Jalopy Records Releases Newly Discovered Live Show by Old Time Country Music Legend Clarence Ashley; Recorded in Greenwich Village in 1963

‘Live and In Person’ Out April 28
 

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On April 28, 2017, Jalopy Records, the record label of Red Hook's Jalopy Theatre, is releasing Clarence Ashley: Live and In Person, the first all-new album in over 50 years by the legendary singer and banjo player who helped introduce old time country music to audiences throughout the nation. April 28 also marks the kickoff of the Brooklyn Folk Festival.

Clarence Ashley (1895-1967) recorded for Columbia Records in 1929, was featured on Harry Smith's “Anthology of American Folk Music” in 1952, and toured the US in the 1960s. The title was gleaned from Bob Dylan, who told Rolling Stone in 2001, "You could hear the actual people singing those ballads. You could hear Clarence Ashley, Doc Watson, Dock Boggs, the Memphis Jug Band, Furry Lewis. You could see those people live and in person." Dylan recorded a number of songs associated with Ashley, including “Corrina, Corrina,” "The House Carpenter," "The Coo Coo Bird" and “Little Sadie.” Dylan also played Ashley’s version of "Little Sadie" on his Theme Time Radio Hour on SIRIUS XM.

Jalopy's vinyl-only release was produced in 2016 by Peter K. Siegel, from tapes he personally recorded in 1963 at the Greenwich Village folk club Gerdes Folk City.

John Cohen, founding member of The New Lost City Ramblers, wrote the liner notes and provided never-before-seen photographs of Ashley in Greenwich Village. A 16-page illustrated booklet includes additional notes by Siegel and Eli Smith.

Ashley, born in Bristol, Virginia in 1895, toured the medicine show circuit and recorded extensively in the 1920s and ‘30s until his career was curtailed by the Great Depression. He was rediscovered during the folk boom of the 1960s, and went on to tour the country and record for Folkways Records. The IBMA Hall of Famer and seven-time GRAMMY Award winner Doc Watson began his career as Ashley's accompanist. Ashley performed at Carnegie Hall, NYC’s Town Hall, and Newport Folk Festival and is featured on Harry Smith’s ‘Anthology of American Folk Music’ (Folkways). He passed away in 1967.

Live and In Person is Clarence Ashley's first and only live album. He is accompanied on the album by guitarist Tex Isley, a member of Charlie Monroe's Kentucky Partners.

Jalopy albums are distributed by Mississippi Records, Portland Oregon.

A celebration of the album's release will be held at the Brooklyn Folk Festival in April 2017. The event will include performances of Ashley's songs by a number of prominent folk and country artists.


Clarence Ashley 'Live And In Person' Track Listing:

SIDE A:

1 Dark Holler Blues
2 The Wreck of the Old 97
3 Omie Wise
4 Bully of the Town
5 Wild Bill Jones
6 Rude and Rambling Man
7 I'm the Man that Rode the Mule Around the World

SIDE B:

1 The Coo Coo Bird
2 I Had But Fifty Cents
3 The House Carpenter
4 Shout Little Lulu
5 May I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight Mister?
6 Ain't No Use to High Hat Me
7 The Little Hillside

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JALOPY RECORDS TO RELEASE ITS FIRST LP BY THE DOWN HILL STRUGGLERS APRIL 28

TDHS HAVE PLAYED AT THE NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL, KENNEDY CENTER, AND MORE

Jalopy Records, the record label of Red Hook's Jalopy Theatre, is proud to announce the release of Lone Prairie, the first LP from The Down Hill Strugglers on April 28.

The Down Hill Strugglers is a string band composed of Eli Smith, Walker Shepard and Jackson Lynch, who play at various times; fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin and harmonica.  They have been playing together for five years and have performed at the Newport Folk Festival, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, the Brooklyn Folk Festival and many other places.  In 2013 they were featured on the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers film, "Inside Llewyn Davis" produced by T-Bone Burnett. The Down Hill Strugglers band formed while hanging out at the home of their mutual friend Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders, where they also met friend and mentor John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers.

