Tag Archives: Sarah Jarosz

Five Strings Down in Rockville: The Patuxent Banjo Project

Hats off to the astute reader who will glance at the headline, look at the accompanying picture, and come to the conclusion that the writer is confusing his stringband string-ology. He is not. The man in the hat is Tom Mindte — a bluegrass musician and the founder/owner of Patuxent Music, home to both a record label and studio. Ignore for a moment the mandolin he’s holding, because last year his label released a sweet collection of banjo-based performances that I keep coming back to like a bowl of peanuts on a bar.

Produced by Mark Delaney and Randy Barrett, both noted players in their own right, The Patuxent Banjo Project brings together 40 regional players from the Baltimore-Washington corridor, an area rich in bluegrass history and tradition.

Rockville is the county seat and home to over 60,000 people. It has the state’s largest Chinese population and is the area’s center for Jewish culture and religion. I’ll also mention that the town has two women’s flat track roller derby teams: the Black-Eyed Suzies and the Rock Villains.

More to the point, back in the mid-1940s, the entire area became a destination for the rural folks who lived in the Appalachian and Piedmont regions of the Virginias, Carolinas, and Tennessee. Attracted by job opportunities, the people brought the music from the hills with them.

Country music historian Ivan Tribes has written detailed notes for the banjo project, attesting to how the “barroom bluegrass” scene came about, and citing the ease of travel north to Philadelphia and south to Richmond to play at country music parks, festivals, and quite a number of bars and venues. Tribes notes key players such as “Buzz Busby, Benny and Vallie Cain, Bill Harrell, and Earl Taylor. Others,” he writes, “were known by collective names such as the Bluegrass Champs, Rocky Mountain Boys, Shady Valley Boys, Pike County Boys, and — perhaps best known of all from 1957 forward — the Country Gentlemen.”

In a 2010 article by Geoffrey Himes in the Baltimore City Paper, Mindte spoke about the bluegrass scene back in the ’60s and ’70s, and the clubs where the music went down:

These were tough places full of tough people. I remember going to those bluegrass bars in East Baltimore–the Sandpiper Inn, Club Ranchero, Cub Hill Inn, the 79 Club. When you walked in the door, you walked onto a floor of sticky beer and into a cloud of cigarette smoke. I thought it was great–this was how it was supposed to be. Bluegrass wasn’t meant to be sterile and healthy. It was meant for working-class, beer-and-shot joints.

Patuxent Music began back in 1995 when Mindte recorded fiddler Joe Meadows, who worked with the Stanley Brothers and Bill Monroe, and brought the record out himself the following year. Next up was a blues record in the Piedmont style and his catalog soon expanded to include jazz, old time, swing, and country. With string bands being his primary interest, he has focused both on musicians with long careers, such as members of the Stoneman family and Frank Wakefield, as well as the younger players. Nate Leath from Old School Freight Train has released a number of albums on Patuxent; his Rockville Pike album features a 16-year-old Sarah Jarosz and 14-year-old Tatiana Hargreaves.

The Patuxent Banjo Project, which led me down this path of discovery, is a two-disc set with 40 tracks and a 40-page booklet. Some of the Baltimore/Washington musicians you might already know include  Bill Emerson, Eddie Adcock, Walt Hensley, Chris Warner, Tom Adams, Dick Smith, Keith Arneson, Murphy Henry, Kevin Church, Roni Stoneman, and Mike Munford. Richard Thompson (not that one, the other one) from Bluegrass Today breaks down what you can expect to hear.

Not only are there variations of three-finger banjo playing, old-time, there are two banjo/fiddle duets, a classical piece and a couple of twin banjo numbers, one of which features cello-banjo. All of which adds up to a major audio documentation of a versatile instrument.

Back on Father’s Day in 2013, I bought a five string banjo in Beacon, New York, the home of Pete Seeger. It seemed like the right thing to do, given his recent passing earlier that year. I got it from David Bernz, who produced of some of Pete’s last albums and who also runs Main Street Music with his son. Trying to teach myself how to either clawhammer or three-finger roll the darn thing was useless, and I’ve since settled on a two-finger early fingerstyle method from the 19th century. Most of the time it hangs on my wall, but The Patuxent Banjo Project has been inspiring me to try a little harder. More importantly, it’s carrying on an American roots music tradition to a new generation of players. Five strings down in Rockville. Hallelujah.

 

This was originally published as an Easy Ed’s Broadside column at No Depression: The Roots Music Journal.

