WeenieCampbell.com
Country Blues => Performance Corner => Topic started by: frankie on February 09, 2013, 04:05:40 PM
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...would I find cats that even SUSPECTED that a song like this existed?
http://youtu.be/x7RfTQxIn2U (http://youtu.be/x7RfTQxIn2U)
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Well, doggone it, Frank, that is great. You're taking it wide around the curves, I sure like that. It's inspiring to see and hear what you've been working on.
All best,
Johnm
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Good one, frankie .. is that a Regal archtop or sumpin'?
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I feel a solo album coming... ;)
Cheers
Pan
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Terrific take on one of my all time favorite songs (Doctor Clayton originally) but Guitar Pete Franklin's, Scrapper Blackwell-esque version is the Papy o' this version. Its a long time staple of my repertoire as well. Its a song that deserves to be heard and played by a lot of people...... as long as they're as good as Frankie! ;)
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Two words... Kick @ss!
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thanks, alla yuz. it took me years of singing this in the car to work up the nerve to try actually playing it!
o'muck - thanks for the tip on the dr. clayton source.. I'll seek that out. I always got the impression that there must be more verses to this. I hope that turns out to be true!
onewent - a regal archtop - yessir. a crack in the back could use fixing and it'd be nice if the action were a little lower and the tailpiece better aligned with the neck, but it's a keeper. Sounds like exactly what it is: the finest birch available.... "for the price!"
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Really terrific, frankie. Yer on a real tear. Great to see!
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Yer on a real tear. Great to see!
Well... I can't lie... I'm having a hard time stopping. :-\ If it comes to me and I get something that feels real in one take, up it goes:
http://youtu.be/l7IJUUv4mcY (http://youtu.be/l7IJUUv4mcY)
I always wanted to hear a really long version of this tune... this still isn't really long enough, but it's where I landed today. Safe to say that some of this is stuff only I probably like, but it feels kinda good to get it outta my system.
thanks for listening/watching/indulging my self-indulgence!
f
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You're killing it, Frank. Great choices of tunes, done real, real well.
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Mets pitchers and catchers report for spring training and Frankie posts a beautiful (and beautifully long) version of Country Blues. All's right with the world this morning.
Thanks, Frankie.
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Great great great!
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thanks guys - glad you like that 'country blues.' I really like to sing that one!
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Hey Mr. Frankie,
You got a great sound going on there! A thing of beauty and a joy forever.
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awesome performance, frankie!
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I'm really enjoying your recent streak of youtube posts, Frank. The "one take" approach really appeals to me, as I tend to struggle once I see the red recording light staring back at me. There's something to be said for just laying it down then being done with it.
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Love it Frank! As my cousin the Hematologist says when asked a medical question he can't answer, "I must have missed that lecture." So whose song is this anyway...I must have missed that lecture... ;)
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thanks, fellas! one of the things i think i'm trying to do in the main is to really identify with the stuff i like. maybe it seems like that's something a guy oughtta know at the outset.....
o'muck - tbe tune comes ftom joe callicott. it's something he recorded under this title and 'let your deal go down'.
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Great stuff Frank! you can really tell you enjoy sining it!
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Awesome man. This is just awesome.
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...I'm having a hard time stopping...
Why the Hell would you want to stop for? They'll be plenty of time for that after you're dead, as my ol' man used to say.
Fantastic singing and playing, Frankie! What you have can't be taught--it's an extension of a person's soul, and you either have it or you don't.
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thanks, guys!
Stuart - I dunno about teaching, but I'm pretty sure I learned it... :) I just paid attention to everybody I ever heard!
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...but I'm pretty sure I learned it... :) I just paid attention to everybody I ever heard!
I'd say that it was "revealed" or drawn out by the process of listening, rather than learned--your great "musical sense" is what I was referring to. And I know what you mean about paying attention. It requires a certain "awareness" and at times seems like a lost art.
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I'm sure this one has been discussed here in the past. fun to play, and to play around with. it's not something I'd describe as 'difficult', but it took me a while to find a way in (emotionally, i guess).
http://youtu.be/qI4bQIlLef4 (http://youtu.be/qI4bQIlLef4)
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and then mike came over the other day and we had a go at this...
http://youtu.be/zoPBxtIn46Q (http://youtu.be/zoPBxtIn46Q)
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Great as ever. Surely time to stop teasing us, and to put a full Frankie album together...
