Midnight Brewery - Goochland, VA

Last Friday evening I visited Midnight Brewery, a new brewery tucked away in the Goochland County Industrial Park, near I-64 exit 173 in Rockville.  Smaller than a microbrewery, Midnight is considered a nanobrewery and uses a 3 barrel system to produce its beers.  Owner Trae Cairns currently offers two beers:  an Irish Red and a Kolsch-style ale called New Beginnings.  (He was out of the special Banana Pancake collaboration with Hardywood).  I sampled both.  The Kolsch was nice and crisp – a good summer time beer.  But I really liked the Irish Red - which Cairn calls the Rockville Red - it one-ups Smithwick’s! 

There’s a tasting room in the front office of Midnight Brewery’s 1,200 square foot warehouse, where you can also have growlers filled!  The brewery is a little hard to find, but once you turn on Granite Ridge Road it’ll be a short ways down on the right, in what looks like an office building.  Check Midnight’s Facebook page for tasting room hours. 

Midnight Brewery

2410 Granite Ridge Road

Rockville, VA  23146

midnightbreweryllc@gmail.com

Desert Island Discs

The other day on the Ricky Gervais Show they were talking about desert island discs - the eight records you would take to a desert island.  Karl Pilkington never got around to picking his eight, but it got me thinking about what mine would be.  (In my case it would be albums and not individual songs).

A few years ago, before I was trying to play traditional music (or any music), that list of 8 (or 10) would have been pretty straightforward.  First and foremost, I'd want to have CDs by the artists that have meant the most to me over the years - the bands for whom I have all of their albums and/or the ones I've seen the most in concert.  Such as Phish (Story of the Ghost), The Grateful Dead (Reckoning), Ween (The Mollusk), Medeski Martin and Wood (Shackman), John Prine (John Prine), Gillian Welch (the Harrow and the Harvest),  Dr. Dog (Easy Beat) and The Hot Seats (Live). In this case the album chosen would be almost arbitrary - serving as a memory of all the good times I've had listening to their music.  Next, there are those one-off albums...the ones that for some reason are all-time favorites by artists who I never could really get into other than that one recording.  Black Eyed Man by The Cowboy Junkies, Other Voices Other Rooms by Nanci Griffith, O'Cracker Where Art Thou by Cracker, Two Sevens Clash by Culture, More a Legend than a Band by The Flatlanders, and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by the Flaming Lips come to mind.

I'm already way over ten, but nowadays I could just as easily fill up the list with Irish and old-time music.  Since I'm trying to learn to play these (mostly) instrumental tunes, I tend to listen to this music as an aural aid with the end goal of being able to play it better, so YouTube and other field recordings of regular folks playing these tunes is often as helpful as anything else. Although my list would have to include the Ceili Bandits' Hangin' at the Crossroads, Rare Rags and String Band Blues by Adam Tanner and the Dirty Rag Mob, and perhaps even a music play-along recording like A Portland Play Along Selection, or maybe that classic Fuzzy Mountain String Band album I have yet to hear.  And don't forget Angelina Carberry -- ought to have some strictly tenor banjo music there.

I've realized that narrowing it down to 8 is not something I can do.  The end.

Music and Language

Languages are tools that fit their cultural niche.  The words in our vocabulary determine how we think.  Take, for example, the Pirahã - a group of hunter-gatherers who live along the Maici River in Brazil's Amazon region.  Their unwritten language consists of just eight consonants and three vowels. It lacks many of the grammatical characteristics found in other languages.  Yet the Pirahã communicate just fine, using a complex array of tones, stresses and syllable lengths to convey meaning.

Pirahã culture drives the Pirahã linguistic system.  The tribe has no terms for color and no words for numbers.  They have a limited ability to work with quantities greater than two.  They live in the immediate present, accepting as real only that which they can directly observe and experience.  They have no interest in what happened in the distant past to people not personally known to them.  They tell stories about events they have recently participated in, witnessed or been told about.  They have no collective memory that extends back more than one or two generations, no tradition of art or drawing, and no creation myths.  They are not concerned about the future.  They seldom plan ahead more than one day.  They do not preserve food or make objects for long term use.  All this might lead you to believe that their language (or lifestyle) is inferior, but it’s simply the product of their environment – a dangerous jungle habitat where they happen to live very happily.

Most of what is known about the Pirahã  comes from the work of Dan Everett, a linguist who has lived with and studied them for over 30 years.  He explains his findings in the book Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes; a book that I was reading when it dawned on me that the concept of culture driving language could be compared to the ethos behind traditional music.

Music is also a language.  Musical phrases begin with a tonic chord or note (the subject).  The phrase develops with the notes that follow the tonic, whether harmonious or conflicting (this is the verb).  Finally, the musical phrase comes to a resolution or cadence (the period). 

