Country Music Concertina

[timj]

When the Dixie Chicks won all those grammies, I was reminded of what started all the fuss. I don't mean Maines' brief comment in Germany-- that was just the excuse. What started the fuss was their hit record "Travelin' Soldier" -- a lovely sad piece of Americana about a scared kid shipping out to Vietnam, and his even younger sort-of girlfriend weeping under the stands at the football game when they "honored" his name by reading it over the PA as one of the war dead-- this tune that *will* make you cry if you listen to it with an open heart was number one on the country music charts as the US was getting ready to invade Iraq. They had to get rid of the record, trashing the Dixie Chicks themselves was fun for them, but incidental.

 

It was the only thing like it anywhere on TV or radio. What a time.

 

Anyway, it's on YouTube, and along with the girls there's a mandolin, a snare drum, and-- an anglo concertina! (A black Stagi.)

 

 

I have enjoyed playing concertina with southern-style string bands, when they let me. I wonder if western bands are more tolerant. I've seen movie cowboys "playing" concertinas (like movie pirates) so I guess it's part of the image, or could be. (No hillbilly concertina player images come to mind.) My next door neighbor when I was a kid, his mother was from Montana, and she had a concertina from when she was a kid. And, of course, the Chicks are from Texas, where there are lots of Germans.

 

So I wonder-- any more concertinas been spotted in country-western music?

 

Tim Jennings

[Henrik Müller]

Ehh - I forgot to look for the concertina

 

/Henrik

[Dan Worrall]

I have enjoyed playing concertina with southern-style string bands, when they let me. I wonder if western bands are more tolerant. I've seen movie cowboys "playing" concertinas (like movie pirates) so I guess it's part of the image, or could be. (No hillbilly concertina player images come to mind.) My next door neighbor when I was a kid, his mother was from Montana, and she had a concertina from when she was a kid. And, of course, the Chicks are from Texas, where there are lots of Germans.

 

So I wonder-- any more concertinas been spotted in country-western music?

 

Tim Jennings

 

If the question refers to Nashville commercial type 'country western ' music, the answer is not much. Michael Murphy played an anglo in the 1970s (western music rather than country western). Germans here in Texas don't play anglo nor do they play Chemnitzers...that is a midwest US thing. Germans here in Texas play accordions, and they taught the local Mexican-Americans how to play polkas on it many years back, which spawned Tex-Mex conjunto music.

 

Anglo concertinas were played extensively in American popular dance music (what we would call today 'traditional' music) in the 19th century....by Mormon pioneers on the trek west in covered wagons; in blackface minstrel shows, etc. They were sold throughout the US starting in the mid 1800s. The Anglo had died out by the time the word 'string band' had been coined in the 20th century, but the minstrels were the root of that form of music. I'll be giving a talk on that subject at the Palestine Old Time Music Festival (and concertina workshop) in March, with lots of period photographs. I've also written a little history on this subject which will be published soon....watch this space.

 

Dan

[Mark Evans]

I'll be giving a talk on that subject at the Palestine Old Time Music Festival (and concertina workshop) in March, with lots of period photographs. I've also written a little history on this subject which will be published soon....watch this space.

 

Dan

 

Now that would be worth a flight to Texas for sure. Unfortunately I can't. Id be very interested in reading your presentation.

 

Tim, as far as comercial music goes...don't hold your breath. If it counts (and I'm sure it don't) I've been using English concertina on Western Swing and Country music for the better part of 3 years now (San Antonio Rose, You Are My Sunshine, Where The Old Red River Flows, Workin' Man's Blues) not to mention a number of Bluegrass vocal and instrumental standards. There is fall-out from time to time, but it is worth the looks from the occational Grasshole.

 

As to the Dixie Chick's tina player: I believe he now sports a Morse .

Edited February 14, 2007 by Mark Evans

[Bruce McCaskey]

I don't know that it's true, but when I was discussing the Stagi concertina in the referenced video with another fellow a year or two ago, he claimed that it was sold out of Bob Tedrow's shop. Neither of us were fans of the group performing (didn't hate them, just didn't like them), but we both agreed it was refreshing to see a concertina get a moment of prime time.

[timj]

Germans here in Texas don't play anglo nor do they play Chemnitzers...that is a midwest US thing. Germans here in Texas play accordions, and they taught the local Mexican-Americans how to play polkas on it many years back, which spawned Tex-Mex conjunto music.

 

A guy sent picture of himself playing tex-mex on bandoneon to Free Reed, years ago. Big guy, gold tooth, "Believe me, I need every one of those (n) folds when I get going."

 

Anglo concertinas were played extensively in American popular dance music (what we would call today 'traditional' music) in the 19th century... Mormans.... minstrel shows... I've written a little history on this subject which will be published soon....watch this space.

 

Wow! I didn't know any of that! I want that history! (lots of pictures please) I'd take it as a kindness if you'd let me know when it's ready-- tim(at)folktale(dot)net.

