A miscellany like Grandma’s attic in Taunton, MA or Mission Street's Thrift Town in San Francisco or a Council, ID yard sale in cloudy mid April or a celestial roadmap no one folded—you take your pick.
Happy Saturday, dear readers. Just checking in with you quickly about some changes I’ll be trying on the blog at least during the month of April.
I’ve decided that I’ll be reducing the Monday Morning Blues & Banjo Friday series to every other week rather than weekly. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, these series simply aren’t getting many readers at all, & the posts themselves—while generally enjoyable to write & research—are relatively time-consuming. The series will run in alternate weeks—for instance, this coming Monday I’ll run the Monday Morning Blues (with a brand new series starting up—stay tuned), but there won’t be a Banjo Friday on April 6th; then the next week it will be just the opposite.
All the other series will continue as they have been running—Barbie Angell’s & L.E. Leone’s poems will appear on alternate Tuesdays; Rose City Wednesday & Sunday’s Photo of the Week will continue to appear weekly. There will be no regularly scheduled posts on Thursday or Saturday, but I will leave them open (especially Thursday) for things that may come up thru the week; that's also at least theoretically true for the open Mondays & Fridays. Anyhow, that's pretty much how things have been for a while.
This will mean I'll only be committed to writing two posts per week, & I suspect that will generally be a good change—for me at least. But I assure readers—& also other people involved in the blog—that there are things the blog offers that continue to excite me, & that continue to fit into the rhythm of my life—which of course has changed very much over the past several months. Maybe I feel the need myself to re-group some, & cutting back on the music posts seems a way to give myself a little space to do that. I have been very much absorbed in the question of “3-D” versus “virtual” life of late, & drawing back a little on the blog is also a way of addressing that question.
But if you know me at all, you know I’m a Heraclitean at heart—I believe very much in the concept of change—never stepping in the same river twice & so forth. So for now these ideas are a concept I’ll experiment with in April, & come May, we’ll see which direction we turn!
Have a nice Saturday, friends. I leave you with the great, unique & inimitable Fats Waller to tell you the rest of the story!
I’ve written about Bill Keith before in the Banjo Fridayspace, but most of that writing has been devoted to his performance of music that’s outside the typical banjo repertoire. However, Keith’s playing builds fundamentally from the bluegrass tradition even when he travels far afield; & his playing & techniques have contributed significantly to moving this tradition forward, while simultaneously opening up other musical avenues for the banjo to explore.
One of Bill Keith’s big contributions to the bluegrass repertoire has been his using his melodic playing style to further the banjo’s use in interpreting fiddle tunes. Of course whether you’re talking bluegrass or old-time music, the fiddle is the primary melody instrument , with the banjo & (in bluegrass at least) the mandolin playing important but secondary roles. There have been exceptions—Earl Scruggs was certainly the primary melodic mover & shaker for the Foggy Mountain Boys—but as a generalization about the genres it’s certainly true.
The fact is, the way a banjo & a fiddle produce sound are very different. Everything about a fiddle is essentially melodic, from the warmth of its tones to the sustain produced by the bowing; meanwhile, everything about the banjo tends at its base to be percussive—a banjo is, after all, essentially a drum on a stick with strings. Even the big resonator banjos favored in bluegrass have very little sustain—in other words, the notes die out quickly—& generally sustain is a hallmark of a melody instrument. To compensate for the lack of sustain, the banjo player has a simple expedient—play a lot of notes!
Now this has been going on for a long time amongst banjoists & neither Scruggs nor Keith, nor any of the innovators changed that fact. What they changed has more to do with the way those torrents of notes are generated. Scruggs style was based on syncopated patterns that played “arpeggios”—in other words, the single notes that form chords. In the sense that this is chord-based, one might characterize it as “horizontal” playing, because the left hand is fundamentally forming chords across the width of the fretboard. Keith’s innovation—in dimestore terms—was to produce the notes more in terms of scales than chords, so that the left-hand movement becomes “vertical”—in other words, the left hand travels up & down the fretboard.
I’d hoped to share a video today of Keith playing a banjo trio with Tony Trischka & Béla Fleck on “John Hardy”—the cut is from their 1980 Rounder album, Fiddle Tunes for Banjo. Sadly, I found out embedding is disabled on that video, but you can view it on YouTube here. However, I did find a video of Keith tearing up a couple of standard fiddle tunes in a medley of “Devil’s Dream” & “Sailor’s Hornpipe” (with rhythm guitar backing by Jim Rooney), & that’s a lot of fun as well!
Hope you folks have been enjoying Banjo Friday. Not to introduce a “buzz killer,” but I’ve noticed that the viewing stats for both of the regular music features, Banjo Friday & Monday Morning Blues, have been dropping steadily, & over the past couple of months are really quite low. At this point, they seem to be the least popular features on the blog, which puzzles me a bit. So if you enjoy them, please help to spread the word!
[Today's post, rounding off our month of promoting David LaMotte's White Flour project, is by Barbie Angell]
With just 2 days left of David LaMotte’s Kickstarter project for his children’s book, White Flour, John asked me to write a piece in support of this, and we hope to drum up some last minute support. Yes, now is the time to discuss the ku klux klan, the Coup Clutz Clowns & what happens when hatred meets humor.
This past week, while I was catching up on Facebook & Twitter, I was horrified to discover that some people find the anti-Obama, “n-word” bumper stickers
to be funny. I was even more bothered by the fact that the rest of the
posts were people shaking their head, but not completely outraged.
Have we as a nation become so complacent about racism that we no longer
feel compelled to act against it? Does it take the shooting of an unarmed boy
to give us cause to raise our voices? Do we have to encounter such
extremes to become involved? I think not. I think we just don’t know
what we can do….but I believe David’s book provides an answer and that
is one reason I am so fully in support of it.
