Loose Leaf Notes

– The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on September 11, 2014

The Floyd Radio Show at the Country Store opened the first show of its fourth season in old time tradition with a variety of musical performances, announcements ripped from the Floyd headlines, radio skits, letters from camp and more.  

Spoken word poet and storyteller with a rural Southern twist, Minton Sparks, captivated the crowd with her dramatic performances, which were accompanied by John Jackson, a Nashville-based guitarist who toured with Bob Dylan from 1991 – 96.

Taking on the characters of her stories, Sparks donned tap shoes and demonstrated buck dancing (like flat footing) for one performance. Another involved the inheritance of her “mama’s genuine leather pocketbook,” referred to at one point as “a Tennessee tote bag.”  It was “a bone bag that dangled from her wrist for years, like a growth” and held butter rum lifesavers, shed keys, waddled up Kleenex and a secret.

Impressive duet performances by Mac and Jenny Traynham and Anna Roberts-Gevalt and Elizabeth LaPrelle, the hosts and writers of the Radio Show, ranged from fun-loving to hard times ballads and were streamed live online.

Mac Traynham changed the lyrics to an old blues tune, “All I Got is Gone,” singing “I lost my job. I lost my home. I lost my hair. Now I lost my comb.”  LaPrelle, who has appeared on Prairie Home Companion, surprised and delighted the audience with her impressions of Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan and William Shatner in a spot that involved guessing the real life story, one out of three, told by John Jackson.

Showcasing their outstanding harmonies, Roberts-Gevalt and LaPrelle repeated their rendition of “Jealous Hearted Blues” in the second hour of the program, when a first performance of the song was not recorded due to a thunder and lighting storm going on outside. 

The variety show format included a segment of home-groan jokes, a shout-out to Coach Beale – who was said to be grieving after Floyd’s recent football loss to Galax – and a news take-off on Virginia current events with allegations of a local scandal. “Looks like the mayor’s been enjoying a steady stream of fruitcakes and cookies recently,” reported Jenny Traynham. Mac went on to report that the mayor’s wife was caught giving out secret recipes and that Ladies Club of Floyd may have been meeting in the Town Hall basement for secret Bingo games.

Near the end of the first hour, Mayor Will Griffin presented Sparks and Jackson with a key of the Town. “It’s a real key. I bought it this morning at the hardware store,” he later said.

Note: The Floyd Radio Show is a first Saturday monthly event. Check the Floyd Country Store website (floydcountrystore.com) for a list of upcoming guest performers. – Colleen Redman

Post notes:  The next Radio Show will happen on October 4th, at 7:30 pm and will feature, among other acts, a performance by students from Springhouse Community School that my husband co-founded. The performance will involve a story creation and a crankie based on an interview with a local farmer who has a conservation easement on his land that’s been in his family for centuries.  Radio Show hosts Elizabeth LaPrelle and Anna Gevalt-Roberts, and Andrea Langston of the New River Land Trust have been working with the students.  More on the radio show HERE. Visit the Springhouse Community School on Facebook or check out their webpage HERE.