Texican65 - Posted - 10/15/2018:  09:52:13

Hi boys and girls,

I found this gem a few months ago while looking through random junk on Fleabay. It's an LP from 1977 entitled, "Mountain State Music, Andrew F. Boarman, Traditional Banjo & Autoharp from West Virginia". I couldn't fit all the text from the back in a photo, but it basically says, Mr. Boarman had always been reluctant to record until finally by the urging of family and friends. His neighbor Jim Steptoe, also a banjo player who backs Andy up while he's playing autoharp on this record, drove him over the mountains to Dick Kimmel's (mandolin player) house in Morgantown. There recording enthusiast Bill Canady from West Virginia University successfully recorded Andy in the living room.

I've included a few of the banjo tunes, and an autoharp tune. These songs are beautiful, Andy was an amazing player and builder. You can hear the early influences in his playing of the ragtime and classic era artists from the generation before him...such a treasure....enjoy!

And......check out that Vega Earl Scruggs model he's playing on the front cover......and that tailpiece!!! Whoa!! Is that a '61 or '62 Scruggs model?

Dow

 

Texican65 - Posted - 10/15/2018:  09:58:45

Here are the videos. Sorry for the crummy background....I'm not a very good camera operator/sound capture-er.....but....give it a whirl.





1. Dancin' Waves Schottische, banjo



2. Darktown Dandies, banjo



3. When They Ring Those Golden Bells, banjo



4. Clinch Mountain Backstep, autoharp

Edited by - Texican65 on 10/15/2018 10:05:30

VIDEO: Andrew F. Boarman, "Dancin' Waves Schottische", banjo
(click to view)

VIDEO: Andrew F. Boarman "Darktown Dandies", banjo
(click to view)

VIDEO: Andrew F. Boarman, "When They Ring Those Golden Bells", banjo
(click to view)

VIDEO: Andrew F. Boarman, "Clinch Mountain Backstep", auto-harp
(click to view)

Mooooo - Posted - 10/15/2018:  10:20:23

These are some cool tunes Dow. I especially like Dancin' Waves...Are you sure that's not you picking behind the camera? btw...I thought it was funny seeing your finger at the bottom right of the screen of the first video at the end.

Texican65 - Posted - 10/15/2018:  10:46:39

Ha! Yes...the ol' finger from the nose to the camera......

They are very special tunes for sure Mike, preserved only on a few scare old LP's....that who knows who many people still have or even have a way to play them on a piece of technology that is becoming scarce also....with the digital age. I'm just trying to share a little of the treasure how ever I can.

Dow

Joel Hooks - Posted - 10/15/2018:  11:00:07

Hi Dow!

Thanks for posting this, I had not heard his "Darktown Dandies" before. I had been told that it was pretty rough but I did not imagine what a total trainwreck it turned out to be (sorry for my choice of words).

He does not hit the repeats, skips beats, measures, notes, phrases, and harmonies-- and left out pretty much everything great that Joe Morley put in it when he composed it.

I am not sure what that intro was, and it just kind of falls apart at the end.

I am not one of those "must be played as written" people and I deviate from paper often, but I try to keep the essence of the piece intact.

"Dancing Waves" is much better, but it is simpler in structure and does not use the more elaborate chord construction that Morley did in "Darktown Dandies." I guess it was easier for him to learn by ear. He played that nicely.

It was good to finally get to hear his recording-- now if I could only un-hear it...

Joel Hooks - Posted - 10/15/2018:  11:02:22

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mooooo

These are some cool tunes Dow. I especially like Dancin' Waves...Are you sure that's not you picking behind the camera? btw...I thought it was funny seeing your finger at the bottom right of the screen of the first video at the end.

---

Mike, you can find "Dancing Waves" in this book on page 40 (as well as all the instruction you need to play it)...

archive.org/details/Wm.C.Stahl.../page/n41

Tractor1 - Posted - 10/15/2018:  11:07:24

whatever happened to live and let live and make love not war? We come out of the blue carrying a bag of hate and wonder why we can't get rid of war.

andy has been the source of a couple threads here and I like his music just as much as the holier than thous music.

Andy is well known and appreciated by some .I have that album it should have a book in it.



His unique learning trail was discussed here a while back.banjohangout.org/pages/search....ore:forum

Edited by - Tractor1 on 10/15/2018 11:14:31

Mooooo - Posted - 10/15/2018:  11:10:25

Joel Hooks, thank you so much for this. I usually play by ear, but this is a great opportunity to practice reading sheet music. Also, it is nice to see the sheet music for drop C tuning instead of the A tuning that they use in some Classic Style tutors. Thanks again, it is much appreciated.

Joel Hooks - Posted - 10/15/2018:  11:24:02

quote:

---

Originally posted by Tractor1

whatever happened to live and let live and make love not war? We come out of the blue carrying a bag of hate and wonder why we can't get rid of war.

andy has been the source of a couple threads here and I like his music just as much as the holier than thous music.

Andy is well known and appreciated by some .I have that album it should have a book in it.



