Holy Modal Rounders Roundup

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: fox4zero
Date: 19 Apr 00 - 03:44 AM

Charlie Poole was a major influence on the Holy Modal Rounders. "Movin' Day" was lifted en toto. I get a little confused between the songs of the Unholy Modal Rounders and the Holy M.R. Larry

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Amos
Date: 19 Apr 00 - 08:47 AM

Hey, Mister Spaceman!! I wanna be a Space man too -- doodlooo!!!

Yer right -- whoever said it -- the world divides into those who get the HMR an' them as don't. This thread has filled my head with sound bytes from college -- "drinkin from a bottle with a 4-X label" and "If you can't pauy the rent you gotta live under a tent...". Zany, whacky and great.

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: L R Mole
Date: 19 Apr 00 - 11:35 AM

During the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's first three albums(pre -CircleUnbroken) when they appeared to be a sort of left-coast Kweskinjug (with J. Browne, whose "Buy For Me the Rain" was a sort-of hit for them), they did "Euphoria", with the couplet, "When your mind starts reelin and a-rockin"/Your inside voice starts squeakin' and a-squawkin'" This was, I think, before J. McKuen, the banjo player, and his brother W. got hooked up with Steve (banjo music is happy music) Martin. Intersections:"Auntie Grizelda" by the Monkees or " Mr. Bass Man" ( with Lloyd Thaxton and his rubber caveman mask?)

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: BlueJay
Date: 19 Apr 00 - 10:47 PM

Incredible thread. The only HMR song I have is with Michael Hurly, on a compilation, It's called "Sweet Lucy", and is hilarious. Someone above mentioned "Euphoria". Was this done by the HMR, did they write it? The only version if it I've heard was by the Youngbloods, years and years ago. BlueJay

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Mike Billo
Date: 19 Apr 00 - 10:56 PM

Euphoria was written by Robin Remaily, a long time accomplice of both Hurley and the Rounders.

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 06 Jul 02 - 03:53 PM

Flop-eared mule?

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 06 Jul 02 - 04:37 PM

Great fun to read this thread! I'm glad it was refreshed. I remember hearing Pete Stampfel playing in the Village before the Holy Modal Rounders. (The second verse of Moving Day isn't on the Charlie Poole recording, so I always figured that Pete or Steve wrote it. Whoever did, it's a classic example of someone adding a verse that is exactly the same in spirit.

Jerry

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: GUEST,Steve Noonan
Date: 06 Jul 02 - 05:36 PM

LR Mole incorrectly credits the song "Buy For Me the Rain" on an early Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album to J. Browne (Jackson Browne).

Sorry, but I co-wrote "Buy For Me the Rain" with Greg Copeland back in 1967. I recorded it on my Elektra LP, "Steve Noonan," in 1968.

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Brían
Date: 06 Jul 02 - 06:11 PM

I always enjoyed ther various references to food in their songs. I have a friend who I ask to play THE HOG WILL BE FORSAKEN whenever he visits. They did a rather psychadelic bluegrass tune, POACHING CHICKENS and a pseudo-gospel song called I HEARD THE VOICE OF A PORK CHOP CALLING. I have some vinyl recordings of them, but no working record player right now.

Brían

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Art Thieme
Date: 06 Jul 02 - 11:04 PM

Someone here mentioned the rubber chicken I always had stuffed in my banjo to mute it. I got a ton o' mileage out of that silly thing. Always a good excuse to tell the fowl jokes, don't ya know. Some people wore jackets but I had a capon. In colony times in the U.S. they trained chickens to recognize spies. They'd yell "Chicken, catch a tory." --- and they'd go and do it. (just a few)

Art

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Nathan in Texas
Date: 06 Jul 02 - 11:48 PM

About a year ago, in the local used boock & CD shop, I found a CD by "The Du-Tels" entitled "No Knowledge of Music Requried" featuring Gary Lucal And Peter Stampfel. It's on Shyimmy Disc Records www.shimmydisc.com

The liner notes give a lot of history of the Holy Modal Rounder years and the music is what you might expect from the Rounders 30 years later. Included are traditional numbers such as the fiddle tune "Blackberry Blossom" (with Michelle Shocked's lyrics), Captain Kidd, Shortening Bread, Bluegrass tunes such as "How Mountain Girls can Love", a Johnny Cash song "Ring of Fire" and, most unexpectedly, "Teletubbies Say 'Eh-Oh'" from the PSB series.

