June 1, 2006
WildWood Flower
On Sunday I played my last gig with Wildwood Flower. I think we played really well and had fun even if it was bitter-sweet for me. We have been making music together for about three years - I have learned a lot and had a great time, I can't imagine playing with a finer bunch of folks. But I have been so busy that I decided I needed to step down. I remember the first time we sang together at a jam at Linda Saboe's house - it is so amazing how our voices blended so well together. Look out for us at the bluegrass festival campsites cause I am sure we'll still be singing our sweet harmonies and making wonderful music. I am not sure what direction WildWood Flower will go now but one thing I know is that Sheila, Jeannette, Don and Ed will be having a blast doing it.
The hospitality at the Waskasoo Bluegrass club in Red Deer was amazing and the Four Chords of Wood guys are a total class act - a wonderful bunch of guys and excellent musicians. Festival season is starting soon so you'll get more chances to catch them as they tour around the province promoting their new cd Temptation.
Posted by songdawg at 5:12 PM | Comments (1) | WildWood Flower
May 17, 2006
WildWood Flowers at Waskasoo
The Waskasoo Bluegrass Music Society presents
Four Chords of Wood
with
Wildwood Flower
7:00pm
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Festival Hall, Red Deer (4214-58 St., Red Deer)
Tickets are $20 in advance & $25 at the door.
Posted by songdawg at 7:52 PM | WildWood Flower
April 9, 2006
Wildwood Flowers opened for David Davis
Couple of weeks ago, the WildWood Flower opened for David Davis at the Provincial Museum here in Edmonton. We had a blast.
We surprised our fiddle player Ed Zenko by changing the words to Sittin’ Alone in the Moonlight. He’s been delivery calves all spring – I think he has over 100 expecting cows. It went something like this:
Oh the moooooooon grows pale as I sit here
Each mama cow seems to whisper and say
Farmer Ed has delivered another
And now he’s gone off to play.
Took him by surprise. He vowed never to miss another practice.
Wildwood Flower is looking forward to opening for Four Chords of Wood on May 28th at the Waskasoo Bluegrass Music Society in Red Deer. Maybe we will see you there.
Posted by songdawg at 1:27 PM | WildWood Flower
June 21, 2005
Wildwood Flowers
Wildwood Flower played tonight at a Summer Solstice party at one of the senior centres in town. I love playing with the 'Flars' - some of the finest people I know. Here we are playing bluegrass - probably a classic from either Flatt and Scruggs or Ralph Stanley.
Michelle D. works there and graciously took some photos for me - she also was up dancing for most of the evening.
This is one of the staff that works there - I didn't catch her name but she was up dancing too.
One of my favourite moments was when during one of the waltzes we play, Ed spontaneous started swaying with fiddle in hand on stage then on the edge of the dance floor. One of the women there got up and pretended to run after him. He turned around, placed his fiddle down and turned with open hands and offered to waltz. The look on her face was priceless - she hadn't expected that response. They danced for the rest of the song. Ed - you are full of surprises!
Posted by songdawg at 10:33 PM | WildWood Flower
February 27, 2005
Women In Song
Caribbean Women Network
Celebrates International Women?s Day
Women In Song
The flavor is International! Local female singers and musicians from around the world to entertain you!
Gospel
Classical
Jazz
Spanish
African
Caribbean
Bluegrass
And More!
Program Opener
Women?s Day Talk
By Dr. Malinda Smith
Associate Professor and Assoc. Program & Global Governance Coordinator
University of Alberta
Join us for a fun afternoon as we celebrate with women the world over,
the strides made towards economic and gender equality for women.
Sunday March 13th, 2005
Stanley A. Milner Library Auditorium
7 Sir Winston Churchill Square
1:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Posted by songdawg at 11:19 AM | WildWood Flower
December 20, 2004
Wildwood Flower Live in Smoky Lake
photo by Karen Pedlar
On Friday Wildwood Flower played at the Lynnwood Centre. Then on Saturday we went up to Smoky Lake and played some bluegass to some fine folks. We played at a senior center in the afternoon and then enjoyed a wonderful dinner put on by Barb. That evening we went and listened to Karen Pedlar and friends performing some great fiddle music. We played a set (Sheila's jokes were a hit) and after a bit of socializing and some tea and baked goodies we drove home to Edmonton. And so ends our Northern Alberta tour :)
Posted by songdawg at 8:29 PM | WildWood Flower
October 24, 2004
Bluegrass Bonanza
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Last night's Bluegrass Bonanza was a success. The Iraqui Adopt-a-Town raised over $2000 to help Edmonton's sister town Abul Khaseeb. Couldn't make it? You can still donate at www.liferelief.org.