Photo by Michael G. Stewart

A Prairie Home Companion: From Panic Attack to Paradigm Shift

garrison-keillorI awoke when it was still dark outside, a good hour before my alarm was set to go off. At a slow and deliberate pace, with my eyes shut tight and my arms stretched out in front of me waving around like a zombie as if I actually needed to feel my way through the six feet of empty space between the edge of my bed and the door to the bathroom, I tried hard to think of nothing. It is usually at this precise moment, as my body is responding to its natural calling, that my brain either chooses to stay in it’s restful state or begins to come alive, like a chick breaking through an eggshell. It is mighty rare that I’ll manage to climb back into the bed, pull the covers up past my chin, and slip back to my safe place.

On most days I lose the battle, as my thoughts and anxieties will surface from the deep and pull me from sleep. And it was indeed such a morning this past week, that I stood naked doing what I was doing when, in a flash, my eyes opened wide, a cold breeze caused my body to shudder, goosebumps popped up, and a buried memory of Garrison Keillor standing on the edge of the stage at St. Paul’s Fitzgerald Theater singing an Elvis Presley medley came barreling toward me. Forsaking the flush, I jumped onto my bed, reached for the MacBook, and with credit card numbers dancing in my head I searched for tickets to the three upcoming A Prairie Home Companion shows at New York City’s Town Hall. Sold out. A cold sweat and anxiety ensued.

Most readers of this column are likely well aware of Keillor’s live radio variety show, which features musical guests of almost every genre (but in particular, traditional folk, blues, jazz, and gospel), devastating comedy skits, old fashioned radio drama themes, commercials from fictitious products, and the storytelling skills of Keillor, its host.

A Prairie Home Companion‘s first show took place in 1974 with an audience of 12 people, and after a couple of shifts in venues and a two-year hiatus in the late 1980s, over four million people tune in every Saturday evening on over 500 public radio stations in the United States. The show is also broadcast in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Europe, on the Armed Forces Radio Network, Sirius Satellite Radio, and an online stream.

While I’m sure there is a humongous group of fans who plan their Saturday nights around the broadcast and have never missed a single show, my own listening patterns are probably the norm for many. If I’m in the car and I know it’s on, I’ll find a station on the left side of the dial so I that can listen. Occasionally, but not too often, I’ll tune in while at home. I’ve also been in the audience on several occasions in St. Paul and New York, and screened Robert Altman’s film of the same name about 50 times.

There are also about ten or so albums that my two kids grew up listening to. Any car trip lasting an hour or more would always be an opportunity to hear some “News from Lake Wobegone” or an episode of “Guy Noir, Private Detective.” We liked to listen to the the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, the Duets and anniversary albums, and the three-disc Comedy Theater set that also includes many of the great commercials. I like to think that we were an A Prairie Home Companion family, despite periods of diversion with Radio Disney and Weird Al.

When Keillor announced his retirement this past June, and named Nickel Creek co-founder and Punch Brothers founder Chris Thile as host, I had a hard time imagining how the program could continue with a musician at the helm instead of a storyteller and humorist of Keillor’s magnitude, style, and wit. It was only this week that I realized that, as we head into the 2016-2017 season, things on this show are going to change. That realization gave me an overwhelming feeling of the loss of a trusty old friend, who’s there when you need them. It made me scramble to grab tickets to the New York City road shows before it all goes away … and it triggered a panic attack of sorts.

In a recent interview with the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Keillor noted he’ll be around all of this season. He will do some co-hosting with Thile, and he’ll continue as executive producer next season. He also spoke a bit about Thile, who made his first appearance on the show 19 years ago at the age of 15.

“He’s a brilliant musician. He’s just an amazing musician. Beyond that, he’s a good-hearted, outgoing person, much more than I. The show will have a solid musical foundation. We started out as a music show and then other things were added to it. And this new incarnation will evolve in the same way. We’re looking for writers to create some new serial business and we’ll see. The door is open to all kinds of comedians, sketch writers — interesting, dorky people who write comedy.”

For his part, Thile told the Burlington Free Press that he’s still formulating ideas on how A Prairie Home Companion will change once he settles into the host role, but he expects it will reflect a musician is in charge. “He’s [Keillor] created something that will stand the test of time,” he told that paper. “I look forward to taking that and running with it. Since I’m a musician there will probably be more music, but as an ardent admirer of the show I will strive not to mess it up for anyone.”

