MUSICIANS SHARE GOOD TIMES; CALIFORNIA OLD-TIME FIDDLERS ASSOCIATION ENTERTAINS ALL AGES.

Byline: P. CATHERINE SHANKS Community Columnist

Fiddlers, guitar strummers and banjo pickers gather at the Oak View Community Center twice each month to pool their collective talents and play the day away.

Since 1974, members of the California Old-Time Fiddlers Association have been meeting to share tunes and teach young newcomers a thing or two about the fine art of fiddling and spark interest in the instrument as well as an appreciation for bluegrass, folk and country-style music.

``Some fiddle player and some banjo player and some guitar player will meet and become friends, and some of them do get together and play professionally,'' said Ben Chapman, district entertainment coordinator. Guitar player Chapman said the regular get-togethers are family-oriented afternoons focused, in part, on fiddling around.

``Everything has to have a fiddle,'' said Chapman, referring to the instrumental groups. Individuals who play other instruments are welcome to join the organization, though members are not required to play instruments.

``We call them `enthusiasts,' '' he said, adding that husbands and wives of playing members need not apply for membership.

The approximately 300 members constituting local district 8 of the association include close to 60 musicians. Over the years, members have ranged in age from as young as 5 or 6 to upward of 80.

At a recent taping of ``Impact News and Views'' for cable television Channel 19 in Oxnard, Chapman teamed with one of the younger musicians and one of the more senior players to demonstrate the kind of bowing and plucking with which the Old-Time Fiddlers have become synonymous.

Three-time national and 15-time state fiddle champion and member of the Fiddlers' Hall of Fame, 85-year-old veteran player Marvin Johnson took the lead. Thirteen-year-old Forbes Conrad accompanied him on the banjo, and Chapman completed the trio on the guitar. Forbes has won a number of banjo and fiddle awards. Before and after their snappy rendition of ``Sweet Georgia Brown,'' Johnson and Forbes shared their respective histories and thoughts on the fiddle.

``I've been into music all my life,'' said Johnson. At age 10, his musical career began when he played drums at the Ventura County Fair. ``I got my parents into the fair, and I got paid,'' he said.

A few years later, he took up the violin. A roofer by trade for 25 years, Johnson moonlighted as a classical violinist with the Ventura County Symphony for 12 years. When he opted to join the Old-Time Fiddlers, he found he had to make a few adjustments.

``I had to work at it hard,'' he said. The violinist-turned-fiddler shelved a large part of his classical training, with its refined bowing and slurring techniques, to learn a new way to play.

Initially, Forbes had no desire to play the violin. He was ambivalent about music and reluctant about practice, and he found almost any other activity far more appealing.

``I had no idea what a violin looked like,'' said the teen-ager, who began playing before he began school. His mother, Jean Conrad, enrolled him in a Moorpark College violin class because the family home was too small to accommodate a piano. Forbes left his first private teacher after practicing a full year of 15 variations on ``Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.'' It took something other than daily scales and nursery tunes to stimulate his creative energies.

At age 5, the young violinist played in front of the fresh-herb stand at the Ventura Farmers Market that his mother operated. The experience sparked something in the youngster.

``They gave him money,'' said Jean Conrad. ``He didn't know what it was,'' she laughed. What his mother knew was that her son enjoyed an audience and that he would practice much longer in front of a crowd than he would at home.

Every Saturday, in-between performing for the passers-by at the market, young Forbes heard area groups playing bluegrass and country music for the crowds. The music piqued his interest, and he quickly transferred his talents to the folksier style of playing. Shortly thereafter, Forbes joined the California Old-Time Fiddlers Association.

``I just play regular stuff,'' said Forbes, who recently secured several first prizes in competitions for banjo and fiddle. The young musician hopes to keep up his classical skills as well. He plans to audition for a community symphony orchestra in the near future. His audition piece is proving to be quite a challenge.

``I'm working on `Flight of the Bumblebee,' '' said Forbes. ``It's still stinging me.''

The next meeting of the California Old-Time Fiddlers Association is set for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 13. The music and good times will be free. Refreshments will be available.

The Oak View Community Center is at 18 Valley Road in Oak View. For more information about the California Old-Time Fiddlers Association, call [phone] or [phone].

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PHOTO (Color) Left to right, Marvin Johnson, Ben Chapman and Forbes Conrad warm up before appearing recently on Oxnard's cable Channel 19.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News