Old Mountaineer is one of those fantastic, yet obscure Monroe tunes. I stole it (like so many things) off of Mike Compton. Interestingly, I learned it off of the bootlegs from a house concert in Madison, WI (before I moved here) and have since become good friends with Bobby and Lori, who had hosted that show. If you don’t have that show, you should… but you can find the tune on Stomp as well.
Sidebar: while I’m on it, I’l throw out a quick rant for bootlegs… Some musicians feel that bootlegs cut into their bottom line and/or don’t care for folks to hear their “off” shows. I understand these opinions and have no problem with it… except that I disagree with them. My favorite shows are live. Live performances offer a true look into a musician. The allow me to hear tunes that they’re working into a set or are playing off the cuff. Mistakes provide more depth in understanding their playing. Eg. how one handles a mistake in music, like in life, tells a lot about folks. Please, please, PLEASE… allow live recordings where applicable. When I listen to your show I will have already bought your records (which is why I’m listening to your live show) or open to checking you out (and if I like you I will almost certainly buy your record). ‘Nuff said…
I used “the folk process” to liberate this tune from a fantastic record by John Hartford and Jim Wood. It’s called The Bullies Have All Gone To Rest and I would highly recommend it. For the recording, I’m using a new toy called the MicPort Pro. Sounds pretty good… as does the Shure KSM32.
Pumpskully was perhaps thegreatest band in the known universe that you’ve not heard of. Case in point, their version of the Beatles “I Dig a Pony” (a personal fave) recorded during a soundcheck at Nashville’s Exit In. Using this and footage from the Beatles’s rooftop performance of the same song, Steven “Big Toe” B has created a lovely montage during his, obviously, ample freetime. The results are absolutely fabulous… keep in mind however, that this version does not include Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf Aids.
Being relatively new to Wisconsin, I am continually discovering new (to me anyway) Bluegrass resources. the Northland Jamboree is another fine example. The show is no longer being recorded but is available online to download or as a podcast (see below). It features both national and local Wisconsin artists and… well… is just plain good! Give it a listen!
The Northland Jamboree was recorded live from the stage of the Northland Ballroom, in the heart of Wisconsin’s dairyland. Each week the program’s host, Art and Stephanie Stevenson, welcomed a special guest for a jam-packed quarter-hour of music. This live radio show was recorded and is offered as a podcast and features some of the best bluegrass and acoustic music in the Northland.
You can find a listing of shows that are available to download and listen to by searching kyouradio.com. You can also subscribe to the Northland Jamboree podcast via iTunes or get the RSS feed
I’m a big fan of David Byrne. His self-titled solo record (pictured here) is one of my personal favorites. He offers a radio show on his website which is currently offering an interesting collection of “classic country” tunes that he’s calling Rednecks, Racists and Reactionaries: Country Classics. Some nice choices in there… including some good ‘Grass.
Most of the world outside of Nashville will have never heard of Pumpskully… and that’s a damn shame for y’all really. I recently aquired some video footage of the band and am making my way through it (thanks Stephen). The audio is crap but it’s still well worth watching. Below is clip from the band playing at the now defunct (and missed) 12 & Porter. I’m one of the jackasses in the background screaming “play something you know!”. These are some of the best shows I ever had the pleasure to see…
The laughter would be over the selling off of his toilet for charity. This is comedy to be sure but also very likely to be beneficial to others. But wouldn’t even the honored dead–grateful or otherwise–sicken at the thought of his surviving band-mates overturning the band’s long-standing music sharing ideology for the mere possibility of monitory gain?
Here’s a recording from a little bluegrass get-together I attended last night. A lovely time was had by all. And I ended up not spilling wine on Curtis’ couch after all!
Continuing from a previous post, here are more of what I consider must own Bluegrass records. The best of the best…
Old & In the Way – Old and in the Way
Bluegrass traditionalists (aka bluegrass-nazis) will scoff at this choice… but this started me and MANY others down the Bluegrass path. So feel free to kick said scoffers in the balls.
