The hits just keep on comin! Here's an interesting one. I first heard it on the amazing album 'Come Back Boys & Feed the Horses' by Christian Wig and Mark Ward. Mr. Wig plays it solo fiddle on the album.
My next encounter with the song was via the internet, Tim Rowell plays an excellent version and his website offers up a tab for the tune.
Tim mentions that he heard it on the Banjo Gathering album as played by Tom Sauber. Banjo Gathering is another astounding album, go get it!!!
Christian Wig plays it as 'Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine (Bonaparte's March)' whereas the other sources mentioned above call it 'Bell's March'.
What I've gathered from various sources is that the tune was originally published in Baltimore in the 1820s, and after being played for a time was made popular as 'Bell's March' by the Texas fiddler P.T. Bell, who named it 'Mace Bell's Civil War March' in honor of his father who served in the Confederate States of America during the war.
No matter what you call it, it's a beautiful tune. Here I've played it on the fretless banjo with nylgut strings, tuned eBEAB. 

Shady Grove

Tune #2 of the week; this one is an old standard. I've always liked Shady Grove, but never really fell in love with it until I heard Wade Ward playing it on John Cohen's 'High Atmosphere' lp. I have to say, I absolutely love Wade Ward's style of playing. He plays with a direct, driving rhythm but in no way sacrifices the subtlety of a tune.
To be honest I haven't ever looked into a history of this one as it just seems to have already existed in my consciousness. I'll post more when I dig a little deeper.

Wade Ward

Charleston Girls

 I have some time off during the holidays so I'm going to try to record some new tunes. Here is a nicely scrappy playing of Charleston Girls, which is a song I've been really liking a lot recently. I've been keeping notes about the songs I have learned, here is what I've written so far about this tune.... Learned initially from R.D. Lunceford's 'Cotton Blossom' book. His version is based on the song as it appears in Phil Rice's 'Correct Method for Banjo, With or Without a Master' published in 1858. The tune has a nice swing to it, kind of dancey. I sort of memorized it a while ago, forgot it then it suddenly popped into my head recently and I've been much more interested in it as of late.

In my 'Treasury of American Folklore' book it appears under the 'Negro Folk Song' section with the following lyrics:

As I walked down the new-cut road,
I met the tap and then the toad,
The toad commenced to whistle and sing,
and the possum cut the pigeon wing.

Along come an old man riding by,
Old man if you don't mind your horse will die,
If he dies I'll tan his skin,
And if he lives I'll ride him again,

Chorus: Hi ho for Charleston girls X3
Charleston girls are the girls for me

As I went walking down the street,
Up steps Charleston girls to take a walk with me,
I kep a walking and they kep a talking,
Danced with a gal with a hole in her stocking,

Chorus

The Haints also play it, with different lyrics. The second part of their version sounds a lot like the song 'Texas'.

It's been a while since I've posted anything, I hope this makes up for it. A few days ago I had a great time at the AFTM sponsored Squaredance and Swap at the HOPE farmer's market. This painting was initially intended to be my swap item, but after it was finished I was reluctant to part with it so quickly. Maybe it'll get swapped next time! It is a 12"x12" Oil on Canvas portrait of two of my favorite banjo players, Mike Gangloff and Nathan Bowles, both of the Black Twig Pickers. The setting is a place made up of pieces of landscape from back home in Pennsylvania. 'Lost Up the Holler' is the name of a song from one of the Black Twigs' albums-Midnight Has Come and Gone-which is a stunner that I highly recommend everyone on earth listen to daily.

Texas Banjo Massacre

After playing an Enoch banjo with a calfksin head at a jam a few weeks ago, I decided that I'd like to switch my Renaissance head out for calfskin. The process wasn't all that hard, just a little nerve wracking to take my banjo apart! It's all back together now and I absolutely love the way the new head sounds, warmer and thumpier. Here are some pictures of the process and some recordings of me playing Lonesome John and Betty Likens with the new head installed. Enjoy.

My friend Dax asked if he could use my song Speckled Dog for an animation he created, follow the link below to see the awesome results! http://vimeo.com/46694972

A recent drawing and a song to accompany it.

