Truman Price
Fiddle and …
| Music of the frontiers
Thinking about that slogan, adopted years ago after many Oregon Trail concerts and other historical forays: it’s okay but not complete. The fiddle does a lot more … we love playing. |
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Hi! Truman is Oregon’s leading scholar of music of the Oregon Trail era… (among other music). He plays fiddle and sings, solo or with the True West Band, or other friends, and calls old-time square dances.
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And more… one example; with Jane Keefer and Tim Crosby; we presented a one-hour program “Appalachian Christmas” — it was just great: widely varied, perfect; many groups around the valley would love to have it! — if only they knew about it. |  An Appalachian Christmas – Presenting a trio of the valley’s most respected folk musicians Truman Price, Jane Keefer, Tim Crosby. details |
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CALENDAR— Lots of old calendars here. – Beginning of 2017:
Jan 14 Sat – 7 pm, Guthrie Park Hall, near Dallas: Square Dance, Tru calling, Cash & Co. music June 10 – Living History Festival, 2 sets; Pioneer Schoolhouse north of Eugene airport June 16, 17 — all day, Rose City Book Fair, Portland July 8, Sat. Dance at Champoeg, in the old barn right behind the Park Offices 6-8:30, music by Worn-out Shoes (and an occasional Oregon Trail song from me) July 10 – Just spent a pleasant 2.5 hours fiddling for the dispensary off 12th street – always a pleasure. August 19 (tentative): in our field, square dance at Eclipse campout ??? MY BOOK IS nearly FINISHED! 270 pages, to printer this week. Canora: Notes From an Old-Time Fiddler. — some of 2016 … |
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Guthrie Jam, January 2010
1800’s Reel at Newell House, solo – Suzanne on the left –
- Busking with Gumbo, Corvallis Saturday Market – photo by Jesse Beam
Local Jams:
Appalachian fiddle tunes: There is a very nice Appalachian fiddle tunes jam in Keizer on the first Sunday of each month. Inquire here, or of Roger Applegate. Here’s a few recent tunelists. Same group sometimes at our house on the Third Sunday, not summer, erratically. About half of the core group of 15 or so musicians show up at any particular jam.Inquire.
Appalachian fiddle tunes: in Corvallis, 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month; at Old World Deli, 7 pm
Second Wednesday every month, a few friends practice/perform for a small but regular audience at the Monmouth Senior Center, 6:30 – 8pm; come in, musicians and listeners welcome!
General jam: Guthrie Park, 3 miles south of Dallas at 4320 Kings Valley Hwy, has been running every Friday night, 6:30-10 pm, for 25 years (I never missed a Friday in the first ten years or so). [[NOTE– I’VE STOPPED ATTENDING SINCE PEOPLE STARTED BRINGING GUNS TO THE JAM. I’ll let you know if there’s a change of heart. ]] A very large jam – 10 to 20 musicians each week, a large and faithful audience and folks dancing. It follows a strict rotation around the circle of musicians around the floor (although there is a dominant group who sit on the edge of the stage, a mushy 12-string and an accordion). Music includes country-western, older pop, folk, fiddle tunes and waltzes. If the weather is nice some of the old-time-fiddlers may move out to the porch.
– – – – –About the Oregon Trail stuff:
30 years ago I was asked to put together a 40-minute set of authentic music of the Oregon Trail as introductory music for 16 performances of the Oregon Trail Pageant at Champoeg. I researched and with Jane Keefer recorded a cassette collection (now a CD, Songs of the Oregon Trail CD Truman and Jane Keefer) and with two other friends did 16 performances there.
Later the Oregon Historical Society sponsored 50+ one-hour presentations, schools, libraries, conventions; usually solo, sometimes
duo or trio with True West Band. Since then have done many more, from a few songs to two hours +… the material is wide-open… (The two-hour set seemed short!)I enjoy Seattle concerts with son Adam – fine banjoist, great musician!
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An aside: For twenty years I’ve been fiddler for the annual Guadelupe dances, on Dec. 12 with the local Mexican community. They have been a wonderful experience. Anyone can attend, and the food after is super. Here’s a page about them: About the Dances for Guadelupe Celebrations
– – – – –Some Video: Solos filmed by Josh Meredith & Bob Zybach near Corvallis 2005, part of a presentation on the old California-Oregon Trail which ran through that meadow. Note: We had just spent two hours finding camas roots and grubbing blackberry vines out of the watershed, and were all kinda muddy!
- St. Anne’s Reel
- Uncle Sam’s Farm
- Oh Susannah (the Gold Rush hit version)
- Nelly Bly
A bit filmed by Ray Leach at Centralia Campout August 2005, trio with Adam Price and Tom Peloso (of Modest Mouse):
These are with Adam Price on banjo, at the Northwest Folklife Festival, Seattle, Memorial Day Weekend 2007:
- Frosty Morning
- Mississippi Sawyer (with the modal D-C second part)
- Wait for the Wagon
Most of these videos, and a few others, are on YouTube, some with nice comments – poke here, or just enter the words “old time fiddle” and see what comes up!— I think I do some of ’em better these days…
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Two CD’s:
- Songs of the Oregon Trail CD Truman and Jane Keefer
- Rough and Ready CD Truman and Wes
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Lessons: I’ve taught, beginning violin to advanced fiddle, for many years. Several former students have become very impressive players and bandleaders. Also have enjoyed doing a workshop “fiddle for violinists” , seven times at NW Folklife and last year for the Oregon Oldtime Fiddlers annual convention in Rickreall; always with good feedback.
From the desk window in Early Spring . . . . . . . Same thing in June, with organic Jerseys . . . . . . . Hey, Stop Scaring My Cows! (Sept 1) - Working on my memoir — Notes From an Old Fiddler;… only about half-way through the essential now-read-it-aloud step, and its already gardening time… more hours needed!
Addenda: Books: We make part of our living selling antiquarian books, especially children’s literature, and Suzanne’s site at http://www.oldchildrensbooks.com is nice. I offer a few hundred books of folk music, (not my personal collection of a few hundred more) which can be searched here. Use as keywords either “folk music” or “fiddle”. And we sell some of that nice Jersey beef glimpsed in the photos above. Contact – truprice@gmail.com
