My
front porch has been alive with music recently. My friend Jan, which
happens to be one of the best guitar players I have ever heard played
one night at my house. Needless to say we had a small crowd that gathered
around to listen to his beautiful artistic way of strumming a box
with strings on it. Later that night a couple of hikers rolled onto
the scene and picked up where Jan left off and played my neighbors
guitar till we couldn't keep our eyes opened any longer.
Then a week later finds a bicyclist by the name of Joe Schommer, who
happened to stay with me for about five days, playing his harmonica
and my pots, pans, and spoons. A couple of days after he rolls in
a thru hiker of the Appalachian Trail by the name of Evan Kolvoord,
trail name "Ukulele" comes happily hiking into town with
a ukulele and eventually ends up on my front porch with him strumming
that thing and Joe beating the pee-waddling out of my pots, pans,
and spoons and tooting on his harmonica.
I have a phone out on my front porch that I let the many hikers and
bicyclists use when they come through Damascus, Virginia. I've been
doing this deed for about three months now and there has been a many
a good conversations with people from all over the United States and
even some from England, Israel, Ireland, and Australia as well. So
I guess I have become somewhat known in both the hiking and biking
communities and from time to time talented people show up as well.
Besides a great conversation I enjoy good music. Evan and Joe made
good music for a couple of guys who have never met before. But that's
the way it is with musicians, that is if your like these two guys
who don't only play their chosen instruments but a few others as well.
Joe, who is from New York City, was born and raised on music. His
mother is a classic pianist and his father plays the clarinet. So
music ran in the family and that is probably why the family stuck
together as a unit. They say when Joe was just a little tyke and not
getting enough attention he would crawl up on the counter and grab
a pot or a pan and go to beating and wailing until his poor mother
couldn't hear herself play the piano anymore and then she'd come running.
I think that's how he got his start in the music world.
Evan is not any different I suppose than Joe. I don't know exactly
how old he was when he first picked up a Ukulele but he got his start
by playing the harmaonica. Evan grew up in Austin, Texas where he
was known at a very young age of tooting that harp in the wee hours
in the morning and waking up everyone in the household and the neighborhood.
As Evan progressed in his very young life he also learned to play
the guitar and this found him playing with some of the country's finest
musicians as he moved from band to band. Sometime around 2002 he met
his soul mate, Christina Martin and moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia
and became a yankee. Happens to some of the best I tell ya. Christina
is a singer and songwriter in her own right as well.
You can view more information on these two at their websites,
http://evankolvoord.com/Music/Musichome.htm
http://www.christinamartin.net/
Evan and Joe drew a crowd too. The first night they played together
there were just a few hanging out. But the second night there had
to be at least ten hikers in attendance. One of those hikers, Keith
Higginson with the trail name of "Otter" entertained us
with a capella of "Murphy's Bricks." Keith is originally
from Scotland, so with his accent it made the tune hilarious.
A couple of hikers in attendance were Patrick and Debra Mooney, trail
names OD and CC. Patrick is retired from the Army having served as
1st Sgt in the 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, New York. After
Patrick retired from the Army he began driving trucks for a living
taking Debra right along with him. Sometime along the way he and her
began talking about things that they wanted to do in life. He said
he would like to take a bike across America. She said she wanted to
hike the Appalachian Trail. They debated on the subject for awhile
and the debate became somewhat serious. After awhile they were throwing
lug wrenches and bolts at each other until one night Debra could not
take it anymore. That's when she jumped on poor ole Patrick and grabbed
him in a headlock until he gave in to hiking the trail. Ever since
they began their hike in March 2007 Debra has had a leash on Patrick
dragging him down the trail. I don't care how much military training
a man has, when it comes to a hard headed wife the wife usually wins.
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about Evans sidekick on the trail. William
Hanger, trail name "Deep Swig." He has been hiking with
Evan and even bought a Ukulele. Evan has been teaching him a little
along the way. He said he just got interested in how Evan seemed to
make music with such a small guitar, so he just had to learn himself.
He played right along on several songs that night on my front porch.
But every now and then he would start playing "Momma's Don't
Let Your Baby's Grow Up To Be Hikers." Yep, it would throw ole
Evan for a loop. But Joe didn't mess a beat. Drummers are like that
you see....
For the last couple of weeks I have been out of town working. I have
not been able to host any get togethers and I truly miss it. As my
friend Tokoma Ted sings, "People Are The Trail." When your
on a journey like hiking a long trail, maybe climbing a mountain in
a distant land, or riding a bike across the country it's not so much
the scenery that you remember but the people that you interacted with
along the way and then their different cultures. That's what makes
a memory in my book.
I will never forget the talent that has come across my front porch.....
Larry Riddle 06-27-07
