Thanks for the fun times!
January 17th, 2012
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Though I may have missed the most appropriate moment to do so (computer issues have kept me mostly away from the blogosphere for the past week and a half), I want to sincerely thank all of those that came out to the January 6th square dance that the Red Eyed Rooster hosted at the Mercy Lounge. It warmed my heart to see so many of you fine folks out there on the dance floor enjoying yourselves. A few folks even traveled pretty good distances to join us for the event, which serves as a powerful reminder of the strength of our growing community.
This was our second square dance at the Mercy Lounge, which is a predominately rock music club here in Nashville. Our main goal in promoting these events is to bring people from varied backgrounds and lifestyles together to bond over traditional music and dance and – while I wouldn’t say that we have anything specific to prove by hosting square dances at such a venue- partnering up with the Mercy Lounge certainly helped us along with that mission. I have to admit that it was a proud moment hosting such a diverse crowd at a square dance in the Music City on a Friday night. Thank you Mercy Lounge!
Though old time music has experienced a surge in popularity amongst musicians over the past dozen years, this square dance revival we are in the midst of certainly seems to get more folks involved and interested in the music. Members from the Hogslop String Band (along with friends) absolutely killed it with traditional dance tunes that evening as the Rev. Daniel Allen Frazier Jr. kept the crowd energized with his dance calls. For those unable to join us, our friend Mark Tucker posted a nice little recap (with photos) of the evening over on his blog. I strongly encourage you to check it out for a small taste of the vibe shared.
After several hours of do-si-doing, the legendary guitarist, Kenny Vaughan, entertained those still on their feet with his rocking power trio. It was a pleasure having the Kenny Vaughan Trio on the bill and I’m glad so many folks stuck around for their set. Their amped up rendition of ‘Foggy Mountain Breakdown’- in honor of Earl Scruggs’ birthday- was a highlight of the evening for me and well worth the price of admission alone I’d say.
Thanks again to the Mercy Lounge and for everyone who came out to support the evening. We hope to host another event such as this soon. In the meantime, there are a couple more square dances coming up that you should know about:
This Thursday, January 19th- The Hogslop Stringband and Westbound Rangers are hosting a square dance at Robert’s Western World. There is no cover charge and the event is scheduled to go from 10pm to 2am.
Next Thursday, January 26th- As part of the ‘Fourth Thursday Monthly Square Dance Series,’ the Rev. Daniel Allen Frazier Jr. will be calling a dance at Charlie Bob’s Restaurant. Dance music will be provided by Quickfoot and The Slow Downers and an early evening dinner performance will be given by Rachel Baiman and Friends. This event is scheduled from 8pm til midnight. There is no cover charge but tips for the band and caller will be greatly appreciated.
Happy New Year!
December 31st, 2011
By:
As 2011 comes to an end and we usher in 2012, it’s only appropriate to take a moment and reflect back upon the year that was in old time music. To assist you in doing so, I’d like to share with you a podcast stream of last week’s installment of Edge of Americana, co-hosted by our friend, Josh Bearman. Josh and his co-host, Otto Konrad, did a fine job compiling a playlist featuring some of the best old time releases of 2011 as well as recordings of some of the genre’s luminaries who passed on during the year (including Benton Flippen, Hazel Dickens, Paul David Smith, Charlie Louvin and others.)
This podcast is definitely worth your time it’ll take to listen from start to finish, so crank it up and enjoy!
Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!
The Edge Of Americana airs live every Tuesday evening from 7-9PM ET on Richmond VA’s community supported radio station, WRIR. In Richmond it can be found on the radio dial at 97.3 FM and throughout the world it can be streamed here. You can also check out the archives of the show here.
WRIR is one of many community supported radio stations throughout the country that support and program old time music. I would like to take the chance now to formally encourage our readers to check out and support some of the others, most notably WDVX in Knoxville, TN, and WMMT in Whitesburg, KY. Without active listenership these stations would not exist.
