Ghosts out in the Rain -- Hound of the Buskervilles releases new album.

               

Hound of the Buskervilles is pleased to announce the release of a new album. 

If that's all you need to know, you can skip everything below, head straight to youtube, and Listen to the album right now on youtube.   (While you're there, hit the subscribe button. It doesn't cost you, but it helps us.) 

We (that is Dan Boone, Mandolin; Eddie Hysinger, harmonica; Phil Ragland, lead guitar; Marty Rosen, vocals and guitar) sat facing one another in the upstairs parlor of a Victorian house in Old Louisville and we played a bunch of songs.

There are thirteen of them on the album.  We figured that was enough. So we stopped.  

We recorded live, no overdubbed instrumentals or vocals. Dan spent an inordinate amount of time editing each individual track to adjust the volume and mix. That was a lot of work because we were not social distancing (this was well before the epidemic), and we didn't use any sound isolating techniques. 

This is Marty writing, and I could go on at length explaining what I think are the distinctive features of this album. But the music speaks for itself, and you can stream (or, if you are so inclined, purchase) the music via the links below. If you can find the time, my recommendation is that you listen in track order. But I know you're busy. And in the old days, this album would probably have crowded onto three vinyl discs... 

I do want to mention the cover art. 

The title of this album comes from the first line of the first track, "Guadalupe," by the great American singer-songwriter and painter Tom Russell.  

I think it's among the most evocative first lines in all of American song. One morning back in January, when we were still thinking about whether to release an album at all, I woke up with the idea that the line would not only make a great title, but also conveyed something about the tone of the album. 

Then I wondered whether Tom, who had just published a book of his paintngs called The Ballad of Western Expressionism (and who had not long before shared on his Facebook page a youtube video of us covering one of his songs), Tom might let us use an image of one of his paintings for a cover. 

I emailed Tom's office - not really expecting a response to my extremely modest proposal.  But Tom's wife, Nadine, sent an encouraging response. And John Yuelkenbeck, the President of Tom's label, Frontera Records, followed up. At that time, Tom was touring - not painting. 

But we all know what happened in March. In the aftermath Tom and Nadine holed up in Switzerland, where Tom has been painting up a storm.  One day John sent me a .jpg of the painting above (without the text that we later added) and asked what I thought. I spent a long day watching that painting before I started to think I understood it. I think it's a painting worthy of your gaze.   

Right now, the easiest way to find the album in various places is to follow this link to the Hear Now Ghosts out in the Rain page --  which is described below in excruciating detail.   

If  you wish, you can listen to short snippets right there. Or you can buy the album on itunes (if you like the music, it's a steal at $9.99), or you can stream on Spotify, Apple Music, or the French streaming service Deezer. 

You can also listen to all the tracks by heading downscreen to where you will see five icons: Facebook, Youtube, this blog, Instagram (though none of us have figured out how to use it), and our other youtube channel, where you will find a dusty digital attic of assorted youtubes that people would find enormously interesting if we were famous.   

The first youtube channel, though (the one linked at the top), is the one for easy immediate listening.  

By the way, Phil Ragland created a back cover for this album - just in case we someday release it as a CD.  Here it is. The great photo on the back was taken by our friend the photographer Lou Tingle.  

Titles, times, and writers:

1. "Guadalupe" (9:35), by Tom Russell
2. "Pharaoh" (10:58), by Richard Thompson

3. "Handsome Molly" (8:03), by Bill Morrissey

4. "Ashes and Smoke" (5:48), by Marty Rosen

5. "Dry River Bed" (8:24), by Stephen Pigram

6. "Coyotes" (8:22), by Bob McDill

7. "Church of the Long Grass" (6:43), by John Wort Hannam

8. "Bitter Angels" (4:15), by Marty Rosen

9. "American Hotel" (6:32), by Carl Brouse

10. "Get Along" (4:47), by Don Walker

11. "When Sinatra Played Juarez" (4:41), by Tom Russell

12. "Y'all Means All" (4:47), by John McCutcheon

13. "Navajo Rug" (5:50), by Ian Tyson and Tom Russell

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.

A great cause and Great Day Live

The Hounds are proud to continue our support of the Dona O'Sullivan Fund to Fight Homelessness.

Dona was an indefatigable fighter for social and economic injustice. She recognized the importance of excellent educational and professional development in assuring that front-line social workers are able to furnish effective service and advocacy.

Earlier today, we joined Maria Price (Executive Director of the St. John's Center for Homeless Men and a member of the Dona Fund) on WHAS-TV's Great Day Live to share information about the Fund's annual fundraiser (and to play a couple of tunes).

On Monday, Flanagan's Ale House (934 Baxter Avenue) will donate proceeds from food sales to the Fund. This is an all-day fund-raiser, and Flanagan's opens at 11, so drop by for lunch.

From 6-9 pm, the Hounds will furnish music on the patio (but this is a rain or shine event; if Hurricane Florence sends weather our way, we'll move inside to Ale House banquet area).

Here's a video clip of today's interview and performance. We played John McCutcheon's "Y'all Means All," a great (and timely) song about diversity and compassion. By the way, Maria Price took the photo above.

VIDEO LINK 1:  Maria Price and the Hounds on Great Day Live.

And here's a somewhat condensed version of Woody Guthrie's "I Ain't Got No Home"

VIDEO LINK 2: "I Ain't Got No Home"

We hope you'll join us.

Buskers Over Louisville - April 22, Clifton's Pizza

Plan ahead!  Hound of the Buskervilles will kick off Thunder weekend at Clifton's Pizza, your Louisville source for authentic imported Maine Whoopie Pies (not to mention Calzones, hand-tossed pizzas, and great Italian Beef sandwiches...).

For a free sample of the musical fare, click the link above.

For information about Clifton's, connect to www.cliftonspizza.com.
Friday, April 22.  2230 Frankfort Avenue.

Buskervilles Cross the Bridge! Saturday - Floyd County Brewing Company.

Superbowl Eve finds Les Triplettes des Buskervilles - the trio configuration of Hound of the Buskervilles - crossing the Ohio River for the our first-ever foray into the Sunny Side of Louisville.

Marty Rosen (vocals and guitar), Eddie Hysinger (harp), and Dan Boone (mandolin and other strings), will be at the Floyd County Brewing Company on Saturday, Feb. 6, for a night of food, froth and follies.

The folks at Floyd County Brewing Co. will furnish an appetizing list of craft Froths and a great menu, all served up in a beautifully restored building that dates back more than a hundred years. .

Hound of the Buskervilles will furnish tuneful folk music follies from 7-10.

For information about the Brewing Company, check out: www.floydcountybrewing.com.

The address is 129 W. Main Street. Telephone: 470-588-2337.
No cover.  The dining area is kid-friendly; adults-only in the bar area.

Hound (dogs) of the Buskervilles at Clifton's Pizza, Friday Jan. 8

Where is Elvis? Even the FBI doesn't know.  But we do know he was a Hound. 

And he liked bananas. And he liked peanut butter. So Clifton's Pizza is bringing in a jet plane, directly from the state of Maine, with a full supply of Whoopie Pies in both of those flavors. 

And since E. was a Hound, he might just sneak into Clifton's this Friday to hear Hound of the Buskervilles pay some kind of homage to the master.  

Then again, he might not. And we might not.  But can you really stand not knowing?  

We'll start playing at 7:30. 
There is no cover - but children still get in free.  
Clifton's is at 2230 Frankfort Avenue.  No Cover.
(Note: This is a Les Triplettes des Buskervilles gig (Dan, Eddie, and Marty) because our musical colleague Phil is playing across town with MVP.)