RANCH HOSTS DAY OF PICKIN' AND A-GRINNIN'; BANJO-FIDDLE FESTIVAL DRAWS THOUSANDS.Byline: Leilani Albano Daily News Staff Writer City folk got a little bit country Sunday when they gathered at Paramount Ranch for some down-home bluegrass music bluegrass music: see country and western music. and traditional dance during the 38th annual Topanga Banjo-Fiddle Contest and Folk Festival A Folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music. Regional Denmark
More than 5,000 people gathered at the Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a low transverse range in southern California in the United States. Geography They run for approximately 40 mi (64 km) east-west from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County. ranch for the all-day event, many of them toting banjos, fiddles, guitars and mandolins for impromptu jam sessions. ``It's a very friendly type of music,'' said Al Pollock of Oxnard, a spoon player and long-time bluegrass bluegrass, any species of the large and widely distributed genus Poa, chiefly range and pasture grasses of economic importance in temperate and cool regions. In general, bluegrasses are perennial with fine-leaved foliage that is bluish green in some species. fan. ``You don't have to know the other guy. People just get together and just follow along and wing it.'' In addition to banjo banjo, stringed musical instrument, with a body resembling a tambourine. The banjo consists of a hoop over which a skin membrane is stretched; it has a long, often fretted neck and four to nine strings, which are plucked with a pick or the fingers. and fiddle music, the event featured dancing - from square to clog - as well as cowboy poets, Celtic singers and more. Devon, 14, and Coral Leopold, 12, sisters from Mission Viejo, were among the 200 competitors who took part in the banjo and fiddle contest. Devon played an intricate piece on the banjo, and her sister backed her up on guitar. Devon has only been playing for six years and her sister two, but the duo enjoy performing and getting together with other musicians. ``People just come out to listen to you don't care if you mess up,'' Devon said. ``It's fun.'' Added her sister Coral, ``People make me feel special when they tell me I did a good job.'' But for others, the get-together offered a chance to catch up with old friends and play a tune or two. Jim Savage, a Calabasas resident, has been coming to the festival for seven years. Every year, he meets the same group of five guys near a wool-spinning demonstration for an impromptu hootenanny hoot·en·an·ny n. pl. hoot·en·an·nies 1. An informal performance by folk singers, typically with participation by the audience. 2. Informal An unidentified or unidentifiable gadget. . ``I don't even know them,'' said Savage, who plays a ``gut bucket'' - a wash tub attached to a stick with a bass string. But that didn't matter to Savage. What's important is the chance to do something he loves, plunk plunk also plonk v. plunked also plonked, plunk·ing also plonk·ing, plunks also plonks v.tr. 1. away at his washtub bass. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1) David Murphy gets help with his sun screen from friend Mary Lou Steed steed see nag. as they enjoy the Topanga Banjo-Fiddle Contest on Sunday in Agoura. (2) Forbes Conrad, 12, warms up his banjo-pickin' fingers before performing at the Topanga Banjo-Fiddle Contest and Folk Festival. (3) Angela Rodel, left, and Clem Fox, right, listen as David Gould and Christian Molstrom play a tune at the folk music festival Sunday. Phil McCarten/Daily News |
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