Glenn Jones Interview Smorgasbord, & Music Too!

Dwars session and interview

VPRO
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Recorded 13th November 2004
Broadcast 14th April 2005
-Friday Nights With

-Lauren’s Blues

-Teething Necklace

-Linden Avenue Stomp [with Jack Rose]

-Richard Nixon Orchid

-Sphinx Under Curious Men

Download it here

All rights reserved by Spinning On Air

Great show with David Garland in the WNYC Studio.  Talking...Music...press play, you know you want to.



See all the photos HERE

All rights reserved by Spinning On Air

Grossman's Delta Blues - Used Book Find

I found this Stefan Grossman Delta Blues TAB book at the used book store the other day.  Wasn't going to buy it as I have more books than I know what to do with...but as I was flipping through it I noticed it has one of those old plastic records in it.  Two sided even.  So, I had to have it!

 

Harlem Slim - King of the Delta Bluesmen - Delta Thug

Harlem Slim is from New York (hence the name?) and now resides in Houston TX working at Fullers Vintage Guitars and teaching. He has recently made a shift to flamenco music. A musical direction I have also taken after many years of listening and playing the blues. But this CD is pure Delta Blues played on resonator guitar with plenty of slide work. I believe some of these tunes are by Slim, but most are classic delta covers. Dyin' Crapshooters Blues is an excellent effort as is Poor Boy.

Artist website: http://deltabluesguitar.com/

Download Harlem Slim HERE!

Track List
1. Cross Road Blues - 2:36
2. Dehlia - 3:16
3. Dyin' Crapshooter's Blues - 4:22
4. Just As Well Get Ready, You Got To Die - 3:52
5. HKind Hearted Woman - 4:20
6. Me & The Devil Blues - 4:50
7. Poor Boy - 3:37
8. Sweet Home Chicago - 4:01
9. T'aint Long Before Day - 2:37
10. The Organ Grinders Monkey - 0:57
11. Walking Blues - 5:14

=======================================

Another release by Harlem Slim. This one starts off with some distorted electric work, there are a couple of them on this one. Harlem's also got a couple guests on this one as well. But it mostly comprised of his familiar vintage 30's resonator sound. Good stuff!

Artist Website

Get it HERE

Track List
1. Harlem Breakdown (Slim) - 2:40
2. 32-20 Blues (Johnson) - 3:06
3. Main Street Rag (Slim) - 1:47
4. Back Door Friend (Hopkins, Lewis) - 4:46
5. Statesboro Blues (McTell) - 5:23
6. 42nd St. Stroll (Slim) - 1:30
7. All Around Man (Carter) - 3:28
8. Cocaine Blues (Jordan) - 3:15
9. Delta Thug Stomp (Slim) - 2:05
10. Terraplane Blues (Johnson) - 6:14
11. Bluebird (Hooker) - 4:07
12. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (Traditional) - 1:14
13. Evil Spirit (Slim) - 1:30
14. When I Lay My Burden Down (Traditional) - 4:14
15. Plantation Song (Slim) - 2:00
16. Preachin' Blues (Johnson) - 3:55
17. Conjure Man (Slim) - 4:02

  

Richard Johnston - Deep Blues Festival

A friend of mine has been lucky enough to see Richard Johnston many times on Beale St in Memphis and by all accounts he kicks some serious butt.
If you aren't familiar with him he usually is a solo performer playing guitar, singing and the drums via a special setup operated by just his feet. He also plays a cigar box guitar quite often. You can tell when he is playing the cigar box guitar because it is strung with a bass string to improve that over all groove thang in the performance. If you know what I mean, and I think you do.
This is a soundboard recording from: The Deep Blues Festival at Washington County Fairgrounds, Lake Elmo, MN on July 18th, 2008
If you like this style you should also check out John-Alex Mason I've been going to his shows in Colorado for a long time. He used to do just the acoustic blues but Johnston showed him how to set up the one-man-band deal and that's been his dominant style for a couple years now.

Get it  HERE

A documentary has been produced about Johnston

Visit Richard Johnston on the web!
  

