we are on the radio now! on your ITUNES.
― ian, Wednesday, 14 January 2009 01:13 (fifteen years ago) link
The new Dust-to-Digital 'Art Of Field Recording Volume II' should be with me on Friday. Christmas bonus hurrah (so much better than a bottle of booze)!
― krakow, Wednesday, 14 January 2009 21:01 (fifteen years ago) link
I shared an office with a dude in grad school who would shoot you in the head if you said that bluegrass was "old-timey".
― Carne Meshuggah (libcrypt), Wednesday, 14 January 2009 21:24 (fifteen years ago) link
"bluegrass was strictly a post-war innovation."
― ian, Wednesday, 14 January 2009 21:37 (fifteen years ago) link
Was your office mate R. Crumb?
― ilx chilton (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 14 January 2009 21:40 (fifteen years ago) link
i could see that, like how i can get weird about the distinctions between "dixieland" and traditional jazz, and bands that play strict repertoire vs treating it as living music
― Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 January 2009 21:46 (fifteen years ago) link
He was a young dude, maybe 25 or so, and the angriest math grad ever. He'd get pissed off about the most trivial things like once I asked a friend (not him) for a ride to buy something from like Target or somesuch, and he started yelling at me that I shouldn't ask and that I should take the bus instead. So, I never discussed music with him of my own volition. I only happened on his views about old-time and old-timey when I learned he played banjo when he moved into the office and I asked him what kinds of things he liked to play. He talked about bluegrass and people who play bluegrass as if they would be better off with no hands and no ears.
― Carne Meshuggah (libcrypt), Wednesday, 14 January 2009 22:09 (fifteen years ago) link
Once, before I realized he was such a freak, I listened to him play banjo, and he sounded quite good to my unlearned and still attached ears.
― Carne Meshuggah (libcrypt), Wednesday, 14 January 2009 22:11 (fifteen years ago) link
There is definitely issues within the scene, community, etc. Usually bluegrass folks don't have a problem with old time musicians -- they are to be respected. But there are many old time musicians who look down on bluegrass, especially "progressive bluegrass." Mike from the Black Twigs told me about a jam circle in either Roanoke or Richmond led by this by this old, blind fiddler. He would swat any player with his bow who dared break out a bluegrass lick. Bluegrass is interesting. Many think it's the sound of the mountains. Yet many old time/hillbilly musicians see it as an invasive species, so to speak.
― QuantumNoise, Saturday, 17 January 2009 15:17 (fifteen years ago) link
Well it's true. Bluegrass was made for big concert halls and radio shows -- it wasn't ma and pa on the porch music.
― Joe Bob 1 Tooth (Hurting 2), Saturday, 17 January 2009 16:19 (fifteen years ago) link
bluegrass is the jazzing up of old-time music, and as much is seen by many as an impure strain of american country music (not that i give a hoot--i like bluegrass, but if i'm not in the right mood it all sounds too fast.)
also, if anyone wants to listen to the radio show we did, it'll be archived through monday-- http://www.eastvillageradio.com/modules.php?name=evrshow&showid=89
Ma Rainey Big Feeling Papa Twelve Classic Performances RiversideVictoria Spivey & Henry Red Allen How Do They Do It That Way? Volume 2 (1929) RCAJane Lucas w/ Big Bill Broonzy Pussy Cat Blues Do That Guitar Rag (1928-1935) YazooRobert Wilkins Nashville Stonewall The Original Rolling Stone HerwinRobert Johnson 32-20 King of The Delta Blues Single Columbia Mono 360 VG-Darby & Tarlton Ooze Up To Me s/t Old-TimeyThe Georgia Yellow Hammers Kiss Me Quick v/a Hell Broke Loose In Georgia CountyClarence Old John Hardy v/a A Fiddler's Convention in Mountain City Tennessee CountyJimmie Rogers Sleep Baby Sleep v/a The Bristol Sessions Country Music FederationCartwright Brothers Get Along Little Doggie v/a When I Was A Cowboy MorningstarNaftule Brandwine's Orchestra Where Were You Before Prohibition v/a Klezmer Music 1910-1942 FolkwaysRev. F.W. McGee & Rev. D.C. Rice Fifty Miles of Elbow Room Rev. F.W. McGee & Rev. D.C. Rice (1927-1930) DocumentWingy Manone Up The Country History of Classic Jazz RiversideRoy Smeck Laughing Rag Plays... YazooKalamas Quartet Medley of Hulas Early