http://notlobmusic.blogspot.com reports and reflects on news that affects the traditional / revival / labor / social justice folk, old-time, bluegrass and Celtic music communities in the greater Boston area.
"In this era of pop-driven acoustic music, notloB is keeping the folk tradition alive."
~ Jack Hardy
Worlds of Sound: The Ballad of Folkways is a new one-hour documentary about Moses Asch and the 60-year history of Smithsonian Folkways. Tune your TV to Smithsonian Channel this Sunday, October 25th, at 8 pm EST to watch the premiere.
From Smithsonian Channel: "His name was Moses Asch, and he set out to catalog the sounds of the world. In the process, he changed the way people thought of folk music, and modern life in general. This is the story of his iconoclastic Folkways Records, America's most influential grassroots record label."
Save 20% with Code BALLAD09 through October 27th Careful observers will see a short promotion at the end of the Worlds of Sound: The Ballad of Folkways documentary offering a 20% discount and a free sampler CD with the purchase of the recently published book Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways.
We are extending the same discount to email newsletter subscribers! Just enter the code BALLAD09 during checkout to receive 20% off your next order through October 27th and get a 26-track sampler CD free with the purchase of the book Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways.
Thanks to the Real School of Music in Burlington, MA, who hosted and co-produced Jim Hurst this past Sunday, for the video below of Jim's "Swamp Reed", an instrumental tribute to Jerry Reed.
Jim, a two-time IBMA guitar player of the year, was in the area for two gigs, Saturday at the Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley (as a member of the Claire Lynch Band) and Sunday in a solo performance at the Real School of Music in Burlington, and looks forward to return gigs at both.
Marylou is a notloB alumna, having opened for Dennis Brennan during the Spring '08 season at the Loring-Greenough House in Jamaica Plain. When we were considering artists to launch the new notfarG series, Marylou came to mind first and foremost.
notfarG House Concerts, a sister series to notloB Folk Concerts, produced in Somerville and Newton, is pleased to present
Sunday, October 25 $10 suggested donation, all proceeds go to the artist.
Marylou Ferrante was described by music critic and writer, Daniel Gewertz, in the Boston Herald, as the Bay State's finest female acoustic blues interpreter.
Marylou is an artist who performs pre-war blues from the 1920's & 30's. She covers major artists from the delta to east coast piedmont style players such as Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, Blind Boy Fuller and Memphis Minnie along with mandolin players such as Yank Rachell.
Her passionate expression of these old songs comes from a love of the music and the arrangements themselves, as well as what she says is an appreciation for "the history of these folks and the difficult circumstances they endured."
Marylou has honed her craft listening to the old recordings and learning from some of the great blues players today such as Paul Rishell, Guy Davis, Robert Jones and mandolin great Rich DelGrosso. Marylou has taught at The Cellar Studio, Salem MA
* "Marylou is a killer. I have watched her grow, and now she's taking over. Blues lovers look out!"... GUY DAVIS
* "Marylou has the soul of a blues Woman" Detroit's Blues Man... ROBERT JONES
Potluck lunch at noon Concert 1pm Pickin' party 3-4pm
Guests are welcome to bring a beverage of choice, Tea and Coffee available.
Recording is permitted and encouraged as long as we get a copy.
Seating is very limited so we ask that you RSVP ~ send email to notlobreservations @ comcast.net ~ RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED
Future notfarG house concerts: Sunday, November 22, 2009 Claudia Nygaard Sunday, December 13, 2009 David Massengill
Molly is a notloB alumna, having opened for Hungrytown during the Fall of 2008. She is a founding member of Jaded Mandolin, who will be co-featuring with Red Hot Black Top in Somerville before year end (date tba), and part of the hybrid "Jaded Tops" (members of both groups), who will be opening for the Claire Lynch Band at the Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley on October 17.
Young songwriter wins contest with 'haunting' piece
Jennesa Regios Staff writer
October 07, 2009 11:21 pm
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Molly Pinto Madigan, a 19-year-old from Peabody and freshman at Salem State College, recently won first place in the Boston Folk Festival songwriting contest. Her song "I'm Bound Away" was chosen out of five finalists in the youth division, and she performed the song last month on stage at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where the festival was held.
