Get Up in the Cool

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! This week’s friend is Kilby Spencer, and he’s kind of my new favorite fiddler. I wasn’t able to fully enjoy his fiddling while playing with him, because I was really concentrated on trying keep up, and not make a fool out of myself. But I just finished editing our interview and jam, and my jaw was on the floor the whole time. Kilby’s awesome. And, the best part is, I didn’t even get a chance to be intimidated, because he’s one of the nicest, most hospitable people I’ve met in my travels. He let me crash at his house, threw a bunch of amazing musicians with awesome stories in front of my microphones, and fed me all the fried chicken I could eat. Five Stars, would do business again.   I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Kilby’s a kind and generous person and a fantastic fiddler. His story’s full of gratitude and humility; because he came to this music more honestly than most of us do, and I think that understanding of what he’s doing, why he’s doing it, and where it all came from, is apparent in his playing and living. I learned a lot playing with him, and I had blast. I’m so glad I got some of it on tape so you all could catch a glimpse.    Stick around after the interview for details on how to hear more of Kilby’s music and how to support Get Up in the Cool and get access to exclusive bonus content.  Tunes we’ll play: Richmond Lafayette Nancy Blevins Old Sport Lost Train Blues Katy Did Bonus Track: Say Old Man Can You Play the Fiddle Buy Always Been a Rambler: https://thecrookedroadramblers.bandcamp.com/  Buy albums from the Field Recorders' Collective: https://fieldrecorder.bandcamp.com/ Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool  Buy Get Up in the Cool vol. 1: https://camerondewhitt.bandcamp.com/

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! This week’s friend is Mark Simos, fiddler and professor at Berklee College of Music. I visited him in his home back in February when I took my Boston trip. I didn’t know Mark at all prior to our session, but both Mark Kilianski and Adam Hurt recommended him, so my expectations were high. And I wasn’t disappointed! Mark’s a fantastic fiddler and he has a lot of ideas about what music is and why it’s important; traditional music especially. So, basically the perfect Get Up in the Cool guest. It was nice to not feel like I was being self-indulgent when I wanted to wax philosophical about fiddle tunes, he was right there with me. But, don’t get the wrong idea, this is by no means an overly talky episode. Mark curated a great jam of great versions of great tunes, with an emphasis on effective, intentional simplicity. I’m really excited for you to hear it! Tunes we’ll play: Old Aunt Jenny With Her Nightcap On Old Billy Hell Poor Little Johnny’s Gone to the War Duck River Shaking Down the Acorns aking Down the ShAcorns Bonus Track: Run All Night Mark's CDs: https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/MarkSimos http://www.5-string.com/ Mark's songwriting book, Songwriting Strategies: A 360º Approach (Berklee Press/Hal Leonard 2014) www.songwritingstrategies.com www.360songwriting.com - community site (w/book audio files) https://www.facebook.com/songwritingstrategies/ Mark's blog:  http://songwriterscompass.wordpress.com/ Mark’s artist/songwriter site www.devachan.com The Singer Songwriter Handbook, which features Mark's chapter, "The Performing Songwriter's Dilemma": http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-singer-songwriter-handbook-9781628920291/ Miles of Music camp: http://www.milesofmusiccamp.com/  Berklee’s Summer Songwriting Workshop (June 26 - 30): https://www.berklee.edu/summer/programs/songwriting California Coast Music Camp July 9 - 15: https://www.musiccamp.org/2017 Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool That Radiolab episode I mentioned: http://www.radiolab.org/story/debatable/

