Santa Cruz River Band Newsletter

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August, 2007


Gilbert Brown , Michael Ronstadt ,
Ted Ramirez

Here we are with our second Newsletter of the summer!....The Band is in the middle of a three month tour, presently in the States and Canada. We are happy to fill our Newsletter with thrilling items, as they write in with their escapades. (They must make the most of the sun wherever they are, as we cannot promise it here in Wales! ....and I wish they'd stop singing that Plain song!)

Kristy and I have managed to glean articles and comments from Michael, Ted and Gil to entertain you. They are away from home for a long time and we are thinking of their families, and especially their wives, Loraine and Deb, who keeping the Home Fires burning! So in we go......!

In this issue:

Tales From The Trail

Ted Ramirez

Hello Good Friends, here’s another tale from the trail…

Our journey, from the start, has been quite an adventure, we had a lot of things to fix on Bessie before departing and most were expensive and entailed hard work. Gil our master mechanic, Michael his first mate, did most of the work-I am not allowed near anything sharp, hot or higher than 3’ off the ground, but I do what I can!

We replaced Bessie’s refrigerator and generator, again both jobs involved major work and expense-not to mention the many smaller items costing lots of money and causing dozens of minor and major cuts, burns, headaches and other miscellaneous and painful injuries. Oh well…we are all better men for the experience right? Oh, by the way…did I mention we recorded a new album before leaving Tucson?!

In between all the craziness of getting ourselves ready for our 3 1/2 month tour we headed back into the studio and recorded our 4th album entitled “Signal Fire”. It is a collection of eleven songs including three new originals: “Solano’s Hats” by Gilbert, “Wagon Mound” by Michael and “Born Unaware” from me, also included are: “Friend For Life”, “California Blues” “There’s No Tortillas”, “Home Place”, “Ar Lan Y Mor”, “Cielito Lindo” “Serenata Huasteca” and “Lonesome When You Go”. We hope you like our new album-we look forward to announcing its official release very soon…

OK–we finally got Bessie into good shape and headed out of town around 11:00 pm on a clear, beautiful Monday night. We drove to Deming, New Mexico where we pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot for a few hours sleep. The Wal-Mart Company loves RV’ers and invites them to spend the night anytime. You find RV people and truckers getting much needed rest there most nights of the year. Late at night a Wal-mart parking lot can look like a gypsy campground or some kind of high-end hobo jungle…

The next morning we were up early and ready to go. The new generator and fridge were working great and we made our way to Boulder, Colorado to play for the “Center For People With Disabilities” (their annual fundraiser). We have been the event’s featured attraction for the last three years. It is a terrific event and an added bonus is I get to visit with my sister Maria and her family. My brother-in-law, David is the director of the “Center For People With Disabilities”, and they live in Broomfield just outside of Boulder where the event is held. The event was a success again this year and we had a fine time. My one and only regret is that we were unable to see our good friends at the Jazzy Bean Coffeehouse… I wish we had been able to do that, but time did not permit.

The next day we were back on the road and bound for Cedaredge, Colorado for our second concert of the tour. We spent the next week going between New Mexico and Colorado playing little theaters and really cool folk music venues like “Blu Sky” and “Steve’s Guitars”. Most of these places were first-time visits so our audiences, though very appreciative, were at times small. Our goal is to visit new venues in hopes of expanding our fan-base and increasing our performance territory. It takes a lot of energy to win new fans, but we are not shy or afraid to put forth the effort required-we do what needs to be done, and we never give a half-hearted show. In fact, the smaller the audience the more we give to make sure they come back the next time we pass through. Hopefully they will return and bring along a few friends.

Our Albuquerque concert was a very special-we had 2000 people turn out and it was a terrific night! We like playing Albuquerque-they know how to put together a community event. It was also great to see our friends Linda Bolton and fellow folk artists Don and Victoria Armstrong. We’ve always been so impressed with Albuquerque’s enthusiasm for their community events-it is truly outstanding-they know how to have a good time!

Another very special time was in Cimarron, New Mexico where we played one of the best cowboy taverns in New Mexico. We had the opportunity to see our dear friends Stan Lark and his beautiful wife Dawn. Stan is the bass player for the legendary “Fireballs”. Remember the rock classics “Sugar Shack” and “Bottle of Wine”?

“The Fireballs” were on the music scene touring with Buddy Holly, Whalen Jennings, Johnny Cash and many other great acts. The Fireballs are still active-they play all kinds of special events and concerts, and they all still live in New Mexico where they were born. It was a great to see Stan and Dawn… They are planning to go with us to San Carlos, Mexico when we play there in November. Is anyone else interested?

Our sincere thanks to everyone for attending our concerts in Colorado and New Mexico-we especially thank the venue owners, managers and promoters. We plan to return as soon a possible and look forward to seeing everyone again then.

Next we were off to San Francisco, but not before stopping by Reno, Nevada, to see Gil’s sister Sharon for a visit and a house concert. Sharon has a wonderful home with a great garden-I took the opportunity to spend a little time enjoying the plants before the concert. Sharon’s garden reminded me of the garden my beautiful wife Loraine tends at our home in Tucson. It was a nice to spend a few moments thinking of home… We had a wonderful time at Sharon’s, but the following day we were off again up to and around San Francisco.

