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Jerry, my good friend, better known as Wolf to his friends would have been 70 years old today. I will fill in parts of the storyline later as comments are posted. Essentially, Wolf was a musician who played guitar and mandolin. He was a much better mandolin player and loved all kinds of music but really loved bluegrass. He bought 17 acres of land in the Fancy Gap, Virginia hills and eventually built a house in the side of the hill overlooking the creek. He hosted a bluegrass music festival on his birthday weekend every year. In the video, as the song ends and the fiddle comes back in, that's me, my wife, and Wolf back in better days. Wolf introduced me to my wife. Enjoy the pictures and the music. Many of the people in these photos have gone on to the great Beano Festival in the sky. That must be one heck of a party going on. I'll post more anecdotes later. Wolf
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Enjoyed your video, Herb! Looks like a good time was had by all at those festivals! And yeah, many of my old bandmates from the 70s, 80s, and 90s have gone to the great gig in the sky too, part of getting older I guess.
Great song, would like to hear more about it.
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Herb,
Such a touching song and video...
Bob
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Enjoyed your video, Herb! Looks like a good time was had by all at those festivals! And yeah, many of my old bandmates from the 70s, 80s, and 90s have gone to the great gig in the sky too, part of getting older I guess.
Great song, would like to hear more about it. Thanks.... I don't have the details on the tracks but I think aside from possibly an acoustic guitar track, everything was BB. I met Wolf at a bluegrass festival that our band was hired to host. 3 days of banjos and fiddles. Wolf was there and introduced himself and hung with us the whole weekend. He started following the band around the state. It was in his home town of Wilson NC where he was a regular at the gigs. He introduced me to my future wife at that venue. It was after the band broke up that he ended up moving to the VA hills and bought the property. He started the Beano festival. It was named from a band that he was in at some point before he met us. In the video.... there's a few pics from the very first festival. I was there. I'm wearing a light blue shirt and facing away from the camera. There was no stage.... just set up in the corner of the field. He eventually had a covered stage and a covered pavilion built for the festivities. We camped out each year for quite a few of the early years. Once we had kids, it became harder to get there.... I think we might have made two or three during the years with kids. Wolf was diagnosed with cancer and long story short.... had to sell the property and move back closer to family. One of the forces behind helping organize the festivals, secured a couple of different places in the flatlands of Nash county where I'm currently living. It just wasn't the same as in the hills. No freezing creek to have to bathe in, no isolation from the neighbors, and way more mosquitos and gnats. The very last one was held at one of the old time supporters home. Nothing lasts forever. More stories to come
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Herb,
Such a touching song and video...
Bob Thanks Bob.... everyone that met Wolf immediately liked him. He was that kind of guy.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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When I read "Wolf", I think of Winston Wolf! I think you posted this video a year or three ago, but I liked it even better this time around. Seems everyone had a lot of fun, despite all the mandolins  Beautiful memories are the best ones!
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Herb, cool tribute to a friend and to all the friends who will pass through our lives. Heck, we're ALL just passing through. Quite a video collage, too. One day we'll all be back together for sure...
DC Ron
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Herb, what a great tribute to an old friend and fellow musician.
Everything is perfect. Loved the pictures. It looked like you all were having a fantastic time.
Yes we are at the age where we are losing our friends. It is sad isn't it.
Loved the song.
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
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This is a lovely tribute that I am sure they would deeply appreciate. Based on the photos in the video it looks like you guys had a lot of amazing memories together, and that's what matters most. Beautiful work. 
Cheers,
Ember
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A lovely respectful tribute to your dear friend. Excellent.
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Really enjoyed this, so smooth, genuine, and a great tribute to a friend.
Windows 11, Intel Core i5-8600T 2.3Ghz, 16 gig ram, BIAB 2025 MegaPak, SampleTank 4, Keystation49 Kybd, Neewer NW-800 mic
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Herb,
I'll make this short: Ya did a super job on this tribute to your friend. Excellent in all respects.
Alan
BIAB 2024 Ultra Plus-all StylePaks*Win11*32GB DDR5*Rhyzen 9745x*AT 2035 Mic*Peavey Nashville 112 Amp*Ibanez ART120* Acoustic/Electric/Washburn D200S Acoustic*Stromberg Monterey Jazz Guitar Loops: https://aldavidmusic.wixsite.com/bestmusicloops
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Hi Herb,
What a rich, full sound and a lovely tribute. I love the backstory...what you shared and what is evident from the photos; thanks for sharing it. Wolf sure was a colorful guy!
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Thanks everyone for the comments.
Some additional info.... Wolf was cremated when he passed. He had sold his property and the house he and Suzi had built into the side of the hill overlooking the meadow and creek. The new owners who I believe were friends with Wolf, graciously allowed the going away party and the scattering of his ashes in the creek.
The framed portrait you see in several of the pictures was being presented to his wife Suzi. One of the people who attended the Beano Festival was a very talented artist and had painted it from a photo. They made 100 numbered copies with #1 going to Suzi. The rest were sold as a fundraiser for Suzi to help with the cost of everything that was going on with doctors, treatment, and final expenses.
At the very last Beano Festival, they had door prizes and I was fortunate to have my ticket called on one of the drawings. The prize was one of those numbered paintings. It hangs in my studio front and center about the monitor.
Beanos up! All throughout the entire weekend of the festival, folks could be heard occasionally yelling "Beanos Up!". Whatever you were drinking, you were challenged to take a drink together.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Hi, Herb. I watched the vid and heard this one a few days ago. Watched again now just before reading all of this. No need to comment on how good this song is. You wrote it, you play it --'nuff said. Man, i am glad to hear about these good times, Herb. We also had a friend who had a large farm where he had Bluegrass festivals every year. He also contracted cancer and had to give it up. My son's neckname for many is Beano.
Never met Wolf, of course, but you made me love him and miss the hell out of him, Herb. Glad you and your wife had the pleasure and made something special out of it. I was wondering about that money jar (at around 1:04). Now I suppose I have the answer.
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Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
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Hi, Herb. I watched the vid and heard this one a few days ago. Watched again now just before reading all of this. No need to comment on how good this song is. You wrote it, you play it --'nuff said. Man, i am glad to hear about these good times, Herb. We also had a friend who had a large farm where he had Bluegrass festivals every year. He also contracted cancer and had to give it up. My son's neckname for many is Beano.
Never met Wolf, of course, but you made me love him and miss the hell out of him, Herb. Glad you and your wife had the pleasure and made something special out of it. I was wondering about that money jar (at around 1:04). Now I suppose I have the answer. Thanks for the really nice comments. I think you meant 1:40. That was Wolf's wife Suzi and Ricky. Another good friend of ours. Ricky passed away several years ago as well. Sepsis from some other medical issues. That was a gate charge to get in. Wolf put on a big feed on Saturday night. In addition to all the music there was generally a feast of some sort. Could be anything from a brisket to a whole hog on the grill or in the ground and fixings. There were several porta potties onsite that were kept clean and serviced. That fee helped offset the costs of the event. I remember a couple of fundraisers for one or more of our friends through the years.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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