Tales from the Microbial Laboratory

Yellow Sulphur Springs

 
~Yellow Sulphur Springs Hotel, Montgomery County, Virginia~

From the Virginia Tech ImageBase:

Built in 1888 and torn down in 1944. Contained 60 rooms, with a ballroom, a dining room, a billiard room, a system of water works, hot and cold baths, and other facilities of the day for the comfort and pleasure of the guests.

~~~~~ 

When I was an undergraduate at Virginia Tech, in addition to the science courses I took each semester, I'd often take a class in the Art Department.  Drawing, watercolors - a photography class in the Architecture Department - I always took them with an incredibly talented friend who was majoring in Art.  One of my favorite memories from those days was when our watercolor instructor, Ray Kass, would take the class out to Yellow Sulphur Springs to paint.  I remember on one of the first days of class when Kass told us to paint and paint like crazy, and that we'd then throw away our first 100 or so paintings.  I remember how remarkably freeing that was - to just paint, fast or slow, it didn't matter - we were just told to paint.  After that, we start over, and begin painting again. 

~~~~~

But the reason for this post is only indirectly about watercolor class, and painting at Yellow Sulphur Springs.  It's really about friendship, rich friendships - and how when artist friends and music friends stay in your life, that it is a very wonderful thing.

~~~~~

On the Yellow Sulphur Springs property, there used to be a bowling alley, dating back to the 1870s, all in wood - the walls were braced and in decay, the lane warped, but at the end of the lane the wooden pins were perfectly placed - as if someone were expected to show up at any moment with a ball and try to knock them all down.  One could only imagine the games that were played on this tiny open-air bowling alley, tucked away in the folds of Montgomery County, Virginia. 

 

 But back to friends and friendship...

Last September when I was staying with my Father for a longer than usual visit, my artist friend began scanning in, and posting on Facebook, photographs from our undergraduate days at Virginia Tech.  As I struggled with the care of my father (and even more so, with my own impatience), periodically I'd get 'tagged' in another photograph - bringing back memories of a simply near-perfect time in my life.  Those photographs carried me through the visit - and I ended up joining in, finding photographs from those days that were stored safely in my father's home.     

 

One photograph that I scanned in and posted on Facebook was one of the bowling pins sitting at the end of the bowling alley at Yellow Sulphur Springs - as well as one of a longer view of the alley itself (above).  Shortly after this time, another friend - my music friend and occasional contributor to this blog (the "3D Sound" category) - also joined Facebook and saw this image.  It seems that he had taken a photograph of me taking a photograph of the bowling pins - and scanned in his image and posted it on Facebook.  He also wrote about this, in his own blog 3Dsound: Draggin' the Line - you can read his post here.

 I love this story, and I love my artist friend that led me to this place - and my music friend for joining me on an autumn day to capture these images of a special place.  My artist friend said that the bowling alley is long gone now (she's still in touch with  Ray Kass).  However, the Yellow Sulphur Spring website says that the spring is 'still flowing and mineral rich' and still surfaces in a gazebo in the middle of the property.  For me, this place will always symbolize an abundance of flowing riches - mineral and otherwise. 

Frank Fairfield: This is about where things left off

Hi, This is 3Dsound... Not long ago, Pam sent me the hyperlink to an NPR interview from last summer with the country singer Frank Fairfield. I was shocked to hear a contemporary musician playing Fiddlin' John Carson's "The old hen cackled" from 1923 and doing such a good job with it that I wanted to hear their whole album.

But that's Frank Fairfield. He takes old music and changes it up, in a way I can't quite put my finger on, and makes it engaging for a 21st century audience.

Here's what I can say: When Fairfield sings a song, he drags the beat, even as his instrumental playing pushes the song forward. The effect surges as an engine for both Fairfield's ballads and up-tempo songs and shows us how smart he is at taking 100-year-old material and making it new. Because, however much we want to say Fairfield's approach sounds like one of the "pioneering recording artists" of country and western music from the teens and 20s, in fact, Fairfield cultivates his allusions to early recordings without slavishly reproducing them. Which is what he tells us in his NPR interview, where he says, when asked if people should hear his music as being nostalgic of an early kind of playing:

Ya know, people talkin' about the past. This is all the same stuff – Right here, all the time. Nothing goes anywhere.

