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TweedBlog: the Tangleweed blog
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The blog was started by the Chicago-based acoustic Americana group Tangleweed to document their activities as working musicians. It has since expanded its mission to help engender greater interest and understanding of American vernacular music. The blog i
Recent Posts Tagged With 'generalmusic'
Dancing Charlie Chaplins
We were on WGN’s morning news this morning. Here’s a shot we took with Ana Beleval. We’re playing the Square Dance this Friday (10th) for the Great Performers of Illinois Festival. 10 dancing Chaplins is nothing to sne...
The Golden Horse Ranch Square Dance Band tonight @ The Hideout
I’ll be at The Hideout tonight (Tuesday, March 31st) with the Golden Horse Ranch Square Dance Band, 5/7ths of whom are pictured in the adjacent photo. We’re filling in for Devil in the Woodpile. We’ll also be playing this weekend, w...
My Fender FM-60E electric mandolin for sale on eBay
I’m in the early stages on an equipment purge (or, to use the terminology of the day, “equipment right-sizing”). One of the early casualties is this Fender FM-60E 5-string electric mandolin. It’s up for sale now on eBay. Fende...
Tangleweed Banjoist protests Promoter Ordinance
Tangleweed’s own Ryan Fisher was recently featured in a documentary about the proposed Promoter Ordinance in Chicago. You can check out his segment below, and also view the entire documentary here. The documentary was produced by JaGoFF, pres...
Looking forward to the Ola Belle Reed festival
We’re very pleased to be among the performers at this year’s Ola Belle Reed Homecoming Festival. We recorded Ola Belle’s song “High On a Mountain” for our second CD, Where You Been So Long, and we’re going to learn...
1895 St. Louis newspaper article: William Lyons shot by ‘Stag’ Lee
We’ve posted several versions of Stack O’Lee/ Stagger Lee here on the TweedBlog, so I’d like to give a little information on the true story behind one of American music’s more enduring songs. Lyons and Lee were real people and...
Jewel cases suck
I loathe jewel cases, the ubiquitous plastic cases that house most compact discs. They’re heavy, bulky, and fragile. My collection of CDs, while not huge, had totally outgrown whatever space I had to house it. Even after a rather draconian purg...
The Great Driver Has No Cash reuinion
If you lived in Champaign Urbana in the early 1990s, you likely remember Driver Has No Cash, a trio featuring amplified ukulele, toy drums, and the melodious vocals of Frank Gill. If you feel like spending a few moments wallowing in the gloriousness ...
Shedding new light on Mike Shaw’s Alabama Entertainers
A few days ago, I posted an MP3 of an old 78rpm record by a group called Mike Shaw’s Alabama Entertainers, about whom I know nothing. Fortunately, my copy of Tony Russell’s masterful Country Music Records: A Discography, the Rosetta Stone...
Major labels are not your friend: the Meat Puppets edition
This piece from Meat Puppets drummer Derrick Bostrom serves as an excellent companion to The Problem with Music, Anatomy of a Record Contract, and Sage Words from Dick Dale. Perhaps it’s beating a dead horse by this point. Everyone knows major...
