I'm not going to get into any sort of introduction for my first post, just going to head straight to the top, the top of rocking... New York Street Rocking, more importantly the subway of new york, where you will find some of the hardest rocking hillbillies known on the planet. They may not be rocking in the everyday use of the term, but The Ebony Hillbillies can play powerful bluegrass with the best of NYC's city music players. Once just a band trying to making a living on the streets, they've powered their way to two CD's and landed themselves in folk and bluegrass festivals across the country. Here is an excerpt from their website, www.ebonyhillbillies.com:
"The Ebony Hillbillies are not only one of the last black string bands in AMERICA, but they are the only string band based in NYC. Consisting of fiddle, banjo, washboard and bass fiddle, they have successfully created a following that has crossed over to audiences in pop, country, bluegrass, folk, jazz and beyond while maintaining their grassroots credibility. Their 19thcentury string band sound was popular in the 1920's and 1930's. This was a key element in the genesis of jazz and virtually everything after (blues, bluegrass, rockabilly, rock & roll, etc...). Those myriad influences can be heard to good effect on the group's debut CD, Sabrina's Holiday. The disc explodes with fascinating takes on such standards as "Liza Jane," "Granny Will Your Dog Bite" and a particularly edgy interpretation of "Cluck Old Hen" along with a couple of originals and the old folk song, "Shenandoah," which Norris sings with power and passion.
Sabrina's Holiday is also a showcase for Norris' hard-charging dulcimer playing. "The dulcimer fits together with the violin in a different way than the banjo and the fiddle," Rique explains. Rhythmically, it's a completely different sound. [When Norris switches from the banjo over to the dulcimer], it's like 'here we go—now we're a different group!'"
Henrique Prince, lead singer and also known on the streets as just Rique, adds a great dynamic old timing voice that really bridges the upbeat bluegrass with an old time folk feeling. I'm checking them out at a festival in Vancouver in a couple weeks and will give you a final verdict. Check em out on youtube in Memphis:
ga ga ga gettin'er
1 comment:
Jim, I couldn't be happier to see you writing about the Ebony Hillbillies for your first post; also fucking rock at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. Don't forget you can't always get er done, but you can sure fucking try.
ROOOCK!
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