You know, I want to continue playing the music that people used to play before it got cast aside. And this is the most natural place to go from – this is about where things left off, and I'm just picking up where things left off, and keep playing and see what happens from there.

That's the forward-looking attitude that explains how Fairfield's self-titled debut album, from one year ago, hasn't got a drop of the mawking – but enjoyable – nostalgia we hear in many artists who love their 78 records (think of any number of old-timey bands or Leon Redbone).

Fairfield's fiddle playing, for example, might squawk like it comes from the Georgia highlands, but we are hard-pressed to identify which of the artists from the Columbia 15000-D series – which is ground-zero for the commercialization of American white rural music – who Fairfield sounds like exactly. The same goes double for Fairfield's singing, in which we hear all the nuances of intonation, casual phrasing and ways of telling a good story that we recognize from early country singers like Jimmy Rogers or Uncle Dave Macon, but it's impossible to single out just one singer who Fairfield seems to have primarily learned his tricks from.

What we've got are Fairfield's songs. The ones I like are "Nine pound hammer" (exquisitely well recorded, which is true of his whole album, but we hear it here first); "Call me a dog when I'm gone" (the torque on Fairfield's guitar pulls his shuffling, fun lyrics into the present, where his girl is wondering where'd he been so long); "The blackberry blossoms" (fiddle playing so hackneyed you might think he doesn't know what he's doing); "The dying cowboy" (high pathos, where the vocals and fiddle work together elegantly; which is also true to a lesser extent of the next song, "Old Paint"); "The train that took my girl from town" (remarkable for how Fairfield lets the song do the singing).

Soon to be cross-posted in a slightly different form at Draggin' the Line.

-3Dsound

Why you'll miss Porter Wagoner

In the spotlight for hearing what matters: Robbie Fulks (31-Oct-07), Porter Wagoner, r.i.p. 10-30-07, RobbieFulks.Com [your complete source for Robbie Fulks on the web], online (accessed 02-Nov-07).

If nothing else, read Fulks' obituary to confirm what you always suspected to be the case between Wagoner and Dolly Parton. But that's the sizzle. Fulks gives us a songwritter's respect for Wagoner's ability to make a song real to every member of an audience. And who in popular music ever dressed as outrageously as Porter Wagoner? It meant something, and now it's gone.

"Like Cash, he was instrumental in bringing country music out of the tents and pool halls and into a million living rooms. Rather than [trying] to sand completely down his coarser, slightly menacing edge, he incorporated it into his telegenic public personality, cannily. His 1960s LPs indicated his avidity to use the medium as more than a clothesline for singles and filler tracks, and his most lurid songs (Rubber Room, Cold Hard Facts of Life, Skid Row Joe, Carroll County Accident) extend country's tragic-ballad tradition with a contemporary narrative voice, sound effects and other louche touches, and – I like to think this is true, anyway – a wink and a smile, somewhere back in there."

-3Dsound

June Tyson performed stellarly

You don't need me to tell you about Sun Ra. He experienced a close encounter of the third kind in 1936 or 1937 (or maybe in the early 1950s), and the rest is musical history and popular culture legend. The 1980 film A Joyful Noise (available through Netflix) is a good introduction to his world, but what interests me about the film is the spotlight given to the late June Tyson (1936-1992), Sun Ra's vocalist. The film includes a sequence showcasing Sun Ra's band, the Arkestra, performing in broad daylight on a rooftop, where June Tyson performs stellarly. Controlled pitch. Accomplished and knowing phrasing. She makes straight the way for Sun Ra and his music.

