Here’s your first listen of mandolin great JOHN REISCHMAN’S new CD Walk Along John. ‘Itzbin Reel’ features Reischman duetting with Chris Thile (Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek).
Don’t miss Chris Mateer’s exclusive interview with Reischman.
Click here to listen!
Lena Hughes was born in Grape Grove Township, Missouri in 1904. Though she never recorded any 78s during her lifetime, she performed often at various fiddler conventions and folk festivals throughout the Ozarks. She played fiddle, banjo and guitar, mastering parlor pieces and the specialized tunings that were necessary to play them. She lived most of her life in Ludlow, Missouri and passed away in 1998. Lena Hughes did manage to record one full-length LP that has up until very recently, been a very elusive recording for anyone to own or even listen to.
Thanks to the Tompkins Square label, the recordings of Lena Hughes, that were originally captured in the early 1960’s in Arkansas and released only a very limited basis, is now available for collectors, as well as newcomers as Queen of the Flat-Top Guitar.
Chris King is a record collector and producer who worked on a number of amazing projects including People Take Warning! Murder Ballads & Songs of Disaster 1913-1938 box set (Tompkins Square), Amede Ardoin – Mama, I’ll Be Long Gone: The Complete Recordings of Amede Ardoin 1929-1934 (Tompkins Square), Aimer et Perdre : To Love & To Lose Songs, 1917-1934 (Tompkins Square), Charley Patton: Screamin’ and Hollerin’ The Blues (Revenant), The Bristol Sessions (Bear).
I had the pleasure of speaking with Chris for the first time, regarding his work on the Aimer et Perdre release last year. When I read that he was behind the new Lena Hughes album, I immediately reached out to Josh at Tompkins Square and to Chris to see if we could share his experiences remastering the recordings.
So it was a thrill to talk to Chris about his impressions of Lena Hughes, his work on Queen of the Flat-Top Guitar, and some very exciting details on his other upcoming projects (including releases for Jack White’s Third Man Records, Angry Mom Records, Relevant Records, and his own How The Other Half Hears imprint).
Hi Chris, it is great to speak with you again. Can you talk about your own history with Lena Hughes’ music? When and how did you discover her work?
Chris King: I first encountered Lena Hughes’ music at a small, dusty & dirty outdoor flea market in Dublin, Virginia in the late summer of 1996. I normally descended on this flea market to hunt for old 78s but I occasionally went through boxes of LPs if I thought there might be some obscure old-time string bands from Pulaski, Galax, or Patrick County lurking inside.
Sure enough, this LP was obscure but it had traveled all the way from Missouri to Virginia. So I bought it since it contained ‘old familiar tunes.’ It was only later when I started working for Dave Freeman that I learned that Charlie Faurot had recorded Hughes in the late 1960s.
What drew you most to her work and how did her recordings connect to/ inform/ etc. to others in your collection?
Chris: It is probably the completely relaxed, unselfconsciousness of her playing. It is as if I had just walked into her kitchen and she was nimbly picking out these tunes while her coffee percolated. Of course she was also playing songs and airs that I was already deeply familiar with from the old 78s.
The strange and attractive thing to me was this: she played them pure and unadorned, in a style was archaic, idiosyncratic, loving, and, above all, attentive. It is as if her papa was watching her play and nodding with approval. Maybe that is why I love it so. She’s a real throw back to the 19th century when people played not so much to get paid, but rather to entertain the family and oneself. It was just like listening to Sam McGee or Bayless Rose on the old 78s, but even more informal. Regardless, it is subtle.
How did you get involved in the project?
Chris: Well, I received a note from John Renbourn that he was desperately seeking this rare recording and wondered if I might know of where I might be able to find a copy. So that night I made a copy onto CD (imagine the novelty of making a copy of something so that it can be shared with someone without all the pretenses of ‘limited hand numbered copies’ or ‘liking it’ on Facebook). I mailed it to him.
A few days later, as I was meditating on the delusions of Vintonian megalomaniacs, I decided to listen to the record again, to give me some hope about sound and truth. I made and sent a copy of ‘Pearly Dew’ to Josh Rosenthal (of Tompkins Square Records) indicating that this was the sound of heaven. He immediately replied, wondering what it was. After a brief back and forth, we decided to put the recordings out.
How does working on this collection connect to your larger body of work (People Take Warning, Charley Patton, Aimer Et Perdre, Amede Ardoin, and more)?
Chris: It connects in two ways.
One, Lena stands as a continuum, a viable, tangible link and crossroad between the old, unvarnished artists like Patton and Ardoin, as well as more recent artists like Fahey & Rose. I have an uncompromising love of such music.
Second, she connects with the Long Gone Sound Series since her slim body of recordings poses a mystery, a problem that is worth confronting and also worth sharing.
When this LP was recorded, you of course have all this pop music that was simultaneously lining the pockets of producers like Clive Davis and decimating our musical soul. Country music in the late 1960s had become a slave to Nashville and was becoming more and more homogenized and bland. During all this, a very humble woman, steeped in a traditional music that she thought of as second nature, made arrangements to record her guitar instrumentals so that she could sell a few dozen at local fiddle contests.
She probably paid for the recording and pressing since she didn’t see that it had any commercial appeal. Such a human transaction is staggering to me but also it begs the question: ‘How can such unadulterated purity of expression escape into such a dirty world? ‘
What is most rewarding for you regarding your work as a producer, collector, and fan?
Chris: Jeez…that’s a stumper. There is so very little that is not rewarding about what I do. I have an overabundance of riches that flow from all of these activities. Perhaps I’ve reached that point of being a ‘happy man’ since it would seem unwise to complain about any aspect of what I have and what I give.
I’m engaged with some of the most creative and generous people conceivable. Susan Archie being the Tops! It is an unquestionable honor to be allowed to present these quaint yet powerful collections to anyone who wants to listen and read them, and to engage in them fully.
One thing I really enjoy about the diversity of what Josh puts out via Tompkins Square is when I get turned onto a ‘hidden treasure’ that I did not know about. And the Lena album is one that I have been playing repeatedly since I got my hands on a copy.
I enjoyed how you described Lena being at a crossroads between some of the earliest 1920s recordings and the finger-picking and American ‘primitive’ guitar work from the 1960’s. Can you provide some formal context, as well as some your insights and opinions into this span of history of guitar playing and recordings where Lena exists for new listeners?
