If you've never heard Buddy Griffin do his showpiece tune, Ragtime Annie, you're in for a treat. As Mac says every time he breaks it out, Buddy owns this tune.
Here they are playing twin fiddle on Ragtime Annie recently at the Samples house.
And I almost forgot, Charlie Bowen, one of the guitars players here, posted video of this tune. The audio is the same as the MP3, but if you'd like to take a look in, here you go:
I am usually unable to go to the Blue Plate Special in Knoxville because it's in the middle of day during the week. I went on a fluke yesterday and much to my surprise, Chance McCoy was there playing with Old Sledge. They're really great, play a variety of styles from western swing, to Mississippi riverboat-type of music, and of course Appalachian old-time music.
The second band was one I had never heard of, the Defibulators, but they are interesting to say the least. They are high-energy, have like 8 people on stage at a time, and have a good stage presence.
What struck me with both of these bands (Chance McCoy himself excluded) was the confirmation of what I have commented on here often. The people in the bands are from Vermont, Brooklyn, and California; places that are well outside the traditional hub of old-time music, especially the style they play. Not a criticism, just an observation.
That's the direction old-time music in America is moving. It's increasingly played by young people who come from urban areas out West or in the northeast. They're good, and give the music a new kind of sound that is distinct from what came before it. In the same way, the people playing in the 1930s sounded distinct from those that came before them. It's really interesting to see how the music is evolving, both demographically and geographically.
If you're looking for some modern twists to traditional styles of music, I recommend looking up both of these bands.
What's up everybody, it's been a while. Turns out finishing a PhD is demanding of one's time. My month-long hiatus has not been good to my music playing or appreciation.
Nonetheless, for the first time in a long time, I stumbled across a really cool band, the Gilded Bats. Like many bands, they have MP3s on their MySpace page and they are worth checking out.
They are from Iowa City, and here they are playing in their hometown:
I'll get back to posting in the weekly theme format soon, but I wanted to write about Poor Benny before I moved on. I got their album as a gift recently and was very impressed. They have a true old-time sound; nothing flashy, no embellished solos, and not super polished. In the liner notes of the albums it says they have worked with renowned old-time player Bruce Greene, and it shows. If you get a chance to see them or buy the album, you should do it.
Here's a description of the band from their website:
Poor Benny plays old-time string band music with Clayton Schanilec, fiddle, Corey Mohan, banjo and Dave Furniss on guitar. The Poor Benny repertoire includes traditional fiddle tunes, vocal numbers from such legendary performers as Uncle Dave Macon, Charlie Poole, and Clarence Ashley, as well as traditional percussive dance.
Check out their website to hear a few tunes. Here are a few videos of them playing out.
Stumbled across this video today. It's kind of like an all-star compilation of some of West Virginia's best old-time players, including Dave Bing and John Morris. I'm sure there are others there that I just don't recognize. Always interesting to see these candid shots.
One of the tunes in there is a personal favorite, Girl I Left Behind Me.
Came across these tunes today and loved them. There's a lot of great fiddle music out Quebec and these are two of them. I'm less familiar with this whole genre so I can't really offer any clever insights except to look more French-Canadian tunes up. Genticorum is perhaps the best modern recorded example of French-Canadian tradition. Enjoy.
This is quite interesting. There are whole series of videos on YouTube that feature old-time music in Japan, and this one has what appears to be a Japanese clogger.
This is a really nice version of Battle of New Orleans (aka 8th of January) by Little Brown Jug Band. The tempo on this is just right. A lot of people play this tune too fast.
What's up everybody, it's been a while. Turns out finishing a PhD is demanding of one's time. My month-long hiatus has not been good to my music playing or appreciation.
