WINTER SLUMBER 2014

It’s the time of year to crawl into your cave, wrap yourself in blankets and never, ever come out. That is unless you join us at our winter residency at the Empty Bottle! Special guests, new songs, all that jazz!

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Learning from Pete Seeger: Lessons for Young Musicians and Humans

       Pete           Pete Seeger left us at 94 years old with a legacy of lessons and guidance from a music career spanning eight decades. He was born as broadcast radio ushered out the player piano and an infantile record industry played the role of folklorist in trying to find the latest Hillbilly and Race hits. He stood up to things that usually break a man: political assassination at the hands of his own government and offers of big money. He left this world a better place but inequality and injustice remain in newer, slicker forms.
We don’t only need a voice like Pete’s more than ever, we need eyes and ears like his. It is up to us to witness and cry foul to the crimes of the powerful against the weak and voiceless. Musicians are all at once historians, story-tellers, and organizers; keepers of an ancient wordless language based in love. Pete Seeger lived the power of song and his example is a shining gift. Here are some lessons I will keep in my heart forever.

Remain resilient and adaptive in the face of adversity and don’t sell anybody out.

 In the Summer and Fall of 1950 the Weaver’s Goodnight Irene charted at #1 for 13 weeks. By 1953 Pete Seeger and the Weavers had been dropped by Decca and banned from every legit club in the country after being called before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Pete responded by refusing to answer their questions or name any names and proceeded to tour the then “underground” college circuit and lend his time to the Civil Rights movement. The Weavers regrouped in 1955, sold out Carnegie Hall, and started working with Vanguard, an independant label.

   Don’t take their money, even if it’s really good money.

         Pete finally split with the Weavers in 1958 after they agreed to a cigarette commercial. Pete refrained from being involved, finished his year of performances with them, and moved on from the chart topping, commercially successful group at the height of the 50s folk boom. Some friends of mine recently turned down a Chase Bank commercial for essentially the same reasons, though the whole band was on basically on board and they continue to play. Good to know this one is still going strong with musicians!

If the sound is awful stop and fix it.

          A lot of people think that Pete was enraged at the electricity of Bob Dylan’s performance at the Newport Folk Festival but he was actually appalled at the sound quality. The Reverend Gary Davis played plugged in the day before and Pete had no problem. The PA had to be cranked so loud for Dylan and the Paul Butterfield Bluesband that it began to distort and the vocals were rendered unintelligible. Pete was pissed that a song as good as “Maggie’s Farm” was being garbled to mush.
Another classic Pete moment of unwavering commitment to quality sound is him gently explaining mid-song to a massive crowd why clapping along at Carnegie Hall doesn’t work.

Use your power to help the powerless by standing side by side in solidarity.

    Pete Seeger helped the Civil Rights movement find one of its most powerful slogans: we shall overcome. Dr. King heard Pete sing it in 1957 and in 1965 he gave his “We Shall Overcome” speech here in Chicago at the Palmer House. Pete also stood with civil rights marchers in the South, fellow humans rendered voiceless by race in an unjust society, at a time when people working for civil rights were turning up dead.
Racism and segregation remain today in subtler forms and ever changing guises, so still we must seek out hate, surround it with love, and force it to surrender. If you’re a songwriter and you think what you’re writing might upset people or challenge the way they think about the world or themselves you are on the right track!

Don’t bring a bunch of unnecessary crap with you on tour and jam econo!

     After he was finally allowed a passport in 1963 Pete, Toshi, and the Seeger children  went on a world tour based around Pete’s performances as well as collecting film and audio field recordings of music and dance from the places they visited ( like Indonesia, Japan, India, East and West Africa, the USSR, Israel, and Ireland to name several.)
Pete said in his Sing Out Column in 1964 , “…we have so much equipment with us that, to keep from paying too much overweight charge on the planes, our clothing is down to the bare minimum. One pair of shoes apiece, two socks, two shirts, etc. The rest is banjos and guitars, a taperecording machine, and cameras, cameras, cameras.”


