Topic: Carolina Chocolate Drops

[mississippijohnhurt1928]

I was very pleased to find that The Carolina Chocolate Drops (obviously named after The Tennessee Chocolate Drops) are keeping the black string band tradition alive.

I've heard some wonderful things about this group of musicians, what do you folks think of 'em?

http://carolinachocolatedrops.com/

[Flatd7]

The Chocolate Drops are great. Dom Flemons has been up to New York and we've had the pleasure to play with him. He's a real live wire. His solo album is very good. Three quarters of the band perform in the Jugband Doc. "Chasin' Gus' Ghost" as the Sankofa Strings. Don't know the reason for that. They will be headling the 3rd Annual Jugband Jubilee in Louisville, Kentucky this October.

[waxwing]

Just curious, and I mean absolutely nothing disrespectful towards the CCDs, but I was wondering if anyone knows why they have sorta been singled out for national prominence when many other bands of equal or better talent seem to lanquish in regional obscurity?

I've seen many videos, from outdoor festival type performances and the Wood Songs show, and they are certainly competent, but nothing really makes me say wow, either technically or soulfully about their performances and their material seems standard enough in the Old Time (for lack of a better term, Frank) genre. I've seen the interview where the lovely young banjo player explains that they got together at some sort of banjo camp and apparently they have friends in high places in the banjo world. But still, I know there are many bands out there playing similar material with as much or more skill and heart.

Maybe what I'm really asking is "Who is their agent and how do I get hooked up?"-G- Or maybe I need to see them perform a whole show live to be really blown away?

All for now.
John C.

[Flatd7]

Waxwing - Did you get my email, or are you ignoring me?

You are little bit right on both fronts. They have been marketed very well. They are part of the Music Maker Relief Foundation which gives them some good exposure. They are young and energetic in a sector that is often populated with 50 somethings and all the grey hair and expanding middles that sometimes come with that. (Sorry, I've got my share of both). It is true, that how you look and act helps when it comes to finding an audience.

But, they also have an intangible 'it". I saw them recently at an outdoor show with Rdiers of The Storm. They killed. They were the openner and I belive new to much of the audience. Their set went long and the crowd still demanded an encore. They have a very unrehearsed element to them, which is very reminiscent of a more naive time in the music industry . . . .  the great folk scare of the 60's?

Dom Flemons is a groove master and a showman. He performs in a merry prankster, vaudvillian manner that could seem either derogatory, phoney or innapropriate by a lot of performers. But Dom is a genuine performer and does it with ribald dignity. He's kind of a modern day Uncle Dave Macon with the twirling banjo over his head and all. He can also spend ten minutes trying to get his banjo in tune or fishing through his box of bones, capo's, spoons and other gear while the audience scratch's their heads. He's a live wire.

Rhiannon is a fine clawhammer banjo player with a fabulous voice and will break into an accapella gospel number if Dom gets off track. She's kind of the glue that holds them together. Justin is a great fiddler and they all have a great groove. They are often joined by Sule Wilson on percussion.

I don't know which other bands you're talking about. But that's always the case. Some great artists need to hold down day jobs. Others just can't catch a break. And sometimes you just love an act, and nobody else gets it. The CCD's are out there touring, giving workshops and crossing the country pretty heavy. They're putting in the miles. So, they've worked hard, had some luck, good management and seem to be in the right place at the right time. But, they do draw and put on a great show. 

[waxwing]

Your email said, "Drop me a line if you're back east."-G-  That'll be when my folks house sells and I go out to help move them. I have no idea when that will be. The market seems pretty slow, but I hope it'll be soon. I don't know if I'll get up to NYC as I kinda want to get down to visit Neil Harpe and, hopefully, Eleanor Ellis, and I doubt I'll have time for two side trips.

Thanks for the info on the CCDs. I guess I'll have to catch a show. I was thinking of bands like the Second Fiddles.-G- You're right, it helps to be young.

All for now.
John C.

[uncle bud]

And they're black. This makes them very interesting to people in all sorts of ways, not the least of which is the aspect of carrying on an old tradition from the black community. How many young black people are enthusiastic about old-time and string band music, let alone playing it? Most of what I've seen of them fits more into the old time and fiddle music genres (though I'm no expert on this stuff), but there's an entertaining (poor quality) YouTube video of them doing Salty Dog with some fun dancing by Rhiannon. Like Wax, I've not been completely bowled over, but there is still that extra something that holds my attention.

Anyway, I say good for them, while conceding Wax's point. I think that anything that gives authentic traditional music prominence can't be bad.

Wax: "friends in high places in the banjo world." ??!!  You mean like the manager at the local Denny's?

[mississippijohnhurt1928]

And they're black. This makes them very interesting to people in all sorts of ways.

