Revolt of the ILX Brigade: New Post-Fahey Folk For PPL that post in the Takoma & Tompkin's Square Threads

Hah, we really would make an interesting band perhaps. I play in a tuning I discovered by accident (well, one I adopted from one I found by accident) by leaving an electric sitting for a while with a broken string. I have been playing it for years.

Neat! What are the notes?

I discovered mine by finding an existing one somewhere I wanted to try out then I literally stopped tuning it halfway (in the middle of changing the G string) and got used to it.

Dflat/Aflat/Dflat/Aflat/Aflat (I play w/ 5 strings and tune the highest 2 to the same octave). I also vary it by tuning the highest string to C, so Dflat/Aflat/Dflat/Aflat/C.

I have a couple of other minor variations on it, but mostly I play those two these days. Originally I left the low string tuned to E, but that was when playing with other people playing in standard tuning. Now that I don't do that I have mostly abandoned it. Really I feel silly about my tunings/5 string setup at times, but when it happened years ago it freed up my playing in ways that were kind of astounding, as far as getting me out of a rut and feeling like everything I played in standard tuning sounded lame, so I have a real affinity for it. Kind of a "don't spook the horse" thing I guess.

I discovered mine by finding an existing one somewhere I wanted to try out then I literally stopped tuning it halfway (in the middle of changing the G string) and got used to it.

I love facts like this, and hope stuff likes this always creeps into my music, i.e., accidents and just deciding stuff sounds good even if it came outta nowhere. I think every musician has stuff like this, but as far as having personality in music I think it helps to indulge this kind of urge.

Yes! After playing in standard for so long it got stale for me. New tunings really make everything feel fresh.

Huh, had no idea there was an album about to come out, but apparently you can stream the new Daniel Bachman record right now:

http://www.fretboardjournal.com/audio/exclusive-stream-preview-daniel-bachmans-jesus-im-sinner

Looks like he plays some traditionals, but I can't listen right now so I haven't really dug into it yet. No info on the label either.

ha yeah, hadn't heard a thing about this!
looks like it's tompkins sq.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E00GBV8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00E00GBV8&linkCode=as2&tag=fretbjourn-20

Hah definitely sneaky if no one on this thread had heard about it, and yeah should have figured Tompkins Square, though folks jump around labels a lot these days.

totally borrowed your tuning for the afternoon, grandavis. but since i play with six strings, i also jacked your idea to tune to C for the remaining string haha. think i've worked up the skeleton of a nice little ditty, though! may post it in here some day.

Hah that is great global, would love to hear it! Would be a little strange, as I might just think it sounds like me (though you are a better player than I am), but yeah very interested to hear what someone else would do with it. I am sure it is close to some kind of commonly used tuning (obviously not too far off from DADGAD or something, just the half-steps lower), but I haven't spent much time looking into it.

By the way, did you double the high Aflats or double on the C? I just pulled out my wife's acoustic, so I might play around with a six-string version of the tuning.

http://www.factmag.com/2013/08/02/bill-orcutt-announces-new-lp-a-history-of-every-one-hear-him-take-on-zip-a-dee-doo-dah/

ok this record is sick

legend of blind derek bailey

imo every orcutt track is a cover of zip a dee doo dah

Be interested to see how much this "Zip a dee doo dah" track is a bait and switch or not. There is a track posted in this thread somewhere where Orcutt is playing it a little straighter (maybe his national anthem run-through, can't remember), and it is a good look for him. I don't think I can listen to a whole album of him doing the "blind derek bailey" thing again, as much as I appreciate it in principle. Might become a live proposition only for me, though for a track/song at a time I can be pretty into what Orcutt is up to.

i don't know what you mean by 'bait and switch', but most of the album is in that vein, with a couple few more placid/ballady numbers as well. i haven't listened enough yet to have any sense for how recognizable any of the songs are, but i don't care about that anyway.

new nathan salsburg record is out today, btw.

if you can get there (they've been having website issues), i wrote up a bunch of these things for aquarium drunkard today: http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2013/09/17/transfigurations-2013-recent-recommended-guitar-soli/

new marisa anderson!!

from a couple months back, but i guess they're just getting the vinyl issue together...! it is amazing, maybe my fave LP of the year.

Man I am psyched, Marisa is playing here next month, really excited to see her live.

i don't know what you mean by 'bait and switch': Wasn't trying to be confusing here, just meant that the rest of the record, which uses the titles from popular songs, may actually contain recognizable parts of those songs, as opposed to "zip a dee doo dah", which bears no resemblance to the original. I haven't heard it so I don't know.

ah, well my first impression was that it is like bailey's 'ballads' in that regard. i thought i heard some resemblances here and there, but they weren't necessarily strong ones, and of course i don't know all the songs that well anyway. i'll have to test it on 'onward christian soldiers'.

i did notice on 'white christmas' that i was like, 'white christmas??'.

