For folkies, retro-folkies, pseudo-folkies, proto-folkies, neo-folkies - whatever.
80 Members, Created 8/26/2011 - 
Administrators: Paul R (owner)
From Paul R on 8/17/2014 9:25:16 PM
... John Sebastian comes from the folk tradition. I saw him on 28 June (yeah, this post is quite late) and he put on a great show (I got to photograph and talk with him at the sound check, and talk with after the show). Among all the things he talked about (he gave lots of background to the music, which made for a fascinating show), was meeting the old bluesmen, such as Lightning Hopkins and Mississippi John Hurt.
His tale of John was amusing. "All these high school girls went to see him. They thought he was this nice old man. His songs are about oral sex!" he went on to say that he had to see Mississippi John, so he went backstage. "Backstage is the size of two refrigerators, and the freezer's in there." He pulled back the curtain, and Mississippi John was right there, in his face. Mississippi John said, "I been watching you!' He added, "You been looking at my hands all night."
The result was that Mississippi John was the only one who actually taught John Sebastian how to play. The other guys played on the street, and they weren't about to give away their knowledge to potential competitors.
Sebastian's great songwriting comes from his ability to absorb a variety of influences and bring them out in original compositions.
After the show I remarked that "Nashville Cats" sounds great on clawhammer banjo (I tune down to double Bb). His eyes lit up and he agreed that it would be a great sound. I hope he finds a banjo player in Woodstock to play "Nashville Cats" with.
(There are a few photos on my home/photo page.)
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