Son of the Father, of Bakersfield Sound. By Hank-Ray
GET READY FOR A HURRICANE!GET READY FOR A HURRICANE! at the crystal palace 6th Aug (Top photo: By Dr. BLT, photo below by Dr. BLT; Roxie Thiessen photoshop, all other photos by Ray Harwood) A city struggling to find a new identity, or maybe retrieve a lost glory, since they lost their soul; the architect of the Bakersfield Sound, Buck Owens. The Bakersfield sound was a genre of country music developed in the mid- to late 1950s in and around Bakersfield, California. Bakersfield country was a reaction against the slickly-produced, string orchestra-laden Nashville Sound, which was becoming popular in the late 1950s. Buck Owens and the Buckaroos and Merle Haggard and the Strangers are the most successful artists of the original Bakersfield sound era. Fender Telecaster "twang" with a driving beat! Recently a large apportionment has been allotted to, restore North of the Kern River in Oildale, where much of the magic took place half a century ago. Included in the renovation a giant mural of the Bakersfield sound; Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and the ghostly images of the dust bowl migration. Many of the cities 322,500 Bakersfieldians don’t care, some even despise the legacy, and older country acts such as Hank Ray, The Blackboard Playboys, and Dr. Bruce Thiessen play in dark corners of the Bakersfield night without much fan fair, the Buck Owens Crystal Palace remains somewhat of a tourist destination. There has been a VERY slight swell in the tide of Bakersfield country music recently with, younger, local Punk and Metals bands picking up telecasters and playing a heavier revitalized Bakersfield sound, the anthem being “Streets of Bakersfield”, made popular by the classic duet of Buck Owens and Dwight Yokam, many years ago. In 2005 a young punk band called the Kookoonauts received a fair amount of airplay on the local station, KRAB radio with a cow-punk song called Searching, the guitar was defiantly “TWANG” and the driving drums numbed the indo-cranial cavities. The band was disbanded when the guitarist was badly beaten in one of the downtown venues on brutal streets of Bakersfield. The iron Outlaws are a fantastic Bakersfield country band with definite “Bad Religion’ overtones, especially with their tune “If I could only die for love”. We are sure to see huge things from them, and I am sure some young Bakersfield ladies have hung out wanted posters on these Iron Outlaws! As far as perpetuating the legacy of the Bakersfield sound, it is coming soon, like a tsunami on the horizon, and it is coming from the very house of Buck. I had just gotten through touring all the old abandon Bakersfield Honkytonks from the golden age of “Nashville West” with Mr. Lloyd Reading, an alumnus of the 1930s “Blackboard craze”. When Lloyd’s daughter Anna told me her son was also into country music, this sparked more than just a flash interest and when I heard the bands demo the ink in my pen began to boil over. The band had so much drive, power and freshness it blew me away, I must have listened to it over and over a hundred times or more, and I am actually listening to it now as I put pen to paper. The band sounds to me like a cross between Alan Jackson and Social Distortion; with some Mavericks thrown in for good measure!
The name of the band is “Buckshot” and they are locked and loaded, fully loaded for buck, Buck that is, for one of the lead singers is John Owens, son of the father, of the Bakersfield Sound. John has been a hard working ranch hand and foreman on the Owens’ Horse Ranch for most of his life; he is the quintessential American Cowboy persona and carries himself in accordance. He is a caricature the west; speaks in a direct manner, he is reserved with facial expression and tone. When we first met, I couldn’t help reflecting on the 1993 western movie classic “Tombstone”; when the character Mr. Fabian (the young actor) stated to Josephine Marcus (as they exit the stage coach), when it first arrives in the dusty streets of Tombstone: “you've set your gaze upon the quintessential frontier type. Note the lean silhouette... eyes closed by the sun, though sharp as a hawk. He's got the look of both predator and prey”. John Owens has none of attributes of a musician, save one; he has a voice bestowed on him from the father; his father, the father of the Bakersfield sound. Mr. Owens truly has the best country music voice I have ever heard. Aside from his extraordinary voice, his band is the perfect mix of talent. Meeting the band was much like the David Allen Coe song; “Desperado's Waiting on a Train” , they area group of friends that like to hang out together and maybe share a frosty adult beverage, one day at the beach they discovered John had the Owens gift. David Allen, rhythm guitarist, whom started his music career when he got out of the Navy, plays a beautiful flamed Fender Telecaster. The Fender Telecaster is the guitar that defined the original “Nashville West” rebellion decades before. David, like all the members of the band are hard core Bakersfield born and bred, most are relatives of country royalty but they all kept it pretty close to the vest. Despite their country roots, all the band members came from an assortment of local heavy metal bands that have been shaking the walls of Bakersfield for the last decade. David traded in his beloved Fender Stratocaster for the telecaster for this new venture. When I asked David to describe “Buck Shots” music, he relaxed his arms over his Telecaster, turned his head toward the band and remarked: “You gotta look, we got a bunch of rock guys with an old school country guy so of course it’s going to have an edge, and it’s almost southern rock”.
Simon Faughn, as John Owens points out, is as far from country- in appearance- as a person could be; shaved head, Mr. Spock side burns, and two “sleeves” of tattoos down his arms. Simon sings lead along with John and their voices blend perfectly with each other. Simon describes his music relationship and influences with “Buckshot as such”: Once we start writing our own music, that’s when our real distinctive sound will emerge. Our roots will shine through; Hank III is my absolute favorite. The influential roots I pull from go way back, I like that old boon-docks –hillbilly-red neck sound, I LOVE THAT! John and I are the two lead singers and we go back and forth; he will highlight one song and then I’ll highlight the next and then we may do a duet.” Simon has played in many local metal bands over the years, in fact he is also concurrently in a popular metal band called 800LBS Gorilla, and where does and 800 lbs Gorilla sleep? Any where he wants to, even the world famous, Buck Owens ranch!
