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Don Borchelt |
Posted by Don Borchelt
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- Play count: 3443
Size: 3,620kb, uploaded 1/29/2009 8:51:51 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
Ed Britt and I try our hand at this old Texas waltz. I am playing my semi-fretless Tubaphone, in open D tuning, Ed is playing his Ome, in double C, capoed on the second fret.
14 commentsPosted by Don Borchelt
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- Play count: 2096
Size: 2,678kb, uploaded 1/24/2009 5:23:45 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
I ran across this recording on my hard drive, from a jam Ed Britt and I had at Clifftop 2008 with fiddler/banjo picker Jim Costa, who is best known for his excellent Uncle Dave repertoire. You can really hear Ed's clawhammer picking on this one. This was outdoors under a tree, so you will have to forgive the occasional car driving by, and the conversations in the background. Ed had to surrender his natural VII chord on this one in favor of the old-timey V chord. When in Rome...
6 commentsPosted by Don Borchelt
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- Play count: 321
Size: 2,510kb, uploaded 10/13/2012 5:25:31 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
This is the last recording from the jam that Don Couchie and I had with West Virginia old time fiddler Ralph Roberts, the last night of Clifftop, at Ralph's camp up on Geezer Hill. There are a lot of reasons people come to the Clifftop festival, that's for sure, but I can tell you that Ralph comes to play music. Ralph plays the tunes he learned from his grandfather, the music of the working people of the West Virginia hills. It is our job to keep it going. I am playing three finger style banjo on this old warhorse, following as best I can, and Don is playing rhythm guitar.
4 commentsPosted by Don Borchelt
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- Play count: 427
Size: 1,820kb, uploaded 4/10/2010 6:08:51 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
Don Couchie and I recorded this one evening at Clifftop last year, sitting around at our campsite. I didn't post it before this, because Don's elegant clawhammer picking, just perfect in person, didn't come through with enough volume on my little Tascam DR-1 for some reason. I have played with the levels a little bit to bring it out front more, and have uploaded it now for my contribution to the Tune of the Week for 4/9/10. I am playing in open D tuning on my Tubaphone; and I believe Don was in double C tuning capoed on 2, playing the metal rimmed banjo he borrowed from Reed Martin.
3 commentsPosted by Don Borchelt
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- Play count: 160
Size: 2,596kb, uploaded 1/25/2016 6:19:10 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
This is another tune I recorded on my hand held Tascam DR-1 on last night of the Clifftop festival in August, 2012. BHO member Don Couchie and I sat down to pick some tunes with Ralph Roberts, an old time West Virginia fiddler from Frametown, West Virginia. Ralph's grandfather, John Roberts, was a cousin of the great Edden Hammons. I am playing three finger style banjo, keeping up as best I can, and Don is playing rhythm guitar.
1 commentPosted by Don Borchelt
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- Play count: 779
Size: 1,399kb, uploaded 10/3/2012 6:03:22 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
Another good tune from our jam with West Virginia fiddler Ralph Roberts, at his camp on Geezer Hill. Ralph plays this the real old time way, with the fifth below the tonic instead of the natural seventh in the B part, and so do I. I guess that's why we got along so well. I am playing three finger style banjo, and Don Couchie is playing rhythm guitar.
2 commentsPosted by Don Borchelt
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- Play count: 1243
Size: 3,321kb, uploaded 5/16/2010 6:09:37 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
The full title is Old Yeller Dog Came Trottiin' Through the Meeting House. Best I can tell, this tune comes from Charlie Acuff. The A part's similarity to Old Gray Mare is not coincidental. Anyway, this was recorded on my DR1 at the Monday night old time jam session at Sandy's Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The fiddle player is Mike Roguska. Mike first turned me onto this tune at the jam session a week or two before. The guitar player's name is George; I don't remember his last name, but I enjoyed picking with him. This is usually fiddled in G, but Mike plays it in A, so I used my short-scale, semi-fretless Paramount, tuned aEABE, which is a G variant tuning (gDGAD) tuned up a whole step.
3 commentsPosted by Don Borchelt
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- Play count: 2169
Size: 1,868kb, uploaded 8/16/2010 4:27:13 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
Another tune from the marathon Clifftop banjo jam session involving Jim Reed, Don Couchie, and myself. Jim and I are both playing three finger style banjo, and Don C is playing clawhammer.
1 commentPosted by Don Borchelt
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- Play count: 164
Size: 1,396kb, uploaded 9/23/2016 7:10:24 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
I was turned onto this tune by my fiddling friend John Maguire, who has been joining Ed Britt and I lately on our busking adventures. It is nicely crooked, with an extra two measures as it wanders off in a new direction at the end of the B part. I recently posted a YouTube video of this (mostly to show folks I was recovering nicely from stitches I had to have in my right hand), and John stripped the audio from it and added the fiddle. It sounded so good I thought I would share it. . I am picking my 1902 Fairbanks Whyte Laydie in G variant tuning (dDGAD).
1 commentPosted by Don Borchelt
[download]
- Play count: 1732
Size: 3,012kb, uploaded 6/7/2009 8:36:46 PM
Genre: Bluegrass / Playing Style: Bluegrass (Scruggs)
This tune is from a later version of Wry Whiskey, with Richie Chaisson playing reso-guitar, and Gene Ketelhohn playing guitar. Tom Speth is on bass, and I am playing my semi-fretless Paramount, in open D tuning. We were playing on stage somewhere, around 1999, I would guess, but I don't remember where.