Pat Donohue - "Mudslide" Guitar Tab

According to Chet Atkins, Pat Donohue is "one of the greatest fingerpickers in the world." Any praise that could be given to a guitar player seems insignificant next to such a statement, but Donohue's work warrants even more acclaim. He was named the 1983 National Fingerpicking Guitar Champion, and continues to garner recognition as an exceptional musician and entertainer. Fans of National Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion have been treated to the fingerpicked guitar work of Pat Donohue for years, whether they know it or not. Donohue started appearing as a guest performer in the '80s and has been a regular member of the show's house band since 1993. -from All Music Guide Copyright © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC

I recently purchased the video you see above and to your right. Excellent video that includes Mudslide. I found this very helpful in fleshing out the little nuances of this song that are difficult to include in a tab. And like many guitarists, Donohue never really plays a song the same way twice. So between this rendition and the embedded one below you have a few options for embellishments, intros and outros.

Thanks to Vicki Taylor for writing this song down for me.

I've transferred it to Power Tab and I'll include a text version as well.

Notes on the tab and some tips:

Look for some text above the music denoting a section 1, 2 & 3 and a chorus section. Since I'm musically illiterate, I have no idea how to use the secret coda to guide you through the music. But it is very simple, play section 1 - chorus - section 2 - chorus - section 3.

If you have played a little slide before then it should be fairly simple to figure out what parts are fingered vs. played with the slide. Nonetheless I tried to note "NS" for 'no slide' above the sections that are fingered.
Download the tab here: TEXT FILE
                                    WORD FILE
                                  

Of course you should visit Pat Donohue' site
Consider buying this video from Amazon or Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop

Drop.io Drops the Ball

From the Drop.io blog:

The drop.io service will be closing onDec. 15. Until then, people will be able to use existing drops they’ve created, but won’t be able to create new drops. After Dec. 15, drop.io will be closing and all user data and content will be deleted, so please download files you have stored on the service before then.

Well that really sucks. Nearly ALL the downloadable content on this blog is on the drop.io servers.  Oh, and hey drop.io, you never ran out of effort when it came to sending me promotional emails.  But not ONE email warning me of this shut down.  Not one. 

Bite me, Drop.io

Good thing I visited the blog, just by coincidence. 

So...

Though I will try to get all content transferred to another host, undoubtedly I will miss one here and there.  So drop me a comment on the the post that doesn't have a working link.

Mean while I've been recycling some of the old posts as I re-link the music.  Hope you've found some old gems you didn't know were here. 

On the bright side I've actually shelled out some cash for the new storage site and this will enhance your download experience.  No more ads, no wait times.  Don't you feel special?  The d/l will now (90%) of the time just save the file to your computer and no more re-directs and all that crap!
  

Jack Rose's 1997 Island Koa Slide Guitar

by Buck Curran

photo by Buck Curran

This summer Shanti and I visited Glenn Jones and took photos of Jack's guitars in Glenn's back yard. It was quite surreal looking at those instruments in the afternoon sun and thinking never again would Jack conjure music out of those bodies of wood and steel. The most curious thing I noticed when looking at all the guitars; underneath the strings on the top between the soundhole and bridge, a patch of white residue that looks like violin bow rosin. I hadn't noticed this before, but I guess most of the time hanging out with Jack was in room lighting. Glenn informed me that for the longest time he didn't know what it was either, but after sometime realized it was the residue from Jack's white thumb picks. I had to laugh when I thought about Jack shredding his thumbpick as he fingerpicked, but it holds testament to Jack's attack on the strings and the strength of his hands. Of course, not so hard to understand when watching him perform or when listening to his records. His right hand was a beautiful thing of power and precision. 

photo by Buck Curran

Jack's guitars include two Taylor dreadnoughts, but the significant guitar of the batch is a unique handmade slide guitar. A Weissenborn style lap guitar made of very lightly figured Hawaiian Koa and featuring a metal saddle and nut. The instrument, serial number 97099 Island Koa Instruments was made in 1997 by English luthier Pete Howlett. This guitar can be heard on Jack's best recordings, and the piece Now That I'm a Man Full Grown II from the 2005 release Kensington Blues is a perfect example of the dynamics and power he could summon with this instrument. There is also some great footage of Jack playing this guitar on the highly recommended DVD The Things We Used to Do released by Strange Attractors Audio House this year. 

