The Band

BOOGERTOWN GAP

OLD-TIME STRING MUSIC

Boogertown Gap - The Band

Keith began playing electric guitar in a high school band way back in the late 60's, eventually moving over to acoustic guitar in college. Decades later in 2004 he took up Scruggs style picking on bluegrass banjo and although it was fun, it just didn't touch his soul. Then a friend, Scott Walter, introduced Keith to Old-Time music and Clawhammer style banjo and that made his heart soar and his soul rejoice. In Old-Time music, the combination of fiddle and banjo are the driving force behind this music's power. Naturally Keith began to learn fiddlin', from Scott as well, and his love for this music continued to expand. He even plays a little on mandolin now and then. Keith attended banjo and fiddle classes and has learned and jammed with some of the outstanding Old-Time players while living in Asheville, NC. To these folks, especially Scott, Keith is grateful for their patience and inspiration for passing on this old traditional music.

Keith's family has been in Sevier County since the late 1700's and is one of the First Families of Tennessee. There are numerous accounts of these relatives playing their folk music and singing the ballads all over Boogertown and areas that are now in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Surprising to Keith was once when "old-timing" it around a campfire with Ruth and Scott, at Keith and Ruth's home, his parents began to sing some of the words to the tunes being played! This music reaches everyone.

One day, Keith asked his lovely wife, Ruth, to take up the guitar because he wanted to play this music spontaneously, not having to track down a fiddler or another musician. Now Ruth is a classically trained musician on flute so playing the guitar was as foreign to her as speaking Martian. In 2005 she began to experiment with chords a bit and then, Scott (again) introduced her to playing Old-Time guitar. Then friends McLean and Derek(also friends of Scott) helped and encouraged her even more. And then they started adding words to the tunes that have lyrics. Does pat your head while rubbing your stomach and hopping on one foot ring a bell? Now she plays guitar, wooden spoons, penny whistle, washboard and sings old mountain songs and ballads. Looking back, Ruth learned a lot of the Old-Time songs when she was a child, but she wasn't made aware of their roots or significance. The first song her Daddy taught her to sing when she was a wee lass was about an out house. This old traditional music lives deep in her soul, and she is grateful to now be able to express it freely and share it with whomever wants to play along or sit and listen.

Ruth has not set aside her flute, nor does Keith ignore the guitar since becoming involved in Old-Time music. They perform Celtic Music as "Mountain Minstrels" at churches, weddings and receptions with Keith on the guitar and Ruth on Flute, Recorder and Penny Whistle. Listen to sample clips of Mountain Minstrels.

Austin Stovall, originally from Scottsville, Ky, comes from a musical family. His great grandfather played the "tater bug" mandolin, harmonica, and jaw harp. He received his first banjo at Christmas on his 14th birthday and has been playing clawhammer banjo since. Austin also plays fiddle, mandolin, and guitar. Austin has learned Old-Time music through personal research, playing with old and new recordings, and playing with other musicians in East Tennessee. Austin is recently married to Holly and lives in Clinton, TN and is the primary third member and fiddler with BTG.

Sandee Rose lives in Knoxville, TN and plays stand-up bass and lap dulcimer. Born and raised in California, she has also lived in the Pacific Northwest, Nevada, and New England. When her travels took her to Georgia, she found Old-Time Music and lap dulcimer. That led to her on-going love affair with the stand-up bass. On bass, she played with "Barnstorm" for contra dances all over Florida and "Full Circle Band" for English dances in Jacksonville. She has had many dulcimer students and has written a book for new students. Her CD, "The Next Ridge" was recorded in 2007. Sandee is learning to call dances and with BTG, she keeps a great steady beat on that bass. Unfortunately, Sandee has broken two arms and will be out of commission for some time. She's healing well and we can hardly wait to have her actively back with BTG.

Pam Watson Munson lives in Sevier County, TN, right next to Boogertown. Pam learned to mountain flat foot as a little girl (sorry, it's not clogging) and she dances the most authentic mountain dance in these parts of the mountains. It's a real treat to watch Pam dance like our ancestors must have. With all that rhythm, she picked up tub bass playing right away!! She's got rhythm and feet to go along with it. Pam is Keith's sister and like him, chose to set aside one life for another as she returned to the home of her ancestors and the mountains she calls home. Pam plays and dances with BTG occasionally. Contact us if you want Pam to dance and play tub bass for any event.

Brenda Pickel Hughes is a native of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. She's long lived with music in her family and is a trained pianist. It was only natural for her to gravitate to the old sounds of these old mountains. She too, found her way home to the Smokies and is now nestled in Pigeon Forge where she played tub bass for Gatlinburg's Smoky Mountain Tunes and Tale summer entertainment program with the group, Oatmeal Trio. She plays tub bass with BTG occasionally and is shown here at the Museum of Appalachia's Fall Homecoming.

McLean Bissell is from Asheville, NC and has been playing music most of her life. Her grandmother first taught her piano, and she continued taking lessons through high school. She started playing guitar and became interested in traditional music while attending Appalachian State University. After moving to Asheville in 1996, she began learning upright bass and playing guitar with friends and musicians in the community. The Freight Hoppers were looking for a bass player in 1999, and she toured with the band for their last two seasons, playing bass and singing Old-Time songs. McLean has also played with various Asheville area bands including Devilish Mary, Blue Eyed Girl, The Reems Creek Rattlers, Copper Coil and the Sweet Potatoes. She currently plays for contra and square dances in Asheville with the Spring Chickens, and is honored to play with BTG whenever she can.

Scott T. Walter, currently resides in Breaux Bridge, LA where he is pursuing his Ph.D. in Avian Conservation Biology. Scott primarily fiddles, but is also very capable on guitar and clawhammer style banjo (remember he is the man who initiated Keith and Ruth into OT Music and instructed Keith on banjo and fiddle). Scott also sings and hollers. Scott and one of his best friends, Brian Scott have recorded an Appalachian banjo/fiddle duet CD, Chilly Winds, under the name of "The Buckeyes". It's a great CD!! Scott began his Old-Time adventure while living in Oregon while pursuing his Master's degree. He then moved to Asheville, NC where he learned and played with the great Old-Time community there. He and McLean above played together in the Copper Coil String Band. His latest CD with McLean Bissell and Brian is call "Hand Hewn". Scott has recently recorded with BTG on their Fried Okra CD on which he fiddles and sings Fall on My Knees and fiddles on Hunting the Buffalo.

Alex Morris is a Sevier County native who ancestry traces back to Scotch-Irish origins. His great-grandparents on both sides of his family worked as loggers in what today is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in Tremont and Elkmont sections. Alex is a student at Walters State Community College and has volunteered with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Alex enjoys buck dancing (often called flat footing), the original style of mountain dancing that his ancestors and mountain folks enjoyed while playing and singing their Old-Time music. Alex sometimes joins BTG where he displays this original mountain buck dance. He can join Boogertown Gap at performance upon request.