Like the Pirahã language, traditional music exists within a fairly rudimentary structure cultivated by its environs.  Proponents of Western classical music see this compression as evidence that folk music is inferior and therefore not to be taken seriously.  However - as in the Pirahã language’s use of complex tones, stresses and syllable lengths - development in traditional music occurs in the myriad ways in which one can perform a tune.  Spontaneity, knowledge, experience, tone, style, expression and interpretation all play a part.

Also like the Pirahã language, traditional music is an oral tradition learned predominantly by ear through listening to others and not through any formal intellectual analysis.  Repertory and phrasing are much more important than knowledge of music theory.  Reading off the page and knowing scales and modes (the grammar) is unnecessary and can sometimes even hinder a traditional musician.  Sheet music is simply short hand, expressing few of the nuances.  In other words, the music was already doing what it was doing long before engravers came along to try and notate it.  

With so much sheet music available these days via the online public domain, it’s very easy to defer to someone’s transcription as the “correct” way to play the tune.  But that is not the way to play or learn this music.  Something is lost in the transcription/translation.  I hope to get more comfortable with trusting my ear and, oddly enough, I think this knowledge of the Pirahã can help me gain that confidence.

Froggy Mountain Boys - Route 77

For several years now I’ve been following the career of globetrotting multi-instrumentalist and fiddler extraordinaire Aaron Lewis.  Formerly of Special Ed & the Shortbus (now The Hot Seats), Jackass Flats and other Richmond, VA bands, Aaron is currently based in Berlin and maintains a busy schedule traveling the world in various incarnations and ensembles.  (For example he and former bandmate Ben Belcher just finished a national tour supporting Thomas Dolby of She Blinded Me With Science fame).  One fine group Aaron is involved with is the Berlin-based five-piece country-gypsy jüggernaut The Froggy Mountain Boys.

Aaron Lewis

Earlier this year The Froggy Mountain Boys quietly released the studio album Route 77.  This is some of the happiest, good-timey, toe-tapping music you’ll ever hear!  Oozlin’ sounds of fiddle, banjo, bass, clarinet, guitar and more fiddle!  Mr. Lewis has done well to find this eclectic group of talented players to record and gig with.  Most impressive is the fact that Route 77 was recorded entirely live and acoustic with no overdubs in one day in October of 2011 in Berlin.  Listen for yourself here: stream Route 77 on BandCamp.

The Froggy Mountain Boys - Route 77 album cover

According to his website news, Aaron should be back in the states at, among other places, this year's Galax Fiddlers Convention, which I hope to attend.  Perhaps there I'll get to hear this fiddlin' fool in person once again.

The Shape of a Tune

In my experience, 99% of fiddle tunes can be played using a note no higher than the 7th fret B note on the fiddle/mandolin's E-string/1st string, and a note no lower than the open G on the G-string/4th string (obviously).  Between those two extremes I suppose there are 29 notes to choose from.  Also, most fiddle tunes consist of an 8 measure A-part and an 8 measure B-part.  If you sub-divide each of those 8 measures into 4 quarter notes, you end up with 32 total quarter notes in each part.  In other words, these 32 quarter notes are the tune's bare bones melody.

My goal is to see if I can make any observations by analyzing a tune's shape, so I've come up with a table that should help me do that (see image below).  The table contains a row for each of the possible melody notes, from the 7th fret B to the open G.  And it contains 32 columns - one for each of the quarter note melody notes.  I've also created a separate row to document the tune's suggested chords/chord progression.  I hope that by charting several tunes in this manner it will begin to tell me certain things, such as recurring shapes, patterns, progressions, likelihood of certain notes, and more.

I'll start by compiling a short list of the most popular fiddle tunes (old-time and Irish) and chart out standard arrangements of those tunes.  I'll also include a few tunes that are common to the jams in my area.  Perhaps I'll happen upon some clues to help me make educated guesses with regard to where a tune might be headed, which could come in handy when trying to pick up tunes by ear.

Here's the table.  I'll follow up once I have some results/observations.

Tune Shape Table - mandolin/fiddle/tenor banjo

Learning to Play Music as an Adult – How I Got Started

I didn’t start playing music until I was in my early 30’s.  I never took any lessons or played any instruments as a child or in high school or college – no guitar, no piano, no band, no choir, nothing.  Then, in summer 2006 I was buying some old-time CDs over the phone from Elderly (I believe the CDs were by Riley Baugus, Dan Gellert and Bruce Molsky) when the Elderly rep asked me if I played?  I said, no - that I just had a burgeoning interest in this music.  She said that I should get a banjo!

That's all it took.  After I hung up the phone I started doing some research.  That’s when I realized that the banjo I had seen played in Ireland during visits in 2004 and 2005 was a 4-string tenor banjo that you could tune and play like a mandolin.  Stupid me hadn't made that distinction before then.  The phone rep was probably referring to a 5-string clawhammer banjo based on the CDs I was buying, but being somewhat of an impulse buyer I decided that tenor banjo was the instrument for me!  After a crash course in figuring out which tenor banjo to buy, a few days later I had purchased a vintage 1920’s Bacon tenor banjo online from Intermountain Guitar and Banjo.

