Get Up in the Cool

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! This week’s guest is one of my dearest friends in the Old Time community, Jake Blount, and this is his second appearance on Get Up in the Cool. I love having Jake on the show, because he’s an incredible musician, and he’s uniquely insightful and sometimes incisive about the roots of this music and the way people perceive it and the discrepancies between the two. Jake actually throws a lot of shade in this interview, which is an interesting choice, considering he’s on the show to promote his new EP with Tatiana Hargreaves, no big deal, and some of the things he says might make his audience defensive.

But every grievance Jake expresses is matched and exceeded with this effusive gratitude, and humility, which he articulates just as eloquently. So, I’m just going to go ahead and encourage you to adopt an open posture while listening to this, because the things Jake has to say are things we need to hear, and no one is going to communicate them as clearly, or as gracefully as he does. If you can do that, you will be touched by this music in the way it’s intended, which is to bring joy, through discomfort.

Stick around after the interview and I’ll give you a sneak peak at Jake’s new EP. You don’t want to miss it. Here’s my wonderful conversation with Jake Blount, who I like a lot. Enjoy.

Tunes we’ll play:
Indian on a Stump
Snowshoes
Sally Ann
Georgia Belles
Johnny Court the Widow
Bonus Track: Running Home to Doris

Jake’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/notjacobnotblunt/
Jake’s first episode: http://www.camerondewhitt.com/getupinthecool/jakeblount
Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool

Support Get Up in the Cool

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! This week’s friends are Palmer and Greg Loux from Run of the Mill String Band! I got to know them at my first clifftop back in 2014, when I gave their son’s friend a ride and ended up camping with them. I remember sitting in on a jam with them and not being able to keep up. Palmer has a taste for notey melodies with less internal repetition than your typical old time tune. Basically kryptonite for a banjo player like me who likes to match a fiddler note for note. Fortunately, she gave me the tunes in advance; so I had quite the homework session preparing for this interview. And I still play a lot of these tunes, especially this first one: Flowers of Edinburgh, which is beautiful and very interesting, and in the process of learning it, I think I became a better banjo player and old time musician in general.

Make sure and stick around after the interview to find out where Palmer and Greg are playing next and how to order all their CDs and download all their music. Also, details on how to support Get Up in the Cool and get access to exclusive, members-only content like this week’s bonus track, Blue River, which is one of the best bonus tracks yet featured on the show. You gotta hear it.

Let’s get started! Here’s my interview and jam with Palmer and Greg Loux; enjoy!

Tunes we play:
Flowers of edinburgh
Sail Away Ladies
Wagoner Hornpipe
Horseshoe Bend
Hell Up Coal Holler
Eye of the Beholder
Bonus Track: Blue River

Run of the Mill String Band: https://www.runotmill.com/
Snow Hill Strings: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/snowhillstrings
The Hootenanny: http://www.camphillkimberton.org/hootenanny/

Support Get Up in the Cool

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! This week’s friend is Kilby Spencer, and he’s kind of my new favorite fiddler. I wasn’t able to fully enjoy his fiddling while playing with him, because I was really concentrated on trying keep up, and not make a fool out of myself. But I just finished editing our interview and jam, and my jaw was on the floor the whole time. Kilby’s awesome. And, the best part is, I didn’t even get a chance to be intimidated, because he’s one of the nicest, most hospitable people I’ve met in my travels. He let me crash at his house, threw a bunch of amazing musicians with awesome stories in front of my microphones, and fed me all the fried chicken I could eat. Five Stars, would do business again.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Kilby’s a kind and generous person and a fantastic fiddler. His story’s full of gratitude and humility; because he came to this music more honestly than most of us do, and I think that understanding of what he’s doing, why he’s doing it, and where it all came from, is apparent in his playing and living. I learned a lot playing with him, and I had blast. I’m so glad I got some of it on tape so you all could catch a glimpse.
Stick around after the interview for details on how to hear more of Kilby’s music and how to support Get Up in the Cool and get access to exclusive bonus content.

Tunes we’ll play:
Richmond
Lafayette
Nancy Blevins
Old Sport
Lost Train Blues
Katy Did
Bonus Track: Say Old Man Can You Play the Fiddle

Buy Always Been a Rambler: https://thecrookedroadramblers.bandcamp.com/
Buy albums from the Field Recorders' Collective: https://fieldrecorder.bandcamp.com/
Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool
Buy Get Up in the Cool vol. 1: https://camerondewhitt.bandcamp.com/

Support Get Up in the Cool

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! This week’s friend is Mark Simos, fiddler and professor at Berklee College of Music. I visited him in his home back in February when I took my Boston trip. I didn’t know Mark at all prior to our session, but both Mark Kilianski and Adam Hurt recommended him, so my expectations were high. And I wasn’t disappointed! Mark’s a fantastic fiddler and he has a lot of ideas about what music is and why it’s important; traditional music especially. So, basically the perfect Get Up in the Cool guest. It was nice to not feel like I was being self-indulgent when I wanted to wax philosophical about fiddle tunes, he was right there with me. But, don’t get the wrong idea, this is by no means an overly talky episode. Mark curated a great jam of great versions of great tunes, with an emphasis on effective, intentional simplicity. I’m really excited for you to hear it!

Tunes we’ll play:
Old Aunt Jenny With Her Nightcap On
Old Billy Hell
Poor Little Johnny’s Gone to the War
Duck River
Shaking Down the Acorns
aking Down the ShAcorns
Bonus Track: Run All Night

Mark's CDs:
https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/MarkSimos
http://www.5-string.com/

Mark's songwriting book, Songwriting Strategies: A 360o Approach
(Berklee Press/Hal Leonard 2014)
www.songwritingstrategies.com
www.360songwriting.com - community site (w/book audio files)
https://www.facebook.com/songwritingstrategies/

Mark's blog:
http://songwriterscompass.wordpress.com/

Mark’s artist/songwriter site
www.devachan.com

The Singer Songwriter Handbook, which features Mark's chapter, "The Performing Songwriter's Dilemma":
http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-singer-songwriter-handbook-9781628920291/

Miles of Music camp:
http://www.milesofmusiccamp.com/

Berklee’s Summer Songwriting Workshop (June 26 - 30):
https://www.berklee.edu/summer/programs/songwriting

California Coast Music Camp July 9 - 15:
https://www.musiccamp.org/2017

Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool

That Radiolab episode I mentioned:
http://www.radiolab.org/story/debatable/

Support Get Up in the Cool

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! This week’s friend is Lillian Werbin. We recorded this at Elderly Instruments in Lansing, MI.

Tune in this episode:

• High on the Mountain (1:13)
• West Virginia, My Home (12:38)
• Red Rocking Chair (26:20)
• Darling Corey (42:30)
• Handsome Molly (48:07)
• Bonus Track: Troubles

Visit Elderly Instruments’ online store!
Learn more about The Banjo Gathering
Follow Lillian Werbin on Instagram

Thanks to Earful of Fiddle for sponsoring this episode! Visit earfuloffiddle.com for more info and to sign up.

Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon
Sign up at Pitchfork Banjo for my clawhammer instructional series!
Schedule a banjo lesson with Cameron
Visit Tall Poppy String Band’s website
and follow us on Instagram

Support Get Up in the Cool