KVR february

[offthewall]

I’ve gone back to the roots of certain styles of Irish traditional music.
Much of today’s instrumental music can be attributed to the style partly developed and popularised by Turlogh Carolan, a blind itinerant harpist from the 17th century who would travel round the country houses of Irish noblemen to play at their dances. He would usually write a ‘planxty’ or ‘thank you’ song for them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turlough_Carolan

We have acoustic guitars, Irish bouzouki and penny whistle, this time from my daughter Lilah.

 
James

[Oren]

We have acoustic guitars, Irish bouzouki and penny whistle, this time from my daughter Lilah.

This is where you (and your daughter) shine, James! Both in performance and in production.
...your approach to down and dirty blues comes a close second...

[kara]

This one deserve a place in the top 3 over there 

I note in my notebook, that the day I will need a whistle player, I know a girl in the UK that is very good 

k

[MarioD]

This is where you (and your daughter) shine, James! Both in performance and in production

This one deserve a place in the top 3 over there 
k

It's been all said.

Great job James

[offthewall]

Thanks for the comments, folks.
This one was all down to my daughter being home at the right time. 

Before we recorded this one my first instinct was toward a Blues song, this genre being my own personal inspiration back when I was 15 years old.

The song that I started to work on initially was inspired by a personal meeting ... as was another 
I'm going to post this song up now and I shall have a tale to tell about it in a couple of days .... watch this space 

This is Mississippi Fred McDowell .. You Got To Move.

 
James

[offthewall]

 
Here is the story.

I got to explain here about my voting pattern over there. Unfortunately Kara got in to the votes before I did, giving me a #1 vote, making this look like an ‘old boys network’ situation.
This month has turned up so many memories for me that it is almost unbelievable!

My #1 vote has been cast for his tune for two reasons. Firstly, this is the best piece of barrelhouse (honky-tonk) piano that I have heard for many years. Secondly, the venerated Curtis Jones was the very first ‘real-life’ blues musician that I had the honour to meet in person.
Back in the late 60’s I was personally involved in the running of the ‘only’ dedicated Blues club in the North-East of England. It was a real uphill struggle, in those days, to be able to get the blues played in a ‘folk club’ setting. Once our club achieved a measure of success we started to book artists who were travelling through to the European clubs to intercept them en-route. The first of these was Curtis Jones. He was pretty old at this point and we so ill-equipped that we even had to buy in a piano for him.  This tune played by Kara sounds so like his actual style that I am quite overcome.
Following on from that experience we also had a visit from the one and only Mississippi Fred McDowell to our club.  When this theme was proposed I started to work on a ‘Fred’ song, in tribute, but then I found that my daughter was coming home for the weekend and had been waiting a long time to get in the studio so I went with my ‘other’ set of roots.
This is a long tale, I’m sorry.  Back in those club days our concert-chairman, a chap affectionately know as Bob The Gob, (who is no longer with us) used to save money by offering the visiting guests a bed at his home, rather than at a hotel.  On both mentioned visits the guests accepted and stayed with him. Consequently I had the honour, along with a few other good friends, of sitting up until the small hours, chatting with Curtis Jones about his life and times, and sitting with Fred McDowell listening to him play that inimitable slide guitar to a very small and exclusive audience.
These are times I can never forget.

When I made this song I tried to make it as authentic as possible. I used an old 50's archtop guitar with a home-made slide and recorded it all in mono on my old cheap microphone.
Here is a picture of that kit.

 
James

[Oren]

Consequently I had the honour, along with a few other good friends, of sitting up until the small hours, chatting with Curtis Jones about his life and times, and sitting with Fred McDowell listening to him play that inimitable slide guitar to a very small and exclusive audience.
These are times I can never forget.

When I made this song I tried to make it as authentic as possible. I used an old 50's archtop guitar with a home-made slide and recorded it all in mono on my old cheap microphone.
Here is a picture of that kit.

[kara]

You won and it was deserved 
Congratz 

k

[folderol]

Way Hey! You did it!

Fantabulodous!

[MarioD]

Congratulations