All this talk about music, specifically, is pretty exciting, and it goes far beyond the weekly radio performance platform. Look around at most roots music gigs — festivals, house concerts, clubs, church basements, parks, wherever, whatever — and you’ll notice a sea of us with gray hair, who buy the tickets and crowd around the merch tables. We are the aging fan base, and while Thile represents hundreds of younger performers who are carrying forward and building on the traditional music, there also needs to be a generational change in the audience. Putting my trust in Keillor and Thile, I’m starting to feel as if A Prairie Home Companion could be the starting point of a significant musical paradigm shift. And with that, my panic attack is subsiding.

This was originally published at No Depression dot com, as an Easy Ed’s Broadside column.

Photo credit: Claudia Danielson

An Imaginary Line From CSN to Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan and Sara Watkins

ImwithherI awoke this morning with a throbbing left foot. I wore the black boots last night and my toes unconsciously tapped throughout the seventy-five minute set and the well deserved encore that was delivered by three talented singers, songwriters, and instrumentalists. On a beautiful summer night in the Spanish Courtyard of the Rosen House, located on the lush grounds of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts which is a mere sixty minutes north of Manhattan, I kept my eyes closed for much of time to shut out the visual and allow just the sounds of nature melded with the music to pour over the tip of my head and fill my body and soul. The only distraction to my thoughts and immersion were the whoops and cheers that punctuated the close of each song.

Many of us here have known, followed, and enjoyed the artistic talents and work product of these three. Sara from Nickel Creek, her solo albums, that Decemberists’ tour and the Watkins Family Hour which includes brother Sean and what seems to be a revolving cast. Aoife from years on the road and in the studio with Crooked Still, and most recently her solo album. And Sarah, who just turned 24 slightly over a month ago, with an already stunning list of achievements with her albums and collaborative performances.

As I listened to a set that was in equal measure traditional and contemporary, and shifted from covers unexpected to original-familiar, I created an imaginary narrative that took me back almost fifty years ago to the formation of a group with three other musicians: Crosby, Stills and Nash.

While the oft-told story of their coming together has shifted over time like sand on a beach, the one we accept is that Nash was living with Joni in Laurel Canyon and she brought the three of them together for simply a day of fun. And maybe it was Mama Cass. Whatever. One thing led to another, a slot was offered and accepted at the Woodstock festival and an album of virtually perfected tone and harmony resulted. What came after…it doesn’t really pertain to this storyline.

The thread or line I imagine is about taking unique and personal styles, blending experience, skill sets and an obvious friendship and respect toward each other, and creating something new from it. It’s hard enough to begin, almost impossible to endure, and a joy for an audience to witness.

For these three…SAS is not the moniker of choice I would assume, so let’s stay with the I’m With Her tour theme…the idea to play together germinated at last year’s Telluride festival and was allowed to grow in Brooklyn, like the tree before it. As I have lived bi-coastal and experienced the different energies of Los Angeles and New York, it wouldn’t feel wrong to contrast the artistic and creative wilderness of Laurel Canyon where three men came together a long time ago, with the urban and supportive artistic bubble of the borough across the East River that is now a breeding ground for the likes of these three women.

The concert dates so far have for the most part been overseas, the only website merely a rudimentary Tumblr page and with this project they seem to have kept out of the usual media runway and spotlight with the exception of these videos I’m sharing that have been posted along the way. There is a promise of an album, and I would guess a more official type of invitation for a wider audience to experience the music. For now, those of us catching them as the wave rises find ourselves of a privileged class.

With a new project being released soon from the Watkins Family Hour and a string of dates that will keep Sara busy, the three have a small number of summer and fall domestic dates scheduled. In addition to the show last night at Caramoor, there are only three more this month, one in August and two in September. To catch them them perform at one of these events would be like picking up a handful of seashells and being blessed to find just a few that are as close to perfection as you’ll get.

Texas Musician Community of Wimberley Devastated in Historic Flood

wimberley-txI am re-posting this article from Trigger Coroneos at SavingCountryMusic.com to bring everyone up to speed if you haven’t yet heard the news. It’s Tuesday May 26th at around 5:00 EST. Since Saturday I have been following the Facebook updates from musician Robyn Ludwick, who lives in Wimberly Texas. In the days preceeding the storms, she was excited to be getting ready to go out on tour next week, and also thanked an Australian disc jokey who was spinning her latest album. Her world literally turned upside down in a short time. Here is the story from Trigger. 

Many of your favorite Austin, TX musicians who list their hometown as Austin actually live in a small community south and west of the city in the panoramic Texas Hill Country called Wimberley. About a 45-minute drive from Austin, the small town of less than 3,000 sits on the banks of the Blanco River, and is a favorite day trip for many central Texas residents.

