Sherlock Foolish Music: "Oh The Pretty Bird" rewritten

I am reading “The Double Life of Bob Dylan”  by Clinton Heylin 

https://www.amazon.com/Double-Life-Bob-Dylan-1941-1966/dp/0316535214

Where I found Bob did a version of Cuckoo 

and he is not the only one - 149 collected or recorded versions according to wikipedia  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cuckoo_(song)

One of the most recent versions is an enchanting song I had seen “Rising Appalachia” do in a  cool video https://youtu.be/h6ow2Z5Jh9Y 

So while I am wrapped in preparation for the Franklin election season

Candidates, interviews, questions & answers, ultimately leading to a vote on Nov 2

Upon which the town government can/will move forward - how would it?  It all depends on the vote and who wins

So that was the inspiration behind this 

Imagine a nice banjo and folk guitar tune, and a better voice than mine 

as I rework the lyrics of this old folk song  ...

-----------

The candidate from Franklin talks as he walks

she brings good tidings written in chalk

Ignoring the flowers they make their voice clear

The more we ignore, the more they’ll play to fear

Oh the cuckoo

She’s a pretty bird

How I wish she was mine

She never drinks whiskey

She only drinks wine

The voters from Franklin want answers today

To the key questions, what’ll the candidates say?

Storm water or fee increase, Mask or override

The voters guide will help us decide  

Oh the cuckoo

She’s a pretty bird

How I wish she was mine

She never drinks whiskey

She only drinks wine

Whether young or old, the time is near

Candidates to reveal what they hold dear

The voters can cast their vote as they may

And we’ll see a new board after that day

Oh the cuckoo

She’s a pretty bird

How I wish she was mine

She never drinks whiskey

She only drinks wine

How each board will manifest remains to be seen

So let’s keep the campaign real clean

Or we’ll need liquid spirits to provide

Relief as we settle in for the ride

Oh the cuckoo

She’s a pretty bird

How I wish she was mine

She never drinks whiskey

She only drinks wine

Sherlock's Foolish Music (MADCAP Records) 2021

 

The Franklin 2021 "Election Collection"  ->   https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/07/franklin-election-collection-2021.html

"Many Sides" - Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka's Taiko Dojo

My annual pilgrimage to the Lowell Folk Festival took place this past weekend. One of the more interesting groups to perform were the taiko dojo drummers from San Francisco.

One of the audience members sitting in front and to the left of where I was captured this video and posted it to YouTube. The piece is called "Many Sides' and is performed with an interlude during which a lion dance is performed.




Enjoy!

Stepping back in time - Pete Seeger with Johnny Cash and June Carter

"It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
I am worried now but I won't be worried long"

Lowell Folk Festival 2013

I spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon at the 27th Annual Lowell Folk Festival. As I was going to be sitting most of the afternoon to listen to the music as I traveled around the world, I parked in the garage by the Lowell train station and walked in to Boarding House Park. An easy jaunt with sidewalks among what is left of the city along the railroad tracks. I'll have some photos up later of the walk and the performers.

One the photos I did share via Twitter was picked up by the editor of the Lowell Sun for his Storify post which you can find here
http://storify.com/LStomzuppa/lowell-folk-festival-saturday-spectacular?utm_campaign=&utm_source=t.co&awesm=sfy.co_jOgS&utm_medium=sfy.co-twitter&utm_content=storify-pingback

Lowell Folk Festival - recap via sherku - part 1

sherku: spirit 
words don't much
matter when
sent forth with
good music
Lowell Folk
Festival

sherku: black hat 
broad brimmed
black hat carried
waved, gestured
definitely
part of his dance

sherku: morning 
great day
in the morning
Claire Lynch Band
gets great start
with funky
bluegrass music

sherku: swing 
who knew that
hummingbird
could fiddle
a swing beat
so let's swing
lost in music

sherku: rhythm 
no need
no fancy
instrument
hands slap thighs
and steel toe shoes
find the rhythm

sherku: booming blues 
do you hear
Magic Slim
and the Teardrops
play the blues
keeping the
storms away

sherku: dancing 
in their chairs
in the aisles
on the dance floor
these blues got
everyone moving

Lowell Folk Festival

My annual trip to Lowell for the wonderful event called the "Lowell Folk Festival" is on tap for today. 6 hours of good music across a variety of genres.

For more info on the Festival including the schedule and performers, visit their web page
http://www.lowellfolkfestival.org/index.html

These photos are from the Festival last year:

Circle of Friends Coffeehouse: Peter Mulvey

A busy day on Saturday as we took in the soccer double header for the NE Revolution home opener and then followed it up with a concert at night.

The Brazilian and Canadian women's national teams played in the first game of the double header. Canada controlled the match to win 2-1.

In the second game, the Revs scored 28 second into the game and then made that score hold up to finish 1-0.

