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All notes, lyrics, etc. are copyrighted by their respective owners; reprinted here with permission.
1) Nearer the Woods (Michael W. Pannell) - [disc 3, track 16]
 | Guitar: Larrivee C-05 |
| Strings: Elixir Nanoweb light (.012-.053) |
| Recording details: Ran my B-Band Core99 UST (under-saddle transducer) & internal mic stereo straight to the board (Tascam M-2000) and then to digital tape. Just a smidge of compression, reverb, slapback echo and chorus thrown on. |
| Quickly recorded at SpiritSong with friend and studio owner Bruce Brookshire (brucebrookshire [at] juno.com) at the board. Thanks Bruce! |
As if my playing isn't embarrassing enough at times, I'll have to admit that this was written a good while back while noodling around on guitar watching a Gilligan's Island fest with the family. They kept giving me the "Do you have to play that in here now?" look. Undaunted I carried on, but can't say it was Gilligan who inspired it. It was more a matter of where my fingers found themselves at the time and where they wanted to go form there. I guess I chose it for my submission because I like it and I can more or less play it!
2) Greenbriar Romp (Michael W. Pannell) - [disc 6, track 1]
| Guitar: Almansa 434 nylon string classical (solid cedar top, laminated rosewood back and sides) |
| Strings: D'Addario Pro-Arte extra hard tension |
| Sonic capture: Radio Shack electret condenser lapel mic, stuck on the front of the guitar at about the 7 o'clock position, 2 inches from the soundhole. (Left it on briefly -- then cleaned the guitar really good!) |
| Recording details: Run through my Genz-Benz Shenandoah Jr. head for a boost and a little EQ and tiny bit of reverb/chorus; then to my PC to the free demo version of Cool Edit. Recorded in mono, then cut and pasted into stereo with a little more reverb on one side to give some right/left distinction. |
I enjoy Celtic stuff and listen to a lot of Robin Bullock and others. This Celtic-ish song comes of that interest. My other RMMGA CD-III tune was done in a small studio, so I wanted to do this one at home. I usually play "Greenbriar Romp" on a steel-string, but wanted to see how the nylon-string would work on it and record. Actually, the Almansa is a very sweet sounding guitar, but on this recording I kind of flailed away in sort of a rough-and-tumble fashion and it came across a lot differently. I thought it sounded pretty cool: sort of rural-'40s at times and sort of old-Segovia-recordings-from-a-big-big-echoey-hall at other times.
The business card says I'm a multimedia applications developer. I've played guitar very on and very off since about 1965. The first song I really learned might have been "Puff the Magic Dragon" or "When I Was Young" by The Animals (that's not counting Keith Richards' "Satisfaction" lick, of course). Since then it's been between the folkie side and the rock side, always coming back to acoustic things. Though I do bash about a bit playing and singing in public, I'm really a sit-at-home-and-relax sort of guitarist.
E-mail: mwpannell [at] yahoo [dot] com
URL: http://www.geocities.com/mwpannell (Mostly under construction but the guitars are there!)
Hands of Time (Larry Pattis) - [disc 1, track 18]
| Guitar: Custom Martin OM28V |
| Strings: Elixir Nanoweb |
| Recording info: Two Neumann KM-140 mics run into a Summit dual-channel tube pre, and then direct to hard disc via Pro Tools on a Mac G4. |
| Mix and master by a local pro (also on Pro Tools), Ken Kruckenberg. |
This piece, the title cut from my latest CD, came about while thinking about the passage of time . . . and in relation to three things: geologic time (which is difficult for most humans to fully comprehend!), cultural time (as exemplified by the mysterious disappearance of the Anasazi Indian cliff-dwellers from the southwestern U.S. some 800 years ago), and personal time (something we can act on in the "now," but have no control over when it will end).
Recorded February 2002, in my home studio, and released in March 2002 on my Hands of Time album. This cut (& the entire recording) was made with a custom Martin OM28V guitar strung with Elixir Nanoweb strings.
| Guitar: Martin 000-16 RGT |
| Strings: D'Addario phosphor bronze lights (EJ16) |
| Tuning: Standard |
| Microphone: Shure BG 4.1 condenser mic (for vocals and guitar) |
| Recording software: Guitar Tracks Pro by Cakewalk |
1) A Temporary Matter (Rahul Patwari, based on the short story by Jhumpa Lahiri) - [disc 3, track 4]
Inspiration: Thought it would be fun to write a song to each of the short stories in Ms. Lahiri's Booker Prize-winning book Interpreter Of Maladies.