Chris: Well, I’m no expert of American ‘Primitive’ guitar, but I do know that the direct line between the pre-war American parlor-guitar masters such as Sam McGee, Sylvester Weaver, Bayless Rose, and Lemuel Turner. They informed the taste, repertoire, and style of John Fahey, John Renbourn, Jack Rose, Basho. All those guys. What was missing from the narrative was the 35 years between these two groups. Lena is that bridge, that crossroads as it were.
Lena is also an intriguing interesting artist in that she never recorded a 78 and only one album, but established herself through performances at fiddler conventions and folk festivals. She was well versed in fiddle, banjo, and guitar, playing and keeping this music alive.
Can you discuss some of her repertoire, specifically her use of specialized tunings and song selection?
Chris: Her two best examples, “Pearly Dew” and “Spanish Fandango,” use two reasonably archaic tunings, open D & open C (respectively) to express the melodies and give them the ‘air’ they need to breath. Either tune could have been played in standard tuning given the use of gapped standard chords but they would not have the resonance or sustain they have in these open tunings. Listening to her use these tunings is a lesson in taste, personality, and perhaps history.
The artwork and packaging for the record is just beautiful. As someone who has worked in a number of fine-crafted and carefully thought out releases, what was the goal for presenting Lena Hughes to a wider audience via album art, notes, and packaging?
Chris: Respect, humbling respect. Susan Archie is a deep artist and is capable of expressing the soul of others that are long gone.
What are you doing with these collections of yours and how do you see yourself?
Chris: I’m articulating that musical medicine and nourishment is good for me, and then offering it back to others. Sort of like a panacea to cure what ails us. I see my role as a midwife for these rare and sublime sounds.
I don’t really produce anything nor do I ‘curate’. I hear what is overwhelming to my senses and then narrate what is does for me and perhaps what it could do for others. I ultimately see myself as an auricular raconteur with an uncompromising belief in a discrete yet persistent euphonic panspermia.
What’s coming up next for you? Can you share any news of some of your upcoming projects?
Chris: I have three collections that are coming out very shortly. I put together a collection of pre-war guitar instrumentals for Tompkins Square called Imaginational Anthem Vol. 6, The Roots Of American Primitive Guitar. I also re-mastered another collection for Tompkins Square of Charlie Poole’s Brunswick & Paramount Recordings, Charlie Poole & The Highlanders. Both of these are being released for Record Store Day of this year.
The third project, Five Days Married & Other Laments: Song & Dance From Northern Greece, 1928-1958, is a collection of otherworldly, deeply meditative and profoundly unhinged music from Southern Albania and Northern Greece. It continues in the same vein as my other collections that simultaneously explore certain music and a certain philosophical question. This is on Angry Mom Records, via my imprint How The Other Half Hears, and will be available April 30th of this year.
Also, I’m working on three projects for my imprint Long Gone Sound Series, for Tompkins Square. Two of these concern early pre-war Cajun music. One is a two-disc collection of songs by Joe & Cleoma Falcon and the Breaux Family, all recorded before 1941.
The other is called Let Me Play This For You, a collection of most of the surviving sides by Angelas LeJeune, Babineaux & Guidry, and Blind Uncle Gaspard. My friend Ron Brown wrote the notes and then we together supplied most of these vexingly rare, beautiful and, at times, profoundly sad records.
The third project is When I Reach That Heavenly Shore, a three-disc collection of pre-war black sanctified music that implies an eventual musical eschatology. All three of these projects for Tompkins Square will be released later.
A four CD box set called Beyond Rembetika: The Music & Dance of The Region Of Epirus, 1919-1958, will be released on May 6th of this year and features 96 tracks from 78 disc of material from Southern Albania/Northern Greece. This is on JSP Records. Commenting on this collection, my friend Crowmeat Bob said ‘It’ll blow the lid off this whole thing. ‘
I am re-mastering and overseeing the sonic care and aural presentation for two colossal box sets for Revenant Records/Third Man Records. They are the Rise Of Paramount Records and the Fall Of Paramount Records, and each set will contain upwards of 800 tracks of blues, jazz, hillbilly, sacred, ethnic, and dance music as recorded by and issued on the legendary Paramount label. The first volume will be issued later this year.
Finally, I’m sewing up the notes and polishing the sound on a collection of hypnotic and staggeringly powerful fiddle masterpieces by the Greek pre-war master, Alexis Zoumbas. This will be out in the fall on Angry Mom Records, on my How The Other Half Hears imprint.
What have you been listening to/ collecting lately that you have been most excited about?
Chris: Well, besides the obvious stingers that I can’t shake out of my head, I’ve been listening to a lot of 78s recorded ‘in the field,’ i.e., on portable disc and tape machines, of Southern Albanian and Northern Greek musicians from the 1940s to the 1970s. Even though this music is startling in its immediacy and purity, what really intrigues me is how unchanged the music is from the 1910s until right now!
So, we’re going to Northern Greece this summer to record some traditional clarinet, violin & laouto groups in Vitsa, and then next spring I’m going to Southern Albania to record a range of various Albanian groups. I am hoping that these field recordings can be blended with recordings from my 78 collection for a set in the future. Also been listening to a lot of ODB recently.
DUBL HANDI (pronounced “double handy”) is a Brooklyn-NY based string band named after the washboard company of the 1800’s. Although the project originally began as a duo of banjo player and singer Hilary Hawke and multi-instrumentalist Brian Geltner, the two have recently added guitarist Ernie Vega, making DH a trio.
Embracing a worldly view of folk music, Dubl Handi draws from, as well as expands upon, the traditional tunes of the Northwest Appalachian region by employing percussion, guitar, drums, and banjo. These artists deliver their own unique interpretations of their favorite songs, while also throwing in a healthy dose of originals too.
Dubl Handi’s new album, Up Like The Clouds, is out now. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Hilary Hawke about her own musical history, how she connected with Brian and Ernie, the vibrant community of Brooklyn’s Jalopy Theatre, as well as the making of Dubl Handi’s new album.
When and how did you begin learning and playing music?
Hilary Hawke: I always really loved music and musical instruments as a kid, as well as listening to records and dancing. I formally started learning music when I was 8 years old, on clarinet. I picked up guitar around 15 and then banjo around 22.
What drew you to playing the banjo?
Hilary: I loved folk music but I actually ended up getting a degree in music on the clarinet and classical guitar (neither which I play much anymore). The practicing and studying of music in an educational setting was so intense I didn’t feel like I could be creative on either instrument. When I started playing banjo, it was like a release of creative emotion. I had an intense desire to write music and perform, and banjo just became my outlet.
When did you join the Jalopy Theatre & School of Music in Brooklyn, NY? Can you talk about your experiences there?