One thing is for certain...Jack really loved and cared for his guitars. Looking at his Island Koa (though the finish is worn) and both Taylor guitars, I noticed they are structurally in great shape. He may have played hard, but it was the strings that took the blissful punishment. Jack and I exchanged quite a few emails over the years, talking about guitars a lot of the time I really got to know what his preferences were when it came to acoustic guitars. I was building a guitar for him when he passed. I really felt like I could've built him the perfect guitar and it's sad to think we'll never be able to finish that collaboration. It's very clear when thinking about Jack himself and when listening to his music...the World is a much better place for the Life that Jack put in it while he was here. He will be missed always!
~Buck Curran 8 December 2010

Buck and Shanti Curran are the Indie folk dou Arborea 

and are working on a new release.

Jack Rose & Glenn Jones - New DVD Review

If you haven't seen the trailer for this yet, check it out.

As you can see, it’s very nicely shot with some great angles on the playing. It definitely has plenty of good camera work for the guitar geek in me. I love the pans across the strings, especially that low E string when it’s been tuned down to C and is floppin’ all over the place.

The DVD kicks things off with two duets,

Linden Ave Stomp and
Miss May’s Place

Then Jack takes over for the first studio section. First up are the lap slide songs,
Gage Blues
Revolt
Levee and
Song for the Owl

Rose switches to the 6-string and performs
Dusty Grass
Fishtown Flower
The World Has Let Me Down
Kensington Blues and
Blessed be the Name of Lord

Rose gave up playing the 12 string at some point of his career, so we don’t get to see him play that instrument. But it’s all good because Glenn Jones is up next and takes us thru his world of bizarre 12 string tunings and partial capos. In some ways it’s surprising that these guys played together when you see them play in this DVD, there’s a real shift in the feel as you are watching this video. We go from Rose’s muscular playing that is very bluesy to Jones with the more expansive, longer, intricate pieces, nearly all from the recently released “Barbecue Bob in Fishtown.”

Jones starts us off with
Redwood Ramble Misremembered
Barbecue Bob in Fishtown
1337 Shattuck Avenue, Apartment D
A Geranium for Mano-a-Mano
David and the Phoenix and
A Lark in Earnest
The last song is new territory for Glenn, a piece for the banjo.

At this point we get to see some concert footage of the two, playing separately, in a club in Philly. Continuing with Jones in the live performance we get two more songs from “Barbecue Bob in Fishtown” and that just about covers the entire release! The live set is three songs, one each on 6-string, banjo and a slide medley on a reso-guitar.

Jones plays

Dead Reckoning
Keep it 100 Years
Medley: Island 1 / Against my Ruin

Rose performs an equally diverse set

Cross the North Fork
Luck in the Valley

St. Louis Blues

Closing out the DVD is an interview with the two musicians. This may be my favorite part of the entire DVD. I have always been rooted in the acoustic guitar. I’m not sure I can get into any deep philosophical reason for it. It’s always just been the instrument that spoke to me. Even before I discovered the blues of Mississippi John Hurt, Ackerman’s stuff and of course Fahey, I was in love with the acoustic. I always loved the rock songs that had am acoustic base to them. Like the backbone of Heart’s “Crazy on You” and Led Zepplin’s “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You.” I don’t know if it’s the clichéd sounding “well it’s organic” or what there is about it. But while I have always really appreciated the electric and the power it wields, when it gets down to it I would rather play an acoustic.

So I really identify with how Rose talks about starting off on the acoustic and eventually coming back to it with all that electric playing in the middle. As much as I love electric players of all kinds I want to listen to it more than play it.

Name dropping is always a useful part of any interview to discover new artists. Byron Coley even mentions Ragtime Ralph!