White Flour illustration by Jenn Hales.
White Flour tells the true story of a whimsical and effective
response by counter-protesters to a white supremacists’ march in
Knoxville, Tennessee in 2007. The Coup Clutz Clowns, a group of local
anti-racism activists, used humor and non-violence to reveal the
silliness of the march, vanquishing hatred with laughter.
The clowns slightly altered the supremacists’ chants to make them
a bit… better. As the hooded marchers shouted “white power!” the
clowns joined right in, shouting “white flour!” and pulling out bags of
the stuff they had brought from home for a flour fight. They walked a
bit farther and decided they had heard wrong, and that the klansmen must
be shouting “white flowers!” so they shouted that, and passed flowers
out to the crowd …and it gets better from there (the full text of the
poem is below). The point is that rather than shouting down the
shouters, meeting rage with rage, they simply refused to take such
foolishness seriously. Fight and flight are not our only two options,
and humor, it turns out, beats hatred. At least it did on that day. ~ David LaMotte
Do I propose we all dress up as clowns and take a stand if the klan
comes to our town? No. But I do suggest that we teach our children
the values that are so cheerfully and eloquently brought to light in
White Flour. Teaching our children that bigotry is wrong is only the
beginning, but what an important beginning it is. I’ve tried to
explain it to my six year-old son, and it is a completely foreign
concept. He kind of understands that some people don’t like the little
girl he has a crush on. Since she is an African-American he knows
they can easily see the difference in her skin color, but he doesn’t
comprehend how that can be bad. Explaining to him, however, that some
people don’t like me because I’m a Jew, is altogether lost on him. I
don’t look any different than other white people, but I’m hated by some
just the same. As for explaining his Godfather, who is gay, or any of
my gay, lesbian or transgendered friends (whom he adores), well, to him
that’s just an ungraspable idea. The fact that they love shouldn’t be a
bad thing, no matter who that love is given to.
The other incredibly important lesson in David LaMotte’s poem, White
Flour, is that the clowns are not reaching for violence to counter
hatred. They are reaching into their bag of tricks for humor, praise
and peace. David best explains this in an email discussion we had recently.
White Flour illustration by Jenn Hales.
Someone sent me an indie press article about the event and I was
knocked out by several things: one, that the mainstream press had missed
this. Two, that it’s such a good example of creative nonviolence—
finding a third way beyond fight and flight. Three, that it was so
effective. And four, that it’s so creative and funny. I find it to be
an accessible story for lots of audiences, but also extremely
instructive, so I wanted to share it.
“Breaking the script” is a fundamental tenet of creative
nonviolence. Responding in ways that are completely unexpected breaks
us out of our patterns and opens a conflict situation up to new possible
outcomes. I love what these folks did, and it’s been fun to track them
down and have some conversations about it. The original organizers are
really excited about the book.
There are plenty of other examples of this in my own life and in
conflict situations I’ve been around, but this is the most entertaining
story I know to illustrate that point.
The first time I heard David perform White Flour,
I asked him if I could get an audio version of it to send to my family
and friends for Christmas. Being such a wonderful friend and wanting to
spread this story far and wide, he agreed without hesitation. When I
learned that this, my favorite poem of all time, was going to be turned
into a children’s book, I was completely thrilled. A few weeks ago,
when he launched the Kickstarter project, I felt certain that it would
be successful as long as people were aware of it. This story is so
important, especially for children. It isn’t preachy or condescending;
on the contrary, it’s fun and accessible. It is, in my opinion, the
perfect way to educate our children on bigotry and nonviolence. Most
importantly, it’s true. It’s a piece of history that should be
remembered. Should be celebrated. Should become a part of our
national conversation about putting an end to racism.
When the White Flour project surpassed its goal of $18,500 in 12
days, I was amazed. People really embraced this story. They fell in
love with the idea and wanted to share it with their friends, both in
real life and online. You may think that the story ends here, but it doesn’t. David has
gained some pretty impressive attention with this real-life story,
turned into a poem, turned into a children’s book. There is now talk of this book
becoming a part of the 5th grade curriculum in schools in Texas. He
is in also in contact with a national publicist and has learned that
several well-known artists in the music industry are planning to give
testimonials about his book.
White Flour illustration by Jenn Hales.
Given all this inspiring news, White Flour is no longer going to be a
little project that inches its way up a tiny hill. No, that plan just
isn’t what this book wants to do. This is now the Little Book That
Could and, with the help of 471 backers so far, this book fully intends
to climb a mountain. I truly believe that it can. The original goal
of $18,500 to print 2,500 copies of White Flour is a distant memory.
The top of this mountain is now $39,000 for an initial printing of
10,000 copies and a national publicity campaign. This means that we
need to continue to spread the word. If this money is brought in
strictly through pre-orders, at $25 each, we only need 412 more to reach
this goal.
That $25 on the Kickstarter page not only orders the book and
includes the shipping, but because of the way Kickstarter works you also
get whatever was included prior to that level. In this case, it would
include:
$1 – SMILE! I will look up from my computer and grin and be thankful for
your kind support. Then I will celebrate that there are people in the
world who are happy to trade a dollar for a smile, and to help with an
effort to tell an inspiring story with no tangible reward to themselves.
You rock.
$5 – LAUGH! Loads of gratitude, plus a digitally (i.e. magically)
transported scan of some book art to use as wallpaper on your computer
screen.
$15 – CLAP! We’ll send gratitude, digital wallpaper and an e-book version of White Flour.