Hey grandavis,

Thanks for shouting me out above. Of possible interest to those on this thread is an interview with Nathan Bowles I just published:

http://adhoc.fm/post/nathan-bowles-talks-pingy-banjos-black-dirt-studio/

My guess is that it is mostly "???" moments in relation to the Orcutt cover songs, which is fine but not as interesting to me unless there is some real thought behind the uses of the names/song titles etc., which may come out in the press surrounding the record. I'll give it a shot, as he can be an exciting player to me, but not sure I can take a whole record of it.

And sure thing MFB, obviously I am a sucker for all of this stuff, so I appreciate it getting some press. Also of course dig the stuff people bring to this thread, so thank you man. Just read the Bowles piece, good stuff. Interesting guy, glad to have gotten to open for him and share a state.

great interview. found this particularly exciting:

“That's the first time I've played that. I came up with the tuning first, and then I wrote that when I was on vacation. It's not so melodic-- little clusters of chords, and more textural. There's a section where I repeat one chord over and over.”

Pretty sure that I saw this song last time he played live, or at least something similar. He did a long one that sat on a figure for a long time, and it sounded like a country-kraut hybrid. But yeah, last time I saw him the room was really quiet and he played a lot of textural shit that was really cool, highlighting that "not pingy" aspect of banjo tonality, and just tonality in general, which completely my thing.

Uh, is completely my thing that is.

Salsburg songs I have heard are really good, his techinque and taste are airtight, but maybe a bit dry to me. Need to dig in more.

country-kraut hybrid

Holy shit this is the most intriguing combination to me.

I want to hear twang and spacey mountain strings married to a steady meditative krautrock drumming (bass bass bass snare bass bass bass snare bass bass bass snare)

Kinda fits the bill:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmreFk03OU8

Make sure you get to the middle of that track too, real pretty ....

I want to hear twang and spacey mountain strings married to a steady meditative krautrock drumming (bass bass bass snare bass bass bass snare bass bass bass snare)

you rang?

redialing

i like that colin l. track!
country-kraut -- henry flynt might be your dude.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4TiSXSOgCk

was gonna suggest harry flynt. cool stuff.

Everyone should check out Henry Flint, he is great (and totally weird)!

Also, don't let Colin Langenus's dreads scare you away. a) He cut them off when USAisaMonster broke up and b) he is the best kind of weirdo hippie/punk/wild man. That tune and album (Infinite Ease) in particular is great, but I love most stuff he does. It is definitely from another planet a lot of the time though, so you gotta be ready for some head-scratching.

Danny Grody's new album Between Two Worlds (on Three Lobed) probably qualifies here. He's a good friend and I think this is maybe the best piece of music he's done; I loved Tarentel and the Drift but for some reason the mostly-12 string guitar only stuff on this is pretty transcendental. We played a show with him last week.

Evan - If you want me to send you a repetitive drum beat to loop and twang on, lemme know! I'm eager to take requests :)
Ps I've been playing for like 3 months, so I'm not Jaki.

maybe too uh, disco, for this thread, but endless groove + guitar..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUKBD_tO2io

I'd try and record something on your drum beat too!

Also, really digging Colin L. Orchestra

Lyrics of 'Numbers Hall' are cracking me up

anyone who wants a free drum beat, just send me your email and we can figure something out!

ps i can't play disco beats yet

Colin L. is a funny guy for sure, but in a pretty unique way. He is definitely doing his own thing, and he is a hell of a guitar player in his own right, so not a super-stretch for this thread. (I should say that I have known Colin for a long time, so I am a little biased). Still, I find "You Need Sleep" to be something I could listen to for a looooonnnnnggg time, like certain Neu! songs that I don't want to end.

I'll definitely hit you up for a drum beat!!

Henry Flynt is definitely hitting the spot.

Because I was totally imagining NEU - Hallogallo with a slide guitar with that genre combo.

Hey AKM, just letting you know we have been repping the D. Paul Grody record for sure. I have only heard a few tracks and really liked it, but haven't heard the whole thing yet. It is on the list though.

Also, that Jack Adkins track is kind of great.

Evan, I really liked the track you posted! Your playing sounded great, cool in the tuning for sure. Look forward to hearing more.

Oddly enough a buddy of mine decided on a whim to start putting out 7"s of covers from the Secret Museum of Mankind series, the first of which has me on it backing up Colin L. and my friend (who is the drummer). I actually posted one of the originals above, a Greek song by A. Kostis, who is on that Dust to Digital set of Greek music discussed a bit upthread. I have never had anyone put out anything I am on, so it is very cool and exciting for me, but also some of you may dig it. Kind of a Sun City Girls/power trio take on the song, which I just freaking love. The original is where it's at, but this was fun to make.

oh man, that's super cool... how many of those 7"s are out there? i want them all!