paces.
In fairness to Larry and the guitar, it was fresh off the display rack with factory strings. Larry said it needed a setup, so neither he nor it were at their best.
Pro, that's a late 57' 6121, pre paf's, angled rocking bar bridge! Nowhere near 1959'.......
JBJ, thanks for the correction. I've made the changes. When writing this up, I confused it with a '59 this fella, Wayne Canning, gave me a picture of.
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He bought his new in '59, and the Polaroid he gave me shows it with all the case candy, tags, and even original extra string sets.
Sorry for the confusion.
Well, that aint a 59 either, but, yeah, gotcha, looks like another 57(earlier) with dearmonds.
Hey man, that's what he called it! But I see it has humpblocks.
'59 may be when he bought it. I'm sure guitars hung in stores for awhile in the 50s as well.
Plaintive...
Cheers Prote, you's a dude.
Pickers, pickers everywhere.
Miscellanous shots from around the show.
My humblest apologies for not getting this player's name, or audio of his playing. It was avant-Chet acoustic revelation, with deep fulminant bass tones ringing from the upper strings. You'll just have to imagine it.
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Lynn Clapp and Tom Doyle. Not only is Tom a great player, but he makes his own guitars.
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You wonder what it sounded like? As it turns out, Lindsey's camera does VIDEO, and she donated some AVIs to the cause. Click for a short snip: Jamming at Broadway Sound.
(Be patient, it's a HUGE file. No ütube-sized postage-stamps here. This is big enough to see.)
As far as I could tell, Lynn savors his role as everybody's rhythm enabler. He could be found almost everywhere, wearing a big grin and his vintage Epi, hunching over slightly and chopping propulsive infectious rhythm for a great player.
I doubt Lynn's playing MAKES them great, but I didn't hear him backing up any hacks.
He rarely took the spotlight, but he's also a full-fledged you-name-your-style lead man as well, and Chets along with the rest.
Here's a closeup of his limited-run orange Nashville Classic 6122-59.
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Lindsey took these pics in the lobby between 4 and 7 a.m....
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That's Bob Saxton in the last pic. We also have audio of him driving the CGP. And heeeere's a bit of early morning video:
The Bob Saxton Minute
This fella had a table in the convention lobby, selling (I believe) performance background tracks. He stood there and picked and grinned and played hot all day. Captures the spirit of the thing pretty well!
Richard,
Thanks for the nod. It was good to see you at CAAS and I certainly enjoyed getting to hear you play. Just really great stuff.
How's about the girth on that Epi in the lobby photo?
Video clips are working now.
SOUNDS OF CAAS Part Next
After arriving at CAAS on Friday, I made a quick reconnaissance of the various venues, snatched a schedule from the front table, and headed off with my camera and Proteus's Edirol (which is a thing of beauty, by the way). I wanted to get inside some of the small-room settings and absorb some of the individual styles of the musicians playing. This, specifically, was one of the original intents of the Roundup.
My first sit-in was with Nokie Edwards (The Ventures) who played, along with three other musicians, to a packed room of about 40 people, some standing out in the hallway watching over shoulders and between heads. I sat in the floor with the recorder, directly in front of Nokie, whom I found would look right at you with a grin while he played...rather like an uncle who is performing a magic trick for you when you're 10 years old. His "drummer" slapped brushes on a pizza box and would flip it over on occasion for a different sound.
Here's Nokie at play.
Click to hear Nokie.
Click to hear more Nokie.
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Down at the far end of the venue, I slipped into a somewhat larger room where two guys were up on stage playing and I knew I had to try to get these guys on "tape" so you could hear them. Loren Barrigar, from New York, was playing, and Mark Mazengarb of New Zealand was playing with him. I talked with each for a few minutes after their performance and Mark is in the States for about a month, doing some playing and some visiting. From what I could tell, he simply knows some of Loren's arrangements.
Loren plays an acoustic with thumb and forefinger, primarily, and is fast and powerful. It's amazing to watch, but more amazing to hear. He was also playing through one of the Bose "stick" sound systems which, I'm here to tell you, well deserves the name it carries. Wow. I could have sworn there was an upright bass playing with him. One could also quickly realize that Loren is at home in front of people, and is a super guy. It comes across on stage. An impressive performer, whom I know performs with Tommy Emmanuel, and I will be looking him up to find some of his music. That's Loren at right.
