Episode 45: Kilby Spencer (Old Time Hand-Me-Downs)
06/07/17 • 61 min
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/
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/
Previous Episode
Episode 44: Mark Simos (The Other Side of Complexity)
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/
Next Episode
Episode 46: Ethan Hawkins (If You're Not Having Fun, You're Not Doing it Right)
Welcome to Get Up in the Cool, Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends. This week’s friend is one of my favorite flat-pickers, songwriters, and old time musicians, Ethan Hawkins. I met him at Mt. Airy a couple years ago, and immediately got a big ol’ crush on him. He’s a very good guitarist, with a dreamy voice, and he’s a very animated performer, so I’m really glad I got him on video. Oh, did I not mention that? Check out Get Up in the Cool's Facebook page and you'll find some videos from this episode.
Tunes we'll play:
Josie-O
New Harbor
How’s Your Family Been? (what’s the official title?)
Winderslide
Greasy Coat
Road to Malvern
Bonus Track: Grigsby’s Hornpipe
If you like this episode you’ll love
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