Folk Festival Weekend

I've been going to the Florida Folk Festival for about 35 years. So I won't be around today. Over the years I've posted several columns about it. Last year the topic was Pete Seeger. The year before I featured the town of White Spring and the Suwannee River where the festival is held. A few years ago I introduced some of the Florida songwriters I admire. This year I want to feature film maker, David Hoffman, who has been recording folk musicians for decades. He also makes documentaries on other topics. So here's a taste of his films...

(53 sec)

Check out his channel with films on many topics, war, generational divide, historical snapshots, and so on. Today I'm featuring his films about the music of my region.
Meet The Filmmaker: A Fascinating Documentary On David Hoffman! Hat tip Janis B

(26 min) This was made by a documentary filmmaker who made this for PBS it was called The Creative Person and it explored creativity.
This video shows me and some of my collections. I use my collections to help me create ideas. And I do, I admit, love collecting. I think that there are two kinds of people in the world. Those who love collecting those who hate it. My wife can't stand the clutter. I love the clutter, obviously shown in this video.
Thinking creatively involves stepping outside your conventional thought patterns and exploring new ideas and possibilities.
Some Techniques for Enhancing Creativity
Freewriting: Set a timer for 10-15 minutes and write continuously about a topic without worrying about grammar or coherence.
Mind Mapping: Start with a central idea and draw branches to related concepts, allowing for free association and visual connections.
Role-Playing: Imagine yourself in different roles or viewpoints. How would someone else approach the problem, issue, opportunity?
Reverse Thinking: Instead of thinking about how to solve a problem, consider how you could cause the problem.
Change Your Environment: Work in different locations or rearrange your workspace to stimulate new thoughts.
Incorporate Routine Breaks: Regular breaks and walks will refresh your mind and lead to creative insights.
Random Word Association: Pick random words from a dictionary and try to connect them to your problem or project.
Brainstorm with Others: Collaborating with people from different backgrounds introduces diverse perspectives and ideas.

Now on to the music and dance...

Earl Scruggs Made This Feature Doc With Bob Dylan, Doc Watson, Bill Monroe. A Joy To Watch

(73 min) Directing and filming this documentary was one of the great moments of my life. PBS was looking for filmmakers to make films on country music, bluegrass music, mountain music.
Due to the creative efforts of my partner at that time, we got the chance to be with Earl Scruggs and his family including his musical sons Randy and Gary, as he was on a mission in the early 1970s to find connections between his music and the banjo and other forms of popular music. He contacted great artists like Bob Dylan, Doc Watson (one of his closest and oldest friends) Bill Monroe whose band he had once played in, Roger McGuinn of The Birds, Charlie Daniels, Joan Baez and others and others and asked them if he could come and play his banjo on some of the greatest tunes. Of course all said yes.
This film presents the results. It ran on prime time television and has had many viewings at colleges around the country.
Earl Scruggs, the renowned banjo player and bluegrass pioneer, began exploring collaborations with musicians from other genres in the late 1960s and early 1970s, primarily to broaden his musical horizons and reach new audiences. His interest in working with artists like The Byrds, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez came from a desire to experiment with different musical styles and find common ground between bluegrass and contemporary popular music. This was a bold move for Scruggs, who was known for his traditional bluegrass roots.
The result of Scruggs' quest to collaborate with these artists was my 90 minute primetime television documentary "Earl Scruggs: His Family and Friends," which aired in 1972. It showcased Earl Scruggs playing banjo with well-known musicians such as The Byrds, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Doc Watson and others.
These collaborations were significant for several reasons:
They introduced Earl Scruggs to new audiences who might not have been familiar with his work in bluegrass, increasing his popularity and expanding his fan base.
They demonstrated the potential for cross-genre collaborations, proving that musicians from different backgrounds and styles could come together to create unique and exciting music.
The collaborations helped to bridge the gap between traditional roots music and the contemporary sounds of the era, further blurring the lines between genres and showing that music could be a unifying force.
They inspired future generations of musicians to explore collaborations outside their respective genres, paving the way for countless cross-genre collaborations in the years to come.
It is important for me to say in this commentary what an extraordinarily wonderful, kind, excepting man Earl Scruggs was. He treated me kindly when times were tough and I was finding environments where it was not too friendly to be a 16mm documentary filmmaker. He was deeply loved and respected for his bravery in coming out against the Vietnam War at a time when almost every country artist who played and sang at the Grand Ole Opry stood up in favor of the war.
Although they have passed on now I would like to take the opportunity to thank Earl Scruggs and his family, his wife Louise, his sons Randy and Gary, and his son Stevie who I only knew was a little boy playing guitar in the background.
I would like to acknowledge the advertisers who by placing their ads on this video, help support my effort continue to present clips from my films to my subscribers and others. They include The Bob Dylan Center and the Halcyon Gallery Bob Dylan.
David Hoffman Filmmaker

My Classic Bluegrass/Mountain Music Story Starring The Real People Of Appalachia

(55 min) Bascom Lamar Lunsford. The great folk music and dance collector. Appalachian mountain man historian. Dedicated his life to mountain music and dance in poetry and storytelling. Created the Asheville Mountain Folk Festival in 1929. A visionary.
This is my complete 1989 documentary film on Bascom Lamar Lunsford. It explores what drove him to fight so hard to honor and protect Appalachian mountain culture.
I was just 23 years old when I made my first documentary in the area around Asheville. In 1965. Bascom took me around the counties of the mountains of North Carolina including Buncombe County, Wilkes County, and Madison County, rich areas for mountain clog dancing, banjo picking, old-time country Mountain music, great storytelling, and great people.
I got the chance to go back and present for a National Television audience what motivated Bascom to do what he did. This film has shows many of what Bascom felt with the greatest mountain music, old-time music, country music, bluegrass music, authentic real-people performance. Each performer in this film was personally selected by Bascom to appear.
As I have done with other clips from my films in the Appalachian Mountains, I want to thank and honor the people who participated most all of whom have passed on now. Without their joyous cooperation I could not have recorded these wonderful scenes.

