Mary McCaslin's Roundup
Jan 22, 2006
TWO
GENERATIONS OF STRING WIZARDS
John McEuen and I met at a small
Orange County folk club in 1965. We were both starting out and the Nitty Gritty
Dirt Band was not yet in existence. At that time he was playing bluegrass banjo
in some local bands, including one with his brother Bill and another with early
Dirt Band member Les Thompson. During and after high school he worked at the
Disneyland Magic Shop with pal Steve Martin, who years later went on to
Saturday Night Live.
John taught Steve most of what he learned on the
banjo and I can remember John accompanying him while he recited the Stephen
Vincent Benet poem Mountain Whippoorwill at that same small folk club. Later
John began performing Whippoorwill himself, reciting it to his own banjo
accompaniment. Eventually after playing for years in the Dirt Band he made a
recording of it, which he confirmed was the inspiration for Charlie Daniels'
Devil Went Down to Georgia. Turns out that Daniels dropped by the studio in
Aspen, Colorado where John was finishing up his recording. Charlie said
something about remembering “that old poem” and a few months later John was
astounded to hear The Devil Went Down to Georgia on the radio.
In 1966 John was teaching banjo at
McCabe's Guitar Shop in Long Beach when he started playing music with a bunch
of other pickers. They formed the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, which began with a
mostly jug band repertoire. (A young Jackson Browne was a member for a brief
time.) They quickly incorporated bluegrass, folk and folk rock. One of the
centerpieces of their performances was John's banjo instrumental Dismal Swamp,
which he played to win the Advanced Bluegrass Banjo competition at southern California’s
renowned Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Contest.
As well as being a first rate
bluegrass banjo player, John is also one of finest old time / clawhammer banjo
players I've ever known and the first person I ever saw play in that style.
He's also an exceptional finger-style guitarist, mandolin player and fiddler,
and is one of the funniest people I’ve ever seen on stage.
Aside from his 40 years with the Dirt Band John has
carved out a substantial solo performing and recording career. At one time or
another he has played with everyone who is anyone in the folk and folk-rock
world, including the late Jerry Garcia. There is a photo, taken at a long ago
festival, of John, Steve Martin and Jerry all holding their banjos. It
originally appeared in Sing Out magazine and copies can often be found on the
CD table at John’s performances.
He also
composed and arranged the sound track for the Wild West TV documentary and now
often works with his sons Jonathan and Nathan. On Wednesday, January 25th
he will be performing with Nathan at Don Quixote’s in Felton.
Having seen John onstage with each
of his sons it's easy to attest to the magic that seems to fill the room.
Nathan McEuen has released his first solo album, Grand Design, and is the
co-writer of the title track with Crosby Loggins, Kenny Loggins' son. He and
his father will perform duets of new material, Dirt Band classics and songs
from the "Circle" album. Nathan, like his brother Jonathan, has a
strong and very unique voice. His original material is gaining notice and he
will be touring nationally. Over the phone, John quipped that pretty soon
Nathan would be too big to do shows with his dad.
John has a new CD out called Round
Trip on the Rural Rhythm label. This is a live recording with bonus “non-live”
tracks, one of which is called I’ll Be Glad When They Run Outta Gas, a very
timely song that features the late fiddler Vassar Clements. There is also a
Prince song, Kiss, sung by Jonathan McEuen.
Two other tracks on this recording contribute an
oldtime feel: The Ballad of Floyd Collins is about a man who was trapped and
died while exploring a cave in Kentucky in the 1920s, and the Goodtime Suite is
a 7 minute solo banjo piece written from the perspective on an old banjo player
sitting on the porch and playing some favorite tunes.
Being one of the founding members of
the Dirt Band is credential enough for any musician. Add to that the legacy of
the legendary Will The Circle Be Unbroken album, which has been called “the
most important record to come out of Nashville” by Rolling Stone and praised
since its release in the early 1970s. John and his brother Bill collaborated to
gather bluegrass and country music royalty into the studio along with the Dirt
Band for this timeless and seminal recording. Just hearing Doc Watson talking
to Merle Travis for the first time ever in the studio is enough to give anyone
who loves country and folk music goose bumps.
There is a Volume II and a Volume
III with other country and bluegrass stars, but the first one is the “Circle”
album.
In December John turned 60 (which he
says is the new 47) but he has no intention of retiring any time soon. On the
phone he said that he strives to make every show he does his best show.
“Because I wouldn’t want to do a bad show and have it be my last show.”
Email
Mary McCaslin at roundup@marymccaslin.com
WHAT:
John and Nathan McEuen
WHERE:
Don Quixote’s
6275 Highway 9
Felton
WHEN:
Wed., Jan. 25 – 8 PM
INFO:
(831) 603-2294