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Retirement Project: Regional Music Heritage Center


Mallette

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Sounds like a great idea and I know you have been thinking about this for a long time

 

Oddly, only 6 months.  It's that crazy.  It's also why I am so convinced it's going to fly.  The support is amazing.  The Disklavier donation alone is possibly 70k worth of instrument. 

 

Of course, a LONG road ahead and a lot of hat in hand...but the key elements of the project, which are diversity (about 90% of the music is African American heritage), the building being historic and in a historic district, downtown revitalization becoming a very big issue, our plan to reach into the schools and colleges to educate them, promote research, etc seems to hit all the hot buttons of the big foundations and government grant bullet points. 

 

Unfortunately, one of my early ideas mooted here won't fly.  As a 501 3c (and we are now chartered as such) we can't provide alcohol.  No moonshine still...at least downstairs! 

 

Dave

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Huddie is a BIG part of the region story.  Cotton Fields is part of the 96 pieces of music I've identified so far with Texarkana in the title or lyrics.  That's more of a sideshow. 

 

Dave

 

Tried to come up with Texarkana songs (without google). Thought it would be fun. After about a half hour, my brain started to hurt and I had come up with one by Marshall Tucker and that was it. You beat me by 95!

I cant tell you how cool this whole project sounds to me. I have about 8 more years before retirement and hope I have something to sink my soul into like you have.

Mike

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Well I was thinking more about your idea of moving to that area, the music thing kind of came about later. It's a great idea, there should be more places like that, some place are just rich with music history, like Crossroads or the delta area for blues.

Just not enough places around to keep alive musics history, where it all began more or less. For the most part people have to really dig to get to where it all started and the general public would never spend the time or be able to so it will all be hidden or lost over time like so many other things. But music is special, it deserves for the history to be remembered, there are so few things that move people like music.

 

Well done, hope it grows almost out of control...........in a good way.

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Me too, dtel.  I probably mentioned it, but it's really all about this international advisory group of megaminds who totally told me to do it and are directing most of it.  To some extent, it's well beyond my control already in that I am largely following instructions. 

 

I've been reading some of their scholarly papers.  Not much following physics and electronics doesn't make me feel too bad, but picking up maybe 10% of a paper on music makes me feel like I have some serious learning to do.

 

Dave

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Reading what you said about the local music history reminded me of some of the things Rodney was telling me. Now he was talking mainly about country bands and musicians many who are local to the area, way less than 100 miles. It is a long list of some very popular musicians, I had no idea that area was so rich in talent.

 

Thanks for the tip!  Just had a chat session with Rodney.  I get the feeling he's going to know some old dudes in those swamps that carry on very old musical traditions.  Told him I'd be getting with him in the spring on this.  Easy to imagine fiddles echoing in the night in those south Arkansas swamps.  Could be a find!

 

Dave

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Well, here we go.  Just got back from TXK and Seabrook is now transient quarters.  Truck here the 22nd and we're outta here.  Be on the RMHC full time in January.  Very exciting.  Hate moving, but just sunk in today that we are only taking two pickup loads to the old homestead while the residence is renovated so it's only half the pain up front.  Goes to storage until summer or the residence is complete. 

 

Bearable...

 

Dave

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Lord...I am packing the music room now.  Nightmare.  I am going to have to make a special trip to TXK with nothing but turntables.  Forgot that I have 5 of them.  Wish I had time to get rid of three, but time is up.  No way to pack them.

 

Our church is providing help big time so the 2000+ LPs and 400 or so 78s will be handled...but amps, decks, etc are awful to deal with. 

 

Sheesh.  Just got the place fully set up about this time last year.  What was I thinking?

 

Dave

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Music room is offline and being packed.  (sigh)  Will get by with a couple of audioengine A5+ until we get to the residence next summer.  Of course, they are pretty awesome nearfield...but certainly not K'horns and won't make those 32' pipes.  Speaking of that, I wish it had been couple of hours earlier when this happened.  I'd have loved to see how fast our cat could move ahead of a 16.5 hz organ pipe at full blast!

 

Dave

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  • 2 weeks later...

Neil, I suspect we will be able to use all you can make...compensated, of course.  I've located and brought on board an archivist of extraordinary experience and skill.  He's Texarkana native Larry (Lawerence) Tedder, a broadcaster, and is totally into 78 preservation to the point he was chosen by the Edison archives to digitize and release through Document Records.  It's getting more fun all the time! 

 

Dave

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Mighty proud of it, but not quite as much as Autodesk.

 

Agreed.  The "Pro" version is affordable to most anyone who needs its features.  I don't, and I appreciate that they've left the free version able to function well outside the profit world.  As to Autodesk, they are more comparable to big pharma in the markup on their code, most of which was paid for decades ago.  AutoCAD Lite was once in the range of most people at 500.00...though still an incredible markup on long proven and paid for investments.  Now it's priced as the full version of AutoCAD was. 

 

Good gig since they seem to be able to continue to charge mega markups and make money hand over fist.  Can't figure out why they don't make a "personal" version that's not licensed for business purposes.  After all, the software companies can all monitor where their stuff is being used anyway. 

 

Anyway, where there is a void someone will fill it.  Sketchup is still doing that in the 3D world at the moment.

 

Dave

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  • 11 months later...

Putting the paddles to this one as this project is swinging into high gear.  "Sweat equity..." has a new spin for me.  Not only have I done that in the conventional sense, but most of my equity is in the RMHC and I am starting to sweat.  :P

 

This is going to be a really fun event.  The program will be fascinating and the reception afterwards will actually be a party, with a 3 piece jazz group, impromptu Boogie-Woogie and Joplin ragtime, and a keg of "Boogie-Woogie" beer brewed in Marshall, the Birthplace of Boogie-Woogie. We are expecting to have Klipsch professional speakers for the 4 Roland piano synthesizers to be employed for the premiere of "Texarkanon" and the reception. 

 

Anyone within range please come!  Tickets and details through a link on our FB page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/197453620586240/ or our website at http://www.texarkanarmhc.org/index.html

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Wow! All of that looks pretty cool but too bad I hade crowds....I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get that date off but will see if there is anyway manageable--Regardless, it looks like an awesome, well planned event--Good luck and if we don't see you then hopefully will be able to make it in the near future.

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