We're proud to invite back our friend, Paul Michel, a noted author and folk musician in the Northwest, to write a guest blog for us. We love Paul's writing, so it's a treat to bring him back on board! And while you're at it, check out his new novel: Houdini Pie, a novel based on historical facts, about the efforts of a group of hapless entrepreneurs to mine for the mythical treasure of a tribe of ancient Hopi Indians under the streets of urban Los Angeles during the Great Depression.

CD Review
Fly Down Little Bird
Mike Seeger and Peggy Seeger
by Paul Michel

Remember 1955? Good for you. Let’s set the stage for the forgetful: Ray Kroc launches his first McDonald’s, the Salk polio vaccine is approved, Disneyland opens its gates in Anaheim, the Mickey Mouse Club debuts on TV and President Dwight D. Eisenhower pledges his support for the government of the new South Vietnam. And in a Maryland suburb of Washington D.C., a twenty-year old musician named Peggy Seeger, mining the vast trove of field recordings collected by John and Alan Lomax and transcribed by her mother Ruth, releases a 10” LP called Songs of Courting and Complaint. At the same time, her half-brother Pete is busy trying to sing louder than Senator Joe McCarthy can screech, and her brother Mike, just two years older, is immersing himself (via those same field recordings) in the traditional “old-time” styles and repertoire that will fuel the campus festival phenomenon soon to emerge as the New Lost City Ramblers. The table was being set for the big folk music revival of the 1960s, and an awful lot of the cooking was happening at the Seeger house in Silver Spring.


Fast-forward to 2009. In the months just before his short, losing battle with cancer, Mike and Peggy managed to reprise the sound, and indeed many of the same songs, that sweetened the Seeger home more than a half-century ago. Their newly-released collection, Fly Down Little Bird (Appleseed Recordings, 2011), is a fourteen-cut journey into a distant but resonant chapter in the continuing revival and popularization of rural American, mostly Appalachian, music. After Peggy’s move to England in 1959 (a victim of McCarthyistic blacklisting) she turned her significant musical talents mostly to political songwriting, for many years in partnership with Scottish actor and folksinger Ewan MacColl. Mike continued to research and champion the “true vine” of American music as a folklorist, performer and tireless proselytizer of all things old-time. They collaborated infrequently over the decades; most notably on a 94-song (!) Rounder Records triple LP in 1977 called American Folksongs for Children, which included some of the “play-party” pieces repeated on the Appleseed release. Peggy’s liner notes to the new album, Fly Down Little Bird, insist that “These are not ‘children’s songs’—they are grown-ups’ songs, and we grew up with them.”

They did indeed, and over the years they left them very much as they’d found them—or rather, as they’d adapted them originally. For although there’s a plantation porch, corn-shucking quality to these recordings, it’s a whimsical illusion. These charming renditions of old ballads, tunes and nonsense rhymes don’t evoke the Lomax field recordings nearly as much as they do Ruth Crawford Seeger’s 1950s living room. The evocation is unapologetic and endearing. Mike and Peggy produced in this project, appropriately and lovingly in Mike’s last days, a tribute not so much to the “authentic” traditional music of the American soundscape as to their younger, pioneering, unforgotten selves. There is virtuosity here to be sure—the driving, haunting claw-hammer banjo entwined with fiddle both ragged and right in the Georgia tune “Big Bee Suck the Pumpkin Stem,” and a tasty sample of Metis fiddling in “The Red River Jig.” There is the broad Seeger instrumental range, including fiddle, guitar, several different banjos, piano, Hawaiian guitar, harmonica, mandolin and lap dulcimer. Duets are sung as often in octave unison as in country harmony. There is silliness (“Fod!” and “Jennie Jenkins”), fond familiarity (“My Home’s Across the Blue Ridge Mountains’) and homespun politics (“The Farmer is the Man”). But mostly there is comfort. This collection is delightful from the first listen and grows on one steadily. It’s a simple, cunning capture of two old sibling souls, up in years at long last, singing and smiling back at a slice of yesterday that—like McDonalds and Mickey Mouse, I suppose, but much easier on the ears—never really went away at all.

Mike Seeger & Peggy Seeger: The Farmer is the Man


Mike & Peggy Seeger: Big Bee Suck the Pumpkin Stem

 
Note: Mike Seeger passed away on August 7, 2009.

Hearth Music is now on Tumblr. Yep, we've got a whole micro-blog thing goin' on over there. That's where we'll be posting new singles and releases, including videos, mp3s, pics and all kinds of interesting musings.

