The Band of Brothers: News

The posters said "back by popular demand" and the reception we received proved it - we can only hope we get invited to perform here again!

Taj Mahal headlines the Rochester Jazz Festival this week. Oughta be hot!
I've met Taj a couple of times (lemme tell ya, he's a Big Guy, plenty tall.) He was always polite to the little guitar picker that was me, but mostly I learned from his records. His version of the old Henry Thomas tune "Fishing Blues" gave me my first real lesson in finger-picking the Country Blues. Thank you Taj, thank you. This week I'm listening to his first album for Warner Bros. "Music Fuh Ya," released in 1976. Here Taj brought his love for Caribean steel drum music up front. (I wonder if Taj was encouraged by Van Dyke Parks' 1972 album "Discover America," which also featured steel drums and a song Taj used on "Music Fuh Ya" - "The Four Mills Brothers.")
Hey, no matter - check Taj out in concert or get his CDs - all are great.
Check out this version of "Fishing Blues":
Peace & Harmony,
Michael

Hey, yeah! We made it back! And in Jesse Sprinkle's Bluebrick Studio!
How sweet - Jesse got his start doing the Seattle Punk Rock thing as drummer for Poor Old Lu with his brother Aaron, and there he was tonight - twisting dials in the recording booth once again to capture Original American Roots Music as defined by The Band of Brothers. Grunge + Folk = what? Grolk? Funge? LOL. Hey, all I know is Jesse is the man for us - he made our first 2 CDs sound purty durn good & we love him for it.
Tonight we did some takes of band originals "Irish Morning," "Old Uncle Joe," "Hand To The Plow" and "Your Face Is Love."
This one is going to be good.
Peace & Harmony,
Michael

Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band - See Reverse Side For Title.

Back in the Vinyl Years, Vanguard Records tossed out a bunch of worthy discs by artists like Jim Kweskin, Buffy Saint-Marie, Country Joe & The Fish, Eric Anderson, Circus Maximus (with a young Jerry Jeff Walker), John Hammond, etc. For a record store junkie like me, they not only boasted cool covers, but often had lengthy liner notes on the back. Ah, liner notes! A lost art. Sigh.
Anyway... in 1967 this record was the Jug Band's third, and in addition to the leadership & cool folkie vocals of Jim Kweskin, and the banjo of Bill Keith, it featured more of the soon-to-be-married vocals of Geoff Muldaur and Maria D'Amato than the 2 previous releases. And no wonder - Maria's voice truly became a glorious instrument, especially on her signature song "Richland Woman"and Geoff growls his way through duets-of-a-sort with Maria on "Chevrolet" and "That's When I'll Come Back To You." The overall mood is humorous and playful - the Jug Band knew how to entertain - no naval-gazing folkies here. Pretty hard to gaze anywhere when you're blowing into a jug. Folk Music Revival at its best.
Check out the vintage video:

After living up on the Hill for almost 25 years, we've had the chance to see plenty of nature's offering. This year brought us a first: a nesting pair of Canadian Geese with 5 goslings down at Big Pond. My first sighting was near the end of their stay, as the goslings were well-feathered & about 8 or 9 weeks old. I observed them from a distance for a few more days, then they were gone.

Peace & Harmony,
Michael

Last evening, my son Sean (of "Sean Goes Pop" fame) conducted the premier of his choral composition "In Your Arms" at Dansville High School. Here's the video:

Last night the guys were honored to be asked to perform at the Arkport Exchange Club's 80th Anniversary Dinner. Exchange is an all-volunteer, national service organization for men and women who want to serve their community, develop leadership skills and enjoy new friendships. Exchange is made up of nearly 800 clubs and more than 25,000 members throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.
We had a great time singing, eating and meeting new friends. Thanks to all!
Peace & Harmony,
Michael

Last Saturday I wandered into Bernunzio Uptown Music on East Ave. in Rochester, NY. Great store. Go There.
Anyway, I needed a new capo, so I purchased a Planet Waves NS (nice design, user friendly, looks cool) and as I handed the clerk my money, I noticed a rack of DVDs and CDs. I went over, and on the bottom shelf I saw a CD by a very old & dear friend - Bob White. A big smile formed on my face.
I asked the owner - "Is Bob still living in Rochester?" The owner says "Yes." I say, "Do you know where he lives?" The owner says, "No. But you can google him - he's doing gigs again."
Later, I'm home, and I'm googling. Lots of dead ends and blind alleys.
Until I see a link (irony here, wait for it) to the Golden Link Folksinging Society.
I click. I discover Bob is leading a 'singaround' on Tuesday evening.
I have no choice. The die is cast. I must travel to Rochester and attend my first Golden Link meeting in 25 years!
I have been away, you see. I moved out of Rochester in the mid-eighties, leaving the city folk music scene behind for the quiet of country life. Sure, I thought about going to a GL meeting - I had attended them for years - I cut my folk singing teeth there, if nowhere else.
But, so many years had passed.
Question: Would or could it be the same?
Answer: Yes.
Sure, they meet in a different location. Sure, I didn't know more than 3 people there. But the same warmth and welcome that was at Golden Link 25 years ago was still there. And the meeting was attended by the same type: folks who love to sing folk songs with other folks.
Yep. You can go home again - if that home is the Golden Link Folksinging Society.
Will I go again? Maybe. Next week Tom Taylor is leading. I haven't seen Tom in a long time. Hmmm.
Peace & Harmony,
Michael
ps - thanks Bob - you did a great job of leading the meeting. And by the way - I noticed you use the same capo I do. How freaking weird is that?