The next stop was a concert at the Little Fox Theater in Redwood City, California. This is a turn-of-the-century theater. The Sisters Morales had just played there, and we were to meet up with them in a few days at the popular radio station KPIG Radio near Santa Cruz, California-more about that in a bit...

We had a small but mighty turnout at the Little Fox. Our good friend Sally Yeatman and her friends from San Mateo attended. Linda Ronstadt, Michael’s sister came to see us, she brought a couple of friends too, we also had a few local folk music fans stop by and we were ready to go. We gave them the very best show possible-it was great to play for our special friends that night. I can’t remember having a better time.

You know come to think of it-we might call our summer tour the “Our Sisters Tour”. All our sisters, Linda, Sharon and Maria, are cheering us on and helping to make this tour very special. A special part of this tour includes performing with Linda at the Mariachi Festival in San Jose in late September-she is headlining the festival, with our good friends Mariachi Cobre (Randy Carrillo and crew).

Our agent Michael Wolke booked us into the Mariachi Festival several months ago and at that time we did not know Linda was the headliner. When Linda heard we had been booked to play the festival she asked us to join her for a song during her concert. Wow! What can you say when something like this happens? We are thrilled! Linda is an incredibly powerful influence in mariachi music, and we are looking forward to singing with her-it is going to be very special.

We are equally pleased to be part of this festival. We have wanted to be a part of a major mariachi festival for some time now. We are not a mariachi, as you all know, but we represent the beautiful music of Mexico as taught to us by our mentors, musicians like, Lalo Guerrero, Travis Edmonson, and Gilbert Ronstadt. We play our music with pride and always in a positive way. We’d like our music to help support and preserve the musical traditions of Mexico and the American Southwest. We hope to see you at the festival!

You know, we are always happy to sing for our sisters, and in Linda’s case, sing with her. We love them and thank them for their love and support-they are the coolest! Speaking of sisters! How about the Sister’s Morales?

We were given the opportunity to play and be interviewed at KPIG Radio (a very cool Northern California radio station). The station manager graciously made a little room for us to appear on their most popular radio program. They were very tight on time, so we barely got in, and we really appreciate their efforts and the opportunity.

After arriving at the station we learned that the Sisters Morales (Lisa and Roberta) and their band were being interviewed. When they heard we were there they immediately invited us to join them on-air to sing a song. We were thrilled! We joined them in the studio and sang “Volver Volver” it was absolutely great. I loved singing with them! They are the sweetest and nicest people… After the radio show we headed to a nearby Mexican restaurant to grab a bite and visit.

They are amazing people. They travel as a family, Roberta, Lisa and her husband with their two young children, two band members and a nanny. It is beautiful to see them together taking care of each other. We are currently working on concert ideas, and would like to perform together as soon as possible-hopefully a concert in Tucson and maybe one or more in San Antonio or Austin.

Well there is so much to tell, and only so much time, but there is one more house concert I must tell you about. We had the honor of playing for our friend Jane Bay. Jane is the right-hand person for George Lucas. She attended the Nancy Harris House Concert a few months ago-held just outside San Francisco and decided to put a house concert together for us at her home.

The setting was Jane’s backyard garden-once again the plants started me thinking about Loraine, but I was also was thinking about North Carolina… Jane has a beautiful garden with magnificent oak trees providing shade and beauty. I stood there looking up through the trees’ highest branches at the blue sky and two strong memories came to me. The first one was of my best friend Jimmy Mendoza who died of cancer back in December of 1990.

Jimmy and I had been true-friends since seventh grade, after his death, his mom, dad, Loraine and I took a trip to North Carolina to visit and get to know Scottie’s, Jimmy’s mother’s people. One of the most powerful images I brought back from that trip was of the giant oak trees that lined the country roads and jeep trails on Jimmy’s family tobacco farm. I often remember those beautiful Carolina oaks-the oak trees in Jane’s garden strongly brought back my memories of the trees and Jimmy. I related my Carolina memories to Jane’s sister-she looked at me for a second, smiled and said Jane was originally from North Carolina.

As I stood there looking past the trees to the blue sky another memory came to me. This was an earlier memory. I was about eight-years old and my world consisted of two pastimes, baseball and daydreaming… Lucky for me, I was able to enjoy both at the same place, my neighborhood park. After hours of playing ball–I would lie down on a small grassy knoll and look through the tree branches up at the sky to watch the clouds drift by in the sky. I remember a friend plopping down next to me and asking… “What are you doing”? I replied, “watching the clouds sail across the sky”. He laughed so hard, and I did not really understand why. After he caught his breath-he looked at me, and said “you know Ted, clouds don’t move”! I could not believe my ears. I said all right, just sit back and watch… One of my most wonderful childhood memories is the look on my friends face as he realized that clouds move in the sky. It taught me not to take anything for granted…

Well, we had a great time at Jane’s house concert-we visited and got to know many special and wonderful people. I noticed Mike and Gil talking with George Lucas during our break. They later recounted what Mr. Lucas had said… “if you are doing what you really love-your reward will come from the sky”… I believe that… Oh-that brings back another wonderful memory, but I will save it for another time…

Good friends, I have a lot more to tell, and to think we still have the majority of our tour to go. We are now on our way to Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Canada, Holland, Wales, Ireland, England, and then back to San Jose for the Mariachi Festival and finally Tucson.

