Mandolins On TV - Advance Notice

[JeffD]

Did I catch that right. In the movie Army of One there is a scene where a guy puts a mandolin away against a wall. I went through it a few times I can't be sure.

The movie is precisely one of those movies that you will like if you like that kind of movie.

[journeybear]

Punch Brothers, CBS Saturday Morning, today, sometime around 8:45 - 9 AM

[tmsweeney]

Just caught PB on CBS - spot on, thanks Journey Bear!

BTW Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway 4/19

[journeybear]

Probably no MC, but I thought there might be some interest - though not enough to warrant starting a thread on the topic - and this does relate to 4/5 of the words in the thread title.

Jeopardy! is airing the pilot for the show on its youtube channel as part of their "Jeoparday!" event, celebrating the show's 58th anniversary. It's come a long way since its humble beginnings, becoming a sort of cultural institution, and has been mentioned several times here over the years (OK, mostly by me, over on Random Mandolin Sightings whenever I've noticed an appearance on the show as a clue or otherwise). This will start at 8PM EDT this evening.

I thought some might be interested, as we have interests beyond and apart from mandolins. I'm curious and will be tuning in, despite it conflicting with my regularly scheduled programming. And who knows? There could be a clue that includes a mandolin.

[Louise NM]

NMC but don't miss it: this week's Firing Line is an interview with with Rhiannon Giddens. Yes, she plays the b***o, but don't let that keep you away. Check your local PBS station's listings for the time.

[journeybear]

Thanks. She gets a pass from me on her involvement with the "instrument" because she doesn't play the usual way on the usual contraption. And also her spirited singing and stellar taste in songs put her in a league of her own.

BTW, a heads-up for next week's CBS Saturday Morning - Molly Tuttle. That's 4/9, starting ~8:37 AM EDT, two songs, maybe some chat.

[journeybear]

From the graces of a folk radio DJ friend: Rhiannon Giddens

[journeybear]

Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway today on CBS Saturday Morning. Musical guest segment usually starts around 8:40 Eastern.

[journeybear]

Well, that left me breathless. I think they got in the requisite number of notes in the time allotted. I mean, that was some fast-moving, hard-driving, soul-stirring stuff. In a segment that usually allows performers 8-10 minutes, they fit two songs into a little over six - same as Punch Brothers a few weeks ago - with no room for dissatisfaction. I didn't know she's the first woman to win the IBMA Guitar Player of the Year award - and did so two years in a row, 2017-2018. It's pretty clear why. I don't pay as much attention to bluegrass as others hereabout, but I think I'll be checking her out some. I must admit, I've liked everything I've heard from her. I expect that will continue.

[journeybear]

Austin City Limits is into its summer reruns time, and one of my local PBS stations is repeating the Sarah Jarosz/Billy Strings episode tonight. Of course, there's no guarantee this will be the case in your area, so check your listings.

FWIW, Sarah was a bit disappointing from a mando-centric point of view - she played on the first song, then put it in a stand on the drum riser for the rest of her set. It was there in full view all the way, just not in her hands. She concentrated on her singing and songwriting this time. There was plenty more mandolinning in the Billy Strings segment.

[journeybear]

For the first time in a while, I see there are a couple of upcoming talk show appearances by acoustically-oriented artists who may bring along a mandolin, both on Jimmy Kimmel.

T 1/3: Aoife O'Donovan with Allison Russell
F 1/6: Molly Tuttle

I haven't done an intensive analysis of the credits on Aoife's new album, so I don't know whether to expect any mandolin, though that doesn't always matter - a lot of time musicians will dress up their TV performances a bit. I'm more confident there will be some mandolin in Molly's appearance.

[Charles E.]

On the CBS Morning Show yesterday, they interviewed Ben Harper. He owns a music store and there are many mandolin family members in view behind him.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/grammy...in-his-music/#

[Sue Rieter]

On the CBS Morning Show yesterday, they interviewed Ben Harper. He owns a music store and there are many mandolin family members in view behind him.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/grammy...in-his-music/#

That looks like a super cool store that you could spend hours in.

[journeybear]

Well, Aoife was fine, and there almost was a mandolin there. She had a capo on the ninth fret of her guitar. Never seen that before. That put it into mandolin range. I understand why people do this - they like the fingering in a certain pattern, but need to adjust for the voice - but I wonder if there weren't some other way. Eh, neither here nor there, just seemed odd, that high up the neck.

