International Jazz Banjo Newsletter

“One of the Best FIGA Conventions Ever”! Comments and thanks for a great FIGA Providence 2005 Convention just keep coming in. Attendees have been sending in compliments and thanks, sharing their thoughts, stories and photos of fun times, great music, insightful tours, New England summer weather and just an overall spectacular week of FIGA activities. A FIGA Convention of this scale doesn’t just happen, Steve and Sandra Caddick along with Paul & Theresa Poirier spent countless hours meeting to discuss plans, details and coordinating the many people who worked in the background to make FIGA Providence happen. Steve and Paul held meetings with tour operators, hotel staff, Providence City planners and a cadre of other event coordinators who were responsible for the assortment of events that were made available to FIGA members and guests. Sandra Caddick and Theresa Poirier were the helping
hands that stuffed envelopes, sorted paperwork, coordinated event tickets and made sure that all the components were in place for each individual attendee when they arrived. Theresa and Sandra were also the smiling faces who, with the help of Nancy Kebabjian and a host of other volunteers, staffed the welcome table throughout the entire event.
The idea of having the FIGA 2005 Convention in New England must be credited to Paul & Yvonne Jacobson. It was at the 2004 Early Spring Banjo Fling, (held annually at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Mansfield Mass), Paul & Yvonne commented, “ FIGA has no place to go in 2005 and wouldn’t it be great to have a FIGA Convention return to New England?” There had not been a FIGA Convention in New England since Nashua NH in 1996. Well, the wheels began turning in Paul & Steve’s heads while the imaginations began to wonder about hosting an international
Musical event. “Where do we start, who do we contact….. …..can we really do this? From March to August Paul & Steve explored the possibilities, toured hotels and checked possible dates. They were still not sure they could even pull off an event of this magnitude, but the idea of hosting a major musical event in their own back yard was just too tempting. With proposals in hand Paul & Steve set out for FIGA 2004 in Sacramento, CA to have some fun, scope out the details and propose FIGA return to New England in August 2005 at the Providence Marriott Hotel. Off and running!
Fast forward to August, 2005. Plans at the Marriott are almost complete, schedules, tours, shows, all complete and our guests will be arriving in the next few days. Arriving at the Marriott Hotel from just about anywhere was pretty simple, the Marriott Hotel is easily accessible to Amtrak trains, by car or by air and with 351 guest rooms was able to accommodate all FIGA guests under one roof. Function space for jam rooms, meetings, shows and vendors was neither to big nor to small, but just right. Ballrooms for the shows, the vender room and jam rooms spaces were always busy with activities but never overcrowded. The Hotel staff, having never experienced a FIGA Convention was not sure what to expect, but check in was easy and attendees were able to find their rooms, and around the hotel with ease. Wednesday, the kick off day Paul, Steve, Sandra and Theresa were frantic getting final details complete. A morning
volunteer meeting, the stage in the ballroom had not arrived yet, the vendor room was just being set up, banners were not hung and what about the sound system? Attendees were beginning to line up at the welcome table that was not yet ready. Thanks to Eddy & Nancy Kebabjian, Russ & Pauline Miller, Bill O’Neel, Paul & Yvonne Jacobson, Rene Marion, Bob Molden the Marriott Hotel staff and lots of other volunteers, all the last minute details were completed and FIGA Providence 2005 was ready to go.
Wednesday’s schedule also included a welcome party in the hotel lobby. A spin off idea from the annual Strummers’ Spring Fling, Paul & Steve decided that the lobby needed to be more than just a place to check in, it needed some music to welcome people to the FIGA convention, to let them know they had arrived and to set the mood for the entire event. Steve Caddick, Rene Marion and Eddy Kebabjian performed many old favorites as well as tunes from their CDs “By The Sea” and “Old Cape Cod” to get things started. Dave Frey followed with a one hour performance playing some of his favorite songs and just taking time to welcome FIGA Members as they arrived. The welcome parties were scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday afternoons only. The surprise was that once the music started, it just would not stop! Players and attendees started asking where and how to sign up for a slot in “THE CORNER” of the lobby. Steve Caddick decided to begin scheduling all the groups who wanted time to showcase their talents and join in the fun. Some of the people who entertained attendees, the hotel staff and hotel
guests from “THE CORNER” were: The Ross Hubble Trio, Don Vappie, Cynthia Sayer, Tyler Jackson, Steve DeBoniventura, Michael Keuhn, Rob Wright and Evan Dane to name just a few. The music wafted through the lobby setting the mood for FIGA that made attendees feel like this was home. Groups continued performing in “THE CORNER” continuously from 9:00 am till 5:00pm every day, right through to Saturday making the hotel lobby a special place to gather.
