Along about early 1989, I was just 17 and had explored my folks' folk LP collection thoroughly. I was starting to get very curious about life beyond the Weavers, so when I saw an ad for a folk concert at a nearby high school I dragged a few friends off to see Sally Rogers & Howie Bursen. I had a great time and picked up (and got autographed) a vinyl copy of their 'Satisfied Customers' LP. While it's obscure enough it isn't even pictured on Sally's website, it became a key world-building element for my rapidly emerging folk aesthetic. It basically introduced me to old-time music, open-backed banjos and all, along with modern songs (like this one) built around an old-time framework. It was also the first place I heard the names Claudia Schmidt and Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, who would have their own impact on me as well.

This song became something of a standard in the late '80s, making it into Rise Up Singing. A lot of the versions of this on Youtube are pretty straight chordings taken from the book though and, while it's a great song in any setting, lose that old-timey element, so in my version I tried to bring it back as best I could.

Thematically, this song had always struck me as a sweet little love ditty, but as I started working on it, a different subtext, that this was written from the perspective of a massively creepy guy, started emerging for me. I hint at it here with the last line left open. I'm hoping I can use this as base and really make a freakier version somewhere between Tom Waits, Randy Newman and Boiled in Lead. We'll see.

Key of G. Fingerpicked guitar, mandolin, washtub bass, glass washboard and vocals.

If I Were A Feather Bed (John McCutcheon cover)

I only realized tonight that with my own sister getting married in two weeks, this is kinda tasteless to put up. But I've been listening to Five Hand Reel lately, and Dick Gaughan absolutely murders this song... I had it on repeat in my car for two weeks straight. Since it's such a definitive version (I don't see any links for it on Youtube or I'd post one here - but seriously, look it up), but I still felt like I needed to record it just to get it out of my head, I took it in a different direction. I obviously don't have Dick's command of Scots, or incredible talent or presence in any way... so I tried to Americanize the language a bit, and boil down the melody and accompaniment to bare essentials. A metronome probably would have been a good idea, but I hate those things.

The meter also probably suffered a bit as tonight was brew night... obviously I had to sample a recently brewed Belgian-style blonde, which I racked tonight onto a gallon of mulberries and some oak cubes. Will be interesting - first time using either. Only bad thing is it'll be next year before I know if it's any good. I also brewed an amber using some of the same yeast, and plan to flavor that with some Cornelian cherries (actually dogwood fruits, should also be fun) after it's fermented.

The Cruel Brother

I had the distinct privilege in living in the village of Sawauchi (since subsumed into the town of Nishiwaga) for three years in the latter 1990s. It's a small valley in western Iwate Prefecture, and like many geographically isolated places had a fair share of traditions. I never mastered the local kagura or rice planting dance, but within a week or two of arrival I had gotten the hang of the local version of the O-Bon (sort of a festival of the dead) dance. Incongruously, my first exposure came at the climax of a costume contest, which itself was the conclusion of a local ice festival (in July), so most dancers (except me) were in costumes. And there was frozen snow around in some quantity. There is some video evidence of this. I look incredibly awkward, even compared to the more ridiculous costumed dancers. Or the ice.

Eventually I was allowed to drum with the young men's association of my neighborhood (Ota) for the local O-Bon celebration, which took place at one of the Buddhist temples down the street. There was always a vocalist, usually a very old man, singing into a bootleg PA with lots of unintended distortion, and I never learned if the vocal part was improvised or what; every singer's part was different. The drums were basic cheap festival nagado-daiko, slung to the left. The dancing continued for several hours on the temple grounds, and there was usually a prize lottery for the kids and plenty of beer, sake, mochi and other festival treats. When they didn't coincide with the Ota celebration I would make other neighborhood celebrations; the biggest was Shinmachi, where the locals would construct a rice-straw boat, parade it down the one street, and then tear it up for a big bonfire.

***UPDATE***!!! 8/29/14 - The awesome new Nishiwagafanchannel on Youtube just posted a video of the Shimachi O-Bon celebration, with the Funekkonagashi (the rice straw boat)and at about 2:10 you can see a few clips of the dancing around the bonfire with the drummers playing the beat. Ah, natsukashii.


