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Event
Dare To Be Square West: Closing Dance w/The Tall Boys
Based in Seattle, Washington, The Tallboys are a four piece old time string band well-versed in traditional fiddle tunes and mountain songs. They stay honest to their traditional inspirations, yet charge up their sound with a raw edge of gritty enthusiasm conjured from their years of street performing. The Tallboys consistently deliver exciting stage performances and hard-driving dance tunes.
Talented vocalists, The Tallboys all share the singing, and their harmonies create a beautifully authentic old time sound. The instrumental line-up begins with Joe Fulton, from Iowa, who has been playing since boyhood. His impressive fiddling leads the melody. Charlie Beck, from Indiana, plays both clawhammer and three-finger style banjo and brings over a decade of musical experience to the band. He is also a talented songwriter, creating several original compositions. Longtime musician John Hurd, from Oregon, lays down that driving bass foundation essential to The Tallboys' rhythm. Charmaine Slaven, from Montana, fills out the sound with solid rhythm guitar and is one of the finest buckdancers on the west coast. She also has the unique ability to dance and play guitar simultaneously. Together, they blend the attributes of each instrument and vocalist, creating a cohesive sound.
Bob Close lives in Hayesville, North Carolina in the extreme southwestern corner of the state: 2 miles from Georgia, 30 miles from Tennessee and "about two and a half hours from everywhere."
Bob was born and raised in Baltimore, where he co-founded the Baltimore Folk Music Society and helped start the dance program for the Folklore Society of Greater Washington. Bob served as president of The Country Dance and Song Society from 1990-1996. In the early 1980's Bob became a regular dance instructor at The John C. Campbell Folk School and moved to southwestern North Carolina in 1991 to become Coordinator of Music and Dance Programs at The Folk School. In his 18 years at the school Bob has greatly expanded the music program and instituted annual training courses for callers and musicians. Bob also began producing a Friday night concert series which features many fine local and regional traditional musicians as well as our music instructors. The one hour concerts are free and open to the community.
Bob specializes in calling traditional American contra, square and circle dances. Bob has composed a number of new dances in traditional style and published two collections of traditional square dances (Smoke On the Water and When The Work's All Done) which, after being out of print for some time are available again from Hanhurst's Tape and Record Service.
Bob's 1982 book, West Virginia Square Dances, about old time square dancing in five W.Va. communities is also available again, free, online. Bob also enjoys teaching and calling English country dances.
Since 2000 Bob has been the principal caller for the Mountain Folk Festival at Berea College in Kentucky, an annual dance weekend in March for middle and high school age dance groups.
In addition to calling, Bob plays fiddle, guitar, mandolin and piano accordion. Bob is a musician for Sticks In the Mud Morris, Rural Felicity Garland Dancers, Dames Rocket Northwest Morris and a member of the Dog Branch Cats string band.
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LocationCentury Ballroom
915 E Pine St.
Seattle, WA 98117
United States
Categories
| Minimum Age: 21 |
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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