The house (or store if you prefer) was packed last night for our 18th arrearance at Burlingham Books, and we had a great time picking & singing. The band debuted a few songs: Jamie's "Tax Collector Calypso" and band renditions of "Chilly Winds" and "Just A Closer Walk With Thee." Mike's son Sean took the stage for two of his original numbers (Sean will be doing a solo gig at Burlingham in May), and Jamie's daughters Allysa and Lindsey joined the chorus for the closer ("I'll Fly Away".) Thanks to all who came out to support live music & live musicians!

Last night The Band of Brothers traveled to Lockport, NY to perform at the Lighthouse Cafe. What an evening! One of the best audiences we have ever had the pleasure to appear in front of! The house was packed with about 100 music-lovers & we were inspired to give all we had. What a gas to see the audience clapping and singing along with original tunes like "The Cat Song" and "Old Uncle Joe" - songs they had never heard before! And what a response to our old-timey songs! Henry Robin has remarked several times how audiences are starving for these songs, and last night certainly proved him right -as the crowd sang along with "Tom Dooley," "Take Me In Your Lifeboat," "Turn You Radio On" and others. I could go on & on - if you were there, please accept my sincere thanks for your enthusiasm for our music - we hope to see you again soon!
Peace & Harmony,
Michael

I loved the music these guys played. Freddie on his albums for CTI back in the 70s and his great stuff with Herbie Hancock. Delaney's work with Eric Clapton and his stuff with Bonnie. Clapton didn't just steal/borrow/pay 'em better/whatever Delaney's band - he took Delaney's vocal inflections too. Rest in Peace & Harmony.
Michael

I've been thinking about how much trash I generate -pretty much every time I walk into my barn shed & every time I go to the dump. I try to recycle all the glass, plastic, cardboard & paper, but I still cart a lot to the dump! I was surfing around the web & came across this site about a fellow who has thought much deeper about trash and his responsibility towards it than I have. I thought you might want to check it out, too. http://365daysoftrash.blogspot.com/2007/12/365-days-of-trash.html Happy Less Trash New Year,
Michael

There was a bit of a meltdown this weekend - a balmy 50 degrees yesterday. So, of course, I waited until today to finally put up the snow fence. And, of course, today the wind, sleet and more wind made the task quite an adventure. Got it up though. Feels good to get 'er done, too.
Hope your day off was as productive and a bit warmer.
Peace & Harmony,
Michael

Those of you who know us well or attend our concerts know how proud we are of our children. Last night was no exception as Jamie's daughter Allyssa and my son Sean sang at the Eastman Theater in the High School Festival Chorale with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Jeff Tyzik and with special guests 'New York Voices.'. This was their 4th performance of the week (with two more to come on Sunday.) A very entertaining show - filled with holiday songs performed by one of the greatest American orchestras.

Peace & Harmony,
Michael

Brrrrr. Cold here - the storm of a day ago has passed, leaving the most beautiful snowfall. Every branch of every tree is covered and sparkling in the winter sunlight. A sight to behold while shoveling my way to my car. Now if I can only dodge the plows on my way down the hill.

This was our 17th performance at the best book store in Wyoming County! Christmas songs were the order of the evening. Good cheer with good friends.

McCoy turns 70 today. You may wonder - why is Michael blogging about McCoy? McCoy plays jazz piano - McCoy was John Coltrane's keyboard man - This is a folk group's site, ain't it?
Well, children, let me tell you - if you edge out any music in your life you are the poorer for it. I've been listening to McCoy for a very long time - and his latest CD features (among other great fretboard greats) banjoist Bela Fleck.
So, maybe this folkie isn't too off-key in wishing McCoy a very happy birthday.
Peace & Harmony,
Michael

Folk icon Odetta, whose influential music helped orchestrate the civil rights movement, died yesterday at the age of 77. Odetta had battled chronic heart disease and pulmonary fibrosis in her lungs for nearly ten years. [Reuters.com]
Rest in Peace, Odetta. So sad for a singer to battle lung disease. Oddetta was an influence for Roger McGuinn (a major influence for yours truly) back in his coffeehouse days in Chicago.
Our band member Bruce Bailey recalls seeing & hearing Odetta at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964. Bruce raised an eyebrow when I asked him about her performance and said "Sensual, she was a musical African-American Goddess." I think that just about sums it up.
Peace & Harmony,
Michael

What a nice evening! So many friends and neighbors in the audience! The Dansville library ballroom is a local hidden treasure & it was an honor to perform there. Support your local library!