So far we've posted:

Beautiful video from Kevin Murphy of the Moondoggies
Sketches of Pike Place Buskers
A sweet new cover of Cumberland Gap
Video of a wonderful, rare John Hartford song
Eerie cover of an ancient British ballad from Seattle's Jordan O'Jordan
Video of a brand-new song from Kimya Dawson
and LOTS more!

For those new to Tumblr, it's basically a cross between a blog and Twitter. Posts are short and usually very visual. It's a lot of fun, so drop by and say hi!

I found myself thinking about the tenth anniversary of 9/11 yesterday, and found unexpected solace in a beautiful song that I'd oft overlooked. While Facebook filled up with remembrances from all sides of the political spectrum (memorials for fallen soldiers, calls to remember the million killed in the pointless war post-9/11), this song brought it all full circle for me.



"Now Is The Cool of the Day" was written by Kentucky singer and folk songwriter Jean Ritchie in the early 1970s. It draws its inspiration from the rather strange biblical verse Genesis 3:8... "Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden." Of course referring to Adam and Eve's reaction to God after eating the apple, I love the thought of the "cool of the day" being a key part of this passage. Is this the time of day that God usually goes walking in the garden? Is this a blessed time of day? It seems that way sometimes, and Ritchie tapped into this feeling when writing the song.

NOW IS THE COOL OF THE DAY
(Jean Ritchie)

My Lord, he said unto me,
Do you like my garden so fair?
You may live in this garden if you keep the grasses green,
And I'll return in the cool of the day.

CHORUS
Now is the cool of the day,
Now is the cool of the day;
O this earth is a garden, the garden of my Lord,
And he walks in his garden
In the cool of the day.

Then my Lord, he said unto me,
Do you like my pastures of green?
You may live in this garden if you will feed my lambs,
And I'll return in the cool of the day.
CHORUS

Then my Lord, he said unto me,
Do you like my garden so free?
You may live in this garden if you keep the people free,
And I'll return in the cool of the day.
CHORUS

[Thanks to MudCat for the lyrics]

Ritchie's song stunningly expands on the original Genesis verse. With a nod to the original, she speaks of God's return to his garden to see how man has been keeping it, but NOW is the cool of the day, she says, bringing us to the present time. This Earth we live on NOW is the Garden of our lord, and we shall be judged on how we keep the garden and how we keep ourselves. She brings in just enough of the Old Testament to lend an edge to the song, especially in the verses. But the chorus is the real heart.

Now is the cool of the day;
O this earth is a garden, the garden of my Lord,
And he walks in his garden
In the cool of the day.

Poets over the centuries have worked to describe God's love of the world and mankind. They've used countless euphemisms, but I've fallen for Ritchie's simple line of God walking in his garden in the cool of the day. There's a real comfort in a thoughtful, reflective God, walking the paths of his creation and enjoying a cool evening breeze. And there's comfort in our responsibility to care for his garden, by caring for each other and caring for the Earth. It's a wonderful message, and especially timely as we look back on the past ten years in a post-9/11 world.



In the Cool of the Day: Daniel Martin Moore


Inspired by Jean Ritchie's work in Kentucky roots music (and her activism for protecting Kentucky's natural environment from rapacious mining companies), Sub Pop folk singer Daniel Martin Moore named his new solo album In the Cool of the Day. And he provides the best cover of Ritchie's song that I've heard. He taps into the gentle lyrics and message, and draws forth a deep beauty. Moore's album is just gorgeous, a loving selection of old and new gospel songs recorded by hand originally as a gift for family. Now it's a gift we all can enjoy.

Sadly, I'll have to miss Bumbershoot, Seattle's huge annual arts+music festival, this year, as I'll be cooling my heels in Hawaii (not that sad!). But I usually go every year, and have seen some amazing shows. I had my best celebrity sighting ever at Bumbershoot: Ajay Naidu (Office Space) break dancing with Midival Punditz. House-raising sets from Gogol Bordello and The Decemberists were incredible experiences, and it was even kinda cool to see Public Enemy. But Bumbershoot this year is a different kind of festival, thank god, smaller and more locally and folk oriented than before. The producers have clearly scaled back the size and scope of the festival, looking for a more sustainable, locally-based programming vision. Great idea, and I hope it helps the festival. For us, that means we might not get to see Fergie, but we can see some great bands from closer to home.

