|
|
vhf#61 Black Twig Pickers North Fork Flyer CD
Black Twig represents the
continued persistence of a type of Appalachian folk music that has come
and gone from the popular radar over the years, but has never really
disappeared from the band’s Southwest Virginia home. The songs on
"North Fork Flyer" are mostly traditional numbers (with a few
originals sprinkled in) that form the backbone of a century-old tradition
- the music of bonfires, front porches, coal miner’s festivals, and
informal gatherings. Over the years, "mountain ragas" (as the
group calls them) like "Angelina Baker," "Spike Driver’s
Blues," "Poor Boy Long Ways From Home" and "Sail Away
Ladies" have been recorded, performed, and revised continually by
luminaries such as Bukka White, Mississippi John Hurt, John Fahey, Bob
Wills, Holy Modal Rounders, New Lost City Ramblers, etc, etc – a who’s
who of true American artistry. Recorded live to DAT on front porches and
in family rooms, "North Fork Flyer" blends fiddle blues, sinewy
guitar and the drone and twitch of fretless clawhammer banjo with the band’s
rough-around-the-edges but warm harmonies. Played to the accompaniment of
night insects, passing trains, and the noise of wandering children, the
music retains the charm of tradition but is free of fake antiquarianism
and nostalgia – regardless of age, the music is just as relevant today
as it was 100 years ago and the band plays it like they mean it. The band
name comes from the oldest, most crotchety apple variety in the orchard
that fiddler Ralph Berrier's family maintains along the musically fertile
Virginia-North Carolina line. 17 Tracks, 50 Minutes. CD $9
Black Twig:
Ralph Berrier Jr.: fiddle, vocals
Mike Gangloff: banjo, vocals
Isak Howell: guitar, harmonica, vocals
|
|
