Pembroke Observer Article Sept 2010

Pembroke Observer Article Sept 2010 editorial

Drum roll please!!! And the big winner of the April Verch Band’s first ever Summer Pursuit is………………Martin Heil of Verona, WI!!! Martin will walk away with a whole slew of April Verch merchandise including current and out-of-print recordings, 2 comp tickets to an April Verch Band concert listed on the tour dates page any time in 2010 or 2011, plus some great surprises that AVB picked up along the summer!! In addition, thanks to the wonderful support from D’Addario, we have all kinds of additional goodies and surprises that we will send to Martin as well.

A very special thank-you goes out to everyone who participated in this first ever online scavenger hunt, the response was amazing and, as always, we appreciate your ongoing support.

April’s a cover girl!  Check it out!

Well we announced this exciting cruise announcement a couple of months ago, but many of you thought we were talking about this summer…  And the good news is that we were talking about NEXT summer – June 4-11, 2011!  Know what that means?  You have time to save, time to plan, time to book vacation days, time to pack…  It’s going to be a blast!

The April Verch Band, Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas and Matt & Shannon Heaton will board the Holland America’s luxurious Zuiderdam in Vancouver and travel up the west coast to awe-inspiring Alaska!  Delectable seafood and breathtaking scenery complimented with the sights and sounds of fiery fiddling and charismatic dancing all coming together to create an unforgettable week.

Yep, we’ve been spending some time in the south. Can someone remind me what it’s like to have a shower and not feel hot and sticky 5 minutes later? It’s been a hot summer in more ways than one so far… And the humidity has been outrageous – I have been enduring hair issues (frizzy on my head, loose on my bow). But I have been having so much fun despite all of this that I really don’t mind. I can endure nearly anything for music and excitement like we’ve had the past few weeks. And summer’s only begun!

The Blue Ridge BBQ & Music Festival in Tryon, NC (where we kicked off our June tour) was great! We heard some great music there and ate some mighty tasty ribs. We hung out in Lake Lure for a couple of days beforehand with Marc, Marie & Clay’s family which was swell. Clay’s neck of the woods is purty darn nice and we love spending time there. We went swimming between practicing and eating (more eating…I know…we seem to do a lot of that!)

From there we headed to Independence, VA for the Peach Bottom Farm Fiddle & Strings camp. I’ve done this camp a few times now and each year it just gets better and better. I was especially thrilled to spend time with my good friend Shane Cook who was also teaching there. The instructors were first class, students were keen, jams were great, the scenery is amazing there – the camp has a real family vibe to it. I was sorry to see the week end. You should all come there next year – it’s really growing and will fill up quickly so stay tuned for their 2011 dates!

I had to duck out of camp immediately when it ended at noon on Friday because that night I had a special gig in Nashvegas! As some of you might know I was honoured to perform at the Station Inn with the John Hartford String Band at their CD Release Concert for “Memories of John”. It was a long drive to TN and then back to VA, but 10 minutes in the green room with those musicians made it all worth it before we even stepped on stage. What a thrill! And so many touching moments in tribute to John. There are some videos on my youtube channel you can check out, featuring the JHSB and other special guests as well, including Casey Driessen, Alison Brown & David Grier!

The next day we drove back to Virginia, to Elk Creek, to visit with wonderful fiddler and great friend Jerry Correll & his lovely wife Donna. We had a jam session and went fishing in the New River. It was my first time wading. I caught 3 fish (and Jerry let me reel one of his in so I’m not counting that one!) It was amazing. I can’t wait to do it again!

From there I flew to Minnesota for my first time at Brian Wicklund’s fiddle camp – Lake Country Fiddle Pal Camp. There are so many amazing people in this world and I feel so lucky to do what I do and get to meet so many of them. Everywhere I go there are people I feel so fortunate to meet and get to know and my week in Marine on St. Croix was no exception. This is another exceptional camp with truly fantastic teachers (I learned a bunch from them) and I highly recommend you check it out if that’s your “thing”.

