THANKS INDIEGRRL

Thanks to the 2010 Indiegrrl International Music Conference & Festival. It was a great networking experience, a great educational and learning experience, and a great showcasing opportunity.

During the 3rd Annual Indiegrrl International Music Conference & Festival, the Pea Pickin’ Hearts played the Preservation Pub on Thursday, August 19th and the Main Stage at the Conference on Sunday, August 22nd. Thank you to all of the support!

Mark your calendars for 2011.

On August 18, 19 and 20th of 2011, IndieGrrl will be returning to Knoxville, TN for the 4th Indiegrrl International Music Conference & Festival.

Indiegrrl would like to extend an invitation to volunteers who would like to be a part of this ever growing nonprofit. They need people who have strong communications skills, organizational skills, marketing skills, and sales skills.

Indiegrrl produces several music festivals each year to raise funds for the building of their music camp for children and for songwriter retreats for adults. They produce a yearly compilation CD. They host a yearly songwriting contest each year and need prizes. They produce the yearly conference/festival each year. They have goals to produce even more events.

It takes volunteers and funding.

Visit IndieGrrl.com for details!

Well, I have finally gotten around to creating a twitter account just for the Pea Pickin’ Hearts…

Follow us so I can reclaim my personal twitter feed, ha.

So make sure to follow @peapickinhearts on twitter for the latest updates.

But, the day has come, and I now await my little 1953 Oscar Schmidt 12-Chord Autoharp (pictured below)…

She needs a little cleaning and, no doubt, a lot of tuning, but I have my fingers crossed that she will sing in time for our August 19th & 21st showcases at the IndieGrrl Music Conference in Knoxville.

And for those of you that can keep a secret, I’ve located an 1890 Zimmerman Chorded Zither called, of all things, The Favorite too…

Do you think I can sneak it in when Jon isn’t looking?

For those of you unfamiliar with the autoharp, here’s a little lesson from wikipedia.org:

The autoharp is a musical stringed instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers which, when depressed, mute all the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither.

There is debate over the origin of the autoharp. A German immigrant in Philadelphia by the name of Charles F. Zimmermann was awarded US patent 257808  in 1882 for a design for a musical instrument that included mechanisms for muting certain strings during play.

He named his invention the “autoharp.”

Unlike later autoharps, the shape of the instrument was symmetrical, and the felt-bearing bars moved horizontally against the strings instead of vertically.

It is not known if Zimmermann ever commercially produced any instruments of this early design. Karl August Gütter of Markneukirchen, Germany, had built a model that he called a “Volkszither” which most resembles the autoharp played today.

Gütter obtained a British patent for his instrument circa 1883-1884.  Zimmermann, after returning from a visit to Germany, began production of the Gütter design in 1885…but with his own design patent number and catchy name.

Gütter’s instrument design became very popular and Zimmermann has often been mistaken as the inventor.

Autoharps have been used in the United States as bluegrass and folk instruments, perhaps most famously by Maybelle Carter and Sara Carter of The Carter Family (Click on the picture at left to learn more about The Carter Family).

They are relatively easy to learn to play as a rhythm instrument, but offer great rewards to the more committed player as a melody instrument.

Grand Ole Opry star Cecil Null was the first to develop the upright style for playing the autoharp that was in turn used by the Carter Family.

I still envision Dolly Parton playing that white bedazzled autoharp (pictured right) that you can see for yourself at the Dolly Parton museum inside Dollywood.

Outside of bluegrass and country music, both acoustic and electric autoharp were occasionally used in the folk-influenced parts of late 1960s/1970s progressive rock, psychedelia and related genres by e.g. Genesis, Renaissance and Led Zeppelin.  Janis Joplin also played the autoharp, which can be heard in her early, unreleased recording “So Sad to Be Alone”.

I’ll post better pictures when she arrives!

After much fretting, no pun intended, over not settling just because he had a limited budget, Jon came home with an Epiphone EJ-200CE Super Jumbo Acoustic.

He’s in love. 

What is the word on the street about the EJ-200CE Super Jumbo Acoustic?

“The essential cutaway electric version of the ‘King of the Flattop Guitars,’ the Epiphone EJ-200CE is unrivaled in, big, acoustic sound and is treasured for its classic appointments such as “crown” fretboard inlay and “mustache” bridge.

“It also has a Select Spruce top and Maple body and neck as well as the famous flower motif pickguard that completes the authentic design. This beauty is voiced by the Shadow eSonic2 preamp system, featuring the revolutionary Shadow NanoFex and NanoMag pick-up’s.”

Subscribe to the Pea Pickin’ Hearts’ blog for upcoming video of Jon’s new baby as well as a preview of the new autoharp I decided to adopt that should arrive any day now.

Here is the video coverage of Week 4 of the Hard Rock Gatlinburg’s Cabin Fever series for singer/songwriters.

Support your local independent artists…We think you’ll be glad you did.

