Inktrails from Alaska

Performing Every Friday in June

I'll be performing every Friday in June at the gazebo (near the Harding car) in Pioneer Park, (more happily known as Alaskaland). It's a one-hour show, from 7-8,outdoors, fairly informal and relaxed, and suitable for the whole family. I'll be fiddling, and may or may not have special guests. You'll just have to come and see!

New Downloadable Music Links

I've added a section to the Tartan Tundra Music site with a list of places that have free downloads of traditional tunes. It's in the sidebar, scroll on down and check it out over at Tartan Tundra Music.

The Beautiful Voice

I could fall in love with Roy Orbison. Could you imagine that voice talking to you? Whispering sweet nothings? Saying, "Come here, honey, let me give you a hug."

He was an entire generation ahead of me, and he died too young. I love his passion, his songs, his music, his voice.

Some pooh-pooh his songs as corny, but if you lived his life, you would understand. His music isn't for complacent suburbanites who live life through the characters on a soap opera or CNN. Roy Orbison's music is for people who live and feel and experience life without barriers. His songs make people uncomfortable, because of the bare emotions that come through and spear you right through the heart.

I wish I'd been able to go to a Beatles concert where he was the opener. What a bill! What a rush!

Tartan Tundra Music Grand Opening

The music studio has its own name, and blog! Tartan Tundra Music is now the place to find all the news about workshops, my performances, thoughts and philosophy about teaching music, and much more as we go along.

I will be putting a music library there so that students can download their sheet music. Once I have a way to record myself digitally, I'll have videos and audio files as well.

A calendar of upcoming events is planned, including concerts of touring artists that I think are a good bet.

This Saturday, May 9, is the studio's grand opening! It's a potluck/jam session, so bring food or an instrument or both! Or neither, just drop by to see the place and say hi! Directions to the studio are on the new Tartan Tundra Music site.

See you Saturday!

Upcoming Music Events

This Thursday, April 30: Tartan Tundra Music presents the students of Jean McDermott in recital. This is a non-traditional, non-uptight FUN event! We even have a potluck afterward. Everyone is welcome, there is limited seating. If you want to participate in the potluck bring some food to share. 7pm at the Noel Wien Library  Auditorium on Cowles St.

This Friday, May 1: Jean McDermott will be performing at New Horizons Gallery from 5 to 7pm for First Friday.

May 9, Saturday, GRAND OPENING of Tartan Tundra Music!
We'll have a jam, a potluck and you'll be able to check the place out. Stay tuned!

SUMMERTIME WORKSHOPS
Most of these will be weekly.

A ukulele group class is now being planned. Jump soon to get in on this one!

A Strum and Sing guitar class for beginners.

Ongoing summer fiddling class! Old timey, American style, Athabascan style and more. For those involved in Young Native Fiddlers, here is a class to help keep your fiddling going during the summer.

Return of the Weekly Jam?

Folks have been requesting this! I think Celtic music but also as much other music and people want to bring. I love Cajun and International music, such as Swedish, Russian, and Eastern European. This would be an adult jam that is welcome to younger players, who would learn from their elders by trying to keep up. Sharing music would be encouraged.

Email for more information.

Why Did Roo Reave Me Heeeeerrre Arrrr Arrroooooooone?

Having that Hee Haw song (Archie Campbell sang it, among many others) stuck in my head has just triggered a nice morning singalong with Sofie. Know how when you get a song stuck in your head you start to sing it crazy because it IS driving you crazy? So I started howling it and lo and behold, the little doggie who never howls since Stevie passed away came downstairs and helped me sing it!

And now I don't have it stuck in my head anymore! Good dog!

Where oh Where, Are You Tonight?

Why did you leave me here all alone?
I searched the world over and thought I found true love
But you found another and PHFFT you were gone.

Yes, what does a musician do at 2am? Search out songs like Phfft You Were Gone, which iTunes doesn't have, damn it, but which is giving me some serious earworm.

So I switched over to Homer and Jethro and now can barely type because the download takes up so much bandwidth. I NEED those 20 song parodies! Especially Jam-Bowl-Liar and Let Me Go, Blubber. And How Much is That Hound Dog in the Winder. A necessity of life. I can't live without it!

