Posted by banjoham on Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Banjo Newsletter, Feb. 2007 - Banjo player Rolf Sieker moved from Germany to Texas in the late 1990s, went on to win the Texas State banjo championship in 2001, and was featured in BNL in Sept. 2002. Now Rolf and Beate Sieker (The Siekers) have released "Texas," on A-Team Records, with Rolf playing the Baldwin Ode banjo he got from Bobby Thompson (the album is also dedicated to Thompson). The CD contains original songs and instrumentals along with songs by Texas songwriters; on the whole it has a very western feel. Helping out on the CD are Tony Rice on guitar and Stuart Duncan on fiddle. Rolf is obviously a huge fan of Bobby Thompson; he recorded in the same sound booth with the same microphone Bobby used when he recorded with Area Code 615. And Rolf is a very accomplished melodic stylist himself, he kicks off the CD with a melodic figure and it's thrilling to hear his lovely melodic cascades behind Beate's vocals on Bluebonnet Girl. Rolf's banjo instrumentals have a distinct flavor, and are my favorite moments on the record; Promised Land utilizes a Middle-Eastern scale, and sounds like a real left-hand workout; The Old Frontier has a jaunty feel that wouldn't be out of place in a spaghetti western; Galveston Rain features a Blackberry Blossom-like fiddle melody, and Saradora's is a great example of Tex-Mex banjo. For more info go to www.siekerband .com
1 comment on “Banjo Newsletter Review”
Banjoman Says:
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 @7:55:07 PM
Hey! I got that CD!
There's some good picking there.
Hugh
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