My friends Bill & Kate Isles picked me up after camp and I’m hanging with them for a couple of days until I fly to WY for the gig we have there this week (on Canada Day actually! Happy Canada Day everyone!) Last night we played a gig in Falcon Heights at Coffee Grounds, tomorrow we’re doing a TV spot at 6 AM (yikes!) and some other promo stuff. I’ll be catching up on emails and work and getting a bit of rest before I leave on Wednesday. And I won’t have to say good bye to them for long as I’m joining them for a bunch of dates in July after the Swannanoa Camp’s fiddle week! 

And that my friends is the report from Bill & Kate’s deck.  Until next time, take care and have fun!

We’ve had a great spring and wonderful start to our summer. Heck, when I think about it, 2010 is kickin’ some major arse! So much excitement! Our April tour of the Midwest was one of our best of that area for sure – other than it ending with me jamming my finger in an old farmhouse screen door (it’s STILL blue & purple and bumpy but it plays just fine!)

At the end of April into the beginning of May I taught at the Fiddle Star Adult Camp for Megan Lynch at her beautiful home in Goodlettsville, TN. I got to hang out with a bunch of great fiddlers (the ones making funny faces in this picture) and had a great time! I was also there for the unexpected and devastating floods. I have witnessed snow and ice storms but never the power of water in a flood before. My thoughts are still with all of those recovering from the damage in and around Nashville.

After camp I hung out in Nashville for a couple of days and got to visit my ex-AVB’ers Chris Jones and Jon Weisberger and even did a little song writing. That’s right. Songs with WORDS! Our audiences on the May tour got to hear some of these new songs and I’m excited about them and about doing more writing… Go me go!

Our May tour was around the Northeast – NJ, NY, CT, MA, ME, PA. We had a few days off in the middle the tour which we spent in Kennebunk, ME working on new material for our upcoming recording. We are hoping to record again early in 2011 (Can’t really be sooner or later than then cause we’re all booked up! Yayayay!) We worked really hard and have started road testing 6 new arrangements and have plans for a bunch more. It feels really good to be working on new stuff and we are getting stronger as a band (as evidenced in this picture). Old-timey, old country-ish is the trend so far. I love it! We also got to see our dear friends Mac & Rae Ann McLanahan (of Rose Garden Coffeehouse and Nashville Clippers fame) for a brief time while we were in MA. They are super people and we miss seeing them, so even a brief visit is a much needed retreat. (That’s all of us in their backyard for breakfast after our gig the night before).

I got sick at the end of our last tour. Food poisoning. Not from anything to do with gig or festival food. But my thanks to Cody & Clay for pulling all of their weight and all of mine for the long drive from MA to PA and throughout that festival weekend while I tried to get by on Pedialite & Crackers. It worked. Thanks again guys!

We all got home about a week ago and are enjoying time with family and friends. My sister is getting married next weekend! Then we’ll be back out on the road to really start our summer touring as of June 9 (not home again until July 31). Headed to NC & VA first – a couple of my very favourite places to go! And I’ll be part of the John Hartford String Band CD release concert at the Station Inn on June 18 in Nashville…

See you along the way I hope – have a good one!

PS: We recently started a band page on facebook that we all administer. Guess what?! It’s under “April Verch Band”. Be our friend if you want to! Please?!

We toured California, Oregon & Washington at the beginning of March and had a wonderful time.  We got to see some old friends and met some new ones which is usually the case, but we have some dear friends in those areas and so it was extra special!

Then we toured Alaska.  Oh, Alaska.  We knew it would be beautiful, we knew it would be special.  But really, we had no clue.  It was spectactular.  People are always asking us “of all the places you’ve been, what sticks out in your mind”.  And it’s always hard to answer that.  But we have a list of special things that do stick out, and our debut tour of Alaska is definitely at the top of that list these days.  Thanks to the many people who made it so special for us – we can’t wait to return!

Here are a few pictures from that tour of Alaska.  If you’re my friend on Facebook there are a whole bunch more to look at!

We went home for a few days after our March tour…and then it became my month!  Yay!  I kicked it off with a Bowfire performance at Sir Sean Connery’s “Dressed to Kilt” event.  A star-studded charity event in NYC (see pics below!)  Then it was my birthday!  I am 32.  I know, I know!  And then we started our tour of the Midwest.  We have been in Minnesota for a few days.  (I love you Caribou Coffee!) and next we head to Iowa and Wisconsin.

We are busy.  Life is good.  Music rocks. xo