Drove the family over to Houghton College to see a production of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" on Friday evening. My son and I had spent the day there while he auditioned for the Greatbach School of Music at the college. We were uncertain whether his girlfriend could attend so we held off buying tickets until the evening. Of course, once we got home we discovered she could attend and so, off we went - arriving at Houghton about an hour and a half before curtain rise in hopes that there would be tickets available (at $15 a crack.)

Now, Murphy's Law has a subsection that states: "If you arrive early to perform an important task, you will be unable to perform it until the 'earliness' evaporates." Well, of course. I knew that. But I had to give it a try anyway. My son wanted to impress his girlfriend. My wife wanted to see the opera. I wanted to take a nap.

My wife and I stationed ourselves in the empty lobby of the college chapel while my son and his friend went to see an art exhibit. (I wanted first dibs at any tickets that might be available.) After a few minutes, a man stepped in and said: "Are you looking for tickets?" We answered in the affirmative, hoping this was our chance to end our vigil, purchase the tickets, and join the kids at the exhibit. The fellow introduced himself. He was an art professor at the college, couldn't attend that evening, and would we like to have his two tickets as a gift? We were delighted! The tickets were in the 4th row center, and perfect for our son and his friend! We thanked our new acquaintance and told him about our son and his audition at the college earlier in the day. The professor stated a hope that he would get to meet our son in one of his classes someday and he waved goodbye.

Well! Very nice! Now we only had to purchase two tickets as soon as they were available. After a bit the lobby began to fill, and I saw a few students walk in and set up a ticket stub container at on the the entrances to the hall. I walked over and asked if there were any tickets available for sale. She said "Yes," and then added, "You know, I have two extra tickets that my parents couldn't use, would you like to have them? They are better than the ones we will have for sale." I was amazed. I was grateful. I was - well, the word I think I'm looking for is flabbergasted. I thanked the student as graciously as I could and told my wife of our good fortune. After a while we all went into the chapel, found our seats, and listened to some of the most beautiful music ever created.

My son impressed his girlfriend. My wife loved the opera. I never did get that nap.

Peace & Harmony,
Michael

An economist's guess is liable to be as good as anybody else's.
- Will Rogers

Umm.. no, this isn't a query on the birds and the bees. I think you can Google your way to any information you want or need on that subject.
Yet, I do wonder how and why folks drop by this website. Based on our website statistics package, many Google "band of brothers" or some variation and voila! they find themselves poking around our little patch of the internet. However, others get here in ways that puzzle me. For instance, someone googled "Star Crossed Lovers Lyrics music feature:audio" the other day. Wha? So, being a curious fellow I googled the afore-mentioned phrase and came up with a billion results of which none seemed to point this way, or anything closely approximating this way. In fact, many of the results seemed to be in Japanese. (We've got fans in Japan, but this was a "I don't think we're in Tokyo anymore, Toto" kind of Japan. All right, I'll accept that. I don't have to understand the ways of the untamed internet, I was just curious.
Happy Googling Everyone.

Peace & Harmony,
Michael

Sometimes the news of a musician's death hits me hard - and this one certainly did. Nick Reynolds was a founding member of the Kingston Trio and a great harmony singer. I listened to their "College Concert" album repeatedly during my teen years; the group probably influenced my own music more than any other - and continues to. Our rehearsals frequently include a go at "Tom Dooley," "Chilly Winds" & others. We're gonna miss you Nick.
Peace & Harmony,
Michael

Today marks the 6th anniversary of The Band of Brothers as a performing group! We'd like to take this time to thank all of our friends and family for your continued support. When we began we had no idea that our music would be heard throughout the world - much less outside of our little town - or that we would make so many very good friends from so many countries! Blessings to all - we certainly feel blessed by you!

Peace & Harmony,
Michael

I was mowing the lawn last night. Yes. I was bored. I figured, as long as I was bored, I might as well DO something boring. Congruency in action.
Anyway..... I was looking around and noticed what I thought was a crow, picking around the cornfield. I drove up a little closer and the ol' crow didn't fly away. Nor did the cat (yes, it's a cat, a black cat, I see it now) run away. Odd. Then I saw that the cat was eating a pice of raw corn. I shut off the mower and the kitten (yes, it's a kitten, a starving kitten, I see it now) mewled and walked over to me. OK, I see the story unfolding before my eyes. Probably you can too. Probably you're seeing this better than I did. The little one followed me back to the barn, where I set down a bowl of cat food (which he promptly swallowed whole) and introduced her to our resident cat 'Rhett' (who hissed in welcome, such a good boy). End of story? Yep. You guessed it. We're a two cat household. Named her 'Cobbes.' Rhymes with 'Hobbes'.

Peace & Harmony,
Michael