Click play to listen (Total time: 5:19)
Madigan is a multi-instrumentalist; she plays bodhran, banjo, guitar, pennywhistle and is classically trained in piano. She is also the lead singer of a bluegrass band called Jaded Mandolin.
When did you begin writing your own music?
I wrote a few little songs when I was younger, but I started seriously writing music a few years ago when I was 15. I saw other people writing songs and thought, well I can do that. And I really like poetry so I can include that in my songs. I write mostly folk, though this ["I'm Bound Away"] is the first one I wrote for piano. I wasn't sure how to go about that. I'd written classical pieces. And I've written lyrics, but not piano and voice together.
How would you describe your winning song?
When I played the piano part for my piano teacher he said it was haunting. When I brought in the lyrics, my English teacher said the lyrics were haunting. And when someone heard them together, they described it as haunting.
What is the song about?
It's not about anything. Just what I was feeling. It's more about the emotion, not the event. My thoughts and feelings mulling around inside. I wrote the song in June. I started it, then I had to go to orientation at Salem State, and I kept saying, "I have to get back to my piano. I need to keep writing it." I think the whole song was influenced by the ballad tradition.
How did it feel to win?
I got a phone call and found out I had to perform with four other finalists on Saturday at the festival. I was really nervous. Then I found out I won. I was kind of shocked. I was kind of worried about the audience reaction at first. When I recorded it, to send in, it's six minutes, I was worried they would get bored with it. But a lot of people told me, "Oh, you sound beautiful."
What are your musical influences?
I'm really interested in world music and traditional music. I really have a keen interest in folk music and folk lore. I listen to a lot of that stuff.
How did you come to play the bodhran (an Irish frame drum)?
I listen to a lot of Celtic music. I thought, "Oh, that would be cool to play." And my dad kept saying, "You should get one." I saw one in the shop and it was cheap, so I just bought it and taught myself.
And what's happening with Jaded Mandolin?
We just had a gig this past Tuesday. It was in Acton at an open-mike feature. We play a lot of Club Passim, in Cambridge. And this October we're teaming up with another bluegrass band and opening for Claire Lynch.
Have you thought of recording a solo CD?
I haven't thought too much about it yet, but it would be pretty cool.
It isn’t often that a legend gets the chance to be reborn, but listening to these four disks is like hearing Woody for the first time. His voice is clear on all of the tracks. The hiss and background noise that is so familiar to any Guthrie recording is virtually unnoticeable. My Dusty Road presents Woody Guthrie in an all new natural light that uncovers nuances never noticed before. But if the pristine recordings aren’t enough, the four disk box set unveils never released, and practically never before heard tracks, which for an artists as widely covered as Guthrie, is a very rare find.
In April of 1944 Woody Guthrie, along with Blind Sonny Terry and Cisco Houston recorded over 250 songs. These are the songs on these disks. These are the songs that lay buried for nearly 60 years. Some of the songs are informal, some are rehearsed, and all of them transport you to an earlier era.
The first disk is a collection of Woody’s greatest hits including “This Land is Your Land,” “Going Down the Road,” and “Hard Traveling.” And although some songs, like “This Land is Your Land,” is played traditionally with Guthrie accompanying himself on the guitar, he also picks up the mandolin, let’s Cisco take the lead, and is never afraid to let Sonny blow that harp.
The songs on this disk cover the dust bowl and the depression. They hit on legends like Pretty Boy Floyd, and the Reuben James. Guthrie also demonstrates his prowess at the talking blues, a technique that is musically sparse, and lyrically poignant.
The second disk concentrates on Woody’s ability to document folk songs. Woody was an encyclopedia of songs. He plays here, traditional songs that he heard on old 78’s. He plays songs from the Carter family. He plays songs that he learned from his mother Nora, and from George, the shoeshine in Pampa.
