An Interview with Robin Thompson 7.1.09 by HolleyHall, 01 Jul 2009 06:27 PM

Robin Thompson

EZfolk Profile: http://c1.ezfolk.com/Robin_Thompson/
EZ folk Radio Station Link:http://c1.ezfolk.com/bands/4232/index.php

I met Robin here on EZ folk about a year ago. I have really enjoyed her wonderful traditon style Dulcimer music. I have found it very peaceful and soothing to listen to. She and her husband Mark play such wonderful duo guitar and Dulcimer together! Some of my favorites of are: "Shady Grove", "Roustabout", "angeline the baker" all very beautifully played.

Robin thank you so much for your friendship and the honor of this interview! 

An intervew with Robin Thompson:

My name's Robin Thompson and I play Appalachian dulcimer.  The instrument has been called by many different names and one I'mpartial to is "hog fiddle."  Mark, my husband, plays acoustic guitar with me on a couple of tunes on my page; he's got an EZFolk page, too! 
 
HOLLEY HALL: What is your music background?

ROBIN THOMPSON: In the mid-60's, my grandparents had an electric organ and, as a little girl, I loved the sounds that couldbe made with it-- making music was fun!  Growing up, then, I played pretty good trumpet and lackluster piano.  Sad to say,music try-outs and recitals were disasters because nerves usually got the better of me.  Like lots of folks, I, too, sang in choir at church and carry fond memories of anchoring the alto section with a dear lady named Ethel.
 

HOLLEY:  Do you prefer to play music as a profession or a hobby?

ROBIN THOMPSON: I'm a hobbyist, an Appalachian dulcimer player of the porch-sitting variety.  Just I wish I had a porch!  The traditional noter & drone style-- the dulcimer style I play-- carries Appalachian culture with it.  One thing I love about playing in this fashion is its simplicity.  There's some unspeakable something primitive and soul-satisfying in those drones! I wish more people itched to create homemade music as hobby-- it brings such joy and, sometimes, it's a source of great comfort.       

 
HOLLEY: How long have you been playing music?

ROBIN THOMPSON:I got my first Appalachian dulcimer in '05, I think, and that was a couple of years or so after getting my first autoharp, I think. :-)  And in spring of this year, I drove to North Carolina to pick up a bowed dulcimer from luthier Ken Bloom.  Bowing a dulcimer (as opposed to strumming one) is a whole 'nother skill and I'll be years learning and working to perfect the many things that can be done with bow on string.  The journey is such fun!  
  
HOLLEY: Does anyone in your family play music?

ROBIN THOMPSON: All my growing-up years, my mom was the pianist at our church.  She was mostly self-taught and had a fine style of hymn play.  Mom could play a large repertoire and transpose with ease.  Along with her ability to accompany vocalists, some of whom took liberties with the music as written, were testimonies to her skills as a musician. 

My husband began playing guitar as a teenager.  When we were in college in the '70's, Mark was this cute guy I saw playing guitar and singing with his sister.  I could scarcely believe it when I liked the cute guitar player and he liked me back!  Fast forward to '02, '03-- somewhere thereabouts-- Mark got a new Martin guitar and I thought it'd be fun to surprise him with a Martin t-shirt.  The shirt, when delivered from Elderly Instruments, came with a catalog.  I sat out on our front step looking through that catalog and came across a page of autoharps.  Hey, I could learn autoharp, I thought, so Mark and I could play music together!  Autoharp led to dulcimers and we're having the time of our lives making music!   
 
HOLLEY: Do you write your own songs or do you prefer to> play traditional music?

ROBIN THOMPSON: As a rule, I play traditional/old-time tunes. 

HOLLEY: Do you have any particular songs that you plAy you consider your favorites?

ROBIN THOMPSON:I enjoy playing Jean Ritchie's "Over The River To Feed My Sheep".  She and Mike Seeger have a fantastic (and fast!) Appalachian dulcimer & mandolin duet version of it on Jean's THE MOST DULCIMER cd.

HOLLEY: Who are your musical influences?

ROBIN THOMPSON:Jean Ritchie, ezFolk's Randy Adams, Galax-style dulcimer players Phyllis Gaskins and Bonnie Russell, and the late David Schnauffer are all musicians whose styles of play teach me a great deal. 

HOLLEY: Where do you have your music posted online?

ROBIN THOMPSON:Here at ezFolk!

HOLLEY: In what ways does the place where you live or places where you have lived, affect the music you create, or your taste in music?

ROBIN THOMPSON:Mark and I live in the Appalachian foothills in southeastern Ohio.  We lead a fairly simple, quiet life here in a small village and it feels right, satisfying to be playing traditional acoustic music in just such a place. 

HOLLEY: Lately what musical periods or styles do you find yourself most drawn to as a listener? (Old or new music? Music like yours or different from yours?)

ROBIN THOMPSON: I'm a big fan of old-time/traditional/folk music, both old recordings and contemporary ones, and that's mostly what I listen to.  However, my musical tastes run all over the place-- Anita Baker, Janis Joplin, Todd Rundgren, Paul Thorn, Gillian Welch, and many others have made music I enjoy.  My favorite OT/trad/folk artists include Jean Ritchie (of course!), Randy Adams, Ken Bloom, Phyllis Gaskins, Bonnie Russell, Dirk Powell, Jody Stecher, Pete Seeger, Alice Gerrard, The Carter Family-- including June, Joe, and Janette, Doc Watson, Dyad, Don Pedi.

HOLLEY: Name a band or musician, past or present, who you flat-out LOVE and think more people should be listening to.

ROBIN THOMPSON:Bonnie Russell!  In a recording made in the early '70's, when Bonnie was thirteen years old, she, her father, and her brother played traditional tunes with Bonnie playing Galax style mountain dulcimer. 

HOLLEY: What's one of your all-time favorite recordings by this band/musician?

ROBIN THOMPSON:Golly, it's hard to choose just one favorite from the Russell family's MOUNTAIN DULCIMER GALAX STYLErecording.  "Flop Eared Mule" is an especial favorite I'd like to learn to play as fine now as Bonnie did when she was thirteen! 

HOLLEY: Do you have any advice/experience you would like to share with fellow artists you think would be helpful?

ROBIN THOMPSON: Please encourage non-musicians to discover a way to make music for their own pleasure.  It matters. 

CC: Forums http://ezfolk.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=7472&forum_id=36