FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT:

Jeff Muir

Blount Partnership

(865) 983.2241

Jennifer Wiggins

AkinsCrisp Public Strategies

(865) 680.1457

Dulcimer Shop Brings Sweet Melodies to Blount County

BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. – What would you do if you had a blank check? When Mike Clemmer’s wife asked him this question in 1996, his answer was easy: go to Townsend and make dulcimers. Leaving the world of corporate sales behind, Clemmer and his wife, Connie, opened Wood-N-Strings Dulcimer Shop, located on East Lamar Alexander Parkway in Townsend.

Clemmer began building dulcimers in 1976, when a friend needed help finishing Christmas orders.

“I’ve been a musician since I was 10, and I enjoyed woodworking,” Clemmer said. “When he asked me to help, it was the perfect job for me. I actually learned to build dulcimers in the same location where my first shop was at Nawger Nob.”

When Clemmer opened his new shop in 2002, he used local craftsman, Wade Richardson, to create custom cabinets and other personal touches, including a rustic swing on the front porch, to create a more personal feel in his shop.

“We don’t only sell instruments – there is room for people to pick and play music on the front porch,” Clemmer said. “And it’s right on the river, creating the perfect backdrop for a bluegrass jam session.”

In addition to custom making and selling the dulcimers right in his shop, Clemmer sells mountain and hammer dulcimers, bowed psalteries and Celtic harps, as well as other acoustic instruments and musical items. Wood-N-Strings Dulcimer Shop also features local crafts with a musical theme, and Clemmer’s is the only shop from Nashville to Asheville to sell Rain Song graphite guitars.

“We also have an instrument I developed available,” said Clemmer. “The Ban-Jammer is a cross between a dulcimer and a banjo, and it has really taken off among dulcimer musicians.”

There are two versions of the Ban-Jammer available, the “Deluxe” model, made of Walnut, Cherry or Maple, and the “Tennessee Special,” which is made out of the Tulip Poplar, Tennessee’s state tree.

“Mike is a great craftsman and musician,” said Tami Vater, director of Tourism for the Smoky Mountain Tourism Development Authority. “His skill in crafting dulcimers is well known nationally, but most importantly, Mike and his wife Connie are tremendous ambassadors for this community.”

Clemmer’s dulcimers are made of all local wood, including walnut, wormy chestnut, sassafras, butternut and cherry, and are so popular, they often must be ordered ahead of time. Clemmer also makes special-order dulcimers and has made them in sound-hole patterns ranging from wildcats to dogwoods. Clemmer sells his dulcimers around the world and has one on almost every continent.

“I build the Fiddle-Side or East Tennessee dulcimer,” said Clemmer. “The sound and tone are very mellow with a lot of volume. This sets them apart from most dulcimers, making them very popular. It is really one of the easiest instruments to play; you don’t even have to be able to read music. I always tell people if you can count to 12 without taking off your shoes, you can play the dulcimer.”

Wood-N-Strings Dulcimer Shop is part of the Tennessee Heritage Trail in two categories, music, and arts and crafts. This program was developed by the Tennessee Department of Tourism to identify significant cultural and historical sites within the State.

Clemmer and his store have been identified as a site that showcases both arts and crafts and music. Each chosen site is listed in a Heritage Trail publication that guides visitors to these special places throughout the state.

For more information about the Wood-N-Strings Dulcimer Shop, please call (865) 448-6647 or visit www.ClemmerDulcimer.com.

About Blount County, Tennessee

Blount County, Tennessee is located just south of Knoxville at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. The communities that make up Blount County—Townsend, Maryville, Alcoa, Friendsville, Louisville and Rockford – provide visitors with an abundance of outdoor activities, attractions and regular celebrations of the region’s rich Appalachian heritage and culture. Blount County is also home to the nation’s most visited national park—the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

For more information about Blount County, please contact the Smoky Mountain Tourism Development Authority at (800) 525.6834 or visit www.SmokyMountains.org. Follow the Smoky Mountain Tourism Development Authority at www.Facebook.com/PeacefulSide and Twitter.com/PeacefulSmokies.

If you are in the area, please stop in to the Smoky Mountain Visitors Center at Townsend, located at 7906 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, or the Smoky Mountain Visitors Center at Maryville, located at 201 South Washington Street, for more information. (January 2013)

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