And, of course,
$25 – STAND UP! We’ll send the physical book and pay the postage
(please add $5 if overseas) and we’ll send you the wallpaper image.
There are many other levels for this book, including autographed
copies of the book, David’s award winning album, S.S. Bathtub, VIP
tickets to one of his release parties and even the opportunity to have
him perform for you.
I’ve gone on long enough about this book….and so I leave you with
David LaMotte performing White Flour. This book will go far, mark my
words, The Little Book That Could will climb unimaginable mountains and
become an essential tool to help keep bigotry out of the hearts of our
children.
as always, thanks for playing. : ) you can find additional information about White Flour at www.whiteflourbook.com
Welcome, my friends, to another Rose City Wednesday, Bridgetown edition!
Tho the gray skies & drizzle have returned now, we had some glorious weather late last week & into the weekend & I decided to make the most of it on Saturday with an excursion to another nearby bridge—no more chilly & slippery bridge outings for me! Indeed, Saturday was one of the finest days this year, & with only a sport jacket & light clothes I was almost too warm at points along the way.
The Broadway Bridge connects Northeast & Northwest Portland, following the large NE Broadway Avenue thoroughfare across the bridge that bears its name, at which point Broadway (now NW Broadway) veers off at a 45 degree angle southward, while NW Lovejoy continues more or less due west into the rather toney Pearl District. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
The Fremont Bridge & in the distance, The St John's Bridge-looking north from the Broadway Bridge
I caught the #4 Division bus near my place & got off at NE Vancouver & Weidler. From here it’s an easy downhill walk of about five blocks to the bridge. You could also take any Max line to Rose Quarter & walk from there north on Interstate; it wouldn’t be much further, & in fact that’s what I did in reverse heading home.
Bicyclist approaching the spot where one would stop if the drawbridge were raising
The Broadway Bridge is reported to be one of the more popular bridges for bicycle crossings, & I must say that based on my one walk, this could well be true—the cyclists were out in profusion. But the walkways on either side of the Broadway Bridge are reasonably commodious, & despite a fair amount of bike traffic, I never felt rushed or inconvenienced. & no doubt due to the fine weather, there were also a fair number of other pedestrians.
Inner
structure, plus streetcar wires; this is a more accurate picture of the
color--Golden Gate Red, AKA International Orange! The first two photos
were shot somewhat into the sun.
The Broadway Bridge was opened in 1913; at the time, it was the longest bascule type bridge in existence (if you follow that last link, you’ll see a gif of how a bascule bridge works.) Because the bascule mechanism is rather complicated, the Bridge has undergone a number of repairs over the years. However, the most recent work done on the Broadway Bridge (in the summer of 2010) is quite exciting to me as a person who relies almost exclusively on public transit. As you can see in some of the photos, the rails & overhead electrical system of the Portland Streetcar have been installed on the Broadway Bridge, & the Bridge is scheduled to start carrying streetcar traffic this September. This is great news, because it will be the beginning of the eastern expansion of the streetcar system. While the Trimet buses & Max light rail trains run thru all sections of Portland proper & into the suburbs as well, the Streetcar currently only runs on the west side of the city. I’m really looking forward to this change! Interestingly enough, streetcars did cross the Broadway Bridge from when it was first opened until 1940.
Portland skyline looking southwest (taken from the south walkway)
The Steel Bridge - looking south from the Broadway Bridge
It was a beautiful day, & I feel I took full advantage of it—ended up walking about 20 blocks once I got to the west side until I reached Powell’s; but I confess I was a little wobbly by the time I made it all the way back to the other side. My timing was also good this time around—the clouds just began to come in around 4:00 p.m. just as I was setting foot back on the east side.
[Title aside, our favorite Rockstar Poet in Residence Barbie Angell is not playing games in today’s poem! But as always, she’s got something to say in her fun & unique way.]
New From Milton Bradley
It’s a world of utter mania on an endless shopping spree. It’s what no one ever told you, it’s exactly what it seems.
There are no grand surprises on the witness stand of life. Its design is based on choices not just the rolling of the dice.
And when it hands you lemons, time and time again, relax and put your feet up, ‘cause it’s a game you’ll never win.
It’s all about direction and being honest with yourself. It’s not about reflections or the fickle fate of wealth.
But don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying that you’ll lose. Be everything you can be. Be the best you find in you.
So when the curtain finally falls and the yodeling is done, it’s whether you have lived your life, not if you lost or won.
Happy Monday, friends! The Monday Morning Blues this morning is coming at you with another exciting performer in our Any Woman’s Blues series.
Roxanne Potvin is I believe the youngest musician profiled so far in the series—not quite 30 years old as of this posting. But despite that fact, she has already amassed an impressive resume as guitarist, singer, & songwriter. Potvin has released four albums, beginning with her self-produced 2003 release, Careless Loving, which contained a half dozen original numbers, as well as covers of tunes from the likes of Dinah Washington & Etta James. She followed this up with the 2006 The Way It Feels on Alert Canada, an album on which she was joined by several notables, including Bruce Cockburn & John Hiatt, & which also featured a cover from one of her guitar heroes—her version of Freddie King’s “Your Love Keeps Working On Me.” This was followed by No Love for the Poisonous in 2008, also on Alert Canada, which was released to glowing reviews, & the 2011 release, Play in which Potvin moved more in the directions of folk & pop. Play was released on the Black Hen Music label.
In addition to those releases as a solo artist, Roxanne Potvin also collaborated with Sue Foley & Deborah Coleman (two guitarists who’ve been featured in previous Any Woman’s Blues installments) on the 2007 album, Time Bomb on Ruf Records. Time Bomb featured each guitarist as a soloist, & then brought the three women together to combine their impressive guitar chops on the final cut, “In the Basement.”
