Gretsch Releasing a New Line of Folk Instruments

Exciting news! It looks like Gretsch is starting a folk/bluegrass line of instruments. There are a few dobros out, and there is a line of open back and resonator banjos. I can’t seem to find them anywhere but it looks like they are coming soon. I tried calling a few store and it seems like they can order them but most don’t have them in stock. I am hoping that I can play one of them in the next few months.

In case you don’t know who Gretsch is they make some of best guitars in the world. Chet Atkins, George Harrison, Brian Setzer and Duane Eddy are just a few of the many Gretsch player and there seems to be a big upswing in not only Gretsches, but also rockabilly music. It makes me very happy. They all look very retro and very cool.

Here is a link for the roots collection

http://www.gretschguitars.com/products/rootscollection   It’s even made to look Old Timey

Following this, two my next posts will be

Finally Egnater rebel half stack

My newest guitar a used SG Special, and the upgrades I made to it.

Guitar: An American Life

There is a wonderful book that came out several years ago called Guitar: An American Life by Tim Brookes. The book goes through the history of the guitar especially its life in the Americas and the US as well as Brookes’ journey through getting a new guitar. His old trusty guitar was broken on a flight and he decided it was time to get another one. I really liked the history of the guitar and how it is intertwined with the banjo and  the identity of the American people. The guitar used to be a ladies instrument, where as now it is a phallic symbol for rock stars. This is a great book for someone who is interested in history, guitars or both. Mr. Brookes is an writer for his blog and NPR, as well as his own books.

I am glad I got this book and it has definitely given me a new appreciation for the life and art of a luthier. However, the only problem I had with the book was the treatment of the electric guitar. He seemed to treat it as an instrument for punks and that folkies and classical musicians were at the top of the guitar chain. As someone who is interested in everything, I think that is a narrow view. Especially since the electric guitar is an American instrument. Sure it’s based off the Spanish style guitar, but at this point they have totally different uses, sounds and histories. Although to be fair putting both acoustic and electric guitars in a book that size would do neither justice. Hell there long books totally dedicated to telecasters and SGs.

I still recommend this book to anyone interested in the amazing history of the guitar or who is interested in the relationship a luthier has with his clientele.

This is his website.

http://www.timbrookesinc.com/

Music Concert Series

Since I hadn’t written anything in a while I decided two posts today. Enjoy the second one below.

I have recently been watching a lot of Austin City Limits. It’s been the longest running concert series on TV since 1976 and it is great. A few recent concerts I really liked were Raphael Saadiq and the Jeff Bridges/ Miranda Lambert concerts, also Randy Newman was great. I watch it through PBS like I assume more of America because I happen to live in DC. It is a great music series, and commercial free. It plays a lot of Americana music, so if you are looking to get into Americana just DVR ACL. I find myself looking a lot at the guitars (Jeff Bridges has a great gretsch).

The Website is below

http://acltv.com/

And Photos! All photos come from ACLTV.com

Hayes Carll

Against the Blue Wall

I recently upgraded my banjo from my Epiphone MB 200 to a Gold Tone CB-100. I have to say I like the gold tone a lot better. It is so much nicer than the MB 200. I also realized for a bluegrass banjo the MB 200 is really light. I went to my favourite music store (Chuck Levin’s) and tried out a few bluegrass style Deering and Gibson banjos. They are way heavier. So that made my decision to get an open back a lot easier. I also play mostly clawhammer so an open back made a lot more sense. This banjo is a lot more sold and it has a scooped fret board so you can get that clucking holler sound. I know Gold Tone is a great brand for beginner and intermediate players. The parts come from China and are assembled in Florida. I also have played some of the Goodtime open backs and I like the Gold Tone a lot better.

It has a good action which was a big selling point for me. The tuners and hardware are also significantly better than the MB 200. It has a frosted head which I like and the color is kind of a deep greenish brown. The few cons are that the headstock looks a little bit off center from the neck and the neck is a little bit weightier because there isn’t a resonator to balance it out. I would definitely recommend this as a step up from a beginner banjo but for someone who isn’t ready to spend the money for a really good one.

A quick overview of Open Back vs. Resonator

Open back

– A lot lighter

– No resonator

– Used mainly for Clawhammer/frailing and old time music

– Cheaper

– mellower sound, not used for cutting through a bluegrass band

Resonator

–  A hell of a lot heavier and you can usually judge how good a blue grass banjo is by how heavy it is

– Sharper ringing sound, has a metal tone ring to influence tone ( open backs also have tone rings, but lower end ones probably won’t)

– Used for bluegrass/Earl Scruggs style, that’s three finger picking. It’s harder to learn than clawhammer.

– Wooden Resonator used to project the sound. The one I had was mahogany but the good ones use violin quality 3-ply maple.

-More expensive

-More popular

Also when it comes to tone rings, try to get a brass one.

Some more photos

Back side

Josh Ritter

Josh Ritter with a Beautiful Gretsch

… And now I return to Americana music. I have been following Josh Ritter for a long time. He is one of my favourite artists of all time. He hails from Moscow, Idaho. A city I have never been to, but I have been to Moscow, Russia. He has a way with words and a way with chords. I believe he has given a lot to folk and Americana and like all Americana musicians he plays a small body Gibson.

He comes to DC a lot which is great and like many performers he loves the 930 club.  He is one of the most charming performers I have ever seen. He has a lot of dialogue with the audience and it really shows how much he loves his fans.

He released an album last year called So Runs Away the World. I have to admit after The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, I didn’t know if I could like anything as much. SRATW grew on me at first I wasn’t sure if I liked it but now it’s one of my favourite albums, of all. He did an amazing reinterpretation of the Stagger Lee story on “Folk Bloodbath”. “Lantern” is my favourite song and now a standard on his set list.

These are my favourite Josh Ritter song not in any particular order

“Galahad” – I first heard this at his concert in February, it is the tale of Sir Galahad encountering an “angel” and then going to heaven . This song inspired me to start finger picking.

“To the Dogs or Whoever…” – The starter of the historical conquests album. It’s a very strong song and it makes for a great concert opener. It’s rapid fire and loud. I like it a lot.

“Girl in the War” – Tells the story of a love stuck in the water and a dialogue between Peter and Paul. Beautiful imagery and he rhymes kingdom with kingdom.

“Harrisburg” – I like that is an adventure song. Although it is a sad story of a man running away from his live. He plays this song acoustically on the album but in concert it is a full band and Zach Hickman sings “Papa was a Rollin Stone” during the last verse. Damn great Song.

“Lillian, Egypt” – Chorus just goes La La La. This usually drives me crazy, but not when Josh is singing.

“Good Man” – I recently realized I like this song. I listen to Josh Ritter a lot but I don’t always remember the title of the song.

“Temptation of Adam” – Beautiful and nuclear, if you have ever longed for someone but they didn’t see you as more than a friend this song is for you. Although I was never trapped in a missile silo.

I would recommend starting off with The Historical Conquests and then going on from there. There are a bunch of Youtube videos also, but I’m going to post the here. You’ll have to go find out for yourself.

Also …

If he ever comes to your town go out, buy a ticket and enjoy.

Americana Music Festival

This is America

Although, the Americana Music Festival was over a month ago the concert broadcasted by the Austin City Limits series. What a concert! There were some many guitars and banjos. If you were looking at the guitars like I was you could see almost everyone there had a L style Gibson blues guitar. Emmylou didn’t have a guitar but if she did she would be packing a J-200.

My favourite performances of the night were Justin Townes Earle singing his gospel single ‘Harlem River Blues’ and ‘I’ll Fly Away’ with Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris and Buddy Miller. I really dig the gospel and soul style in “Harlem River Blues’. The organ makes for a strong, driving melody. ‘I’ll Fly Away’ is another gospel song that has a simple powerful message and the banjo really makes this song. It gives an old time feel that is the embodiment of Americana.

