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E-Mail Address: downhomeradio@hotmail.com
Welcome to the archive! ** If you are having trouble downloading the show as an Mp3, you can hear it as streaming audio on Podarama, a podcasting site that has picked up this show. ** Another tip: The web browser Mozilla Firefox works much better for this website for some reason, and for listening to shows in particular. Click Here to Download it. Down Home Radio: Saturday May 19th Episode Irish American Music Part 2/2 - Urban In the first half hour of this program we conclude our 2 part mini serieas on the music of Irish Americans. This time we cover the sentimental pop songs of the urban Irish Catholics. These escapist, romantic love songs of early Tin Pan Alley are associated with the era of the "Gay 90's" (the 1890's) through perhaps the 1930's and are tied to the early cinema. These catchy tunes have permeated American musical culture and are at the beginings of our "pop" culture. Then in the 2nd half of the program Eli will play a bunch of music unrelated to the first half, except in that its also stuff (like sentimental pop) that you won't usually hear on DHR. Including some Fugs, Pluto and music from the far corners of the Earth. See the week's Blog Entry for track info and links.
Irish American Music Part 1/2 - Rural This week ( in the 1st half hour) Henrietta, Eli and guest host Bob Malenky play examples of the music of early immigrants from Ireland and Scotland, Protestant farmers who settled in the appalachia, and discuss the social conditions that gave rise to this music. Then in the second part of the program Eli plays some tracks he likes, but without changing the genre too much. Tune in again next week for the 2nd half of the program, featuring 19th and early 20th century popular music from the Northern urban Irish Catholic factory workers who emigrated later. Of special note in this program is the connection between the church singing of the appalachan Primitive Baptists, and the Presbyterian church singing from the the Isle of Lewis off the coast of Scotland. They're the same! Except one's in English and the other's in Gaelic. That style of singing is absolutely at the foundation of old-time, bluegrass and some early country vocal style. Here's the Blog Entry for this show.
Down Home Radio: Saturday May 5th Episode This week, Henrietta and Eli talk with musician, author and world class hitch-hiker, Elijah Wald. They discuss his latest excellent book, the pro-hitch-hiking tract, "Riding with Strangers," as well as his book on Mexican ballads of the drug trade, "Narcocorrido." Elijah brought along one of Dave van Ronk's old guitars, and plays live in the studio in many different guitar styles, and Eli plays some cuts from "Corridos y Narcocorridos," the CD that Elijah produced to accompany his book. Lots of good links for this episode, so check the Blog Entry.
Down Home Radio: Saturday April 21st Episode This week, Henrietta and Eli speak with enthnomusicologist/anthropologist & musician Peter Gold. Peter was one of Henrietta's students at City College back in the mid 1960's and was her field recording assistant on a number of recording expeditions in Mexico and the American South. We'll hear selections from those field recordings, selections from Peter's own CDs and hear about Peter's latest book, "Navajo and Tibetan Sacred Wisdom: The Circle of the Spirit." See the blog entry for links and more information.
Down Home Radio: Saturday April 14th Episode Interview with Rahzel, Beatboxing and This week Eli & Down Home Exec. Producer David Weissman interview beatbox legend Rahzel and play some beatbox examples and stuff Rahzel mentions in the interview. Then in the 2nd half of the hour Eli plays a bunch of old blues, gospel, toasting and Calypso tracks for a Down Home, down South Roots of Rap segment For the uninitiated, Beatboxing is when you imitate/sing the hip-hop beats created by DJs and producers (created using drum machines, samples, electronics and scratching on turntables) using only the sounds in your mouth and throat, magnified by a mic and PA.
Down Home Radio: Saturday April 7th Episode Jewish Music from Around the World Having just celebrated Passover, this week Henrietta, Eli and guest host Bob Malenky decided to play a bunch of tracks sampling Jewish music from around the world- The Middle East, Mediterranean, Africa, Europe and the United States. Then, in the second part of the program, Eli will play a number of tracks that he just plain and simple wanted to play.
Down Home Radio: Saturday March 31st Episode Pre-Columbian Indian Music of Mexico & Guatemala This week, Henrietta Yurchenco will play a number of examples of Pre-Columbian Indian music, from her own collection of field recordings, conducted in Mexico & Guatemala. This includes music from totally isolated rural communities living as they have for thousands of years, as well as examples of the last remnants of music from the great Mayan cities, the high Mayan civilization. Henrietta gives us a first hand account from the pioneer days of ethnomusicology; bad roads or no roads at all, mountains, deserts, scorpions & mules. Henrietta and Eli discuss early dubiously portable recording equipment, shamans and shamanism, animal sacrifice, peyote rituals...and lots more. Be sure to check the blog entry for more information, including track names and photos from Henrietta's journeys. Particularly the photos of "Baile De Las Canastas"- The Dance of the Baskets. These are the only photos of an ancient piece of Mayan theater celebrating the transition from hunter-gather society into sedentary agricultural society (growing corn). This play is now vanished, seemingly for good.
