Categories
Rock Music

Christine McVie RIP

Earlier this week, Christine McVie passed away after a short serious illness. She was 79 years old. It seems that the media was a bit slow to pick up on it, as most of the news reporting that I witnessed mentioned it either Thursday evening or Friday morning.

Christine was the keyboardist, co-vocalist, and contributing songwriter for the classic rock band Fleetwood Mac. She joined the band around 1970, as it was moving away from a hard English blues sound to try and sound more mainstream. She married (and later divorced) band bassist John McVie, and when the duo of Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the fold, there was music magic.

Christine would sing and write on some of the band’s most memorable songs, including “You Make Loving Fun,” “Over My Head,” “Say You Love Me.” and “Don’t Stop.” The band had a great pop-rock sound that could be appreciated by both classic rock fans and jaded popsters. A lot of that had to do with Christine’s keyboard work. Her clavinet playing in “You Make Loving Fun” sets the entire sexy mood of the song. The string-imitating synth sound in “Don’t Stop” coinciding with the barroom honky-tonk piano is hauntingly beautiful.

Rumours, from 1977 and a Grammy winner, to me is one of the greatest rock albums of all time. There are no flashy guitar solos. It is the combination of three great vocalists (Christine, Lindsay and Stevie), as well as very smart musicians as a band, knowing that the song is the most important thing. All of the musicians know exactly what will fit into each verse or chorus. Rumours, along with the 1975 self-titled album, are extremely special. There is not a bad track on either one of them. I blew out cassette copies of both of them a while back.

Christine semi-retired form the band and music in general back in 1998, although she made some appearances and re-joined Fleetwood Mac for a tour in 2014 and recorded/toured with Lindsay in 2017. While none of her solo work never achieved the popularity of the 70s-era Fleetwood Mac output, she was always kicking out quality music that any other songwriter would be proud of.

She had a motherly voice, but it was angelic as well. I never turn off a Fleetwood Mac song when it comes on the radio. My personal downhearted feeling this week was telling someone at work that she passed away (he is about 15 years younger than me) and he didn’t know of her. THEN, I told him about Fleetwood Mac, and he said that he never heard of the band. I know that I am a music fanatic, but you must be really sheltered if you never heard of Fleetwood Mac!

Rest in Peace, Ms. McVie. Your magic will never be forgotten.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

Kate Lee O’Connor and Your Help

This week’s blog is a little different. Instead of me ranting about something that irritates me, or lauding about something that makes me happy, I want to tell you about someone dear to me who is going through a rough time, as well as asking for your help with her.

Kate Lee O’Connor is one of the most talented young ladies that I know. An fine fiddler, wonderful vocalist, and a personality that outshines her extreme beauty. She is married to Forrest O’Connor, mandolinist and son of legendary fiddler Mark O’Connor. The three of them, along with Mark’s wife Maggie, have performed together for the past few years as the Grammy-winning O’Connor Band. Forrest and Kate Lee have also recorded and toured as a duo.

I got to be acquainted with Kate Lee a few years back after a performance of the duo during an AmericanaFest showcase in Nashville. It led to me doing an article on her for Fiddler in the Summer 2020 issue. She is one of the few artists that I have interviewed that have thanked me personally for her coverage, and has posted her appreciation on her Facebook page. Since then, we have stayed in touch through emails.

During the beginning of the COVID pandemic two years ago, her doctor at the time had her taken off of a medication that she has needed since she was a child. The result was Kate Lee suffering from a severe case of SSRI Discontinuation Syndrome. Despite trials of other medications, they failed to curb her bouts of heavy anxiety, depression, and thoughts of suicide. She had attempted the act this past September, which caused her to be in a coma for one day and required a number of surgeries.

Medical bills have been piling up for the couple. As so many are aware, musicians, especially in the bluegrass fold, are not wealthy enough to have substantial medical coverage. Forrest has set up a GoFundMe page to seek assistance in covering the bills. I implore you to visit the page, read more about Kate Lee’s situation, and make a donation if you can.

