I'm going to have to get one of these for my banjo case. Order yours here.
Nov 29, 2005
Nov 24, 2005
My 15 Minutes
I was interviewed yesterday by our local CBS affiliate, KYW-3, for a piece they are doing on the Sony DRM fiasco. I am told the piece will air tonight on the 11:00 news.
The producer seems to have really done her homework on this, so I'm hoping it will be a good piece. While the online world has been abuzz over this issue for the past several weeks I haven't seen much coverage in the print or TV media.
John
The producer seems to have really done her homework on this, so I'm hoping it will be a good piece. While the online world has been abuzz over this issue for the past several weeks I haven't seen much coverage in the print or TV media.
John
Nov 8, 2005
Twilight Zone
OK, this is weird.
I knew there was a 1942 novel by Evelyn Hanna called Sugar in the Gourd, but I had no idea that the title on the cover would look so much like my logo:
Very weird.
John
I knew there was a 1942 novel by Evelyn Hanna called Sugar in the Gourd, but I had no idea that the title on the cover would look so much like my logo:
Very weird.
John
Nov 4, 2005
Interesting article on contemporary Black string bands
The Independent Weekly: To catch the music
Picture this: Three young black men, two on banjo and one on fiddle, are playing music at a square dance in Orange County. The music is driving and raw and at the same time melodic, joyful and fervent, inspiring the mix of dancers on the floor, black and white.
"Frolics" was the term for these gatherings, according to Odell Thompson, one of the banjo players in the above scene. The young man on fiddle is Odell's cousin, Joe Thompson. The other banjo player is Joe's brother, Nate.
Now jump ahead some 70 years to two Fridays ago. Four African-American musicians--three of them in their 20s--with banjos, fiddles and guitars coming alive in their hands, are playing string band standards for a black and white audience gathered at a Greensboro church. The players are from Sankofa Strings and the Carolina Chocolate Drops, two new bands at the vanguard of a revitalization of music styles and traditions slowly forgotten over time. Joining them for "Georgia Buck" and several other tunes is 86-year-old fiddler Joe Thompson, who rode up with the quartet from his home in Mebane. When Sankofa Strings founder Rhiannon Giddens' banjo meets Joe Thompson's fiddle and his voice wanders in, as much chanting as singing, there's the feel of something if not quite ancient, at least the product of an era long gone. You start seeing things in sepia tones and even though the music's being played right in front of you, you expect to hear crackles and hisses as if the sounds were being torn from a salvaged 78.
Read the rest...
Picture this: Three young black men, two on banjo and one on fiddle, are playing music at a square dance in Orange County. The music is driving and raw and at the same time melodic, joyful and fervent, inspiring the mix of dancers on the floor, black and white.
"Frolics" was the term for these gatherings, according to Odell Thompson, one of the banjo players in the above scene. The young man on fiddle is Odell's cousin, Joe Thompson. The other banjo player is Joe's brother, Nate.
Now jump ahead some 70 years to two Fridays ago. Four African-American musicians--three of them in their 20s--with banjos, fiddles and guitars coming alive in their hands, are playing string band standards for a black and white audience gathered at a Greensboro church. The players are from Sankofa Strings and the Carolina Chocolate Drops, two new bands at the vanguard of a revitalization of music styles and traditions slowly forgotten over time. Joining them for "Georgia Buck" and several other tunes is 86-year-old fiddler Joe Thompson, who rode up with the quartet from his home in Mebane. When Sankofa Strings founder Rhiannon Giddens' banjo meets Joe Thompson's fiddle and his voice wanders in, as much chanting as singing, there's the feel of something if not quite ancient, at least the product of an era long gone. You start seeing things in sepia tones and even though the music's being played right in front of you, you expect to hear crackles and hisses as if the sounds were being torn from a salvaged 78.Read the rest...
Milliner-Koken Fiddle Tune Project
I just saw this posted on BFOTM's website. Sounds like a very, very worthy cause if any of you are feeling philanthropic.
John
John
Nov 1, 2005
Site costs
Nick Halbrook asked a question in the Guestbook about what my costs are in running this site.
Since he asked: I pay $15/mo for web hosting, $39/mo for stream hosting, and around $40/mo for my DSL connection. So I guess the site costs me something like $94 per month to run. I do take advantage of the DSL connection for other things, but the site makes it a necessity.
I'm getting some ad revenues and some donations here and there that help to offset these costs. (In case anyone's wondering, I've never turned a profit, except for one month when I got a very generous anonymous donation -- but whatever profit I made that month was eaten up in the next month or two.) I could probably be more aggressive in terms of looking for ads or sponsors, but I'm happy with things the way they are. Also, my life being what it is (full-time job, 3 young kids, grad school on hold) I don't have time to update as often as I would like.
So, as I have said before, while donations are certainly greatly appreciated, the idea is that this site should be free to listen to, and no one should feel that they're under any obligation to donate.
If I ever turn a profit (yeah, right!) I'll have to figure out how to get the profits back in the hands of the artists whose music I play.
If anyone has any questions about this, please let me know.
Best wishes,
John
Since he asked: I pay $15/mo for web hosting, $39/mo for stream hosting, and around $40/mo for my DSL connection. So I guess the site costs me something like $94 per month to run. I do take advantage of the DSL connection for other things, but the site makes it a necessity.
I'm getting some ad revenues and some donations here and there that help to offset these costs. (In case anyone's wondering, I've never turned a profit, except for one month when I got a very generous anonymous donation -- but whatever profit I made that month was eaten up in the next month or two.) I could probably be more aggressive in terms of looking for ads or sponsors, but I'm happy with things the way they are. Also, my life being what it is (full-time job, 3 young kids, grad school on hold) I don't have time to update as often as I would like.
So, as I have said before, while donations are certainly greatly appreciated, the idea is that this site should be free to listen to, and no one should feel that they're under any obligation to donate.
If I ever turn a profit (yeah, right!) I'll have to figure out how to get the profits back in the hands of the artists whose music I play.
If anyone has any questions about this, please let me know.
Best wishes,
John