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Sitting At The Kitchen Table
Related thread:
BS: Kitchen Table Reducks (19)
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Subject: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 09:18 AM If a house was a living organism, the kitchen table would be the heart. Over the years, I've spent countless hours at our kitchen table, talking with old and new friends. Because I ran a folk concert series for 27 years and put up most of the performers, I've had a chance to get to know many people here on the Cat and just as many who I've never seen in here. Art Thieme, Gordon Bok, Chris Shaw, jimmyt and his wife Jayne, BBC ,Dave Para and Cathy Barton, Sandy & Caroline Paton, and from across the way, Col K, Leadfingers, Sussex Carole, Noreen and Theresa have all graced our kitchen. There's something special about sitting around the kitchen table with a friend, just "shooting the breeze." It's alway relaxed, and the conversation flows wherever it wishes. I think that what Mudcat really needs is a kitchen table. Among friends, conversations don't break down into threads, and they're not about earth-shaking topics. Mostly, it's about daily stuff that we all talk about. I'm starting this thread with no idea whether people can relax from all the combativeness I see in here, and just join me in a cup of cofffee or tea, a beer or just a cold bottle of water. The kettle is on and I hear the whistle going off. Why not sit for a minute, tell me what's going on in your mind, or what's happening in your life... how are your wife and kids? anything happen today that you want to talk about? I'll start it off... Maybe it's a natural process of getting older, but I'm finding that I keep running across people I haven't seen or even spoken to in years. Some, I seek out and some track me down. This has happened twice recently... both on the same day. Back in the early 60's I was living in New York City and met Luke Faust at the Gaslight Cafe. He was one of the old crowd, along with Dave Van Ronk, Tom Paxton and the rest, even though at the time we were all still in our 20's. For five or six years, Luke and I performed together and had an unusual friendship. On many levels, we were exact opposites, but we respected each other and in our music, we were like siamese twins. When I moved away from New York City, Luke and I drifted away, and I've only seen him once in the last 40 years. But, I was listening to some tapes I made of us in the early 60's and felt like calling him. Through a little creative research, I tracked him down and gave him a call. It's probably been 20 years since we've spoken to each other, and Luke isn't a letter writer. It was like turning on a switch that had been off for all those years. I'm trying to limit myself to one screen (which isn't necessary at a real kitchen table) so I'd better stop rambling. I have a lot more to say about renewing old friendships .. which ones just "click," and which ones only make you wonder how you were ever friends in the first place. But, I'll stop here.. Pull up a seat, let me know your "druthers" and tell me how life is treating you. If you feel like talking about rediscovering old friends in your life, that would be good to talk with you about. But, if there's something else that comes to mind, I'd like to hear about that, too. Make yourself at home. Jerry
-Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 09:28 AM Isn't that what Kate Wolf's "Trumpet Vine" is about? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 09:30 AM Yes Ron, and she's such a fine writer. Don't leave so quickly... :-) Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Donuel Date: 25 Feb 06 - 09:33 AM Good on you Jerry. Sounds like you tracked down old friends with great success and familiarity. Sure beats "Why did you track us down". or Why did you call, what could you have been thinking?", "Yeah dude just send cash, I'm livin in my van down by the river." Playing "where are they now" can be disheartening sometimes. Especially when they have died. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 09:39 AM I actually should be on the insomnia thread--got up far too early today. I theorize it has something to do with the weird combination of stuff I ate last night (again)--yogurt, cocoa, bread, cheese and a few macaroons. Didn't get back from work til 11--but at least that won't happen again--a project I had to do. At least this time I didn't drink orange juice with the yogurt--I've been told that curdles in your stomach--and sure doesn't help sleep. Thanks again, Jerry for those Charlie Poole CD's. Please let me know if I can do any similar favor for you--now that I'm more accustomed to making CD's. But I still can't figure out how to make CD's from tapes--though I've read the thread on that thoroughly. It's still pretty technical for me--my computer literacy is, shall we say, not the best. And I really need to do it--over 1000 tapes, almost all recorded off the radio--hence irreplaceable. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 09:43 AM And when Jan gets up, she'll have something to say about my Mudcat addiction. She doesn't realize how wonderful it is to communicate with people all over the world, with different backgrounds and skills--but all with music as the link. