One of my favorite things about playing shows is meeting the other bands on the bill. The day I met John Petty from All Good Things was a great day. He played a phenomenal set late into the night (early into the next morning). As I loaded my equipment out the bar door into my car the snow was falling and I found myself humming a tune. Mexico.
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I’ve recently come to a realization: the Milwaukee music scene is incredible, and we who live here are all horribly spoiled. Case in point, the Calamity Janes and the Fratney Street Band. Mixing heart-melting vocal harmonies and tight instrumentation into pure auditory joy.
Read More...I’ve got a short but sweet video to kick off your work week. This weekend I rewatched the documentary film The Big Easy Express. For anyone that has yet to watch it, you are missing out. This clip comes fairly early on and captures Old Crow Medicine Show doing what they do best: playing music. No bells, whistles, or audience, just a band and their passion. Cory Younts just nails the vocals. Eat your heart out.
Read More...I spent my Sunday morning looking for the perfect video to kick off the week. I have settled on Jimi playing 12 String Blues on an acoustic 12 string guitar. I am memorized watching Jimi. Not just playing music, but doing anything. It must have something to do with him being dead before I was born.
Read More...Oh man, I’ve had this song stuck in my head all day. I actually really like this song. With Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson you can’t go wrong. I sang this song all the way through the morning. When lunch finally rolled around I sprinted to my computer, got on YouTube and found the video. With coffee in hand I hit play.
Read More...Flatpicking can be an elusive term. For guitarists or bluegrass fans, the definition is distinct, but the style is still difficult to describe. The variables are as unique as the ethnicities and the persons who developed it.
Read More...The Dead Horses have been taking the Midwest by storm. They have a diverse range, mixing everything from catchy ballads to hard-picking traditional arrangements into their live shows. Their self categorized genre is “folkgrass” and they were kind enough to drop by the Dig Session Studios (ok it was the back room of a Milwaukee bar) and play a few songs for y’all.
Read More...Welcome back to The Dig Sessions. Today’s episode brings us the second of three songs recorded with Mississippi Sawyer. This track, entitled Me And My Gin first recorded on 25 August 1928 by Bessie Smith, contains banjo, washtub bass, washboard, harmonica, a suitcase bass drum, and a foot tambourine. This Dig Session was recorded in the Brewers Hill neighborhood of Milwaukee Wisconsin. We hope you enjoy it.
Read More...The expression what goes around must come around fits nicely here. Apparently this song is rapidly approaching 100 years old. This is the oldest version I could find that is arranged in a similar fashion*. It is by the group Mainers Mountaineers, and it’s pretty awesome.
Read More...Welcome to the first ever installment of The Dig Sessions. The Dig Sessions is just an excuse to get out into the world, make friends, and document music. We are trying to capture all music, of all genres and musicianship levels. In our modern world of iPods and mp3s it is easy to forget that not so many years ago if you wanted to hear music you had to either play it yourself, or watch someone else play. That is the soul of The Dig Sessions, watching people play music. Single takes, no gimmicks. Just a microphone and a camera capturing REAL music with all its beautiful imperfections.
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