Check my NEWS page for recent happenings!

12/05/11

Hey, everybody!  Hope no one was pepper sprayed on their way into Wal-Mart on Black Friday.  Just heard a horrific tale about that while at the rec center this morning!  What has become of Christmas!?!The 2012 Banjo Girl Calendars are in and I have a limited number of copies available.

Including autograph and postage, they are $20 and can be ordered by dropping me a line at:  

EMAIL BECKY BY CLICKING HERE.

(I'm Miss March, by the way.)

Wishing you a blessed Christmas!

Becky

Read more about Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike's 2011 European/UK/Canadian/US Tour on:

The Euoprean Bluegrass Blog:   Post 1, Post 2, Post 3, Post 4, Post 5, Post 6, Post 7, Post 8

ValerieSmithOnline.com

10/14/11

The decision to leave Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike after ten years was a difficult one and I'm so grateful to Val for being supportive of my need to branch out. She and I will still do some projects together and will always remain friends.

At the moment, I'm doing a lot of teaching, songwriting, sessions, and fill-in work as well as co-hosting "The Bluegrass Crossroads Show" on WMSR in Manchester, Tenn. I've just signed on to teach fiddle at the Sore Fingers Week 2012 in the UK next April. I'm really excited to see what else God has for me to get into.

06/30/11

Photo by David Tousley

So great to be back home!  Now that I've sorted through the mail and dispersed almost all the contents of my suitcase to their respective cubby holes, it's time to pick out flooring for the music room and paint and rugs...  Oh my!  And, of course, play at Matilda's Cottage in Alpharetta, Ga., with VSLP on Monday, July 4.  Hope you can join us!

As promised, here's my big fish picture as well as Ray Yoder cheating at Skipbo golf...again.

  

Hope all's well!

Becky



Photos by David Tousley

06/23/11

Spent the last week at a cabin just outside of Kingston, Ontario, with dear friends.  Played TOMM Fest Saturday and Sunday.  Best crowd they've had...packed house both Friday and Saturday nights.  They mixed the music up this year with Country, Americana, and Bluegrass.  The Abrams Brothers' new show is very good and I'm digging John's bow tie look.  Their new album comes out this week. Kelli Trottier's show was very nice, too.  She's one of the fiddler's withBowfire, a Canadian fiddling super-group. 

Monday and Tuesday we played six Intro to Bluegrass school programs throughout the greater Kingston area.  Great reception.  One kid came up after the program to tell us that he was so excited about Bluegrass music that he was going home to practice on his Elmo guitar and he wanted to join our band when he grows up.

I'm now hooked on fishing.  Had what we think was probably a 12 pound northern pike on the line yesterday. Shane and I got a good look at him before he tried to swim under the boat with my fishing pole.  Ended up snapping my line.

I did reel in a 4 pound bass, with David's help.  The photo is, of course, on a camera I can't access right now.  Hope you enjoy this photo of Josie and the fabled Dog Lake Monster in lieu. 

I think Shane only let me ride out in the boat with him as ballast.  He did help me chase the loons, though.  Only once did we get about 20 feet away from one of them...of course, I didn't have a camera!  We were so close we could see his beady little red eye.  Then he dove and came up half a mile down the lake.  Loon harassment on Dog Lake!

Kraig and Josie (Val's husband and daughter) drove up in the band van to join us last week.  Kraig flew out Monday, thankfully leaving Josie...she was taking the fish off the hook for me.   We're now driving toward ROMP in Owensboro, KY.  Play there on Saturday with Emmy Lou Harris, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Kenny & Amanda Smith, and many more.  It's going to be a large time!

And my Jeff is meeting us there.

Almost home!

Becky

06/08/11

Spent two laid back days in lovely Oberotterbach in the Alsace region, where folks speak a curious mix of German and French.  Packed out the Musickantebuckel both nights. 

Our friend Alfons took us down Germany's Wine Highway and into Wissembourg, France, for a couple hours yesterday, virtually untouched by the war and boasting the second highest cathedral spire in the Alsace.  We visited the home of the baker who invented pumpernickel bread in the 1500s...the house was built in 1316.

We also saw the famed gateway to the German Wine Route in Schweigen-Rechtenbach, Germany, on the French border.  It was erected by Josef Buerckel in 1935 who was the first to really open up the area as a tourist destination.

On to Amsterdam to see Cousin Lynn and Avo!

Becky

06/05/11

There is such a thing as too much asparagus... That's all I'm going to say about that.

Played the Karl May Festival in Radebuel near Dresden over the weekend.  Karl May was a pretty fascinating author; he wrote his first novels while in prison for tax   evasion and theft.  When they let him out, he was famous.  He wrote 60 or 70 titles about adventures all over the world and only traveled to the places later in life.

Karl May's most famous character is Winnetou, a Native American prince, and Old Shatterhand, a German immigrant to the USA who sets out to seek his fortunes surveying for the new railroad in the Old West.  These stories have been memorialized in films and on TV.  I picked up the original soundtrack CD at the festival...very Burt Bacharach lugubrious spaghetti westernesque.