 

I'm not a scholarly kind of guy, but I have had a notion for years that might interest you. Surely minstrel shows were an american evolution of comedia. With his black leather half-mask, and (often) a black chin-strap (to hide any beard) leaving white around the eyes and mouth, old drawings of Arlequino look very much like he's wearing blackface. He's a servant, he's a dancer, he plays an instrument (like all of them), he and his fellows do rapid comic crosstalk, he's "zany." I can't find any of the old drawings I'm talking about on the web, but here's a model

 

http://www.malle-costumes.com/Local/malle/...00136-small.jpg

 

Lots of the character masks appear to have been brown

 

http://www.balkiber.org/balkiberfest/villena.html

 

Commedia was totally vulgar in its day, very much the same kind of performance niche as blackface minstrelsy, minus the crappy racism, maybe. And the commedia Doctor sometimes did sell cures, it seems, so the good ol' american medicine show also looks to have commedia roots.

 

***

 

I began by playing mostly old-time with some Irish on garage sale scholar anglos and when switching to a Bastari English continued to work the bellows more than you're supposed to, developing cognates for expressive bowing and frailing techniques. All that went away when I finally got a good instrument; that kinda stuff seems to require lots of slightly leaky folds, and my current boxes are too precise.

 

I do like playing a variety of kinds of music. I found switching to English hard enough that I decided to play that instrument alone, so I might possibly get half-way ok at it. Sounds real good on "Big Pink" era Bob Dylan songs, for instance. I've been playing Celtic with my harping sweety Leanne for a bunch of years, it sounds good enough to get paid for & is a reasonable easy sell. But increasingly, for the music breaks in our storytelling shows, Leanne pulls out a ukulele & we do stuff from Charley Poole & his ilk.

[Dan Worrall]

I'm not a scholarly kind of guy, but I have had a notion for years that might interest you. Surely minstrel shows were an american evolution of comedia. Commedia was totally vulgar in its day, very much the same kind of performance niche as blackface minstrelsy, minus the crappy racism, maybe. And the commedia Doctor sometimes did sell cures, it seems, so the good ol' american medicine show also looks to have commedia roots.

 

....increasingly, for the music breaks in our storytelling shows, Leanne pulls out a ukulele & we do stuff from Charley Poole & his ilk.

 

Charley Poole ain't ilk....he was a genius. I know you were kidding.

 

Don't know much about Comedia....I somehow don't think 'the boys' back then knew too much about it either...but I could be wrong!

 

Cheers,

Dan

[m3838]

Finally got to listen to the Dixie Chicks.

Great! Banality rules.

Seems like the age of 14 is kind of critical, can't make past it, can we?

Where is Carl Sagan, when we need him?

[Jody Kruskal]

I began by playing mostly old-time with some Irish on garage sale scholar anglos and when switching to a Bastari English continued to work the bellows more than you're supposed to, developing cognates for expressive bowing and frailing techniques. All that went away when I finally got a good instrument; that kinda stuff seems to require lots of slightly leaky folds, and my current boxes are too precise.

 

Hi Tim,

 

Nice to see you posting here. I remember your playing on that English Bastari vividly. We were at an early Squeeze-In and your style with the vigorous bellows was certainly very much like an Anglo. I’ve never heard the like since and have to say that I’m disappointed to learn that you have abandoned your old ways. What you are up to now is very nice to be sure, but your old style really caught my attention with it's fiddle and banjo emulations. Any recordings from the old days? I would love to hear it again.

[Susanne]

Only in my living room when I played a concertina break on "Eight more miles to Louisville". If now you consider bluegrass a part of the country family (not everybody does).

[Mark Evans]

Only in my living room when I played a concertina break on "Eight more miles to Louisville". If now you consider bluegrass a part of the country family (not everybody does).

 

Good for you! That's a fine one for concertina and just so happens I'll be playing concertina on it this evening and singing tenor on the chorus.

 

Bluegrass is indeed country music. Bill Monroe always called it so as did Uncle Dave Macon before him refer to what we now term old time. I don't know how things got all segregated, but it's a shame.

 

By the way, some of todays revisionists wouldn't consider Grampa Jones "Eight more miles to Louisville" bluegrass at all. The subject could cause a right good debate.

Edited February 24, 2007 by Mark Evans

[asdormire]

Only in my living room when I played a concertina break on "Eight more miles to Louisville". If now you consider bluegrass a part of the country family (not everybody does).

 

 

Actually, western music would be far friendlier to concertina than bluegrass, and probably was played on the plains. Bluegrass, being a modern thing, has tons of traditionalists who insist there are only six instruments that can be used: guitar, banjo, mandolin, upright bass, fiddle and dobro. I know people here in the Ohio Valley (I can be in the hills in a half hour to fortyfive minutes) who find spoons offensive, even though they am instrument that was often played on the oldtime and mountain tunes. And while the Big Mon did have an accordian at one time in his band, and his mother played one as well, it is generally refered to having been before the bluegrass era. The only free reed that they find acceptable occasionally is the harmonica. And for the most part, these are people who grew up in Hazzard and the surrounding counties.

