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Artist Profile: Phil Barker of Town Mountain

In the 21^st century, after decades of new strains of bluegrass, the jam band vibe and the music were bound to intersect. Town Mountain is one of the newer adherents of this powerful blend. The band formed in Asheville, North Carolina, in 2005. The members’ youthful exuberance, stellar musicianship and original songs enabled them to win the Rockygrass Music Competition.

Town Mountain employs old-timey-sounding mandolin and banjo to back socially conscious lyrics including “Diggin’ on the Mountainside”, a song featured on our new Bluegrass release.

Putumayo got a chance to speak with Phil Barker about his views on bluegrass and his musical influences.

Who are your influences and/or inspiration in regards to your music?

I would say performance-wise we really are inspired by the first generation performers such as Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, and the Stanley Brothers. These are the guys that set the tone and mood of bluegrass music that we all initially fell in love with and they continue to be the standard we look up to.

As far as songwriting, along with traditional bluegrass artists mentioned above, I think I personally have been most influenced by the late, great Townes Van Zandt. His writing is so poetic and flowing, and I’ve always loved the honestly and sincerity of his delivery.

Bluegrass offers insight into the variations within this genre. How does it feel to have your song featured as a representative of this compilation of American roots music?

To be included in an album alongside some of our musical heroes like Sam Bush, David Grisman, and The Seldom Scene is an absolute honor for us, but it’s an even bigger honor to be chosen as a representative of the music we love so much.  And you’re right; this album does provide a great insight into all the variations of bluegrass music. It’s a good current representation of the genre.

Can you provide a little background about your song “Diggin’ on the Mountainside” featured on the Bluegrass CD?

Sure, our band is based in Asheville, NC, tucked up against the Blue Ridge Mountains. Over the past five or six years we’ve seen significant influx in the number of “luxury developments” climbing up the mountainsides around town. Where you once saw trees and woods, people are building golf courses and second homes.  Another chapter in the long story developers and corporations making money off the mountains, whether it be North Carolina or elsewhere, with little regard to the environmental as well as cultural impact of their decisions. My song is simply a commentary on that situation, the battle economy vs. ecology.

How does Putumayo’s philosophy of exposing people to new genres of music, sounds and ideas relate to your own music? Do you believe there is a growing interest in bluegrass amongst the youth today and do you see a bright future for this generation?

While I would love to say that there is, I honestly can’t say that with full confidence. In today’s full-volume of pop culture, it’s easy for something like bluegrass music to get drowned out. So I feel the large majority of kids simply aren’t familiar with the genre. However, when we’ve had the opportunity to perform for and interact with kids in schools I know they’ve been very responsive and excited about bluegrass music. So I feel it is merely a matter of exposure. Once kids hear and understand the music it’s inevitable that some will be drawn to it like I was. That’s why it’s important for people like the folks at Putumayo to help us share this music with kids all over the world. Give bluegrass the stage and it will shine.

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Bluegrass 101

Bluegrass is characterized by masterful, often improvisational, instrumental performances combined with distinctive vocals and harmonies. This style of music is known to have a high-pitched intense delivery with heartfelt harmonies. In 1939, Bill Monroe, “Father of Bluegrass”, created the Blue Grass Boys, which is where this style of music got its emblematic name from.

BILL MONROE

Bill Monroe’s creation of this underground traditionalist sound was heavily influenced by sounds of the Appalachia and the rural south. The structure, delivery and repertoire of bluegrass are highly reminiscent of folk music brought to the Appalachia region by Scottish, English and Irish immigrants. The popularity of string bands from the rural south influenced Monroe to learn how to play the mandolin.

In 1948, it officially became a sub-genre of country western music heading for radio airplay. In 1960’s, it gained a large enough audience to be included in live country-western radio broadcast. Today, we can still enjoy many bluegrass radio programs, the most listened to being Into the Blue, airing weekly on more than 139 affiliated stations across the United States.

The instruments conventionally associated with bluegrass music are the mandolin, fiddle, five-string banjo, guitar, and bass. The instruments alternate playing lead parts while the bass and the remaining instruments provide a rhythmic background. Traditionally, all instruments are acoustic, but efforts to attract broader audiences, has led to the incorporation of electric instruments.

We can all agree that the banjo is the star instrument in this genre. The first version of the banjo was created by Africans called banzas, banjars or bania. When African slaves arrived to the United States, they began creating a string percussion instrument out of gourd covered with pig or goat skin and added horse tail hair strings. In the 1800’s, Joel Walker Sweeney, a traveling blackface minstrel performer and musician, helped popularize the primitive version of the banjo in the United States through his characterization of African slaves. It didn’t take too long for him to create what we know today as the banjo. 

Music organizations have been created in the last few decades to promote bluegrass music around the world. In 1985, the International Bluegrass Music Association was created. IBMA mission is working together for high standards of professionalism, a greater appreciation for bluegrass music, and the success of the bluegrass community worldwide. In 1995, European Bluegrass Music Association was created to promote and facilitate the sharing of bluegrass enjoyment across borders.