Hilary: I think it was back in 2006. I met Geoff and Lynette (the owners of Jalopy) at a bar called Bait & Tackle in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn. Jalopy was just a pile of dust and dreams at that time. They told me about their plans and asked if I wanted to teach banjo there one day. I of course said yes!
I believe Jalopy has now become the placeholder for something greater happening in Brooklyn. It resembles the community it is in and the strength of music to hold people together. It is in the process of becoming one of the most influential music venues/schools of its time and I am proud to be a part of that.
How and when did you and Brian meet?
Hilary: We met around 2006 playing with different folks and in different bands. I ended up doing a recording session that he was on, and we became friends after that!
When did you decide to get together and form Dubl Handi? What drew you together musically & personally?
Hilary: Brian is one of the most musical drummers I’ve ever played with. He is extremely creative and comes up with quirky ideas that are really entertaining to listen to. For example, he might take a solo and use the things on the walls as part of the sounds. If there is a metal sign, or something like that, he uses it. He uses the materials around him to improvise.
We put Dubl Handi together as a way to make money busking at farmer’s markets. We’d get a nice crowd of folks around us every time and we realized that we had to make a CD.
You play a great number of traditional tunes. Can you describe your songwriting processes of originals, and how these culminate for you?
Hilary: Well, Dubl Handi is mostly traditional music with a few originals, but I do have two other projects that I write quite a bit in like Hilary Hawke & the Flipsides and M Shanghai Stringband.
When it comes to writing, I decide what kind of song I want to write, and what is the feel I am going for. What would add to my set? I also carefully think about the intention of the song. Do I want to write a song for people to dance to? Or, for people to listen closely, or just to sway to while you sit at the bar? This makes a big difference and usually helps with how fast I can get it done.
Then, I just shed lyrics and spill out thoughts on a page. I use a lot of imagery, so this part is fun! I lay around with chords and lyrics, experiment with ideas until something sticks, and record that idea quickly. Then I’ll keep it and listen to it on the subway. Refine!
For example, on the album, ‘Lonely Ghost’ is a fun tune in F tuning on the banjo. We were playing a weekly residency in Williamsburg (Brooklyn) and needed something up tempo to end our songs with. We’ve been playing with a wonderful guitar player, Ernie Vega, who has a strong blues background. So we really had that in mind when writing the music for ‘Lonely Ghost’.
Can you briefly share some of your sources of inspiration?
Hilary: I really am a music lover, and I love hearing people play and there are so many people I admire. I get a lot of inspiration from hearing collaborations and seeing people sharing the stage, and sharing their voices without ego. I love seeing people be creative with their music in non-commercial ways.
Was there a tune(s) that set the course for what would become Up Like Clouds? Did you have a vision for the recording overall?
Hilary: The main vision was to capture what we do live, even though some of the tracks have overdubbing and additional instruments. We wanted to capture that energy, and have an interesting choice of songs that would be uplifting and interesting to listen to.
Can you talk about your philosophy and inspiration behind bringing in such diverse instrumentation? Specifically banjo, snare drum, percussion, mellotron, marxophone, washboard, etc.
Hilary: It is interesting because we really tried to preserve the original feel and spirit of each of these traditional tunes on the CD. That being said, I think we wanted to add a little extra spice to each tune while keeping a duo sound. So, in other words, I think we had a lot of ideas and were keeping some good boundaries with how far we wanted to stretch each tune.
I would also be interested in hearing your vision of combining the traditional with the contemporary.
Hilary: I think traditional music should be played in a way that allows the performer to relate to it. I will never be Roscoe Holcomb or Tommy Jarrell, but I can make the music my own. I think, there is a fine line when relating to an audience, especially an audience of people that want to hear things played note-for-note. I play traditional banjo music, but some people find it odd that I enjoy playing both bluegrass and old time (clawhammer). I think all music in this genre shares similar roots and should be played if it relates to the performer.
Can you describe the recording set-up and process for the album?
Hilary: Many of the songs were done live in the same room without headphones. Even the lead vocals were done live on most. After listening to each track we would add minimal things to keep each song unique or just give it a bit more dimension. We listen to a lot of music from our touring friends and successful bands here in Brooklyn. I think we are all kind of influencing each other.
What have you been listening to lately?
Hilary: Les Paul & Mary Ford (always!), New Lost City Ramblers, Mike Seeger, Bruce Molsky, Fred Cockerham, Snuffy Jenkins, and tons of banjo players. I also really enjoy Rev. Gary Davis, Ian Drury and the Blockheads, a newer band called Midwood, and a lot of our friends’ bands!
What are your plans for 2013?
Hilary: We’ve starting recording our next album and we’ll be adding a fabulous guitar player named Ernie Vega, making us a trio! We’re always playing a lot here in NYC and having a guitarist really fills out the sound, especially for larger venues.
I’ll be graduating with my masters of music in May and we are really looking forward to sinking ourselves deeper into getting out of town and playing more shows, getting a booker, and meeting and playing with a lot of folks! We are also planning some touring in the UK, and working with a few folks over there already and sending our CD out. We’re excited!!!
Rhode Island duo BROWN BIRD released their excellent new album called Fits of Reason (via the Supply & Demand label) on April 2nd. Weeks later, the male half of the group, Dave Lamb, was diagnosed with severe anemia, and is still awaiting a full diagnosis, forcing them to cancel shows and accruing major medical bills in the interim. You can help them through this difficult time by visiting Dave’s YouCare page to donate.
Yet even through the challenges, there is no doubt BrownBird has still released something special into the world. Fits of Reason builds upon the ever-expanding and shape-shifting instrumentation of Dave (guitar, banjo, percussion, drums) and MorganEve Swain (vocals, violin, cello, and upright bass).
Although Dave and MorganEve captured a lot of what’s to love about their live sound on Salt for Salt, the duo have really hit upon a new stride, one that finds them maintaining some of the minimalistic rawness that has entranced spectators at their live shows, while also expanding their landscape with an increased variety of instrumentation. Fits of Reason is already one of my favorite albums of this year, and one I am confident will be elevating Brown Bird’s profile to new and much deserved heights.
The last time I interviewed Dave and MorganEve of Brown Bird, it was an in-depth conversation regarding their musical history together up to and including the making of Salt for Salt. This time, we pick up where that chat left off, focusing on how Fits of Reason came together.
You have been touring a ton since your last album, Salt For Salt, was released. I’d like to start by asking you how your previous experiences making that record and your subsequent touring prepared you and/ or influenced you as you began working on new material and preparing for your next record?