Please stay in touch with us-take good care of yourselves. We can’t wait to see you somewhere along the trail, so please keep us in your thoughts. You can be sure you are in ours…

Until we meet again…Adios.

TR

Editor's Corner

Jan Hedgecock

I am pleased to receive a letter from Lynette Mason who came to Conwy two years ago and we met up accidently..she has family connections with Arthur....we spent time together and then she came over again this year and we spent more time together!! Here is what she wrote about her trip!

Dear Jan,

After many months of searching high and low in Tucson, Arizona, home of the SCRB (or "the Boys" as they seem to be known in Wales), I took the next necessary step and traveled to Wales where the cds are readily available for sale. Purchasing them from Maurice was effortless and very satisfactory. Worth every penny of the $1,200 flight and further trip by train to Conwy, Wales. Coincidentally, the 19th North Wales Bluegrass Festival was going on, and I attended every session where group after group were just great. I enjoyed all the music, but I think the band from the Czech Republic, Sunnyside, stole the show time after time. This in no way, though, took away from the great Welsh, English, and American groups and individuals. Despite a great deal of rain, the mood at the festival was truly on the "sunnyside." While in Conwy, I enjoyed my visit with Jan and Maurice, both of whom I met in 2005 when I was in Wales for the first time and ran into "the Boys," who I had not known would be there. Arthur Miscione, a shirttail relative of mine and Gil Brown, took me to the Folk Music Club which was really good and then on through the midnight streets to Jan and Maurice's where Jan came down from bed to offer tea and biscuits and asked what I wanted to do the next day. It was a great visit and this time around was good as well with a day out to Swallow Falls and lunch in Bangor at Herb's among other things although I missed Arthur and his warm smile at every turn in the road. I am glad to see "the Boys" continuing to do well, though, and am very pleased to have three cds to add to my ipod. My grand-daughter, Natalie, who is Arthur's niece, and I will be singing along in the car as we make our way around Tucson's streets once I get home again from this journey across the ocean. Thanks to Jan and Maurice for a lovely time and coming to the rescue with the musical goods.

Lynette Mason
Tucson, Arizona

Beth and Maya stayed with us a few weeks before Lynette came and we enjoyed showing them our beautiful country and introducing them to friends of Arthur. It was a hectic week and made all the more fun by good weather then.....! Maurice and I were so pleased to meet them and become great friends.(Thanks to Maya for teaching me all those different poker tips!)"

A note from Beth and Maya:

At the end of May and into June we had the opportunity to visit North Wales. It was an amazing experience! Just for a bit of background…Arthur was in North Wales with the SCRB the summer before he became ill and fell in love with the country and the people he met while there. We had planned that I would fly out the following summer when the SCRB returned so he and I could share all that he had fallen in love with the previous year.

After Arthur passed away Jan and Maurice extended an invitation for us to come visit…well, after researching airfares, and many emails back and forth for weeks, I finally mustered up the courage to actually do it! If any of you SCRB fans are considering a trip to Wales, I highly recommend that you go. There is so much beauty and history (Maurice is an incredibly knowledgeable tour guide) to be experienced there. I now completely understand why Arthur fell in love with Wales and the people there and why Ted, Michael and Gil continue to return year after year.

I have been asked to write about our trip for this newsletter issue…hope you all enjoy reading about our adventures!

We left Tucson at 11:59 pm on Friday, May 25th and arrived in New York at 7:30 am on Saturday the 26th. We had a great time with my wonderful family in NY and left on Sunday the 27th for London. Our flight left at 3:45 pm and we arrived in London Monday morning at about 7:30 am. We found our way on the Underground from Heathrow Airport to Euston Station where we began our train journey (or I should say train/coach journey) to Wales.

All I had heard from people who had been to Europe was how easy and wonderful train travel is in Europe…well, our trip was long and anything but easy. We finally made it and Jan and Maurice were there to meet us. I won’t go into detail, but if you ever spend time with Maurice, ask him to tell you about it…it is much more interesting when he tells it…perhaps it’s his great accent!

The train station was only about 10 minutes away from their house and as we approached Conwy Maurice said,”OK, get ready…” We came around a curve and had our first view of the Conwy Castle. Yes, Conwy has a real castle. It is truly awesome. I had never seen a real castle before and was just blown away by it. I’ll write more later when I get to the day that we actually visited and walked around the castle and the castle wall.

Tuesday: we had never experienced jet-lag before, but we certainly had a good dose of it…we slept the next day until Jan came up to wake us at 12:30. After sitting and drinking coffee for a few hours…and a visit from Mike Seiler, we took our first walk to the Conwy Visitor Center. Arthur had brought many things home for us from there…

Wednesday: Clwyd Valley for lunch at the Abbey Grange Hotel, a beautiful historic hotel. Met Steven and Llinos (the owners), who presented us with money that came from auctioning the autographed photo generously given to us by Tony, of Mohammed Ali and Elvis Presley. The money was donated to the Pediatric Heart Transplant Fund at UMC in Tucson. Had a wonderful lunch (Jacket Potatoes) with Cled (he gave Maya a beautiful necklace), Beryl (she brought us souvenirs of Chester), Kathie and Joan. We walked to Valle Crucis Abbey…absolutely awesome! Saw big fat pigs, Eliseg’s Pillar and Dinas Bran Castle. Dinner at Jan and Maurice’s with Dave and played late-night Poker!