Mike Martin holds down the post of lead guitar and backup vocals, he sports a red white and blue Fender Telecaster in the tradition of Buck Owens, whose songs they cover so well. Mike screeches and twangs like the old masters and I am sure Buck would have approved. His vocal high notes are reminiscent of Buck's partner in rhyme, Don Rich. Like most of the dudes in the band Mike's family was steeped in the early Bakersfield music scene, his mother Anna was the one whom introduced us, his Grandfather, Lloyd Reading, was involved in the late 1930s honkytonk circuit.
The rhythm section of Buckshot is made up of DD Boutros on bass and Colby Swank on drums. They too came from “metal” backgrounds and sharpened their chops in Myndsick. Colby and DD create a wall of driving sound that sets the canvas for what is sure to be called a “new Bakersfield sound” masterpiece! They started getting together and casually jamming at the Owens ranch, even today they say it is mostly for fun, from my perspective, phenomena.
Bryan Harwood on the Rockwell Country Music Show, Will be on TV this Wensday Night! Bryan will perform his new song "Good Friends" about his historic friends Buck Owens, Hank Williams and Johnny Cash. Filming was rapped up tonight at Trout's Historic Black Board Stage. Bryan has been performing in Bakersfield for several years.
Jammin’ in Bakersfield -- The first Monday of every month bluegrass jam at Rusty’s Pizza in Bakersfield is happening tonight. Hosted by Kelvin Gregory, the jam takes place from 6-9 p.m. and Rusty’s (in Von’s Shopping Center) is located at 5430 Olive Drive. For more information contact Kelvin at (661) 392-7973 or kelvin@gregspetro.com.
It is like "stone soup", one guy had a pot and he puts a stone and hot water in it and everyone in town puts a piece of food in it until it is soup. One at a time folks come in with their music instument until a hot bluegrass jam cooks up.
BAKERSFIELD By: Mike Ness, Social Distortion. (AS played by Hank Ray)
Take me down that line. Iv’e got a heavy load I can’t seem to make it on my own Turn the lights down low I can’t seem to get you Get you out of head Stranded here in Bakersfield, You seem so close yet far away Stranded here in Bakersfield, You’re a million miles away.
I feel the heat comminn down. Can’t make it through this day. I can’t hardly fake it I can’t fce this dayaWas it something that I said? Something that I didn’t do? 18 hours more till can be with you. Stranded here in Bakersfield, You seem so far away Stranded here in Bakersfield, You’re a million miles away. Will you come be with me in Bakersfield I am a million years away.
Talking part: I walked out of that lonely truck stip with my head down, How the fuck did I get into this mess. What would Buck Owens have done? He would have gone home and grabbed that old guitar and wrote a love song, Not just any love song, The one that would make a grown man brake down and cry.
Stranded here in Bakersfield, You seem so far away Stranded here in Bakersfield, You’re a million miles away. Will you come be with me in Bakersfield I am a million years away.
Photo by: Buddy Allen Owens Played The Crystal Palace Last Night
Buddy Owens played some songs off his record last night as well as an awsome medley of his father Buck Owen's songs. Buddy's step father, Merle Haggard, had many of his songs played as well.
Buddy Allen Owens (Buck Owens's son. This photo was taken by BLT with Hank Ray
Kim Macabe was Buddies co-singer and she sand just as good as she did with Buck Owens years ago.
DATA FROM ANSWERS.COM : "Singer, songwriter and guitarist Buddy Alan, born Alvis Alan Owens, is the son of country legends Buck and Bonnie Owens. While growing up in Bakersfield, California, he listened to country and rock & roll and formed his first rock band, the Chosen Few, at the age of 14. He switched to country music by his late teens and in 1965 moved to Arizona with his mother and her new husband Merle Haggard. That year he also sang for the first time at one of his father's Christmas concerts.
Buddy Alan's first single, a duet with Buck called "Let the World Keep on a Turnin'," was released by Capitol in 1968 and made it to the Top Ten. That same year, he also recorded his first solo single, "When I Turn Twenty One," written by stepfather Haggard; this one made it to the Top 60. By 1969, Alan had spent a summer touring with the Buck Owens Show and was working at a country music nightclub. That year he released two more singles and also recorded his first album, Wild, Free and Twenty One. He then joined his father's All American Show and continued touring the country. His popularity grew, and he starred in his own shows and made regular appearances as a soloist and musician on Hee Haw for the next seven years. Alan again made it to the charts in 1970 with the single "Santo Domingo." In late 1970, he and Buckaroo lead guitarist Don Rich recorded the popular "Cowboy Convention," and Alan was named Most Promising Male Artist by the ACM. From 1971-1975, Alan continued to release modestly successful singles. Alan was signed to Capitol Records for eight years, but despite his initial promise as a performer, he never made it to the big time. Alan left the music business in 1978 to attend college in Arizona. He then went back to radio as Buddy Alan Owens and became the music director at two local stations in Tempe, Arizona. He was voted Billboard's Music Director of the Year four years running during the late '80s and early '90s. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Music Guide"
Bakersfield Knap-In, 10 Years Of Photos By Dennis Mahan
Monthly Flintknapping Flintknappers still “Knap-in” after 10 years By Dennis Mahan Flintknappers from near and far gathered in Bakersfield’s Hart Park on Sunday to mark the ten-year anniversary of the longest-running monthly “Knap-in” in the world. The Bakersfield Knappers, started by Gary Pickett, Ray Harwood, Danny Raines and Sherry Pauley, meet the first Sunday of every month to practice the ancient art of making stone tools such as arrowheads, knives and other projectile points. “I like the camaraderie,” said Harwood, 49, of Bakersfield, who is an archaeologist with a degree from California State University, Northridge. “We advance our knowledge by keeping in practice and sharing ideas.” Harwood and other group members give Pickett a lot of the credit for the group’s progress and success. “Gary is an excellent teacher. He has the gift of teaching and has a lot of patience with us,” said Jim Boatman, 61, of Tehachapi. Pickett’s interest in flintknapping came more than 20 years ago when he began finding old arrowheads in the creeks of southern Missouri where he grew up. He was fascinated by the arrowheads and thought he could make them himself. “I just started beating two rocks together,” said Pickett, 44, who moved to Bakersfield in 1997. It was five years of trial and error before he made much progress, but moving to Bakersfield and meeting Harwood through a flintknapping Web site helped both of them progress faster. They decided to meet every month and work on rocks, but didn’t expect for the small group to grow like it did. “I’m pleased with the progress and the people it’s brought,” said Pickett. Every meeting brings folks from all over the state — Inglewood, Ridgecrest and Sacramento — and even from out of state. One man visiting California from Louisiana heard about the group and came out for a visit. Flintknapper Fred Swanson comes from Weldon for the experience he gets from talking with Pickett. He feels that flintknapping can be good therapy. “You get hooked on it. It’s an enjoyable, relaxing endeavor. You get started and you kind of forget about everything else,” said Swanson. For anyone interested, the group will provide the tools, rocks and lessons to get started during the “Knap-in.” For those who would like to get started on their own, tools include deer antler, hammer stones and the more modern “copper bopper,” along with a chunk of obsidian rock. The next demonstration will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, near the east entrance of Hart Park. For more information go to www.lettherockroll.com.
