The name "Skirtlifters" comes from the way long skirts
gracefully flared out while women danced to this
spirited music!
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The Original Skirtlifters were a group of professional musicians who collected and performed the kind of old-time string band music found throughout the South, Midwest, and Northern urban centers of America in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Using fiddle, banjo, banjolin, mandolin, guitar, bowed bass, and vocals, the band performed a varied program of American rags, gallops, breakdowns, marches, songs, and minstrel tunes, giving brief ![]() Unlike many contemporary performers who sought a musical fusion of various styles ( jazz, country rock, etc.), the Skirtlifters sought authenticity and the preservation of the traditional genres as they wee performed in their historical settings. As banjoist Clarke Buehling noted, "That doesn't make an evening with the Skirtlifters dull...this old time music," he said, "is exceptionally dynamic, exciting, and spirited when it is performed as it was originally intended." Audiences always had a good time hearing these authentic American sounds, often for the first time. |
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______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Greetings... Although ladies have been known to shriek and faint at the mere mention of our name, the Skirtlifters are in fact a roundup of crackerjack musicians, who play the kind of old-time string band music found throughout America in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Using the fiddle, banjo, guitar and upright bass, we offer a varied program of rags, breakdowns, ballads, minstrel tunes, and weird songs of unknown origin. You can sit and listen or get up and dance, be it contra, square, hot hash or hoe down. We believe in the historical importance of these musical traditions, and we seek to promote a greater understanding of the nature and worth of classic American dance and parlor music among young and old, urban and rural, knowledgeable and naive. We strive to educate, but we concentrate on entertaining, for this music is, after all, fun; we know it is for us. ***taken from Skirtlifter promotional material*** ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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"The music is entertaining and is played with a verve and fidelity that shows these players really understand the o ![]() .... Hank Sapoznik Old Time Herald 2/1989 "...The Skirtlifters were the most remarkable act we had on that year....In one mighty swoop that night they captured the hearts of every acoustic music lover in mid-America." ....Bob Everhart, President National Country Music Association "The Skirtlifters trouped on stage in vintage 1890's duds: frock coats, vests, and plug hats, and proceeded to dazzle the audience. They not only looked grand, but they put on a fine show and played an incredible blend of square dance tunes, bizarre old songs, and early ragtime and pre-ragtime banjo pieces" ....Bob Bovee Inside Bluegrass "The Skirtlifters will lift your spirits...The group is quite good and any fan of bluegrass or traditional American music would enjoy them..." ...Mark Marymont Arkansas Gazette, November 13, 1988 |
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Bill Mathews: Guitar and Banjo Like all of the band members, Bill plays several stringed instruments. His rock-solid guitar rhythm is the keystone of the Skirtlifters. When not performing with the band he builds banjos and produces tapes of his fiddle and banjo playing under the Phippsburg Banjo Company name. ![]() Clarke Buehling: Banjo and Vocals Recognized widely for his faithful renditions of classic, finger-style banjo solos, Clarke is equally adept at demonstrating the obscure dance rhythms of the early minstrel stage banjos. Much of the material of the Skirtlifters is based around his collection of nineteenth century banjo, mandolin and violin instruction books and sheet music. Clarke teaches banjo, fiddle, mandolin and guitar in Fayetteville, Arkansas, performs with the North Arkansas Symphony and is Orchestra Director for the American Banjo Fraternity. Jim Lansford: Fiddle and Mandolin A native of northern New Jersey, Jim's understanding of numerous fiddle styles has led him to tour professionally throughout the country with several Ozarks-based music shows. He has lived in the Ozarks of Arkansas and Missouri for the last fifteen years. Jim is a collector of antique stringed and free-reed instruments. Richard "Curly" Miller: Fiddle and Mandolin Curly's able assistance on both mandolin and violin adds to the rich texture of our arrangements. His inventiveness and understanding of music comes from being born into a musical family, from practical ensemble experience and from a wide interest in ethnic music. Pete Howard: Bass Pete, a native Arkansan, studied violin at the University of Arkansas, and has performed as a member of the Fort Smith and North Arkansas Symphony Orchestras as well as several folk ensembles in Fayetteville. He has as ongoing interest in folk music of all areas of the globe, and is currently teaching in the Fayetteville Public Schools *taken from promotional Skirtlifters material of the 1990's |