We had some trouble finding the festival...it was up a hill, around about three  corners, on a goat trail, swarming with families in western garb, confederate soldiers' uniforms, war shirts, headdresses...  It was so strange to be celebrating the old American west in a place where just a few short years ago we weren't even allowed because of the Iron Curtain.

But when we got there, our crazy Solvakian banjo pickin' buddy Richard Cifersky was there to meet us with video camera in hand.  (Sorry I was so owly, Richard.). He rocked out with us both days of the fester and I was thrilled to sing a couple songs from his current album Rainy Day.  He's on tour with Fragment right now in the Czech Republic and the US this fall.  I'm a little miffed at Richard right now, though.  When the crazy lady in the poncho tied a rope around my wrist and threw me in prison at the festival, he wouldn't pay to get me out!  He told them, "Make her sing!"  Humph.  (LOL!)

The guy who played Winnetou, Pierre Brice, who is a mega-star in Germany, was at the festival.  He waved at me while we were in stage.  Of course, I waved back...

On to beautiful Oberotterbach in the Alsace!

Becky

31/05/11

I want to thank Joe and Mary Beth Kunkle for coming to our show at the Kulturform in Furth, Germany, tonight.  It was so great to see and chat with folks from home!  Joe plays with my mom and dad in Bully Pulpit, a bluegrass band from Mankato, Minn.  He's over here for the summer teaching political science at the University of Nuremburg.

It's raining pretty good outside tonight and I know the Germans are glad of it because it's been one of the driest summers on record thus far. 

Shane swore he saw a hedgehog crossing the road tonight, but I don't believe him.  Will I ever see one in its natural habitat?  Garden gnomes are easier to come by.

Two weeks left to go on this leg of the tour.

27/05/11

Big Herbert moved the stage to the other end of the Illertal Cowboy club, which made it harder for us to make a quick getaway, but easier for the audience to get in the building.  

We had folks come all the way from Innsbruck, Austria, to be with us in Voehringen-Illerberg near Ulm last night!  Great to see my young musical pen-friend Christina and her mum as well as Eberhard and Monika  and Lily Pavlak.

Since space was limited last night...the place was packed out...Val was forced to jump up on one of the long tables to dance during one of the fiddle tunes, causing all nearby cowboys and girls to dive for their beer glasses.

Finally, I must thank Charlie the chef for a fantastic knüdel, spätzle, and goulash last night and our hostess this morning for the amazing marmalade.  (Please forgive my horrible German...and English spelling.  I mean well; does that count?)

Back on the autobahn.  J. Gregory is chasing an asphalt truck through a stau (German for "great big traffic juggarnaut.)  (Don't tell Jeanette or the rental car company.)

26/05/11

We have now just passed the halfway point of the European leg of our tour, entering into the inevitable phase where a bit of the bungee comes out of everybody's nylons.

We need something to raise our spirits.  We need a melodica!  (Check out the "Manzanita on the Melodica" video on my Facebook page.)

The band wouldn't let me play it on the show last night at Der Club in Heligenhaus...  Perhaps in the van this morning?  It's so pleasant, so heartwarming, so pink!  Joy of joys!  They said yes!

Thanks to Joke, Eric, and Carl for coming to the show as well as our new friends from this year's Bühler Bluegrass Festival.  A big thank you to Ingo and Remm, too.

Musseli, coffee and mildly stinky cheese for breakfast today.  Gotta start cutting back even though the früchstuck spread is always so expansive and tempting.  I'm starting to expand myself from eating too much.

Just stopped at a Lidl for chocolate...



  

Photos of Kassel, Germany:  The Orangerie; Schloss Wilhelmhohe; the view from Hercules (that's the castle again right at the bottom edge of the tree line.)

05/24/11

Been a while since I could access a computer to update you all.  Go to the European Bluegrass Blog for more about our other shows over the past weekend.

We've spent the last two days in Kassel, Germany, after playing here Sunday night at the lovely Kreuzkirche.  Yesterday was laundry day.  A Kurt Chapman (Wildfire bass player) look-a-like helped us with the driers.  Bless his heart!  Dave and I then headed off to find adventure in the downtown area.  And find it we did, or, rather the Orangerie, a Baroque palace with very extensive grounds just perfect for a nice afternoon jaunt.  Five miles later we were back at the hotel and my legs had turned to jelly.  Time for dinner at a nearby Italian spot with our friends Valentine, Simon, and Katrina.

Went to a great music store today.  Got to play all sorts of guitars, but I was especially excited about the D'Aquisto archtops and the Furch mahagonay dreadnought.  Both very nice!  Oh, but how would I get them home?  And then, once I got them there, how would I sneak them in without Jeff noticing...

Didn't get enough walking in yesterday.  Decided we needed to walk all the way up to see Hercules.  Now my legs have really turned to jelly, along with the rest of me.  But what a view!

Off to Heligenhaus, Germany, tomorrow.  See you there?

Becky

Photos from Bath:  Becky in The Circus; the Pump House and Roman baths; new sticker for me banjer case.

