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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 2018)
Wednesday, September 12, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 5 Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons entertained at Sisters Folp Festival By Jodi Schneider Correspondent Seattle-based artists Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons’ performances were high- lighted by storytelling that brought a unique experience to the audience. The music they play is inspired by early 20th century American folk and novelty songs. “I have met a lot of folks that share my love for stories — mainly stories that revolve around songs and music traditions,” Seamons said. “Songs are made for sing- ing, dancing, and playing. But I’ve found they can also create a lens through which we can better understand our present and past. My love of American roots culture drives everything I do, and my mis- sion is to spread awareness and appreciation of the music and stories that define my country’s heritage.” Seamons was raised in a house built by his parents in the backwoods of northwest- ern Oregon. He was exposed to local folk music of sawmill workers, loggers and fisher- man whose music reflected the aspect of the region. Hunter was born in South Africa and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and is a classically trained violinist who studied music around the world. These two musicians, raised poles apart, discovered their love of music coincided. “We met when I was attending a festival,” Seamons told The Nugget. “We both performed in sepa- rate bands, so I asked him to bring his band down to Portland to play with my band. “Our bands would occa- sionally do shows together and then one day Ben joined my band and we toured the country for a couple of years,” Seamons added. “Then we discovered that we had the same desires to play music together, teach youth together and work as com- munity activists.” Joe moved to Seattle to begin working full time with Ben Hunter as traveling song- sters and educators. Hunter and Seamons bounce from fiddle and banjo performing early jazz and folk song to acoustic blues and gospel songs. Seamons is devoted to Northwest American folk music, and he is the execu- tive producer of the 2017 Smithsonian Folkways album, “Roll Columbia: Wo o d y G u t h r i e ’s 2 6 Northwest Songs.” “Guthrie was a big influ- ence for me,” Seamons said. “But I got to Guthrie through being a Bob Dylan fanatic, who’s influence was Guthrie. Guthrie attracted me because he spoke up for what he believed in and fought hon- estly for justice.” Although Hunter was trained on the violin, he grew up listening to Motown. “That was a big influ- ence for me growing up with my mom,” Hunter con- veyed. “We went on a lot of road trips and listened to a lot of Motown. But many other musicians influenced me such as Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson.” The duo taught at the annual Americana Song Academy at Caldera the week before Sisters Folk Festival and last year, before BLOWOUT SALE!!! All Used Pellet Patio Heaters Must Go! The Big Timber T THE Elite Heater USED A OLK RS F • No electricity SISTE AL! needed, fl ame FESTIV is powered only by gravity and the venturi created from the stove pipe • 80k BTU output Way to go, Roy! • Holds 30 lbs. of pellets 9 9 8 $ Y ONL 1,149 NEW $ 506 N. Pine St. 541-549-9631 The Hair Caché 152 E. Main Ave. / 541-549-8771 Jeff, Theresa, Ann, Jamie, Shiela, Terri, Shanntyl Sales • Service Rentals • Accessories www.sistersrental.com the festival was cancelled due to wildfire smoke. “Our experience being in Sisters is teaching at the song academy,” Seamons said. “We observed an amazing job being done at develop- ing young musicians as sing- ers and songwriters to just write great songs. And I’m delighted that there is such a strong program here with an amazing dedication to the craft of songwriting, which is inspiring.” After moving to Seattle, Hunter founded a nonprofit, Community Arts Create, to break down social barri- ers through community arts activities. The Rhapsody Project was then established, with the goal to strengthen communities through song and spread the gospel of folk See MUSICIANS on page 29
