turntable.fm

Room of the Week: Folk/Americana/Blues/Soul - It’s All Connected!

HippyGirlHeather started playing “Skinny Love” by Bon Iver 
jessipedia: hey-a folks. what’s good?
Jabour Afrooz: Hi Jess
Walton T. Feep: hey jessipedia
HippyGirlHeather: Hi jess!
Lucy Luciano: Hey Jess.
jessipedia: Everyone ready for some interviewing?
HippyGirlHeather: Yes, please.
DJ poods: >straightens hair<

jessipedia: How did this room get started?

Yellow Dog Records: I wanted a common “rallying point” for roots music fans.  I also felt like specific sub-genres (whether alt-country, blues, etc.) were too limiting and wanted to open things up for a broader, more eclectic mix. or maybe I should say, narrow subgenres are great for popping in and out of rooms.
bunthead: i just searched for folk and this came up.  i bounced around between a few folk related rooms, but this one, by far, had the best community.
HippyGirlHeather: The people make this room.
Lucy Luciano: You mean the music.
DJ poods: I stumbled in here one day & was hooked

jessipedia: What’s roots music?

Walton T. Feep: roots = americana, blues, early jazz, etc
Yellow Dog Records: to me, it’s music rooted in American traditions - blues, folk, Appalachian
Jabour Afrooz: and a good amount of blues
bunthead: i’m definitely more of a left half of the genre, but like it says, it’s all connected.
 

jessipedia: What is it about this music that really speaks to you?

tmike: I dig the storytelling aspect in a lot of the roots music
Walton T. Feep: it’s real as opposed to polished, rough around the edges
Yellow Dog Records: I like soulful sounds
wmarkhay: but we play stuff that’s grandfathered by being classic, or precursor origins from England, etc
Jabour Afrooz: yes the lack of over producing is refreshing
Walton T. Feep: lor’s of stringed instruments too. lots.
bunthead: it’s schadenfreude for me.  i want to hear about other peoples miseries.
Yellow Dog Records: roots music has its origins in people responding to their environment (social, cultural, etc). It’s based in meaning
tmike: A lot of the Appalachian folk and bluegrass grew out of British Isles folk music.  Immigrants brought it over
wmarkhay: we do have tongues in cheeks quite often
tmike: who’s cheeks?
DJ poods: there’s an honesty on the music played here
tmike started playing “Miss You Now” by Elliott Brood
bunthead: really, i just come here hoping someone will play a baseball song.
Walton T. Feep: lol
jessipedia: @tmike For example? What kind of British folk?
tmike: Pretty Polly is a good example. It’s kind of a bluegrass standard, but it was brought over by immigrants
Yellow Dog Records: Pretty Polly is a great example, it’s pre-American but has been covered countless times all the way through today, from Dock Boggs through Otis Taylor.
Walton T. Feep: i think blues also feeds into it
Lucy Luciano: tmike—we’ve got blues that were influenced by West African immigration. Not just European.
Lucy Luciano: Woah, bad sentence structure.
wmarkhay: just for authenticity in the interview… “I lost sound, need to refresh, brb”
Walton T. Feep: but is it true to say that euro and african merged in america
Yellow Dog Records: right Walton, to me that melding is what makes the origin of American music unique
bunthead: the best thing for me is, finding other folks who listen to this.  all of my friends’ music has driven me crazy for as long as i can remember.
HippyGirlHeather: Exactly. People my age aren’t listening to old blues or folk for whatever reason.
Caffeinex2: That’s so true.  With the prevalence of dubstep on TT, it’s so nice to find a community that appreciates and actually is involved in this too often overlooked music.
 

jessipedia: How long did it take until the room was ‘up and running’ on its own?

Walton T. Feep: YD? I’d say a couple of months
bunthead: i’ve been on tt for five months apparently, and can’t think of a room i used before this one.
bunthead started playing “If The Dodgers Had Stayed In Brooklyn” by Dan Bern
Walton T. Feep: many of us have been here since early summer and watched it grow
Yellow Dog Records: it took a couple of weeks, some regulars developed over time
jessipedia: Was there a time when it was just you manning the decks?
Yellow Dog Records: sure, at first I had to make sure to log in every morning and make sure the room got started up ; )
jessipedia: Was that ever discouraging, doing it alone?
DJ poods: sometimes one gets discouraged doin it alone
Yellow Dog Records: ah, not really.  I’m a persistent person ; )  We did have some regulars early on, Walton Feep and Mark Hay in particular that really helped things move along early on. it helps that I’m online all day for work so I can have Turntable on, often in the background.
bunthead: i only tend to use tt while i’m at work.  i’m amazed when i log in from home that there’s often a completely different crew here.
HippyGirlHeather: Agreed. I ooften write with the room on in the background.
Walton T. Feep: I think it still quieted down some evenings until the west coast people showed up as regulars
bunthead: and that folks will say that the mornings sound different than the evenings.
Lucy Luciano: Some of us are fortunate to have jobs that allow us to get our fix all day long.  It has replaced my radio, actually.
Yellow Dog Records: definitely, the music mix changes around at different times, that’s something I enjoy a lot

jessipedia: What advice would you give to people who are trying to get a room started now?