It was great seeing so many talented musicians perform - Edmonton does have a thriving acoustic roots community. Today a bunch of us are road-tripping it to Red Deer for the Waskasoo Bluegrass season kick off. Chris Stuart & Backcountry are in concert with opening act Black Lightning Bluegrass. Workshops in the afternoon beginning at 2:30. Concert at 7:00 PM |
Posted by songdawg at 10:25 AM | WildWood Flower
October 9, 2004
Wildwood Flowers are Playing
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Posted by songdawg at 10:45 AM | WildWood Flower
September 5, 2004
Banjo contest
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Posted by songdawg at 7:41 PM | WildWood Flower
July 11, 2004
Jamming
Russ and Ed playing twin fiddles |
Posted by songdawg at 2:23 PM | WildWood Flower
June 23, 2004
Wildwood Flower Bluegrass Band
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Posted by songdawg at 7:05 AM | Comments (2) | WildWood Flower
June 22, 2004
Solstice 2004
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What a great weekend! I have a bit of a sunburn and a lighter heart. It was fun jamming and visiting with folks. And the Wildwood Flower set went fine - Marshall did another Grassumentary and it we watched it last night. Quite fun - he's pretty good with a video camera.
Prairie Dawg
Restless Lester
Black Lightning Bluegrass Band
Gun Fight
Homefire
Jamming
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Posted by songdawg at 7:23 AM | Comments (2) | WildWood Flower
May 19, 2004
Kiwanis Place
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Th NBCMS House Band and Wildwood Flower played at the Kiwanis Place Seniors Centre last night. Those folks love to dance!
It was a nice evening doing one of my favourite things - playing music with friends. Tonight is the Fat Possum Juke Joint Caravan at the New City Likwid Lounge featuring T-Model Ford, Kenny Brown and Cedric Burnside, and Paul "Wine" Jones. It is going to be THE blues show of the year. |
Posted by songdawg at 7:26 AM | WildWood Flower
April 16, 2004
TGIF
TGIF
Practice last night with the Gals... I think all of the hard work might be paying. I love singing with those Flars... looks like we might be perform at the Fiddler's Roost on Saturday and then perform at the Music From The Heart benefit on Sunday. Fun Fun Fun. Oh yeah, and can't forget to fill out taxes on Saturday.
Posted by songdawg at 7:36 AM | WildWood Flower
February 6, 2004
January 24th gig photos
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Here are pictures from our Jan 24th event:
Mike Sadiva, Jeannette Sinclair, Sheila Hallett, Toby Tellier and Smokin' Ed Zenko
Obviously I am into performing with my eyes closed. Actually I have a knack for blinking when a picture is being taken - one of my great talents - fast blinker.
The talented Erin singing "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and flat-picking the guitar in her band Shortgrass with Kayla and Al. Happy birthday Erin! |
Posted by songdawg at 9:34 PM | WildWood Flower
St Thomas Coffee House Open Stage
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We (Wildwood Flower) performed last night at the St Thomas Coffee House Open Stage hosted by Penny and Jim from Backporch Swing. We played Sitting Alone in the Moonlight, Why Don't You Tell Me so and Used To Be. The cafe is a really nice space, very big with yummy desserts (very good date squares which by the way are also called Matrimonial cake - who knew?).
Penny and Jim sounded great playing songs from their new album. They were excellent hosts - helping us to get setup and being so encouraging. The house was packed and I had a good time listening to the variety of music: Brian Gregg, The Riverdale Bluegrass Band, Rob and Doddie Baker and many more. The jam happens on the first Thursday of every month and if you are in the area try to go - you'll have a great time. |
Posted by songdawg at 9:30 PM | WildWood Flower
January 17, 2004
Fundraiser: Say Goodbye to Winter Blues
We will be playing next Saturday at a Fundraiser. Here are the details:
Come join us on Saturday, January 24, 2004.
Say Goodbye to Winter Blues
A variety evening of music, fun and food
* Bluegrass Music featuring Wildwood Flowers
* Enjoy Blueberry Pie and other delights
Show times: 7:00 PM
Chalmers-Castle Downs United Church
12315-132 Avenue, Edmonton
(780) 455-3664
Admission Includes Desserts
Adult: $10, Youth: $5, Family $20, Under 5 is free.
Posted by songdawg at 10:46 AM | WildWood Flower
January 10, 2004
Doohickey
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Managed to get through my busy day and run around even though we had freezing rain. I saw lots of cars on the side of the road. I could barely see through my windshield because after 5 minutes of driving even with the heater blasting it would be starting to cover up with ice. Glad I made it through with no accidents. Everything is now covered in ice and all of the snow has a thick layer of it. Beautiful but not much fun to drive in.
