American Songcatcher

Latest Episodes:

LOCAL FOCAL // Swamp Pop with Dustin Dale Gaspard Aug 27, 2023

Show notes

Today, we proudly present the fifth installment of the LOCAL FOCAL series, where we're collaborating with artists around the country to share unique and lesser-known musical history. Our narrator today is Dustin Dale Gaspard, a 9th generation cajun who comes from the deep, deep South, the Acadian region of Louisiana. Dustin shares the very unique history of the genre Swamp Pop, with detailed context of the cajun heritage it was born out of. Let's head to the swamp.

Dustin Dale Gaspard

Swamp Pop Playlist

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Credits:

Nicholas Edward Williams - Editing, Recording and Distribution

Dustin Dale Gaspard - Narration, Research

LOCAL FOCAL // Cowboy Song Collector Jack Thorp Jul 08, 2023

Show notes

Today, we proudly present the fourth installment of the LOCAL FOCAL series, where we're collaborating with artists around the country to share unique and lesser-known musical history. Our storyteller is cowboy & poet Andy Hedges, who hails from Lubbock, TX and is doing his part to keep the old cowboy song traditions alive. Andy takes us back to the late 1800's, in the vast Western plains to the first collector of cowboy songs, a roving Easterner by the name of Jack Thorp, who printed the first book of Folk Songs, titled Songs of the Cowboys in 1908, forever changing the scope and trajectory of western and cowboy music.

In March 1889, Jack Thorp, a born-to-privilege Easterner who had grown into a leather-tough, saddle-wise trail hand, decided to track down the words to songs about cowboy life from cowboys singing in cow camps, at chuck wagons and line camps, in saloons—anywhere he could find them, mostly in New Mexico and Texas. His course proved crucial to the evolution of cowboy culture and the publication of his Songs of the Cowboys, the first collection of folk songs in America in 1908.

Andy Hedges Website

Andy's Podcast "Cowboy Crossroads"

Roll On, Cowboys

Jack Thorpe

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Credits:

Nicholas Edward Williams - Editing, Recording and Distribution

Andy Hedges - Narration

LOCAL FOCAL // The Other Side May 28, 2023

Show notes

For our third installment of the LOCAL FOCAL series, we present the following audio-rich piece - described as "sound painting" - brought to you by Muddy Boots Radio, a podcast that I only recently came into contact with by way of its creator, Tenali Hrenak. This particular episode honored a legend of radio from Grass Valley, CA - Mikail Graham. A composer, performer, producer, music promoter, advocate, consultant and beta tester for numerous pro-audio and MIDI companies. He was with the community radio station KVMR since its inception in the 1970s. For decades, he produced a radio show called The Other Side, and for many years he put on a yearly event called Night of Giving, which helped raise money for the Hospitality House, a shelter for the un-housed. He also produced the album Loafer's Glory for folk legend Utah Phillips. To say that he was influential to that region of California is an understatement.

As Tenali put it:

"With Mikail's passing on July 12th, 2022, several of us regular contributors to The Other Side were tasked with producing a series of final shows, a send-off episode, to our dear friend. Mikail and I both loved the 1960s anthology series The Twilight Zone. So with that in mind, I whipped up an episode - aptly titled See U On The Other Side - that cut-up some dialogue from the episode Kick the Can, which I felt captured Mikail's carpe diem and playful spirit. And, of course, I decorated the playlist with an assortment of Tweeners and songs that I'm sure he'd love and that hopefully honor the legacy he leaves behind."

Enjoy this experience of sound, titled "See U On The Other Side (Side A)" from the Muddy Boots Radio podcast.

Muddy Boots Website

Gathering Sounds - Tenali's New Book

Mikail Graham - The Other Side

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Credits:

Nicholas Edward Williams - Editing, Recording and Distribution

Tenali Hrenak - Production

LOCAL FOCAL // Last Wisps of the Old Ways Mar 26, 2023

Show notes

Today, we proudly present the first installment of the LOCAL FOCAL series, where we're collaborating with artists to share musical stories from different locations throughout America - in celebration of the parts that make up the whole fabric of American music history.

First up, we're bringing you the works of Derek Piotr, a folklorist and musician who's been deep in research about a particular family of tradition-bearers from Avery County, North Carolina that have a lineage to Frank Proffitt, a key figure in Appalachian old time preservation. I was taken with Derek's story not only because by comparison, he's rather young in the immersive world of musicology, but also because of his unique interest in what's called Auto-Ethnography, which goes beyond detailed field notes and recordings, by linking the fieldwork to your own emotional life.

A few years ago, Derek curated a compilation concerning this family, Last Wisps of the Old Ways, which intertwined field recordings he made with archival recordings of the family's lineage from The Library of Congress. Before that, he was merely preserving the legacy of his grandmother with a flip phone. His winding path to field recordings and eventually creating the Fieldwork Archive is a humbling journey.

Last Wisps of the Old Ways

Fieldwork Archive

Official

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Credits:

Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, Editing, Recording and Distribution

Derek Piotr - Writing, Recording, Research

ANNOUNCEMENT // SEASON 3 Mar 16, 2023

Show notes

ANNOUNCEMENTS! 1. Season 3 NEEDS your financial support! Can you commit to $1 a month via Patreon? - OR - Send a one-time donation through Venmo or PayPal

2. We're changing the format next season to SINGLE STORIES released every few weeks, so we can give each story full attention, and put out content more frequently.

3. CALLING ALL WRITERS! Do you love human stories? Love music history? Do you have any writing experience? If you'd like to be a volunteer writer on American Songcatcher, email us at AmericanSongcatcherPodcast@gmail.com

4. The first installment of our off-season series, LOCAL FOCAL will air MARCH 26! These special episodes pay homage to the parts that make up the whole fabric of American music history, featuring different presenters from around the world sharing a hyper-localized story.

5. Season 3 release date coming soon.

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Credits: Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, Editing, Recording and Distribution

S2:E9 // Moses Asch and Folkways Records (Part 2 - SEASON FINALE) Dec 20, 2022

Show notes

This is our season finale, part two of a special audio-documentary series on Folkways Records founder Moses Asch, in collaboration with Smithsonian Folkways. Part one walked us through Moe's childhood, teenage years, early career, the first two labels he created, bankruptcy, as well as the early years of Folkways Records. In part two, we traverse 40 years of iconic recordings with pioneering and lesser known artists, business hardships, milestones, the fledgling years of Folkways, and Moe's death. We'll also examine the acquisition of the massive Folkways catalog by Smithsonian, illustrate how Moe's legacy has intertwined with the identity of American music, and highlight some of the incredible work that Smithsonian has done to preserve and expand on what Moe accomplished.

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Collaboration Credits:

Smithsonian Folkways

Full Moses Asch interview with Arhoolie Records' founder Chris Strachwitz

Interviewees:

Richard Carlin - Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways

Michael Asch

Jeff Place (Smithsonian Folkways)

John Smith (Smithsonian Folkways)

Dom Flemons

Charlie Parr

—

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Media Credits:

Making people's music : Moe Asch and Folkways records - Peter D Goldsmith

S2:E9 // Moses Asch and Folkways Records (Part 1) Dec 02, 2022

Show notes

Today, American Songcatcher is proud to present a special two-part collaboration with Smithsonian Folkways, going behind the curtain of Folkways Records founder Moses Asch, who was born 117 years ago on this date. This is the story of a ceaselessly stubborn Jewish immigrant with unstoppable ambition. A pioneer who had a great respect for creative artists, whether they were commercially viable or not. A provider whose work was selfless, though he was often quite difficult to work with. A visionary that would turn the record industry on its head without producing any major hits, which was just the way he wanted it. Folkways Records, "The little label that could," changed the course of American roots music by preserving folk songs from all over the world and having a major hand influencing the folk and blues revival of the 50's and 60's. Moe's mission was to create an encyclopedia of sound from around the world, quite literally. Folkways released records of frog noises, poetry, train whistles, cat noises and many others in addition to covering nearly every genre of world music, spanning over 2,100 records. Learn how his collection was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution and how his legacy lives on today.

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In Collaboration with:

Smithsonian Folkways

Full Moses Asch interview with Arhoolie Records' founder Chris Strachwitz

Interviewees:

Richard Carlin | Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways

Michael Asch

American Songcatcher

Source Credits:

Worlds of Sound: Ballad of Folkways | Documentary

Making People's Music | Book

Talkin' Blues // Seth Walker Jun 29, 2022

Show notes

Today I'm sharing a conversation I had with American roots singer and guitarist Seth Walker, who has spent the last 20 years putting out incredibly diverse records, inspired by early blues to jazz, folk, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, early country and anything else he's been able to gobble up.

Recently mentored by the likes of Oliver Wood and the Wood Brothers, Seth just released his 11th studio record, titled I Hope I Know, a tasty, seasoned array of roots songs that navigate a host of emotions and comforts, a record I highly suggest listening to, courtesy of Royal Potato Family Records.

We talked about his unique childhood, raised among a community of Quakers, the constant evolution of self and artistry, his love for writing not just music but a recent book titled Your Van is on Fire, his newest record and the deep changes that surfaced before, during and after, and as usual, we geeked out on some music history. Enjoy!

More on Seth Walker:

Listen

Book

Socials : Instagram | Facebook

Watch

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S2:E6 // The Man in Black (Part 2) May 01, 2022

Show notes

Featured in this Episode:

Johnny Cash

Teaser:

The story of the enigmatic "Man in Black" is a vast ocean that is impossible to cover every detail. But this three part series will attempt to further explain what listeners know about Johnny Cash, debunk a few myths, and uncover fascinating moments in his life that are lesser known. In essence, we'll be looking further behind the curtain of the legend known as JR Cash, more than exceptional movies such as "Walk the Line" have portrayed.

Part 2 presents Johnny's rise with Sun Records, the tumultuous years of his personal life and addiction, his turnaround, and when he first cleans up his act as a star.

—

Collaboration | Basic Folk Podcast

"Shine A Light" | Johnny Cash: The Life

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Credits: Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, writing, editing, recording and distribution

Source Credits:

S2:E5 // That Bad Man Feb 21, 2022

Show notes

Celebrating Black History Month!

Featured in this Episode:

Traditional - "Stagger Lee" (:42)

Memphis Minnie (15:45)

Lightnin' Hopkins (29:21)

Taj Mahal (48:55)

Teaser:

This notorious murder story has been covered in more genres, by more artists and across more multi-media platforms than any other in history, while somehow remaining relatively obscure. She's known as the queen of the country blues, and queen of the Chicago blues, though she got her start while homeless and playing on the streets full time in Memphis. One of the last links that remained of the original country blues past the folk and blues revival, this Texas bluesman's personal life was shrouded in mystery during both pinnacles in his near 60-year career. Born of Caribbean descent, he would go on to be a liaison between cultures and sounds from all over the world, wrapping it all into a tight package that makes the blues feel like an altogether human experience.

—

Collaboration | Basic Folk Podcast

"Shine A Light" | Blues Foundation

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Credits:

Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, writing, editing, recording and distribution

Jack Browning - Writer

Ryan Eastridge - Writer

Source Credits:

Stagger Lee: Missouri Life | StaggerLee.com | American Blues Scene | StLouis-mo.gov

Memphis Minnie: Black Past | Musicians Guide | 64 Parishes