This disk demonstrates Woody’s vast knowledge of folk music and uncanny ability to tell stories through song. On “Buffalo Skinners,” a dramatic ballad that sings like a novel, Woody mournfully works his way through accompanied only by his guitar, to tell the sad tale of the American Indian and the lonesome great plain Cowboy.
Woody The Agitator, the third disc in the set concentrates on Woody’s ability to write protest songs. Woody rallied for workers rights, the equality of African Americans, and helped stage strikes and organize unions. He wrote songs like “I’m Gonna Join That One Big Union,” “Hangknot Slipknot,” and “Tear the Fascist Down.” The last of which is a virtually unheard song about the second world war.
Woody Guthrie is as influential as a singer can be. Without him there’d be no Cash, no Prine, no Dylan. He was a cowboy troubadour, and a poet balladeer. He represents an almanac of work, a library of songs that documents the past, and inspires the future. My Dusty Road presents a rich history of early America, that can, of course, be hummed along too.
National Traditional Country Music Association Hall of Fame member Mark Brine will be presented by notloB Folk Concerts at its "kitchen" series at the historic Jackson Homestead, 527 Washington St., Newton this Saturday evening (10/10). Doors 7:15om, Concert 7:30pm.
$10 Suggested Donation, $5 well-behaved children w/ a $30 immediate family maximum.
Capturing the essence and spirit of America through song would be a daunting task for any artist, but Mark Brine has made a long career of it.
Over the years, Brine has won fans, critical praise and awards for his efforts in traditional American music. But as nice as that recognition is, nothing is more important to Brine than his songs and his message – the mark of a true artist. Though a current resident of Baltimore, Brine was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the leading folk music centers in the country, and was exposed to music at an early age. He got his first taste of Hank Williams from his uncle’s record collection and later learned about rock and roll through the Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley records his aunt played for him. Both of these discoveries, along with exposure to the southern blues sounds of artists like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, would cement Brine’s interest in traditional American music.
While in his 20’s, Brine first heard the music of Jimmie "The Singing Brakeman" Rodgers, a discovery that would have a great impact on his path in music. Though widely referred to as the "Father of Country Music" due to his popularization of the hillbilly music form, Rodgers was revolutionary because he mixed elements of the blues, jazz and other popular music genres of the day to make a sound all his own – a style that would be copied by many artists and is prevalent today. Brine was enamored by Rodgers’ and his old time music would be the single biggest influence on Brine’s career.
Though Brine’s professional music debut came as an electric guitar player for several different rock bands in Massachusetts, he ultimately unplugged his guitar and followed down the path created by Rodgers, Williams and the other legendary figures of American music.
There's a new blue yodel Let me sing it here for you There's a new blue yodel Let me sing it here for you Jimmie Rodgers he done start it 'N I'm 'a gonna see it through
Mark will be on three radio programs this week: 10/8: Dan Boudin’s “Barn Dance”, WRIU, 90.3fm, http://www.wriu.org/, 7pm 10/9: Troy Tyree's "American Roots", WCUW, 91.3fm, http://www.wcuw.org/, 10am 10/10: Cousin Lyn's "Hillbilly at Harvard", WHRB, http://www.whrb.org/, 95.3fm, 9-11am
Future concerts at the Jackson Homestead
Saturday, November 21: 2004 Kerrville Music Festival "New Folk" songwriting competition winner ~ Claudia Nygaard
Saturday, December 12: From Tennessee one of America's finest songwriters ~ David Massengill
Rarely played on commercial stations, non-commercial broadcast/streaming radio and internet stations are the primary purveyors of folk/roots/blues/bluegrass/Celtic/old-timey music.
Scan the programs listed below for that have been entered into this group's calendar over the years. It's a compilation of the members' programming choices* representing several genre coming from North East US stations. Bookmark this page and refer back throughout the week, Discover some new programs. Maybe you'll find a new station that will satisfy a musical need.
Maybe the listings will help you to decide to which station(s) to support.
If you are adversely affected by the poor economy or otherwise unable to give your financial support, these and other public stations would be very pleased to talk with you about volunteering opportunities.