Thursday: Lunch at the Dinorben Arms in Bodfari…met Dave, the very gracious proprietor and saw the amazing well that the Inn was built around. Then off to St. Asaph (1st Bishop in Wales and the smallest city in the world) for coffee at the Talardy Hotel. Dinner in Deganwy at Nikki Ip’s with Sam of Sam’s Guitars and Sue…delicious dinner and wonderful company. More poker back at Jan and Maurice’s (Jan won…we think it had to do with the wine she had at dinner).

Friday: We toured the Conwy Castle and castle walls with Mike and Lynn Seiler…it was absolutely breathtaking! Construction began in 1283 and was completed by 1287…just mind boggling. Visited the Knight Shop, had a drink at the Bridge Inn and dinner at Jan and Maurice’s with Lynn and Mike – we totally enjoyed Lynn’s delicious quiche. More poker…Maya was the winner again. She’s a card shark or a “Little Scamp” as Jan put it!

Saturday: Trip to Talwrn on Anglesey…had photos taken at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllsantysiliogogogoch (ask Jan to pronounce this for you some time). Had coffee in Trish’s Tea Room then lunch at the Victoria Inn at Menai Bridge. We saw Telford and Brittania Bridge. Back to Conwy for a wonderful ride on the Queen Victoria down the River Conwy (met Bryn, the owner). While Jan worked at Maria’s “Le Gatte” we went along the Promenade to the Great Orme…spectacular view! We went around Llandudno – beautiful summer resort area. We saw the huge theater that the guys perform in, the summer home of the original Alice of “Alice In Wonderland” and the statue of the White Rabbit.

Sunday: St. David’s at Pantasaph…a very overwhelming experience. We walked the Twelve Stations of the Cross and it was like being in an enchanted forest…we found our way to the Grotto and sat for awhile…Arthur was most definitely there with us! Coffee in the Tea Room where we met Emma and Michael – from Tucson – Daphne from the choir and Father Pascal. Lunch with Diane and Patrick at The Glan Yr Afon Inn…a wonderful afternoon. Dinner at Jan and Maurice’s…more poker and Maurice was the winner!

Monday: Visited Dave’s garage, Gwydyr Church with toombs from the 11th century…lunch at La Barrica in Lancaster Square with James in Llanrwst. After lunch we visited his book shop and later drove by his house. Arthur had stayed with James for 2 months so we were thrilled to meet him. Back to Conwy where we visited the Conwy Visitor Center for the 3rd time (we had a lot of souvenirs to bring home!) and took pictures by the Queen Victoria. That evening we went to The Conwy Folk Club for an absolutely unforgettable experience. We met Derek, Phil and Alison, Mick and Rick, Dennis and Tony Franks…Mike Moon was the MC who began the evening telling the story of how it came to be that the SCRB performed there and then went on to talk about the night that Arthur performed by himself. It was truly beautiful…well, after the break Tony Franks went up onto the stage and began by reading an email that Arthur had sent to him upon his return from Wales two years ago…he then sang “The Ballad of Oral Swagger” from Arthur’s “Non-Fiction” album. What an amazing honor…Arthur would have been so incredibly proud! We were.

Tuesday: Jan and Maurice drove us to The John Lennon Airport in Liverpool to catch our flight to Amsterdam where we were met by Akiko (our friend Yumi’s sister) and her husband, Daniel. We visited the Anne Frank House, which was a very powerful experience…then Daniel, knowing the city extremely well, took us on an amazing walking tour. Dinner at a great vegetarian restaurant – where we left our camera…and we spent the night at their apartment.

Wednesday: We took an early flight back to Liverpool where we were met by Jan and Maurice then off to Brian and Susan’s (Maurice’s cousins) for coffee and delicious, home-made scones – made by Susan. Brian was our tour guide for the day…we went to the Wirral and sailed from Secombe at Wallasey on the Mersey Ferry (they even play the song as you board and leave the ferry), the “Royal Iris,” to Birkenhead and sailed across to Liverpool. I had no idea that Liverpool, besides being famous for “The Fab Four,” was such an important seaport! Lunch at the Maritime Museum and then off to Matthew’s Street to see where the Cavern had been, the statues for The Beatles and of course we visited the Beatle’s Shop. Went to New Brighton to see the Irish Sea up close…tea at Brian and Susan’s…then back to Conwy for our last dinner together at Jan, Maurice and Dave’s – dinner deliciously prepared by Dave! Jan and I took a long walk to the jetty and had a most memorable conversation. That night we played our final game of poker for the trip…

Thursday: Off to the train station in Llandudno Junction to catch our train to London…It was VERY sad to say goodbye to Jan and Maurice…they are amazing hosts and now, special friends. We arrived in London and found our way to our hotel. We were there long enough to drop off our bags and go out for our London adventure. Did a great deal of walking and saw Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Buckingham Palace and we saw the London production of “STOMP.” It was great!

