Re: [scifinoir2] OT: For a Different Sound: The Carolina Chocolate Drops
Yes, we do. And thanks! On Sat, Sep 4, 2010 at 11:26 PM, Keith Johnson wrote: > > > Okay, as they said on Monty Python, "And now for something completely > different". The Carolina Chocolate Drops are a banjo and jug band from > North Carolina, which ain't that unusual until you realize they're all young > black musicians. They play some deep ol' Southern country mountain music > that hails from waaay back in the day! Give a listen and you'll swear you're > back in the holler listening to some old boys pickin' on a fiddle and banjo, > or perhaps stumbled across an old ep of "Hee Haw". Unknown to many, much > of the roots for what's now called country music comes from blacks: the > banjo and guitar were mainstays of black musicians until well into the 20th > Century. > Now this may not be many folks' cup of tea. Me, I love all music when it's > done well, and I'm a sucker for any well played stringed instrument, be it > guitar, banjo or fiddle. And I guess I'm enough of a Texas boy that I love > me some good old down home music! My poor wife often shakes her head when I > tune into the local radio station's programs dedicated to cowboy, banjo, or > zydeco tunes! I can tap my feet, slap my knee, and dance a jig--what the > Beverly Hillbillies called "fancy foot steppin'"-- with the best of 'em! > > Check out some video clips of the Drops, who just released a new album, > "Genuine Negro Jig", which I will be downloading from iTunes--much to my > wife's chagrin. She tells me all the time that for all my sophistication and > love of IT, modern music, and whatnot, I'm still just a country boy from > Cowtown! I don't get it: doesn't everyone listen to cowboy music now and > then? > > > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xOxHyTP91c&feature=fvw > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdLRCSOZ7wo > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbcqGjeNz7w&feature=related > > > http://www.carolinachocolatedrops.com/ > > Band Biography > > “Tradition is a guide, not a jailer. We play in an older tradition but we > are modern musicians.” > > —Justin Robinson > > In the summer and fall of 2005, three young black musicians, Dom Flemons, > Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson, made the commitment to travel to > Mebane, N.C., every Thursday night to sit in the home of old-time fiddler > Joe Thompson for a musical jam session. Joe was in his 80’s, a black fiddler > with a short bowing style that he inherited from generations of family > musicians. He had learned to play a wide ranging set of tunes sitting on the > back porch with other players after a day of field work. Now he was passing > those same lessons on to a new generation. > > When the three students decided to form a band, they didn’t have big plans. > It was mostly a tribute to Joe, a chance to bring his music back out of the > house again and into dance halls and public places. They called themselves > The Chocolate Drops as a tip of the hat to the Tennessee Chocolate Drops, > three black brothers Howard, Martin and Bogan Armstrong, who lit up the > music scene in the 1930’s. Honing and experimenting with Joe’s repertoire, > the band often coaxed their teacher out of the house to join them on stage. > Joe’s charisma and charm regularly stole the show. > > Being young and living in the 21st century, the Chocolate Drops first > hooked up through a yahoo group, Black Banjo: Then and Now (BBT&N) hosted > by Tom Thomas and Sule Greg Wilson. Dom was still living in Arizona, but in > April 2005, when the web-chat spawned the Black Banjo Gathering in > Asheville, N.C., he flew east and ended moving to the Piedmont where he > could get at the music first hand. Joe Thompson’s house was the proof in the > pudding. > > The Chocolate Drops started playing around, rolling out the tunes wherever > anyone would listen. From town squares to farmer’s markets, they perfected > their playing and began to win an avid following of foot-tapping, > sing-along, audiences. In 2006, they picked up a spot at the locally-based > Shakori Hills Festival where they lit such a fire on the dance tent floor > that Tim and Denise Duffy of the Music Maker Relief Foundation came over to > see what was going on. Rhiannon remembers being skeptical when this local > Hillsborough, N.C., guy with a goofy smile and a roster of old blues > musicians offered to take them on and promote their music. The band was > still figuring out who they were and Duffy was offering to house them with > people like Algie Mae Hinton, musicians who were not pretenders to a > tradition, but the real thing. > > The connection turned out to be a great match. While the young “Drops” were > upstarts in a stable of deep tradition, they were also the link between past > and future. They began to expand their repertoire, taking advantage of what > Dom calls “the novelty factor” to get folks in the door and then teaching > and thrilling them with traditional music that was evolving as they > performed.