The album features 13 all new recordings from the band and liner notes by Amanda Petrusich, contributing writer for The New Yorker, Pitchfork and a contributing editor at The Oxford American.  Her music and culture writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Spin, BuzzFeed, and she is the author of “Do Not Sell At Any Price: The Wild, Obsessive Hunt for the World’s Rarest 78rpm Records”.  Petrusich has written that “The Down Hill Strugglers are, to my ears, the very best interpreters of traditional material presently going.”

From the liner notes:
“Lone Prairie was recorded in the spring of 2016 at the Jalopy Theatre in Red Hook, Brooklyn.  The band used two microphones, and played directly into a mono Nagra one-quarter-inch tape machine. They either ducked away from or leaned toward the mic to get their sound levels right. Then they stopped monkeying with the recording altogether, which is surely part of why it feels so pure and urgent. It is energizing in the way that looking at a river is energizing.”

“So what does it mean for a young band to make music like this right now? Our cultural moment certainly allows for (if not encourages) gratuitous elevation of the Self above all – but the Down Hill Strugglers think about their work differently. Each of these tracks takes inspiration from the rural visionaries of the early twentieth century, from the melodies and expressions that once guided and sustained whole communities in the Mountain South, the Deep South, and Way Out West. Lone Prairie is an earnest monument to the rural artists and songs this band loves: the Mississippi Possum Hunters, the Skillet Lickers, Bill Shepherd and Dock Boggs, the Carolina Tar Heels, Frank Blevins, George Pegram, Wilmer Watts, and many others. Using lovingly excavated 78 r.p.m. discs as source material – Walker, Jackson, and Eli disappear inside these tunes. In this way, the Strugglers become part of a continuum. Their performance is less about ardent self-expression and more about empathy, of finding a way in to other people’s anguish and elation: understanding it, bodying it anew, respecting it, and carrying it on. They pay homage to and remake in equal measure, as artists have been doing for centuries. This, I believe, is the best and most useful work a folk musician can hope to do.”

Lone Prairie will be released in conjunction with the Down Hill Strugglers April 30th appearance at the Brooklyn Folk Festival.  The album will be released as an LP, as well as on CD and via digital download.

The band will be touring in support of the album in May, June and September of 2017. Tour dates at http://www.DownHillStrugglers.com

More Quotes About The Down Hill Strugglers:

"Many string bands have the tunes but not the chops. Some have chops and tunes, but can't achieve lift-off, marching along politely like so many historical reenactors. But the Down Hill Strugglers hit the trifecta, pulling their bows deftly across the best numbers in the old-time songbook with more grit and style than just about any group fiddling away today."
- Nathan Salsburg, Curator, Alan Lomax Archive.

 “The Down Hill Strugglers bring back the true spirit of Old Time Music, where every singer invented his own performance. Besides being excellent musicians on fiddle, banjo and guitar, pump organ, harmonica, etc., they sing with the high voices that echo the sounds of young artists heard on the old 78s, evoking the spirit of the “Golden Era” of recording, and the mystery of their own identity.

They have built their repertoire from some of the best music of the past and they keep it alive and lively. They have found resonance with the intensity of rural music, while delighting in the nuances that preserve the individual uniqueness of the genre. This is music that will keep your mind dancing.

The Down Hill Strugglers are reaching for new musical highs, and they play the kind of music I want to hear.”
- John Cohen, New Lost City Ramblers.

“ROOTS MUSIC HUB” (NY TIMES) JALOPY TO CELEBRATE 10TH ANNIVERSARY WITH SEPTEMBER 15-18 EXTRAVAGANZA CONCERTS WITH CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROP HUBBY JENKINS, BLIND BOY PAXTON, MANY MORE

35+ TOTAL ACTS, FILM SCREENING, ART OPENING, WORKSHOPS, PARTY, FAMILY CONCERT ON TAP AT JALOPY THEATER AND JALOPY TAVERN

Jalopy Theater – the music venue, instrument shop, music teaching space, and art gallery – will host a celebration September 15-18 to mark its 10th anniversary with its next door neighbor bar and grille Jalopy Tavern, featuring a weekend of music, an art opening, workshops, a party, a concert for families, and a film screening. Highlights among the artists performing include Hubby Jenkins of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Brooklyn’s premiere bluesman Blind Boy Paxton, Smithsonian Folkways band Downhill Strugglers, and country crooner Jack Grace.