Dave: Salt for Salt was the first album we recorded as a duo and we really enjoyed touring as a duo, so we definitely wanted to expand on that same formula for the next album. We were working with the idea of trying to get the best songs and fullest sound out of this stripped down line up.
MorganEve: We’re certainly prepared and excited to be extensively touring on Fits of Reason.
When did you begin working on the new material?
Dave: Most of the writing for Fits of Reason happened in between tours in 2012. Whenever we had 2 or 3 weeks at home throughout the year we’d be writing to prepare for recording last December. As some of the new songs were finished we’d play them out live just to try them out and tighten them up.
By last November we’d played at least half of the new songs out at live shows. A few of the songs didn’t come together until just weeks before we actually went into the studio.
What were you listening to and inspired by most during this time?
Dave: We’re always seeking out new music and it is hard to remember exactly when we came across which groups, but over the last few years we’ve been listening to a lot of Omar Khorshid, Sir Richard Bishop, Mastodon, Secret Chiefs 3, Om, A Hawk and A Hacksaw, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Red Fang, Gabor Szabo, The Sword, Bar Kokhba, Bunalim, Black Sabbath, and several compilations of Cumbia, Klezmer, Rebetika and 60’s-70’s era psych-rock from Peru, Turkey, Pakistan and many other parts of the world.
We’ve always been interested in music from all over the world but I think the international influences are more obvious on a larger number of songs on Fits of Reason than on our previous albums.
Can you describe your songwriting process(es) for the new material?
Dave: The writing process has always varied but recently I’ve been writing the music first and then the vocal melody and finally the lyrics. Usually when the song structure is done I’ll bring it to MorganEve and she’ll add her parts to it. Some songs like ‘Bow For Blade’ are an exception though, where we collaborated on the lyrics and she came up with all of the harmonies.
There were definitely songs on the previous albums that were written this way, but there were probably just as many where a vocal melody and some lyrics came first and the rest was written around it.
How else was your writing of Fits of Reason consistent with your previous work? What were some of the biggest differences?
Dave: We feel like Salt for Salt kind of laid the blue print for the diversity of song styles on Fits of Reason. While there might be a more tightly knit rootsy feel throughout Salt for Salt there are also songs like ‘Shiloh’ and ‘Nothing Left’ that show more of a movement towards the slightly heavier and more international feels that you’ll find more of on Fits of Reason.
MorganEve: At some point during the tour, I picked up a Fender P-Bass, and instantly fell in love. I only use it on two songs on the album, but having it as an option when I was coming up with my parts was fun and freeing. It allowed us to introduce another flavor that we hadn’t used before.
Did you have a preconceived vision for the new record?
Dave: The only real vision that we ever work with going into a new album is to put together the best possible songs that we can at that time. We definitely strive to make the songs on an album as diverse as we can, but we also try to make sure that we’re never putting a song on an album just for the sake of having something different, if we don’t feel like it matches up to the quality of the other songs.
Lyrically, there’s not so much a preconceived vision, but in retrospect sort of a loosely recurring theme. Essentially, the theme is about not believing everything you see, hear, or read just because it is presented in an authoritative package or repeatedly thrown in your face by media or society in general. But instead to seek out moments of clarity and contentment with the things we truly value most.
One thing that I find really exciting about Fits of Reason, is how it builds on the feel of Salt for Salt, especially with your increased use of percussion, which brings this album closest (in my opinion) to your live shows. Can you talk about this development?
Dave: This takes me back to our idea of trying to get the most out of our stripped down duo. Several of the newer songs are more intricate than the majority of our previous work, so I really wanted to challenge myself to not just play the simplest percussion parts but to really try to make the percussion as involved and integral as the rest of the instruments (to the best of my ability anyway).
There are so many kinds of rhythms out there and I didn’t want to limit ourselves to the typical ‘boom-chick, boom-chick’ beats that come the easiest. It can definitely be a struggle, and it has made recording more difficult at times, but I do feel like we succeeded in stepping up the percussion a notch from our previous recordings.
Was there a tune that set the course for the material?
Dave: It was more of a song-by-song accumulation, but the first couple of songs written for this album were ‘Iblis’ and ‘Threads of Measure’. So to some degree I guess the songs that followed could have been either a reaction to, or a continuation of the feel we got from those.
For the most part, there was a lot of work put into all of these songs. Usually I start with individual parts of songs and try them out with multiple other parts to see which ones fit together and then come up with more parts to finish it off. That process alone can often take several months.
Then sometimes I’ll try the songs in different keys or rhythms or time signatures to see what feels right. That’s usually the point where I’ll bring the song to MorganEve and we’ll work on it together for a while.
We made a demo of several of these songs over the summer and then when we returned home from touring in the fall, we went back to that demo and changed a couple of those songs dramatically. Others we didn’t touch. Then we wrote a few more to finish off the album. The only song on Fits of Reason that came out completely spontaneously was the short acoustic instrumental ‘Abednego’, which I wrote while we were spending an idyllic week off at a friend’s apartment in New Orleans after SXSW.
Can you talk about your recording process for Fits of Reason?
Dave: I can’t say that any one recording or production style influenced the sound of the new album. We mainly just worked with Seth Manchester and Keith Souza (from Machines With Magnets) to try out different mics and find the ones that we felt worked best for the overall sound of the songs.
What was your studio set up?
Dave: We talked a lot with Seth and Keith about how we wanted to try a different method than the ‘one-room, live-style’ that we used on Salt for Salt. As much as we enjoyed the old school straightforward approach of playing the songs together in the same room, we really wanted more freedom in the mixing process this time around.
For example, if you’re recording live and you want the bass to be louder and the bass microphone picked up a lot of the wood block, you’re gonna end up with a louder wood block whether you want it or not. We isolated ourselves in different rooms this time around and for the most part laid down percussion, guitar, and whichever instrument MorganEve was playing at the same time. Then we went back and added our vocals and any other overdubs after that.
I should mention too that MorganEve’s brother Spencer came into the studio to join us playing violin on the song ‘Barren Lakes’. That was during the overdubbing process and the three of us all kind of pitched in to co-write his part together. He’s insanely talented and we’ve been lucky enough to have him join us previously on ‘Shiloh’ from Salt for Salt and now again on the new album.
Now that Fits of Reason is finished, what would you say distinguishes this record most from your previous ones?