The concert at the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse featured Peter Mulvey. He had been recommended to me for sometime as well worth seeing and he was. David Goodrich accompanied Peter switching among several guitars over the course of the concert. Peter did like wise and also had a bango for one piece. Both are very good and the concert overall impressed my wife. She can be a tough sell sometimes but she admitted they knew how to play.

A sample of what they performed Saturday night can be heard via this YouTube video



If you do get a chance to hear Peter perform, it would be worth your while!

For more about Peter you can do well by starting with his website
http://www.petermulvey.com/index.html

Circle of Friends Coffeehouse: Ellis Paul

The Circle of Friends Coffeehouse presents Ellis Paul, singer, songwriter, poet and troubadour, with special guests Lori Diamond and Fred Abatelli on Saturday, Sept. 17, 8:00 PM 

Admission is $25.

The line up this season is a great one. Angel Band, Lori McKenna, Peter Yarrow, and Peter Mulvey are among those slated to appear. Check out the full schedule here http://www.circlefolk.org/sched.html

The Circle of Friends Coffeehouse is an acoustically great place for a concert. The dessert selection is awesome and decadent!

In September 2001 the coffeehouse moved to the First Universalist Society meetinghouse, 262 Chestnut St, Franklin. Doors open at 7:30 PM and all concerts start at 8:00 PM unless otherwise noted. All concerts are non-smoking and alcohol free.

View Larger Map


This was cross posted to Franklin Matters

Lowell Folk Festival - photo recap

Here are my photos from the recent Lowell Folk Festival




I have not completed posting the sherkus composed while I was sitting, listening and enjoying the day but those that are posted you can find here:  http://quietpoet.blogspot.com/

First dip into Lowell

The Lowell Folk Festival has come and gone for its 25th year. I was able to spend Saturday afternoon in the sun enjoying glorious music. A bunch of sherku were crafted listening to the music and absorbing the environment. As long as my phone battery lasted, I was able to post them to Twitter. The battery did give way but the pen and paper did not.

Here is the first batch. There is more to come.

• sherku: Lowell 3
• sherku: Lowell 2
• sherku: Lowell 1

Lowell Folk Festival - great music this weekend!

The Saturday afternoon schedule for the Lowell Folk Festival. The festival runs on multiple sites within Lowell. I tend to stay at Boarding House Park and get six hours of good music without moving around.

SATURDAY, JULY 30	BOARDING HOUSE PARK	BIRMINGHAM SUNLIGHTS	12:00
SATURDAY, JULY 30	BOARDING HOUSE PARK	LEDWARD KA'APANA	1:00
SATURDAY, JULY 30	BOARDING HOUSE PARK	HECTOR DEL CURTO'S TANGO QUARTET	2:00
SATURDAY, JULY 30	BOARDING HOUSE PARK	DERVISH	3:00
SATURDAY, JULY 30	BOARDING HOUSE PARK	QUEBE SISTERS BAND	4:00
SATURDAY, JULY 30	BOARDING HOUSE PARK	SHEMEKIA COPELAND	5:00

The full schedule can be found on the website here:
http://www.lowellfolkfestival.org/schedule.html

RUNA - High Res Promo Video

A compilation of some of Runa's repertoire highlighting what they can do. Very well done!





insert post text here

Leave it to Steve Martin

Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers do the Atheists Hymn "Atheists Don't Have No Songs"



Enjoy!


found via email tip on
http://www.artsjournal.com/gap/2010/11/a-compendium-of-religious-musi.html

BTW - I saw the Steep Canyon Rangers perform at the Lowell Folk Festival in July 2010.

Fairytale of New York

From Steve Garfield, a good cover of the Pogues Christmas folk classic:




Download from iTunes today

You can follow/like them on Facebook

Enjoy!

East of Shirley - The evening by sherku

Spent a good evening up at the Harvest Cafe in Hudson listening to East of Shirley. A corner spot, pen and index cards at hand, a good drink, good music to listen to, all together created an inspiring moment or two for some sherkus. Here is how the evening went via sherku.


On Twitter I found @MyWordWizard posting a challenge:
@MyWordWizard: 2Poets&Dreamers.Complete this. "It was biting cold, but we felt.."


I was able to draw upon my mental archives to craft:

sherku: Winter run 

it was biting cold  

but we felt

so good heading home

with the wind

at our backs

To which they replied:
@shersteve Thank you so much for that completion. Very optimistic sentiment full of the warmth of home. Encore! http://tiny.ly/MSYF


So I was off into sherku land


Sherku: Harvest cafe

Harvest cafe

Harpoon winter warmer

East of Shirley

let the music flow

Lydia Biasi adds her voice to the mix for East of Shirley


Sherku: Lydia 

too many stories

over hot chocolate

Lydia sings of

faithless love

And all good things do come to an end, eventually

Sherku: closing 

Lights laughter music

numbers run down

Dutchman's secret only

Margaret knows

And then the final one for the evening as the Franklin skyline appeared along i495:


Sherku: still cooking

Longhorn exhales

into the night

grey on grey

I guess not

all are abed

And yes, they did play the full "Ernesto, manana". Sections of this song open and close the weekly podcast for Franklin Matters.


