Evie Ladin Plays Banjo with Some of her Favorite Musicians
It went like this: Judy Hyman was coming to town for the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention, and while I had not been planning a third Rooster album, boy wouldn’t I love to sit down and record a tune with this woman who has inspired me since I was a teenager! Long-time old-time family, we hadn’t seen each other much in a good while, and as with every Rooster track, it was an excuse for a good visit as well as a tune.
Once that idea struck, I considered my upcoming tours to Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky; and who might be passing through Oakland. I could record seventeen new Rooster tracks with many friends along the way; friends who were all stoked to be a part of this project. These Rooster albums are great collections of tunes, and literally a “record” of my far-ranging music community. I’m lucky.
This time, though, I wasn’t going to stick to fiddlers! We’ve got cellos, mandolins, guitars, a dulcimer, all playing old time fiddle tunes of their choosing. In parens are their sources, or folk process (FP) for those who have no idea how the tune came into their repertoire. It’s a living tradition.
There are special bits throughout, like running off after a camp concert to record a wild tune with Ellie; playing with my brother in law Sam; having met Leah when she was 7; recording Ol’ Bob with Genevieve, Garry’s daughter, and the namesake Bob being the very person who helped me build my first house; and my usual solo bonus track, a version I got from Adam Kiesling, a Minnesota musician who’s album I adore.
It’s about the people, the tunes, the confluence of notes, the pocket – the doing of music, the tradition of living.
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$1 from sales of all Rooster albums goes to aid organizations in Western North Carolina, an area that so influenced my banjo playing.
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