New CD of traditional NY material

Subject: New CD expected........today!
From: Dave Ruch
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 10:13 AM

Later today, I'm expecting twelve boxes of CDs to arrive at my doorstep. While I've been a part of several recording projects over the years, this is the first one with my name on the cover, by itself.

I didn't expect to feel so excited and anxious, but maybe the fact that I've only seen the cover art and booklet design on my computer screen to this point contributes to this sense of jittery eagerness.

I feel like I'm about to have a baby....

Subject: RE: New CD expected........today!
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 10:15 AM

congratulations on the birth of your new CD.

Subject: RE: New CD expected........today! [Dave Ruch]
From: Jim Lad
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 11:24 AM

Great news, Dave.
Put a stack of 10 on the table.
Take another 5 or 6 and fan them out.
Throw one on the couch in a most untidy fashion then stand back and look at them.
Now do the same with your eyes squinted.
When you've done all of that 3 or 4 times you'll have caught up with a number of us.
Enjoy!
It's a great day indeed.

Subject: RE: New CD expected........today! [Dave Ruch]
From: Barry Finn
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 12:18 PM

That's great Dave, put aside one for me, when my next SS check comes in I'll ask for the details & how I can buy a copy. Funny I think I know at least what 2 of the cuts are & I want the CD for those but I'm sure I'll be just as happy about the rest.
Why don't you use this thread to tell us what's on the CD, I'd be delighted to know, might as well tell us all the edtails & how we can get copies from you.
Looking forward to hearing this.

Barry

Subject: RE: New CD expected........today! [Dave Ruch]
From: SINSULL
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 12:19 PM

So how do we order one or two of these?
Mary

Subject: RE: New CD expected........today! [Dave Ruch]
From: SINSULL
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 12:19 PM

And CONGRATULATIONS!

Subject: RE: New CD expected........today! [Dave Ruch]
From: Dave Ruch
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 01:29 PM

Thanks everybody. I could go on and on about the material, as some of you know(!), but I'll start with the basics and for those who want more info or with other questions, just ask.

The CD is called "The Oldest Was Born First" and has thirteen tracks of songs (8) and tunes (5) from New York State tradition, interpreted with guitar, mandolin, 5-string and tenor banjo, fiddle, concertina, spoons, bones and more, although not all on the same track! A 12-page booklet of notes & historical info is included.

Songs of possible interest include:

* Lena Bourne Fish's text for "The Ballad of Blue Mountain Lake" with an unusual tune
* NYS version of Cabbage Head (Our Goodman, Child #274), recently discussed here on Mudcat
* A duet with Alison Pipitone on "Wisconsin"
* A "lost" Erie Canal song of sorts, re-assembled from two traditional sources
* A NY version of "Bald Headed End of the Broom" with unique chorus
* Ezra "Fuzzy" Barhight's chorus and tune for "Shove Your Grog Around"
* Henry Castor's (Tug Hill fiddler, b. 1907) "Ball and Pin Hornpipe" with fiddle, octave fiddle and mandolin
* one of Vic Kibler's family tunes, same lineup as above + guitar
* "Roslyn Castle" two ways, including an oral tradition version as passed through 150+ years of NY fiddlers to Lawrence Older, played on octave mandolin with mandolin and guitar
* a medley of French Canadian tunes from NY tradition played with gypsy jazz band Babik!
* "Rickett's Hornpipe" on mandolin w/ guitar

A full track listing, cover art and secure credit card ordering here: www.daveruch.com/store.htm

To order without PayPal - - just send a check payable to "Dave Ruch" for $15 per CD, plus $3 shipping per order (NYS residents must add sales tax), to Dave Ruch, 155 St James Place, Buffalo NY 14222, USA

Subject: RE: New CD expected........today! [Dave Ruch]
From: Dave Ruch
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 08:53 PM

OK, they're here and they look great! Thanks to all for your good words and wishes. All fears mentioned previously have been allayed...

Since I didn't really intend for this thread to be the official CD announcement when I started it, I'd love it if the subject line could be changed to something like "New CD of traditional NY material". My name doesn't buy much in the subject line, as the focus of the CD is the songs and tunes themselves. Or, should I just start a new thread?

Subject: RE: New CD of traditional NY material
From: DebC
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 10:14 PM

Congratulations, Dave!! I look forward to hearing it as well. Save me a copy...

Deb Cowan

Subject: RE: New CD of traditional NY material
From: Brian Peters
Date: 17 Sep 08 - 04:35 AM

Good work, Dave. Sounds really interesting, and I wonder how your 'Roslyn Castle' compares with ours....

Subject: RE: New CD of traditional NY material
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 17 Sep 08 - 09:41 AM

Sounds an admirable project

Subject: RE: New CD of traditional NY material
From: ejsant
Date: 17 Sep 08 - 10:38 AM

Hey Dave,

Congratulations, my order will be on the way today.

Hey Deb,

I trust all is well. Are you coming back to Princeton any time soon?

Hey everyone,

Happy Halfway!

Peace,
Ed

Subject: RE: New CD of traditional NY material
From: Dave Ruch
Date: 17 Sep 08 - 03:27 PM

Thanks to the mud-elves for changing the subject line!

Deb, thanks, I've got one for you.

Richard and Ed, thanks for your good words.

Brian, I wonder as well. Here are the notes for the two versions I put on the CD:

<
Legendary New York State frontier hero Nicholas Stoner was said to have played this tune on his fife at the Battle of Plattsburgh (1814) during an armistice taken to bury the dead on both sides, and it is from this legend that the two separate versions here are derived.