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends. This episode features a lot of my new friends! Thornton, Emily and Kilby Spencer, Kelly Brieding and Debbie Bramer. Kilby Spencer reached out to me a while back with some recommendations for guests, so I crashed at his and Kelly’s place in Crumpler, North Carolina, and he lined up some amazing guests for me, including Shohei Tsutsumi, whose episode aired last week.    Before my trip, I hadn’t heard a lot of this style of fiddling and banjo playing, so I was pretty blown away when we got started. I’m used to playing this nonspecific, northern, festival-style, so let’s just say I expended a lot effort trying to keep up with these folks. Unfortunately, because there were six of us playing in a living room, this episode was a little more difficult to mix than the average one-on-one session. You only really notice it on a couple songs were the vocals get a bit lost. I hope the energy of the jam makes up for it Tunes we’ll play: Sugar hill Johnson boys Lost Indian Eighth of January Stagger Lee John Brown’s Dream Spencer Family and Friends’ bands: http://whitetopmountainband.com/  https://crookedroadramblers.com/  https://www.facebook.com/crookedroadramblers/  http://kelleyandthecowboys.com/  https://www.facebook.com/Kelley-and-the-Cowboys-349823465031/  Field Recorders’ Collective:  http://fieldrecorder.org/  https://fieldrecorder.bandcamp.com/  Buy Get Up in the Cool vol. 1: https://camerondewhitt.bandcamp.com/  Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! This week’s friend is Shohei Tsutsumi. He recently moved from Osaka, Japan, to Boone, North Carolina for an Appalachian Studies program at Appalachian State. We talk about what led him to do so, as well as the thriving Bluegrass and Old Time scene in Japan. Also, Dave Wood, the academic program director of Shohei’s program, joins us on guitar.  Subscribe to Shohei's youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/OldTimerjp  Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool Tunes we’ll play: forgot the first tune's title sorry guys i'm the worst Cotton Eyed Joe Red Bird Grey Eagle Old Joe Clark Bonus Track: Soldier’s Joy

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! I hope you’re ready for more banjo duets, because this week’s friend is Tim Rowell! Tim’s a fantastic clawhammer banjoist, tune collector, and educator, and we had an awesome time hanging out in Bach Bui’s apartment in Boston. And Bach joins us for most of the tunes, kind of playing fiddle back up while we take the melody; it’s awesome. Tunes we’ll play: Spider Bit the Baby Stump-tailed Dolly Lost Girl Glory in the Meetinghouse Hanings Farewell Half Irish Bonus Track: Willot’s Hornpipe Tim's website: https://timrowell.com/  Banjo Camp North: http://musiccampsnorth.com/2017-banjo-camp-north/  Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! Today’s friend is one of my favorite Philly fiddlers, Liana Moskowitz. Liana started the most recent incarnation of West Philly’s bi-monthly jam on the 2nd floor of the Gojjo Ethiopian Bar & Restaurant, and regularly plays Cajun music at Fiume, which, incidentally is also on the 2nd floor of an Ethiopian establishment in West Philly. And she’s one of the founders of the West Philly Square Dance, which is, like, blowing up, because it’s an awesome party. Tunes we’ll play: Georgia stomp Beaumont Rag Curly-Headed Woman That’s It Ozark Waltz Bonus Track: Seneca Square Dance Like and follow West Philly Square Dance on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westphillysquaredance/ Come to West Philly Porchfest 2017: https://www.facebook.com/events/257292734725970/ Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends. This week’s friend is Aaron Olwell! We recorded in Charlottesville, Virginia on my recent trip South. Aaron is a fantastic fiddler and clarinetist, and I’m sure he plays lots of other things too. In fact, I think we met in a jam at my first Clifftop, and he was flatfooting while playing a double slide whistle. That was years ago, and it was the middle of the night, but I’m pretty sure that was Aaron. Anyway, there’s no antics in today’s interview, just some neat tunes of Aaron’s choosing, some hot fiddling, some ambitious banjo playing, a very unique cumberland gap, and a little chat about what makes Aaron tick.  Tunes we’ll play: Bumblebee in a Jug Lost Girl Knoxville Rag Cumberland Gap Magnolia One-Step Bonus Track: Grey Eagle Like The Big Dixie Swingers Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/bigdixieswingers Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! This week’s friends are Ruth Rappaport and Ben Wetherbee. We recorded our jam in Bach Bui’s apartment during my Patreon-funded Boston trip a couple months ago. Ruth and Ben are a delightful mother and son duo! It was super fun and inspiring to hang out with them and imagine forming my own family band some day. I’m excited for you to hear it! Tunes we’ll play: Rueben’s Train New River Train Lee Highway Blues Which Side Are You On? Lonesome Road Blues Uncle Ned’s Waltz Bonus Track: Women Wear No Clothes At All Which Side Are You On: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g4U40moIZk  Ruth’s site: http://www.ruthrappaportmusic.com/  The Hoot Owls: http://www.thehootowls.com/ 

