Truman Price

This Saturday, 9/16, at Newell House (by the SW Corner of Champoeg State Park),  11 a.m. – 3 p.m.:

“Enjoy a free living history event with re-enactors, artisans, and live music! Fun for the whole family!
“Wander the village and appreciate the fine workmanship of the blacksmith, wood carver, and soap maker. Some of these artisans will be selling their wares!
“Revel in demonstrations of bobbin lace, tatting, and spinning. You might be inclined to step lively as you relish fiddle music performed by Truman Price.
Feel the beat as the Chemawa Indian Dancers and Drummers share their culture and talent!” –– From Newell House’ Facebook Page

The memoir is here! Canora:  Notes from an Old-Time Fiddler, Perfect-bound paperback, 8.5″ , 248 pages

Available direct from Truman, 7210 Helmick Road, Monmouth, OR 97361;
(Postpaid.  Paypal address:  truprice@oldchildrensbooks.com .  Or send a check, or email and I can ship with an invoice).
Or catch me direct for a buck off, cash).  Also listed at the big bookselling site www.abebooks.com
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Truman is Oregon’s leading student 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.

Music of the frontiers    A slogan adopted years ago after many Oregon Trail concerts and other historical forays:  it’s okay but s it complete?  The fiddle does a lot  …  & we love playing it.

Next Old-Time Square Dance: 4th Friday at the Oak Grove Grange, 2760 Oak Grove Rd, Rickreall
(located just north of hwy 22 on the west edge of the Salem Hills.)

And a fun gig…  trio with Jane Keefer and Tim Crosby: we presented a one-hour program   “An Appalachian Christmas” — simply  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

A few video song links near the bottom of this page

	CALENDAR— Lots of old calendars here. –   Some of 2017: Jan 14 Sat – 7 pm, Guthrie Park Hall, near Dallas: Square Dance, Tru calling, Cash & Co. music Feb 11 Sat – 7-9:30 pm, Guthrie Park: Square Dance, Tru calling, Cash & Co. music [John Doan brought a music class from Willamette U; they get some special dances to start them off] Feb 15 Tues 12-1 pm, Capitol Rotunda, Salem; Music of the Oregon Trail, solo [that was fun – a class from St. Jo’s came for the concert, a few older folks. The rotunda was so noisy! we moved up the stairs, then into the loft over the Senate chamber – that worked. Feb 28 Tues 12-3,  Mardi Gras, Mission Mill [Great food; and decent faux Cajun music] Mar 5, Sun, 1-3  Bev’s birthday party, Monmouth Mar 11 – Guthrie Park, near Dallas: Square Dance, Tru calling, Cash & Co. music Mar 8, Wed, 6:30-8: Sr. Ctr, Monmouth April 6,7- OOTFA Convo, Rickreall; lots of jamming, & a bit in Friday night concert April 8 – Guthrie Park, near Dallas: Square Dance, Tru calling, Cash & Co. music May  5 – Cinco de Mayo party at Mission Mill May 13 – Music of the Oregon Trail, solo, 10:30-12, at Willamette Heritage Center. May 13 – Guthrie Park, near Dallas: Square Dance, Tru calling, Cash & Co. music May 28, Saturday, 12:20-1:20 : NW Folklife Festival (Seattle), Alki Court; with Adam Price June 10 – Living History Festival, 2 sets; Pioneer Schoolhouse north of Eugene airport June 16, 17 — all day, Rose City Book Fair, Portland June 24, Sat @ noon- World Beat Festival, Salem; True West Adventures, or maybe Whirled Beets… With Wes, Paul, Don Taco – lively music! July 8, Sat. Dance at Champoeg,  6-8:30, music by Worn-out Shoes (and an Oregon Trail song or two) July 10 — A pleasant 2.5 hours fiddling for “1st Step Clinic” in Salem – August 13 — Square dance: Salt Creek School, Worn Out Shoes Moon songs at eclipse party: Vivian Williams, Adam Price, Tru & Suzi, Bruce Reid, Kevin Aug 19, 20, 21 -Eclipse party, our house, lots of music Aug 30 – Interview by Kurt Dugan and John Adams, on KMUZ Aug 31 – Calling, Dance at Hillsboro school, with Worn-Out Shoes’ music Sept. 4 – with the whole Keizer jam gang –  Knox Presbyterian Picnic, 5 pm Sept. 10, Keizer jam: Tunes that were played Sept 16 – solo – at Newell Pioneer Village, by Champoeg park 11-4 – music & dancing Sept. 22, Fri – Old Time Dance, at Oak Grove Grange, 2760 Oak Grove Rd, Rickreall; music by Worn-Out Shoes. Truman calling and helpin’ with the fiddle. Oct 1:  Annual CSA potluck/music & square dance at Minto Brown Growers’ farm stand, 3394 Brown Island Road So, Salem (then another 300 yds on the Brown Island Road to the farm stand). With Worn-Out Shoes. 4:30 to 7 pm. Get there early!
	poke here for some of 2016  poke here for 2015 –,  Lots of old calendars here.

• 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 second 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 STOPPED ATTENDING FOR A WHILE WHEN A MUSICIAN DROPPED A GUN ON THE STAGE. .. but I go sometimes.  It was, until then, 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, and often find excuses for extra turns for themselves). Music includes country-western, older pop, folk, fiddle tunes and waltzes. If the weather is nice, old-time-fiddlers may move out to the porch.]]
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  About the Oregon Trail music and lore:
  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 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!

  An aside: For twenty years I’ve been fiddler for the annual Guadelupe
  dances on/around Dec. 12 with the local Mexican community.  A wonderful
  experience.  Anyone can attend, and the food after is super.  Here’s
  a page about them: About the Dances for Guadelupe Celebrations

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• 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 few nice verses of June Apple filmed by Ray Leach at Centralia Campout August 2005, trio with Adam Price and Tom Peloso (of Modest Mouse):

  • June Apple

  These are with Adam on banjo, at 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!—

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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)

  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