The picturesque town and its surroundings have been the inspiration for many country songs since the greater Austin area became a haven for musicians in the 60’s, and Wimberley has boasted a strong artist community for many years. Ray Wylie Hubbard calls Wimberley home, and Hal Ketchum used to live in a cabin in the community. Bluegrass prodigy Sarah Jarosz is originally from Wimberley, and so are many other songwriters and musicians who have lent their creative efforts to country and roots music over the years. The Wimberley United Methodist Church regularly hosts “Susanna’s Kitchen” concerts where local artists like Ray Wylie Hubbard play.

On Saturday night (5-23), the Blanco River that runs through Wimberley overran its banks to historic levels amidst the devastating storms Texas has been experiencing. The heart of Wimberley was ravaged, and an estimated 350 homes were destroyed when the river reached a historic level of 43 feet. The previous record flood for the Blanco was set in 1929, and was eight feet lower than where the river crested Memorial Day weekend. Flood stage on the Blanco River is 13 feet. According to the National Weather Service, the river was flowing at a rate of 223,000 cubic feet per second, which is 2.5 times the flow of Niagra Falls. The water was so intense, it swept away an entire bridge (see video below).Eight people are currently missing in the Wimberley flood from two separate families. Laura McComb and her two children Leighton and Andrew, Ralph and Sue Carey, Randy and Michelle Charba (daughter of Ralph and Sue), and their 4-year-old son Will have all been confirmed missing by authorities.

“I’m overcome with sorrow as my little Texas town lie(s) in ruins,” songwriter and performer Robyn Ludwick posted Monday morning (5-25) along with pictures of much of the devastation around Wimberley. Robyn is the sister of famous Texas singing brothers Bruce and Charlie Robison. “Wimberley, Texas, one of the most beautiful spots in the world has endured incomprehensible damage from flooding. My neighborhood is in the National news. Just 500 yards away, my neighbors are missing and still haven’t been found. This morning I walked a mile to get one bar on my cellphone to let every one know that we are safe. But we are not okay. What has kept me with strength is the messages of concern and love from my family, friends, fans, and unbelievable perfect strangers.”

Ludwick posted pictures and video of trees ripped out of the ground by flood waters, structures swept off their foundations, and cars overturned in trees.

“As I type, search and rescue helicopters circle. My little girl says ‘please let this be a bad nightmare mommy.’ Please pray for our little town, a gem along the Blanco River. We need every possible prayer. Rain drops fall and the sky darkens again. No way to get news or weather. Hopefully we can get thru the next round and start repairing our hearts and this little town.”

Information has been difficult to get out of Wimberley since access to the town is difficult, and communication channels are down. Ray Wylie Hubbard’s home, which is close to the center of Wimberley, was spared from the worst because it sits on a hill. “Thanks to all who have reached out to check on Ray Wylie & I,” Ray’s wife Judy Hubbard posted on Twitter. “We’re on a hill so no water in our house but lots of devastation in Wimberley.”Musicians Andrew Hardin and Susan Gibson were also spared the worst of the flood, though they lost power like most of the community during the devastating storm, and have friends and neighbors who’ve been heavily affected.

Another artist wasn’t so lucky. Bob Stafford, known to some as “Texaco,” who Wayne “The Train” Hancock can be heard calling out to on many of his early albums, had his Wimberley recording studio inundated with two feet of water in the disaster according to reports. Stafford was able to save his guitars, but amps, PA’s, and computers were damaged in the flood.

The flooding was also felt upstream in Boerne, TX where songwriter and performer Possessed by Paul James lives. He was forced to evacuate his family to higher ground, though Borene was spared the brunt of the flood. Downstream in San Marcos where many Texas/Red Dirt artists live, more homes have been destroyed or flooded, and more people are missing. And the threat of floods in Central Texas is not over. With highly saturated soil from weeks of historic rains, and more storms already flaring up on Monday including with multiple tornadoes, more flooding could occur.

UPDATE 3:20 PM CDT: Sarah Jarosz has posted, “Thanks to all who have reached out with concern in regards to the recent flooding in my hometown of Wimberley, Texas. My family is ok, but this is a very difficult time for the Wimberley community. Please keep all those who have lost their homes and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers.”