Nice T shirt too- though yours fits rather less tightly than mine! :)
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Frankie,
Enjoyed that great tune. Thanks for posting.
Bonus points for the hats(...good to get a practice run with the hat before March 8th! ;))
Colm
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thanks, Colm & Slim.
Peter Keane got me to thinking about Bessie Jones the other day, which got me to thinking about a whole bunch of other stuff... not limited to how much I love her singing and songs in a general sense... I used to sing one song of hers kind of obsessively, and while I haven't sung or thought about it for years and years, in my mind it belongs in a category of music I think of as:
"Songs My Kids Grew Up Thinking Were Lullabyes"
I'm not sure they would actually remember this one as much as others. I also used to sing it unaccompanied, but decided to try it with a guitar, and recorded it before I had completely decided what to do about the whole thing. One take:
http://youtu.be/YLpdbXngrjA (http://youtu.be/YLpdbXngrjA)
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That is really beautiful, Frank. Wonderful tone on both the guitar and the voice and great matching of intonation and note-making. Lovely free time--all the time in the world. You sound completely in it and undistracted or preoccupied. That is very, very fine.
All best,
John
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thanks, john. i'm not sure where the free time (no pun intended) came from. of course, the original song is a work song and that alone hinges on a strong rhythmic component. when i used to sing it, i treated it with a strong rhythm as well. i can't even remember 'deciding' to treat it loosely... i just did it.
i'm glad you liked it.
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Great piece Frank! Remind me to show you "Step it Down" a book written by Bessie Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes, next time we see each other. :)
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Real nice, frankie. Takin' your time, love it. Cool guitar too. Some kind of Harmony?
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o'muck - thanks for the tip! I just ordered that used from Amazon.
uncle bud - it's a harmony hollywood. love that guitar. A friend rescued it from a dumpster in Columbia, SC and it's served faithfully ever since, despite perpetually being on the verge of imploding. I bought the two toaster-top dearmonds from Skip Henderson way back when they could be had for 9 or 10 bucks each.
a long, long time ago...
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That was great, Frankie, thanks, real nice to hear on a Sunday morning.
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thanks, joe. that's my main motivation for playing these days: to get something that would sound good on sunday morning. really!
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No finer motivation. Great slide tone on this one by the way...
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At five minutes and five seconds, it's not nearly long enough.
Your singing and playing really capture the spirit of the song. Another beautiful performance of a really beautiful song.
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Really nice Frank - I'm glad I saved it for Sunday morning!
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thanks, guys.
dj - there's one I recorded last month that went on for about 8 minutes or so before I stopped. It's a totally different kind of song, but the length does put me about halfway into "In A Gadda Da Vida" territory.
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the length does put me about halfway into "In A Gadda Da Vida" territory.
That's next!
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Frank, there woulda been nothing wrong with "In A Gadda Da Vida" if they could've avoided the bombast. We're all persuaded you've got the sense to do that--go for it. Your audience is telling you you can go for eight, maybe even nine, minutes.
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well, here's 8 minutes recorded almost exactly a month ago - I wasn't really thinking about 'going long,' but that's the way it turned out. I totally understand if your attention wanes! You can tell by the expression on Uncle Carmine's eyeball holes that he's really in the moment, though:
http://youtu.be/LDUdqBhPyR4 (http://youtu.be/LDUdqBhPyR4)
I have an idea for something that would be fun to stretch out on for longer, maybe. We'll see. It has to be fun to mess with or you just kind of sit around repeating yourself.
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Well done, Frankie--great playing as usual!
...but the length does put me about halfway into "In A Gadda Da Vida" territory.
Just don't go black light and DayGlo on us, son.
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black light and DayGlo
perfect description of my older cousin's room, probably about 1975!
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maybe you'll like this, too... but I understand if it's not for everybody. while i like playing like this just for myself, it's not something i'd normally present to anyone.
maybe it's not so much for watching... just play it in the background while you do something else.
http://youtu.be/4q9Zdw3KpPs (http://youtu.be/4q9Zdw3KpPs)
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it's not something i'd normally present to anyone.
Well, thanks for presenting it to us. It's got a nice groove that doesn't wear out its welcome.
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Real nice frankie, now that I've had some time to sit down and listen. Feel like I should be in the back of a cab riding around in the rain. I imagine "going long" can quickly expose the player's limitations, or would in my case anyway. Not so here, that's for dang sure.
