Cirkus Berserkus

Just received this from Omnivore Recordings. Edited to eliminate extraneous material. Edit further if desired.

20130409- What Time Is It? - Edited
Omnivore Recordings

Now that winter is over, it's time to check in and let you know what's happening here at Omnivore Headquarters. Lots of information to put a spring in your step. And ear. But, don't actually put a spring in your ear. You should never put anything in your ear, except your elbow.

We couldn't be happier about the love everyone has given to our first Townes Van Zandt release, Sunshine Boy: The Unheard Studio Sessions 1971-1972. Because that material was taken from the time he was working on arguably his two seminal releases, we've decided to add to the story. Coming May 21, we're proud to reissue High, Low and In Between (1971) and The Late Great Townes Van Zandt (1972). In addition to being available on newly remastered CDs, they will be on vinyl for the first time in decades. Colored, 180 gram vinyl for the first pressing, to be exact! Both the digipak and LP will feature liner notes from Grammy® winning scribe Colin Escott. Did we mention that first pressing was on colored vinyl? Orange for High, Low and clear for Late Great. These are the prefect pieces for a Townes trifecta.

Everybody's Polish.

Dyngus Day is here!

It's nine o'clock in the morning.

Let's have another beer!!!

( verse from the local anthem of Dyngus Day)

The Grateful Dead - Beer Barrel Polka -

In old Poland, the day after Easter was a sort of secular continuation of the Easter festivities, with more feasting and drinking. At a time when the Lenten fast was a lot more strict than it is now, two consecutive days of feasting wasn't excessive. And what must have been a pre-Christian spring ritual was incorporated into the celebration. On Dyngus Day, young men would get up early and awaken young women by dousing them with water and spanking them on the legs with willow switches.

This somewhat bizarre practice has at its core the pagan spring rite of pouring water and switching oneself with willows as a means of cleansing, purification, and making things right with Dingen -- the god of nature. It also commemorates Poland's conversion to Christianity and the baptism of Prince Mieszko in 966 A.D.

Those Darn Accordians - Fire…

We've run it before, and we'll run it again...as long as it keeps popping up online.
Watch it while you can.

http://theworldsamess.blogspot.com/2013/03/cocksucker-blues.html

Following last week's Record Row - the Story of Chicago Soul and R&B from 1997, here's another Chicago special: The Chess Records Story which originally aired in 2011. Watch it below - four videos in one playlist. Hat tip to Groovesville USA.

Thanks again to - http://theworldsamess.blogspot.com/2013/03/movie-of-week-chess-records-story-2011.html

James "Yank" Rachell was the primary exponent of blues mandolin, although he also played guitar, violin, harp and sang expertly well. Born on a farm outside Brownsville, Tennessee, Yank Rachell picked up the mandolin at the age of eight, mainly teaching himself; an early encounter with "Hambone" Willie Newbern early on helped him as well. Rachell began to work dances with singer and guitarist Sleepy John Estes in the early '20s. In early 1929, he co-formed the Three J's Jug Band with Estes and pianist Jab Jones. The Three J's Jug Band were an instant hit and managed to work the dances during the lucrative jug-band craze in Memphis and traveled often to Paducah, Kentucky. The group recorded 14 sides credited jointly to Estes and Rachell for Victor for 1929 and 1930.



After the record business was flattened by the depression, the Three J's broke up. Estes and harmonica player Hammie Nixon went on to Chicago to seek their fortune in the nightclubs, but Yank Rachell decided to try his hand at farming and also worked for the L&N Railroad. Ironically, it was Rachell who was next to record -- during a stopover in New York Rachell teamed up with guitarist Dan Smith and laid down 25 titles for ARC in just three days, though only six of them were issued.



Shortly before the ARC date, Yank Rachell had discovered a kid harmonica player that he believed had real talent, John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. They worked together at the Blue Flame Club in Jackson, Tennessee starting in 1933. In 1934 Williamson went north to Chicago. With the success of Williamson's first Bluebird dates of 1937, Rachell decided to join Sonny Boy in Chicago for sessions in March and June of 1938. Yank Rachell also contributed four sides of his own to each session, and then 16 more in 1941…

Whether serving as a session musician, solo artist, or soundtrack composer, Ry Cooder's chameleon-like fretted instrument virtuosity, songwriting, and choices of material encompass an incredibly eclectic range of North American musical styles, including rock & roll, blues, reggae, Tex-Mex, Hawaiian, Dixieland jazz, country, folk, R&B, gospel, and vaudeville. The 16-year-old Cooder began his career in 1963 in a blues band with Jackie DeShannon and then formed the short-lived Rising Sons in 1965 with Taj Mahal and Spirit drummer Ed Cassidy. Cooder met producer Terry Melcher through the Rising Sons and was invited to perform at several sessions with Paul Revere & the Raiders. During his subsequent career as a session musician,…