[scifinoir2] OT: For a Different Sound: The Carolina Chocolate Drops
Okay, as they said on Monty Python, "And now for something completely different". The Carolina Chocolate Drops are a banjo and jug band from North Carolina, which ain't that unusual until you realize they're all young black musicians. They play some deep ol' Southern country mountain music that hails from waaay back in the day! Give a listen and you'll swear you're back in the holler listening to some old boys pickin' on a fiddle and banjo, or perhaps stumbled across an old ep of "Hee Haw". Unknown to many, much of the roots for what's now called country music comes from blacks: the banjo and guitar were mainstays of black musicians until well into the 20th Century. Now this may not be many folks' cup of tea. Me, I love all music when it's done well, and I'm a sucker for any well played stringed instrument, be it guitar, banjo or fiddle. And I guess I'm enough of a Texas boy that I love me some good old down home music! My poor wife often shakes her head when I tune into the local radio station's programs dedicated to cowboy, banjo, or zydeco tunes! I can tap my feet, slap my knee, and dance a jig--what the Beverly Hillbillies called "fancy foot steppin'"-- with the best of 'em! Check out some video clips of the Drops, who just released a new album, "Genuine Negro Jig", which I will be downloading from iTunes--much to my wife's chagrin. She tells me all the time that for all my sophistication and love of IT, modern music, and whatnot, I'm still just a country boy from Cowtown! I don't get it: doesn't everyone listen to cowboy music now and then? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xOxHyTP91c&feature=fvw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdLRCSOZ7wo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbcqGjeNz7w&feature=related http://www.carolinachocolatedrops.com/ Band Biography “Tradition is a guide, not a jailer. We play in an older tradition but we are modern musicians.” —Justin Robinson In the summer and fall of 2005, three young black musicians, Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson, made the commitment to travel to Mebane, N.C., every Thursday night to sit in the home of old-time fiddler Joe Thompson for a musical jam session. Joe was in his 80’s, a black fiddler with a short bowing style that he inherited from generations of family musicians. He had learned to play a wide ranging set of tunes sitting on the back porch with other players after a day of field work. Now he was passing those same lessons on to a new generation. When the three students decided to form a band, they didn’t have big plans. It was mostly a tribute to Joe, a chance to bring his music back out of the house again and into dance halls and public places. They called themselves The Chocolate Drops as a tip of the hat to the Tennessee Chocolate Drops, three black brothers Howard, Martin and Bogan Armstrong, who lit up the music scene in the 1930’s. Honing and experimenting with Joe’s repertoire, the band often coaxed their teacher out of the house to join them on stage. Joe’s charisma and charm regularly stole the show. Being young and living in the 21st century, the Chocolate Drops first hooked up through a yahoo group, Black Banjo: Then and Now (BBT&N) hosted by Tom Thomas and Sule Greg Wilson. Dom was still living in Arizona, but in April 2005, when the web-chat spawned the Black Banjo Gathering in Asheville, N.C., he flew east and ended moving to the Piedmont where he could get at the music first hand. Joe Thompson’s house was the proof in the pudding. The Chocolate Drops started playing around, rolling out the tunes wherever anyone would listen. From town squares to farmer’s markets, they perfected their playing and began to win an avid following of foot-tapping, sing-along, audiences. In 2006, they picked up a spot at the locally-based Shakori Hills Festival where they lit such a fire on the dance tent floor that Tim and Denise Duffy of the Music Maker Relief Foundation came over to see what was going on. Rhiannon remembers being skeptical when this local Hillsborough, N.C., guy with a goofy smile and a roster of old blues musicians offered to take them on and promote their music. The band was still figuring out who they were and Duffy was offering to house them with people like Algie Mae Hinton, musicians who were not pretenders to a tradition, but the real thing. The connection turned out to be a great match. While the young “Drops” were upstarts in a stable of deep tradition, they were also the link between past and future. They began to expand their repertoire, taking advantage of what Dom calls “the novelty factor” to get folks in the door and then teaching and thrilling them with traditional music that was evolving as they performed. They teased audiences with history on tunes like “Dixie”, the apparent Southern anthem that musicologists suggest was stolen by the black-face minstrel Dan Emmert from the Snowd
