website by Play Pretty Productions

The SkirtLifters playing Live in Brussels, Belgium

- The Premiere Concert String Band, with Clarke Buehling

The SkirtLifters
P.O. Box 744
Fayetteville, AR 72702-0744
479-442-5368
Email to buehlingbanjo @ yahoo.com

Schedule

Listen to Music Samples

Performance Photos

Promo Materials

"...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
*****

"A Ragtime Episode," the new CD by The Skirtlifters, now available!

Hear Samples Now! Read Reviews

Now available in stores and online at Elderly Instruments : www.elderly.com
or CDBaby : www.cdbaby.com. Hear some samples on our Sound Clips page!*****

See pictures from The Skirtlifters European tour, summer 2004

(Aileen's Waltz is (still!) on its way!)

The Skirtlifters are, from left: Clarke Buehling, banjos and vocals; Kent Beyette, dance and percussion; Thom Howard, guitar, vocals, mandolin and percussion; Tom Verdot, fiddle.

The Skirtlifters authentically recreate the music of the 19th century riverboat, stage and parlor, enlivened by period humor, skits, songs and percussive dance. Their repertoire includes jigs, reels, rags, galops, marches and waltzes. Programs range from Louisiana Purchase to Civil War to early 20th century Ragtime. Lecture - demonstrations are presented to many age levels on topics including traditional buckdancing, traditional American popular music, and workshops in banjo styles by internationally renowned banjoist Clark Buehling.

*****
"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 increrdible blend of square dance tunes, bizarre old songs, and early ragtime and pre-ragtime banjo pieces"
Bob Bovee, Inside Bluegrass
*****

The Skirtlifters on the Road

The Skirtlifters bring to audiences

Over One Hundred Years of American String Band Music

Refined Banjo Music Featuring the banjo playing of Clarke Buehling, eachSkirtlifters' performance can focus on a specified style or feature such diverse works as included in the program at right, performed by the Skirtlifters while touring Chicago and Wisconsin in April 2002. These programs were designed to include a broad range of musical styles and banjo technique, variations in instrumentation, and in this case, a special emphasis on regional composers.

*****
"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
*****

Sample Set of 19th century music
SET 1

Polka Medley: Lucy Long / Jim Crow
(c. 1840) Two stage characters from the 1830's and 40's
Wait for the Wagon / Waggon Jig
(1850's) a song by Knauf and Buckley followed by
a jig from Tom Briggs' Banjo Instructor
In A Dixie Dell
(1909) by Percy Jacques
Carve dat 'Possum, / Swaine Buckley's Jig
(1870's) a song by Sam Lucas followed by a jig
Tycoon Jig / Whelpley's Jig
(1860's) from Buckley's New Book
Chicago Civil War Medley:
Battle Cry of Freedom / Kingdom Coming /
Tramp / Marching Through Georgia
(1860's) by Chicagoans George Root and Henry Work
Woodland Park Waltz
(1892) by Thomas E. Glynn
Norton's Walk Around
(1870's) by A Baur
Camptown Races
(1850) a song by Stephen C. Foster
Roaring River / Natchez on the Hill
(late 1700's) Early American Fiddle Tunes
Hall's Blue Ribbon March
(1880's) by E.M. Hall
Fire Bell Galop
(1889) by R.J. Hamilton

(C) 2002 The Skirtlifters

Sample set of minstel and ragtime music
SET II

Hot Corn Jubilee
(c. 1905) by Paul Eno
Clare de Kitchen
(c. 1840) by T.C. Daddy Rice
Levee Pastime
(1891) arr. by Gad Robinson
Marcel's Rag
Thom Howard performs a modern guitar rag
by Marcel Dadi
Old Man's Dream
(1887) by George L. Lansing
Lindy Lou
(c. 1905) a song by Thomas S. Allen
A Ragtime Episode
(1900) by Paul Eno
Hi Flyer Stomp
Tom Verdot and Thom Howard perform a Violin and
Guitar Duet, their arrangement of a tune by The Hi Flyers
Old Johnny Boker
(c. 1830's) a song by Joel Walker Sweeney
St. Louis Tickle
(1904) by Theron Bennett
Georgia Grind
(1915) by Ford T. Dabney
Blaze Away!
(1901) a march by Abe Holzmann
Maple Leaf Rag
(1899) by Scott Joplin