Dave: One of the most noticeable differences is the presence of the electric guitar and electric bass. During the writing process for these songs we felt like the more melodic nature of the guitar and bass parts on many of the songs lent themselves more to electric instruments. We’re very pleased with the way the integration of these instruments is sounding and we feel strongly that it’s a good step forward in the evolution of our overall sound.
I think that more of our influences from music from different parts of the world are starting to come through more in our songwriting. MorganEve is also singing on a lot more of the album, which we also hope to explore more as we move forward.
I really enjoyed your recent Daytrotter session with Joe Fletcher (who you have toured with and collaborated with). Can you talk about your musical kinship, and share your connectedness to the Providence music community?
Dave: Joe Fletcher is a very good friend of ours. We’ve both known him longer than we’ve known each other. There was a period just after I moved to Rhode Island where Joe was in between band mates and MorganEve and I would sit in as Joe’s band for a number of shows. His songwriting is great and it was only right and natural the way we all played together.
Joe is a hardworking and talented musician and we hope that he’ll get the kind of industry support that we’ve been lucky enough to experience over the past few years. It was great to have him with us on our last leg of touring and I’m sure we’ll be doing many tours together again in the future.
There definitely is a strong sense of camaraderie between a lot of the bands in Providence. Whether it’s touring together or just showing up at each other’s shows, it’s definitely a supportive community.
MorganEve: There are a lot of bands in Providence who we love. We’ve done some touring with The Low Anthem in the past, and during our upcoming April touring we’ll be bringing our friends Last Good Tooth with us. If there’s one thing Providence has, it’s a strong community of incredible musicians. There is so much talent here: Alec K. Redfearn, Deer Tick, Death Vessel, Keith McCurdy, Joe Fletcher, and more. We hope that there is much success in store for everyone.
I’ve been part of this community for almost 10 years now, and would be sad to leave it. The friendships forged out of the musicians here have been incredibly rewarding. The Providence area continues to be a great place to come home to after every tour.
I am excited to see you play ay The Wildwood Music Festival in Willamina, OR. Can you talk about how you connected with the organizers and decided to join the lineup?
MorganEve: We had a great time playing at the Wildwood Hotel last year, ghost stories and all. What an incredible place to walk into, especially not knowing what to expect. Our hostesses were incredible, the food was great and we enjoyed everything about our experience there. We’re thrilled to be coming back to this awesome little community.
What’s next for you?
MorganEve: Touring! There are some exciting possibilities coming up: some great festivals, rejoining our friends Trampled By Turtles, going out to Alaska, some more shows with The Devil Makes Three (who are practically family now), and we’re looking forward to our time with Last Good Tooth.
When and how did you begin learning and playing music? Which artists and albums, as well as experiences with family and friends, inspired you to pursue music seriously?
Frank Solivan: I’ve never known a time when music wasn’t a guiding force. All of my life I’ve been surrounded by it. Both sides of my family play and sing. My mother Lorene plays some guitar and sings her butt off. She even sang a song on a solo project of mine Selfish Tears. Her brother plays guitar and sings, as did their dad. On her maternal side, there were plenty of concert violinists and cellists as well.
My dad is ninth of ten kids. His mom, my grandmother Bonnie played mandolin and fiddle. She even played and was a tumbler (acrobat) in Vaudeville shows. She passed along her love and respect for music and musical instruments to all of her ten kids and anyone associated with the family. Frequent gatherings of kin and friends with home cooked meals and live music was commonplace. Growing up with that made it natural for me to be involved with food and music.
I listened to Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, The Beatles, Elvis, Newgrass Revival, my family and anything else I could get my hands on. I reckon I was like a sponge. I loved everything music.
When did you begin writing your own music?
Frank: I started writing tunes on the fiddle when I was in high school. I also started writing songs then. It has always been a good outlet for me. You know, processing life and getting through hard times or expressing love in song still feels like the right thing to do.
Can you describe your experiences making I Am A Rambler? What were some of the most rewarding, surprising, and/ or challenging aspects for you?
Frank: I Am A Rambler came about when I moved to Nashville from Alaska to pursue some musical aspirations and left my future wife. We weren’t even a couple per say, but leaving a place that I loved so much and a woman I was falling in love with, gave me plenty of fodder to write some songs.
I traveled around in a few different bands, learned a ton of music, wrote a ton of music and kept dreaming of going back to Alaska and being with this wonderful woman that had my heart. One word that could easily describe that year away is, ‘lonesome’.
I ended up making some life long friendships and plenty of connections in Nashville at that time. My first ‘real’ studio project was under my belt and it got me set up for a better-seasoned second album.
How that that album prepare you for work on Selfish Tears?
Frank: Recording I Am A Rambler gave me plenty to chew on. It was recorded live in a studio with a great cast of talented musician. I love the energy and vibe, but there was something missing still. I thought about it quite a bit and decided to record another.
This time with the guys I was playing with all the time. Musicians I met outside the Navy Band. Basically, it was the guys that would start up FS&DK. Mike Munford on banjo, John Miller on guitar, and Stefan Custodi on bass. My pal Rob Ickes came in later to add some dobro. There was cohesiveness on Selfish Tears that you can hear and feel. That’s what I was after.
Which artists have been most influential to you as a player, collaborator, and songwriter?
Frank: When I was nine years old I saw Newgrass Revival for the first time. They blew my mind! I got to see the instruments that surrounded me in another light. I got to see their potential, see what they could do in other genres, and see how their role as rhythm and lead instruments dictated the way a song was interpreted by the listener. I eventually saw that I could get the same effect in my own playing.
When and how did you connect with the Dirty Kitchen players, and can you give us a run-down of the band members and what you see as their unique contributions to the band?
Frank: It basically started with Mike Munford (banjo). I met him at a DC nightclub that featured bluegrass once a week. I was invited up to play a song or two by the bandleader and it seemed like Mike wasn’t terribly thrilled. Maybe the thought of, ‘Oh great… another picker that wants to get in on this action’ or ‘Man… I hope this guy is good’ was crossing his mind. Ha… I jest.
As soon as we kicked off a song, sparks flew, musical magic was whirling around and a life long connection was made. He’s been a great friend and the only banjo player I know that can play fiddle tunes note for note and seamlessly move from genre to genre while keeping the integrity of a song, yet lending his own style to enhance it. He always plays the sounds that one would want to hear. An incredibly tasteful player he is.
I met Danny Booth (bass) when I moved to Alaska in the mid 90’s. He was only fourteen at the time… I was eighteen. Seems like he was just starting to get interested in music. With his dad Greg Booth and a few other pickers I met, we started up the band, Rank Strangers. I watched Danny grow musically. He even took a couple of mandolin lessons from me a few years later.