The dance itself doubles as an abbreviated local version of the Sansa odoori, a regional dance central to Iwate's origin story. It's a relatively simple rhythm, but the trickiness lies in the cycle being 7 measures of 2 beats each. The dance includes a clap on the last beat of the last 2 measures.

For more on Sansa Odoori, visit http://www.japan-iwate.info/app/location_detail.php?lid=564

For the brave, there is a brochure (mostly in Japanese, but with some English) on Nishiwaga here: http://www.yamanoideyu.com/pamphlet/images/nishiwaga_kanko.pdf

Full disclosure: I left Sawauchi 15 years ago. It's hard to believe I've been back for 5 times longer than I lived there, b/c my experience there continues to feel so immediate, but certain things start to slip after time. I'm not absolutely 100% positive I got the rhythm completely correct, though when I do the dance to this recording the muscle memory tells me it is.

Photo: drumming at an O-Bon celebration, early August 1998; probably the Kawafune neighborhood in Sawauchi. The instrumentation is the closest thing I have to a taiko, a tunable long drum with a shoulder sling. I wore it like a taiko to play this, and did the dance while I was recording (and for the clap tracks too). The drum was tuned slightly differently for each track to give it a feel of several different drums and drummers playing together.

Sawauchi Sansa Odoori Daiko

One of the most well-known old-time tunes around. I'm not sure, but think my first exposure came via the Hollow Rock String Band version from an old Smithsonian compilation (Folk Song America). Alan Jabbour of the HRSB (and later the Library of Congress and American Folklife Center)  recorded it from Henry Reed in 1967 (which version you can hear here http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/reed/hrpres04.html) and the HRSB's version served as a point of wide dissemination to the old-time enthusiasts of the 1970s. Aside from hearing it at jams, I always enjoyed the versions by Michelle Shocked (with the Hothouse Flowers) and Leftover Salmon as well.

While I've used the harp before on songs I've posted, I really wanted a tune where I could play the melody on it unaccompanied for the first go-round.  Second time through the mandolin, banjo, guitar and washboard come in, and a little later the whistle. It's a little choppy as usual and in retrospect a little countermelody at some point would probably have been effective. Oh well. Thanks for listening & reading.

Over The Waterfall

Child #95, formally known as 'The Maid Freed from the Gallows.' Like most post-classic rock folkies, the first version I learned was Led Zeppelin's, but eventually Leadbelly's blew my mind. Other versions came and went, but when I heard Jean Ritchie's version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVafGE0L6dM) I finally wanted to sing & play it. It took a long time to work out a guitar arrangement I was happy with - I got caught up trying to replicate Jean's range and free meter, but again found that simplifying the melody and delivery a bit worked better with my so-called voice and also let me round out the guitar part a bit more. As usual with my guitar pieces this is a warts-and-all recording, so hopefully some of those warts add character. Thanks again for reading and listening.

Hangman

The first time I heard Hobart Smith's 'Banging Breakdown,' I said to myself 'somebody oughtta sample that.' My friend https://soundcloud.com/howisya encouraged me to do it. So a few years later, here we are. The percussion loop in this is Hobart banging on the banjo head as recorded by Fleming Brown, clipped out of the larger piece. My apologies to the estates of Mssrs. Smith and Brown, as well as  Smithsonian Folkways.

Cripple Creek is another one of the most common old-time standards, and among the recorded versions I know I've always leaned toward the solo versions by Jimmie Strothers and especially Uncle Homer Walker. I tried to borrow their sense of elasticity, as well as their blue notes, and transpose it to a string band setting. There's some irony in this, considering I'm using a straight loop as the rhythmic core, but I envision the loop as the dancers pounding out a rhythm as the band lets everyone play lead for the entire (unrehearsed) last song, which keeps going and going. There's some disagreement occasionally over when the A part and the B part are supposed to come 'round, or overlap? The caller's retired for the evening and the bar's making last call, so drink up and have just a little more fun.