As one might assume based on her label, Ms Potvin is Canadian, born in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1982. Her family moved to Ottawa when she was two, & she began singing as a young child. When she took up guitar in her teens, she was drawn to a number of noted blues players—Freddie King, whom she names as a special influence, as well as Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed & Lonnie Johnson—but also to artists from other genres as well, including vocalists Aretha Franklin, Sarah Vaughn & Dinah Washington, & also John Hiatt & Elvis—& in recording her most recent album, she notes she found herself “going back to the Beatles & Beck.” She is currently based out of Gatineau, Quebec; her website is maintained in both English & French, & Potvin is herself bilingual.
We’ve got a couple of videos to showcase Roxanne Potvin’s talent, & I know you’ll enjoy them. The first video, “A Love that’s Simple,” focuses more on her wonderful vocal ability, while the second, “Caught Up,” not only features another great singing performance, but also some really nice guitar work. As you can see, Potvin plays a Telecaster. I’ve also seen photos & videos of her with an acoustic, but I’m unable to identify the brand or model. She gets a great tone out of the Telecaster; I really enjoy her direct playing style.
We know that the banjo has a venerable history in the jazz tradition—after all, banjo & piano were stalwarts in the rhythm section of many early jazz combos. But those banjos were by & large either 6-string “guitar banjos” or 4-string tenors & plectrum models. The 5-string banjo wasn’t much of a factor in early jazz, for the simple reason that the 5th string, which acts as a drone in virtually all traditional playing styles, doesn’t fit with the chromaticism that jazz has tended to emphasize.
Of course, we also know that banjo playing styles have changed since the teens & 1920s. The development of Scruggs picking led to a different form of syncopation, & while most of the bluegrass repertoire relies on straightforward I-IV-V chord changes that allow for use of the drone string, Scruggs himself occasionally would play songs from “the Great American Songbook,” as well as ragtime progressions. In fact, “Salty Dog,” which is certainly part of the standard bluegrass repertoire, has a ragtime progression & probably originated in the African-American community. More recently, players like Bill Keith, Tony Trischka & Béla Fleck have all incorporated many jazz elements into playing styles that, at their foundation, are built on bluegrass.
Well, now try to summon up an audio “picture” of great jazz fusion guitarist John McLaughlin playing a 5-string banjo: does that kind of blow your mind? If so, get ready to listen to the sound of Ryan Cavanaugh. Cavanaugh is without question of the most singular talents in the banjo field today, & you can hear him in either bluegrass or jazz incarnations depending on whether you choose his 2007 bluegrass-flavored release Songs for the New Frontier or the rather amazing 2010 Ryan Cavanaugh & No Man’s Land; the latter not only features jazz sax great Bill Evans (& indeed, Cavanaugh has also toured with Evans & is featured on Evans’ latest release Dragonfly), but also features his regular backing band: Kevin Knapp on electric bass, Tyson Rogers on keyboards, Bryon Larrance on drums. The album is an EP, but a generous one—its five tracks clock in by my off-the-top-of-my-head” calculations at around 36 minutes. On four tracks, Cavanaugh plays a regular old acoustic 5-string, that at times is reminiscent of McLaughlin like lead lines & at other times might almost conjure sitar music—but all the while retaining at root its banjo nature. On the other track, “Johnny Mac,” Cavanaugh breaks out a Deering Crossfire, a fully electric banjo, & puts this instrument to wonderful use—the added sustain & bite are integral to the song’s sound. That’s the Crossfire in the first video below, tho “Grand Dragon” on the recording is played with an acoustic.
A review of Bill Evans’ Soulgrass show traces the history of bluegrass & jazz coming together, pointing out the importance of David Grisman’s “Dawg Music,” which among other things melded bluegrass & Gypsy jazz elements, thru the Newgrass revival & Fleck’s own playing, to these current incarnations involving Cavanaugh.
There are links to the Ryan Cavanaugh & No Man’s Land album on iTunes & AbstractLogix at the band page (link on the first mention of Cavanaugh’s name); the EP is also available at live shows & on Spotify.
The videos showcase two sides of Cavanaugh: both jazz & “traditional”—tho the duet in the second video between Cavanaugh & Rex McGee on “Angeline the Baker” is not like any version you’re likely to hear on someone’s front porch! The first is with his own group (with Kenny Anderson on sax), playing his tune “Grand Dragon” (as mentioned above.) This is someone who looks to make a big impact on banjo music, so enjoy!
We’ve been promoting David LaMotte’s Kickstarter project for an illustrated children’s book based on his poem “White Flour” this month—thanks to my friend & blog co-conspirator Barbie Angell for suggesting this! I’m happy to announce that David LaMotte’s Kickstarter is fully funded, & that the book will have an initial printing of 10,000 copies. However, additional pledges will help keep this a viable, ongoing project, plus you can get really cool stuff!
With David laMotte’s blessing, we’re posting both the text of the poem plus the promotional video for the project. If you’d like more information about David LaMotte, please visit his website, & also read Barbie Angell’s excellent write up about him last week on Robert Frost’s Banjo!
Thanks!