“Giant Ants Ate the Blues Player,” an entry on Undead Backbrain
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Giant Ants Ate the Blues Player Kaiju Search-Robot Avery has discovered that Bakersfield, California country blues player Hank Ray is making a movie about giant ants.
Taking the classic truth-in-advertising approach to titles, it’s called Giant Ants Eat Bakersfield. It will be about 30 minutes long and the director hopes that it will be available online after a run at the Kern Country film festival. He’s billing it as:
The first Country Music Horror Film ever! It’s A Musical And It Has Giant Ants Eating Bakersfield.
Apparently, filming began about a year ago. Hank commented to Avery: “I filmed this all over Bakersfield. We almost got busted filming on the roof of the old BUCK OWENS recording studio. The film is not finished, and I sort of put it on the shelf. I have had some really good feed back lately so I will start on it again this weekend. Yours was the best feed back so far. I will keep you updated.”
So Avery’s enthusiasm for no-budget independent monster flicks may have caused a potential renaissance in the Bakersfield Giant Ant film industry.
Below is a conceptual image for the film (NOT the real advertising poster), which Hank bodgied up from a classic poster from one of his film’s inspirations, the greatest giant ant movie of all time — Them!
According to Hank, the giant ants are a metaphor for the way the New Country music has come in and taken control of the Old. Now that’s a metaphor that hasn’t been explored in giant monster films before this. He told the Backbrain:
Well, Bakersfield used to stand for an underground or rebellious response to Nashville country Music. When Buck Owens passed away a while back, I went to his funeral. I later wrote some songs about that and one was called “Giant Ants”. It was as though corporate music was like giant ants that took over country music and Bakersfield was one of the things the corporate ants ate. I suppose I am a nut.
Here are the lyrics of Hank’s song on the subject:
ACT ONE SONG: The old country music is gone
The old country music is gone You know it never had a chance The old country music is gone Corporate music killed it just like giant ants. Corporate music came to call Like some giant ants they killed it all I’d like to hear more like Clarence and Hank But big corporate music owns all the money in the bank The old country music is gone You know it never had a chance The old country music is gone Corporate music killed it just like giant ants America has sold it’s music out They forgot what Bakersfield and Nashville was all about? Watch ‘em on TV become a Nashville star I can’t believe it’s gone this far. The old country music is gone You know it never had a chance The old country music is gone Corporate music killed it just like giant ants.
The film is meant to be a take-off of those really old B-moster movies where the monsters are so fake that they are cool. Like the tree monster and some of the ones on the old Star Trek.
Anyway, I went to Buck Owen’s ranch and made a mini film of Buck’s son’s band BUCKSHOT for Brighthouse. It showed on cable. That’s how it started. I have others that are helping — Dr. B.L.T., a local song writer, and some local hot-rod club members. My friend Ron Ramos, who almost got pinched on the Buck Owen’s studio roof, helped a lot.
The reason we had to get on the roof was, the studio had just sold, so we made a sign — like the studio was still open and put it on the marquee . Then we took a giant ant off an old pest control truck and painted it with rubberized undercoat, so it looked better. After that I bought some fake human skulls at the holloween store in Bakersfield and some dry ice for smoke.
One night I was wrestling the ant under the giant Bakersfield Arch sign at Buck Owen’s Chrystal Palace. It was so bizarre a sight that the 99 Freeway slowed to a crawl above the Palace.
A lot of the film footage got ruined when I spilled beer on it at a local honky tonk where I’d been filming.
Ah, the unique difficulties that come with country music monsterdom!
Below is a clip of Hank singing a song about a mastodon:
Woody’s Dream
Good luck with the film, Hank.
Source: Hank Ray via Kaiju Search-Robot Avery Hank Ray’s Journal Hank’s MySpace page (where you can hear more of his music)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About this entry You’re currently reading Published: Apr 19 2009 / 10:03 am Category: Big Bugs, Film, Giant Monsters, Kaiju Search-Robot Avery, Music, News
3 Comments Jump to comment form | comments rss | trackback uri Avery
04.19.09 / 10am A country musical with giant insects?! I can’t wait to see more from this cool little big bug flick! It looks like a blast. Hank’s a great guy too! Lots of fun!
Giant Ants Ate the Blues Player
04.19.09 / 10am [...] Original post by Undead Backbrain [...]
Topics about America » Archive » Giant Ants Ate the Blues Player
04.20.09 / 2am [...] After Armageddon created an interesting post today on Giant Ants Ate the Blues PlayerHere’s a short outlineKaiju Search-Robot Avery has discovered that Bakersfield, California country … America has sold it’s music out [...]
