Homage to the old man, Halden and Hymm for Her

by Chris Aaland 

Father’s Day has always been a difficult holiday for me. My dad didn’t bother waiting around for the draft in the 1960s, enlisting in the Marines to fight in Vietnam when a friend’s number got called. In between tours, he managed to hook up with my mom. Nine months later, I came around. Sometime in between, he managed to get himself shot up. He must’ve been one hell of a Devil Dog, earning a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart along the way. They don’t give away Bronze Stars to people who duck and run. Regardless, we never found each other until I was 19.

Now Dad is just trying to get through each day. He never met his second grandson — my baby Gus — who died the day after Thanksgiving. He lost his wife, Pat, the day after Christmas to a stroke. His best friends have been dropping like flies ever since, succumbing to cancer, heart disease and chronic alcoholism.

Our lives should have been different. His grandfather, Charles Telk, was the first electrician in San Miguel County. Dad’s brother, Mickey Feagler, was the last baby born in the old hospital, which became the Telluride Historical Museum decades ago. We should have shared fishing and hunting trips into the San Juans together, Dad sharing tales of family history with me.

I wish he could be here with me this weekend. Maybe Father’s Day would take on a different meaning.

Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams grace the Daddyfest stage this Saturday

The eighth annual DaddyFest, a benefit for the Durango Discovery Museum, takes over Main Avenue in fnt of the Carver Brewing Co. from 10 a.m. -5 p.m. Saturday. You know the drill for these close-down-Main events: Pay cash for tokens and redeem them for food, beverages or games. Carver’s provides the beer, while food comes from the tasty kitchens of Carver’s, Zia Taqueria, Fired Up Pizza and others. This family friendly affair also features a microgolf course, wet zone and dunk tank, giant slide, dissection booth and more. Sounds will fill the air, too, including the headliner, Halden Wofford & the Hi-Beams. Other performers include Mysto the Magi, Ballet Folklorico, From the Ashes Fire Tribe, the Suzuki Violin School, the Stillwater Foundation’s Advanced Steel Drum Band, the Lindells, the Moetones and Jack 10 High. Wanna see Halden? He takes the stage at 3:40 and rocks out until the whole shindig closes down at 5.

You probably already know about Halden Wofford & the Hi-Beams, but in case you don’t, here’s the lowdown. They formed 12 years ago in Denver as a vehicle for the songwriting and singing of its namesake frontman. Over the course of time, they’ve released three studio albums and this spring’s live effort, “Live! At Hodi’s,” which was recorded at Hodi’s Half-Note, a semi-famous Fort Collins dive. Most of the material on the band’s studio records is original, coming from the pens of Wofford or his sidemen, including Bret Billings (steel guitar, dobro, harp) and Greg Schochet (lead guitar, mandolin). The music is classic honky-tonk, equal parts Nashville, Austin and Bakersfield, with influences that range from Hank Williams and Slim Whitman to Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead. These guys play for redneck hippies, scruffy folk who appreciate pure twang. The chance to see the Hi-Beams play free downtown is something you can’t miss.

While I’ve been savvy to Halden the past six or seven years via his numerous appearances at festivals in Durango, Pagosa Springs and Silverton, I’ve only recently been turned on to Hymn for Her. This East Coast duo travels the country in their Airstream trailer (baby and dog in tow, no less), belting out gothic Americana for anyone who’ll listen. On Sunday night, they’ll park the trailer outside the Dolores River Brewery in Dolores for an 8 p.m. gig. Lucy Tight and Wayne Waxing live, tour and record in their 16-foot 1961 Bambi Airstream. Their newest record, “Lucy & Wayne and the Amairican Stream,” was recorded entirely in this trailer on a coast-to-coast U.S. tour. They arm themselves with a pair of bullet mics, a three-stringed broom handle/cigar box instrument, dobro, banjo, bass drum, hi-hat and harp. Their noise can be as big as the White Stripes or as low-fi and ambient as Montezuma County’s Baby Toro.

Tami Graham presents an evening with R. Carlos Nakai to benefit the Mancos Public Library at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Mancos Opera House. Nakai, who is of Navajo and Ute heritage, is the world’s premier performer of Native American flute music. Originally trained in classical trumpet and music theory, Nakai was given a traditional cedar wood flute as a gift and challenged to see what he could do with it. Since 1983, he’s released more than 35 albums that incorporate new age, world-beat jazz and classical with his own native roots.

Get a taste of Telluride Bluegrass a day early as Portland’s Wayward Vessel plays the happy hour house concert series at the Rochester Hotel at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. This alternative bluegrass band includes mandolinist Josiah Payne, best known for his work with the Pagosa Hot Strings and a former winner of the Winfield and RockyGrass mandolin competitions. Their latest CD, “Before the Grey,” gets released this month.

This week’s Summit slate includes DJ Benjamin K and friends at 10 p.m. tonight (Thur., June 14), Aftergrass at 9 p.m. Friday and the Great Funktier. The latter bills itself as Telluride’s newest electro-sonic, dope-a-phonic rock & roll band.

Bubba, Katie, Erik and the rest of Farmington Hill bring dirty honky-tonk to Moe’s from 7-9:30 p.m. Friday. FH is kicking off its summer in Durango and hopes to release their first CD sometime this fall. Moe’s also hosts Salsa Night with DJ Caliente at 7 p.m. tonight, live music with the Intelligents at 9 p.m. Saturday and the Jazz Church freeform jam at 6 p.m. Sunday.

Elsewhere: Little Wilderness brings poppy folk to tonight’s Ska-B-Q; Oregon-based jam band The Mostest takes their groove to the Derailed Saloon on Friday; Jack Ellis performs acoustic blues at the DoubleTree’s Animas River Café at 5 p.m. Saturday; and Black Velvet plays the Balcony at 5 p.m. Sunday and the Derailed Saloon at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

This week’s Top Shelf list is a one-word salute to Marine Corps dads: Oorah.

The color of the sun and his eyes were green? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.