Hawaiian Classics FolklyricJimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra Let's Sow A Wild Oat v/a Early Viper Jive(1927-1933) StashFletcher Henderson I Wish I Could Make You Cry 1923-1925 RetrievalFreddie "Red" Nicholson You Gonna Miss Me Blues v/a Piano Blues & Boogie Woogie DocumentBlind Willie McTell It's A Good Little Thing 1927-1935 YazooBlue Sky Boys Dust On The Bible Bill & Earl Bolick BluebirdThe Dorsey Brothers Sugarfoot Stomp Original Dorsey Brothers Band PickwickBo Carter Time's Is Tight Like That The Rarest, 1930-1930 (Volume 2) DocumentLouie Lasky Teasin' Brown Blues Sic 'Em Dogs On Me Herwin RecordsCharlie Poole If the River Was Whiskey Volume Two CountyCliff Carlisle That Nasty Swing Volume 2 Old-TimeyBlanche Calloway Lazy Woman's Blues with Louis Armstrong CBSBix Beiderbecke That's My Weakness Now The Bix Beiderbecke Story Volume 3 ColumbiaBlind Willie Johnson Dark Was the Night Jazz Volume 2 FolkwaysJoe Venuti Wild Cat Violin Jazz YazooJoe Werner & The Riverside Ramblers Wondering Louisiana Cajun Music Volume 4 Old-TimeyWalter Family Shaker Ben Way Down South In Dixie Morning StarFiddlin' Arthur Smith Adieu False Heart Volume 1 CountyB.F. Shelton Oh Molly Dear The Bristol Sessions Country Music FederationLeo Reisman & His Orchestra What Is This Thing Called Love? v/a Sweet & Low Blues New World RecordingsLydia Mendoza Noche Tenebrosa Y Fria Early Recordings Part 2 FolklyricBlind Mamie Forehand Wouldn't Mind Dying Fight On, Your Time Ain't Long MississippiSister Rosetta Tharpe That's All Encyclopedia of Jazz Vol. 1 MCAVictoria Spivey Organ Grinder Blues 1926-1931 DocumentSam MAyo Things Are Worse In Russia Sprigs Of Time Honest Jon'sTarras Instrumental Trio The Plain Bulgar Klezmer Music 1910-1942 Folkways
― ian, Saturday, 17 January 2009 17:55 (fifteen years ago) link
asheville n.c. is still sort of a hotbed of old-time-vs.-bluegrass sentiment. a lot of those old-time dudes (and dudettes) are real hardcore about it. my sister plays fiddle and has played with some people like that and even absorbed some of the sentiment; i don't think she owns any bluegrass cds.
― tipsy mothra, Saturday, 17 January 2009 18:08 (fifteen years ago) link
i regret having no musical education as a youth. i feel like, at this point in my life, if i wanted to try to learn to fiddle or pick a banjo, i'd have an awfully hard time with it. after years of struggling i can still barely tune a guitar.
― ian, Saturday, 17 January 2009 18:42 (fifteen years ago) link
I confess that I'm not real big on bluegrass, 'cause I prefer more song in my song, and a lot of bluegrass seems to focus on technique to the detriment of song.
― Carne Meshuggah (libcrypt), Saturday, 17 January 2009 18:50 (fifteen years ago) link
i feel like, at this point in my life, if i wanted to try to learn to fiddle or pick a banjo, i'd have an awfully hard time with it. after years of struggling i can still barely tune a guitar.
actually my sister didn't start until she was about 28 or so. it was after she had a kid, she wanted something she could do once a day that would just be for herself. and, you know, she's never going to be a pro, but she's gotten pretty good. she can go to old-time jams and play along.
― tipsy mothra, Saturday, 17 January 2009 19:57 (fifteen years ago) link
(plus with old-time music in particular, the social and musical circles are small enough that they're pretty happy to have anyone. even as a novice, you can end up with access to some of the best people in the country for seminars or lessons.)
― tipsy mothra, Saturday, 17 January 2009 19:58 (fifteen years ago) link
you ever been to the bluegrass jam at Freddy's bar, tipsy? I know it's not in yer hood, but it's usually pretty fun.
― ian, Saturday, 17 January 2009 20:18 (fifteen years ago) link
never been to freddy's at all, but it's on my "i should go there sometime" list...
― tipsy mothra, Saturday, 17 January 2009 20:45 (fifteen years ago) link
maybe i'll shoot you an e-mail next time i head there for bluegrass night. not 'til february IIRC, i think i missed january's already.
― ian, Saturday, 17 January 2009 20:53 (fifteen years ago) link
that'd be cool, yeah.
― tipsy mothra, Saturday, 17 January 2009 21:09 (fifteen years ago) link
there's a bluegrass jam night at the grizzly pear on macdougal. it gets crazy busy though. like a glenn branca bluegrass orchestra.