And More than the Music

Residency services are available in the form of master classes, mini-performances and workshops - including making a gourd banjo - and are designed for specific community needs. The members of the group can all present seminars, master classes and workshops on such topics as banjo styles, buckdancing, improvisation, fingerstyle or classical guitar, fiddle playing, American music as a reflection of American culture, musical arrangement for string band and solo performance.

*****
"The music is entertaining and is played with a verve and fidelity that shows these players really understand the original tunes."
Hank Sapoznik, The Old -Time Music Herald
*****

Clarke Buehling & The Skirtlifters
P.O. Box 744
Fayetteville, AR 72702-0744
479-442-5368

REVIEWS of "A Ragtime Episode"
the newest CD from The SkirtLifters

"Interesting arrangements and a delightful program I thoroughly enjoyed it!"
-Chris Sands, British banjoist, recording artist and Mel Bay author.

"I love your CD - I listen to it every morning."
-V. Oliver, Skirtlifters fan

COMPACT DISC REVIEW published at www.ragtimers.org, January, 2005, by Jack Rummel

A Ragtime Episode
Clarke Buehling & The SkirtLifters
SL-2004

Fire Bell Galop / Creole Belles / Bowery Buck / Tickle Toes / The Old Man’s Dream / The Entertainer / Darktown Dandies / Palladium Rag / In a Dixie Dell / Blaze Away! / A Ragtime Episode / Carolina Tar Heel / Rag-Time Dance / Georgia Grind / Levee Pastime / Maple Leaf Rag / Sweet Corn / Hot Corn.

Long before anyone thought of creating piano rags from syncopated melodies, the five-string banjo was the star of the vaudeville stage. Plucked with the bare fingers, it remained popular from the 1880s well into the jazz age and its catchy rhythms may well have inspired a piano rag or two. It was give and take, as many early piano rags were also arranged for banjo and banjo-led groups.

That this tradition is even alive today is due almost single-handedly to the research and devotion of Clarke Buehling. Although the personnel of The SkirtLifters has altered over the years, it is Buehling that has kept the band’s sound consistently aimed at this early transitional period.

The arrangements feature mainly the banjo (in its various configurations) plus violin, guitar, second banjo and occasional cello. On most selections where the violin is present it is doubling the melody in unison with the banjo. When this is then combined with some active counterpoint on the guitar, the effect is quite stunning. However, when the violin, with its inherent ability to sustain a note, attempts harmony by teaming up with the banjo, which lacks any ability to sustain, the results are less than effective (The Entertainer would be a case in point).

There is a Who’s Who of banjo composers represented here in the likes of George Lansing (The Old Man’s Dream), Joe Morley (Darktown Dandies, Palladium Rag), Percy Jaques (Tickle Toes, In a Dixie Dell), and Paul Eno (A Ragtime Episode, Hot Corn), but the astute ragtimer will also recognize the names of Scott Joplin (The Entertainer, Rag-Time Dance, Maple Leaf Rag), J. Bodewald Lampe (Creole Belles), Tom Turpin (Bowery Buck), Ford Dabney (Georgia Grind) and Abe Holzmann, whose two-step Blaze Away! is extremely rare.

This is intended to be a period production, right down to the stilted solemnity of the performers in the cover photo. The sound quality and balance is quite good, considering the various wave lengths produced by the banjos, guitars, violin and cello. The liner notes cover the selections very well but unfortunately give no information on the band members. Clarke Buehling and The SkirtLifters have produced a fine album, preserving an oft-forgotten tradition in early American music. When it was played in those days, audiences clapped and people danced to it. You will, too.