See what you think…

Third place was won by Amanda and Allen Rigell of Count This Penny.  We loved this duo from Johnson City, TN so much we have become their fan on facebook and signed up for their newsletter on http://www.CountThisPenny.com . Watch the video of their performance of “Sedona” and see why:

Second place was won by Joel Sebring.  Joel was a big man with an even bigger voice.  With a crowd of supporters on hand, Joel Sebring sang his heart out.  For a man who really likes to rock, he really adapted to the accoustic setting like it was second nature.  Congratulations, Joel!  Watch his performance:

First Place was deservedly won by McGill and Pirkle. This duo won my heart when I realized their self-proclaimed “love song” was about “Cheap Bourbon Whiskey.”  The harmonies on “Walking in the Rain” were a delight to hear as well.  I can’t wait to hear them perform at the Finals on March 4th.  Here are both of the songs they performed last week:

We are excited about the finals coming up on March 4th where each of the winners from the previous weeks will perform 4 songs each.  We’ll post footage again after the Finals on March 4t. Subscribe to our blog to receive the post in your email.

Support your local independent artists…We think you’ll be glad you did.   See what you think…

Third place was won by Jeff Taylor.   He sang about the snow on the daffodils that inevitably appears each Spring in east Tennessee.  He refered to the song as his child that he had to let out into the world to be on its own.  I understand, Jeff.  I really do.  Watch the video:

Second place was won by the Pea Pickin’ Hearts.  That’s right folks…we are proud to have taken second with two songs written on a couple of days prior to the competition.  We sang two songs, but since I only post one song from 2nd and 3rd place winners…below you will find the judges’ favorite “55 Toward 40.”   If you would like to see the other song we performed “I See Red,” please visit the our Video Page.

First Place was deservedly won by Rex Gibson.  I find that often in singer/songwriter competitions, participants feel pressured to fit the coffee shop mold, but that was certainly not the case with Rex.  Funny and relaxed with great skills.  I will be back at the Hard Rock on March 4th for the finals to cheer him on to a win.  Below you will find video of both songs Rex performed.  My favorite was “No New Fat Guys in Nashville”…so make sure to watch through to the second song.

No one revealed their websites or MySpace pages this week, but if you know these folks, send their info to me so I can update the post.  We’ll post footage again after the Week 4 Competition on February 18th.  Subscribe to our blog to receive the post in your email.

Jon and I have be checking out the competition each week, and I have to admit that I’ve really enjoyed being a part of the audience.  Live music is addicting.  Support your local independent artists…We think you’ll be glad you did.   

See what you think…

Third place was taken on week 1 by Patrick Beasley.  We don’t have video of Patrick, but rumor has it he has been playing the Tea Room in Knoxville, TN.  If any of you have additional information on his MySpace or YouTube pages, email me so I can amend this post.

Thanks to Olwen Claiborne of the Hard Rock Gatlinburg for the photo.

Second place on Week 1 was deservedly won by Trevis Glarner. 

What a great voice and dynamic songwriting skills.  I think we will hear more from Mr. Glarner:

1st Place was taken by Glenn Spayth.  Now, I have to admit that I’ve been known to be a few minutes late…to almost everything; however, in my defense, Gatlinburg was having a miniature blizzard. 

So, because of the blizzard (and the slow melt of butter on my Cracker Barrel biscuits) I was late getting to the Hard Rock.  I entered just as Glenn started singing.  I was a little too mesmerized by his voice to get my video camera out in time.

As an alternative, here is a great music video tribute to the legendary line of Willis Jeeps (1908 – 1963). 

Glenn Spayth based the song on a Willis Jeep that he actually owned. Enjoy:

Now that you’ve had another taste of the Gatlinburg Hard Rock Cafe’s Cabin Fever Singer/Songwriter series, I hope you’ll check back with us often.  In a few days we’ll have additional footage…including the Pea Pickin’ Hearts.

We had a great time this week at the Round 2 of Gatlinburg Hard Rock Cafe’s Cabin Fever Singer/Songwriter series. 

Jon and I have be checking out the competition each week, but I have to admit that I’ve really enjoyed being a part of the audience.  Live music is addicting.  Support your local independent artists…We think you’ll be glad you did.   

See what you think…

Third place was taken this week by 18 year-old Coco Martin from Morristown, TN.  She started her set with a joke: “How much does a polar bear weigh?”  Answer: “Enough to break the ice.”  She was a doll.  She was refreshingly honest and vulnerable without being syrupy sweet.  I predict great things for Coco Martin.  I encourage you to watch her performance below and connect with her on Myspace at http://www.MySpace.com/CocoMartin .

Second Place was taken by Darren Johnson of the Darren Johnson Effort.  A smooth voice and great writing skills.  I could have listened to him all night long.  Thanks Darren for driving in all the way from Chattanooga.  Listen to Darren’s performance below:

First Place was won by Brad Blackwell.  It was a well-deserved win.  Brad is a great songwriter with a polished voice and an endearing style.  The ladies will note, he isn’t hard to look at either.  I enjoyed this performance, and I know you will too.  Make sure you visit http://www.BradBlackwellMusic.com .

Now that you’ve had a taste of the Gatlinburg Hard Rock Cafe’s Cabin Fever Singer/Songwriter series, I hope you’ll check back with us often.  In two weeks we’ll have additional footage…including the Pea Pickin’ Hearts.