Averell's Raiders & the 35th Star
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Musicians

Sparky & Rhonda Rucker

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Photo by Roy Constible
Sparky and Rhonda Rucker perform throughout the U.S. as well as overseas, singing songs and telling stories from the American folk tradition. Sparky Rucker has been performing over forty years and is internationally recognized as a leading folklorist, musician, historian, storyteller, and author. He accompanies himself with fingerstyle picking and bottleneck blues guitar, banjo, and spoons. 


Rhonda Rucker is a musician, storyteller, author, and songwriter. Her blues-style harmonica, piano, old-time banjo, and bones add musical versatility to their performances.

They take their audience on an educational and emotional journey that ranges from poignant stories of slavery and war to an amusing rendition of a Brer Rabbit tale or their witty commentaries on current events. Their music includes a variety of old-time blues, slave songs, Appalachian music, spirituals, ballads, work songs, Civil War music, cowboy music, railroad songs, and a few of their own original compositions.



Jim Costa

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Jim Costa, born and raised in Summers County, West Virginia, was enraptured early in life with the dying ways of life of mountain homesteaders.  Back in high school Jim began his collection of old-time artifacts.  His log cabin, blacksmith shop and forthcoming buildings speak to a day when people lived off the land in an elegantly simple way.  Jim is also a musicologist.  He is an authority of old-timey Appalachian music.  Fluent on fiddle, banjo, harp, accordion and other instruments, he can pull an old song like "Nelly Gray" out of his head and in about 2 minutes have it right.  If you have seen the film, "Matewan," you have seen Jim as an Italian immigrant worker playing mandolin.   We can head to YouTube enjoy a bit of Jim's old-time fiddle music.

Jordan Hart

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Photo by Alizabeth Bailey
A West Virginia native, 18-year-old Jordan Hart has been studying music from a very young age, focusing mainly on guitar from the age of 10. He also plays bass guitar, mandolin, piano and clarinet, and sings. 

He began his musical career playing at various local events. He composed several original pieces for the docu-drama Passing Thru Sandstone as well as producing the compilation album Old Dogs and Young Pups a benefit CD in which 100% of the proceeds goes to the Summers County Humane Society.

Jordan has studied Music Technology at  Glenville State College. His concentration is Classical Guitar. He enjoys a wide range of musical genres, and especially likes getting together with other musicians to share ideas, techniques and inspiration.

When he is not at school, he can often be found at his “Big Badda Boom Studio” in Hinton, WV, where he enjoys jamming and recording with other local musicians. He frequently plays during the Saturday Open Mic nights at the Chestnut Revival Coffee & Tea-house, where he also has a day-job as a barrista.



Tom and Mindy DeCesar

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Tom and Mindy DeCesar recently retired from the National Park Service.  They live near Floyd, Virginia, and are active in the old time music world that permeates the hills of south western Virginia.

Zack Merritt

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Several  historic brass band recordings are used in the film courtesy of the Library of Congress Music Division and Sony Music.  For a couple of specific tracks that we needed, we cried out to Zack.

Using divergent media, "muZack" creates vignettes that are suspended in time and blur the boundaries between reality and fantasy. His works are presented in a framework that encourages audience participation and interpretation. Mr. Merritt’s work has been performed regionally on recitals and festivals including the 2010 SCI Student National Conference, 2012 Marshall University Festival of New Music, and was recently included in the 60×60 East Coast Mix where his piece: “3 (whispers)” was premiered at Harvard University.

"My work is as simple as you think it is.  I like curries, knitting, and kittens (though not combined)."

Merritt holds a BFA (Summa Cum Laude) in Music Composition from Marshall University where he was awarded the outstanding senior in music. He is currently at Bowling Green State University where he is obtaining a MM in Composition. He has studied with Mikel Kuehn, Christopher Dietz, and Mark Zanter.


Greg and Tish Westman

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Greg and Tish Westman are artists in residence at Tamarack in Beckley, WV.  They build and play the "bowed psaltery,"  a wonderful instrument that once captivated America and, with the help of the Westmans, may have another height of popularity.


