Jody Kruskal

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.

Hi Jim, for years, I've used the Microvox setup and plugged it directly into my Korg Toneworks pedalboard AX30G for live amplified gigs. This 25 year old Korg unit has proved versatile and rugged. It was designed as a multi-effect guitar pedal board though it works a treat for concertina, sporting 16 user programable voices. Yes, it also mutes the concertina silently without a pop and provides knobs for signal volume matching, a very useful feature for basic mixing. It looks like you can get something like this vintage unit for $30 to $230 on ebay. I've programed three concertina voices on mine. One called Dry for use in big echoy halls. Then there is Dry Attack which I use for solos, it's more aggressive and highly compressed which makes the low notes sound as loud as the high ones. The third voice is called Horn and it's good for smaller settings or outdoor events where some spacial enhancement and reverb is required. These three settings have served me well and they each have their uses. They all sound like me. No overt audible effects or distracting artifacts. Then... There is this cool pressure peddle. I've set it so that the harder I step on it, the wider a duplicate and sharper note is played. This way I can dynamically play a dry to wet musette sound of my choosing. Very useful. When I stomp on it, I sound like a Leslie revolving organ and everybody screams from the dramatic tremolo. This effect allows me to come forward in the band mix without increasing my db. When I use it sparingly, sometimes just a touch, it's like magic to bring myself forward in the mix without being louder and suffering from feedback. Using this feature, I'm able to command the room with my sound or slide into the background to blend with the band. Makes me feel empowered, which of course, I am.

Last year, several of my theater friends told me about a casting call for the popular Netflix show, “Orange Is the New Black.” The producers were looking for a concertina player to perform in the upcoming season #6. I sent in my resume, but never heard back... oh well. As it turns out, I’m a serious fan and now that the new season is up, I watched the whole thing. Wow what a show! Season 6 , Episode 1 is titled “Who Knows Better Than I” and indeed, it does briefly sport a German or Chinese made mother of toilet seat 20 button Anglo at 6:27 for the fantasy “secret agent” number. The box is visible for less than two seconds along with a violin and is not actually played. At least I can’t hear it. The concertina seems to only be there for the visuals at the beginning of this short black and white faux noire segment. Oh my, I coulda been a contender. Shucks!

Btw - if you want to see the liner notes with all the details, just scroll down and expand the page for a full description. Jody

I see that my linked page says that they are all sold out. Never fear, more cds are in the post, so order away in confidence. Jody

I hope you want to buy my new CD. It sounds good. Your very own disc with the audio data, printed liner notes and gorgeous graphic art and packaging could be delivered to your mailbox. If you prefer delivery to your hard drive, downloads are available too, all at: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/jodykruskal7 Train on the Island Songs and Tunes from the Days of Rail by Jody Kruskal and Friends, American Roots Music, Country Blues, Old-Time and Folk featuring the Anglo Concertina and the Chromatic Autoharp 14 tracks comprising 3 instrumentals and 11 songs. I play autoharp throughout and most of the tracks include concertina. I'm joined by 8 amazing musicians, placing the autoharp and Anglo concertina in a rich musical context. This collection of old American railroad songs and tunes explores the stories of those that built, ran and rode the the rails from the boom days of American expansion in the mid 1800’s to the decline of the primacy of rail transport in the the mid 20th century. As if my magic, once you step aboard a train, you are transported at high speed to another land. The lonesome sound of the steam whistle is a common theme here. Hoboes, adventures, laborers and lovers are tempted by the sound “to hop that freight and ride” as they look for a better life, or try to escape loneliness, regret and heart ache. In these songs they are likely to find bitter disappointment, blood, toil and deadly wrecks... or perhaps, simply the dawning of a beautiful new day. Freight Train Blues Train on the Island Railroad through the Rocky Mountains Reuben’s Train Cannonball Blues I Been Working on the Railroad Walk on Boy All Night Long Mr. Engineer L&N Rag Morningtown Ride Pick and Shovel Jenny on the Railroad City of New Orleans

Hi Wolf, I got it. Sounds like a good idea. Pair away, and I look forward to listening to it.

Such wonderful comments! So insightful. Of course... how you direct your intent during practice, will have a strong impact on achieving your practice goals. Really, it's all in your minds eye and ear as you try to memorize the sequence of patterns that are needed to play these amazing button driven instruments! Still, there is great value in simple repetition. I suggest that you train your fingers to know what to do with a goal of 10,000 hours at the job. If my fingers can be on automatic, then my mind can wander on to more important things.

Oops, not quite. Physical CDs only, so far. The downloads will be ready in a few days. You can read all the liner notes though, and listen to audio samples. It's a process. My presentation went well at the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering CD release party in Pennsylvania last Saturday. Folks were very receptive and curious about the concertina. The cake was sweet and plentiful. On every night of the festival, there was a small but excellent tune session where I mostly played the Anglo with a nice selection of instruments including several autoharps. The folks I was hanging out with were mostly playing American Old-Time with some Irish and celtic bits and a few songs thrown in for spice. I've just written an article to be published next month in Autoharp Quarterly (http://www.daigleharp.com/autoharpquarterly.html) about my recording process and the many parallels between Anglo concertina and autoharp. This was touched on in a previous thread here at c.net and I've had a great time developing those thoughts more fully. When the article is finalized, I'll share it with this community.