Bright Sunny South/Cuckoo

Two songs on the mountain banjo. Gut strings tuned to sawmill equivalent dADGA.

Done! (pretty much)

Well, that's pretty much that. The fifth string is buzzing a lot, so I'll have to make my own seat for it, probably out of wood. Currently it's resting in a slotted screw, too much room for it to rattle around. Otherwise it's done!

Just waiting for the final coat of sealant to dry and I can string up the banjo again and plaaaaay. Wasn't sure about the stain at first, on account of the extreme contrast of light (pre-stain) and dark (post-stain). But having sat with it for a few days, I think it was a really great idea. The darkness brings out the calfskin head, which to me now looks like a full moon.

Almost Done!

The banjo is almost complete! I still plan on staining and sealing it, but couldn't resist stringing it up and seeing how it sounds and feels. It's amazing!! The sound is much louder than I anticipated, even with gut strings and the calfskin head. I recorded Cluck Old Hen and Texas, a little rough as I'm still getting used to the fretless concept. Luckily I've been playing a flush fret banjo for a little while, so it's not completely mysterious. I'll probably stain it tonight, then seal it tomorrow, after which I'll post some more pictures and maybe some more recordings.

A lot of progress on the mountain banjo. I ran into some issues with the first pot I had made, which was pecan. Long story short, I had to make a new pot, this time out of birch plywood, and though the pecan looked more interesting, the birch plywood is much better to work with and I'm really happy with it. I decided to add a frailing scoop, which I'm pretty excited about. I went ahead and made my own nut out of scrap maple from the neck. For the metal ring inside of the pot I cut down a giant can of tomato sauce. Last night we installed the calfskin head, which was a pretty interesting process! Currently the head is drying, I should be able to take the clamps off tonight around 10 or so, and then I'm pretty sure there's no way I'll be able to resist putting the tailpiece on and stringing it up! Gina helped SO much, and took some awesome pictures too!

Finally got the neck cut out! It has been quite an experience. I started with a block of cherry (3.5"x3.5"x36"), and found out the hard way that a jigsaw isn't the best tool for cutting 90 degree angles! So, sadly, the block of cherry was pretty mangled. After some time I picked up a piece of curly maple (2.5"x2.5"x30"). The smaller size meant that I would have to cut less material, which leaves less room for error (well, I guess you could look at it both ways!). Anyways, I had the idea that I could somehow use a coping saw to do all of the cutting, and quickly found out that it would be possible to do so, but that it would take an enormous amount of time. After some searching, I found a bandsaw to use and it's a damn dream come true. Sheesh. So, with the right tools and a lot of help from my dad (thanks dad!) this thing is starting to look like a banjo. Next is smoothing the neck up a bit and then sealing both the neck and the pot. Not too long now!

Today I started working on the banjo. I cut out the front, back and hoop. Also, I cut the metal ring used to support the calfskin head. I'm keeping the construction pretty simple, toolwise I've only used a drill (for starter holes), a jigsaw, some heavy grit sandpaper and tin snips for the metal ring. Currently the front and hoop are glued and clamped together and drying on my counter. Looks like tomorrow is neck day!

Pecan, Cherry, Calfskin and Sandy Boys

Picked up some wood for the homemade banjo. The front, back and hoop will be made of pecan (thin boards in the photograph). The neck will be made of cherry (long block in photograph). And the head will be calfskin, which I received yesterday (the tube above the largest pecan board). This weekend I'll cut the front, back and hoop out, and maybe start working on the neck, though I have to admit I'm nervous about that! The tune is Sandy Boys, played in a different tuning (which I honestly can't remember at the moment). Normally an upbeat dance tune, changing the tuning seems to totally change the character of the song into something more brooding.

Hail Against the Barn Door

I've heard this one a few times and think it's beautiful. So tonight I sat down and played it over and over. I feel like I'm pretty close to having it down. Also trying to learn Shaking Down the Acorns, will likely post that one soon. In other news, my copy of Foxfire #3 arrived in the mail a few days ago, which means that soon I'll start building my own banjo! I plan to document the undertaking, and post about it on this here blog.