Friday: Our flight left at about 10:00am from Heathrow to Montreal, Canada. Even our trip back to the US was an adventure. It turned out that we were stranded in Montreal for the night. It seems that there was a huge computer problem that stopped air travel on most of the East Coast (or maybe the entire East Coast). Too bad we were too tired to go see Montreal as we had never been there before…we stayed in a lovely hotel, ordered room service and were asleep by about 8:00.

Saturday: We finally made it to NY and had a great bar-b-que at my cousin’s house on Long Island to celebrate his birthday. I arrived in Tucson that night at about midnight…Maya actually stayed with our family in NY for another week and I picked her up the following Saturday.

We are already looking forward to our next visit to North Wales and to the next time we can see all our new, wonderful Welsh friends!


The Musician’s Corner

Gilbert Brown

Live Performance Techniques Part 4:
Singing while playing an instrument- Putting it all together

Singing while playing an instrument can, at times, be an interesting balance of the attention. Like walking and chewing gum, it is a learned skill. Mostly it's doing it enough times to let yourself get comfortable. In the case of playing rhythm, it allows you to get more expressive, singing a little before or after the beat if you wish.

Playing lead fills while singing is my particular challenge and I'm just starting to explore that avenue. The song "Vamos al Baille" is a good example. In the chorus, I am holding a single harmony vocal line while attempting to play the fill line that goes with it on requinto. It's a strange sensation for me to feel the brain switch back and forth, not wanting to lock on to either function too much. Holding the vocal note on pitch is the most difficult part for me. Hopefully the fingers remember the way, but, I'm always just a thought away from a train wreck, but that just serves to keep it from getting old.

So long till next time. GB


The Web Page

Michael J. Ronstadt

Greetings to everyone out there in Santa Cruz Cyber Land…

I just want to take a moment to thank all the folks that are helping put this newsletter together. It started out as a small letter to let people know what the Santa Cruz River Band was up to and is developing into a point of focus where we can share some of the experiences we have on the road as well as input from all the wonderful people we meet along the way. The stories, comments, photos, recipes and lore make for a great way to spend a little time.

Kristy has been very busy. Here are some of the new items on the web site that keep making it better and better:

The Sounds Of Arizona radio program, hosted by Ted on KSAZ radio, has a companion web site that displays the song lists of the show. If you live in Arizona, you can listen to the Sounds Of Arizona radio program every Saturday morning shortly after 10am on KSAZ 580 AM. (The hour-long program airs right after the ABC News) Then, you can locate the names and artists of your favorite songs featured on the program anytime by going to the Sounds Of Arizona blog:
soundsofarizona.blogspot.com

You can view the current week's song list, or go to the archive and click on song lists from previous weeks, as well.

More photos are in the Photo Gallery.
Kristy will add the new ones from this trip as soon as I send them on…visit the Gallery at:
santacruzriverband.com/gallery.html

This issue, I would like to share something that a very special friend sent to me the other day, and and I asked her if it would be OK to include it in our newsletter.

Dee Strickland Johnson, better known to some as “Buckshot Dot” is one of the most amazing people I know. Her love of the west and life in general flows from every word in the poems and songs she writes. When I think of Cowboy Poetry or songs about life in the west, I hear Dee reciting the words or singing the song in a way that paints vivid pictures in your heart.

I encourage you to visit her website at www.buckshotdot.com and get to know more about our Arizona treasure, Buckshot Dot.

Here is the little something she sent me the other day, and I couldn’t wait to share it with you…

MR

Duct Tape And Bailin’ Wire
by Dee Strickland Johnson, © 2007

Duct tape and bailin’ wire and chewin’ gum and spit.
It fills my heart with gladness every time I think of it.
Cause my mama and my daddy , I do have to admit,
Could fix most things with duct tape, bailin’ wire or gum or spit.

Stick it up with chewin’ gum, or lick it with your tongue,
If Mama saw the slightest smudge on faces of her young
Why, she’d whip out her hanky, and she’d lick it really good
Then we would get a “spit bath” and it worked. She knew it would.

Dad’s ever handy pocket knife could fix most anything.
Mom was good with bobby pins and paper clips and string,
If it creaked or squeaked, Dad grabbed the can of WDT,
A kiss could fix a funny bone or sooth a skinned up knee.

Duct tape and bailin’ wire and chewin’ gum and spit.
It fills my heart with gladness every time I think of it.
Cause my mama and my daddy , I do have to admit,
Could fix most things with duct tape, bailin’ wire or gum or spit.

My mama and my daddy knew when anything went wrong
They could often make it better with a story or a song.
Wrap it up with bailin’ wire if a thing was troublesome,
Strap it up with duct tape, or plug it up with gum.

Duct tape and bailin’ wire and chewin’ gum and spit.
It fills my heart with gladness every time I think of it.
Cause my mama and my daddy , I do have to admit,
Could fix most things with duct tape, bailin’ wire or gum or spit.

It was patch it with a band-aid, or kiss it if it hurt,
Mom was handy with an apron; Dad, the tail of shirt
They could wipe away the teardrops; they could wash away the mud,
Change a dish towel to a tourniquet to stop a flow of blood.

Now I feel they both are smilin’ down on me from up above,
To remind me, “You fix things up with simple things—and love.”