[CarlM]

Well, Aoife was fine, and there almost was a mandolin there. She had a capo on the ninth fret of her guitar. Never seen that before. That put it into mandolin range. I understand why people do this - they like the fingering in a certain pattern, but need to adjust for the voice - but I wonder if there weren't some other way. Eh, neither here nor there, just seemed odd, that high up the neck.

It is a deliberate choice to get a sound she wants not just a fingering preference For one thing it gives her separation from the other guitar to keep the sound less muddy.

Watch David Rawlings playing with Gillian Welch. He is capoed fifth fret or higher most of the time. On Sweet Tooth he is up around nine or ten with Gillian around seven. On Red Clay Halo he starts out open then puts a capo on up a round the seventh fret for his solo and takes it back off. I had a devil of a time figuring that out till I saw them live.

Tommy Emmanuel capoes Here Comes the Sun at the seventh fret. He sometimes uses a banjo capo to keep the bottom strings open. Tommy is not singing and does things with a guitar no normal human is capable of.

I know he is a banjo player, and may not count, but Earl Scruggs capoed high when playing guitar usually. You Are My Flower is capoed at the seventh fret. Most of the sacred numbers he capos at five or higher.

These people, including Aoife, are capable of playing the key for their voice at any position they want but choose to go high to get a particular sound. That applies especially to David Rawlings who is a tremendous player.

[journeybear]

Aha. Thanks for enlightening me. I found it puzzling. Not being a guitar player - dang thing has too many strings - some of its subtleties escape me. But I'm here to absorb info as well as dispense it, so thanks for taking the time there.

One of my favorite capo use anecdotes concerns Lucinda Williams. I was seeing her a lot in the late 90s, and at some point noticed she would do a lot of songs with capo at the second fret. Like a song in A, she'd play the G chord forms. It seemed to me that there was something in the voicing for that G chord, which is pretty major sounding, when played against the bluesier A scale of the other instruments, produced a kind of subtle interaction that she liked. I should have asked her about it, but that's how it seemed to me.

BTW, I spell Aoife via cut and paste. And as to how to say it, she goes with "ee-fee."

[milli857]

Aha. Thanks for enlightening me. I found it puzzling. Not being a guitar player - dang thing has too many strings - some of its subtleties escape me. But I'm here to absorb info as well as dispense it, so thanks for taking the time there.

One of my favorite capo use anecdotes concerns Lucinda Williams. I was seeing her a lot in the late 90s, and at some point noticed she would do a lot of songs with capo at the second fret. Like a song in A, she'd play the G chord forms. It seemed to me that there was something in the voicing for that G chord, which is pretty major sounding, when played against the bluesier A scale of the other instruments, produced a kind of subtle interaction that she liked. I should have asked her about it, but that's how it seemed to me.

BTW, I spell Aoife via cut and paste. And as to how to say it, she goes with "ee-fee."

I capo on 2 for key of A on guitar because the commonly used chord shapes are easier than no capo, especially when you have to do fast changes.

[jefflester]

BTW, I spell Aoife via cut and paste. And as to how to say it, she goes with "ee-fee."

It's more like "ee-fuh"

[journeybear]

Maybe I wasn't listening too closely, but it sounded like that was how she was introduced. Next up: Saoirse.

Or not. Back to advance notices:

Molly Tuttle on Kimmel, Friday.

[journeybear]

Tonight on Austin City Limits: Maren Morris. Not 100%, but she's country, so there might be a mandolin in there somewhere. Also, I don't know how widespread this show is, but tonight's episode of "The Cavern Sessions" (shot in an honest-to-goodness cavern in Tennessee that's been transformed into a performance space), Molly Tuttle. Bound to be plenty of mandolinning there. Your PBS station may not carry that - honestly, I'm amazed that one of the Miami ones does, even though they dump it at 2AM - so check your local listings. As always with PBS.

[Bill Cameron]

Sorry wrong thread.

[journeybear]

Yes, much as expected, no mandolin in Maren Morris' set, plenty in Molly Tuttle's. But OMG, that setting!

[jefflester]

But OMG, that setting!

First time seeing this? They've been doing TV shows from there since 2011.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5075274/

[journeybear]

What the what? Are you serious? Did you not see what I said about this just two posts before? Apparently not, or you wouldn't have seen fit to insinuate ignorance on my part. Crikey! Just trying to generate some interest in a cool show, and instead ... this?

[jefflester]

What the what? Are you serious? Did you not see what I said about this just two posts before? Apparently not, or you wouldn't have seen fit to insinuate ignorance on my part. Crikey! Just trying to generate some interest in a cool show, and instead ... this?

Sorry, poor form on my part.