Never Miss Your Mama Till She's Gone

Drove home last night during a great (and rare for these parts) thunderstorm. I've been recording using a shoebox cassette recorder, an upgrade from the handheld microcasette recorder I've been using. The sound is pretty accurate, and also captures a warmth that the digital recordings don't have. I'm hoping at some point to release a limited run of cassettes. Anyways, I set up the recorder on the porch and played the fretless, tuned to gCGCD from just inside my front door. The song is called Never Miss Your Mama Till She's Gone. I first heard it from the Black Twigs, and subsequently have heard it on the Old Originals Volume 1 LP, as played by Dent Wimmer, who as far as I know came up with the tune. But don't quote me as I haven't looked too deeply into it. The twigs play it at a slower, more mournful pace which seems to fit the content of the song well. Dent's playing is a little more raucous, though it still captures the lonesome feeling of the tune. There are words to this one. I haven't quite nailed down the art of singing and playing at the same time, so I just focused on playing. A sample of some of the lyrics are... Never miss your mama till she's gone Never miss your mama till she's gooooooone Miss your mamaaaaa Gonna miss her some sweet day You never miss your mama till she's gone Neighbor will tell you what to do Neighbor will tell you what to doooooo Neighbor will tell yoooouuuu Then he'll turn his back on you O you'll never miss your mama till she's gone Sister will do the best she can Sister will do the best she caaaaan Sister will doooo But she just don't understand Never miss your mama till she's gone When I first heard the song a few years ago, I figured it was about losing your wife or girlfriend, and regretting not appreciating her while she's around (you don't miss your water till your well runs dry, etc.). But the references to sister and father, and the absence of something like 'mother will do the best she can', in the song implies that this is literally mama, mother. If it really is about missing your mother, then I have to congratulate Dent Wimmer on writing a mother-related song that isn't sappy. Either way, the mood of the song fits how I've been feeling the last few days, and it literally just came out without any premeditation, just played it once while the tape rolled and the rain fell and that was it.

Cuckoo's Last Chance

Another good find from the recent cassette-to-computer transfer. Here I've played the Cuckoo followed by Last Chance (that occasionally dips into the Cuckoo), both in gGDGD.

Cold Frosty Morn in Central Texas

After writing about Ducks on the Frogpond, I decided to really try to figure out how to get cassette recordings on to the laptop. Turns out it isn't that hard at all, so I spent some time the other night wading through tapes and transferring. There are some good tunes and some interesting ideas that I had forgotten about. Here is one, a rendition of Cold Frosty Morn in gGDGD tuning. It's a great tuning, really low and droning, it almost sounds at times out of tune. Or maybe the sound is an archaic one, foreign to my ears while also sounding 'right'. I learned the tuning from the liner notes to the Black Twig Pickers (see Klang icon in my blog list) album called Hobo Handshake, and figured out the song from listening, listening, listening to Mike Gangloff's playing on said album. The Black Twigs are my all time favorite old time band, and to be honest, Mike Gangloff is my favorite banjo player. The Twigs, and Gangloff, are amazing to me because they often play the songs straight while at the same time exploring them, following the tunes into interesting and incredibly evocative terrain. Because of that willingness to explore, they capture the essence of old time music without simply reproducing the tunes note for note. They'll have a 7" out this Saturday for record store day, which I may review once I get it. And also on it's way to me is a cassette they recently recorded. Needless to say I'm very excited for these new sounds! About the song...one of the first banjo songs I heard that really moved me. Beautiful and lonesome, but with a certain kind of heft that makes it seem strong too. Despite the title, I've never got the feeling of a cold frosty morning when listening to it. Sometimes when I play it here in Texas, I think of it as a form of sympathetic magic, maybe by playing the song we'll have a cold frosty morning here sometime.

