May-June 2010

More Me! Me! Me! Right Place Right Time

By Dennis Roger Reed

Last time around I provided a time line of various incidents that shaped me musically. You probably have it held on your refrigerator door with a magnet from your local realtor. Or perhaps you keep a dog eared copy in your briefcase or purse, so that you can pull it out and draw inspiration. As such, I thought I'd continue down that mono-mania-no-more-about-me and talk about how I think one of the most important aspects of my music "career" has been the ability to take advantage of that "right time - right place" issue. And some of my biggest "failures" occurred when I did not...

In the earlier column, I mentioned that in 1995, Bass Player magazine did a short feature about me, with a color photo taken in my own patio/driveway. In the right place, right time category, the issue in question featured Paul McCartney talking about his bass techniques, and an interview with Sting. Did Bass Player write about me because I was one of the best bass players in the world?

March-April 2010

ME! ME! ME!

By Dennis Roger Reed

I've been doing this column for about 17 years now, and it occurs to me that other than the little blurb under my lovely photo, most readers know little about me. Or care. But I've never let lack of interest from others keep me from talking about myself, so I've developed a time line that sort of explains how I got to where I am today, wherever that is.

1951-Born in Pasadena CA to somewhat musical family of transplanted Arkansas-ian California hillbillies.

1955-Become aware of Saturday night hillbilly TV show called Town Hall Party. Attend occasional picnics at Corriganville, a movie ranch/tourist attraction in Chatsworth where "THP" musicians perform. Confused as to their apparent ability to transform from small black and white images into full color humans.

January-February 2010

THE NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND

By Dennis Roger Reed

A lot media time has been spent lately documenting some famous rock group that is re-forming many years after they imploded or exploded. That can be important news, but it does tend to overshadow those bands that don't have to re-form because they never broke up. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is one of those. They've re-invented themselves a few times, and only two of the original members remain in the band, but they have a long and happily continuing legacy of providing excellent roots music.

November-December 2009

Music and Loss

By Dennis Roger Reed

One of the down sides of the aging process is that not everyone does. I've played at two memorial services this month, one for my aged aunt and another for a wonderful friend no older than I. Music is often a big part of the grieving process. At my father-in-law's funeral a few years ago,the music was all Johnny Cash doing gospel favorites. My aunt's funeral featured a few of the same Cash numbers. There is a particular solace in hearing a familiar voice, a familiar song. Often lyrics long known now have new, deeper meaning.

September-October 2009

Folk, Technology,
The Good Old Days and More

By Dennis Roger Reed

My wife bought an old typewriter recently, and then spent more money to get it repaired. I guess if the power goes out and we really need to write a letter, we're all set. It got me to thinking about technology, and how technology has changed all of our lives. Even folk musicians.

I must admit to being somewhat of a curmudgeon when it comes to technology. I don't particularly like cell phones, and I can't fathom the need to watch movies or surf the internet on my phone. I do like my laptop, and I think I'd be hard pressed to live without it, but I don't carry it with me at all times and it's doubtful you'll ever find me at Starbucks checking my email.

July-August 2009

RIP Delaney Bramlett

By Dennis Roger Reed

I do not recall exactly when I first heard Delaney Bramlett perform, but I do know exactly where: a gawd awful/wonderful all day Sunday television program entitled Cal’s Corral. This glorious approximation of a country hoe down/used and new car lot jamboree featured almost every country related performer in Southern California, and was the brainchild of Cal Worthington. Yes, that same 163 year old gentleman in the ill fitting cowboy hat whose TV commercials still entreat you to come on down and buy a car. Cal liked country music, and he knew that a lot of good folks liked country music too, so why not somehow tie that to the sales of his low down, easy payment merchandise. Hence, Cal’s Corral.

May-June 2009

Guitars

By Dennis Roger Reed

I have written about Tools for the Soul, Danny Flowers' last CD. The story about the title song involves Texas luthier Donnie Wade. He made and gifted Flowers with a new custom guitar, and "aw shucked" his way around Flowers' profuse thankfulness by saying that it was just another "tool for the soul," which earned him a co-write for Flowers' tune.

In the lyrics for Tools for the Soul Flowers is cataloging those tools:

A good book full of wisdom to rely on

A strong voice full of joyful songs to sing

And an instrument of seasoned wood and steel

To help us find a better way to feel

March-April 2009

What Makes Music Move Us? Song of Bernadette

By Dennis Roger Reed

In1960s, there was a television program called the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour that did some ground breaking things with comedy, politics and music. In the late 1980s, the Smothers Brothers had a reunion show on CBS. I taped the show and sat down to watch it a few nights later. Dick Smothers introduced the lovely songstress Jennifer Warnes, who sang a song she co-wrote with Leonard Cohen called Song of Bernadette.