Yellow Dog Records: have a clear theme, but not too narrow, have an emphasis on music discovery and keeping the mix interesting
bunthead: i had to quit this room for a month or two, because i’d been introduced to so much new music that i had to process it all.
Yellow Dog Records: Walton and I both have public spotify playlists specifically of music we first learned about here: http://open.spotify.com/user/ydrecords and http://open.spotify.com/user/mrfeep
wmarkhay: one differentiating factor of this room, distinguishing might put it better, is the personality, cameraderie, politeness, and breadth of music knowledge in combination
Walton T. Feep: agreed with mark
Jabour Afrooz started playing “Iko Iko” by Dr. John
Lucy Luciano: We love you, handsome!  <3
jessipedia: awww
HippyGirlHeather: group hug!
Lucy Luciano: *hugs*
bunthead: don’t touch me.
DJ poods: I feel warmer & fuzzier
Walton T. Feep: it’s a friendly group
Jabour Afrooz: ha

jessipedia: If I were new to roots music, what are some artists and songs I should listen to straight away?
 
bunthead: todd snider is the guy that brought me into all of this. i was stuck in the 50s and 60s and didn’t think any quality music had been produced since. i’ve called myself a shut out because i didn’t listen to new music for so long.
Yellow Dog Records: Gillian Welch, Muddy Waters, Louis Armstrong, Howlin’ Wolf, Booker T. and the MGs, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, John Lee Hooker
Jabour Afrooz: John Prine
tmike: jess:  I’d say Johnny Cash, The Carter Family, Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch…
HippyGirlHeather: Patty Griffin, Pinetop Perkins, CashCarter family
Walton T. Feep: Link Wray
Lucy Luciano: Nick Drake, Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams
HippyGirlHeather: yes! and…William Elliott Whitmore ;)
DJ poods: Richard Thompson, of course
Jabour Afrooz: Lightning Hopkins
tmike: Leadbelly, Robert Johnson
wmarkhay: Ryan Adams, but Gram Parsons might take the cake along with Townes Van Zandt

jessipedia: Where were you the last time you heard something and thought ‘I have to play that on tt!’?
 
Lucy Luciano: I find myself always wanting to “Awesome” songs, even when not on TT.
tmike: TT
bunthead: hahaha.  yeah, exactly what tmike said. “i can’t wait for that guy to leave so i can play that”
Caffeinex2: ^^
Yellow Dog Records: oh, all the time.  I have a specific playlist in spotify - whenever I hear something I want to share with TT, I toss it in that playlist (from my mobile) and spin it here later

jessipedia: @Yellow Dog Records, So are you really a record label?

wmarkhay: there are also a few musicians in the group who have uploaded some of their own, or that of friends
Yellow Dog Records: yes, I also run a record label, with conicidentally, a similar broad mix of roots music, with biggest emphasis on blues
Walton T. Feep: YD is a label! a great label too!
jessipedia: Where are you based?
Yellow Dog Records: based in Memphis
jessipedia: nice!
Yellow Dog Records: that’s where our first several artists were from, now we have artists from all over
jessipedia: Has tt effected anything you do for your label work?
Yellow Dog Records: hmm, not fundamentally - I have tried to turn on fans of our existing artists to this room in Turntable because I think it is such a great place for community of listeners with like-minded tastes
Lucy Luciano started playing “Pirate Jenny” by Nina Simone
HippyGirlHeather: Nice, alpha <3
Lucy Luciano: For you <3
Yellow Dog Records: oh, put Nina Simone in the “essential artists” from before ; )
tmike: Huh…I have a variant on this by Steeleye Span, called “The Black Freighter”
jessipedia: This is also a good example of the mixed heritage american music. isn’t this from three penny opera by brecht? which is not exactly pre-us but you know…
Lucy Luciano: Yes maam
Yellow Dog Records: and I really want to get some more “Guest DJ” events where artists (from YDR and other places) meet fans and spin music that has influenced them
Walton T. Feep: I think another great aspect of this room is that it brings together a wide range of ages. We go from 20
Lucy Luciano: Like me.
Walton T. Feep: to 50+
jessipedia: oh wow
DJ poods: like me
HippyGirlHeather: Like Guncle
jessipedia: is that ever strange, having such a spread in ages?
Walton T. Feep: I am impressed with the depth of the young folks
Lucy Luciano: Awww, thank you, Waltsie.
HippyGirlHeather: You really don’t notice until they tell you their ages
Walton T. Feep: I never had that knowledge at their ages
HippyGirlHeather: I thought for sure someone was in their 50’s and he’s 27 or something
jessipedia: hahaha. you never know do you?
Yellow Dog Records: I think it’s great when the young guys are here and are enjoying stuff they’ve never heard before. I loved something that I heard a younger fan say the other day: “I learned about the Delta Blues through the White Stripes”

jessipedia: What makes your room different from other rooms on tt?

