Jimmie Rodgers The Very Best Of, BMG, 1997.
It's not a new release: sue me. If you love American music and you don't have any Jimmie Rodgers in your collection, get this one. Twenty-two examples of why "The Singing Brakeman" was the father of country music, whose influence extends in a straight line through Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Doc Watson, Emmylou Harris, and more, more, more...
The sound quality - for recordings made in the 1920s and '30s - is unbelievable. It's an import, of course, on BMG's Camden label.
SATURDAY!
All Your Cur-Questions Answered
Please Don't Park on the Street
And Baby Makes Three
Click for printable handbill.
August 21, Kenwood
The Dog Day is upon us, and it is our duty, perhaps for the last time this summer, to kick back with a cool drink and enjoy some down-home music with friends.
All Your Cur-Questions Answered
You got questions? We do, too. But we'll try to answer some of yours first. Just take a look a few inches to the right of this sentence, find your question, and read your answer. Questions that aren't on there, you can email us about.
Please Don't Park On the Street
We have plenty of off-street parking, and a couple of volunteers to keep things sorted out. So...please don't park in the street.
Do these people look uptight?
More pictures
Kids-only Fun Farm
We're stackin' up some haybales in a corner of the yard, staffing it with a couple terriffic teens, and letting the kiddies loose on face paint, nerf balls, and more. There will be a kiddie pool, so pack a suit! You can watch from a safe distance, while enjoying a little adult conversation, or dancin' yer butt off.
Cur-ville Proceeds Benefit Delta Paws Animal Rescue
It's a brand-new concept for the Fest: try and do something good, beyond music and beer. We don't necessarily expect to make back the money we're spending to put this party on (see A Note On Finances sidebar), but if we do, every cent in excess of our costs goes to the saints at Delta Paws Animal Rescue. Do it for the doggies!
Pickin' Circles and Campin' Out
The Rockin' Heart Ranchito features plenty of level ground on which to pitch a tent or just lay out under the blanket of stars in the Valley of the Moon. We're going to have a few fire pits, and you're going to bring your acoustic instrument so you can pick around the campfire all night long. See if you can get the coyotes to howl. (Feel free to pick in the daytime, too - we recommend the front yard out of respect for the performers on stage.)
And Baby Makes Three
Two years ago Laura and I put on the First Fest for a few of our friends. We introduced Sir Cur, the fellow with the banjo and the Chuck Taylors at the top of the page, as a sort of festival mascot. Last year, Laura and I got married in the morning of the Fest, so we introduced Lady Cur - the dainty thing on the right, playing the washtub bass. Then our son Amos came along, so this year we've added Baby Cur. Baby makes three.
Still-Killer '08 Lineup
The pooch party will feature the Cur-ville debuts of the Adam Traum Trio, Doug Blumer, Larry Potts, and the duo of Gayle and Bob Gram, as well as the return of Fest mainstays Solid Air, JL Stiles, Johnny Harper and Mayne Smith, and Dale Henry Geist. It also marks the world debut of The Jackdaws, an acoustic-electric duo consisting of Cris Puder and Dale Henry Geist, with hip covers of The Band, The Dead, and Ryan Adams as well as Americana originals. And let's never forget our MC, the fabulous mermaid Rose Harting.
Tribute to Newest Cur-villager
This year's canine clambake will be the first for young Amos Henry Daniel Geist, and you can expect a special musical tribute, featuring no less than three songs written expressly for the little stinker - by three different artists. (Full disclosure: two of them are Ma and Pa). This will augment the traditional excuse for the Fest, which is a dual birthday celebration. (The 17th and 24th, Dale and Laura respectively - and this year's Fest falls right on Adam Traum's birthday, so don't forget to give him a spank!)
DDF08 Program
- 12n:The Jackdaws
- 1pm:
- 2pm:
- 3pm:
- 4pm:
- 5pm:
- 6pm:
- 7pm:
- 8pm:
- 9pm:
- MC:
Your Questions Answered
- Q: How do I get there?
A: This way. - Q: What time does it start?
A: 12 noon - Q: What time does it end?
A: Officially, 10pm. Unofficially: when the cows come home. - Q: How much does it cost?
A: We're asking a $10 donation. - Q: What should I bring?
A: • Food and water
• Low chairs, blankets, hat, sunscreen
• Musical instruments
• $$ for the beer kitty, t-shirts, CDs...
• Camping gear - Q: What will be provided?
A: • Drinks (sodas free, beer and wine
for a donation)
• Hot grills
• T-shirts and CDs for sale
• A place to camp
• Music, sunshine/shade, goats, more!
- Q: Can I bring my awesome dog?
A: If you can easily leave her at home, that would be preferable. Otherwise, bring 'er down - but bring a tether and a water bowl, should the dog situation get funky.
What Else Ya Got?
- Kids-only Fun Farm
- A Musical Tribute to the Newest Cur-villager, Amos Henry
- Dogs! Horses! Goats!
- Song Circles - Bring Your Instrument
- Camping Out Under the Stars
- Food, Drink, Friends, and Sunshine
A Note on Finances
We think making music is a worthy, if not always respectable, endeavor, and so we pay nearly all the musicians, as well as our MC, and our sound guy.
In years past we've passed the hat to try and recoup some of our expenses, and we are grateful to the folks who chipped in. This year, because of the increased cost and because Amos has requested we not spend his college fund before it exists, we are being more up-front about asking for donations.
If you can help, by giving a donation at the door (we suggest $10 per adult), by buying a t-shirt, by donating to the beer fund, or by volunteering, you'll win the gratitude of the whole Cur-ville community.
If we don't take a major bath on this, we'll be able to do it again next year — which is the whole point, right?
Help Wanted!
It's cool to be on the crew. Besides the camaraderie and the war stories, you'll get a snazzy DDF08 T-shirt, all the food you can drink and all the beer you can eat.
- We need help with:
- Prep: grounds, signage, etc.
- Parking
- Cooking and serving food
- Serving beer and wine
- Clean-up
- And more...
Call or email us if you want to help. We will love you forever.
Cur-ville 07 Pics
Mike Cygan, from Chicago, sent us these pics from last year's fest. These are the only ones we've seen with horses in them.
Wanna Play Cur-ville?
If you're interested in playing Cur-ville, please read the following information. Now that baby's here, the only thing we're booking is the Dog Days Fest - for '09.