Speaking of going long, I've been listening to a lot of Rev. Gary Davis again lately, especially the the two 3-CD sets Stefan Grossman has put out somewhat recently, "Live at Gerde's Folk City" and "At Home and at Church", as well as the earlier "Demons and Angels". I had been noticing and really enjoying how long the majority of the tunes go on the first two sets in particular (Demons and Angels has more of the snippet stuff - also good). Many clock in around the 6 minutes+ range, with some going to 8 or 9. I also was rewatching the footage from Rainbow Quest, where he goes long brilliantly as well on Children of Zion and Oh Glory How Happy I Am. If it's done right, there's a mood -- sometimes intense, sometimes laid back -- and a musical headspace achieved on this kind of solo guitar playing that is not generally possible in 3 minutes. Just a different kind of playing, I guess, but it's really appealing.
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Funny Andrew I've spoken to both Ian Zack & Bill Ellis about my idea that the only person Dylan was regularly hearing very long songs with cosmic hallucinatory images from in his early years was Rev. Davis.
Frank, this is my favorite of all your posts, definitely the best vocal I've ever heard from you, and a really great translation of a piano blues to guitar. Bitter deep guitar playing. Walter Davis suits you. Fantastic achievement I think. Deep deep blues. I know you got 'em, now we get to feel 'em.
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wow - that's some heavy comparisons. It's reassuring to know I didn't lose everybody with that one. thanks for the kind words!
I actually put the mp3 on a thumb drive and took it with me while I went grocery shopping and I think it passed the 'Sunday Morning' test. :)
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It works well on Sunday Evenings too! Just let this play through earlier while I cooked dinner. I agree wholeheartedly with the prior comments about how letting a tune stretch out and breath can give it some special quality that's hard to get to in three minutes.
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http://youtu.be/4q9Zdw3KpPs (http://youtu.be/4q9Zdw3KpPs)
Works well on a Monday morning too, while I am pottering about the house :)
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I agree Frank. No need to fear the clock. You got to lots of interesting stuff there, and you might not have got there in separate three, four or five minute chunks.
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just play it in the background while you do something else.
Just listened to this while working in the shop. Then listened to the eight minute one. Then every song in this thread. Really really great! Thanks for posting these. I'd buy the album!
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Thanks guys - I appreciate your taking the time to listen and share your impressions!
I'd buy the album!
Actually, you can... I've been posting monthly 'sketchbooks' on bandcamp:
http://countryblues.bandcamp.com/ (http://countryblues.bandcamp.com/)
there are three so far, one each for January, February and March:
When The Rooster Crows - January 2013 (http://countryblues.bandcamp.com/album/when-the-rooster-crows-january-2013)
Ain't No Gal Of Mine - February 2013 (http://countryblues.bandcamp.com/album/aint-no-gal-of-mine-february-2013)
So Hard Hearted - March 2013 (http://countryblues.bandcamp.com/album/so-hard-hearted-march-2013)
I'm looking forward to regrouping a bit for April...
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it's been a while since I posted to this thread... here's something that I've always liked, but never could quite find the courage to try until recently:
http://youtu.be/f-UR0fku3xM (http://youtu.be/f-UR0fku3xM)
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Thanks for posting that, Frank, it's terrific. You sure figured out how how Lonzie was making that work. What a treat.
All best,
Johnm
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thanks, John. That guy had one happy thumb, I think.
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Thanks guys - I appreciate your taking the time to listen and share your impressions!
I'd buy the album!
Actually, you can... I've been posting monthly 'sketchbooks' on bandcamp:
http://countryblues.bandcamp.com/ (http://countryblues.bandcamp.com/)
Its probably me being a few steps behind, but until now I didnt have a clue what bandcamp is good for (!!)
Now I do :)
Just purchased myself a couple of your albums, looking forward to listening to them once the kids are asleep....
Great music!
---Thanks for posting that, Frank, it's terrific. You sure figured out how how Lonzie was making that work. What a treat.
All best,
Johnm
I'm relatively new to the (deep) ocean of country blues, and not sure who Lonzie was, but man your playing is great. a treat indeed!
Be well,
Zohar
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Thanks, Zohar - I'm glad you like it. The 'monthly' sketchbook didn't quite work out ofter March, but I'm trying to get back into a regular rhythm with it. One thing at a time!
