Down Home Radio Show

 

 Interview with Oscar Brand: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Oscar Brand's Thanksgiving Tape 1966: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On today’s show I speak with folk musician and pioneering radio host Oscar Brand, who celebrated his 90th birthday earlier this year.  Happy birthday Oscar!

Oscar Brand is the host of Folksong Festival on WNYC, a radio show which he has hosted since he got out of the army in 1945.  I believe Folksong Festival to be the longest running radio program with a single host in the world!  Oscar has had many many incredible guests on the show over these many years, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Leadbelly, Jean Ritchie, Bob Dylan, everyone you can think of and more…an amazing program.  It was great to hear his reminiscences of these people and the history of his program as we recorded this interview at his home in 2008.

Brand is a man of many talents, he is a very well known folk singer and a great wealth of songs on every topic imaginable, including bawdy songs and campaign songs! He was a founder back in 1959 and then the MC of the Newport Folk Festival.  As an MC he was lucky enough to introduce both Jean Ritchie at her debut performance at the first ever Hootenany at Irving Plaza back in the 40’s, and then in 1959 introduced Joan Baez to a mass audience in her first appearance at Newport.  Oscar is an old old friend of Down Home Radio founder Henrietta Yurchenco.  They had the first folk music radio programs in New York back in the 1940’s.

A big thanks to Steve French for editing the audio of this interview.

You can hear Oscar Brand’s Folksong Festival program by clicking HERE.

[George Pickow, Jean Ritchie and Oscar Brand at WNYC in New York City, 1947]

A Special Treat:
On Thanksgivings over the years Oscar Brand would always have whatever traveling folk singers that happened to be in town over to his house for Thanksgiving dinner.  In 1966 he had Bill Monroe, Doc Watson, Jean Ritchie, Ralph Rinzler, Mike Seeger and Almeda Riddle and others at his house.  Oscar broke out his tape recorder and they made some really great recordings, posted here as an extra special treat! – He airs these recordings on his show every year at Thanksgiving, but here they are now, recorded from one of his broadcasts.

[Me and Oscar at the Alan Lomax memorial conference at Cooper Union in 2003.]

 

 Interview with Clifton Hicks: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On today’s show I speak with Clifton Hicks, a great young banjo player originally from Florida and Georgia who now resides in Boone, NC.  I’ve known and known about Clif for a while now, ever since he sent in his home recordings to Down Home Radio.  I was blown away by his singing and playing and was very happy to finally meet him when I was in Boone at the Black Banjo Gathering in March.  Hicks is a protege of George Gibson and was kind enough to set up an interview for me with George which we heard on the last installment of Down Home Radio.  In this interview Clifton speaks about his family background and introduction to the music, gives some thoughtful notes on his style and technique as a musician and plays a bunch of tunes live on the show.  He also speaks about his experiences as a soldier in Iraq which led him to oppose the war and get involved with IVAW (Iraq Veterans Against the War).  Clifton Hicks is one of my favorite musicians and it was great to finally get him on the program.  He will be appearing at the Jalopy Theater on Saturday May 22nd as part of the Brooklyn Folk Festival.  Check it out!

Below are some videos: (more…)

 

 Interview with George Gibson: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

(George Gibson [L] with Clifton Hicks [R]. Photo by E. Smith.)

On today’s show I speak with Eastern Kentucky banjo player George Gibson.  I was lucky enough to catch up with George when we were both participating in The Black Banjo Gathering at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC in March.  George hails from Knott County, Kentucky where he learned to play old-time banjo from his neighbors as well as from his father back in the early 1950’s.  One of the local banjo players that George met growing up was “Banjo” Bill Cornett, one of my favorite musicians, so it was a thrill to get to hear a personal account of Banjo Bill.  George Gibson is a wonderful banjo player and singer and is also a noted banjo collector and historian of the music from his region.  He has served as a bridge between the old generation of musicians such as Banjo Bill, who’s music and culture was dying out when George Gibson was growing up and a new crop of young Southern old-time musicians who are coming up today.  George has gathered around him and served as mentor and teacher in an informal sense to a number of very talented young musicians from around the South including Clifton Hicks (Boone, NC), Brett Rattiff (Knott Co, KY), John Haywood (Knott Co. KY), Matt Kinman (Bethel, NC) and Jesse Wells (Knott Co. KY).  Check out the 2008 Interview I did with Brett Ratliff here in the Down Home Radio archives.

