Unpacking the legendary Korn Kutters

An essay about the recent Korn Kutter Project and how it came about by Rochelle Grim, 12-year-old student of the Handmade Music School.

Recently, some of the Handmade Music School’s students have formed a team to produce a CD of the 1970s Floyd band, the Korn Kutters, using original recordings, interviews, and stories. This project has been collaborative, interdisciplinary, and community building.

For this project the Handmade Music School (HMS) has collaborated with the Field Recorders Collective (FRC) and the Old Church Gallery (OCG).

The FRC is a nonprofit organization made up of music enthusiasts who preserve traditional music. The FRC members research and track down unique field recordings, often connected to family and community members of musicians in the process. They then edit and curate not only music but also stories and interviews from a particular band or a musician which they use to produce CDs. In this way, unique music is preserved and remembered for a wider audience.

The mission of HMS has a few similarities to the FRC. HMS also is a nonprofit that teaches traditional stringband music. Though the HMS is not focused on producing music, some of the older students in HMS have recently been exposed to another project with the hope of passing down music traditions. This project is currently under the title, “The Songbook Project.” This songbook is almost exactly what it sounds like: the students have given themselves the task of writing some of the history and providing art inspired by the songs they learn each week during HMS’s semester-long program.

Heather Krantz, director of HMS’s Youth Stringband Program and co-owner of the Floyd Country Store, was inspired by the excitement some of the students were showing with the Songbook Project and decided to reach out to her friend Kilby Spencer, board member of FRC.

When the idea of HMS partnering with FRC reached Kilby, he heartily agreed and immediately proposed that the new group start with a former Floyd band the Korn Kutters. Unbeknownst to Kilby, many HMS students already had connections to the Korn Kutters. HMS’s own teacher, George Slusher, is a relative of two Korn Kutters, and Korn Kutter member, Ivan Weddle, was a frequently mentioned local icon to the students during Stringband classes. Another asset to our team is that the OCG had already done a feature on the Korn Kutters two years prior which concluded with a musical celebration at the HMS stage during Floyd’s Living Traditions Festival.

The OCG is, as Alice Slusher said, “A small but mighty cultural arts museum and gallery that focuses on Floyd County.” Janet Keith and Alice Slusher are volunteers and leaders at the OCG and are relatives of Korn Kutters; these connections have opened an historic window into the Korn Kutters’ lives. When asked if they would like to partner with HMS and FRC, the Gallery accepted and instantly started sharing valuable resources. Collaboration with these organizations forged a powerhouse of knowledge, expertise, and excitement.

Project director Heather Krantz provides the main organization and vision for the project. Kyler Stanley and Morgan Grim operate as vice directors; Stanley brings wonderful FRC experience. Grim organizes the curriculum and student work. Jared Boyd, Dylan Locke, and Sue Bibeau provide key technical and support roles.

George Slusher has been invaluable to the students in his behind-the-scenes work to organize, digitize, and curate Korn Kutter music and stories. Conveniently, Slusher is also the caretaker of all the original recordings of the Korn Kutters. Therefore, instead of these recordings only existing in antiquated forms in family members' basements, our work will make the music accessible to a whole new generation around the world. What would have been lost to history will have new life.

Collaborating expertise has come from many areas. From the OCG, Alice Slusher, Janet Keith, Catherine Pauley, and Melinda Wagner have all given their time and energy to helping students become amazing storytellers and caretakers of our community and culture. Heather Krantz has also been in regular contact with Kilby Spencer and the FRC team who will carry out our artistic vision for the cover and music selections. This project couldn’t happen without every single organization and person that has lent their resources, time, and ideas.

As well as being collaborative, this project has been very interdisciplinary. During our first week at the OCG, we learned a new way of preserving history as the Old Church Gallery uses storytelling to teach about Floyd County and its culture. The second field trip took us to George Slusher’s house studio. For years Slusher has been teaching himself how to digitize reel-to-reels and cassette tapes of older recordings. The team observed all the complicated workings of the reel-to-reels and cassettes, and the process of digitizing the old recordings. This process has made us aware of how many more amazing field recordings are likely out there, just ready for discovery and digitizing.

Taking a break from field trips, the team settled down at the HMS house and proceeded to view Kyler Stanley’s personal collection of FRC CDs to give the team an idea of what the cover art could look like. Catherine Pauley and Melinda Wagner also gave everyone an interviewing tutorial which turned out to be informative and fun.

Following our interview training class students and teachers were sent off in groups to interview four family members of the Korn Kutters. The three succeeding weeks were dedicated to listening to some Korn Kutters’ recordings which Slusher had digitized and curated for easier listening and song selection. The concluding weeks of the semester were spent planning the CD release event and our roles, and lastly a marketing and design lesson with Sue Bibeau of Beehive Productions and Dylan Locke of Floyd Country Store.

It has been inspiring how many skills we have had the opportunity to develop in this project. Of course, much can be said about the skill of learning how to work with a team. Some of these skills may never be touched again but they may be the spark for future careers. All this said, I am grateful that we got the opportunity to participate in this project which has given us countless educational opportunities and skills.

In bringing together the HMS, the FRC, and the OCG, this project turned out to be very community-building. During the process of interviewing, researching, and discovering more about the Korn Kutters, we were introduced to people, who in some circumstances, were awed that programs and projects like these existed.

Our team has been very fortunate in all of the many relationships this project has provided. Working together has led to connections between the students and adults participating–leading to friendships which will hopefully continue to grow future students and projects. Inspiringly, the Korn Kutters were community builders themselves, always playing music for free and bringing joy to the community. Before the Korn Kutters were playing together as a band in the 1970s, they were working hard on their farms; thus, they were quite literally feeding the community as well as being life-long friends. We hope to use the example of the Korn Kutters to strengthen community in our own generation.

As musicians, community members, and lifelong farmers, the Korn Kutters nourished the community through music, food, and friendship. Their legacy continues to inspire. For students, this project has not only been a project for the family members of the Korn Kutters, but also for the extended community and beyond. Though the work for this project is not yet complete, I look forward to how our team can use old recordings, interviews, and stories to produce a CD that brings the legacy of the Korn Kutters to a new generation.

-Rochelle Grim

Learn more about Handmade Music School at www.handmademusicschool.org.

To hear a rare collection including the Korn Kutters with Sam McNeil, visit this online treasure from the Old Church Gallery: The Korn Kutters With Sam McNiel.

Personal Note From Rochelle: I would like to say a massive thank you to Heather Krantz, Kyler Stanley, Morgan Grim, Field Recorders Collective, Handmade Music School, The Old Church Gallery, family members who were willing to be interviewed and consulted, especially George Slusher, and all those who were there for pure support. None of this could have happened without you.