Futuristic Design Movement


did you hear that little tune? thatã­s thesound of a musical episode this week on heartland highways! first weã­ll meet charlie hughesand learn more about his renaissance and baroque era musical instrument collection. then, markrubel shares his not-only-fun-to ã±look-at-but-also-fun-to-play, guitar collection. finally, weã­ll revisita favorite adventure to the highway 341 country caf㈠in wallace, indiana, for some good olecountry music. thatã­s coming up next on heartland highways, so stay right here.[music] this weekã­s show is about music in one wayor another. first we take a look at musical instruments. kate do you remember playingthe recording in elementary school music class? i sure do. we'll you're about to meet a charlestonman who's got an impression of collection

of recorders and then some! charlie hughesbrought out just part of his renaissance and baroque instruments to the tarble arts centeron eiu's campus. we learned all about dulcients, coronettos, crumb horn and shamus. take alook. [music](narrator) that's the sound of an alto shaum . if you've never heard or seen this instrumentbefore, neither had we, but we were about to learn all about instruments from the renaissanceand baroque era. meet charlie hughes, former band director, historical re-enactor, musicianand curator of one very special instrument collection.the name of our ensemble or this collection that was named after the ensemble thirty-someyears ago is, pro musica mediterranea. and

it simply translates as, for music in themiddle. weã­re in the center of the united states, so you have your heartland highways.ok, we have the pro musical for musica mediterranea in the middle.(narrator) charlie's interest in early music naturally led to the instruments themselvesand so began his collecting. most of these are renaissance instrumentswhich range from 1500 to early 1600s, or 16th and 17th century, first quarter of the 17thcentury. the baroque instruments then will be 18th, 18th century instruments and thelate 17th century instruments. we started first with recorders and the baroque recorders.in the late 70s, we had become interested in the early music and were active in a historygroup that recreated , or not recreated, reenacted

middle ages, the renaissance and so with ourmusic interest, my wife and i just automatically picked up those picked up those instruments.so, the gateway instrument for me was the baroque recorder. then as you study more andyou learn more you realize whatã­s appropriate for the time period and you start adding tothat. then you find out about the different families of instruments and as opportunityallows, you add to it. (narrator) and while instruments like thesewere used as far back as the 1500's, the collection is not original. these are replicas from thetime period. and, i have a good variety of generationsof makers. weã­re in about the 3rd generation of makers at the moment. the first generationmaker made instruments that look like the

instruments but played like contemporary instrumentsfor the contemporary performers back then. then people started doing more replicas ofactual museum pieces and they started studying the different techniques and methods thatway. (narrator) the instruments vary in size, shape,reed and sound type. some are quiet and were intended for small indoor ensembles.[music] (narrator) while others are bold and loud,meant for playing in outdoor venues. [music](narrator) to better understand the instrument families, charlie was kind enough to provideus a demonstration, starting with the recorder, an instrument familiar to many.the largest in our collection, the bass. [music]

so, as you can tell, from high to low, whenthese are played together, it will sound very much like an organ with a set stop.(narrator) the recorder collection includes those from the renaissance era. [music] instrumentshave varied reed types including double reeds and capped double reeds.this particular instrument is called a cornemuse and it is not only capped but plugged also.so this will be more of a chamber type instrument; a softer sounding.[music] (narrator) these j shaped instruments arecalled crumb horns and are part of the capped reed family.[music] (narrator) shaums are a loud instrument andare part of the same family that the oboe

comes from.sot: [music] outside these will project and carry very well and thatã­s where they wouldhave been used. in the large halls so they could be heard over the clammer and the conversationand outside where they needed to project. (narrator) like many other instruments, dulcientscome in a variety of sizes from small soprano to the big bass. theyã­re in the same familyas the bassoon. the next family of instruments are the lip reedsand with the lip reeds we have probably the most common looking to the the regular eye,the sackbut. and the sackbut is the (word?) of the trombone. the bell a little bit smaller,the bore a little bit smaller, and a little

bit lighter sounding than the bright brassytrombone we know. [music](narrator) cornettos can be curved or straight and made out of two pieces of wood. howevertheir sound is similar to a modern day coronet or trumpet.[music] and a nice bright sound but still a little bit more of a vocal quality. thiswas one of the premiere instruments for the time period.(narrator) the collection includes bowed and plucked string instruments as well as drums.the display that charlie brought out for our interview included 100 different instruments,but he's says there's even more at home. and like any passionate collector, he's not done.love to have a mass set of renaissance recorders.