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Quality stuff, as usual!
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Very cool, frankie. You definitely nailed it.
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Hard Pill is another fine effort. Has a hell of a groove to it.
Didn't realize about the download album, so I just went and downloaded it. What a great system--multiple reasonable resolution formats and everything. And quick. Good stuff.
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Great job again! Thanks for posting!
Cheers
Pan
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thanks, guys. I do like bandcamp at the moment - it would be nice to have more time to play and post stuff up there. music is medicine!
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Hey, Frankie, that first album I downloaded is great stuff. No surprise, of course, but still, you should hear it. I'll be getting the others as well.
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Any new albums in the works? The others are in heavy rotation in the shop here.
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can't tell the future, but it feels like it.... just need to get outta my own way!
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it's Mother's Day here in the US... a "hallmark" institution, on the one hand, and on the other, an opportunity to recognize things that ought not go unrecognized... or say things that ought not go unsaid.
http://youtu.be/ccAXU-xmAaQ (http://youtu.be/ccAXU-xmAaQ)
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Thanks for that, Frank. That tiple has such a pretty tone and your accompaniment suits the tune and text so well.
All best,
Johnm
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Beautiful Frank!
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Brought a tear in the eye, Frankie!
Cheers
Pan
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John, O'muck, Pan - thanks!
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Man, you sung that good. Wow! 8)
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Thanks! When you sing one for the mum, ya gotta do it right!
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beautiful, frankie. I think Washington Phillips would approve of that tiple.
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Nice Frank - on tiple - brilliant!
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I hate to pile on, Frankie, but you really are one heck of a good singer.
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thanks, all of you guys... I actually did a Washington Phillips tune on the tiple last year... I thought I'd posted it in here, somewhere, but I can't find it. My mum likes Mother's Prayer best, but this one is ok:
http://youtu.be/I5vVRuWZAI4 (http://youtu.be/I5vVRuWZAI4)
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Yeah, that's the one it reminded of. So great, and such a beautiful tune. And makes me crave a tiple.
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Man, both of those are really good.
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Thanks, both of you...
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cozying up to the next phase of life... what's that, you say?
crazy. old. man.
http://youtu.be/UMJw40a1yGI (http://youtu.be/UMJw40a1yGI)
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Great fiddling and singing. You should consider changing your name to Prof Scratchy? Er...no...wait...
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Very cool. The fingering looks like you're playing it out of G in standard tuning, is that right?
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What a great idea to transfer that over to the fiddle, Frank! Your little time lick on the fiddle has a nice rocking feel to it, and your falsetto is real pretty. That one should be on a record.
All best,
Johnm
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Love dat!
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thanks, all of you. Prof, "scratchy" takes on a whole new meaning when I pick up the bow, doesn't it?
lastfirst - std, G - that's right.
John - thanks - I've played it for years, just because I thought it seemed so obvious to do and someone else MUST have done it, but it seems like it's only obvious to me. I'm glad you like it - I haven't played it for too many people and honestly, the reviews are usually kind of mixed, tilted toward the "puzzled." I still like it, though (if that doesn't sound too self congratulatory).
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I thought it seemed so obvious to do and someone else MUST have done it, but it seems like it's only obvious to me.
To me, that's the absolute best kind of "obvious", Frank. Good going!
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I liked it!
Cheers
Pan
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Beautifully understated, Frank!
I agree with you. Having spent a lot of time in various jug band configurations, the fiddle and the mouth harp have very similar "voices" and roles in a band, and it's rare that you ever hear them together unless they stay well out of each other's way. I have often suggested to fiddlers to cover harp parts and harpists to cover fiddle parts. To be honest, I think it was Johnm who I first heard suggest it, either in a post here, maybe 10 years ago, or in one of the guitar/fiddle duet classes that he and Suzy Thompson used to teach up at PT, where Suzy might have covered a harp part once. The fiddle really has the ability to produce a breath-like quality, which you utilize well.
Nothin' crazy about that. How 'bout "wise. old. man."
Wax
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I played at Jalopy maybe about a month or so ago and did this tune with my friend Joe Bellulovich... kind of impromptu.. I'd never played this tune for actual people before (although I'd posted it some time ago), and had never played with anyone else.. Joe, of course, falls right into it.
