If you've been to the Adams
Avenue Roots Festival in recent years, or the San Diego Bluegrass Society or
the San Diego Folk Song Society meetings, you've experienced the golden voice
and guitar of Tanya Rose. At her side you'll find her husband, Larry, playing
mandolin or guitar, while singing his dreams of smoky, dark honky tonks, rusty
old train rails, and back porch bluegrass. If you've been around San Diego folk
music since the early 1960s, you'll remember Tanya Rose as one of the central
players in the local coffeehouse scene from 1961 to 1968. A self-taught player,
Tanya's first guitar was high strung, hard to play, and just plain awful. She'd
tell folks, 'You should start out with the best instrument you can afford and
not a torture guitar.'
Over
the last few years Tanya and Larry have been editing and revitalizing the San
Diego Folk Song Society newsletter, an organization that has provided us all
with everything you've ever wanted to know about folk happenings in our town,
including local concerts, musicians, and insightful commentary about the music.
Tanya is also the treasurer and membership director for the Society, founded by
Sam Hinton in 1957.
The
Roses have been living in San Diego and playing folk music since the early
1960s, having both got bitten by the folk music bug after hearing Sam Hinton
play in elementary school. When he was just eight years old, Larry saw Sam's
'harmonica in mouth routine' and was clearly intrigued by the experience,
imitating the moves for me during our conversation. Tanya talked about seeing
Sam's garden hose trumpet playing and how she was drawn into the music from
that point on. The 'Great Folk Scare' of the 1960s drew them further into the
music we folkies still love and recall every time we pick up our instruments.
During
a recent conversation, Tanya and Larry shared more about their life story and
musical journey. Larry gave me their instrument count, which is 'four mandolins
that are all top of the line, eight guitars, a dobro, three fiddles, a banjo, a
zither, and two autoharps to complete the collection' so far. He also disclosed
their joy at having eight cats, all rescued after being abandoned or thrown
into the street.
Tanya
is an expert at taming feral cats and hand-raising orphaned kittens. Larry
said, 'We had one stray that came into the yard recently, snarling and hissing
at us. Tanya turned him into a cream puff in a few days, then took him to the
vet for the usual neutering. He is a mellow fellow now and can be
found sleeping on our patio swing at least 18 hours a day.' Adding to his
pearls of cat wisdom Larry said, 'Once you understand these creatures, you
begin to admire them. They keep our orchard and garden free of rats, gophers,
and vermin and they are on duty 24-7. They are spotlessly clean, very quiet,
and are the only creatures on the planet who bury their waste. It's a
scientific fact that cats will lower your blood pressure if they are near you even
if you claim you hate cats. History's best known cat haters were Napoleon and
Adolf Hitler. Cruel, mean, and psychotic people always hate cats. Tanya and I
love them.'
During
the 1960s Tanya was a regular at the Heritage Coffeehouse in Mission Beach. It
was there that Larry first saw Tanya's act and soon saw her perform at Bi-Frost
Bridge, Circe's Cup, and The End, all venues where folkies hung out during
those days. Tanya also did school concerts for local kids. 'Tanya still doesn't
think that her contribution to the local folk scene was any big deal compared
to so many others.' Larry has tried to convince her, however, that she was
indeed a big deal back in the early 1960s, in particular when she was admired
enough to be invited on local television. Scheduled to play on the old Channel
8 morning show the producer and host insulted her, thinking she was schmoozing
with them in order to get her 'big break.' Tanya was so disgusted, she packed
up her guitar and walked out to the applause of the cameramen and studio floor
staff who thought she showed a lot of class not to take such negative stuff
from those guys. Larry added, 'This is the real Tanya who will never compromise
her music or take crap from anyone, TV big shot or not.'
Sharing
another story, Larry continues, 'After stomping out in a huff at Channel 8,
Tanya was invited to pick and sing on Regis Philbin's show on TV 8's bitter
rival Channel 10 back in the days before Regis became nationally famous. She
actually did this TV gig and told me that the young Regis was very nice to
her. Locally, Tanya was very well known as a great voice during the Folk
Scare. I doubt whether there were many other local folkies invited to sing on
local TV in those days.'