"As of late many knappers are creating ever larger pieces of lithic art in the form of huge bifaces. Emery Coons reportedly percussion bifaced a 50 inch preform and managed a 40 inch finished neofact. I wrote the Coon's family and requested information and a photo by received no response. At the California knap in this year, large the key word. Many from other states, such as Coons in Oregon, are also thinking large and obsidian suppliers are selling more mega slabs than ever. Named the Orcutt syndrome after an old time knapper named Ted Orcutt, whom was known for his massive biface work. More later..." Ray Harwood Aug. 30. 2000
Emory Coons; Big Blade Maker : By Ray Harwood
Emory trade mark eagle.
Emory, the young prodigy. "I told that kid to leave my rocks alone, he would cut himself, he was 5 years old - DARN KID IS STILL BRAKING MY ROCKS!" - DAD
Emory's work. 2
Emory's work. 3
Emory 4
Two of my first flintknapping buddies were Jim Winn and Barney DeSimone. During the old days they starting going up to Glass Buttes and they would tell me stories of the great biface knappers they had up there. One such knapper was really good at the giant blades and he was just a kid.
His name is Emory Coons and he is one of the few big blade makers in the world. His biggest to date is 41 inches finished (mud sedimentary) and he has a 47 inch (world record) pumpkin blade in the shop waiting to be finished. Emory keeps his blades thicker than Cole’s because he transports them to a lot of shows. He sometimes makes them thinner or even pressure flaked. He has been chipping large blades since the 1990's and most have been 20 to 36 inches. If you are interested in purchasing a large blade he is only limited to what pops out of the ground for color and length. Most large blades are out of silver sheen obsidian, pumpkin or red are harder to find and several out of dacite it's a steel grey color. But you never know what color the next large chunk will be.
Above photo is a 42 inch flake. The 18 lbs billet (The billet he got from Dan Stuber) is sitting above the pit, he used this to strike the rock and remove the monster spall.
One of my favorite stories is when Emory traded a 21 and a 31 inch blade for a Winchester riffle with Leopold scope. To make these giant blades Emory Coons digs a ditch and makes sure there are no rocks left in there that can cause vibration. The 30 lbs billet to the rock then as it gets smaller the 18 lbs billet then the 9 lbs, then, use a 1 inch solid or copper cap to build a lot of platforms to take massive flakes. The first stages involves alternate flaking, driving massive spalls off with a 9 pound copper Billet. For finer work he uses a 2 and a half inch copper bopper to reduce end shock. Barney DeSimone introduced Emory to copper billet technology when Emory was 16 years old and Steve Allely taught his copper platform preparation and use. Brian James was a big influence on horn platforms. Emory was introduced to flintknapping by his father, another great knapper, at the age of five years. Emory met Jim Winn a few years back and Jim began making large blades as well.
Emory makes three to four giant blades a year, this since he was 18 he is now 38. which is about 54 mega-blades to date. Emory is so good at spalling that people nearly kidnap him to reduce giant boulders. He is getting a 43 pound billet and the late Rick Woodram left him a 6 foot drag saw, so who knows what monsters may emerge.
Emory 10, blades
Emory 11. dacite blade
Emory 8. knapping
Emory 9. Face off
Emory 12. dacite blade
Emory 13. blade
Emory with Jim Winn 14
Emory 15
Emory 7 A News Paper Emory 7 B News Paper Emory 6, NewsPaper.
Emory 5, in News Paper.
BIO: Emory Coons was born in Burns Oregon in 1971 and started flintknapping at the age of five, 33 years ago. He has resided in Burns most of his life and attended Burns Union High School winning awards in the crafts department for jewlery two different years. He has been perfecting his skills as a artist ever since, flintknapping, silversmith, lapidary and teaching his craft to others. He has been on OPB on The Caveman at Glass Buttes and Channel 2 News Boise Idaho about the Nyssa rock and gem show multiple times. Several news paper articles have been written on his art from gem and mineral shows he has attended in Nyssa Oregon, Burns Oregon, Madras Oregon, The Dalles Oregon, Pendleton Oregon, Mission Oregon, Salem Oregon and the Oregonian in Portland Oregon and Golden Dale Washington. The Pendleton Mission papers had a mention for round-up as well as the blades he chipped were built into the Umatilla Veterans’ Memorial. He has taught classes in flintknapping at Indian Lake for the Umatilla tribe four years also the wild horse atl-atl demonstration as well as Pipestone Creek Alberta Canada and in Medicine Hat British Colombia Canada for the Jr. Forest Wardens, at Northern Lights out of Slocan Canada twice, also demonstrated flintknapping along the Oregon Wagon Train in 1993, Baker interruptive center, and Windows to the Past for the BLM and Forest Service. Then there's knapp-ins (arrowhead makers conventions) at Glass Buttes Oregon, Ed Thomas Golden Dale Washington knap-in, Richardson’s rock ranch knap-in and the Brad Boughman- Jim Hopper Knapp-in on the upper North Umqua some of the worlds best knappers come to these events to show there skills and teach. Emory attends gem and mineral shows like the Confederated show in Onterio, Nyssa Thunder Egg Days, Prineville Oregon, Hines Oregon Obsidian Days show his father started and the Madras, Oregon gem and mineral show. At these shows he can find most of the exotic materials from other countries, like fire opal from Australia, Brazilian agate, Condor agate from Central America, or crystals, Idaho star garnets and other gems to make arrowheads or jewlery out of. The Fire Obsidian is one of his favorites to find and work. His work can be seen at Boise University (display), Omsi (display), Great Basin Art in Prairie City, Oards 'War Hawk'(tomahawk heads assembled by Great Basin Art), The Edge Company magazine (War Hawks), or some of the local Burns stores. Most of his work has been sought after by private collectors and as gifts. His friend in The Dalles, Jason Hinkle, has oregonthundreggs.com and has put a web page up for Coons Lapidary with pictures and contact information for the selling of his art.
Notes: Progression of age pictures are numbers 1,13,10,8,4,9,14,15,11,12,oldest to now, the eagle was made 3 days ago, the first picture, at the top of the article, knapped inbetween snow storms.
11 is silver scheen obsidian, the one pictured with Jim Winn is dacite and picture 15 is the mud sedamentry.