Glenn talks quite a bit about driving Robbie Basho around on an east coast tour, very interesting. The highlight might be Glenn’s impersonation of Fahey, it’s quite funny.

And DO NOT miss the discussion of “pussy chords.” According to Rose: Glenn uses “pussy chords,” hilarious!

This is a fantastic deal for the money. Nearly two hours of great music and a 37 minute interview. This DVD really has it all, duets, solo performances by each, both “studio” and in a live setting and to top it all off, an interview of the two.

Head on over to Strange Attractors Audio House and pick up this DVD ! Regular shipping is free, even the big river company can't beat this price.

Keep on pickin' and grinin'!

   

Jack Rose - NPR and Andrew Stranglen pay Tribute

Tim Bugbee/Tinnitus Photography

Time for a little more Jack Rose content! 
Andrew Stranglen has sent me a couple tunes to share with all of you! 
Andrew is certainly no Fahey traditionalist!  Instead preferring electric sounding mixes, flabby low-tuned guitars and usually improvising as often as not.  It's great!
Hit the link to d/l 2 songs: "I Didn't Know Jack" and "Dis Wam Me"
About "I Didn't Know Jack" - "I recorded at home with a crappy mic and a soundhole p.u.and the mic's not prominent at all in the mix Tuning is open C/NO, it's Open A7th tune to open C then drop it down to A, then tune the high string from C# to C for that 7th nice and flabby drop tuning"
About "Dis Wam Me" - Recorded with a ZOOM, part of a larger project Andrew is working on.
Get Andrew's tunes HERE

Rose has been garnering some attention on NPR as of late.  Here's some links to those in case you missed them.


Tim Bugbee/Tinnitus Photography

Remembering Jack Rose On World Cafe

Remembering Dr. Ragtime: Guitarist Jack Rose

 

Jack Rose: What Could Have Been

And some older stuff too!

Thurston Moore's Top 5 Acoustic Guitarists

'American Primitve' Captures Young Performers

Or get it here: Jack Rose Interview 03Oct2005

Also, Rose's new CD is now out, Luck in the Valley

  

Jack Rose Guitar TAB

You can't ask for much more than the effort some people put into tabbing out songs.  I've done a few myself and I find it a long and tedious process.
So a big thanks to crabbe_head over at the FaheyGuitarPlayers forum for taking the time to work these out!


Download them:

Jack Rose - Kensington Blues

Jack Rose - Blessed be the name of the Lord, from raag manifestos

  Enjoy!

A Collection of Jack Rose Links

Unfortunately I never got to see Jack Rose play, never met him. But when I finally discovered his music, namely the releases on VHF, I ordered all three of them at once. I wasn't worried that I wouldn't like them. I knew I had found a hell of a guitar player. I've bought about everything of his I could get my hands on ever since.  If you like Rose's music, please make the effort to buy some.

This simply a collection of the links about Jack Rose, about his death and about his music.

Remembering Jack Rose Philadelphia Weekly

Scenes from the Jack Rose wake last Saturday in Philly

“Honest Strings: A Tribute to the Life and Work of Jack Rose” now available


“Ah, man”: A long afternoon conversation with American musician JACK ROSE, July 2009

Sat, Dec. 12: Jack Rose memorial services and gathering

“one for jack” by byron coley


REMEMBERING JACK ROSE…

Terrascope.co.uk Jack_Rose_Obituary

NYT Obit

Strangeglue.com a-farewell-to-jack-rose

Strangeglue.com interview-with-jack-rose

Fantastic Open Letter to Jack Rose, a must read.

vhfrecords.com/news

WFMU played a THREE hour set to honor Jack, it is available for online listening.

Some-these-days-ill-be-gone

Dr. Ragtime - Lots of pics

BUY Jack Rose from EMUSIC

Podcast - Christmas Music & Jack Rose Tribute

In this first episode I play some tracks from the new Sean Smith Christmas release as well as tracks by Mike Fekete and Ragtime Ralph. The second part of the show is a tribute to Jack Rose where I play a wide variety of his music.