White Flour
The day was bright and sunny as most May days tend to be In the hills of Appalachia, down in Knoxville, Tennessee A dozen men put on their suits and quickly took their places In white robes and those tall and pointed hoods that hid their faces
Their feet fell down in rhythm as they started their parade They raised their fists into the air, they bellowed and they brayed They loved to stir the people up, they loved when they were taunted They didn’t mind the anger—it’s exactly what they wanted
As they came around the corner, sure enough the people roared But they couldn’t quite believe their ears, it seemed to be… support! Had Knoxville finally seen the light? Were people coming ‘round? The men thought for a moment that they’d found their kind of town
But then they turned their eyes to where the cheering had its source As one their shoulders crumpled when they saw the mighty force The crowd had painted faces and some had tacky clothes Their hair and hats outrageous, each had a red foam nose
The clowns had come in numbers to enjoy the grand parade They laughed and danced that other clowns had come to town that day And then the marchers shouted, and the clowns all strained to hear Each one tuned in intently with a gloved hand to an ear
“White power!” screamed the marchers, and they raised their fisted hands The clowns leaned in and listened like they couldn’t understand Then one held up his finger and helped all the others see The point of all this yelling, and they joined right in with glee
“White flour!” the clowns shouted, and they reached inside their clothes They pulled out bags and tore them and huge clouds of powder rose They poured it on each other and they threw it in the air It got all over baggy clothes and multi-colored hair
Now all but just a few of them were joining in the jokes You could almost see the marchers turning red beneath white cloaks They wanted to look scary. They wanted to look tough. One rushed right at the clowns in rage and was hauled away in cuffs
But the others chanted louder, marching on around the bend The clowns all marched on too, of course, supporting their new friends “White power!” came the marchers’ cry. They were not amused. The clowns grew still and thoughtful. Well... perhaps they’d been confused?
They huddled and consulted, this bright and silly crowd They listened quite intently, then one said “I’ve got it now!” “White flowers!” screamed the happy clown, and all the rest joined in The air was filled with flowers, and they laughed and danced again
“Everyone loves flowers, and white’s a pretty sort I can’t think of a better cause for people to support!” Green flower stems went flying like small arrows from bad archers White petals covered everything, including the mad marchers
And then a very tall clown called the others to attention He choked down all his chuckles and said “Friends I have to mention That what with all this mirth and fun it’s sort of hard to hear But now I know the cause that these paraders hold so dear...
“Tight showers!” the clown blurted and he hit his head in wonder He held up a camp shower and the others all got under Or at least they tried to get beneath, they strained but couldn’t quite There wasn’t room for all of them. They pushed, but it was tight.
“White Power!” came the mad refrain, quite carefully pronounced The clowns consulted once again, then a woman clown announced “I’ve got it! I’m embarrassed that it took so long to see, But what these marchers march for is a cause quite dear to me!”
“Wife power!” she exclaimed and all the other clowns joined in They shook their heads and laughed at how erroneous they’d been The women clowns were hoisted up on shoulders of the others Some pulled on wedding dresses, chanting “Here’s to wives and mothers!”
The men in robes were sullen, and they knew they’d been defeated They yelled a few more times and then they finally retreated And when they’d gone a motorcycle cop called to the clowns And offered them an escort through the center of the town
The day was bright and sunny as most May days tend to be In the hills of Appalachia down in Knoxville, Tennessee People joined the new parade. The crowd stretched out for miles The clowns passed out more flowers and made everybody smile
And what would be the lesson of that shiny southern day? Can we understand the message that the clowns sought to convey? Seems that when you’re fighting hatred, hatred’s not the thing to use So here’s to those who march on in their big red floppy shoes
Good morning, friends, & welcome to this week’s edition of Rose City Wednesday.
Today’s story begins on Twitter. Now if you know me, you know I’m a big fan of Twitter—I find it an exciting form of social media, & more importantly, I’ve met some really wonderful people there—in fact, one of this blog’s regular poetry contributors, Barbie Angell, is a great virtual friend who I first got to know thru Twitter. But while I’ve met some wonderful folks that I first knew thru blogging in person, I hadn't yet met anyone I only know thru Twitter—that is, until last Sunday evening.
For quite some time I’ve followed the Twitter stream of guitarist/songwriter Daryl Shawn, & had also heard enough of his music online to know that in addition to being someone with interesting observations, he also has some very sophisticated guitar chops & a really interesting musical vision. Daryl contacted me a little while back & told me he’d be playing in Portland on Sunday March 18th at a venue called Ella Street Social Club, & invited me to come out for the show.
& this is of course, where we move from Twitter to Portland. Turns out Ella Street is rather unassuming, but fun & casual venue in the Southwest—well technically in the Southwest, but less than a full block from West Burnside, on 714 SW 20th Place. Ella Street has the feel of place where people like to hang out—not spiffy, but a great lived-in, or more to the point, partied-in, spot. The venue isn't large; there’s a jukebox in the corner, art on the walls (the current art includes paintings of pop stars from Jim Morrison to Bruce Lee, as well as some paintings inspired by comics, & rather amazing graffiti in the men’s room (I can’t speak for the distaff side.) At $5 for a show, the cover charge is more than reasonable, & from what I see from online reviews, it’s a grand place to have a drink or three—since I’m a non alcohol drinker, I can’t speak to that, but I was treated to a club soda by the very nice young lady tending bar.
The building that houses Ella Street is unusual—& it wasn’t until I read one of the online reviews that the design all made sense—the Pennoyer Building, in which the club is housed, used to be a mortuary! Ella Street itself is accessed by a side door, however, as you can see in the photo leading off the post.
Other pluses? The sound in terms of acoustics was good, & the mix was handled well—I felt that Shawn’s really energetic & formidable playing were set off well by the space itself & the sound system. I would have liked to stay for the other two acts, but sadly, public transportation isn’t a fast way to travel, & Sunday night the service is somewhat limited. In this case, it was a train ride followed by a bus ride home, & I arrived back in North Portland only shortly before turning into a pumpkin.
If you’re local, I’d suggest giving Ella Street Social Club a try. You can find their entertainment calendar here, or you can “like” them on Facebook. I’ll definitely check them out again.