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! This week’s friend is fiddler Sophie Enloe; we recorded this at her house in Portland when I was home for Christmas. She chose a bunch of bonkers tunes that I fully intend on actually learning someday. Especially Sift the Meal and Save the Bran. Tunes we’ll play: Cold Frosty Morning Bonaparte’s Retreat Christmastime in the Morning Sift the Meal and Save the Bran Lost Girl Bonus Track: Bile Dem Cabbage Down Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends. This week’s friend is Gabrielle Macrae, of The Horsenecks and The Macrae Sisters! The Horsenecks (mention CD and UK tour): http://www.horsenecks.com/  Old Sledge by The Macrae Sisters: https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/macraesisters  Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends. This week’s friends are Dotty Moore on fiddle and special guest accompanist, Jordan Rast, on guitar. Dotty didn’t have any particular theme in mind, so we threw a set together last minute, which I think added a pretty fun dynamic to the music and conversation. On the spectrum between jam and performance, this episode leans jam, but it’s a really hot jam! Which I think is the best case scenario for Get Up in the Cool. Dotty’s soundloud: https://soundcloud.com/fiddlebot Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool Tunes we play: Devil Ate the Groundhog Walkin’ in My Sleep Gone to the Free State The Blackest Crow Policeman George Booker Bonus Track: Can You Dance a Tobacco Hill?

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! This week’s friend is fiddler Chris Dalnodar, and he brought with him a very serious topic: people should learn to play rags at old time jams and not be afraid of flat keys. And, you guys, I think he makes a pretty compelling case.  Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! This week’s friend is fiddler and songwriter Jordan Rast. Jordan grew up going to clifftop, and he shared a lot of fun stories that I vicariously enjoyed. Most people sort of stumble upon or wander into Old Time Music, but Jordan was raised on the stuff. It’s always interesting, hearing people like Jordan talk about this music; he’s not a fanatic, like most folks who find Old Time as adults, like me. To Jordan, it’s just sort of a given, more akin to going home to visit your folks. He has an appreciation for the tradition that’s had time to settle, but the  Old Time is rooted a lot deeper in him than it is in most folks.  Buy Jordan’s album Cowboy Money: https://jordanrast.bandcamp.com/  Visit Jordan’s YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/JordanRastMusic  Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool  Tunes we’ll play: Huldy in the Sinkhole Unknown title Rhys Jones learned from John Summers Making Shivers Three Forks of the Cumberland Over the Waterfall Bonus Track: Sadie at the Backdoor

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends. This week’s episode is very special to me; it’s my interview and jam with Carl Baron. My friend Stephen Landis, former and probably future guest of the show, taught me my first tunes, but Carl Baron hosted my first old time jam, and that’s when, for better or worse, my life took a turn. He’s another one of those people that I’ve spent a lot of time with and barely know, because we’re too busy playing tunes to talk.  So I learned a lot about Carl in this interview, and not just through our verbal conversation. Before recording this episode, I mostly associated him with the chestnuts that are typically played at the mermaid inn jam in Germantown, Philadelphia. Playing one on one with Carl is a much different experience; his old time palette is very sophisticated and he draws from a deep well of musical knowledge and experience. And the man likes some quirky tunes.  Tunes we play:  Rickett’s Hornpipe Black Cat in the Briar Patch Little Rose Old Christmas Morning Yew Piney Mountain Bonus Track: L&N Rag Contact me to buy Carl's CD's: getupinthecool@gmail.com Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! This week’s friend is Deb Shebish, and she’s brought with her a handful of tunes and sweet memories of the late fiddler from Bloomington, Indiana, Joe Dawson. As transmitters of the tradition, we’re simultaneously channeling our sources, while becoming the source for someone else. Joe Dawson’s impact wasn’t far reaching, but it was deep, and thanks to good, faithful people like Deb Shebish, his influence is just going to keep growing. And it’s going to mix with Deb’s influence, which is extremely far reaching and just as deep.  http://debshebish.com/ https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool http://www.drfiddle.com/ Tunes we'll play: Paddy Won't You Take a Drink of That Good Old Cider Lady of the Lake Indiana Waltz Fisher’s Hornpipe Betty and Beauty And Bonus Track: Pretty Polly