JanetB - Posted - 08/18/2017:  20:08:44

Garry Harrison’s meticulous compilation of traditional music called Dear Old Illinois and his band – the Indian Creek Delta Boys – are all that I’d heard about him for several years. However, I recently discovered Mr. Harrison also composed on the fiddle.  As soon as Hangout member Don Huber showed me the Bluegill Buddies' video playing Red Prairie Dawn at a festival, the tune entranced me and I discovered Garry’s own CD with the same title, recorded with the Mule Team band.  Right after learning it, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Adam Hurt recording it for his new CD, "Artifacts."  The tune’s widespread popularity has been on the rise and so I thank Don for this TOTW.

I haven’t been to Illinois or the Great Prairie at all.  But one can imagine the vast land, the rolling hills, the grassland, the farms, and the historic events that occurred there.  Some BHO members live in Illinois and probably knew or saw Garry Harrison.

Here are some facts about him:   Born in 1954, he began fiddling at age 16 and his father taught him traditional fiddle music after witnessing his keen interest.  The well-known band the Indian Creek Delta Boys, with whom Garry fiddled, were instrumental in spreading old-time music in the 70’s through 90’s. 

Garry spent several decades learning, collecting, playing, and composing traditional fiddle music in Illinois, especially the southern part of the state where it hadn’t yet been documented.  His more recent band, the Mule Team, won at Clifftop in the traditional band contest in 2008.  He also made instruments and collected fretless zithers, which he donated to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona.

Garry’s sudden death was a shock to those who knew him.  In 2012 he died in his sleep.  His legacy has already begun….

Here are some versions of Red Prairie Dawn to watch.  When Garry plays the original I hear it as a hoedown.  The other versions range from an upbeat bluegrass-style tune to one that’s enchanting and mystical.  I hope Don Huber posts his video, too.

youtube.com/watch?v=xF90s_DehPQ original recording of tune by Garry Harrison and The New Mules

youtube.com/watch?v=DwVvGI680Bk  Foghorn Stringband, high energy

youtube.com/watch?v=KrhnwCPAk3U  dobro and band, a “mystical” sound

youtube.com/watch?v=ZlYgaJJxPuE  fiddle and mandolin, a pretty duet

youtube.com/watch?v=VudmJhTqr4A  clawhammer banjo and mandolin, newgrass?

store.cdbaby.com/cd/adamhurt5 Adam Hurt, track 5 on Artifacts CD, elegant clawhammer

youtube.com/watch?v=Hk0gq1YcqMY  Garry Harrison playing an instrument called “The Peanut” (just so you see a unique side of his interests)

Here’s Ken Torke’s tab in open G tuning (you might consider passing him a five once in a while for a sarsaparilla – he provides so many of our TOTW tabs!):  taterjoes.com/banjo/RedPrairieDawn.pdf

I was inspired to make a little slide-show video with images of a red prairie sunrise accompanied by my cello banjo arrangement.  I tried four different tunings, but like the one in double C the best.  Though the original is in the key of A, on cello banjo it comes out in A since it’s tuned down to eAEAB.  The video ends with an arrangement in open A tuning played on my small-scale Doc’s Banjo:  youtube.com/watch?v=TJSba0c3jpc.

Thanks for reading and listening.  Hope you enjoy this week’s old-time Tune of the Week and consider writing one yourself, no matter how simply you present it to us.  It’s really all good.

Edited by - JanetB on 08/18/2017 20:15:18

Red Prairie Dawn (CB)

Red Prairie Dawn (CH) tab, double C tuning

Red Prairie Dawn (CH) tab, open G tuning

 

RG - Posted - 08/18/2017:  23:16:24

AWESOME TOTW Janet, so cool!

rudy - Posted - 08/19/2017:  15:52:12

Saw Gerry a few times with the New Mules, and I've played a few dances with his nephew Cliff. (The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...)

Gerry's playing was unique, and he wrote some great tunes.  I've performed Red Prairie Dawn in a couple of different bands over the years, but he wrote several equally admirable pieces.

Thanks so much for this as TOTW,a great choice. 

Incidentally, in illinois we have a diverse range of topography, ranging from box canyons in the north to cypress swamps in the southern portion of the state.  I'm smack dab in the middle, as are a bunch of us BHO members.

Edited by - rudy on 08/19/2017 15:54:23

rudy - Posted - 08/20/2017:  10:46:59

Had not played it in a while, but I gave it a whirl this morning.  One of the things I like about Red Prairie Dawn is it's so ameanable to "stylistic interpretation".

mtmncobb - Posted - 08/20/2017:  15:17:42

I've played this tune in jam sessions many times but never knew the name. It's a great tune! 

Beardog - Posted - 08/20/2017:  15:25:43

I just started listening to this one last night. It takes a while for me to get a tune in my head, but I like it!

rudy - Posted - 08/20/2017:  19:41:32

Don't want to side-track Red Prairie Dawn, but I just noticed a new video posted from this year's CROMA fest.  I recognize J-Walk, and they are doing "Old Bob", another fiddle tune penned by Garry.  (He also made fine fiddles, too!)

Edited by - rudy on 08/20/2017 19:42:41

JanetB - Posted - 08/20/2017:  19:55:03

The tune Red Prairie Dawn is so nice it can't help but invite us to give it a try.  Really nice, Rudy.  Your style is gentle and embellishes the melody so sweetly.  

I was fortunate to hear from Garry's brother, Steve Harrison, another Indian Creek Delta Boy.  His comments tie in with the wonderfully cheerful video Rudy posted of Ol' Bob.  Great and pleasing tune, which I should learn next!  He also mentioned Over the Flat Lands, so today I tabbed that out, though it will need some work.  Steve also made Illinois sound like a state as varied and beautiful as my native California.

