"Big John McNeil Medley" - Calvin Vollrath and Clinton Pelletier - Red Bluff Session

"The Red Bluff Session". This is the first release of 11 videos that were shot at the Elks Club in Red Bluff, California late Saturday night after the Western Open Fiddle Championships of 2015 ended. The seeds for this project had been planted just outside the backstage door exactly one year prior. Calvin’s first time at the Western Open was in 2013 where he served as judge as well as the featured entertainer along with his wife Rhea who wowed the crowd with her French Canadian step dancing. The Thursday night “Kick-Off Concert” was such a hit that Calvin was asked to come back in 2014. After the contest that year, goodbyes were being said in the back parking lot and Calvin mentioned having seen a video or two on the Joy of Fiddling Youtube channel. An offer was made on the spot that should the opportunity ever arise an effort must be made to get some up close and personal performance video of Calvin.

Flash forward one year later and as good fortune would have it Calvin and Rhea returned to Red Bluff again to entertain. Even better fortune, they brought along with them accomplished guitar slinger Clinton Pelletier who has been picking with Calvin since he was a teenager. Calvin had not forgotten about my offer and the plan was set to document some fiddling.

But fiddle contests can be joyfully chaotic events with an ever fluid timetable. With all the activity going on, it can be challenging to schedule a simple cup of coffee let alone a video shoot. Not to mention the fact that Calvin was jamming daily and entertaining nightly (along with Clinton and Rhea) And while the Elks Club facility offers plentiful spaces inside and out for rehearsal and jam sessions, those spaces, more often than not, are occupied with musicians rehearsing and jamming, morning, noon, and night. So, even if we had the time and energy, we still had not secured a place to shoot.

When the contest officially ended and the audience cleared out, it was late. I half expected Calvin to say they would be calling it a night and one could not have blamed them one bit. But he gave the thumbs up, and in that empty auditorium, the now vacant stage seemed our only best option. After getting a blessing (from contest organizer and Master of Ceremonies Tex Ash) to borrow the stage for a while, we quickly got to work. The end result is 11 videos (compiled together in the "Playlists" section of this channel) featuring an eclectic mix of traditional medleys, swing tunes, waltz’s, and some surprises. Most of them are originals composed by Calvin. Two of the videos feature Rhea’s step-dancing.

There was no preparation and no predetermined program of tunes. The set list unfolded organically and tune selections were made in the moment. Some tunes Calvin and Clinton had not played together in years. One tune had been written and played publicly only once by Calvin a mere week prior to it being documented at this session. Another original composition had never even been heard by Clinton before he played it masterfully. You will hear no applause in these videos because with the exception of a very small handful of lucky souls who lingered, there was no audience in the auditorium during the shoot.

For anyone interested in experiencing their own personal Calvin concert, all 11 videos are compiled together and can be found in the "Playlists" section of this channel.

The four tunes featured in this video are: "Big John McNeil", "St. Anne's Reel", "Surveyor's Reel", and "Devil's Dream".

www.calvinvollrath.com