‘The Old Hometown Band’

Twice a month, in the back room of Mikey’s Gyros in Moscow, a group of musicians gathers. For two hours the sounds of old-time fiddle music mixes with the regular sounds of Mikey’s as patrons come in and out, enjoying the music and the food.

Marsha Schoeffler and Marcus Smith have organized the meetings for nearly two years as a get-together for local musicians in the offseason. The meetings are from 4-6 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month, and will continue this year through April 25.

“Some of us have been playing together for years and wanted to set up a regular get-together in the winter,” Schoeffler said.

Players come in throughout the time and tune their instruments between each song before joining in. Schoeffler and Smith said the meetings are open to anyone interested in playing or listening.

Cleve Yocom, of Moscow, has been playing the intrument known as the concertina for about 20 years and has played with both Schoeffler and Smith in other settings. Schoeffler said they picked Mikey’s because of the backspace for a group of chairs, and the acoustics from the carpet was also a plus.

“All of us have played with each other over the years,” Yocom said. “It’s very low-key.”

On Thursday night, there were fiddles, a banjo, a guitar and Yocom’s concertina in attendance. Schoeffler and Smith said many of the attendees had been playing festivals and other events throughout the years. But they’d wanted something to do in the winter when the festivals stop, so they started the twice-monthly meetings.

The group plays from lists of older tunes like “The Old Hometown Band” and “Climbing the Golden Stairs.” One member suggests the name of a song and, when the others agree, they begin playing, by ear.

Yocom said the songs were all old tunes and many had been memorized over the years. Smith, who plays the guitar, said the meetings were open to anyone.

It was the first time for Al Chidester, who said he’d heard about the gathering from other attendees. He said he was first introduced to the violin as a child but didn’t like playing, so he soon stopped. It wasn’t until his 20s that he picked up the violin again after hearing a band rehearse, and he’s been playing ever since.

Kali Nelson can be reached at knelson@dnews.com.