& please check out Daryl Shawn’s site; this guy is a serious musician who deserves more listeners. A link to his music is here, & this page has links to his cds & mp3 on Amazon, iTunes & elsewhere. Here’s a couple of video clips of Daryl Shawn to give you an idea, but keep in mind these are definitely very “low fi” in comparison with what you’ll hear on his recordings—or live if he happens to come thru your town! His current touring schedule, as well as info on past shows & other news can be found at this link. Excellent guitarist & songwriter &—as I've found when meeting people I'd previously known online, Daryl Shawn seems like a real good guy, too. Enjoy your Wednesday!
[L.E. Leone tells me this poem is based on a true event, to which I responded that she & her gal friend must really have loved the titular brick. Intrigued? Read on!]
Bitch stole our brick. It’s true we have a lot of bricks, but still. Who does she think she is, taking that one out of our wall & carrying it around the corner to her car, into the passenger side window. She dropped it on the seat, & drove
off. I saw this all and didn’t give chase but now I wish I would’ve
…is the title of this poem, and the body goes like this…
One way of looking at it: She must have really really needed that brick pretty bad, to take it from under us and in broad daylight. Another way
would be you fucking bitch, you skinny skirted student of schooly shit, goddamn it! Punk, you left a hole in a wall like war does. Fuck
you. And your gold Toyota Camry, license number VLS306, Louisiana If I find your car I’ll jimmy into it & throw that brick from the inside back
Happy Monday to you all! I’m changing up the schedule a bit here on the Monday Morning Blues & using this post to bring the Poor Boy series to a close. Yes, this is the twelfth & final post in a series that has enabled us to see a blues song in various states of transformation from Bo Weavil Jackson’s 1926 recording to this almost contemporary version released in 2004 as “The Moan” on their EP of the same name by The Black Keys.
The Black Keys are a guitar & drum duo that hail from the U.S. Rust Belt—Akron, Ohio, in fact, & who bring a heavy duty, roots-based attack to a repertoire of mostly original material—but they do include interesting covers of diverse musicians, including Louisiana blueman Robert Pete Williams, the Stooges, the Sonics, & Mississippi Juke Joint bluesman Junior Kimbrough. Speaking of Mississippi Juke Joints, “The Moan” to my ear is heavily influenced by RL Burnside’s “Poor Boy Long Way From Home.” The band members are Dan Auerbach on vocals & guitar & Patrick Carney on drums.
Recently, the Black Keys have won some relatively mainstream recognition, as their song “Tighten Up” won a Grammy for “Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal,” & was also nominated for “Best Rock Song.” In addition, Brothers, their 2010 Nonesuch release on which this song appears won both “Best Alternative Music Album” & “Best Recording Package”—the latter refers to an album’s artwork, not to the actual recorded performances.
Auerbach & Carney bring a lot of energy to their version of the song (they actually claim writing credits for “The Moan”—I’ll just let you draw your own conclusions on that), & their grunge/punk-inflected version of old blues is one of the more interesting from a white band since Captain Beefheart’s massive deconstruction/reconstruction of blues—both covered & original—during his heyday.
Next month there will be some changes in the Monday Morning Blues line-up—two new features will debut, & in addition to the Poor Boy series ending, the Blue Notes blues/jazz series also is going to go away, tho to some extent it may be incorporated into one of the new features—stay tuned for details!Any Woman’s Blues will continue (at the rate of one post per month, I could keep this feature going a couple of years more at least!) & the Blues Guitar series will go at least one more month, tho I’m running a bit low on ideas of guitars that are very associated with blues performers.
In the meantime, enjoy The Black Keys & “The Moan”!
Happy Friday! After a couple of excursions into the outer reaches of the banjo world, we’re about as traditional as can be this week—the only concession to my quirky tastes is that this old-time standard is being played two-finger style rather than the more common old-time clawhammer playing style.
As was the case when I used a video to illustrate my post about the two-finger style, the player is Richard Hood, who plays in The Bristol Brothers, & in also an accomplished fingerstyle guitarist.
But rather than going over old ground, I just want to note that “Soldier’s Joy is a venerable piece of music, both as an instrumental dance tune & as a vocal song. It was famously recorded as a vocal by Riley Puckett with Gid Tanner & the Skillet Lickers for Columbia in 1929. This version was a wild romp, with the concluding verse running as follows:
25 cents for the morphine, 15 cents for beer 25 cents for the morphine, they’re gonna drag me away from here.
“Soldier’s Joy” has remained a staple in old-time circles, & has crossed over to Bluegrass as well. But the tune itself is old, with British Isles origins; a hornpipe with antecedents in both Scotland & Ireland. Sheet music to the tune exists from the eighteenth century, & there are a number of variations that share parts of the lyrics & the tune, including “Hog-Eye Man” & “Love Somebody, Yes I Do.”
Given "Soldier's Joy" popularity as an instrumental tune, there are countless arrangements for all the instruments typically found in old-time music settings: fiddles, banjos, mandolins, dulcimers, & guitars. The image at the top of the page gives hammer dulcimer tab above the standard notation. “Soldier’s Joy” is invariably played in the key of D.
But mostly, it’s a song to be enjoyed, & Mr Hood does a wonderful job on a vintage short-scale fretless banjo!
[As promised, today’s post is by Barbie Dockstader Angell; she discusses her friend, musician/writer/activist David LaMottte—including a great interview in the video below. That’s David in the photo to the right with Barbie’s own “Little Man.”]
I first met David LaMotte at Kinko’s, where I was working in 2000 in Asheville, NC. Most people who come in are stressed & hurried, but I could tell immediately that the smiling customer patiently waiting for me was not “most people.”