Valley

Another song sketch, this one in gDGDG tuning. Turns out these low tunings are really amazing to my ears. The sound makes me think of rambling down into a valley, maybe because I've been missing the motherland (Western Pennsylvania). So, the accompanying visual is a photo of Deer Valley, PA as viewed from Table Rock. I used to go camping in Deer Valley when I was younger. Table Rock is a short hike from the campground and affords a beautiful view of the area. O Pennsylvania, take me back into your lovin arms!

Old Time Radio

Recently came across this great online music resource. A really great mix of old and new. http://sugarinthegourd.com/

Working on a new painting the other night and listening to RC Johnston (Ragtime Ralph), he has a new album of reworked, reinterpreted Fahey tunes. Before I started playing banjo, I listened (and still listen) intently to Fahey, Rose etc. These guitar players are immensely influential to me, to the point of affecting how I "hear" my paintings. I know the banjo can be just as expressive an instrument as the guitar, really any instrument can be expressive if the player feels comfortable with the tuning and the layout of the instrument itself. I'm finding that I am becoming more able to play the banjo intuitively, knowing where certain sounds reside and which sounds create harmony or interesting dissonance, without having to stop and think about it. In that way, I see a direct connection between banjo playing and painting. The tuning of the banjo being equivalent to the palette I've set up to paint with, or the mindset I'm in when approaching a painting. The song or sound I follow equivalent to the image that is created on the panel. This way of playing and thinking about playing reminds me of the aforementioned guitar players. And, the other night, I recorded myself following a song around. I'm really happy with the way it turned out, and have decided to call it Take Me Back (posted below). To me the song sounds both hopeful and lost. A lament, a sad but joyous flight. I find that the most compelling banjo tunes to me sound like a conversation, and I think I captured that here. Ducks on the Frogpond...hmmm. In my neighborhood lies a water treatment facility. Near which is a beautiful, reedy pond. I walk a lot at night, and when I near the facility, a block away if not more, I can hear the sound of many, many frogs. It's easy to get lost in the different sounds they make, and I'm hoping to play banjo there soon as I think the combination would be interesting. I didn't have access to a field recorder two weeks ago (when I recorded this) so, just to see what it would sound like, I played back a recording of the frogs, during which I played a song called Ducks on the Pond. I recorded this using my hand held cassette recorder. After recording, I played the cassette back into the mic and recorded that on my laptop. I like the sound a lot, and will definitely record this way again in the future though I'll probably cut out the middle man and just find a way to upload the analog recording onto the laptop. There are at least two songs about ducks and ponds. Ducks on the Pond (the song played here) is a really interesting tune that to me feels both kind of sticky and sharp but also rolling and fluid. I learned it from the Miles Krassen clawhammer book, he learned it from the fiddling of Henry Reed. The other is called Ducks on the Millpond. I am most familiar with Tommy Jarrell's playing of that tune. I've learned how to play it, but find the Reed version more interesting, though of course Jarrell's playing is amazing as always. Later I'll post both versions and have a thing or two to say about them.

Twofer Tuesday! (on Thursday)

Learned a new song (more or less) recently, Last Cold Whiskey by Paul Brown. The song is in an amazing tuning f#DF#AD, which sounds so beautiful to me, perfect balance between growl and coo. And the song is beautiful too. I added a few things of my own to Brown's composition, because that's what we do. Usually when I try out a new tuning I see what other songs, not written for that tuning, sound like and often times come up with interesting results. So I tried Speckled Dog (writ by myself) and turns out it was made for this tuning (for now). So here are two recordings made this morning in the aforementioned tuning. A little rough, but that's the way I like my old time music.

Coo Coo Were Howlin

Dogs in the Yard

The beginnings of a new song I think. Played in Double C tuning on the fretless banjo, while I watched the dogs playing in the backyard on a humid, windy moonlit night around 11 o'clock.

Well, looks like Maggie, but it move too slow

A few cuts from the upcoming album 'Late Ramble', by Joseph Noderer and Pals....

Speckled Dog

An original tune called Speckled Dog (aka Bitch, Get That Cat Turd Out Yo Mouf). Played on my trusty Fretless Enoch Tradesman in double C tuning. Figured out over the course of a few days.