Kate Lee O’Connor is a talent that only comes along once every few years, so it is crucial that we in the music world help when we can. Please keep her and the O’Connor family in your prayers, and provide assistance in any way that you can.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/fft48-kate-lee-oconnor-recovery-fund

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Live Music Musicians

“And Bring Your Own PA!”

As I continue to clean out my house, there are more artifacts from my past that make me reminisce about why I became a musician. One of the items that I am cleaning up and looking to sell is a small PA system.

Back in the mid 1980s, when everyone was forming a band, one of the stipulations was that someone in the band had to own a decent PA system. You needed it to practice the vocals, and more importantly, you need one to get a gig many times. Bar owners were willing to let any four kids with guitars and drums take a corner of the bar up for a night, thinking that they would bring in their friends who would drink and spend money. However, only established live music bars usually had a PA system to provide. Most dive bars told the band to bring their own.

Of course, to prove my worth as a reliable musician, I made sure that I had a small one handy. It served its purpose for the small 50-person dives, but for any larger bar that didn’t have a PA, you either looked to do a shared booking with some other band that did have a better PA, or you lost the gig. Back then, I had a mini-truck that I could haul a whole PA as well as my gear and a drum set around. I traded the truck days for a subcompact about the time that I left the electric band life for playing bluegrass.

Why I kept the PA system I don’t really know. Either I figured that one day I would need it for a gig, as if I was ever going to play in a band again, or was just too lazy to pull it out of my attic. The PA speakers were the biggest concern, in more ways than one. The two that I have were from the 80s, probably from Radio Shack, that I know that I bought used from someone. Covered in gray carpeting, they have 12-inch woofers. One has the original radial tweeter, and if I remember correctly, the other one had a blown tweeter that I replaced with a horn and some plywood. These are the small venue size PA speakers meant for basements or small dive bars, handling probably 100-150 watts total.

I have a few variants that I used for the mixer/amp configuration. The most useful proved to be a four-channel Kustom PA head. Small in size, 80 watts, it was easy to carry around. The downside was if I needed more than four microphones. I do remember connecting a six-channel ROSS mixer from the 70s to it for more flexibility, but it started to look like a mad scientist setup after a while. I also have a few power amps around that I would hard-wire into the system if I needed more power, but I do know that I had to either borrow or rent out larger speakers for those gigs.

The same situation was with monitors. I have a few homemade ones along with a compact Peavey pair that I would also use as main speakers for really small/solo acoustic gigs. I would get lots of snide remarks about my mismatched equipment, but I always said the same thing back: “Next time, YOU bring the PA!”

Finally, microphones and cords. I have well over a dozen dynamic mics laying around now, even after selling off some over the past few years. I have put more on Craigslist, hoping to clean house a bit. As for cords, those have always worn out or shorted out faster than you could buy new ones. I was a bit of a wiz with a soldering iron, so I could repair some of them, but not many. As for mic stands, those would occasionally disappear at gigs (i.e., get stolen) to the point where I was tired of replacing them. Over the years, I probably had 20 or so in my arsenal, and now I have two or three.

I really don’t ever see myself performing live again, especially with a band, in which I would need a PA system. I laugh because the bar scene has shrunk to about 10 percent of what it was when I was in my 20s playing in punk bands. I don’t miss much of it, especially working with other personalities. However, there are some memories within those PA speakers that will never go away.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music Bluegrass vocals Lutherie

What To Do During The Winter?

Winter is around the corner. More time indoors, most of the time outdoors (especially north of the Mason-Dixon Line) is spent shoveling and snowblowing instead of out on the road heading for a festival or jam session. There is little to look forward to during the next few months. Even most bluegrass bands go into hibernation, since most of their in come comes from performing at outdoor events.

This doesn’t mean that everyone (including you) have to forget about anything musical until March or April. This is the perfect time to better yourself for the 2023 bluegrass summer season. There are a number of activities that you can do to busy yourself at home while improving on your musical skills.

Practice – That concept cannot be repeated enough! There is always something that you can learn to improve on your playing. Time spent outside gardening or lawn maintenance can be spent indoors (once the driveway and sidewalk are shoveled) learning new things on your preferred instrument. There are tons of books, videos and YouTube channels devoted to lessons on all stringed instruments. Moreover, I have discussed jam-along videos in previous blogs that can help you improve your playing with others (https://luegra.design.blog/2022/06/11/a-look-at-bluegrass-jam-tracks/). I have also mentioned checking out instructional videos from other genres (rock, blues, jazz, Celtic, etc.) to see if there is any tips that you can pick up.