If you go to Amazon.com, you'll discover there are no recordings of June Tyson – no artifacts to testify to her accomplishment, and yet, in brief snatches from Sun Ra videos and in his recordings, we hear a remarkable talent and woman. I suppose she was one of Sun Ra's acolytes (the Joyful film talks about this), but surely, in an afrofuturistic world, she'll be heralded as the siren who opened us up to Sun Ra's all-embracing jazz vision. Am I wrong to think June Tyson was to Sun Ra as MC Danny Ray was to James Brown?

-3Dsound

Larry Norman's snakeskin boots

Larry Norman website

Larry Norman invented Christian rock. He's currently not well, but he still gives occasional concerts.

A copy of his provocateur album cover – the one with him wearing snakeskin boots and standing next to an apple – is nowhere to be found on his website, which is a loss (but an opportunity for a cultural anthropologist to shepard a digital copy into the world). Here's what the Larry Norman website says about the infamous cover:

"So Long Ago The Garden has been rebalanced, re-equalized and remastered. The cover artwork has been re-scanned and the back cover is a slightly different version from the "snakeskin boots" photo used before. At the time of its release, it caused quite a stir in the gospel community. They said that Larry was naked and that this was proof he had fallen away from God. Also, there was a lightning bolt through his name, and, after all, lightning was a sign of Satan and of devil worshippers, wasn't it??? Well everybody knows it's true. Everytime there's a thunderstorm and you see lightning, well, that's not a display of God's power through nature ... it's the devil. So run and hide and cry out, "The sky is falling," "The sky is falling." ¶ He was mercilessly attacked in the Christian press, his concerts were cancelled and he didn't get a single concert until a year and half later when Noel Paul Stookey invited him to perform in concert as his opening act. During his absence from the stage he worked on plans to start Solid Rock Records and produce other artists who also had "no commercial value." Some of the people he felt led to help were on drugs so he spent time helping them with their personal life and bringing them to a converted lifestyle. In the end, Keith Green and Larry could not work together so Larry let him go. Randy became the next artist in line and Larry produced a top rate album for him. ¶ During this time, Larry had also started a Bible Study in his living room. It had no name and was only for musicians and actors. But after six months, "The Vineyard" was chosen as a name and although there was plenty of proof that Larry had NOT walked away from God, he kept on experiencing "blackballing" by the Christians. Bible bookstores refused to carry most of his albums if not all of them, especially in the South and Midwest. ¶ If Garden caused him a lot of trouble with the Christians, it also brought him a lot of respect and acceptance from less judgmental people. U2 was in the process of starting a band, Dylan heard both Planet and Garden and coincidentally started going to The Vineyard for morning Bible study. And Tower Records couldn't keep either album in stock. It received rave critical reviews from the secular press ... all the more proof to Christians that Larry was doing the work of Satan."

Don't you wish you could see for yourself what caused the fuss? (Trust me, it's nothing.) In the years since then, Christians have rehabilitated their opinion of Norman and have graciously acknowledged his achievment in furthering gospel music by presenting him with various life-time achievement awards.

-3Dsound

Arsenio Rodríguez y su Conjunto

Almost ten years ago, the post-punk and experimental guitarist Marc Ribot released his first album with the Cubanos Postizos and showcased the music of Cuban composer, band leader, and tres player Arsenio Rodríguez. The Ribot album is crazy sounding – but it sounds like nothing else, and it suceedes as an honestly inauthentic tribute to Arsenio Rodríguez. It also succeedes in introducing Rodríguez's music to a wider audience, including myself. Rodríguez today turns up in my Media Player far more frequently than Ribot does, which is a reflection of the originality in what Rodríguez did.

Rodríguez (1911-1970) was a Cuban musician who reached a creative height when leading his Conjunto in the 1940s. Much about the Conjunto broke the conventions for dance bands at the time. Rodríguez's innovations revolved around instumentation and the popularization of African rhythms and song structures, along with the added benefit of presenting Rodríguez's original compostions.