When you have a quiet moment, what would you put to paper with pen or pencil?

Lowell Folk Festival - quick recap

I spent the afternoon in the hot sun at the Lowell Folk Festival today. It was worth it as I took a tour around the musical folk land. Starting with bluegrass (the Steep Canyon Rangers) to kosher gospel (yes, really! performed by Joshua Nelson) to Cape Verdian (Maria deBarros) to Irish (BUA) to Quebecois (De Temps Antan) and finally to close the afternoon to Cajun (Bruce Daigrepont).

I sweated but didn't mind it, the music was good. Other than some technical issue not resolved with Maria deBarros that created a jarring sound that I think hindered her performance, all went well. It did get dark clouds overhead for a bit to provide some respite for the sun. Fortunately, the rains held off.

I had the inspiration for at least three sherku (one, two, three) with more possible.

I took a bunch of photos so stay tuned for some of those to appear here.

Which group did I like the best?
It was really not contest, DeTemps Antan won the crowd and I with their enthusiasm. The conditions were trying (hot, humid) but all had the same gig.

BUA and Steep Canyon Rangers came closest for consideration.

Joshua Nelson was a pleasant surprise.

Next year will be the 25th Lowell Folk Festival. Each that I have attended (about eight in person, at least 13 via the WGBH broadcast) have been special.

Lowell Folk Festival

The Saturday schedule at Boarding House Park in Lowell for the annual Lowell Folk Festival. The largest free folk festival in the US and it is in our backyard (so to speak).

Saturday, July 24	Boarding House Park	STEEP CANYON RANGERS	12:00 noon
Saturday, July 24	Boarding House Park	JOSHUA NELSON	1:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 24	Boarding House Park	MARIA DE BARROS	2:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 24	Boarding House Park	BUA	3:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 24	Boarding House Park	DE TEMPS ANTAN	4:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 24	Boarding House Park	THE BRUCE DAIGREPONT CAJUN BAND	5:00 p.m.

The Steep Canyon Rangers play bluegrass, Joshua Nelson sings kosher gospel, Maria De Barros sings Cape Verdian, the BUA group is Irish, De Temps Antan plays Quebecois, and Bruce Daigrepont is a Cajun Band.

Six different kinds of folk music over six hours in one place!

Follow them on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/LowellFolkFest

'Annalee' - Ellis Paul

If you like good folk music, and haven't heard of Ellis Paul, you can get a double treat today.

Follow this link for a free download of his song 'Annalee".
http://www.ellispaul.com/free/foryou.html

Listen and see how it sounds.

Check out more of Ellis Paul here: http://www.ellispaul.com/

I saw Ellis Paul perform a couple of times here at the Circle Of Friends Coffeehouse in Franklin.

A great place for great music!

Ellis Paul - 3,000 miles

Maybe because the job hunt seems like forever

"I lost her name in the poker game
but her face, I'll never forget"



Enjoy the music!

WGBH update - feedback reply

 I did send in feedback via the WGBH website and received this email in reply:

Dear Mr. Sherlock,

Operating a multi-format station like 89.7 is very challenging in today’s media environment. While many of our loyal supporters may understand our programming schedule and what genres air when, most other radio listeners follow single formats: talk radio, rock, oldies, etc. Sustaining the mixed format we’ve had in place on 89.7 has become financially difficult. We are confident that running a more focused service will help 89.7 grow and strengthen into the future.

We recognize that this is a disappointment to the followers of the folk and blues programs that will move off our air when the schedule changes on 89.7, and we value the comments you have shared with us. We are very proud of the many contributions that WGBH and our hosts have made to folk and blues in Boston and New England. The Boston audience for folk and blues will continue to be served by other stations, like WUMB 91.9FM Boston, WNEF 91.7FM Newburyport, WFPB 1170AM Orleans, WICN 90.5FM Worcester, WOMR 92.1FM Provincetown, New Hampshire Public Radio, WHRB 95.3FM, WZLX 100.7FM Boston and WUML 91.5FM Lowell, and elements of folk and blues will continue to be heard as part of our Celtic and jazz programming on 89.7.

We hope that you will find other programs and services of value on WGBH that are worthy of support.

Sincerely,

WGBH Member Development and Services

Produced in Boston — shared with the world.

So when the phone rang this evening (at dinner time) and it was WGBH calling for me to renew my support that I had done so well over the years, I was glad that she had my history right in front of her. It made my point all the more effective.

Sorry, but since you have changed your programing, I have therefore changed my support model. I'll go provide some financial support to stations that appreciate the folk market place.

She wanted to know if I had sent in my feedback, I let her know I had.

She wanted to know if I had received a response. Well, I really don't call that a response. It looks as some one cut and paste from the prior notification and didn't even bother to sign it. It could have been an automated reply.

I asked her to record my comments and refusal to contribute as due to the program change. She acknowledged she would.