Story: Of course there's a story behind the song; it's just not mine. Ms. Lahiri wrote it.
Lyrics:
A snowfall
The lights go down
As the day descendsDarkness comes
To hide our secrets
Allowing us a chance to pretendFor an hour
Let's forget
The deafness which defines usI smile,
You laugh remembering
The way we were back when...In the dark
A poem, a joke
Naming your old friendsFor an hour
Let us be indifferent
To our indifference
2) Stone (Rahul Patwari) - [disc 6, track 18]
Inspiration: Written for a friend.
The lyrics came after reading some poetry by Octavio Paz, famous Mexican poet and philosopher. My friend felt that life and love were passing her/us by.
Lyrics:
My window at night
invites the Spanish breeze
of the Indian summer
to rest, but she leaves.Winter's darkness replaced
By springtime's ease
Maybe, this year, my dear
We'll be easier to please.I hope you never feel
Like you'll ever be alone
Your brother will be
I will be your stoneAnd if the autumn days
Come to chase us down,
We may tire easily,
We may fall to the ground.You and I were born
Seven years ago.
Though we each have 30 years
We stopped growing old.Two minds, one face
And the whole day is open
My sister and I
We grow like the oceanMy window at night
invites the Spanish breeze
of the Indian summer
to rest, but she leavesI will never feel
Like I'll ever be alone
My sister will be
You will be my stone
E-mail: rahul_patwari [at] yahoo [dot] com
URL: http://www.mp3.com/rahul
| Guitar: A 1927 0-28K Martin which I'd converted from Hawaiian configuration (since I was still in a wheelchair, it was much easier to handle than a larger guitar). |
| Strings: John Pearse 200L (surprise!). |
| Tuning: I always use standard tuning. |
| Recorded by Bud Knerr at Godfrey Daniels Coffeehouse, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1985. |
| Recording details: The cuts were recorded by Bud Knerr, who was running sound that night, and who took a feed right off the board into a cheapo cassette recorder. The mikes at Godfrey's were Shure SM57s. The only effects used were reverb and chorus, which he added to my "mouth trombone." |
1) Sally, Where D'You Get...? (trad., arr. John Pearse) - [disc 4, track 15]
"Sally, Where D'You Get...?" was total improvisation on a traditional song. I was pretty nervous, not having played in front of people for over two years -- and not being able to control my hands too well. When I'm nervous I tend to talk. "Sally..." was the result that night at Godfrey Daniels Coffeehouse (see "Personal info").
2) Sally Free and Easy (Cyril Tawney) - [disc 6, track 16]
I first met Cyril Tawney in about 1958, at the Cecil Sharp House, HQ of the English Folk Dance and Song Society in Camden Town, London (England). He came into one of the Saturday song sessions that I ran after my weekly guitar lessons and asked if he could sing a song he'd written. The song he sang was "Sally Free and Easy." At the end of the session, almost everyone asked him if they might copy down the words, and at the following week's song session fifteen peoples stood up and each one sang Cyril's song. It's that kind of song!
As you may know, I got paralysed in a medical accident in 1983, which ended my playing career. Since then, I have just concentrated on making strings and inventing strange stuff that I think might be of use to pickers who are still out there gigging. These recordings were made about two years after the accident when I dropped in at Godfrey Daniels Coffeehouse in Bethlehem, PA and played a few songs. I was still in a wheelchair and my hands were still rather apt to misbehave as the nerves began to kick in again . . . but Linda thought that, maybe, there might be something from that night that would fit on the CD. It's probably the last time I'll play in public.
Peepmatz is Greg Neaga on guitar, with vocals by Anka Berens, Natalie Spelge and Micky Gebhard.
Have a Heart (Bonnie Hayes) - [disc 1, track 3]
| Guitar: Lakewood M-18, ovangkol/spruce, unplugged |
I know "Have a Heart" as a Bonnie Raitt tune; however, we're not trying to copy the original here but try to turn it into something like a Harmony Vocal Group ditty. Guitar and three voices were recorded on four tracks in a single take; the guitar solo was dubbed in later.
