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University Daily Kansan
Closer Look
Tuesday, Aug. 27, 1985
It wasn't the prize money or the audiences that brought country and folk musicians to Lawrence on Sunday. It was the chance to be with their musical peers and do some...
PICKIN'
Edwin Hamilton, Raytown, Mo. snacks in a few licks on his violin before the start of the Fifth Annual Fiddling and Pickin' Championships. Musicians from
throughout the area played at the contest Sunday at South Park. 1141 Massachusetts St.
Darlene Randel and Rick Frydman, work out the rough edges to "Rocky Top," their entry in the ensemble folk singing competition. The duo met Sunday morning and decided to compete together.
As unseasonably cool breezes blew through Lawrence on Sunday, the sounds of honktonks, hymns and hoedowns filled the air in South Park.
Musicians from all over Kansas and surrounding areas strummed, plucked and crooned all afternoon during the Fifth Annual Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships.
Julie Bennett, one of the musicians, lugged her bass across the park, weaving through the blankets, lawn chairs, strollers and dogs scattered over the park grounds.
"I'm excited," said Bennett, Kansas City, Kan., medical student. "It looks like fun. I'm not playing to win, just to have fun."
Although the musicians were competing for trophies and cash prizes up to $50, others shared Bennett's blithe attitude.
"We're all good friends," said Tom Colahan, Hutchinson, who has played the bass for 15 years. "We're just people who know each other. We get together once in a while and back each other up." Billy Ebeling, 1000 Rhode Island St., said he didn't
Billy Bebeling, 1000 Rhode Island St., said he didn't like matching his talents against other musicians.
"I don't like to compete," he said. "I just want to be part of the scene. I'll use any excuse to play. I play the street everywhere."
Ebeling often can be seen on campus playing the tambourine with his feet while he sings and plays the harmonica and guitar.
Scoring Sunday's competition, three judgments in hats and suspenders sat at a table hunched over their score cards. They were separated from the contestants by a makeshift curtain of a handmade quilt. The quilt, stretched between two posts, blocked the judges' view of the competitors.
"We use 'blind judging' because all our judges are musicians, and they know each other," said Janette Michaels, judging coordinator of the championships.
Michaels said blind judging was used for the banjo, mandolin, guitar, mountain dulcimer and fiddle competitions, but not the ensemble folk singing.
"Part of the performance of the ensembles is the visual presentation," Michaels said. "So we don't use blind judging."
People wandered through the park, watching the competition and listening to the four folk and bluegrass bands that played between events. Children waiting for pony rides sat on the curb eating sno cones. The Lawrence Jaycees sponsored a carnival on the grounds from the competition. The proceeds will go to charities.
"I love this music, but it's the whole environment and the people I really enjoy," said Brigid Murphy. Topeka senior. "I've been coming here for several years now. There are more Lawrence people here than KU students. Too bad students don't come to things like this."
Gretchen Eisengrater, Lincoln, Neb., junior, also shared her enthusiasm for the event.
"This is the way you should be spending a Sunday afternoon," she said.
Garry Braddy, 71 Tennessee St., said, "This sure beats siting home watching football."
Braddy said the competitions were an emotional experience for him.
"It is a real neat sense of community," he said. "It's neat people can bring their kids and share this experience. Hoorav for Lawrence."
Many of the competitors were returning for their second year. Graham Dorian, of Wichita, who won the fiddling contest last year, said he had competed about 10 times this year in fiddling contests. Dorian, a freshman at Kansas State University, had he won four at the fiddling and Picking Championships Saturday.
"I just look at the competition and then decide what I 'm going to play." Dorian said.
The Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships started as the Douglas County Fiddling and Picking Contest in 1976. It was part of the Chatauquae celebration for the Bicentennial. Only 20 people competed in four events that year. In 1981, the contest expanded into a state competition.
Wrapping themselves in newspapers to ward off the chill, Zoe and Cliff Pingry, Eudora, wait for the picking and fiddling to begin.
Story by Kady McMaster Photos by Paul Goodman and John Lechliter
Guitar player Kelly Werts, Wichita, prepares for the miscellaneous strings instruments competition.