Eventually he ended up playing bass in the band Rank Strangers. I moved away from Alaska and he did as well. We always kept in touch and I feel like the Booth family is part of my family. When Stefan left the band, Danny was the first person I considered to fill the slot. Lucky for me, he ended up doing so!
When I met Chris, he was playing with his own band Northern Departure in the Seattle area where he’s from. We met at Wintergrass, a festival now held in Bellevue, Washington. We hit it off and jammed a couple of times there. We then linked up in Nashville the same year and picked a few more. Shortly there after, Lincoln told me he was planning on doing his own thing after the turn of the year and to keep an eye out for his replacement. The band had a January 2012 tour lined up in Alaska. Danny had just played his first tour with the band in December of 2011.
We linked up with Chris in Seattle at the hotel we were staying in and played some tunes. I asked him if he would fill in on the Alaska tour and he did so well and he was so prepared for the shows, I asked him to join the band at the end of the tour. Exactly one year from when we met at Wintergrass, we played that festival and announced his new employment from that stage. It is funny how things work out.
Everyone’s versatility, ideas and musical enthusiasm fits this band and has helped it to evolve into the amalgamate it is now.
Your last album, the self-titled Frank Solivan & The Dirty Kitchen, came next. What common threads connect the album to your previous ones, and what aspects do you feel set it most apart?
Frank: The main thing I think that sets this record apart from the others is that we recorded it as a band with arrangements that made the band shine as a unit. Of course there are solos and such where we all had an opportunity to shine, but the main thing was to make it sound like a band… like we all play together, like we all support one another.
We played some of the material out at live shows to get some of the tunes under our belt. We rehearsed before we went into the studio to learn and arrange new songs. We cut all of the songs pretty much live and that energy comes through.
The songwriting was fun. Most of the songs came to me fairly fast. Sometimes those are the best ones. Other songs like ‘July You’re A Woman’ we arranged and briefly deliberated on. Everything went really smooth. I think that is mostly attributed to all of us playing so much together and knowing what everyone’s strengths and weaknesses are.
Can you talk about where the name “Dirty Kitchen” comes from?
Frank: ‘Dirty Kitchen’ is a fiddle tune I composed while I was supposed to be cleaning my kitchen and it is the first track on I Am A Rambler. I wanted a band name that was different. One that made people ask and remember. It also signifies my love and passion for food.
My mother was in the restaurant industry and showed me how to cook at a young age. That led me to work in a couple of kitchens and I also worked for a catering service. My main job was prep, but my love for good food pushed me to keep learning more about the culinary arts. I now love cooking for friends and family. I love the connection between people at a dinner party as well. Sharing a good meal will ultimately bring people closer together and so will sharing good music. When you can do both at the same time, then it’s really magical.
That’s what I’ve been trying to do for some time now. Getting a model made that can incorporate both. We call it The Dirty Kitchen Experience. It’s like sharing the family gathering vibe I grew up with. That’s a really special feeling and I want people to experience it. Many fans of the band have had me cook and then play a house concert in their homes over the last few years. That’s what I love: really connecting with people and getting to know folks on a deeper level. Combining my passions has been a wonderful way to do so.
Can you talk about your songwriting process, including how collaborative it is with members of the band?
Frank: Sometimes songs come easier than others. For instance, on our last project, ‘Left Out In The Cold’ and ‘Driftin’ Apart’ were written in about 30 minutes. I need space to write and a clear head. It needs to be quiet and I need to be alone.
This new project includes songs that were co-written. ‘On The Edge Of Letting Go’ is a song that touches on mental illness and relationship troubles therein, inspired by a family member. I wrote it in a hotel room with my pal Jon Weisberger, a respected journalist and award winning songwriter.
‘No Chance’ was also written with him and another friend of mine, Paul Fowler. It is about the ups and downs of alcoholism. Both songs seemed pretty easy to write. I now love writing with other people that are on the same page as me.
As far as writing with the band, we haven’t done any of that yet. We did however arrange an instrumental of mine and everyone contributed. All of the songs were arranged by all of us together before we even got to the studio. That’s a fun process! Everyone really gets into it and shares their ideas. I always say, ‘You have to hear it to hate it’. Meaning let’s try it before we say nay.
Did you have a preconceived vision for the new album? What were your goals and aspirations this time around?
Frank: My goal for this project was for the band’s sound to really be the feature. Even though everyone has their chance to shine, we all contributed to making it sound cohesive. I didn’t want to make just a formulaic bluegrass record either. I wanted to make music that is for everyone. Music that is accessible, repeatable at a live show and hopefully something that can be listened to 30 years from now.
What was most intuitive for you individually, as well as a band, making this album?
Frank: Energy comes most naturally for everyone in the band. I think everyone was inspired when we were recording. We had great material that we put time and energy into and we were excited to capture our ideas on tape for all to hear.
Was there a song(s) that set the course for the new album?
Frank: There are a couple of songs on the new album that we snuck in under the bluegrass radar. There are two songs that were written by my cousins. ‘Gone’ was written by Megan McCormick and ‘Too Far Gone’ was written by Ty Smith. Both have different rhythms that lend to the more acoustic rock and bluesy side of things. Maybe even the Allman Brothers influence comes through a bit. I love being able to jam out on groove-based tunes like those.
What were you listening to and inspired by during the writing process, as well as the recording process?
Frank: I listen to all kinds of music, so I can’t narrow it down to one thing that inspired my writing. As far as recording… Really, I was buried in the music. Totally consumed with critical listening of the takes, solos and vocals. I didn’t leave much room for any other music to come into the recording world.
What are some of your non-music sources of inspiration?
Frank: The last handful of years, I’ve been tinkering around and doing most of my set up work. Making nuts, bridges, installing frets and the like. Some small repairs here and there. My good friend and master luthier, Michael Lewis has always been an inspiration. I’ve known him most of my life and he gave me a beautiful mandolin to play about 12 years ago. I play with it and record with it all the time.
I’ve seen the mandolin building process and have always been intrigued. I’ve always wanted to build one and last year another good friend of mine, also a master luthier, Roger Siminoff invited me to join in on his week long, total immersion luthier workshop. Where you build an F5 mandolin using Lloyd Loars own personal axe as the example. Roger owns a piece of mandolin history. Lloyd Loar was a virtuoso mandolin player and acoustic engineer for Gibson in the early 20’s and his signed ‘Master Model’ instruments have been known to sell for $250K! This was Loar’s personal instrument. In the class we got to hear it, play it and use it for reference while building a copy of it. It is very cool indeed.