A few years ago these kids, back then still in their teens, were looking for a piano or guitar player to turn their little a capella act into something like a real band. When they offered me the job, I immediately said yes, and I have not regretted it for a minute yet. The work with Peepmatz (the German word for a very small or infant bird) has been untarnished fun over the years. What can I say, I hope it keeps going.
1) Stolen Kisses, Stolen Licks (Brent Pellegrini) - [disc 2, track 2]
| Guitar: Used Dobro I bought in 1977. No idea how old it is. |
| Strings: No idea what strings are on it. |
| Tuning: Key of D, "C" position up two frets. |
| Recording info: Used a 1963 reel-to-reel microphone plugged into the back of a computer with software called MusicMatch that came with the computer. |
I have a six-month-old daughter. I started playing my guitar to calm her down at night. I would just pick away every night in the key of C nonstop for 45 minutes or so. I just started running together all kinds of stuff. This is a shortened version of what I ended up with after a month. To paraphrase El McMeen's statement about someone else's playing, it is "garden variety" alternate bass picking.
2) Melaque Sunset (Brent Pellegrini) - [disc 5, track 8]
| Guitar: Ovation acoustic/electric Collector Series. I got this guitar as partial collateral for a $2,000 loan 10 years ago. Still waiting to get paid back. |
| Strings: No idea what strings are on it. |
| Tuning: Dropped-D tuning |
| Recording info: Used a 1963 reel-to-reel microphone plugged into the back of a computer with software called MusicMatch that came with the computer. |
I have spent a lot of time sailing and living in the tropics. I've seen a lot of sunsets from boats in the middle of oceans and anchored in far-off bays and from a lot of beaches. (After 20 years of looking, I finally saw the "green flash" from the deck of the Sunset Club in Barre de Navidad, Mexico -- after two pitchers of margaritas.) "Melaque Sunset" was inspired by these very mellow times and by the evening sunsets on the beach where my friends and I meet every evening where I live in Mexico in the winter. I leave a $30 guitar hanging on the wall down there. We live on the ocean and bring down tequila tonics, beer, margaritas, etc. with some food and watch the sun drop behind the often huge surf and tell lies about our adventures. So "Melaque Sunset" is sort of a tropical reverie with a Spanish/Latin touch.
I'm strictly an amateur guitar player. I spent the '70s as a ski, surf and tennis bum, living in Sun Valley, Steamboat Springs, Squaw Valley, Seattle, New York, Boston, Maine, Cape Cod, Europe and Hawaii. I spent the '80s and early '90s as a cruising sailor and commercial fisherman in Alaska, Washington and California and now am a private investigator and father for the first time. I have collected music everywhere and tried to play the guitar in all those years of travel, but it has been hard to keep one around. I've learned lots of music from local musicians where I've lived, from Tahiti to Istanbul.
I'm not a songwriter and I wanted to submit a medley of O'Carolan tunes and a long fingerpicked medley of old American tunes: "The Sheik of Araby," "Wilson" and "Victory Rag," "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," "I Got Rhythm," "Taking a Chance on Love" and "America the Beautiful." But I didn't have time to deal with the copyright issues. So I started thinking about some riffs I noodle with; I put names on them and they became my submissions.
E-mail: bb115 [at] scn [dot] org
Roseville Trio (David Prunty) - [disc 2, track 20]
| Guitar: 2000 Martin 000C-15E |
| Strings: Elixir light |
| Tuning: Open D and standard |
| Sonic capture: Fishman System 1 and AKG C-1000S mic |
| Recording details: Recorded to Roland/Boss BR-8. On-board chorus effects were used for the slide guitar, and I EQ'd and otherwise tweaked the sonics using Sound Forge 5.0 software. |
This piece, which I composed, was arranged for three tracks on the BR8. The Martin was used for all three tracks, and I live in a town named Roseville . . . thus "Roseville Trio."
E-mail: dprunty [at] attbi [dot] com
1) These Mountains (Brian Rachford) - [disc 1, track 17]
| Guitar: Seagull SM-12 12-string (spruce/mahogany) |
| Tuning: Standard, capo II |
| Strings: John Pearse phosphor bronze lights |
| Recording details: Radio Shack condenser mic, Midiman Audio Buddy pre-amp, a two-bit 16-bit soundcard, and a Linux-based PC using the recording/mixing program "ecasound," all in my living room. |
The song stems from my many years of hiking in Wyoming and Colorado. I had the main idea for it in May 2001, but didn't finish the lyrics until August. This was my first experience with multi-track recording. My soundcard doesn't allow me to listen to other tracks while recording, so I recorded a base track, burned it to CD and recorded the other tracks in time with my CD player. There are 2 strummed tracks, a track for the solo and fills, and the vocal track; each recorded "live" all the way through and then mixed.