His unique learning trail was discussed here a while back.banjohangout.org/pages/search....ore:forum

---

The other pieces are great-- I enjoyed those. 

It is not a "holier than thou" situation.  I have spent a lot of time learning "Darktown Dandies" and I am quite fond of the piece.  It is one of the classic banjo "standards" that many people know and we play it when we get together (like this last weekend at the ABF rally).  It is shocking to be so personal with a piece of music only to hear it played this way.

Compare his playing to these recordings...

youtube.com/watch?v=d_ah9xEtvlE

youtube.com/watch?v=gMu2dB2YByM

youtube.com/watch?v=KBDC83HXZbU

It is not an easy piece so I respect that he attempted it.

Joel Hooks - Posted - 10/15/2018:  11:53:20

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mooooo

Joel Hooks, thank you so much for this. I usually play by ear, but this is a great opportunity to practice reading sheet music. Also, it is nice to see the sheet music for drop C tuning instead of the A tuning that they use in some Classic Style tutors. Thanks again, it is much appreciated.

---

You are welcome!  Yeah, the whole A notation/ C notation was a death blow for the 5 string banjo.

Luckily there are many good instruction books in C notation and thousands of pieces, the trouble is sorting them out.  As a general rule, books and music published in the US before 1908 or so will all be in A notation (with the exception of the Briggs' book).  Most US music and books after 1908 will be in C notation (but not all).

Pretty much all post 1880 British music and books were published in C.

revellfa - Posted - 10/15/2018:  12:35:52

Andy was a fantastic classic old time banjo player. He lived not far from me.

Tractor1 - Posted - 10/15/2018:  13:04:29

holier than thou shows up in how it is being said not what is being said.I really am not in the mood to listen to bare finger banjo today I would have to "unhear "it.I like it sometimes but not really into listening for the reason presented here. classic style has . great assets but not the one and only best .Ain't no king of the hill imo.

I don't say others should agree .I kinda felt sorry for the guy so happy with his new find and it got rotten tomated .

I am done here and won't bother to argue further

Edited by - Tractor1 on 10/15/2018 13:10:43

Texican65 - Posted - 10/15/2018:  13:09:02

Glad quote:

---

Originally posted by Joel Hooks

Hi Dow!



Thanks for posting this, I had not heard his "Darktown Dandies" before. I had been told that it was pretty rough but I did not imagine what a total trainwreck it turned out to be (sorry for my choice of words).



He does not hit the repeats, skips beats, measures, notes, phrases, and harmonies-- and left out pretty much everything great that Joe Morley put in it when he composed it.



I am not sure what that intro was, and it just kind of falls apart at the end.



I am not one of those "must be played as written" people and I deviate from paper often, but I try to keep the essence of the piece intact.



"Dancing Waves" is much better, but it is simpler in structure and does not use the more elaborate chord construction that Morley did in "Darktown Dandies." I guess it was easier for him to learn by ear. He played that nicely.



It was good to finally get to hear his recording-- now if I could only un-hear it...

---

Glad you gave it a listen Joel. Yes, although it was a bit rough...I still appreciate and cherish his attempt at “Darktown Dandies”. It was more than likely a tune he learned in his youth during the 1920’s or teens long before this 1970’s recording. Perhaps he played it much better then, before his mind and hands had felt the full effects of hard work during his lifetime. And he was “pushed” by family and friends to try and record this even though he didn’t want to. Being put on the spot, I think he did alright. 

I know you appreciate it too Was Andy an ABF member.. I can’t remember?. 

Tractor1 - Posted - 10/15/2018:  13:18:27

Andy's Uncle (Stump)was the classic style link that he picked up from.His uncle played with the well known fiddler Arthur Smith that wrote Peacock Rag and others.an early opry star I think.Bill monroe mentioned Arthur as the man to beat.
All of this is in the booklet you album must be missing

Joel Hooks - Posted - 10/15/2018:  13:51:28

Yes, he was an active member. He made at least three rallies. Eli Kaufman tried to teach him how to play Darktown during a rally. While the piece as written lays easy on the banjo (it is all built around chord patterns like much of Morley's work) it is very difficult to pick up the structures by ear if one is not learned in advanced harmony. Reading it is one thing, and not hard, but a lot gets lost when trying to learn by ear or being shown how. I certainly would not be able to play it as written by ear.

I totally respect that he wanted to record it. It is a great piece and clearly he liked it. His playing of it has pep and personalty, he just did not have all of the piece.

I would love to hear more people play and interpret the piles of free public domain music for banjo. And I don't care what is or is not on their fingers or what their strings are made of.

csacwp - Posted - 10/15/2018:  16:52:56

I greatly enjoyed these, but I'll second Joel and add that Darktown Dandies is a pretty easy piece as far as classic banjo goes. One of the first I learned.

Texican65 - Posted - 10/15/2018:  21:50:26

Dang quote:

---

Originally posted by Tractor1

Andy's Uncle (Stump)was the classic style link that he picked up from.His uncle played with the well known fiddler Arthur Smith that wrote Peacock Rag and others.an early opry star I think.Bill monroe mentioned Arthur as the man to beat.

