Elegant Gypsies and the Happy Dutchman
Watertown Riverfest Appearances
Friday, August 1
Elegant Gypsies at 11:30 a.m.
and
The Happy Dutchman at noon
By Greg
Ylvisaker of the Watertown Daily Times
staff
Variety is
something the sounds of Riverfest will not be lacking this year. The music
styles of the Elegant Gypsies and the Happy Dutchman are very different, but
both have attained success in their respective areas, and both will perform on
Aug. 1.
Jim Waller and
Holly Schuh are the Elegant Gypsies. Waller
plays acoustic guitar and Schuh the violin. Waller and his guitar have been
featured on several PBS documentary specials, and the Gypsies are well known at
festivals like Bastille Days. They play a wide selection of music from
Mediterranean to Celtic to "timeless American standards," according
to the ACA Entertainment Web site. Schuh said the responses they get from their
audiences differs from place to place.
"Coming up
we will be playing at Bastille Days," Schuh said. "If we are do a
strolling performance there, requests are mostly for traditional French music.
If we stay on stage, they tend to be for traditional Gypsy tunes."
Waller and Schuh
have been playing together for quite some time. Schuh said they have a hard
time deciding if they've been together for 13 or 15 years. The background for
her musical training was mainly classical and European styles with "a
little fiddle thrown in." Waller's focus was more in tune with Spanish
guitar and Bluegrass.
With such a
diverse background, Schuh said they began playing the different styles they do
because they could combine most of their talents into these styles. This will
be their first time performing at Riverfest.
"We are
really looking forward to it," Schuh said. "We teach music at a music
store in Hartland owned by Jeff Hale who is from Watertown. We've heard about
Riverfest before, now we get to experience it."
Their show will
begin at 11:30 a.m.
The
Happy Dutchman are a polka trio with over
50 combined years of polka playing experience. Norb Stephan , Larry Way and Ken
Olson get into character, wearing traditional lederhosen and strolling through the
crowds as they play. Stephan plays the clarinet and saxophone, Way the
accordion, and Olson the guitar.
Stephan said the
group has a nearly endless repertoire of polka, waltzes and many other types of
German music. He also said they have all played with many different groups,
ranging in size from a seven piece group or larger to two and three piece
groups like the one playing at Riverfest.
"The best
part about playing polka for me is the enthusiastic reception we get from the
audience," Stephan said. "The people who co1me to see us really
appreciate the style of music we play. They are generally a happy group that
come from an ethnic background associated with our style."
Stephan is not a
Riverfest rookie, having played here about three years ago. He was unsure if
the other members of the band had performed at the festival in the past. They
will begin at noon.