Since 2006, it’s become a national folk music institution and nurtured a community that includes the next generation of NYC folk musicians. Gothamist has called it one of the “best small music venues in NYC.”

Brooklyn Magazine says, “It’s a rare and somewhat unique combination, one that fosters a back and forth between fans, amateurs, and local virtuosos. Teaching music helps break down the fourth wall–the divide between performer and audience–and recreates the sense of community that spurred the folk movement.”

Over the course of a decade, Jalopy has hosted performances by such acts as Marc Ribot, Sam Shepard, Peter Stampfel (Hold Modal Rounders), Charles Bradley, Spirit Family Reunion, Hurray For The Riff Raff, and Spider John Koerner.

Tickets: $15 per night. $40 for all nights, kids concert $5 for kids over 2, $10 adults, $25 for family of 4.

HERE ARE ALL TENTH ANNIVERSARY EVENTS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER:

PRE-PARTY AT JALOPY TAVERN:

Jalopy Tavern - Thursday - 8pm - Jack Grace - experimental country art rock that has been compared to everything from Frank Zappa to early Johnny Cash.

Jalopy Tavern - Thursday – 8:45pm - Karen Poliski - Local NYC songwriter with songs that are funny, sentimental, and sometimes downright dirty.

Jalopy Tavern - Thursday – 9:30pm - Lord Youth - Local indie-rock band with a brooding sound honed in Berlin.

Jalopy Tavern - Thursday – 10:15pm - Aaron Frazer - Songwriter and soul singer who masters old spirituals and original songs with a voice that drips with emotion and power.

Jalopy Tavern - Thursday - 11pm - Pocket Tonics - fronted by the up and coming Ali Dineen whose voice delivers extreme strength to jazz standards and spirituals alike.

ART SHOW: A DECADE OF CAPTURING THE JALOPY STAGE

Photographs, Paintings, Film Screenings, Sketches and Wood Burnings Inspired by the Artists at Jalopy
Opening Reception: Friday, September 16, 5 pm - 7:30 pm
Exhibit runs Thursday, September 15th - Sunday, October 14

As art inspires art, the musicians at the Jalopy Theatre have inspired a number of artists, leading them to create their own interpretations of what they see on the stage. This exhibit will feature the photographs of Jack Hirschorn, the paintings of Robin Hoffman, the sketches of Emily New and Ray Ray Mitrano. Jaxtaposed~Creations will feature wood burnings and jewelry inspired by various musicians. "Brooklyn Folk Festival Live," a short film shot at the 2016 Brooklyn Film Festival by Samuel Curtis and Spencer Showalter, will premier at this exhibit.

Beginning in 2008, Jack Hirschorn has photographed hundreds of shows at the Jalopy Theatre. His photographs bring the shows alive again, illustrating moments of collaboration between musicians, connection with the audience, perfecting their art.
Robin Hoffman was a fixture at the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music from 2009-2012. A former professional ballet dancer, fresh out of art school and a new parent to boot, she found an artistic anchor in the exciting music community rapidly building at Jalopy. She took ukulele lessons, attended multiple shows every week; listened and looked and drew and drew. Robin could eventually draw rapidly with very little light. She also had the privilege of witnessing and documenting the development and maturing of a wide range of bands and musicians.

She has shown at Jalopy four times previously and been interviewed by Lucid Culture and reviewed by New York Music Daily. Her approach relies upon musicality and movement analysis from her dance background and her formal illustration training at the School of Visual Arts.
Samuel Curtis and Spencer Showalter spend thousands of hours filming the music, musicians, fans and organizers of various festivals across the country. The pair will debut their short film made at the 2016 Brooklyn Folk Festival.

JALOPY TENTH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL PERFORMERS:

Jalopy Theater - Friday - 8pm - The Calamity Janes - Fantastic old time band powered by NYC's best female roots power team.

Jalopy Theater - Friday – 8:45pm - The Jalopy Chorus - Jalopy's own vocal group led by the acclaimed Eva Salina.