Larry's
interest in original country music began at home, listening to the many old 78s
his folks had and to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on the radio every
Saturday night. Larry recalled attending a Hank Williams concert at the
Bostonia Ball Room in El Cajon in 1952 and finding out years later that a
12-year-old Lou Curtiss had attended the same concert with his family. Larry
was also a big fan of the Stanley Brothers, thanks to being a friend of the
great Dobro-playing Clarke Powell during the early 1960s. Clarke turned him on
to 'the good stuff' and was the first person to encourage Larry to pick
hillbilly music, although Larry says, 'I never considered myself very good at
it. Clarke and I went to the UCLA Folk Festivals in 1963 and 1964 where we saw
Merle Travis, Doc Watson, and Joe Maphis doing a guitar workshops along with
some kid named Ry Cooder. We also saw the Kentucky Colonels with legendary
guitar picker Clarence White. We were both stoked out of our minds at that
festival. The pickin' was the hottest we had ever seen. Then came a Flatt and
Scruggs concert at the old Russ Auditorium at San Diego High School. Grandpa
Jones opened for them.'
The
direction of Larry's musical interests was set from then on - and this was
before Larry really got to know Tanya. He became a big fan of San Diego's
first local bluegrass band, the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers, founded by San
Diego local Ed Douglas, owner of the Double Eagle in Normal Heights, and never
missed a show. He hung out at coffeehouses where these guys played. He met
Tanya along the way and they were married in 1968. It's ironic to note that
although they have been married for a long time, Larry never played with a band
or in public until the Adams Avenue Roots Festival in 2004, where he played
with Tanya and the New Smokey Mountain Boys. Larry explained, 'There is
not much to my story compared to Tanya and here's the reason why: I came back
from Viet Nam in 1967 lucky to be alive. When I got out of the Army I promptly
went looking for a good guitar with my mustering out money. Until that time I
had dabbled with a five-string banjo and had a very good 1955 Gibson
Mastertone that I bought about a year before I got drafted. I went into Valley
Music in El Cajon and bought a 1935 Martin D-18 from the late Cactus Soldi, the
store owner, for $150 bucks, a lot of money in those days for a scratched up,
well-used guitar. Cactus' son Jim, one-time guitar picker in Johnny Cash's
band, now runs the store. Right after Tanya and I were married I acquired
a terrific Joseph Klotz fiddle, made in 1795. It was a concert quality
instrument that was given to me by a neighbor who found it in his attic. I was
making better progress playing fiddle and guitar than I was the banjo, so it
ended up under the bed and was never played again. With this old fiddle and the
D-18 I was in hog heaven! That old Martin was the best guitar I have ever
owned. I hand-carved pearl inlay flowers on the bridge to really make it mine.
It was stolen in 1974 in a home burglary along with my prized fiddle. I was so
depressed I gave up playing guitar or fiddle for the next 25 years. My
homeowners insurance company gave me $10,000 for the fiddle and a couple of
hundred for the Martin but it was small consolation for such a devastating
loss. [That pre-war guitar would be worth at least $20,000 now. The fiddle
would fetch even more.]' Larry described the loss as a trauma, enough to stop
his playing and concentrate instead on being a full time architect, a day job
he has worked at for 39 years. He continued, 'A few years later I got a nice
F-5 style mandolin built by old friend Doug McKee in the late 1970s and fooled
around with that because I never expected to find a decent guitar to replace
that old Martin or a fiddle like the one I lost. Meanwhile Tanya was still
playing with friends at private parties but rarely at any formal gigs. We
picked a bit on our back porch, but that was about it until Lou Curtiss
convinced Tanya to come out of retirement to play at the 2000 Roots
festival.'
Lou Curtiss recently e-mailed me to say,
'I've known Tanya since the coffeehouse days sometime in the mid-1960s. I think
we were in a band together for about five minutes. She has become, along with
Larry, an important part of the local contingent at our Adams Ave. Roots
Festivals, and she has a country voice that stands up to the very best in
country from any era. Add to that Tanya and Larry's support for the music and
people who make it and you've got something very special. I know I couldn't do
the things I do without the support of people like Tanya and Larry.'