Brace yourselves... 9+ minutes... my friend Ernesto Gomez shot the video.
http://youtu.be/vGBhAxCRnoM (http://youtu.be/vGBhAxCRnoM)
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Yes!!
I like it!
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Well, that was the best 9,5 minutes I spent today!
Cheers
Pan
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When they eventually get round to inventing teleporting, I'll get to the Jalopy more often. Meanwhile, great to see and hear this performance!
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It's always good to hear you, Frank. I sure like the calmness/spirit of adventure on this one. I felt like you were going some new places at various times, surprising yourself, possibly. Joe sure plays well, and he listens incredibly well. A treat!
All best,
Johnm
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Yes, indeedy. Both of you make it seem easy. Really liked it. And thanks to Ernesto for filming for the rest of us.
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Frankie, that was real enjoyable. Y'all may not have played that tune together before, but I'm betting you've played other stuff, a bunch.
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Thanks, all of you... Joe is pretty incredible.. we only had four songs to do between the two of us, so we made two of them duets and the other two were solos.. we made the best of it!
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warning: I've been deep in banjo mode lately, so those of you who are still practicing banjo avoidance in all its forms should DEFINITELY avoid this post. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.
Of the stuff I've been doing lately, only this one is directly related to country blues, and you might like it, although it kinda got away from me. It clocks in at 10+ minutes.. I didn't even know it was possible for me to play one banjo tune for that long:
http://youtu.be/tLryM4SxY2c (http://youtu.be/tLryM4SxY2c)
It's actually the third in a series of postings. If you're interested in wider ruminations on my favorite living old-time banjo players, you can check them out here:
http://www.donegone.net/?p=363 (http://www.donegone.net/?p=363)
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Delightful, Frankie. Proof that not all banjos sound the same, and not all banjos sound annoying--two of the most common beliefs held by the anti-banjo community.
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So, Jaybird Coleman inspired? (Aside: Listening to the original, I suddenly hear Turn Your Money Green.)
Sounds great. I like how you're really up and down the fretboard in these. I need to learn that. :P
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Thanks, both of you.
I can't deny a little of Jaybird worming his way in there (and a bunch of other guys, too), but when I first heard it years ago, it seemed to me (and still does) that Pat's point of departure was Scott Dunbar's "44 Blues." That made me go back to it and listen to it a few times... and then back to Pat... and then I had to just let it steep for a while and it just kinda took off.
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Those were great Frank, Happy Holidays :)
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thanks, CF - same to you!
still in banjo mode... this is tangentially related to blues
http://youtu.be/dAYTyRVaXyw (http://youtu.be/dAYTyRVaXyw)
In the car today, I was listening to a recording of Dent Wimmer, a banjo player from SW Virginia, and he played this tune. After he played it (only sang the one verse), he said that he got the tune from the "Smith boys" - three African American brothers that played music and had died some time before this recording of Wimmer was made. "And it was a pretty lonesome old tune the way they sung it. They sung just like they was afraid of something."
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This is great. I was just listening the other day to the recordings of Dent Wimmer on Old Originals vol 1. Its cool to hear him and Sam Conner break down their versions of Shooting Creek. Are there any other recordings of Dent out there?
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thanks, gadaya. I have a handful of songs, the provenance of which is unknown to me... PM me...
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I just NOW realized that the melody to this is nearly identical to "I Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down."
duh.
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Real nice. Fretless jealousy.
Also melodically very close to Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down. Thinking of the Frank Proffitt version.
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Another winner, Frankie.
I noticed some pretty serious looking mics in the picture, which makes me think to ask whether in addition to the vids you're recording, you're also laying down high quality audio tracks of all of these. I certainly hope so, and I hope you're going to make them available to us, whether via Bandcamp or otherwise.
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thanks, guys.
I usually try to record using the mics, although a few got away from me - Twelve Gates To The City and Mother's Prayer among them... kind of a bummer. I'll probably do something for bandcamp, but the banjo is really pulling me right now, so I'm not sure how much interest there would be around here.
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Banjo and CB content:
http://youtu.be/hz1wjRFoJOQ (http://youtu.be/hz1wjRFoJOQ)
Sorry, Roi... couldn't help myself!
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I'm enjoying the banjo stuff! I didn't realize there were Kalamazoo banjos til seeing this.
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I love that banjo!