Done and ready for sales. https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/JodyKruskal

I have a new recording available in a few days... Train on the Island Songs and Tunes from the Days of Rail with Jody Kruskal and Friends American Roots Music, Country Blues, Old-Time and Folk featuring the Chromatic Autoharp and Anglo Concertina One year ago I won the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering Cohen/Grappel recording grant and began my autoharp adventure in ernest. This Saturday, June 23 at 11:15 am (EST) you can join me streaming on-line for my CD release party at Concertwindow.com/mlag. An hour on stage at this years gathering will include an interview and live performances of songs and tunes from the cd with guest musicians. There will be cake served after the presentation but current technology does not yet allow you to partake in that part of the festivities, still, I hope you will join me at my party. Check my cdbaby artist page for updates. The recording will be available soon for download and physical cds by next week. https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/JodyKruskal

How would that work?

I recently took on a local new Anglo concertina student. K and I just did our first lesson today and such fun we had! She claims to know nothing about playing music but out of the blue, bought this cute little red 20 button Anglo from a shop here in New York City. It has no brand but sports shiny silver bits and wooden frames in the bellows. German make, or a Chinese knock off, I suppose. Amazingly... it actually works and cost only $200. The straps needed attention and one note was wonky but we got that sorted, for now at least. When I asked her why she was inspired to purchase this sparkly object, she admitted with a laugh that she admires gypsy punk and has heard some awesome accordion playing... but told me that those boxes they play are too big, heavy and expensive for her... so she thought this pretty thing might make a better introduction to playing instrumental music. She took the concertina home but was at a complete loss about what to do with it. So, after gazing at it for a few months, she found me on the web. She's a go getter, my new student K. To prepare for our session, she went on-line and looked at youtubes about music theory. She self-educated herself with knowledge and vocabulary about scales, keys and rhythmic values. When we went through some of that material at our first lesson, she was already half way there. As for playing, she was a blank slate. Then, when we got to work, she made amazing progress, going from zero to Um Pa with Melody in under two hours! I attribute this to my expert teaching (ahemmm), her impressive native ability and a budding love for her new toy and with any luck, resulting in a life long concertina adventure. K is a very focused lady. She worked hard and I had the gratification of watching her eyeballs float off into concertina gaze... probably for the very first time. What a thrill for us both. Tonight, I wrote her with some post-lesson advice: "Sometimes busy, active people like yourself find it hard to make the time to practice. The best schedule is highly focused practice for 20 min. 3 times per day. That’s an hour. If you can do that five days per week, you will make rapid progress. Short and frequent practice routines make for speedy learning. Playing for one long 5 hour binge, once per week might be fun! Still... while it takes you the same amount of time, it gives you less value". So, what would you say to my new student K about the meaning of focused practice?

I use a tiny drop of Krazy glue or the Locktite equivalent (Cyanoacrylate).Put a drop in the wooden hole and insert the post. Works every time.

Sorry Wayman, I will not be attending the Marlboro Ale this year. My team was not invited and I have to stay home to finish all the tasks needed for the new CD. So many details yet to go. Also, we just got two new kittens yesterday and playing with them is just too much fun!

Oh yes... this album also has guitar, bass, fiddle, mandolin, bells, penny whistle, slide didge, kora and lots of singing!

After a year of recording, my latest CD will be out next month... TRAIN ON THE ISLAND Songs and Tunes from the Days of Rail with Jody Kruskal and Friends American Roots Music Country Blues, Old-Time and Folk featuring the Chromatic Autoharp and Anglo Concertina This collection of old American railroad songs and tunes explores the stories of those that built, ran and rode the the rails from the boom days of American expansion in the mid 1800’s to the decline of rail transport in the the mid 20th century. As if my magic, once you step aboard a train, you are transported at high speed to another land. The lonesome call of the steam whistle is a common theme here. Hoboes, adventures, laborers and lovers are tempted by the sound “to hop that freight and ride” as they look for a better life, or try to escape loneliness, regret and heart ache. In these songs they are likely to find bitter disappointment, blood, toil and deadly wrecks... or perhaps, simply the dawning of a beautiful new day. Autoharp and Anglo concertina both have an antique sound that compliments these songs and tunes from another age. Freight Train Blues Train on the Island Railroad through the Rocky Mountains Reuben’s Train Cannonball Blues I've Been Working on the Railroad Walk on Boy All Night Long Mr. Engineer L&N Rag Morningtown Ride Pick and Shovel Jenny on the Railroad City of New Orleans

Last weekend I was in Los Angeles for a wedding and stopped in at David Bragger’s Old-Time Tiki Parlour (www.OldTimeTikiParlour.com) for some tunes with fiddler Susan Platz. Here we are playing Porter's Reel from our dear friends Howard Rains and Tricia Spencer.

Minds are amazing! The intuitive / musical understanding of music is so different from the intellectual / analytical understanding of the exact same musical thing. Two brains struggling to achieve and reconcile the same artistic results... that's what it's all about for me. The two brains can learn from each other... if they both pay attention. Quite a trick to do in live performance or any time. Still, the integration of both in a single performance is the ultimate of musicality.

Interesting these concepts of how our brains conceive of music. For me, the part of my brain that thinks of music as being symbols like F#m or middle C is quite different from the part of my brain that listens and hears and plays. Perhaps it's a right/left brain thing. Learning to sing while playing feels like a whole different thing than learning to talk while playing. I've learned both, but in doing so, I'm convinced that the speaking/analytical/thinking part and the singing/playing/listening parts can be reconciled, but only with some mental effort and practice.