Banjo Hangout Newest 100 Clawhammer and Old-Time Songs

Making backing trax for an upcoming gig in Moscow, I started over, having somehow lost my earlier recording. So that was then and this is now. Better? Not necessarily. Just different.

Same 1924 Vega Style F conversion.

FAIR WARNING: Not Bluegrass. Not Old-time. A traditional sea shanty, with some original arranging and lyrics. Recording from my current music project.

Despite disagreements in the folk community about where this shanty was used, it's near unanimous that the Rio Grande referred to is not the controversial one between the USA and Mexico, but rather the one in the southernmost part of Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul). That Rio Grande is not strictly a river, but a 24-mile long channel through a sandbar, enabling ships to reach some inland lagoons and several navigable rivers beyond them. The city of Rio Grande is the oldest city in the state, founded in 1737, and is cited as Brazil's second busiest port today.

Banjo is my 1924 Vega Style F conversion. Alternating 3-finger (sans picks) and clawhammer. Guitar is a 90s vintage D35. Concertina is a very nice VST plugin by Best Service audioand upright bass is from the Kontakt 5 basic library. Both played on a MIDI keyboard by yers trooly. Most tracks recorded in GarageBand, remixed in Reaper, mastered with Izotope Ozone 7. I have fun doing this and it keeps me mostly out of trouble.

I recorded this clawhammer version on a fretless banjo in 2000 and supplied the following information for my CD "Banjo Stuff":

OLD SLEDGE - aDADE (tuned low to about B); Burl Hammons & Emory Bailey (via Bill Hicks on the first Fuzzy Mountain String Band record).

Was making backing tracks for a gig in my home studio, and the mix with the banjo and lead vocal didn't turn out too bad, so I thought I'd put it up here, as it's the sort of thing folks tend to like.

For the old-time Tune of the Week, 5/26/17, Old Sledge traces back to a respected West Virginia fiddler born in 1856, Louis Johnson "Uncle Jack" McElwain. He won many fiddle contests with the piece, including one at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. This clawhammer arrangement includes the versions of West Virginian fiddlers Melvin Wine and Ernie Carpenter, both who learned it from Uncle Jack.

For the old-time Tune of the Week, Old Sledge traces back to a West Virginia fiddler born in 1856 named Louis Johnson "Uncle Jack" McElwain, said to be one of the best fiddlers ever, though never recorded. The title could refer to many things, including a card game or a mule. This version comes from Burl Hammons, who learned it from his uncle, Edden Hammons.

For the old-time Tune of the Week, 5/17/18, here's a couple of lyrics to go with Skillet Good and Greasy. The banjo solo comes from the 60's recording on the Electra Old Time Banjo Project with Bob Siggins on banjo.

This is a temporary upload for the tune of the week. I learned Skillet Good And Greasy All The Time from this recording by Bob Siggins on the Electra Album Old Time Banjo Project EKS-7276. The whole album can be uploaded here: https://www.downhomeradioshow.com/2010/09/elektra-old-time-banjo-project-lp/ and contains a lot of good Old-Time banjo music from the 1960's.

Fun!