A Special Interest Spotlight

Kristy Hom
newsletter and website design

Hello Everyone! I hope our newsletter finds you all well! I have the pleasure of featuring a Tucsonian I learned about this month:

Documenting The Stories Of The Southwest

As all of us who are acquainted with the Santa Cruz River Band know, the North American Southwest, like every place in this world, contains stories that tell of the human spirit and condition. These tales contain jewels of inspiration, nuggets of truth, mirages that fool us, and mirrors that reflect what we all feel inside from one time or another. These stories help us to understand, reflect, learn and grow.

There are many ways to transmit or receive a story.: One can tell it directly to another, listen to a musical rendition of a story, or document it through a picture or a photograph. Michael Hyatt of Tucson, Arizona, has been documenting life stories through all these avenues. He is a photographer, historian of folk tales told through music, a collector and producer of music, and a Tucson radio show host of classic and contemporary country music. His openness to opportunities before him , as well as his varied interests, have led him to tell many a story from all walks of life.

It began with the music. Michael comes from a musical family where he was introduced to classical and jazz music through his parents' musical occupations. Throughout his life, Michael has delved into many styles of music, including country, blues, folk, bluegrass, and the traveling music of the road and rail. In 1970, Michael was introduced to Be Bop and Cool jazz as well as photography, by influential friend, musician, and photographer, Charles Pavlich. Michael's photography interest led him to a 1979 trip to Ireland, where he photographed a band called The Boy Scouts. This sparked Michael's interest in photographing bands in the Los Angeles, California music scene. Michael did extensive photographic documentation for the band, X, and photographed other well- known bands and individual artists.

Michael's photographic work includes producing books, calenders, post cards, and prints of his photography in varied and interesting themes. This work led him to being featured in a Santa Monica, California radio interview. That interview launched his interest in radio broadcasting, and within a few years, he began hosting the Route 66 Radio Show in Tucson, Az at KXCI FM Community Radio. He has remained the host of the show for nearly 20 years. The program has changed format and names over the years, and currently the program is nestled in the "Twangin' Tuesdays" country music lineup on Tuesday evenings.

Michael has an avid interest in the culture and history of railroads. While hosting the Route 66 radio program one evening in 1996, a caller pledged $1,000 during that summer's pledge drive. He did so in appreciation of the train songs that Michael played on the program. Again Michael responded to this prompt before him, and teamed up with Rounder Records to produce 7 volumes of classic railway songs. The collections sing the tales of railroad history, how the rail shaped modern life, and the romantic notions of travel, wanderlust, freedom, and spiritual searching. The songs portray the lifestyles of many walks of railway life; of it's workers, of passengers, and of the hobo, to name just a few themes. Country and bluegrass music, which have their roots in the 1920s through 1940s, took inspiration from the railway lifestyle as they developed throughout the years. The collection is available for purchase through Michael's website, at: michael-hyatt.com/railroadsongs/index_rail.php .

Since relocating to Tucson 20 years ago, Michael's photographic work has continued. He has been commissioned to photograph events and issues central to the southwest. In recent years,

he has been photographically documenting the migrant trail from Mexico into Southern Arizona. This includes the undocumented people using the trail, the people offering them assistance, and artifacts left behind in the desert. He has documented for two organizations in this capacity: One is Humane Borders- which lobbies for humane international border polices, and places water stations along desert borderlands to help prevent migrant deaths. The other is the Samaritans, which aims to bring public awareness to these issues.

Michael's photographs have been featured in several books, including, Organ Pipe: Life on The Edge, with author Carol Ann Bassett, In the making of this book, he and the author trekked through the desert at Organ Pipe National Monument. Together, they documented the natural surroundings, the biological life cycle, and the environmental and political impact on the park in recent years. Michael has just released a new book this summer, entitled: Migrant Artifacts: Magic and Loss in the Sonoran Desert. He has authored this book himself, and the book features his photographs of objects left behind, (in the surroundings and condition in which they were left) in the desert by traveling migrant workers and their families. Portaits of migrants and photographs showing humanitarian efforts to save lives are also included. The book is available for purchase through Michael's web site at:
michael-hyatt.com/photography/books/migrantartifacts_howtobuy.php

You can see Michael's photography in person as part of the Midsummer Night's Dream exhibit at the Obsidian Gallery in Tucson, through September, 2007. For information about the exhibit and the gallery, including hours and directions to the gallery, visit the Obsidian Gallery at www.obsidian-gallery.com

Please also tune into Michael's radio program, Route 66, for some friendly commentary, interesting musical anecdotes, and great rootsy "twangin'" music on Tuesday nights from 8-10pm Mountain Standard time on KXCI Radio. If you are in Tucson or Southern Arizona, you can tune into KXCI at 91.3 FM. If you are not local to the Tucson area, you can still listen! The station offers live streaming broadcast over the internet at www.publicbroadcasting.net/kxci/ppr/index.shtml. Michael celebrates his 20 year anniversary with KXCI and the Route 66 radio program in October, 2007.