My teenage son was bewildered by it all. I explained that that's what happens when you play bluegrass on acid.

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: harpgirl
Date: 30 Sep 02 - 07:43 PM

reflux

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: GUEST,ME
Date: 01 Oct 02 - 02:51 PM

This brings back lots of memories of trying to play LP tracks over and over again to work out the lyrics, (and finally giving up in disgust when you figure out they're singing the same words again and again).
BTW has anyone got the words for She's More to be Pitied, from Alleged in Their Own Time . This LP is one of my all time favourites; with a dirty story from Antonia and Stampfel included in the notes (Whatever happened to her?), and the great and much-missed Karen Dalton singing on Voodoo Queen Marie
harpgirl, thanks for refluxing!

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: harpgirl
Date: 01 Oct 02 - 07:33 PM

I think I've got that. I recently was gifted with about a hundred old albums from a friend's sister and I have some more rare gems to add to my collection. I'll look...hg

Subject: DTADD Version: She's More To Be Pitied
From: harpgirl
Date: 01 Oct 02 - 08:09 PM

She's More To Be Pitied


She's there at the bar every evening
Face powdered and cheeks painted red
Her beauty has faded too early
Brought on by the fast life she led

She's more to be pitied than scolded
She needs to be loved, not despised
Too much beer and wine, too many good times
The lure of the honky tonk wrecked her young life

She once was the belle of the ballroom
She'd made some man a sweet wife
But too many parties, the wrong kind of pals
Ruined her happy young life

She's more to be pitied than scolded
She needs to be loved not despised
Too much beer and wine, too many good times
The lure of the honky tonk wrecked her young life

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Coyote Breath
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 12:24 AM

OK HMR fans. I have three Albums. HMR 1 and HMR 2 and Goin' Nowhere Fast. The first two are Electra Folk series and the third is Rounder Records. I met Steve Weber once, briefly, in the Village where he and Peter Stampfel were playing in two different clubs per night (requireing much running back and forth). One was the Black Crow or something like that. I knew Peter for many years in Milwaukee. He is originally from Waukeshaw (sp?). I learned to play the banjo by watching and listening to him when he played at The Unicorn on North Avenue. He had a group which included Rob Hunter and another person I can't recall. Peter Stampfel, Bill Ross, Billy Olsen, and Ken Haferman were (and probably still are) the best banjo (clawhammer) players I have ever had the pleasure to hear. One day Peter came by my apartment (when I lived in Chicago, Art...I use an old sock myself) and in a cryptic manner he handed me some items to keep for him..."I'll get them later" with a hint of there might NOT be a later. If you read these posts, Peter I still have "Exodus, a Record of Human Erosion" which is a collection of photographs of Paul Shuster Taylor and Dorothea Lange. Incredible pictures of the depression in rural America. These photos have inspired my daughter Molly to become a documentary photo journalist. Thank you!

Tom Meisenheimer

Coyote Breath

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: GUEST,ME, again
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 03:37 AM

harpgirl, thanks for those lyrics - I'll go around singing them for weeks now!!!

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: GUEST,Richie
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 09:08 AM

Some of the lyrics to The Holy Modal Rounders- "Hesitation Blues" were posted on another thread. Does anyone have the complete lyrics?

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: harpgirl
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 10:17 AM

I believe I have that also. I'll look when I get home this afternoon.

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Barbara
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 10:23 AM

And I've got a solo album of Karen Dalton, playing a long necked banjo and singing blues; Electra I think. I didn't realize she
was a part of the HMR. There's a collection on CD these days,
I've been annoying my daughter with it.
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: GUEST,ME
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 12:27 PM

Barbara, Karen wasn't actually ever part of HMR - she just sang with them occasionally. However as Peter Stampfel recalls in his notes to the recent CD of Karen Dalton It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best she could be quite difficult to work with:-


"Like many instinctual musicians, Karen tended to freeze up in situations involving recording or playing for people in the industry. She did some harmonies with me on a Holy Modal Rouders album in 1972 and everyone had to wait over an hour for her to 'prepare' herself, a complicated procedure which concluded with her ripping the bathroom sink off the wall."