I've been messing with the sample for a while, but did the rest of this tonight and decided that if I waited til tomorrow morning and re-listened to it, I'd probably decide to tinker with it some more instead of posting it raw. So here you go. Playing my gut strung banjo, steel string banjo, bad but fun fiddle, harmonica and harp.

Cripple Creek

Yes, another Pete song that's been in my head the past week. Learned from Pete's version on his first live record with Arlo, which I bought was back when I was about 15 and starting to really rediscover the folk that my parents had had around the house when I was really small. It's a great record with a lot of choice cuts. I haven't sung this one in a long time - probably since college, and my 20-yr. reunion is apparently this spring - but the words came when I called for them. I've changed my banjo pattern a bit since then.

Yesterday's tune was pretty naked and bittersweet, so another way to celebrate Pete's legacy is just to have a good time. And, though the words make this more than just a good time, an old-time jam is a good way to help these words have a good time. Layered banjos, guitar, uke, washboard, tub bass. This song surrounds hate, and forces it to surrender.

Well May The World Go

After a bad 9/13/18 hemorrhagic stroke, Pops was stuck in an LTAC unit to wean off ventilator and wake up, and to everyone's surprise one of the first things he started to do was sing along. This was 5 weeks after the stroke and around a week after he started exhibiting conscious behavior.
I hadn't even known he knew this song, but it was a Weavers staple (Wreck of the John B). As soon as he overheard some of us talk about him going home, this came out of him. I fortunately had his old four string on hand  and recorded this to iphone voice memo.

Pic is Dad, taken same day as the recording.

Dad sings Sloop John B, 10/19/2018

Six months after his stroke, it was pretty clear that Dad's mental status wasn't going to get where we had initially hoped, but he still had his sense of humor and a good ability to interact. He was in a physical rehab facility at this point so we were able to spend a lot of time with him, and I would take his four string out most days and play him a few songs. This was probably the best lyrical performance I got out of him.

Dad Sings Midnight Special 3 - 9-2019

I decided a few weeks back that enough with the $5 Snoopy harp was enough, so I did a little research and decided that I needed some keyed harps, and that Whitlow was the brand to get. They arrived yesterday. I'm clearly not disappointed - they're very sharply tuned, easier to pluck, easier on the teeth and lips, and louder with better overtones and harmonics. They're made by a guy named Robbie Clement who has all kinds of cool stuff going on at his website, including his Whitlow harps, named for his mentor and an old-time harp innovator.

I got a low D, high D and a G and possibly against better judgment wanted to show off all 3 on my first track with them. The title was a natural since I'm bidding Snoopy adieu (though he'll always remain close to me, especially when the kids want to try plunking away) and this is one of the fiddle tunes I know whose melody I didn't have to doublecheck before putting it down.

Looking forward to doing more with these soon!

Photo: another early bloomer, a hellebore I believe goes by 'cinnamon snow.'

Fare Ye Well Old Jaw Harp

Not long after arriving in Sawauchi Village, Iwate Prefecture in August 1995, I noticed signs around the town center advertising the Sawauchi (unreadable kanji) National Championships. I asked around and was told it was the Sawauchi JINKU competition - a festival of, as it was described, Sawauchi traditional music.

What I didn't know yet was that a Jinku was a folk song form, a kind of minyo. I came to learn that there were several suffixes affixed to minyo names - there's bushi, uta, ondo - though I can only tell them apart about as well as I can tell jigs and reels apart, which is to say not at all. At any rate, back in 1995, I thought WOW this place is so up my alley and I made it a point to hit the Sawauchi Jinku Zenkoku Taikai and soak up all this traditional cuulture.

It turned out it was not a competition of traditional Sawauchi *music* - it was a competition of the traditional Sawauchi *song*. The same song. Sung over and over. And again. Different styles, sure, and occasionally one of the shamisen or shimedaiko accompanists would swap out, but it was a lot of the same thing. And if you've ever heard minyo being performed, the vocals can get a bit... screechy, especially if you're not accustomed to it. And in this case, I caught several of the performers, and then they had the dancers - each group of whom performed to the same recorded version of the song. I probably heard it 100 times before I exited with my tail between my legs, the melody forever burned into my brain.

