Flying Shoes Radio Hour

Episode 6 - Benjamin Foss & Bennett Konesni

Episode Summary

This week we talk to Benjamin Foss and Bennett Konesni in Belfast, both hailing from Waldo County, Maine. Throughout the episode they reflect on their deep commitment to nourishing our local culture of participatory music and dance, their love of contra music new and old, and the value of social connections of playing and dancing, including the links among various cultures of music and dance (those branches we love exploring in this podcast). Both Bennett and Benjamin also dig the roots, sharing the history behind the tunes, some of which they unearth in archives and bring into the light, some they learned from their contra dance musician mentors, and others that they introduce to the locally-played repertoire after collecting them on their own travels. So sit back, and enjoy the ride, with Benjamin Foss on fiddle and Bennett Konesni on guitar!

Episode Notes

Click here to download transcript

Links: 

• Benjamin Foss - https://www.benjaminfoss.com/ ~ Benjamin plays with The Pine Tree Flyers, Thunderwing, and a variety of other musicians
• Bennett Konesni - www.bennettkonesni.com which will take you here: http://www.duckbackfarm.com/ ~ Bennett plays with Drive Train, the Gawler Family Band, and a variety of other musicians

During our conversation, Bennett & Benjamin referred to various individuals and organizations, including these: 

• Bagaduce Music - Bennett is executive director of this nonprofit, where both he and Benjamin lead music ensembles and catalyze other music happenings (https://www.bagaducemusic.org/)
• Maine Fiddle Camp - Both Bennett & Benjamin teach at this intergenerational music camp (https://www.mainefiddlecamp.org/)
• Rehoboth Contra Dance - Benjamin grew up participating in this dance series, and also served on its board (https://rehobothcontradance.com/)
• Brooks Contra Dance - Benjamin co-founded this thriving contra dance series at the Marsh River Theater in Brooks (https://www.instagram.com/brookscontradance/)
• The Gawler Family (https://www.facebook.com/GawlerFamilyBand/)
• Greg Boardman (Maine musician Neil Pearlman featured Greg on his great podcast, Trad Cafe, in 2017 -  https://tradcafe.libsyn.com/episode-20-greg-boardman)
• Simon St. Pierre, Québécois fiddler who lived in Maine for much of his life - See (a) the NEA National Heritage Fellowship bio page,  and (b) the resource page from the Maine Fiddle Camp website (https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/simon-st-pierre) (https://www.mainefiddlecamp.org/tunes/music-of-simon-st-pierre/)
• Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, published by Elias Howe - Online resource (https://www.braccio.me/session/ryans-mammoth-collection.pdf) and a brief description (https://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/ryan1.htm)
• Ralph Page’s publication, Northern Junket -  See (a) the overview page on the Square Dance History Project site, and (b) the digitized archive at UNH in Durham, NH (https://squaredancehistory.org/items/show/1505) (https://scholars.unh.edu/northern_junket/)
• The map of historic dance halls in Belfast, which is on display at the Belfast Free Library, was created through the vision of former BFS Board Member and local dancer, Alex Mann (Contra Dancing in Belfast - map.jpeg)

Tunes:

1. Mackilmoyle’s / Lamplighter’s Hornpipe (both trad)
2. Shingling the Roof (trad, often attributed to a New Brunswick fiddler)
3. Country Waltz (trad, from Prince Edward Island, and popularized by Don Messer)

Break

1. Schottis från Delsbo (trad, from Sweden)
2. The Journeyman’s Jig, also called Simon’s in D in Maine (June Eikhard) / Jimmy’s Favorite, also called Simon’s in G in Maine - two jigs from the repertoire of Simon St Pierre of Smyrna Mills
3. The Brazen Mask (trad)
4. Bonus track after the credits - Maclotte de Houssa, a “Walloon Tune” from Wallonia, a region of Belgium (trad)