Jalopy Theater - Friday – 9:30pm - Eva Salina & Peter Stan - Great accordionist Peter Stan and local Balkan music hero Eva Salina performing the songs of Serbian Roma legend Šaban Bajramović

Jalopy Theater - Friday – 10:15pm - Mamie Minch & Tamar Korn - Sultry voiced blues master and guitar wizard Mamie Minch is unsurpassed when matched with NYC's sprite-like jazz hero Tamar Korn.

Jalopy Theater – Friday – 11pm - Brain Cloud - A western swing band, the Brain Cloud celebrate the art of genre-smashing, to create a sound that fuses jazz, blues, bluegrass, Appalachian fiddle tunes, cowboys songs, and country music.

Jalopy Theater – Friday – 11:45pm - Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues - Brooklyn-based collective of jug-band, country blues & old-time musicians dedicated to performing Jug Band Music both old & new.

Jalopy Tavern – Friday - 8:00pm - Dubl Handi - Dubl Handi uses percussion, guitar, drums, and banjo to play songs from appalachian region of the Northeast States.

Jalopy Tavern – Friday - 9:00pm - Jackson Lynch - old-time fiddle and blues guitar brilliance from one of the best young players.

Jalopy Tavern – Friday - 10:00pm - The Four o'clock Flowers - musical duo featuring the idyllic voice of Samoa Wilson with the technical guitar expertise of Ernie Vega.

Jalopy Tavern – Friday – 11pm - King Isto's Tropical String Band - songs from the middle of the Pacific led by guitar genius Isto.

Jalopy Tavern – Friday – 12am - Dr. Hop - blues, soul and R&B with Brooklyn's best bar band.

Jalopy Theater – Saturday – 7:30pm - M. Shanghai - A Brooklyn based folk collective with an adventurous take on Americana.

Jalopy Theater – Saturday – 8:15pm - Whistling Wolves - The best whistling-guitar- harmonica-ukulele-jug-bass-jawharp-accordion-banjo- fiddle-harmony singing band you've never heard.

Jalopy Theater – Saturday – 9:00pm - Jan Bell & the Maybelles - Based at the heart of the thriving grassroots folk music community in DUMBO and Red Hook, Jan Bell & the Maybelles breathe new life into old and worn folk tales.

Jalopy Theater – Saturday – 9:45pm - Pat Conte, Joe Bellulovich and Frankie Basile - Three of the most knowledgable and skilled players in American blues and roots music alive today.

Jalopy Theater – Saturday – 10:30pm - Feral Foster - local songwriter and singer who's hosted and curated the successful Roots n Ruckus weekly revue for over a decade.

Jalopy Theater – Saturday – 11:15pm - Alex Battles & The Whisky Rebellion - rollicking bar brawl numbers from the witty and passionate Mr. Battles.

Jalopy Tavern – Saturday – 8:00pm - Rashad Brown - originals, blues and gospel classics from local street performer.

Jalopy Tavern – Saturday – 9:00pm - The Horse-Eyed Men - Brilliant original tunes that sound like Country & Western from another planet.

Jalopy Tavern – Saturday – 10:00pm - Joanna Sternberg - heartbreaking songs with gorgeous melodies from one of the best up and coming songwriters in NYC.

Jalopy Tavern – Saturday – 11:00pm - Willy Gantrim - originals and blues that range from the achingly beautiful to the rowdiest juke joint anthems.

Jalopy Tavern – Saturday – 12:00am - Skalopy - Jalopy's house ska band performing classics from the Carribean.

Jalopy Tavern – Saturday – 1:00am – Papa Vega's Dream Shadows Orchestra - Ernie Vega's mega group to feature a dozen plus local musicians.

FAMILY CONCERT:

Astrograss will perform for families on Sunday at 11 am. Tickets are $5 for kids, $10 for adults and $25 for family of 4. ASTROGRASS gets kids and their parents dancing and singing together, with a unique blend of bluegrass, old time, and folk music. Astrograss concerts feature sing-a-longs, dance contests, and high-energy fiddle hoedowns. Their original songs cover topics like spelling, whether Pluto is a planet, bedtime and the many neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Astrograss features traditional bluegrass instrumentation, consisting of Jordan Shapiro on guitar, Sarah Alden on fiddle, Dennis Lichtman on mandolin, Jonah Bruno on banjo and Tim Kiah on bass. In response to the local Brooklyn parents' search of live musical entertainment for the whole family, Astrograss began playing its family shows in 2004. Astrograss family shows are for parents who want to be as enlivened as they want their children to be. Astrograss specializes in combining rocking bluegrass music with clever, witty educations songs that will make the parents laugh and the children dance. Educational and cultural topics are woven into this family show, leaving you with more knowledge about bluegrass music, and perhaps making you a better speller.

JALOPY TENTH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL PERFORMERS, CONTINUED:

Jalopy Theater – Sunday – 7:00pm - Audra Rox - Local to Red Hook, this crooning 1950s Swing band reenacts the sweet sounds of Louis Prima and Frank Sinatra.

Jalopy Theater – Sunday – 7:45pm - Matt Munisteri - A freewheeling, virtuosic guitarist, who spans across the jazz and American roots music spectrum.

Jalopy Theater – Sunday – 8:30pm - Hubby Jenkins - Carolina Chocolate Drop & Brooklyn native, commands the banjo and guitar with precise skill and energy.

Jalopy Theater – Sunday – 9:15pm - The Down Hill Strugglers - An old time string band that carries the music of the old rural America forward with verve and creativity.

Jalopy Theater – Sunday – 10:00pm - Jessy Carolina - a songwriter and jazz singer whose voice has a hypnotic power that captivates audiences everywhere.

Jalopy Theater – Sunday – 10:45pm - Blind Boy Paxton - An exuberant storyteller & multi-instrumentalist, Paxton straddles blues, jazz & early American String music with a quick tongue and captivating wit.

Jalopy Tavern – Sunday – 7:00pm - Richard Bennett- New Orleans, jazz, blues and original music by a couple of Brooklyn-based rabble-rousers.

Jalopy Tavern – Sunday – 9:00pm - East River String Band - A New York duo playing a vast spectrum of traditional American Blues, Country and Pop music ranging from the late 19th to the early 20th Century.

Jalopy Tavern – Sunday – 10:00pm - Five Mile String Band - old time string band with a whimsical sound.

JALOPY RECORDS PARTNERS WITH MISSISSIPPI RECORDS TO RELEASE 'LOST TRAIN BLUES' – COMPILED FOR ALAN LOMAX’S 100TH BIRTHDAY WITH 12 NEVER-BEFORE-ISSUED FIELD RECORDINGS

APRIL 8 RELEASE TO COINCIDE WITH BROOKLYN FOLK FEST

Brooklyn’s Jalopy Records has rebooted its homegrown folk music record label with a brand new release, 'Lost Train Blues: John & Alan Lomax and the Early Folk Music Collections at the Library of Congress.' This collection, curated by Brooklyn Folk Festival producer Eli Smith, was compiled for the centennial of famed folklorist Alan Lomax’s birth. It will be released on vinyl and via digital download on April 8, coinciding with opening night of the Brooklyn Folk Festival. Twelve of the songs are never-before-released.

The record features 22 selections from the vast holdings of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, most of them have never been issued before. The record includes work songs, ballads, blues, political and union songs, guitar, banjo and fiddle music and Native American vocal music.  These recordings were made between 1933 and 1950 and represent the birth of the folk music collections at the Library of Congress, now the largest repository of folk and enthographic holdings in the world. The record demonstrates the groundbreaking work of Alan Lomax and his father John Lomax, but also places them with the context of other important early field workers.

The deluxe record includes liner notes by Alan Lomax archive curator Nathan Salsburg, as well as a 14 page booklet with photographs and original research about each song, artist and folklorist. The cover features an original lithograph by artist Jeff Tocci.  Each selection has been retransferred from original discs and tapes at the Library of Congress and has been carefully remastered by sound engineer Don Fierro for the best possible audio fidelity.