While we were waiting to start our vocal lesson Dawn fed us some delicious "Doohickeys" pictured on the left. It's fresh fried bread with butter and molasses. And that's her dog Casey - the happiest dog I have ever met. The vocal lesson went fine - we worked on singing Amazing Grace acapella. We spent some time dissecting the song and figuring out where we put accents etc. Then we each took a turn at the different harmony parts and we all managed to do it fairly effortlessly though with coaching. But I realized how rusty I am. Can't believe we are playing in two weeks. I need to focus my practice time - especially now that my neck is almost 100%. The massage was amazing. I can't believe how much better I feel. Joe from the Wholistic Health Clinic gives amazing massages - he uses this vibrating glove at the beginning on all the major muscle groups. Feeels gooood. He also uses hot packs to help loosen your muscles and really good smelling oils. I walked in feeling like I had armour on my neck and shoulders and left feeling relaxed. I booked another one in about two weeks. |  Doohickey
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Posted by songdawg at 8:24 PM | WildWood Flower
December 14, 2003
ACT Center
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I have had a busy week so I am retro-blogging.
On Thursday, Wildwood Flower performed at a Christmas party. It was fun - the group was into it and tapped their feet and sang along. At the end we attempted to play some Christmas carols like Joy to the World, Silent Night, Jingle Bells and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Thank goodness they were singing - it helped cover up our scrambling to play the tunes. Needless to say they were bluegrass style! The really amazing thing is that we got our first standing ovation (I kid you not). The crowd stood up and clapped and shouted encore - looks like they enjoyed it and had a great time. Well, so did we. And I got a Christmas centerpiece to help me with my (lack of) Christams decorations. |
Posted by songdawg at 11:00 AM | Comments (1) | WildWood Flower
June 9, 2003
June 8th
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We went and played at Katie's Krossing yesterday. It's a cool place close to Ardrossan that is in a train. In each car there is something different: a kitchen, dining room, antiques store, rest rooms, a stage which faces a sheltered area outside. There was a BBQ area where everyone had bison burgers and ice cream.
It went well, and Marshall video taped his first Grassumentary - I think he's a natural (maybe a new career direction?).
Here are some pics that I took.
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Posted by songdawg at 7:37 AM | WildWood Flower
April 21, 2003
Weekend Update
I had a great musical weekend. On Friday I went with Sheila to the Uptown Folk Club Open Stage, we played Blue Ridge Cabin Home, Sittin Alone in the Moolight and FireBall Mail. Terry Knutsen and Jim came up with us, they are fabulous players. It's good to always invite better players than you to play with, it helps you sound better! Marshall went up with Charles Weaver - they did an acoustic folk/blues thing with guitar and mandolin - it was great.
On Saturday, Marshall and I went to the Northern Lights Folk Club to see Maria Dunn and David Ward. Great concert! Marshall particularly like David's songs, I really like Maria's song writing.
On Sunday we went with Anna and George (my in-laws) to the Bavern Schmaus (spelling?), its an austrian/german restaurant. Not the greatest variety for someone who is allergic to eggs and pork but the cook whipped up an excellent chicken dish for me. Everyone else had schnizel with dumplings. It was great to hear them talk about when they met and some of the adventures they had. They are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this summer.
We had an appointment to get our furnace checked at 3:30pm today, it's been a little troublesome. The guy didn't arrive until 6:15, it's almost 10pm and the guy is still not done! He had to run out to get a part. And it's going to cost us $380 plus the extra labour. Maybe we should have gotten a second opinion cause we have no idea if we are being taken for a ride. This company is the company that installed the furnace originally so they should know what they are doing. But I don't have the greatest feeling about it. Hope it turns out well.
Posted by songdawg at 10:00 PM | Concerts | WildWood Flower
April 6, 2003
In the Pines
Today was a musical day. Got together with J and jammed at her house this afternoon. We get together about once a month to play. The last song that we sang was " I am Weary" which is a bluegrass standard. The cool part was the 'buzz' we were getting from our harmonies.
Then this evening M and I went to MandoLinda's for a jam - it was fun. My favourite part was when we were playing "In the Pines" aka "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" which is another bluegrass standard. M played slide guitar on his acoustic. It sounded great. ooh-ooh-ooooooh-oooh I would shiver the whole night through. Leadbelly wrote it and lots of bluegrass folks have covered. But so has Nirvana...
Here's Leadbelly's original version
Here's Nirvana's version.
Posted by songdawg at 12:20 AM | WildWood Flower