string band

The Carolina Chocolate Drops Live! at Jalopy

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[photo by Ann Chen]

Back in September the acclaimed old-time band The Carolina Chocolate Drops made a surprise appearance at The Jalopy Theater in Redhook, Brooklyn.  Luckily I had heard earlier that day what was going on and brought my recorder with me that night when I made the familiar trek down to Jalopy’s hallowed hall!  They played a great set and I got a good recording right off the board.  Here it is!

The Chocolate Drops performed as part of the Roots n Ruckus show, the awesome – free – weekly folk music show that happens every Wednesday night at The Jalopy Theater.  Well worth checking out.  I’m there almost every week!

Be sure to check out Jalopy’s new blog: www.jalopybrooklyn.wordpress.com

The Carolina Chocolate Drops are students of the elder African American fiddler Joe Thompson- check out my visit with Joe back in June of this year in the archives of Down Home Radio.

And big congratulations to the Chocolate Drops on their Grammy nomination for their new album, Genuine Negro Jig.

The New Lost City Ramblers: 50 Years – Interview with John Cohen & Tom Paley

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The New Lost City Ramblers (John Cohen, Mike Seeger & Tom Paley) formed as a band in 1958, and this year marks their 50th anniversary.  In fact, this interview, recorded on September 13th, 2008, was 50 years to the day after their first concert, held on September 13th, 1958 at a chapter hall of Carnegie Hall.  On today’s show I speak with John Cohen and Tom Paley about their memories of the birth of the band, how it happened, how they met, began playing together, chose the name, got their sound, made recordings and started touring.  John and Tom don’t remember it quite the same way, but some where in there lies the truth!

Tom left the band in 1962 and moved to Europe where he still lives.  But he and John were both in New York where they played together at the “11th Annual Park Slope Bluegrass & Old-Time Jamboree” at the Society for Ethical Culture.  I was able to catch up with them there and we sat in the basement and talked.

The New Lost City Ramblers have been a tremendously influential band in the folk revival of the last 50 years as well as in the parallel revival of interest in old-time string band music.  Their enthusiasm for and devotion to the old-time sound changed the debate in the folk music world of the 1950’s and 60’s and made musicians and listeners take a much deeper and nuanced listen to the rural sounds they were hearing on records.  The NLCR made urban, non-traditionally schooled musicians approaching the material, aware of not the just songs, but the style and challenged them to grapple with that issue.  This is still a serious question and one that is very relevant today.
(Read the rest of my essay below, plus track information for the today’s show)

Echoes of the Ozarks Vol. 2 – another great old record

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Echoes of the Ozarks vol. 2 front cover

Continuing with Down Home Radio’s “Awesome Out of Print Records” series – On today’s show I play one record straight through.  Its an old County Records LP  I picked up called Echoes of the Ozarks Vol. 2, released in 1970.  I really like this record, there is some great string band music on here.  It was an unexpected treat.  I got it somewhere for cheap, didn’t look at it closely at all, figured it would be only mildly interesting.  Then I put it on and haven’t been able to stop listening since. I particularly love Reeves’ White County Ramblers use of the old fashioned pump organ in their sound.  Apparently they usually used piano, but used the organ because that’s all they had at the recording studio.  Glad they did!  Its great.

The record features: Reeves’ White County Ramblers, Luke Highnight’s Ozark Strutters, Dr. Smith’s Hoss Hair Pullers, A.E. Ward & His Plowboys, and Fiddlin’ Bob Larkan & Family.  All great bands and hard to find.  If anybody has volume 1, send it my way!  This is an excellent compilation.

CLICK HERE to download this record cut up into tracks.

See below for liner notes and more track information: