Gift giving season is upon us. I have long ago ceased to get
excited about this time of year with respect to that aspect. When the kids came
along and became the center of our universe, so too went the focus of any gift
giving thoughts. For my wife and I, we focus on the practical needs and there
was little excitement there. We found our ‘excitement’, when there was any, in
finding something that made somebody else smile. My wife has always been the
thoughtful expert in this area although sometimes by accident, I stumble on a
good idea.
Selfish expectations (let’s admit it, we all have them) for
me were also restricted to the practical, like better fitting underwear, socks,
or a stiff pair of good jeans.
So it came as a surprise to me the other day when I was
chatting with a friend, Dean Seabrook, and he gave me a gift. Well, we weren’t
actually talking, we were sending chat messages back and forth sporadically over
a period of hours, but that is nearly the same these days.
At the time, it didn’t seem like a gift, and actually I had
just asked him for a little help, but a gift resulted none the less. I am quite
certain that Dean didn’t look at it as ‘giving me a gift” either which makes it
that much more valuable. You see, I have been working on the same tunes for a
while now and getting a little better each day. I had realized a few weeks ago I
was in need of something new to work on and keep the enthusiasm and interest up.
I looked around, thought about what might be good and really didn’t find
anything. Because I am not at the stage where I can just pick a tune and work it
out, I really need to choose carefully so that the amount of effort I have to
put in, results in a tune that makes me smile every time I play it. So far, I
have focused on tunes written or performed by folks I really enjoy. ‘Ashokan
Farewell’, written by (at the time) neighbor Jay Unger and still a staple fiddle
tune around these parts has always brought me great joy, since the first time I heard Evan Shultis play it. ‘Devil’s Dream’ is the tune which Bill Keith first
heard that made him realize he could play it note for note and led to his work
in developing what every banjo player in the world now knows as the “Melodic” or
“Keith” style of playing. Bill first performed that tune 50 years ago this year
playing with Bill Monroe. Bill frequently plays that tune as a medley with
‘Sailor’s Hornpipe’, so I learned that one too. Then I took on ‘Opus 57’ (David
Grisman) because Bill also had a hand in that and I just love the tune. So I am
still working on all of these to get them closer to acceptable, but I needed
something new.
I had always wanted to learn a Rushad Eggleston tune, just so
that I might have something to haunt him with at Grey Fox. However, there is
little or no published written music of his 1,000 or more compositions and, as
he plays mostly cello, it becomes even harder for me to make the transcription
to mandolin. Still Rushad has this one tune which has a very simple melody,
augmented with his incredible chop and back beat. It’s a simple, silly sing that
I have seen him perform in front of thousands of people and have them all
singing. Tried as I might, I could never figure out the notes.
So, I asked Dean because in addition to playing cello, Dean
is also very good friends with Rushad. Dean gave me the progression and the
notes, one happened to be right, and the other not so much on the first go round
because we started early in the day and he was probably interrupted when I asked
him. At any rate we figured it out (there was this little octave change in there
he didn’t mention until I had figured it out for myself which also gave me great
pleasure). When I finally had a minute to grab the mando and play what we had
transcribed, IT WORKED! In just a couple of minutes I was playing a song and it
was MY FIRST SONG. All the others are tunes, this one has words, simple words.
Something I can sing, this is SO freaking COOL! “I peed on a bird/ I peed on a
bird/ I stood on the edge of a cliff and/ I peed on a bird.”
Yeah I know, if you have never heard this performed it must
strike you at about the same level as “My dog has fleas” for the guitar playing
set. No matter, I know the history of the song, I connect it to a friend and
great player/performer, and it has meaning and memories for me. Yes, of course I
still have many hours of work to do. I only have the chorus and need to learn
the verses better. I also need to find a way to simulate the incredible chopping
beat that Rushad punches out this tune with. But that’s the fun part, working it
out and playing it over and over to get it right.
I just find it fascinating that I thought I had a ‘technical
problem’ that Dean was helping me out with and I wound up with a gift that makes
me smile, hard, inside and out, every time I pick the notes. This music stuff is
SO cool. Thanks Dean.
Here is a video from Grey Fox 2013 of the song being
performed by the Grey Fox Supersonic Late Night All-Stars. This is a killer
group of folks: Tim O’Brien on Mando, Noam Pikelny on Banjo, Courtney Hartman on
Guitar, Rushad on Cello, Casey Driessen on Fiddle, Chris Thiele also on Mando, and Jerry Douglas on Dobro. I apologize to the other world class performers in this incredible lineup that I did not mention here because I don't quickly recognize their faces. I believe that is Mike Bub on Bass for instance.
Now I talked to Rushad about this set in the hours before it happened and he
confessed to me that he was fairly nervous about playing with these elite guys
and gals. As humble as he is, Rushad was concerned and wasn’t sure which tune to
call when his turn came around. It may surprise you, but Rushad is not a
‘traditional straight bluegrass player’ {SMIRK} although he can kill it whenever
he wants to. He also journeys very far afield in his music and some of it is
‘really out there’ by traditional standards. He didn’t know how far he could go
in this set and was concerned, as I understand it, as to how the rest of the
‘straight-up’ players might take it. Now my understanding was that Tim O’brien
or Noam Pikelny, or perhaps Chris Thiele that actually suggested “I Peed on a Bird” and I think Rushad threw
in ‘Mississippi Sawyer’ to soften the blow. The kicker to this is that Rushad
was absolutely blown away when he realized that Jerry Douglas had launched into
a pretty awesome break on ‘I Peed on a Bird’. It’s very safe to say that this
was not something Rushad expected at all. Jerry is known as one of the finest
dobro players in the world today. He plays hard driving, dyed in the wool,
straight up stuff and he plays it better than just about anyone. Solid Country,
Bluegrass, and other genre’s are Jerry’s stock and trade. He doesn’t get into
the ‘alternate stuff’ much, if at all. He killed this one, and I won’t soon
forget that moment or Rushad’s excitement later when he realized what
happened.
So the first half of this clip is ‘Mississippi Sawyer’ (in
G), a classic traditional tune, followed by “ I peed on a Bird” (in Dm). If you
enjoy it half as much as I did, you will have a blast. I was very glad to be
standing right in front of these guys during this set, and it’s yet another
reason I smile every time I pick those notes.
Enjoy...
Tom
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