I also liked The Civil Wars performance ‘Barton Hollow’ is a great song and it reminds me of  ‘Copperhead Road’ by Steve Earle. It has that haunting quality to it that really makes a powerful impact. I personally, I would throw a banjo is there but that’s my bias.

Joy Williams and John Paul White of The Civil Wars perform at the Americana Music Association awards show in Nashville

These were the performers and later on I will probably put some more info about them.

Emmylou Harris

Greg Allman

Buddy Miller

The Civil Wars

Jessica Lea Mayfield

Robert Plant

Justin Townes Earle

Alison Krauss

Amos Lee

Jim Lauderdale

The Avett Brothers

Elizabeth Cook

The Secret Sisters

There are a lot of You Tube clips you can see the individual performances  and below I have a link for the Americana Music Association homepage.

http://americanamusic.org/acl-presents-americana-music-festival-november-19-pbs

Americana Rock Mix- Podcast

Americana Rock Mix logo from Americanarockmix.com

Who doesn’t love a good podcast?

If you love the type of music I have been referencing in this blog then I suggest you check out the Americana Rock Mix. The host Von is very charming and I have to give it to him he has a very clean and well edited sound. There are so many podcasts I would love to listen to but the production values make it hard to listen to the speaker/commentator/orator. I would say same goes for documentarians. I also have to say that I like Von. I’ve listened to a few episodes and so far they have all been great.

There are a few things about this podcast that I really like. One thing he does that so many others don’t is play a couple songs by each artist. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard a great song and when I go to check out the rest of the band’s songs I don’t really care for them. Two, I like is the live sets he puts out. I was doubly impressed to see that a Josh Ritter concert was on the podcast. I have seen Mr. Ritter more than any other artist because he is an excellent performer. He also has Hoots and Hellmouth and few Drive By-Truckers sets. There are over 100 episodes so far and mostly about 1 hour or a bit more. That’s a lot of fucking music. So if I had to recommend a music podcast. This would be number one.

Tom Waits – Bad As Me

The Honourable Tom Waits

Tom Waits trying to find his sound from Tomwaits.com by Anton Corbijn

Tom Waits came out with a new album on Oct 28^th called Bad As Me. I got to listen to it before the release and I have to say I really liked it. It has a distinctive Waits sound of cigarette smoke and hobo throat. He has all the elements, the slow drum cadence, the obscure string instruments accentuating horns and of course Monster Voice. This album has a lot more rock feel to it that older albums and one thing I really like about Tom Waits is that he really takes all the elements that lead up to rock and roll, like jazz, blues and folk, but combines them into something not rock. That’s not to say I don’t like this album but it is an interesting confluence. The title single it great it has Tom cry singing and the distorted guitar taking turns with the trombone to make a melody. It’s upbeat too which really does draw me in more than a slow song; all around a great album.

If you are interested in the instruments he uses, check out this site http://www.tomwaitslibrary.com/instruments-main.html

It categorizes all the instruments he uses and the song and album on which they appear.  I think it’s amazing how many instruments he includes especially when most band max out at 3. A lot of them also look like World War I torture instruments, which is always a plus.

A few of my favourite Tome waits Songs

1. Singapore – Sea adventure to a strange land with a group of sketchy sailors
2. God’s Away on Business – Look at the youtube of cookie monster singing this
3. Swordfishtrombone
4. 16 shells from a Thirty-Ought-Six
5. Ol’55 – I know this a slow one but I like it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5X4N2exOsU

This is all I’m going to post you have to discover the rest.

Any other favourites Waits songs? Mash ups?

Old Crow Medicine Show – My Gateway Band

Old Crow Medicine Show

I have to hand it to Old Crow. They made me the Americana fan I am today. When I was in college I first heard wagon wheel and it instantly led me to search for more. I had been listening to a little Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, but I did not have the appreciation for them that I do now. Old Crow although should be given their own credit because of their contribution to Americana and old time music.

