Jody Kruskal

Nora, I've been a fan of your singing for weeks! Ever since Colin Dipper shared your lovely performance of Les Feuilles Mortes with me. Oh yeah, Tona you sound real good too!

Hi McDouglas, What you have written out here would be fine as a variation, but the main thing I would be doing in your case would be to emulate what a flat picked guitar would do. Bass strum, bass strum in most bars. The bass note might be short and the strum might be shorter (leaving sonic space for the other instruments.) This would be an Um Pa Um Pa idea. The Pa would be accented and very short duration. The strum or Pa could be a single note or two or three, depending on what sounds good. Quarter note runs would add interest and drive. Example: measure 2 could have bass quarter notes walking up to the D chord (B, C#, D, -) I hope you continue to enjoy your Texas trio. Making music in a small group is the best!

Oops, I said of this extra gig... "evening of Thursday the 15th at The White Thorn Inn at Shaugh Pryror". However, the date is actually Friday the 16th.

Wolf! Will do.

Thanks Mitch for offering me a housing plan B. I hope to see you at the Grand Union. On another note, The intrepid Geoff Lakeman has just arranged an additional gig, evening of Thursday the 15th at The White Thorn Inn at Shaugh Pryror on the edge of Dartmoor. Rob Murch, an amazing banjo player with the Dartmoor Pixies will join Geoff and myself for a trio performing tunes and songs.

FYI, I think I've found a bed for the 12th... thanks.

I'm having a lovely time and a third of the way on this year's tour: October Wednesday 31 Willows Folk Club near Blackpool November Saturday 3 Royal Traditions near Sheffield Monday 5 Midway in Stockport Wednesday 7 Ripon House Concert (sold out) Friday 9 Bodmin Folk Club Saturday 10 Chipendam under Wychwood, OX Sunday 11 Horsham Folk Club Tuesday 13 Wurzel Bush, Brinklow near Rugby Wednesday 14 Hambledon Folk Club Saturday 17 B-Bar, Plymouth, w/ Geoff Lakeman Sunday 18 Folk on the Moor near Plymouth Tuesday 20 Great Knight Folk Club Northampton On Monday the 12th I hope to sing a floor spot at the Grand Union Folk Club, Leicestershire Horse & Trumpet, 4 Barrow Road, Sileby, Nr Loughborough, LE12 7LP Is there anyone here on C.net who lives close to this club and could put me up for the night?

Great Bob, I look forward to seeing you there. Dinner?

Sorry folks, I have not been keeping my web site up to date. Jody Kruskal’s 2018 Annual England Tour October Wednesday 31 Willows near Blackpool November Saturday 3 Royal Traditions near Sheffield Monday 5 Midway in Stockport Wednesday 7 Ripon house concert Friday 9 Bodmin Saturday 10 Ascott under Wychwood, OX Sunday 11 Horsham Tuesday 13 Wurzel Bush, Brinklow near Rugby Wednesday 14 Hambledon Saturday 17 B-Bar, Plymouth, w/ Geoff Lakeman Sunday 18 Folk on the Moor near Plymouth Tuesday 20 Great Knight in Northampton

I would love to hear it, or better yet play it. What a marvel. These 44 or often called 45 Anglos are quite rare.

What a rescue from oblivion! Does the current owner play it? A friend of C.Net?

Is this a duet or an anglo? Regardless... what a beauty!

Teaching Anglo concertina lessons at home and on skype all over the globe has been a continuing pleasure. My students come to me for a variety of reasons and I try to figure out just what they need to get the most out of the customized lessons I offer. A recent example... Some friends of mine in the theater recommended me to Doug Shapiro. He asked me to teach him how to play a few concertina songs for a theater production, now in rehearsal. He described it as “an audience immersion Avant-Garde show” ... well alright! His theater company had bought him a pretty little vintage red East German Anglo 20 button box for $50 off ebay. Doug fondly named it “Tchotchke Rosie” but he had no idea how to play it. Doug is an actor and singer with a high school level of musical training. He sent me three guitar and vocal audio recordings of proposed original songs. I agreed to meet him for a lesson at my studio here in Brooklyn, New York, to help him join the band for his new show. I thought that this effort was unlikely to work out, given the limitations of a 20 button ebay instrument, but you never know. When I tried his “Tchotchke Rosie” I was in despair. So crude, so out of tune and a high D/A tuning to boot. I told him that it was unlikely this junk box concertina would work, but I would give it a try and started in playing along with the audio tracks on his red junker. Amazing! It sounded pretty good and the keys they were playing in made the D/A box actually easier than a C/G would ever be. I made him some paper arrangements on the spot and sent him home to practice. A few days later, Doug had done his homework and could plausibly play complex chords along with the recordings. He impressed his fellow thespians in rehearsal and they decided that Doug should sing and play solo for some additional intermission entertainment. His plan, he told me, was to sing a few well known Christmas songs... in Yiddish. Oy vay! Sounds strange, but that’s what they are into. Apparently, Doug has done this sort of thing before, though he’s not Jewish and does not speak Yiddish. Check out his performance of the country classic “Your Cheating Heart.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLkV_QO8fqE So now, I have had a few more lessons with Doug and he’s a natural concertina player. He knows how to deliver a song, and for him, the concertina just fits right in without effort. I’ve just made him charts for “Walking In a Winter Wonderland” and “Feliz Navidad.” I’m sure he will do fine, singing his Yiddish translations of these fine Christmas classics.

Mike Harding, for decades the BBC radio arbiter of taste in folk, roots and acoustic music just put me on the top of his playlist for October 2018, #261. For the rest of this month, simply click here to listen to the whole show: http://www.mikehardingfolkshow.com/category/podcasts/ including two tracks from my new album: Train on the Island. Mike picked two good ones, a tune, Jenny on the Railroad and a Carter Family song, Cannonball Blues. Mike says: “Jody Kruskal, as many of you will know, is one of the great American concertina players and he plays wonderfully”. He mentioned that there is also “ some lovely autoharp playing” and declared the album, “A must for all you train spotters out there, including myself”. If you want to hear more samples from Train On the Island follow this link for listening and purchase: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/jodykruskal7

I've never had a complaint from sound techs.