i would like to extend the range that i havewith these. there are two or three sizes larger than what i have and when you add those toa consort itã­s just a totally different sound. (narrator) the instruments are not just collectoritems, they are played by charlie and his wife in a charleston-based group called thecollegium musicum. sot: it was an opportunity for us to playand when opportunity came we jumped at it. continuing our music theme, this next storyalso involves a collection of instruments, in this case guitars. for the man who ownsthem, he sees them more like tools of the trade, rather than a collectible. mark rubelis a sound engineer, musician and teacher, who uses the collection at his recording studioin champaign illinois and with his band.

well, iã­m mark rubel and i have been a bassplayer since i was twelve years old. iã­ve always been interested in music and sound.i started a recording studio with some friends shortly after college and i have been doingthat for thirty-two years. but, i started with a few instruments for my own playing.then when we got the recording studio, i thought it was nice to have a variety of instrumentsaround for people to play in the studio and so iã­ve been accumulating guitars almostas long as weã­ve had the studio as a way of giving guitar players access to differentsounds. (narrator) mark's recording studio, calledpogo is located in downtown champaign. one look around and [laugh?] guitars are not theonly thing he's collected over the years.

in the studio the guitars are stacked in corners,just waiting to be used. when the tarble arts center wanted the guitars for an exhibition,they (the guitars) took on a different role, as pieces of art.no, i really do think that guitars are are artistic and the making of them is very interesting.and they can be such a variety of shapes and colors and sizes itã­s an interesting wayof people being able to express themselves and musical instruments, in general, are interestingjust from the design point of view. itã­s a nice example of industrial design and theway that applies to art and self-expression and communication. these instruments all reflectthe (aesthetic?) of the kind of music they are played with. you know, one of the greatthings about the guitar in general, is that

it is an easy instrument for people to play.itã­s portable. and then when you electrify it, it allows people to amplify their personality.so, i think itã­s the iconic instrument of the 20th century. probably, you know, itã­swhat made the emergent of rock n roll happen. and itã­s a lot of the popularity of the instrumentis directly traceable to the beatles. maybe not even so much to the beatles, as the beatlesã­fans. i think if you ask just about anybody my age who plays music, and if you ask themwhat got you into it they saw the beatles on tv and it might not have even been thebeatles, but all the screaming girls. [laughing] and that was the attraction as much as anything.(narrator): marks collection includes ironic guitars like the gibson les paul and the fenderstratocaster. but he also owns several one-

of- a -kinds.the gas can guitar was built by a fellow named tex wynn, who is a very active guitar player.i think heã­s in his eighties these days and he still plays, you know, all the time. heã­sa very interesting man. he restores model-t fords and heã­s an expert on indian artifacts,and heã­s a retired machinist, so he built this guitar out of a military gas can, puta neck on it. it has a teisco neck, which is a japanese neck. the neck is interestingin that it doesnã­t have a truss rod. thereã­s not a steel rod in there to keep it from bendingor to correct it if it bends because the neck is actually laminated out of hundreds of littlepieces of wood that are all stuck together. the giant bass was an idea just as a kindof visual for my band, captain rat and the

blind rivets. so, i asked a guy named (johngrey?), whoã­s a guitar builder, to make me an electric bass that has the string lengthof a string bass. so, he took the design, took it to kincoã­s, blew it up by the rightpercentage and built it. of course, if i would have thought about it a little longer, i wouldhave asked him to not let the weight scale at proportion. so, it just weighs a ton andum, i was much taller before i started playing on it, so it sort of slowly collapsed. itã­sa great looking object because itã­s scales so well. itã­s a very weird illusion, whichis a when a person puts it on it makes them look like theyã­ve shrank. itã­s not as iftheyã­ve (???? ???) some sort of optical illusion involved??)one of the things that i think is interesting

