The showcase began when David Briggs, former director of the JE Broyhill Civic Center, attended informal jam sessions at my house and commented that it "might be nice" if we could put some of the musicians on stage. We had a conversation about how the "trained" musicians from the area (specifically, the former members of the Lenoir High School Band) received a lot of press but not many folks knew
about the ones who learned music on their own --- and who continued to play throughout their lives --- and who perform only for their own enjoyment and for the pleasure of family and friends. So from the first showcase, held in September of 1998, the goal was to feature traditional musicians from this county, largely self-taught, who deserved a venue other than their back porch. The first performance featured 23 musicians (along with Strictly Clean and Decent, comprised of me, my husband Patrick Crouch, and bass player Ron Shuffler). It was hugely successful and many folks in the audience wanted to purchase audiotapes of the show. Due to the interest, we programmed another showcase during the next civic center season, in the spring of 2000. But quality recordings of live performances are very difficult to achieve; we began considering recording some of the musicians in advance of the concert. The following summer, Lee Carol Giduz from the Caldwell Arts Council suggested that the Grassrooots Arts Program might be a good source of grant money to fund a CD of the traditional musicians. Strictly Clean and Decent applied for a grant and received money for the duplication costs of a CD. Many of the musicians who had been featured on the first two showcases returned to record a song; all of their time, as well as the studio production, was donated. This has been the model of the traditional musician showcase CDs ever since. Once the first CD, It Must Be Something In the Water (that's the only reason we can think of that explains why there are so many GREAT musicians in this area) was released in 2001, Patrick Crouch set a goal of recording one hundred musicians (yep, one hundred musicians!) over a ten year period. We have just completed the seventh CD and have recorded 85 so we're a little ahead of schedule! By the way, the problem we have in choosing musicians to feature is never finding them; rather, it's figuring out who's next! We could probably go to 200 in 20 years but we might have to leave that to the younger folks! Besides It Must Be Something In the Water, the other CDs include I Do (Re Mi) (2002, which featured seven married couples), Playin' Hooky (2003, all teachers or folks who worked in the school system), Roots and Branches (2004, which featured musicians "of a certain age" as well as younger musicians whom they'd influenced), Good Ole Boys Like Me (2005, self-explanatory), Lights of Home (2006, with lots of original music about the area), and the recently completed Rear View Mirror (which features "vintage" tunes or newly-written songs with an old time feel). All of these CDs are available for purchase at the Caldwell Arts Council as well as through Strictly Clean and Decent shows and our website, www.strictlycleananddecent.com
During the recording of Good Ole Boys Like Me, David Hill and Bill Kincaid who work for Caldwell County Government, approached SCD about recording musicians in the studio process for a television show to be broadcast on the government station. That show, as well as others broadcast over that station, has had a great impact on the awareness of not only the showcases, but on many traditional musicians in Caldwell County. It also led to a monthly televised show, also entitled It Must Be Something in the Water, hosted by Patrick and me (mostly Patrick!) which features the musicians from this area. We feel that these CDs, along with the showcases at the JE Broyhill Civic Center, are invaluable in instilling pride in the people of Caldwell County for the music that was once thought to be worthless. This area is now "on the radar" of the folks (in Raleigh and elsewhere) who study folk-life and cultural heritage, as an area that is rich in the folk music tradition. And it is an excellent example of a long-term collaboration between Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, the JE Broyhill Civic Center, the Caldwell Arts Council, the North Carolina Arts Council, the Caldwell County Government, and Strictly Clean and Decent. I cannot stress strongly enough the contribution of Patrick Crouch who volunteers endless hours in the recording studio not only performing, but engineering, producing, and mixing as well. Without his efforts, there would continue to be traditional music in the area, but not as many folks would be aware of it!