Apparently Karen used to sing, but never recorded, a very powerful version of The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore. It would be great if somebody, somewhere, could just find an old tape of that.

matthew

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Dry Tickle
Date: 07 May 03 - 12:48 AM

whooo hooo!

I just joined mudcats and what a treat to find this thread on the Holy Modal Rounders. Looks like it's been running on over two years now.

Ma's out there switchin in the kitchen
Pa's in the living room groutchin and bitchin
I'm out here, kickin' the gong for Euphoria!

I once had the Jacknife Song on my answering machine until my roomate's mother complained.

Now I play in a stringband in Guelph Ontario, home of the Breast of Canada Calendar (Do you like boobs a lot?), and we do a hefty amount of Holy Modal Rounders songs.

And then there's 'Kill Kill Kill, Kill for Peace'. Has anyone done an update of that song? Fugs Four, Rounders Score!

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Art Thieme
Date: 07 May 03 - 11:23 AM

Why does reading this good thread instantly take me back to those carefree days when the air in so amny crashpads had that sweet burnt smell in the air----kind of like alfalfa on a mid-'50s afternoon trip down blue Illinois highways through canyons of tall corn? Peter Stampfell up on stage at the Monday night hoot at Mother Blues on Wells St.----Just him and his banjo croaking out a few. Fred H. and Patty's pad upstairs gettin' high with G. Carlin before goin' down to the club to see Gibson fall off the stage after too much whatever stuff he was into then. It's an aura, friends. A whispy feeling, an olfactory tweak and a remembrance of times to be no more. But it was a nice whiff to get again---like day job vu, all over again !!

Thanks,

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Mark Ross
Date: 07 May 03 - 04:58 PM

Actually, the Fugs name came from the euphemism Norman Mailer used in THE NAKED AND THE DEAD. (I think it was Dorothy Parker on meeting him said, "Oh, you're the young man who doesn't know how to spell f***.") The title THE MORAY EELS EAT THE HOLY MODAL ROUNDERS was because they wanted to change their name when they became an electric band, and the record company(Elektra?)wanted their fans to make the connection. That was back when they were being managed(if one could use that term in reference to the Rounders)by Terri Thal, Van Ronk's ex.

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Art Thieme
Date: 07 May 03 - 05:06 PM

Redd Frx did a comedy routine about FUGG SOAP where the "funny?" line that got the laugh was something like, "When your man come home all dirty and sweaty, give him a bar o' this and tell 'im to go Fugg himself." That was around 1952 on a 78 rpm record that my uncle had in Southern Indiana.   We thought it was very funny when I wasten years old.

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Stewie
Date: 07 May 03 - 06:30 PM

Don't forget the classic album 'Spiders in the Moonlight' by Jeffrey Frederick and the Clamtones, a band that included former Rounders. They noted on the sleeve: 'We would like to apologise to our mothers'.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: BUTTERFLY
Date: 11 May 03 - 05:46 AM

The first (double) album of the HMR and "Alleged in Their Own Time" are to my mind the best, and most likely to appeal to folkies. However "Last Round" contains several good tracks, eg "Romping Through the Swamp", "Sweet Willima", "Oriental Lady", "August 1967". The only other one I have is "Indian War Whoop" which I bought in London in 1997 but am not fussed about.

In the 1st album, the references to glue sniffing and strutting their stuff (ie "I can't abide no woman, who goes round sniffing glue" and "The baby chickens don't take nothing, they just strut their stuff", both from the song "Blues in the Bottle") show that these expressions are not particularly modern. Does anyone know who wrote the original song "Blues in the Bottle" (and when) and if these expressions are contained in the original lyrics?

I think the lyrics of "She's More To Be Pitied" from "Alleged in Their Own Time" are a little different from those posted above, ie:


She's there at the bar every day
Her lips and her cheeks painted red
Her beauty has faded too early
Brought on by the fast life she's led

She's more to be pitied than scolded
She wants to be loved, not despised
But too much beer and wine, too many good times
The lure of the honky tonk wrecked her young life

She once was the belle of the ball
She'll make some man a sweet wife
But too many parties, the wrong kind of pals
Has ruined her happy young life

She's more to be pitied than scolded
She wants to be loved not despised
But too much beer and wine, too many good times
The lure of the honky tonk wrecked her young life

I thought also that it might be "Life on the honky tonk" but am not sure. I am surprised some country and western artist has not recorded it as it has a nice tune and appropriate lyrics for this genre.

