Wallowa County Chieftain
News
wallowa.com
October 18, 2017
A7
Musician Webb fi nds you can go home again
we were really serious,” Webb
said. “We had kind of signed a
contract among ourselves.”
While the band never quite
broke out of the southeast,
Webb said it was the most pop-
ular folk-rock band in Ohio,
West Virginia and Kentucky.
In tribute to the band’s ver-
satility, it’s motto was: “We
play what we play; you dance
if you’re able.” At one point,
the band played to audiences
of more than 10,000. How-
ever, the band’s diversity of
genre proved to be its undo-
ing as record companies at
the time weren’t interested in
bands that couldn’t fi t into a
convenient compartment.
After nine years together
the group had developed
inter-personal confl icts that
could not be resolved. Even
two-to-three hour regular
group therapy sessions with
a licensed psychologist failed
to heal the rifts. Webb noted
that their therapist showed up
at the fi rst reunion concert and
the group laughingly told him
his services weren’t needed as
yet.
In 1992 the group decided
to call it quits with a concert
at the West Virginia gover-
nor’s mansion, as the governor
and his wife were fans of the
group. The mansion served as
a “green room” while the con-
cert was performed in a side
yard. Public radio even broad-
cast the event.
“We wanted to bring the
bird in for a landing, not crash-
land it, as we still owed money
and had to pay off our debts as
a band,” Webb said.
After 25 years, Webb
wasn’t keen on the reunion
when approached.
“I was initially very resis-
tant,” Webb said. I was happy
where I was and going back to
playing songs I hadn’t played
in 25 years didn’t appeal to
me.” He added, only partly
joking, that the nine years
the group performed together
should be counted as dog
years.
Later, the group’s lead
guitarist, Ron Sowell,
called Webb and made
a convincing enough
appeal for Webb to
reconsider his initial
dismissal of the proj-
ect. Webb also had
it in mind that the
reunion
wouldn’t
get off the ground
because it was
planned for months
in the future, and the costs
and logistics would prove
insurmountable.
He couldn’t have been
more wrong.
A crowdfunding endeavor
netted more that $5000 to
defray travel and other costs.
Webb was the most expensive
member to fl y in because of
the amount of instruments he
was bringing.
The band scored a gig in
West Virginia at the Clay Cen-
ter for the Arts and a coveted
“Live on the Levee” slot the
following evening. The fi rst
concert was attended by more
than 450 people, which was
the capacity for the center. The
state fi re marshal turned away
many.
Webb said that the magic
and musicianship was still
there after only three days of
rehearsal. The band was called
back for an encore during the
second performance.
“When we got up on stage,
it was still there. We still had
it after 25 years,” Webb said.
The group sold $2000 in
band merchandise and the rest
IN BRIEF
a brief history of the region,
location information, some
geology of the canyon, what
makes this region special and
efforts to protect it.
A slideshow showing the
entire Owyhee region, from
Nevada to the Owyhee reser-
voir in Oregon, and a video of
a 2006 expedition into Deep
Creek and the East Fork of the
Owyhee River is also planned.
Fundraiser for
FCCLA ongoing
which will be held in Atlanta
July 2018.
Info: 541-398-2223.
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Bob Webb is a local musi-
cian who moved to the county
with his partner, Heidi Muller,
The two are among the very
few people in the county who
can honestly say they make
a living as working musi-
cians. Webb, 71, is a classi-
cally trained cellist who also
plays guitar, mandolin, dulci-
mer and typically plays Amer-
icana-themed music.
Earlier in his career Webb
was a founding member of
the genre defying group Stark
Raven, one of the most pop-
ular bands in the southeast-
ern U.S., Webb and his for-
mer bandmates reunited in
August for two 25th anniver-
sary shows.
The band started in 1982 in
Virginia with Webb contribut-
ing cello, dulcimer, mandolin
and some guitar to the group’s
efforts. The group, known for
their excellent musicianship
and original material, wrote
songs and rehearsed eight
hours a day, fi ve days a week,
for six months before setting
foot on the stage.
The band had great regional
success. They recorded two
albums, helped found and
were the house band on pub-
lic television’s Mountain
Stage music show. West Vir-
ginia public TV did a feature
on the group and turned one of
the group’s songs, “100 Mil-
lion Pieces,” into a bona-fi de
music video.
“We were tight, because
Registration
open for Walk
With Ease class
Contributed photo
“Stark Raven” in their earlier days. Can you spot Bob Webb?
day, Oct. 18, and continuing
for the next three Wednesdays
at Fistrap in Enterprise.
Anyone interested in learn-
ing to read, talk and/or write
poetry, beginner or advanced,
is invited. The purpose of the
workshop is to offer a base
from which to talk about and
practice the craft of poetry.
Sessions include reading
well-known and not so well
poems, discussing them and
trying to imitate them. Gen-
erative writing exercises will
be built off of what is learned
from each poem.
Register at fi shtrap.org or
call 541-426-3623.
