Nothing is Easy

Behind the scenes in Escoheag with Brian Bishop

by Michael Caito

When the Big Easy Festival at the Stepping Stone Ranch in Escoheag was initially cancelled this year, the word got out that organizers essentially wanted to bulletproof the upcoming Cajun &Bluegrass Festival. By cutting loose the weaker of the two summer-bookending fests, organizers figured to cement the success of Cajun &Bluegrass, since receipts from the Big Easy had been increasingly disappointing in recent years.

Brian Bishop's voice is frequently heard on radio talk shows around here, often taking the Department of Environmental Management to task on matters verdant. An activist and self-described rabble-rouser, he and some friends -- roots-music fans all -- succeeded in keeping a smaller version of Big Easy intact. One of the dividends reaped by Bishop was a weekend slot to showcase several bands which had offered to fill the void which the demise of the official Big Easy would have left had it not been resurrected -- unofficially as the Little Easy -- at the last minute.

So we gathered on a sunny afternoon to talk about the forthcoming Big Blues Blast and its interesting -- if somewhat chaotic -- genesis. Above all, Bishop clarified in a letter which followed our interview, "Ilook at this festival as one for people who don't go to festivals. It is the music they know by night presented during the day for a reasonable gate."

Q: Is it correct to say that the original decision about the Little Easy's cancellation was an attempt to bullet-proof Cajun &Bluegrass Festival?

Brian Bishop:The first thing that happened was basically they offered it to Chuck [Wentworth] -- in other words, let him take it as a Lagniappe Production. Big Easy, Little Easy, whatever it was. Chuck didn't want it. And I understand, because he's used to professional productions, and for him at that time it was maybe 21/2 weeks in advance -- before the general public had heard about [a possible cancellation], and they were all cogitating. I understand also that if [Wentworth] would've done it he would've felt it had to live up to a certain professional standard or he would've been embarrassed and he would've looked bad. He didn't plan the festival itself; he just booked the talent. And he didn't cancel it himself, and he didn't want to take the brunt.

Roy Hopper came to me after those meetings and he was despondent. He had met Franklin [Zawacki, festival organizer] in California and came here. He loved the energy at the ranch, invested in the festival, met his wife there first year around. All the right energy. He and his wife lived at the ranch and he was site manager for the festival.

My farm is about 4-5 miles away, and Ido these little one-band house-dancey kinda things. It's an eclectic mix . . . blues music, rockabilly. Rory [MacLeod]is a tight friend, so whatever ensemble he's been in we've had. I've had Magnolia and the Zydecats, Johnny and the East Coast Rockers. It's pot-luck for food, I make nothing from it. I put out the invitations and say well, put in 7 or 8 bucks for the band, but there's no ticket at the gate. The honor system . . . everyone who's dancing kicks in.

Roy knew that, so that's why Roy picked up the phone and called me -- so that if people hadn't heard and showed up, at least they could have a sign saying, "Go over to Austin Farm and there will be a little bit of a dance." The scuttlebutt was that some people were coming up from Louisiana anyway for a wedding, and maybe we could draw a little and it could pay for itself.

I felt like if we really wanted to turn the spigot on again, my place wasn't big enough for it. Idon't have a stage set-up . . . mine is a closed building and you could get 80 people dancing and that's about it. SteppingStone -- all the stuff is there. Roy called Darrell [Waldron, new owner of the ranch] and said, "Maybe you should talk to Brian, he knows some local groups and we could get some volunteers and get something going that day." For Darrell, who had just taken over the ranch this year, it didn't look good that the very first festival to run under his ownership gets cancelled. He had nothing to do with the decision, but he doesn't want that kind of reputation, so he wanted something to go on.

Ipicked up the phone. Igot John Mac and Rory in, Loaded Dice and some of Louisiana bands in. Donna the Buffalo -- they were great, very aware of rhythm. And that's what goes at Stepping Stone. Some people come to listen, but the people who come every time come to dance. And they want the rhythm. If it's not a Cajun song but has rhythm, that'll work, too.

So that energy translates well into the new festival.

Exactly. So we had that go for the Little Easy: that mix of bands. Idid a mailing from my list, which is very eclectic. It was just like the Blues Brothers movie, our [blues fest] stage manager putting up flyers and driving around with the megaphone. That's the kind of energy that happened. This was completely grassroots. People out there promoting it day to day who didn't know what bands were playing. They did it because what they get back is having a good event happen.

And it was back on, Wentworth was re-enlisted, and the lineup changed again with many of the bands you booked having been replaced.

Steve Riley's a headliner, he's a great draw. I'm not saying Loaded Dice brings in the same number of people as Steve Riley. That's not it. They're both great. But these people [Ibooked] were willing to play for whatever the traffic would bear, and they need to be recognized. The compromise Darrell offered is what we're now here to talk about. Realistically it's a win-win thing, and I'm grateful to [Waldron] for letting me do it when he knows I'm a loose-shootin', gun-from-the-hip kinda guy. Iwent to the bands and said, "This is what I can offer, I'm not trying to talk you into something you don't want to do, and if you think this is a lousy way to do things or I'm trying to take advantage of you please don't let me get you in that situation." And this is the result of making those queries. (Taking out schedule)

Hey, Herb Dawson is MC!

I don't know if it's common knowledge, but he's leaving the state and going to North Carolina. It's a loss to the state; Ilove the guy. The bands want to do it for the energy, and every band has the same stake in this. Both the Boston acts are women [Shirley Lewis and Michelle Willson] coming from different ends of the blues spectrum. The Smoking Jackets -- they don't come any better than Keith [Munslow, keyboardist]. Paul [Geremia] drove all the way from Newport so he'd have some flyers. Tom Sanders andthe Hornets just won an R&B award from the Hartford Advocate. The dance people love Johnny &the East Coast Rockers, Dave Howard has a new CD. The Fais Dos Dos dance at the end will have the band on the dance floor. We did that at the Little Easy, and Dirty Rice played on a found sound system. From the dancers' perspective, it was the best set of the whole night.

The Big Blues Blast happens at Stepping Stone Ranch on August 16, shine or rain. The Bishop's Castle Swing Orchestra (featuring Mike Tanaka, Rory MacLeod and more) appear at Austin Farm on Saturday.

A GUITARIST'S GUITARIST? Glenn Phillips is guilty on all counts. In the quarter-century since the demise of the Hampton Grease Band, the 47-year-old Atlantan has been a mighty contributor to the canon of contemporary instrumental guitar music. Last year's Walking Through Walls on the tiny Shotput label outta Georgia was comparatively muted. Sure, all the modal melodymakers are there but there is a singular lack of scream 'n' screech. Maybe having former Greasers (bassist Mike Holbrook, drummer Jerry Fields) along had something to do with it, but even foisted on unsuspecting ears Walls reveals as much of a sonic palette as the Grease Band's groundbreaking rock improv record Music to Eat. It's just that the '90s find the light bouncing off yet another glimmering facet of this guitarist's complex surface. That makes the Met mandatory for six-slingers on the 11th. Early show.   

Chan's hosts a big fund-raising night to assist the Blackstone River Theatre on Friday. Performers are Atwater-Donnelly, Bill Petterson, Kim Trusty, Marcel Carpentier and friends from Pendragon plus Women on the Verge (Hurricane, Mary Day, Mary Ann Rossoni).