Attendees who arrived on Wednesday, as well as, local folks were treated to a FIGA 2005 “Kick Off Concert”. Our host band, The Stone Street Strummers, conducted by Tom Fee, performed an hour long trip down memory lane playing old time favorite songs from the “Tin Pan Alley” era, as well as, famous Broadway show tunes in classic “Banjo Band” style. Following the Strummers was a very special treat for FIGA members, The Providence Mandolin Orchestra. The PMO, founded in 1973 by Hibbard Perry, has performed frequently locally and internationally as a classical mandolin orchestra. Conductor Mark Davis chose songs written especially for the mandolin orchestra including a Japanese Love song. Both the Stone Street Strummers and the PMO performed superbly to an enthusiastic audience that included area senior citizens, local officials, the 2nd US District Congressman James Langevin and of course, FIGA attendees. FIGA conventions often showcase banjo bands but it was a pure delight to have very diverse music performed by a very diverse group like the Providence Mandolin Orchestra.
Workshops, an all important part of any FIGA Convention, were a big success. Workshops were planned to be as informative and diverse across as many instruments and styles of music as possible. Workshops were held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings in two sessions with a maximum of 4 different subjects in any one session. The choices were as varied as the subjects. Thursday’s lineup was Dave Frey’s workshop titled “background patterns – the important shadow of all melodies”, Rob Wright “The Practice Room to the Stage”, Roger Sprung “5 string banjo styles” Marilynn Mair “An Introduction to Brazilian Choro” and Virginia Luetje
hosted an idea exchange on audience participation. Fridays selections were Steve Caddick, “Taming the Treacherous Tremolo”, Peter Zaccagnino “Ukulele: 4 strings, 4 fingers and you’re playing”, Gil O’Gawa “Banjo Setup”, Geoff Rezek “How to form a Fretted Instruments Club”, Dr Jeff Grosser “ The Art of Getting Gigs” and Remco Houtman - Janssen “Right hand Tricks for Banjo Uke” Friday also brought a special workshop from the master himself, Mr. Buddy Wachter. And, if that wasn’t enough, Saturday workshops included Cynthia Sayer “How to Follow by Ear”, Jim Riley “memory Joggers for Banjo Players” John Mumford “ Banjo Styles of Past Performers”, Kinloch Nelson “Alternative Tuning For Guitar” and finally Rob Wright. Wow, that was a long list, but each and every person who gave of their time and talent to attend FIGA and help other musicians learn from their expertise deserves to be noted and given our thanks for their contribution. Venders and the vender room are also an important part of any FIGA Convention and ours was no exception. Instrument makers and sellers from all over the country came to show off their products. We had Banjos, Guitars, Mandolins, Ukuleles, some cross over instruments and a host of other stuff including CD’s, gig bags and even some posters. The Vender room was always a busy spot frequented by all and jam packed with merchandise, conversation and music. Thanks go to Paul Jacobson for managing this all important area.
Although not the primary focus of a FIGA convention, the local tours are a big draw for both FIGA musicians and guests. Paul & Steve understood this and planned tours and outside activities for each day of the convention. Most activities and all tours were promoted in advance with articles highlighting attractions in each issue of the “All Frets Magazine” for the entire year running up to FIGA 2005. This process is time consuming and, (if you have ever written an article for publication), difficult, but the decision was made that it was an important part of the convention planning and the effort was required to build interest in our destination city for FIGA 2005.
Attendees arriving on Wednesday were able to tour Providence on the Splash Duck Tour. Promptly at 2:00pm, a big, kind of “quacky” looking, amphibious vehicle rolled up to the Marriott hotel. 41 lucky guests boarded the tour bus / boat for a one hour trip through historic city streets and into the water to float past a Russian submarine, through the hurricane barrier and into the Providence Harbor. The crew pointed out the highlights and historic locations of the city with a unique mix of history and corny jokes as only the Splash Duck Tour folks can. All returned safely with smiles, hugs for the crew, some new jokes and great memories. The FIGA city tour departed Thursday morning with 39 enthusiastic attendees aboard a Conway Tours motor coach for a morning long guided tour of the city with stops and tours of the Rhode Island State House, the historic John Brown House, an old fashioned “Federal Hill” bakery, the oldest Baptist Meeting House in the US and a drive down the “Mile of History”, Benefit Street, to see the most extensive collection of 17th and 18th century homes in America. What a history lesson in the heart of beautiful Providence, the “Renaissance City”.
Thursday was a perfect New England Summer Day, sunshine and ocean breezes, Perfect for the Narragansett Bay Cruise Tour and Jam Session the most attended of the tours. Over 150 music lovers and high seas adventurers climbed aboard 3 motor coaches for the short ride to Quonset Point where Vineyard Fast Ferry Inc. operates “The Millennium”, a high speed catamaran that, with Captain, crew and Arthur our tour guide, was to serve as our private yacht. After boarding, instruments in hand, the ship departed for a 90 minute round the bay tour with views of 17 historic lighthouses, Newport Harbor, Hammersmith Farm, Narragansett Bay, some large sailboats, the Newport and Jamestown bridges. Our tour guide Arthur intermixed his history lesson with our jamming. Whenever the high speed catamaran ship was moving from point to point the jamming was on, when the ship slowed to view a landmark, the jamming stopped and our guide continued. What a wonderful way to experience true New England treasures while doing what we all love so much, making music.