Raw Bluegrass Talent Discovered Deep in the Mountains, Obray Ramsey

(36 min) I have been excited to post this story. Back in 1965 I was making my first professional documentary for television. Being a young man from Long Island New York, going to the mountains of North Carolina, the Asheville area, Madison County, with the great Bascom Lamar Lunsford as my guide, was a wonderful experience. And the music and the dance and the poetry and the people… just beautiful. I never forgot my time with Obray Ramsey and his wife and I am proud to finally get the chance to describe my time with them to those of you who love mountain music, old-time music, bluegrass music, banjo music, folk music- the music of Appalachia. And to all of you who feel that this time is gone, my friends in the area tell me that it is alive and well and thriving throughout the mountains, with grandchildren of the people in my film carrying on the traditions. So wonderful. Groundhog! Whistle pig!

This Old Man Can Clog Dance Just Like A Young Man. 1965

(7 min) In the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina clog dancing had an important part of social gatherings, community events and local celebrations. It was historically a way for communities to come together, share stories, and pass down traditions through generations.
Clog dancing has deep roots in the region. This energetic and rhythmic dance style is a blend of several European and African-American influences, including English, Scottish, Irish, and African dance forms. Clog dancing typically involves intricate footwork, heel-and-toe tapping, and syncopated rhythms, making it visually and aurally engaging.
These days some commentators have described feeling so sad that this era is over. Even if they had never been to the mountains to see it, they sought as a bit of American history at a simpler time with teenagers would just decent and things were as they were in the 50s. I have written in my responses just how active clog dancing and all the elements of bluegrass and mountain and old-time music from Appalachia are these days and there are probably many more clog dancers who are young today and old having done it from way back when this film was made.
I loved the people of Appalachia who treated me so kindly when I was a young filmmaker and showed me a bit of their ways. I love their music, their dance, their storytelling, their guitar, banjo, fiddle, ukulele, just as I did back when I first heard it as a 16-year-old on late night Long Island NY radio.

The Best Bluegrass Clog Dancing Video. How & Why I Made It

(9 min)
The time was 1965. I was a 23-year-old filmmaker making my first documentary for television. I had never been to the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina but I knew that the music was great from hearing it on the radio where I grew up in Levittown, Long Island. I wrote to 80 year old Bascom Lamar Lunsford after I read an article in Time magazine and asked him if I could come down and make a "movie" with him.
Bascom not only said yes with enthusiasm but told me that he had been filmed already several times before. I took my 1st plane ride and rushed to Bascom's home. He and his wife Freda took me around those mountains and introduced me to fantastic musicians, storytellers, singers, and dancers.
This now famous (at least on YouTube) clog dance scene was filmed at his home in South Turkey Creek, North Carolina. Today it is one of my most popular video clips and subscribers have asked me to tell the background story.
I feel so fortunate to have met Bascom Lamar Lunsford and all of the homegrown but absolutely spectacular singers, songwriters, flat pickers, banjo pickers, clogged answers, storytellers, that he introduced me to – the wonderful, kind and creative people who gave me the opportunity to record just a bit of their lives.
In 1965 I was making my first documentary for television. I once titled it Music Makers of the Blue Ridge but these days I title it Bluegrass Roots. I was 23 years old and I was headed to the mountains of North Carolina, to Asheville, to meet and film 82 year old Bascom Lamar Lunsford.
I spent weeks filming with Bascom and his wife Freda, filming with a 16 mm sound camera and a friend carrying a Nagra audio recorder. Bascom told me that he was going to invite a clog dance group to his house in South Turkey Creek about 12 miles out of Asheville for a dance demonstration. He said he would roll up the living room rug so we could hear their feet as they clogged on the wooden floor. And so this scene happened and I absolutely loved filming it.
Although my camera rig was 49 pounds with a battery, I danced with the dancers with glee and recorded one of the best scenes that I have ever filmed. And the back up musicians? The best in bluegrass, mountain, old time music. The musicians included Obray Ramsey and Bascom's relative Ray Lunsford. In one moment you can see me & my camera in the mirror filming the scene.

Bonus films... about the sound around our song.
Lost Highway: the story of Country Music (Episode I - Down from the Mountain)

(49 min)

Lost Highway The History of American Country ● Beyond Nashville

(59 min)

AMERICA'S MUSIC: THE ROOTS OF COUNTRY MUSIC part 1 The Birth of a Sound

(43 min)

We drive home tomorrow, so I'll be around Tuesday. See you then.
In the meantime, the thread is open to any and all thoughts, stories, and insights!