- Joe Bethancourt
Joe Bethancourt (born El Paso,
Texas 1946 ) is a traditional American musician (a player offolk music ), based in Phoenix,Arizona .Biography
He began learning
banjo at age 9, after he heard his maternal grandfather, C. H. Burnett, playingfiddle . His firstbanjo was given him by his grandfather, and was "an oldS.S. Stewart ." Thisbanjo is now in the able hands of his nephew, Tom Purtill.When his family moved to Phoenix for the final time, in 1961, Joe began learning
guitar , hanging aroundcoffeehouses ,mariachi bands, bluegrass groups, and a place called "J.D.'s," where he would sneak in to listen to a local guy calledWaylon Jennings . With the "folk boom" of the '60's just hitting its stride, he found that all that music he had learned as a child stood in good stead.His first "real pro" gig came at age 18. The Phoenix acoustic scene was active and thriving and Joe hung out with people (then unknowns) like
John Denver , theIrish Rovers , andJim Connor ("Grandma's Feather Bed") and with some of the best inDixieland ,Ragtime , and traditional Mexican musicians.He spent a stint with a local bluegrass band, "Ma Tucker's String Band," playing with Jeff Gylkinson ("
The Dillards ") and Doug Haywood (keyboard player/songwriter forJackson Browne ).He also worked with noted entertainer Dan "Igor" Glenn in several bands. Joe credits "Igor" with teaching him much about the entertainer's art.
In 1968-1969, Joe worked in L.A. as a studio musician, where he made his first record, "The Joe Bethancourt String Concert Album." It was very favourably reviewed by
BILLBOARD magazine ( 28 Feb. 1970 ), and given a four star rating.Joe came back to Phoenix, where he became influential in the original KDKB underground radio "scene," hosting his own radio show on KDKB, "Folk Music Occasional," with (the late and much lamented) Bill Compton.
He was also a regular on the
Emmy award-winning "Wallace and Ladmo Show" on KPHO-TV (Ch.5) in the 1980s, and worked with children in the Arizona Commission for the Arts' "Artists in Education" program for about 6 years. He still does occasional Artist Residencies at local elementary schools.For almost 17 years, he was the "house band" at a little restaurant at 19th Ave. and Bethany Home Rd, in Phoenix, called "Funny Fellows," playing instruments from his enormous collection of traditional ( and not so traditional ) instruments.
During this time, he was instrumental in founding the
Arizona chapter of theSociety for Creative Anachronism . He is no longer active in the organization, however, though he retains his membership in theDark Horde . HisFilk music within the SCA is legendary.Some call him a seminal influence on the acoustic music scene in Phoenix, crediting him for much of their style and technique.
He plays no less than 65 different instruments; from his beloved
banjo s (yes. plural! He has one of the finest collections of antique banjos in the Southwestern United States, and uses them on stage!) to12-string guitar , all the way to more exotic things like 6-courseCittern ,Celtic Harp ,Lute , and OzarkMouthbow !He was also nominated for the (
Arizona ) Governor's Arts Award, and his recordings are now on file at the University of East Tennessee'sAppalachian ArchivesFolklore collection. He's also on the advisory boards of the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall Of Fame and the Tombstone Western Music Festival. Popular Country Music singer Lynn Anderson called him "a genius" in the Summer 2007 issue of "Western Way" magazine.Currently, he's operating his own production company, [http://www.whitetreeaz.com/ White Tree Productions] , and has recorded both [http://www.whitetreeaz.com/cd/ solo] , with another noted songwriter,
Leslie Fish , and with the neo-Celtic bandThe Bringers , all for [http://www.random-factors.com Random Factors] of Los Angeles. He teaches acoustic instruments of all kinds out of Boogie Music in Phoenix, Arizona, and is active in anhistorical reenactment group, the [http://www.9thcavalry.com/ 9th Memorial Cavalry] .DISCOGRAPHY
- That Great Big Way Out There (Random Factors)
- Who Fears The Devil? (Random Factors)
- Celtic Circle Dance (Random Factors)
- Naked Banjos (Random Factors)
- Ride Back In Time (Random Factors)
- It's About Time (The Bringers) (Random Factors)
- Our Fathers Of Old (with Leslie Fish) (Random Factors)
- Serious Steel (with Leslie Fish) (Random Factors)
- Smoked Fish And Friends (RF-1004) (Random Factors)
- Arizona Road Song (White Tree Productions)
- Old Red Cat (White Tree Productions)
- The Black Book Of Locksley (White Tree Productions)
- The Filk Was Great: The Best of ConterPoint 3; Gonglomeration Inc
- 357 Miles East Of L.A. (Zia)
- CactusCon Choruses: NASFIC 1987 (WailSongs)
- This Train Is Bound For Glory (Carsten) LC 75-751068
- Arizona Sounds KDKB Vol. 1 (Dwight Karma)
- String Concert (Public) PS 5001
[www.whitetreeaz.com]
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