Bluegrass was created to preserve the traditions of American folk music roots and we encourage everyone to embrace it when our Bluegrass album comes out May 22nd.

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Artist Profile: Mark Johnson-Co-founder of Playing For Change

In music, there is no such thing as boundaries. Playing For Change is a musical project started by American producer Mark Johnson with the mission to bring together musicians from around the world and inspire the development of music education programs in under- privileged communities. More than 20 musicians participated in the making of “Groove in G”, including: Tinariwen of Mali, Keb’ Mo, Washboard Chaz and Grandpa Elliot from the U.S., Spanish flamenco guitarist Niño Josele, Japanese shamisen player Hiromutu Agastuma and a number of musicians from India.

Putumayo got a chance to speak with Johnson about where he’s been and where he plans on going to next.

In 2005, you run into Roger Ridley playing “Stand by Me” in Santa Monica and it’s this moment that initially started Playing For Change. Six years, 5 continents, and many musicians later, did you think it was going to turn into this huge adventure?

A friend once told me when we were first starting Playing For Change, “The journey is the destination.” With the soul of Roger Ridley and a song like “Stand By Me” I knew we had a great start to build a family around the world through music but I never imagined it could reach so many people. We travel the world building connections from the heart and a journey like this never ends. There are always more songs to record, schools to build and people to connect. As Roger Ridley said, “We are in the joy business.”

What sparked your interest in world music and the idea to travel and film
for Playing For Change?

I first began to really connect to world music when I was in my early twenties working as a recording engineer in New York City. I had the chance to work with Paul Simon and some really diverse range of musicians. One day I was on my way to work in the subway station and I saw two monks painted all in white, dressed in robes and playing music on the subway platform. One of the monks was playing a nylon guitar and the other monk was singing in a language I didn’t understand. The melody was so beautiful, I had an epiphany that some of the greatest music I had ever heard in my life was on the way to the studio and not in the studio. This inspired me to bring the studio and cameras to the people on the streets, in subways, and everywhere people are playing music outside.

What is the method for finding these artists and filming and recording with them? Do you research locations first and go into find musicians? Or do you already have musicians in mind and go where ever they are?

The process of finding different artists around the world begins with a look at a map and discussions about what instruments and vocal styles we can put together to create something new. With PFC, world music is the world playing music together and so we select diverse places and search for a music guide that can introduce us to musicians within each community. We usually show some of our videos with an iPod to explain the concept of the songs around the world and then one musician gets inspired and tells their friends and it spreads from there. One heart and one song at a time.

Through the Playing For Change Tour, you are able to bring together a number of these musicians that you’ve met through your travels. What is it like to see these artists play together on one stage?

The Playing For Change Band serves as a tangible example of musicians from all over the world uniting together for a common mission of connecting the world through music. They have so much love and respect for each other through the PFC videos and this energy they create gets transmitted to the audience and together they build a world where we are going to make it as a human race. Each musician brings his or her own unique musical style and life philosophy to the band and these components combine together to create something new. The PFC band shows the world that no matter how many things divide us, they are never as strong as the things that bring us together. This is the power of music.

Is there a location in the world that you haven’t been to yet but are anxiously waiting to visit and film in?

We are currently working on our new PFC 3 Songs around the world CD/DVD and plan to visit Congo, Australia and New Zealand in the near future. We will get back to the roots of music and record indigenous musicians and ancient instruments and continue to build the global family everywhere we go.

Please provide a little background about your song, “Groove in G” featured on the African Blues CD.

“Groove in G” began on a very hot afternoon in Bamako, Mali. We started recording the track with the group Tinariwen, in the back yard of a little house under a mango tree. We had been huge fans of the band and wanted to include them on our PFC 2 songs around the world album. We set up a few microphones and unplugged the outdoor washing machine so we could power a few guitar amps and a bass amp. We then asked the band to play a groove in the key of G. Once we recorded and filmed this initial track we traveled to other countries around the world putting headphones on musicians and adding them to the song. We headed from Brazil to New Orleans and from Spain to India and finally Japan. The structure of the song evolved from place to place and it turned into a global blues jam with so much soul.

Putumayo was established to introduce people to other cultures through music. How does Putumayo’s philosophy of exposing people to new cultures, sounds, and ideas, relate to your own music?

Putumayo has always served as one of the main sources of inspiration for Playing For Change and in fact we have used many of the Putumayo albums to discover new musicians around the world that eventually end up in our videos. Music is the greatest tool we have to inspire us as a human race and the more we can expose people to the music of the world, the better our future will be.

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Come join us at KindieFest- the Family Music Festival!

Entertaining today’s kid is not an easy task. Especially in regards to music, it can be difficult to find quality and age appropriate selections for younger audiences. KindieFest is the world’s first-ever family music conference and festival that fully embraces today’s market in all its diversity. Taking place April 27-29^th at Littlefield in Brooklyn, NY, this weekend long event has become known as the place for everyone involved in music for kids and families.