Of course I wound up falling in love with the Japanese roots & roots rock scenes, which was incredibly vibrant in the 1990s with Shokichi Kina's resurgence, the Boom, Soul Flower Union, Takio Ito, SkaPara, Sayoko, Bo Gumbos, Kodo and the incredibly diverse modern taiko scene, so much stuff that I still love. Feel free to ask me for recommendations.

***UPDATE**** Since I posted this, a channel from Nishiwaga (Sawauchi combined with neighboring Yuda sometime after I left) added an awesome compilation of the 31st annual Sawauchi Jinku National Championships, splicing together several clips into a relatively continuous whole, so if you can sit through 5 minutes you can get an idea of the experience.

And it's important to consider that the natives have a sense of humor about their traditional music, too; one of my favorite versions of Sawauchi Jinku is this one, recast by a local community orchestra as the Sawauchi Mambo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myOU4w5kpxc

from 2012; guitar played through effects

Photo: A kokeshi from the former Yuda Town, Iwate, checking out my studio

Sawauchi Jinku

A few months back my Soundcloud buddy Mark Pierce reposted a song by Cadence & Nathan, and I was immediately drawn to their material. Very catchy, slightly country sibling duo singer-songwriters, immaculately produced (seriously, I love whoever drums for them) and arranged, with Nathan's dobro adding a distinct instrumental flavor. I wound up getting their self-titled debut album from iTunes and recommend it enthusiastically; go buy yourself a copy so they can get around to getting some of their dynamite new material onto a second record! 

This is one of Nathan's songs, and I had it on repeat in the car for a week last month, then decided on a whim to try it on for size last night with a sort of Folk Revival picking pattern and arrangement in standard tuning (after failed attempts in open D and G). 

Recorded to iphone using the Soundcloud app, first try at that and I'm fairly impressed.

Nathan, sorry if I didn't get all the words right! Or if this stinks!

More on Cadence & Nathan:
http://www.cadenceandnathan.com/
https://soundcloud.com/cadence-nathan
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cadence-Nathan/217278478361767

Seen Its Day (Cadence & Nathan Cover)

Back in 2009 when I did my arrangement of this old Rinken Band tune, I sent my source tracks to Justin for him to have some fun with. As usual, he was able to pick out the best parts and then take them in a completely different direction. I love the way the beat reinforces the kalimba and the whistle riff just slides right in; there's a hint of a bass part and a beat underlying it that fits the groove by being just shy of off-kilter. And yes, that's my countdown (which I edited out, but part of Justin's genius is the ability to find beauty in and use for parts that aren't immediately apparent.)

I've sent you there before, but you should visit Justin's page at https://soundcloud.com/ajiav and listen to more of his music. It's great.

Pic: purple beautyberry (callicarpa dichotoma)in an early freeze, winter 2013-14

Chimu Ni Kakate (Justin Deremo Remix, 2009)

Jeff sent me this one first as an instrumental, with the idea of electrifying it, but when he got me the track with the vocals the pop appeal of it stuck out at me like a sore thumb. I started working on it and we never got to the electric tracks.

I think this wound up with one foot in the big-band pop-folk of ca. 1963 - the New Christy Minstrels, the Serendipity Singers, etc. - and one foot in the arena-folk of the 2010s. We've got a furiously picked banjo, madly strummed guitar and mandolin, somewhat choral backing vocals, claps and a kick drum for a little oontz to drive the college kids wild. It was a hell of a lot of fun to help put together and I am thrilled with the result, which Jeff shined to perfection.

Jeff Burns, https://soundcloud.com/jeff-burns-4: Words & music, banjo, lead vocals, kick drum, claps, mixology
ldsb: guitar, mandolin, washboards, backing vocals, washtub bass

Pic: one of my kids 'there you go-ing again'



There You Go Again (Greenwood & Burns)

This one's been a while in the making.