It's great that you like the banjo stuff - thanks! I'm definitely getting the impression that for most of the people that have subscribed to my channel over the years, a lot of banjo is kinda like biting down on a cardamom pod... everything was going so well and then.... BLAM.
Oh, well - guess they'd better strap in... there are a couple more in there, I think! O0
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Yeah! I like. Surprising how well the tune works on banjo in some ways, although I find more and more that the freer/trancier/weirder the tune, the more readily it converts to banjo.
Devin, those Kalamazoos also came in 4-string and mandolin-banjo versions.
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Kalamazoo mandolin-banjo.
I shudder with desire.
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I like the kalamazoos, but Weymann banjo-mandolins are pure weapons-grade!
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Lovely Frank!
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I like the kalamazoos, but Weymann banjo-mandolins are pure weapons-grade!
Man, I've been dying to get my hands on one of the small pot ones.
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those are pretty readily available on ebay... I like the big 11" pot ones... with a RESONATOR. >:D
Accountability.
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still traveling around the banjo nation, but this is definitely on topic for weenie...
http://youtu.be/C9saKhLKjU0 (http://youtu.be/C9saKhLKjU0)
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Excellent Frank!
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Yes indeed!
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Dig it!
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That is spiffissimo, Frank!
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thanks, guys!
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Again - of tangential interest in the weenieverse:
http://youtu.be/Xm7PM5kDQ2M (http://youtu.be/Xm7PM5kDQ2M)
I likes it, though... Roscoe!
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Very cool. Are you picking the melody with your finger, your thumb, or switching back and forth like Roscoe?
Pete
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Love it!
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thanks, fellas. Pete, I'm alternating lead between thumb and index. One interesting thing about this song is that the main rhythm lick - where the melody comes to rest between verses - is played with the index leading on the 2nd string... most times, Roscoe seems to lead with the index when the melody crosses over to the 1st string. Interesting to hear him do it differently here. I think he uses the same approach on his "Sitting On Top Of The World" too.
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I sure like that, Frank. I love that calypso-y time stroke, between the vocal phrases. Where does that stuff come from? I know Roscoe did it, but I guess I mean it's not a rhythm you expect to hear coming out of East Kentucky. I sure like those held high notes in the vocal at the beginning of each verse.
All best,
Johnm
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Thanks, John - I know what you mean about the time stroke. If you listen to a lot of his banjo songs that are picked in a thumb lead style, you'll hear that stroke whenever the melody drifts up to the 1st string. It seems like the prevailing wisdom is that he plays those notes on the 1st string with his thumb, but I don't hear that at all.
Who knows how he came up with it, but when I broke it down, I realized that the net result allows the thumb to keep up a constant 5th string time stroke on the 2 and 4 beats, consistent with how the thumb would treat the 5th string if the thumb were still doing the lead. Kinda clever.
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Thanks for the explanation. I think George Landers used a similar pattern sometimes where he'd pluck the melody note with his index and then pinch the first and fifth string simultaneously with his index and thumb, which puts the drone string note at the same place in the bar as thumb-lead playing.
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I'll go back and listen to George Landers. I don't think I hear RH doing a pinch during his index-lead moments. More like the attached tab - the index plays the first melody note with the index on beat 1, followed by the thumb on beat 2. Then the index on the "+" of beat 2 and the "+" of beat 3, followed with the thumb on beat 4.
When he leads with his thumb, you do hear the pinch being used, that's for sure.
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Thanks for the tab, that clears up what you were referring to. I didn't mean to suggest that George Landers style was much like RH's playing, I was just thinking about how the pinch lick that he used intermittently moved the thumb string note to a different part of the bar than his other picking patterns, which were more analogous to clawhammer in their placement of the drone note.
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I see what you mean - Hayes Shepherd kinda does the same thing in the context of his index-lead playing. It's interesting that when RH has to switch to index-lead, he does so in a way that maintains that thumb stroke in the same place relative to the pulse, in contrast to George Landers and Hayes Shepherd.
5-string banjo... there really is no particular way to play the mamlish thing...
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Piggybacking on the discussion of harmonizing pentatonic melodies... it kinda dovetailed nicely with my fiddle obsession, for better or worse:
https://youtu.be/K_ESwt58uLk
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Well, that is beautiful, Frank, it just sounds like that was the way it was meant to go. Good on you for hearing that possibility in the tune. It's so nice the way it lands at the end of each verse. The time you're spending on the fiddle is really paying off in your tone and the way you make your notes. Thanks for posting that.