Sunday’s public family festival will feature some of the most talented acts in Kids Music. If you’re looking for some awesome fun for the entire family and a great way to wrap up the weekend, check out the diverse line up of Kindiefest performers. You won’t want to miss any of them!

Steve Songs:

Steve Roslonek of SteveSongs has been writing and performing his award-winning music for kids and families for the past eleven years. Best known for his role of ”Mr. Steve,” cohost of the PBS KIDS preschool destination, Steve has performed at over 3000 shows across the country and has won numerous prestigious awards, including 2 Parents’ Choice Gold Awards, a Nappa Honor, 2 iParenting Media Awards, and 2 Children’s Music Web Awards.

Bari Koral:

Bari’s catchy, pop friendly tunes have dubbed her the “‘IT girl’ in kids/family music” by NY Magazine and the “Sheryl Crow for kids” by the NY Post. Her band’s music is loved by all ages. Her new album Anna and the Cupcakes covers all ear-pleasing genres from roots pop-rockers to blues to country-tinged kickers.

Moona Luna:

Moona Luna is the passionate second project of New York-based songwriter Sandra Velasquez. For the last five years, latin band Pistolera has toured extensively, delighting fans of all ages around the globe. After writing exclusively in Spanish for Pistolera, she decided to make Moona Luna’s songs bilingual so that her simple messages of joy, discovery and perseverance would reach more young ears. The band includes Maria Elena on accordion, Inca B. Satz on bass and Sebastian Guerrero on drums.

“I am thrilled that in the span of two years I went from being a festival attendee to a festival performer! We are excited. This is our hometown!” says Sandra.

“Kindiefest is great for the obvious reason that it is the ONLY music conference of its kind. The people behind it have been building and participating in the family music world for a long time, so they know what they are doing. I think more and more people are recognizing the growth and potential of family music as its own thing. I have played so many festivals both here and abroad, with Pistolera, and most great festivals have a family music or kids tent. Kids need great music too! And let’s face it, at the end of the day it has to be great music period. Kids are not driving themselves to concerts, so parents need to be able to enjoy it as well. As a parent myself, I make sure our concerts are enjoyable for all ages.”

KBC Kids (with members of Us3):

Kobie Powell, Brian Rund and Clair Reilly-Roe met, connected, and committed to making fun music for everyone. Their fresh Hip Hop sound is filling a major void in the children’s market and allowing parents everywhere to get their groove on, too. As well as their pop/hip hop/dance music production has landed their tunes all over the net and TV!

Apple Brains:

Looking for an enjoyable way to get kids to eat healthy? Meet Apple Brains. Their mission is simple: Get kids, adults, and everyone in between to discover and sing the joys of fruits and vegetables! Based in Los Angeles, Apple Brains first started performing songs as a “Nutrition Musician” in the greater LA area school system. Now Apple Brains is bringing his message far and wide with his debut album “Get Fruity!!”

Big Bang Boom (lead by Chuck Folds brother of Ben Folds):

What happens when professional musicians become parents? They play and write children’s music. This is the path taken by Big Bang Boom, a children’s music group from Greensboro. After 20 years touring clubs and playing parties, Chuck Folds(younger brother of piano rocker Ben Folds) and Steve Williard decided to expand their horizons and play for kids. Together with drummer Eddie Walker they have become the parent friendly kid’s rock band alternative.

Jazz at Lincoln Center’s WeBop:

WeBop is an early-childhood jazz education program in which children (ages eight months – five years) and their parents/caregivers learn about jazz’s improvisation, creative process, instruments, styles and great performers. The classes provide a creative outlet for parents and children to explore jazz as a tool to educate and express themselves together.

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Cowboy Playground to be released May 22nd

Putumayo Kids captures the freedom of the cowpoke’s life with Cowboy Playground, a galloping collection of songs by artists such as Western music stalwarts Riders in the Sky and Don Edwards. Children’s cowboy music star Buck Howdy sings his funny tall tale tune “Pecos Bill” while classics including “Home on the Range” (recorded by Oregon children’s artist Victor Johnson), “Whoopie Ti Yi Yo” (performed by Canadian artist-rancher Ian Tyson), and “Don’t Fence Me In” ( jazzily arranged by Seattle kids’ artist Johnny Bregar) are familiar even to city slickers. At the end of the day, as millions of stars twinkle in the sky, the Dale Evans-inspired band Cowboy Envy wishes everyone “Happy Trails.”

A 24-page booklet featuring archival photos from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, is included in the Cowboy Playground package. Holly George Warren, renowned music critic and author of The Cowgirl Way, contributes charming liner notes that introduce the whole family to the rollicking world of cowboy music.

For more information about this release or any other Putumayo Kids titles, visit: http://www.putumayo.com/kids/home

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Putumayo World Music to Collaborate with International Rescue Committee

We are pleased to announce our collaboration with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for our upcoming African Blues release.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a respected, non-profit organization that helps refugees to survive and rebuild their lives.

Putumayo will contribute $5,000 from sales of African Blues to the International Rescue Committee in support of their humanitarian work helping refugees to survive and rebuild their lives.

For more information about IRC please visit: www.rescue.org