Gordon Bok and Carol Rohl Tell Musical Tales of the Sea

Photo Courtesy of Hugh Chatfield

Web Posted September 25, 2008

By Libby Sterling | For the Juneau Empire

It's hard not to be influenced by one's surroundings. And for a creative type it can be hard to suppress the urge to share stories about the things, places, people and experiences that have been instrumental in bringing a person to where they are now.

Folk singer Gordon Bok has taken to using instruments to keep and share stories of his past. Not only does he utilize his baritone voice, 6-string and 12-string guitars but also an instrument he likes to call the cellamba; it's a six-string, fretted cello he has built himself.

He doesn't stop there, though. He also uses wood in addition to music to create visual representations of memories that have shaped his life. He grew up among woodworkers and has followed in their footsteps as not only a furniture maker and instrument builder but also a relief sculptor.

"Many images are from memories of working on boats or fishing along the coast, and most of the figures in my carvings are people I have known," Bok said about his work.

Both the visual and verbal imagery Bok emphasizes in his carvings and his music are based around his connection with the sea. He hails from Camden, Maine, and has shared his stories through music all over the United States, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and Australia. Inspired by his years of working on fishing boats, yachts and schooners, he uses his music to share his unique perspective on people who live and work at sea.

Rather than resorting to some of the negative clichés about sailors, Bok writes about his own personal experiences as well as those of people he has known. Time Magazine described him as "the poet laureate of those who go down to the sea in ships."

He also dives into the mythical realm with albums such as "Another Land Made of Water," an album recorded in 1979 that illustrates the musical culture of an enchanted group of people living in the sea.

He is also a song gatherer, singing traditional folk songs from all over the world in their original languages, including but not limited to Italian, French, Portuguese and Mongolian.
Bok has worked and performed with many other musicians over the years. He was one-third of the trio Bok, Muir, and Trickett, who played together for almost 30 years. He also worked with Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul, and Mary, and Stookey produced Bok's first album. He has performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and has audibly appeared on the radio program "A Prarie Home Companion." He has even had music included in several folk music collections, including the anthology "Rise Up Singing."

Bok will perform in Juneau at 7:30 on Sunday, Sept. 28, at Resurrection Lutheran Church. Tickets are available at Hearthside Books for $15 or at the door for $17. He will be joined by Carol Rohl on the harp. The concert is sponsored by the Alaska Folk Festival.

They will also be performing in Ketchikan on Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Saxman Tribal House.

Rohl, Bok's wife, began playing the harp in 1986 and has since shared her talent at all sorts of events in all corners of the world, often joined by her husband. She has also spent her share of time on the water, as she was a U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain for seven years, working at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School in Rockland, Maine.

"Carol was the first folk harp player in this area. When she came to town, we all muckled onto her," Bok said.

In 1996, she began to play private bedside performances for the ill in hospital rooms, homes and hospice environments. She is a certified harp practitioner through the International Harp Therapy Program and the Music for Healing and Transition Program. She has a B.S. in social work and also leads classes on musical healing.

In September 2004 at age 51, Rohl suffered a stroke that sent the left side of her body into paralysis. She didn't let it keep her keep her down, though. After only five months, she was performing with her husband again.

"Playing provides such great joy," Rohl said. "Anything that gives you joy has a healing energy to it."

Tom May: Folk Singer, World Traveler

Photo Courtesy of Tom May

Web Posted September 18, 2008

By Libby Sterling | For the Juneau Empire

When Tom May was a little boy, he thought he might grow up to be a railroad engineer or perhaps a telegrapher, after his father. He didn't expect to end up living his life as a professional musician, as he has for the past 36 years. He and his friends jokingly refer to his career as "a hobby that got out of control."

May was always attracted to music even though he came from a nonmusical family. He purchased a guitar with earnings from his newspaper route, marking the beginning of what his career has now become.