Emory Coon's axes and Danish Daggers(above).'War Hawk'(tomahawk heads assembled by Great Basin Art)
BALLAD OF EMORY COONS
By Hank Ray
I once new a man named Emory Coons He lived out in the woods just like- Daniel Boone. He knew how to live out off the land Just like Ted Orcutt and Ishi the Indian man.
Emory made giant blades out of obsidian and flint He stayed out at Glass Buttes in a canvas tent. He learned how to knap when he was very young even Errett Callahan couldn't believe what he done.
I once new a man named Emory Coons He lived out in the woods just like- Daniel Boone. He knew how to live out off the land Just like Ted Orcutt and Ishi the Indian man.
"As of late many knappers are creating ever larger pieces of lithic art in the form of huge bifaces. Emery Coons reportedly percussion bifaced a 50 inch preform and managed a 40 inch finished neofact. I wrote the Coon's family and requested information and a photo by received no response. At the California knap in this year, large the key word. Many from other states, such as Coons in Oregon, are also thinking large and obsidian suppliers are selling more mega slabs than ever. Named the Orcutt syndrome after an old time knapper named Ted Orcutt, whom was known for his massive biface work. More later..." Ray Harwood Aug. 30. 2000
MEGA BLADE KNAPPING WITH COLE HURST By Ray Harwood
PHASE ONE OF COLE'S MEGA BLADE:
PHASE TWO OF COLE'S MEGA BLADE:
PHASE 3 OF COLE'S MEGA BLADE
THESE PHOTOS OF COLE KNAPPING SHOWS THE IMPORTANCE OF SUPPORTING THE BIFACE DURING THE CAREFUL PRECISSION KNAPPING PROCESS. The slightest mistake can lead to disaster, in that a lot of time and effort on a very rare piece of stone is gone in a fraction of a second....stone is a very unforgiving medium to work with. TED ORCUTT UNDOUBTEDLY KNAPPED WITH THE SAME PROCESSES.
.
COLE HURST: MEGA BLADE KANPPER
Many have heard of the large biface knapper of the last century, Ted Orcutt,. Many don’t know that there is an every growing number of modern flintknappers that are following in Orcutt’s foot steps. I plan to showcase as many of these new obsidian biface masters as I can. Here is the first mega blade knapper, Cole Hurst.
Cole Hurst was born October 14th 1960 in Fort Madison, Iowa and within a few years his family moved to East Wenatchee, Washington where he still resides. Growing up he found arrowheads, scrapers and fragments of stone artifacts which sparked his curiosity in how they were made. Cole started flintknapping in the mid 80's when he was in his mid 20's. Cole Hurst didn’t know what I was doing, just experimenting. It was in the late 80's that he got a copy of "The art of Flintknapping" by D.C. Waldorf. Then later he met D.C. in 1990 when he was there in East Wenatchee with the Buffallo Museum of Science to take part in one of the digs at the Richey Clovis site, which is only a few miles from where he lives. That is when Cole’s knapping really took off. He has made several trips to Glass Buttes to quarry Obsidian, also e has networked with other flintknappers to aquire stone from all over the United States and around the world. Cole bought a rocksaw to conserve on materials as well as a kiln for heat-alteration.
Cole has held the Wenatchee knap-in since 1995. Cole is a member of Knappers-R-Us since it's beginning in 2001 and has a page on www.Flintknappers.com/cole.htm . Cole has chipped different point types found across the U.S. Cole has played with many different styles of knapping. Danish, Egyptian, Mayan Eccentrics, paralell pressure and percussion flaking and Flake over Grinding. Through the 90's his main focus was the Wenatchee style Clovis points. Cole made many and tried several different fluting techniques with pressure jigs, today it is direct percussion fluting. In the mid to late 90's Cole wanted to make larger pieces and began making the large bi-faces, his first deer dance blades. Since that time, the large Clovis points and Ceremonial blades is about 80 percent of Cole’s knapping. He has made many up to 16 or 18" and the quest for even larger blades has lured him. Finding material large enough is a quest in itself. Just in the last few years have Cole found pieces up to and beyond 24". Currently Cole is working on a pair of blades that may exceed 28” -“Some may think using slabs is kinda cheating. I don't. Much harder to get into with all the squared edges and fragility. Not to mention getting more than one centerpiece by spalling.”- Without slabs hundreds of pounds of obsidian would be wasted, when one boulder can produce one or two giant blade on a good day, if sawn with a diamond saw these precious large pieces can yield dozens of large to giant blades. These giant blades are indeed rare and precious. With many of the lithic sources being considered for National Park status, these quarries will be off limits forever, and the time of the giant blades will end, and their value increase many times over,
Who was Ted Orcutt?
