My life has been marked by two constants over the decades: a love of books and reading, and an appreciation for roots music. I define roots music as that made by the pioneers and first generation singers of a particular genre, be that country music, bluegrass music, the blues, rock and roll, etc. But because music genres can evolve so rapidly over the years - even to the point of becoming mere shadows of the original sound - I've always had a tendency to hold on to the old stuff when I find it. And after 60 years of collecting, that means I have a music library that includes 78s, 45s, LPs, 8-track tapes, cassette tapes, CDs, DVDs, and self-recorded video and audio performances along with thousands of digital recordings.
That's the other side of my life that has occasionally bled over to my posts here at Book Chase. I try to keep that to a minimum, but sometimes I can't help myself. This is one of those times.
I recently sat down with Andy Gallo and Jim Sloan as a guest on their music-related podcast called "The Big Show" to talk about my lifetime love for music of this sort and my meager efforts to help keep the music alive over the years. We get into things like what sparked my regard for the music, the internet radio station I helped run for several years, and all the video recordings I still make and share on the internet.
I finally got the courage to listen to it myself, and I hope one or two of you might find it interesting since I've been neglecting Book Chase so badly. It explains where a lot of my energy is going these days.
Awesome interview, Sam! And so many fun musical memories. I loved listening to all of your stories. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks, it was fun to do, but I have to admit I was a little nervous waiting on it to be posted because I couldn't remember what I'd said and what I'd stopped myself from saying.
ReplyDeleteI will listen to that soon! But my husband enjoys Bluegrass and when we toured the Blue Ridge mtns. we had that playing in the car and it seemed so appropriate to the area. I don't know that he even knows enough about it to name favourites, just that he listens to it quite a lot.
ReplyDeleteIt was an interesting experience, Cath. I'm more used to be on the other end of an interview - asking questions instead of answering them, so it was strange. Bluegrass is an offspring, I think, from "mountain music" of that part of the US...covering several states, but especially Kentucky, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and thereabouts. And that mountain music was largely in the tradition of Scottish and Irish songs of the same era, so I can see why it would appeal to your husband.
ReplyDeleteNice to hear you talking about your passion! I admit I couldn't relate to most of it though, as I don't listen to country music so hardly recognized any names or song titles! Sorry
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a niche passion, Jeane, but those who were exposed to the music early in their lives really are passionate about the roots of the genre and the dilution the music is fighting today.
DeleteSam! You're famous! And you're back. I didn't realize that until I saw your comment on Cath's post. I'm so glad you're back to blogging. Hopefully, things have gone well for you and your family in your absence. I've missed you!
ReplyDeleteNever famous, but never afraid to open my big mouth either, so it's probably good that no one pays attention. :-)
ReplyDeleteMy wife is feeling a little better, and we've figured out a new daily routine that carves out a little more space for me to sit down to read or do something at the computer every day. I hope to be around more, but my reading time has dropped off by near 50%, so I may have nothing to say.
Great to hear from you, Susan.
Glad you're wife is feeling better. That's great to hear! And I'm glad you'll be around more, even if it's not as often as before.
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