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: GUEST,Box13
Date: 09 May 07 - 12:49 AM

I live near portland oregon.In the 70"s I used to go to a tavern the called "The Euphoria".The Rounders played there a lot.On occasion there would be different members and sometimes the name was changed to "The Clamtones".Just for reference,very rarely, there is a rounders reunion here.:)...There was one on 1-6-07.Sorry you couldnt be here....

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: cshurtz
Date: 09 May 07 - 01:48 AM

Hey, since I see this is a Holy Modal Rollers chat I thought I would ask a question that I have already posted another topic for. They (the Rollers) covered a song called "Better things for you" which also appeared on the Anthology of American Folk Music. Does anyone know the lyrics to that song. Especially the name that goes _____ was humble he prayed to God each day, but that was not sufficient he did not kneel to pray. The blank there at the beginning is where the name goes....anyone know that name

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Amos
Date: 09 May 07 - 01:51 AM

ME too. I loved those guys.


A

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Chris Amos
Date: 09 May 07 - 02:06 AM

Hi,

A couple of HMR albums are available for download at MP3.com here for those who would like to hear what this is about.

Chris

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 14 Aug 08 - 01:13 AM

God bless Youtube! Here's a dose of one of the early configurations of the psychedelifolkies.

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Mark Ross
Date: 14 Aug 08 - 09:41 AM

Re-viewing this thread it has just occurred to me to tell you that the name THE FUGS came from Norman Mailer, it was the euphemism that he used in his WWII novel THE NAKED AND THE DEAD.

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Severn
Date: 14 Aug 08 - 12:32 PM

The documentary film that Jesse talked about way upthread finally came out in 2007 and is called "The Holy Modal Rounders.....Bound To Lose" it's 87 minutes of music and interviews. "A dysfunctional family" as someone called them, yes, but interesting. It's put out by an outfit called Badbird who left no e-mail adress or street adress on the film, which I found at a used recording store. It includes the footage of the electric version of the band singing "Right String baby But The Wrong Yo-Yo" on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, their one Network TV appearence, which I hadn't seen since it was originally aired.

....so I guess you check out the website or still see if messyjesse (Jesse Fisher) who helped make the film, along withSam Wainwright Douglas, Francis Hatch and Paul Lovelace, still posts. He posted upscroll, but way back in '99.

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Michael S
Date: 14 Aug 08 - 01:04 PM

Here's a site for Bound to Lose. Or, if you prefer MySpace, go here .

I got a kick out of seeing Peter Stampfel as a bohemian, mad-musician family man--married for decades with teenage daughters (older now, of course). Weber, however is still "off the grid," as they say.

Michael Scully
Austin, TX

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 14 Aug 08 - 02:42 PM

Not forgetting Snock, who on the evidence below is still on top of his particular game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPmXRP7vJe0

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: GUEST,Ian Burdon (cookieless)
Date: 14 Aug 08 - 06:38 PM

Pete Stampfel also had a short-lived band with Dave Van Ronk - the Hudson Dusters.   As well as their eponymous LP, a live recording of the Dusters performing an odd version of Romping Through The Swamp appeared on the (excellent) cd of "The Mayor of MacDougal Street", released to accompany the book of the same name.

Ian

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Mark Ross
Date: 15 Aug 08 - 09:32 AM

Actually, Peter never played with the Hudson Dusters. He was busy turning the Rounders into the Moray Eels. Hence the title of the album THE MORAY EELS EAT THE HOLY MODAL ROUNDERS.

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: bobad
Date: 15 Aug 08 - 10:12 AM

According to Wikipedia this was the lineup in the Hudson Dusters:

    * Dave Van Ronk - guitar, vocals
    * Dave Woods - guitar
    * Phil Namenworth (aka Pot) - keyboards
    * Ed Gregory - bass
    * Rick Henderson - drums

They did perform Pete Stampfel's "Romping Through The Swamp" on their eponymous album.

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Severn
Date: 15 Aug 08 - 10:50 AM

The Eels spat them back out again like Jonah's whale or the one Pinochio spent a child's Christmas in and we're all the better for it.


Damn! But I'd have loved to have heard the Eel's tackle "That's A Moray". They seemed to have more social Morays than morals back then, but then, didn't we all?