Exactly! That's what's so unique about 'em!

And not to bring too much racial discussion into this but I'd MUCH prefer to see a modern black string band than a white one.

[mississippijohnhurt1928]

And they're black. This makes them very interesting to people in all sorts of ways.

Exactly! That's what's so unique about 'em!

And not to bring too much racial discussion into this but I'd MUCH prefer to see a modern black string band than a white one.

After all, black string bands and jug bands are my favorite genres of music!

[waxwing]

Wax: "friends in high places in the banjo world." ??!!  You mean like the manager at the local Denny's?

I'm glad you got the intent in that, UB.

I agree, UB, more power to them and anyone who advances awareness of the old music, especially among the young.

And yes, I think it's an interesting, er, socio-phenomenon(?) in all the various aspects we might mention, not least of which is the youth aspect Jon is talking about. From what I've heard, they never lack for pace.-G- But I do think the fact that they may have a longer career than a 50 something is definitely a point with prospective promoters and record producers.

Hmm? Middle-aged, white and slowing down? Well, at least I work cheap...

All for now.
John C.

[Rivers]

UB beat me to the punchline there. Good on the CCDs, this could be the beginning of the end of gangsta rap.

[uncle bud]

One might also speculate about how their success could bring more attention to other artists represented by Music Makers Foundation. Which also can only be a good thing. They had a CD review in Rolling Stone magazine, not exactly a youth rag anymore, but it's international exposure for old music. We can't rely on the good taste of a few kids like Calvin to carry the music forward. They might actually be good for the 50-somethings, both black and white, who've been playing the music for years in complete obscurity.

The youth factor is no doubt a big part of it as you note, and what I appreciate is that they're young people playing it straight and entertaining, no compromising hip-hop beats backing "Bile Them Cabbage Down" or punk interpretations of "John Henry" or goth versions of "Stack O' Lee" or nuthin'. They've supposedly got an 80-year-old mentor hailing from the black string band tradition.

[mississippijohnhurt1928]

They had a CD review in Rolling Stone magazine.

Yeah, I saw that, and oddly enough that's what introduced me to them!

[Temple]

I saw the CCDs in Seattle in July and was blown away by their charisma.  I will see them live any chance I get, but am not interested in buying their cd.  Their presentation is everything.  I was very happy to hear their commitment to playing in the schools and giving kids a taste of their tradition.  Success does not seem to have gone to their heads.

Temple

[Flatd7]

So where do you all fall in regards to Old Crow Medicine Show? Another band that excels in youthful energy and presentation, but are much less traditional. There is a real sense of how Rock, Pop and Punk have influenced their take on old time music. I happen to like them and think they've written some fun material. However, the core of the old time community in my neighborhood bristles at the mention of them. They have bastardized a lot of material. The Chocolate Drops are far more traditional and authentic. But the OCMS are another band that have something and are getting far more exposure than most other roots, old time or bluegrass acts.

You know, I'm reading Escaping The Delta again, and it's important to remember that all the Pre War Blues artists from Ma Rainey to Blind Boy Fuller were all entertainers and probably used every trick in their bag to make them look and sound fresh, young and hip.

[waxwing]

At PT I spoke briefly with Elijah about the book, which I have always had mixed feelings about, i.e., the second half, describing RJ's music, seems to be a labor of love and right on from my perspective, whereas the first half seems to be somewhat sensational and selective in the data used. Elijah said the second half was for real blues fans and the first was for the pop audience with limited awareness. I also asked him to define "professional" and he said "someone who makes most of his living from music". "Just over half their income?" I asked. "Yeah," he said. It wouldn't take many $5 house parties to make more than one could make in a year of sharecropping, eh? Let's bear in mind that many of the songs recorded had been around for decades. Before the advent of radio and records a popular song could have been around for decades, not the usual 4 weeks of today. I just think that to call the first recorded country blues players "slick professionals" and relate to them as you do the pop icons of the present is a huge mistake. Sure, Broonzy, Tampa Red, Washboard Sam and others of the Chicago studio scene, who cut hundreds of sides of what I think of as urban blues, were full on pros. King Solomon Hill, Geechie Wiley, Otto Virgil? For a short period they may have made some money playing music, but if they were slick professionals in the modern sense, they certainly would have worked out far better contracts with the record companies, who fleeced them like rank amatuers.

I've never heard the OCMS. Certainly more power to them if they are getting promoted for their music, but it doesn't sound like something I would listen to for very long. I guess I'm not such a big fan of smorgashboard music with too many influences. I'd rather keep the styles seperate.

Had a great time jamming (me on jug and washboard) with Elijah, night after night, in the Weenie House. That boy can play!

All for now.
John C.