― schlump, Saturday, 17 January 2009 21:10 (fifteen years ago) link
I definitely think Asheville is dominated by bluegrass/hippie bluegrass folks. There is a healthy old time scene, but I tend to think southwest Virginia has more going on when it comes to old time.
― QuantumNoise, Saturday, 17 January 2009 22:13 (fifteen years ago) link
I just got back from Roanoke, where I caught Charlie Parr and the Black Twigs. Great show. Anybody into country folk and rural blues should definitely check out Parr. He brought along this mind blowing harmonica player who can do the whole train speeding up/slowing down thing. Apparently, the guy actually works on the railroad up in Duluth. Wild. Parr plays both six and twelve-string steel. Incredible picker. For the second half of his set the Twigs joined him for a six-man jam. It was a total throwdown. They did "Glory in the Meeting House," "Last Kind Word Blues" and a few other fiery spirituals. There's a great version of "John Hardy" on the Twigs' MySpace site which features Charlie.Here: http://www.myspace.com/blacktwigs
― QuantumNoise, Saturday, 17 January 2009 23:27 (fifteen years ago) link
Tomorrow is another old-timey night on the radio I think.
I got some more old records from County this week incl. such greats as Riley Puckett, The Leake County Revelers, Doc Roberts, Lake Howard etc. Plus some great comps. I never realized Michael Hurley's "I'm Gettin' Ready To Go" was such a direct swipe of the Puckett version. I don't think it's credited anywhere on the Snockgrass sleeve anyway. Also, I ran across a few volumes of the Carter Family radio sessions on Old Homestead but didn't pick 'em up cause I'm trying to be frugal (yet i still bought those expensive new sublime frequencies lps...)
I'm getting more into a capella ballads & field recordings too. Some sweet regional collections put out by labels like The Blue Ridge Institute and the Tennessee Folklore Society. Also, the beautiful and highly slept-on Nimrod Workman "I Want to Go Where Things Are Beautiful" LP (in print on Twos and Fews, a Drag City-related label.)
― ian, Sunday, 24 May 2009 20:01 (fifteen years ago) link
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DXTsRQRqzqas
― ian, Saturday, 13 June 2009 03:50 (fourteen years ago) link
try that again...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTsRQRqzqas
Picked up that Nimrod Workman LP myself a few days back. Haven't really had the time to give it much attention yet. I'd second the recommendation for the Art Of Field Recording boxsets: great music, lovely notes and drawings by Art Rosenbaum.
Art Rosenbaum is also a fantastic banjo player, much respected in the oldtime banjo-playing community. His book, Art of the Mountain banjo is still available and a great survey of several oldtime playing styles including 2-finger up-picking, clawhammer and Dock Boggs-style three finger picking. (In many ways it's worth getting for the accompanying CD alone)
― Duke, Saturday, 13 June 2009 15:14 (fourteen years ago) link
I realise my info on Art Rosenbaum's book "Art of the Mountain banjo" might be potentially misleading. It's a book for banjo players (sort of intermediate level) and contains sheet music and tablature for songs and tunes in various banjo styles. The CD is of Art himself playing (and singing) the tunes presented in the book. So it's not a written history of banjo styles.
― Duke, Saturday, 13 June 2009 15:44 (fourteen years ago) link
i've already got a copy, but someone here should buy this:http://cgi.ebay.com/Mountain-Blues-LP-County-Records-511-Old-Time-country_W0QQitemZ390071706932QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item5ad215e534&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1205|293%3A1|294%3A50
― ian, Saturday, 25 July 2009 21:05 (fourteen years ago) link
errr.. this
― ian, Saturday, 25 July 2009 21:06 (fourteen years ago) link
what do people think of old homestead records? i used to order from their very old-school (tiny, tiny print; oodles of listings using weird abbreviations, newsprint) catalogue. they still put out lots of CDs. they probably have the largest catalogue of old-time music on LP in the world, but they don't get much love. that's probably for a number of reasons. they don't seem to know how, or care how, to market this stuff to people who wouldn't already be interested. also, they probably have the worst mastering i have ever heard. their CDs often have digital distortion and dropouts; the LPs are flimsy and often there's more needle static than music on the transferred 78s. so although i own a lot of their stuff, i'm wary of buying more. but that catalogue! damn.
they finally have a decent website btw: http://home.comcast.net/~oldhomestead/
― amateurist, Saturday, 8 August 2009 01:51 (fourteen years ago) link
WTF they are selling those JSP boxes (list price $25-29) for $50!!!!!!