Steve wrote:  THANK YOU for such an excellent tribute to my late brother Garry, Janet. The "Red Prairie Dawn" CD you reference is almost exclusively Garry originals and most of the tune titles reflect real people (Ol' Bob -- our Uncle Bob Stoner) and places (Dog Town (aka Diona, IL), The Road To Westfield (IL) and even Red Prairie Dawn which fits nicely with hometown Charleston, IL. Charleston sits right on the terminal moraine of the Wisconsin Glacier. Go north of town and it's pool table flat prairie; south of town and it's rolling hills and our family river camp right at the mouth of Indian Creek [Delta Boys]. We shared a good chuckle about his "Over the Flat Lands" tune and how it seemed to capture the swaying clop of a team of oxen pulling a wagon across the prairie... eh...some years back. Some tunes project nicely with fertile imaginations. Same with "Ol' Bob." The tune paints a very true picture of Uncle Bob, a tall, lanky good-natured fellow with an ever-present smile moving along at a casual, tall-lanky mosey, replete with a friendly wave and nod.😄​

Edited by - JanetB on 08/20/2017 20:09:58

Over the Flat Lands

 

JanetB - Posted - 08/20/2017:  20:13:17

By the way, here is the tribute Steve referred to -- I have it above as a link, but perhaps some people haven't had a chance to view it.  I imagined the Red Prairie Dawn in the Great Prairie I've never been to.  The cello banjo is playing in one tuning (like double C), the small scale Doc's Banjo is playing out of open G (or rather open A) tuning.  The original tune was recorded in the key of A.  These slide-show videos are fun to make and useful on many occasions.  Hope you enjoy!

mojo_monk - Posted - 08/20/2017:  21:12:30

Great tune! Gets played too slowly sometimes, IMHO. Garry was a generous man, a friend, and one of the best fiddlers I have ever heard (top 3). He played them full tempo and didn't let up until it was finished - and then you didn't know what to do when it was over, since it's hard to go from full tilt to dead stop in a heartbeat. Damn. I miss playing tunes with him. Anybody interested in some rip roaring live field recordings of the Crick Delters should feel free to send me a PM.

Happy to see this tune on the TOTW list.

-Sean

Jimbeaux - Posted - 08/21/2017:  04:10:52

This is one of my favorite A tunes. 

I think it's interesting how many people play it in G when the original recording was in A. Also, a fiddler friend of mine learned it at Clifftop in A, but he threw an F chord into the low part that wasn't in the original. Still, all these different ways of playing it alls sound pretty nice.

Here's the entire album Red Prairie Dawn on SoundCloud:

soundcloud.com/nickreeb/sets/g...irie-dawn

Jimbeaux - Posted - 08/21/2017:  04:26:22

quote:

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Originally posted by JanetB

 

---

You can stream that entire album for free (and hopefully purchase it) here:

fieldrecorder.bandcamp.com/alb...ray-alden

rudy - Posted - 08/21/2017:  06:08:00

Garry was indeed a very generous guy, and when he was affiliated with the "Dear Old Illinois" project he had the entire "Red Prairie Dawn" album on the site as a free download.  I highly encourage the entire album; it has many fine tunes on it, including the "Old Bob" tune previously linked above.

There must be something in the water in Chareston, Illinois as there are a BUNCH of very fine musicians (in several genres) there for it being a relatively small town.

I feel the opposite of Sean in that I think his tunes are even better when they are played at a slower pace.  I get more out of his nuances of melody, but that might be because I don't have a fiddler's brain.

For me the definitive "slow version" would be the video Janet linked in her original post.  Here's an embed if anyone missed it.  If anyone is unfamiliar Laura Carrivick (fiddle) is a huge talent and worthy of further pursuit if you like her style.

Garry was indeed at the top of the heap as a fiddle player.  His style of play is also what I find so attractive about Jim Childress, who has a similar following for his self-penned tunes, "Road To Malvergne" being a prime example.  That's for another day, though!  

Edited by - rudy on 08/21/2017 06:18:39

pernicketylad - Posted - 08/21/2017:  10:41:21

I really like this one.

youtube.com/watch?v=WGaybKLNTHs

JanetB - Posted - 08/21/2017:  21:50:20

Sean, that's a great description:  "Garry was a generous man, a friend, and one of the best fiddlers I have ever heard (top 3). He played them full tempo and didn't let up until it was finished - and then you didn't know what to do when it was over, since it's hard to go from full tilt to dead stop in a heartbeat." 

I usually like a tune played slower, but then again it's much easier for me.  I'm in good company with my favorite fiddler, James Bryan, who likes things a bit slower, too.  However, playing faster with energy is fun when you know the piece well.  

Shane, the version you posted above by Water Tower is very similar to the original recording -- they must have listened well -- similar tempo, notes and feel.  

Thanks, Jim, for the valuable links.

Don Borchelt - Posted - 08/23/2017:  11:03:59

A great choice for Tune of the Week, Janet.  I'm sure I still love your version just as much as I did last January when I left my comment, but Windows is blocking the BHO MP3 player, apparently I first have to upgrade something or other.  Rudy's banjo rings like almost any I've ever heard, another really fine performance.

I haven't played this tune in a number of years, but I dusted it off for the  Tune of the Week. Harrison composed some very fine tunes that were both highly original and yet very respectful of the old time tradition.  I've attached my video below; I am three finger picking my 1964 Ode Model 42 in G Variant tuning (gDGAD), capoed on the 2nd fret.

VIDEO: Red Prairie Dawn
(click to view)

 

rudy - Posted - 08/24/2017:  06:15:28

Beautiful as usual, Don!