Billy in the Low Ground

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One of my favorite Old time songs to play in C or D tuning.

New Video!

(click to watch)
Howdy folks!,
New teaser video on Youtube from the BenchPress Burlesque show.

CLOG THE SYSTEM w/ BPB

Performing with BenchPressBurlesque!

So far it was awesome. This is the first time I've tap-clog performed as "clog the system"...and act in itself. It's a developing thing for me...the performance thing.. and I'm excited about where it's going. Stay tuned for pictures!

the following is the updates from BenchPressBurlesque


NEWS & UPDATES

9.20.07
We are on the road! We're gathering the forces of immodesty at IDA right now, getting our show ready for Saturday. Look it up and get here now!
And we're on for shows at Antioch University, and for Milo Arts center in Columbus OH. RSVP to misshapp@gmail.com by Monday the 24th for a 2$ discount. We've also got special guests with us- Clog the System (Ithaca, NY/Yellow Springs,OH) and Dr. Sustain (Columbus,OH). Please tell your friends!!!
We're trying to organize a show for St. Louis between the 26th and Oct. 2nd. Stay posted for details!

Ida-Saturday afternoon show.

Antioch-College Theater, doors 7:30, show 8PM.
all ages, donations welcomed!

Coumbus, OH- Milo Arts- 617 E. 3rd St.-just south of 5th, just east of Cleveland Ave. in the big schoolhouse!
Doors 7:30, show 8pm. Non-smoking, all ages.
10$ door, 6$ for residents of Milo, 2$ discount with RSVP to misshapp@gmail.com by Monday sept 24th.

Clifftop 2007

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Clifftop 2007, the Appalachian stringband music festival. This is the Dance competition for traditional flatfoot dance. Age group 14 - 59.

I got 3rd place. This is the first time I've placed in the adult competition! HORRAY!
Congratulations to the other winners, Josephine and Ira.

Cloggin' in St. Louis

'Can't remember what day it was...but I did a cloggin' teachin at a Squaredance Benefit for the fireUP workcrew in St. Louis. It was an amazing event put together by Parys, a member of the workcrew. It's been a blast traveling with these folks and doing cloggin' demonstrations. This event was great. A whole group of us got in on the 'shuffleStep/BackStep' move and clogged away to live oldtimey music. Then we did a classic dance circle with everyone in the group steppin up into the middle of the circle with a personalized improv clog style. It was a faboulous and energy charged event. FireUP!







Check out our fireUPdates blog to see pictures and get Updates from FireUP collective.

Headin' off to Fire it UP!

I'm about to embark on a journey with the FireUP workcrew to Black Mesa. Click on the link to check it out. I'll be disconnected from the Internet for a while...but hopefully I'll be able to take this chance to make some great cloggin' videos. Alas, I am off!

Old Time Music is Anarchist Music

Old Time Music is music of the people. It's a style of music that promotes inclusion, rather than a dynamic of spectator and performer. While there are performances here and there...and Old Time Music is getting more and more popular these days...it will never sound as good as a hot jam between 3 or 4 people out in the woods at 2:00am.

"Old Time Music, better than it sounds..." I picked that up somewhere... In fact, I think it was my Dad's cap. Anyways... It's always stuck with me because it's a comical way of expressing the fact that Old Time music is deep...complicated...and has a significant cultural meaning to many people, and many different types of people as well.
For me it means ANARCHY. Improvised, community Creativity. This isn't what it means to everyone and that's okay.. i'm not trying to convince anyone that Old Time Music is The Movement but for me...it's part of my MOVEMENT toward freedom and peace.

But Old Time Music does in fact sound really good. It's like Punk though... it's always better live. That's where the Spirit lies...in the action of playing and in the moment of improvised harmony. It is this chaos that is the core the jam session. It is this playful exploration of chaos patterns that gives old time music such energy and passion.

Anarchist movement is a movement organizes around simular principals. I think that growing up in the Old-Time scene nourished my ability to think in non-hierarchal patterns...and to recognize the drain that authoritative power has on a group dynamic. Anarchist movements are organized around the idea of autonomous harmony. This form of organization on a social level is not only POSSIBLE...not just a dream...but HAPPENING RIGHT NOW! Otherwise..who would be excited about it? The reason there is an anarchist movement at all is because we create it, we create the world we want to live in. In fact, people do this whether or not they call it "anarchism". Given the opportunity, people always create the world they want to live in. However, in this society, we've been socialised to reproduce abusive and coercive patterns of hierarchy. These patterns...THE SYSTEM... are toxic to our social environment, and this toxicity expands to the land in which we live. Since the pattern of domination is learned, I believe it can be unlearned... We must stop craving to take power away from people around us...our friends, our family. COMPETITION as a worldview is destructive and we must learn COOPERATION as an alternative. Anarchist movement offers these ideas and gives some great examples of ways to get there. Join the movement! Create your own! Just get up and git at it! FireUP!