Learn Another Instrument – So you play guitar and that is the only instrument that you own. Get a beginner bass guitar rig, or a mandolin, and transfer some of your skills to one of those instrument. How about a tin whistle? Those are extremely inexpensive, and you can pick up a few tunes within a week or so. If you want to stick with strings and have a little more dough to blow, start working on a good banjo, dobro, or fiddle. Make yourself more viable at the jam sessions next year.

Vocals – If you are a lead singer, keep stretching those pipes! Do warm-up exercises every day. Sing loud, like in a band, not in a lower talking volume. If you are not a singer, then start working on it! I did a two-part blog on bluegrass harmonies (https://luegra.design.blog/2021/03/11/bluegrass-harmony-singing-part-1-either-you-have-it-or-you-can-learn-it/ and https://luegra.design.blog/2021/03/19/bluegrass-harmony-singing-part-2-you-gotta-work-on-it-to-be-good/). Bluegrass vocals depend on great-sounding two- and three-part harmonies. Some people have an ear for harmonizing naturally. Others need to work on it. Now it the time. Find some bluegrass recordings with great harmonies, and pay attention. Then, tune-in to those harmonies and see if you can match the pitches. Find some solo-singing bluegrass vocals and try to harmonize. This is something that takes a lot of work, but again, makes a bluegrass performer more viable. If anything, you can check out Cary Fridley’s YouTube courses on singing.

https://www.youtube.com/user/cfridley

Basic lutherie – This does nto mean to try and build a guitar or mandolin on your own (although if you have the time, money and passion, go right ahead!). Do some basic maintenance besides changing strings. Clean the fingerboard, polish the instrument, perhaps even do some more advanced work like crowning frets or adjusting the truss rod. Again, there are a number of books on guitar/musical instrument maintenance out there, plus dozens of videos on YouTube that can walk you through simple maintenance.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Fiddle Bluegrass Music Lutherie

Tidbits #5: Hillbilly Thomists, Brittany Haas, Iris Carr

I have talked about The Hillbilly Thomists before on this blog almost two years ago (https://luegra.design.blog/2020/12/04/the-hillbilly-thomists-more-bluegrass-meets-cathoilicism/). I just picked up the band’s latest CD, Holy Ghost Power. If you are into The Earl Brothers/Mumford & Sons/Avett Brothers style of bluegrass, you definitely need to pick this disc up! While every song has religious overtones, it is not the strict gospel songs that one hears in church. The best cut IMHO is “Good Tree.” The mood that this song sets will move your heart.

What surprised me to see in a pleasurable way was finding a YouTube video of the band performing live on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville! If they weren’t wearing their Franciscan robes, you would think that they were another quality bluegrass band. Besides good musicians and excellent harmonizing vocalists, they have a great stage personal, and communicate will with the audience. This performance was in conjunction with a convention of the Knights of Columbus being held in Nashville. I guess that the only bigger stage for a band like this would be the Vatican!

Brittany Haas is probably my favorite living fiddle player. I am so amazed by her work with Hawktail, as well as numerous other projects. While her forte is bluegrass, she can easily spin into old-time, country, Celtic, Texas swing, and the blues. Her playing never lets me down, and I am so proud of her accomplishments over the past few years. I want to let everyone know that she is putting out a new video instruction series through ArtistWorks called “Old-Time & Bluegrass Fiddle with Brittany Haas.” This promises to be a rewarding educational series for beginner and intermediate fiddlers from the best in the business. It comes out in December, and the ArtistWorks YouTube channel has a sneak preview. Great lessons from a great lady!

Also be sure to check out two new videos on Darol Anger’s YouTube channel where he is duetting with Brittany. Here’s one of them.

A luthier that I have been following for a while is Iris Carr from England. She writes a blog about some of her more exacting repairs to violins, violas, and cellos (https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/112171145). I absolutely love to see her expert work, which is so professional that I often call her “Dr. Carr” in the comments section of her posts. Iris has recently started an online course for repairs and restorations of stringed instruments. From what I have seen of her previous repair work, a beginning luthier will learn a lot from this lady.

