Jorma Kaukonen Thanks to his time with Rock Hall inductee Jefferson Airplane, Jorma Kaukonen quickly rose to prominence as one of the best guitar players to rise out of the '60s music scene in San Franciso. But Jorma was a roots music guy at heart and left the band to get more bluesy with Jack Casady and Hot Tuna.
He brought Barry Mitterhoff along for an appearance on A Prairie Home Companion and Jim caught up with them before the show.
FAIRPORT'S CROPREDY FESTIVAL - THIS WEEKEND Aug 7-9
August 5, 2008
It was close to this time last year I was preparing for my first trip across the pond to attend Fairport Convention's 40th Anniversary Cropredy Festival. It seems like only yesterday I was sitting down with Ashley Hutchings and Chris Leslie backstage. What memories. If you're in the UK, I wouldn't miss this weekend's festivities. Tickets are still available. According to the Fairport website, tickets are now only available at the gate this weekend, and there aren't too many left. They suggest you call ahead of time to make sure you aren't turned away when you arrive. All the info you need is at their website, www.fairportconvention.com. If you'd like to re-live what took place at last year's event, check out our blog from Cropredy 2007.
The Mercury Prize Shortlist for 2008 has been released with a few names with a folk connection. One of the 12 final albums, culled from 240 albums produced by UK artists in the past year, will be named the winner on Sept. 9. The shortlist names were announced at Covent Garden's The Hospital Club, the club for the creative industries, among them Rachel Unthank & The Winterset for The Bairns, Laura Marling for Alas, I Cannot Swim, and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss for Raising Sand.
Here's a video of Rachel Unthank & The Winterset in action:
Katie Reider was a singer/songwriter who developed a rare facial tumor that first stole her sight and voice, and then took her life. Originally from Cincinnati, Reider's career was just taking off when a toothache turned out to be a myofibroblastic tumor that spread from her jaw into her sinus area. She leaves her Cincinnati family and her longtime partner, Karen, and their two sons.
Reider's friend Lauren Fernandes of Three Chapeau Productions has created a website to honor the artist with the goal of introducing her music to 500,000 visitors to the site before May 2009. The site, www.500kin365.org, includes photos, music and more on Reider's story.
There is more on Artie Traum in the Folk Alley Forum, including the NYT obit. A fingerpicking guitar stylist, Traum was a valued part of the Woodstock music scene. He was also a composer and educator. With his brother Happy, he was a member of the Woodstock Mountains Revue. He passed on July 20 of cancer.
Who is Beth Wood? Unless you're from Arlington or Austin, you may not know. Once you hear her though, you'll start asking that question. This lady has power and confidence (i.e. Bonnie Raitt) and is a good wordsmith (i.e. David Wilcox). Initially, you may hear more blues in Beth than folk on this, her 7th CD, but at the end she delivers a delightful surprise: solo acoustic versions of three of the album's best full ensemble, more electric arrangements.
Included in these extras is the album's title in which she finds a bit of her unusual father in herself. Another is "Funeral Day" where she describes her friends' belief that a funeral ought to be a joyous experience, celebrating the deceased instead of mourning him. Sadness, she feels, is something more personal that will hit you later when you are alone. Despite the acoustic alternative, we have chosen to air the original, as it is even happier.
Another standout is "Our New Century," a biting political commentary about America today. Though she wrote this a few years ago, I believe it is included here for a reason.
Not much has changed, she feels, in the past 8 years. There has been one big change for Beth, however. She just got married and moved to Colorado where her husband was hired at a micro brew pub. Beth continues to tour the country; don't miss her.
Banjo ace Tony Trischka's last album (Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular) featured a 2nd banjoist on ever tune or song. There were many guest players and singers and many different studios to collaborate. Surely his next release would be less ambitious right? Wrong.
Territory also features many guests: Banjoist Bill Keith, Violinist Brittany Haas, Guitarist Michael Daves, and banjoist Bill Evans. Three of the melodies were written for the NPR show: The Next Big Thing. The arrangements are sometimes in odd time signatures and the melodies have untold stories. Tony plays a different and often unusual banjo on every tune. For example, he plays a gourd banjo and a one of kind national resonator banjo. "Tromp De L Oreille" which features Paula Bradley on piano and Bill Keith on the 2nd banjo, starts the melody on the downbeat and midway through changes it by half a beat to starts on the upbeat. "French Creek" is played on only one banjo string.
It's possible that only your subconscious would notice these details, but all the variety makes you search for the liner notes. What will happen when we all download songs one at a time and there are no more album jackets? Don't tell Tony Trischka.