Down Home Radio: Saturday March 24th Episode Interview w/ David Rovics - Leftist Political Songwriter This week, Eli interviews topical political songwriter David Rovics. They talk about his background, influences, songwriting and current work and play a bunch of tracks including some from his new album "Halliburton Boardroom Massacre." David got his start touring full-time in the late 90's during the ground swell of the anti-globalization movement. He has been touring, writing and singing non-stop ever since. Perhaps you have seen him at a major demonstration, a small meeting or in a club. You can get an education right from his songs. He's probably coming to your town and seeing him live is definitely worth it. Check out David's website for his tour info as well as Mp3s of his music (for free). See the Blog Entry for this weeks program for more links concerning the show.
Down Home Radio: Saturday March 10th Episode Interview w/ Mat Callahan - Musician and Author This week I'll be spending an hour with Mat Callahan, musician and author of the book, "The Trouble with Music." Mat is an extraordinarily knowledgable, clear thinking, and out spoken cultural worker, protesting the organization of our supremely messed up popular culture. This show is mostly us talking, not too much music- but I think what Mat says here is important, so important that it merits sitting and listening to. Its the best thought out and articulated criticism of "fast-food music" available. We'll discuss everything from his concept of "Anti-Music" to the development and function of Muzak to Leo Tolstoy's revolutionary aesthetics. Its all about the music of liberation and the liberation of music. Mat is in New York right now on an East Coast tour promoting his new CD "Welcome," so we will hear tracks from that as well. Please click the links for more info and Mat's tour dates.
Down Home Radio: Saturday March 3rd Episode Tango: Its History and Function This week Henrietta and Eli interview world renowned Tango musician, Polly Ferman. Polly is a pianist and is also the director of PAMAR (Pan American Music Art Research), one of Down Home's sponsors. Through her concert tours and work with PAMAR, Polly has tirelessly and effectively put Tango music and dance infront of a world wide audience & helped to bring Tango the respect and recognition it deserves. Today, they talk about the history of Tango, play some classic examples, & also play some beautiful tracks from several of Polly's own CDs. Down Home Radio: Saturday Feb. 24th Episode Mexico: Indian and Mestizo Music of Michoacan and the Isthmus of This week Down Home's Henrietta Yurchenco will play examples of Indian and Mestizo Music from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the state of Michoacan in Mexico. These beautiful examples are drawn from her own field recordings conducted in those regions. For discography information and links see this week's Blog Entry
Down Home Radio: Saturday Feb. 17th Episode - Due to other pressing commitments I failed to do a show this week. But definitely check out the Dylan shows (see below) if you haven't already, or any of the other shows from the Archive.
Down Home Radio: Saturday Feb. 10th Episode 2nd Hour of the Two Hour Special. Songs That Inspired Bob Dylan Part 2
Down Home Radio: Saturday Feb. 3rd Episode Songs That Inspired Bob Dylan Part 1 This week Eli and guest host Steve Strohmeier play a bunch of old recordings of songs Bob Dylan has stolen or been strongly inspired by over his long career. These are songs that Dylan has heard and then used the melody, the lyrics or parts of both to create his own songs. In this way he has taken the older forms of music that he was exposed to and changed the feeling to suit himself and his contemporary audience. In this show we take a direct look at how Bob Dylan takes various songs and forms of music and "Bob-Dylanifies" them.
For playlist info and more check out the Blog Entry for this show .
Here's all of our past episodes, available for listening at any time. Down Home Radio: Saturday Jan. 27th Episode Eli ended up going down to Baltimore to do an interview and see some friends and thus failed to do an episode this week. (Why am I writing about myself in the 3rd person?) Sorry. Check out last week's if you haven't already, or one of the other ones from the archive. We'll be back next week with an excting brand new episode: We'll play a bunch of original versions of the songs Bob Dylan has stolen or been strongly inspired by over his long career.
Down Home Radio: Saturday Jan. 20th Episode Leadbelly & Woody Guthrie Live! On WNYC 1940 This week Henrietta and Eli discuss outlaw ballads and how criminals are transformed into popular heroes. In conjunction with that and of extra special interest, they rebroadcast a show Henrietta produced for WNYC radio back in 1940. It is Leadbelly's show and he has as his guest, Woody Guthrie. This program has not been heard since it was first broadcast 67 years ago! Down Home would like to thank WNYC and archivist Andy Lanset for providing us with this rare material.