 

Alan

[John Sylte]

User error / dial up confusion... See post below.

Edited February 25, 2007 by John Sylte

[John Sylte]

User error / dial up confusion... See post below. Can these be deleted?

Edited February 25, 2007 by John Sylte

[John Sylte]

When the Dixie Chicks won all those grammies, I was reminded of what started all the fuss. I don't mean Maines' brief comment in Germany-- that was just the excuse. What started the fuss was their hit record "Travelin' Soldier" -- a lovely sad piece of Americana about a scared kid shipping out to Vietnam, and his even younger sort-of girlfriend weeping under the stands at the football game when they "honored" his name by reading it over the PA as one of the war dead-- this tune that *will* make you cry if you listen to it with an open heart was number one on the country music charts as the US was getting ready to invade Iraq. They had to get rid of the record, trashing the Dixie Chicks themselves was fun for them, but incidental.

 

It was the only thing like it anywhere on TV or radio. What a time.

 

Anyway, it's on YouTube, and along with the girls there's a mandolin, a snare drum, and-- an anglo concertina! (A black Stagi.)

 

 

I have enjoyed playing concertina with southern-style string bands, when they let me. I wonder if western bands are more tolerant. I've seen movie cowboys "playing" concertinas (like movie pirates) so I guess it's part of the image, or could be. (No hillbilly concertina player images come to mind.) My next door neighbor when I was a kid, his mother was from Montana, and she had a concertina from when she was a kid. And, of course, the Chicks are from Texas, where there are lots of Germans.

 

So I wonder-- any more concertinas been spotted in country-western music?

 

Tim Jennings

 

I think I may own a Tedrow Stagi. I tried to watch the YouTube video, but it was truncated halfway through and I saw no anglo. Is this just my computer giving me grief or is this happening to others? Is there another link to this performance with the anglo? Does anyone have any pics or other information about the Tedrow Stagis?

 

Thanks-

[Leo]

I believe it is still John Mock playing for the Dixie Chicks. Look at this "testimonial" on the bottom of the page:

http://www.buttonbox.com/morse.html

 

His website picture:

http://www.johnmock.net/

 

Thanks

Leo

[Mark Evans]

Actually, western music would be far friendlier to concertina than bluegrass, and probably was played on the plains. Bluegrass, being a modern thing, has tons of traditionalists who insist there are only six instruments that can be used: guitar, banjo, mandolin, upright bass, fiddle and dobro. I know people here in the Ohio Valley (I can be in the hills in a half hour to fortyfive minutes) who find spoons offensive, even though they am instrument that was often played on the oldtime and mountain tunes. And while the Big Mon did have an accordian at one time in his band, and his mother played one as well, it is generally refered to having been before the bluegrass era. The only free reed that they find acceptable occasionally is the harmonica. And for the most part, these are people who grew up in Hazzard and the surrounding counties.

 

Alan

 

I wouldn't dissagree with most of your statement in the least. I can point to one other accordion in a bluegrass band: mid-fifties, Bill Monore and his Bluegrass Boys. There was this lady (wasn't there always with Bill) who played PC. She was in the band for at least a tour... .

 

Spoons: depends on who is playing em'. I remember vividly walking down to the stage to catch the featured set by the afore mentioned Monroe at the Smithfeild Bluegrass Festival in the middle seventies(what day of the week or what year is now a bit vague as I was most always in an "altered" state). As the boys cranked up, a legion of seniors in lawn chairs pulled out their "spoons" (one piece curved metal with a spoon at each end) and started clackin' away. Mr. Monroe shot them a withering look. The racket they stirred up was overwhelming!

 

Dobro (or resophonic guitar): I think the jury is still out. Some of the "traditonalists" as you kindly put it really see the instrument as an interloper (Jerry Douglas' ground breaking work to the contrary) and have no trouble walking out of the room should one crank up.

 

I have used concertina in bluegrass music for a very long time indeed. Some folks hate it as is their right. It is a blessing that I have been able to find musicians who want to make music with me and find my whacky way of looking at bluegrass, country, old time and celtic music appealing. There are a few folks who have gone to calling Obi's Boys (our little band) a "whatzit" band. There have been a few other groups in that catagory that I greatly admire, consider it a complement even when the term has been flung in my direction as an insult.

 

Tradition is a wonderful thing. It is a double edged sword however. In the wrong hands it can be used as cudgel to unreasonably control other points of view.

Edited February 25, 2007 by Mark Evans

[asdormire]

I wouldn't dissagree with most of your statement in the least. I can point to one other accordion in a bluegrass band: mid-fifties, Bill Monore and his Bluegrass Boys. There was this lady (wasn't there always with Bill) who played PC. She was in the band for at least a tour... .

 

 

the Big Mon