In It for the Long Run: A Musical Odyssey

Carol Again

204 FOLLOWING MY OWN PATH Couldbesomething.Couldbenothing.Youneverknowwhenyouparty at Pat’s. Just to calm things down at the end, Pat did one of his dad’s favorite songs, “Blue Room.” A lot of Pat’s heart and soul came from his dad—rightoutofthatrich,blackIowasoil.Oneofthegreatthingsabout Nashville was that people came there from all over, bringing a piece of their geography with them. When I first showed up and started hanging out with Pat, David, and Townes, I loved how different we all were and how much we could learn from each other. The music we would create individually and together would make friendships which were lasting and true. CAROL AGAIN IhadbecomeinvolvedinthedevelopmentoftheFolkAllianceasamember of the board of directors in 1989. Although some people compared trying to organize a bunch of folkies to trying to herd a bunch of cats, I felt that it would be helpful to those trying to make a living playing folk musictoapproachitinamoreorganizedfashion.Theexecutivedirector wasPhyllisBarney,oneofthosepeoplewhoknowshowtobringpeople togethertoworkforacommoncause.Sheinsistedthatwecreateasolid structure that would be inclusive of all the various people working in the field—from amateurs who loved to play and listen to folk music to professionalslikefull-timeartists,managers,promoters,thoserunning record labels, and record producers. I had certainly benefited from the efforts of so many others and now it was time for me to put some time andeffortintohelpingthefolkmusicworldcontinuetoexpanditsinfluenceanditsaudience .Oneofmyefforts,whichborefruitandofwhichI am proud, was the creation of a Lifetime Achievement Award to honor those people on whose shoulders we were standing. With woodblock artist Paul Ritscher, I came up with the image of a full-grown tree in a circular frame, symbolizing a lifetime of growth and productivity with noend.Thefirsttworecipientswere,appropriatelyenough,PeteSeeger and Alan Lomax. OnebenefitofbecominginvolvedintheFolkAlliancewasthatitlifted myheadabovetheNashvilleworldinwhichIwasbecomingincreasingly immersed.Eachyearourannualconferencewasinadifferentcityinthe United States or Canada, and it was a great way to connect with music 205 CarolAgain happening in different regions. At our meeting one year in Toronto I struck up an acquaintance with a real live wire with copper-colored hair named Rosalie Goldstein. Rosalie ran the Winnepeg Folk Festival, and sheinvitedmetocomeupthatsummerasherguest.WheneverIplayed, Canadianmusicianswouldcomeuptomeandstarttalkingtomeabout the old Blue Velvet Band record. It had evidently made quite an impressioninCanada .Youwouldhavethoughtithadjustcomeout.WhenRosalieaskedmetocomeback ,Itoldherthatplayingsoloreallywasn’tmy thing, but that it might be an idea to reconstitute the Blue Velvet Band since so many people seemed to remember it. So the New Blue Velvet Band came into being, with Kenny Kosek replacing Richard Greene. We played at several of the major Canadian and European folk festivals ,andinthesummerof’91werebookedtoplayaBluegrassfestivalin thetownofAthy,Co.Kildare,Ireland.WhenagiginLondonfellthrough, IdecidedtocometoDublinadayearlytohangoutandcalledPhillipKing to get me a hotel. While he had me on the phone he mentioned that he’d runintoCarolLangstaffthenightbeforeatawakeforhermother,Diane Hamilton,whohadjustdied.PhillippickedmeupattheDublinairport. Bloom’s was full, so we went to The Gresham, an upmarket businessman ’s hotel on O’Connell Street, not a place I’d ordinarily be staying. As I was checking in at the desk, a phone rang and the woman behind the desk said, “It’s for you.” Who could possibly know I was here at The Gresham, of all places? It was Carol! I told her that I was sorry to hear about her mother. She thanked me and said, “Can I be blunt? I’d like to come in to see you this afternoon, but I’d have no way to get back to my mother’s out in the country. Would it be alright if I spent the night?” I didn’t have to think twice. “Of course. Come ahead.” Later that afternoon there was a knock on my door. There she was! Justasalways,herfacebeaming,hereyeslaughing.Wehadabighugand stood back, taking each other in. The last time had been at a big party afterTomRush’sChristmasshowsatSymphonyHallbackin1984.Carol had just shown up, and we had a couple of dances. I never forgot the feel of my hand on the small of her back as we whirled around the floor that night. Now, years later, here we were in Dublin. I was a mess. The airlines had lost my bag; I was unshaven and had been up for two days, but she didn’t seem to mind and looked at me with the greatest expression of joy on her face. However, we were not alone. Carol had brought 206 FOLLOWING MY OWN PATH along her brother Colm and her sister Catroina. I had no idea what they were thinking, but they seemed to be happy to go along with whatever was happening. It was a fine summer day, so I suggested that we get out of the hotel and...