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 Lackawanna
Longnecks
The
Lackawanna Longnecks are an Old Time stringband from Pittsburgh, Pa.,
playing music in the traditional style of rural Appalachia.
The
band members are: Frank Falvo - fiddle, Mike Reing - guitar,
Mark Tamsula -
banjo, and Jean Getz - bass.
Since
1987, their full acoustic stringband sound has often be heard at concerts,
square dances, and parties around Pittsburgh.
The
Longnecks have committed themselves to play music in the style of the Old
Time Appalachian tradition. The people of Appalachia have long honored a strong oral tradition of music and song, with emphasis on
self-sufficiency, and strong religious faith. Before technology powered transportation and communication, many of its inhabitants
remained geographically isolated from the rest of the country as late as the
1920’s. As a result, the culture of their ancestors, most of them English,
Scottish, Scotch-Irish, and Irish immigrants, existed largely unaffected by
developments in surrounding urban regions for over 200 hundred years. Without dependence on reading and writing, many had amazing memorization
skills, capable of perfectly reciting 20 or more verses of song after
hearing it sung only once. The instrumental music and songs of Appalachia
range from playful and nonsensical, to sensitive and beautiful, touching upon
some of the deepest emotions and experiences known. The
dancing includes clogging, which is sometimes done for competition, but more
commonly happens as a free expression of rhythm, a direct response to the
energy of good music. Also known to occur in earshot of stringband music is
Square and Contra dancing, a community event which facilitates sharing music
and movements with a large group, usually the local neighborhood.
Wherever
they perform, the
Lackawanna Longnecks are your guides on a musical tour into the hills and
through and the ages. Listen
to a few samples of the Lackawanna Longnecks: Elzic's
Farewell / Highlander's Farewell / John Sharpe's Tune Rachel
/ Cuckoo's Nest Titanic
Watch
a video of us at Hickory Applefest! 
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