Amador Bustos, Bob Dylan, Michael Doucet, Billy Gibbons, Alan Govenar, Queen Ida Guillory, Neal Halfon, Steve Miller, Charlie Musselwhite, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Ann Savoy, Joel Selvin, and Elijah Wald have agreed to join our newly formed Arhoolie Foundation Advisory Board. These individuals share our cultural values and support our goals.

If you didn't make it to the sold-out screening at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley on September 9, come out to the Roxie Cinema in San Francisco for a special weeklong engagement of "Always Been A Rambler" (Sept. 25 - Oct. 1, 2009). In tribute to Mike Seeger, who recently passed away, this new documentary film from the Arhoolie Foundation and local director Yasha Aginsky will be paired with Yasha and Carrie Aginsky's 1980 film, "Homemade American Music," which accompanies Mike and Alice Gerrard in visits with some of their friends and mentors in traditional music: Tommy Jarrell, Roscoe Holcomb, Lily May Ledford, Elizabeth Cotten, Dewey Balfa, Marc Savoy and more.

Show times: 2:30, 4:45, 7:00, 9:00.
Director Yasha Aginsky in person Sept. 25th, 7 pm show.
Roxie Cinema, 3117 16th St, San Francisco, CA
(415) 863-1087

Here's a bit from Lawrence Downes' feature article, "In Los Angeles, Songs Without Borders," from the Travel section of this Sunday's New York Times (August 16, 2009):

"In clubs, bars, swap meets and concert halls, from car radios and ringing cellphones, you will hear corridos, old-time folk ballads in the banda and norteño styles. 'Corridos are part of the literature of the common people,' wrote Chris Strachwitz, who founded Arhoolie Records and has spent a lifetime collecting and studying traditional Mexican music."

And this a little further down:

"For armchair travelers, Arhoolie Records (www.arhoolie.com) has a vast corrido catalog. You can also explore the Frontera Collection (frontera.library.ucla.edu) to which Chris Strachwitz, the head of Arhoolie, donated tens of thousands of 78 and 45 r.p.m. records. The collection is being digitized and made available to the public online, which can put you in corrido heaven for years and years to come."

Find the whole article, some musical example and a slideshow here:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/travel/16corridos.html

Labels: folk music, Frontera, Mexican music, press

Our good friend Mike Seeger passed away Friday evening August 9th. Through his love for traditional music, he spent his life educating us, inspiring us, entertaining us and sharing that love of the music. We will miss him.

When Mike went into hospice Chris Strachwitz, founder of Arhoolie Records and the Arhoolie Foundation, wrote Mike a letter. Here is an excerpt:

"You should be satisfied and proud of the fact that you have contributed immeasurably in your life time to the love for old time and traditional vernacular musics of all kinds and their continuing evolutions. Not only did you play and sing and bring these styles to thousands who not only enjoyed your personal versions but were moved to dig deeper into the various genres. But you also shared your ability to present the music to wider audiences by taking so many regional and isolated musicians under your wing, or as in the case of Libba Cotton, even bringing them out of the hidden shadows of just singing for themselves - and thus passing on the whole experience of hearing, meeting, and seeing so many other remarkable human beings as well as their often totally unique music and style.

You also created not only this incredible musical family but your very own as well - I really don't see how you did it all? And then on top of that your strong voice at Newport and at the National Endowment for the Arts - as an activist and advocate for the real stuff - something so many of the big names in so called "folk music" never bothered with or never felt was even warranted. You and Archie (Green, noted folklorist who also recently passed away) have fought this battle brilliantly and successfully to the best of your ability. What more can a human do? On top of all that you somehow survived economically in this dog eat dog world and with your wonderful, relaxed and peaceful personality influenced more folks in the righteousness of your and our common cause.

Then there is the amazing documentary work you have done from interviewing record execs like Frank Walker to being "song catcher" - a phrase I shall always fondly ascribe to you - but even without the usual economic aspect which could conceivably help you gain financially - as I did and many others who were stuck as non musicians but trying to capture the music of the moment!"

Excerpted from a personal letter from Chris Strachwitz to Mike Seeger, used with Chris' permission.

Here is a link to a well informed obituary: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/aug/10/obituary-mike-seeger

Visit this superb photo memorial to Mike taken by wonderful photographer Mike Melnyk http://www.mikemelnyk.com/MikeSeeger8_7_09/

To learn more about Mike Seeger, visit the website. Mike Seeger - Music from the True Vine.

Sad news: Mike Seeger, who has been battling non-Hodgkins lymphoma for a number of years, has now developed a new, unusually aggressive form of cancer, called multiple myeloma. About a week ago, he made the decision to discontinue treatment and is at home with his wife and family, receiving hospice care. Cards can be send to him care of his booking agency:

Folklore Productions
1671 Appian Way
Santa Monica, CA 90401

Film about the New Lost City Ramblers: "Always been a Rambler" has now been completed and is available via all better outlets as well as via our own web sites!
With the financial support from several generous sources and various fans, the Arhoolie Foundation has produced this documentary film under the direction of filmmaker Yasha Aginsky. The DVD which includes not only the 55-minute film featuring Mike Seeger, John Cohen, Tracy Schwarz and Tom Paley, but also includes bonus footage of a color film of the NLCRs from the 60s and a few more black and white songs from the 50s!
For more information check out the AF Projects page.
(July 24, 2009)

Labels: documentary, film

Labels: Frontera, UCLA