Friday morning 57 adventurous FIGA Folks made their way onto motor coaches for the ride to Newport, the “City - by the - Sea”. Once there, guides described the city, pointing out historic homes and architectural details of the mansions that were summer retreats of the wealthiest Americans and 19th century high society. The high point of our Newport excursion was a guided tour of “The Breakers”, the grandest of Newport’s mansions. Built overlooking the Atlantic Ocean the mansion was a summer cottage of the Vanderbilt family and is now owned and preserved by the Newport Historical society. Prior to returning to the Marriott Hotel attendees were given free time at Bannister’s Warf for some souvenir shopping, lunch and a pleasant look around. Additional non FIGA functions that members and guests participated in included: Thursday’s Gallery night, a free tour to the city’s art galleries sponsored by Gallery Night Inc. Barbara Barns of the Providence Historical Society gave a slide presentation about Providence and it’s history and sponsored Historic walking tours on Friday and Saturday. Finally, a ladies makeup seminar that was held compliments of Nordstrum’s at the Providence Place Mall.
All FIGA Conventions are a showcase for members’ talent and that is just what was on display at the three “All Star Shows” Walter Chase, (Amoskeog Strummers) was our guest MC Thursday night and opening the show the host band, the Stone Street Strummers performed Hello, Welcome and Enjoy Yourself, three tunes to give instructions to all. What did follow was lots of great music by wonderful FIGA musicians. Additional shows were on Friday evening with a follow up show on Saturday afternoon. Time slots were held to 12 minutes to accommodate the many diverse and entertaining performers. Special thanks to Sandy Perotta who stepped in and saved the day as MC for the Saturday Afternoon show and for organizing and managing a very successful 50/50 raffle. Friday night’ schedule was a real challenge. The traditional FIGA banquet was on with an All Star Show to follow in the same room. Bob Hadley, (Elm City Banjo Band), was both host for the Friday evening banquet and MC for the “All Star Show”. Bob had the all important job of coordinating the evening’s activities. First the Banquet: The menu selection was New England Baked Scrod, or Pork tenderloin, both fabulously prepared and enjoyed by over 250 attendees. Then the instrument raffles presented by Johnny Baier and awards portion of the evening were presented by FIGA President Dolores Borrow. When all were complete, it was necessary to clear attendees from the room, then reset for the show, a logistical nightmare that is always a source of complaints. Bob did his usual great job accomplishing the task with whit and humor. While the hotel staff worked their magic on the Grande Ballroom, Cynthia Sayer kept the evening moving with a mini concert in the Marquee Room. An additional performance by Don Vappie and Evan Dain also helped out. The Hotel staff were fantastic, they managed to make the whole evening work without a hitch. Cynthia and Don’s performances were just outstanding and the All Star Show was a delight for all. Could it ever get better than this? Waterfire in Providence is unique and has been ranked as #2 on National Geographic Traveler Magazine’s top 10 events in the United States. A FIGA Convention in Providence would not have been complete without a Waterfire event on Saturday night. The problem was a Waterfire event does not happen every week and FIGA week was
not on the schedule. Paul & Steve went to work. Getting a Waterfire event was no easy task, it required a major sponsor and convincing a lot of city planners and Waterfire Inc. that a FIGA Convention is a worthy reason to have a Waterfire. Everybody who is anybody in the city, at Waterfire Inc., at the Convention Bureau, even a US Congressman were contacted and asked for their help. Boy did they come through for us! Amica Insurance stepped in as the major sponsor and Waterfire was on! What a great event on a perfect Summer night. Saturday night show at the RISD was held right in the middle of the Waterfire event. The RISD, (Rhode Island School of Design), Auditorium had been booked for this event 8 months in advance and just 2 days before FIGA came to town somebody said, “ Did we tell you that the hall is not air conditioned?” Too Late Now! Boy was it hot in that auditorium but as Johnny Baier said ”they promised us a warm reception!” Well all who attended any part of the Saturday night show got some of the hottest music of the convention. What a lineup! The PMO, Rob Wright, Steve Caddick, Cynthia Sayer, Don Vappie, Tyler Jackson & Buddy Wachter, Kinloch Nelson and to close out the show, Johnny Baier & Buddy Wachter. Special thanks to Evan Dain, who despite the intense heat and bright lights, played his stand up bass almost continuously through the Saturday night show. Open to FIGA members and the general public, people wandered in and out. A pair of professional musicians who wandered in from Waterfire were glued to their seats. When they were asked if they enjoyed the show their response was that “we were putting the Newport Jazz Festival to shame with the talent on our stage”. That was quite a compliment from an unknown source.
Well the sign of a great convention is always in the jam rooms. The jam rooms were consistently full of music and life. The real tip off that this convention was a great one came on Saturday night, after Waterfire and the RISD Show. Back at the hotel around midnight, somebody picked up a banjo in the lobby and started to play. Soon, others followed. At 1:30 on Sunday morning the jam session was still building. Finally at 2:30 am the decision was made, “we have to go home on Sunday anyway, so let’s just play all night” What a spectacular end to a great FIGA Convention.
Going home on Sunday is always a mixed emotion day. The lobby was full of hugs and tears, thanks for a great time and looking forward to next year’s event. Saying goodbye to new friends, old friends and looking forward to meeting again! Personally, I can’t wait till next year in Bay Point, MI.

Written by Paul Poirier