I cried. I didn't want to cry, I wasn't comfortable crying and I could not fathom why I was crying. But I rewound the tape several times, and I cried several times. I bought the cassette of the song on Warnes' brilliant Famous Blue Raincoat, but for some equally inexplicable reason, I was not as moved. No tears.

January-February 2009

Historic Progressive Radio in L.A.

By Dennis Roger Reed

This time we're going to chat about radio. Not radio today: not satellite radio. Let's talk about historic Los Angeles progressive radio.

I think radio made me a better person. I was lucky to be a high school student in the late 1960s when something called the FM revolution occurred. Prior to this time, for the most part AM radio had most listeners, and FM was for audiophiles, classical music fans and folks who liked political commentary.

But in the 1960s, FM radio started sprouting a few stations that played jazz, rock and roll, folk and other musics. The format was very free form compared to the tightly controlled AM play lists. The FM disk jockey could put on a whole album side, and people listened. The disk jockey decided what to play, not a national program director. DJs played what they thought the audience wanted to hear, or what they should hear. Radio became an element of musical education.

November-December 2008

Diversify

By Dennis Roger Reed 

Has that monthly jam session gotten a little stale lately? How about those new band arrangements? Don't they seem pretty same old/same old? Maybe it's time to add a new instrument or two into the mix.

Most of us can play the guitar, so let's start there. Are your jam sessions comprised of 9 guitars all playing the same open G chord to open C chord to... well, you get the idea. What about a bass? Not necessarily the upright, but perhaps a wash tub bass. Or if you're interested, how about an electric bass? Tuned like the four bass strings of the guitar, a simple one/five bass line is pretty easy to master, and voila! You've got a repertoire.

September-October 2008

A Band By Any Other Name: Would It Sound As Sweet?

By Dennis Roger Reed

At some point in your musical career, you may decide that playing with others is fun and worthwhile. You'll form or join a band. Unless the living room is going to be your only venue, you'll have to have a band name. This may be the hardest part of being in a group. Seriously, folks take band names very seriously. For the generations of Beatles/Rolling Stones or Sex Pistols/Clash, band names meant something. They were witty, or intriguing.

July-August 2008

Country Music in Los Angeles: California Crackers

By Dennis Roger Reed

They made their way to Los Angeles, but for the entire dream like potential, it was still a city. Full of bustle and tall buildings, and nothing like home. So most migrated a bit more to the outskirts, to places with names like South Gate or Pomona or Buena Park. Someplace where there might even be a spot of land for a garden, or a place for a few chickens. Bell Gardens and Cudahy became known as “Billy Goat Acres.” Cotton could grow in a Santa Monica front yard. Little “dust bowl” communities sprang up in the Southern California canyons or mountains.

And they brought their music with them, fiddles and guitars and high pitched keening vocals, or soft lullaby like melodies sung almost as prayers. But the new land, the new needs, altered the music, charged it with electricity just like the cities, made it brassy, loud and sometimes grating. You could smell the honky tonk in one song, and taste the cool mountain air in another. Sometimes, the music was all you had.

May-June 2008

Let's Start a Band!

Part More: Getting Better

By Dennis Roger Reed

I know, I know, I promised I was done. But a number of people (okay, one) mentioned that although the pieces had some good advice, something was sort of short changed. Although I touched on it, how do you get to be good?

I did say that practice doesn't make perfect. Only perfect practice makes for perfect performance. And practice doesn't start and end in the rehearsal space.

FAR-West 2006 Convention

By Dennis Roger Reed

The mention of the word “convention” may evoke thoughts of fez wearing drunks dropping water balloons out of hotel windows, or groups of like-suited insurance salesmen milling in a hotel lobby before the next actuarial seminar begins. With that in mind, one can only conjecture what the “average citizen” might envision for a folk music convention, but perhaps it would include:

• bluegrass bands jamming in the lobby (check!)

• people staying up all night (check!)
• an awards luncheon where the audience applauds the kitchen and serving staff (check!)
• and where the vegetarian plate outsells the steak two to one (not sure.)

SON OF WHADDA YA MEAN YA NEVER HEARD OF - - - - - - - ?

By Dennis Roger Reed

 Last time I waxed eloquent on several folk artists from the 1960s that you might’ve missed. This issue I’m going to chat about some “new” folks I’ve discovered in the last few years that you may not be familiar with. There’s such a wealth of talent today in the big world of folk.