Jason and Pharis Romero

Jason Romero first came to my attention through his artisan banjos, and Pharis through her membership in her oldtime band Outlaw Social Club. After stints in Chico and Arcata, CA, Jason migrated northward though Portland and settled with Pharis in the remote outpost of Horsefly, BC, where they create beautiful instruments and music. Their previous releases include Shout Monah from The Haints Oldtime Stringband and Back Up and Push, an ambitious collection of fiddle tunes from sawyers all over the West Coast, previously reviewed here.

Chris Mateer just published an in-depth interview with the couple on his blog Uprooted Music Review. From that interview:

‘We didn’t really plan out complementary tunes on the album, but we both seem to have a sense of songs that needed learning or writing to fill what might have been otherwise a gap. A good example would be “My Flowers, My Companions, and Me” — that was the last song we learned before we recorded the album, because we realized that a vocal duet with just banjo accompaniment would be a great contrast to much of the other material.’

A Passing Glimpse

Here’s that song, and another. Hope you enjoy this listen!

LISTEN: My Flowers, My Companions, and Me

LISTEN: Where Is the Gamblin’ Man?

Pharis and Jason Romero Website

UMR Interview

Genticorum

Close your eyes and let the smooth flowing music of Genticorum transport you to another time and place, where French fur trappers and intrepid loggers navigate the roaring rivers and limitless lakes of the North Country. The core trio consists of Pascal Gemme, Alexandre de Grosbois-Garand, and Yann Falquet, and they are joined on their latest release Nagez Rameurs by guests that include Olivier Demiers (of Le Vent du Nord) and American Grey Larsen, among others. Like a virgin white pine of the Quebecois woods, Genticorum stands tall among the finest of the new wave of French-Canadian bands. Their new record is, in a word, fantastic!

Nagez Rameurs

LISTEN: Turlutte Hirsute

LISTEN: Les Menteries

Genticorum Website (English)

Le Vent du Nord

Earlier this fall, I was lucky to again meet and see Le Vent du Nord (“The Wind from the North”) perform at The Sebastopol Celtic Festival, where fiddler Olivier Demers passed along to me their 2009 release La Part du Feu. While remaining firmly rooted in the Quebecois tradition, the band has matured and expanded its sound by incorporating elements of French, Celtic, jazz and pop music into this record. And it sounds GREAT.

La Part du Feu

Band members scour diverse sources for their material, from medieval texts to their own modern compositions. From Acadia to Brittany, Cape Breton to Maine, and of course their native Quebec, comes their spicy mix of pulsing dance tunes and nostalgic story-songs.

At a live show, the listener just can’t sit still while Olivier fiddles and pounds out the beat with his feet, Nicolas keeps his hurdy-gurdy happily buzzing, Réjean tickles his accordion, and Simon strums guitar. All four band members are multi-instumentalists that skillfully blend ancient elements with a modern sensibility. Quebecois call-and-respose vocals play a large part. I’m no expert on the music of Quebec, but it’s safe to say that Le Vent du Nord rules the roost up north. Fiddlefreak recommended!

Le Vent du Nord Is:
Simon Beaudry: Vocals, bouzouki, guitar
Nicolas Boulerice: Vocals, electroacoustic hurdy-gurdy, piano, piano accordion
Réjean Brunet: Basses, diatonic accordion, jaw harp, piano, vocals
Olivier Demers: Violin, guitar, foot-tapping, mandolin, vocals

LISTEN: Élise (MP3)

LISTEN: L’attente (MP3)

Visit Le Vent du Nord Website

Preview/Buy La Part du Feu

Sammy, Nadine and Caleb Klauder. Photo by Ian Hutchison

Oldtime pickers Foghorn Trio passed through my town about a week ago and kindly left behind a copy of Nadine and Sammy’s new record titled “Granddad’s Favorite.” It’s a lovely collection of oldtime country and Cajun songs and fiddle tunes that seems to have gotten permanently stuck in my CD player.

Granddad's Favorite

Stephen “Sammy” Lind is the fiddler at the heart of Foghorn’s wall of sound, and his partner Nadine Landry is a native of Canada’s Yukon Territory with French Quebecois family roots. This is oldtime acoustic country at its finest, with a very pleasant Cajun twist. Buy this record, support pure-core traditional Americana musicians, and you won’t be disappointed. Fiddlefreak recommended!

(PS: Foghorn Trio is now recording a new record in Louisiana. Fiddlefreak sez: the sooner the better)

LISTEN: Parlez-Nous A Boire

LISTEN: Tippy Toeing

Buy Here: CD Baby

Town Mountain

It’s time to start planning for Pickathon 2009, which happens this year on July 31—August 2 at Pendarvis Farm just outside Portland, Oregon. Fiddlefreak attended a couple years back and was deeply wowed by its unique combination of down-home folksy vibe and youthful alternative energy. And the music lineup is always the best! Ranging from rootsy indie rock to hard-core oldtime fiddle bands, the best of alternative Americana can be found here.

“Our fans are people who want to hear new stuff,” says Pickathon founder Zale Schoenborn. “They love music, and they don’t think about genre. They don’t want to hear three days of any one thing. They don’t necessarily need to know every single name on the bill. So our guiding principal is to simply curate the best music we can.”

The unique atmosphere at Pendarvis Farm is a big part of the attraction. Six stages—ranging from two main stages to the intimate, 50-capacity Workshop Barn to the quiet, secluded Woods Stage to the rowdy late-night Galaxy Barn—provide multiple opportunities to see many festival acts. Resourceful use of biodiesel and solar power, environmentally friendly custom shade structures, strong recycling and composting programs and multiple alternative transportation options give Pickathon’s sustainability efforts real muscle. Kids can start their days with bright’n’early yoga and move on to nature classes, circus camp, square-dancing, and free-form roaming on 80 acres of prime Oregon farmland and old-growth forest.

I previously wrote about Pickathon here. I would go again if I could, and go see the Freight Hoppers, Jackstraw, the Hackensaw Boys, Hillstomp, Foghorn Stringband, Town Mountain, and the many other kick acts on the bill. Five stars for this festival, from Fiddlefreak! Learn more about Pickathon here.

The Everybodyfields at Pickathon 2007