I remember as a teen 25 years ago just discovering the wonders of electrified British Isles folk music, and wondering why it's been so rare for bands to do the same with an American traditional repertoire. Plenty of acts have done a track or two (Tony Trischka's version of Reuben being one of my all-time favorite tracks) but Cordelia's Dad is the only band I know of that's really done it consistently and well.

I remember 15 years ago lugging my washtub bass to the Kent State Folk Festival afternoon jams, and falling in with the River Bottom Bushwhackers. https://soundcloud.com/dbadagna and the mandolin player, whom I only remember as Tim, joked about what a great metal tune this would make. Hmmmmm.

More recently, https://soundcloud.com/lazertran8 featured a version in one of his electrofolk mixes, and the wheels started turning again.

The actual recording started two weeks ago with a drum loop - from the classic 'I'm Chief Kamanawanalea' intro - and two banjo parts demo'd and sent to Jeff as a brainstorm. We mulled over it for a week, and then when I went to get started on it, DISASTER - I pulled my old banjo down off its hook, bumped it lightly and the ebony tailpiece split right in damn half. This led to its own set of problems trying to get a replacement (the wonderful Paul Corrigan of http://badriverbanjo.com/ has agreed to handcraft a replacement based on the original for a very modest fee) but more immediately, it left me stuck with the banjo part I'd already recorded. Oh well. Within a few days I had everything but the kitchen sink on it and the files over to Jeff.

Jeff was able to fill out my rudimentary percussion enough that we were able to drop the drum loop entirely. He also added some trademark dissonance on his banjo, and a rock solid bass line. Then he mixed it all together in a bunch of different ways and we settled on one and man does it sound great. If you like banjos and crunchy detuned guitars and funky beats. And I hope you do.

https://soundcloud.com/jeff-burns-4 - banjo, electric bass, kick drum, brushed bongos, vocals, cymbals, mixology

ldsb - banjos, 4 (ADAD) and 6 (DADGAD) string guitars, mandolin, washboard, bongos, jaw harps, vocals

Picture: Onyx, our black sexlink, getting broody

Cluck Old Hen (Greenwood & Burns)

Mike & me, some homebrew, guitar, uke, harp, and a great John Prine tune.

Mike: rhythm & image, guitar, singing
Dan: uke, harp, singing

Picture Show (John Prine)

Demo #2 for the Coo Coo collaboration with Justin Deremo. He'd sent me the beat already and I'd chosen Coo Coo to go over it; since the tune wasn't something I already had an arrangement for, I recorded a practice run-through on each of the banjos I was going to use. 

Coo Coo (gut-string banjo solo demo)

Two years after I snapped the second wood tailpiece, I finally got the banjo up to the estimable Bucks County Folk Music Shop for an overhaul. They completely understood what I wanted - this is never going to be a Fine Instrument, but it can be a decently playable one with a great sound. The tech found an old tailpiece for me and (after one of the original pegs snapped as he was restringing it) some upcycled old tuning pegs. Neck was quite bent after 120 years or so, so he put a shim in there to balance it out and the action is way better. "Classic banjo" nylguts sound pretty close to the way I had it sounding with the guts, and they're way cheaper and more playable.

Pretty Polly

Going back into the collection from when the kids were much smaller, this is another one from Pete Seeger's 'Birds Beasts Bugs & Little Fishes' collection that my mom got for my big brother when he was born. It's a great record, and when I went to hear Pete lecture many years later at a neighboring high school in 1989, I took it along and he was kind enough to sign it for me. If I can dig out the LP cover I'll post that as the pic.

Jean Ritchie recorded another version of this called Fiddle-I-Fee that's also near & dear, so well worth looking up if you enjoy this kind of cumulative song.

I Had A Rooster

Last one of the kids' songs from the archives (though who's to say I'm above recording more.) I still remember the first time I sang this to my (at that point) two kids... it was in the car, just before my daughter's second birthday and she fixated on this one right away. For a while she even had me swapping her name in for Jackie Paper. All these recordings were part of a plan to get her to go to bed easier - the thought that having her own CD with her own songs to be played on her own Hello Kitty CD player on it would ease her stress a bit. And it did, really.

