FOTMC - Florida Old-Time Music Championships 2015

The Florida Old Time MusicChampionships (FOTMC) have been held on the first full weekend in April for 33 years... well, at least the 33rd annual gathering and the past 20 or so have been at this time.

FOTMC Logo
If there is such a beast

The weekend event was started by Mr. Ethnic (JimStrickland) and Cousin Ernie (Ernie Williams) to promote and preserve Old Time music in Florida. Each year the faithful gather to trade tunes, share stories, and compete.  Five years ago the event returned to it's roots, the Dade City Pioneer Museum, which is a perfect site for the competitions.  

Yes this identifies the place

The museum preserves and presents the history of the area during the mid-1800s which is perfect for old-time music.  The grounds are lovely and feature buildings from 1880-1930, a museum with exhibits and collections, and a train that operated in the area.

Actual train that operated in Dade City
during the 1800s

The setting is perfect except for the frequent trains that travel on the railroad track which is adjacent to the museum.  We could not figure a schedule, the trains seemed to run at random times and Friday night it seemed every 20-30 minutes another train would rumble through the area.  Of course, if a train happened during a competition, the performer had the option to stop and restart the tune after the train passed.  The trains became the source of many good jokes and a welcome relief from the steady stream of banjo jokes.

And the trains are still active
where they run all day and all night
Ask me, we were parked adjacent to the tracks!

Most of the weekend is spent with a series of competitions which become the show.  However, FOTMC always has a guest of honor, which usually means two people, and this year it was Erynn Marshall and Carl Jones.  Both Erynn and Carl are fun folks who join in jams or will chat with you on most any topic.  We were fortunate to see them perform once on Friday and twice on Saturday.  They are accomplished musicians with there own special styles, definitely old-time.

Erynn Marshall and Carl Jones
(promo photo from FOTMC.org)

Now, some individuals are serious and compete for recognition, others are sharing their talents for fun, while some blend the two perspectives. The reason to compete simply (or not so simply) depends on your musical state-of-mind. 

Jason, a budding old-time musician
practicing for the contest
he took first in both Beginning Banjo
and Beginning Fiddle

And, sometimes it depends on the competition whether it is serious or for-fun. Of course you must follow the rules to be a serious competitor but they are not difficult.

Bill competing in Beginning Banjo

However, learning the nuisances of the genre can be challenging.  You can't simply read the sheet music and expect to get it right.  And, for many tunes there is no sheet music... actually, most of the music was not written down until the second half of the 20th century... or to be more accurate from 1970 on. 

Bill sporting his third place ribbon
He took third in Banjo and Mandolin
Wonder which this is...

Music was passed down from one fiddler, banjo player, or singer to another.  The student might come to the master more than once to learn the tune and then take it home.  Sometimes, the student might forget part of the tune and in reconstructing the tune he/she would create a new own version.

Marg in the Banjo Contest

In any case, after a while you learn that each tune IS different and you learn to recognize the differences.  And that is what this weekend is about.  Variations and nuisances on a recognized old-time tune.  Yes, it is about mastery of the instrument and the style but even more on the knowledge of the genre and how the tune breathes (varies) as you play it.  Contrary to what some believe, Old-Time Music is an evolving style.

Marg the budding fiddler
Beginning Fiddle
where the kids played circles around me!