Ted Orcutt, The Karok Master, King of the Flintknappers. at the he turn of the last century there were many flintknappers working at their craft. One of these knappers stands out among the rest as he carried on a sacred tradition, the white deer knapper. The White Deer knapper had the honor of knapping the massive obsidian blades for the world renewal ceremony known as the White Deer Dance. The White Deer Dance was very a huge undertaking and organizers spent years planning for one event. The event was not only time and labor intensive but was also financially very costly. To make things work out, each tribe took a turn hosting the event that often lasted 3 solid days. The actual dance involved dancers carrying stuffed albino dear skins on polls followed by obsidian dancers that carried a set of two- twin, massive obsidian bi-faced blades tied in the middle with a buck skin thong. He who knapped the sacred, giant, ceremonial blades for the Karok, Hupa and Yurok was a man of honor. The man who last held this honor was known as king of the flintknappers, he was Theodore Orcutt. Theodore Orcutt was born February 25, 1862 near the Karok Indian settlement of Weitchpec on the Klamath River. Weitchpec is now at the upper or north edge of the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation in northern California. His mother was a full blooded Karok Indian, born at the Karok settlement of Orleans, Oleans is only a short distance from Weitchpec on Hwy 96, his father was a Scotsman. Theodore's father, Albert Stumes Orcutt had fair skin, blue eyes and light hair and was about 5.11 inches tall and ran Orcutt Hydraulic on the South fork of the Salmon River at Methodist creek, Albert came to this area from Maine where he was carpenter, although he had been a sailor earlier in life. Later in life Albert had a small farm and Orchard on the Klamath River. Theodore's mother, Panamenik -Wapu Orcutt, was closer to 5 foot 6 inches , with jet black hair, brown eyes and dark skin. His mother had the characteristic traditional female Karok tattoo on her chin, 3 vertical strait lines. At adolescence all traditional Karok girls had their chin tattooed with three vertical lines, or stripes. Using a sharp obsidian tool, soot and grease were stitched into the skin, the same tattoo was on the biceps. The tattooing was for several purposes all relating to gender and Klan affiliation. She was considered a good cook and hard worker, she could make baskets, new the ins and outs of herbalism and acted on occasion as a midwife. She also spoke both the Hokan language and English. Theodore's mother stayed close to him all his life and even in old age she made trips to visit with him. His mother lived to the advance age of 107 years old. In about 1865 young Theodore was given his Indian name, "Mus-su-peta- nac" translated to English means "Up-River-Boy", Karok traditional names were not given for several years after birth so if the child died at a young age they would not be remembered by name and the grieving would be less. The infant mortality rate for Karok in the late 1800s was not good, at the Federal census of 1910 there were only 775 Karoks living in 200 Karok homes. As a child, Theodore road his pony to the local one room school house and was a quite and good student. He was a quit boy and a very good writer, had excellent penmanship and was well read, he was, however largely self taught, because of his many other obligations. He helped around the house and was diligent in his chores. While the country was celebrating its first centennial, 1876, Ted was 14 years old and had begun his flintknapping apprenticeship with his Karok uncle "Mus- sey-pev-ue-fich" , his mother's brother, whom was a master flintknapper and was considered the village specialist. It was a great honor for Ted to be chosen to such a prestigious mentor (mentor- a wise and trusted counselor) and he practiced when ever he could. The raw material of choice for stone workers in northern California at the time was obsidian. Obsidian is a volcanic, colored glass, usually black, which displays curved lustrous surfaces when fractured. According to Carol Howe (1979) "the amount of control that a skilled workman can exercise over obsidian is amazing. Teodore Orcutt, a Karok Indian, one lived at Red Rock near Dorris, California. He learned the arrowhead maker's art from his father, who was the village specialist. The giant blade in figure 1, now in the Nevada Historical Museum at Reno, Nevada, is an example of his work, though not ancient, it represents the almost lost hertage of an ancient art. Orcutt told Alfred Collier of Klamath Falls that it took years of practice for him to became proficient." While still in his teens he began to master the art of flintknapping. First he learned the percussion method of knapping (Percussion method- the act of creating some implements by controlled impact flake detachment) and after several years he could reduce a fairly large mass of obsidian into a flat plate like biface (biface-a large spear head shaped blank with flake scars covering both faces), he was also becoming more adapt to the pressure flaking techniques with a hand held antler tine compressor (Pressure flaking- a process of forming and sharpening stone by removing surplus material with pushing pressure- in the form of flakes using an antler tine). His arrowheads, spear points and other flint work became quite nice and he began to experiment with eccentric forms and often knapped butterfly, dog, eagles and other zoomorphic (zoomorphic-abstract animal shaped art) and anthropomorphic (anthropomorphic-abstract human shaped art) forms out of fine quality, fancy obsidians provided to him by his uncle. He was also in his teens when he learned the art of bead weaver, brain tanning of hides and arrowsmithing. In 1885, Ted was 23 years old and spend nearly all his time after work flintknapping and crafting traditional Karok items. It was at this age that one morning Ted's uncle told him to get his bed roll as he was now ready to participate in the sacred act of collecting lithic material. This was an honor that Ted had looked forward to for many years and he was very excited. Ted ran back to tell his mother but she was already standing outside with Ted's bed role and some food she had prepared. Not only the obsidian collecting was important but the cerimonialism involved in doing so as well. Obsidian mining was something that had been done by hundreds of generations of Karok and it was not to be taken lightly. Before white mining laws came about, Native Americans relied on the concept of "neutral ground", even tribes which were bitter enemies could meet at the obsidian quarries and share knapping and lithic information. As their buckboard wagon arrived at the obsidian outcrop, Ted jumped out of his seat down into the dark damp soil, his boots leaving imprints in the half dried mud, it was early spring and the grass was vibrant green. Black obsidian chips glistened and sparkled all over the land scape. When Mus-su-petafich showed young Ted how to mine and quarry obsidian he first left an offering of tobacco, when he performed lithic reduction (lithic-greek for stone, term most often used in science, reduction-the miners often made preformed artifact blanks to lessen the bulk for transport) Mus-su-petafich drove the obsidian flakes off the core with a soft hammer stone. Large blocks of obsidian were quarried by splitting them off giant boulders with the use of fire. Mus-su-petafich would build a bon fire against the rock. As each flake came off, no matter what the method of extraction, he would set it in a pile and categorized