All best,
Johnm
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Thanks for listening, John... playing fiddle pretty much takes all of my available capacity for concentration, so singing in addition was really a tall order. Certainly not the best singing I've ever done, but it does more or less get the point across, so up it went.
A friend of mine described it as "believable" - which made me really happy!
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I really like the way it hangs sort of ominously at the end of each verse with that double stop on the third and fourth string. It sounds like the open D string and a fingered Bb on the fourth string, is that right?
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Haunting.
I can see me spending an evening sometime soon trying to work out how to create that effect on my guitar...
Good stuff Frankie.
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Thanks, guys..
Lastfirstface - B-flat and D - I tried to harmonize the whole thing relative to the key of F rather than D, but because the melody comes to rest on a D note, I play the IV chord - B-flat.
NS - ain't nuthin' but F, B-flat and C, but not necessarily in that order! :)
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I suspect that simply playing the notes just wont have the same effect ;)
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Well, I suppose it would depend on how you played them... just singing the melody with the right chord at the right time would go a long way to getting the sound. Or, you could take a more stark approach, like Lonnie Johnson on those Texas Alexander cuts, or Willie Lofton on something like his Jake Leg... it would be fun to play with some of those ideas.
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Lastfirstface - B-flat and D - I tried to harmonize the whole thing relative to the key of F rather than D, but because the melody comes to rest on a D note, I play the IV chord - B-flat.
I've got you; you were harmonizing it the same way as in the Soundcloud clip from the other thread. It's interesting how without the chordal backup it kind of splits the difference and my ear wants to hear D as the tonal center as much as F.
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Yep - I was thinking much the same thing... in fact, that low chord feels as much like an inversion of G minor as it does a B-flat major. I also drift from strictly pentatonic sounds in some of the fiddle breaks and these further the ambiguity.
I'm curious to put that specific fiddle sound together with the guitar accompaniment - may get a chance this weekend.
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Thanks for listening, John... playing fiddle pretty much takes all of my available capacity for concentration, so singing in addition was really a tall order. Certainly not the best singing I've ever done, but it does more or less get the point across, so up it went.
A friend of mine described it as "believable" - which made me really happy!
Really a great arrangement and performance, Frank -- love it!
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Well, that sounds like the end of a good ceilidh in Scotland, when fine times have been had, whisky has been taken, and things are slowing down in a contemplative way. Very fine.
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Yep--or the tail end of that night I spent with a bunch of folks making music in a half-finished farmhouse in the mountains outside of Knoxville 30 years ago. Great stuff, Frankie.
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Thanks, Chris, Prof, Kokomo... glad you liked it and that you found it so evocative... a real pleasant surprise!
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That was simply beautiful, Frankie!
Cheers
Pan
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Very nice sir!
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Hey Frankie it's been a while but I just wanted to tell you how much I love the banjo stuff, it is really wonderful to hear a banjo NOT playing bluegrass at 200 mph! You always seem to hit just the right notes....great Frankie....
Rick
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Thanks, Rick, Pan and nobocaster.
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This popped into my head the other day... I thought at first that I wanted to try and accompany the Joe Lee song, then decided against it... it'd be real nice on the banjo, I think. Most of you probably know the second song... apologies if this is cruel and unusual punishment.
https://youtu.be/X2XwmoGn_po
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That was great.
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Yup!
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Thanks, guys!
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Yeah, really liked the contrast of the initial a cappella with followed by the accompanied part. Worked great.
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Thanks, Kokomo.
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I've been working nutty hours lately, but I got to thinking about this one... must be years since I last played it. Played and sung none too carefully:
https://youtu.be/5KFsCaldYpI
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Keep working those nutty hours, that was great! Tom
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yup, nicely done, frankie. The ones that come creeping back can work so well - in the right hands!
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Very interior, very good Frank
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Thanks, Tom, Andrew and Phil.
Sorry for the carpet bombing.... I've been splitting my time between guitar and fiddle these days. This is sort of on topic for weenie:
https://youtu.be/augAkr5nVDY
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Great Frankie, I always enjoy your music.
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Thanks, Eddie.
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I like mix of double-stop backup behind your singing and bowing the full melody in between verses. Sort of a Fiddlin' John Carson approach to the song.