Walton T. Feep: great music!?!
wmarkhay: for authenticity… “I have to let the dog out, brb”
Yellow Dog Records: the music mix, focused but also eclectic and I think a lot of people would also say the communty
HippyGirlHeather: Definitely the community. And I follow these freaks to other rooms time to time
HippyGirlHeather: freaks said with love.
Lucy Luciano: Some people have created spin-offs from this room.
jessipedia: oh?
Lucy Luciano: A celtic room, a blues room.
HippyGirlHeather: a Gypsy-folk room
Lucy Luciano: Yes, and it’s a bunch of us regulars that mosey on over on certain days.
DJ poods: I went to the celtic rm 1st time last night
Lucy Luciano: Yes, gypsy folk.
tmike: Gogol Bordello
Walton T. Feep: gogol!
HippyGirlHeather: exactly
Lucy Luciano: So it’s constantly growing, jess. Because we’ll meet someone that stumbles into the Celtic room. Then we see them around later in here. It’s all connected!
Walton T. Feep: so what’s the gypsy folk room? link? got a regular night?
HippyGirlHeather: The typsy Gypsy, http://turntable.fm/the_typsy_gypsy.
Walton T. Feep: Thanks! Is there a regular night on tipsy?
HippyGirlHeather: We’re tipsy every night
Walton T. Feep: I am sure
Yellow Dog Records: all of that stuff fits in here as well, as part of the mix, but the spinoff rooms / events give a chance to focus for a while on that particular subgenre
jessipedia: So rolling through multiple rooms together actually helps you meet more friends? Cool.
Lucy Luciano: Indeed, jess.
HippyGirlHeather: Yep, then we lead them back here we’re pied pipers
Walton T. Feep: And we support each others rooms that helps because we have fans
Lucy Luciano: I know I’ll see Walton and tmike on Thursday for the Celtic room.
wmarkhay: this room makes me sad I got a job after 13 months, can’t be as devoted as it deserves any longer, LOL
Lucy Luciano: And Ryno and Heather on Tuesdays for the blues room.
Yellow Dog Records: as a side note, I’d like to also set up more “genre hours” within this room as well, sort of like specialty shows on an eclectic community radio station except everyone gets to be the DJs. I think the advantage of keeping it in a “home base” room would be to help with critical mass of listeners
Lucy Luciano: That’s a great idea, Yellow.
HippyGirlHeather started playing “Bright Lights” by Gary Clark Jr.
HippyGirlHeather: Love that idea

jessipedia: Wait, do you have regular times you all met in your ‘side rooms’?

Lucy Luciano: Yes ma’am.
Ryno23: Bluesville meets at 8 PM ET on Tuesdays
wmarkhay: the Celtic thing has a thursday night time
Ryno23: The Rocky Road to Dublin meets at 7 PM ET on Thursday
HippyGirlHeather: And on those nights a cpl of us stay in here to keep things going so it’s not empty in here.
Walton T. Feep: it helps to have a schedule people can follow
jessipedia: How so?
Walton T. Feep: People know when to meet. It has worked well

jessipedia: Ok, best song you’ve heard in this room?

HippyGirlHeather: it changes everyday
bunthead: this room turned me onto the tallest man on earth, and now i listen to him in the shower every morning.
Ryno23: ^
HippyGirlHeather: I get a new favorite at least once per day
Ryno23: ^ And that I can play a little Indie Folk here, and my Alt Country.
Lucy Luciano: Yeah, I’ll give you an answer today and have a different one tomorrow.
Yellow Dog Records: I’m going with best I heard for the first time here… Imelda May “Knock 123”
Walton T. Feep: Samanta Fish for me
tmike: My favorite new song I hadn’t heard before that someone played in here recently is “When Leadbelly Walked The Earth” by William Lee Ellis
Walton T. Feep: First new artist I found here was William Lee Ellis

jessipedia: ok, I think that’s it. Any last comments?

Walton T. Feep: thanks for a great tool and community! keep it up!
Lucy Luciano: Great site, jess! You have effectively and efficiently found a way to make my day at work go by faster!
Caffeinex2: TT is certainly the best site I’ve discovered in 2011, and probably the best since google.
wmarkhay: we’ll need a reunion in 50 years
Yellow Dog Records: I’ll post a link on the FB page ; )
Lucy Luciano: This is going to be an article?
Yellow Dog Records started playing “Breathin’” by Asylum Street Spankers
wmarkhay: course, for some of us, we’ll be over 100 by then
Lucy Luciano: Jess, you’re a doll!  Thanks for putting up with us clowns.  :D
HippyGirlHeather: *those* clowns she means
Lucy Luciano: Shoe fits, honey.
HippyGirlHeather: pot, kettle
Lucy Luciano: <3
HippyGirlHeather: <3
jessipedia: ok folks, thanks so much for answering my questions! it’s been lovely.
HippyGirlHeather: Bye Jess!
Lucy Luciano: Stop by again soon, Jess. When you’re feeling rootsy!

Check out the room here!