For example, take Pueblo Nuevo Se Paso from the Dundunbanza CD. The tune was a hit around 1950 and what you hear are three trumpets cutting the outlines of a melody that's carried by a piano, with two vocalists who declaim a lyric above the playing. Conga provides a steady but surprisingly improvisory pulse, supported by a rhythm section of bass and guitars. The effect is celebratory and big-band dancable but simultaneously acoustic and intimate. In other tunes, Rodríguez's tres is more prominent, often establishing both the melodic and rhythmic lines, before sliding into nearly unison playing with the piano, which underscores the percussive role of both instruments in the Conjunto's sound.

All of the tunes feature vocals. In Esa China Tiene Coimbre from the Tocoloro CD (actually, can you hear the inevitability of the rhythm in the title? ess - AH chean - AH tea - en - AH CO - im - BRAY; when you say it out loud, it feels good, doesn't it?), a vocal chorus introduces the lyric and ends up repeating the title phrase, while a soloist extemporizes on top, in a strong, emotive tenor. In other tunes, the effect is even more pronounced, especially in Dundunbanza and Ta Benito Eh, both on the Dundunbanza CD, and both indebted to Rodríguez's African heritage from the Congo. Part of Rodríguez's achievment lies in taking the Congolese songs and rhythms passed down to him by family members and popularizing them into a contemporary dance music.

Here in Colorado, we're lucky to have a brilliant jazz radio station – KUVO – which streams on the internet. KUVO plays a wide variety of music, including latin jazz. I e-mailed the Music Director, Arturo Gomez, and asked him about Rodríguez. He responded:

"Arsenio created the conjunto, the standard ensemble for playing Arfro Cuban dance music aka salsa. before Arsenio it was either a big band or a septet, In 1940 Arsenio took the septet-the format he began his career in and expanded, he added a piano, tumbadora (conga) and first 2 trumpets, then 3 trumpets to expand the previously standard group. he also began writing riffs for the horn section-the first step in the evolution of the mambo, he also incorporated piano and Cuban tres guitar solos. Over the years his conjuntos included the best sidemen and soneros-improvising singers of Cuban music, he was a gifted composer as well, 30 to 40 of his composotions have been recorded and performed numerous times by groups of Cuba, NY, Puerto Rico etc His songs reflect the struggles of black people in Cuba, patriotism, African influences, and many other every day topics. In the late 40s he was on top of the popularity charts in Cuba's radio and dance halls. In 1950 in order to save his brother's life he moved to NY leaving it all behind to start anew. His presence in NY changed forever the way music was played there."

"His 40s and early 50s recordings are like listening to Louis Armstrong's Hot 5s and 7s in the 20s, revolutionary......"

To hear latin music, point your browser to KUVO's weekly program Salsa Con Jazz, which airs on Sundays between 4-6 pm MT and is hosted by the encyclopedically knowledgable Jimmy Trujillo.

-3Dsound

Sheila Jordan

This week I've been listening to vocalist Sheila Jordan and her recordings where she's accompanied by bass only.

Jordan is a singer who was 'so in love with Charlie Parker that she married his piano player', which is her description of the relationship. The marriage ended, and Jordan spent the next 20 years on heroin and working for an ad agency in NY. Today, she sings like someone who's been there and back, the swing in her phrasing so autonomic that her songs are often an experience that you can't imagine ending.

Back in the 1980s, Jordan first recorded a series of albums for Muse Records that featured her vocals accompanied by bass. Her bassist at the time, Harvey Swartz, commented in an interview that the combination of bass and vocals drove audiences wild. It's a setting that showcases both musicians.

In 2004, Jordan recorded Celebration: Live At The Triad with bassist Cameron Brown. Released on the High Note label, the set is loose and joyous – improvisatory but not ad hoc. Check out the Amazon.com reviews, in particular the one by John Vasile ("searcher" from Nashville), who explains Jordan's accomplishment in the album by describing her tribute to Oscar Brown, Jr.:

"Sheila has been performing Brown's songs for decades, which we're reminded of at the top of the set with a snappy take of "Hum Drum Blues," but she pulls all the threads together here and allows us to see the whole picture, one we've been glimpsing bits of over the years. And we realize simultaneously what a wonderful composer Brown is and what a gift Sheila has for keeping jazz vital."