All of this is in the booklet you album must be missing

---

No booklet with my LP dang it! Oh well...the music is enough for me to be happy! 

Dow

Texican65 - Posted - 10/15/2018:  21:52:50

quote:

---

Originally posted by Joel Hooks

Yes, he was an active member. He made at least three rallies. Eli Kaufman tried to teach him how to play Darktown during a rally. While the piece as written lays easy on the banjo (it is all built around chord patterns like much of Morley's work) it is very difficult to pick up the structures by ear if one is not learned in advanced harmony. Reading it is one thing, and not hard, but a lot gets lost when trying to learn by ear or being shown how. I certainly would not be able to play it as written by ear.



I totally respect that he wanted to record it. It is a great piece and clearly he liked it. His playing of it has pep and personalty, he just did not have all of the piece.



I would love to hear more people play and interpret the piles of free public domain music for banjo. And I don't care what is or is not on their fingers or what their strings are made of.

---

Joel, on the back of the album cover, there is a small paragraph written about Andy. It is signed by a man named Lloyd E. Longacre, member of American Banjo Fraternity. Do you have any info on Mr. Longacre? 

Dow

R Buck - Posted - 10/16/2018:  07:11:57

Used to see Andy at a festival near his home and we played some tunes together. Fine fellow and fun to jam with.

Joel Hooks - Posted - 10/16/2018:  08:36:27

quote:

---

Originally posted by Texican65

quote:

---

Originally posted by Joel Hooks

Yes, he was an active member. He made at least three rallies. Eli Kaufman tried to teach him how to play Darktown during a rally. While the piece as written lays easy on the banjo (it is all built around chord patterns like much of Morley's work) it is very difficult to pick up the structures by ear if one is not learned in advanced harmony. Reading it is one thing, and not hard, but a lot gets lost when trying to learn by ear or being shown how. I certainly would not be able to play it as written by ear.



I totally respect that he wanted to record it. It is a great piece and clearly he liked it. His playing of it has pep and personalty, he just did not have all of the piece.



I would love to hear more people play and interpret the piles of free public domain music for banjo. And I don't care what is or is not on their fingers or what their strings are made of.

---

Joel, on the back of the album cover, there is a small paragraph written about Andy. It is signed by a man named Lloyd E. Longacre, member of American Banjo Fraternity. Do you have any info on Mr. Longacre? 

Dow

---

Just the normal sort of "good old days" stories that people tell at events.

Joel Hooks - Posted - 10/16/2018:  08:37:40

quote:

---

Originally posted by R Buck

Used to see Andy at a festival near his home and we played some tunes together. Fine fellow and fun to jam with.

---

This is consistent with everything I have heard about him from ABF rallies.  Great guy and good fun.

Tractor1 - Posted - 10/16/2018:  09:33:29

banjohangout.org/archive/325165

CC stump is the missing link Classic style guy mentioned here.It would be fascinating to uncover his story Scroll to the J peg on the left under neath tha album scan. This is from your missing book Tex

Edited by - Tractor1 on 10/16/2018 09:37:11

csacwp - Posted - 10/16/2018:  12:03:45

quote:

---

Originally posted by Joel Hooks

quote:

---

Originally posted by Texican65

quote:

---

Originally posted by Joel Hooks

Yes, he was an active member. He made at least three rallies. Eli Kaufman tried to teach him how to play Darktown during a rally. While the piece as written lays easy on the banjo (it is all built around chord patterns like much of Morley's work) it is very difficult to pick up the structures by ear if one is not learned in advanced harmony. Reading it is one thing, and not hard, but a lot gets lost when trying to learn by ear or being shown how. I certainly would not be able to play it as written by ear.



I totally respect that he wanted to record it. It is a great piece and clearly he liked it. His playing of it has pep and personalty, he just did not have all of the piece.



I would love to hear more people play and interpret the piles of free public domain music for banjo. And I don't care what is or is not on their fingers or what their strings are made of.

---

Joel, on the back of the album cover, there is a small paragraph written about Andy. It is signed by a man named Lloyd E. Longacre, member of American Banjo Fraternity. Do you have any info on Mr. Longacre? 

Dow

---

Just the normal sort of "good old days" stories that people tell at events.

---

Longacre was a great player!  He made some recordings that are still passed around classic banjo circles.

Edited by - csacwp on 10/16/2018 12:06:21

mike gregory - Posted - 10/16/2018:  19:36:05

DANG!



I clicked on "Darktown Dandies" and got THIS error message:

------------------------------------------------

500 Internal Server Error



Sorry, something went wrong.



A team of highly trained monkeys has been dispatched to deal with this situation.

If you see them, send them this information as text (screenshots frighten them):



---------------------------------------------------------



I'll try another video or two, and then, give up.

-----------------------------------

HEY! They all work, now.

I thought that JUST MAYBE, some Politically Correct program had blocked the video because of the word "Darktown" in the title.

Edited by - mike gregory on 10/16/2018 19:44:22