If only I had more money. There is a Jethro Burns/Tiny Moore album I really want, but it's $20. Heck I don't even get an actual  CD for that much money, and I should. Then there is the rougher  but more homespun Jethro Burns and Red Rector that is nevertheless great playing. Okay, okay. I console myself that I have Jesse McReynolds already downloaded and can listen to his mandolin playing, which was unique and amazing.

Yeah, but I still want Jethro Burns!

While on the genre of silly songs I did not seek out Spike Jones. That's a whole other set of Dixieland and beeps and honks and yeah, I'm weird enough to really love this kind of stuff. I own three Spike Jones vinyl records. I'll have to fire up the turn table and listen to them, I guess. I could copy them to cassette tape, but no one has tape players anymore! Ouch!

iTunes is a very dangerous place at 2am . Especially for musicians.

My All-time Favorite Christmas Song

I am going to have to order the CD, but having this song on a web page where I can listen to it all the time is pretty wonderful.

I don't know why it's so funny. It just is. Maybe it's my Midwest roots? I do have to admit there is a serious corniness gene that runs in the family. Whatever it is, this song always makes me smile and even laugh out loud. Part of it is that the delivery is pretty dry, and considering the words that makes it even funnier.

Check it out here, and be sure to check Harry Stewart's other songs, too. "I Just Go Nuts at Christmas" was also sung as Yogi Yorgesson, one of his silly stage names. These songs are old, old, old, but most people haven't heard them. Here is a page of all the Yogi Yorgesson Christmas songs and a good bio of Harry Stewart. At the bottom of the page is the link to the complete songs of Harry Stewart.

The story about being the Santa for the PTA is pretty good,but it isn't something you can sing around the house. For my money, Yingle Bells is still the funniest Christmas song ever written.

Music Musings

Item 1: I've just seen Nissan use Woody Guthrie's song Car Car for their commercial. Take me for a ride in your car car. Sigh.

Item 2: To add insult to injury, some investment company is using In-a-Gadda-da-vita with flowers that look like they were on the record album. Eighth grade was never like this.

Item 3: The only way I can do dishes is to either watch TV or play fairly loud music. Doing dishes in total silence is hell. So yesterday I put on my Best of the Band album and heard how They Drove Old Dixie Down. I'm one of those people who listen to, and remember lyrics.

This song is unapologetically Southern, and Rebel Southern at that. Now, I get sick of the folks down south copping an attitude that their whole lives were ruined by the "War Between the States" and the thinly veiled (and out-and-out blatant) racism that seems to go along with it. The Confederacy lost, it's been over a long time and really folks, get over it.

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down isn't about that, though. If you listen to the song, you'll see that it is about how war takes away life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness from working people. It's a lament of the farmer, the railroad worker, the working man, not the land and slave-owning plantationers.

Like my father before, I'm a working man,

And like my brother before me, I took the Rebel's stand.

He was just 18, proud and brave, but a Yankee laid him in his grave

And I swear by the mud below my feet, you can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeat.

—The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Robbie Robertson

Working men, poor men, poor families, who went to war because they thought it was the right thing to do, the only thing to do. Some probably went because someone in authority said it was the patriotic thing to do, some might have gone for the adventure. I'm sure many went out of desperation, to try to keep what little they had, and not be dragged down to the level of the slaves around them. With the Union soldiers advancing, I think few had a choice.

Not to say there wasn't racism. But The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down isn't about racism or Confederate-flag-waving. It's about the inevitable cost of war.

Celtic Jam in Limbo

Our regular Thursday night jam lost its place to meet a couple of weeks ago. We were meeting at The Pomegranate, and the owner just didn't want to have us there anymore. Not that we did anything wrong, of course! But she has her reasons, one of which is that she works too many long hours, and staying up late was getting to her.

So we need a new place to play. I have a few ideas, but if you have any, feel free to leave a comment or email me. With the holidays in full swing, I'm not inclined to approach anyone, at least not this week. Most people are pretty frazzled, merchants and restaurant owners the most right now. I'll find a place for the jam, but it will be January sometime before we restart.