Hearth Music Guide to Bumbershoot

Youngershoot
It's great to see Bumbershoot scheduling more and more programming for kids. I don't remember this being a high priority a few years ago, but this year there's a whole schedule track for kids that includes stuff like a Blue Man Group Drumming Station, Ghanaian drumming and Zimbabwean marimba, tap dancing, a reading from Colin Meloy's (The Decemberists) intriguing new YA novel, and more. But you know the best part of Youngershoot? Kids 10 and under are FREEE!!!!


Flatstock
This is always my favorite part of Bumbershoot. The Fisher Pavilion's huge warehouse space gets converted into a labyrinthine space covered in posters, poster designers, and gawkers. This is THE place to go to spice up the walls of your house, and I've been picking up great posters over the years. It's also a great chance to meet the designers, most of whom are nice and engaging and willing to talk about their art. It's an inspiring place to hang out, whether or not you're an artist yourself.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3

Look, I don't get it, but for some reason, all the awesome folkie/world/roots artists are on Saturday. Lots of great stuff the other days too, but damn you would NOT want to miss Saturday.

Caleb Klauder Country Band, Saturday @ 12:45pm

Caleb's a frequent guest on Hearth Music's pages, ever since we ran publicity on his beautiful album, Western Country. He's well known from his years in the seminal Foghorn Stringband, and now after two solid albums of roots country as "The Caleb Klauder Country Band," the rest of the US is discovering his music. The guy just lives and breathes American roots music; that's really all there is to it. He's unmatched in his talent for touching the heart of an old song and making it feel brand new.

Caleb Klauder: My Time Is Gonna Come

 

PS: We got a sweet deal on Saturday tickets to Bumbershoot to see Caleb (and much more!). Check out the Hearth Music Facebook page to pick up discounted Saturday tickets.



Campfire OK, Saturday @ 12pm

It's no secret by now that Seattle's got one of the best indie roots music scenes in the US. Or if it was, The Head and the Heart changed all that. Now national bookers and tastemakers are scouring Ballard and Columbia City looking for the next big band. I'm hoping that Campfire OK will be quickly discovered. This grassroots collaborative filter in the handclaps and honest folk singing that we've come to love, but have a larger, more gothic vision. Brass lines collide in their music, piano lines roil beneath the melody, and singer Mychal's heart-breaking voice will suck your heart from your chest.

Campfire OK: We Lay In Caves

 
 

Väsen, Saturday at 4:15pm

Gotta say I didn't expect to see folk-heroes Väsen at Bumbershot, but kudos to the festival for recognizing one of the great folk bands! Väsen have been around for years and are seminal figures in the late 20th century revival of Scandinavian (specifically Swedish) folk traditions. If you've never seen or heard the nyckelharpa before, I HIGHLY recommend you take the time to check out leader Olov Johansson's playing. It's an instrument that's a cross between a fiddle and a hurdy-gurdy, and its all-organic, wooden tones are quite soothing. Of course, in Johansson's hands, it's a powerful sound indeed, and Väsen are as much known for their blazing tunesmanship as they are their beautiful, slow instrumentals.

Shabazz Palaces, Saturday @ 5:45pm

Yeah, the hype is all true. Shabazz Palaces will change hip-hop, probably already have changed hip-hop. And not because they're out to do that, but because they've can't help but think differently than most hip-hop artists. Lead vocalist Ishmael 'Butterfly' Butler may have been a huge star in Digable Planets, but these days his rap sounds more organic, more closely rooted to his home in the Pacific Northwest. Together with Zimbabwean-American artist Tendai Maraire, this duo have built a new aesthetic that's at once informed by the inner city that birthed hip-hop and also by a global view of African and American culture. It's ancient African traditions refracted through the windows of a modern high-rise, psychedelic beats and the crunching buzz of music in a city night. It's a new sound and a new vision for hip-hop, informed by history but invented by the future.

Shabazz Palaces: free press and curl


 

Jayme Stone, Saturday @ 7:30pm

Banjoist Jayme Stone is not only a monster picker, he's also a modern-day explorer. His albums bring the banjo back to its roots, either in the music of Africa (his award-winning album From Appalachia to Africa, with Malian kora player Mansa Sissoko) or in world dance traditions (his newest album, Room of Wonders). He's like a non-academic ethnomusicologist, as comfortable bumming around Mali with an ngoni looking to learn from the locals, or working with on a jazz suite for a chamber symphony (according to his Twitter). No small feat, and he can still manage to burn up the stage playing traditional bluegrass in his John Hartford Tribute. Sounds like the kind of player you'd want in your corner at any jam.