In addition to "Hum Drum Blues", Vasile is also referring to Jordan's rendition of Brown's "All Blues" – a song about Miles Davis, in which Jordan manages to re-cap the bebop era.

Having said all that, also see the Village Voice review from February 17, 2006 by Tom Hull.

-3Dsound

What if the Beatles were Irish?

Roy Zimmerman. To be honest, he's not someone who I know a lot about. But if Mr. Bawdy Songs (cum "Voices In The Wind"), Oscar Brand, himself, recently devoted an entire radio program to Zimmerman's music, then Zimmerman can't be half bad. Especially since Zimmerman is brave enough to ask the musical question, What If the Beatles Were Irish? So, force upon yourself, if you will, Zimmerman's unapologetic songbook of liberal umbrage, regime-rocking anthems and over-educated word play. You'll feel inspired by his songs, and they're all available at his YouTube channel.

-3Dsound

Night blooming mix tapes

I remember the night-blooming cereus. It was rangy and clearly ambivalent about being domesticated, seemingly trying to crawl out of its pot (if it could), yet graciously blooming in the summer's humid evening air. In other words ... exactly the kind of plant you throw a party for, which we did.

It was a party at which music played through the window (“streamed” through the window, you might say). Music not very different from the music I gave to the marketing company I recently hired.

Earlier this year I laid out a ton of money for a marketing company to build my (very small) company's website. In addition to the money, the marketing company wanted other things from me. Like, information on what my company did that's useful, and a bunch of other stuff along those lines. There were dozens of pages that I had to write, explaining (a) how it was that I — miraculously — retained clients, and (b) why it was that I wanted to engage the marketing company's vaulted website production services.

After completing all of that, I decided to give the marketers two mix-tapes. So they could get into the proper spirit for building my site.

First tape: Country & Blues

Alejandro Escovedo – California Blues

Canned Heat – Goin' Up The Country

Chet Atkins & Doc Watson – On My Way to Canaan's Land

Del McCoury – Learnin' The Blues

Dwight Yoakam – Little Ways

Steve Earle & Emmylou Harris – Goodbye

Etta James – Whatever Gets You Through The Night

Fabulous Thunderbirds – Tuff Enuff

Gary Allen – Nothing On But The Radio

Guy Clark – Dublin Blues

Hot Tuna – Hesitation Blues

Iguanas – I Moved Too Slow

Jimmie Dale Gilmore – Defying Gravity

Joe Ely – Slow You Down

Joe Stampley – Do You Ever Fool Around

Johnny Duncan – It Couldn't Have Been Any Better

Johnny Lee – Lookin' For Love

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Special Rider Blues

Mike Ness – Dope Fiend Blues

Red Willow Band – Finally Hit Bottom

Steve Earle & Supersuckers – Creepy Jackalope Eye

Second tape: Rock & Jazz

Art Pepper – Blues In

Bad Plus Trio – Smells Like Teen Spirit

Brand New Heavies – Have A Good Time

Hot Chocolate – You Sexy Thing (OK, so there's no way you can stretch your definition of acid jazz to call this track anything but R&B, but it mixed well with Jane's Addiction)

Jane's Addiction – Sympathy

Jazzanova – Bohemian Sunset (electronic Brazilian samba; my favorite track on the disc)

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Killer Wolf

Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos – No Me Llores Mas

Mink Deville – Gunslinger

Morphine – Buena

Nada Surf – Inside Of Love

New Wet Kojak – Love Career

New York Dolls – Looking For A Kiss

Patti Smith Group – Ghost Dance

Pharoah Sanders – Tomoki

Sonic Youth – Hot Wire My Heart

So, I gave the marketing woman the discs, and her reaction was veeeery distinctly, "Ohhhhh..." (can you hear her voice's declining inflection of dis-interest?) Still, she ended up building me a terrific site, one that includes, Pam, an authentic photograph of the Intracoastal Waterway, taken somewhere between New Jersey and Florida.