[Jody Stecher (R) with Hank Bradley (L) at the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention 2006. Photo by E. Smith]
On today’s show I speak with one of my all time favorite musicians, Jody Stecher. Jody is a master of many instruments- banjo, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, oud, sarod and sursingar and is a very fine singer. I caught up with him at his apartment in San Francisco where he lives with his wife and singing partner Kate Brislin. Since I recorded this interview I’ve had several listeners write into the show requesting an interview with Jody and I’m happy to finally be bringing it out on Down Home Radio! Jody Stecher is originally from Brooklyn, NY and was involved from a young age in the folk music scene in Greenwhich Village back in the early 60’s. Since the late 1960’s he has lived in the Bay Area where he remains a very active and respected musician in the world of folk, old-time and bluegrass music as well as Indian classical music. He currently plays with Peter Rowan in Rowan’s bluegrass band and has just this year released a new album with Kate. Its great! Check it out.
On the show we discuss Stecher’s influences, his time in the old Village folk scene, his musical activities out in California and more! Jody was a student of Down Home Radio founder Henrietta Yurchenco when she taught Ethnomusicology at City College back in the 60’s. Jody accompanied Henrietta on a field recording trip to Michoacan, MX in 1965 which resulted in the classic album “The Real Mexico” on the Nonesuch Explorer Series. In the same year Stecher traveled together with Peter K. Siegel to Nassau Bahama to record Joseph Spence and the Pinder Family which resulted in another classic album “The Real Bahamas,” also for the Nonesuch Explorer Series, check ’em out!
Big thanks go to Steve French for editing this interview for airplay.
Check out Jody and Kate’s new CD
Some photos:
CCNY South Campus – 1965
Big thanks Eli for this great interview. I could have spent a couple or more hours just to listen to Jody talk and play some music. One of the greatest american musician and one of the most humble too…
i have the ep record of the new york city rambers at tokyo folklore center.
his music is forever.
came to japan.
kiyohide kunizaki
I still have fond memories of traveling in the middle of the night with Jody in my car from one side of The Netherlands to the other. Of all the material that I’ve heard from Jody, I still like ‘The blamble and the rose’ the best I think. I just read the remark that his music is forever… Very nice put Kiyohide! I agree!
Harry Vogel,
The Netherlands.
Hi, Eli,
I just came back from your show at the Freight and eagerly went to your website to hear the Jody Stecher interview. The player doesn’t seem to be working. If there’s a fix for this, I would love to hear the interview. Thank you.