News & Articles

NIBA News & Articles

2017 NIBA Officers & Board of Directors

· President: Kim Kraemer (815-383-9329)

vp@nibaweb.org, kimkraemer@comcast.net

· Vice President: Tom Gerber (815-312-3964)

pres@nibaweb.org, tgerber.card@gmail.com

· Treasurer: Cindy Kline (224-569-6210) drpepper@ameritech.net

· Secretary: Mary Krasko (815-879-2414)

Board Members

Jim Berkland 630-479-6610

Dave Erickson 630-746-1445

Joyce Kraemer 630 852-8088

Rich Krasko 815-879-2414

Ted Seed 815-246-6333

Please make all submissions for this newsletter by the 15th of each month to niba@nibaweb.org. Send all printed copy and photos to: NIBA, PO Box 495, Ottawa, IL. 61350 This newsletter is copyrighted by the NIBA.

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Text Box: A Note from the Prez Greetings Bluegrassers! PLEASE NOTE: The NIBA’s new mailing address Is : NIBA, PO Box 495, Ottawa, IL 61350 Cindy Cline has decided to step down as NIBA Treasurer/membership processor in July. Cindy has been doing this job for the past 16 years! Cindy, thank you so very much for all you have done for the NIBA! James Kardelis has agreed to be our new Treasurer and Joyce Kraemer has agreed to manage the membership database. Thank you James and Joyce for stepping up to help the NIBA! Thank you to all who came out to play at the Mendota Railroad Days, Earlville Lyons Club, Petersen Farm and the NIBA Scholarship Jam! Petersen Farm made a donation to the NIBA for us performing at their event. Next year perhaps we can get more people to come help out and attend and/or perform at these events. The Frankfort Festival was an amazing event once again this year. I think Junior Sisk, John Jorgensen and Special Consensus were amazing! However, there were many great bands. If you missed it, make sure you make it next year, and remember IT IS FREE! Kim Kraemer President, NIBA

Hello Bluegrass Enthusiasts!

NIBA Key Dates to Remember

Sep 22 : NIBA Picnic – Illini State Park

Dec 15 : NIBA Christmas Party – Sugar Grove

Other Key Dates

7/13-14 Frankfort Bluegrass Festival

8/22-24 Two Rivers Jam, Harrison

8/31 Chet Kingery Memorial Festival, Arthur

9/27-28 Hertiage Bluegrass Festival, Bloomington

STEVE KAUFMAN CAMP 2019 (Cont)

I attended some of the organized instrumental jams. They were 3 times per day-before the first class, right after lunch, and right after the faculty concert. They were played in old time style, no improvising. The one after lunch had over 50 people in it every day. The tempos were more beginner friendly. It was called a slow jam.

The open mic for campers before the evening concerts filled up most nights. I played the first night with Joe Jablonski, Kim Kraemer, and my Dad. They made me play a solo, and yes it was fun, but don’t tell my parents.

There were people of all ages at the camp. My Dad was up past midnight jamming with the adults at least 4 nights that week. I jammed with the 8 teen boys from Arkansas most evenings. There were 15 or so teens at the camp, most of them on scholarships that the campers paid for through fundraisers at the concerts.

All of the residence halls were air conditioned. The grocery store was 2 blocks away so we could get extra water bottles and cookies. The food was varied enough that adult food and kid food was available for all 3 meals per day. Desserts and vegetables were available for all lunches and dinners. The soft serve ice cream was good.

[Editor’s note: I (Kim Kraemer) was also at this camp and each day goes from 7:30 am till 12:30-1:00 every night for 5 days. It is an amazing, exhausting event. If you ever get the chance to go, you will not regret it! Some people have been there all 24 years, most folks have gone multiple (5-10) times

FYI Kemedy Hauser is 14 years old and an amazing fiddler!]

STEVE KAUFMAN CAMP 2019

Kemedy Hauser

I went to the second week of Kaufman Kamp this summer. The focus was on bluegrass. There were mandolin, banjo, guitar, bass, dobro, and fiddle classes. There were composition classes and singing classes, too. There were faculty concerts, open mic opportunities for the campers, coached student bands, organized jams, and impromptu jams in the (non-quiet) residence halls. The whole week was dedicated to bluegrass versus the first week of camp being dedicated to Old Time music.

Classes were 2 hours long twice per day. I took the advanced fiddle class. The 3 instructors rotated, so we had to go to a different room almost daily. The instructors had different teaching styles and personalities. Sometimes the instructor’s goals were hard to understand. Some of the instructors were extremely personable and easy to learn from. Even though it was the advanced class, there were different levels of students in the class. The students all seemed to grasp the material we covered. We studied Sail Away Ladies, Man of Constant Sorrow, Footprints in the Snow, Nine Pound Hammer, and John Brown’s Dream. A special shout out to Nate Lee’s classes as we spent time on chopping and back up rhythms.

I went to some of the faculty concerts, which were nightly. They started after the 7:00 pm open mic times for the campers. The styles performed were all over the map, but exclusively acoustic bluegrass instruments. I would have liked to have seen more actual bluegrass at the faculty concerts. The camp updates were at the concerts. Since the concerts ended after 10:00pm, several campers left the concerts at intermission.