New Online Course available now!
Iris Carr Restorations

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Rock Music

Jerry Lee Lewis RIP

Known as The Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis was a true American character. How could one man get away with the stuff that he did, and still be loved by thousands of rock-n-roll fanatics?

Lewis passed away this past week at the age of 87. Growing up poor in east Louisiana, he learned to play piano along with his cousins, country music star Mickey Gilley and evangelist Jimmy Swaggart. He signed with Sun Records in 1956, and the next year had his first smash hit “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” A number of hits followed, but his career took a quick downward dive with the news of his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin, which was his third marriage at age 22 (he would marry seven times, each one seemingly causing some kind of controversy). He continued working in the country and gospel music scenes during the 1960s and 70s.

During the roots-music revival with the punk and new-wave movement in the 1980s, Lewis received a new audience, and continued to performing to audiences until his death. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its inaugural year of 1986, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame just a few weeks ago. He was too ill to attend, so Kris Kristofferson accepted his award and drove to Lewis’ home to present it to him the next day.

Almost every music fan knows about the legendary Million Dollar Quartet sessions, when Lewis was at the Sun Studios playing piano on some Carl Perkins recordings, with Johnny Cash sitting around listening. Elvis Presley dropped by to say hello, and Sam Phillips let the tapes roll as the four legends would jam on some gospel and rockabilly tunes. The recordings were not released until decades later, but it gave all four men a demigod status.

Lewis’ relationship with the law, especially dealing with guns, was also legendary. In September 1976 he shot his bass player from a ricocheted bullet from a gun he shot in his house. Two months later, he was found wielding a gun outside of Graceland. Reports vary if he intended to shoot Presley or was just drunk and wanted to visit and happened to have a gun. He was in trouble with the IRS twice, and finally declared bankruptcy in 1988.

As for his marriages, almost all had controversy, too much to cover here including two wives that died tragically. Likewise, two of his six children died under tragic circumstances. In 2012, he married for a seventh time to his former sister-in-law, and broke ties with his daughter/business manager the day after the marriage. As expected, there was a years-long battle in the lawsuit court.

With all of that, we can remember Lewis best for his possession-like piano playing. He went one step further than Little Richard’s stand-up playing style by playing the keyboard with his feet, elbows, standing on the top fo the piano, and even lighting it on fire. His melding of boogie-woogie and country piano styles made his playing totally unique. No one else was doing it like that! He was a true showman, going overboard to prove his excellence in playing rock-n-roll.

I was fortunate enough to see Lewis perform about 20 or more years ago at the Royal Oak Music Theatre. It was a special tour with Chuck Berry. The rumor was the both stars would bicker about who would headline each night’s show. In this case, Lewis headlined due to it being his birthday. Both men put on an amazing performance, be it that they were in their late 60s/early 70s. Lewis still had fire in his eyes. He didn’t move around much like in his prime, but you could hear in his voice that he still had the growl of a rocker. I am glad that I got to experience his music live once.

Only God knows if he is playing piano in Heaven or Hell. Wherever he is, he will be jamming on the 88s, and his spirit lives on with every true rock-n-roll fan that walks this Earth.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music Classical Music Musical Instruments

Hina Maeda/More YouTube Channels

First off, congratulations to Hina Maeda, the winner of the 16th International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition, which I covered more in last week’s blog (https://luegra.design.blog/2022/10/15/the-16th-international-wieniawski-violin-competiton/). Again, I could have never judged any of these amazing performers. However, I can fully understand why she was chosen — her dynamics in playing and her energy, as well as her true appreciation for Wieniawski’s work, the orchestra that backed her, and her love of the audience. I implore you to go to the Wieniawski Society’s channel and watch Hina as well as the many others that competed (https://www.youtube.com/c/WieniawskiSociety).