them as his ancestors had and said "this one is for war, this one is for bear, this one is for deer hunting, this one is for trade, this one is for sale". The various piles were kept separate until they were knapped to completion and were all set aside for their original purpose. Mus- su-petafich told Ted why each flake (or spall) had a special purpose based on its form, structure, fracture-ability, texture, hardness and color. There was a different Karok word for each type and variability in the obsidian. Red obsidian was considered ritually poison and these were usually saved for war or revenge, at this time in history many of the customs had changed and Mus-su-petchafich made beautiful points for sale and trade with varieties of obsidian that were once reserved for the kill. There were numerous instances when Mus-su- petchafich had to obtain subsurface, unweathered material, but these were for the most part small pit mines. It took Ted many years of mentoring with his uncle before he began to fully understand the Karok lithic tradition. The two men made thousands of arrowheads, lithic art and traditional Karok costumes and marketed them, not only to traditional Indians but also, to a wealthy eastern clientele. As Ted got older flintknapping became an obsession, nearly all his extra time was spent either collecting extravagant lithic material or flintknapping, in bad whether and at night he would plan his strategy for some lithic challenge he was working on and his quest for every better lithic material began taking him farther and farther from home. Oregon's Glass buttes, Goose Lake, Blue Mt., in Northern California, Battle Mountain Chalcedony in Nevada Opal, agate and jasper from the coastal areas and the inland deserts. On several occasions Ted Orcutt made trips to Wyoming, the Dakotas and many locations in Utah and Idaho where he would find specific lithic materials for special orders. Herb Wynet was Orcutt's traveling partner and "sidekick" on many of these trips and Herb would do all the driving so his friend "Theo" could gaze out the car window at the country-side. Ted could look at the geology and topography of an area if he had been there before or not and give a good prediction, with great accuracy, where the lithic material would be, he was correct nearly every time. On these trips Orcutt kept a list of artifact orders on hand, this way he knew what lithic material to get and what to focus on at his afternoon knapping sessions on the road. In this manor Ted never fell behind on his orders while on his flint hunting adventures. In 1902 Ted moved to Red Rock Valley near Mount Hebron he was now 40 years old and his percussion biface knapping was becoming better than ever. In the earlier years Ted and his uncle had made I name for themselves among the Native Americans in their area by knapping the large White Dear Dance ceremonial blades for the White Deer Dance Rituals, Ted was now challenged by these massive blades and he had a compulsive need to go ever larger and more spectacular using many varieties of flint and obsidian to make ever more elaborate pieces. By 1905, at age 43 Orcutt was knapping hundreds of obsidian blades of massive size, his command over the percussion method of knapping was now unrepressed in the history of the world. In 1911 Ted was 49 years old when he got the job of postmaster of the Tecnor post office in Red Rock. It was August of the same year that Ted sat on the wooden bench outside his house and read about Ishi in the local newspaper, the whole thing with Ishi took place only a few miles from Ted's house, curiously, the Hokan language family encompasses both Yahi (Ishi's language) and Karok (Orcutt's language). It was a local joke to Ted people would say "hey Theo, did you hear Mr. Ishi is the last arrow head maker!" Ted was self-educated, read a good deal and by all accounts wrote a good hand. The job as postmaster was taxing and left little idle time to knap stone so in 1926, at the age of 62, he gave up the postmaster job and began hauling mail from Mt. Hebron, at Technor, in Red Rock Valley, first with horse and buggy and later in a Model T Ford, which Ted bought new. During this time Orcutt was knapping more than ever and was selling items through out the eastern United States, Europe and Museums through out the world. He had well received exhibitions at the California State Fair in Sacramento, a permanent display in the Memorial Flower Shop in Woodland, California and he had shipped his points to many hundreds of museums and collectors. He had a claim where he mined obsidian near Wagontire, Eastern Oregon. It was in this period also that Ted's ceremonial blades went from the 30 inch long giants to the 48 inch long monsters that made gave him the title "king of the flintknappers". This same time period Ted took a half ton block of glass Mountain obsidian and carefully and precisely knapped a 48 1/2 inch long ceremonial knife, which was 9 inches wide and only 1-3/4 inch thick. This massive bifaced blade still hold the world record for size, it rests in the Smithsonian Institute, a similar one is in the Nevada Historical Museum at Reno, Nevada. In the Natural History museum in Sacramento there is a massive collection of large Orcutt blades, 176 in all, they are in an old box marked "source unknown". The Southwest Museum in Los Angeles has many Orcutt blades and also some of the White Deer Dance costumes Ted made. As for the 48 inch blade, one witness to the giant blade manufacture heard Ted speak really softly while working on the giant blade, " I get awful nervous when I'm working on this, I'm afraid I'll break it just before I finish." It was not entirely unheard of for a collector to find a giant piece of a broken Orcutt bi-face. In 1983, I worked with Jerry Gates of the U.S. Forest service in Modoc County, in northern, California. My duties included surveys near the huge obsidian deposits at Lava Beds National Park in Lassen, County, California. I observed many chipping site, several were not ancient. One site had both obsidian flake scatters in context with old condensed milk cans, log cabin syrup cans and Prince Albert Tobacco cans. I still recall that the flakes were large percussion thinning flakes that appeared to be from biface reduction and were of an opaque green material. I was told by a local that he thought old sheep herders tried their hand at knapping in the early 1900s, but I had a different theory, I stood over the site, camp fire ring in the center can dump off to the side and reduction type flake refuse and I knew this is where Ted sat, perhaps with his uncle and reduced his preforms for transport back to the Somesbar area where Ted Lived at the time. At another such site I observed my first look at an Orcutt biface, it was just the base, and was a full 5 inches wide and an inch thick. The broken piece was 10 inches long and it was evident that it was less than half the piece. Jerry Gates, U.S.F.S. archaeologist in Modoc showed me yet another large fragment that was covered with lake moss, it was about a foot wide, less than an inch thick and about a foot and a half long- it was only a small piece of the mid section. The giant biface fragments were broken during flintknapping procedures. The giant bifacially flaked blades broke, most likely, from the effect of end shock, which is a transverse fracture caused by the obsidian exceeding its' elastic limits, when the impact is made. Failure of the material to rebound and recoil before desired fracture occurs, caused the preforms to snap apart in the center sections. End shock is the reason few knappers can make large percussion bifaces.