10 commentsPosted by Don Borchelt
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- Play count: 1672
Size: 1,852kb, uploaded 6/18/2011 5:40:41 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
This is the first recording Ed Britt and I have done in over a year. He has been suggesting this tune off and on for over a decade, but I never got around to working it up until BHO member BanjoJudy made it the Tune of the Week! I worked it up late Friday afternoon after reading her post, and Ed came over after dinner to record it with me. What a pal!
3 commentsPosted by Don Borchelt
[download]
- Play count: 194
Size: 2,107kb, uploaded 10/25/2014 11:50:24 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
This D modal version of the archetypal murder ballad was recorded in a practice session in May, 1997, when I was in a trio called Wry Whiskey, which at time was Brian Clancey on guitar, Tom Speth on bass, and me on banjo. I'm dong the singing here. Uploaded in response to a request from Mike Mulhollan (banjomikey) for a version in D.
3 commentsPosted by Don Borchelt
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- Play count: 774
Size: 2,136kb, uploaded 9/26/2012 8:25:10 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
Like many old time West Virginia fiddlers, Ralph Roberts is often inclined to play a song melody as an instrumental, particulary a sacred song. This is another recording from the jam that Don Couchie and I had with him on that last night at Clifftop. Purple Robe is a spiritual recorded by the Stanley Brothers for King Records in 1960. Don Couchie is backing up on guitar, I am picking three finger style on my semi-fretless Tubaphone in open G. "False accused and there condemned yet they found no fault with Him, the man who wore the scarlet purple robe."
4 commentsPosted by Don Borchelt
[download]
- Play count: 633
Size: 1,879kb, uploaded 9/21/2012 7:04:45 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
This is another tune from the jam that Don Couchie and I had with old time West Virginia fiddler Ralph Roberts, up on Geezer Hill. I've not heard too many people play this, it seems to have been played mostly around southeastern West Virginia. The way Ralph plays it, it sounds sort of like a major version of Boatin' Up Sandy. Don Couchie is backing up on guitar, I am picking three finger style on my semi-fretless Tubaphone in open G.
Add CommentPosted by Don Borchelt
[download]
- Play count: 954
Size: 2,253kb, uploaded 7/11/2014 7:14:53 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
I've uploaded this for the old-time Tune of the Week for July 11, 2014. Ed Britt and I play the three part version of this old standard, though we end on the B part. Ed is playing clawhammer style on his Ome Columbine in double C tuning, capoed on the 2nd fret; I am three finger picking my semi-fretless Tubaphone, in open D tuning.
3 commentsPosted by Don Borchelt
[download]
- Play count: 667
Size: 1,909kb, uploaded 11/24/2010 7:52:22 AM
Genre: Bluegrass / Playing Style: Bluegrass (Scruggs)
I taped this recording of Ragtime Annie about twenty years ago. The guitar picker is Jim Murphy. I was working for the City of Somerville, Massachusetts at the time, and Jim was a graduate student at MIT. We used to meet at lunchtime at Sandy's Music in Cambridge, and jam for an hour. The banjo is tuned to open D (aDF#AD).
1 commentPosted by Don Borchelt
[download]
- Play count: 195
Size: 2,613kb, uploaded 9/21/2012 9:50:55 AM
Genre: Bluegrass / Playing Style: Bluegrass (Scruggs)
This is a recording from my brief stint as a bluegrass banjo picker with the Boston area band Adam Dewey and Crazy Creek, back in the mid-90s. Adam was on mandolin, the great Lincoln Meyers is picking guitar, and Brad Wheeler is on bass. I've uploaded this as my contribution to the old time TOTW for 9/21/12.
3 commentsPosted by Don Borchelt, written by Kerry Mills
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- Play count: 1579
Size: 1,983kb, uploaded 8/13/2010 4:41:47 AM
Genre: Bluegrass / Playing Style: Bluegrass (Scruggs)
Another recording from my West Virginia sleep over with Don Couchie and Jim Reed. Jim is doing the picking front and center on his 25 ball-bearing, a real killer banjo. This was tons of fun, even if the rest of the festival began calling our campsite "banjo hell."
4 commentsPosted by Don Borchelt
[download]
- Play count: 876
Size: 1,996kb, uploaded 6/19/2009 5:14:19 AM
Genre: Bluegrass / Playing Style: Bluegrass (Scruggs)
I ran across this MP3 on my harddrive, looking for something else. It's a recording from my brief stint as a bluegrass banjo picker with the Boston area band Adam Dewey and Crazy Creek. Adam was on mandolin, the great Lincoln Meyers is the astonishing guitar picker, and Brad Wheeler is on base. This was taped around 1995, I think it was a radio appearance.
4 commentsPosted by Don Borchelt
[download]
- Play count: 561
Size: 2,220kb, uploaded 3/14/2010 7:52:40 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
BHO member Don Couchie came to Boston for a visit, and we sat right down and started picking. This is the first thing we recorded, with my little Tascam DR-1. I am playing my Tubaphone, and the other Don is on the fiddle. This is a pretty Kentucky fiddle tune attributed to John Sayler. My arrangement is inspired by Adam Hurt's wonderful version.
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