UPDATE 5/26 12:00 CDT:

********To anyone able to make a donation to help those from Wimberley, Texas.********

Wimberley has two organizations already set up and would prefer donations be sent to:

Barnabas, PO Box 737 Wimberley, Tx 78676

My Neighbors Keeper, PO Box 528 Wimberley, Tx. 78676.

Both are established 501c3 non-profit organizations and will ensure funds go directly to Wimberley area families.

Sarah Jarosz Reconceptualizes The House Concert

Sarah JThis is a tale with two moving parts.  First, a twenty-two year old young woman becomes so good, so fast…and delivers two sets of impeccable and improbable American roots music last night that it just might be as good as it gets. And for the second part of this story, she performs this magical musical feat at a simple house concert with two old friends from four years of summer  music camp. Well, maybe not quite your usual house concert, but by description and definition a house concert nevertheless.

Katonah is officially classified as a hamlet, although the 1,679 residents prefer to call it a village. Located in New York about a good hour (without traffic) north of Manhattan, it’s the residential destination of more than several celebrities, has a private day school where Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau attended and was once home to Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill W. For such a relatively tiny space of incredibly beautiful countryside, they have three public schools, two private ones, a hardware store, an annual carnival, a parade and a Chili Night, which I suspect has little to do with the weather of late.

Rosen HouseOf more importance to you and me, is that Katonah is home to Caramoor, the ninety-acre summer home and country estate purchased by Walter and Lucie Rosen in 1928. The rambling stucco home, which at 26,000 square feet is slightly larger than my apartment, took a decade to build and was filled with their vast collection of European and Asian art and furnishings. In 1945, the Rosens bequeathed the Caramoor estate and the contents as a center for music and art, in memory of their son who was killed in the second World War. The next year the Music Room was opened to the public for three summer concerts. Not just a beautiful venue surrounded by priceless art, this room is finely tuned for the most natural acoustical sound that has yet to grace these old ears. And from those intimate concerts that the Rosens shared with their friends when they lived there, it has “evolved into a non-profit foundation to serve the public as a venue for year-round concerts, and as an engaging learning environment for the more than 5,000 local school children who take part in Caramoor’s arts-in-education programs each year”. (From the Caramoor website.)

While some may imagine a program of strictly classical music, you might be surprised to know that they have been presenting an American Roots Music series, with concerts in the exquisitely appointed Music Room, and also outdoor in various settings and  locations on the estate. With ninety acres, there’s room to breath and enjoy the landscaped grounds. Artists who have visited, or are planning to, include Emmylou Harris, Richard Thompson, Aoife O’Donovan, Del McCoury, the Stray Birds and Rosanne Cash…the latter will be headlining the annual American Roots Music Festival on June 28th, which is an all-day event.

BonesLast night, which would be March 8th if I get this written and published before midnight, Sarah Jarosz performed to a sellout crowd. Showing poise, personality and professionalism that astound given her young age, she played songs drawn from her three albums and live EP, some favorites from friends and mentors Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott, two Dylan covers and the Paul McCartney tune “On The Wings of A Nightingale” which was written for the Everly Brothers’ comeback concert in the 1980’s.

Accompanied by cellist Nathaniel “Old Smitty” Smith and Alex Hargreaves on fiddle (or violin…your choice), Sarah alternated between clawhammer banjo and guitar, but stayed mostly with the beautiful sounding octave mandolin. She handled all the lead vocals with a range and projection that reminded me of both Joni Mitchell and Nora Jones, with a sprinkle of Gillian Welch. Her melody lines, especially on songs from the new album Build Me Up From Bones, can be traced back to a bluegrass tradition, but also effortlessly slide back and forth to jazz and classical scales and modalities. (The pic here is from the Grammys this year.)

Born in Austin, she started learning mandolin at age ten, attended and graduated college at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and now calls New York her home. As we have come to expect these days at roots music concerts, whether in a home or a hall, the audience was mostly older…they could be her parents or more likely grandparents. I sat near a young couple who were friends of violinist Hargreaves, and they too were thinking the same thoughts as I: how do we fill the seats with younger people? While certain hubs from Portland to Brooklyn offer affordable and attractive options and scenes that cater to a more age-appropriate crowd, other genres such as jazz, classical and blues are also experiencing an audience that is turning grey. It is a challenge we face as the boomers go bust.

Those of you who read my posts know that I usually like to drop in music, and for this one I’ve found something special. Sarah and the guys did an NPR Tiny Desk Concert just a few months ago, and it captures much of what last night’s show offered. So here you go…and make sure you visit her website and continue to support live shows and buy some music.  And here is the website for Caramoor too.