05/19/11

Bath is amazing! At every turn, I feel like I'm walking deeper into a Jane Austen novel.  I hover outside myself and see that, why yes, I'm swathed in an empire waist dress of the latest country fashion, my hair perfectly curled in country fashion under my equally fashionable country girl hat, looking for the elusive Captain Wentworth or avoiding annoying friends and relations, all while enduring the snobbish city girls who degrade my excellent taste in fashion with a single snide sideways glance...

Then a car honks, reminding me that I especially need to look both ways before crossing the street here or I will get run over, which would most certainly break the glorious spell.  Oh, look!  A charity shop!  And a proper English bookstore!  And a CHEESE monger, Gromit!!!!

Had a yummy chicken/coconut milk/basil/lemongrass curry down the pub last night.  Scoped out a few Cornish pasty places to check out today and had a delightful tomAHto/cheese/basil one.

Joy of joys!  I found a wonderful Jane Austen dress just my size at a charity shop!  It looks to be handmade.  Val won't let me wear it on the show tonight...

Becky

PS:  There's more about our adventures at:  The European Bluegrass Blog, ValerieSmithOnline.com, and on our Facebook pages: Valerie Smith, Becky Buller, David Tousley, and Shane Blackwell

PSS: Photos by David Tousley and moi!

05/14/11

 
Photos left to right:  Buhler Bluegrass Festival, Buhl, Germany; jamming with our friendly filmmakers in Ludwigsburg; troll hunting with Dave in the Schwarzwald (Black Forest.)

The blue-black mist shrouded Schwarzwald (Black Forest) is unfolding below us with strips of soft green in-between.

J. Gregory is chasing a Lambrogini down the mountain.  (Don't tell Jeanette or the rental car company.)

We just passed a Schwabeish hillbilly souvenir shop run by a troll.  Shane said he saw a sign for boiled peanuts.

We stopped to take some pictures and for Val to use the W.C.  When she didn't come back, we thought the troll had gotten her.  Turned out she was just waiting for her flamkuchen to bake.  Oh!  Fresh flamkuchen will surely be at the bridal feast of the Lamb at the end of time.  Mmmm!  (It's sort of like pizza, but with a very thin crust, cream sauce, ham and onion.  It's native to the Alsace region.)

Headed back to Tübingen for another show tonight.  Y'all come!

Becky

PS:  There's more about our adventures at:  The European Bluegrass Blog, ValerieSmithOnline.com, and on our Facebook pages: Valerie Smith, Becky Buller, David Tousley, and Shane Blackwell. 

PSS:  Photos by David Tousley

05/10/11

Hey all!  Below are a couple posts I wrote while we were in the van traveling throughout Germany.  We are currently in Sachsenheim with our friends karl-Heinz und Anneli, who have fabulous wi-fi.  A great big "THANK YOU!" to them for letting me chat with you!  Please visit the European Bluegrass Blog for the update I just posted.  Also, Val is posting pictures and stories at ValerieSmithOnline.com and David Tousley and Shane Blackwell are posting to their Facebook pages.  Check out my Facebook page as well as Valerie's for even more stuff.  We're going to do our best to post different things to all these outlets to in an effot to make you feel like you're over here with us.  I've got to call my honey on Skype, so I'm going to sign off for now.  Isn't technology amazing?  I can call Jeff for free on the see-a-phone from half a world away!!  And my niece can take me on a tour of the yard to see the flowers they just planted.  Fascinating!

Hope all's well with you and yours!

Ciao!

Becky

PS This picture is from the wasserschloss in Sachsenheim.  Keep reading!

05/08/11

Inflation has caught up with Sanifair. It is now 0.70 Euro to use the toiletten at the rasthof.  However, the ticket they give you is still only redeemable for 0.50 Euro. What is the world coming to?!  I think it's pretty funny that in their ad on the back of the bathroom stall Sanifair encourages you to put your voucher toward a coffee.  Keeps the business flowing, I guess...

Here's a picture of the leather britches at the Wodan Halle in Freiburg.

05/07/11

It never fails that the morning one decides to let one's face rest from makeup, one runs into an uber celebrity in the parking lot of the hotel. Jon Waite and his band were loading their van (which had been broken into the night before) right next to ours in Germering near Munich. 

Like the nerd I am, I started singing "I Ain't Missing You At All." 

Val got to live out her 1980s fantasy by having her picture made with Jon.  I was excited about meeting the dude with the fabulous fin hairdo from Matchbox 20, who is on tour with Jon.  (Ok, I didn't catch him name...)  I wonder if he would let me write with him sometime...probably not now that I can't remember his name...  But he had awesome hair!

After loading up, we pulled around behind the hotel to the Norma supermarket.  Accordions went off in my head as two herren walked by in full Bavarian garb.  We stocked up on hazelnuss und Ritter Sport chocolates and stille wasser... I wish I had gotten that dirndl  (traditional Bavian lady's outfit.)  (Ich leibe costumes!)  By the way, the new Ritter Sport cherry ice cream chocolate extravaganza, specially made for summer of 2011, is awesome.

Had a gorgeous day to travel past the Bodensee und into the Black Forest.
 
More about our adventures at:  ValerieSmithOnline.com und the European Bluegrass Blog!

Thanks for stopping by!

Becky

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