I don’t think that I ever mentioned Jeremy Sheppard “The Guitar Hunter” and his YouTube channel in one of my blogs before. So here it is! The guy has a passion for Martin guitars, but also covers other acoustic guitars, as well as visits luthiers in the Nashville area. He did some great videos of his visit to this past month’s IBMA World of Bluegrass convention in Raleigh. I loved how he described bluegrass music as an “ox bow,: like an ox-bow body of water that has life in it, but is not the main part of a moving river. Check out his channel.

https://www.youtube.com/c/JeremySheppard

Another great YT channel is The Acoustic Shoppe. (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgToABlTkcQP-ojGXd1g1SA). This channel is based on a music store in Missouri by the same name, run by members of the bluegrass band The Chapmans. They don’t record and tour like they used to years ago (I was a big fan), but the brothers still post videos of their performances at the store, as well as have well-known bluegrass artists, like Rhonda Vincent and The Isaacs, visit the store, talk, and perform on the channel. The best part of the channel is that these brothers have a great sense of humor. Besides slamming each other about playing skills, they post videos on how they test the strength of travel cases, and even a pseudo game show.

I kept this short, as it has been a busy week. Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Classical Music

The 16th International Wieniawski Violin Competiton

As I am writing this on Saturday afternoon, Im also watching the second evening of the Stage 2 performances of the 16th International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition, held in Poznan, Poland (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4X4EGQ17JE). I have written about the Violin Making Competition last year (https://luegra.design.blog/2021/05/15/the-14th-international-henryk-wieniawski-violin-making-competition/), and this year is the actual performances of young violinists from around the world.

I know that I could never judge one of these events. The competition began with Stage 1 all of last week, with the results announced of the 14 musicians that would advance to Stage 2 announced on October 11. As I watched this YouTube stream, I was heartbroken in a way. So many of these young violinists have devoted a lifetime of energy and stress to get to this competition, only to learn that they did not make the cut. To see their faces distraught and tears of loss come from their eyes is disheartening. In my eyes, they are all so extremely talented, but again, I could never judge such an event, and those that are qualified to judge have made the decisions.

Between watching these performances, and becoming acquainted and a patron the violinist Esther Abrami, I have learned to truly appreciate classical music again. I enjoyed it back about 30 years ago when Detroit actually had a radio station devoted to classical music, but faded away from it, moving into roots music again. YouTube sort of sparked that interest again, and after closely observing the Wieniawski Violin Making Competition, and having email conversations with Esther, I have learned to enjoy it and get emotional by the music.

I do not root for any of the performers like I would for a baseball team or a pro golfer on the circuit. They are all amazing performers. This Stage 2 competition includes each contestant performing in an orchestra setting and duetting with a concert viola player. Even after just one or two performances, I am totally knocked out. So far, the favorite is a young girl from the US named Hana Chang. The comments in the chat session when she performs all seem to agree that she is the best out there. Again, I have no way of judging and not nearly enough experience to say which one of these performers are the top.

I hope that you can take some time and check out the performances on the Wieniawski Society YouTube channel to follow the competition. Even if you have just a little appreciation for classical music, you will not be disappointed.

https://www.youtube.com/c/WieniawskiSociety

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

Farewell Milan Music Festival, Is SEMBMA Next?

A few days ago, I learned that the Milan Music Fest, held yearly in August at the KC Campgrounds in Milan, will be no more after this past year (https://bluegrasstoday.com/milan-music-fest-shutting-down/). Producer Mark Gaynier has decided that after 25 years of running this highly successful bluegrass festival in southeast Michigan, he would like to retire from the event and change course in his life.

No shame or hard feelings here. Mark has worked hard to make the festival a success for his attendees, and when top national acts like Rhonda Vincent show up every year, you know that something was being done right. However, one can understand the sadness of bluegrass fans in the region. This was a great location, and the acts performing were always top notch. There are a few other bluegrass festivals in Michigan, but most are on the west side of the state, making it difficult for those like me that cannot spend time overnight due to employment and caregiving issues.

There is a one-day festival in Blissfield (near the border of Ohio) that the Southeast Michigan Bluegrass Music Association sponsors. Although I am a member of SEMBMA, I am never able to volunteer due to my commitment to the Michigan Old-Time Fiddlers Convention held on the same day. At the next SEMBMA meeting (on October 22nd), I plan to suggest that the association recommend moving the Blissfield festival to the same weekend that Milan was. This would help get some of the Milan crowd, as well as not conflict with other events.