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Live and Breathing

We had the chance to record a Live and Breathing session at Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion back in September and it turned out great. We set up on the shop floor at the L.C. King garment factory and played amongst the sewing machines and sergers. Here’s a solo song, Poverty Draft, from that session.
I wrote it in Lucerne, Switzerland after visiting the Dutch battle field where my great-uncle died in Operation Market Garden in 1944. The town historian stood there with me and walked me through his last moments; details he learned from my uncle’s fellow soldiers decades later. I thought about all the stories war creates and wrote about this one.


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Feast of Friendship 12/26

Al Scorch Feast of Friendship the hideout chicago

Designed by Mary Clare Butler


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Winter creeping on in…

 

Summer is dead on the ground and Autumn presides a burnt orange preacher in a yellow frock and whispers a crackling eulogy under foot…

There is nothing like Fall to make you think back on the year. We played with loads of lovely friends like the Tillers, Pokey LaFarge, the Revelers, Spirit Family Reunion, and (on Dec 6, the year aint over!) the David Mayfield Parade. We played some wonderful festivals, like the Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival up in Madison, WI and the epically immense Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion down in the Birth Place of Country Music.

The next few months finds us writing new songs and arranging some existing ones to go one our next full length record! Stay tuned kids…

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Audio Tree Live

Here’s a video from out live session at Audio Tree in Chicago. These guys and gals do a fantastic job and we couldn’t be more grateful! Click here to stream the entire session.

 

 

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UK and Ireland Tour!

Al Scorch UK Tour Country Soul Ensemble Chicago HideoutWe are so excited to depart on our first tour of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales!
Those in Chicago please come out to our farewell show at the Hideout Fri. March 22nd
with our dear friends the Grisly Hand from Kansas City, MO.

A special thanks to the folks at Bonanza and Son for such a warm welcome to the UK. We’ll be getting on the radio with them for a live session
and interview on Resonance 104.4 FM as soon as we step off the plane in London on March 27th.
They will also be hosting our headlining show Sat. April 20th at Nambucca in London
Stay tuned to our Facebook and Twitter for updates on more live sessions, shows, and spontaneous fun! 


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Winter Slumber at Empty Bottle

**** Winter Slumber IV : Slumber’s Rest****
The final installment of our Winter residency to welcome the Spring
March 10th
12 PM
The Empty Bottle **** 1035 N Western

Al Scorch Winter Slumber Empty Bottle

      We’re ringing in the New Year by turning the Empty Bottle into our living room and inviting a damn respectable roster of Chicago musicians to be our guests.

Expect alternate instruments and room for improvisation as we we try out different textures and arrangements of tunes you know along with some new ones.

  Brave the cold, embrace the Slumber.

Jan 6th and 27th – 2 PM – FREE – 21+ – Empty Bottle – 1035 N. Western Ave

 


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11/21 WBEZ Live Broadcast and City Winery

We are excited to announce that we’ll be performing live on WBEZ Chicago Public Radio (91.5 FM) Wednesday November 21st on the Morning Shift.

Tune in from 8:50 to 10 am CST to hear us play in and out of segments and some full songs!

That very evening we’ll be at the City Winery opening for one of our banjo heroes Danny Barnes! With fellow Chicagoans the Waco Brothers closing out the night you’re in for a great show.

We’ll be Tweeting from the WBEZ studio that morning so follow us to know when we’re playing and when we’re being interviewed. Happy Turkey Day folks!

 

 

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South East Songwriters’ Tour!

Al Scorch Tour Donkey by Mary Clare Butler

Poster design by Mary Clare Butler

Al is taking to the road this month with fellow song-writer Adam McBride-Smith, bassist and Avett Brothers piano player Paul Defiglia, and Langhorne Slim drummer Malachi DeLorenzo. Should be a hoot! See SHOWS for details!

 

 


 

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