Recording Is Family Affair

By Norman Rowe

Peter and Virginia Stanley, left, and Alfred and Meredith Scott have had success with their initial recording and even though one couple is in Richmond and the other in Alaska, they are hopeful of future successes in the recording field. The Stanleys' son is in the foreground.

Peter and Virginia Stanley and Meredith and Alfred Scott have turned out their first recording.

It's really a family affair for these Virginians and somewhat of a homemade product.

Many of their friends, however, have demonstrated such an enthusiastic response for the album-"Hard Times in the Country"- that there are prospects the folk-and-country music package could go into a second pressing.

Another album, perhaps, would pose a geographical problem. Peter and Ginny now are homesteaders in the wilds of Alaska while Alfred Scott continues his investments career in Richmond.

Scott, as spokesman for the group, says with a certain amount of modest achievement, "For a home recording, it isn't too bad.

"I used a tape recorder with 15 i.p.s. (15 inches per second; faster and better quality than most recorders for amateur use) and a couple of good mikes and we did the thing right here in our living room (on Charmian Road).

"We took some precautions to keep out unwanted noises; we disconnected the clocks, cut off the furnace and even took the dog's collar off so the license tag wouldn't rattle when he scratched.

"Later, we sent the tapes over to Tom Williams at Eastern Recording here for final mastering and it was a good job."

That takes care of the audio engineering problems with a price tag of approximately $1,000 (not including Scott's personal equipment) for the end product of 500 albums.

It's a a family affair, because, as Scott explains, "Peter Stanley is my brother-in-law. I married Meredith in 1971. Meredith and Peter had been singing together for some time and I was delighted to marry into a band. Peter is married to the former Virginia Williams and we sang and played together often until they moved to Alaska."

Scott appraises the talent involved in the recording of "Hard Times in the Country" like this:

"Peter, as anyone can tell, is a real good singer and just as good on guitar and banjo. He really is the key to the success of the whole album.

"While he was at Harvard (as a psychology major), he played a fine guitar and played with Jim Kweskin and members of his famous jug band. And many people know him for his playing in his native Richmond."

Scott plays fiddle (a 200-year-old instrument), banjo (with frets removed) and autoharp. The autoharp was Scott's wedding present to his wife, who, as Meredith Stanley, was an actress seen in many plays at the Virginia Museurn Theater a few years ago.

"It's a beautiful instrument," says Scott. Tom Morgan made only 10 of them. Mike and Peggy Seeger each has one and so does Kweskin."

For the album, the women give only vocal support to Scott and Stanley who handle all of the instrumentation. By experience, Scott is qualified to repair the instruments; in fact, he has made three guitars.

Of the album's contents, Scott says, "We are playing everything from modern country -- like Tom T. Hall's 'Old Dogs and Children and Watermelon Wine' -- to really old country ballads like 'The Golden Vanity.'

"The sound is not that of a real string band . . . maybe it's more like old folk music."

The set also includes "Me and Bobby McGee," "Danville Girl,' "Sioux City Sue," "My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountains," "Darcy Farrow," "The Last Thing on My Mind," "Leaving Home," "Hush Little Baby" and a talk version of "Talking Hard Luck" that Peter Stanley makes a showpiece.

Why are Peter and Virginia Stanley living in Alaska? :

Peter, it appears, was fed up with life in the world of business, and is quoted as saying "To hell with it all."

Alfred Scott reports, "They had a little money stashed away -- and they decided they had just as soon do it while they were young and they went to Alaska and built a cabin. They have three dogs, a cat and two children and happiness."

The Scotts have visited them at their Alaskan homestead and Alfred reports, "It's really kind of nice."

With Peter Stanley, however, his love for "just one more song" continues and his music is being heard in some of the best clubs and bars in Alaska.