You can find out more about Michael Hyatt's photography and musical collections, as well as more detailed information on his work and life, at his website: michael-hyatt.com.
New Articles and Reviews

The Band has been cited on the web this summer for upcoming and past performances. Here are a featured few:

Some readers may have attended the Strawberry Music Festival in Jamestown, California last May. Others may be planning to attend the Band's August 10th concert under the "Big Top", as part of the Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua concert series near Bayfield, Wisconsin. For these lucky folks, and for all of us whom would love to attend, these mini reviews are for you!

This review comes from the Festival Preview Roots Blog, which provides online coverage of roots festivals across North America. Dan Ruby, who is the editor and a contributing author to the blog, attended Band's performances at the Strawberry Festival, and wrote this review:

Three Amigos. For me, the unexpected element was supplied this festival by the Santa Cruz River Band, whose presentation of the greatest American adventure tale--the story of the Southwest--was fresh and interesting. "My Beloved Tucson," told in three languages, is a fine song that speaks to the multicultural heritage of the region. Many of the band's songs were performed in a style called "huapango," a polyrhythmic strum that bandleader Ted Ramirez demonstrated during a workshop.

Tish Hinojosa & the Santa Cruz River Band Friday, August 10 at 8:15 pm
(Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua concert series)

Tish Hinojosa has become an artist who deftly blends many styles of music - folk, country, pop, conjunto and more. She has carved her niche in Spanish-language music, favoring a roots-oriented sound honoring her cultural Mexican American heritage within her music. Also on the bill is the Santa Cruz River Band. Michael Ronstadt, Ted Ramírez and Gilbert Brown compose the group from Tucson, Arizona – the trio performs in English, Spanish and American Indian languages. They present a beautiful, intriguing and powerful musical program filled with history and the mystical lore of the Great American Southwest. Their music is authentic and original in every way as it is rooted in the traditional music styles of the United States and Mexico. They create a uniquely beautiful sound with outstanding vocal harmonies and powerful acoustic instrumental sounds.

Folklore - Myth - History - Truth

The Men of Ardudwy

by Jan Hedgecock, Editor

The men of Ardudwy once upon a time found there were no maidens in their district for them to marry. In the Vale of Clwyd, on the other hand, there were so many maidens that husbands could not be found for all. There was a bitter feud however, between the two districts, and the men of Ardudwy could not go a-wooing to the Vale in peace.

Those of the men of Ardudwy who wished to marry determined at last to steal wives for themselves, as they could not get them any other way, and taking advantage of the absence of the warriors of the Vale on an expedition, they swooped down, and, snatching away the flower of the maidens, proceeded to carry them off to the mountains.

Messengers recalled the warriors of the Vale from their expedition, and a strong band of them started hotfoot in pursuit of the robbers. They overtook the fugitives near a lake among the mountains of Ffestiniog and summoned them to yield. The men of Ardudwy, though greatly outnumbered, scorned to surrender, and a fierce battle followed. All day long the noise of splintering spears, swords clashing on swords, and battleaxes crashing upon armour, rolled among the eternal mountains.

At first the men of the Vale rushed carelessly upon the men of Ardudwy, thinking that it was but a light task to overpower the little band, but so many of them fell that they drew off to order their attack better. They carefully marshalled the bravest of their number and charged: a desperate hand-to-hand struggle followed, but the men of Ardudwy, though they lost many good men, at last beat off the assault. They now feigned flight, but as the men of the Vale came on with wild cries and uproar, they wheeled round and cut down so many of them that they fled in disorder. They soon rallied, however, and delivered charge after charge. Time after time the men of Ardudwy flung them back, but they became fewer and fewer with each charge.

In the late afternoon there was a lull in the fray. Then the men of the Vale, gathering all their available force, delivered a last overwhelming charge on the weakened band. The men of Ardudwy sold their lives dearly, piling corpse upon corpse, but they were exhausted with wounds, their spears were shattered, and their swords were hacked and blunted. When the men of the Vale fell back to recover breath and strength, they found that there were only four of the defenders left alive, Though the number was so small, they did not close with them, but surrounded them and plied them with javelins and stones. Still the four of Ardudwy fought on while breath remained in their bodies; then one by one they sank down under the pitiless storm of javelins, and at last there was nothing left of the gallant band but a heap of dead.

Even then, Death had not taken his full toll of victims. The maidens of the Vale had, ere their kindred came up, learned to love their captors. They had been stationed by them on the top of a precipice rising sheer and steep out of the lake, behind the position which was to be defended, and from here they had watched the long-drawn-out struggle. When the last of the men of Ardudwy fell, and the desperate fight was done, they plunged into the waters red with the blood of their lovers and kindred, like some great flight of white birds sweeping down from a wave-washed cliff down to the sea. The still waters leapt in foam: one loud shriek woke the air, and then silence reigned over all.

The lake was called after them Llyn y Morwynion, the Maidens' Lake, and not far from its margin great stones may still be seen marking the place where those who died in this great fight were buried.

La Cocina

This issue of La Cocina features 2 classic recipes, from 2 Kathys, on 2 sides of the Atlantic! First we will feature a yummy appetizer, and then, a scrumptous main course!