Originally from Nebraska, May now resides in Vancouver, Wash. His music has traveled far and wide, from all corners of North America to Europe. He first played in Alaska in the 1980s and he says he still loves coming back to Southeast. He gets out on the road quite a bit, playing between 150 to 200 shows per year, two of which will be in the Panhandle: He will play in Skagway on Friday, Sept. 19, and will also perform at the Juneau Arts & Culture Center at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21.

Some would label May as a traveling troubadour, and though he says that word may be a little too flowery for him, he doesn't disagree.

"It is appropriate in the sense that I travel and take news of events that I've seen and my observations on history. I was lucky enough to find my niche, in a way, in that my songs are geographical and historical sketches, things that I feel are not forgotten but brought into the present."

May comes with a new album, "Blue Roads, Red Wine" released this year through Waterbug Records. The album features a song called "Yukon Journey, 45 Below" which, like many of May's songs, tells an epic story. In this case, the tale is of a tour through Alaska and Canada during a frigid winter. Juneau even makes a lyrical appearance, as does Alaska Airlines and all the other people, places and things that made the journey possible.

Much of May's music consists of verses that tell stories, whether they are personal journeys, present observations or historical narratives. His interest in history and geography moves him to write from one perspective and place in hopes of sharing it with another.

He has especially enjoyed bringing his songs about American history to listeners in Europe. The few hundred years of American history can't hold a candle to the millennia of recorded events taking place in Europe, but May says he has observed quite an interest by his international fans in his presentation and delivery of the American yesterdays.

His love for folk music has also led him to host the nationally syndicated radio broadcast, "River City Folk." The show first aired in 1985 and features the recordings of different artists from week to week, as well as live performances in the studio and interviews, granting listeners a comprehensive introduction to folk musicians from around the world.

He also helps run a winter folk benefit concert in Portland, Ore., which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. It takes place each February and raises funds to provide low-cost and no-cost meals to people throughout the Portland area.

An author as well as a musician, May recently published "Promoting Your Music: The Lovin' of the Game" with co-author Dick Weissman. They have included interviews with friends in the music industry such as Gordon Lightfoot, Harry Manx and Eliza Gilkyson, and stories of their experiences turning musical callings into careers.

No matter where May is playing, he is constantly emphasizing the importance of relating to his audience and, in fact, viewing them as participants more than just flies on the wall.

"My reward is the joy of being able to play," May said. "If you miss the friends and the people connections along the way, you've missed all there is."

Mountain Music Festival To Feature Local Musicians

Web posted August 28, 2008

By Libby Sterling | For the Juneau Empire

For those beginning to grow weary of the long summer season, and for those holding on to every final morsel of it, the Mount Roberts Tramway will present a musical event with quite the opportunity to rise above it all.

Everyone is invited to attend the third annual Mountain Music festival on Friday, Sept. 5, at the Chilkat Theater at the Mount Roberts Tramway. Several styles of music will be represented, from blues to bluegrass, as 10 local acts take the stage to perform 20-minute sets each.

The lineup will begin with Collette Costa and Company at6 p.m., followed (in no particular order) by Frank and Julie Delaplane and Steve Wilde, the Great Alaska Bluegrass Band, Pat Henry, Martha and Jim Stey, John Unzicker, Matt Barnes, The Zahasky Family Band, singer-songwriter Mike Truax, and teen bluegrass superstars College Bound. The performers will be joined on stage by Martha Stey as the master of ceremonies.

This unique venue has a tendency to grow on performers and spectators alike, offering a leap of 1,800 feet in elevation in a matter of mere minutes.

Mountain Music is the brainchild of Paul Zahasky of The Zahasky Family Band and George Reifenstein, manager of the Mount Roberts Tramway. Reifenstein organizes other performances at the tramway throughout the season, including appearances by the Zahaskys, who perform there on a regular basis.

"This is more like a mini folk festival, just a touch different," said Elva Bontrager, who is in charge of booking the performers.