And  be sure to check out George’s album, “Last Possum Up the Tree” on the Appalshop label.  Below are some of George Gibson’s excellent notes to that album: (more…)

 

 The Hundred Songs: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On today’s show I speak with Peter Stampfel and Jeannie Scofield.  In 2004 Peter Stampfel, founder of The Holy Modal Rounders and early member of the Fugs, began a project to research and record one song from every year of the 20th century.  Early on in the project he met singer Jeannie Scofield and they have been working on it together these past 6 years.  This amazing project is getting near completion, and we get a sneak preview of it today as they perform live on the show.  Peter and Jeannie create a wonderful sound and put their own stamp on a number of great songs drawn from their survey of 20th century American popular music.  There’s a lot of great songs back there!

Also be sure to check out Peter’s new solo CD, Dook of the Beatniks.

And check out the interview and live performance I recorded with Peter Stampfel and John Cohen from back in the 2006 DHR archives!

Radio Unnameable Documentary Trailer from Lost Footage Films

Radio Unnamable on WBAI 99.5fm New York is one of my favorite all time radio programs.  Its host Bob Fass (probably arguably) invented “free form” radio with the shows inception in 1963, and continues to be its greatest practitioner to this day.  Over the years Bob has had an incredible array of guests on his program, everyone from musicians like Bob Dylan, Skip James, Muddy Waters, Rambling Jack Elliot, The Holy Modal Rounders and Sis Cunningham, to Leftist political/cultural figures like Abbie Hoffman, Allen Ginsberg, Ed Sanders, Timothy Leary, Wavy Gravy and so many others.  Radio Unnamable was one of the prime focal points in the media for the 1960’s era counter culture both musically and politically.  Luckily many episodes of this amazing program were taped and have survived so there is a large archive that is slowly being digitized, a little taste of which is up here on Down Home Radio.  This material will only be available for a couple days, I can’t keep it up indefinitely, so check it out now! –> time’s up on the audio, hope you enjoyed it, and keep checking back to DHR since I will be posting up more Radio Unnamable audio in the future.

The folks over at Lost Footage Films are in the middle of making a documentary about this historic radio show, and they need your help.  So check out their fund raising website and help them out if you can so they can finish the film.

On today’s show we hear a few selections from the Radio Unnamable archives, courtesy of Lost Footage Films.  The first is Jack Elliott and Arlo Guthrie live on the show.  This is a pretty stoned out episode from 1967.  Jack sings his talking song about truck driving and then Arlo sings a very different version of his hot off the press Alice’s Restaurant song with a totally different “story.”  They’re obviously having a very good time!  In the 2nd selection from Radio Unnamable on the show today we hear a remarkable recording that Bob Fass made as reporter.  In 1968 he traveled to Chicago to cover the protest of the Democratic National Convention which ended in a major over reaction by the first Mayor Daley’s police department.  Bob interviews protesters, gets tear gassed and reports on this now historic day.  In the 3rd piece of audio we hear Abbie Hoffman calling in to Radio Unnamable to report on his own trial as a defendant in the Chicago 7 case.   This was a landmark case were a number of leaders of the ‘68 protest were charged with conspiracy to incite riot.  The trial became a circus, a piece of political theater where counter cultural figures of every stripe paraded through the court room as witnesses and brought the 60’s counterculture more out in to the open, mass media, etc… on and on.  Good stuff.  This is a departure for Down Home Radio which usually sticks to folk music, but I just couldn’t sit on this stuff.  Hope you enjoy.

As a side note- I will be on Radio Unnamable tonight! with Peter Stampfel and The Dust Busters.  Bob Fass is still on the air and Radio Unnamable airs every Thursday night from midnight till 3am or so on WBAI 99.5fm and is is archived on the WBAI website.

(more…)

Here’s the 2nd installment of our new venture into Down Home TV.  That same night after speaking with Mamie Minch, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton stopped by and I was able to film a segment with him.  If you’ve heard the interview from a year and a half ago that I did with him (when he was only 19) then you know that he is a truly amazing guitarist, banjoist and stride-piano player as well as an excellent singer.  On today’s show Blind Boy plays a few guitar and banjo pieces for us on camera and talks a little bit about his background.  For more information, be sure to check out the extended audio interview with him from back in the DHR Archives.

Thanks go once again to filmmaker Chris Low and his crew for shooting and editing this footage.

Down Home Radio has stormed the citadel of visual representation, thanks to the great work of filmmaker Chris Low.  On this first installment I talk with the wonderful blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Mamie Minch.  We sat down in the room above the Jalopy Theater just before she took the stage at the Brooklyn Folk Festival Preview and Benefit show a couple of weeks ago.  Mamie speaks about some of her influences and plays some tunes, live on Down Home Radio (TV)!  Many thanks go to Chris for making this possible.