In May, 1946 Ted was 84 years old he moved to the L.D. Parson's Ranch, Ted still did quite a bit of knapping at the ranch and performed his duties including maintaining, grooming and shoeing the horses. Theodore Orcutt passed away later that year ending the rain of the "king of the flintknappers." Even today at the site of the old Parson's Ranch obsidian erodes silently from the earth where Ted left his waste flakes and stash. Unnoticed boulders of the material set as a silent and forgotten testament to the master Deer Dance Knapper. I have been asked several times in the last 25 years weather flintknapping was actually ever a true lost art. Flintknapping is one of the oldest crafts in the world and it is also one of the most enduring and actually was never lost. Many knappers, both in the Brandon gun flint factories and the reservations of the American Indian, it was never lost, it was interest in it that was lost but not the craft itself. Even the master Ted Orcutt did not leave this world without leaving his knowledge and is rumored to have had several devout students over his live time. One known student of Orcutt was Fred Herzog . Fred met Ted Orcutt in the late 1920s while both were working at Lew Parson's ranch and lumber mill in Oal Valley. According to Fred Herzog (1959) "Teds skill was beyond all imagination as he made points from 2/16 of an inch up to large spear points two feet long." Some speculate that Dr. Don Crabtree, whom knapped in the same style as Orcutt, may have met or at least observed Orcutt at work. Crabtree was known to have lived and worked in the northern California area during Orcutt's later years. Crabtree came to be known as the "Dean of American Flintknapping". Crabtree himself had hundreds of students and some of them are prominent knappers and archaeologists today. It is possible that while watching Crabtree's students we are seeing the Orcutt knapping style as it once was. After Theodore Orcutt passed away several have searched for clues to his legacy. Carol Howe, Eugene Heflin and myself. Eugene wrote a book called Up River Boy, but after Eugene passed away the book was never published. I am still seeking information and if you have any - please let me know. I published an article about Eugene's search for Ted in Indian artifact Magazine in 2001.
As many of my blog readers know, I am writing a series called “big blade blogs”, I have covered Theodore Orcutt, Emory Coons, Cole Hurst and know, Grog Verbeck. Although my fellow Bakersfieldians were acquainted with Grog, I having been out of the loop for quite some time, had never heard of him. It was quite serendipitous; I was on a trip to Anza Borrego desert with my eldest son James , he was returning home to U.C. Davis and gave me ride to a knap in near Sacramento on the way. There in the center ring was Grog Verbeck knapping out very large, monster bifaces. Grog is a long time student of the master knapper, Greg Ratzat of Neolithics fame, in fact he cooks for the class up at Glass Buttes.
According to “Gogslithicart.com: Grog Verbeck was raised in the small town of Staatsburg, on the great Hudson River in New York. He is descendant of the Cherokee tribe by way of his mother's full-blooded great grandmother and his great uncle served on the Osage tribal council. Since Grog was a young boy he had an interest in Indian artifacts and life skills including bow hunting, tanning and fire starting. In college he pursued Native American studies and new world archaeology. He made his first arrowhead as a boy and has been addicted to flintknapping as an art for nearly ten years.” Grog knaps boulders and spalls and an occasional giant slab. Grog obtains his lithic material from the glass buttes area of Oregon with his long time friend and mentor, Greg Ratzat.
Grog a chef by trade and runs a private chef service, HeyChef.com, in Lake Tahoe, California. “HeyChef! began serving Truckee in 1996 and focused on the private chef services of accomplished chef, Grog Verbeck. For more than a decade before landing in Truckee, Chef Grog served in New York as the private chef for Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas, where he prepared meals for their celebrated dinner guests from the theatre and political worlds, including presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton.” {http://www.heychef.com/assets/FactSheet_Generic_FINAL_email.pdf)
Ballad of Grog Verbeck
Grog, the from Cedar Bog, lives in the moutains with his old sheep dog.
Grog flint knaps giant obsidian blades and the sword in the stone If you want to by some lithic art call him on the phone.
As many of my blog readers know, I am writing a series called “big blade blogs”, I have covered Theodore Orcutt, Emory Coons, Cole Hurst and know, Grog Verbeck. Although my fellow Bakersfieldians were acquainted with Grog, I having been out of the loop for quite some time, had never heard of him. It was quite serendipitous; I was on a trip to Anza Borrego desert with my eldest son James , he was returning home to U.C. Davis and gave me ride to a knap in near Sacramento on the way. There in the center ring was Grog Verbeck knapping out very large, monster bifaces. Grog is a long time student of the master knapper, Greg Ratzat of Neolithics fame, in fact he cooks for the class up at Glass Buttes.
According to “Gogslithicart.com: Grog Verbeck was raised in the small town of Staatsburg, on the great Hudson River in New York. He is descendant of the Cherokee tribe by way of his mother's full-blooded great grandmother and his great uncle served on the Osage tribal council. Since Grog was a young boy he had an interest in Indian artifacts and life skills including bow hunting, tanning and fire starting. In college he pursued Native American studies and new world archaeology. He made his first arrowhead as a boy and has been addicted to flintknapping as an art for nearly ten years.” Grog knaps boulders and spalls and an occasional giant slab. Grog obtains his lithic material from the glass buttes area of Oregon with his long time friend and mentor, Graig Ratzat.
Grog a chef by trade and runs a private chef service, HeyChef.com, in Lake Tahoe, California. “HeyChef! began serving Truckee in 1996 and focused on the private chef services of accomplished chef, Grog Verbeck. For more than a decade before landing in Truckee, Chef Grog served in New York as the private chef for Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas, where he prepared meals for their celebrated dinner guests from the theatre and political worlds, including presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton.” {http://www.heychef.com/assets/FactSheet_Generic_FINAL_email.pdf)
The song link: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=55033732
Ballad of Grog, the frog from Cedar Bog By Hank Ray
Grog, the frog from Cedar Bog, lives in the mountains with his old sheep dog.
Grog flint knaps giant obsidian blades and the sword in the stone and small flakes of stone pressure flaked with bone.
Grog, the frog from Cedar Bog, lives in the mountains with his old sheep dog.
Grog, the frog from Cedar Bog, lives in the mountains with his old sheep dog.
The International Flintknappers ‘ Hall of Fame and Museum is encouraging individuals of all ages to “Be A Superior Example,” through a new education program as part of a new curriculum to promote healthy habits, while encouraging everyone to live free of drugs and other such substances or vices. It serves as the central point for the study of the history of flintknapping in the United States and beyond, displays flintknapping-related artifacts and exhibits, and honors those who have excelled in the craft, research/ writing, promoting events, and serving the knapping community and wilderness lifestyle.
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