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by Ken Brown
Unfortunately, a cold rain kept the crowds away in droves, and
the audience was estimated at about 90 for the day. A fall “Pick-Nic”
for members was also held at Quarries Park in northwest Austin
from 1996 to 1999. Board members began to be concerned about
the decline in the association membership (see the January 2001
issue of the Bulletin). In March, 2001, the Board met for a
retreat to discuss goals and strategies for the association.
A monthly meeting with a featured, paid band was suggested,
as well as seeking grants and corporate donations for funding.
In October, 2001 another fall festival was held at Old Settlers
Park.
Membership: Growth and Decline
Central Texas has never been part of the bluegrass heartland.
It is removed both culturally and geographically from the land
of the banjo and the mandolin, and despite 25 years of strenuous
effort by successive boards of directors, the membership has
never grown to any great size. It probably peaked in the mid-1990s,
but has declined since then, and we now have fewer than 150
members. I could find very few membership figures; these are
all that I was able to locate (some are estimates):
1978 61 charter members
1988 230+
1992 219
1993 250
1995 312-325
1996 335
2002 147
Most of the major festivals are in East Texas, and even when
the CTBA maintains a membership table, it is difficult to interest
East Texas residents in joining a central Texas club. So far,
I have seen no evidence that the Down From the Mountain Tour
or the “O Brother Where Art Thou” soundtrack will
reverse our declining membership.
Festivals, Concerts, and Workshops
As the above history reveals, the CTBA has presented an amazing
array of live music during its 25-year history, beginning with
the nascent organization’s very first annual meeting.
This part of its mission statement has been well executed, with
11 years at Zilker, four years at the Quarries, several festivals
at Old Settlers Park, and a variety of concerts by touring bands.
The two major concerts at the Performing Arts Center in the
mid-1980s were the climax of this effort.
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The Weekly Jam Session
The jam session is another success story. It’s never
been more healthy than it is right now. Pickers can show
up at ArtZ RibHouse just about any Sunday and depend on
finding an assortment of like-minded jam partners. Dependability
and a good host are the key to a good jam session, and
we have both. We have been very fortunate in having support
from gracious hosts like Tom Allen, Art Blondin, and Zenobia
Sutton. If you go to ArtZ to pick or listen to shows,
buy something to eat. Art didn’t win all those barbecue
cookoff awards on the walls for nothing, you know.
In reality, the CTBA doesn’t have to do anything
to sponsor the jam session. ArtZ RibHouse supplies the
location, and all we have to do is show up. For a time
the CTBA had a semi-formal “jam coordinator”
(Ron Wilbourn, and later Eddie Collins) whose job was
to encourage new pickers and to try to break the session
into subclusters when the circle got too big. I think
the association would do well to reinstate this position.
If there’s a drawback to the current jam, it’s
that it’s usually too big. It’s not unusual
to see 20 or more pickers in a circle trying to play the
same tune, often without even being able to see one another.
Tunes take 15 minutes to rotate around the circle. Someone
needs to enforce cell division on the larger sessions. |
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Jamming at the Split Rail circa 1976.
In the foreground, Dennis "Hoot"
McDaniel on the mandolin; in the
background, Marshall Wilborn on
the banjo. |
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Education and Promotion Functions
The growth of the association depends on new members, and
that means reaching existing bluegrass fans who don’t
yet know about us, as well as making new bluegrass converts.
The CTBA has been struggling towards this goal for its entire
life. As I remarked earlier, this isn’t really bluegrass
territory. Most Central Texans are more familiar with Christina
Aguilera than Mountain Heart. Even the sporadic appearance
of Alison Krauss on KGSR’s playlist hasn’t really
helped inform the public much, although I do think that radio
is the best medium for reaching the public. See “Pitching
Bluegrass to Commercial Radio” at www.ibma.org/about.....
Even as we speak, the IBMA is starting a new “Discover
Bluegrass” marketing campaign (details online at www.discoverbluegrass.com.
Maybe we need to get involved in that.
The Future
At times, it seems as though the CTBA is about to go under,
either because bad weather has slammed the attendance at some
heavily booked event, or because not enough willing volunteers
can be found to do the hard work of the organization’s
officers, or because not enough people are willing to fork
over the $20 to become a member. But, take heart. It’s
always been that way, as long as I can remember, and yet the
CTBA has survived. Instead of using “In Despair”
(the Stanley Brothers) as the CTBA theme song, maybe we should
use “I’ve Endured” (Ola Belle Reed).
Some People to Thank
There are some folks we ought to acknowledge who have contributed
more than their fair share to the CTBA. Of course, this is
just the short list. It leaves out a lot of important names,
but I think special mention should go to Ted Miller, who helped
get the whole thing started; Buck Buchanan, who printed the
newsletter for so many years; Tom Allen, Art Blondin, and
Zenobia Sutton, our hosts; Shawn Spiars, our efficient webmaster;
Steve Zimmet, our editor; and especially all of the current
and past officers, who devote long hours without pay or even
much appreciation from the membership.
Editor’s Note: This article was contributed and copyrighted
by Ken Brown, 2002. Ken (dobro, guitar) is a native Austinite
in the PhD program at UT Austin. Ken plays (mostly dobro)
with the Blackland Prairie Boys. He says The Boys don’t
let him sing in public, and he has the severed microphone
cords to prove it. |
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