Resonator Guitar, Washtub Bass, Washboard, Fridge Door, and Hand Drum --- that's the musical lineup for this Minneapolis based "Alt-folk stringband." The group is led by Steve Kaul who wrote all the songs except for their version of a Yiddish traditional piece, which is so unique, they might as well have written it.
Song topics include the story of a tinsmith, and a moment by moment description by a miner and a canary as the mine collapses. Steve also vividly details what a factory worker is thinking about as he produces parts for a bomb. The song is cleverly titled "Killing Time." This is fairly thoughtful fodder for a bluesy string band, but they did say they were 'alt-folk.' This 'alt' term is being thrown around a lot lately; perhaps for The Brass Kings 'alt' means traditional instruments backing intelligent editorials. I think they're ready for a national audience. Folk Alley will give them one.
If the name sounds familiar, yes Justin is Stacey's nephew and Steve's son. That may explain why The Good Life doesn't sound like a rookie release. Justin writes of difficult issues in a very poetic way -- it seems his Dad and his Aunt's influences have rubbed off.
Aside from the album's ballads, however, there are several spirited and original honky tonk numbers, so Earle knows that his audience wants to have fun too.
Take the album's 1st song, "Hard Livin'." The melody is a 'click your finger' piano and fiddle romp (Josh Hedly & Skylar Wilson). While you're dancing, you can laugh at Justin's confusion about love, because you've probably experienced it and thought you were the only one until you heard this.
Three ballads are stand outs. "Who Am I to Say" is a humble view on how we judge ourselves and others. "Lone Pine Hill" describes a hike to a viewpoint, but the view is more inward. "Turn Out the Lights" is a reminder that nighttime stops the world so we can finally think.
The entire album may not be "A" material, but to have four "A's on a debut is pretty darn impressive. I'm betting Justin Townes Earle will soon be known for being more than "Steve's Son."
When I started to write this, I put fiddler in front of Canadian Oliver Schroer's name. But, that doesn't say enough. He played folk violin with jazz, world and experimental music influences and developed a truly unique sound. Schroer was also a teacher who brought his instrument to a new generation. I met Schroer when he traveled south with James Keelaghan for a concert near Cleveland. They were both staying with Jim Blum and I was lucky enough to hang out with the group after the show. Schroer impressed with his knowledge of a wide range of subjects and his extreme height, capped by a mohawk. It was one of those magical outdoor concerts where the music and darkness of a country night envelope the audience and create a moving and memorable experience.
Oliver Schroer died this week in Toronto after a long battle with leukemia and he will be missed. Read more in this article from the CBC.
This gave us the idea of inviting Folk Alley listeners to share your favorite music that you reach for, or load into the iPod, before pulling out of the driveway for a summer road trip.
With your help, Chris Boros will assemble a special "Summer Road Songs" on-demand side stream in a couple weeks. So - please tell us your favorite CDs that you "never leave home without," or the songs you'd include in a mixed tape before taking that crazy drive from Boston to Chicago for a deep-dish pizza. If your boss is a slave driver, and you won't be taking vacation this summer, we'd like to know what songs represent to you the "freedom of the open road," as you dream from your desk of flooring it across Death Valley with the top down - Thelma and Louise style.
To get us rolling - WKSU's Mark Urycki shares these songs that are among his favorite "road songs."
"Refuge of the Roads" - Joni Mitchell - Hejira
"Amelia" - Joni Mitchell -Hejira
"Willin'" - Little Feat
"I Know You Rider" or "Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad" - Grateful Dead
We at Folk Alley are really big baseball fans - and we love Chris Thile and the Punch Brothers. So this is exciting! In 1908, two important things happened. The Chicago Cubs won a World Series (which they haven't done since) and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" made it's debut (as a music hall song about a man blowing off work and his girlfriend). In honor of both of these momentous occasions, ESPN's Baseball Tonight is running a "Battle of the Bands," with a variety of groups playing the song for fans to vote. Votes must be in by the end of the weekend.
Our vote is going to the Punch Brothers. Chris Thile loves baseball (he has a couple baseball-themed CDs under his belt) and they actually say to root, root, root for the Cubbies, which is much better (even if you disagree with the team choice) than the completely lame "home team" option. Plus, Noam Pikelny!
Send us a picture of you in your Folk Alley T-shirt! We'll add it to our
gallery and you could win fabulous prizes.
Hear Mountain Heart recorded live at the Kent Stage during the 41st Kent State Folk Festival.
Meet the people behind the scenes who are working to keep the "folk wheels" rolling in their community!
A new way to support Folk Alley! Learn how to convert your old car into folk music!
Folk Alley is partnering with Festivalink.net to offer our members live music downloads!
Fresh Cuts offers a 3-hour stream of the best of recently released music with new updates added weekly. 