By the time he & I finished up with his project, I had his brand new album, Corners, in my hand; a gift from my appreciative customer. I put the cd in the stereo when I got home from work and I didn’t listen to much else for the next month. When I’d go sit somewhere with my discman & headphones to work on my writing, that cd was my first choice for the next year.
I was still quite new to Asheville when I met David, and he quickly became a friend. We have shared a great many wonderful times and some sad ones through these last 12 years, and always he has been ready with that same patient smile, willing to wait a moment so that we can both be completely involved in the conversation.
If you’ve met me in real-life, then I’ve already told you about David LaMotte. I am just that type of girl. There are a handful of writers, musicians and businesses that I seem to bring up in conversation all the time and he is most certainly one of them. Because aside from being a brilliant singer/songwriter & musician, he is also a children’s book author, humanitarian and founder of a nonprofit organization called PEG which builds schools in Guatemala. It seems like he does everything except moderate a Nobel Peace Prize nomination committee....oh wait, I’m wrong, he does that too.
If you think that I’m putting David on a pedestal, you would be wrong. I’m just incredibly proud of my friend because he saw that he could effect change as a full-time touring musician. As a performer myself, I can assure you that the spotlight’s glow can cause people to look up to the person on the stage. There’s an even greater responsibility there when some of those faces in the audience belong to children or anyone who is still searching for the person that they wish to become. And so I’m proud that David took that knowledge and ran forward, constantly finding new ways to improve the lives of the people in the world around him. Not as a man on a pedestal looking down, but as one who is doing the heavy lifting side by side with his community.
The video below is my first interview for an organization called Lingua Musica. We talk with artists about more than just their music, but what they are doing offstage as well. I was thrilled when David said he would be a part of our endeavor and taken in as always by the power of his words.
Underneath the video, you’ll see the link for his Kickstarter project. His goal has been funded for his new book, White Flour, but you can still use that link to pre-order this fun and inspiring story. If you’re unfamiliar with the subject, White Flour is the true story of the day the kkk came to Knoxville, TN to march....and were defeated with humor by a group of clowns. In addition, it happens to be my favorite poem of all time....and that’s saying quite a bit.
Here's the link Barbie promised to David LaMotte's "White Flour" Kickstarter project. Please consider pre-ordering the book & supporting this wonderful artist's important message!
The Steel Bridge looking southwest from Rose Quarter Transit Center
Portland is a city replete with nicknames. I’ve chosen “Rose City” for theWednesday series about this new home of mine, but there are a number of others: PDX (the airport abbreviation); Stumptown (looking back on the logging days); Rip City (related to Portland’s NBA team, the Trail Blazers); both Beervana & Beertown (due to the large number of microbreweries); & Bridgetown.
Why Bridgetown? Simple: as you probably know by now, Portland is divided into east & west sides by the Willamette River. As a result, counting the Burlington Northern Railway Bridge, there 11 bridges spanning the Willamette between the eastern & western sides. In addition (again counting another Burlington Northern Bridge) there are three bridges crossing the Columbia river between Portland & Washington state.
A Green Line Max train heading east-all Max lines cross the Steel Bridge
These bridges play a large role in most Portlanders’ lives; in my case, the Steel Bridge, which connects the Rose Quarter in North/Northeast Portland with Chinatown & Old Town in Northwest Portland, is a bridge I cross at least a few times a week—if I’m going to the west side, chances are really high I’ll cross the Steel Bridge; & the bus line I use to visit my friends in Southeast loops thru the west side before heading back across (on the Hawthorne Bridge.)
So I’ve been across the bridge quite a few times either by train or bus; but I also knew the bridge has sidewalks for pedestrians & cyclists, so on Friday afternoon—a truly gorgeous spring day here—I decided I’d head out on an adventure the next day to walk the bridge & take photos for this post.
A zoomed in shot of Northwest Portland from the Bridge-note Union Station Tower
Zoom view of the Broadway Bridge & the Fremont Bridge-looking north
Of course, we know about the best laid plans of mice & men: Saturday started out gray & rainy—but the hourly forecast told me there should be a window of relatively better weather in early afternoon, so I headed out. My plan was to head to the Overlook neighborhood & take the Yellow line Max train from Overlook Park station to the Rose Quarter Transit center, & then hike across.
Steel Bridge looking north & east
The skies were quite threatening by the time I got to Rose Quarter, & as I headed up the bridge, the drizzle got more persistent. I found that getting back to the south side of the bridge involved a fairly long walk thru Chinatown & Old Town—& after hanging out for a bit in Waterfront Park, I began the ascent to head back east. By this time it wasn’t exactly a downpour, but it was rather soggy. & I discovered that the steel plates that form the walkway for much of the span are a bit slick in the rain—not the most comforting feeling when you can see a sliver of the Willamette below the guardrail some 70 plus feet below! But I lived to tell the tale.
Facts & figures on the Steel Bridge, in digested form (thanks, Wikipedia!):
The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double lift bridge…. the only double-deck bridge with independent lifts in the world and the second oldest vertical-lift bridge in North America, after the nearby Hawthorne Bridge.
The bridge was completed in 1912…. Its name originated because steel, instead of wrought iron, was used in its construction, very unusual for the time [actually the current bridge, constructed in 1912, took its name from the 19th century bridge it replaced.]
The lift span of the bridge is 211-foot long. At low river levels the lower deck is 26 feet above the water, & 163 feet of vertical clearance is provided when both are raised. Because of the independent lifts, the lower deck can be raised to 72 feet, telescoping into the upper deck but not disturbing it. Each deck has it own counterweights, two for the upper & eight for the lower, totaling 9,000,000 lb.
