Sidetrack Liner Notes

25: The Rails August 4, 2018sidetracklinernotesLeave a comment James and Kami Walbourne are The Rails, a husband and wife duo from London. "Fair Warning", their first album was called by Mojo magazine the best folk album of 2014. Their newest CD, "Other People" broadens their sound and if possible is even better. James is the lead guitarist for The Pretenders and Kami is the daughter of Richard and Linda Thompson. This podcast was recorded with them in New York the morning after a very successful gig at The Mercury Lounge just before returning to London. Most anything you would want to discuss is covered in the conversation, their roots, musical and otherwise, their recent recording in Nashville with producer Ray Kennedy, their admiration for a varied list of fellow musicians and of course favorite guitars. Catch them live if you can. Their songs and their harmony singing will convince you that we will emerge from these Dark Times into a brighter future. Who doesn't want some of that?

We welcome noted author and journalist Gene Santoro for an extensive conversation about his long association with music both as a writer and performer. Gene is one of the lucky ones who roamed NYC's music haunts in the 1960s and was able to see and hear first hand John Coltrane, The Blues Project, Dave Van Ronk, The Mothers of Invention, Tiny Tim and many others. Starting to write about music with Guitar World Magazine his articles have appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Down Beat, Rolling Stone, The Nation and other periodicals. He is the author of "Myself When I am Real" the definitive biography of Jazz Legend Charles Mingus and 2 collections of his music related articles "Dancing in Your Head" and "Highway 61 Revisited" for the Oxford University Press. The musicians he has interviewed are simply too numerous to mention. He doesn't hold back in this podcast. It's difficult to say what is more interesting, the people he has interviewed or his observations and opinions on American music and culture of the last 50 + years.

23: Emily Duff April 13, 2018sidetracklinernotesLeave a commentEdit 23: Emily Duff If you follow live music in New York then the buzz about Emily Duff has been inescapable. She turns out great new songs with a frequency not seen since that scruffy fellow landed in the Village back in '61. God bless whoever funded her recent trip to Muscle Shoals to record "Maybe in the Morning " an L P that stands with the best to EVER come out of The FAME Studio and that's not said casually. In this podcast, she discusses her music, life and passions with candor and humor.

A deep discussion with John Sebastian concerning his boyhood and musical development in Greenwich Village and the folk movement, his founding of The Lovin' Spoonful, his move to California and his solo career which continues today. A raconteur of the first order who has had a front row seat when he hasn't been on stage himself to some of the most important events in American popular music of the last 60 years.

Zeke Schein is our guest to discuss his discovery of what many believe is the 3rd photo of Robert Johnson King of the delta Blues and the writing of his new book, "Portrait of a Phantom". This discovery is not without controversy. Zeke lays out the story of finding the photo and his struggles to discover the identity of the 2 men in the photo. Zeke was optimal placed as first salesman an Greenwich Village's Matt Umanov Guitar Shop. He daily was able to share the image with some of the world's most knowledgeable and enthusiastic blues experts and fans. Zeke is an accomplished musician himself and has delved deeply into mastering the Robert John repertoire. His stewardship of the image and writing of the book make for a fascinating podcast.

Martin Kelly is best known to SLN listeners for authoring the book "Fender The Golden Age" along with his brother photographer Paul Kelly and previous SLN participant Terry Foster. We visited him outside London where he lives with his wife Sarah Cracknell singer of Saint Etienne for this interview which covers his history and fascination with vintage guitars and amplifiers and his career as a musician, manager, label owner and producer of films. A joyous conversation full of info and details of a life devoted to music and collecting.

In pt. 2 of our conversation with John Cohen he discusses his trips to Kentucky to record Roscoe Holcomb, his collaboration with Ralph Rinzler for the first concerts for The Friends of Old Time Music, Doc Watson's trips to New York, The New Lost City Ramblers residency at The Ash Grove in L A where Johnny Cash stood in for Mother Maybelle and The Ramblers road trips with Ms Carter, Newport "65, and printing books with Steidl. A wonderful summation of a rich lifetime of creative projects revolving around music.

John Cohen This man has done it all, photographer, musician, film maker, teacher, historian. He started in the late 50s on the Lower East Side with the abstract expressionist and beatniks. By the 60s he was in the thick of the Folk Music Boom in Greenwich Village where he helped form the New Lost City Ramblers on of the best bands performing "Old Time Music" now referred to as "Americana". He tells us of photographing and filming then newcomer to the Village, Bob Dylan. Also stories of explorations to the South to locate, photograph, film and record original country musicians. A rich and varied life, tales well told by a remarkable gentleman.

Recorded in Kingston N.Y. Part 2 of our conversation with Geoff where he discusses his time in the steel business (go figure?) and return to music recording the wonderful personal C D, "The Secret Handshake" , his 8 year classical music project in Antwerp, "Private Astronomy, the C D that features his arrangements of classic Bix Beiderbecke tunes, The Roots of Geoff Muldaur a project that now numbers 8 C Ds of material (the actual source recordings) that have inspired Geoff. Let's hope the notes for this project will become an autobiography and trips to Japan that result in The Martin Guitar Co. producing the Geoff Muldaur Model Martin Guitar. If you caught SLN podcast #16 we know you've been waiting for part 2.

We sit down in Kingston, N y with Geoff and have a far ranging conversation on all things musical. We get into his early fascination Blues and Jazz recordings accompanied by his friend Joe Boyd and Joe's brother Warwick. Geoff's involvement with the Cambridge scene including his time with the famed Jim Kweskin Jug Band. Geoff and his wife of the time Maria's 2 L Ps followed by his time in Woodstock as vocalist for Paul Butterfield's band Better Days. Just too much to list here plus there will be a part 2 podcast #17.