Barrigar & Mazengarb
Return of Barrigar & Mazengarb
Son of Return of Barrigar & Mazengarb
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If you think, as I did, that CAAS would simply feature a bunch of finger-style Chet players, you would have been as dead wrong as I was. Case in point, Rick Udler, on stage, playing Brazilian music on a classical.
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I stood at the back of the main hall and listened to Richard Smith and his wife Juliette for quite a while. Again, I will admit that I was the ignorant one. You'll hear Richard and his brothers doing their thing in the Saturday night concert sound bites. Here, however, is an example of the range of CAAS and its musicians. Juliette is a cellist...and a rather nicely controlled vocalist, as we hear in this clip. If I can catch Richard in concert with his brothers, I'm going. You should too.
Proteus, Nobody... etc, thanks very much for these reports. CAAS 2009 or bust!
I want a lanyard because I'm big and tough and mean and I'll just take it away from one of the other guys if I don't get one. 
Proteus & Nobody - we have it on good authority, from his manager on a public board, that Tommy Emmanuel will be at CAAS 2009.
Ask Joe C to put a CGP in his hands, ask Tommy to play a Chet medley and a song, or two, of his own and stand back, with the recorder!
Better, Richard should have his own CGP, so a duet is possible........
Some comments posted on a Tommy Emmanuel board (Yahoo Groups) after I put a link to this thread there:-
"Richard - Thanks for the Gretsch Discussion Pages. That was interesting. I wasn't aware that was going on down there. Thought maybe someone would be interested further so decided to write my view.
CAAS (23rd) 2008 was great as always. It is so amazing to see how well people can play plus the younger teenagers can out play a lot of the old timers. Mark Pritcher did an amazing job this year especially having to do without several of his top headliners.
I was also impressed this year with "open mic". Several, I am sure were good enough to have a "set" of their own.
Larry Odham opened the show with several favorites of mine. Heartaches, Mr Sandman and Chicago were among his choices. Pete Cavano, from California, borrowed a guitar as several others did from Kirk Sands. Michael O'Dorn had a real unfortunate situation. Coming from Calif too, he had TSA take his two guitars from him because of their size. When they arrived at Nashville his Kirk Sands was OK but his, I think he said, his Burning Reco (an old valuable guitar) was busted. He was heartbroken. Fortunately Kirk volunteered to put it back together for him. So he was feeling better by the end of the show.
Bryan Browne, the 14 year old guitarist from Australia who was "discovered" two years ago by Tommy thrilled us all again. With him was Joe Robinson, winner of the "You Got Talent" in Australia. He was a fantastic picker.
Wesley Crider with his two brothers were great entertainment plus his son, about 12, knocked us out. He also was hot on the drums. The youngster came up and played once when a drummer wasn't around.
Ben Hall, who won a guitar as a door prize one year, is a smooth player. He also sings great and has a great stage presence. Bruce Mathiske, from Australia too, is a favorite. Very nice to talk to. By day two Bob Saxton, Craig Dobbins, along with several others kept things rolling. Muriel Anderson played some on her harp guitar. There are several that play a harp guitar, thanks to Stephen Bennett for his inspiration.
Edgar Cruz got us all in the mood with helping him out with "O'lahs" again. Meagan Taylor, Chet's niece, has progressed so well in such a short time. Guess it's the "genes". She and Jason Coleman have a great program. He plays "Last Dance" exactly like his grandpa, Floyd Cramer. Floyd and Chet would be so proud.
Some more highlights were Richard Smith. He and Julie played and both sang this year. Then, he had "Hot Club of Nashville" again with a new singer "Annie". Quite an entertainer who introduced the players and announced our Pat Bergeson had gotten married three weeks ago.........to her. Richard's "Gypsy Guitar Summit" was super. I really love that the most, when a bunch get together and they all jam.
Frank Vignola and his band joined in too. He was a favorite from last year who played for Les Paul. Jim and Morning Nichols was the glue once again. Always available to help where ever they can. Nokie drives us crazy with his "Wipe Out" plus Thom Bresh and Buster B always makes us smile. Thom introduced a guitar that you could fold up and put under a plane seat or overhead. It was something to see. Sounded great too.
Time went quickly and old timers like me were really worn out. But it was worth it. Next year 2009 will be July 8th to the 11th at Sheraton Music City Hotel, 777 McGavock Pike, Nashville, Tenn 37214 (615)885-2200. Call ealy to stay at the hotel. They sell out early on!"