Lyrics:
The timelessness of these mountains, I just can't comprehend
A billion days since they were born and billions more 'til the end
For them the Ice Age was yesterday and summer's just begun
Flowers grow on the mountainsides and the rocks can see the SunFor us the mountains never change at least it seems that way
But grain by grain to the sea they all wash away
The rain, the snow, and the thunder, slowly take their toll
Mother Nature and Father Time seem to get us allThe valleys can't seem to hold me so I'm on the trail again
I make my way through the trees and watch the day begin
Another chance to touch the sky and walk in solitude
Now the clock stands still for me until the day is throughThe timelessness of these mountains, I just can't comprehend
A billion days since they were born and billions more 'til the end
The snow is melting day by day and summer's just begun
Flowers grow on the mountainsides and the rocks can see the Sun
Flowers grow on the mountainsides and the rocks can see the Sun
2) When It Snows (Brian Rachford) - [disc 5, track 6]
| Guitar: Seagull SM-12 12-string (spruce/mahogany) |
| Tuning: Down a whole step from standard, capo III |
| Strings: John Pearse phosphor bronze lights |
| Recording setup: Radio Shack condenser mic, Midiman Audio Buddy preamp, a two-bit 16-bit soundcard, and a Linux-based PC using the recording/mixing program "ecasound," all in my living room. |
Unlike my other submission, this one went from idea to complete song with chords and melody in less than 2 hours on a snowy February night in 2001. It was my first ever complete original song. I only made some performance tweaks after that, including an impromptu decision to play the song one semitone higher than usual on the night I made the final recording in August 2002. The song itself is just another variation on the theme of having a place to live, but not having a place to call "home."
Lyrics:
I love it when it snows, it covers all the trees
I love it when it snows, everything's okay
It makes me feel like I'm at home although it's not soI love it when it snows, it covers all the trees
I love it when it snows, some things never change
No matter what this place looks like, it's not home
And I'm not sure where I should go or how I should leave
But I can't stay here anymore it's just no good for meI love it when it snows, it covers all the trees
I love it when it snows, but it's not enough for me
I grew up in Iowa and have lived in Boulder, Colorado since 1999. I took up guitar in December 1998 at age 29, in yet another state. I had only a brief experience with playing an instrument (saxophone) when I was a kid, but I always loved music as far back as I can remember.
Jim McCrain did the magical recording and mixing work on these masterpieces of traditional music. He did the miracle work of making me sound good . . . or at least presentable.
1) Lake of Pontchartrain (trad.) - [disc 2, track 4]
"Lake of Pontchartrain" is performed by the rhythm-guitarist aficionado, Tom Risner, a.k.a. Tom from Texas, on the '68 Martin 000-18 with original strings (or maybe he did use John Pearse phosphor/bronze lights . . . only he knows for sure). Sue Risner tried to keep up on an Adler alto recorder and the "Divorce Mandolin," which were bought for her by Tom from money earned by the sweat of his brow and labor of his mind and body.
2) Jamie Allen (trad.) - [disc 5, track 9]
Tom Risner, official back up band to Sue Risner, performed superb backing guitar on "Jamie Allen," a traditional Irish tune, using a Larrivee OM-3R with John Pearse medium gauge phosphor/bronze strings. Sue Risner played some cheap-ass fluorescent green plastic Yamaha recorder. She also did harmony parts on a Moeck tenor recorder. Both Tom and Sue played the famed "Divorce Mandolin" -- a '54 Gibson A-40, with John Pearse mandolin strings -- to add rhythm and lead parts.