Clarke Buehling Banjo

Performance Schedule

(With "The Skirtlifters" or others where noted)

JUNE 2009
Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival, Sedalia, MO

    Clarke Buehling and the SkirtLifters

Thursday, June 4, 2009
Ragtime Store, 12:00-12:30 Meet & Greet
Cakewalk Hall, 3:00-4:00, 1 hour Tea Dance

Friday, June 5, 2009
Katy Depot, 10:40-11:20
State Fair Comm. Coll., 7:00-10:00 w/others

Saturday, June 6, 2009
Katy Depot, 2:00-2:40
Maple Leaf Club Site, 3:20-4:00
Liberty Center, 7:00-10:00 w/others

The Skirtlifters Whee! Selected Past Performances

Brosella Folk & Jazz Festival, Brussels Belgium
Midi-Minimes concert series, Brussels, Belgium
Over Easy Bluegrass Festival, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh, Northern Ireland
Dublin City Center Holiday Inn, Dublin, Ireland
Somer Van St. Pieter concert series, Louven, Belgium
Rocky Mountain Ragtime Festival, with The Skirtlifters, Boulder CO
Carthage Ragtime Festival, Carthage, MO
Lewis & Clarke Signature Event, evening, St. Charles, MO
Scott Joplin House, St. Louis MO (repeat appearances, annual Rosebud Ball and special concerts)
Historic Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock, AR
FIGA (Fretted Instrument Guild of America) national conference, St. Louis, MO
Hogeye Concert Series, Evanston, IL
Washington House, Two Rivers, WI
Adler House, Chicago, IL
Mid-America Arts Alliance conference, Little Rock, AR
Fort Scott Good Old Days celebration, Fort Scott, KS
Mechanical Instruments Collectors convention, Springdale, AR
Broken Bow Festival, Broken Bow, OK (repeat appearances)
School concerts for TRIO, Osceola, AR & Blytheville, AR
Historic Arkansas Museum, Little Rock. AR (repeat appearances)
Delta Cultural Center, opening celebration 10-12 am, Fish Fry 3-5 pm
First Night Columbia, Columbia, MO
Ozark Society, Devil's Den, AR
Mountain Music Shoppe, Shawnee, KS

Clarke Buehling Banjo Selected Past Performances
Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival, Longford, Ireland
Ballymore Inn, Ballymore-Eustace, Ireland
Sixmilebridge Folk Club, County Clare, Ireland
The Dog & Partridge Pub, Bollington (Near Macclesfield), England
Cecil Sharp House, with Pete Stanley, London, England
American Old Time Music and Dance Club, Rainham Oast Community Center (London) England
Program of Afro-American Music, with Daniel Jatta & Ulf Jagfors, Stockholm Sweden
Swedish Ragtime Society, Stockholm, Sweden
Old-Time & Bluegrass society, Svaren Musik, Lerum Sweden
Concert/Seminar, Sonderborg, Denmark
Acoustic Guitar Store, Hamburg, Germany
Denver Folklore Center, Denver, CO
The Fort, Morrison, CO
Avogadro's Number, Fort Collins, CO
Rock Ledge Ranch, Colorado Springs, CO
George Washington Carver Nat'l Historic Site, Prairie Day Festival, Diamond, MO
Roots Banjo Instruction, Ozark Folk Center, Mountain View, AR
Black Banjo Gathering Conference, Boone, North Carolina
House Concert, AZ, IL, MO, CO, AR, etc.
Historic Arkansas Museum, with Kent Beyette, Little Rock, AR
Southern Cultural Heritage Center, Vicksburg, MS
Grandpa Jones Banjo Weekend, Ozark Folk Center, Mountain View, AR
House Concert, Calliope Concerts, Mount Lebanon, PA

Thom Howard Guitarist

The T(h)oms String Duo

The Skirtlifters Classic String Band

Sarah Howard Storyteller

Sarah & Thom Stories and Music

Tom Verdot Violin Maker & Dealer

Clarke Buehling Banjo Master

Kids Stuff Games & Goodies

Schedules Schedule Cat

Who's Where & When

Sound Clips Schedule Cat

CD's and demos