Artichoke-Parmesan Spread: Shared by Kathy of North Carolina

preheat oven to 375 deg. Farenheit / 190 deg. Celsius, gas 5
ingredients:
1 head of garlic, roasted and cloves removed from the peel
2 jars of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 c. shredded parmesan cheese
1 package cream cheese, softened
salt to taste (it may not need any)
red pepper flake to taste
fresh basil (if available, optional)

method:
Roast garlic using your favorite method. Place roasted garlic in a large mixing bowl and mash with a fork until well-mashed. Drain artichoke hearts, chop them, and add them to the bowl. Add softened cream cheese, shredded parmesan, a dash or two of red pepper flake (to taste) and some minced fresh basil and mix well. Place in an oven-safe bowl, casserole, or serving dish and heat in a 375 degree oven until bubbly. Serve with crusty bread, pita chips, or whatever else you like.

Corned Beef Hash: Shared by Kathy from Chester

pre heat oven to 200C, gas 6 / 400 deg. Farenheit
ingredients:
2lb. potatoes
1/2 tbs. oil
1 large onion, chopped
12oz can corned beef
14 oz can peeled tomatoes
4 tbs milk
1 egg

method: 1. Cook potatoes for about 10 minutes until tender. Drain. 2. Heat oil, and saute the onions until transparent. Lift out into a bowl for later. 3. Add corned beef, tomatoes, salt & pepper to the onion & mix well. Turn the mixture into an oven proof dish. 4. Mash the potatoes and beat in the milk and beaten egg. 5. Spoon the potato on top of the corned beef mixture, and level off with a fork. 6. Cook for about 25 minutes until brown and crispy.

Thank you very much, Kathy and Kathy! Autumn is coming, and we are looking foward to try these deliciously warm dishes!

That's a big rolling pin, Lady Floppy Ears! I hope it helps to inspire some folks to share their favorite recipes!

If you can boil water, you are a cook as far as we are concerned! Please share a favorite yummy of yours! How about a recipe for a snack, hors d'oeuvres, side dish, main dish, or dessert?

Please email your favorite recipe to Jan or Kristy. Thank you very much!

The SCRB Pony Express

Fresh off the "dusty" cyber trail....new comments from the web site's guestbook and the Band's Myspace page! Thank you Everyone, for coming in to say hello and leaving messages ! It means so much to these three wandering guys to have "letters from home"....as home becomes the folks they meet, wherever they go...

May 29, 2007- Howdy Santa Cruz River Band! Just wanted to thank you again for all the wonderful music you played at Strawberry, both on the Main Stage and at camp. I and my crew of girlfriends camped next to your cabin & thus were blessed to hear your porch jam sessions--such a treat for the ears & soul. We all enjoyed it so much; you have many new fans! Thank you again & peace ~ Nicole

May 29, 2007- Hello Ted and Michael! I enjoyed meeting you and visiting with you and most of all LISTENING and PAINTING you at the Strawberry Music Festival in California! I will be emailing you the photo of me and Michael when I get back home to Arkansas! I love my CD!!! I'll keep in touch! Erika

June 6, 2007- I loved reading about your exciting year of travel.. When are you performing here in Tucson..I must have missed reading that.. Keep up your good work..You are really putting Tucson on the map. One of your many fans
Shoo Shoo Blum

WOW! Great newsletter...and so much good stuff...loved it. Gracias, great job. a friend of SCRB, Irma

June 20, 2007- Dear Ted, Thanks so much for your wonderful performance and workshop at Strawberry. I spoke to you briefly and you said you could e-mail me some wapango strums. If you can find the time, I would be grateful. I'm glad to see you and your band are swinging through California again. I hope to see you at one of these shows. Sincerely, Brian Louks

July 6, 2007- Hey you guys, It's been WAY too long since I dropped by to say hi! There's an ugly rumor going 'round that there are no tortillas... (the sound of quiet weeping in the background) Go get 'em! James

"So, until we meet again......."

Best wishes to all our friends and thank you for your support!

I hope you have all enjoyed this issue and please be assured that another Newsletter is already in the planning stage! We now look forward to receiving your letters, e-mails, guest book comments. Without some communication from you, the folk on whom we depend, we cannot know what you are thinking! So please, let's hear from you! You will be assured of a response.

~High Lonesome Thoughts~

We would like to sign off with a few ordinary words which convey extraordinary meaning...

"Anyone can count the seeds in an apple; no one can count the apples in a seed."
-Annoymous

A thing is complete when you let it be.

" A Rabbit in the burrow is safer than when poking two foxies sniffing at the entrance"

"To doubt is to be caught on the horns of an enema"

~Lady Floppy Ears (of course!)

So, from all of us here at the newsletter: The Boys, Jan, Kristy, and of course, Lady Floppy Ears...

Until we meet again - Adios!

Contact information:

Newsletter Editor:
Jan Hedgecock: jan@santacruzriverband.com

Website and Newsletter Design:
Kristy Hom: kristy@santacruzriverband.com

Information and Spanish Language Contact:
Loraine Ramirez: loraine@santacruzriverband.com

Band Contacts:
Michael Ronstadt: mike@santacruzriverband.com
Ted Ramirez: ted@santacruzriverband.com

Snail Mail:

Santa Cruz River Band
P.O. Box 19023
Tucson, AZ 85730

For booking and Information: info@santacruzriverband.com

Band Website: santacruzriverband.com

Band Myspace site: myspace.com/ronstadtramirez

The Santa Cruz River Band Newsletter, June, 2007