So this one was of course designed for bedtime so it's about as dreamy and quiet as I could make it. I also stuck the chorus in a couple extra times to drag it out. Obviously recorded in the phase where I was sticking melodica on everything and having a good time doing it, and also draining the last vestiges of musical life from the old 3-string uke prior to its fateful meeting with my third and final child.



Puff

You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley

Appalachian Christmas classic on jaw harp, with Hilary Dirlam accompanying on Tenortone ukulele. 

Breakin' Up Christmas

A never-before-shared track from the 2004 bachelor recordings, a vanity session I asked my brother to engineer for me on his gear long before I had any of my own  and not long before I got married. He obliged though as this track shows my  complete lack of familiarity with the process or equipment made his task difficult.

Always one of my favorite tracks, this is one I first started playing and singing with my dad. While the song  is widely considered a traditional, or to have traditional sources, it was consolidated by mento writer Lord Burgess, apparently with the use of a separate traditional melody, and saw its first commercial release from the great Belafonte in 1957. 
At the time I recorded this I had no idea what ackee rice is. My dad had been convinced for 45 years the lyric was 'package rice' but i had to look it up since I was sure that wasn't right. I still haven't tried ackee & saltfish, maybe someday.

This is a somewhat rare case where I tried to be faithful to the original, which has a beautifully lyrical guitar part and a big fat standup bass anchoring it. I limited it to one guitar part and there's a clear flub as well as some mic problems, and the vocal performance isn't my greatest for sure, but my favorite part of the recording is the way the tub bass sounds.

Jamaica Farewell

This is one of those songs that seemed to pop up from time to time when I was a kid and exploring the folk scene of the mid to late '80s, before the real onslaught of singer-songwriters in the early 1990s. A handful of songwriters were still writing something approaching folk standards, and Bob Franke was one of them. I'm not sure if I heard Sally Rogers or a very young David Wilcox sing this first, but both versions stick in my mind thirty or so years later. It's also been played by Garnet Rogers, and especially beautifully by the late Isaac Guillory (whom, sadly, I'd never heard of before researching this song a bit more this week). 

Looking at it today, the songwriting is a little earnest in a very '80s-folk sort of way, if you know what I mean, but there's no denying it's a beautiful, charming and powerful song and I hope I do it some degree of justice.

Thanksgiving Eve

Yes, I first heard the Nanci Griffith original. Which is great. But for my money you can't beat Chris Smither's version. So go look it up and listen to it. That's what I just did... I've been playing an adaptation of his arrangement for two decades but probably hadn't listened to his in 20 years. It's still great.

Pic: Not  a blue moon, but a violet that was open on my bank from late December until we got all this snow dumped on us.

Once In A Very Blue Moon

Another classic of my youth. I got to see Dave Van Ronk several times in the early 1990s, and this was always my favorite song of his. I think he played it straight up but I was no way capable of doing that, so started noodling it in open D as I was obviously doing a lot at that point in time. Over time it go faster and noodlier - this is actually somewhat abbreviated. At one point I even played it with a friend who brought back a didgeridoo from his junior year in Australia (but who couldn't circular breathe yet. It was interesting.)

Anyhow. Go look up Van Ronk's version and I think there are a few teaching videos of him doing this one available online. And read that durn book that Dave wrote with Elijah Wald, it's a terrific glimpse of the Village folk scene from a unique perspective.

Pic: Presumably the remains of the eponymous mill on the banks of Mill Brook, Paupack PA

Green Green Rocky Road

 Another classic song in all its permutations, frequently thought of as a traditional but actually by the Mississippi Shieks, released in 1930. Their success with the song immediately sparked plenty of versions, frequently with changed or newly added lyrics. My all-time favorite version though is by Chris Smither, who mellows it out. I give an imitation of his version the old college try from time to time.

Played on my very first guitar, the Sigma in the pic, still in use primarily as a camp guitar but plenty of fun to play. Drop D tuning.

Sitting On Top Of The World

Noodling around in the basement last night on my dad's old plywood four string and one of my favorites from Graham Nash's first solo record.

