Truman Price

Music of the frontiers . . .

MEMOIR   Canora:  Notes from an Old-Time Fiddler, Perfect-bound pb, 8.5″, 254 pages (some nice comments from readers…)   photos on the book covers: front: granddaughter Nia, 15+ years ago; rear: the “music room” at our house, when we had monthly jams…

2022 Calendar begins at last!

Wed, Mar 17 (St. Pat’s Day) 6 pm – solo, Opening for Pirate Jenny. Irish + Pirate Rock!  Alberta St. Pub, PDX
Sun, Apr 17. – Dallas, zoom from/with John Cobb Eco Farm, 4 – 5 pm…
Sat. April 30 – Independence Heritage Museum Opening: solo, 1-3 pm (break for ribbon cutting at 1:15)
Sat. May 7 – Sheep-to-Shawl at Mission Mill, Salem, 10:15-11:30, solo
Sat, May 14 – Polk County History Museum, Rickreall; solo, 12:30 – 4 pm
Sat Jun 4 (??) – 9-10 a.m, for Helmick Park Anniversary of Oregon’s 1st state park ?? (if I can arrange it!!)
Mon., Jul 4 – 1:45-4 pm at Newell House, on the SW corner at Champoeg State Park
Sat. Aug. 27 – Brownsville Pioneer Days – wandering minstrel, 1-4 pm

…  some leftovers from late 2021 (high spots):
4th of July — Riverview Park,  4:30 – 5 pm.  w/ Nathan Anderson of MusicalIndependence.  Theme: Patriotic songs!  (inc. Woody Guthrie, Phil Ochs, “Uncle Sam’s Farm”!)
June 30 – Capitol Manor outdoor party, 1-3, solo
July 10 – Sat., 11-1; for Sons & Daughters of the Oregon Trail, at Champoeg.
Nov 11 – Friday, 11 am – solo, Veterans’ Day, for Hidden Lakes in Salem… inc. the military anthems…
Wed. Dec. 8, 6 pm – solo, Open for Pirate Jenny – Pirate Rock!  Alberta Street Pub, Portland.
Dec 12 – danzas por la Senora de Guadelupe, Albany at 11:30, and in Independence at 4-6 pm at St. Patrick’s Church.
We had a few square dances scheduled, all cancelled as super-spreader events.

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GENERAL MUSINGS:… and brags… a few old video links near the bottom of this page … notes on lessons …

Recent memories:  Summer of 2018…  sunny Saturday Mornings at the Independence Saturday Market.  On the first warm day I fiddled  2 1/2 hours straight, a wide variety, from hoedowns to show tunes: after each straight to the next without a break, always changing key, and genre, and alternating between bare tunes and songs with lyrics.  Later, I wrote down the tune list, 60+ …  tunelist  here.

Enjoyed The Elements that made Old Time Fiddle, a program for Santiam Historical Society, Stayton, June 2018.  First, violin: Mark Babson sampled baroque/classical/ romantic violin pieces; then I sampled different threads that contributed to old-time fiddle: 1) an ancient tune, Soldier’s Joy, inc. how it can be played many ways but is still the same; 2) a tune played in an open tuning; 3) the Scots/Scots-Irish migrations to Appalachia and the Mixolydian mode of the bagpipe chanter; 4) the influence of African-American fiddlers; 5) synthesis of these in a tune from SW Virginia; 6) for contrast, a regular New England/Eastern Canada tune; 7) a French Canadian tune;  8) the influx of rags; 9) swing; 10) Scandinavian; 11) a Norteño tune; and, 12) for where do all these tunes come from?, how I made “The Swallows”, and played that.  A one-hour romp through old-time fiddle, and a hit.

The St. Paul Rodeo July 3 was fun: Opened and played breaks for The Bronco Billy Band.  No set list; old country-western standards alternated with fiddle tunes named for hoofed animals, finishing with Bill Staines’ great rodeo rider’s lament, Sweet Wyoming Home, yo-de-lay-ee oo… which they hadn’t heard of, I think… (all went well!)

The “Steam Punk Jane Austen Ball” near Halloween was a different kick —  dozens of extraordinary costumes wending through the hospitality tables in the formal Grand March around the upper floor of the Mission Mill Building, straight into reels, squares, circles. I love doing this!
Poke here for 2017 
poke here for some of 2016
 poke here for 2015 –,  Lots of old calendars here. … & a few old photos

		Solo fiddling and calling, an 1800’s Reel at Newell House, for an authentic 1859 dinner and dance. – Suzi on the left. The lady in the gray skirt skirt twirled in the center of “Bird in the Cage”… touching everyone’s ankles!

LOCAL JAMS:  
Appalachian fiddle tunes: Intense Appalachian fiddle tunes jam in Keizer on the second Sunday of each month.  Here’s a few recent tunelists. About half of the core group of 15 or so musicians show up at any particular jam. Inquire.
Second Wednesday each month, Monmouth Senior Center, 6:30 – 8pm; (a few friends practice/perform) musicians and listeners welcome!
Mix, tunes and wild songs: in Corvallis, 2nd Thursdays of each month; at Old World Deli, 7 pm; hosted by Wild Hogs in the Woods.
General jam: Guthrie Park, 3 miles south of Dallas at 4320 Kings Valley Hwy, was held

every Friday night, 6:30-10 pm, for 28 years, before Covid (I never missed a Friday from the first session for ten years or so).  [[Note — I stopped for a while in 2019  after a lead musician dropped her loaded pistol on the stage… and I haven’t resumed after covid.]  A large jam – 10 to 20 musicians each week, a large and faithful audience of folks listening or dancing.  Supposed to be a strict rotation around the circle of musicians; country-western, older pop, folk, fiddle tunes and waltzes.  If weather is nice, fiddlers may move out to the porch.

Ancient History:

—-> An Appalachian Christmas – “Presenting three of the valley’s most respected folk musicians Truman Price, Jane Keefer, Tim Crosby.”

The “Appalachian Christmas” with Jane Keefer and Tim Crosby was fun to do!  I was asked for an hour program; we studied, laid it out, practiced once and nailed it: great: widely varied, perfect; many groups around the valley would love to have it  —  if only they knew about it!  details

• ABOUT THE OREGON TRAIL MUSIC AND LORE:
  In the 1980’s, back to Oregon after many years of random fiddling, including a few years in Western Virginia, I was asked to put together a 40-minute set of authentic music of the Oregon Trail as introductions for 16 performances of the Oregon Trail Pageant at Champoeg.   Jane Keefer and I quickly recorded a cassette collection (later a CD, Songs of the Oregon Trail);  then 16 solo performances each year at the Pageant (Jane was working back East).  In the next few years the Oregon Historical Society sponsored 50+ one-hour presentations, schools, libraries, conventions; usually solo, sometimes duo or trio with True West Band.  Another 24 times solo for Oregon Trial Interpretive Center near Baker. And many more, from a few songs to two hours +… (– which seemed short!).  And, Oldtime dance: have called over 100 evenings of dance for various adultish groups; also taught a variety of old dances to about 15,000 kids grades 1-6, in 60+ schools, through Artists in Schools.
•     —> Seattle concert with son Adam Price – fine banjoist, fine person! —>
• <— Aside: For 25+ years I’ve been violinista for the annual danzas por la Señora de Guadelupe on/around Dec. 12 with the local Mexican community.  A wonderful experience.   Anyone can attend, and the food is superb.
• Here’s a page  About the Dances for Guadelupe Celebrations
• and a brief sample of one tune: Pico Perico
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