We're All Working for the Pharaoh. A Buskervilles Jam.

An album preview: Our take on Richard Thompson's "Pharaoh."

We call what we do "Cryptofolk."

It's not a catchy, marketable label because you don't know what it means. Neither do we, it turns out. In fact, as a marketing ploy, it's arguably the worst descriptor we could have come up with.

If we said we're a "folk" ensemble you might disagree.

Or you might ask, "What does 'folk' mean?" And we wouldn't be able to tell you...and we'd be back to where we started. 

And we're not a bluegrass band. Or a country band. Or a jazz band. Or a rock band. I don't think we we're really a jam band, either - but maybe we could be persuaded.       

You tell us. Use nice words, please.

This is what we know:

We lean toward songwriters with literary tendencies (but not always).
We like long, rambling instrumentals that give the players room to explore and interact with one another.
Dan, Phil, and Eddie, are virtuoso listeners who pay close attention and respond to one another and to Marty's vocals.
We prefer a transparent, mellow sound that's closer to chamber music (or perhaps "chamber jazz") than rock. 

So for now it's "Cryptofolk."  If you have a better idea, let us know. Comments are free. We get what you pay for.
 

 

A Buskervilles version of Bob McDill's "Coyotes"

Bob McDill's "Coyotes," performed by Hound of the Buskervilles. 

Over the years, a number of people have asked why Hound of the Buskervilles has not released an album.

(Yes, we have fact-checked this. Three is a number.)

There are many good reasons why we have not. But we're musicians, so "good reasons" are never good enough for us.  But bad reasons are better than no reasons.

Anyway, we're releasing an album this spring.

This was recorded live in the legendary upstairs living room at "Old Stucco."

The players are: Dan Boone, mandolin; Eddie Hysinger, harp; Phil Ragland, guitar; Marty Rosen, vocals and guitar.

Dan Boone set up the mics (and the lines if anybody wanted to plug in directly to the mixer).

We sat in a circle.... Well, actually it was  more of a lop-sided rectangle, that is is to say, an irregular quadrilateral - which a professional geometer might call a trapezoid. We didn't think to take a picture, because we were living in the moment, and pictures are about connecting the past to the future.

We could see and hear each other. It's the way we like to play music.