In my spare time, I’ve been trying to finish building this project and I recently strung it up in the white to get an idea of how it sounds and to my surprise, it’s a hoss! I reckon that it still musically related, but it has been a good source of inspiration.
Can you talk about your passion for cooking and your Dirty Kitchen cooking classes?
Frank: Cooking is a great release for me. Coming up with new recipes and dishes definitely accesses my creative side. I have only done one cooking class. I was so happy that I was able to connect with folks that way. I even brought my mandolin and played a couple of songs while things were cooking.
I hope to make this a regular occurrence. I am going to continue incorporating food and music at the same time. It’s who I am and what I’m about. We are working on a video trailer and pitch to get our ideas in a documentary and on television. Stand by for more on that.
Following our exclusive song premiere of John Reischman’s ‘Itzbin Reel’ (featuring fellow mando great Chris Thile), Sitch columnist Chris Mateer gives us his in depth conversation with Reischman…
Can you briefly discuss your musical experiences before forming John Reischman and the Jaybirds?
John Reischman: In 1978 I joined the Good Ol’ Persons, who were based in the San Francisco Bay-area. The band played traditional bluegrass and other styles of acoustic music. We also featured a lot of original material written primarily by Kathy Kallick, but also by Paul Shelasky. It was in this supportive environment that I first started writing original tunes.
After I had been playing with the Good Ol’ Persons for a few years I heard that Tony Rice was starting a new group having recently parted ways with David Grisman. I auditioned for the job and ended up playing with Tony for the next 3 or 4 years. Needless to say, this was an exciting situation for me to be in and I really worked on my playing during this time. I continued playing with the GOP (Good Ol’ Persons) during my time with the Tony Rice Unit.
In 1992 I moved to Vancouver BC and started to work as a freelance musician, performing and recording with several Canadian based musicians including Cindy Church, Celso Machado, and Sal Ferreras. I also still toured and recorded with US based musicians like Kathy Kallick, Kate McKenzie, and Tony Furtado.
It was also around this time that I started to perform with John Miller as a duo.
How and when did you form the Jaybirds? Can you give us a rundown of the players and what you believe are their attributes?
John: I formed the group in order to play some shows to promote my CD called Up In The Woods. Some of the players I knew from California and some I met after my move north.
I met banjo player Nick Hornbuckle at a music camp and we immediately hit it off. He is a huge fan of Earl Scruggs, but is also influenced by the time he spent playing bass in a rock band, and he writes great original tunes in a variety of tunings. Nick is one of the most original banjo stylists I have ever heard. He can affect an old-time sound without playing claw-hammer or any of the more common traditional approaches. He also plays three-finger style using only two fingers!
Bassist Trisha Gagnon is the only true Canadian in the group. I met her when she was performing in a BC based band called Tumbleweed. Trisha has a wonderfully distinctive singing voice with a beautiful tone. She also plays punchy, right on the money, bass. To top it off she is a prolific songwriter and has contributed some of the bands most requested numbers.
Greg Spatz is an incredibly versatile fiddler. He can play everything from swing Jazz to Traditional Irish styles, but he excels at Bluegrass fiddling. He’s got all the most important aspects of the style down, from bluesy double stops backing a vocal, to up-tempo fiddle breakdowns. I first met Greg in the late eighties when he used to come to hear the Good Ol ‘ Persons perform.
I’ve known Jim Nunally the longest of all the Jaybirds. When I first subbed with his band in California twenty-five years ago I was knocked out by his sense of time. He is one of the best rhythm guitar players I have ever heard, and his solos are clear and clean at any tempo. He finds the right approach to any style of tune, and plays in a supportive complimentary way that makes the soloist sound better. His vocals have an authentic bluegrass quality to them, and he writes great songs.
Can you briefly take us through the band’s recordings?
John: Sure. The Jaybirds have recorded five CDs over our 12 year career, and I am proud to say that they all feature the same five musicians. They are: John Reischman & the Jaybirds (Our debut recording, released in 2001), Field Guide (nominated for a Juno Award in 2003 for Best Roots and Traditional Recording), The Road West (nominated for an IBMA award for Best Graphic Design and released in 2005), Stellar Jays (nominated for a Juno Award in 2008 for Best Roots and Traditional Recording and also nominated for two Canadian Folk Music Awards), and Vintage & Unique (2011).
How would you say the band has evolved over time?
John: I think we essentially have the same overall band sound as when we started, but the familiarity with each other’s playing has only made us tighter. All of the band members now contribute original material, which was not initially the case.
How and when did you connect with John Miller?
John: John and I met in Seattle in the eighties, but did not play music together until a few years after that. I had been a fan of his playing before I ever met him. Our first gig together was at the Edmonton Folk Festival where I had been asked to perform. I needed someone to play with and thought of John. That was in 1994, and we are now working on our third release. Hopefully it will be out this summer.
How do your experiences with the Jaybirds and with John Miller connect most for you?
John: Even though stylistically the two groups are very different, they share some of the same core elements. Rhythmically it is rarely a struggle in either group. John plays in a creative and supportive way, as do the Jaybirds, and the original material is heavily featured by both. They are all great people to spend time with. Traveling with John Miller and the Jaybirds is always enjoyable. I feel incredibly fortunate to have these two groups as my primary performing outlets.
How collaborative are these two outlets?
John: In the Jaybirds, I am the musical director as far as what material we record and perform. All the band members realized early on what sort of sound I was going for, so consequently they only present tunes that fit stylistically. When it comes to arranging a given song, everyone has input, with maybe the writer having a bit more say. Even though it is called John Reischman & the Jaybirds, the presentation is not me and my “back up” band. Everyone is featured.
With John Miller it is a fairly simple process. He has a seemingly endless supply of great original tunes, so it is just a matter of choosing the right ones. I also contribute some tunes, but the sound of the duo is best represented by John’s originals. Our arrangements are usually not too complex. The melodies stand on their own.
What would you say these bring into your own solo work/ playing/ performing?
John: Because the two groups are so solid and supportive rhythmically, it makes soloing very easy. I found it was the same way with Tony Rice and Todd Phillips as the rhythm section. When the group creates a smooth rhythmic bed I can just relax and not think about it.
Did you have a preconceived vision for the new album?
John: For some time I had wanted to make a new solo album and had enough original material in the old-time and bluegrass styles. Because I had made some trades for studio time I decided the time was right to start. I did not know every musician I wanted to play with, and had not chosen every tune I wanted to use, but I had a few ideas. One idea was to record some duets with Bruce Molsky. He was touring on the west coast in the summer of 2011, so that was the first session. It was incredibly fun playing with Bruce. We recorded a few traditional tunes and a couple of my originals. One of those, “Side By Each”, I just just finished writing the day before we recorded it.
