Posted by ElGringorio on Monday, January 11, 2010
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Friday, January 15, 2010
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| Time: |
5:00pm - 7:30pm
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| Location: |
Firefly Coffee House, 3523 North Anthony Boulevard, Fort Wayne, Ind.
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Gilbert has a real archaic style to his fiddle playing. He often stomps his feet and hops around in his seat when he plays. A born and bred Tennessean, he has made friends in old-time from all over the country but refers to midwestern and New England fiddle tunes, some of which he begrudgingly likes and even plays, as "Yankee pussy music." Those who know him never take offense but just laugh. We talk on the phone several times a week. Right now, he is infatuated with a tune called "Old Joe Bone,' from the Carter Brothers in Mississippi, circa late 1920s. He'll be all excited about a new tune next week.
At Clifftop, Gilbert convinced me to park my pop-up camper down in Indian country or the bottoms. It was a wild and wooley place and I considered myself lucky to have escaped without getting a tattoo or piercing. I may have witnessed the sacrificing of a goat, but I'm not sure. Anyway, it was Gil's fault that I went to sleep each night with a butcher knife on my chest, afraid that drunken cajuns or Canadians or related tribesmen would pull me out into the mud.
Once a year, Labor Day weekend, Gil and his wife Dianne hold an old-time music party called "Sewell Fest." I started going to it when I lived in Alabama and I've continued the trek from northern Indiana to Gil's beautiful spread in the Sequatchee Valley near Pikeville, Tenn., about an hour north of Chattanooga. They got a pack of dogs, the leader of which is named "Booger." The pack only preys upon other dogs and no guests have ever been mauled. While the surroundings are beautiful, it's best not to leave the confines of the party and take a hike up the mountain. Doing so would present the possibility of stumbling onto some stranger's still ... or meth lab. And that would not be good.
The picture below was taken about four years ago when Gil and I were playing tunes at Bear on the Square, a music festival in Dalonega, Ga. We got out of there with nary a scratch.
7 comments on “The Dogtrotters, out on work release and ready to perform”
strumn1 Says:
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 @5:29:55 AM
Sounds like great fun! Wish it was a tad closer. Would be going if the wife didn't have to work at 5am next morning. I see they're putting the tethers on the wrist now.
RWJonesy Says:
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 @10:33:27 PM
*** I need to see and hear some live music but your just too far away to hop in the vehicle to drive over and observe. Why don't you guys go on tour and come up to foothills of the Adirondacks here in NY to perform !!! :)
ElGringorio Says:
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 @5:55:42 AM
Jonesy, if only there were money in old-time music.
strokestyle Says:
Thursday, January 21, 2010 @9:09:39 AM
Well I have listened to several of the tunes you posted recently with the Last gig with Gil. So I decided to download all your tunes make a cd and start selling...we'll see if there is money...I'll let you know how many tens of dollars I make!
ElGringorio Says:
Thursday, January 21, 2010 @9:48:00 AM
Well, you don't seem to understand -- I have to pay people to listen to me.
Dock Jekel Says:
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 @7:11:20 PM
I'd drive an hour and a half to see you guys! Get a gig in Sacramento, even S.F.!
Dock Jekel Says:
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 @7:13:55 PM
Won't drive any farther though...sorry.
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