Tag: string band

LISTEN: Moonsville Collective, ‘Big Jimmy’

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Moonsville Collective
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Song: "Big Jimmy"
Album: Heavy Howl
Release Date: October 30
Label: Rock Ridge Music

In Their Words: "My wife turned me on to Brownie McGee and Sonny Terry a long time ago, and they are always in and out of my CD player. Brownie once prefaced a song saying how most blues songs are about woman, whiskey, or money, and from here the idea of 'Big Jimmy' started mulling around my brain and fingers. I don't have much money or the best of looks, but I do have a woman. Jimmy kind of came in as this threat to the things I'm trying to hold on to and, in the vein of classic, dark-humored country tunes, he succeeds. The repetitive 'Yes, sir!' line in every verse is a nod to one of my favorite old-time tunes called 'Hot Corn, Cold Corn,' which I picked up from an elderly, fiddle-playing pharmaceutical driver from Los Osos, CA. Some of the songs on the record were harder to record than others, but 'Big Jimmy' came pretty easily. Matt, our mandolin player took over a lot of the instrumentation on the first couple of verses which came out so well. It really gives the song a warm, shiny feel. We've always enjoyed playing fun, fast songs that folks can move and smile to. It becomes less about us or the tune, and more about the energy that is shared with us and our fans/friends. We always enjoy it." — Corey Adams

Instructions: Slap your knee or tap your toes on this one. It deserves it.

Photo credit: Martin Franco Vielma

LISTEN: Mr. Sun, ‘The People Need Light’

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Sometimes it feels like string bands are a dime a dozen, that any ol' group of pickers comes together under a single name and has a go at it. And maybe that's true. But, other times, not just any ol' group of pickers comes together under a single name and has a go at it. That would certainly be the case with Mr. Sun which features Darol Anger on fiddle, Grant Gordy on guitar, Joe Walsh on mandolin, and Ethan Jodziewicz on bass.

As Anger puts it, “Mr. Sun absolutely had to happen — really good people who like each other and are also brilliant, unique, and funny artists. That's a prickly order. It might have taken a while. Good food takes time; we know that. But here we are.”

These multi-generational guys have been around, playing in various bands and configurations for various numbers of years. With Mr. Sun, they are, of course, pooling their experiences and skills in American roots music. But the music is, really, just a by-product.

“As we try to crack each other up, we find ourselves making the music we hoped we'd always hear,” Anger says. “I can always count on Joe, Grant, and Ethan to totally jump onto the emotional arc of every song, which gets to looking more and more like a rainbow or a rocket trail and sounds like, maybe, nine guys sometimes.”

He adds, “Mr. Sun is relaxing in a way that makes my mind flip on and spark and spin. I think it'll do the same for most people who like acoustic string music.”

The People Need Light comes out on July 31 via Compass Records.