1) Carly's Song (Arthur K. Scott and Jeffrey G. Scott) - [disc 2, track 18]
Copyright © 1975, 2002 Arthur K. Scott, Jeffrey G. Scott
Jeff Scott - vocals and guitars
| Guitar: Haida Gwaii Custom Flamed Maple Orchestra Model |
| Strings: Martin SP light |
| Tuning used: Standard |
| Sonic capture devices: Shure PE85L |
| Sonic recording devices: Cool Edit Pro 2.0 (multitrack recording software for PC) |
This is my favorite lullaby. Written for a long-lost niece, who was just a baby when the song was written. One of the timeless classic lyrics from Art's prolific songwriting periods in the 1970s. --Jeff
Lyrics for "Carly's Song":
Take the weight off your shoulders child
And put it on the ground
A tired body has got to get some rest
So sleep child, safe and soundIn the evening when you're slowing down
The aches are there, but the answer's found
It's not too late for starting over the way
Tomorrow's going to be a brand new dayIt was such a lovely time
People constantly stared
You were a little scaredComfort seemed so very easy to find
When everyone's there
They're showing that they careHmmm, Hmmm, Hmmm...
Listen to a pretty lullaby child
Don't you cry, don't you weep
Even though you don't understand
Just close your eyes and sleepRest easy in the quiet of night child
Let the rain sing you a song
By morning you'll feel like the spring time
Feeling you have gone
2) The Only Road (Arthur K. Scott and Jeffrey G. Scott) - [disc 5, track 18]
Copyright © 1975, 2002 Arthur K. Scott, Jeffrey G. Scott
Jeff Scott - vocals, guitars, banjo, drum synth and piano synth
Art Scott - string synths
| Guitars: Martin M36 (left channel); Haida Gwaii Custom Flamed Maple Orchestra Model (right channel, or is it the other way around? Maybe you can tell?) |
| Strings: Martin SP lights for both guitars |
| Tuning: Open D (DGDGBD) |
| Sonic capture devices: Shure PE85L |
| Sonic recording devices: Cool Edit Pro 2.0 (multitrack recording software for PC) |
Lyrics for "The Only Road":
Things and times have changed
And so has this one, my love
He must do what he thinks is rightIn mind I had tried to sell
The cake right down right off the shelf
But you want me to believe what you deny[Chorus:]
He knows he will have to roam
And put aside all he has known
He knows he must try to find
A lasting kind of peace of mind
He knows he must try to find the only road
Back to homeMany things go round
Many are gazeless as they sound
And he feels he has got to see them allNo friends tell him he is right
Nothing helps to ease the fight
He knows someday he'll get down off the wall[Repeat chorus]
Back to home
Back to home...
E-mail: bantar76 [at] hotmail [dot] com
URL: http://www.mp3.com/The_Scott_Brothers
| Guitar: Lowden S-32 (rosewood/Sitka) |
| Strings: Elixir Nanoweb .012"-.053" (light) |
| Tuning: Standard, dropped 1/2 step |
| Mics: Sony ECM-DS7OP |
| Recording devices: Sony MiniDisc, with post-production reverb added via Alesis Quadraverb to Yamaha MD-8 (MiniDisc) |
1) Dream Garden (Dar Shelton) - [disc 3, track 14]
2) Circle of Knowing (Dar Shelton) - [disc 6, track 20]
Started playing again at 40 in '97, after 20 years off.
E-mail: Sheltech [at] webtv [dot] net
URL: http://www.sheltech.net (no music content 'til sometime in '04)
In the Bleak Midwinter (Gustav Holst) - [disc 3, track 25]
| Guitar: Taylor 810 LTD |
| Sonic capture: Shure SM58 microphone |
| Recording details: Power Tracks Pro Audio software. The base track's played with 5 strings capoed at the 2nd fret. |
I got interested in the old Christmas tune after hearing some discussion about it on RMMGA a few years ago.
Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan) - [disc 2, track 15]
| Guitar: I'm playing my Olson SJ and a 12-String Gallagher that I (sadly in retrospect) sold in 2001. |
| Backing vocals and percussion: David Milam |
| Harmonica: Jack Milam (David's dad) |
A favorite song of mine.
From the White Meadow (Phil Stevenson) - [disc 3, track 17]
| Guitar: Martin D-16H |
| Tuning: CGCGCD |
Phil came up with a pretty chord riff in CGCGCD and the original idea was to make a lead arrangement to play over it. I felt the lead just cluttered it up, so here's the unadorned version played on his Martin D-16H. --Pete Gay
Phil Stevenson also appears with Pete Gay on the track "Something's Broken" [disc 6, track 2].
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Liner notes compiled & edited by J. Y. Whang