― amateurist, Saturday, 8 August 2009 01:55 (fourteen years ago) link
i don't think it's mercenary so much as brainless. i always got the sense that these folks weren't very "up" on the whole "record retailing" thing.
― amateurist, Saturday, 8 August 2009 01:57 (fourteen years ago) link
shitloads of country 78s though:
http://home.comcast.net/~oldhomestead/catalogs/cat7807s.htm
― amateurist, Saturday, 8 August 2009 02:04 (fourteen years ago) link
Yeah! I bought some 78s from Old Homestead last year. They were great! I got a Kelly Harrell, a Georgia Yellowhammers, and something else. Their two volume set of Grayson & Whitter recordings is essential. They released an ungodly amount of Carter Family radio sessions too iirc. like 5 volumes or something? more? Agreed that their catalog is pretty weird.
― ian, Saturday, 8 August 2009 02:37 (fourteen years ago) link
the Claude Casey "Pine State Honky Tonk" LP is excellent western swing.
at least three volumes of dixon brothers.. i don't have the first one. just numbers two and three.
― ian, Saturday, 8 August 2009 02:38 (fourteen years ago) link
srry i didn't get back to you again btw, will do tomorrow!
thing is, most of that old-time stuff can be had on JSP for less money, and despite JSP's frequent mastering problems, they still probably sound better than the old homstead stuff. but i wouldn't begrudge you buying 78s from them (not a habit i've gotten into... yet).
i'd like to hear that. i'm not huge on western swing, at least, not yet, but my girlfriend is.
― amateurist, Saturday, 8 August 2009 02:47 (fourteen years ago) link
i've already got a copy, but someone here should buy this (Mountain Blues, from County Records)
eMusic doesn't have it, for some reason. But they do have County Records, and something that sounds similar: Old Time Mountain Blues Rural Classics (1927 -- 1939). Opinions on this disc?
― Daniel, Esq., Saturday, 8 August 2009 02:56 (fourteen years ago) link
that's excellent.
in the same vein are the amazing "white country blues" (sony) and "mountain blues" (jsp) collections -- the former is OOP, the latter is not.
― amateurist, Saturday, 8 August 2009 02:58 (fourteen years ago) link
Also Yazoo's "Mr Charlie's Blues"
― ian, Saturday, 8 August 2009 03:06 (fourteen years ago) link
I'll look up Mr. Charlie's Blues.
Bug-eyed crazy it may be, but you know what's awesome? Alfred Karnes' Called to the Foreign Fields, on The Music of Kentucky: Early American Rural Classics (1927 -- 1937). Fire.
Another good (and bug-eyed crazy) Karnes song is on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GogiVjoc3s
― Daniel, Esq., Saturday, 8 August 2009 03:13 (fourteen years ago) link
all alfred karnes' stuff is great!
― amateurist, Saturday, 8 August 2009 03:14 (fourteen years ago) link
There's only a handful of Karnes stuff on eMusic, sadly. But yeah, it's all gr8. Tons of (crazy) energy.
― Daniel, Esq., Saturday, 8 August 2009 03:15 (fourteen years ago) link
i don't think he recorded more than a few sides.
― amateurist, Saturday, 8 August 2009 03:23 (fourteen years ago) link
Yeah. Karnes was involved in the Bristol Sessions, which were apparently the "big bang" of recorded country music. Here are Karnes' contributions:
Alfred G. Karnes: Called to the Foreign Field, I Am Bound for the Promised Land, Where We'll Never Grow Old, When I See the Blood, When They Ring the Golden Bells for You and Me, To the Work (7/29)
I think it's the first three songs that are on eMusic.
― Daniel, Esq., Saturday, 8 August 2009 03:52 (fourteen years ago) link
if i'm not mistaken, his complete works are on the 1st disc of that JSP "mountain gospel" set. it all sounds very much of a piece, which is fine by me. my favorite might be "where we'll never grow old" which is very sad (although possibly meant to be otherwise?).
― amateurist, Saturday, 8 August 2009 04:05 (fourteen years ago) link
A lot of that turn-of-the-20th-century music sounds unintentionally sad. Something in the crackling and aging of the records and the echoing ghosts of a bygone era.
― Daniel, Esq., Saturday, 8 August 2009 04:14 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah, i think we "hear" a lot of that stuff differently than folks heard it back then. charley patton is a good example: i don't know that the people who bought his records would have felt they were "searing" or intense as opposed to just exciting and catchy. but it's really impossible to reconstruct an "interpretive community" for that stuff so i guess we just get a bunch of folks like ourselves projecting in various ways.
― amateurist, Saturday, 8 August 2009 04:22 (fourteen years ago) link