Bill Bartels contact via email - 805-990-5946
Laura February 2011 with Twiggy
Laura Victoria Kline Bartels Esq. Owner, Taylor, Scoles and Bartels. Attorney Extrodinare.
Family December 2011
From Left to Right Nicholas '98 Matthew '02 Hannah '00 Farming Sunset 2012
I have been engaged in farming in one way or another for my whole life. Now, down the road, it is the root, the rock, the basis of much of what I do. The central theme of daily living.
GreenSource Inc.
Started as a funny idea... take all of the curb side green waste from the city of Fillmore and use it as mulch in the orchard. From 1993 to 2003 it was a simple system. And it worked. Now the company uses that same simple idea... "conversation from many voices" to forge amazing sustainable moments...
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The Rest of the StoryThe river moves by every instant of every day. There have been some times when I forget and the stream, running there, is covered in sand. Feels like that place of just being mired in that sand. That is not very often, but, when it comes, it feels like forever. There is so much shift and change that I forget the moments of the river flowing sometimes. But, life would not be so rich and filled with such intense moments if they did not happen. Each day is an adventure. The best part of the adventure is that it is an adventure....
If you had told me that I would be here, doing what I do, even a few years ago I would have ... been there doing what I was doing then. The Guy with the Tie
There were some years when this was every day. I like to wear a tie. It is a comfortable easy uniform. And, it is a selection from several options.
Bill Bartels Late 70's at Far View Ranch
Photo by Dirk Stetcho
I spent a bunch of summers at this place called Far View Ranch. One school year was spent there at WanderJahr. Every time I see this image I remember that place. It was formative, challenging, and a lot of fun. And yes, there were pigs.
Tracking with Gathering
This band is "Gathering" We play acoustic music. I am a folkie. Teddi can sing anything. Eric is a blues guy. Gregg can play any style. So, what do we play? Mostly we play what strikes us. We cover lots of styles. When we do my stuff, we take it in new directions. So ... indie folk, blues folk. Lyle to Bruce, Odetta to the Weavers to Bonnie, How Great Thou Art to some of the graces, ... you get the idea. When we cover it sounds like us. Because it is us.
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Music
Matthew at the Foos
Drums at 9. This really cool white pearl snare. Piano lessons in that same range. Grace Bennet, the greatest theory teacher ever (practicing for the piano lessons was another story). French horn starting in 7th grade. Adult choir with pop at 11 or so. Singing soprano next to Sara Anderson. Sara Sponda in the youth chorus in Marin. Started Recorder in 7th grade. Singing in the choir at St. Stephens in Marin. Voice change from Soprano to Bass and finally settling at Tenor. Now horn is the main instrument. Playing in the pit for Guys and Dolls. Exposure to some guitar chords in high school. My brother got a guitar and so I learned to tune it, and play it some. Then came the banjo. Senior year of high school there was the musical, the pickup band for the pit, orchestra, Cabrillo community chorus... I got a guitar freshmen year of college. All through college exposure to ensemble singing and playing. Early Music Ensemble at Whitman College. Dime-a-time Boys was a string band. The Walla Walla Symphony. Whitman College Band. Playing in the Pit Orchestra for musicals all though college. I got to work for the Mission Mountain Wood Band, Asleep at the Wheel, Ella Fitzgerald, Al Stewart, The Young Vic, The Crusaders, a couple of dance troupes, ... all manner of theater. This was in the stage production side. Was part of the live radio show ... "coffee house"
Sang in the Portland Cathedral Choir, played with lots of string bands. Sang, wrote, and played more. Even got paid to play now and again. My Brother and I made a couple of cassette tapes. Exposure to recording was cool. Traveled to LaGrande to play. Met other players... the years rolled by. Left Portland and moved to the coast. Played on the coast. Moved again. Now to Fillmore. Started playing with Pam Torres. Different folks through the years but Torres/Bartels was the anchor. Along the way got to direct the Bardsdale United Methodist Choir for 9 years. Sang with the Mellow Fellows.... a barbershop quartet. Made a couple of cassettes. Recently it is "Gathering"... and teaching music at Santa Clara Elementary School. So thanks to all along the road, and it continues...
Sang in the Portland Cathedral Choir, played with lots of string bands. Sang, wrote, and played more. Even got paid to play now and again. My Brother and I made a couple of cassette tapes. Exposure to recording was cool. Traveled to LaGrande to play. Met other players... the years rolled by. Left Portland and moved to the coast. Played on the coast. Moved again. Now to Fillmore. Started playing with Pam Torres. Different folks through the years but Torres/Bartels was the anchor. Along the way got to direct the Bardsdale United Methodist Choir for 9 years. Sang with the Mellow Fellows.... a barbershop quartet. Made a couple of cassettes. Recently it is "Gathering"... and teaching music at Santa Clara Elementary School. So thanks to all along the road, and it continues...
Consulting/Work
The Easiest Way to say what I do
I have lucked out. I mean, the challenges and the work that have come my way through the years are pretty amazing.
Sitting in the office, the winter sun comes in the south windows. The storm clouds off to the east remind me that it is still winter. This past 30 years of "work" have been about engagement. Starting with the external. The out there and over time moving more and more to an interior place. In this time, I have been an employee for a small amount of time. That employment was and is best when it was in partnership. It was worst when it was dis-interested. It, like a river, has flowed, gone dry, and flowed.
Today the "work" is ... ever evolving.
Sitting in the office, the winter sun comes in the south windows. The storm clouds off to the east remind me that it is still winter. This past 30 years of "work" have been about engagement. Starting with the external. The out there and over time moving more and more to an interior place. In this time, I have been an employee for a small amount of time. That employment was and is best when it was in partnership. It was worst when it was dis-interested. It, like a river, has flowed, gone dry, and flowed.
Today the "work" is ... ever evolving.