All The Pretty Little Horses MP3

Hi,

On left is my first Bluegrass Series painting (Click to enlarge) titled- All The Pretty Little Horses. It was completed in 2006. This painting features several optical illusions as well as soem inventive tricks- the horses turn into the baby's face and the butterflies turn into the lamb. There are close-ups on my art site: MattesonArt.com

I'm combining music and art and this blog features an MP3 of my arrangement. It's based on the version Alan Lomax's collected that has the "way down yonder" bridge.

It's a beautiful lullaby and is sung by my niece, Kara. We did six demo songs last Saturday at my brother-in-law Bob's home studio.

I thought she did a great job learning the songs on the spot. I'd go over the melody a few times until she got it. Some of the six melodies we did were complex but this one is fairly simple- two parts with a slight variation on the second verse.

Click on the MP3 file:
http://bluegrassmessengers.com.temp.realssl.com/all-the-pretty-little-horses--bluegrass-messengers.aspx

Hope you like it,

Richard

Red Apple Juice MP3

Hi,

Here's another way to combine music and art,

my mp3 version of Red Apple Juice. Painting by Richard L. Matteson Jr. in 2009 (Click to enlarge)

I learned this version in North Carolina circa 1998. This is me singing Red Apple Juice and playing guitar done Dec. 2009 with my niece Kara singing harmony:

http://www.bluegrassmessengers.com/Data/Sites/1/mp3%27s/04%20Red%20Apple%20Juice.mp3

Richard

New Videos, MP3's

Hi,

My new series of videos has started and a few of them are on you tube:

Salt Creek (Live): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLug7KVqXtA

Careless Love (Live): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxF9w2WnIig

Bury Me Beneath the Willow (live): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAUCTLXbm5U

Bird in a Cage (live): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89CG1nqm4v0

These are some live performances playing at la Vida Java on Dec. 16, 2009. The performances aren't great because we are still learning the songs but other people can learn the songs from them- that's the main thing.

The first part of my project is- I'm doing videos of live performances of my Bluegrasss Series painting songs and additionally educational instructional videos.

The second part of my project is: I'm writing new lyrics versions of bluegrass/old-time fiddle tunes.

I also recorded some demos MP3's with my neice Kara, who has a great voice for these tunes. Even tho there are some small mistakes the demos are fine for listening to and learning the songs.

Richard

feature; news

Hi,

On the left is a pic of me performing Red Apple Juice last Thursday at Quills.

Mom's Music, where I teach, did a feature of me on their blog. There's a photo of me and Chet at our concert in Sept. 1992.

http://momsmusiclouisville.blogspot.com/

I'm trying to get the educational video series going. The good news is that Cari Norris, Lily May Ledford's granddaughter will be sharing her talent and playing afew of my painting songs.

Come out and see us at Quills, on Baxter, around 8:30 Sat. Dec. 12. Some members of my band, Bluegrass Messengers, and I will be accompanying her.

See you there,

Richard

Bluegrass Videos- Performances

Howdy,

I'm getting ready to start a series of educational videos that I'll be putting on YouTube. They will feature live-perfomances of songs by my band as well as solo clips of me talking about the history and showing how to play the songs on guitar.

We're doing a trial video tonite at Quills on Baxter around 8:20-10:00.

Tomorrow we're playing at Compound Art Gallery Trolley Hop Concert (Art and Music) at 7:00

Friday Dec. 4 6:00pm- 12:00
Compound Art Gallery 713 E. Main St. Louisville KY 40206
Admission: Donations

Band Schedule:
6:00 Cadillac Shack
7:00 Bluegrass Messengers
7:30 Exit 9
8:20 HeatherField
9:15 Honey Highway Country and Blues Show
10:15-12:00 Tattoo Babylon

The next video is scheduled Sat. Dec. 12 at Quills on Baxter 8:30 PM

Come on out!

Richard

Mac and Sleepy; Part 2

Hi,

On the left you can see the cover of the 1939 Drifting Pioneers song folio. Sleepy was kind enough to give me a copy.

Featured are the Drifting Pioneers with their coonskin caps. From left to right: Walt Brown (mandolin); Merle Travis (guitar); Sleepy Marlin (fiddle) and Bill Brown (bass).

Merle left the Pioneers in spring of 1937 to join Mac's Georgia Wildcats. Then in the summer of 1937 he rejoined the Pioneers.

Sleepy and Mac crossed paths many times and he eventually ended up playing for Mac in the late 1940s. It didn't last long because Mac, a lifetime drinker, was hitting the bottle hard and Sleepy couldn't get along with him.

Sleepy did relate a story (second hand) about Mac and Natchee. Mac and Natchee were rivals in a series of fiddle competitions sponsored by Larry Sunbrock, even though the contestants were paid a flat fee they still tried to win the audience vote and the competition by fiddling their best.

According to Sleepy, Mac decided he would play a trick on Natchee and put soap on Natchee's bow hair before the big final. Of course Natchee couldn't make much sound with soap on his bow and confronted Mac who was never afraid of a fight. Sleepy said Mac who was only 5' 7" and weighted about 155 pound was no match in a fist fight with the 6' 2" indian. Sleepy said Mac took a beating.

Then in the late 1940s Sleepy started playing the state competition at the Kentucky fair held every year in Louisville. At the time Mac was playing with his big swing band at Howell's Furniture Store while Sleepy started his own band, The Wagoneers, then joined Randy Atcher's band on WHAS and was featured on the Hayloft Hoedown TV show.

Sleepy won the contest at least two times when Mac entered. According to Sleepy, "I beat him one year playing Bile Dem Cabbage Down , which was his contest song. Mac didn't like that much."

Sleepy played on WHAS in Louisville from around 1950 until 1962 on Randy's hit TV show. More on Sleepy later.

Richard

Mac and Sleepy: Part 1

Hi,

I just had lunch with Sleepy Marlin (photo on left), his son Jace, and the fiddle player in my bluegrass band Linda Starks. Sleepy was born in 1915 and was active in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky in his professional career which began around 1932.

He also played with Merle Travis in their Drifting Pioneers Band which formed in early 1937. They were in Evansville, Indiana when Merle got word via a telegram that Clayton McMichen wanted him to play guitar for the Georgia Wildcats.

The Pioneers didn't want to keep Merle from his chance with a big-time band so Merle headed out in the Spring of 1937, during the late stages of the Flood of 1937, to play with McMichen. Merle didn't stay long with McMichen returning to The Drifting Pioneers in July 1937. Travis would play with Sleepy until 1942 when World War II broke up the band.

Sleepy was one of the premiere contest fiddlers in the nation for many years. He beat McMichen several years at the Kentucky state competition in Louisville the 1950s. He also played with Mac for about 6 months.

Sleepy is in good shape and his sons now carry on the tradition in several bands including "The Marlins," a nationally known cover band and his son Jack's band "The Marlinaires." I'm planning to do an article on him for the Old-Time Herald.

More on Sleepy to come,

Richard