DOWNLOAD the show.

Show Notes

00:53 – Sean Smith – Christmas Time is Here, a Meditation from “Christmas”

03:14 – Mike Fekete – Silent Night, KAOS 89.3 Olympia WA broadcast

09:58 – Ragtime Ralph – White Christmas from “Vol. 4”

14:23 - Sean Smith – Christmas Morning (Improvisation I) from “Christmas”

15:32 - Sean Smith - Christmas Eve (Improvisation II) from “Christmas”

17:03 - Part Two – Jack Rose

18:20 – Jack Rose – Tex from BBC Maida Vale

31:55 - Jack Rose – Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground from BBC Maida Vale

36:01 - Jack Rose – Kensington Blues from Peel Sessions

39:16 – Jack Rose – Buckdancer’s Choice from split 7” on Funeral Folk (same cut as Dr. Ragtime CDr)

41:40 – Jack Rose – How Green was my Valley from split 7” on Funeral Folk

43:53 – Jack Rose – Knoxville Blues from Dr. Ragtime CDr



Credits, etcetera…
Thanks to Tompkins Square, Mike Fekete and Ragtime Ralph for permission to play selected cuts.
Jack Rose cuts are bootlegs or out of print.
Thanks to James “Tapeleg” Gralian for the voice over introduction.
Into and outro bumper music by Ragtime Ralph
Produced by J Scott Moore

Thanks for listening.

The Big Post of Jack Rose Bootlegs

One year ago today Jack Rose left this world.  This is the first of a series of posts paying tribute to Rose and his music. 

Today is all music.

The first five of these are new to this site.

The rest has been posted here before but are now collected all into one post. 

Hope you enjoy, raise a toast to the memory of Jack Rose.

Up first is the First Jack Rose solo guitar release "Dr Ragtime"

Thanks to Ghost-Capital for this one.

1 Teoc 2:57
2 Gage Blues 3:11
3 Old Country Rock (Bill Moore) 1:51
4 Buckdancer's Choice (Sam Mcgee) 2:23
5 Knoxville Blues (Sam Mcgee) 3:29
6 Flirtin' With The Undertaker 3:05

JACK ROSE - Live @ BBC Maidavale Studios

(17th Nov, 2004)

01 Tex 13:33

02 Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground 4:07

Jack Rose - Live @ La Sala Rossa, Montreal 

(08-12-2006)

Great set of 12 string and lap style!

Jack Rose - Live on WKDU 1_23_2006

01 Cathedral Et Chartres

03 Sun King Rag

04 Now That I'm a Man Full Grown II

05 Flirtin' with the Undertaker

06 Rappahanock River Ragg

Jack Rose-Peel Session 06-09-04

Kensington Blues

St. Louis Blues

Sun Dogs

Black Pearls

Jack Rose
Brickbat Books
Philadelphia PA July 10 2009
Personnel on this one is Nathan Bowles on washboards and banjo throughout, Harmonica Dan joins on a few tracks, and Glenn Jones joins in on the last two tracks.
01 Kensington Blues / Blessed Be the Name of the Lord / Luck in the Valley
02 ?
03 Soft Steel Piston
04 Woodpiles on the Side of the Road
05 Walkin' Blues
06 St. Louis Blues
07 Special Rider
08 When Tailgate Drops, The Bullshit Stops
09 Linden Avenue Stomp / Moon in the Gutter
10 Moon in the Gutter [continued]
Get it HERE



Jack Rose
"Dr Ragtime & His Opium Jass Hounds"
Brickbat Books
Philadelphia PA Feb 27 2009

01 Sunflower River Blues
02 Kensington Blues
03 Calais to Dover / The World Has Let Me Down
04 The World Has Let Me Down [continued]
05 Dusty Grass
06 When Tailgate Drops, The Bullshit Stops
07 Linden Avenue Stomp
08 St. Louis Blues
09 Walkin' Blues
10 Special Rider
11 Fishtown Flower
12 ?
13 Luck in the Valley
Get it HERE

