Some of the most fun I had in the mid 60s was watching the New Lost City Ramblers at the Ash Grove. They were scholars of southern and Appalachian mountain style folk music, who remembered that the point of the excercize was fun. At its core was one of the amazing Seeger clan, Mike, on banjo, fiddle and guitar. These are the guys who weaned me away from the slicker pop-folk acts and helped me develop my taste for mountain music of the homemade variety. To everything, there is a season, and sad to say, we're losing him. Ed Ward just posted this note from Alice Gerrard to my online musicians forum.
Topic 1812 [music]: Musicians in Need
#12 of 13: Flavor of the Weak (captward) Thu Jul 30 '09 (09:50) 17 lines
Not so much in need, but I guess this is where this goes:
From Alice Gerrard:
I don't know if you've heard the news re Mike Seeger but I thought you
should, and also pass it along to anyone you think should know. Mike
has been fighting non-Hodgkins lymphoma for a long time as you probably
know, but very recently it kind of morphed into a multiple myaloma
leukemia that involved blood, bone and throat. He underwent radiation
this past week but it didn't work, and he's opted to go home and
receive hospice care. It is probably a matter of days according to his
wife, Alexia. Her email is alexia at rockbridge.net and she prefers to
receive emails rather than phone calls. They will leave the hospital
where he's been receiving treatment and go home tomorrow.
Sad days...
Alice
And, although I never met him, I feel like I'm losing an old friend. So long, Mike
7 comments:
Of course we remember the "New Lost City Ramblers". Mike comes from a most amazing family. We can only hope he doesn't suffer....
We had the New Lost City at the Paradox.....anyone remember?
REALLY? That was prabably before I found out about the place. Missed Brownie and Sonny, too.
I originally came by to see Steve Gillette, who was a hero of the guy I was stealing all my licks from.
Mike's legacy, in a concentrated form is available on the Smithsonian Folkways CD “Southern Banjo Sounds,” SF 40107
He also has a 3 CD set of lessons on homespuntapes.com based on the Smithsonian CD. Here's the first one.
http://www.homespuntapes.com/shop/product.aspx?ID=1029
I love the folks at Homespun. Would that they had been around when I was starting out.
http://www.homespuntapes.com/shop/product.aspx?ID=1029
From the miracle of youtube, here's Mike, on brother Pete's "Rainbow Quest", doing what would become the "hit" from "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" 35 years later.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVHLoergJN0
And here's the whole group.
http://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=dnmdFIeB-L0
Listen with your eyes closed and the three college kids become three old guys from the mountains.
Thanks for those youtube links.
I liked the bottle of milk on the table, and the way Pete is leaning forward so earnestly listening to the song.
Great links....
I think it's amazing how
the entire music process has
continued, developing new and skilled musicians.
I did see the Ramblers and thought those heights would never be scaled again. They will always be the Michaelangelos of strings.
Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee too. We actually sat in a motel with Brownie and heard stories. Wow. I thought more of them than the Beatles at the time.
Still do actually.
Just saw, on the Freight and Salvage Calendar, that Mike is booked there for early September. Sigh.
On the bright side, string band music has never been more popular than it is now, and there are more 5-string, and fiddle, players out there than at any time in history. We won.
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