Jayme Stone w/Casey Driessen: You Can't Run Away from Your Feet (John Hartford)


 

I was thinking this was gonna happen! Lafayette, the capitol of Cajun Country in SW Louisiana, has a rep for being one of the hottest music spots in the state, and not just for a whole new generation of young Cajun musicians. It's also got it's share of indie bands too. I got hipped to this thank to Valcour Records, who released the debut album from a little indie band called the Givers a year or so back. Now The Givers have blown up and are getting lots of great press and attention, and people are starting to realize that there's a lot of great music coming out of Louisiana's "Cajun Country."

This split EP, The Color Sessions,  is a great example of Lafayette's fertile music grounds, with indie-Cajun band Feufollet trading off songs with indie-rockers Brass Bed. Though trading off isn't so much the word, they're actually covering selected tracks from the other band's albums. Which is even cooler because it means that Feufollet sings in English and Brass Bed sings in Cajun French. But both bands are closer than you'd think. Their press release states that they've played together, lived together, shared a keyboardist, and shared plenty of drinks at the heart of Lafayette's music scene: the Blue Moon Saloon. It's not a huge stretch for either band, but it does make for a great album.

The fun here is that covering another genre brings out new sides to the bands. It's great fun to hear Feufollet tear through an indie-rock summer romp like "Bums on the Radio," just like it's surprising to hear Brass Bed totally nail a subtle Cajun song like "Le Berceuse du Vieux Voyager." So raise a glass with me to the fine young kinds in Lafayette, Louisiana, long may the bon temps roules!

Feufollet: Bums on the Radio


Brass Bed: Le Berceuse du Vieux Voyager






 

It's been a while since our last "Videos of the Week", which has given some of our friends ample time to put out some incredible work. Video is the new CD, and Vimeo is the new YouTube, so if you want to stay in touch with roots music today, check out these brand-new, stunningly gorgeous, video series:
 

Natural Beardy's Pickathon Sessions

Dylan MacNab, runs the website Natural Beardy out of rainy Eugene, OR. We had fun hanging out at Pickathon this past week, and while I was just crashing the party, he was hard at work taping beautiful videos of his favorite bands. He just released the first of six videos from Pickathon, and it features non other than a long-time Hearth Music favorite: Joy Kills Sorrow. Videos to come will feature Pokey Lafarge & The South City Three, Cahalen Morrison & Eli West, Breathe Owl Breathe, L.C. Ulmer, and Charlie Parr.

Joy Kills Sorrow - Reservations - Beardy Session from Natural Beardy on Vimeo.

American Standard Time's New Artist Video Portrait

Greg Vandy (KEXP's The Roadhouse) is a visionary of today's indie roots music scene. He's also a Pickathon regular, having  contributed essays to the new Pickathon book, and taped a mini-documentary on old-timey prophet Frank Fairfield at Pickathon 2010. He also runs one of our favorite blogs, American Standard Time (which I write for from time to time). He's recently been developing his Artist Video Portrait series and I am completely in love with the results. Working with various directors, he drops by an artist at home or on tour, taping them playing and talking about music. His video portrait of Alela Diane is truly beautiful, and he's got a bunch of other videos up and more coming.

Here's his newest video, an insightful look at the music and legacy of old-time musician John Cohen. Cohen founded the New Lost City Ramblers, was a big influence on an early Bob Dylan, and coined the phrase "high, lonesome sound" after meeting Appalachian singer Roscoe Holcomb. Hear how it all went down on American Standard Time's newest Artist Video Portrait, directed by underground cartoonist/filmmaker Drew Christie in a black and white hommage to John's seminal films:

American Standard Time Presents John Cohen from colony on Vimeo.

In other news, Seattle-based, uber-magazine Fretboard Journal, has taken their standard of beautiful production and in-depth articles to the video realm, releasing a series of video shorts and mini documentaries. All impeccably filmed with great sound, these videos are great snapshots of some of the best acoustic roots music. Note: We've been promoting some of these artists, so it's not like we're unbiased, but have a look at the videos and you'll surely agree that they're great.

A sweet story from soft-spoken bluegrass mandolin powerhouse John Reischman about his treasured Lloyd Loar Gibson F-5. There are only 200 of these in the world, and they can sell for up to a quarter of a million dollars!

John Reischman's Mandolin from fretboardjournal on Vimeo.

Cahalen Morrison & Eli West from fretboardjournal on Vimeo.