Larry
adds, 'I was just Tanya's pack mule, toting her gear at that time,
having never played in front of anyone except a few close friends at
private local hoots. Doug McKee came over from Arizona a lot to play mando
with the New Smokey Mountain Boys and backed Tanya on guitar and mando for her
solo gigs at the Roots Festivals from 2000-2003. We have been married for 35
years but I had still not picked with her beyond our own back porch. From the
Roots experience Tanya was recruited by Sandy Stedinger and Dan Shalit to show
up and pick at the San Diego Folk Song Society meetings. I went initially as
Tanya's pack mule again and did not pick for the first few meetings.'
I
first met Tanya and Larry at the SDFSS when we ended up sitting next to each
other. Tanya's voice and guitar picking and Larry's infectious soul brought
life to a drifting group. Larry continues, 'I finally did a few solos at SDFSS
in 2001, which was the very first time I ever played or sang in front of people
I didn't know. So, as you can see, my public music 'career,' such as it
is, started only about five years ago. Going strong for more than 45 years,
Tanya has a great voice that has lost nothing over the years in spite of her
asthma. We started going to the monthly club meetings of the San Diego
Bluegrass Society in 2001 thanks to friends we met at SDFSS. There we met
Bob and Paula Pearson and were invited to pick with them at their home.'
Larry
remembers, 'This was a breakthrough for me as it was my first chance to pick
and sing with good pickers and singers beyond the few old friends we had
from the 1960s who had scattered to the four winds more than 25 years
earlier. My first public performance was with Wayne Brandon, Clarke Powell, and
the New Smoky Mountain Boys at the 2004 Roots Festival, because Doug McKee
couldn't make it that year and they needed a mando picker. Bob Pearson
played bass with this outfit. Tanya and Paula handled the vocals and
harmonized with Wayne. Soon, again thanks to Bob and Paula, I did a few solos
with them at the San Diego Bluegrass Club and at Walt Richard's Slo Jam, which
we found out about through the SDFSS people. Walt has also been a big influence
in getting me to 'come out' and pick in public. Since then Tanya has
created the Buffalo Chip Kickers to play old time country music based on Clarke
Powell's wonderful Roy Acuff and Bashful Brother Oswald-style Dobro. Our
gigs took place at the S.D. Bluegrass Club meetings; the first gig outside of
that venue was the 2006 Roots Festival. These were the same people who made up
the New Smokies when playing with Wayne as the leader. The 2005 Roots was the
best gig I ever played with the New Smokies after Wayne Brandon backed out at
the last minute. Allen, you played guitar in that band and you know about the
standing ovation we got in the old church after I finished with 'Dim Lights.'
I'm still blown away by that. That year was also highlighted by the Earl
Brothers, a bluegrass band that took the Roots Festival by storm. The New
Smokies got to jam with them at a song swap and it was an absolute blast for me
to pick along side those guys and for Tanya to sing. Now that the Buffalo Chip
Kickers have arrived on the scene I'll probably never pick with the New Smokies
again after that impromptu invite at the last concert of the 2006 Roots, again
in our favorite old church. Combining the BCK with the Smokies and Walt
Richard's group, Trails and Rails, the band was a fluke, but it sure was fun
and the audience loved it.'
Bob
Pearson recently shared some thoughts with me about Tanya and Larry. 'The first
thing that comes to mind is that I know of no one who supports local music more
than those two. There is hardly a local event that gets done without Tanya and
Larry there, either in the audience or as performers. Tanya's singing is
legendary. It seems that no matter who I meet, stranger or friend, mention
Tanya Rose and they smile and talk about how much they admire her music. And
let's not forget Larry's singing. What energy he puts into it! I once filled on
vocals for one of Larry's songs in a set he couldn't attend. After one verse, I
was embarrassed that I couldn't capture that energy, so I stopped. Tanya has me
doing harmony on a few songs and I feel privileged to sing with her. There
aren't many around the neighborhood who can claim to have sung with Tanya. I
feel special. Larry and Tanya used to come to our house every Friday evening
and we'd sit in our living room and pick and sing whatever came into our heads.