Henrietta and Eli would like to remind the listeners about the January 27th anti-war march in Washington D.C. For more information click here. Down Home Radio: Saturday Jan. 13th Episode Blues Music in Greenwhich Village in the Early 1960's When people think of 1960's Greenwhich Village they often think of "folk music" and the beginnings of modern singer-songwriters. The emergence of the Old-Time music revival is also discussed. But often overlooked is the large amount of blues music (both society/urban blues and country-blues) that was played in the Village at that time. Many older blues artists from the South found a new audience among the primarily young white middle class crowd congregating in the clubs and coffee houses on Bleecker and MacDougal streets at that time. Bob Malenky who was an active participant in that scene joins Henrietta and Eli on today's program and shares his insights and recollections. They play a bunch of tracks by the older artists and some of the young kids that picked up the music, and discuss the atmosphere of the period. **For all you collectors, we play Bob Dylan's very first commercial recordings, done for Victoria Spivey's "Spivey" record label. He plays harmonica and sings behind Big Joe Williams on "Sitting On Top of the World" and plays harmonica on "Wichita."
Down Home Radio: Saturday Jan. 6th Episode David Holt is a banjo player/multi-instrumentalist who has worked with and done valuable field recording and research on a number of older musicians including Doc Watson, Carl Sprague and Nimrod Workman. Eli asks David about these various encounters and his colaboration with Doc Watson on the 3 CD set "Legacy" in which Doc speaks about his own background and musical development and plays examples. Selections from "Legacy" are featured heavily in this program along with other recordings of Doc and other members of the Watson family. They also discuss David's role in the film "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?" and his reflections on that project. See this week's blog for more info and links (especially about Nimrod Workman)
Down Home Radio: Saturday Dec. 30th Episode Eli ended up going to visit some friends in North Carolina and so is taking this week off. Sorry. Please check out last week's episode or any of the other previous episodes from the Archive. Happy New year. See ya in 2007!!
Down Home Radio: Saturday Dec. 23rd Episode Interview with David "Dawg" Grisman This week Eli interviews mandolin player and owner of Acoustic Disc records, David Grisman. They discuss David's roots in Greenwhich Village in the early 1960's, his views on the state of the music/entertainment industry, the appeal of acoustic music as a catagory and his own latest projects. See this week's blog for a list of tracks played.
Down Home Radio: Saturday Dec. 16th Episode Interview with David "Honeyboy" Edwards This week, Eli interviews Delta Blues legend Honeyboy Edwards. Honeyboy reveals many fascinating insights, vignettes and critical information gathered during his 74+ years as a professional musician. He is Eli's personal favorite all time blues musician. Honeyboy talks about his days playing in Memphis with the Memphis Jug Band (plus how to blow a jug and build a tub bass) and Big Walter Horton, playing in Chicago with all the greats there, how to hop a freight train and get away with it as well as lots more. Check out autobiography: The World Don't Owe Me Nothin' As well as his websites: Honeyboy Edwards & Earwig Records
Down Home Radio: Saturday Dec. 9th Episode Eli took the week off. Check out the "Archive" section of the website for all the past episodes, available for your listening pleasure any time!
Down Home Radio: Saturday Dec. 2nd Episode The Early Political Songs of Bob Dylan In this episode Henrietta & Eli give some of their own perspectives on Bob Dylan's early social/political songs. Of particular interest, Henrietta comments on what Dylan saw in Guthrie, what he took from him and what he has been able to keep, all these years, and through all of the changes in his life and music. For more information on this program see this week's blog entry.
Down Home Radio: Saturday Nov. 25th Episode Songs of the Sephardic Jewish Women of Morocco This week Down Home host Henrietta Yurchenco draws from material collected during her 1954 field work among Sephardic Jewish women in Tetuan and Tangier, Morocco. The songs they sang into her microphone have been popular since at least the 15th century, before the reconquest of Spain and the Inquisition, when the Moors and Jews were driven out. For more information on this subject see Henrietta's own website. Also visit this week's blog entry for the English lyrics to all the songs (they are sung in Spanish) that are played on the show.
Down Home Radio: Saturday Nov. 18th Episode Interview with Baba Israel and Steven Ben Israel: Talking about radical art, guerilla street theater, and the reconcilation and fusion of beat style poetry and hip-hop. This week Eli and Dave Weissman (Down Home's producer) talk with actor/poet Steven Ben Israel and his son Baba Israel, a beatboxer, hip-hop poet and educator. We get their relative perspectives on coming up as artists in New York City, Steven in the 50's and 60's and Baba in the 90's and how they brought together Beat generation styles and hip-hop. Steven is a part of The Living Theater, an avant garde theater company and Baba has his own production company, Open Thought Productions.