stylistically and visually about them arewe have some of these pointy guitars, [music fade out] which youã­d associate with the1980s. but, a lot of the instruments that we associated with that sort of heavy metaland hair metal of the 80s, like flying-vã­s and the firebird that we have here, thoseare actually 50s designs. theyã­re really more along the sort of uh the futuristic designof the 1950s that the cars and the fins and sort of thing, just fit into that particularaesthetic. we can make guitars out of a variety of materials. different kinds of wood andunusual substances, like flex glass and metal and gas cans and so forth. and it does affectthe way that they sound. generally, the more mass [background music begins] you have themore sustain you get and the faster your leg

goes to sleep when youã­re playing.what makes a guitar a great guitar? it really depends. theyã­re, uh, because theyã­re tools,they all have different uses. and so, almost every guitar can be a great guitar for theright application. you know, thereã­s some machine, some uh, guitars that are famous,or that have a particular sound for professionals. but, you know, we use everything from sortof collectable vintage instruments that, you know, have a well-known sound; to you know,odd/strange things that are homemade or, uh, and you know, and everything in between becausethey just all have personality. and thatã­s one thing about this collection, there area lot of guitars here that arenã­t stocked, that have been swapped out, parts have beenadded, theyã­re changed, and theyã­re not

all in super sort of collectable conditionbecause i donã­t really view it as so much as a collection, more as a stable of workinginstruments. so, these are guitars played, you know, by all kinds of people all the time;which is, i think, important philosophy to have about musical instruments, that musicalinstruments are tools that can be used and if they get nicks and so forth into them,thatã­s just part of their utility. i look at the guitars as different paint brushesfor making sound. (narrator): mark says he doesn't have a favorite,but his target bass is the one he plays with his band captain rat and the blind rivets.and when it comes to buying more, he looks for something with a particular sound, ratherthan a specific style or brand.

i really donã­t have a favorite; they areall, you know, theyã­re all wonderful in their own way. they really all have personalitiesand thatã­s why i like to be able to get to use them. you know, again as i said, makinga record is kind of like making a movie for your ears. if you have an idea for a partor a sound, itã­s interesting to cast one of these personalities into that part of thatmusical sound. some of our favorite adventures were ideasthat came from viewers like you. if you think thereã­s a place we should see or a personwe should meet, let us know about it. drop us an e-mail at heartlandhighways@weiu.net,call us at 1-877-pbs-weiu or send us a letter to 600 lincoln avenue charleston, il 61920.hereã­s a place that people are still talking

about. it was 2008 when we first visited the341 county caf㈠in wallace, indiana. and since this story was so popular with viewerswe wanted to show it you again. now the 341 is more than just a restaurant, itã­s a placefor great music and an all-around good time. take a look for yourself.(narrator) if you just passed through, you may never realize that wallace, indiana, population,about 60, is more than just a sleepy small town. while it may be quiet here now, by 6pmon any given monday, thursday or saturday, this place springs to life. [music] welcometo the wallace opry and the highway 341 county cafãˆ. if you looking for food, music andfriends, all in one location, youã­ve come to the right place.i mean theyã­re having a great time. we have

people from all over the world all over theworld. they um itã­s just unbelievable. itã­s a family atmosphere. we have kids from thattall to one hundred you know come in here. they get up and dance they have a good timeand. (narrator) a musician for most of his lifetony shuman always wanted his own place where he could play music and serve good old fashionedhome cookinã­. between 2001 and 2003, we looked at everytown around fountain county, vermillion county. uh we just went all over warren county andthis was the biggest restaurant we could find to do what we wanted to do. this was an oldrestaurant. itã­s been around since mid-1800s. it needed a lot of work and uh we put abouta hundred gallon of paint in it and built

the band stand. we put in a new restroom backhere and redone all the floors and so. i uh i didnã­t mind doing it, but i knew whatit was going to involve and i wasnã­t sure it would work. and you know of course wheni see wallace i really didnã­t think it would work you know. but, i actually believe godled us here, because i donã­t think it would have worked anywhere else like it has workedhere. itã­s just amazing these people are so and their not just wallace people theycome from all over, because of the wallace atmosphere.(narrator) opened in 2003, the opry and caf㈠have been going strong ever since. some evensay that shumanã­s saved wallace. when they came to town they changed the wholetown, because the town was literally dying