"The fantastic view and the tram ride are unusual - nothing else in town has that kind of event. It's a way to get people up there."

In past years the atmosphere has been wonderful, with the theater's good acoustics attracting spectators who genuinely want to be there, Bontrager said. After all, a spot halfway to the top of a mountain on the edge of vast wilderness isn't likely to attract folks who are lukewarm about their music.

Previous festivals have been successful at getting people up there. Last year there were 212 tickets sold, which is more bodies than the 125-capacity Chilkat Theater has seats for. However, there are other seating options; the music will be amplified into the dining area for those who would like to enjoy a full dinner menu with their high-altitude tunes.

The event's planners are expecting that the event will get even larger in future years, perhaps even extending to two days and moving outdoors, weather-permitting.

Festival-goers will pay $10 for admission, which includes the cost of the tram ride. A hike up the mountain would be a lovely trek, but it won't waive the admission cost.

Those hoping to catch Costa's set at 6 p.m. are encouraged to trek quickly as they plan to start rocking right on time.

Tabor To Perform With Guests Aug. 23

Photo Courtesy of Buddy Tabor

Web posted August 21, 2008

By Libby Sterling | For the Juneau Empire

There are plenty of proper ways to listen to a Buddy Tabor song.

For those unadventurous homebodies who still crave a dash of excitement, one trip to the store will bring any of several of Tabor's recordings into the comfort of their own cabin, cottage or bungalow. And those who prefer not to venture even that far from the computer chair can click their way to Tabor MP3 paradise.

In fact, the artist himself encourages the kind of deep listening that lends itself to more sedentary behaviors; for many fans his lyrical journeys and relaxed melodies are fitting companions to activities such as staring out the window and enjoying the view.

"My songs need to be listened to. They're not just dancing songs," Tabor said.

If you're a dancer, don't worry. Buddy also believes in free choice and won't be offended if you choose to enjoy his music by getting down and having a boogie, as long as you still listen to the words.

But those who enjoy live music at the bar will have to do it sans Buddy. For a musician of any kind, there may be nothing worse than to devote hours, weeks or even years to a piece only to have all that hard work drowned out by the sound of pub clatter. This is exactly why you won't find Buddy Tabor at a bar, either as a listener or a performer.

"I'd have to be paid at least $5,000 an hour," he said, "and even then I'd have doubts about showing up."

However, you can find him performing live at various other venues. He is scheduled to play at Resurrection Lutheran Church this Saturday, Aug. 23, at 7:30 p.m. This performance also celebrates Tabor's latest CD release, a boxed-set anthology comprised of the best songs he's written in the last 25 years.

The first time he heard Bob Dylan's music at age 17, Tabor was inspired to study it and was subsequently moved to write his own music. He also reveres Hank Williams and John Prine, though he sees them more as vehicles of inspiration rather than direct influences on his writing style.

"I'm not on the same level as these guys," he says.

However, many fans and admirers would beg to differ.

"Someone once told me I'm better than Dylan. I said, 'Trust me, I've been studying Dylan forever and his and my name should never be used in the same sentence.'"

Tabor has also made his way to Juneau's Wikipedia entry as one of the capital city's token musicians.

"I don't know who put me in there, but it wasn't me. I'm a legend, what can I tell you!" Tabor jokes, though he has been in Alaska for more than 40 years and his name has certainly spread to every corner of the state and beyond.

His music has even been featured on National Public Radio and also has received airplay on many mainstream radio stations throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Fans of Buddy's who wish to thank him for treating their eardrums all these years now have a good opportunity. A recent back injury has been keeping Tabor off of his feet lately, so all profits from album sales will be put toward his new accumulation of medical bills.

The entire population of Juneau is invited to come hear a mixture of old and new songs this Saturday, where he will also be joined by various friends on stage, including John Hartle, Betsy Simms and other musicians. Anyone who may be willing to add him as a dependent on their insurance policy is especially welcome.