Charlie Lewis
Charlie has been performing as an actor and musician in Ohio and the surrounding region for the past four decades.
In the 1970's he become a part of a joint project of the School of Theater and the Ohio Valley Summer Theater known as the "Appalachian Green Parks Project". This group performed traditional Appalachian folk songs and dialogue based on the culture and history of the region in Ohio State Parks.
Through the efforts of Representative Clarence Miller, the group was invited to perform in Washington, D.C., and eventually became the official Bicentennial Touring Group for the State of Ohio during the nation’s Bicentennial Celebration in the 70’s. There was a documentary movie made on the group, and an album was released for public sale. Music was recorded for the Ohio Department Of Natural Resources for a Public Service Film entitled "Sweet Ohio" and the group made an appearance on ABC Television’s "Make A Wish". It was in this group that Charlie first met Celia Hollander.
After AGGP came to an end for them, Charlie and Jim McGaw drafted Jim Prouty to form "The New Vinton County Frogwhompers Marching, Singing, Strumming and Plucking Society" in the hopes of continuing to make music. This venture led to an appearance at the prestigious Fox Hollow Folk Festival in Petersburg, NY, another album, three different appearances on PBS’s "Hocking Valley Bluegrass" (later known as "Ramblin’") including the pilot that got the show on the air.
There were also original scores from both Jim and Charlie for the ODNR Films "Special Places", "The Legacy", and a short subject on Louis Bromfield’s Malabar Farm. . It was during this time period that both Jim and Charlie first began to play the hammered dulcimer.
When the group disbanded, Charlie and Jim Prouty started Touch Productions and added new band member Terry Douds to form a new group known as "A Touch of Grass", operating out of Columbus, Ohio. Another album was released, and the band was busier than ever, but Jim eventually left Touch Productions and the band to open an Irish Pub in Athens, Ohio.
After Jim’s departure, the band went on to perform in shows that included such acts as Bill Monroe, The Country Gentlemen, Juice Newton, Hank Williams, Jr., and Alabama.
All things must come to an end, and so it was that in the late 80’s the band dissolved and Charlie began performing in a duo with Celia Hollander. They were eventually married at Malabar Farm and continued to perform under a number of different names. They found that regardless of what they called themselves, the public called them "Charlie & Celia", and they wisely adopted that as their official name. They moved to Guysville in Athens County, Ohio and continued performing music.
In the 1990’s, they teamed up with Bill Mullins, another former member of the "Appalachian Green Parks Project" and performed as a trio. Since Bill is also Charlie’s cousin, the group was called "The Mighty Fine Reformulated All-Purpose Family Band". They performed in venues from Civil War Reenactments to State Parks and places such as the Ariel Theatre in Gallipolis until1996 when Celia’s job at Ohio University transferred her to Cleveland and the Lewis family left the Athens area for the next six years.
There was a hiatus from performing and a concentration on the rearing of two young daughters. Charlie took a job with Guitar Center in North Olmsted though both knew they would eventually return to performing. In 1999, Guitar Center transferred Charlie to Hallandale Beach, Florida as Operations Manager and they soon began to find venues in which to perform again. In 2002, they packed up and left Florida and Guitar Center to return to Ohio and resettle back into their house in Guysville, Ohio.
2002 through 2005 were again spent primarily tending to the care of the girls. In addition to an occasional performance as Charlie & Celia, Charlie also appeared locally with the original members of "A Touch Of Grass" under the new name of "Forgotten But Not Gone". Charlie took the time to be a part of an educational project for musiceducationpress.com under the guidance of Becky Ogden called "Come To The Play Party", recording Appalachian folk music with Ohio notable musicians Tony Ellis, The Vibberts Family, Laura Kaplan, Cathi Parsons and Terry Douds.
Charlie is also a member of the Arts Task Force for the City of Athens that was instrumental in the acquisition of the building and the development of the plan that resulted in the establishment of ARTS/West in Athens.
Both Charlie and Celia have been presenters/instructors at the Southeast Ohio Dulcimer Festival that takes place in Stewart, Ohio under the guidance of Jerry Rockwell.
The beginning of 2005 brought the re-working of old material, the addition of new material, the re-contacting of sources from nine years earlier, the contacting of brand new sources and finally, the re-launching of "Charlie & Celia".
They hit the ground running. There were performances at Nelsonville’s Final Fridays followed by invitations to appear at Toscano’s in Athens, and events in the Zanesville and McConnellsville areas. Fans had been polled to see which songs they would like to hear on a new CD. "Snapshot" (the CD) was released and the Charlie & Celia Website went on-line in August of 2005.
Since that time, Charlie & Celia have found time in their busy performance schedule to produce and release a Holiday Snapshot CD for Diagnostic Hybrids, Incorporated to send out to their customers, provide back up as singers and musicians for a mini tour of 70’s Folk Artists David & Denise, and provide instrumental and vocal tracks for a new CD that is soon to be released by singer/songwriter Noah Budin.
In addition to everything else, Charlie & Celia have become board members of the Ohio Valley Summer Theater and are currently working on putting together and doing the music direction of a revival of The Appalachian Green Parks Project for the Spring and Summer of 2007.