First published in  Lonely Goat Print Magazine Volume III - #3

March 2000 Goat Notes

"Problems can not be solved at the same level of awareness that created them." - Albert Einstein

I'm not sure what it means either, but it makes a lot of sense anyway. It's especially good to be sitting here typing the Goat Notes today. I always save this for the end of a new issue. Because this is the first issue since February, I feel an even greater relief than normal at being near the end. There was no March Lonely Goat, but I did send out a Goatee with the dates. I hope everyone was able to make do with that fairly comfortably. So we've got some catching up to do.

A lot has been happening at Lonelygoat.com. I've started sending out a weekly email called 'The Goatee' that lists all the shows on the schedule. It allows me to get the new dates out faster and allows me to publish everything I know rather than just a month and a half ahead. More than anything, I think the email is best fulfilling the goal of reaching the folks who haven't heard about what is happening with kind music in North Carolina. To add yourself to the email list, send an email to Goatee@lonelygoat.com with 'subscribe' in the subject.

This March/ April issue of Lonely Goat has some great features. Chris Reittinger was kind enough to respond to my pleas for some coverage of bands playing the upcoming Smilefest. Check out his piece on The Larry Keel Experience. Mama K and Dennis Humphries tell us about recent shows from Jorma Kaukonen and Keller Williams. Both articles arrived some time ago, but I'm just now getting them published. Thanks to both writers for their patience. J.D. Edwards provided a piece on The Walker Center at Wilkesboro Community College, one of the performance halls for Merlefest. He does a great job of making up your mind about going to this ever growing in popularity event.

Did you catch the photo on the cover and the back cover? Those are the first photos I've run on a cover. I hope they turn out. The front cover photo was captured by Lida Smith during the 1998 Smilefest at Hodgin Valley Farm near Greensboro. Seth and I embellished it a bit. The back cover photo is from Manuel Carrasco, Jr. Manny applied his creative talents to the accumulated snow during the blizzard of 2000. More shots of the ice wolf and other more colorful snow sculptures are available on the website.

Also on the website this month is a web only feature presenting the photography of Duke Andrews. He showed me a few of these images and I jumped on the opportunity to share them with you. I've included some of Duke's notes about the photos. Make sure you read them too.

Seth Broadstreet has returned with The Lonely Goat Comic. This month...enter the villains. My continual thanks to Seth for his continual contributions to Lonely Goat. Seth is usually easy to catch and quick to handle that last minute flyer or any kind of announcement you might require. It's cheaper and easier than you think. Give him a call at 336-992-0514.

This month we welcome two new advertisers. Floracopia Craft Gallery is located in Greensboro and they feature unique items handmade by local artisans: Tie dyes from Dye Nation (www.dyenation.com), metal works, wood works, paintings and more. Life Trip took an ad with us to spread the word about their new CD release, Tranquility. I have not heard it yet, but I know it's worth at least $8 their asking. Check out the ad at the bottom right. Thanks to both of the new advertisers. Their support helps pay for the paper this is printed on.

Many thanks to Rob 'Gumby' Hillard of Deadheads Festival Calendar for helping me put together the Spring & Summer Festival Planner. We all know that new stuff will be released the day this goes to print, but at least it's a good guide. Speaking of the festival season, I've published the famous "Mama K's Festival Tips" at www.lonelygoat.com. Check out Special Events for the link. If you're new to festivals, be sure to tune in to Mama K's advice. It's amazingly helpful sometimes.

The 6th Annual Smilefest continues to build up steam. March saw the emergence of the color posters and the custom tickets to the graphical delight of many. Thursday nite festivities have been officially added for the first time ever. Mr. Charlie's will be sponsoring a warm up celebration with The Emma Gibbs Band and Southern Groove Society. So Smilefest begins on June 1. Spread the word. The line up this year may be one of the best you'll catch this summer. Continued praise goes out to Bob Robertson & NFA Entertainment for making this event a reality.

And now for some local news...

Louis Bryant, formerly of Bag of Nickels, is the new drummer for Greensboro's Folkswaggin'. The regrouped outfit played their first show last Friday and they say more dates are on the way.

Greensboro's Magellan is now Megelen due to some legal complications with the name. They are also on the lookout for a drummer.

Joe Thrift is leaving Donna the Buffalo. Richie Stearns, who played with the original Donna the Buffalo, will be handling the keyboards.

The Virginia Beach based Quiver called it quits last October. Now former Quiver members Jason Bruner and David Fulford are joining up with Chris Kemp of Hero and DJ Midday to form glue. Hopefully we'll see them around here soon.

WQFSjam is a great radio show on 90.9FM in Greensboro on Wednesday's at 6PM. Now you can hear his show in real audio on the web. Visit www.wqfsjam.net. Joel features all live recordings of jambands and other artists.

be seeing you...