XFest: Scribbles in my notebook

On rare occasions I encounter musicians whose music I've never heard, but are just so stinkin' nice that I just have to seek it out.
That's what happened in the "reporting" phase of a preview story I wrote for the 2013 version of the annual Xtreme Folk Scene festival, XFest.
The Grand Slambovians, who often play the Sellersville Theater and have entertained at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, are the headlining act Saturday, and the band's Joziah Longo and Tink Lloyd seemed pleasantly surprised to learn that they were the headliner.

Lloyd emailed to me:

"Will be in touch at 3:15. BTW, we were watching an old episode of 'Fringe,' which was taking place in Lansdale, Pa. just before we saw your email yesterday!!!!

We thought that was significant, and should definitely do this interview!" 

 Longo (pictured above) took me through his life's journey of being kicked out of Catholic school in Philadelphia and winding up at C.B. West while living on a commune that resided in the octagonal barn in Whistlestop Park, on the Montgomery County side of County Line Road.
Now of course, I have a hard time believing that Montgomery Township or the Central Bucks School District would be at all OK with that arrangement. Time has not allowed me to independently confirm that the barn was ever used as a residence. However, in Googling info. on the barn, I did learn that it was severely damaged in a storm in 2004 and rebuilt.
I heard about Longo's original band, The Ancestors. "We'd play Carnegie Hall one night and the next night we'd be at CBGB's," he said.
Founded in 2000, The Grand Slambovians have such a following that they have their own line of coffee!
Longo was drinking some sort of calming tea during our chat, which must have transferred over the phone because I felt comfortable enough talking to Longo to let it slip that my own folk 'n' roll duo, Raspberry Tea, performed at the 2010 XFest. He was genuinely interested in hearing more about that.

And it turns out the Slambovians' songs are quite fun.That's Tink Lloyd on the accordion.

I also spoke to John Weathers of Stolen Thyme, who will play the same Saturday opening slot that Raspberry Tea played three years ago. He let me in on the dirty double entendre of his group's name, taken from an old folk ballad, "Let No Man Steal Your Time." Weathers, who has a Ph.D. degree and reminded me of talking to a college music professor, revealed that the herb thyme has been used to symbolize virginity. Needless to say, "let no man steal your THYME" takes on a whole different meaning. 

X stands for danger

Sure, it's easy to be snarky and make fun of the name Xtreme Folk Scene.
But are you brave enough to come to the Country Creek Winery Friday night the 11th and/or Saturday the 12th to find out what it is at the 10th annual XFest? Well, are ya, punk?
The Berrys should be a good, comfort zone starting point for you. Briana Berry's MySpace has some recognizable covers.
And don't let the name fool you; the West Philadelphia Orchestra is nothing like the Philadelphia Orchestra. In fact, you may have seen them in this area before. The video says it all. Holy crap!
Electric Man has been featured on Talk about the Passion before, but this time I've also provided a link to his Website for you.
Hopefully you're not thinking about heckling me at XFest during Raspberry Tea's set.
Brenda Kahn, who I have heard described as "old school anti-folk," has a new CD in the works. Her songs are kinda seductive, and I hope this veteran performer doesn't put Raspberry Tea to shame too terribly much.
Since the time I wrote a story on the Bucks County branch of the Paul Green School of Rock, they have a whole new set of kids. They were a hit at last year's XFest.
Who could resist a progressive bluegrass band that named itself after the stuffed pig stomach dish HogMaw?! I'm a fan of the songs "The Flood" and "Sauerkraut." There's even an XPN interview with them on their MySpace, if you have time to listen to it.
Chattanooga, TN resident Butch Ross can't do anything right.

1. He plays the mountain dulcimer.
2. He plays it standing up like a guitar.
3. He holds it upside and strung backwards.
4. And Butch Ross plays rock n roll on it.

His 'While My Dulcimer Gently Weeps' is above.
Psych-A-Billy are nuts. If you dare, download their tunes "If Love is Blind" and "Let's Get Drunk and Break Bottles in the Alley."
Slo-Mo and Mic Wrecka has a truly unpredictable sound. Will they go hip-hop, Americana, somewhere in between?
The schedule and ticket information is all at www.xfsmusic.org.

What goes on behind closed doors? OR More than just XFest

From a newspaper/entertainment standpoint, I run into kind of a tough spot with the Xtreme Folk Scene. They offer this series of monthly house concerts, but because they're in private homes, you have to RSVP to xfsinfo@xfsmusic.org to get the address. So it makes them kinda semi-private.
As a card-carrying XFS member, I can tell you that they're fun. Here's some video from the March concert, held in Mt. Airy. There's Electric Man solo doing Diamond Rio's "One More Day," with his trademark mobile amplification system and bag of tricks. Then, Electric Man morphs back into Steve Perlsweig to perform what became an interactive version of Leonard Cohen's "I'm Your Man" with his wife, Jeanette. Ever heard a WOMAN sing "I'm Your Man"?
BTW Jeanette and Steve Perlsweig are playing their "An Evening of Songs from the Heart" show at 8 p.m. March 27 at Always by Design Gallery, 265 S. 10th St., Philadelphia (between Locust and Spruce streets). Comedian Emily Cohen also performs. Cover is $10 and there's light refreshments after the show. If you're wondering, they do have a CD.
Youngster T.J. McGlinchey was quite the eye-opener! He's a talented player, promising songwriter, and has a whopper of a singalong going on in this video. He says it's about a woman he met at the Philadelphia Folk Festival LOL.
Xtreme Folk Scene's XFest is June 11-12 close to home at the Country Creek Winery! Discount advance tickets are available now at www.xfsmusic.org.