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SKIRTLIFTERS STORE RECORDINGS: |
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![]() ![]() Footlight Favorites Old Joe/Indian Ate A Woodchuck The Hartford Jig/A Creole Dream/The Fire Alarm The Smiler (Joplin Rag) Texas Gals/Pike's Peak By The Watermelon Vine (Lindy Lou) Buckley's Walk Around The Washington Post March March "Impromptu" Garden City Reel Dixie Girl I've Got A Bulldog/Fort Smith Breakdown Whistling Rufus Old Bowery Jig/Wabash Jig The Celebrated Skirtlifter Waltz (Otto's Waltz) Fire Alarm $15.00 + s&h ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Select Skirtlifters Performances 1987- 1995 |
1987 | |
Osage Valley Pumpkin Festival | Osage, Arkansas |
The Oyster Bar | Little Rock, Arkansas |
Georges Majestic Lounge | Fayetteville, Arkansas |
The Crescent Hotel | Eureka Springs, Arkansas |
1988 | |
Brandywine Mountain Music Convention | Delaware |
The Station Inn | Nashville, Tennessee |
The Ozark Folk Center | MMountain View, Arkansas |
Ramblin' Conrads | Norfolk, Virginia/span> |
Silver Dollar City Music Festival | Branson, Missouri |
National Traditional Country Music Association's Festival | Avoca, Iowa |
Osage Valley Pumpkin Festival | Osage, Arkansas |
George's Majestic Lounge | Fayetteville, Arkansas |
Reeds Spring House Concert Series | Reeds Spring, Missouri |
Parker Mountain Bluegrass Festival | Springdale, Arkansas |
The Rose & The Thistle- The Fiddle & Bow Society | Winston Salem, North Carolina |
Osage Valley Pumpkin Festival | Osage, Arkansas |
1989 | |
The Old Farmers Ball | Swannanoa, North Carolina |
The Arkansas Folk Festival | Mountain View Arkansas |
The Ozark Folk Center | Mountain View Arkansas |
Ozark Foothills Guild Show | Mountain View, Arkansas |
The Station Inn | Nashville, Tennessee |
Silver Dollar City Music Festival | Branson, Missouri |
HHouse Concert Series at The Vandervert Center | Springfield, Missouri |
Mid-America Bluegrass Jamboree to Benefit American Cancer Society | Sedalia, Missouri |
Osage Valley Pumpkin Festival | Osage, Arkansas |
Old Town Grain & Feed | Fort Smith, Arkansas |
The Folk Life Festival | Hannibal, Missouri |
Parker Mountain Bluegrass Festival | Springdale, Arkansas |
Riverfest | Little Rock , Arkansas |
Mud Island Festival | Memphis, Tennessee |
Osage Valley Pumpkin Festival | Osage, Arkansas |
1990 | |
Piccolo Spoleto Festival | Charleston, South Carolina |
The Ozark Folk Center | Mountain View, Arkansas |
The Arkansas Folk Festival | Mountain View, Arkansas |
Ozark Foothills Guild Show | Mountain View, Arkansas |
Warren Wilson College | Ashville, North Carolina |
The Black Mountain Festival | Black Mountain, North Carolina |
McDibbs | Black Mountain, North Carolina |
Chicago Barn Dance | Chicago, Illinois |
David Adler Cultural Center | Libertyville, Illinois |
Ragtime Rendezvous | Union Station, St. Louis, Missouri |
Calvin Opera House "In One Era And Out The Other " | Washington, Missouri |
Elkhorn Valley Festival | Freemont, Nebraska |
Old Town Grain & Feed | Fort Smith, Arkansas |
Teachers Association Annual Picnic | Cosmic Caverns, Missouri |
Riverfest | Little Rock , Arkansas |
Old Time Days | Fort Scott, Kansas |
The Sunfest | Bartlesville, Oklahoma |
Osage Valley Pumpkin Festival | Osage, Arkansas |
Old Town School of Folk Music and Dance | |
1991 | |
The Ozark Folk Center | Mountain View, Arkansas |
The Arkansas Folk Festival | Mountain View, Arkansas |
Chicago Barn Dance | Chicago, Illinois |
Minnesota Bluegrass & Old Time Music Festival | Minnesota |
Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival | Sedalia, Missouri |
Ragtime Rendezvous @ The Scott Joplin House | St. Louis, Missouri |
The Station Inn | Nashville, Tennessee |
Annual AFL/CIO Picnic | Winslow, Arkansas |
The 36th Club | Fayetteville, Arkansas |
Fall Creek Resort | Branson, Missouri |
Teachers Association Annual Picnic | Cosmic Caverns, Missouri |
Friends Of The Church | Reeds Spring, Missouri |
Reeds Spring Fall Fest | Reeds Spring, Missouri |
Riverfest | Little Rock , Arkansas |
Osage Valley Pumpkin Festival | Osage, Arkansas |
Old Town School of Folk Music and Dance | |
1992 | |
Art Center Of The Ozarks - Bernice Jones Theatre | Springdale, Arkansas |
Annual AFL/CIO Picnic | Winslow, Arkansas |
1993 | |
James Scott International Ragtime Festival | Carthage, Missouri |
Ragtime Revelry | Kansas City, Missouri |
Rawhide Festival | Sedalia, Missouri |
1994 | |
Springfield Arts Council "First Night Festival" | Springfield, Missouri |
Mid America Arts Alliance Concert | University of Central Arkansas |
Willow Tree Festival | Gordon, Nebraska |
The Iron Horse | Eldorado, Kansas |
1995 | |
Cross Currents House Concert | Kansas City, Missouri |
Mid-American Arts Alliance Concert | University of Southern Arkansas |
Kansas Arts Alliance | St. Francis, Kansas |
Other Skirtlifters Performances | |
Boyd Music Center | Little Rock, Arkansas |
David Adler Cultural Center | Libertyville, Illinois |
The Unitarian Church Concert | Little Rock, Arkansas |
Siloam Springs Arts Council | Siloam Springs, Arkansas |
Overton Park Band Shell | Memphis, Tennessee |
The Video Saloon | Bloomington, Indiana |