Zischkale - Posted - 09/07/2017:  22:06:55

Bob Wills burns through plenty of breakdowns in his repertoire, but old-time really doesn't define his thing. His western swing gassed up on his father's music and hit the road for new destinations, much in the way bluegrass players did, spiking the punch with new influences, introducing new instrumentation, rhythm, style. But the old is often present; my favorite juxtaposition is a version of Great Big Taters in the Sandyland, which in spite of the hee-haw title is bursting with swanky big band orchestration, Bob's fiddle gushing electricity. Even when he sat down for a set of old fiddle tunes to pay tribute to the dances and fireside jams of yore, recording a "souvenir" for the Longhorn label, he was often apologetic and even dismissive, jokingly chastising his musicians for adding fancy endings to the tunes, and shrugging after one tune, "that’s all ‘er is to it, Marvin, I could just go on and on, and that would be it…”

Regardless, Bob played OT fiddle tunes like a champ, and Gone Indian is a prime example. It’s a fine traditional-sounding piece that as far as I can tell is sourced originally to him. It may be related in some fashion to Uncle John Wills' version of "Lost Indian," a howling AEAE tune that I don't hear reflected much in this one. Though Bob built a pop song from Gone Indian, it is at its heart is an idiosyncratic little thing, crooked below the surface.

The first eight bars are square - a fine (A) part in the key of D, with the first surprise a coarse (B) part that makes an unexpected key change to G. Then come an additional six bars that might be considered a C part, but really feel like a variation on A. At that point the tune repeats, ending on those six bars. The closeness of C and A parts make it difficult to discern the beginning and ending of the tune, giving it a great circular feel, and in case you thought it was a one-off mistake, there are at least three versions where Bob plays the tune specifically this way, and two great contemporary renditions retain the strangeness as well. I first heard the Ill-Mo Boys do it (not paying much attention until after hearing Bob's), where the little dip in the coarse part has a striking dissonance to it. Another version  is by John Hoffman & Mac Benford, new artists to me. Buy their album here.

The fun thing about a Bob Wills tune is there's no clawhammer player to compare to, so it's untrod ground. Benford seems to use a typical D tuning (probably aDADE) but eschews the 5th (A) string (or plays very lightly) during the coarse part of the tune. I wouldn’t mind laying into it to create some interesting tension. I didn’t end up with a recording I was happy with, but I initially set out on my Noah Cline mountain banjo in Standard-C tuning (aDAC#E). I wanted to be able to slide down the 2nd string to capture that little E-to-D descending slur in the coarse part (Ill-Mo Boys really highlight this). It happens off-beat so is a little tricky to capture with clawhammer style. The other big challenge is the low G note -  I was getting there on the mountain banjo, catching the note with my pinky on the 4th string around where the 5th fret would be, but the move from that position to the root chord was a challenge. It’d be interesting to try to play this tune out of D in open A tuning (aEAC#E), making the low G an easier reach. Might also be worth trying in good old open G, giving you the G note needed on the 3rd string - you could tune the 5th string up to get to aDGBD (a common bluegrass tuning), facilitating the key of D. Another crazy idea might be to tune the 4th string up from D to G, so you’ve got the note needed right there on an open string (might but some strain on the neck, though Sidna Myers would use a gFGCD tuning, so maybe it’s worth a shot).

Versions of the tune:

Bob Wills, possibly from the aforementioned Longhorn label recording

Ill-Mo Boys, from Laugh and Grow Fat

John Hoffman & Mac Benford - It’s About Time

Would love to hear y'all's renditions and tuning approaches to this one. Especially Janet and Don Borchelt, a couple of our champion arrangers here. I don't think it needs a strange tuning, nor do I think you must feel obligated to hit the low G on the coarse part. But that's part of the fun of banjo - finding workarounds in arrangement and tuning to find what you’re trying to express.

Edited by - Zischkale on 09/07/2017 22:13:58

Zischkale - Posted - 09/07/2017:  22:07:39

Here's a sketch of the tune's structure I used to learn it on fiddle:

A (fine)

1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 |

1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 |

B (coarse)

1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 |

1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 |

C (variation on A)

1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 |

1 2 | 1 2 |

A (fine)

1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 |

1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 |

B (coarse)

1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 |

1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 | 1 2 | (back to C)

end on C

JanetB - Posted - 09/08/2017:  12:34:04

Hi Aaron.  Glad you came up with a Bob Wills tune since your first choice TOTW had been "nabbed."  We don't get many of his tunes on this forum.  And hopefully others will create arrangements to play this on banjo.  I know my arrangements are very fiddle-oriented and suited for solo clawhammer more than fiddle/banjo duets like John Hoffman and Mac Benford.

Here's an arrangement in sawmill tuning, not that it's a modal tune, but it made the noting much easier on the 4th string. I could use the third fret instead of the fifth.  The B part doesn't use much 5th string, as you say, but then again I'm following the fiddler and he's pretty notey, not leaving much opportunity yet for clawhammer techniques while learning the tune.  In the A part I use the 5th string a-plenty to keep the rhythm going during half note holds on the fiddle.  

I like the fact that Mac Benford plays it -- he's one of my favorite banjo players.  John Hoffman sounds great!  I bet that's a good CD they made together.

Gone Indian (TOTW)

Gone Indian

Zischkale - Posted - 09/09/2017:  08:29:30

I knew you'd nail it, Janet! Great playing and arrangement. Sawmill's an inspired choice, since aEADE is a great way to play in G (Zepp's tuning site calls gEADE a Cumberland Gap tuning, specifically used for a G version). But I don't think I've ever heard it being used to play out of D - makes perfect sense though, the root and 5th are right there on open strings; it's basically aDADE with a high bass.

jack_beuthin - Posted - 09/09/2017:  15:53:24

I've had the Il-Mo Boys album for some time and have always enjoyed this tune, but never learned it, until now. So thanks for that kickstart Aaron!  I never researched the background on Done Indian, so had no idea that it came from Bob Wills.  That Bob Wills swing makes it even better.  My rendition is in Double D and it's based on listening to all three recordings that Aaron posted.  I listened to Janet's rendering too (wonderful as always) but only after I felt I have something going.

Thanks Aaron for contributing this tune.

Gone Indian (OT TOTW 8 Sept 2017)

 

BrendanD - Posted - 09/11/2017:  02:26:52

Great tune for TOTW, Aaron, and Janet and Jack, thanks for posting your fine versions of it as well!

Coincidentally, Spencer & Rains and The Skeleton Keys included this fun tune on our new CD (which includes a beautiful 39-page art book featuring 17 paintings by Howard with intricate inked borders by Tricia!). Howard has his own take on the tune, though I like all versions of the tune I've heard. Here's a bit of Gone Indian in our Kickstarter fundraising video (filmed by David Bragger last winter). The tune runs through the whole video, but is uninterrupted for the first 45 or so seconds. Scroll down the page a bit to find the video:

Gone Indian

I hope you like our version! (By the way, the Kickstarter is over and the project was released this summer.)

Edited by - BrendanD on 09/11/2017 02:29:50

Zischkale - Posted - 09/12/2017:  07:03:23

Brendan - didn't realize this was on the Skeleton Keys CD/DVD! I've been wanting to hear it. I probably heard this when I watched the trailer a few months back, but totally did not make the connection to Gone Indian. What tuning did you use?