Pic: Styrax Obassia (fragrant snowbell), 5/12/2017

Wounded Bird

First heard the acoustic version of this one from the 'Watching the Dark' box set sometime around 1996, and I think it's been stuck in my head ever since. 
Tried to balance out opposite sounds in this one, muted acoustic and vocals against bright lap harp and muddy electric... it's a song that's both hopeful and dark, so the sounds should reflect that. Still working on what passes for my mixing skills, and of course I needed some editing too in order to strip the arrangement down as far as I could while still capturing the sounds I wanted. 

dad's old four-string guitar
Lap harp
my shiny new (cheap) electric guitar
voice

RT acoustic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AeIsU2686Y
RT electric: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJp_YIR-ipA

Pic: my youngest and a few of his buddies, Little Round Top, late April 2018. When they form a band I want this to be their debut album cover, and I want them to do this song on the album.

Devonside

According to the Library of Congress, this is one of the top ten fiddle tunes in the old-time canon, and among the most widely distributed. Although associated with morphine and the Civil War, it apparently dates to the 1760s and is of Scottish origin. I probably first learned it from Michelle Shocked's terrific Arkansas Traveler record (referenced previously as a very influential record for me), backed by Uncle Tupelo. The version with the most influence on this arrangement, however, was the Nashville Washboard Band, recorded ca. 1942 for the LOC and featuring the washboard kit of the great Theophilus Stokes driving a propulsive banjolin lead. 

The percussion here is a loop snipped out of a late night percussion jam with myself, Hanky Tilbury (@hanklebury), and Jeff Burns (@jeff-burns-4). Hank's frame drum sets the tone (E flat); I played a capoed guitar in DADGAD, relished the chance to use my E flat and B flat whistles, and challenged Alan (@newshoe)to play his accordion along in the unfortunate key, and of course he rose to the challenge with several parts which were fun to work into the mix.

Further listening:
Nashville Washboard Band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yt2Vs4xiF0
Unfortunately I can't find a link for the Shocked/Tupelo version, but if you happen to see that CD, grab it. 

Alan Ingall (@Newshoe): Accordion
Hank Tilbury (@hankelbury): Percussion, advice
Jeff Burns (@jeff-burns-4): Percussion, mix assistance
Dan: Percussion, sampling, guitar, ukulele, whistles, mandolin, mixing & editing (still working on it

Soldier's Joy (w/newshoe, plus sampled TG&B)

Another very common fiddle tune that is played at Irish, bluegrass and old-time jams, I absorbed this one by osmosis at some point and didn't realize I knew it until I started whistling it early this year. Then I had to backtrack and figure out what tune it was, which wasn't all that hard since there are a bajillion versions online.

Getting more comfortable with the new electric instruments, which also makes recording easier (less likely to pick up ambient noise) now that none of my kids are going to bed on time any more. Also enjoying more the electronic post-production, mixing and editing, thanks to ongoing tutelage from Hank and Jeff. This was originally envisioned with the bass-led third time through as a slinky funk break, but obviously went in a different direction that hopefully doesn't jar you too badly.

Guitar, bass, mandolin, jaw harp, melodica, drum kit & percussion. 

Pic: Closest I could come to red hair. Still had garden tomatoes into December this year, picked before the first frost and ripened indoors. Crazy. Front two are Big Rainbow;  rear is Orange Strawberry.

Red Haired Boy

Hilary recorded a stunning version of this traditional old-time tune in Nepal for her 2015 record 'Tunes From Here and There.' She cites Luther Davis of Galax, VA as her source. I mentioned off hand a few weeks ago as I was listening for the 100th time that I was imagining a dub version in my head; she challenged me to make it happen, and was kind enough to provide the stems to work with. 

I added a few things including lyrics from JP Nestor and Bruce Molsky, then mixed it all up with my still-rudimentary technique, so expect lots of echo and reverb. All the bass is coming from the tablas, and it's worth listening on headphones to pick that up. 