A new Walk With Ease
class begins Monday, Nov. 13,
at the Place in Joseph, adjacent
to the Methodist Church. The
six-week class will meet 11
a.m. Monday, Wednesday and
Friday through Jan. 3, 2018.
The cost of the class is $20
and includes all class materi-
als, workbook and water bot-
tle. Space is limited and regis-
tration is required.
Walk With Ease is a phys-
ical activity program for peo-
ple with arthritis or other joint
pain, although all are wel-
come. The program focuses on
walking, gentle stretching and
building stamina.
Call the OSU Extension
Service at 541-426-3143.
The program is affi liated
with the Arthritis Foundation.
Owyhee featured
at Josephy event
“The Owyhee River Jour-
nals,” a presentation by Bonnie
J. Olin with the photographs
of Mike H. Quigley, will be 7
p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at Jose-
phy Center in Joseph.
The event is free, but dona-
tions are always welcome.
The presentation includes
Poetry classes
begin at Fishtrap
Cameron Scott will lead
a workshop, “Demystifying
Poetry Through Imitation and
Invention,” 6:30 p.m. Wednes-
Volunteers to
read sought
Members of the Enterprise
and Joseph FCCLA chap-
ters are conducting a wreath
and greenery fundraiser. Stu-
dents will sell wreaths and gar-
lands in varying sizes, wreaths
shaped as crosses and candy
canes, swags and centerpieces.
All wreaths are made with
freshly cut Noble Fir, Blue
Berried Juniper and Cedar.
Sales continue through
Nov. 7. Wreaths arrive on Dec.
3 and students will deliver.
For both chapters, this is
their primary fundraiser of the
year. It helps pay for events
including Oregon Leadership
and the national convention,
Volunteers are sought for
The Books Bridging Genera-
tions program, sponsored by
Building Healthy Families.
The program pairs students
grades K-3 in all three Wal-
lowa County school districts
with community volunteers for
weekly reading sessions.
With the goals of building
positive adult and child rela-
tionships while developing
reading skills and initiating a
life-long love for reading, the
program is modeled on a num-
ber of evidence-based reading
models.
The
program
begins
Oct. 16. Info: Tashina
541-426-9411.
was sold the following eve-
ning. Webb, also a recording
engineer, remastered a CD
compilation of the group’s
greatest hits that sold out
almost immediately but is still
available as an online down-
load. The performances were
also recorded with a multi-
track device and Webb, with
one of the band members,
will parse out the two per-
formances into a single CD,
available sometime this fall.
“We’ll eventually get a
check,” he said.
By all accounts, the reunion
was an unqualifi ed success,
and for Webb and the other
band members, gratifying.
“In 1992, we brought Stark
Raven in for a landing, not a
crash landing,” he said. “We
dissolved the band, but we
never resolved the band. I
think this time we resolved the
band because in the ensuing
25 years we’ve been able to
step out of the stereotypes we
were locked into and perceive
each other in a fresh light.”
Will the band consider
regrouping?
“Maybe in 25 years for
another reunion,” Webb said
with a smile.
Time for a Computer Tuneup?
Spyware Removal • 541-426-0108
103 SW 1st St., Enterprise
CPR, first aid
sessions set
Summic CPR and First Aid
Training of Enterprise will
host two sessions of classes in
the coming weeks.
CPR will be taught Thurs-
day, Oct. 26, at the VFW, 800
N. River St, Enterprise. A fi rst
aid class will be the next day,
both running 5:30-8:30 p.m.
The following weekend,
Nov. 2-3, CPR will be taught
at Cloverleaf Hall on Thursday
and fi rst aid on Friday, both at
5:30 p.m.
Info: 541-426-9999.
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P.O. Box 352
Joseph, Oregon 97846
ek
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Student of the
Is it time for your teen’s
Annual
Wellness
Check?
Keith Batten is a sophomore
at Joseph Charter School.
He is actively involved in
FFA and FCCLA and runs
cross-country and track.
The staff and administration
would like to congratulate
Keith for being an
outstanding learner.
Keep your teen healthy and
active with an annual
wellness check, and learn
what you can do as a parent
to help your teen establish
smart lifestyle habits now!
Keith
Batten
JOSEPH CHARTER SCHOOL
Schedule your teen’s wellness check today!
541.426.7900
Mountain View Medical Group
603 Medical Parkway
(next to Wallowa
Memorial Hospital)
Enterprise, Oregon 97828
Joseph Clinic
100 N. East St. | Joseph
541.426.7900
We treat you like family
601 Medical Parkway, Enterprise, OR 97828 • 541-426-3111 • www.wchcd.org
Wallowa Memorial Hospital is an equal opportunity employer and provider.
He is a student who engages
fully in the love of learning,
asks great questions and
thinks outside the box.
Students like Keith make
our school better.
Proudly sponsored by
Joseph
432-9050
Enterprise
426-4511
Wallowa
886-9151
The Student of the Week is chosen for
academic achievement and community
involvement. Students are selected
by the administrators of
their respective schools.
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