and they have kept it alive. i mean peoplecome from everywhere to hear. we donã­t advertise. i bet we havenã­t spent$500 on advertisement since weã­ve been here you know. yeah but word of mouth itã­s justyou know and they come once usually they get hooked, because they have a good time youknow. they bring their families back in um for whenthey come from out of country or out of state. they bring their families in, cause they knowtheyã­ll have a good night here and they do. (narrator) itã­s the combination of food,music and dance that makes this place so popular. in fact on live music nights, reservationsare a must! like i said the reason i do reservations isbecause i donã­t want anyone driving any distance

and not being able to come in. so, uh yeahwe do take the reservations that way they get to sit together not spread all out.weã­ll have a 165 175 people in probably not counting weã­ll have walk-ins too. a lot oftimes weã­ll turn ã«em away, cause we just donã­t have the seating capacity for them.(narrator) the hometown gospel connection plays on monday nights and the highway 341band plays on thursdays and saturdays. patrons start arriving around 4pm for dinner and tocatch up with friends. the menu includes a range of reasonably priced sandwiches, specialsand entrees. friday and saturday night we do a prime riband rib eye stuff. we do uh a lot of country fried dinners. people love them. thereã­schicken, uh pork and beef. uh sundays we do

a roast beef. we do chicken and noodles. wegot hot rolls on friday, saturday and sunday. uh everybody that eats here will say thatitã­s the best food around. (narrator) desserts and pies are of courseall homemade, but a word of advice, make sure you order them right away as they go fast.one canã­t help but notice the memorabilia that adorns the walls of the cafãˆ, includingtonyã­s 25- year wheaties box collection and his indiana state collection. as dinner windsdown, the evening is just getting started as tony and the band take to the stage.tonight well do anything from 30s and 40s to 50s and 60s to old country to a littlebit of the new country. we try to stay to what people will set out here and they relateto, because most of our people is probably

from 50 to 90 years old that come here youknow and. (narrator) as the band starts playing, thedance floor fills up fast. and then, the much anticipated wallace glamour girls make theirappearance. all that became kind of a joke. and youã­llknow when you see our outfits. and we try to make it as silly and as much nonsense as.and we just get so many requests. they entertain uh maybe once every couplemonths or so. theyã­ll dress up in there get ups and weã­ll play a song for ã«em. theyã­llcome strolling in get up and dance for everybody. itã­s just and amazing show too.(narrator) as the band plays on, tonyã­s wife linda takes very little time to sit down forherself. she continues to run the register,

take and serve orders, and basically keepthe food end of the operation running smoothly. as you can probably tell running the restaurantand the music is a pretty exhausting job and add to that, the shamansã­ live right abovethe restaurant, but for tony and linda, this is well worth the effort.i can tell a story about that. ok, you may have your days when just everything seemsto be going wrong. and uh i was really down just i dunno it was just not right. i wasup at the register and i just happened to look back this way and in every isle i seena person hugginã­ another person. and i thought thatã­s what itã­s about, so it just liftsyour spirits and makes it worthwhile, ã«cause thatã­s what this place is for just to makegive people three hours of happy.

yeah thereã­s not a stranger that comes inhere. i mean if they did people would make them welcome. and you know itã­s hard to explainit really is. and uh if it had been in any other town i donã­t think itã­d ever haveworked. (narrator) to experience a little bit of the341 caf㈠and wallace opry for yourself, make sure you call ahead for reservations, especiallyon band nights. the caf㈠is open daily at 7am. on mondays, thursdays, fridays and saturdaystheyã­re open until 10pm. sundays, tuesdays and wednesday they close at 2pm. take it fromkate and i, you wonã­t be disappointed by the good food and the friendly atmosphere.[applause and cheers] closewe are about out of time for this weekã­s

edition of heartland highwaysã–..more informationabout the stories and people youã­ve seen here is available 24/7 at our website at www.weiu.net under the televisiontab. weã­ll see you next time.

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