Speaking of SEMBMA, the organization has not been in good shape as of late. It is attempting to secure new officers for the board, but there has been next to no response. With that said, there is talk of dissolving the association and distributing what is left in the treasury to various educational funds. Working as a board member on even a small organizations such as SEMBMA take a lot of time and energy. I fully understand Bill and Pam Warren wanting to step down, as they have taken the reins for a number of years.

I have stated to the association that I will help in any way, even taking on one of the board member positions, if it means keeping the group going. I have a full-time job, and almost every hour of my time outside of work is spent caregiving my 90-year-old mother. I literally have to plan ahead days in advance just to do things like get a haircut or even write this blog. However, it would be a shame to see SEMBMA dissolve at this time.

My big disappointment is that there are so many members of SEMBMA that never show up for business meetings, but are waiting in line when a free jam sessions is scheduled. Promoting bluegrass in the community takes more than learning an instrument and showing up at jam sessions. This association is creating scholarships, sponsoring festivals, and working with artists to give bluegrass a voice in the area. It needs people who are willing to donate time and energy in order make a name for itself as a viable organization that is respected in the music community.

Again, I will do what I can given my situation. Heck, I never have time to participate in the SEMBMA jam sessions! However, it saddens me that so much of the membership think that the jam sessions are all that matters.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Old-Time Fiddle

The 2022 Michigan Old-Time Fiddle Contest

All right, I’m a day late again, but I have a good excuse. I spent my afternoon yesterday in New Boston, Michigan at the 2022 Applefest to watch the 35th Annual Michigan Old-time Fiddlers Contest.

Like most outdoor events, the Applefest and the Fiddler Contest were cancelled over the past two years due to the pandemic. It was good to see the contest up and running again, which is more than I can say for the festival itself. It is supposed to be a celebration of the apple, and there was only one tent selling apple pies. The rest consisted of the usual corndog vendors and the rest selling T-shirts, crafts and face painting.

Back to the Fiddler Contest. I wish that more people were interested in this activity. The contest had five entries, which has been about average for the past few years that I have attended. The crowd mainly consists of friends/relatives of the contestants. The contest follows the performance by the local junior high band, so those parents are still talking and taking photos of their kids while the contest is attempting to start. I did see a previous competitor and his wife in the audience, which is good to see, but again, I wish that there were more attending to appreciate what is going on.

Young Tom McKinney has been hosting the contest, taking over for his father Jim who had done it previously over the years. Jim had worked hard to make the contest a true traditional one, requiring contestants to perform a waltz, schottische, reel and jig in a dance-able form. This includes securing judges experienced with old-time fiddling. Years past had local rock band members judging, and winners were usually flashy fiddlers performing non-traditional tunes. The judges also are in a separate booth behind the stage so that they are not influenced by the appearance of the fiddler – just the sound of the fiddle.

Of the five competing, I pretty much figured out the winner even before the performances began. Regional traditional fiddler Trae McMaken (I covered him and his website in a previous blog, https://luegra.design.blog/2022/05/14/trae-mcmakens-michigan-fiddle-website/). When he showed up, I knew that the blue ribbon was his.

GEDSC DIGITAL CAMERA

Three of the other contestants were regular fiddlers at this and other events that I have attended. However, one fiddler that I was impressed with was a new face. A young girl (unfortunately, I didn’t catch her name) that went on last. You could tell that she was nervous, probably the first time that she performed in public. Yes, she made a few mistakes, but she still had enough spirit to go on, even after following someone like Trae. She came in 4th place – not bad for a first-timer, especially since all of the other fiddlers have competed many times.

GEDSC DIGITAL CAMERA

It would be wonderful to see more contestants in this event, especially the young fiddlers. This is truly an enjoyable event, something that more musicians in the area, be they bluegrassers, young violin students, or fans of traditional old-time music, should come out and watch. This traditional music of past Michigan can only be preserved if those who care will give their support. Let’s hope that next year’s contest has twice the crowd and twice the contestants!

Chew on it and comment.

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