Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Folk musica

First off I would like to apologize for the excessive ranting in this post. Digression takes over pretty quick when you have burning thoughts.

Most people are aware that there is yet another folk music revival going on. Like all music there is some shitty stuff, a lot of background music, and a few great acts. Two very inspiring acts to me are good friends of mine, Emily Pate of Embers End, and Autumn Brand of Saints Apollo. Both groups are stupid talented and getting some well deserved attention. We don't see eye-to-eye on some things in the music world but I think it's safe to say that centrally, the three of us are creating music that we believe conveys our thoughts and emotions in the most natural way we know.

I am skeptical of any young artist creating music that sounds like it belongs at a decade that is possibly older than theirs parents but then I have to look in the mirror and realize that I'm doing the same thing. The only difference is that I yell and scream and make my amp blow up. Creating music in any genre can be boiled down to a single moment where a note comes into existence. Down the road in Chapel Hill, NC, people are doing their best to follow those notes and as my ears age, they're digging new types of music. This folk thing has been a love hate relationship (to say the least) for years now and sadly, I'm feeling it.

Dillon and I tried putting together a folk duo and sadly again, it was worked pretty well. It wasn't our greatest venture but definitely not the worst. Both on vocals and guitar but he used a hi-hat and I had a kick drum. We had a nice little sound and put it together very quick. After a while, I know I started to fade away from it but we always play those tunes when get together. There is something about this genre.

There is something to the simplicity that inside of art created through a more oral (or aural) tradition than music that is written down. Obviously, people have taken those musics into the avant-garde but there is a spirit that remains and it escapes traditional language.

It can only be preformed.

Folk music is kin to Jazz and these musics have been beaten and bled over the years. Don't loose track of the greats in any genre. Folk, Jazz, Classical, and Pop music are filled with shit and nothing is sacred.

There are people who still creating great music in this particular genre. That one being Folk music still, and I encourage the average listener to challenge them self to listen to music that is unusual or bizarre. If any musicians see this, do your job. Open your ears to groups you never heard and listen closer to music with long Roman numerals.

Good music should create a conversations that last years. American Folk music is part of a centuries long conversation filled with poets, scholars, sailor mouths, and criminals.

Let's protect it.

Go check out Emily and Embers End and Autumn in Saints Apollo and check out my band and some our music.

Stammerings

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