When the Bacon arrived I had new planetary tuners installed and had it tuned to GDAE – one octave lower than a mandolin; the way Irish tenor banjo players do.  I was starting completely from scratch.  Luckily I found a local teacher who played GDAE tenor banjo – Josh Bearman of The Hot Seats.  I took a few lessons from Josh and initially had him show me how to play some songs by my then favorite bands – the Grateful Dead, Phish, Ween, the Meat Puppets, My Morning Jacket, Dr. Dog, Neil Young. Not surprisingly, I found playing that music on tenor banjo to be unsatisfying.  So instead I tried playing a couple fiddle tunes and Irish jigs and really liked them, even though at that point I hadn't actually heard that much old-time or trad. 

I quickly gained a knack for reading mandolin tablature, which also works for GDAE tuned tenor banjo, and found great pleasure in tabbing out arrangements of different fiddle tunes – about half old-time and half from the Irish tradition.  Unfortunately this reliance on tab took away from some all important aural development.  In 2007 I got up the nerve to start attending a local slow session that permitted music stands.  I was a complete novice in every aspect at this point, and instead of motivating me to learn more, attending this session backfired because it caused my inner critic to kick in.  Eventually I started to dread having to attend the jam and in 2008 I stopped playing altogether. 

I plucked a little bit here and there in the interim, but the story literally picks back up in late 2010 when I was inspired to once again pick up the 4-string banjo.  After a few months of sitting around the house playing by myself, a new opportunity to play publicly presented itself; this time with an expert musician at a local coffee shop.  I began playing every other Saturday morning at this coffee shop – first as a duo and now as an open jam that attracts many other musicians.  In fact, I currently try to participate in at least 6 old-time jams and Irish sessions per month, and I feel like I might stick with it this time!

I've learned to not spend too much time worrying about what others think; chances are they are more concerned with what they are doing than what you are doing.  My aural skills are still pretty undeveloped and I still use sheet music and tablature as a learning aid, but by immersing myself in the culture as much as possible through real life music making I hope that eventually I will become a competent amateur player.

Learning to Play Music as an Adult - Why I Play Traditional Music

I grew up around golf, not music.  Nobody in my family played music.  I was in my early 30's when I first started trying to learn an instrument, which just so happened to be tenor banjo.  At first I thought I would want to play songs by the bands/artists I was used to listening to:  the Grateful Dead, Phish, Neil Young, Ween, Uncle Tupelo.  However, I soon realized that fiddle tunes from Ireland and Appalachia were what I wanted to play, even though I hadn’t listened to much old-time or trad at that point and didn't know anything about it.  

Now, six years after starting from scratch, I still enjoy playing traditional music.  Being that my chosen instrument is tenor banjo, I don't think my motivation stems from any sort of revivalist, preservationist or purist ideology.  I just really like playing these kinds of tunes.  Here's why:

• The circular nature - they go round and round in a continuous curve that never ends.
• The symmetry – AA/BB.  It’s a lot of patterns and pattern recognition.
• It’s not a modern music.  It’s timeless.  The ultimate indie music; not trendy or popular.  There’s no marketing behind it.  It’s not a product of mass media.
• The tunes are purely musical, not verbal, so there's no lyrics to scoff at.
• Tabbing out an arrangement from the “dots” on a page stimulates my brain like a book or crossword puzzle.
• It’s not a performance.  I’m playing for myself; not for others.  I don’t have to impress other people.
• With a little bit of practice you can quickly become a participant and contributor to your local scene, while at the same time you can always learn more.
• You get several opportunities to play this music with different people from all backgrounds and age groups.  It’s an interesting and enjoyable scene to be part of.
• You learn a common repertoire that allows you to go anywhere in the world and sit in on a jam or session.
• The inclusiveness of the traditional music community - ordinary folks, not just the gifted and flashy, can make music together. 
• The communal approach to creating sound.  Everyone plays in unison.
• Personality, friendliness and etiquette are just as important as musical competence.
• Beginners and mentors/experts often play side by side.
• You don’t have to sound like anyone else or compare your playing with professionals or any other player.  You can do it your own way.
• The goal of most players is to simply be a competent amateur and not a professional paid musician or entertainer.
• You also learn about musicology, history and folklore through your association with traditional music.
• It increases you understanding and appreciation of music in general, even music you don’t play.
• It can be as non-intellectual or as intellectual as you want it to be.
• You can learn it simply through the medium of the tune rather than through scales and exercises (although scales and exercises don't hurt!).  
• You experience the music organically via real life music making and not just through formal theory and practice.
• It’s a type of music you can play your whole life. 
• It’s acoustic – no power needed when the coming apocalypse happens.
• It’s built-in entertainment and a creative outlet.
• The abundance of audio and transcriptions available online makes it easier than ever to get tunes and learn at your own pace.

Those are my main reasons for playing this music.  What are yours?