I usually recorded the evening and made CDs for us. Now we both cherish
listening to those old CDs. They bring back such fond memories of pickin's
past. Often our favorites were what we called 'sleeze' songs. Songs like 'Third
Rate Romance,' 'The Lord Knows I'm Drinking,' 'Don't Cheat in Our Home Town,'
and 'There Stands the Glass.' Sometimes we'd use the best from the Pearson's
living room pickin's to do at Jeanette Anderson's bimonthly Song Circle. Larry
and Tanya were always there singing new old stuff, trying to do some old
classic country song Jeanette had never heard. I play regularly with Larry and
Tanya. Tanya brings a lot of old country songs of the softer nature and Gospels
to the set, which causes people to say, 'Wow, I haven't heard that in so many
years.'
'Larry
has an encyclopedic knowledge of old country and bluegrass music. He knows the
words to many as well as words to fiddle tunes that are just not being sung
anymore. Very refreshing!' Larry and Tanya are currently members of Bob and
Paula's band the Bluegrass Ramblers and play at most of the San Diego Bluegrass
Society meetings.
Walt
Richards recently sent the following letter to Tanya about the San Diego Folk
Song Society newsletter and more:
Dear Tanya,
'I
want to acknowledge you for the excellent newsletter that you compile and put
out each month. The research you do on upcoming events is the best of any
publication I've seen. It's becoming the source for the acoustic music scene in
San Diego County!
I
always enjoy the Comments columns as they bring out ideas and opinions that are
thought provoking. I know that you and Larry volunteer so much time and money
in your support of acoustic music. We are so blessed to have you in our
community. I have seen so much growth in all the acoustic music communities
-Bluegrass, Old Time, singer-songwriter, Blues, Western, and now the San Diego
Guitar Society; all have grown because of the effort of volunteers.
Thank
you all so much and thank you, Tanya and Larry, for being a headlight on this
train of Folk Music.'
Listening
to Tanya and Larry perform provides us with their joy and insights into
traditional music. It offers a window into a world of music that's hanging on
for dear life but doing more than just surviving. Tanya sings in many languages
and styles. When she sings in Spanish, she sings songs from Spain and Mexico
with authenticity and a strong dedication to the music's tradition. She sings
her beliefs and values. You experience the life of the song and are taken to a
special place where you gain insight into the world through her talents. Tanya
also sings gospel and religious songs in a way that make you feel close to the
soul of the music. She is a true traditional singer and solid interpreter and
keeper of the folk tradition. Both she and Larry continue to be a lifeline in
our folk music community. Larry has never lost interest in railroads,
honkytonks, road and rail tragedy songs, and Ralph Stanley. Larry has a Ralph
Stanley for President sticker on his mandolin case and probably knows more
about Ralph than Ralph himself. Recently, Larry and Tanya have become the fans
of the Earl Brothers bluegrass group and Larry struggles with divided loyalties
over Ralph versus the Earl Brothers. Larry also has a passionate interest in
trains and spends all his Saturdays at the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum in
Campo, where he is on the board of directors and spends his time rebuilding and
restoring old trains. He led the Museum's effort to restore the 1884 vintage La
Mesa Depot in 1981, which won an Orchid Award for historic preservation,
presented by the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects where
Larry has been a long-time member. Tanya is the membership director for the
railroad museum, a volunteer job she has had off and on (mostly on) since 1974.
Experiencing
Larry and Tanya's music is a gift. Larry finds never-ending joy in the music
and its musicians. Tanya is a real professional and a great singer of songs.
Tanya and Larry will continue to be Sam Hinton's 'children.' They are old time
traditional musicians and embrace the spirit of the folks we used to hear on
old 78s, in highway juke joints, in churches and hollows, and wherever people
continue to get together to pick and sing our music.
Photos by Barry Cohen