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Bee
Date: 15 Aug 08 - 11:02 AM

How have I missed this thread? At one time in the long-ago, my then sweetie and me owned as many of HMR's albums as we could find. On our parting, I managed to retain Have Moicy and TMEETHMR, both of which reside still in my vinyl crypt, awaiting my purchase of a turntable.

I sing She's More to be Pitied and Voodoo Queen Marie based on their versions, and plan on learning a few others once the resurrection takes place.

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: GUEST,Erin Elder
Date: 10 Nov 09 - 06:14 PM

Does anyone know where I can listen to "Voodoo Queen Marie" online for free? I have looked everywhere!

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: RWilhelm
Date: 10 Nov 09 - 11:18 PM

Voodoo Queen Marie - The Du-Tels

Not the original recording, but the same song. Peter Stampfel is one of the Du-Tels.

RW

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: GUEST,Erin Elder
Date: 24 Nov 09 - 04:17 PM

Wow thank you so much!! I wasn't even sure if anyone would write me back it looks like people don't post to this thread very often. Now to figure out the chords..

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: GUEST,DeHypnotist
Date: 26 Nov 09 - 02:32 PM

A bit of Rounderian background. In the olden days, there was Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber and they did wonderful, impossible, madcap things with old timey music. At one point they joined up with the Fugs, but then went their own ways. Eventually Stampfel and Weber went their own ways. The band expanded, bringing on board the likes of Sam Shepherd on drums. Robin Remaily (author of "Euphoria") got involved. They briefly moved to the Boston area and picked up Roger North (from Quill) and Teddy Deane (from Martin Mull's Magic Midget Band). Peter went back to NYC and started up groups like the Moray Eels and Unholy Modal Rounders. Weber and the rest of the band moved to Portland, OR and teamed up with Michael Hurley's pal, Jeffrey Frederick. When Weber fronted, they were the Holy Modal Rounders. When Jeff fronted (usually with his lady friend Jill Gross) they were the Clamtones. Things happened along the way, like the wonderous record "Have Moicy." A few HMR records. Jeff's "Spiders in the Moonlight." Weber and Stampfel are like some kind of strange physics model of a binary star system ever attracting and repulsing one another. Right now, they no longer even talk. He died 12 years ago. Jeffrey's widow, Kathryn Frederick started Frederick Productions and has been putting out CDs of Jeffrey's music (including a remastered and expanded, "Resurrection of Spiders in the Moonlight" never before on CD). She also put out "Steve Weber, Holy Modal Rounders B.C." documenting the Portland-based group. I met and married Kathryn and have been putting up videos of Jeffrey Frederick and his bands on You Tube, MySpace, Facebook. Here's Jeff's site: Tunes and more on Jeffrey and his friends, including Snock. We hope to eventually put out a new, Have Moicy like CD with Stampfel's Rounders, Robin Remaily, Kevin "Bingo" Richey, and Teddy Deane. Meanwhile, the Freak Mountain Ramblers keep the old spirit alive here in Portland, including Teddy and Roger North and the amazing Dave Reisch, who played with 'em all and still does. You can find them, too, on You Tube.

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 26 Nov 09 - 02:58 PM

Wow. Thanks for all the background. I had to pause momentarily when your post stated Weber and Stampfel are like some kind of strange physics model of a binary star system ever attracting and repulsing one another. Right now, they no longer even talk. He died 12 years ago. Then I realized you were talking about Jeff Frederick.
I am still stunned, amazed, and sometimes chagrined, by their original collaboration on the first album of psychodelic old time fiddle tunes.

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Mark Ross
Date: 26 Nov 09 - 06:17 PM

Actually, The Holy Modal Rounders planned to change their name to The Moray Eels when they went electric. Hence the title of the LP, THE MORAY EELS EAT THE HOLY MODAL ROUNDERS. The band consisted of Stampfel, Weber, Sam Shepard(drums), John Wesley Annis(bass), and Richard Tucker(piano).

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Severn
Date: 26 Nov 09 - 07:43 PM

DeHypnotist,

The Jeffery Fredericks link didn't work for me. Could you please post again?

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Leadfingers
Date: 26 Nov 09 - 07:51 PM

I was pointed at H M R as a good Harmony group a While back ! Never followed it up though

Subject: RE: The Holy Modal Rounders
From: Leadfingers
Date: 26 Nov 09 - 07:52 PM

100