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 09:44 AM Hey, Donuel: The thing about tracking down old friends is that in the passing years you've both changed (or at least I sure hope so.) Sometimes, you've changed so much that you have nothing in common but memories. Sitting around saying, "remember the time when we..." wears thin after awhile. As Rick sang, "If memories were all I sang, I'd rather drive a truck." I've had those kind of experiences, as we all have. I did an outdoor concert in my home town a few years ago, and three or four old high school friends came. After the concert, they came up to talk to me. One had been my next door neighbor as a kid. But, we had nothing to talk about. I suppose we could have said "What about those Packers?" or something equally manly, but we mostly stood around shifting our weight from foot to foot until they said "Well, I gotta be goin'," and "It was good to see ya." We were like total strangers. But then, I like to sit and listen, so I think I'll just pour me a mug of coffee and sit here to see who else is coming in. What can I get you? Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 09:47 AM Get some sleep, Ron: I'll PM you about making CDs from cassettes and if I can dig out your address, I'll send you the first CD I did with this software. It includes two tracks: Hopalong Peter and Blues In The Bottle that I recorded with my friend Luke Faust, back around 1962. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 09:48 AM Or how much you can learn from Mudcat--I've learned so much--in so many areas. And it's so great to hear about issues from people who are actually experiencing them--it gives you a window on so many worlds. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Raptor Date: 25 Feb 06 - 09:50 AM From my kitchen table I can see the nyjer feeders with swarms of Pine Siskens and American Goldfinches but since my wife died I find the kitchen the most lonly place in the house. This is a nice thread Jerry. I'm listening to your CD right now. Thank you David |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 09:53 AM Thanks so much (again) Jerry. I'll be glad to PM you my address. And I'd love some instruction on CD's from tapes. (Hope I'm practical enough to do it.) But if you send me another CD, at least let me send you a check for your labor and the postage. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Amos Date: 25 Feb 06 - 09:55 AM Good morning, Jerry! WHen I was young the kitchen table was where we would stay up all night after a movie, drinking cocoa--when I was old enough, red wine--and set the world to rights. We organized a civil rights march around it once, and discussed endless philosophical themes, and sometimes broke out instrrments and made music. It was also, of course, the site of a lot of childhood meals. Everywhere I have lived since, it was, as you say, a gathering place where the real living went on--not the living room. I built my first wire-wrap board on a kitchen table, too. Wonderful place. Anyone sitting at it is welcome and safe; that's what kitchens are. It's the physical equipment of letting someone into your heart. In our house, too, it's the first place you go to host a visitor. A |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 09:59 AM Raptor--you get swarms of goldfinches and siskens? We get some goldfinches during the winter--but when they put on their fancy duds (spring), they leave us. But the people across the street have them year round. We stock feeders year-round. What are we doing wrong? It must be spectacular to see those snowy owls and the others you were telling us about. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 10:03 AM As the "suet master", I've just been called to hack off some more and put it out for our visitors. Hope to get back. This is definitely a wonderfully cozy little thread. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 10:04 AM Hey, Rap: My heart goes out to you. That's the hard reality of losing someone.. loving memories associated with a particular place make it painful to go there. A few days ago, I noticed the woman across the street had hired a couple of college kids to drag everything out of her two car garage (and basement too, from the looks of the pile.) She's a widow and lost her husband at least six or seven years ago, because we've lived here for five years and he had passed away quite a while before we came. I think that it's probably taken her this long to reach the point where she could face looking at some things that have built-in memories. My Father died seven years ago, sitting in his recliner. He'd had a stroke and was waiting with two nurses and my Mother for the ambulance to come. It was a tense situation, and my Father was doing everything that he could to loosen people up, kidding around and cracking jokes. Right in the middle of all this gaiety, my Father pitched forward face first onto the floor and was dead. My Father is one of the few people who literally "died laughing." After the funeral when everyone headed home and my Mother was left alone, she couldn't bear to look at that recliner, because she'd see my Father there, and relive that whole experience. She got rid of the chair. The memory took longer to soften. May yours soften, Rap. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Raptor Date: 25 Feb 06 - 10:16 AM Ron are you offering Nyger or thistle seed? They love that. Jerry I have good days and bad days, I'm still young (37) so I'm sometimes confusing lonely with greif and not sure what to do. Does that make sense? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Raptor Date: 25 Feb 06 - 10:18 AM I didn't mean to drag the mood down. I'll take a Redrose tea. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 10:25 AM Rap-- We're offering thistle seed. And they seem to really like it--but still leave for greener pastures across the street--(which actually has less green space than we do)-- in the spring. So sorry to hear you lost your wife. Hope things improve for you. You add a lot to Mudcat. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 10:28 AM Don't worry about "the mood". Most of us on Mudcat try to be supportive. And I think virtually all of us have lost somebody at some point. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 10:30 AM Hey, Rap: Kitchen table conversations go wherever they need to go... down as well as up. I've never gone through what you've gone through, so I can't speak from experience. I wrote a song (long since forgotten) with the line "Somebody told me that time was my friend." And I think that's true. I'm a great believer in honoring feelings. When someone says, "You shouldn't feel that way," my response is "What's "Should" got to do with it?" There is no "should" to feelings. They're like a kid who wants your attention... they won't go away until they get what they need. I think that feelings are that way. When I feel depressed or disillusioned, I can't say that I "wallow" in it, but I respect my feelings enough to let them have their say. For as long as it takes to say what they have on their mind. The great thing about music is that it can release you from your burdens. My friend Joe in the Messengers is carrying a very, very heavy load these days and often shows up to sing thinking that he won't be able to. But, when I hit that first chord on the guitar and we come in on the first line in strong harmony, the weight starts to slip away. We sit and talk about what he's going through, and I share similar experiences, and that helps. But nothing quite does it like music. Maybe the next time you stop by, you should bring an instrument.. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 10:32 AM We have purple finches nesting in our yard this year... first time my wife has ever seen them. I used to teach bird watching classes and I think my favorite description of them is that they look like a sparrow that had its head dipped in strawberry jam. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Clinton Hammond Date: 25 Feb 06 - 10:35 AM "If a house was a living organism, the kitchen table would be the heart." The heart of our home would be our stove... :-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 10:36 AM Hey, Ron: I'll throw a blank CD in the machine today. No need to send money. Sharing music is what I do. There's no amount of money that could equal the pleasure I get in sharing.. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 10:38 AM Yes, music is an incredible tonic for all sorts of things. Dvorak's New World Symphony has just come on the internet radio station I'm listening to--based in North Carolina--and one I only found out about thanks to Mudcat. And now I'm galvanized--can't even think about trying to get more rest for a while. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 10:38 AM Nice to see you, Clinton. Yeah... we have a fireplace in the room that our kitchen opens up into. When conversation flows between friends in the winter, the fireplace is another gathering point. We had a woodburning stove in there when we bought the place but need steady heat and put in a gas-burning fireplace. The floor in the room is ceramic tile over a concrete slab with no heating vents in the room, so your feet stick to the floor if you don't keep some heat in there... Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: gnu Date: 25 Feb 06 - 10:40 AM Yo David. We all cry, grieve and laugh. The kitchen table sees it all. No need to feel sorry for anything. Well, except for the Redrose tea... yeech! Pity it's available in Canada, I say (ya gotta see the commercials to get that one). I'll make a pot of King Cole Orange Pekoe. The only place that doesn't feel lonely in my house is here at the keyboard. And that's because of friends like you. Good thread, Jerry. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 10:49 AM This sort of thread is what Mudcat is really what the best of Mudcat is all about--a far-flung (world-wide) community, made a cozy conversation by music and companionship. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 10:51 AM When Colin K came to visit from England, he brought a wonderful large tin of Yorkshire Tea. Maybe when I take my mid-afternoon tea I'll brew up a mug, just for old time's sake.. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 11:11 AM The CD is in the mail, Ron: Maybe next time I'm down your way I'll stop by for a mug of coffee at your kitchen table. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 11:17 AM Jerry-- We'd be honored. By the way, what kind of a conversationalist was Gordon Bok? He came to a Getaway awhile ago and was pretty taciturn--of course that's the prerogative of a Down Easter--and even though I'm pretty sure he wasn't born in Maine, I think of Maine when I hear him. I'm sure it would have been great just to make music with him. But I'm just curious. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: LilyFestre Date: 25 Feb 06 - 11:27 AM Just the topic of sitting at the kitchen table with friends and family as life goes by brings back lots of good memories. For my entire life, the kitchen table has been the center of activity. One of my best memories is of my very first jam. My Mom's boyfriend, a couple that they hung out with, the boyfriend's son and myself were there. The guys played the guitar and spoons and we sang and sang until late in the night. I never wanted it to end. I was having so much fun and enjoying the music so much that I made a recording of it and it is still one of my most cherished tapes. I can still see the old house, the scuffed up floors, the old upright piano, a round table with extra chairs pulled up to accomodate everyone...the laughter....lots and lots of laughter. :) Great idea. I'll be stopping by again soon. Michelle |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 11:33 AM Gordon is an old friend... I booked Bok, Trickett and Muir for their very first ever concert together, and Gordon stayed at our house. What struck me immediately about him is that he spent the whole evening asking me to play one song after another. I was a little overwhelmed, because I hadn't done much performing and was a long way removed from being asked to do my first album for Folk Legacy. For someone of his reputation, I thought it was amazingly generous to want to hear some nobody like me. Gordon is a very private person, but not at all egotistical. I think that combination of qualities is very commonplace. People tend to think that private people are pretty stuck on themselves, but generally speaking I haven't found that to be the case at all. Around a kitchen table, Gordon just relaxes and the conversation flows just as it is in this thread (and I sure appreciate the atmosphere in here.) He talks openly about experiences he had as a child that certainly didn't make him look "good," or particularly special. He's actually quite a modest, humble man. And generous with his praise and encouragement. Being on the road as much as Gordon has been (and many other folk musicians) can make you wary of opening up. It can seem like everyone wants a piece of you. I can't speak from my own experience, because I've never been that well known. Some folk singers deal with it by closing down, and many deal with it with liquor. I always enjoyed Gordon as Gordon, not Gordon Bok, revered folk singer. I've talked over our kitchen table with other musicians who dominate the conversation talking about themselves... who booked them, who won't, compliments they're received.. When that happens, I tell them to put away their press kit.. Some aren't capable of doing that. Gordon is a good man. Kendall could tell you far more about him as they are the closest of friends. When Gordon is traveling through te area, he stops by every once in awhile and it's always a pleasure to see him. The kind of guy you go for a walk with at sunset. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: jimmyt Date: 25 Feb 06 - 11:42 AM Jerry, what a wonderful thread. As you know from experience, our kitchen table is the heart of our home. We play music there frequently for several reasons: Good acoustics, good light which if you are old like me makes reading lyrics for new songs a pleasure, we also like to snack on chips (crisps for our Brit friends) as well as have a place to set a cup of coffee or a glass of wine down when playing. In the last 24 hours, our kitchen table was the source of preparation of a new recipe with brussels sprouts, the bottling of about a gallon of my red wine vinegar to give friends, and last evening some friends came over to play dominoes also on the table. I also always plan my trips on the kitchen table where I can lay out maps, have good lighting and it is just the right place for the job! I love the kitchen table. Everyone's kitchen table. It is where I think you really get to know people. Our family all assemble in the kitchen whenever they visit. I can't think of a better place to meet catters than the kitchen table. Even this virtual one already seems just, somehow..right. Ruth, could I bother you for a cup of coffee, hon? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 11:50 AM Funny thing is, Jimmy: I included you and Jayne on the list of people who's sat at our kitchen table, even though you've never been here. We have such warm memories of sitting around your kitchen table having dinner, and then later in the evening playing music that it seems like you've already been here. And we both look forward to the two of you coming to visit, whenever that happens. I'm afraid your coffe will be cold by then, though. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: rumanci Date: 25 Feb 06 - 11:58 AM I'd love to share your kitchen table one day with you and Ruth It sounds like a haven full of good spirits *bg* rum |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: David C. Carter Date: 25 Feb 06 - 12:02 PM Hello Jerry,and all on this thread. The sun gave up and called it a day about 3.00 something, this afternoon.I Have been thread hopping since lunch,and found this little "Oasis"of Peace and harmony.I Hessitated about making a contribution here,because although I've seen most of your names around the Cat,I don't really know too many of you.But,that's OK,got to push the door sometimes.The Kitchen is a central part of life here in France,and I have been in a good few.We get to go to the country at weekends,take the guitars,sit up all night,build a fire in the garden early in the morning,go for croissants and have breakfast untill it's time for pre-lunch drinks!I'm going back to my kitchen in half an hour or so, to come up with the main meal for tonight.My two sons will be at home with girlfriends,so it's a crowded house tonight.Great thread.May drop by later. David |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ebbie Date: 25 Feb 06 - 12:04 PM Oh, there you are! I was afraid you wouldn't hear my knock so I didn't bother. How cozy this looks! It's a relaxed kind of morning. I slept late- past 7 o'clock - stood outside in the packed snow while my little Cairn Meggie did her thing... It's 19 degrees out and the air is still and lovely. Last night I was at a concert- I did the door and took in bundles of money. They brought me a little piano lamp so I didn't have to have the double doors to the hall open in order to differentiate a 10 from a 20, a 20 from a 50. It was cold last night and the wind came blowing in every time the doors opened. Great concert. Buddy Tabor - they did a feature on him in this month's Sing Out!- was the headliner and he had two opening acts. One was a mother and son with fiddle and guitar. Leif Saya is a young man - 24- who was a child prodigy and is still extraordinary on the violin. He's been to Ireland a few times and loves playing over there. The main opener was a young couple who do wonderful harmonies together. I'm fortunate enough to have them in my weekly Friday night music group so I've heard them many times but I love it. Kathy has a sweet, tender voice and Cheryl's is extraordinary, vibrant and strong. Last night they did a few Dylan songs, and one by Mary Gauche (sp?) and several others that they find here and there. A great evening and it makes me smile this morning. I recorded it and later today I'll start the process of turning it into a couple CDs. Great coffee, Jerry! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 12:16 PM Ebbie-- Thanks again for doing those CD's of the Getaway. They capture the experience like nothing else could. You can just imagine the scenes all over again. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 12:21 PM Jerry--sure hope you can make it to a Getaway soon. Your "Living On The River" being sung at a Getaway is one of my best memories. It would be great if you were part of the Getaway crew. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 12:22 PM Nice to see you, Ebbie: And hello David over there in France. Ruth and I were in France last September for a couple of days. it was very special for us as we spent our honeymoon in Paris and Versailles seven years ago. Our first time over there was a new experience for us, as I didn't speak any French. Still don't. It was a little intimidating because my wife was counting on me to get us around for a week. I ended up doing it fine, with a lot of merci's. This time around, I had a better feel for traveling in countries where I don't speak the language. We visited ten countries when we were there in the Fall, and I couldn't possibly become fluent (or even passable) in so many languages. But, I wasn't intimidated. I learned the universal language. The finger. (No, not Thaaat one.) When in doubt, point and smile. Works fine. I found France much freindlier this time around. France didn't change. I did. Glad you stopped by, David... look forward to seeing you more often. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 12:23 PM Maybe this year, Ron.. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 12:27 PM I found when I was in France that the French are the same as anybody else--they appreciate it when you try to speak their language--even when their English was better than my French. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ron Davies Date: 25 Feb 06 - 12:28 PM That would be really something for us to look forward to, Jerry. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Ebbie Date: 25 Feb 06 - 12:32 PM "France didn't change. I did." Great line, Jerry. You're welcome, Ron! I have Juneau friends who travel a good deal (as they say, they don't have children so this is how they prefer to spend their money). Their first trip to France surprised and delighted them. The people they met were friendly and helpful and took the time to explore where they should go next. In staying open and flexible Gerry and Susan have had wonderful experiences which they then share with us. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 12:56 PM Speaking of fidelity,(high, not in-) I've been thinking how accustomed we've become to 18 track, digital studio recordings. I just put together a CD of old tapes, so that's been on my mind. For awhile, I was feeling kinda sheepish about the whole project because the sound of the tapes isn't nearly up to the standards of contemporary studio recordings. Felt kinda embarassed about it. And then I began thinking, "This is pretty stupid!" I came to love folk music through old monaural records recorded on primitive equipment which were reissued on pretty low-fi record albums. I didn't crinkle my nose when I heard Charlie Poole sounding like he was singing up through a man hole cover. Or The Carter Family records sounding like they'd been kept in a kitty litter box. So, I've decided that rather than call the songs I burned to CD "home recordings" which sounds highly amateurish, I'll refer to them as "field recordings." After all, there's a field not far from here. Field recordings sounds all scholarly and important. Home recordings sounds like you used crummy equipment because you didn't have the money to go in a studio. True enough, of course. For us folk-type people, the song's the thing. I love the crisp sound of a contemporary studio recording, but I'm not about to diminish the old tapes and earlier recordings as being somehow less valueable. They are what they are. Besides, most field recordings weren't even recorded in a field. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: David C. Carter Date: 25 Feb 06 - 01:02 PM The first time I cooked a meal for some of my French friends, it was like taking coals to Newcastle.An Englishman cooking for the French! This was some 30 yrs ago. And they still talk to me,and come to eat! They also like my wife's cooking,she's from Croatia by the way.We were out there during the war.Her father owns a restaurant in the town.It used to get full up with American journalists and the like.We used to sit for hours with them,talking music and stuff.Strange times,but plenty of good moments.Got to get back in the kitchen! Cheers David |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: ranger1 Date: 25 Feb 06 - 01:16 PM Hey Jerry! Got a cozy spot for a little ranger? How 'bout some herbal tea? Anything as long as it's not chamomile. The kitchen table is very dear to me. It's where we'd hang out when I was little. My maternal grandma taught me to read, print and tell time at that table. At my paternal grampa's, we'd sit around the table and he's tell me tall tales or sing to me. I remember my cousins "bringing" him new songs by singing them to him. Sometimes my great-uncle would be there and he'd play his fiddle while Grampa Moses sang. That was the same table where Margaret MacArthur did a field recording of him, that I now have copies of on CD. Good memories. Hiya Ebbie! I second the thanks for the CDs of the Getaway. It's kind of like being back when I listen to them. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: GUEST,KT Date: 25 Feb 06 - 02:01 PM Hi everyone! Is it okay to just pop in for just a minute? Okay, a quick sip of tea. It's wonderful and SO good to visit with friends. Our kitchen table is still the gathering place...It was when the kids were little, still is when we have company and we prefer to play our music there, too. And now, what a great thing to add thoughts of the likes of all of you to my table. Okay, Jerry's table, but it's at my house tomorrow! KT |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 Feb 06 - 02:14 PM Oh yeah, KT... sitting at someone else's table is a treat, too. I've done that many, many times. I had to run out for some stuff for supper, and I was glad to see that folks just came in and made themselves comfortable. As Tom Bodet says, "We'll leave the light on for you" when we go out to sing with the Messengers tonight. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Sitting At The Kitchen Table From: lady penelope Date: 25 Feb 06 - 02:18 PM Mmm, kitchen tables. ~There's something very unstressful about them. Even though great dramas can happen about them, it seems to be the place that allows them to happen and it seems to take the sharp corners off in the process. In my mind the kitchen table epitimises my Mother. She was always there. Whether it was cooking, sewing or reading a book (her favourite occupation) it happened at the kitchen table. My mother taught me to sew and to cook and so many other things in the process, all around that table. When, as teenagers, my brothers and I would drag our respective 'gangs' home, it would be the kitchen that got taken over for the quaffing of large quantities of tea (with the occasional heretic drinking coffee) and people still mention that when I meet them years later. My parents moved to a bungalow a while back and the kitchen isn't big enough to get a table in (it's what's grandly called a 'galley kitchen' here in england - my Mum want's to know when does she get the slaves.....?) and for a while it just didn't seem right, there was no table in a quiet place to walk in and see my mother reading at it . It's worked itself out now, my father (a carpenter by trade - and calling I think) has made the garage into his workshop and the dining room into his music room (still plays his trumpet - 72 this week!) so my mother has inherited the living room. So of course she has put a kitchen style gate leg table in it and all is now right with the world... :o) Jerry's quite right, there's no 'should' when it comes to feelings Raptor. Just 'cos you're 'only' ( :o) ) 37 doesn't mean that the world looks any better at the moment than it would if you were 70. Give yourself time to let the kitchen table have other memories for you. And remember, you're no weirder than the rest of us........ :o) Now I'm getting urges to go bake something.......... which is nice, but fattening........ :o) TTFN Lady P. |
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