“Guerilla theater is when a group of people do a piece, the cops come and the cops beat up the audience.” “What can you do in the street that the people aren’t gonna go, “ah get a way from me”? -that’s the first thing. You have a guy walking down the street singing and people say get away from me. Cause it’s a very fragile reality out there.” "...You may just join the army because you have a fear going way back ... to go out there and break out of this working class box, either the army or the factory. And the main thing with the Living Theater and its history was to address that fear. The main thing in this society is fear, to address that fear by understanding that the fear of life is heavier than the fear of death..." -Steven Ben IsraelOn this show we hear Lord Buckley's "The Nazz" as well as several live performances from Steven and Baba. (The Nazz is a hip Louis Armstrong as Jesus character that heals people). During the course of the show Steven and Baba give a lot of recommendations on counter-cultural stuff. Check out this week's blog entry for links to alot of the stuff they mention in the program.
Down Home Radio: Sat. Nov. 11th Episode: Interview with Joe Hickerson - Eli & Henrietta talk with Joe Hickerson, folk singer as well as librarian and director of the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress from 1963-1998. Joe gives us a history of the Library of Congress' folk song related activities, plays some recorded examples as well as selections from his 1963 LOC recordings of Mississippi John Hurt. He also recounts the history of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" which Pete Seeger was inspired to begin after reading an obscure Russian novel and which Joe wrote the last 2 verses for, thus completing the well loved song we know today.
Down Home Radio: Sat. Nov. 4th Episode: Peace & Fair Elections - Henrietta and Eli play a bunch of music relating directly to social and political issues.
Down Home Radio: Sat. Oct. 28th Episode: John Cohen, Peter Stampfel, Mark Bingham - Live Interview and Performance Part A - The group plays some original and traditional tunes Part B- Interview portion of the program
Down Home Radio: Sat. Oct. 21st Episode: Bessie Smith Special 1 Hour Feature - Down Home's Henrietta Yurchenco spins some of Bessie Smith's greatest songs, sets them in their social context and offers her own personal recollections of the era in which they were recorded.
Down Home Radio: Sat. Oct. 14th Episode: Part A: Mexico Sampler Show - featuring field recordings made by Down Home host Henrietta Yurchenco. Part B: The Berkeley Old Time Music Convention - featuring live recordings and interviews (w/ Larry Hanks, Kate Brislin, Suzy Thompson) done by DHR host Eli Smith when he traveled to Berkeley a couple weeks ago. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Down Home Radio: Special Feature Episode: Are There Real Links Between African and African America Music? Yes. Interview with Daniel Jatta- This links to an Mp3 of an interview Eli conducted on 1/4/07 with Daniel Jatta, researcher of music (particularly the akonting, an African banjo predecesor) of the Jola tribe from Senegambia. In the interview Daniel plays Jola songs on the akonting, and gives a description of his research into the instrument and its clear connection to the African-American banjo. He also discusses the cultural center he has founded in Gambia to preserve and promote Jola culture and other traditional cultures of the region. This group in Africa has retained a musical culture closest to that which arrived with slaves brought to America from that region hundreds of years ago. Go To Blog Entry. See myspace.com/akonting for more information on the akonting. For field recordings of the akonting, see below: African Roots of the Banjo, Old-Time and Blues Music- A Sonic History This weeks show begins with a look at the Johnny Cash song "Cocaine Blues." We'll take a look at the family of songs that he got it from, going back into the old-time music tradition. Then we turn to the African roots of the banjo. Eli interviews Bela Fleck about his trip across Africa, the musicians he met there, the album and film he recorded and his thoughts on the African origin of the banjo. Then Eli will talk about some new research that is coming out on the "Akonting," a very compelling and direct African banjo predecessor played by the Jola tribe of Senegambia. We'll hear some field recordings, make comparisons between the Akonting and the banjo as played by elder African-American musicians and try to really hear specifically how our American music came directly from Africa. The past really happened- A sonic history more compelling than any text book! Tracks played on this episode: 1. Intro. John Henry- Sid Hemphill & band 2. Cocaine Blues- Johnny Cash 3. Chain Gang Blues- Riley Puckett 4. Little Sadie- Clarence Ashley 5. Field recodings of Akonting music, recorded by Daniel Jatta 6. Roustabout - Mike Seeger 7. Various tracks selected from CD "Black Banjo Songsters of North Carolina & Virginia." 8. Field recordings of Lucious Smith 9. Bulldoze Blues - Henry Thomas |