Jalopy Records has partnered with well known Oregon based vinyl label Mississippi Records to manufacture and distribute this and future releases.  Jalopy Records is the record label of the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music, a grass roots cultural center for traditional music, located in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Side A:

1. WPA Song by Clyde “Kingfish” Smith. Recorded by Herbert Halpert, NYC, 29 November 1939.

2. Longest Train I Ever Saw by Jesse Wadley, with John Wadley, Will Jones, and Felix Davenport. Recorded by John Lomax with Lead Belly acting as First Assistant (Alan sick with influenza), Bellwood Prison Camp, Atlanta, GA,11-12 December 1934.

3. The Moonshiner by Dawson Henson. Recorded by Alan Lomax and Elizabeth Lyttleton Harold, Botto on Billy’s Branch, KY, 11 October 1937.

4. Stavin’ Chain by Wilson “Stavin’ Chain” Jones, Charles Gobert and Octave Amos. Recorded by John and Alan Lomax, Lafayette, LA, June 1934.

5. Unfortunate Dog or Stony Point by Jess Morris. Recorded by John Lomax, Dallas, TX, May 1942

6. Leather Breeches by Carl Lathrop. Recorded by Alan Lomax, St. Louis, MI, 22 August 1938.

7. Lost Train Blues by Fred Perry and Glenn Carver. Recorded by John and Ruby Lomax, Florida State Farm (Raiford Penitentiary), Raiford, FL, 4 June 1939.

8. The Hard-Working Miner (Only a Miner) by James “Blind Jim” Howard. Recorded by John and Alan Lomax, Harlan County, KY, August 1933.

9. St. James Infirmary by Jesse Wadley. Recorded by John Lomax, Bellwood Prison Camp, Atlanta, GA, 11-12 December 1934.

10. Lamp Lighting Time in the Valley by Ruby and Oliver Hughes. Recorded by Sidney Robertson Cowell, Crossville, TN, 23 November 1936.

11. Cherokee Christian Hymn by Helen, Luella and Juanita Hallmark. Recorded by Willard Rhodes, Eufala Boarding School, Eufala, OK, 1952.

12. My One-Eyed Ford by Boys Chorus of the Santa Fe Indian School. Recorded by Willard Rhodes, Santa Fe Indian School, Santa Fe, NM, 1940.

Side B:

1. Captain Haney Blues by Camp Morris and Group. Recorded by John and Ruby Lomax, Cherokee County, GA near Canton, November 1940.

2. Southern Rag by James Sneed, J.F. Duffey and Alvin Sanders. Recorded by Lewis Wade Jones and Willis James, Fort Valley State College, Fort Valley, GA, 5-7 March 1943

3. Turkey in the Straw by Elmo and Bill Newcomer. Recorded by John and Ruby Lomax, Bandera County, TX near Pipe Creek, 3 May 1939.

4. Rye Whiskey by Elmo Newcomer. Recorded by John and Ruby Lomax, Bandera County, TX near Pipe Creek, 3 May 1939.

5. Desert Blues by Hattie Ellis and (“Cowboy”) Jack Ramsey. Recorded by John and Ruby Lomax, The Goree State Farm for Women, Walker County, TX near Huntsville, 14 May 1939.

6. Hard Times by Rowena Knight, Mary Anne Knight, Thelma Hawthorne and Jerusha Hawthorne (Liberty High School Quartet). Recorded by John and Ruby Lomax, Newtown, TX, 16 May 1939.

7. I Don’t Want Your Millions Mister by Tillman Cadle. Recorded by Alan Lomax and Elizabeth Lyttleton Harold, Middlesboro, KY, 4 September 1937.

8. Battle in the Horseshoe by J.W. Russell. Recorded by Sidney Robertson Cowell, Marion, VA, 14 November 1936.

9. Travelin’ To That New Buryin’ Ground by Hammer Clarence Banks, Bob Bentley, Charlie Blake, Harold Vosburg. Recorded by John Lomax, Alan Lomax and Lead Belly, Reid State Farm, Boykin, SC, 19 December 1934.

10. Roosevelt and Hitler by Buster “Buzz” Ezell. Recorded by Lewis Wade Jones and Willis James, Fort Valley State College, Fort Valley, GA, 1 August 1943