Waterfront Park to the right, the Burnside Bridge, Southeast Portland (left) looking south-note raindrop smudge!
The Bridgetown feature will continue as part of the Rose City Wednesday series at (I think) irregular intervals. Not all of the bridges are “walkable” (& if you’ve seen the Fremont & St John’s Bridges, you know that’s a good thing), but as much as is feasible I’ll try to make expeditions across the ones that are open to pedestrians to get “up close & personal” photos. However, I think I’ll wait until a much more dry day for the next bridge excursion!
[I love this poem & this drawing by Barbie Angell, & I know you will, too. Please stay tuned, because there's an announcement following the poem!]
Muse
She’s living in a song
Somewhere inside a phrase.
A simple soft menagerie
Not breathing till he plays.
She’s safe inside the tune,
No fears can catch her now. Amidst the chords and melodies Until he takes his bow.
Creation of his mind Someone he almost knew Attached by dreams and sealing wax The fortunes of our youth Creation of his mind In search of something true And if you listen carefully Someday he’ll sing of you.
She comes to life on stage Each heartbeat is a note Given birth to on the page By the lyrics which he wrote.
And every heartache she endured And every love she left Is heard upon the radio
Barbie has shared with me that her poem “Muse” was inspired by David LaMotte’s song “Janey” from his album Corners—you can hear the song at this link; in addition, the drawing that accompanies it—which is one of my favorites of all her great illustrations—was inspired by David LaMotte’s song “S.S. Bathtub” from his album of the same name.
You’ll be hearing a lot more about David LaMotte in the next week & change here on Robert Frost’s Banjo. Barbie is writing a post about Mr LaMotte that will appear on Thursday in support of one of his current projects, a children’s book based on his poem, “White Flour.” This is a really worthwhile endeavor, & I encourage you to check out the project’s Kickstarter page & also stay tuned forBarbie’s more in-depth write up this Thursday!
“I woke up this morning with the Monday morning blues,” as Mississippi John Hurt sang, “I couldn't hardly find my Monday morning shoes.” Yes, another week is right on us, folks. But at least we have some fine music to help you thru.
It’s the time of the month when we consider one of the classic guitars that contributed to the great blues sound. Actually, today’s guitar is usually associated with county music, but it’s also been employed by some blues musicians, including one of the foremost blues & ragtime guitarists in the history of this music. The guitar is the Gibson J-200, & the guitarist to whom I refer is the great Reverend Gary Davis.
Gibson introduced the :Super Jumbo” in 1937 as a top-of-the-line guitar. The prototype was built to the specifications of the “Singing Cowboy” Ray Whitley, who wanted a guitar with a 17” lower bout (the bottom part of the guitar’s traditional “hourglass” shape); as such it was over an inch wider than a Martin Dreadnought (which measures 15-5/8”); in addition, the Super Jumbo had a flared upper bout, as opposed to the dreadnoughts “sloped shoulders”; the Martin is 11-1/2 inches across the upper bout, as opposed to the 12-1/4 inches for the Gibson; the body is also a full inch longer than the Martin. This essentially made a flat-top guitar that had the dimensions of the powerful Gibson archtop jazzboxes like the L-5.
Other country stars soon were ordering similar guitars based on Whitleys—these included Gene Autrey, Tex Ritter, Roy Rogers & Ray “Crash” Corrigan. The Super Jumbo appeared in the Gibson catalog for sale to the public in 1938.
Besides the old singing cowboys already mentioned, other big stars of both country & rock have used the J-200; these include Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris & Pete Townsend. But we’re interested in its use as a blues intrument, & in addition to the very notable Reverend Davis, we find that “Hacksaw” Harney (second video below) used one pretty much exclusively, & that Mance Lipscombe, Brownie McGhee & the famed blues mandolin player Yank Rachell also made at least occasional use of this model.
A flat-top guitar with these dimensions is going to be a powerful instrument; it also will have both outstanding bass & treble response. As with the dreadnought size, which shares those general characteristics, this makes the J-200 very effective as a rhythm instrument in country music where the “boom chicka boom chicka” rhythm is really enhanced. But when we think of acoustic blues guitar, we think primarily of fingerstyle playing, & in general one thinks of smaller size guitars for that—something like the 00 or Classical size, which is between 2 & 3 inches smaller than the Jumbo in all dimensions. Still, in the hands of the Reverend Gary Davis, his “Miss Gibson” played some of the most intricate fingerstyle blues & ragtime you’ll ever hear. & as you hear in Harney’s “Down South Blues,” he also used the big guitar to great musical advantage.
Three videos this week, mainly because both of the Reverend Gary Davis ones are short. I thought it was important to find live videos of the Reverend playing, just to watch the ease with which he plays these intricate figures—not to mention the way he uses “Miss Gibson” as a drum during the final chorus of “If I Had My Way”—AKA “Samsion & Delilah.”) Great music in all three—enjoy!
Photo of Reverend Gary Davis & "Miss Gibson" links to its source
Hi folks! Just a quick Saturday post to say that, while there was no new poem in the Raintown series this week, I was very honored that poet/musician Andy Rojas wrote a review of the most recent poem in the series, "Raintown #9," on his blog teopoet-poettop today. Mr Rojas' reading of the poem is careful, thoughtful, & astute, & I was flattered by his interest in this poem & the Raintown series. Please swing by his blog & read the review if you have a chance—& while you're there, take a look around at some of Mr Rojas' own poems, his other reviews, & writings about poetics. An excellent blog for those interested in poetry.
Have a nice Saturday—we now return you to your regular programming!