Hilary Dirlam: banjo
Parashuram Bhandari: Sarangi
Achyut Ram Bhandari: Tabla
Dan: mandolin, melodica, whistle, vocals
Nepal recording engineer:  Mashewor Man Rajbhandari

Hilary's album version: https://soundcloud.com/hilary-dirlam/train-on-the-island-american-fiddle-tune

Hilary Dirlam's "Train On The Island" (lonesome dub mix)

I spent much of the 1990s in Japan, three years in a small village called Sawauchi in the Oou mountains of Iwate Prefecture. The village-sponsored taiko troupe, Sawauchi Daiko Hyakunenza, welcomed me in soon after my arrival and gave me much needed outlets, social, athletic and (perhaps most importantly) musical. Unfortunately I don't have any taiko in my basement, but I do have an old selection of bachi (sticks) that I can beat my hand drums with. This is a warmup piece from the Hyakunenza repertoire. This was recorded in 2009. 
If you're interested, my buddy Primus Luta mashed this up with Kanye West's 'Love Lockdown'. Inbox me for details.

Seiryu Daiko

It's my great privilege to mess, beyond reason, with Hank's solo banjo instrumental of this old-time tune.

Hank Tilbury: banjo, original arrangement
Dan: percussion, guitars, bass, melodica, jaw harp, analog synth

Hank credits the tune to the clawhammer playing of Sidna Myers, field recorded in 1965. 
Dan credits his arrangement to overexposure to electronic/folk fusion in the mid 1990s.

Hank's piece can be heard on his terrific new album 'The Beast With Five Strings' which can be listened to and downloaded for free (or more) at https://hanklebury.bandcamp.com/album/the-beast-with-five-strings

Many thanks to Hank for continuing to encourage my worst tendencies.

Go ahead and download for free, and then pop on over to Hank's record and download that too.

Hank Tilbury - Twin Sisters (ldsb '90s ethnodance mix)

Working on the new recording setup tonight, was joined by my daughter. I generally don't think too much of her tastes, but The Magnetic Fields/Gothic Archies is something we can certainly agree on. 

Thanks to Hank & Jeff for the gear. Hope I/we can do it justice. 

Dan: Guitar
Josie: Vocals

I Don't Want To Get Over You (with my daughter)

Jason Steen (https://soundcloud.com/dyslexic-soul) asked to collaborate on a Magnetic Fields cover with Josie and me. We brainstormed a bit and came up with this idea; Jason and I have both recorded reggae-inspired tracks and this felt like a natural fit. He knocked the framework out beautifully in nothing flat, and I spent the next few weeks trying out some additional instrumental embellishments and getting Josie's parts recorded. The mix came together beautifully in Jason's capable hands over the past few days. 

Jason Steen (https://soundcloud.com/dyslexic-soul) - Guitar, bass, programmed drums, vocals, keys
Josie - vocals, trombone
Dan - mandolin, trumpet, hand percussion, kalimba, harmonica, whistle, melodica

Produced, edited, mixed & mastered by Jason Steen
Words and music by the wonderful Stephin Merritt, https://soundcloud.com/themagneticfields

Original song can be heard at https://soundcloud.com/themagneticfields/the-book-of-love-1

Book Of Love (with Dyslexic Soul and my daughter)

Several weeks back Jason posted the finished mix of our reggae-ish take on this Magnetic Fields classic. 
This is the B-side.

Jason (Dyslexic Soul): Guitar, bass, keys, drum programming, vocals
Josie: vocals, trombone
Dan: mandolin, melodica, whistle, harmonica, percussion, trumpet, edits & mixing

Book Of Love (LDSB dub mix, w/Dyslexic Soul & my daughter)

I muck about in the basement on a variety of instruments, a 4 track, and a pint of homebrew, trying not to wake the wife & kids. Starting point is traditional old-time music and Folk Revival fare, ending point is yet to be determined.

Always up for collaborating! A huge thank you to the many musicians who've let me wreck their tracks over the past few years. 

Since 2014 I've mostly been working alongside Jeff Burns, aka Squirrel Jam Zombie Banjo, in our imaginatively named project Greenwood & Burns:
https://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns
Our debut album, Modern Sounds in Old-Time Music, and our guest-filled holiday spectacular, at Bandcamp: https://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/

lonesome d string band

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