 Jack Rose and The Black Twig Pickers

September 4, 2009Night Light Chapel Hill
recorded by threelobed
1. -intro-2. Everybody Ought To Pray Sometime3. -4. Sail Away Ladies5. Kensington Blues6. Luck In The Valley7. Soft Steel Piston8. Some Happy Day9. Hand Me Down My Walking Cane10. Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord11. Knoxville Blues12. Revolt13. Special Rider14. Goodbye Booze


The Black Twig Pickers & Jack Rose
Now Music & Fashion, Alexandria, VA, USA March 7, 2003
The Black Twig Pickers
01 Old Plank Road  02 Nine-Pound Hammer 03 ?04 ? 05 Going Down the Road  06 Handsome Molly  07 31 Week Blues  08 Sittin' on Top of the World  09 Worried Blues  10 Once I Had a Fortune  11 Where'd You Get Your Whiskey?
36 minutes.

Jack Rose
01 [tuning]02 Flirtin' With the Undertaker  03 Whiskey Before Breakfast  04 Mississippi Sawyer 05 Black Pearls06 Buckdancer's Choice / Nobody's Business
26 minutes.

Jack Rose at Chapel Hill 12/18/2008

thanks to http://twitter.com/oldmanwall for this one

   
  

Jack Rose at The Windmill

London, 12th March 2008

01 intro (00:29)

02 Linden Avenue Stomp (04:14)

03 Miss Mary's Place (02:55)

04 Bells/Gage Blues/St. Louis Blues (10:08)

05 Revolt (03:14)

06 Levee (04:15)

07 Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord/Kensington Blues/? (10:49)

08 tuning (01:24)

09 Fishtown Flower (03:01)

10 Dusty Grass (05:43)

11 Flirtin' With The Undertaker (03:07)

12 Buckdancer's Choice (03:26)

total 52:44

photo by Doug Orleans

Jack Rose & the Black Twig Pickers

Cafe Oto, London

3rd November 2009

Jack Rose

Nathan Bowles
Mike Gangloff

01 [intro/tuning]
02 Bright Sunny South
03 Little Sadie
04 Revolt
05 Soft Steel Piston
06 All Over the Floor
07 Luck in the Valley
08 Blessed Be the Name of the Lord
09 Kensington Blues
10 Sail Away Ladies
11 Buckdancer's Choice
12 Hand Me Down My Walking Cane
13 Special Rider
14 Some Happy Day
15 Everybody Ought to Pray Sometime
16 [drink break/encore]
17 Lick Mountain Ramble
total 70:39

Jack Rose April 3 2007 at Square One, Greensboro, NC

The owner of Three Lobed Recordings made this available.

Setlist:

01 Kensington Blues

02 Blessed Be the Name of the Lord

03 Cross the North Fork

04 Rappahannock River Rag

05 St. Louis Blues

06 Gage Blues

07 Miss May's Place

08 Linden Avenue Stomp / Now That I'm a Man Full Grown II (false start)

09 Now That I'm a Man Full Grown II

Jack Rose is clearly one of the most successful musicians of the many that John Fahey has influenced.  Musically, Rose is a success! He has taken Fahey's music and launched it into the realm of technical virtuoso. He plays American Primitive on the 12 string with an obvious nod to Fahey, but he steps out into space as well. Playing long, intricate pieces that no doubt challenge him as much as they do the listener.
This is a radio broadcast.
Tracks 2-4 are Found on the Kensington Blues release, 5 & 6 can be found on the Dr. Ragtime & Pals release.
Here is the info received with the files. I made some spelling corrections to the titles.

Jack Rose - VPRO Dwars session 

January 16, 2007

DeSmet studio's

Amsterdam, Holland.
Broadcast: February 1, 2007

Dwars, Concertzender

The Netherlands
01 Intro

02 Kensington Blues

03 Cross the North Fork

04 Rappahanock River Rag

05 Dusty Grass

06 Miss May's Place

07 Closing

Buy his music here: vhf records, thrill jockey, three lobed