Old Crow Medicine Show with Ed Helms taken by Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

 

They started put playing as a 5 piece band on the streets of Nashville, and just got bigger from there.  One things they have done amazingly is make old time music very accessible. They have brought back old country and folk songs like Union Maid and Fall on my Knees, and continue to keep their honest old time pickin’ and fiddlin’. To be honest a high school version of me would have walked away at the first sound of twang, and now I’d rather listen to it than anything else.

A few songs to get you started if you haven’t heard them

1. Wagon Wheel – Start off with this one, it’s probably their most popular song and it gets covered regularly. This song was actually taken from a Bob Dylan song that he recorded for Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. OCMS and Bob Dylan are both cited as song writers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gX1EP6mG-E&ob=av2e

2. Fall on My Knees – I didn’t know about this one until my girlfriend showed it to me but it is now one of my favourites. It is an old song but if you search it Old Crow’s version always comes up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xjb0buprxqY

3.  Tell it to Me – This is from their first album and it’s just one of my favourites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Mhi3vW7H50&feature=relmfu

Have a favourite OCMS song? Any band that changed the way you think about music? Leave a comment.

You can learn more about them at http://www.crowmedicine.com/

 

 

 

Against the Blue Wall – Epiphone MB200 Banjo

Now, I love guitar, but I also love banjos, violins, basses and other stringed instruments. My Banjo is an Epiphone MB200 which is just a step up from the other entry level banjos. It has a mahogany resonator and neck and a rosewood finger board, nothing out of the ordinary. I personally am a maple fan but you really can’t beat it for the price. It is a lightweight instrument mainly because of the aluminum tone ring, which makes the sound more tinny sounding.  This unfortunately makes it top heavy and a little awkward to play because it has a tendency to dip down. However next time I will probably get a Deering. I have done a few minor upgrades like changing the bridge which have definitely made a difference in tone.

Banjo Head Stock

I’m still an beginning player, but there are a few things I can say about it. First replace that bridge. I used to get this buzzing sound on the 5th string because I play clawhammer. The first thing I noticed about the tone was that a banjo is loud and twangy. This was one of the reasons that Jass (old time spelling of jazz) bands of the 1920s used banjos a lot and significantly more than guitars, which couldn’t hold their own that well.

Now one thing you have to understand is that I am a guitar player, who went to banjo, and I’m trying to get more into the banjo style but it takes time. I have to say if you like Irish, bluegrass, country or Old time music, the banjo is a worthwhile investment. I am hella glad I bought one.

Significant differences between 5 string banjo and guitar

-open tuning, I use G. If you are a guitarist try playing in open tuning a bit to get the feel of it. I am very                 surprised at how many musicians and guitarist have little to no idea of what open tuning is. If                              you don’t know go google it, or maybe one day I’ll make a post about it.

-high string (drone string) is at the bottom

– all about pickin’

-2 main styles scruggs/bluegrass and clawhammer

-strings vibrate on a taut head

Now the banjo came over from Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. There is a good Bela Fleck documentary where he goes to try to find the origin of the banjo and the way that is it played in different tribes. For a long time it was much more popular than the guitar because bending those guitar sides is hard and costly. Now it is a lot easier but guitars really didn’t catch on until after WW2. Anyway banjos were also cheap to make and you could make one on your own so you didn’t have to buy one. It became the instrument of the poor and of folk music. The banjo is currently experiencing a revival in indie and Americana music. Pretty much my favourite styles.

Epiphone Banjo- I don't think you can see it on this photo but I do have some wear on the head. Makes me Proud.

Unlike my guitars this is the first banjo I have ever owned and I like playing but there are some things that I would like to see in my next banjo.

1. Maple Neck

2. better tuners and hardware

3. wooden or brass tone ring

4.  Probably no resonator or if it does have a resonator it should because easily removable and not full of sharp unfinished edges like mine right now

What is your dream banjo? if you are a guitarist would you start playing banjo?