The first thing I play is (more or less) the standard sheet music version of Roslyn Castle, and probably close to the melody Stoner actually played in 1814. What I tagged onto the end is the oral tradition version of the song as passed down for 150+ years to Lawrence Older through generations of New York State fiddlers. In other words, the second version is the way the NY fiddlers told each other the song was played at the Battle of Plattsburgh. Think of "the telephone game", where I whisper a short sentence to you, you whisper it to the next person, and so on. By the time it reaches the last person in line, it's a completely different sentence. Fascinating!

There's a separate and equally interesting story connecting this old British death march to New York State. I learned from Stan Ransom, who is known for doing his homework, that the British army was known for playing the song on sad occasions. When they were heard playing the tune as they marched out of the Long Island NY village of Hempstead Harbor towards the end of the American Revolution, the locals rejoiced! The British were leaving! In 1844, in remembrance of that event, the name of that village was changed to Roslyn.>>

Subject: RE: New CD of traditional NY material
From: Dave Ruch
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 01:21 PM

Ed,

Just got your order today, thanks. It'll go out later this afternoon. I hope you enjoy.

All,

I have just arranged for a CD release party on Wed Oct 15 in Buffalo. I'll fly you all in to sing on the choruses!! Ahhh..I wish I could, but instead, it will be cybercast on WBFO-FM so you can all listen, sing and play along from your computers. Brian, are you normally up around 3am your time?

Subject: RE: New CD of traditional NY material
From: Brian Peters
Date: 19 Sep 08 - 01:35 PM

"Brian, are you normally up around 3am your time?"

Depends how good the party is....

Actually I have a gig that night so it depends on what time I get home.

Subject: RE: New CD of traditional NY material
From: ejsant
Date: 24 Sep 08 - 10:19 AM

Greetings all,

Yesterday I received Dave's new CD. I gave it its first spin just a little bit ago. What a great CD! Of course Dave's singing is brilliant, it's no wonder his performances are in such high demand, and all the instrument work and other vocals are absolutely lovely. The recording quality is fabulous, so rich and warm. The CD comes with a twelve page booklet that offers great information about the making of the CD as well as the histories and stories of the songs and tunes. For those interested in the music of "Up Country America" this CD is a must have in the collection. It is available directly from Dave through his website.

On a personal level this CD has touched me deeply. I had the great honor of playing music with Ray Murphy, a brilliant mandolin player here in New Jersey. Playing music with Ray developed in me a deeper love and admiration of that which the mandolin brings to both American and Irish music. Since his passing last year I have been reluctant to seek out another mandolin player to play music with. Hearing Dave's mandolin playing on this CD, especially on the last track "Kingdom Coming", has brought back my desire to once again play music with the mandolin in the mix. I found it rather ironic that this track, and it inspiring me as it did, would be track number thirteen as Ray would always remark that he was convinced he was the living epitome of "Murphy's Law". Thank you for that Dave.

All the best!

Peace,
Ed

Subject: RE: New CD of traditional NY material
From: Dave Ruch
Date: 24 Sep 08 - 07:46 PM

Many thanks for the nice words, Ed! I am glad you are enjoying it.

Subject: RE: New CD of traditional NY material
From: bbc
Date: 24 Sep 08 - 08:11 PM

I just finished my first listen to Dave's cd. It's a nice mix of music--certainly a fun cd! Dave has a very engaging, pleasant voice & the instrumentation is great. I particularly liked the duet, "Wisconsin" & the instrumental, "Montreal Reel." The two versions of "Roslyn Castle" were nice to hear. I think doing school programs has made Dave so wholesome that his version of "Seven Nights Drunk" was a bit short. ; ) Thanks for this recording, Dave; I'm glad you made it!

best,

Barbara

Subject: RE: New CD of traditional NY material
From: Dave Ruch
Date: 25 Sep 08 - 04:30 PM

Aww, thanks bbc for giving it a listen! Glad you found some things to like.

I'll copy the liner notes to "Cabbage Head" aka Our Goodman, Seven Nights Drunk, etc below.

-Wholesome Dave


2. Cabbage Head (Our Goodman)

DR – guitar, mandolin and vocals

Edna West Teall (1881-1968) grew up on a farm in upper Essex County in northeastern NY, and later in life put together a book of reminiscences from her 1880's childhood there called "Adirondack Tales" (published by Adirondack Life Inc, Jay NY, 1970 & 2001). Teaching herself to paint in her retirement a la Grandma Moses (a comparison she apparently disliked), she went on to recreate historically accurate scenes from her beloved Adirondack community; dozens of these wonderful paintings have been reprinted to illustrate the stories in "Adirondack Tales".   

She called this "An Old Song" in her book. I wonder if she realized just how old it was. This is a teetotalling New York State version of one of the old British Isles ballads, the kind that have been in circulation - - both there and here - - for hundreds of years. Known in folklore and folksong circles as Child Ballad #274, most versions have the man coming home quite intoxicated, and many with titles such as "Four Nights Drunk" and "Seven Nights Drunk".

For the melody I used an "average" of several tunes traditionally sung with this song in the northeastern US. In the interest of full disclosure, I changed the word "hair" from Teall's last verse to "a mustache", which is used in other versions I've heard. It just makes for a better punch line.   

Interestingly, one old York State version substitutes a wartime theme for the usual domestic one, with a Patriot soldier coming upon a frontier home he suspects may be harboring a Redcoat.   A similar exchange unfolds from there.

Subject: RE: New CD of traditional NY material
From: Dave Ruch
Date: 29 Sep 08 - 01:48 PM

I'm very pleased to say that the CD has been getting airplay from the likes of Ron Olesko (NJ), Paul Stamler (MO) and Tom Druckenmiller (PA).

Also, Musical Traditions just posted a review online: CD review from UK