Banjo 365 - Lets give it a year...

Lets give it a year and see how it goes. Twelve months ago I got a Banjo and other than the occasional strum and pluck its not really come out the case all that much. So today I'm starting what I'm calling Banjo365, a little project to see how far I can get with clawhammer banjo in one year.

I'm starting from more or less nothing, not even a bum ditty, I'm aiming for a, somewhat passable, rendition of Cripple Creek and similar.

I've worked on it a little in December but with New Years Day approaching it seems time to fish or cut bait.

T-minus 365.

Task 1 - Putting the bum into bum ditty.

Now Playing: The East Pointers - What We Leave Behind (2017)

I first LISTENED to The East Pointers on Youtube, I first HEARD OF the East Pointers in the newspaper. I just happened to read an article in passing about a then upcoming gig at Lizotte's so googled them to see what they were like. What I found was two great sets on YouTube from the Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2017. That was enough for me to book a table and shlep to Lizotte's to see them live.

As we do at such events, I grabbed their most recent album What We Leave Behind after the show. As it was available I grabbed the vinyl LP (with code of free digital download). I recently got a new needle for my record player and to test it out I picked this LP for a spin. Naturally this reminded me I had not posted about the The East Pointers here yet.

This is their second album and like their first has a decent bit of Australian inspired music considering the Canadian origins of the band.

I can't imagine how a TV producer for Channel 9 has not yet discovered the track 82 fires and used it as the backing for an emotional montage of bushfire footage at the end of the news. This song is the most Folk Pop track on the album which is an otherwise celtic infused contemporary folk record. The best word to describe the album as a whole is emotional. Indeed that is the first word that comes to mind when attempting to describe any individual track. What changes from track to track is the emotion being expressed.  Tanglewood, Party Wave and Pour Over are joyful instrumentals. Two Weeks is a lament. What We Leave Behind is the contemplative instrumental as is, to some extent, The Crossing.  John Wallace tells a sad tale and Hid In Your Heart is a sad parting.

Musically there is so much to love here. Tim Chaisson (Fiddler and singer), Koady Chaisson (Tenor Banjoist) and Jake Charron (Guitarist) have created a wonderful blending of instrumentals and poignant lyrical tracks.

Check it out online, listen to short samples below or on the spotify app for the full tracks.

More Than Twice 55 Community Songs.

Picked this up in an antique shop this weekend. 

Originally published in the early 20th century (maybe in 1917) the forward makes for interesting reading.

The song list includes an eclectic range of music that includes some old time and folk tunes from America and Britain.

Now Playing: Get up in the Cool Vol. 1 (2017)

I posted about the Get Up in the Cool podcast already. When I caught host Cameron DeWhitt playing at a pub in Newcastle I grabbed a couple of copies of the related CDs. This CD (Vol.1) is more or less a mixtape featuring the show's best performances from 2016.

The tracks are edited together so that, much like the podcast itself, you feel a bit like the fly on the wall at an old time jam. The eclectic nature of the podcast means this album is full of variety with different styles, voices and instruments taking the spotlight from track to track. That said, the presence of Cameron's particular style of banjo playing gives the album a unified quality.

Top tracks Hang Me (with Luke Chohany), Billy in the Lowground (with Brad Kolodner) and Rolling River (with Jake Blount).

It's possible I got one of the last physical copies (or at least one of the last physical copies he had in Australia).

It is however available online or listen here below: