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CHARLIE BUTCHER
"Our family heritage runs deep in Appalachia and the old time music runs parallel to it. My great grandfather played the claw hammer banjo and fashioned his own out of whatever was available at the time. All of my mother’s uncles and brothers were musicians of sorts–some pretty good and some not so good–but all having a good time doing it! All us kids were always waiting for our chance to join in. Over the years I have learned a little about playing the guitar, mandolin, bass fiddle and the dulcimer.
"During my high school days, I took carpentry/cabinet making in vocational school. I loved to work with wood. In later years, I started accumulating some shop tools and started building bookshelves and such. Then I ran into Wayne Henderson and his wonderful handmade guitars. This planted a seed in my mind. While I sure was not experienced enough to build anything that involved, Wayne suggested I try building dulcimers. He reasoned that many of the same procedures were required to build both. So I went to the library and got a book and the rest is history. After a couple of failed attempts, I completed my first dulcimer in April 1995. Since then, I have built almost 70 dulcimers as well as one mandolin and one banjo and have repaired numerous guitars, banjos and fiddles.
"I have, for the past 38 years, lived near Tazewell, Virginia, in the community called Tip Top–thus named for being the highest point on the old Northern and Western Railway line. It was once a thriving area with its own train station, mineral springs, stores and brick kiln–all long gone. We have a small farm from which I harvest much of the wood I use to build my dulcimers including cherry, walnut, maple and American Hornbeam."
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| COPYRIGHT
©2007 APPALACHIAN ARTS CENTER OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE |
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