Photo:  Greg and Tish share their instruments with Linda Bunce's preschool class.

Profiles forthcoming:  Mary Dailey, Chris Via 

The Songs:

“Goin’ ‘Cross the Mountain”
Traditional, arranged and performed by 
Sparky & Rhonda Rucker
from their CD The Mountains Above and the Valleys Below               
  www.sparkyandrhonda.com

"Door Latch Quickstep" 
By George H. Goodwin
From the manuscript band books of the Manchester Cornet Band 
(founded in 1854) 
Library of Congress, Music Division

“Clandestine”
Written & Performed by Jordan Hart
Averill Vision LLC  2013

“Badlands”
Written & Performed by Jordan Hart
Averill Vision LLC  2012

“Across the Dark Mountain”
Written & Performed by Jordan Hart
Averill Vision LLC  2013

“Darlin’ Nelly Gray”                                                           
Traditional, attributed to Benjamin Hanby                                                           
 arranged and performed by Tom DeCesar                                                           
Averill Vision LLC  2013

“Yellow Rose of Texas”
traditional, performed by 
Tom & Mindy DeCesar
Averill Vision LLC

"Free and Easy" 
 Arranged by David L. Downing (ca. 1861)                                                             
From the manuscript band books of the 
Manchester Cornet Band (founded in 1854),
Library of Congress, Music Division

“Patriotic Medley March No. 1”                                                                              
Victor Military Band  Edward T. King, conductor 1916                                                                                                                 National Jukebox, Library of Congress                                                                   
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment

“Childgrove” 
 Traditional, arranged and performed by  Tish & Greg Westman                                                                                          Averill Vision LLC

“Darlin’ Nelly Gray”                                                                             
 Traditional, attributed to Benjamin Hanby                                                          
 arranged & performed with a synthesizer by Zack Merritt       

“Darlin’ Nelly Gray”                                                                              
Traditional, attributed to Benjamin Hanby                                                            
arranged & performed on guitar by   Jordan Hart    

“Darlin’ Nelly Gray”                                                                              
Traditional, attributed to Benjamin Hanby                                                            
arranged & performed on two harmonicas by   Jimmy Costa  

“The Girl Left Behind”                                                                              
Traditional, arranged and performed by   Jimmy Costa                                                                                                         
Averill Vision LLC  2013

“Yew Piney Mountain” 
 Traditional, arranged and performed by   Jimmy Costa                                                                                                                          Averill Vision LLC  2013

“Soldiers’ Joy”                                                                                           
Traditional, arranged and performed by  
Jimmy Costa, Mary Dailey, and Chris Via 

“Capture at Covington”
Written & performed by Tish & Greg Westman
Averill Vision LLC

“Battle Hymn of the Republic”
written by Julia Ward Howe
Performed by Julia Osen Averill
Averill Vision LLC 2013

“Dixie”    
Written by Daniel Decatur Emmett
Performed by Julia Osen Averill
Averill Vision LLC 2013

“Only the Mountains Remember”
Written & Performed by Jordan Hart
 Averill Vision LLC  2013

“Riding On”
Written & Performed by Jordan Hart
Averill Vision LLC  2013

"Lilly Bell Quickstep" 
By G.W.E. Friederich.  From the Brass Band Journal 
 New York: Firth, Pond & Co., 1854
 Library of Congress, Music Division

“Darlin’ Nelly Gray”                                                                             
 Traditional, attributed to Benjamin Hanby                                                           
arranged & performed on banjo by  Jimmy Costa  

“Fallen on Hard Times”
 Written & Performed by Jordan Hart
Averill Vision LLC  2012

“Lorena”
Traditional, performed by Tish & Greg Westman
Averill Vision LLC 2013

"Lorena"
Traditional, performed by Jordan Hart
Averill Vision LLC 2013
“Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming”
Traditional, arranged and performed by Zack Merritt
Averill Vision LLC  2013

“West Virginia Hills”                                                                                       
  lyrics by Mrs. Ellen King,
Music by H. E. Engle
performed by Tish & Gregg Westman
Averill Vision LLC



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