A demo recorded in 2007 for a limited audience at Deep Creek, Bryson City N.C. The first lineup of the re-formed Freight Hoppers; with original members, David Bass (fiddle) and Frank Lee (banjo & vocals), Isaac Deal (bass & vocals) and Thomas Bailey (guitar & vocals)

Freight Hoppers demo 2006

03 Shout Lula

02 Red Rocking Chair

01 Train That Carried My Gal From Town

Une déploration pour les États-Unis durant l'été 2020.

Nationwide

With Isaac Deal on tenor vocals. Recorded live at the San Fransisco Bluegrass & Old Time Festival.

SFBGOT08

Dink's Tune

We were just goofing off at the fiddlers' conventions at this point. This is the group that would become The Forge Mountain Diggers at the 70th annual Galax Old Fiddlers' Convention on the Saturday night band competition. We were two bands away from going on stage & hadn't settled on a tune. The MC came up to check us in & ask us what were were going to play. David shrugged his shoulders and said, "uhhh John Browns Dream, really fast"

We played 21 seconds into the red light. And there you have it. 
David Bass, fiddle. Allison Williams, banjo. Thomas Bailey, guitar. Tammy Sawyer, bass.

John Brown's Dream - The Sidewinders

Probably one of the last shows by the Shortbus before they changed their name. Jalopy Theater, Redhook, Brooklyn (Feb 2010?) 

Special Ed & The Shortbus with TB

One from the vault: jamming tunes with David Bass, Mark Olitsky & Alex Scala at the Mt Airy Fiddlers' Convention in June of 2007.
(drawing © Frank Lee)
** Unfortunately , there are lyrics in this song that celebrate the conquest and genocide of the Indigenous People of the Great Plains. I never felt 100% confortable singing those lyrics , and having failed to find or write and alternate verse , employed them as a vehicle for making music while feeling somewhat ashamed of myself for repeating them.
If there's an illuminating note to the particular story , it would possibly be that it tells of a group of natives soundly defeating a gang of armed settlers & that our story teller confirms that it was the most terrifying experience he'd ever been confronted with.

I Am The Bravest Cowboy

ROUGH mix.
Aaron Jonah Lewis, Thomas Bailey & Max Johnson. Sketching out material for 'Wild Hog vol 2'. Apologies to Bill.

all purpouse paper

Broad Run Picnic contest band, warming up at the 2009 Galax Old Fiddlers Convention.
Mark Campbell -fiddle, Rebby Sharp -guitar, Thomas Bailey -guitar, Kevin Roop -banjo & Tammy Sawyer -bass
Saying goodbye to the smartypants hippie rule of "no three finger banjos in the old time band category".
Din't place, but didn't get disqualified either.
Bend it, but don't break it.

Free State Hornpipe

a tune from the same man who brought us the Christmas tune "Up On The Rooftop"

Darling Nellie Grey

a song written by the late, great John Hartford and found on his 1967 release, Earthwords. Hacked to pieces by yours truly at the 2nd annual John Hartford Tribute on the stage of the Jalopy Theater in Brooklyn, NY

GoodOleElectric

Aaron Jonah Lewis & Thomas Bailey with Joel Wennerstrom on the banjo

Sugarbabe

In the summer of 2005, fiddler David Bass (of The Freight Hoppers) assembled a group with Allison Williams on banjo & Thomas Bailey on guitar. Former Freight Hoppers bandmate Cary Fridley & Tammy Sawyer took turns playing bass for the round of regional fiddlers' conventions from the Mount Airy Fiddlers' in June to Clifftop & Galax in August.
  In October, David Allison & Thomas met up  with Abby Ladinin Lafayette, Indiana to record this 5 song EP. 
  The group would later be known as The Forge Mountain Diggers & toured the US and Scandinavia for the next three years.
https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/fmdiggers

Run Mountain

Boatman

Devilish Mary

Jawbone

In the summer of 2005, fiddler David Bass (of The Freight Hoppers) assembled a group with Allison Williams on banjo & Thomas Bailey on guitar. Former Freight Hoppers bandmate Cary Fridley & Tammy Sawyer took turns playing bass for the round of regional fiddlers' conventions from the Mount Airy Fiddlers' in June to Clifftop & Galax in August.
  In October, David Allison & Thomas met up  with Abby Ladinin Lafayette, Indiana to record this 5 song EP.  
Engineered & mastered by Allison Williams.
 The group would later be known as The Forge Mountain Diggers & toured the US and Scandinavia for the next three years.
https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/fmdiggers

Raleigh & Spencer

this'ere is a version of a version of a version of an old Memphis blues tune. WC Handy had a big hit with it in 1915 and has been covered by the likes of: The Holy Modal Rounders, Doc & Merle Watson, Janis Joplin, R. Crumb & his Cheap Suit Serenaders, Charlie Poole, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Professor Longhair plus thousands more to be sure.
That Joebass DeJarnette on the bass and engineering and Parrish Ellis with the other guitar. 

the Hesitation Blues

Thomas Bailey il est un résultat multi-instrumentiste de la scène musicale de la Virginie centrale des années 80s & 90s. "Immigrant Music"

ThomasBaileyMusic

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