Ketch Secor & Friends
December 13th, 2011
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After the unceremonious announcement this August of the Old Crow Medicine show’s hiatus, many of us were left wondering as to whether the band would ever grace the stage again. As the next four months wore on with no additional announcements from the band- and no rescheduling of their annual New Year’s Eve concert at the Ryman Auditorium- the buzz amongst fans was that this might be more than just a temporary respite.
This feeling was substantiated even further by the Ketch Secor & Friends show at Nashville’s legendary Station Inn on November 30th. While this was not booked as the Old Crow Medicine Show specifically, it featured most of Old Crow’s most recent lineup, with the notable exception of founding member Willie Watson. Interestingly enough, at the very same moment in time- nearly two thousand miles away in Los Angeles- Willie was performing as part of the Watkins Family Hour (featuring Nickel Creek’s Sara and Sean Watkins along with John C Reilly, Fiona Apple and more.) Add in the fact that Ketch just recently announced a ‘reunion’ tour with original old crow member, Critter Fuqua, and a lot can likely be read between the lines here.
While I didn’t attend the Ketch & Friends show myself, Red Eyed Rooster correspondent Roger Blanton* was present and reported back to us. Among the highlights were a new song written by Ketch titled ‘Streets of Nashville,’ reminiscing on times past when being a string band busking for tips was a lot simpler; a cover of Billy Jo Shaver’s “I’m Gonna Live Forever” sung by Kevin Hayes; Gil Landry’s haunting performance of ‘Little Sadie’; and a mashup of Dierk’s Bentley’s “What Was I Thinking” with the Old Crow’s “Alabama High Test.”
According to Roger, “This definitely was a true ‘Ketch & Friends’ show rather than a ‘half of Old Crow’ show. It was more of a mature, more high-brow and about listening than getting rowdy. It felt more like a great night at The Bluebird Cafe rather than a Station Inn show. Laid back and mellow, it made me want to see a true Old Crow Medicine Show concert all the more- which we may never see again. Ketch and Critter have a reunion tour coming up though which is very exciting but man… I miss those old days of Old Crow on the ‘Streets of Nashville.’”
Sadly enough, it seems more and more as if the old days of Old Crow may be a thing of the past.
Set list- Ketch & Friends at the Station Inn- November 30th 2011
“Pretty Boy Floyd” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig
“One Side of the Street” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig and Phil Madeira
“Caroline” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig and Phil Madeira
“Reap What You Sow” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig and Phil Madeira
“Dearly Departed Friend” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig and Phil Madeira
“News From the Front” Spoken word
“Streets of Nashville” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig and Phil Madeira
“Lillian”Emmylou Harris cover featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig, Phil Madeira and Shelley Colvin
“Way Down in Columbus Georgie” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig and Phil Madeira
“Hey Good Lookin Country Gal” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig and Kevin Hayes
“I’m Gonna Live Forever Now” Billy Joe Shaver cover featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig and Kevin Hayes
Set break
“Evening Sun Go Down” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig and Gil Landry
“Little Sadie” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig and Gil Landry
“Mississippi Saturday Night” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig and Gil Landry
“Deep Dark Grave” Hank Williams Sr. cover featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig, Phil Madeira and Dierks Bentley
“Basics of Love Waylon” Waylon Jennings cover featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig, Phil Madeira and Dierks Bentley
“What Was I Thinking?/Alabama High Test” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig, Phil Madeira and Dierks Bentley
“Meth” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig
“I Hear Them All” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig
“Hey Coleena” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig, Chuck Mead, Kevin Hayes, Dierks Bentley, Gil Landry and members of the Whiskey Shivers
“Wabash Cannonball” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig, Chuck Mead, Kevin Hayes, Dierks Bentley, Gil Landry and members of the Whiskey Shivers
“Wagon Wheel” featuring Ketch with Morgan Jahnig, Chuck Mead, Kevin Hayes, Dierks Bentley, Gil Landry, Shelley Colvin and members of the Whiskey Shivers
*Roger also hosts a weekly internet radio show, Delicious Elixr, which streams Wednesdays at 1 pm on wrvu.org and is archived on mixcloud.com. He also runs the Old Crow Medicine Show fan-site, oldcrowfans.com