 

 Interview with Frank Fairfield: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

(photos E. Smith)

On today’s show I speak with Frank Fairfield.  I was knocked out by his new album on the Tompkins Square label and was glad to finally catch up with Frank at his home in Los Angeles, CA when I was out there back in January.  Frank plays banjo, fiddle and guitar in an old time style and is a really great singer.  We talk about his music and his ideas about music in general, Frank plays some tunes live on the show and also plays several favorite 78rpm records from his own collection.  Frank Fairfield has a rare gift for interpreting what he calls “the American repertoire.”  He gives the music an authentic presence that is very exciting.  Frank has embodied the music he plays.  Although his repertoire is from a different landscape then we see around us today he has found a way inside and expresses it with emotional depth and energy that is very enjoyable to see live as well as listen to on the record.

Frank plays at Tommy’s Loft in downtown LA.

 

 Smokey Joe Miller Remembered: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On today’s show I’m happy to be bringing out a new addition to Down Home Radio.  Well known field recordist, painter and musician Art Rosenbaum hosts his own weekly 15 minute radio program, “Backroads & Banjos” on AM 1690, WMLB out of Atlanta, GA.  We will be periodically re-airing this wonderful program here on Down Home Radio.  Rosenbaum is perhaps best known for his recent Grammy Award winning collections of his own field recordings, “The Art of Field Recording” on the Dust to Digital label.

On this episode Art Rosenbaum and Phil Tanner remembers their friend, guitarist Smokey Joe Miller who passed on in November of 2009.  Miller played with 4 generations of Tanners – he played with Gid Tanner in the old original Skillet Lickers back in the 30’s, as well as with Gid’s son Gordon, then Phil and most lately Russ Tanner, the latest member of this Georgia musical family.  This 1/2 hour program brings together 2 episodes of “Backroads & Banjos” dedicated to Smokey Joe.

Art Rosenbaum (right) talks with guest Phil Tanner as he tapes a segment of his radio show at AM 1690 in Atlanta, photo from an article about Rosenbaum on AccessAtlanta.com

Art Rosenbaum plays six string banjo in front of one of his paintings.

 

 Interview with Mable Hillary: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Henrietta Yurchenco, 2006.  Photo: Sashenka Lopez.

On today’s show we remember my dear friend, Down Home Radio co-founder Henrietta Yurchenco, who passed away on Dec. 10th, 2007 at the age of 91.  Henrietta was a pioneering ethnomusicologist who starting in 1944, hauled hundreds of pounds of recording equipment on mules through the rugged Sierra mountains and lowland deserts of Mexico to make the very first recordings of indigenous music from that country.  She was also a pioneer in the field of folk music radio, hosting shows on WNYC starting in 1940 and later WBAI and WNYC again through the 1960’s.  She gave Pete Seeger his debut on radio, often had Woody Guthrie on her programs and served as Leadbelly’s producer for his radio program.  Later, in the 1960’s she had Bob Dylan and many other performers and scholars of that era on her show.  Henrietta was Professor Emerita at the City College of New York, where she taught ethnomusicology for many years.

I met her when she was 89 and we had a great time doing this show together and generally hanging out in the last 2 years of her life.   She was a tremendously accomplished person who over a very long career left an amazing musical and historical legacy, some of which has been preserved for us to hear. For a short history of her career read my essay, her obituary from the New York Times, her excellent autobiography, or visit her website.

Every year on the anniversary of her passing I will be bringing out some amazing treasure from her archives for us all to hear as we remember this remarkable woman.  Due to this years fund drive this show is a bit late, but I’m happy to bring it out now.

Today’s show is  an episode of Henrietta’s 1960’s radio show, “Adventures in Folk Music” for WNYC here in New York.  It features Henrietta interviewing a wonderful singer from the Georgia Sea Islands, Mable Hillary (1929-76) who was very involved in the Civil Rights and Peace movements and eventually moved to New York City where she taught in the public school system.  Hillary was an amazing singer and performer of blues and unaccompanied songs, as well as traditional game songs and their dances.  She performed in the Georgia Sea Island Singers along with Bessie Jones and others.  As a side note, I find the contrast of Hillary’s voice and the guitar work of her accompanist to be interesting, beautiful and in several instances quite unique.

[L] Henrietta in Mexico, 1940’s.  [R] Henrietta Yurchenco (right) and an unidentified woman, near Zion Methodist Church, St. John’s Island, South Carolina. March 1970.
(Henrietta Yurchenco Collection. Photo by David Lewiston)

HEAR! more from Mable Hillary and others at a 1965 concert in Central Park courtesy of the Association for Cultural Equity.

READ! more about Mable Hillary at the Association for Cultural Equity’s website.

And don’t forget to check out the Down Home Radio advert in the Old Time Herald Magazine – www.oldtimeherald.org – lots of great articles, reviews and more!