Was there a tune(s) that set the course for the album overall?
John: Not one particular tune. Some of the tunes were written fairly recently, while some were many years old. My main objective was to match the right players with the right tunes.
You have a number of fantastic guests on the new album. Can you talk about how you connected for each and how/ why you decided to bring in them in for specific tunes?
John: Sure. “Itzbin Reel” was one my first original tunes and I recorded it with the Good Ol’ Persons in 1983. Chris Thile was a fan of the band when he was very young and learned the tune. We used to play it together at various California festivals in the late eighties. I ran into Chris at the Hardly Strictly Festival a few years ago and we played some tunes. I proposed the idea of a recording Itzbin as mando duet and he was right into it. I couldn’t be happier with the job that Chris, Jim Nunally, Sam Grisman, and Mike Barker did on that number. It has a buoyant, joyful quality.
“Joe Ahr’s Dream” had the same group, but with Tony Trischka on banjo instead of Chris on mandolin. Tony was perfect for this up-tempo, cross-tuned, mandolin piece.
“A Prairie Jewel” and “Indian Arm” both feature Trent Freeman on fiddle, Patrick Metzger on bass, and Eli West on guitar. These guys are all very creative and expressive players. They really adapted well to these two slightly Celtic sounding numbers. This was also the core group, with the addition of Ivan Rosenberg on resophonic guitar, for “Gold Mountain Blues”.
The Jaybirds were the logical choice for “The Deadly Fox” with its old-time meets Bluegrass groove and we recorded it on a day off during a Jaybirds tour.
One ensemble that is featured on the recording had never played music together prior to the session. We recorded in Denver after a Jaybirds tour; the group featured Kenny Smith on guitar, and Eric Thorin on bass with Annie Staninec on fiddle for two tunes, and Sally Van Meter on resophonic guitar for the third. This group also was fun to play with… almost like a spontaneous jam session with great chemistry. I added banjo players Nick Hornbuckle for the old-time sounding “Little Pine Siskin”, and Patrick Sauber for the bluegrassier “Side By Each”, which also features the harmony fiddle of Alex Hargreaves. Greg Spatz plays fiddle on the final number for that session, Anisa’s Lullaby.
Annie Staninec is a great west coast fiddler who blends classic, fifties-style Bluegrass with old-time fiddling. She has played some with the Jaybirds, so I got to know her playing and knew I wanted to include her on the project.
All of the musicians played brilliantly and it was a thrill to have them help bring these tunes to life.
How collaborative/ directed were these experiences? Can you give some examples?
John: I mostly had arrangement ideas going in to the sessions, but for some I was able to rehearse with the musicians more beforehand. On the duet I played with Chris Coole, we just met at my house and played through the tune a few times, and decided what chords would sound best. With the Eli, Trent, and Patrick group we actually had a few rehearsals.
The arrangement for “Gold Mountain Blues” took shape from just jamming on the basic tune. Eli came up with an interesting accompaniment on his bouzouki, and Patrick added a very minimalist but perfect bass part.
For the group with Kenny, Eric, and Annie I was not completely settled on the arrangements before hand, and things changed in the studio. Kenny suggested a way of ending one of the tunes. I am open to others input, but it’s a more efficient use of time if I had a basic outline of the arrangement in mind.
Can you discuss your writing process?
John: Well, I have written in different ways. For my previous solo recording called Up In The Woods, many of the melodies came to me while I was out for a walk. Something about the rhythm of walking would suggest a tempo. For one tune called “Nesser”, I was walking, but consciously decided I wanted to write a tune that would lay out nicely on the banjo.
For these walking tunes it was always a challenge to remember them till I got home. Now I just sing them into my phone.
Most of the tunes for this new recording came from playing the mandolin or mandola. “The Deadly Fox”, written on the mandola, came together very quickly as did “Joe Ahr’s Dream”. Others, like “Little Pine Siskin”, I worked on over several days. I had begun to learn a traditional tune called “Chinquapin” and when I started writing “Siskin” a few days later I realized it was a bit similar to “Chinquapin”, so I worked on making it it’s own tun
What were you listening to during the writing and recording processes?
John: I got the basic idea for recording the album with several musicians in different places from Mike Seeger’s Annual Farewell Reunion records. The difference was that I mostly recorded a few tunes with each ensemble rather than different players on each tune. I think listening to Cahalen Morrison and Eli West’s first record inspired “The Deadly Fox”.
What are some of your biggest non-musical sources of inspiration?
John: Being in nature is very inspiring to me. Living in BC we are surrounded by forests, the ocean, and mountains. A Prairie Jewel was written in Grand Forks BC, in the West Kootenays, while staying with friends in a cabin in the woods. It was very quiet and peaceful with just the sound of the wind in the pines.
I also read a lot of fiction. I was inspired to write several tunes after reading Guy Vanderhaeghe’s books The Englishman’s Boy, and A Good Man. They take place on the border between Saskatchewan and Montana, near the Cypress Hills. He writes beautifully about the natural world, with strong stories and characters.
Could you give us a rundown of some of your favorite mandolin players and some ‘essential’ albums by these artists?
John: Here is a list of some mandolinists I was inspired by and their recordings that were influential
Andy Statman: Flatbush Waltz and Andy’s Ramble
David Grisman: The David Grisman Quintet (kalaidescope F5)
Bill Monroe: The High and Lonsome Sound
Sam Bush: the first New Grass Revival recording, and his playing on Tony Rice’s Manzanita
Jethro Burns: Homer & Jethro, Playing it Straight
I’m also a fan of Mike Compton, Ronnie McCoury, Chris Thile, Roland White, Aubrey Haynie and many others.
What’s next for you?
John: John Miller and I are working on finishing our third CD. About half features just the two of us, and the rest of the tunes have bass and/or percussion on them.
We will start planning a new Jaybirds CD before too long too. Maybe a live recording… I am also thinking of doing an instructional DVD.
I think I will make another solo cd in a few years, rather than waiting 13 years! It will likely have a more modern than old time sound. I hope to get Tony Rice & Todd Phillips to play on it and my old friend Scott Nygaaard. I had hoped to get them on Walk Along John, but the scheduling did not work out. I also hope to feature Alex Hargreaves on it. I think stylistically it will be similar to some of the new acoustic music I used to play.
